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This is kutba Haja (the sermon of need) used at the beginning of all sermons, Public and private and is a Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SWS
Indeed all praises and thanks belong to Allah (Almighty)..
The creator, the sustainer, and the controller and all that happens in the universe,
We praise him and we thank him for his favors, his mercy, And his blessings,
We believe in him, And put our trust in him,
We seek refuge in Allah from the evil inclinations of ourselves and from the evil of our actions
for who ever chooses guidance there is non to mis-guide him,
And who ever chooses mis-guidance, there is non to guide him,
I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship but Allah,
He is one and has no partner, and i also bear witness that Muhammed SSW is the servant and messinger of Allah,
Whom Allah sent with the religion of truth and with guidance,
So that this truth and this guidance will become established in the land, over over all other religions
Although the idolators detest that,
My dear brothers and sisters
Perhaps the most important concept, that Allah (Almighty)
Wants all of us as human beings, in general and of course as Muslims in particular,
The most important concept that he wants us to subscribe to, And to strive to acheave in our lives, At all levels
Is that of justice
So we can safely say that Justice is the most important thing
Especially from the Muslim's perspective
Now a person might say, hold it!
The tawheed of Allah, The oneness of Allah is the most important thing in the life of the individual
And that is also correct, there is no contradiction between these two statements
Because Tawheed, Subscribing to the one-ness of Allah, Is Justice,
And associating partners with Allah, Is the gravest injustice
Allah (Almighty) tells us in Sura (chapter) Lukman,
When Lukman advised his son, admonished his son,
Allah tells us
Arabic>> From the Quraan, (Sura) Chapter Lukman
And remember when Lukmaan said to his son, while he admonished him, And advised him
My dear son "do not associate partners with Allah"
And then he tells his son why,
Arabic>> from the Quraan
For indeed shirk, associating partners with Allah,
Choosing anything else over Allah the creator, Is the gravest form of Injustice, > (Arabic)
So everything, brothers and sisters, Even the tawheed of Allah (Almighty), Boils down to the concept of justice,
For it is a grave injustice, For a creation of Allah, Especially a human being who has intelligence, to understand and recognize
That Allah is the only creator and sustainer, Is the only one who created him and everything else, And sustains everything,
And therefore he deserves to be worshiped,
And the Prophet SWS, When we look at his life brothers and sisters
There are many things we can say of course about his life,
But perhaps the most important concept that stands out in his life
Among the many things of course that stands out, Is that of his keen sense of justice
And the importance he placed on Justice in his life,
In dealing with every single person,
He did not do Justice as a ruler, Only,
He did not do justice, As the commander of the army,
But even at the level, whereby he interacted with his own family,
He was very very careful and concerned about Justice,
So even at that level, He practiced the concept of Justice,and Fairness
So he was not only fair and reasonable and just in public,
But he was also reasonable,fair and just, In private,
look at the emphasis that the Prophet SWS placed on Justice,
When he encouraged some of the early Muslims, During the5th year of prophet hood , To migrate to Ethiopia,
The Muslims were being tortured in Mecca And we all know this,
Tortured severely, Many of them, And the Prophet SSW,
Could not himself, Do anything, To protect them,
The most he could offer to them, Was once when he passed by the family of Yasir
This is an entire family,
A father and his wife, Husband and wife and their son Ammar
When he passed by this family, Being tortured by Quraish in Mecca
All he had to offer them is the truth and the promise of Allah (Almighty)
So he said to them "sabran aala Yasir..(arabic)"
Be patient and steadfast oh family of Yaasir, for surely
Your destination is Paradise, Your destination is paradise,
But that of course did not take away from the physical pain
And torment that the early Muslims were subjected to,
So eventually he encouraged them to migrate, to migrate to Ethiopia,
A land that was ruled by a king who was Christian,
A King who was Christian,
Islaam is in its early stages, Having been on the scene for only 5 years,
An yet the Prophet SWS encourages the Sahabas, These early Muslims
At least some of them to migrate to a land that is Christian ?,
He is not concerned or worried about the Muslims losing their faith ? No !
