Defend Your Faith, Tradition, and Legacy
By Zaid Shakir | 2026-01-16T06:18:06.647361+00:00 | Topic: Hereafter
Defend Your Faith, Tradition, and Legacy
Imam Zaid Shakir
Opening: Seeking Allah's Guidance
O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam.
The Greatest Blessing: Islam
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. All praise is due to Allah, who has guided us to this way and we would not have been able to guide ourselves had not Allah, in His infinite mercy, guided us. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. All praise is due to Allah, who has blessed us with this deen.
If you have Islam, you've been blessed. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Some people, unfortunately, Muslims, they don't think that's a great blessing. Some, in fact, they feel they're stuck. They were born in a Muslim family and became stuck. So they're Muslim, but it's not that big of a deal. And in fact, it might even be an inconvenient truth for some because it gets in the way of their lower aspirations.
As Imam Ali said, may Allah be pleased with him:
From the blessings of this world, Islam suffices as a blessing.
The Crisis of Irresponsible Behavior
Owing to the despicable behavior, again, of some Muslim men—not all, probably no one in this gathering, so don't start sweating—but I know cases, and I'm sure many of you know cases. I know a case of a brother who has had six daughters, all girls, with his wife and just left. Left his wife and six girls. Moved across town, married someone else. And unfortunately, one of his daughters ended up committing suicide. Things like that happen, unfortunately. And again, it's not a majority, but I'm sure everyone in here can relate to similar stories.
The Problem with Secular Feminism
One of the responses of this sort of imbecilic, immature, idiotic, whatever adjective you want to use, behavior is you find a lot of Muslim women becoming feminists. But feminists along the western lines where the woman is abstracted from her family, abstracted from her community, abstracted from her, even her religious context and then her problems of youth and isolation and abstractions. And some of them make—in other words, a feminism that is totally steeped in the dominant secular reality reigning in our societies.
And so one of the Muslim feminists said several years ago that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was a deadbeat dad. Some of you heard that—Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was a deadbeat dad because he just walked out on his family like the person I described earlier. And she finds nothing problematic with that statement. She might even think it's cute. You know, we can make these cute little parables. There's nothing cute about it at all, of course. It's disgusting. It's disgusting because it's a total adaptation of a secular framework.
Where is Allah in This Calculus?
So we ask: if a deadbeat dad is a person who just walks out on their family, leaves them to fend for themselves and leaves them in the care of no one—increasingly not even the care of the state as welfare and social service programs are rolled back—what does that have to do with Ibrahim (peace be upon him)?
In that scenario we mentioned, a contemporary scenario like we mentioned initially, or hundreds of examples we could all point to of the deadbeat dad, the one who's left in the care of no one. Ibrahim (peace be upon him), he left his family in the care of Allah based on the commandment of Allah.
So we ask: in the first scenario, where is Allah? Where is Allah in the calculus? Where is Allah? In the case of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), if a person who's attained to the prophetic office is inspired by Allah to take an action, then Allah will undertake the care of their family. Allah will take care of themselves. Allah will heal the pain that they feel. And this is the case of every believer.
Say, my Lord is Allah who has revealed the scripture and He undertakes the care of the righteous.
And if Allah is caring for us, we're in the best of care. We're in the best of care.
Asking Ourselves the Critical Question
So we should all ask ourselves—this is just an introduction—where is Allah? Where is Allah in our lives? Where is Allah in our consciousness? Where is Allah in our decision-making process?
If Ibrahim (peace be upon him), responding to the order of Allah and left his family in the care of Allah, who is the very best of one to undertake the care of anyone in this creation, what is the guidance, the divine guidance governing every one of us?
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women.
The Erosion of Divine Guidance
Some people might say that's a paternalistic, patriarchy statement that they want no part of. And that's one of the roots of the problem in our society. That's one of the reasons men aren't marrying women, because too many women are saying, "I don't need a man to take care of me."
