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You Will Never Be As Alone Or Desperate As Yunus (as) | Khutbah
When in the midst of hardship, there are questions of "why", "when", and "where". Our plans may change, and what we are looking for may not come to fruition; how should we react as Muslims?
Dr. Omar Suleiman addresses how Muslims should approach the question: “where will I end up?" when faced with difficulty or hardship.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, you spend your whole life crafting out a direction, a trajectory, and as you get older and you look back at the twists and turns that happened, and you wonder, at those times when those twists and turns were happening, where am I going to end up? And in the midst of something, you don't see the light, you don't see the where that you're going to end up. And subhanAllah, we see that obviously with trajectories more than anything else with families. You know, I will not forget as we've been dealing with so many deaths in this community recently, so many people that are beloved to us, a death that shook our community a few years ago, the death of the young sister Zahra Khan rahimahallah ta'ala and her parents who showed such sabr, such love. She was a daughter of the epic community and really a wonderful person, a wonderful young woman mashallah. And a comment that was made by one of her parents that, you know, you spend that entire time and you want them to walk across the stage, graduations, weddings, but how many people can say that their daughters are shohada, are martyrs? It is a different trajectory, it is different altogether, but the disease that she died from was internal type of disease that bi'idhnan dahi ta'ala we pray would be amongst those.
So you make these plans and the plan is to be in this place at this time as you draw out, you know, your plans for the future. And subhanAllah, in the midst of the twists and the turns, you don't know where the turn is taking you to. It's like a detour that shows up on a highway and you have no idea where you're going to end up as a result of that detour. And when you're in the midst of these types of twists and turns and these trials, the most common question that's asked is why? Why is Allah azawajal putting me through this? Why is this happening to me? And then you have ayna or ila'ayn wa mata? Where to and when? Which become two crippling questions as well that we need to treat. Where to, where do I end up at the end of this? And when will the relief from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala come? The element of needed closure, right? When? And that's something that inshaAllah ta'ala we'll talk about next week, but I wanted to talk about the ila'ayn, where to, where do I end up? I had all of these plans and then subhanAllah this happened in my life. So where am I going to end up? Think about the young med school student that was working and working and working and trying to get into medical school and then twist. Okay, where do I go now? I have no idea what's next. And obviously that's a less extreme example, but a more common one, right? The fear of where do I end up next? We look at the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam in Ta'if and the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam saw this dream where he saw trees and greenery and thought that that land of acceptance was going to be in Ta'if. Finally, after all of these years of oppression at the hands of his own people, the hardship at the hand of his own people.
And he goes to Ta'if and we know what happens there. Where? Ya Allah, ila man takiluni? Who am I left to now? Where do I end up? Where am I meant to be? If it's not Mecca and it's not Ta'if, where? Medina was not Yathrib at the time, it was not really an option, right? Where? Ya Allah. Am I at the mercy of these cruel strangers or am I at the mercy of my oppressive people back home? Who am I at the mercy of? Ya Allah, where? Where do I end up now? Where do I go from here? And subhanAllah, if you were to ask anyone who's going through these types of things, and we know what happened in Medina and the acceptance of Medina, there's a wisdom from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam in building the most perfect human being in the Messenger alayhi salatu wasalam that the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam had to go through Mecca and the boycott of Mecca and the rejection of Ta'if before he ended up in Medina. Allah azza wa jal is capable of all things and in control of all things. It could have been that as soon as he said, iqra, that the people of Medina would have heard al-Mudathir, al-Muzammir, calling out Bashiran wa Nadhira as a caller towards good and would have accepted him and that entire headache would have been saved, right? But it was fundamental to the making of the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam and where the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam ends up. Because the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam did not go to Medina alone. He had with him a group of people that had been tried in the worst of ways in Mecca. There was a wisdom both to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam and to the companions. But if you ask them in the year 611, where do you think you're going to end up? And they drew out possibilities. Medina would have probably been, Yathrib at the time, Medina would have been low on the list if it was even on the list as a whole. But Allah azawajal facilitated the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam in that direction.
And there is no person that we take more of this from than Yunus alayhi wasallam. Yunus alayhi wasallam's life is full of lessons and there is a reason why he's the first Prophet that Allah spoke about to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam in the capacity of the revelation of the Quran. Asbir li hukmi rabbika, wa la takun ka sahib al-huti idh nada wa huwa makthum. One of the first revelations to be patient with the decree of your Lord. And do not be like the companion of the whale when he was swallowed. Don't be like him at that moment. Don't turn away and don't be like him at that moment. But there are many elements of Yunus alayhi wasallam's life. I want to speak about one. But to get to that one element, let's go through a few things, small details that maybe get missed in the story of Yunus alayhi wasallam. And you read these stories of the Prophets and subhanAllah sometimes like the ayah hits you for the very first time. So we know, idh dhahba mughadhiban, when he left his people angry, angry that they rejected Allah and that they were not showing any signs of progress. Wadhanna anlan naqdir alayhi. And he thought that we would not punish him. Not that he thought that we couldn't punish him. Yunus alayhi wasallam thought Allah will not punish me for this. I called these people, I did my job, I'm leaving them, three days and they're gone. Dhanna anlan naqdir alayhi. He thought that Allah would not punish him for turning away. Not that Allah could not, but that Allah would not. And he's walking away from his people and he's leaving his people when Allah did not give him permission to do so. And subhanAllah the ayah in surah al-anbiya at least just goes straight to, idh nada fi dhulmat an la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minal dhalimeen. Like the whole story of Yunus is cut out from when he's walking away from his people.
Dhanna anlan naqdir alayhi and thinks that Allah will not punish him to the lowest point when he's in the belly of that whale calling out la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minal dhalimeen. The story is omitted from the middle of the ayah to the lowest point. This is what happens and this is where Yunus alayhi wasallam is in a complete state of istisam. Completely submitted to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with the dua that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam said that every makroob, every person in hardship, no one makes this dua except that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala relieves them of their hardship and brings about ease. But that's, Allah takes us right to that point after that. Yunus alayhi wasallam completely submitted in the belly of that whale calling out under the layer, the darkness of the night, the darkness of the ocean, in the darkness of the belly of that whale as Ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala anhu says. And submits himself and says ya Allah la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minal dhalimeen. I give up. Ya Allah I'm completely submitting it to you. I'm submitting my affairs to you ya Allah. And what did the angels say subhanAllah according to some of the riwayat. Say salatul ma'roof, that's a familiar voice calling out in makan and ghareeb. But what an unfamiliar place that he's calling out from. That's a familiar voice, a man who used to call out to Allah frequently. But what an unfamiliar place that we're hearing the voice of this servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from. In the bottom of an ocean in the middle of nowhere, in the belly of a huge whale. La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minal dhalimeen. Dear brothers and sisters, at that point when Yunus alayhi wasallam was swallowed at that whale, not because his people ran him out but because he turned away from his people. SubhanAllah this is unique from the anbiyaat, unique from the prophets. It was because of his mistake that he was in the belly of that whale in the first place. He put himself there. Allah azawajal did not tell him to go to the ocean.
This was not like the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam when he was ran out by his people. Or the numerous stories of the thousands of prophets run out by their people. And he could have at that point said, who survives the belly of a whale? I'm done. I am done. Astaghfirullah. Khalas. That's it. I'm done. But subhanAllah Allah says had he not been from the musabbiheen, had he not been from the people of tasbih that say subhanAllah, that admit the perfection of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then he would have been consumed in the belly of the whale and that would have been the end of his story. Instead, what's the end of his story? The end of his story, fajatabahu rabbuhu fajalahu minassaliheen. Allah chose him and made him better than before. And rose him up and made him from the righteous. What's the end of his story? The prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam saying, la yaqulana ahadukum inni khayrun min yunus ibn matta. Not one of you say that I am better than Yunus ibn matta, than Yunus alayhi wasalam. The prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam did not like when people would do muthada, would talk about the virtues of prophets over others. Don't belittle Yunus alayhi wasalam. Don't speak badly about Yunus alayhi wasalam. fajatabahu rabbuhu fajalahu minassaliheen. Look what became of him. Look what Allah azawajal made of him. But dear brothers and sisters, is there really any moment that you can think of, where you could be lonelier or more desperate than Yunus alayhi wasalam in the belly of that whale in those moments? Is there any moment that a human being could feel completely disconnected? What is he hearing? What is he hearing? What is he feeling? How is he even processing du'a in the midst of all of that? But subhanAllah, look what Allah azawajal made of him. Now what is the one point of the story that I want to get to?
Because I said after why, there is often ila ayn wa ila matta. Where to and when, ya Allah? And we want to talk about where to. You have to let the whale spit you out wherever it's going to spit you out. What island is he going to end up on? What's the trajectory after that? SubhanAllah, you read the story of Yunus alayhi wasalam, what island is he going to be spit out on? Where is Medina? Where is it going to end up from here? And that's a difficult thing for us to do istislam to, to submit ourselves to. But if we submit ourselves to that, then it becomes easier to submit ourselves to the matta, to the when. Because we know that wherever the destination is, so long as we are from al-musabihin wal-mustakhireen, those that glorify Allah and those that seek the forgiveness of Allah, wherever the destination is, it's going to be a good destination. As long as we're doing our part of tasbih and istighfar, of glorifying Allah and seeking forgiveness. And so the when, the when is then facilitated by that. First you plug in the destination, then you look at how long it's going to take you. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our destination jannat al-firdaws. The highest level of jannat al-firdaws. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all of those that have buried their loved ones and whose lives have been completely uprooted by these untimely debts. And I say untimely because Allah knows these times, Allah azzawajal knows best. We don't curse time. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will place you in a better destination. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will deliver all of us bidnillahi ta'ala to a better destination. But we have to do istislam to that where, submit ourselves to Allah azzawajal with the where. And let the whale take us wherever it will be.
