The Losers on the Day of Judgement
By Siraj Wahhaj | 2026-01-16T09:25:37.151772+00:00 | Topic: Iman
The Losers on the Day of Judgement
Imam Siraj Wahaj - EIC Jummah Khutbah - 4th March 2022
Opening Takbir and Testimony
(الله أكبر، الله أكبر - Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar) - Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest(.
Our brothers and sisters, we praise Allah the Almighty. We bear witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allah. And we bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is Allah's Messenger and His Servant, Seal of the Prophets.
Seeking Beneficial Knowledge
Our brothers and sisters, before I begin my khutbah, I want to begin with making a dua, a supplication.
(اللهم إني أعوذ بك من علم لا ينفع - Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min 'ilmin la yanfa') - O Allah, I seek refuge with You from knowledge that does not benefit).
If we're going to be here 10 minutes, 10 hours, if we're going to talk, it has to be beneficial. So make dua to Allah the Almighty that this will be beneficial for us. This khutbah may be a little bit different than the way you're accustomed to, but it's okay. I'm letting you know that it's okay. You have scholars here to make sure that that is okay.
The Most Important Knowledge
When I was in the third grade, about eight years old, I learned a song that I never forgot. And I imagine you want me to sing it for you now. It's not going to happen. But the song was something like this: Getting to know you, getting to know all about you, getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.
Someone once said that the most important knowledge that you can ever have is the knowledge of yourself. While I agree that the knowledge of self is important, but the most important knowledge you can ever have is the knowledge of Allah. So what I like to do today is two things. Number one, the most important, the knowledge of Allah. And then number two, something about ourselves, the knowledge of ourselves.
Understanding Allah's Attributes
I just want, just as we begin, I want you to think about this ayah from the Quran. Allah, He mentions:
(I'lamu anna Allaha shadīdu al-'iqābi wa anna Allaha Ghafūrun Rahīm - Know that Allah is severe in punishment and that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful)
You better know, you better know, you have to know this, that Allah is strong in punishment. Don't you ever forget that. On the one hand, He's strong in punishment. On the other hand, He's forgiven and merciful.
Alhamdulillah. Both of them you have to know.
The Purpose of Our Creation
Who are we? Who are we? Johnny come lately. Allah mentions:
(Wa ma khalaqtu al-jinna wal-insa illā liya'budūn - I have only created the jinn and mankind to worship Me)
Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are? Johnny come lately. Everything was here by the time man was created by Allah. Everything was here. The angels, the jinn, the earth, the animals, everything was here. And who was the last one? Johnny come lately. Human beings, who you think you are, but you're special.
The Fundamentals of Islam
A man who came to the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, he wanted to learn about Islam. And the Prophet, he said, five prayers a day. He said, Is there anything more? Anything more than five prayers? No, except what is extra. You have to do the five. Do you have to do tahajjud? It'd be good. But is it mandatory? No. You do the sunnah, it's good, but you must do it? No.
And then the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, fasting a month of Ramadan. Now maybe we're in Sha'ban, another month to go. We're thinking about Ramadan. You have to fast Ramadan. Is there anything more than the fast of Ramadan? No. Maybe you'll fast in Sha'ban. Maybe some of you six days in Shawwal. Maybe some of you fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Must you? No. But shahr Ramadan, you have to do that.
And then the Prophet, peace be upon him, said zakat. Anything more than that? Zakat? No, except what is extra. You have to do. You have to pay zakat. Want to give more? Good.
So the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said, the man turned around and walked away. And as he was walking away, he said, Wallahi, I swear by Allah, I will neither increase nor decrease. It's that. I ain't doing extra. I'm just doing that. I'm just doing the fara'id. I'm not doing extra. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, he will be successful if he's telling the truth. (Sahih al-Bukhari 46, Sahih Muslim 11)
Our Duty to Worship
So what we have here? We have a duty, a responsibility. Who you think you are, you won't wake up at dawn to pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I'm amazed when I find out that Muslims who don't pray. How you not pray? Allah gave you everything. How you not pray? How your children not pray? You a mother and father, your children, you wake them up to go to school. You wake up people to go to job, but you won't wake them up to make fajr. No. You get up. You get up because Allah created you. He gave you the food. He gave you the job.
