MAS-ICNA 2013, A Renaissance of Morals and Values
By Yaser Birjas | 2026-01-13T08:11:58.220228+00:00 | Topic: Iman
A Renaissance of Morals and Values
Opening
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ
(خُطْبَةُ الْحَاجَةِ) Opening Khutba
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Introduction
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, wa salamu alaykum wa barakatuh. Since this is the first session of this convention, I'm sure that most of you perhaps maybe don't know each other very well.
So may I give you one minute inshallah, 60 seconds. You have one minute to shake hands with the person sitting next to you. Introduce yourself, where you're from, just for one minute.
Get to know each other inshallah. Even if you know them, bismillah, go ahead. You might forget something about them.
You don't have to take their phone numbers right now. Bismillah, let's start. Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, wa salamu alaykum wa barakatuh.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
The Sahabah's Inquiry About the Prophet's Character
When the sahabah, the companions of the messenger of Allah, they went around the house of the Prophet, and they were asking about his akhlaq and his manners. Why do you think they were concerned about this issue? Even though when the Prophet came first and foremost, he was teaching them to do what? To worship one and only one, Allah.
So the main concern should be how to worship Allahazza wa jal. But here's in Medina, these companions, they were going around the house of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and they wanted to learn about the manners and the akhlaq of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). So they went to Aisha radiallahu anha, and they inquired about his manners and his akhlaq.
Aisha's Brilliant Answer
What was her answer? Brilliant answer. She gave a brilliant answer. She said:
"His character was the Quran."
Sahih Muslim Hadith 746
His manners was the Qur'an itself (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). What did she mean by that, is that usually as human beings, we have two faces. Most of us, we have two faces.
We have the public image, and we have the private image. We have that public image, when we go out in public, we're always smiling, we're always positive, we're always happy, we always have something that might not necessarily be the true self, when we are in privacy with our friends, with our families, with our closest circles.
So the sahaba, they knew who he was, Rasulallah (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in public. They saw him. They saw his level of worship, and the level of his ibadah. They have seen him, how he deals with the people outside, and that's why many wives, they compare about their husband, they're happy outside, but in the household, they're very grumpy.
So when they went, and they asked Aisha radiallahu anha, they wanted to know, is he like everybody else? Or is he something really unique (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). So they inquired about his manners, about his akhlaq (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). She gave them that blunt answer, she goes just like saying, don't ask the question, don't bother looking around and asking the question, because, his akhlaq and his manners were the Quran itself.
Which means if you want to know who he was, in public and in privacy, he always had that same face (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). He was always the same, whether he's in public, or he's alone, or with his family (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had always been the same (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)
The Connection Between Akhlaq and Aqeedah
But why is that? Because his level of aqeedah, his level of faith and belief in Allah, was at the utmost level. And what is the connection between akhlaq, manners, between akhlaq, manners, and aqeedah, belief system, what is it? It's very crucial. As a matter of fact, the beginning of any da'wah, any message, is based on this, the belief system.
The Message of Musa to Fir'aun
And when Allah sent Musa alayhi wa sallam even, Musa alayhi wa sallam, he was sent to the greatest tyrant perhaps of all time, Fir'aun, the pharaoh. Allah summarized to us in the Quran, he summarized to us in the Quran the message of Musa to Fir'aun. He says:
"Go to Fir'aun, because he's such a great tyrant."
What was the message that was summarized to him?
"You tell him, why don't you tazakka? The meaning of tazkia over here, purification of the heart. And when you will get to that level, that is the manifestation of faith. When your heart is clean, your body will respond according to what is there in the heart."
So therefore, you become pure in akhlaq, in manners, in thoughts, in ideas, in practices, in everything. So the message of Musa to a man like Fir'aun was, فَقُلْ هَل لَّكَ إِلَىٰ أَن تَزَكَّىٰ Why don't you do tazkia? Why don't you purify yourself? That means your manners, your akhlaq, and your dealing with the people. Which is exactly the same message Allah gave to Muhammad (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
Ibrahim's Dua
And it's exactly the same message Ibrahim alayhi salam delivered to the world. And he made dua that Allah sent to the world a man from amongst themselves who would do what?
