Lessons from the Nights of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Lessons from the Nights of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Opening Greeting and Bismillah

We praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, his household, his companions. We ask Allah to bless them, to bless everyone of us, to grant us all goodness.

Main Khutbah

Understanding Our Purpose of Creation

My beloved brothers and sisters, primarily Allah has created us for a reason, for a purpose. If you don't understand that, you need to look at a few things. Sometimes people who don't believe, ask me, well why have we been created? How do you know that we were created in order to worship Allah, to be tested by Allah, etc. etc.

And I say, well revelation tells us. And then they begin to say, we don't believe in revelation. So I tell them something that really gets them thinking. And that is, how long are you going to live for? How long are you going to live for? How long do you expect to be alive? And the answer is, well, maybe a hundred years. Sometimes people say 80 years.

May Allah give us a hundred for as long as it's healthy and for as long as it's in the obedience of Allah. So the minute we start thinking about death, then you can ask a question, well, do you really think this life that we have right now was all about enjoying as much as you can and then dying? Is that what you think it is? I do what I want. I say what I want. I enjoy whatever comes to my mind. I get it done. And I have a policy of your law. You only live once. And I continue. And then I die and I say, wow, I did a good thing. Is that what it is? That's not what it is.

I'm so sophisticated, I can feel that I am made by the deity, the supreme deity in a way that I can see, I can hear, I have feelings, emotions, I get hurt, if you cut me, I will bleed and so on. And I have relatives, those I love, perhaps those I don't get along with and so many different things. Do you really think all this complex life actually just comes to an end the minute I close my eyes and it's all over?

Quranic Verse on the Disbelievers' Claim

That was the statement of the disbelievers at the time of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. They say, well, it is only this life, dead and alive. That's what it is. We will live and we will die. That's it. And there is

no hereafter, there is no resurrection, there is nothing to come thereafter.

My beloved brothers and sisters, we are too complicated and we are too connected and advanced for us to think for a moment that at death, everything comes to an end. May Allah guide us and grant us goodness. I start this way because if you don't understand the purpose of your life, you won't understand why ibadah and worshiping the deity who created you is so important.

Allah's Right to Give Instructions

Allah speaks about what gives him the right to dish out instructions. It's a question people ask. How come the Quran just says, you should do this and that? Why does the Almighty think that He has the right to decide what should happen? So Allah answers that.

Behold! For Him is the creation. It belongs to Him. He created. The minute you create, you have the right to dictate. Allahu Akbar. Al-Amr is the ownership of Al-Khaliq.

You need to remember that. The instruction belongs to the one who made, the one who created. So, I know that I am created by a supreme deity. We call Him Allah. He calls Himself Allah. He is alone. His names and qualities none share. And to be honest, He is unique. He is irresistible. He is the one and only. He made us. He nourishes. He cherishes. He provides. He will protect. And He does protect. In His hands lies the control of entire creation. The smallest ant and those creatures smaller than the ants. The little atoms that are in the atmosphere in the control of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The droplets of water. H2O in the control of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Surely, if He made this and we are going to return to the one who made us, He has the right to tell us what we should be doing. Al-amr is in the hands of Allah. Behold, for Him is the creating and for Him is the instruction. They belong to Him. Subhanallah. The creation belongs to Allah. The instruction belongs to Allah. Tabarakallah. Rabbul Alameen. All praise, glory be to Allah. The one who is the Lord of the worlds. May Allah grant us an understanding.

Divine Wisdom in Allah's Instructions

So my beloved brothers and sisters, Allah in His divine wisdom has instructed us to engage in acts of worship. He's instructed us what to do and what not to do. And He says, if you do these things, not only will it be for you a reward, but if you abstain from prohibition, it will also be a reward. And not only is it all about reward, but I guarantee you that you will benefit in your life to begin with and then in the hereafter. So now when you understand that, you begin to realize why Allah placed rules and regulations.

Two days ago, someone spoke to me from Nigeria, telling me, you know my husband, he looks at other women. I said, well, does he lower his gaze? He said, no. She said, no, he doesn't. Well, then now you have a little problem because looking at a woman, lowering your gaze thereafter is an act of worship. Subhanallah. I don't mean the initial intentional look, but I mean if you see someone, mashallah, tabarakallah, don't keep that gaze going, going, going, subhanallah, and don't say, well, it's the first one, I

haven't yet, you know, I haven't dropped it, so the hadith said the first one is for you, the second one is against you. No, you drop it with respect.

Hadith on Believing in Allah and the Last Day

(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

If you believe in Allah and the last day, notice in the hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam says, "Whoever believes in Allah and the last day," what's the last day all about? Why is it so important to repeat here? Because if you don't believe in the reckoning and the last day, it's not going to bother you. You will do things as though there's nothing to come. But if you believe in Allah and the last day, the amount of comfort you get and peace and contentment you get by lowering your gaze for the sake of Allah is unmatched. Wallahi. It's unmatched.

The same applies when you are angry and you want to explode in anger.

Quranic Verse on Those Who Control Anger

And those who extinguish their anger, those who suppress that anger, and those who forgive people, indeed Allah loves those who do good. Subhanallah. Amazing verse.

In fact, it's so amazing because when you forgive people for the sake of Allah, what you feel in you is amazing. Allah says, You want forgiveness? Learn to forgive. You have forgiven? I will forgive you. Etc. So many different ahadith. But when you are angry and you extinguish or suppress the anger for the sake of Allah, the inner comfort you feel is absolutely amazing.

However, outwardly also, and urgently or more importantly immediately, you will begin to feel good in your health as well. So look at how the instruction of Allah came to help you with your akhira, to help you with your contentment, the inner person that you are, and to help you with your health as well, and to help society and community as well. This is Allah. This is Allah's instruction.

And this is why, when you do good to someone, remember Allah said in the verse I just read :

Allah loves those who do good. So, I do good because Allah loves those who do good. I don't do good because it's a tit for tat thing. You do good, I do good. You do good because I think you deserve the good that I'm about to do. If that's the case, what reward do you want from Allah? When Allah says, You do good because I love those who do good. Then I will do good to those even whom I think do not deserve that goodness. But I'm doing it for Allah.

That's why the hadith teaches us, when you want to do good to someone, firstly correct your intention. Make sure it's for the sake of Allah. Make sure it's for Allah. Once you have that link with Allah, you are smiling. A person swears you, a person mocks at you, they call you names, they call you whatever they want. It's okay. We will still be good to them.

The Prophet's Example in Ta'if

Look at the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. When they threw stones at him, when they chased him in Ta'if, he still made a dua to Allah:

Dua of the Prophet in Ta'if: O Allah, guide my people. They don't know what they are doing. They don't know what they are doing.

But with us, someone just has to look at you and shake their head a little bit. And you say, O Allah, O Allah, destroy this person. O Allah, break them. O Allah. Why? Where is the ihsan? Where is the goodness? It boils down to belief in Allah and the last day. You believe in Allah and the last day, you begin to enjoy doing what Allah told you to do.

Quranic Verse on True Believers' Submission

Surah Al-Ahzab, Allah says, It is not for a believing male or female to think that they have a choice regarding a matter when Allah or His messenger has decided it. They wouldn't do that.

True believers would never question what Allah has instructed. They would believe that by me fulfilling the instruction of Allah, I am actually not only gaining closeness to Allah and the reward and elevation and the forgiveness of sin, but I'm helping myself in my contentment, my health, my body, physically, outwardly, and I'm contributing to the purity and the standard of society and living going up by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's a package.

The Messenger Sent as a Guide

And for this reason, the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam was sent to us. That's why he was sent to us. Because Allah loves us. Allah loves us so much that He sent a guide for us from amongst us.

Allah has definitely favoured the believers. With what? When He sent among them a messenger to tell them how He wants to be worshipped, to show them what should be done, what should not be done, to show them what's good for them and what's not.

Hadith on the Prophet's Complete Guidance

(Hadith Reference - Sahih Muslim)

The sahaba radhiallahu anhum say, "There is not a single good thing that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam has forgotten to guide us to, and not a single bad thing that he has forgotten to warn us about." So much so that he taught us how to cleanse ourselves after relieving ourselves.

Lessons from the Prophet's Night Routine

That introduction is extremely important because to know about the night and dua and tahajjud and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the ibadah that he engaged in and taught us, it would be valueless if there's no iman in you. People will say, oh wow, yeah, he was a prophet of Allah, this is what he did, so what? No. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us to do things, they were for a reason.

After Salatul Isha, if you do not have anything constructive to do, go to bed. Early to bed, early to rise. Those sayings we've heard. Islam has taught them to us way back in a way that if you were to do it with the correct intention, you earn a reward. You earn a reward. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam not only taught that to us, he actually practiced upon it.

After Salatul Isha, he used to love to recline quite early. And then he would get up early as well, subhanallah. Look at it. Why recline? Many reasons. If you don't have anything constructive to do, recline. Look, I want to tell you, many of you are married here, mashallah. For those who are not married, let's hear a loud ameen. May Allah bless you with the best of spouses. Mashallah.

The Blessing of Intimacy in Marriage

But remember my beloved brothers and sisters, when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was intimate with his spouse, it was an ibadah. He told us:

(Hadith on Intimacy as Worship - Sahih Muslim)

It's wrong to speak about the night of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam without learning a lesson. Many people complain, I've been married, and you know, we haven't been intimate for a month. Wallahi, someone told me, eight years, I haven't been intimate. Allahu Akbar. Are you sure? It's not eight days.

You're married, for what? Where is the man going? What is he doing? May Allah forgive us. Why do you hold someone if you don't want to be intimate with them? Do it, for the sake of Allah, for your own sake. Subhanallah, Allah has kept pleasure in it such that, we're engaging in an act of worship, and people won't even consider it an act of worship.

So the Sahaba radhiallahu anhum were surprised. They said, Ya Rasulullah, you know, you're just saying, fi budu'i ahadikum sadaqa, means to fulfill your sexual desires with your spouse. It's a charity. It's an act of worship. Is that it? He says, yes, it is. Do you see, if you were to fulfill that desire in haram, would it be sinful? So the Sahaba radhiallahu anhum said, yes, it would be definitely sinful. Well, then if you do it in halal, it is an act of worship. It is a sadaqa. Subhanallah.

Modern Technology vs Spiritual Connection

You know, subhanallah, so many things come to my mind right now. When you look at Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, his life is so beautiful. Every aspect of our lives is covered by the life of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. That's why Allah says:

Indeed, for you, there is a beautiful example to be followed in that of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. His life, his ways, his mannerisms, everything to be followed. But for who? Who is going to follow it? And who will be affected by it? You know what?

Whoever believes in Allah, whoever is looking forward to the meeting with Allah, and whoever is looking forward to the hereafter, to the last day, to the day of judgment, goes back to what I said at the beginning اليوم الآخر important. Without that, you're not going to sort your WhatsApp problem out.

The Value of Night Prayer

We will show them our signs. In the horizons and within themselves. And within themselves until they are convinced that the Quran is the truth. That the instruction of Allah is the truth. That the deen, the religion is the truth. The instructions are beautiful.

Hadith on Isha and Fajr Prayers

When the hadith says, you read salatul isha with jama'ah, you read salatul fajr with jama'ah, you will have a reward of a person who has stood in worship all night that night. Is it difficult? But the answer is no. It depends on your belief in Allah and the last day.

The Value of Sunnah Prayers

The two units of sunnah, of salatul fajr, are better than the whole world and whatever it contains. Allahu Akbar. The whole world and whatever it contains. There are two units of prayer at a certain time that the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wa sallam says in a sahih narration, that these are better for you than the whole world and what it contains.

The Currency of the Hereafter

What you have with yourself is going to go. It's going to be completely depleted. But what you have deposited with Allah shall remain forever. You're going to see it. So, this is why we say, do your salatul isha with jama'ah.

The Time of Tahaj