He gave you the money. He gave you the wife. He gave you the children. He gave you everything and you don't worship him.
(Wama khalaqtu al-jinna wal-insa illā liya'budūn - I have only created the jinn and mankind to worship Me)
The Madness of Mankind
Sir Isaac Newton said that I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not of the madness of man. Now you look at human beings. Look what they've done. This great creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Look what they have done. They make war. They kill people. All of that.
So brothers and sisters, alhamdulillah, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless us to do the very minimum and the very minimum is to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The Importance of Hadith Collections
Now brothers and sisters, what I wanted to do today is focus on a hadith that I want you to look up today when you leave here. Volume number one, Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman. It's a very important hadith. I pray that all of you would have the all of the hadith of Imam Bukhari. How you be a Muslim and don't have a Muslim hadith, Muslim hadith. If I were you, if I didn't have any hadith, I will go today and take the money that Allah bless you with and buy a hadith of Imam Bukhari.
This man, subhanallah, he collected so many hadith. I, you know, amazingly memorized so many hadith going around the world. What did the prophet say? And Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Abu Dawud, Imam Ibn Majah, all of these people, they collected hadith. We should at least read them and follow them. It's sahih.
Worship That Is Pending
So today I'm going to focus on one thing. I think maybe, maybe every one of you will fast. It's not my khutbah today, but I'm going to do something with that. Maybe all of you, you pray every day, all day long, all night long. Maybe you do that. Maybe you pay zakat. Maybe you give sadaqa. But I want to focus on one thing today. I want to let you know that all of the ibadah that we do, is pending. What do you mean pending? It's not there yet. And I'm going to tell you what I mean in a few moments.
Conversations Between Paradise and Hellfire
If you studied the Quran and the sunnah, you will find out that every once in a while the people in jannah will be able to see and speak to the people of the hellfire. And the people of hellfire will be able to speak to the people in jannah. I'll give you one example from the Quran. The people in jannah are looking down at the people of hellfire and ask:
(-Ma salakakum fi Saqar * Qalu lam naku mina al- - What has caused you to enter Hell? They will say: We were not of those who prayed, nor did we feed the poor)
Are you serious? So why are they in the hellfire? Allah said:
(Wa ma khalaqtu al-jinna wal-insa illā liya'budūn - I have only created the jinn and mankind to worship Me)
How do we worship? The Prophet said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 631)
(Sallu kamā ra'aytumūnī usallī - Pray as you see me pray)
And you want to make sure that you do it right. So number one is a conversation. So we learn. I didn't feed the poor. We know now why you're there.
The Central Hadith: Brothers in Hellfire
And then I want to, the essence of my khutbah is a hadith I'm going to give you now. I'm giving this khutbah because of this hadith. We have relationship with one another. We know each other. And I want you to go to Sahih Muslim, volume number one, Kitab al-Iman. And I want you to look at this hadith.
The people in jannah will see the people in the hellfire and listen to what they say. Oh Allah, these are our brothers. They used to pray with us. They fasted with us. They made hajj with us. They're crying because they can't understand. Why are they? I know these folks. We used to go to the masjid together. We made hajj together. We made umrah together. We used to fast together. And they're in the hellfire.
So you, a thinking person, should ask yourself the question, how they're able to see them if not the will of Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
Lessons from Scholarship
In 1978, I was blessed to go to Mecca and study at Umm al-Qura. One of my teachers, Sheikh Hussain Hamid Hassan, Hafizahullah, a teacher, a scholar. And he taught us the meaning of scholarship. He didn't make us scholars, but he taught us the meaning of scholarship.