"That he will teach them the kitab, the book of Allah. And Hikmah, wisdom. And when you zaki him, he would purify their hearts and their souls. And that is the connection between having that faith in the heart and then putting this into practice."
The Prophet's Mission
We have seen this even from the words of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam):
(Musnad Ahmad Hadith 8595)
"I was sent solely so I could perfect the akhlaq and the manners of people. Even his message to call them to worship Allah, to put their servitude only to Allahazza wa jal. The ultimate goal and the purpose of that was only just to purify their manners and their akhlaq."
That was the ultimate goal of the message. Many of us today we're missing the point of our da'wah. So see a lot of Muslims when it comes really and honestly for us as Muslims, when we go out in public and we make da'wah, what is that greatest maybe thing that we usually do? We do open houses in the masajid.
We take a booth and a table outside in the streets and we give flyers away and so on. We do a lot of that stuff. And we're very good at debating.
I receive a lot of people phone calls telling me, Sheikh, someone is saying so and so. What should I say? How should I respond? All these kind of things. And these are theological debates.
But the answer to all of this subhanallah beyond that, it's not about going out and giving flyers. Imagine, imagine if we just held to the principle that our Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to us about the concept and the essence of this message. And that is to perfect the akhlaq and the manners of people.
That's all. If I perfect my akhlaq and my manners, you do the same thing, there will be no need for you to print any flyer. Wallahi.
And any open house would not be needed at all. Because the people would see the akhlaq and the manners right away. As an example of this.
The Story of Mus'ab ibn Umair
As an example. When the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he left the shi'ab bani talib, or shi'ab abu talib. And that is the valley when they were put in what we call it today concentration camp in Mecca for three years.
And then the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he realized the people of Mecca are not going to respond to his call. He went to Al-Ta'if, he was rejected. And he came back to his own people, rejected him again.
And then one day in the season, in the hajj season, he met six young people. And these six young people, when they talked to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) with no hesitation, they believed. They didn't just believe.
They went to their people. And then the following year, they brought 12 other people right now. The number is increasing and the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took notice of this.
So then he (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), he sent with them one single man. One single man. I guess we all know this man by the first ambassador in the history of Islam.
And even you know his name, Mus'ab ibn Umair. Now this young man, he spent one year, one year embedded in the small town of Yathrib. As we know it today, Madinah al-Nabi (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
One entire year. What was his job? Living with the people. He was sent to go and live with the people for an entire year.
And when you live with the people, that's when they see who you are. That's when they know exactly who you are. So he spent one entire year and as a result of that year, hundreds of people embraced Islam.
And the following year when they came to give the pledge to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he brought with him 80 plus people. Most of them were young. And when the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he met with them and they gave him the pledge that they will protect him.
They will defend him. They will take care of him. And they will put everything that they have for the sake of Allah.
So they have that belief system and they went back again to Madinah preparing themselves and their city for the arrival of Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and their beloved companions.
The Impact of Living Example
Now what is so ironic about this is the fact that the people of Madinah when they embraced Islam, many of them, the vast majority of those people did not even see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). They haven't even seen him.
Few of them saw the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). But when they heard about his arrival, hundreds of people, not even all the people of Madinah were waiting outside just hoping to see this man. Why? Because they've seen the product.
They've seen the product. There is one young man, Mus'ab ibn Umair (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ - radi Allahu ta'ala anhu). As they say, the apple doesn't fall far away from the tree.
And they knew if this is the student, imagine how the mentor looks like. If this was Mus'ab, imagine Muhammad (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), his teacher, how would he look like? So that's when they realized if this is the byproduct of his message, definitely it's worth following and won't sacrifice everything for it.
That's why when the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came to Madinah, he didn't have to talk too much with them. He did not have to preach too much to the people of Madinah. They were ready. They were already ready there.
