Jummah Khutba Bringing Positive Changes to the World
By Yaser Birjas | 2026-01-13T07:46:06.598505+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Bringing Positive Changes to the World
Opening
(السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ)
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
(الحمد لله رب العالمين)
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Introduction
And I think now everybody, alhamdulillah, realize, okay, enough talking about this on the member, enough talking about this after Salatul Jumu'ah, let's go back to old business. And that's what usually happens. People, they always put so much investment in the moment and once it's over, khalas, what's next? We go back to business.
Subhanallah, people think that change is just going to happen because I did something. They don't realize that to have that positive change, you're going to have to put so much effort. And there are rules for that change to become overlasting and happening.
Subhanallah, the whole idea of the election, the midterm elections and the change, many people were expecting to happen, there will be a blue wave here and a complete, you know, change in the overhaul in this area and that area and our community and society. But then, to their surprise, not much really happened.
So what did we do? That's it? Khalas, I mean, next time in this case, everybody says, well, I knew it, it's not going to change anything, so therefore, why bother? Now, that is a big, big problem.
On top of this, subhanallah, what enforces this idea that change didn't happen and it's not going to happen anytime soon, the moment after the election were over and people kind of process the results, subhanallah, we have the mass killing and shooting in California. And people just like, here we go again. Like nothing happened.
It was on the news, on the front page of every news outlet for less than 24 hours. Today, you watch the news, it's not even on the second page. Like nothing happened. And then now people are busy with the fire that is happening in North California. May Allah, subhanallah, make it easy for the people there, ya rabbal alameen, and keep them safe and save their families and their properties, ya rabbal alameen.
But still, people now are seeing these things happening and for them, the same pattern like it was before the election. So, therefore, we go back again to no more business. That is one of the biggest mistakes people do, is that we don't necessarily expect change to happen overnight, but it's going to be a process that we're going to all have to work on, inshallah ta'ala.
And in this khutbah, I want to share with you, as a Muslim community, a momentum that was built way before this whole idea of election came about, how can we invest on this, inshallah ta'ala, how can we build on that, bin Allah azawajal.
Understanding Change: Key Principles
How can I understand change? How can I bring change, positive change, to my surrounding, my area, and my community, inshallah ta'ala. Here are a few points we need to understand about change.
Principle One: Change Starts From Within
Number one, when it comes to change, we have to understand that it starts from within. It starts from within. We all know that, and we all know the ayah Allah, subhanallah, says in the Qur'an:
"That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is within themselves. Which means, if I need something good to happen, I truly need to desire that, sincerely from the bottom of my heart."
A lot of people, they desire something to happen, but honestly, what happens is that they want other people to take care of it, and they don't participate in that. And other people, even though they know that this is the right thing to do, but their heart is somewhere else.
So unless we're authentic, unless we're genuine about what change we're looking for for our communities, what we really desire for our communities to look like and be, inshallah, in the future, bin Allah azawajal, unless it's coming from the heart, the change is not going to happen in society.
Like they keep saying, if you would like to have some positive change in the community, be that change yourself, represent that change, which means it needs to start from within.
Principle Two: Trust in Allah's Wisdom
Here's the second point about change. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"Perhaps you might dislike something and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put so much good for you in there. Maybe we desire to elect this person or that person or that party or this party, regardless of the names and the colors. Our desire is to have these people to represent us, for example. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us different results. What do we do? Improvise.
We're going to improvise, which means I'm going to work with everybody that I can see in my community. If this becomes the elected official, I'm going to go work with them. This is my duty.
I might dislike this person to be my leader because they don't represent my values, but you know what? I'm going to go and put hand in hand with them and bring the best to my community. Perhaps by seeing you, the Muslim, working with them and having your heart into your own community, it will change their views. That becomes the best investment that you've done in your community.
So we improvise. We might dislike something, but there is so much khayr that will come out of it. So if you dislike the results in your own county or your own city or place or school district or whatever, if you dislike the results, you never know. Maybe that's what is meant to be for you so you can bring a bigger, inshallah, change and a positive change in the community.