For instance, we asked him a question and this was his typical answer. He says, you know, about your question, we have three opinions. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, this is his opinion and this is the evidence that he used. Imam Malik has a different opinion. This is his opinion and this is the evidence that he used. Imam Shafi, rahimahullah, had a third opinion. This is his opinion and this is the evidence he used. I think so-and-so is the right opinion. This is what he said and this is what he said. I believe and this is why.
Now, two of my sheikhs were Egyptian. Sheikh Hussain and also Muhammad Qutub. You know Muhammad Qutub, the brother of Sayyid Qutub. He wrote the book called Islam, the Misunderstood Religion. And so he taught us da'wah. And a sheikh from Sudan, Ja'far Sheikh Idris, he taught us aqidah, alhamdulillah.
A Story About Hidden Actions
Now, if you know anything about the Egyptians, Egyptians are famous for their humor. Every Egyptian I know, even my sheikh. So one day he taught us a story. He says that there was a very pious young man. Everybody knew him in the village. Always praying, he's always fasting, all of these things. And one day this young boy, young man, was praying in the masjid. And there were people close to him saying, oh mashallah, look how pious he is. Look how this and this and this, right? And the young man, while he's praying and he's listening to them, he turns around and said, I'm also fasting.
It's not a hadith, it's a story. And what he was doing is he was making a point that really, how do you know someone is fasting? How do you know? You don't know. They may look like they're fasting, but you don't know. Maybe they're not eating, but they ain't fasting. Only Allah knows.
Why Muslims End Up in Hellfire
So I'm asking myself the question that when these Muslims see their brothers in the hellfire and they are seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you know, beseeching Allah, our brothers. Now I want to speculate why they're in the hellfire. One young man told me, maybe they left Islam. Maybe they used to pray with us. You know people who used to practice, they don't practice no more. Probably every one of you know someone used to come to the masjid, sister used to wear khimar, and now they don't do that anymore.
A Story from the Airport
I was in the airport a few years ago, Washington DC, Reagan airport, and I was at one of the airlines sitting down during the month of Ramadan, and I was reading the Quran, US Airways. So a man came next to me and stood, and he said, I was reading the Quran, he said, is that the Quran? I said, yes. He said, I used to read the Quran, and then he said, is this the month of Ramadan? I said, yes. He said, are you fasting? I said, yes. He said, I used to fast, and then he said, I used to be a Muslim.
So I closed my Quran, and I started talking to him saying, you know, he needs someone to talk to, and we spoke for a long time, and then they announced that such and such flight is now boarding, that's my flight. So I get up and say, you know, that's my flight, it's boarding now. He says, I work in this airport, and that plane can't go until I tell it to go sit down. I said, yes sir, and I sat down. Why did I sit down? Because I felt that he needed something, maybe I could say something to bring him back.
The Brotherhood That Transcends This Life
Why are those Muslims in the hellfire? Maybe maybe they left Islam. And so what I like to do is give you some
The Prophetic Teaching Method
So, our teacher Muhammad, alayhi salatu wasalam, Rasulullah, a master teacher. Let me show you one of his techniques. He would take something that you know, you're familiar with, and then give it a different meaning. I give you, which is the essence of my talk, is what I'm going to give you right now. This is the reason I came here today to give you this.
The True Meaning of Bankruptcy (Al-Muflis)
He said to his companions:
(أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْمُفْلِسُ - Atadrūna mā al-muflis - Do you know who the bankrupt person is?)
If you look the word muflis in an Arabic dictionary, it will say a poor person, a pauper. But I think the best definition, in my opinion, not Arab, my opinion, is a bankrupt person. Because a bankrupt person gives the thinking that they used to be rich and became poor, a muflis, a person who used to be rich. They're poor, but they used to be rich.
