Transcend This World
By Zaid Shakir | 2026-01-16T05:39:03.713341+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Transcend This World
By Imam Zaid Shakir
Opening Praise and Context
All praise is due to Allah who has revealed the scripture unto His servant and has made no crookedness therein. Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed us to live in interesting times, as they say. One of the characteristics of our time, speaking specifically of this land that we reside in, is the despair that we see.
The Crisis of Despair in Modern Society
And that despair can be measured by what collectively are referred to as the diseases of despair: drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, depression. In terms of drug addiction, just discarding other forms of drugs, everyday in this country there are 170 fatal overdoses from opioids alone - heroin, morphine, Percocet, Oxycontin, the whole family of opioids. 170, and were it not for Narcan, which revives overdose victims, maybe it would be 800 a day. Because for everyone who fatally overdoses, 7 or 8 are revived who would otherwise fatally overdose. 241 alcohol consumption related deaths everyday in this country - just consumption, excluding alcohol related deaths. Most fatalities from auto accidents, the majority are alcohol related. Most killings, domestic violence, are alcohol related. Maybe not most, a large percentage. Most traffic deaths, yes, but a large percentage. But excluding all of that, 241 who die from overconsumption of alcohol everyday. 123 suicides everyday. Almost 4,000 suicide attempts everyday, which means what? There are far more, because a lot of suicide attempts aren't reported to the authorities. That's what's reported. Increasingly large numbers of our children, who should be the most hopeful, find themselves dead as a result of suicide. Diseases of despair.
Muslims and the Crisis
Muslims, you see Muslims increasingly falling into many of these categories. Which indicates what? Indicates two things, or one or two things or both, one or the other or both. One is ignorance of our religion - ignorance of the religion. Because one who has knowledge of this religion understands this is the anti-despair or the antidote to despair, the anti-despair medicine. Or ignorance of the religion or weakness of faith, which means there might be knowledge of the religion, but that knowledge hasn't penetrated to the depths of the hearts, so that it affects the hearts in ways that insulates the individual from the ravages of despair.
The Importance of Understanding
We should understand. Understanding is very important. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he says:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 71, Sahih Muslim 1037)
"The one Allah desires good for, He gives him or her a sound understanding of the religion."
We can mention the balance of the hadith because it has benefit in it. The Prophet said:
"I dispense the revelation, it is Allah who gives understanding."
So the Prophet gives it freely to everyone, but Allah causes those seeds that He spreads out to take root in some hearts.
(Sahih al-Bukhari 71, Sahih Muslim 1037)
"And there will always remain from this community of believers, a people establishing their affair on the basis of the commandment of Allah."
Understanding Translates to Action
And so what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is telling us is that understanding translates into action. And the foundation of our action is establishing our affair on the commandment of Allah. And as people are rejecting their traditional religious teachings, as people increasingly turn to atheism, and that's part and parcel of the crisis of despair. There's no coincidence that as atheism goes up, suicide goes up. Because atheism is telling a human being that you're no different from this rostrum, this mimbar I'm standing on. You're no different than these walls. You're no different than a fly. You're no different than feces or urine. You're just physical stuff. And if a human being comes to believe that he or she is just physical stuff, there's no relationship to a higher power, there's nothing to hope for beyond the demise of this physical body, why not commit suicide? Why not end it all? There's nothing beyond this to hope for. That's one of the reasons you see this upward trajectory.
Holding to the Commandments of Allah
So the believers must hold on to the commandment of Allah. The believers must hold as lawful that which our Lord, through His Prophet ﷺ, has declared to be lawful. And the believer must maintain and hold on to what our Lord, through His Prophet ﷺ, directly through revelation which came through the Prophet ﷺ or through his sunnah, have declared to be unlawful.
(Sahih al-Bukhari 52, Sahih Muslim 1599)
"The lawful is unambiguously clear, and the unlawful is unambiguously clear. And between those two are doubtful matters. Most people don't know their rulings."
Defending the Clarity of Islamic Law
There are people who want to make that which is unambiguously clear from the mutashabihat, and that which is unambiguously clear in terms of its lawfulness, and that which is unambiguously clear in terms of its unlawfulness amongst the doubtful matters. Well, we need to reassess this. 1400 years of Islam and scholarship from some of the most brilliant minds to ever walk this planet couldn't figure out how Muslims are supposed to dress? 1400 years of scholarship with clear unambiguous evidence, scriptural evidence couldn't figure out who Muslims should go to bed with? We need to reassess? No, we need to adhere to the book of Allah and the sunnah of his messenger and die upon that and pass it on to our descendants. If we do that, we've done our job.
And if we fail to do that, there are going to be more suicides. There's going to be more alcoholism. There's going to be more drug overdoses. Because people will be lost.
The Role of Scholars and Believers
And the prophets were sent to guide people. And this ummah, the scholars of this ummah are the heirs of the prophets. And their communities are the community of believers in this world.
"There will always remain from this community a group establishing their affair on the commandment of Allah."
"They will not be harmed by those who oppose them."
"Until the second command of Allah comes."
And some scholars say it's the emergence of the dajjal. Some scholars say it's the wind that will blow at the end of time and take the souls of the believers. Most scholars say it's the doomsday - يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
They won't be harmed. So our task brothers and sisters, if you want to be safe and you want to be sound, make sure you're in that group. And Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, he says it could be one group in one place but most likely it is many groups. There's some here, there's some there. There's some in America. There's some in Africa. There's some in Asia. There's some in Europe. And this is a source of mercy not just for us but for the world.
Muslims as People of Hope
As we said, the world, this country and the world in general being besieged by despair and hopelessness. We're the people of hope - not foolish optimism but the people of hope. We're the people of prophetic guidance. And prophetic guidance means clarity. We're the people of mercy.
Exposing False Narratives
One of the reasons a lot of Muslims are so downcast and gloomstruck in our day and times is because they believe the lies of people who profit from there being no source of hope for people. There are people that profit from that. They say, oh you Muslims, you have no mercy and compassion in your heart. Muslims start believing that. You want to know no compassion? No compassion are people who would sell 9 million narcotic pills in a small town in Appalachia, prescribe 9 million narcotics knowing this is going to addict the entire population. Where's the mercy in that? And then the people are dropping like flies from overdoses. Where's the mercy in that?
The Military-Industrial Complex and Manufactured Enemies
Where's the mercy in fabricating enemies for the sole purpose of feeding a war machine that's financed by 700
ARABIC TEXT (CRITICAL - PRESERVE EXACTLY)
1. ARABIC WITH FULL HARAKAT (CRITICAL):
- ADD harakat/diacritics (فَتْحَة، ضَمَّة، كَسْرَة، سُكُون، شَدَّة، تَنْوِين) to ALL Arabic text
- Even if source PDF shows Arabic without harakat, YOU MUST add the correct harakat
- Example: رحمها الله → رَحِمَهَا اللهُ | كما ربتني → كَمَا رَبَّتْنِي
- This is essential for proper Quranic/Islamic text pronunciation
2. Quranic verses - wrap in GREEN/EMERALD box WITH CLICKABLE REFERENCE:
⚠️ CRITICAL: ONLY use green/emerald boxes for ACTUAL Quran verses (Allah's words).
⚠️ CRITICAL: ONLY ARABIC TEXT goes inside the green box. English translation goes OUTSIDE/AFTER the box.
HOW TO IDENTIFY QURAN vs HADITH:
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- If text is preceded by "Allah says", "In the Quran", or you recognize it as a Quran verse → This is QURAN, use GREEN box
- Words of the Prophet Muhammad are HADITH, not Quran
- When in doubt, use YELLOW box (rule 5)
FORMAT (Arabic ONLY inside box, English translation OUTSIDE):
"[English translation here]"
CRITICAL RULES FOR QURAN REFERENCES:
- NEVER output "SURAH:AYAH" as literal text - replace with actual numbers like "2:255"
- NEVER output "0:0", "null", or any placeholder
- NEVER output "(Quran SURAH:AYAH)" - this is a placeholder, not a real reference
- If you cannot identify the EXACT surah:ayah number, DO NOT use green box - use YELLOW box instead (rule 5)
- Only use green box if you are 100% certain it's Quran AND you know the exact reference
Example: For Ayatul Kursi, use href="https://quran.com/2:255" with text "(Quran 2:255)"
3. Hadith (Prophet's words) - wrap in BLUE box:
⚠️ USE BLUE BOX when Arabic text is introduced by:
- "The Prophet said", "Prophet ﷺ said", "The Messenger of Allah said"
- "He said" (when referring to the Prophet in context)
- Any quote attributed to Prophet Muhammad
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FORMAT (Arabic ONLY inside box, reference and translation OUTSIDE):
(Source Name)
"[English translation here]"
NOTE: Put the source reference OUTSIDE the box as a separate line. If source is unknown, omit it entirely:
WHEN TO USE BOXES vs INLINE:
- Use colored box: When Arabic text is a COMPLETE standalone verse/hadith on its own line
- Keep INLINE (no box): When Arabic is mixed within an English sentence (like du'as, short phrases)
HADITH LINKING RULES (CRITICAL - prevents 404 errors):
A. Allowed slugs ONLY: bukhari, abudawud, tirmidhi, nasai, ibnmajah, riyadussalihin, nawawi40
B. Standard format: https://sunnah.com/[slug]:[number]
- Sahih Bukhari 1234 → https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1234
- Sunan Abu Dawud 890 → https://sunnah.com/abudawud:890
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 111 → https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:111
- Sunan an-Nasa'i 222 → https://sunnah.com/nasai:222
- Sunan Ibn Majah 333 → https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:333
- Riyad as-Salihin 444 → https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:444
- 40 Hadith Nawawi 5 → https://sunnah.com/nawawi40:5
C. SAHIH MUSLIM - ALWAYS use SEARCH link (never direct):
Muslim uses alphanumeric suffixes (224a, 224b) that break direct links.
