Danger of Ritual

The Danger of Ritual

Allah's Mercy and the Call to Transformation

Allah says:

"Allah will never burden someone with something they can't handle." And then these beautiful narrations, where the Prophet ﷺ encouraging us to constantly return to the raw material of Islam and use it for constant transformation, constant improvement, constantly getting rid of some of the bad qualities that I have in constantly trying to draw near to Allah. SubhanAllah ta'ala, if you could scoot forward, inshaAllah.

The Promise of Excellence in Faith

And this is the narration related by Imam Muslim, where the Prophet ﷺ, he said, I promise, I'm the one who guarantees, bait a home in the highest level of paradise for the one (مَنْ أَحْسَنَ إِسْلَامَهُ - man ahsana islamahu) (Sahih Muslim 40). For the person, and he uses the form (أَحْسَنَ - ahsana) as Ibn Malik says, (يَحُوزُ مِنَ اللُّغَةِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَسُهُولَةً فَالْفِعْلُ مَنْ يُحْكِمُ تَصَرُّفَهُ وَبَعْضُ - yahuzu min al-lughati al-abwaba wa suhulatan fal-fi'lu man yuhkimu tasarrufahu wa ba'du) - You know, the forms of word the (أسرار - asrar) of the (لغة - lugha) the beauty and mystery of the language. So the Prophet ﷺ said (أَحْسَنَ إِسْلَامَهُ - ahsana islamahu) which means that someone is actively trying to better their (إسلام - islam) another narration, and he's not talking about converts here.

There are other narrations for converts that say (حَسُنَ إِسْلَامُهُ - hasuna islamuhu) because that's from the beginning. But he's talking about someone that's been Muslim for a while. They got grandfather-claused in. And he uses the form (حَسَنَ - hasana) a (فَعَلَ - fa'ala) and (أَحْسَنَ - ahsana) which implies the person has taken responsibility and they've made his or her faith the object of improvement. Beautiful narrations also found in Imam Muslim's text is that whoever, male or female, improves his or her Islam (كُلُّ حَسَنَةٍ - kullu hasanatin) - every good deed that he or she will do from that point on will be magnified by Allah (إِلَى السَّبْعِمِائَةِ ضِعْفٍ - ila as-sab'i mi'ati di'fin) (Sahih Muslim 193), meaning infinite in the reward and the blessings of Allah. So we should be very careful of allowing Islam simply be reduced to ritual or culture. And when we look at the Qur'an we see faith as painted by Allah (جل جلاله - jalla jalaluhu) is painted by Allah (جل جلاله - jalla jalaluhu) as a transformative experience.

Faith as Transformation

Faith is transformative. Allah (جل جلاله - jalla jalaluhu) early on when the companions of the Prophet ﷺ had accepted faith, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud he mentions like we started to kind of take it easy, right? We started to chill. And then Allah said:

- Allah said it has not the time come for those who believe that their hearts surrender into submission and reverence.

The word (خشع - khasha'a) actually in ancient Arabic (خشوع - khushu') is for a willow tree that begins to wilt. It begins to bend over. Metaphorically it's the heart that bends to Allah. The heart that leans to God. It finds submissiveness and it finds like this sense of submission and reverence to Allah. (أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا - alam ya'ni lil-ladhina amanu) - Meaning (أَلَيْسَ عَقِبَ - alaysa 'aqiba) and it has not a time come that finally your heart can be impacted (لِذِكْرِ اللهِ - li dhikri Allahi) by the remembrance of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ - subhanahu wa ta'ala) and (وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ - wa la yakunu kal-ladhina utul-kitaba min qablu fatala 'alayhimul-amadu faqasat qulubuhum) (Quran 57:16) - They will not be like those who came before them

who, you know they experienced life (فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ - faqasat qulubuhum) - And their hearts became hard when my teacher said that they took their faith as ritual.

And they did it so long that it became like a habit and it built these constructions in their minds and their attitude towards faith was no longer one of a transformative raw material but one of just like yeah I gotta do it. And that's why (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ - subhanahu wa ta'ala) in the Qur'an you should and I should think about the verses that describe the conversion of the early Muslims like what conversion meant to them. And then in recent times we can look at people who you know have recently accepted Islam and perhaps hear their stories of transformation.

