Corrected Khutbah Towards Formulating a Vision for Muslims in America

Towards Formulating a Vision for Muslims in America

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

Opening of Khutbah

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

As-salāmu 'alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

Inna al-hamda lillāh, naḥmaduhu wa nastaʻīnuhu wa nastaghfiruh, wa naʻūdhu billāhi min shurūri anfusinā wa min sayyi āti aʻmālinā, man yahdihillāhu fa lā mudilla lah, wa man yudlil fa lā hādiya lah, wa ashhadu an lā ilāha illallāhu wahdahu lā sharīka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ῾abduhu wa rasūluh

Wa-ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ῾alā man lā nabiyya baʻdah

أَمَّا بَعْدُ

Ammā ba'd

Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, time has been delayed for a bit in terms of schedule. So I'm gonna get straight to the point and cut back on a lot of the introductions that I had previously prepared.

Historical Context and Current Situation

When we look at the situation of the Muslims today, we find that a lot that is happening in the world around us, even though we think it's happening for the first time, the reality is that similar events, in fact many times more harsh and more severe events have occurred in the past. The invasion of the Mongols outshadows any fitna that we have seen in our lives when it comes to national and international affairs of the ummah. So a lot of what is happening in the ummah today has happened before.

In fact, much worse has happened before. But one thing that stands out from our situation, one thing that is unique to the world that we're living in, is the situation of us sitting here today, of western Muslims. You see my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, never before in the history of mankind have we had the type of nation states that exist today.

Never before have we had the type of vision and the type of methodology called secular democracies. And never before have we had such a large exodus of Muslims from Muslim lands coming to live in non-

Muslim lands. Our situation, the situation of Muslims in North America, in America and Canada, in Europe and England, this is a unique unprecedented situation that the ummah has never seen before.

The Muslim Immigration Experience

And the majority of us, the majority of American Muslims, perhaps up to 60 or 70 percent, are not indigenous to these lands. Us and our fathers before us immigrated here, wanting economic prosperity and hoping for better lives. They came here not really thinking about their religion or the future of their children or their long term goals.

They didn't come to this land for the most part wanting to spread the religion of Allah. They came for education and they came for better lives and better dunya. But when they came, they got married along the way and they had children, and the years turned into decades and they had to face the reality that many of them, if not all, were here to stay.

And so along the way they built masjids, many of them built Islamic schools, and they had to rediscover the religion of their past. A religion that many of them didn't care about when they first came here. And if they didn't rediscover it, their children, the second generation, rediscovered it for them.

The Second Generation

And as their children grew up, this second generation of which I am a part of and many of us are a part of, these young men and women, they had to make their own choices. Although they inherited much from their fathers, they were nonetheless different. They were born and raised in this new culture and environment.

An environment they felt fully at home with. After all, they were born here, they were raised here, they lived here. And yet, an environment that they also felt alien to.

Something was different about them. They fit in, and yet they didn't fit in. And the reality is this generation is a new generation of Islam.

It has its own perspectives of the world, different from the perspectives of our fathers and forefathers who came here. A different mentality, a different spirituality. We are indigenous to this land, and yet in some ways we are not.

The Catalyst: September 11th

Therefore, really it was our lot, it was our destiny, that we would have to think the future out for our children after us. But something happened that exacerbated the situation, that acted as a catalyst to what was inevitably going to happen. And what happened was the events of 9-11.

The events of 9-11 radically transformed all of us. Those of us who were children had to become adults. Those of us who pretended to be adults had to live up and act to the reality.

All of a sudden we had to come to terms with who we were, with the land we found ourselves in. We had to ask ourselves very difficult questions. What are we doing here? What is our goal? What is our vision? What is our purpose in these lands?

Islamic Legitimacy of Living in Non-Muslim Lands

Many of us, in fact pretty much I think all of us, have come to the reality that yes, we are going to live here as a Muslim minority in a non-Muslim land.

I know that there are some very conservative people who don't agree with this, and they say it is not permissible for Muslims to live in a non-Muslim land. However, this position goes against the majority position in our sharia and fiqh, and it is also an impractical, unrealistic opinion.

