Paradise Lost Restoring the Image of Islam

Restoring the Image of Islam

Khutbah by Dr. Yusha Evans

Opening

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Khutbah al-Hajah (Opening Sermon)

(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīn)

All praise belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All praise, all thanks, all gratitude, all shukr, all hamd belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to Him alone. Because He is the source of all things. We praise Him and we praise Him alone.

We seek His aid and His assistance alone. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: "If you ask, ask of Me." We seek refuge with Allah. Meaning that we seek protection. We seek our protection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from the evil that is within our own souls.

The Prophet alayhi salatu was salam said that Shaitan runs through man like blood runs through his veins. And we are prone to evil, we are prone to misdeeds, we are prone to sins, we are prone to do things in error. So we seek refuge with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from that. And His help is that which is sought alone.

Guidance is from Allah Alone

Whomsoever Allah guides this is the aqeedah of the Muslim as it was the aqeedah taught to us by the Prophet alayhi salatu was salam. And aqeedah meaning that which binds us, that which ties us to our deen. It is understood that our hidayah, our guidance, our steadfastness upon the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and His deen is only from Allah.

Whomever Allah guides, He has truly guided them. And they cannot be misguided except by Him. And whomsoever Allah misguides, and this is the correct understanding. Whomsoever Allah sends astray, for whatever reason He chooses. It is part of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being al-Hakim, the Most Wise, al-Alim, the All-Knowing, al-Qadir, the one who is powerful and establishes His will.

Whomsoever He sends astray cannot be guided back or guided to this deen but by Him.

Shahada

(وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ - wa ashhadu an lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, wa ʾashhadu ʾanna muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu)

And I bear witness and give shahada, testimony that I hope will be recorded for me on the day of qiyamah when I meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. With nothing but my naked self and my scroll of deeds.

I bear witness that nothing has the right to be worshipped but Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. And He is Ahad, alone, unique, singular. With no equal, with no partner, with nothing like Him, with nothing even close to His description that can be understood by the human mind.

And I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Abdullah alayhi salatu wa salam was indeed His servant and His last and final messenger.

Call to Taqwa

Allah azza wa jal tells us in the Quran:

"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam."

O you who believe, O you who possess iman, O you who say ashadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashadu anna muhammadan rasulullah—Fear Allah, have taqwa for Allah, meaning have protection from the punishment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for yourselves. Protect yourself from the punishment of Allah, this is taqwa.

Whatever it takes to protect yourself from Allah's wrath and anger and punishment, this is taqwa. Whatever it is, whatever it takes for you. For everyone, everyone personally, taqwa might take a different level. There might be different things for you that protect you from the anger and wrath and punishment of Allah that I might need to do to protect myself.

So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, tell us to take taqwa from Him, that means whatever it is that you need to do to protect yourself from the fear and wrath and punishment of Allah.

Learning from the Companions

It was known from the companions, and they are our teachers, they are our salaf, our predecessors, who preceded us in goodness, they preceded us in Islam, and they beat us to Jannah. Someone who's already succeeded.

You see, this is something that I failed to understand from the modern mind of this ummah. Is that we don't take these examples as they should be taken. If you see people who have already succeeded in something that you want to do. If you see a group of people who have already been proclaimed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

"You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind."

That they were the best of people, and He was pleased with them, and they were pleased with Him. People whom the Prophet alayhi salatu was salam guaranteed many of them were in Jannah during their lifetimes.

When you see people who have ultimately achieved success like this, to not take their example is absolute madness. It is absolute idiocy not to say that these people are our teachers, they are our leaders, we follow their example. We do what they did and we will reach where they reached. It's quite simple.

It was their aqeedah. And it was their way that some of them would prevent themselves as part of their taqwa for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They would prevent themselves from things that were permissible. Why? Because they felt and they knew their own selves better than anyone else. That doing those things might lead them or tempt them to something which is impermissible. So they forbade it for themselves out of taqwa. This is taqwa.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: "Have taqwa for me as it is my right, and do not die unless you are a Muslim." Simple. Do not die unless you have bore witness to your Creator and His existence, and you have submitted yourself to Him. This is Islam.