Information for transformation.

The Example of Umar ibn al-Khattab

So Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ - subhanahu wa ta'ala) He describes the Islam of Imam al-Mu'mineen (عُمَرَ الْخَطَّابِ - 'Umar al-Khattab) . The Prophet ﷺ loved Omar so much he gave him two names. He named him Abu al-Hafs. Abu al-Hafs is the father of lions because of his bravery and he named him of course Farooq because (كَانَ يُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاطِلِ - kana yufarriqu baynal-haqqi wal-batil) because he was able to distinguish between right and wrong. And we know that his Islam was an incredible moment. The Prophet ﷺ said (اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الْإِسْلَامَ بِعُمَرَ - Allahumma a'izz al-Islama bi 'Umar) (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3681). The Prophet prayed for enemies.

He said, Oh Allah, strengthen Islam by one of the two Umars either Abu Jahl or Umar ibn Khattab. And he became Muslim in the fifth or sixth year in Mecca. Abdullah ibn Sa'ud said, Before Umar was a Muslim, we had to pray on the Diyah. But after he became Muslim, we could pray wherever we want. But when he embraced Islam in Surah An-Nam, Allah describes his embrace of faith as transformative. We're talking about someone who a woman said (وَاللهِ لَحِمَارُ عُمَرَ - Wallahi lahimaru 'Umar) - We know the donkey of Umar will become Muslim before him.

I mean, it doesn't get much worse. And then he embraced Islam. And Allah says (أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ - Awaman kana mayyitan fa ahyaynahu) (Quran 6:122) - For that person that was dead (فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ - fa ahyaynahu) - And we resurrected him. Ibn Qayyim said (مَا أَحْيَاهُ حَقِيقَةً - ma ahyahu haqiqatan) - You know, like, wasn't resurrected literally (بَلْ أَحْيَا قَلْبَهُ بِالْإِيمَانِ - bal ahya qalbahu bil-iman) - But Allah resurrected his heart with a transformative life of faith. The Quran is always described as things that bring a transformation, the spirit.

(وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا - Wa kadhalika awhayna ilayka ruhan min amrina) (Quran 42:52) - We sent you the spirit because one of my teachers said, what's the body without the spirit? It's empty. So Umar, his embrace of Islam is one that is a commitment to constant transformation throughout his life.

The Gradual Growth of the Companions

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about those people, the Sahaba in the end of Surah Al-Fath. The slow transformation, it wasn't instantaneous. (كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِ - ka zar'in akhraja shat'ahu fa azarahu fastaghlaza fastawa 'ala suqihi) (Quran 48:29) - That they were like a seed who a weak stem grew out of it. And that stem slowly became stronger. And then it could stand on its own. Shaykh Muhammad Ali Sabuni said, The Zara (هُوَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - Huwa Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) - The seed is revelation, is the Qur'an and the Prophet ﷺ. And the stem that slowly grows and goes through the dirt and is able to shine.

There's a lot of metaphor in this verse. And experience the light is the Sahaba. There's a beautiful example of this of how faith should be framed in our life as something transformative. Especially for religious people, right? Religious people have the biggest threat because religious people can easily fall into the idea of ritual because I'm already good. One of my teachers, a young man came to him. This is generation X, a little bit more firm.

And he said to him, You know, why do you always talk about repentance? I don't need to repent. So Shaykh Ahmad Diay from St. Louis, Senegal, he said, No, you need to repent. He said, What? He said, From stupidity. Like only an ignorant person would think that he's not committing sins. He's like, Oh, okay.

The Dynamic Nature of Islamic Law

But if you look at the Qur'an, we see like faith is something that the Sahaba are constantly doing. Like why do things change? The Qibla changes. The direction of the Qibla changes. Isra and Mi'raj. Fasting is instituted. Hajj is instituted. Salah is two. Then it's five. There's always this opportunity. Certain things socially are allowed. Then they're prohibited. Then they're permitted. Then they're not.

