Joe Bradford 2018

Opening

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. Allah is whom we praise, we praise Him and we thank Him. And we seek refuge in Him from the evil of our own souls and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever He guides, none can misguide him. And whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide to the truth. And I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship but God Almighty alone. And that Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is His slave and last messenger.

O you who believe, be mindful of your Lord as He should be minded. Do not die except as Muslims. O mankind, be mindful of your Lord who created you from one soul. And from that soul its mate and from those two spread many men and many women. And be mindful of those you ask your rights from. And be mindful of the wombs that bore you. For indeed Allah is ever watchful over you. O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and speak the truth. He will guide you to righteous deeds and forgive you of your sins. And whomsoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has achieved the greatest achievement.

The best of speech is the speech of God. And the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. And the worst of affairs are those newly introduced. Everything newly introduced being an innovation. Every innovation leading astray. And everything which leads astray will take one to the hellfire. And that which we have been promised will come to pass. And there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

The Story of Hanthala: Times for Everything

One of the companions of the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام was from Hanthala, Hanthala Al-Usaidi رضي الله عنه. Hanthala was from كُتَّاب الوحي (Kuttab Al-Wahi). He was from amongst the scribes that the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام would dictate the Quran to, and he would write down the Quran. So he had a very important place with the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام and a very important place in the Ummah.

Hanthala, despite this immense honor of being from amongst the scribes of Revelation as it was being revealed, he still felt difficulty at times with himself. As he was walking down the street one day, he came past Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه.

So he said, "How are you today Hanthala?"

He said, "Hanthala is a hypocrite."

He said, "Why would you say such a thing?"

He said, "When we sit with the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام, when we sit with the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام and he mentions to us Jannah and Nar, Heaven and Hell, good and bad, our Iman is raised. Then when we leave and we go and we mix with our spouses and our children and our business, we feel completely different."

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said, "Each one of us is that person. Let's go to the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام and ask him what he says about this."

When they went to him, they explained to him عليه السلام what had happened. The Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام said to Hanthala:

"O Hanthala, O Hanthala, if you were to stay in the same level of faith, of exuberance, of spirituality and emotion - if you were to stay on that same level that you have when you're with me when you leave me - then the angels themselves would come and shake your hands in your beds and in the middle of the street. But Hanthala, there's a time for this and a time for that. A time for this and a time for that. A time for this and a time for that."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 49, Hadith 18)

Moving Forward: Focus on Progress, Not Regression

It can be very easy sometimes for us to focus on the negativity in our life. It can be very easy for us to focus on our personal faults or the faults of others. It can be very easy sometimes for us to only see the deficiencies and not see the beauty that we have in ourselves and in others.

Life is a work in progress. Every single day, every single moment that we experience, we are ever changing. And we have to ask ourselves: are we ever improving or are we ever regressing?

You will go level after level. You will traverse level after level in your life. One of the tafsirs of this verse is that your life will ever change as you move forward in life. So if you only focus on the past, if you only focus on what's negative, if you only focus on your faults or the faults of others, then you will be in a state of constant regression.

Some scholars have said that a person is either in two situations: they're either moving forward or they're moving back. Because even when a person is inactive, lacks initiative and does nothing, everyone else is moving forward, and so they are naturally being left behind.

Don't Dwell on the Past - Replace Bad with Good

So it's extremely important for us to not think about the problems that we have in our past. You know there's this problem - we think of Freudian psychoanalysis and we have to dwell on the problems of the past and we have to work out those problems, we have to dig through them because those are the real causes of what happened in our life.

No, those things that happened in our life might have programmed us to act in certain ways, to react in certain ways, to have bad human capital, to have learned bad behavior. But we don't unlearn bad behavior by consistently remembering bad behavior. We unlearn bad behavior by consistently replacing it with better behavior. We unlearn bad emotions by consistently replacing them with good emotions. We unlearn the negativity and the faults by seeing in us, ourselves, the beauty which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed in every single one of us.

The Story of Ibn Mas'ud: Seeing Beyond Appearances

Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله تعالى عنه was one of the skinniest of the companions of the Prophet عليه السلام. And people would make fun of him because he had scrawny, bony ankles. So he used to take his izar and push it down so it would cover his ankles and people couldn't look at them.

One day when he was picking something up out of a tree, his izar, his lungi, his dress or bottom dress had raised up and they could see his ankles. And so people started joking about "Look at his ankles" and saying things about him.

The Prophet عليه السلام said: "Those two ankles are heavier in the scales of Allah than everything in the world."

So many times we can focus on what's bad, but there's always going to be some good there about ourselves if we were to only look.