Remember, you might dislike something, but Allah will put so much khayr in there for you, inshallah, wa tabarakah, wa ta'ala.
Principle Three: Change Cannot Be Forced
Number three, when it comes to change, you cannot force it on other people. You can't. It has to be gradual. You can't force it. You can't just bring it in a way that is just kind of like shove it down the throat of people. This might happen, but that doesn't actually last long. Why? Because if people resist, that is not going to happen.
The Prophet's Example: The Kaaba Reconstruction
And this we can see from the example of the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the entire da'wah. But one particular incident, subhanallah, after the conquest of Mecca. Now, here's the thing.
The Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he received the revelation in Mecca. For three years, it was secret da'wah, and then four years, they were tortured, and then after that, they were put in concentration camps for three more years, and then they were released after that, and in three years, the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), migrated to Mecca, to Medina.
So 13 years there in Mecca, and then after that, eight years later, the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), goes back again to Mecca, conquering the entire city of Mecca and take control of the Arabian Peninsula. Now he's in charge.
But then one day, he was standing as he was watching the people giving tawaf around the Kaaba. He said to Aisha, radiyallahu anha:
(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 1583)
If it wasn't that your people are still too soon for them, they were just recently came out of jahiliyya, out of kufr, out of their way of life, I would have ordered the Kaaba to be knocked down and rebuilt according to the actual foundation of Ibrahim, alayhi wa sallam.
And he mentioned the design to be longer and a little bit higher and has two doors, one from which people get in and the other people get out from it.
So the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he saw that this is basically how the Kaaba should look like, which means that's how it should be. So if the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), wanted to force that change on these people, it would have an adverse effect on them.
So he rather, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he rather to keep the people on their faith than making the construction of the Kaaba or the structure of the Kaaba on the original foundation of Ibrahim, alayhi wa sallam.
Now see this, this is a sacred site for the Ummah, the Kaaba. And the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he refused to change the structure of the Kaaba because for him the sanctity of faith and iman of the people is much more important than the sanctity of the Kaaba itself.
Lessons from History
Subhanallah, a few years later, or I could say a few decades later, during the time of Abdullah ibn Zubair, Abdullah ibn Zubair, he was in control of the Arabian Peninsula during the turmoil that happened between them and Banu Umayyad, the Umayyads at that time. So he was in control of Mecca.
And Al-Hajjaj, the tyrant, he came catapulting the Kaaba and catapulting the Mecca so the Kaaba was destroyed. So Abdullah ibn Zubair took advantage of this moment and he said, since it's already been destroyed by the catapults of the Hajjaj, let me rebuild the Kaaba.
He rebuilt the Kaaba and he did it according to the foundation the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), had suggested. So he did it. But when he was overthrown and he was actually killed afterwards and the Umayyads, they came over, they saw the structure of the Kaaba, they just kind of said, no, put it back again to what it was.
And they did it back again to what it was until one day, one of these leaders of the Umayyads, he asked one of the older Sahabis, he goes, did you see what Abdullah ibn Zubair did? He is such and such, that's a blasphemy he has done. Look what he did to the Kaaba.
And he claims that the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he would wish to do the Kaaba like this. So that older Sahabi, he said to him, he says, indeed, he said the truth. It was true that Rasulallah, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), he would hope to do the Kaaba on that foundation.
Sometime later, another Khalifa, he said, let me do the Kaaba and put the Kaaba back to where it was to make it longer like the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and the Mu'mineen. The advisers and the ulama around him, they said to him, please don't make the house of Allah to become like a play for the kings. Like everyone, king comes, he says, I want to put it back there. No, I don't like what he did. And he said, just leave it as is. And since then, it has been the same design that we see today.
But the point here is that the Prophet, (صلى الله عليه وسلم), even though he got an opportunity to make something right in that position, but there was a higher purpose that is more important for him, to keep the sanctity of faith for the people.
Principle Four: Situational vs. People Problems
So my dear brothers and sisters, in our situation right now, we have to understand change cannot be forced. So now that we know where the boundaries are and what people's views are, this is now the moment for you to start working on bringing that slow and gradual positive change.
In their book, the two brothers actually, Dan and Chip Heath, their book called Switch, which is all about change, they mention three points, very important points about change. Which one of them is number four over here, is that what it looks like being a people's problem, it's often a situational problem.
What does that mean? Some people, they keep labeling others based on the color of their skin or the address where they reside, whether they reside in a suburb or in the countryside, if they sit in a big city or a small town. So these kind of imagined boundaries has become all of a sudden our definition of who people are and what most likely they will vote for, blah, blah, blah, all these kind of things.
So the author, he said, listen, these people do not necessarily resist change because of who they are. It's probably because of where they are in terms of the circumstances. Some people, some people have never ever in their lives seen a Muslim in a community, and they only see the Muslims online. We know what the image of Muslims online, it's not the best image, right?
So how do you expect for them to make that positive change in their mind about you, about the value of the Muslim community, the contribution of the Muslim communities, and subhanallah, change some of their circumstances, look for bright spots for them, and you will see the difference.
The Power of Humanitarian Work
The other day I was sitting with some brothers who are working for humanitarian organizations locally in the country, like Islamic Relief and so forth. The impact these brothers and sisters, they have been on the country and on these individuals, it's much greater than any pamphlet and any conference and anything that you've ever done for the Dawa, subhanallah.
These brothers, they said that when there was a disaster, they would be the first respondent, and they go there and they help the people without even telling them, hey, we're the Muslims, we want to help you because we're Muslims. We don't say that. We just go and help. People recognize. They recognize that you're Muslims. And for them it's just like, wow, you guys are unbelievable.
And that by itself is unbelievable, subhanallah. The brother was telling me that they had an encounter with actually with a church that they were helping with, the residents and the parishioners of the church and so on. The pastor was so impressed. He couldn't believe that you guys, you're Muslims, right?
He was so, so happy and so surprised. He says, every time you guys want to come in this area, please let me know. I'll bring the congregation to help out. That brings positive change.
Last year when we were helping with the aftermath of the hurricane in Houston, some of the volunteers were with me, subhanallah, in the car as we were coming back from a long day working in some people's houses there. We were still wearing the T-shirt that says volunteer and says basically Muslim organizations.
And as we were shopping in one of those stores or gas stations, some people, I didn't pay attention that I was still wearing the T-shirt. They were actually, as we were walking around, they say, thank you very much for volunteering. Thank you very much for your help. We appreciate your help.
I'm just like, what are they saying that for? We realize we're still wearing the T-shirt that says Islamic Circle of North America or Islamic Relief and Volunteer in the back.
Subhanallah, that in itself, just walking, we did not even say a word. We were just walking, buying our own coffee and stuff and leaving and people saw that to be a positive thing. Imagine if you start now living with the people the way you should.
The Prophet's Humanitarian Example
Didn't we mention that many times in the khutbah that the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) was indeed a great humanitarian before he became a messenger? The five qualities Khadijah she remembered about the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) when he received the first revelation, they were all humanitarian work.
How often do you volunteer? Whether an engineer or a doctor or whatever profession that you have, how often do you go and volunteer to help people around the country, help people in your own town, in your own schools, your kids' school? How often do you go and you do that?
That creates positive change, but we need to understand, we need sometimes just to change the circumstances of some people and they will bring that change to their life, inshallah ta'ala.
Principle Five: Inspiration Over Laziness
Number five, in regards to change, sometimes we think that change is because people are just lazy. They don't want to do anything. Their lifestyle is just kind of like perpetuating their crisis all the time. It's not true. It's not true really.
Subhanallah, no matter how desperate people they are, if you just give them the right message, you'll be able to solve their problems. So it's not about being lazy, it's about being exhausted. These people are tired, exhausted, always being put down, always being ignored and neglected and never bringing their attention to the world and so on and so on, and as a result, they feel trapped.
But all we need to do is just we need to inspire them and motivate them.
Example from the Battle of the Trench
You see when the Sahaba radiallahu ta'ala they won the battle of Badr and then they lost on the battlefield in Uhud. But then when the battle of the trench arrived and they realized that 10,000 people coming to seize Medina, they were terrified.