He said a muflis said, they said:
(الْمُفْلِسُ فِيْنَا مَنْ لَا دِرْهَمَ لَهُ وَلَا مَتَاعَ - Al-muflisu fīnā man lā dirhama lahu wa lā matā' - The bankrupt among us is the one who has no money and no possessions).
They have no money, they have no wealth, they have nothing. This is the muflis. This is the regular definition, but this is the Rasulullah, he's got a different definition.
He said a muflis, my ummah, are those:
(Sahih Muslim 2581)
(إِنَّ الْمُفْلِسَ مِنْ أُمَّتِي مَنْ يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِصَلَاةٍ وَصِيَامٍ وَزَكَاةٍ - Inna al-muflisa min ummatī man ya'tī yawma al-qiyāmati bi salātin wa siyāmin wa zakātin - The real bankrupt person of my Ummah is he who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayer, fasting, and zakat)
And my ummah, they will be those who come with salat. They make their salat five times a day, maybe even, you know, they make extra salat, tahajjud and sunnahs. So they come yawm al-qiyamah, they have their salat, wa siyam, they fasted. They fasted even in Sha'ban, they fasted in Shawwal, they fasted in Ramadan, they have
salat, fasting. Maybe even some of them, the fast of Dawud alayhi salatu wasalam, they fasted every other day. So they got that, got their salat, they got their siyam, and they got their zakat. They're good. Why didn't they have fire?
The Sins That Destroy Good Deeds
And this is the answer that the Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam said:
(وَشَتَمَ هَذَا - wa shatama hādhā - and insulted this one)
Shatama in the Arabic language means to insult. You insult somebody. You're not supposed to insult anybody. The word sabba in Arabic, same thing. The Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 3673, Sahih Muslim 2540)
(لَا تَسُبُّوا أَصْحَابِي - La tasubbū ashābī - Do not insult my companions)
So we as Muslims, you got to be careful, don't insult people. You're going to see, it's going to cause you.
(وَشَتَمَ هَذَا، وَقَذَفَ هَذَا - washatamahādhā, wa qadhafa hādhā - and insulted this one, and slandered that one)
This is the one, you got to be careful about your tongue. Qadhafa hādhā means that you, you know, told a lie against somebody. Backbite, slander, right.
(وَأَكَلَ مَالَ هَذَا - wa akala māla hādhā - and consumed the wealth of this one)
And stole the wealth of this person. Stealing is a big thing.
(وَسَفَكَ دَمَ هَذَا - wa safaka dama hādhā - and shed the blood of that one)
And they shed the blood of that person.
(وَضَرَبَ هَذَا - wa daraba hādhā - and beat this one)
And they beat that person.
The Exchange of Deeds on the Day of Judgment
Listen carefully, because this is the essence of my khutbah:
(فَيُعْطَى هَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ - fa-yu'tā hādhā min hasanātihī wa hādhā min hasanātihī - So his good deeds will be given to this one and that one)
Allah will take their good deeds. The one who did all of this, and that person that they slandered, Allah will take your good deeds from you, and give it to that person. The person you stole the money for, you love money so much, you steal for it, you rob, you kill for it. You stole somebody's money, you got to pay that back. You got away with it fi dunya, but you will not get away with it in al-akhirah.
Allah will take your good deeds, and put it on that person, and shed the blood of that person.
A Reflection on Taking Life
Wallahi, a few years ago, I'm in my driveway in Brooklyn, New York, and there's a rat in my driveway. I don't know if you have rats in UK and Manchester. See, in New York, not only do we have rats, but we have super rats. No, I'm serious. You see the rats running down the streets with a Kentucky Fried Chicken in their mouth. No, no, I'm not trying to be funny, I'm serious. You know, most rats, you go like that, oh, and they run. We go like that, New York, oh, they say, what? No, come on, stop it.
So, I'm saying, I killed a rat in my driveway. Wallahi, for three or four months, I'm feeling guilty. I can't even imagine killing a human being. I can't.
The Final Outcome for Al-Muflis
Shed the blood of that person, and beat that person up. Allah will take all of your deeds, and give it to that person:
(Sahih Muslim 2581)
(فَإِنْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْضَى مَا عَلَيْهِ أُخِذَ مِنْ خَطَايَاهُمْ فَطُرِحَتْ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ طُرِحَ فِي النَّارِ - fa-in faniyat hasanatuhu qabla an yuqda mā 'alayhi ukhidha min khatāyāhum fa-turihat 'alayhi thumma turiha fī al-nār - And if his good deeds run out before the dues are paid, their sins will be taken and cast upon him, then he will be thrown into the Fire)
Until you ran out of good deeds, and then Allah will take their deeds, and put it on you, and throw you in the hellfire. It's a muflis.
Guarding Our Worship
I'm saying to you today, it's not just good enough to make your fast in Ramadan. Now, you gotta guard it. Our Ibadah, our worship is like a person with a bag of gold, and there's a hole in the bag, and as you're walking with the bag of gold, all of the gold is going out of the bag. Until you have nothing left, and so maybe that's why they're in the hellfire, even though they did that.
What Allah Will Say
So, I'm asking myself the question, okay, I'm reading the hadith, and I'm speculating what Allah is going to say to these Muslims, who are speaking on behalf of their brothers. Rabbana ikhwanuna, they are our brothers. So, I'm thinking Allah will say, well, you don't know what they did. You don't know what they did. Let me tell you what they did. You know what Allah will say? Go down there, and take out of the hellfire, all that you recognize.
Protecting Our Deeds
So, I'm saying to you, my dear brothers and sisters, on this day, maybe the first of Sha'ban, some people say it's the last of, it's the last of, you know, yes. So, now, we want to make sure that all of our Ibadah, those you made hajj, there's no reward except Jannah, but you want to make sure that you guard your hajj, the Siyam, Salat, Zakat, guard it.
A Prayer for Ramadan and Beyond
So, inshallah, I pray that all of you and your families can meet Ramadan, and to fast on the month of Ramadan, and I pray Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that you keep it, that you'll be able to see on Yawm al-Qiyamah, the results of your fruit, of your Ibadah to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Our Responsibility Toward Others
And finally, I pray that you will help your family, especially your children. We have a tremendous responsibility of protecting our children from this dunya, many of them are leaving the fold of Islam. So, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless you and your family together, your children together, and not only that, your neighbors, those of your neighbors, some of you don't even know your neighbors. And our religion, we, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, make us to be kind to our neighbors. What's kinder than offering them Islam, and the people of Great Britain.
The Message of Dawah
Our responsibility is not to judge them, our responsibility is to invite them, invite them to the deen of Islam. There's a difference between you and I, most of you were born as Muslims, your parents were Muslims, my parents weren't Muslim.
A Personal Story of Conversion
I was seven years old, the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, told us:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 1358, Sahih Muslim 2658)
(كُلُّ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ - Kullu mawlūdin yūladu 'alā al-fitrati fa-abawāhu yuhawwidānihi aw yunassirānihi aw yumajjisānihi - Every child is born upon the fitrah, and his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian)
That everyone is born by nature a Muslim, and their parents make them other than that. I was a Christian because my parents were Christian, I was a Baptist. So, Sunday morning in the Marcy Project, seven o'clock, early in the morning, I was seven years old, I was getting dressed to go to church, and I said to my mother, why we got to go to church anyway? My mother took her belt out, and she said, now you understand why you gotta go to church? I said, yes ma'am, but I didn't, and I was a Christian, and I went to church.
Closing Message
Three weeks ago, I went to visit my mother, my lovely mother, intelligent, 89 years old. Gave her shahadah, best day of my life. She beat me at seven, I gave her shahadah, 89 years old.
So, I'm saying, take this message, it's up to the people, up to Allah whether they accept or not, but take this message, please, please protect your ibadah.