The Parable of Planting Seeds

If we were to only look at stormy weather, if we were only to think about the weather reports of the past, if we were only to think about the hurricanes and the tornadoes, when would we ever prepare to meet those challenges again? When would we ever plant the seeds that would use that water that comes down in a beneficial way?

Because there's two things you can do in a storm: you can hide or you can prepare. And if you prepare, then even though some things might be destructive, a lot of good can come out of it as well.

Allah عز وجل tells us about this in Surah Al-Baqarah. He عز وجل says:

Allah عز وجل says: "The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed of grain which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains." He says, "In each one of those is 100 seeds. And Allah عز وجل multiplies for whomever He wills. And Allah is all-encompassing and all-knowing."

It takes us to plant that one seed of goodness and wait for the results to come about.

Later on in the Surah, just maybe four or five verses after this, He then reminds us again:

Allah عز وجل says: "Would one of you want to have a garden with palm trees and grapes and rivers flowing through it? Every form of fruit is available to him. And then he reaches old age and he has weak, unproductive children. And then a storm with lightning comes and burns that garden to the ground. In this way does Allah put forth, or in this verse, or in this way does Allah clarify His signs so that you can give them thought."

"O you who believe, immediately after, spend from that which you have earned and that which we have given you from the yields of the earth, that which we have brought out for you from the earth. And don't give those things which to you are bad that you simply pick up and push off on somebody else. And you close your eyes while you're doing it. You won't take it yourself. If you were to take it yourself, you would take it with shame and shyness. Indeed Allah is self-sufficient and worthy of all praise."

The Message: Plant Seeds and Focus on Good

What are we getting at in these verses? In verse 261, Allah is telling us: All you have to do is plant a single seed. All you have to do is prepare, and then He will multiply for you the goodness that comes from that. Don't worry about the past. Don't worry about the dangers. Don't think to yourself that the results are on me. The results are on Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And when you do put forth that thing, don't focus on the bad. Don't focus and don't give reluctantly in doing good. Don't focus on your faults and don't focus on the faults of others. Give your best and Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you His best.

Then He says: "Satan encourages you. He promises you poverty and orders you to do lewdness. But God, He promises you forgiveness from Him and grace. And He is all-encompassing and knowledge."

And notice here - and I'll leave this as homework for you - what does Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala say later after this? "You don't have to guide them." Which means that this parable is not only about spending money. It's not about vegetation. It's about how we react to the circumstances of our life.

Take Initiative and Accept Good

Those with ability and means, those of us with capacity, those of us that are able to put forth and do something good - then it's expected of us to take the initiative and do that good.

Many times we get so focused on our own faults and our own deficiencies that we don't want to hear about good from anyone else, and we don't want to even acknowledge it in ourselves.

So someone might say to you: "You're doing a great job at work. Keep up the good work." "Actually, I'm just so tired and I don't even know if I'm doing good."

A man might say to his wife: "You look beautiful." "I look terrible. I have this to do. I have that to do. This is wrong with me."

A man might be told: "You're a great father." "No I'm not."

We focus on so much of the negative without accepting the good that we innately have. And it's not wrong for us to acknowledge the good that we have.

"In the presence of the Lord, then announce them. Then speak of them."

So when we can speak and see the good in ourselves, it is then more likely that we can see the good in others. That we can love ourselves and then love others.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

The Prophet said: "Love for your brother what you love for yourself. Love for your brother what you love for yourself. Love for your brother..." We speak about this hadith always in its transitive sense, always in doing good to others. But I want to remind you today that if you can't love yourself, you cannot love others. If you can't recognize the good in yourself, then you won't recognize the good in others. If you can't see the blessings in your life, you won't see the blessings in other people's lives. And so everything will be looked at through a lens of negativity, of deficiency, and of fault.

Life is Constant Progress

When you realize that you are not a finished product - لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ - you are traversing level after level in your life, there's no time to regress. There's no time to move back. We need to focus on what's good and move forward.

I know I've made mistakes. I recognize that - أَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to say in du'a: "I recognize my sins." And then he would move forward and ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for strength.

You don't have control over the results, but you do have the responsibility to make your life better. You might not be at fault for what's happening bad in your life. You might not be at fault for something that happened at work. You might not be at fault for the bad relationship that you're in. You might not be at fault for somebody getting angry with you, somebody cheating you in business, somebody doing something wrong to you. It might be their fault alone.

But your responsibility is not to allow that fault to overtake your life, to cloud your mind and emotion and heart, and take you away from moving forward and towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: "You are only a warner, and every people has one who will guide them."

Plant the smallest of seeds and you will see the greatest of results. You will see a multitude of good in ways that you can never imagine. Take control over what you have control over. Don't wait for other people. Don't dwell on their faults or your own. Move forward.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

"Seek Allah's help and don't incapacitate yourselves."