And Allah described them in the Quran:
That their hearts were just literally up to their throats, so afraid they couldn't even go to use the bathroom to relieve themselves, subhanallah. Still, in a situation like this, they were so exhausted and so terrified, but subhanallah, when the time came to dig the trench, they were all there.
They were inspired by the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) being there himself. Hungry? They were all hungry. They were starving. I mean the Messenger (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) he had to tie a stone, a stone, a piece, a rock on his stomach and he tied, he kind of like fastened this so tight on his stomach (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) because he was hungry. He wasn't showing off. He just was hungry like everybody else.
But that inspired people. It inspired people. Everybody was digging and doing it, subhanallah, so that when it was over, when it was done, they were very excited. Like wow, we really did it. And they won against the largest army the Arabian Peninsula was ever able to put together. Over 10,000 people in that time, we were just like saying hundreds of thousands these days.
But you can imagine, it's not because they were lazy, they were exhausted, but the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) inspired them, motivated them, and they saw the future and they saw the end result and they moved forward.
Sometimes this is what we need to do. We just need to go and give people hope, wallahi. Communicate with the people. Speak to them. Inspire them. Let them see something that they can look up to in your own story, in your own life.
Let them know, even if you're coming as an immigrant, let them see that what you've done is something positive, something you can inspire people, subhanallah, and live through. Just teach them something. Be someone that, subhanallah, people can look up to, whether they're young or adults.
I know a lot of people like you, alhamdulillah, would love to help at least inspire the next generation. Maybe the older generation could say, well, there's nothing to change these people. How about the new ones, the young ones? Go volunteer in one of these high schools in your own local community. Speak about your profession, about your job. Give them hope. Give them direction. Let them see that you can do something, inshallah wa ta'ala, no matter how humble your circumstances were when you came to this country.
Principle Six: Clarity Over Resistance
When it comes to change, the sixth point, inshallah wa ta'ala, I want you to understand that what looks as a resistance from people, they say in their books, which is that honestly it's nothing more than just lack or absence of clarity. When there is no direction, people get confused, and they don't do anything.
So what do we do? We need to show people the way, and we give instruction, clear instruction. Some people don't even know how to deal with you as a Muslim. I know it sounds trivial, right? Because you're human. Well, they thought otherwise, probably.
It's sometimes to that level, that basic human conversation, when you talk to them, you're just like, oh, interesting.
Subhanallah, when my kids used to play soccer when they were younger, we had, of course, we were the only Muslim family in the entire team, not even the entire league at the time. And some of these parents, we came close to them because you have to volunteer, you have to rotate certain services and so forth, and I was just going with everybody else and having conversation, talking normally in conversation, and subhanallah, we never spoke about Islam as a particular subject unless they asked a question.
They know we're Muslims, because they see my wife with the hijab. They see me praying when it's time for salah. They know that. But we never brought this up to them, and subhanallah, one day, one of these people of these families actually came to me, he goes, you know, Yasir? I said, yes, sir.
He goes, thank you very much, I appreciate what you did. I said, what are you talking about? He goes, you know, before I have never met Muslim in my life, before I have never really had any good, you know, perception of Muslims and so on, but really just working with you for the past few weeks and few months, it just changed my way and my view of the people.
And I said, subhanallah, thank you very much, I appreciate that. I mean, that's a testimony that I'm so proud of. But once again, I wasn't doing it because I was trying to make the Muslims look better or good, wallahi. I was doing it because this is the right thing to do. This is who I am. This is what a Muslim look like, basically. Trying my best to be the best I can.
Some people, they just need clarity. They need direction. They need instruction. They need to see things the right way. And only you could do that if you talk to them and let them, show them the way, inshallah, tabaraka wa Ta'ala.
The Prophet's Final Message
You see Rasulullah, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, in the final khutbah, the final sermon, he stood on the minbar, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, or on the mountain in Arafah, and he just gave the sahaba and the ummah the full description of the message.
Like everything, made it clear, completely, from the beginning to the end. What does Islam mean? What does it mean to worship Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala? The rights of people against each other, man versus woman, husband, wife, and people of different race and so on.