- Sahih Muslim 567 → https://sunnah.com/search?q=muslim+567
- Sahih Muslim 1234 → https://sunnah.com/search?q=muslim+1234
D. Volume/Page references - NO LINK (plain text only):
If reference mentions "Volume" or "Page", output as plain text without hyperlink.
Sunnah.com uses in-book numbering only.
E. Deduplication: If hadith appears in multiple books, link to Bukhari only.
F. NO GUESSING: If unsure of the exact number, output as plain text (no link).
A missing link is better than a broken 404 link.
4. Arabic honorifics (صلى الله عليه وسلم) - keep INLINE with names, no boxes
5. Du'as and unidentified Arabic - wrap in YELLOW/AMBER box (NO REFERENCE AT ALL):
Use this for supplications (du'as), prayers, or Arabic text you cannot identify:
⚠️ CRITICAL: ONLY ARABIC TEXT goes inside the yellow box. English translation goes OUTSIDE/AFTER the box.
FORMAT (Arabic ONLY inside box, English translation OUTSIDE):
"[English translation here]"
⚠️ YELLOW BOX = NO REFERENCE LINE. Do not add any "(Source)" or "(Quran X:Y)" text.
This is the DEFAULT for standalone Arabic when source is uncertain.
WHEN IN DOUBT, USE YELLOW BOX.
ENGLISH TEXT
STRUCTURE:
- Headings:
HEADING
- Subheadings:
SUBHEADING
- Paragraphs:
TEXT
EMPHASIS (Use generously for visual interest):
1. BOLD - Use for:
- Allah, God references
- Prophet Muhammad, Prophet names
- Islamic terms: taqwa, iman, salah, zakat, hajj, jannah, jahannam
- Names of companions (sahaba)
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- Key takeaways and main points (1-2 per section)
- Memorable quotes or wisdom
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4. ITALICS - Use for:
- Transliterations of Arabic words
- Book titles
- Emphasis on specific words
INLINE ARABIC WITH TRANSLITERATION (CRITICAL FOR BRACKETS)
When Arabic text appears INLINE with English (not in emerald boxes), wrap the entire Arabic + transliteration in a span with dir="ltr" to fix bracket direction:
CORRECT FORMAT:
(Arabic text - transliteration)
Example:
Alright everyone, (بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)
This prevents the parentheses from appearing inverted like )( instead of ().
RULES
1. FORMAT 100% of content - do NOT skip, summarize, or truncate
2. Return ONLY HTML - no markdown blocks, no explanations
3. Preserve ALL Arabic exactly as it appears with full diacritics
4. Always use dir="ltr" spans for inline Arabic with parentheses
And so the cycle kicks in - (الْحَسَنَاتُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا - al-hasanatu bi 'ashri amthaliha). How hard does one have to work to go to hell? This is the mercy of Allah.
"Allah forgives all sins."
What did you do? Just repent to Allah, and Allah will forgive you. Why do you have no hope? Why are you despairing of Allah's mercy? And if those are the odds, and if this is the mercy of Allah, then it's rightfully said:
"It's only a disbelieving people that despair of Allah's mercy."
Living as People of Hope
So believers, never despair of Allah's mercy. We shouldn't walk around here in a state of doom and gloom. Lift up your head. Smile in the face of your fellow believers. Smile in the face of everybody, the ordinary people. Spread peace. Spread greetings of peace to people. Feed people.
(Sahih al-Bukhari 12, Sahih Muslim 39)
"O Messenger of Allah, which Islam is best? He said: That you feed people and greet people, those you know and those you know not."