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Khutbah: Don't Wait for Others

الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِمْ وَأَصْحَابِهِمْ وَمَن تَبِعَ سُنَنَهُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, encouraging his companions to move forward in their lives, he said to them:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

"Seek what will benefit you, and seek Allah's help, assistance, and don't incapacitate yourself. And don't any of you say: 'If I had only done this, then this would have happened. And if I had only done that, then that would have happened.' And that opens the door for Satan."

Remember earlier we talked about this focus on negativity and deficiency and fault can be a trap. This is the trap that we're talking about - the trap of spiraling down, a never-ending series of things that you can remember that were bad in your past.

If we focus on the endless possibilities of those things that have happened in our past, we'll never be able to lead ourselves and our families into a better future.

Don't look to what others are doing. Don't wait for others to correct themselves before you correct yourself. Don't wait for others to take the initiative before you take the initiative. Because then you are being a follower, not a leader. You are waiting for good from someone else before you do the good yourself. You are allowing yourself to focus on negativity, whether your own or someone else's.

And subconsciously you're saying: "They're better than me. They should have done it first." Again, not knowing that you see that as an inherent fault in yourself. When you're saying "they're better than me," that means "I'm worse than them."

You may be on different levels in life. You may have different career paths. You may not see yourself in the same position as you see them. But hidden from you are all the problems and difficulties and negativities and faults and deficiencies that they see in themselves.

Don't wait on anyone. اسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ - seek Allah's assistance. احْرِصْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَنْفَعُكَ - you know what's good for yourself, so do that which is good for you.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6490 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2963)

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Don't look at those who you perceive as better than you, but look at those who you perceive as less fortunate than you, because it is more likely then that you will not diminish the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you."

Focus on the Present Moment

All you get in this life is right now. Everything in your life that has ever happened to you in the past, good or bad, everything in your life that can happen in the future, is summed up in this moment right now.

And you might say to yourself: "What does that even mean?"

"And to Allah belongs what is hidden in the heavens and the earth. And the matter of the hour is like the blinking of an eye, or it's even closer."

Every single thing that you've done in your life and every single thing that you will do in your life is right now. So focus on bettering yourself right now. Don't say to yourself: "If I had only done something in the past, I would have been better." No, focus on right now.

Don't say to yourself: "I'm going to wait for such and such thing to happen, for such and such people to do what they're supposed to do. Then I'll have a better future." You'll have a better future when you focus on now, and when you pass now to the next point, that's your now which was your future. You're consistently trying to better yourself and better what you are doing in life.

On the Day of Judgment when Allah resurrects all of them, it will be like an hour that had passed, and people were getting to know each other.

We only have the time that we were given, and this time is way too precious for us to focus on others and focus on them bettering themselves. We can only do what we have to do at this moment in time.

Different Trajectories, Same Direction

And guess what? Sometimes you make the effort to improve yourself, and that means that the people that are with you at that time may not be on the same trajectory. Their improvement in life is going like this. Your improvement in life is going like that. As long as both of you are in an upward direction moving towards Allah, don't worry about separating.

Sufyan rahim Allah ta'ala, he used to say: لا تضر فراق الأبدان إذا اجتمعت القلوب - "The separation of bodies won't harm you as long as the hearts are together."

Sometimes people can't be with us for the rest of our lives. Sometimes they can't be on the same trajectory that we are in life. But as long as you have Allah in focus and you take your nafs, you take your soul and your desires out of the equation, then you can be happy that you are doing what Allah wants you to do and they're doing what they are supposed to do.

Tawakkul: Reliance Upon Allah

Most of us live our lives on autopilot. We are waiting for someone else to do something for us that they actually have no power of doing for us. We expect them to take action instead of taking action for ourselves. We expect them to do things for us instead of doing things for ourselves.

Which is why one of the greatest acts of ibadah is tawakkul, is reliance upon Allah. So much so that even if you were to drop something on the ground, you wouldn't ask someone to pick it up for you, because you know that you have to do what's in your ability.

Don't pay attention to what other people have, to what other people are doing, to what other people are not doing. Pay attention to right now, right here, and what I can do in this moment.

احْرِصْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْجَزْ - seek that which benefits you, ask for Allah's assistance, and do not incapacitate yourselves.

Closing Du'as

"O Allah, forgive us of our sins and our transgressions and our affairs, and make our feet firm, ya rabbal alameen."

"O Allah, we ask you for mindfulness and for guidance and for chastity and for wealth, ya rabbal alameen."

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ الْجَلِيلَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَىٰ نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