The Hadith of Fudaik

As for the fiqh, and time only permits me to gloss over some evidences, one hadith is sufficient.

The hadith of a companion known as Fudaik. Fudaik lived in an area that was worshiping idols. And when he embraced Islam, he was told, perhaps by some overzealous Muslims, that unless he made hijrah to Medina, his Islam would not be valid.

And so Fudaik traveled to Medina in order to ask the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) this question. And he said, "There are people claiming that whoever does not make hijrah will be destroyed." I mean, you can't get more explicit than this hadith, can you?

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

"Yā Fudaik, aqim aṣ-ṣalāh, wa ijtanib as-sayyi āt, wa askun min ardi qawmika haythu shit"

"Oh Fudaik, establish the prayer, avoid evil deeds, and live with your people wherever you like."

Reference: Sahih Ibn Hibban (Note: The speaker referenced this hadith from Sahih Ibn Hibban. The exact wording and hadith number would require verification from the original source.)

Establish the prayer, avoid evil deeds, live a good life as a Muslim, and live wherever you want to live. And this hadith is authentic and reported in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, and other books as well. And this is the majority position in classical fiqh.

Scholarly Consensus

The Hanafis, the Shafi'is, the Hanbalis, the majority of the Fuqaha, they said it is permissible for a Muslim to live anywhere on the face of this earth, as long as he was able or she was able to practice Islam. Yes, a minority disagreed, but they are a minority.

And in fact there is another opinion, an opinion that states, and this is the opinion for example of the Shafi'i jurist, Al-Mawardi.

Al-Mawardi stated, if a Muslim is living in a non-Muslim land, and he is able to pray and fast and be a Muslim, i.e. our situation, Al-Mawardi said, it is obligatory, wajib, for the Muslim to remain in non-Muslim lands. Why? Because his presence will bring about the religion of Islam to these people. He will be an ambassador of Islam to these people.

Therefore he can't pack his bags and leave. He has to remain where he is, in order to spread the religion of Islam. And this is a legitimate and a very very strong opinion, also in Fiqh.

The Practical Reality

Hence, the reality is, from a Shari'i point of view, definitely the majority opinion states, Muslims can indeed live in non-Muslim lands. And from a pragmatic point of view as well, in North America alone, there are between 7 to 11 million Muslims, we don't know how many, perhaps around 8, 9, 10 million Muslims. Add to this the Muslims of Europe and Canada and Australia, and conservatively speaking, in Western secular democracies alone, the number of Muslims is over 30 million.

Let those numbers sink in. Those people who claim that we have to make hijrah, hijrah, hijrah, where do you think these 30 million Muslims are going to go?

Identity Crisis and American Muslim Identity

And the reason I bring this up, is because the fact of the matter, the blunt reality, is that there are many amongst us, who are uncomfortable with this identity. There are many amongst us who haven't quite come to terms with us being American.

They're facing an identity crisis, and they believe that if they want to be a good Muslim, they cannot be an American at the same time. And I feel that from a shari'i point of view, and from a pragmatic realistic point of view, we have to come to the conclusion, that yes, we are American Muslims, and we need to be proud of that.

If we come to this conclusion, then and only then, can we come to the next stage of formulating a vision.

On the other hand, if we're uncomfortable, if we're not fully at home, feeling American and feeling Muslim, then really we have to ask ourselves, what are we doing here?

Fundamental Questions About Our Goals

Those who say that we need to make hijrah, while they're living in America, or in the goal, for example, to establish a khilafah where we live. Is it our goal to convert our land into an Islamic state? Or is it our goal to convert everybody around us to be Muslim? Or is it merely our goal to live and let live? Let us be Muslim, and you be who you want to be. I'm asking some very blunt and harsh questions.

And the reason I'm doing so, is because it's high time, we got out of our comfortable shells, and we faced reality. We faced the brutal and blunt reality, that times have changed. Our very survival is at stake.

Our very survival as a western ummah is at stake. And we need to confront these issues head on.

Before and After 9/11

Before 9-11, I call them the good old days. Dawah was so, so beautiful. You could say whatever you wanted to, and get away with it. Because, forget the government monarchy, they didn't even care what the Muslims said.