Practical Examples of Service
Our sister, I don't know if she started back in the Rainbow Rec Center, just feeding people. That's one for 20 something years. Every Saturday. It's one of the best manifestations of Islam (تُطْعِمَ الطَّعَامَ - tut'imu al-ta'am) - and greet people, those you know and those you know not. Should be a greeting machine. Everyone you pass: As-salamu alaykum, how you doing? Ahlan wa sahlan. Marhaban. What does that mean? That means, hey, you're welcome. You're like my family. Really? No one ever said that to me. We Muslims, that's how we roll. Pick your head up. This is a beautiful religion.
Despair is Not a Believing Characteristic
Don't despair. It's not a believing characteristic. It's a characteristic of people who have no faith.
"It's only a disbelieving people that despair of Allah's mercy."
Those are the people, unfortunately, falling into drugs, falling into despair, falling into suicide, falling into alcoholism.
Muslims as the Antidote
We're the antidote. We should be going to people. That's why they want to demoralize the Muslims - so we don't
believe we have anything to offer anybody. Who wants to listen to us? They all think we're a bunch of terrorists. I'll tell you who wants to listen to you: those hundreds of people every day who are taking their shahada, who are taking their shahada every day all over this country. They don't want to see that. But we have to organize ourselves to serve them. And to serve those people who aren't Muslim. The sister feeding the people at the Rainbow Rec in East Oakland, most of those people aren't Muslim. But they're human beings and they have human needs. And we should be rising up and organizing ourselves to meet their needs.
Spiritualizing Our Struggle
And don't let them politicize our religion. They want to politicize it so they can frame the discussion and frame the way that they present Islam to people. No, we have to spiritualize it. It's not a political struggle. And we as Muslims, we do a disservice when we frame it like that. Because we're playing into their hands. It's a spiritual struggle. It's a struggle between truth and falsehood. It's a struggle between people who want to victimize and exploit and destroy people, and people who want to give them life, and to give them hope, and to give them direction. That's the struggle. And we have to keep it at that level. Because that's our strength. Everything else will take care of itself.
Politics Will Follow Spirituality
The politics, the economics will take care of themselves. That will take care of itself. But if we become wrapped up into this political struggle that's been - the parameters of which have been defined by the enemies of Islam we'll never get to the spiritual. And the people will never get the hope because in their mind, they're looking at Islam through a frame that we as Muslims sometimes help to reinforce. We have to frame the issue along the lines that play into our strength. And when you have one congressman and zero senators, politics is not our strength. Hope you understand that. You can hoop and holler all you want. But when those are the odds, I'm not saying there's no politics in Islam. I'm saying that our struggle is a grassroots struggle. Our struggle is a struggle to save people. Our struggle is a struggle to give people hope. Our struggle is a struggle to inspire people. Our struggle is a struggle to put people back in touch with their humanity. And when that happens to tens and hundreds of thousands of people, to millions of people, everything else will take care of itself. May Allah give us tawfiq, inshallah.
Second Khutbah: Rejoicing in Faith
Let me leave you with this verse, brothers and sisters. Allah mentions in the Quran:
"Say to them, O Muhammad: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy, in this let them rejoice. It is better than anything they can gather from this world." (Quran 10:58)
We should be a joyous people. Yeah, all this stuff is happening out there. Islamophobia and all this other stuff is happening. Depression, suicide. We went through the whole gamut in the first khutbah. We still should be a joyous people. Because we have faith in our heart. Because we have belief in the Akhirah. Because we know no
matter how bad things get in this world, if we patiently persevere, if we struggle and we forge on, then we're opening the gates for unimaginable bliss for the rest of eternity - eternal bliss.
Understanding Eternity
And when we understand what eternity means, and we understand that everyone's life in this world will end, young or old, rich or poor, black or white - everyone is going to die. Everybody is going to die. And so, our life really begins when we die, in the big scheme of things, in the greater scheme of things. And once we die, the gate is opened to eternity. This world is finite. Paradise and hell are eternal.
"Dwelling therein forever." (Quran 2:25:15, 3:15, 4:57, and many other verses)
"Dwelling therein forever and ever." (Quran 9:22, 18:3, and others)
Either hellfire - not forever and ever for a believer - but who wants to experience a second of that? Or Jannah.
Nurturing Our Faith
So it's all about - and Allah in giving us faith, has blessed us and placed us on a path to Jannah. We have to nurture our faith and cultivate our faith and rejoice in our faith.
"Let them rejoice in this."