Allah (God) is all-sufficient for you

Allah is All-Sufficient for You

Opening Praises and Testimony

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, and we repent to Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomever He allows to go astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that our master Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except as Muslims."

"O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer."

"O you who believe, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will then amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment."

To proceed: The most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The worst of affairs are the newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ

"All praise to Allah who has guided us to this, and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us." (Quran 7:43)

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا

"All praise to Allah who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance." (Quran 18:1)

Commemorating the Birth of the Prophet

As we all know, a couple days ago we passed the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal, the day in which our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, came into this world according to the overwhelming majority of accounts surrounding the timing of his birth. May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.

The best thing we can do to commemorate his birth, peace and blessings be upon him, or one of the best things we can do, is to reflect on what he represents. What he represents to the world in general, what he represents to the believers, to those who answer his call. What he represents historically.

To do that, we want to reflect on two verses in the Quran. In each of these verses, Allah calls out to His Prophet: "Ya Ayyuhan Nabi" - O Prophet. So there are several verses of this sort in the Quran, but we want to focus on two.

First Verse: Allah Suffices You

The first, Allah says:

So, O Prophet, (يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ - Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu hasbuka Allah) - Allah suffices you. (وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin) - there are two interpretations here.

First Interpretation: Allah Suffices Both the Prophet and the Believers

The first, and it's a great tiding for us, it's a call for our reflection. So the first way we can interpret this is that Allah suffices you, O Prophet. (يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin) - and Allah suffices those believers who follow you. (حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin) - Allah suffices you and Allah suffices the ones who follow you from the believers. So Allah suffices the believers who follow you.

Why is this a tiding for us? This is a tiding for us because often times we find ourselves lacking things in this world. We find that love might be lacking. Who loves me? No one loves me. We find that money is lacking. I need to pay this bill or that bill or the other bill. I need to buy this, that, or the other. I need money and I don't have either any money - and that's an increasing reality or a very serious reality for a growing number of people - or I don't have enough money. That's most of us. We feel we don't have enough money.

I don't have enough friends. There's no one I can rely on when I'm down and I need some support. There's no one I can reach out to. I can't call anyone. I can't send a text to anyone. I'm lacking in my residence. It's inadequate. The roof is leaking, the walls are cracked, the windows are drafty. So I need a better house.

So Allah is telling us at the end of the day, all we need is Allah.

(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin)

Allah suffices you and Allah suffices those believers who follow you. If we have a strong relationship with Allah, then we'll find that Allah suffices us as a friend, that Allah suffices us as a source of support, that Allah suffices us in our cold, drafty house. Because our relationship with Allah and the strength of that relationship and the quality of that relationship will provide a warmth in the depth of our soul that will negate the coldness that we might feel on our skin.

(حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin)

We might find that we need support just to walk the streets. Like it's dangerous on the street, you know. I need an escort. Allah suffices as an escort. Allah suffices as a source of protection. There is no real protection except Allah. There's no real protection except Allah.

Allah reminds us:

"Wherever you are, death will overtake you, even if you should be within towers of lofty construction."

Here the walls are four feet thick. They're not only bulletproof, they're RPG-proof. The ceiling is reinforced with concrete and steel, and so is the basement. No one can drill from underneath and surprise me. There's a ventilation system so I'm in all of this, then I can still breathe. Allah, if He wills, the thing can collapse on you. The castle doesn't protect you. Allah protects you. The castle doesn't protect us. Allah protects us. And if Allah warns of harm from us, there's no one that can harm us. And if Allah has decreed harm for us, there's no one who can protect us.

حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ

And when we realize that, we don't walk with fear. When we realize that, we realize that whatever protection I have is sufficient because that's what Allah has willed, and Allah will do the rest. Allah will do the rest. And there are miraculous stories we can tell in that regard.

The Prophet's Trust in Allah's Protection

So when our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, it's related, he used to sleep with weapons next to his bed, with his sword next to his bed. And then Allah revealed to him:

وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ

"And Allah will protect you from the people." (Quran 5:67)

He pushed the weapons away and just slept on the bed, because he believed firmly: Allah said He's going to protect me from the people. He's going to protect me.

And despite the fact that he had enemies - enemies who felt that their economic position was threatened by his message, enemies who felt their religious position was threatened by his message, enemies who felt that their social status was threatened by his message. Here he's saying the slaves are equal to us. So he had enemies from many different directions. Despite that, when Allah said He will protect him from the people, he pushed the weapons away because he firmly internalized and believed that message.

And so the sufficiency that our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, found with Allah - Allah will extend that sufficiency to us. Allah will suffice us in our livelihood. Allah will feed us. Allah will protect us. Allah will clothe us. Allah will shelter us. Allah will suffice us.

The Condition: Being True Believers

But there's one small thing - well, actually it's a big thing - at the very end of the verse:

(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin)

We have to be believers. We have to have internalized belief. Not the belief that the rain can wash off. Not the belief the rain can wash off, brothers and sisters. Walk in the rain dodging raindrops. Say brother, what are you doing? I know you have moves. I don't want the rain hit me, some of my belief might wash off. No, not that kind of belief.