The Meaning of Islam

Islam is a way of life. Submitting sincerely in obedience to the Creator of all things in order that we may have peace in this life, and live peaceably in this life, and enter into peace into the next life when we enter into Jannah inshaAllah ta'ala.

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala proclaims to mankind:

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul."

O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one soul. And from that soul He created its mate. And from those two came the rest of mankind. And fear Allah from whom you demand your mutual rights to the ties of kinship. And give reverence to the arham, the womb that gave you birth. For Allah indeed sees everything that you do.

Speaking the Truth

"O you who believe, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice."

O you who believe, fear Allah and always say that which needs to be said. Always speak the truth. Saying what needs to be said. For by doing so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive you your sins and guide you to righteous actions.

And whosoever has obeyed Allah and His last messenger has indeed achieved the greatest achievement.

The Best Speech and Guidance

The truest speech, the most true kalam is kalam Allah. It's the speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Al-Quran. And the best guidance, the best example to follow is the example of Muhammad alayhi as-salatu wa as-salam.

He is the only example. We follow him and we do what he did and we stay away from what he stayed away from. It's a simple formula for success.

Warning Against Innovation

And the worst actions are newly innovated matters that were not legislated by Allah nor His messenger in this deen. And every one of those newly innovated matters is a bid'ah, is a deviation. And every deviation is a dalala, is a misguidance. It is a path that is other than the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And we ask Allah:

"Guide us upon the straight path."

The path, there's one. Every other path is a path that leads to Jahannam, even if it might be just a little bit off. By the time you get to its end destination, it is in the fire. And this is what he said, every dalala, every misguidance is in the fire.

Introduction

It's a pleasure to be here with you again in Nashville, brothers and sisters. I've had a little break from you guys, so hopefully now you've not gotten tired of seeing me. But it's my pleasure to be back with you and to share with you a weekend of some advices that I've been pondering on over the past year.

Taking a Break to Refill

I took myself a break. You know sometimes everybody needs a break. I took a break off social media. I didn't travel as much. Why? Because I've been at this for 10 years and I knew I needed to focus on me. I had been giving out so much that the tank was running empty. It was time for me to refill.

And this was one of the advices I learned from one of my teachers. Who told me: "You can't give to people what you don't have. You can't possibly give to someone what you yourself don't possess."

And he told me: "At any point in your da'wah, you feel you draining out. You don't feel the spark that caused you to do this in the first place. You don't feel the knowledge base that you feel you should have to keep going. Then take time for you. Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not tell you to save the world. He told you to save yourself. And then your family."

So I took time. But it's time to get back at it. You see. You can take a break but you can't quit. That's what I tell the brothers. No problem. You got family things going on. You got personal problems. Take a break. Just don't quit.

Paradise Lost

You know, when we look at the world today, especially when it comes to this ummah, I don't even know where to start. But I know we have problems. And things need to be fixed.

I titled today's talk including the evening, Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost. Why? Because there was a time. And as I said before, if you don't look at people who were successful before you and try to emulate them, then you're just a fool.

Learning from Success

Even sports teams, sports teams. They look all week long. You think they're just hanging out, just relaxing. They're practicing and watching film from the week before. Seeing what mistakes they made. What good things they did. How this was working. How this wasn't working. So we can adjust our plan for next week. They look back at film from years ago. Knowing how they did things to be successful or unsuccessful. So we look back.

When This Ummah Lived in Paradise

There was a time where this ummah lived in paradise. They lived a paradise in this life. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had granted them ultimate success. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had granted them al-fatah. Victory.

