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Khutba  #8

Implementing Allah’s Will

 May I ask you to hold to Taq’wa, which means piety and righteousness, and to revere Allah and obey His Divine Commands?  Let us choose wisely in this life and heed the consequences of our choices for the hereafter.  Let us be aware of our eventuality and departure into the everlasting life.  May Allah provide us all with the spirit of righteousness and obedience as best means for our salvation.

There are four qualities of utmost importance in any Prophet of God.  Briefly said they are:

1. Responsibility to spread the message of Allah faithfully and in its entirety.

2. Never to submit to tyrants or tyranny, no matter the odds against them.

3. Help and assist the needy, poor, destitute, and the meek.

4. To enjoin the good (the Common Good in all its forms), and prohibit evilness and the reprehensible.

Allah, glorified is His name, says in Surah 33 (al-Ahzaab), Ayah 39:

الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلاَّ اللَّهَ

وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ حَسِيبًا

“Those who convey Allah’s Messages [to the world] and stand in awe of Him,

and hold no other in awe but Him,

And sufficient is Allah to take account.”

Let us take the first quality of a Prophet.  Taking the awesome responsibility for spreading the Word of the Almighty is one of the cardinal duties of the Prophet.  This responsibility means reaching out to often-hostile people, and to convince them to accept the Message of God, and to educate them in this endeavor no matter how their educational, spiritual, and emotional framework happen to be.  Just as the Prophets before him, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) carried out this daunting responsibility brilliantly, for Allah has entrusted him with it.  He fulfilled the mission in a perfect manner.  This can be seen in a simple sentence he said when speaking to inquiring minds around him.  He said to them:

The Quran (Word of Allah) is compatible with human intelligence, inner instincts and good life style; the Word of Allah is so rich in guidance and wisdom that sooner or later the public comes to accept it with pleasure.  This is why we call the Quran the light, the cure and clear signs.

The second quality of the Prophets is: never to submit to any tyrant or any form of tyranny.  We cannot find a single Prophet who has compromised with injustice, oppression, or corruption. They always confronted, often harshly, the tyrants or people committing injustices.  The Prophets never shirked or compromised their duties for materialistic gains or worldly interest.  They never committed mischief or tried to deceive someone to achieve their goal.  Such were their good example for humanity.

The third quality of the Prophets is about helping and assisting.  Notice that the Prophets always assisted and helped the oppressed and the needy. We can clearly see this in the life of Prophets Musa, Isa and Muhammad.  They gave a marvelous example of doing good works and meritorious assistance to others. 

The fourth quality of the Prophets consists of two subdivisions, one is to enjoin the good deeds (meaning the common good) and the other is to forbid evilness and bad deeds.  The Prophets have always followed these two directives, which are of extreme importance.  These issues act as an insurance of the Islamic Ummah.  This is the reason we see in Quran Surah 3 (Aali-Imran), Ayah 110:

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ

وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ

“You are the best of peoples brought forth for mankind;

you enjoin goodness and forbid evilness;

and you believe in Allah. ”

Therefore, we can conclude from this review that it would be pure foolishness not to follow the example and manners of the Prophets, at least to try our best to follow suit.  It behooves Muslims altogether to pursue the path of Prophet Muhammad in all its essence.

After a prolonged and unparalleled works by the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers, Islam spread through the Arabian people.  There were also letters written to kings of the surrounding superpowers such as Persia, Rome, as well as to Egypt and others inviting them to accept Islam.  Even though at such high time in Islam the Prophet never lived in a lavish manner; on the contrary he continued to live like any ordinary man; and he was proud of it.  The Prophet (pbuh) never spent a single moment frivolously or in vain, rather, his time was divided more or less into three portions:

1. One portion was spent for God in worshiping and adoring him,

2. A portion was for himself, his household, and the domestic needs, and

3. One portion was for the affairs of the people.

Muhammad (pbuh) was constantly engaged in teaching Islam and spreading it, he kept reaching out to others on its behalf, and in teaching Islam’s sciences.  At the same time, Muhammad (pbuh) continued to administer to the needs of the flourishing and fast growing Islamic society without fail, and to remove the evilness that had existed in the society beforehand.  He provided for the intellectual need of the Muslims with superb guidance, strengthened the domestic as well as the foreign bonds brilliantly.

After ten years of stay in Medina the Prophet (pbuh) fell ill and died on 28^th day of Safar (some say the 12^th Rabi’ Awwal) after about two weeks of illness.