All what he wanted to do (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is just prepare them right now to move on, establish the system. And we know that system in many, many ways. They already believed and they were willing to sacrifice and give everything.
The Moral System in Medina
They were even competing in doing goodness. And that's why we hear so many hadith from the time of
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمYa Rasulullah, what is the most beloved act of good deeds to Allah? Ya Rasulullah, teach me something that can take me to Al-Jannah and take me away from Jahannam. So they were always trying to increase now because the basis is already there, Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen.
When Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived their aqeedah was already there and established. It's in their heart. And now it's the practice that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to perfect for them.
was teaching صلى الله عليه وسلم We see that when the Prophets ? صلى الله عليه وسلم So what did he doe these young men and women and the people of Medina, he was establishing a system of akhlaq, a moral system. A moral system.
Hadith on Brotherhood
So some of these ahadith and these instructions:
(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 13)
You're not a true believer, which means if you claim that you have that iman in your heart, you are not a true believer until you love for your brothers and sisters what you love for yourself.
How simple that message is. How hard it is to achieve. Because those who achieve this, truly and genuinely, they have that strong iman in their hearts.
They do have that belief, and they follow it dearly. That's why Allah says, as a result of this:
They'll always respond in that which is best. Perhaps with whom you have hostility and animosity. Perhaps with whom you have that kind of hatred. Like your best friend and ally.
Do you think this is easy to respond to people who are hateful, people who are negative? Do you think it's easy to respond with kindness and gentleness? Of course not.
And Allah knows that. That's why He said:
Those who do so, which means those who reciprocate hatred with kindness, they give kindness back. Those who do so, only those who are patient. Those who truly persevere in patience. And those who do
so, which means always reciprocate with kindness and goodness, regardless of what they get from people. Are those who have great deal of goodness and also reward with Allah.
So Allah, He knows this is not an easy thing to achieve. It's very hard. And He's acknowledging that for us.
But that is what is best for me and you. I know it's hard when someone being hateful, you know, show hatred and so on, responding in kindness with them. We live among the waves and ocean of different ideologies and backgrounds and cultures and so on.
And predominantly, of course, it's people of other faiths around us. As Muslims, we are challenged every single day and every single evening. And with the age of technology, with the age of technology, it's extremely even hard to keep up with all the bigotry that we receive from the people around us.
The True Response
What is the response? Another conference? Another table outside in the streets? Another open house in the masjid? It's much more than that. It's manners. It's a message that you deliver through just walking around the people.
That's what it is. Mus'ab ibn Umair, he did that. And he lived one year in Medina, in Yathrib.
And as a result, all those people, they just love to see the man who taught Mus'ab ibn Umair this. Rasulallah صلى الله عليه وسلم says:
You are not a true believer until you love for your brothers and sisters what you love for yourself.
Another Important Hadith
صلى الله عليه وسلم He said:
That if you put yourself in the service of your brothers and sisters, Allah will take care of your needs.
The Example of the Ansar
Altruism, Ithar. And we have seen the manifestation of this from day one when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived in Medina. All the Sahaba, the Ansar, رضي الله تعالى عنهم who were praised in the Quran by the Lord for their generosity, altruism and Ithar.
They always prefer their brothers and sisters over their needs. Even if they were in most need of what they're giving away. That's altruism.
That's manners. That's akhlaq. It's not simple. It's not easy. But that is the highest level of belief. When you give everything that you have which you earned, you know, fair and square. And you're told for it. But you're still giving it away for the sake of Allah. Now you're giving this and a great... You're showing a great message to the public, to the people. That you have such a great personality.
And where is this coming from? You must have actually this belief system.
A Simple Act of Kindness
I remember, just to show you sometimes, you know, these very small acts of kindness. How can they make big difference? One of the brothers, one time he told me, he was actually walking in the streets. And it happened to be, I believe, in New York. And then he saw an old lady. She was trying to cross the street.
