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Is It All Our Fault? | Khutbah
How much are our leaders and circumstances a reflection of our flaws? Is Gaza suffering because of us? What does our righteousness, or lack of, produce?
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 wa sallam 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, when a person looks around at the state of the ummah today, specifically as it relates to our brothers and sisters in Palestine, our brothers and sisters in Gaza, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alleviate their suffering and grant them victory. Allahumma ameen. And when a person looks at the difficulties around the ummah, and the seemingly pathetic state that we are in where we feel like we have been granted circumstances that are beyond us. Leaders that we are either deserving of or not deserving of. But a situation in which a person who is introspective will come back and ask themselves, Am I responsible? Are these leaders, are these circumstances, are these difficulties merely an extension or reflection of the state of our ummah? Or is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala testing us? Is what is happening to our brothers and sisters related to my day-to-day? Or is it completely disconnected? Is the complaint that I have about those who I feel like should be doing more but are not doing more, who have leadership within our ummah, are those complaints really just extensions of my own disobedience? Are they reflections of me? Or are they a test that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put upon us? And it comes back to an ayah from which we have the general rule in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ That verily Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not change the condition of a people until they change the conditions of themselves. But what is within our power? And subhanallah when you look at the ahadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam in this regard, you will notice that whether the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is talking about the leadership of this ummah or he's talking about the circumstances of the people, it's never entirely linear. Meaning it is not like we have righteous leadership that parallels righteous people, that parallels righteous circumstances all the times. In many of those situations there is a disruption that happens along the way. And in every single one of those situations there is a lesson that all of us can take. There is a famous statement that many people quote as a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, but it is not a hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Many of you have heard it, many of you have maybe repeated it. كَمَا تَكُونُوا يُوَلَّى عَلَيْكُمْ As you are will be placed upon you. But this statement, which is a wisdom that has been passed on between many generations, is not completely true to every single circumstance. Meaning it is not always the case كَمَا تَكُونُوا يُوَلَّى عَلَيْكُمْ As you are will be placed upon you. Partially there is some wisdom and some value and benefit to that statement for us to look back at ourselves. But it's not always the case. For example, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam says, خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي The best of my generation or the best of my ummah. خَيْرُ أُمَّةِ وَخَيْرُ النَّاسِ The best of people is my generation. ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
And then those that come after them. And then those that come after them. Who we group as one and we call a salaf. The pious predecessors. They are the best of all people. The first three generations of Islam. And after those generations there is a general decline that happens in terms of righteousness. لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَنْفَقَ مِنْ قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلُ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِنَ الَّذِينَ أَنْفَقُوا مِنْ بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُ وَكُلَّهُ وَعْدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَةُ And even in Islam, those that came first before the conquest are not like those that came after. But everyone has their promise from Allah. So generally, every generation declines in righteousness but there are always these bright spots. فِي كُلِّ قَرْنٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي سَابِقُونَ In every generation of my ummah, there are these bright spots. There are forerunners that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses. But if you think about general righteousness, it is the sahaba, and then the tabi'een, and then the taba' tabi'een. Those first three generations of Islam. But still with that, as Imam al-Qutayba rahimahullah points out, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tested the likes of Anas ibn Malik radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, and Imam Hassan al-Basri rahimahullah, with al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. A brutal tyrant. And some people asked Hassan al-Basri, who's looked at as the greatest of the second generation of Islam, and if this is the second greatest generation that ever walked the face of the earth, how is it that we have this tyrant that's been placed upon us? Then his response would be to look into the social ills that we have allowed to permeate amongst ourselves. And to increase in our dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because whether this is a tyrant that has been placed upon us due to something that we have done,