Let us explore how Imam Ali describes the Prophet (pbuh).  He says:[1]

Let us refer to what Imam Al-Sajjad had said invoking the blessings upon the Prophet (pbuh):[2]

▪    O’ God! Bless Muhammad, who is:

▪    Entrusted by Thee with Thy revelation,

▪    Distinguished by Thee among Thy creatures,

▪    Devoted to Thee among Thy servants,

▪    The Imam of mercy,

▪    The leader of good, and

▪    The key to blessings,

Let us ask ourselves whether we have followed the example of the Prophet (pbuh) totally.  Say to yourself my friend:

1. Have I tried to spread Islam and reach out to others in that regard?

2. If yes, then what was the end-result, or did I change the character or influence the person appreciably? 

Ask yourself too:

1. Have I submitted to tyranny without resistance by a) action, b) word, or at least c) feeling?

2. Have I given a helping hand and assisted the needy, the poor, and the disadvantaged?

3. Have I been involved in the society, individually and socially? 

Let us look at the society around us: 

1. How many of us tried to reach out and explain or spread Islam to others? 

2. If the answer is: very few, then can we start anytime soon! 

3. May we endeavor to put to practice Allah’s guidance as Allah urges us to!  With Allah’s help we might, insha’ Allah.

For the end of the 1^st part of the Khutba, read Surah Al-Asr, take a short intermission, then start the 2^nd part of the Khutba with a short Du’aa.

Talking about having fear of Allah (swt) is easy, but practicing it is difficult.  Talking about conduct according to Allah’s Will is not hard.  Anyone can talk and some even can write books, but the difficult task is to implement and carry out the Islamic code of conduct in our day-to-day life. Reminding others about Allah and our eventuality of death is easy, but remembering to live by that code and implementing it in our worldly life is not easy, it is quite difficult sometimes.

There are, however, great personalities that are representative of Allah’s injunctions in a truly remarkable way.  One of these personalities was Imam al-Husain (a.s.) son of Imam Ali (a.s.).  Not only did al-Husain apply Allah’s Will to perfection, but also he invited mankind to join him in the endeavor.  He called them to Allah’s Will just as the Prophets did before him.  And in the process, to protect Islam and to revive its authentic teachings, al-Husain sacrificed whatever he had for the cause, including his life.

In following the four mentioned qualities of the Prophets, and to implement them, it was necessary for Imam al-Husain to rise up against the horrendous tyranny of the ruler Yazid and the mockery of Islam displayed at this ruler’s hand.  When Yazid son of Mu'awiya ordered Waleed, (the governor of Medina) to secure Imam Al-Husain’s allegiance, loyalty, and obedience by any means possible, Imam al-Husain evaded the issue, asking for a respite.  He adamantly refused to give his allegiance to a man like the despicable Yazid since Yazid could in no way represent Prophet Muhammad as head of the Ummah.

By refusing to give his allegiance to Yazid, Imam al-Husain was following the Prophet’s path in confronting oppression, injustice, and corruption.

After rejecting Yazid’s demands, the 57 years old Husain left Medina to Mecca in a move to avoid grave confrontation.  He reached Mecca on the 3^rd of Shaban and remained for a few months there till the 8^th of Dhul Hijjah.  During this time, he spoke to many people to clarify his mission.  He repeatedly mentioned that his upcoming uprising was not for worldly gains, or any special needs or desire for a position, rather it was to save Islam from deviation, to restore Islam to what the Prophet (his grandfather) had brought before. 

Al-Husain pointed out with utmost emphasis that Yazid was very corrupt and quite deviant from Islam.  Imam Al-Husain was willing even to sacrifice his life in defense of Islam, for death in this path meant none but honor.  Imam Al-Husain said[3] 

“Life is belief in the faith and struggle to maintain that belief”.

On the 8^th of Dhul Hijjah, the Imam started his travel toward Kufa along with his family and followers.  He did so after having received numerous letters from Kufa in his support.  But on his way he received bad news that Ibn Ziyad (the governor) had murdered Muslim son of Aqeel, and Hani ibn Urwah, and had treated the people of Kufa with repression.  He learned that the people of Kufa, very scared and too petrified by then, did not put up resistance to the oppression, nor did they help Muslim ibn Aqeel.  Even then, Imam Al-Husain continued his move toward Kufa, for his message was to confront the corruption head on.  He showed no shortcoming in telling the truth.

Even Hur Al-Riyahi, who was the commander of the force to block Al-Husain during his travel, even he joined the Imam as he later realized his mistake and repented for it.  Having changed sides, Hur fought valiantly beside Al-Husain, and sacrificed his life for the truth.  In the day of Ashuraa and the land of Karbala, old and young, men and women, children and adults all attend and commemorate the occasion every year.  Although this event took place long time ago, its magnitude was so powerful and strong, that it resonates through the ages, and is immortalized.  Whoever seeks the truth allies himself to Ashuraa.

Al-Husain is a symbol of freedom and humanity, for the past, for today, and for the future. Imam Al-Husain (a.s.) is the hero of the truth, Quran and Islam.  Imam Al-Husain and his followers by their sacrifice on the day of Ashuraa were able to deliver a great lesson to humanity.  They all gave up their lives and what they had for the sake and love of Islam.  They heard this from Prophet (pbuh) that:[4]

They also heard the Prophet saying:[5]

Finally, let us read Surah Al-Nasr with a short Du’aa to close the Khutba.