Look at how he justified this, He said for verily in that land, There is a ruler there is a king
Who is just, And no one is wronged in his land, So you will be safe there,
A christian King, but was known for his level of Justice and the subscription to the concept Justice
That the Prophet SWS was comfortable enough to encourage the Muslims to migrate there
And true enough of course when the Muslims migrated,
The were faced and they enjoyed the Justice that was prevalent in that land
To the point where, They were never ever pressured to give up their religion and to embrace christianity,
In face eventually the King Najashi Himself, Would become a Muslim,
And I am sharing all of this with you brothers and sisters
So that we get a very clear picture of how important Justice is,in our lives as Muslim in particular,
And i am saying all of this, Because, In our families today
Our sisters and our children, Are still faced with a tremendous amount of abuse and injustice,
They are faced with a tremendous amount of abuse and injustice,
Injustice of all kinds and abuse of all kinds physical abuse
verbal abuse, Emotional abuse, They are threatened all the time,
They fear for their own lives, They fear for their lives if they stay, And they fear for their lives if they leave,
And this is the atmosphere in which, Significant numbers of our sisters and children live their lives,
It is time i believe brothers and sisters, that each one of us
Takes responsibility for our own actions,
And we begin to initiate change, In our own homes,
This is an area, That certainly the change begins with each home,
With each family, That's where it starts,
It does not start at the top from the government, Or the leaders of the organisation,
It starts from the bottom, From the root we should say
From the families, It is high time i believe, In light of the emphasis that Allah (Almighty)
And the Prophet SWS have placed on Justice, Being reasonable and being fair and being just
While avoiding being unfair, Unreasonable and unjust
In the Quraan and the Sunnah, That we need to take some action on this issue,
There is absolutely no reason, Brothers and sisters,
No justification for anyone to be living in injustice,
Or being abused and being threatened in all its forms
Because Allah (Almighty) has made it clear,
That if two people cannot get along, If a husband and wife can't along
Then he has permitted them to divorce and separate go their own ways
But do not, Try to stay together and in the process
Your objective in life is to simply be as unjust as you can to the other person
In fact even at the time of divorce
And i am not suggesting that as soon as any couple is faced with any problem
The say lets divorce, lets separate,
I am not suggesting that at all
Yes, its to be used as a last resort
As a was out of preventing people, From reaching the point where
They allow, The temptation of shaitaan (Satan) to take over
And they allow, Tthe evil inclination of ourselves to take over
This is why the Prophet SWS >>(Arabic)
He used to seek refuge in Allah from the evil inclinations of his own self
The evil choices, We have the potential brothers and sisters
Because of our intelligence and our freedom of choice, to choose to do good or choose to do evil,
The potential is there
So we seek refuge in Allah from that potential of, Choosing to do what is evil
That is what is meant by (wa naa ouzuu billaahi min shuruuree anfusina wamin sayaate aamaalina)
We seek refuge in Allah from the evil inclination of our selves
The potential to do evil. (wa min sayaatee aamaalina)
And also from the evil of the actions we do perform from time to time
So there is no reason,why anyone should have to live, With injustice or with abuse,
We all need to consider and think about the day of judgement brothers and sisters
When we will stand before Allah the creator, to be held accountable for our choices and our actions
Obviously Allah (Almighty), The exalted, The glorified knew
That not every couple would be able to get along, And to live in peace and harmony
That's the ideal, That is the ideal, MaashaAllah most people are able to do so
Inspite of the problems and disagreements that may come up from time to time
That is part of how life unfolds,
That is how Allah (almighty) intended that life should unfold
That, In a couple's life they will always face challanges
But Allah (Almighty) does not for a moment want anyone,
Tto either do injustice or to have to live with injustice
So he tells us in the Quraan (Arabic)
Surely Allah commands that which is just,
So anyone, Anyone who believes that the Quraan or the Sunnah in any way permits them
And justifies the injustice that they do to their spouce
Weather its the husband to his wife, Or the wife to her husband in some cases,
Or to the children, anyone who believes that
We say to them you are wrong, Because the Quraan says
(Arabic)
So how can Allah order injustice as you claim,
Allah does not order injustice
Surely Allah commands justice
That which is just, That which is right, That which is fair,
(wal ihsaan ) and kindness, And the kindness here is to even give more than you are required to give
To bend over backwards as we say
And not just to call everything down the middle,
This is why Allah (Almighty) tells us
And these verses are in context of divorce in (Sura) chapter Baqarra
Even in divorce Allah says>>> (Arabic)
At the time when people are angry, They are stressed out,
They are full of anxieties about the uncertain future
The time of divorce is a very trying and stressful time for anybody
Its a time when a person might be more prone to being unjust and unreasonable
Or at the very least wanting to call everything down the middle
Even then Allah tells us (Arabic)
Do not forget to be gracious among yourselves
Do not forget to be gracious That is give up even a little bit more of your rights
All for the sake of peace, Inner peace and contentment
So anyone who believes or claims That the Quraan allows me to do this and allowes me to do that
Which is unjust and unfair, Which is tantamount to abuse
We say to them you are wrong
For Allah (Almighty) says >>(Arabic)
Surely Allah commands justice and kindness (arabic)
And that you should give, you should give in charity to your close relatives
And just in case anyone believes, That there might be some kinds of injustice Allah has permitted
Allah says (Arabic)
On the one hand he commands this, On the other hand he forbids this
Together, the picture is crystal clear
You can't miss it, Even if you close your eyes
(Arabic) And he forbids all forms of indecency
All forms of indecency and lewdness
Weather in speech or in action
(Arabic) And everything that's objectionable, reprehensible,
Vile, (Arabic) And transgression, oppression, injustice
(Arabic) he admonishes you, So that perhaps you will take a warning
You will remember, You will benefit from this admonishment
This is what the Quraan says,
So it is impossible brothers and sisters,
And its wrong for anyone to try to justify his or her abuse, and injustice
By quoting Ayats of the Quraan, And Ahadith of the Prophet SWS
Because Allah has made it clear as you have seen in this one ayah
That not only has he commanded justice but he has also forbidden injustice
In the Hadith Qutsi that is related by Imam Muslim in his saheeh
Allah the exalted says
Arabic>> From the Quraan
My servants, surely i have made injustice, Zulm, transgression, oppression, call it what you like
Forbidden upon myself , And this is Allah the creator
There is no one who can force Allah to do, or not to do anything
Yet out of his infinite mercy and compassion for us, And for all his creations
He says, I have made injustice forbidden upon myself
He has made that pledge, the creator has made that pledge
If he is unjust, no one can hold him accountable
No one has the power let alone the authority or the right, To hold him accountablee
To object, We can object all we want
Yet the Creator, The compassionate, The merciful tells us he has pledged
He has taken a vow if you like, upon himself that he will never commit injustice
And that he has made injustice prohibited among you,
So do not commit injustice upon one another
Do not commit injustice upon one another,
So it is time brothers and sisters,
That we begin to live this message of justice that Allah (Almighty)
Has talked about so eloquently in the Quraan and,
The Prophet SWS has expressed in the Sunnah
To the point where he lived his life as well, based on this concept of justice
Many people claim that the Quraan gives them the right to hit their wives,
Yet when we look at the Prophet SWS what do we see?
This is the messenger charged with the mission and the job,
Of not only conveying the message, but living the message as well,
To show us how its done
He was also charged by Allah (Almighty) with the job of living this message
To show the people how the message should be lived and practised
So he taught not only the theory, But also the practice, The implementation
Because we may dispute about the theory, But surely, the implementation
In the practice of the Prophet SWS is clear for all to see,
His companions tells us, as Imam Al-Bukhari has recorded in his saheeh,
That he never ever SWS raised his hand to hit anybody,
To hit anybody or strike anyone except in war, In battle
This is the Prophet SWS, Never raised his hand to hit anyone
Except in war, On the battlefield
Where do we stand these days brothers and sisters?
When for the least thing we slap our children and our wives in the face,
We punch them in the face
When the prophet SWS has forbidden hitting anyone in the face
And we still think we are justified in doing this?
We still think the Quraan allows us to do this?
We are distorting brothers and sisters the message,
This wonderful message of the Quraan
We are distorting that message, and we are doing so quite often knowingly, Willfully
But all of us must be mindful, Weather we chose to be mindful
Or we chose to conveniently forget it,
That Allah (Almighty) is going to hold every single person accountable on the day of Judgement
Then what would we say?
How is it brothers and sisters, That quite often, We treat our sisters
As we treat animals, Yet at the end of the day, We expect
To have intimate relation with her?
We expect to have intimate contact with them?
We abuse them mentally, And verbally, And emotionally,
We call them all kinds of names,
And you know very well what i am talking about, some of these words we can't even repeat
And yet at the end of the day,
We hope to be close to them and to have an intimate connection with them
The prophet SWS tells us
In a hadith, that again Imam al- Bukhari relates in his saheeh
(Arabic) Hadith
Would anyone of you strike his wife as he strikes an animal?
As he beats an animal?
And still expects at the end of the day to be intimate with her?
Is that going to work? is that going to happen?
What is it, From our own perspective, The common sense that Allah has given to all of us
What do you think might enhance, And promote, And encourage, intimate relationship between the spouses?
Abusing the person, Physically,Emotionally, Verbally, Calling them all sorts of names?