The world for almost a millennia, for nearly a millennia, this world looked at the Muslim ummah as a giant and they were in its shadow. You don't think I'm true? You don't think I'm being correct? Go find out. Don't believe me. I ask you to challenge me. I ask you to not believe me.

For almost a millennia, this ummah lived in security, in safety, in peace, where we were able to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with no fear, with no worries. Were there problems and difficulties? Yes. You know why? Because that's life. There is no life with no difficulty. You entered into this life with difficulty. You will leave this life with difficulty. So if you don't think you're going to experience any here, then you're fooled.

The Success of the Prophet and the Sahaba

But they lived in the best state. And this was due to the effort of our beloved Prophet Muhammad alayhi salatu was salam. And Allah gave him that victory and safety and security and tranquility. And due to the efforts of the sahaba, رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ who went out and took the da'wah, exactly as it was given to them by the Prophet alayhi salatu was salam. They delivered that to the world and that's why it was successful.

That's why it was successful. If you look at their da'wah and their minhaj, it was exactly the way the Prophet alayhi salatu was salam delivered it to them. This is why it was successful.

The Job of Da'wah: Delivering the Package

That is our job. The job of the ummah with regards to helping the message of Islam go forward, is like the postman, the mailman, the UPS driver, the FedEx driver. What is their responsibility? The responsibility if the

This is Da'wah

This is da'wah. This is our job. Is to take the package, al-Islam, and deliver it in the same way it was delivered to us by the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi wa sallam). That's our job. Don't tamper with it. Don't play with it. Don't mess with it. Don't shake it about. Don't alter it. Just hand the package over.

What the people do with that package, once you hand it to them, is between them and the one who created them. That's it. Hidayah is in the hands of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā). But your job is to hand over the package.

You see, and that's what the Sahaba (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhum wa raḍū 'anhu) did. They took the package of al-Islam, the way it was given to them by the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi wa sallam). And they handed it over exactly like that. And that's why Allah took that package that was in the people's hands and made it a means for guidance for them and turned their hearts towards this deen.

Don't Tamper with the Message

Now, either we don't even hand the package over at all or we tamper with it. We play with it. We mess with it. We change it. We alter it. This is not going to be of a benefit and people will not be guided. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) will not guide people to your corrupted image of Islam. He guides them to haqq, to truth. So if you're not handing over the truth, do not be surprised that people aren't accepting it. This is fact, reality.

And when they did that, they flourished. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) gave them victory. Allah allowed them to put the banner of tawhid all over the world and they lived in safety and security.

What Happened? We Changed

And then something happens and we ended up where we are today. Something happened and we ended up where we are today. An ummah that is not a giant with people standing in its shadow. An ummah that people could look to and emulate and envy in a good way. We are looked at as a people who are backwards. We are an uneducated ummah.

Our education rate is staggering when it comes to the amount of people that can read and write in this ummah and the amount of people who have higher education. I'm not talking about in the west. We are an ummah. We are all an ummah. I'm talking about the billion Muslims across the planet.

We are miskeen. We are poor except for a few of us who have a lot of money and don't help the rest of us with it. I'm not talking about you guys. I'm not here to raise money either. Don't even think about that today. It's weekend. I told the imam, I said: "You brought Yusha. They're going to think they need to open their checkbooks." No, no, no. Just here for you this weekend. Inshallah.

Our Current State

So we have our issues. But what happens? What changed? What changed from the time of the companions (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhum) and the people who came after them or salaf who lived in this tranquility, this paradise on earth as it were to where we are now where we don't even have safety and security in the lands where Islam used to flourish.

What happens? What changed? Well, I know what changed. We changed. We changed.

The Principle of Change in the Quran

And the reason I know that we changed is because Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) told us that we changed. He told you and I in the Quran 1400 years ago that we changed. How do we know that? Because we can work backwards.

We can look at our state and condition which is not one of izzah, it's not one of honor, it's not one of dignity, it's not one of this grandeur that the companions (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhum) had and our ummah had for a very long time. It is completely the opposite of that.

And Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) says in His most noble book, a principle. The Quran is full of principles. And when Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) puts forward a principle, that principle is unchangeable. That principle is unalterable. You can't change it. You are stuck working within that principle and within that system. And if you don't know that principle and system, then you will not know the answers and the solutions to your problems.

This is why we look to the Quran first and foremost. Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) says in Surah Ar-Ra'd:

"Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." Reference: Quran 13:11

Understanding the Principle

You see, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) is telling us that He will not change— (لَا يُغَيِّرُ - lā yughayyiru)—He will not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.

I'm sure you've heard this a million times. It doesn't matter because we're not listening to the principle. The principle of this entire ayah is change. Change.

The Transformation of the Arabs

Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) took the Arabs who at the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) were some of the most backwards, some of the most ignorant, some of the most filthy people on the planet earth when it came to—they worship so many idols, they had no principles of justice, they had no principles of equity, they had no principles of kindness and mercy and all of these things.

And Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) raised them up from amongst themselves, the last and final messenger. And when they entered into Islam and when they accepted the deen with all of their heart and changed who they were from the inside out, changed who they were, changed the very core of their character and their minds and their hearts and their souls.

The Testimony of Aisha

As Aisha (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا وَرَضِيَتْ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhā wa raḍiyat) said she said this after the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) when speaking to some of the Tabi'een. She said: "If Allah (تَعَالَىٰ سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) had revealed the laws of halal and haram first, if this would have been the first things that Allah revealed in the Quran, people would have ran from the deen."

This is a principle of da'wah too taught to us by our mother Aisha (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَرَضِيَتْ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhā wa raḍiyat). If halal and haram is the first thing to be discussed, then people would flee.

But the verses of Jannah were talked about first. The verses of Jahannam were talked about first. Tawheed, Iman, Bilghayb and the unseen. These things which would affect the hearts of the people.

And Aisha (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا وَرَضِيَتْ - raḍiya Allāhu 'anhā wa raḍiyat) said that when the hearts of the people became connected to Allah, and I've talked about this before on this minbar and in this masjid, the connection between the heart and Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā). She said when the hearts became connected and attached to Allah (تَعَالَىٰ سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) then He started to reveal the verses of halal and haram and the people accepted it without question.

You see this change happened. This change. And when this change happened within the people, within the companions, Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) changed their surrounding conditions for them. You see how that worked? He changed the conditions around them for them.

Our Conditions Reflect Our Hearts

Many of our Salaf including Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله تعالى - raḥimahu Allāhu ta'ālā)–when people came to him complaining about rule and authority and leaders and things of this nature. Many of our Salaf said that the conditions that the Muslims especially live in and including the non-Muslims. The conditions that they find themselves in, social conditions, economic conditions, political conditions. These conditions are set by what Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) sees inside the people.

Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله تعالى - raḥimahu Allāhu ta'ālā) said: "If you want the leaders to stop oppressing you, then stop oppressing yourselves with sin and disobedience to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) and He will change that for you."

So if we see that we are living in a condition to where we are not respected, we are not honored, we are not favored, we are not well off, then we have to look inside ourselves and see that that is the condition that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) sees in the hearts of this ummah. They are distanced themselves from Him, they have changed.

We Changed Again

So Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) gave these companions this great victory and allowed Islam to spread under them and the people who came after them and they lived in this peace and safety and security. So how did we get here? We changed again. We changed again, we reverted back to a people who would be distant from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) so He distanced Himself from us. A people who were disobedient to Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) so He placed humiliation upon us.

Why? Not just to punish us because we deserve it. For someone who doesn't think they deserve to be punished, then you are already misguided. You are already been misguided. But not only but to punish us but to bring us back, to bring us back.