Allah tells us in Quran: men are the protectors and maintainers of women. "I don't need a man to take care of me." Then the men say, "Well, if that's it, then forget it. I won't even try." That's why you have your 30-year-old sons living in your basements, not even trying. You pull the thread sometimes and the whole fabric unravels.
We have this social experiment foisted upon us. And many Muslims fall for it. And one of the reasons many Muslims fall for it is because they don't have confidence in Allah. And they don't have confidence in their Islam. And they don't have confidence in their Prophet. And they don't have confidence in divine guidance.
The Alternative is Clear
Alright, we see the alternative. We see the alternative. Don't complain that the men are a bunch of losers. Don't complain about the school shootings. Don't complain about the rapid suicides. Don't complain about the opioid crisis. Don't complain about men wanting to be women because they just think they actually are a woman—6 foot 5, 300 pounds, should be playing on the Oakland Raiders.
Don't complain about the problem if you're not willing to defend the solution that's been working for thousands of years. Prophetic guidance has protected humanity from the degeneracy that we see today for thousands of years. And we're rejecting it for an experiment.
Defend your faith. Defend your tradition. Defend your legacy.
The Legacy of Ibrahim (Peace Be Upon Him)
So the Muslim feminist says Ibrahim is a deadbeat dad. What does Allah say about Ibrahim?
Ibrahim was a nation unto Allah, obedient to Him, upright, and he was not of those who associate partners with Allah.
His actions laid the foundation for three great world religions that have been the foundation for what we call western civilization. What do these ideas that will be thrown on the dustbin of history 10 or 20 years from now -what will they build? What legacy will they leave? What foundations are they establishing? Besides to liberate people from their nafs, or to make them slaves of their nafs.
Fighting Against Shaitan
Believers fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of false deities. So fight against the allies of shaitan. Indeed, the plot of shaitan is weak.
Believers understand: shaitan is real. You may be uncomfortable or comfortable—that doesn't change the fact. And he's adhering to no rules of conduct, no rules of engagement, especially at this historical juncture.
So it behooves Muslims to heed the advice of Allah:
Shaitan is unto you an enemy, so treat him like an enemy.
Treat him like an enemy. Or just watch as everything that the prophetic legacy has built is undone, to the extent that it will be. It won't be totally undone.
The Promise of a Victorious Group
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ reminded us:
(Sahih Bukhari 3641, Sahih Muslim 1037)
There will always remain a group from my Ummah manifest upon the truth. Those who abandon them will not harm them until the command of Allah comes while they are upon that.
And in another narration:
(Sahih Bukhari 71, Sahih Muslim 1037)
When Allah desires good for someone, He gives him or her a deep understanding of the religion. Rather, I am one who dispenses and it is Allah who gives.
I dispense the message. Allah gives guidance to whomsoever He pleases. And there will always be a group from this Ummah who are establishing their affair on the command of Allah. They won't be harmed by those who oppose them until the affair of Allah comes to pass.
The affair is the emergence of the Dajjal, or the wind that will blow at the end of time and take the souls of the believers, or the Qiyamah—doomsday itself. And most scholars say it's doomsday.
So there will always be a group. We ask Allah to make us amongst those who are establishing their affair on the command of Allah, to make us amongst those, to make us and bless us to be in that army, or that number, as they say, "when the saints come marching in." May we be amongst the awliya who are holding on and persevering and enduring until Allah takes us, or until the earth as we know it is no more.
I conclude this speech. I ask forgiveness of Allah for me and you and for the believers. I ask forgiveness of Allah.
Second Khutbah: The Station of Gratitude
Brothers and sisters, thank Allah. One of the great stations that the believer strives to attain to is the station of thankfulness—Maqam ash-Shukr—to be thankful to Allah for the blessings.
When people say the kind of things I mentioned earlier, it's just their ingratitude. It's their ingratitude. And then it's their heedlessness, their heedlessness and their forgetfulness of who you are in reality.
Remembering Our Origin and Destiny
Who are we in reality? Allah reminds us:
Does the human being not see that We created him from a drop? Then behold, he is an open disputer.
The human being—does he not know that we created him from a drop? And then he rises up from that lowly origin.
فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُّبِينٌ
He comes in and opens his mouth and sets parables before us and forgets his lowly origin. Forgets how he was created. Forgets that he came as a drop through the same channels that the urine comes out of the body of the male. That is his origin.
And he forgets his destiny. His destiny is a bag of filth. This body, this physical body—all the waste that's carried in our blood and then extracted via kidneys and excreted. All of the waste that's in our intestines that's processed and excreted. When the soul is taken, the spirit is taken from this body, and that excretory process is stopped, then we just become a bag of waste.
That's who the human being is. But that lowly origin and that foul destiny leads the human being to forget that it's the mercy of the Lord that gave him or her that spirit, and the mercy of the Lord that gave him a soul that's capable of refinement, and the mercy of the Lord that's blessed that bag of filth with the intellect that we possess.
And we forget where we came from and forget where we're going and misuse that intellect to set parables before Allah.
Don't forget who you are, brothers and sisters. Remember who you are and thank Allah for the gifts that He's given you.
Ibrahim: A Model of Gratitude
So the feminist says Ibrahim was a deadbeat dad. What does Allah say about Ibrahim?
Indeed, Ibrahim was a nation, obedient to Allah, upright, and he was not of those who associated partners with Allah. He was grateful for His blessings. He chose him and guided him to a straight path.
He has a quality that person will never possess: شَاكِرًا he was grateful to his Lord for the gift of intellect, the gifts of intellect, grateful for the life and the refinable soul that would be refined to the degrees that were witnessed in Ibrahim (peace be upon him), grateful for the qualities of patience that allowed him to endure what he endured over the course of his life (peace be upon him).
شَاكِرًا لِّأَنْعُمِهِ
Brothers and sisters, don't be angry. Don't be angry. Look what we enjoy.
Counting Our Blessings
We have food in abundance. We have shelter to protect us from the elements. We have clothing so much so, the masjid will be afraid to say, "We're collecting clothes to send to Syria or here or there," because the whole place will be filled up with clothes. We're cleaning out our garages and cleaning out our basements, our attics, and cleaning out our closets and bringing it all to the masjid. And the organizers plead, "Don't bring any more clothing."
The thrift store—the thrift store in Oakland, the place was inundated with clothing. They should have just called it a thrift warehouse or a clothing processing center or something. Just mountains of clothing. That's the blessings we enjoy.
We have the best of foods. We can shop at Whole Foods. We can go to Trader Joe's. We can go to Sprouts. Some people are eating from boxes—boxes full of food that they've mixed with dirty water. That's all they have.
So we shouldn't be guilty. We should be thankful. Ibrahim was thankful. And because he was thankful, look what Allah gave him. He's the father of monotheism, which means, in fact, he's the father of western civilization.
The Promise for the Grateful
Allah tells us why:
If you give thanks, I will increase you in My blessing. And if you're ungrateful, you should know My punishment is severe.
If you're grateful, brothers and sisters, you don't know what Allah will open up for you.
وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ
And if you're ungrateful, you should know My punishment is severe.
Look at the lives of these people who are criticizing Islam, who are ridiculing the prophets. Look at their lives. Their lives are hell. Drowning in drugs—not illicit drugs—antidepressants.
If you give thanks, I will increase you. And My punishment is severe.
Closing Supplication
May Allah bless us to be ever thankful. May Allah bless us, incline us to be thankful for having the ability and the inclination to be thankful. May Allah make us—remove us from shakir to shakur. May Allah move us from shakir to shakur. May Allah bless us to appreciate the blessings He's bestowed upon us through the messengers He sent to humanity for our guidance.
سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ ٱلْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ * وَسَلَٰمٌ عَلَى ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ * وَٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
وَصَلَّى ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰٓ ءَالِهِۦ وَصَحْبِهِۦ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
وَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ
يَٰٓأَرْحَمَ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Honor and Power, above what they describe. And peace be upon the messengers. And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and companions.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
And grant us victory over the disbelieving people.
O Most Merciful of the merciful.