The kind of belief the Prophet described, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said:

لَيْسَ الدِّينُ بِالتَّمَنِّي وَلَكِن مَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَهُ الْعَمَلُ

"Religion is not by wishful thinking, but rather what takes root in the heart and is testified to by action."

And here, meaning belief. (لَيْسَ الدِّينُ بِالتَّمَنِّي - laysa ad-deenu bi-ttamanni) - the religion, the belief, is not in wish. It's not an imagination. I think I'm a believer. Rather, it's what takes root in the heart and then it's testified to by the actions. (وَلَكِن مَا وَقَرَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَصَدَّقَهُ الْعَمَلُ - wa lakin ma waqara fi al-qalbi wa saddaqahu al-'amal)

Brothers and sisters, Allah will suffice us.

Second Interpretation: Allah and the Believers Together Suffice You

The second meaning: So the first meaning, Allah suffices you and Allah suffices the ones who follow you from the believers. The second meaning: Allah suffices you along with those who follow you from the believers. In other words, Allah will protect you and the believers will protect you. Allah will uphold and defend your honor, and the believers will uphold and defend your honor. Allah will aid your mission, and the believers will assist your mission.

(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - Ya ayyuha an-nabiyyu hasbuka Allah wa mani-ttaba'aka mina al-mu'minin)

So again, if we're believers, then we will stand up and defend our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Defending the Prophet Through Action

And the best defense, as they say, is a good offense. In other words, we won't wait for a crisis to come and then respond to the crisis. There's a person, a well-placed, very insightful person - I was discussing the plight of, he's not a Muslim, this individual - I was discussing the plight of the Muslims contemporarily with him in this country, and he said, "You Muslims are like a goalie in a hockey game." He said, "You're just responding to shots on the goal." He said, "You know, you get it with the glove, you get it with the stick, you get it with the pads, you get it with the skates. But," he says, "no matter how good your goaltending is, unless you go on the offense, the least you can do is tie 0-0. But you're never going to win. The least you can do is get a tie, because you're always playing defense. And no matter if you have a sterling defense, it's going to be a 0-0 tie unless you skate up the ice and go on the attack."

So the point is, brothers and sisters, we can't wait for crisis after crisis, just sit in the net. We have to go up. And the best offense is to be a living embodiment of everything our Prophet taught us, to the extent of our ability.

And we'll never be perfect in that regard.

But if our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he taught us to be truthful, we have to be truthful. If he taught us to be faithful, we have to be faithful. If he taught us to fulfill our oaths and our covenants when we convene them, we have to fulfill our oaths and our covenants. If he taught us to be dedicated to our families, we have to be dedicated with our families.

The Importance of Strong Families

This is a beautiful gathering to see sisters holding their babies. There's only one thing more beautiful than that in our day and time: to see these brothers holding their babies. That brings more warmth to the heart.

Because we live in an age - this is universal, there's no particular community, no particular faith - but we live in an age where men are abandoning their parental responsibilities. This is one of the signs of the end of time.

How so? At the end of time, things will be reversed.

Allah tells us:

الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ

"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women." (Quran 4:34)

In our day and time, how many women are maintaining men قَلْبُ الْحَقَائِقِ a reversal of realities. Protectors. How many women are left with no protection? How many children are left with no protection?

So our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he emphasized strong families and emphasized strong male leadership of those families.

And so this is how we defend our religion: by demonstrating it, not through our words. When words become inconsistent with actions, the words ring hollow.

But through our actions, through our actions. If someone insults our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we defend them. Not by raging like a mob. By writing intelligent arguments to refute the falsities that are advanced against him, peace and blessings be upon him. By organizing ourselves to invite people to come in discourse and dialogue about him, peace and blessings be upon him, to learn about his life.

But most importantly, by embodying his message within ourselves. Then we don't have to talk. People will meet you and they'll say, "There's something about that man. There's something about that lady. There's something about those children. They're not ordinary. They're not ordinary."

And we should never see ourselves as being ordinary. We should never be satisfied with being ordinary.

Being Extraordinary: A Call to Muslim Women

Sisters, you shouldn't be satisfied to be like any other woman out there. When Allah says about the women of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, another verse:

يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ

"O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women." (Quran 33:32)

O you women of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, referring to his wives immediately, but by extension to all the women of this ummah.

You are not like other women. (لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ - lastunna ka ahadim minan nisa'i) - You're not like other women. You carry a mission. You carry a message. You embody a message. You are a spiritual messenger to mankind after the cessation of the Prophethood. You reflect the prophetic light. And the same is true for the brothers, of course. But Allah specifically addresses the women in this way.

Don't settle for ordinary, sister. Don't settle for ordinary. There are people who are subordinary, if that's a word, in terms of their womanhood, telling the Muslim women, "Abandon your femininity like I've abandoned mine." And it's all a denigration of womanhood.

Allah tells us in the Quran:

"And the male is not like the female." (Quran 3:36)

There are differences. There are qualities that distinguish each one. And they come together to form a whole. This is the great myth of so-called equality.

