How the Prophet Muhammad Cared for Converts [

How the Prophet Muhammad Cared for Converts

Opening

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

Main Khutbah

It's amazing to reflect upon that moment when the revelation came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and how people begin to embrace Islam and begin to follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And in a very real way, Islam comes as a healing but also as a disruptive force to the Arabian Peninsula. The nature of true religion is that it agitates the society and highlights the negative things in that society that need to be remedied. And it acts as a refuge for people in that society that may be suffering from the ills that are prevalent in it.

And this was very much the case when Allah brought the final revelation, revealed the final revelation to our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. And so people begin to embrace Islam at first in smaller numbers and they're congregating in Dar al-Arqam in Mecca. And then as time passes, more and more people embrace Islam. Reflect for a moment upon the idea that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his closest companions were there for people as they embrace Islam and that there was a very real opportunity for a human transmission to take place in addition to people processing and digesting the revelation as it came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . And with that came the idea of there being a refuge or a safe space for people as they embrace Islam.

If you fast forward to our day and time and think for a moment about the parallel between Dar al-Arqam, this refuge for new Muslims, this safe space for people, and what people find in our communities, I think if we're being honest with ourselves, we can admit that we have a lot of room for improvement to get back to that idea of Dar al-Arqam, get back to that idea of a refuge for people as they embrace Islam. Because just like people were fleeing from negative norms in the Arabian Peninsula in the 6th century to Islam, there are people embracing Islam today not only seeking otherworldly redemption and not only seeking theological truth but also seeking social redemption and seeking social safety. So as they come into the Muslim community, they're going to be looking for a safe space.

The Prophet's Sensitivity to New Muslims

Reflect for a moment on the idea that the companions could talk to the Prophet about whatever was going on in their life صلى الله عليه وسلمfor better or for worse, and that they were met with that beautiful, open, prophetic heart, and reflect for a moment upon the priority that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم put on the Muslims and the sensitivities that they brought with them. When he tells our mother Aisha, Allah be well pleased with her, in a rigorously authenticated narration, and there's different variants of it, O Aisha, were it not that your people were new to Islam, I would have rebuilt the Kaaba on the foundation of Abraham. In other words, the Prophet knew صلى الله عليه وسلم that the Kaaba was built on other than the exact foundation that Abraham عليه السلام had built it, and that if it wasn't going to affect the sensibilities of the people in Mecca that were new to Islam, he would have put it back on its original foundation.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1583 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1333)

Arabic text of the Hadith:

So think about it. For the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمthe sensibilities of people that are new to Islam are a priority over the exact placing of the Kaaba. So what then does that say about us if we were to say, well, you know, we'd really like to make a safe space for converts in our community, but it will disrupt the standard of religiosity, as it were, that we have established in our community, or it'll disrupt the kind of norm that we have in our community.

Call for Better Treatment of Converts

So converts are going to have to just kind of come and conform to whatever we've got going on. I think that we can do better. I think that we can revisit this idea and make our community spaces safe spaces for people as they are new to Islam, as they're fleeing from whatever they're fleeing from to Islam.

And whether that be by way of conversion to Islam or by way of re-commitment to Islam or revisiting Islam, we have a lot of room for improvement in terms of making sure that our communities are safe spaces. We ask Allah to give us success to do what is pleasing to Him in that regard and enable us to bring about more safe spaces in our community.

Closing Dua

Allahumma a'inna ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatika

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil 'akhirati hasanatan wa qina 'adhaban-nar

Wa sallAllahu 'ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam

آمین