Be passengers in the belly of the whale in those moments. And just make sure that we are a people of la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz zalimeen. And by the way that applies to everything that's taking place right now. Political instability and uncertainty. All the types of uncertainty. The uncertainty of COVID. What's going to happen to our economy? What's going to happen to our politics? What's going to happen to our society? What's going to happen to the Muslims? What's going to happen here? What's going to happen in this situation and that situation? Submit ourselves to the where. Are we from the musabbihin and are we from the mustaghfirin? If we are, bidnillahi ta'ala the destination will be good for us collectively and individually. We pray that Allah azzawajal only give us what's best and forgive us for our shortcomings. Aqoolu qawli hadha wa istaghfiru allahi wa alakum wa risala almuslimeen. Faistaghfiru innahu wal ghafoorur raheem. Alhamdulilahi rabbil alameen. Wa laAAudwana illa AAala alzaalimeen wa laAAaqeebatu almuttaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alayhi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salam tasliman kathira. Dear brothers and sisters, I wanted to request your dua for someone that's very, very beloved to me. And I have watched this family struggle for years, years. And you talk about uncertainty, subhanAllah. To lose one 15 year old daughter to cancer. And then to lose a second daughter to the exact same form of cancer is an unbearable tragedy. An unbearable trial that most of us could not even think about. May Allah protect our families. Allahumma ameen. And today our dear brother Akram and sister Fida are burying their daughter Nadine. Actually at the moment, at the moment in California, they are burying their daughter next to his mother. SubhanAllah. May Allah have mercy on his mother and both of his daughters. And we talked about last week that even if you are in a built up fortress, it's going to come to you. I want us to please, please, please remember these people in our duas.
We are seeing the worst of us, the worst of us in these days as people are pit against each other and political polarization. But subhanAllah, I was talking to the brother and Akram told me, he said, you know, I just, the duas of the people, to think about the idea that someone is making dua for me that never knew me, would not know me. That's the best of us as well. That connection that we feel. And some of you might remember brother Omari Gray who made a turnaround, tabarakAllah, and who's on the road to recovery from an accident where we thought he was dead. And subhanAllah, multiple children and he woke up, mashAllah. He still thinks Obama is president, according to his wife, and his brain is rewiring. He thinks it's 2009 or 2010, but he's on the road to recovery. And I posted an update a few weeks ago and I saw his wife going and saying ameen to all of the duas. I thought how beautiful, how beautiful that his wife was reading all of the duas of the people for her husband, sister Sakina. May Allah subhanAllah bless her and her family. May Allah azawajal have mercy on our loved ones. May Allah subhanAllah strengthen our family who have buried their family. May Allah subhanAllah make it easy for the believers around the world. May Allah subhanAllah make it easy for the oppressed around the world. May Allah make it easy for the masakeen and the weak around the world. Allahumma khfirl al mu'minina wal mu'minat, wal muslimina wal muslimat, al ahya'i minhum wal amwat. innaka sami'un khareebun wajeebu da'wat. Allahumma khfirl lana warhamna, wa'afu anna wa la tu'adhibna. Rabbana zalamna anfusana, wa in lam takhfirl lana watarhamna, nanakoonnanna minal khasireen. La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inna kunna minal zalimeen.
Allahumma khfirl walidina, Rabbirhammu ma kaman rabbawna sigara. Rabbana hablana min azwajina wadhriyatina qurrat a'ayun, waja'anna lil muttaqina imama. Allahumma aslih ahwala ikhwanina almankoobina fee kulli makan. Allahumma ansur ikhwanina almustad'afina fee kulli makan. Allahumma ansur ikhwanina almustad'afina fee mashariq al ardi magharibiha. Allahumma ahlik al zalimeena bil zalimeen, wa akhrijna wa ikhwanina min baynihim salimeen. Ibadullah, inna Allah ya'muru bil adli wal ihsan wa ita'i dhil qurba, wa yanha'a al fahsha'i wal munkari wal baghi, ya'idukum la'al lakum tathakkaroon. Fadhkurullahi yathkurukum, wa shkuruhu alani'ma yazid lakum, wa ladhikrullahi akbar. Wallaahu ya'nawa maa ta'sna'oon. Waqeem as-salat.
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