He put the main foundation, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, just like the final now draft of the future blueprint for the Muslimummah. And when he finished, he said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam:
Did I deliver the message? And they all said, yes indeed, ya Rasulullah. So he raised his hand and he goes:
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 1623
Ya Allah, be my witness. Like I made it clear to them. And then he said, salallahu alayhi wa sallam:
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 1623
Let those who witness this deliver to those who are not here. And he mentioned, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, perhaps you was delivered to somebody who understand better than you.
Just do the message, deliver the message. So a very clear instruction from the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, that brought this change to the ummah and to the world.
Our Capacity and Commitment
And finally, when it comes to the subject of change, I know some of us feel, ya, it's easy, said and done,
and I'm with you. But no one is asking you to do more than what you can. When it comes to change, even Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, he said:
You fear Allah, azza wa jal, as much as you can. You be conscious of Allah as much as you can, which means you do as much as you can. But you will not be able to understand your abilities and wallahi your skills until you try first.
Just because it looks so hard up there, doesn't mean you shouldn't try to climb the mountain. You should try one time after the other one until you reach. You might never reach it, subhanallah, but at least you try.
And I'm sure all of you right now, as I'm speaking about this, all of you had in their mind right now the video that is actually becoming viral the past few days, about the little chick, you know, with the mother bird trying to climb the snowy mountains, one time after the other, until they were able to go up, subhanallah.
It was interesting watching it, how the baby keeps falling and keep trying and falling and trying, and the mother just standing up there waiting for her baby to come up. Can you imagine if you keep trying and trying and trying and trying, at some point you'll get there.
Change is a process, it doesn't happen overnight. Whatever results that we got, we still, alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, we improvise. We're going to work hard, bismillah, to make it even better and better in the future, inshallah wa ta'ala.
And as we see the results coming out, we're going to put our hands with all these officials to make things happen, make them positive, bismillah wa ta'ala.
The Need for Patience
My dear brothers and sisters, the last message, the last point I want to share with you here, as we do that, we realize that if there's any quality, any trait that we need to work on to improve, inshallah wa ta'ala, and increase, of bismillah wa ta'ala, it's patience.
As-sabr, as-sabr, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala filled the Qur'an with messages to the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and to the ummah in regard to the subject of as-sabr.
Surat al-Asr is one example. Surat al-Kahf. The Prophet was instructed to show patience with those who are worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala day and night, which means you need to show patience and need to bring people around you so you can, all of you, encourage and assist and help each other, inshallah wa ta'ala.
We are one community, and we're going to go, inshallah wa ta'ala, move forward, bismillah wa ta'ala, and persevere, because without it, we will not reach anywhere and we know our destination.
Two Approaches: Engineer vs. Gardener
So what is our duty? There are two examples. Some people, their way of thinking is just like a carpenter or an engineer. You do the print and you do the plan and everything, and it is you who is going to make sure the results come according to the plan. And therefore, they're very technical. Very, very technical, subhanAllah. And if the results don't come out the way they planned, it's a disaster for them.
But some other people, and that's us, believers, subhanAllah, the Prophet, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the ones that's from us, is to be like gardeners. Your duty is just to plow the ground, put the seeds, put some water, and the feeding and everything, and that's it. You did your part. If it's going to grow or not, not my duty. That's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's job.
Allah azza wa jalla says:
"Do you see what you plow in the ground, what you put in the ground? Is it you who make it grow, or is it Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Obviously, it's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So we just put the seeds, and Allah will grow it, inshallah, in a way that will be pleasing to us in the dunya and the akhirah.
Conclusion and Call to Action
So make sure to make a commitment to start, inshallah wa ta'ala, with something positive. Think about it. I'm not going to give you any leads over here, but you know yourself. You know where you can volunteer. You know which official you can reach out to, for example. You know what school you can go to. You know whatever that you can do, inshallah, this is the time to start moving forward.
"I ask Allah to grant us all success in what He loves and what pleases Him."
"And may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions."
"May Allah reward you [with] goodness."
"Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings."