Dr Basem Hameed 7 14 17

All praise be to Allah, our Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher. We bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah. And we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and last messenger. We ask Allah to bestow His blessings, peace and mercy upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his household, his companions and all of the believers and his followers till the end of time.

My dear respected brothers and sisters, fear Allah and maintain God-consciousness. For Allah has warned you in the Qur'an by saying, O people, fear Allah and be prepared for a day when no parent would suffice for their children nor a child would suffice for their parents. Do know the promise of Allah is the truth and do not be swayed by the world matters and do not be swayed by the shaytan.

The Question That Summarized All of Islam

My dear respected brothers and sisters, one of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, Abi Amr Sufyan ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi, once asked the Prophet ﷺ a question and said, "Tell me something or give me an advice about Islam so I don't have to ask anyone anymore after you." A question basically that would summarize the entire deen, would serve as a guidance, as a principle for him to live upon for the rest of his life and obviously for anyone who would maintain the footsteps of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions.

What would you ask the Prophet ﷺ if you were given the chance? This person, when he got close to the Prophet ﷺ, when he found the right opportunity, the opportune time where he could use it for something special for him, this is what he asked. And this is how he benefited himself and benefited the entire generations and ummah that came after him till the end of time.

And if this was the question, what would you expect the answer? The Prophet ﷺ summed up the entire Islam gave him this advice and remember that would be sufficient so this person would never ask anymore. Meaning if you apply it, that would be it. A reason for success and prosperity in this dunya and in the hereafter.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 62)

Four words what the Prophet ﷺ have uttered by saying: "Say, in Allah I believe, then persevere."

The Reality of Human Nature

Everyone, each one of us, would have ups and downs in their lives. In their mood, in their financial status, in their relations, but more importantly in the state of their iman. Sometimes they're up, they feel very close to Allah and sometimes they're down. Ramadan comes, they feel the motivation, they're energized. Ramadan departs, they're back to the state of oblivion to Allah. They listen to a khutbah or to a talk and they're recharged again and then that zeal fades away and it's constant ups and downs.

This is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ has described in the hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2453)

Everything has shirrah, a phase of energy, but make no mistake. That's what the Prophet ﷺ associated with that shirrah, with that state of energy, there is a state of fatrah, meaning calming down, laziness and somnolence. And the Prophet ﷺ tells you, warns you:

And whoever has the state of somnolence, that fatrah, the down phase, when you're going from a peak to a valley, whoever maintains my sunnah, meaning adheres to the basics of the sharia during that time, it is those who've truly been guided, who've been giving the guidance, the hidayah from Allah.

And this is why, when the Prophet ﷺ advised that companion by saying, once you have that iman, you declare your iman in Allah, that is the beginning, and the important part that follows afterward is the perseverance. So you maintain the straight path to Allah, avoiding the ups and downs, and avoiding the swings and the extremes in your iman, by being consistent, persistent, perseverant, and this is exactly what the Prophet ﷺ is saying, that to test yourself, is that when that state of energy fades away, is test yourself and see where you are. Are you truly still adherent to the path of the Prophet ﷺ? Then, if that's the case, you know that you are on guidance, and otherwise, then you need to work on it.

Becoming a Generator of Energy

My dear respected brothers and sisters, everyone seeks something to energize them, to motivate them, to increase their iman, to give them that state of iman high. But what's more important, that you seek, that generator becomes from within, becomes intrinsic. It's an engine that has to become inside you, that moves you, and make you an influencer, that affects other people, rather than just being influenced and affected by others, rather than just waiting for someone to give you a word of advice that brings you to Allah.

The right people, as the Prophet ﷺ has described, are those who become a generator for energy, a generator for iman, that overwhelms who are around them, becomes an outpouring energy that affects everyone who sees to them and talks to them. And this is what you need to see. This is your goal as a Muslim who seeks the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ. For that reason, the Prophet ﷺ summed it up. You become a mu'min, and you persevere.

Allah has described it by advising the Prophet ﷺ: "You persevere along with who have repented to Allah." And that ayah is the ayah, as should be called, the ayah of a transformation. The verse of a transformation that truly summarizes the entire psychology of a human being and how it functions. It begins with a tawbah, the moment of making the decision to change, and then maintaining that change. And that's your most important lesson to take home.

The True Meaning of Tawbah

For any process of a transformation, you have to start with a beginning point. That beginning point is what Allah called in the Qur'an as a tawbah. For tawbah is not something you commit a sin. You ask Allah forgiveness, He forgives you. Allah forgives everyone. Allah does not make it one of His attributes just to torture people for the sake of torturing them. It's a discipline. But what He indeed is capable of, forgiving all people's sins, no matter how they are.

When Allah said in the hadith Qudsi, if your mankind and the jinn kind, from the beginning of time till the end of time, committed all the sins possible, even if it reached heavens, Allah does not bother him to just forgive all these sins. But what He truly wants you to do, more than just being forgiven, is having that tawbah. And the essence of tawbah is the beginning of a change. And that change should not be transient, should not be episodic, and should not be temporary. It should be permanent. It should endure throughout your life and carries on till you pass away and you meet Allah and He is pleased with you.

And that's why the Prophet ﷺ was ordered by Allah, this is the advice indirectly given to us, that you start with a beginning, with a point, that is the tawbah, and then you persevere. You maintain that status. And that's how you avoid the ups and downs.

The Nature of the Heart

And then the Prophet ﷺ realizing the nature of a human being, and they realize that we are subject and inclined to change, and the qalb, the heart, is always constantly trying to change:

وَإِنَّمَا سُمِّيَ الْقَلْبُ مِنْ تَقَلُّبِهِ - The heart is called qalb because it keeps shifting. It comes from the root alteration. It keeps altering. It tends to flip back and forth.

And this is why the Prophet ﷺ asked you to keep that fact in mind and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 39)

Just like when you're aiming at a target and you try to get close to it. You keep it in mind, and this is an important thing that you have to be mindful constantly of what your destination is, what your goal is, and keep getting close to it. Trying to reach that destination and trying to hit that target. And if you miss an exit, you go back to the main road. And if you err the first time, you try again. And you never give up till you meet Allah.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3537)

And that's in a sense what the Prophet ﷺ meant by saying, Allah does accept the tawbah. And as we defined, tawbah is an attempt to change. Allah would accept that effort from you so long you have a breath moving in your chest, so long your soul does not depart your body. Meaning, you never give up, you never quit, and you keep trying and attempting going back to Allah till the last moment He allows you in this life. And so long He permits you to exist in this dunya, that means He still accepts your effort and you don't give up and you don't quit.

The Power of Sincere Intention

And if you did not have the chance to have that complete and perfected change, then Allah will reward you for the intention, for the sincerity, for having, making the effort and the attempt. And the Prophet ﷺ said:

Sometimes, the intention of the believer can be even better than his actual deed. Why? Because it is so associated with sincerity and humility and was not contaminated by the vanity, by the arrogance, by showing off, by being pretentious and by seeking someone else besides Allah.

And that's the lesson of us that you always keep trying to change, to become that perfect Muslim that Allah expects you to be and you never give up till the last moment and you never know when that last moment is going to be. And that's exactly what the Prophet ﷺ reflected in the hadith that we always quote. A beautiful hadith:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 12902)

If someone is holding a bush, a tree, a plant, trying to plant it, and abruptly, the Day of Judgment takes place, which is the physical destruction of the entire world, which is, your life is gone and you're not going to exist anymore. And even if you did not exist, the entire world did not exist and there is no meaning for any effort to do towards this dunya. The Prophet ﷺ tells you that the state of Iman necessitates that if you're able to complete that work, do it. Why is that? So you meet Allah and you're on a state of obedience, following His guidance, having the intention to do something productive, having the intention to do something good, having the intention to change positively what surrounds you, and having the intention to have positive impact on humanity or on the world and the creation of Allah.

The Elements of True Transformation

And back again to summarize my dear respected brothers and sisters, it is the beginning of the change that is the tawbah. And it is the path that you take afterward and that is the istiqamah, that's the perseverance, and that is the transformation.

When scholars spoke about tawbah, they analyzed it, and he said, asking Allah for forgiveness, admitting that the path you've had in the past is something wrong and it needs to be changed. And having a resolute decision, fully determined part, that you're never going to go back to that history, to that past. It's behind. And then, attempting with all effort, wholeheartedly, to seek the guidance of Allah. And that's exactly what we need to do.

Besides just saying astaghfirullah, as a matter of fact, Ali bin Abi Talib used to say:

سُرْعَةُ اللِّسَانِ بِالاسْتِغْفَارِ تَوْبَةُ الْكَذَّابِينَ - "Those who utter just astaghfirullah fast and rapidly, that's nothing but an indication, a sign of a tawbah, repentance of a liar." For the tawbah is more than just words and letters to utter. More than just a state to invoke, it's the state of the heart. It's the state of the mind that is associated with the determination and resolution for a change. And this is the pursuit that everyone should undertake.

The Story of Complete Transformation

The Prophet ﷺ, and he was the master of all reformers, told us what it takes to do that change. And we need to analyze that and benefit. And he mentioned to us the story, the famous story of the person who had committed so many crimes in his life. And he asked the worshiper, after killing 99 people, would Allah accept his tawbah? And he said no. So he killed them to make it 100. And then he went to a scholar and asked him if he would be accepted by Allah and if his tawbah would be accepted.

And the answer was to the affirmative, of course Allah accepts all people and accepts the tawbah, the penance of his sincere worshiper. But he made a condition. He said, obviously after quittings, all the bad deeds, all the evil work, he said, you reside in an evil town where you're surrounded by people who commit sins day and night. For your tawbah to be accepted, you have to move to a different town. Surrounded by righteous people where the environment is conducive to doing what's good.

The Prophet ﷺ, when he told that story, is not just telling you an anecdote to enjoy. It's not just an anecdote to show you how Allah is forgiving and merciful. We already know that. But he's giving you a tip that for the tawbah, the beginning of a new life, the change to start, and more importantly for the transformation process to be completed, with its perseverance aspect of it, you need a change of the entire environment.

This is why this person was ordered that he needs to move to a different place, to a different town. And that's, my brothers and sisters, that's what it takes for a true transformation to happen. It takes a resolute decision for a lifestyle change. To change the friends around you who put you under a lot of pressure. And the peer pressure, as we know, is one of the most important factors that influences people's lives. It might take that sincerity to change that person if he had not moved to a different town, his tawbah was not going to be accepted.

On his way, as a matter of fact, he died. Passed away. And yet, Allah accepted his tawbah. And as you know in the hadith, he ended going to paradise or will be going to paradise. Why is that? Because he had already shown Allah the sincerity and the truthful intention to make that change in his life by changing the environment. By agreeing to move. And that's what it takes.

Practical Steps for Transformation

It's not sufficient just to say, astaghfirullah, and I'm going to change without making the necessary changes in your life. That could take moving closer to the masjid, to the source of knowledge. That could be changing the crowds that you hang out with. That could change making serious modifications to your job where you have enough time to learn, where you have enough time to spend with your kids, where you have enough time to spend with your family and to seek the knowledge.

That might take a serious change where you can modify your entire day from the moment you open your eyes and wake up to the moment you go to bed. If you spend your time till 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock in the morning watching movies, surfing the net and doing this or that, even reading, and then you miss out on doing al-fajr on time or in jama'ah, then that needs to change. This is the tawbah. And if you don't make that change, then you have not even started that departure point, beginning of your transformation, let alone maintaining that perseverance.

That's what tawbah is for the transformation to happen. It's the radical, sincere resolution to change in all what you do in life so you can live up to the standards of your beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the guidance of Allah. I ask Allah to accept our tawbah and allow us to transform to the best state that He would like us to be at.

Second Khutbah

My dear respected brothers and sisters, there is a few words the advice of your Prophet Muhammad ﷺ learn them, memorize them and teach them to your children, pass them on as a guiding principle as a divine law on how this life should be lived. This hadith as a matter of fact is one of the Nawawi 40 collections which he considered the core of your faith and now you understand why it has that significance and why it is one of the most salient hadith that the scholars emphasize:

Say, I believe in Allah and then persevere that's the transformation that's the tawbah, the beginning of it and the path of perseverance that you take till you meet Allah.