The Example of Bani Israel

And this has been the way of all of the ummah, all of the ummah who came before us. If we look at Bani Israel, when Bani Israel, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) freed them from the bondage of Fir'aun, what did they do? They started complaining. They started being ungrateful to Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) even though He was reminding them again and again:

"If you are grateful to Me, I'll give you more." Reference: Quran 14:7

But He punished them for that. He made them wonder. He made them go through hardship and difficulty for years and years and years in the desert until the hearts came back to Him, and then He gave them the victory.

The Heart Must Change First

You see this is how the process with Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) works. He has to work on what is in here first. This has to be solved before anything else can be solved. This is the core issue of what's hurting this ummah today is what we hold right here. What we hold right here between us and Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) that no one knows about, has to change. The hearts of the people have to change.

The Egyptian Revolution

I said this very thing when I was living in Egypt during the revolution. Yeah, I was there. I know what happened. I saw what happened. There were many people who wanted genuine change for the sake of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā). Yes.

But I told many of the brothers that I don't think this is ready yet. I don't think the generality of the people is ready for what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā) wants from them yet. And we see the end results of what's happened.

This has to change before you try to change anything outside of yourselves.

Imam Malik's Statement

Imam Malik (رحمه الله تعالى - raḥimahu Allāhu ta'ālā), one of the great giants of this ummah and our salaf. Imam Malik (رحمه الله تعالى - raḥimahu Allāhu ta'ālā), he said in a longer statement, the end of that statement was:

"Nothing will rectify the last parts of this ummah except that which rectified the first parts of this ummah."

This is why I said we lose the connection to our past, we lose ourselves. Nothing will rectify the last part of this ummah except what rectified the first part of it. Meaning that, if we want to see lasting, progressive change for the good of humanity, we're not doing it just for ourselves.

You see, the Muslim does not think like this. The Muslim does not think totally about themselves except when it comes to our race for Jannah. But we think about what's better for the world and what's great for the world.

This is why Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) revealed His book and His laws and the maqasid of that was the betterment of mankind, that it was better for you. It benefits Allah in not the least.

Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) has told us that if all of you were to worship me, you don't increase my kingdom in the slightest bit, you don't add to my kingdom, you don't add to my dominion, you give me no favor. And if all of mankind turned away from Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) and did not worship Him, and did not obey Him, it would not harm Him in the least or decrease from His kingdom in one bit. It's all for our benefit. It's all for our benefit.

Returning to the Beginning

So we have to come back to what changed the beginning of this ummah. And that was that they made their hearts clean and attached to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā). We will get into it very, very detailed tonight. Will be an extension.

The Blackening of the Heart

But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

"When the slave sins and they don't repent from it, it becomes a black spot on their heart. If they repent from it, then Allah polishes that spot. But if they don't repent and they continue to sin and sin and sin, those black spots add up until they cover the heart and the heart becomes sealed from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa ta'ālā)."

Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4244

And this is something that I worry for myself more than anything. And it frightens me to think that Allah (تَعَالَى سُبْحَانَهُ - ta'ālā subḥānahu) at any given time can seal your heart, can seal my heart, can cover it and close it off. And I could not get

The Ummah is Lost

This ummah is lost. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), he said, after me, he was telling his companions one day, he said:

"After me you will see fitna. After me you'll see trials and you'll see tribulations. After me."

He said: "So cling to the affairs as they were at the beginning."

If you want to be saved from this fitna, this is what he told his companions, that after me you're going to see fitna. And he was very, very, very true in that fact. During the lives of the companions (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ - raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum wa raḍū ʿanhu) there was much fitna in this ummah. There was trials and tribulations from the day that he died.

He said: "And if you want to be safe from that, then you cling to things the way they were in the beginning. How we started. Remember our beginnings. Remember our humble origins. When we used to meet in the house of Araqam for no other reason than to worship Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) alone. When the harshness and the oppression was at its worst, remember what kept you attached to Allah. This is what would keep you from the fitna that will come after me."

And alhamdulillah they survived it. And they brought forward an ummah that would lead the world for nearly a millennia.

We Can Be That Again

We can be that again. But we have to go back to the affairs the way they were at the beginning.

Simple matters. People who love Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subḥānahu wa taʿālā) people whose hearts were attached to Allah, people who love the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) attached to his sunnah, people who live a life as the companions lived:

"We listen to you and we obey."

A simple form of this deen is needed in 2018.

We Have Overcomplicated

We have overcomplicated. We as human beings are the masters of overcomplication. We are the masters of making things harder than they should be. We have mastered that over a long period of time and we have put it

into the deen and overcomplicated it and over... made things so, so difficult on ourselves that we cannot continue forward and the Prophet forbade us from doing so.

He said:

"This deen is easy. This religion is easy." Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 39

So make it easy for yourself or you will not be able to continue in it.

Advice from the Prophet to Abdullah ibn Abbas

We need a change. The last hadith. Tonight we're gonna go through, insha'Allah ta'ala tonight, this is why you need to come back at 6:30. We're gonna go through with a very detailed manners the things that I have witnessed and have seen through my research that have caused us to end up in this condition where Allah has changed us yet again and put us back into our former state of humiliation and degradation.

The Prophet alaihissalatu wassalam, he was talking to his son, I mean his uncle Abbas's son Abdullah. He was talking to him and he said something amazingly beautiful. He said to him: "Oh young man, I'm gonna tell you some words of advice."

And anytime the Prophet alaihissalatu wassalam singles someone out to give them some advice, they took it as serious.

He said:

"Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you."

Sorry, I'm just picturing those words coming out of the mouth of the Prophet alaihissalatu wassalam telling someone that if you're mindful of Allah, you'll find Him in front of you.

Wallahi, if you find Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in front of you, not physically, we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has no maqam, we don't give Him a place. But if you find Allah in front of you, meaning that He's aiding and assisting you and looking out for your welfare and your well-being, you can't lose. You can walk through life with such a smile on your face because you know that you have won.

He said: "Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you." Meaning, have consciousness, have awareness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala here and here. And He will be in front of you and He will protect you.

The Problem of Distraction

I think we as human beings, another problem we have in this life is that we are so bombarded by everything that

is around us. Our phones are constantly going off, we're constantly getting social media notifications. There's constantly things that are distracting us from ourselves that we do not take time to do any inflection, any looking inside of ourselves and reflection on the world that is around us.

Because let me tell you, during this break that I've taken, I've thought about some things. And the more I thought about the difficulties and hardships and other things that I went through, the more I saw that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala always found a way to protect me and defend me and to be there for me. And I didn't even realize it at the time and didn't even thank Him for it at the time.

So if you think about those things, you will find that if you are mindful of Allah, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has told us:

"Remember me and I will remember you." Reference: Quran 2:152

Ask from Allah Alone

He told him:

"If you ask anything, ask it from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. If you ask of anything, ask it for Allah alone." Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516

Allah loves to be asked. This is one of the things that is so beautiful about the Rabb that we worship and we serve as that He loves for you to ask. He loves for you to beg Him. He loves for you to plead with Him. This is true servitude to Allah, showing Allah that you are His abd and you cannot have anything unless He gives it to you. Allah loves this from His servants. If you ask, ask from Allah alone.

The Decree of Allah

And know that if the nation were together against you to do you harm, if the whole world were together against you to do you harm and they were to cooperate with one another to harm you, just you. He wasn't talking to all of the companions, He was talking to Abdullah (رضي الله عنه - raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu). He was telling him that if the whole world were to come together and cooperate to harm you, they would not be able to harm you except what Allah has already decreed for you.

And if the whole world were to come together to aid and assist and benefit you, they would not be able to aid and assist and benefit you except for what Allah has already granted you.

Telling about the qadr and the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Our Condition is Because of Who We Are

So we know that the conditions that we live in today are because of what we are, because of who we are. And if

they are not how we want them to be, then we need to do some change. We need to do some change. This is what this entire weekend is going to be about, is about change.

This Weekend's Topics

Tonight we're gonna talk about the things that have caused us to enter into this changed condition and what we can do about it.

Tomorrow we're gonna discuss a social issue that is prevalent in the world today, and it is prevalent in the Muslim ummah, whether we wanna talk about it or not, I'm gonna talk about it, and it's Asabiyyah. It's tribalism and racism and bigotry. It's something that needs to be dealt with as an ummah. And it is a social issue which we can confront because our deen speaks very specifically to this matter. Our Prophet alayhissalatu wassalam spoke very specifically to this matter. We'll discuss that tomorrow night insha'Allah ta'ala.

And then on Sunday, bismillah, 6:30, all of these timings, we're gonna discuss a plan for the ummah of America, for the Muslims of America. This can also go to anywhere pretty much in the west. A path forward for how we can create a changing condition for this ummah. We might not ever see it, but what we can do at least to start some building blocks for the next generation to live in a better condition than the hardship and turmoil and difficulties that we see insha'Allah ta'ala.

Second Khutbah

The Work Never Ends

I've been saying it for many years that I've been coming here that we have a lot of work to do and I'm gonna keep saying it because the work never ends. It never ends. There will never come a time—there will never come a time and I know this for a fact—there will never come a time if I were to even be able to live for a thousand years where I would be able to come on to this minbar and say: "You know what, we've done it, we're done, alhamdulillah, we can relax."

That time won't come. Why? Because the moment you think like that is the moment you start failing again. This is what happened to this ummah. If you want to know where the beginning came—where the beginning change point came from—where this ummah was a giant on the world stage to where it is now, it came with that very attitude that we've done enough and we became complacent and we thought we had worked hard enough and we had done enough and we became ungrateful to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us and he took every bit of it away piece by piece by piece by piece.

Always Work to Be Done

So there's always work to be done. But we are at a crunch time now where it's like fourth and goal and there's

one second left on the clock and our next play is going to decide the outcome of the whole game. The world is waiting on the Muslims to make a move. Sometimes they're expecting from us the wrong things and it's nice to surprise them from time to time. It's nice to surprise them and do the right thing. What is the right thing? That's what we're going to discuss this weekend insha'allah ta'ala.

We Have the Manpower

We have so much work that can be done. We're not short of numbers. We're not short of numbers. We have more than enough manpower. The manpower I'm not worried about. The Prophet alayhissalatu wassalam prophesized a time where our numbers wouldn't be an issue but he also said at that time that we would be like the foam of the sea. We would be inconsequential in the world scene. And where are we now? We're an inconsequential ummah.

The Hadith About the Nations

He said:

"There will come a time where the nations of this world will invite themselves to you like people invite themselves to a dinner or like animals take a meal and they will have no fear of you." Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4297

They won't have any fear—meaning that fear for respect. You know how like you respect your father or your mother. You might love them to death but you're scared as hell of them at the same time. That's the way we should be with our parents. My children know I love them. They know I love them with all of my heart and would stand in front of a bullet for them. But they also are scared to death of me because they know if they step out of line I don't play that game.

Because if I can't teach them to respect me and have a healthy dose of fear for me who is standing right in front of them, how am I ever going to teach them to fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rather than punishment and they can't see him.

Wahin in Our Hearts

He said they would have no healthy fear of you and Allah will have placed wahin in your hearts. And the companions asked: "What is this wahin?" It was a word that they didn't know. "What is this wahin, what is this?"

He said:

"You'll love this world so much that you'll hate to die."

You'll love this world so much that you'll hate to die. This was Bani Israel. This is what caused them so much hardship and difficulty and Allah warned us from it. You will die. This is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us in the Quran:

"Every soul will taste death."

Know that's a fact.

We Need Energy

So we have some work to do. We have enough manpower. We just need some energy inshallah ta'ala and we need to bring our hearts back to Allah.

Closing Dua