The Fallacy of Modern Equality

As we mentioned before, first of all, there's not real equality. It's women forced to measure up to male standards. Just yesterday he said women can go into combat. And we're not going to make any special provisions for strength. So the woman has to go and pick up a 50-pound artillery shell, just like the guys. Just like the guys. The woman has to go and have her eardrum shattered by the mortars, just like the guys. The woman has to experience all the blood and gore.

So instead of being a nurturing wife or a nurturing mother or a nurturing sister for those men whose lives have been shattered by the horrific reality of war - especially corporate war, where there's no higher motivating principle except staying alive after you realize the whole thing is a farce, and you're only fighting so KBR can keep getting contracts doing things that the soldiers used to do, like cooking and guard duty. And when you realize the whole thing is a farce, and then you're seeing all this death and destruction for absolutely nothing, come home and there's no longer nurturing mother because she's been shattered by the same reality. Because now she can go to combat.

And the nurturing role of the woman in society is negated. And the ability to say, where's the equality? The equality is when those two complementary halves come together and make a whole. That's the equality. When the two complementary halves...

People say Islam discriminates against women. They don't know Islam and they don't know anything about women. Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he said:

(Sahih Abu Dawud 236)

"Women are the complementary halves of men." (Sahih Abu Dawud 236)

So this equality thing is telling us, "We can remain equal, all of us will remain one half. We can remain equal, all of us will remain one half." And we'll negate the opportunity to ever be whole. Because the foundation of integrity - this is tawhid at a human level - the foundation of creating a whole, integral human being is lost. Is lost.

Becoming Whole: The Divine Design

So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we have to be believers, we have to defend. That's something he brought into the world. We can say, "All you people, you can remain half. You can remain incomplete. You can remain unfulfilled. But we're going to strive to complete our human trajectory."

We wouldn't be here if it weren't for the unity between those two parts - one emanating from the male and one emanating from the female. That's our origin and that's our end. But no, we say no, that may be our origin. But once we're in this world, we never become whole. Our wholeness is something confined to the world of the womb. But once we're in this world and we divide again, there's no chance to come back together.

No, we say yes, there is a chance. In fact, it's an imperative. And it's an essential for sound human society. Just as if that union never happened in the world of the womb - that union between the female part and the male part - there would be no life that would come into the world. And when that union doesn't happen in this world, and we devastate our families, and we listen to people who are sub-human almost in the bankruptcy of their ideas, then we never re-establish that unity in this world so that we can give life to the world.

And we find ourselves in a situation where at every corner life is being denied. At every corner and every level, life is being denied. Spiritual life is being denied. Communal life is being denied. Family life is being denied. International harmony is being denied.

Our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, represented something different. And he represented something better. And he represented an alternative. Peace and blessings be upon him, we have to be that alternative. We have to embody that alternative. We have to reflect that alternative. And if we do, there's hope. If we do, there's hope.

I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, and for the rest of the believers. O people, ask Allah's forgiveness.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the Master of Messengers, our Master and Beloved, Muhammad, and upon his family and companions, and send him many greetings.

Indeed, Allah and His angels send salutations upon the Prophet.

"O you who have believed, send salutations upon him and greetings of peace." (Quran 33:56)

O Allah, send salutations and blessings upon our Master and Beloved, Muhammad, and upon his family and companions, and send salutations upon him many times. All praise is due to Allah.

Physical and Spiritual Wholeness

What we just mentioned is at both the physical and the spiritual level in terms of our wholeness and our need for each other. But to go back to the beginning: our need for Allah. This creates our ultimate fulfillment. And this creates our ultimate completion.

And the greatest gift two human beings can give to each other who come together in the name of Allah is to assist each other towards that journey to Allah. To assist each other towards the meeting with Allah. To assist each other to die before their death so that they can both live through Allah.

Closing Supplications

So we ask Allah that He blesses us to be with those who love His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. To be with those who respect the teachings of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. To be with those who love Allah. To be with those who want to share the love of Allah with others.

O Allah, we ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You, and the love of those actions which draw close to Your love.

O Allah, we ask that You strengthen us. We ask that You make us and bless us to be better embodiments of the teachings of Your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

O Allah, we ask You that You strengthen our families. That You strengthen our families. That You bless our families.

O Allah, we ask You that You bless all of those who are struggling in various ways. That You bless them with strength and focus and direction. And that You bless them with Your nearness, a nearness that will efface and obliterate any loneliness or alienation or depression or estrangement that anyone might feel while they journey through this world.

O Allah, we ask You that You give us good companionship, good companions to accompany us on our journey.

O Allah, we ask You that You make us repositories of positive energy that radiates and touches the lives of others, and that You push negativity and negative energy away from us.

O Allah, we ask that You make us magnanimous people, people of large spirits and large open hearts, and that You push all manifestations of pettiness and vileness and lowliness and meanness and anything unbefitting the dignity and the honor and the nobility of a believer - that You push it away from us.

أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ يَرْحَمْكُمُ اللَّهُ

Establish the prayer, may Allah have mercy on you.

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

"Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. And peace upon the messengers. And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds." (Quran 37:180-182)

"Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts any resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful." (Quran 59:10)

"Our Lord, give us in this world good and in the Hereafter good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire." (Quran 2:201)

"You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." (Quran 2:286)