At many conventions, I remember hearing myself attending conventions, Muslims would openly say, we want the flag of Islam flying over the White House. We want to establish a khilafah in this country. If any speaker makes the same claims now, dot, dot, dot.

So, we have to face these questions, and we have to answer them in a very realistic and blunt manner.

Imported Ideologies

And the reality is, brothers and sisters, that when Muslims came to America, they didn't just bring their baggage and clothes, they didn't just bring their family and their money with them, they also brought their ideologies and their visions of Islam. Various methodologies that were formulated in Muslim lands, in a different time, in a different place, in a different culture, were imported to fit the American scene.

And of these trends was the trend and the belief that the ultimate goal of every Islamic movement had to be the establishment of a khilafah. But, my dear brothers and sisters, let me ask you in a very blunt manner, what is the evidence for this? Why are we so, so certain that this is the goal of Islam?

We have taken this vision from another place, another time. The people who formulated this vision, they lived in an era when the Ottoman caliphate had just been disbanded.

They lived in an era where for the first time, church and state was being separated by Muslims. They saw their own countrymen, fellow Muslims, calling for a secular version of Islam. And so these intellectual giants, these geniuses whom we love and respect from Egypt and India and Pakistan and all of these countries, they formulated a vision that was specific for them, that was based upon their context, that was addressed to their Muslim brethren and sisters of their lands and countries.

HEADING

Brothers and sisters, for us as American Muslims to import their vision and to apply it to America, it is simply unrealistic. We need to step back and question these fundamental realities.

The Model of Abyssinia

And I say, that of the most important incidents that we need to look at in the seerah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is the incident of the immigration to Abyssinia, to Habesha.

Because one of the major problems of Islamic movements is they look at the ideal madani state, and they pick it up, and they transport it 14 centuries later, and they wish to put it down in where we're living in the time and place we're in. No doubt that is the ideal state, but we have to realize that sometimes, sometimes, idealism cannot be met. And we have to face pragmatism and reality.

The Abyssinian Experience

The incident of the immigration to Abyssinia is the perfect model for us to look at. Many of us don't realize, we all know the Muslims immigrated to Abyssinia, over a hundred of them, they established their own masjid there, they had children, many of them married and divorced, they were living there. Many of us don't realize, they lived there for over a decade.

They didn't just go for a year or two, they lived there for 14 years. In the meantime, the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ immigrated to Medina, they're still in Abyssinia. He sets up a state, they're still in Abyssinia.

Badr takes place, they're in Abyssinia. Uhud takes place, they're in Abyssinia. Khandaq takes place, they're in Abyssinia.

Hudaybiyyah takes place, they're in Abyssinia. In other words, the Islamic state is up and running, it is functioning, and yet there is a minority in another land.

No Command to Overthrow

Which was the relationship between this minority and the Muslim state? Did the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ send them a letter, that while you're there, you have to think of overthrowing the Najashi, you have to plot and plan to establish a khilafah in Abyssinia.

Did he tell them you have to establish the hudud where you're living? The laws of Islam had been revealed by the seventh year of the hijrah. The laws of Islam had already come down for the most part. And yet the Muslims of Abyssinia lived as a minority in a Christian majority.

They did not, they did not aim to overthrow the government that was there and establish their own. Why? Why? Because their situation was not the situation of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and the Muslims in Mecca and Medina. They had a different situation.

Not an ideal, and yet a practical, and a realistic, and a permissible situation and scenario. Brothers and sisters, the Muslims of Abyssinia are the best paradigm. They are the best example for us to look at.

Our Goal as American Muslims

From this example, we can state that as a religious minority, living amongst non-Muslims, living amongst people who have allowed us to come, allowed us and our fathers to come here, and to live according to their laws, we need to understand that it cannot be our goal. It cannot be our goal to threaten the status quo.

We cannot tell them as a minority that all people of this land, our goal is to eradicate you and your way of life and to establish a khilafah here.

It is un-Islamic and it is foolish. Both. It is un-Islamic because never did the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ send a minority peacefully in a land and say, live there, and then plot and plan to overthrow the government.