There's this constant idea that faith has to be translated into a life of change. Not just a life of religious ritual, ritual or sterile attitudes.

The Transformation of Prophet Musa

So we see a beautiful example in Prophet Moses, who before, and we should be careful. Some people, they use these verses to promote Sunni quietism. And that's not where we're headed with this. Because the Prophet ﷺ said, the greatest Jihad is to speak truth in front of a tyrant. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. But we see a transformation in his life. That before he was a prophet, he was in Egypt.

And he was moved by the plight of his people. And the Surah Qasas (فَوَكَزَهُ مُوسَى فَقَضَىٰ عَلَيْهِ - Fawakazahu Musa faqada 'alayhi) (Quran 28:15) - You know, he wants to help someone from his tribe who's being brutally oppressed. So he inadvertently kills somebody. He reacts, impulsiveness. And this is before he was a prophet. And then later on, as we all know, he is anointed.

The most mentioned prophet in the Quran is Prophet Moses. He, subhanAllah, accepts the responsibility to take care of a family. And then interestingly enough, as Ghalib, the great Persian Urdu poet said, you know, if you ever doubt God's plan for you, just think about Musa. He went for fire and came back a prophet. So he goes to help people and then he comes back a prophet. And immediately, prophethood doesn't just come with likes on Instagram and a new filter packet.

Prophethood comes with a very, very strong social responsibility. We have to be very careful as a community of anyone who tries to divorce our faith from being translated in a way that allows us to work for justice. So immediately, he becomes a prophet. Transformation has to happen. Prophecy doesn't happen. I remember after I accepted Islam, this brother, mashAllah, again, generation X, a little bit more difficult.

And he said to me, you know you have to pray tomorrow morning, right? I was like, what? I'm going to the club, bro. He's like, yeah, but you can pray after the club. The point was like, immediately he reminded me that there's a responsibility with all this.

So Sayyidina Musa, what does Allah tell him?

- Go to Fir'aun. And now when he goes to someone who's not only oppressing one person, he's oppressing his entire nation. He's composed. He still speaks truth to power. People try to kind of suck that out of the story. Like he still has asks, right? He still demands justice. He still speaks and demands accountability. But the way he reacts and the way he engages, his character has been transformed.

Shaykh Abdul Hakim Zaydan, great scholar from Iraq, mashAllah, who passed away in Yemen a few years ago. He said, you know, look at the transformation of Sayyidina Musa, how faith, he still has the passion, he still has the commitment for justice, but faith has made him wise and nuanced.

- Speak to him in a way that will move him and bring him close. Perhaps he will benefit and take heed.

A Personal Reminder

So just a short reminder, khutbah really should just be a reminder for myself, of course, first the speaker, and then everyone that we should look into our lives. And have we allowed Islam to settle, faith to settle, in a place where it's no longer a transformative component of our life. It's no longer driving us to be in a state of constant improvement. Even if we slip, we're still committed to trying to get better.

Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala an yahdiyana ila ma yarda wa ila ma yuhibb. Ask Allah to guide us to what pleases Him and what is beloved to Him.

Second Khutbah

The Transformative Power of Surah Al-Fatiha

We praise Allah (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ لَا أَبْغِي بِهِ بَدَلًا ، حَمْدًا يَبْلُغُ مِنْ رِضْوَانِهِ الْأَمَلَا، ثُمَّ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَىٰ خَيْرِ الْوَرَىٰ، وَعَلَىٰ سَادَاتِنَا آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الْفُضَلَاء - alhamdu lillahi la abghi bihi badala, hamdan yablughu min ridwanihi al-amala, thumma as-salatu 'ala khayril wara, wa 'ala sadatina alihi wa sahbihi al-fudala) subhanahu wa ta'ala. We send peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And upon those who follow him until the end of time.

You know, if you really think about Surat al-Fatiha and you see as the scholars said that Surat al-Fatiha is divided into three parts. You know, the first is of course recognizing the transcendence of God. The second is worship and assistance. And then the third part of Surat al-Fatiha is a prayer to ask for good character and then, and this is hard to translate in English but

. Ghayr means that there's always opposition.

Other than, so there's something there. There's something that I need to be other too. There's an object of the otherness. So if I'm asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at a minimum, if I'm praying my five prayers 17 times a day to make me other than those who went astray, other than those who've earned the wrath, then that means that's constant. I'm constantly needing to transform and stay away from that. So you see something that I'm talking about now in the balagha of the Quran, the rhetoric of this word (غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ - ghayril maghdubi 'alayhim wa lad-dallin) آية الدوام

Like constantly keep me away from that. That's why al-Razi rahimuhullah, somebody asked him, why do we say (اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ - ihdinas-siratal mustaqim) (Quran 1:6) - Guide us to the straight path. If we're already believers, he said because there is a constant need for guidance. So thabbitni. So for the person who already has accepted faith, keep me consistent. Keep me in that state of transformative faith where I'm other than this and I'm on the straight path, subhanAllah.

Practical Steps to Avoid the Danger of Ritual

1. Remember the Prophetic Encouragement

What are some things that we can do to make sure that we are not falling into the danger of turning religion into simple ritual? The first one I addressed in the beginning of the first khutbah is to think about those narrations of Sayyidina Muhammad salallahu alayhi wasalam that encourage us to constantly get better.

2. Speak Well to Yourself

The second is we should not fall into thinking of ourselves vis-a-vis religion as the worst person on the face of the earth. You see this a lot, right? It happens to all of us and that may be because of the furnishings in our life. There may be people around us who have told us like you are literally the worst Muslim on the face of the earth. That hurts, man. And people take that seriously.

But the Prophet ﷺ salallahu alayhi wasalam and sometimes we don't understand this hadith completely. He said,

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6018, Sahih Muslim 47)

40 hadiths so mashaAllah, everyone should come early on Friday to benefit from her and to learn from her. MashaAllah, I was lucky enough to come today, alhamdulillah, and it was very beneficial.

But this is one of those narrations that she will be explaining inshaAllah. Whoever believes in Allah on the last day should speak well or remain silent. This not only means like in a group setting, this also means how you talk to yourself.

And that's why Ubaid ibn Ka'b he said, one day I was walking by this fence and I heard someone on the other side talking to themselves. And he said, that's odd, someone's like talking back and forth to themselves like they're arguing. So he said, I ran to see who it was. And it was Umar ibn Khattab. And he said, Umar was saying to himself, you did good this time. Like, can you imagine subhanAllah? He's like, you did good this time.

Well done, yeah, Umar. So he is reaffirming himself, fa liyaqul khayran awliya smut. So if you or I are telling myself like, man, I miss Fajr today, I'm worse than the dajjal. You know, or, you know, I made a mistake. I swiped right. Now I'll never be on the right side. Right? Because the struggle is real. The struggle is real. And those moments, as we talk about in our explanation of the hikm on Thursdays, we don't worship moments, whether success or failure, we worship the Lord of moments.

So regardless of where I am, I remind myself, allahu allahu rabbi. And that's why people, when they would get upset, the Prophet ﷺ, a woman came to him and she said, I'm despondent. And he said to her say (اللَّهُ اللَّهُ رَبِّي لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ - Allahu Allahu Rabbi la sharika lahu) - Remind yourself, Allah is your Lord. There's, we can't scoot forward. If we scoot forward, I'm gonna smash myself. Okay, we can try to scoot forward. May Allah make it easy for us. Sorry. I'm up on the wall giving the khutbah. Very strange. Alhamdulillah.

3. Prioritize According to Islamic Law

The third thing is, I should have priorities. And I should be very careful that my priorities are not based necessarily on culture or custom. So for example, like today, I'm not trying to put anyone on blast, but like people were sitting and making dhikr and Shaykh Aisha is teaching. But the hukm is that dhikr is sunnah and to learn from her is fardh kifaya. That's why, subhanAllah, in Azhar, sometimes I will come to the halaqa late and as I would walk in, the Shaykh would be teaching and I would pray two rakaat tahitul masjid. And he told me, don't do that because the knowledge, the hukm of studying is greater than reading surah takaf by yourself.