But it was very hard and difficult for her. So he went and he held her hand. And he helped her trying to cross the street.
And when he did, the lady, she looked at him. Because he had a beard, she said, Are you a Jew? He goes, No, I'm a Muslim. She said, I knew it. She said, I knew it. No one would do that but a Jew or a Muslim.
And subhanallah, when he asked her, why do you say that? It's because she knew that these people when they have a very strong belief system, when you have a very strong belief system and a moral system, you practice that.
You have this kind of kindness. And subhanallah, this is the essence of the ummah.
The Best Nation
When Rasulullah, when Allah praised this ummah, what did he say?
You are the best nation ever produced to mankind. For what reason? He says, Because you enjoy good and forbid evil. And you believe in Allahazza wa jal.
2 We're very good at quoting this ayah in many, many ways. Regarding the importance of giving تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ activism in the community and so on.
But we're really missing the point.
The Point of This Ayah
What's the point of this ayah? Why did Allah defer al-iman after saying enjoying good and forbidding evil? Why? Shouldn't the first thing be that you believe in Allah and that you practice this by enjoying good and forbidding evil? Instead, Allah said, No. You enjoy good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah. Yes, we might go into linguistic aspects of the wa'a as in a specific order or so.
But Allah mentioned this for a reason. And the reason of this is that having faith is very common these days. Anyone can claim that.
And we all know that there are so many people out there, mashallah, they do their ibadah and their zakah and sadaqah and so forth. But Allah is highlighting one of the greatest manifestations of faith. One of the greatest manifestations of faith.
And what is this? That you have concern for others. You have that concern for others. That when you see wrong, you try to remove it, you try to change it, you try to help other people.
And when you see good, you always try to encourage other people and help and assisting one another. That is the best quality of people. Those are the people looking for.
The Need for Action
Enough preaching and speaking to people about your faith and your belief system and so and so. How superior that is to others and so on. What they want to see is that put into action.
And Allahazawajal is highlighting this that one of the main things we need to worry about is are we true to our belief and our faith? Are we true to this? And what is it? The manifestation was highlighted because if you have the sign, you have the essence. And if you have that essence, that doesn't mean you're going to have the sign for it. Ask every husband and wife.
I know guys, this is my special talk about marriage in general. I have to plug it in somehow. When a husband and wife, they talk to each other and they're upset with one another, and eventually the husband tells his wife, you know, you know how much I love you.
She says, you're lying. And why does she say you're lying? Because if you love me, then do so and so. Such as taking the trash out, for example.
Anything. Just basic what she's saying, prove it to me. Show it to me.
And if you just show the actions of love, you don't have to tell your wife anything about it because she sees that. She knows that. And also a plus for the husband as well when he sees that from his wife.
So what Allah is saying in this ayah, that وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ You believe in Allah. Allah brought the sign of this faith and belief before talking about it. Because if you really have the manifestation of faith, enough speaking about it.
The Solution for the Muslim Community
And that is what we lack in the Muslim community today. We're struggling. We're fighting in this society to prove ourselves and keep our identity.
Speaking about all that stuff and so on. All what we need to do really is if we can just teach ourselves and our children to perfect our manners. To perfect our akhlaq.
And look into the instructions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he was in Medina. What was he teaching the Sahaba? Things such as preferring the needs of others over yours. Things about tahadu, tahabbu.
Give gifts and you will love one another. Give salam, say a salam.
That you spread peace amongst yourself.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Feed the others. So all these manners and akhlaq, that was the manifestation of faith and manifestation of aqidah. It's very crucial for the Muslim ummah, the Muslim community here in America in particular.
That if you would like to survive, enough talking about identity, proving ourselves and that kind of things and so on. You just need to act like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was acting.
His manners was the Qur'an itself.
And there will be more than enough inshallah ta'ala to make things easy for you and make people see the goodness of your faith and the goodness of your aqidah.
Closing
"And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds; and peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you."