And it is impragmatic. It is unpractical because what do you expect our situation will be when all of us begin to announce to our fellow Americans here, my duty and job is to destroy your way of life. And I have come to establish a khilafah to prevent you from doing what you are doing.

Let us be pragmatic and realistic, brothers and sisters. Our goal cannot be the establishment of a khilafah.

Important Disclaimer

Now, let me put a disclaimer here, and that is, I am not talking about the goal of the Muslim ummah.

I am not saying the concept of a khilafah is wrong. I am not saying that state and church have to be separated. Not at all.

What I am saying, as Muslims living in America, as American Muslims, it cannot be our goal, it cannot be our battle to establish the khilafah where we live. If people of other lands want to establish the khilafah where they live, I am not talking about that. I am speaking about us as American Muslims.

The Goal of Da'wah

Our goal has to be to spread Islam peacefully. Our goal has to be da'wah. We call the people to the worship of Allah.

We call the people to:

Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadun rasūlullāh

Fully realizing that they have the right to accept or to reject it. I am not claiming that establishing a khilafah is not important.

Don't misquote me. What I am saying, we have to be realistic. As a minority of 1.5% of this country, it is foolishness to have this as our goal.

And it is also, as I claim, un-Islamic. It is not only un-Islamic, it is not pragmatic or realistic. Now, as I said, our goal should be to spread Islam.

And to spread the message of:

Lā ilāha illallāh

And we have to understand the gist of Islam, the crux of Islam, the center of Islam, is:

Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadun rasūlullāh

And this can be perfected in our daily lives as we live here.

Honest Desires and Disclaimers

And in this regard, if somebody asks us, do you want to see all of America Muslim? We should not be ashamed to say, yes, yes it is my goal, it is my dream, it is my desire, that the truth of Islam shine, manifest from coast to coast and sea to sea, shine all the way from New York to Los Angeles. Yes, it is my dream. But at the same time, it is up to the people if they want to accept or not.

And it is very important that we make these disclaimers. And we are the same as many other groups, the Christian evangelicals, many of other religions. They want to spread their faith, but in ways that are within the realm of the laws of this land.

And we need to come to terms with this as well.

The Future of Islam in America

All Muslims, we sitting here today, we are the face of the future of Islam. If we wish to take Islam forward, to make sure that our children and their children after them, and their grandchildren, and their great great grandchildren, are Muslims, and are proud to be Muslims, are able to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala freely, we need to be able to come out of our comfortable shells, and to start thinking about these very very deep issues.

We need to have the courage to question and ask, and the humility to listen and learn. We need to have the inquisitive to think, and to dream the grandest dreams. But we also need to have the humbleness to

accept reality as it is.

We need to be able to plan forth, and think about the vision, not for me, not for my children, for 10, 20, 30 generations after us. And we need to be pragmatic, and realistic throughout all of this.

Moving Beyond Rhetoric

We need to move beyond the empty rhetoric, the sloganeering, Islam is the answer, Islam is the solution.

Brothers and sisters, we need to move beyond this. And we need to form practical, pragmatic, realistic steps. Do this, do this, do this.

We have to move beyond the empty rhetoric, and move on to realistic solutions. All the while realizing brothers and sisters, that Islam is a religion, that asks us to live good lives in this world, and good lives in the hereafter. And Allah does not place a burden on us more than we can bear.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, I conclude by stating, there is no danger to the religion of Islam. There is no danger. Allah has promised to protect it.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has promised it will be protected. Islam is under no threat. No.

The threat is to me and you. The threat is to us as Muslims. Allah will preserve Islam, and Islam will prevail.

But the question is, and is with this question that I leave you with. The question is, are we going to be successful? Are we going to be successful in this world and the hereafter? And that is the most important question that every single one of us needs to answer.

Closing Du'a

Wa șallallāhu wa sallama wa bāraka ῾alā ‘abdihi wa rasūlihi Muḥammad wa ῾alā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʻin

Allāhumma șalli wa sallim ʻalā sayyidinā Muḥammad wa ῾alā ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʻîn