It s Not What You Say, It s What You Do!

It's Not What You Say, It's What You Do!

Imam Siraj Wahhaj

Opening: The Adhan and the Message of Brotherhood

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to Prayer. Come to Prayer. Come to success. Come to success. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And that is the message of the Brotherhood of Islam.

The Northside Learning Center: A Beacon of Hope for Refugees

I am here today because I was blessed to fly to Syracuse, New York, and to witness a community that started a project called the Learning Center, the Northside Learning Center. And these Muslims in Syracuse have got a school specifically for refugees. You may not know this, that around the world there are over 10 million refugees that's been forced out of their country. And they go from country to country because they cannot live in peace and security in their own land. They're called refugees. And did you know that 73% of the refugees in the world are Muslims? So everywhere you look on this planet you see Muslim refugees from Syria, from Palestine, from Somalia, from Sudan, from Afghanistan, from Iraq. Everywhere you look and you see these refugees.

The Call to Action: Supporting the Syracuse Project

The question is what can we do? This masjid, Dar Hijrah, is known around the country as a very generous masjid. You could become tired because so many people come here. On the one hand, but on the other hand, you ought to be honored that so many people come here because you have a history of giving. So today I want to take just a few moments to see if we can help them in their project in Syracuse. I just left Syracuse, I was there two weeks ago. Alhamdulillah, these Muslims are buying some property, a huge church, a school and a house. And they need about $100,000 and wherever we have to go to do it, inshallah, we will do it.

A Personal Encounter: The Crisis of Faith Without Practice

But let me first say this. I got a visit recently in my office from a young Muslim sister that I've known since she was a little girl. Now she's a little bit older, she's about 21 years old. She came into my masjid, she wasn't wearing hijab. And I said, what are you doing here? She said, Imam, I just wanted to see you, I haven't seen you in years. I just want to see you, I just want to give you the greetings. And we spoke for a while, and before she

left I asked her this question: What about your Islam? Because we have a mandate as Muslims to help one another in the deen. So I asked, what about your Islam? She said, Imam, I want to be honest with you, I don't make salat. And I don't fast in Ramadan, I want to be honest with you. But, she said, Imam, I believe.

The Quranic Response: Faith Must Be Accompanied by Action

So I wanted to take a moment here to address this issue that she said, I believe, and she's not unlike so many Muslims that I've heard again and again and again say, I don't make salat, but I believe. I don't pray, I don't fast in Ramadan, but I believe. I want to make a statement about this and then we're going to conclude. A long time ago, some people made a statement to the messenger of Allah, and the statement that they made to the messenger of Allah reached Allah. So Allah responded to his messenger based on what these people said a long time ago. And not only did Allah respond to it, he put it in the Quran so that until Yawm al-Qiyamah, we read the same verse based upon a statement that was made 1400 years ago. Let's see what they said and let us see the response of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

"The desert Arabs say, we believe. Say, O Muhammad, you do not really believe. Say, you have submitted, but faith has not entered into your heart." (Quran 49:14)

We make Iman something cheap and Iman is something great. Iman is better than Islam. It's a high degree of faith than merely being a Muslim. And the way our people talk, like to be a Muslim, to make Salat and give Zakat is something inferior when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is making Iman superior.

"A true believer, those who believe in Allah and his messenger and then have not since doubted, and they strive with their lives and their properties in the way of Allah. These are the truthful." (Quran 49:15)

The Contradiction of Being a Non-Practicing Muslim

How many times have you heard said that I am a non-practicing Muslim? I'm a Muslim but I don't practice. So many of our young children are saying, I'm a Muslim but I don't practice. And really to say that you are a non-practicing Muslim is an oxymoron. It is impossible to be a non-practicing Muslim because a Muslim by definition practices the faith.

The Purpose of Creation: Worship Through Action

So brothers and sisters, I want us to think for a moment. Listen to what she said, Imam, I am a non-practicing Muslim. But listen to what Allah says in Quran:

"I have not created the jinn and the human beings except to worship me." (Quran 51:56)

How do you worship Allah? We worship Allah by making Salat. We worship Allah by making pilgrimage to Mecca. The question is, what do we do? Faith is not some nebulous kind of, you know, I am a believer. Some nebulous, some insignificant something, but really faith is something deeper than that. The greatest issue is to do the good work and then really believe.

The Example of True Submission: The Bosnian Pilgrim

Let me give an example of a person who submitted their will to do the will of Allah. Last year you heard about this man, a Muslim from Bosnia who walked from Bosnia to Mecca, 3600 miles to make hajj. All he had was 200 Euro dollars but he wanted to go for hajj. And he walked through 6 countries including Syria. Why?