Or being gentle, Being kind, Being forgiven, Being compassionate,
Being willing to overlook certain things
Which one do we think brothers and sisters
Would be more, Conducive to a good relationship with our spouses
The tough, Macho, Hard hearted, Misguided, Behavior?
Or the one that is full of kindness and softness, gentleness
The Prophet SWS brothers and sisters taught us
That not only in marriage, But in every relationship we have its not about control at all
But for many of us it seems like, At the very least marriage is about control
And quit often we seem willing to beat our wives into submission
It seems like that how we feel in control
i'am the man, i'am in charge, i'am in control
When i speak they tremble with fear
But the prophet SWS was never like that,
He was always kind and gentle and soft
When he saw something he didn't like, He spoke out,
He did not stay silent
And i am implying we should stay silent and turn a blind eye
But even when he corrected thing that he did not like SWS
It was always, Always, Without exception, Always with gentleness, With kindness,with compassion
So that the people the person he had to correct, They loved him even more
Allah (Almighty) tells us about this gentleness of character
(Arabic)
And by the mercy of Allah you were soft and gentle and kind with them
But if you were harsh and hard hearted they would have dispersed from around you
This was the nature and character of the prophet SWS
This is how he preached and lived the message of Islaam
So that he was always soft and kind with everybody
Including his wives his family
When Aisha was asked what he used to do at home?
She said >>> (Arabic)
He used to serve his family, He used to serve his family at home
Until he hears the azaan for Salaat, then he would come and he would pray
He did not expect the family to do all the work
And he would just sit at home and do nothing
But he was there serving his family, Mending his own clothes
Helping out any which way he can
This was the gentle character and nature of the prophet SWS
And is there any man who is more man than the prophet SWS
i am sure you will all agree with me, No
But he did not have to beat his wives into submission
He didn't have to abuse them to the point where, they trembled when he is home
they were comfortable enough, At any time brothers and sisters
In spite of the office that he held, the messenger of Allah
They were always comfortable, in fact not only his wives, But the Muslim women in general
They were always comfortable enough, To come to the Prophet SWS
And to talk to him about anything they wanted to talk about
Sometimes even raising their voices in his presence
Yet when the hear the voice of Omar bin Khattab they all would become quiet
This is a hadith that is related by both imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim in their saheeh
Women with the Prophet SWS arguing with him and raising their voices
When they heard Umar bin Khattab asking permission to enter, They all became silent
And when Umar asked the Prophet about this, when he came and saw the Prophet smiling
he prophet told him, "I am amazed at these women
That only moments ago they were arguing with me and raising there voices
But as soon as they heard your voice OH Umar, they became silent
And Umar said to the ladies, Oh enemy of yourselves,
The messenger of Allah deserves more that you should fear him than me, Why are you afraid of me?
But the ladies spoke up, Here's what they said brothers and sisters
They said, you O Umar, are very tough and harsh
But the messenger of Allah is soft and gentle and kind
Messenger of Allah , Soft and gentle and kind
So it is time brothers and sisters, We go back to these noble qualities
In ensuring that we demonstrate these qualities
And these characteristic, Not only when we are in the public eye
But perhaps more importantly, When we are out of the public,s eye
When we have to deal with our own families
It is time that we resolve, We make a firm resolve,
To begin this change of eradicating all forms of abuse and injustice, And unfairness in our homes
That's were it starts brothers and sisters
At the end of the day we must always remember, that whatever we do
Whatever choices we make, whether we seek to be gentle and kind, With our spouses and our children
Or we still believe the harsh way is the best way, And the only way
We must remember, That Allah (Almighty) will hold each person accountable for his or her choices, And deeds
And if we are unwilling, To do justice now
We will surely have justice done to us on the day of judgement
May Allah (Almighty) bless all of us
May he open up our hearts and minds,
So that we can understand this wonderful message that he has revealed
And may he inspire us and motivates us to hold on to and to live by that message
May Allah (Almighty) guide us, Guide our steps
So that we can begin to eradicate all forms and all kinds of abuse and injustice
In our own homes, With our own families
And may Allah (Almighty) protect us and protect our families
From the challenges and from the deviation and temptation, That we have to face in this life
Brothers and sisters it is challenging as it is, To have to worry about
The temptation and the deviations in the society in which we live
Than to have to also worry about abuse and about injustice
The pause where the Imam rests
Arabic>>>
Let us send peace and blessings upon the messenger of Allah
For Allah has commanded us to do so in the Quraan when he said
(Arabic) Sura Al Azhaab
Arabic>>
Dua
Supplication to Allah
Get ready for the Salaat (prayers)