Because he knew that the messenger of Allah said:

"And a hajj that is accepted by Allah, the reward is nothing but Al-Jannah." (Sahih Bukhari 1773, Sahih Muslim 1349)

How do you tell me that you are Muslim and you don't even do the basic? This ayat from Quran, at least the desert Arabs would at least, they submitted their will. They at least made Salat. But how do you not make Salat five times a day? How dare you say, well I'm a Muslim but I ain't going to do five prayers a day. I'm going to skip hajj, hajj is too difficult for me. No, you slave of Allah, so the question is what are you doing? What are you doing with your Islam? Not what are you saying, what are you doing with your Islam?

The Man Who Did Little But Gained Much

The closest example that I have of a person who didn't do much is a man who came to the Prophet and said, Ya Rasulullah, the Prophet was fighting. He said, Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, should I fight or should I become a Muslim? Qala Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, aslim thum qatil, fa aslima wa qatala fa qutila. Wa qala Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, amila qaleelan wa ujra kafeeran.

(Sahih Bukhari 2808, Sahih Muslim 1900)

What should I do? Should I fight? Should I fight with you? Against these people fighting against, should I fight or should I become a Muslim? Become a Muslim first and then fight. So the man became a Muslim, he fought and he was slain. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, he did little work but got big reward. (Sahih Bukhari 2808, Sahih Muslim 1900) But at least he did something. The question is, what are we doing? Not what we're talking about, not what we're rapping about, but what are we doing?

The Best Muslims in America: A Community of Givers

Wa alhamdulillah wa rabbil alameen, wa alhamdulillah wa rabbil alameen, la ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika

lah. Brothers and sisters, I believe that this community here are some of the best Muslims in America, I do. And you've given year after year, you've given to masjid, you've given to relief, and I don't want you to ever stop giving.

The Lesson from Flint, Michigan: Serving Others

I was in Flint, Michigan, and I remember what Martin Luther King Jr. said, he said, life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others? So I was in Flint, Michigan. Flint, Michigan is one of the poorest cities in America, but one of the great irony is that some of the richest Muslims live in Flint, Michigan. And I was with my good friend Dr. Jawad Shah just two weeks ago, and I must admit that they're doing some tremendous work for the people of Flint, Michigan. Dr. Jawad Shah had some property, and a big businessman came into Flint, Michigan, and they were thinking about bringing their business to Flint, Michigan, and he wanted the property that Dr. Jawad Shah had. Dr. Jawad told me he gave him the property. And when the people said, why did you do that? He said it would benefit the people of Flint, Michigan. So the question is, what are we doing for other people?

The Refugee Children of Syracuse: The Most Vulnerable

I close with this. I wish that you can go with me to Syracuse, less than 300 miles from here, and I wish you can see those 100 refugee children. Think about this. These are refugee children who are coming to America. You don't know this, but many of them who come to America, they lose their deen. But these brothers in the Northside Learning Center, even non-Muslim refugees come there, and their faith is increased because of what they get there in that Northside Learning Center. It's tremendous.

The Reward for Mercy: The Dog and the Cat

Think about Allah, I close with this. Think about Allah. Hear Allah according to tradition. One tradition says a man, another one says a prostitute, Allah forgave that person their sins because they gave water to a dog. Not a human being, but gave water to a dog, and Allah forgave that person for their sins because of what they did, what did they do? They gave water to a dog. (Sahih Bukhari 3467, Sahih Muslim 2245) In another tradition, Allah punished a woman in the hellfire because of what she did to a cat. Allah forgave a person because gave water to a dog. Punished a person because that person mistreated a cat. (Sahih Bukhari 3318, Sahih Muslim 2242)

More Than Dogs and Cats: Helping Refugee Children

I'm not asking you today for money for a dog or to do some good for a cat. What about a human being? If you look at a muhajir, a person that migrated, I'm not saying that we're just giving money for those who migrated. I'm saying something more profound than that. They're not migrating, they're refugees. These are people that are in danger in their own country. So they come to America seeking refuge, and we the Muslims are good at

helping other people. Not helping a dog or a cat, not just a refugee, an immigrant, but a refugee. But not just a refugee, a refugee child. The most vulnerable.

The Brotherhood Between Muhajireen and Ansar

So I'm asking you that when I leave to remember this. I close with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in Al-Bukhari.

He said the Prophet made a bond of brotherhood between the muhajireen and the ansar, and they put them together with these immigrants who were forced out of Mecca, and he put them together, and they helped one another. (Sahih Bukhari 3780) I'm asking you today to help this Northside Learning Center in Syracuse with your donations. The Muslim is a brother to a Muslim, and verily the believers are brothers.

Closing Dua: A Prayer for the Ummah

We ask Allah to help us and tie our hearts together. We ask Allah the Almighty to help the immigrants around the world. We ask Allah the Almighty to help the Muslims who are suffering in Syria. Help the Muslims in Palestine. Help the Muslims in Iraq. Help the Muslims in Somalia. Help the Muslims all over the globe. May Allah forgive us, forgive us, have mercy on us, and you are our master, so help us against the disbelievers. May Allah grant us a good life in this world and in the hereafter. May Allah protect us with your mercy, O merciful.

Salam, Salam.