or due to something that Allah wants to bring out of us, the end result is the same, the output is the same. A turning back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and a holistic seeking of islah, of rectification of the self and of society, and leaving the rest of the qadr to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So sometimes, when we talk about our leaders, they are a reflection of us, or we are a reflection of them. Sometimes the change comes from top down. Sometimes it comes from bottom up. Sufyan al-Thawri, rahimahullah, said a very famous statement. Qala santhani min al-naas, there are two groups of people. Itha saluha, saluhat al-ummah. If these two groups of people are righteous, then the ummah will be rectified. Wa itha fasada, fasadat al-ummah. And if they become corrupt, then the ummah will become corrupted as well. Al muluk wal ulama. The rulers and the scholars. So there is top down change. And indeed if you have righteous leaders, they can in fact change the culture of the people. They can instill a rectification in the people that might have been missing. Salahuddin al-Ayubi, rahimahullah, who we always quote and we always wish for. Another version of him, another manifestation of him in our ummah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring about many revivers amongst us. Allahumma ameen. Salahuddin had to revive consciousness in the ummah. It's not that he was handed a righteous ummah. He had to revive himself and he had to revive his ummah. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought about great change on his hands. And before him, Nuruddin, rahimahullah, who was his mentor as well. So islah came from top down. When you look at the history of Islam, the early days of the Muslims. There is Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, rahimahullah,
who assumes leadership of this ummah at the age of 38 years old. And like his grandfather, Umar ibn Khattab, rahimahullah, resuscitates and breeds justice into an ummah that has been plagued with oppression. If you were to look at the line from Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman and Ali and Al-Hassan and go all the way down to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, there isn't a direct correlation to the ummah's behavior. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed this ummah with a reviver that came years later from khulafa al-rashideen to where he was included amongst them even though he was not immediately after them. As Imam al-Shafi, rahimahullah, said, he is like Rajab. The Muharram month, the sacred month of Rajab. To the rest of al-ashr al-haram, to the rest of the sacred months which are three together. Rajab is separated in the year, but it is included amongst them. Likewise, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz is separated from them in terms of his years, but he is included amongst them. So sometimes Allah blesses an ummah that is sleeping with righteousness at the top that infuses righteousness through society, that seeks to wake it up, revive its consciousness and brings about beauty throughout. That happens sometimes. But sometimes it's the opposite. Sometimes, indeed, كَمَا تَكُونُوا يُوَلَّى عَلَيْكُمْ As you are, will be placed upon you. Sometimes, the culture of the people shapes what is at the top and shapes their circumstances. And subhanAllah, there is a famous narration of Ali radiyallahu ta'ala anhum where he was asked, you know, how come you're not like Abu Bakr and Umar radiyallahu anhuma in terms of raising the people? And he said, Abu Bakr and Umar had men like me, I have men like you. Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, rahimahullah, was asked something very similar. And he joined the people, he brought the people together.
جَمَعَ النَّاسِ وَقَالَ لَهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ تُرِيدُونَ مِنَّا أَنَّكُونَ مِثْلَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرٍ He said, I'm the khalifa. And he gathered the people and he said, you want from us to be like Abu Bakr and Umar. May Allah be pleased with them. He says, كُونُوا أَنْتُمْ مِثْلَ رِجَالِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرٍ But you should be like the men of Abu Bakr and Umar. And then you will see the change that you're seeking. So it goes both ways. It's not just from top bottom, it's also bottom up. Culture produces certain leaders. Mentorship produces leaders. Communities like this one, masajid, here in Ireland or in the United States or wherever it is, produce the next generations of Salahuddin. Produce the righteous leaders that then take the mantle. And they lead this ummah to where it needs to go. But we can't simply keep waiting for someone to come up there. The Salahuddin syndrome or the Mahdi syndrome. Everything will be okay when he comes. And we don't look inside ourselves. إِذَا أَرَكْتَ صَلَاحَ الدِّينِ If you want to be Salahuddin, فَكُنْ رَجُلٌ أَمِينٌ Then be a righteous, trustworthy person in your own daily dealings. Don't be a person that deals in cheating and then complains about the leaders of the ummah. Because Allah knows that many of those that complain about the leaders of the Muslims would be just as corrupt as them if they were in that situation. Because sometimes they reflect the culture. If you look at the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, in the hadith of Abu Huraira radiallahu ta'ala anhu, where the Prophet ﷺ was speaking, and a man came, a Bedouin came and said, مَتَ السَّاعَةِ When is the hour? And the Prophet ﷺ did not answer him immediately. Then the Prophet ﷺ said, أَيْنَ سَائِرُ عَنَ السَّاعَةِ Where is the one who asked me about the hour? And when he came forth, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned, إِذَا ضُيِعَتِ الْأَمَانَةِ When trust is lost,
تَنْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةِ Then wait for the day of judgment to come. Wait for the hour to come. And the Bedouin asked the right question, كَيْفَ إِضَاعَتُهَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ How does it get lost? How does trust become lost amongst the people? The Prophet ﷺ gives a component of this that seems to be outside of our circumstances, and one that seems to be a conscious choice. The Prophet ﷺ says in one narration of this, very simple, أَن يُوَلَّ الْأَمْرَ غَيْرَ أَهْلِ When the affair of the Muslims is given to those who are undeserving, when political leadership goes to corrupt people, and they transform righteousness into wickedness. That's something that is usually beyond our control. Very few times in history do people actually get to choose their leaders. And even in the illusion of democracies, usually there's a component of compulsion that forces your leaders upon you. Very few times in history do people actually consciously choose their leaders. So when it goes to people that are undeserving, when it goes to people that lose the amanah of the Muslims, that lose the amanah of the believers, but there's a conscious part. The Prophet ﷺ said, إِتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُؤُوسًا جُهَالًا فَسُئِلُوا فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا The Prophet ﷺ said, when people take leaders amongst themselves that are fools, and they are asked, and they respond without knowledge, they are astray and they lead astray. You know how we take this for ourselves, dear brothers and sisters? You don't get to choose your political leaders, but you do get to choose your role models. You might not get to choose who governs over you, but you do choose your trendsetters. You do choose who you follow. You do choose who you consume. You do choose your leaders
in every other sense of the word. And if the culture is producing the most rotten of leaders, if our young people are looking up to the worst of people, then the problem is not in who is being placed upon us, the problem is who we are placing upon ourselves. There's a conscious part of this too. And so yes, our leaders are a reflection of us. Yes, those that come above us are a reflection of us. But also, dear brothers and sisters, there's the culture of justice. So, do we choose our leaders? In some ways, yes. Do we choose our circumstances? In some ways, yes. هل ترزقون وتنصرون إلا بضعفائكم؟ In one narration, the Prophet ﷺ said, Are you given support or victory except by how you treat your most vulnerable? Are you given support and victory from Allah except by how you treat those who need help amongst you? Look at yourself. How are you governing? How are you carrying out your affairs as a community? Al-Imam Al-Nawwi, rahimahullah, he said in terms of the ahwal of the Muslims, in terms of the circumstances of the Muslims. He said, if you look at the narrations of Asbab Al-Nusra, the reasons for victory, and you compare those to Asbab Al-Hazima, the reasons for defeat, you will find that every hadith of the Prophet ﷺ where he mentions a sabab, a reason for victory, there is the opposite of a reason for corruption and humiliation, and vice versa. It's actually a powerful way to read the Quran, and a powerful way to read the sunnah. If Allah tells you that something bears righteousness in your life, then the opposite naturally bears wickedness. And if Allah tells you that something bears wickedness in your life, then the opposite obviously bears righteousness. So for example, where the Prophet ﷺ said, هل ترزقون وتنصرون إلا بضعفائكم؟
Are you given victory or support except by how you treat your most vulnerable? There's also the narration of Ibn Mas'ud رضي الله تعالى عنه إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُقَدِّسُ أُمَّةً لَا يُؤْخَذُ لِلضَّعِيفِ فِيهِمْ حَقُّهُ Allah will not honor an Ummah that does not take justice for the weak amongst them. It's one of the reasons for Hazima. One of the reasons for defeat and humiliation. Allah will not honor an Ummah that does not stand up for the oppressed amongst them. That does not stand up for the weak amongst them. And so you want نصر؟ Are you involved in النصرة؟ You want Allah to give you victory in your circumstance? Are you a reason for someone else's victory? You want Allah to honor you? Do you honor the weak amongst you? Do you honor the oppressed amongst you? كَلَّا بَلَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمُ Didn't Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mention this about the disbelievers? You want to be honored but you don't honor the orphan amongst you. You want Allah to honor you but do you honor those who Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed in your care? And so our leaders are a product of us. Our circumstances are a product of us in many ways. But with all of that being said, وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً We test you with evil and we test you with good. Sometimes subhanallah the most righteous people are tested with the most evil of tyrants. And sometimes the most wicked of people are given the most comfortable circumstances. It goes back to what is emanating from you. What is your contribution to this environment? What are you putting back into it? Look at these two ayat subhanallah and how they speak to two different realities. Allah azawajal says
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ كَذَّبُوا فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said if the people of the town would have only believed and been God conscious they would have feared Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and honored the covenant Allah would have opened the blessings of the skies the heavens and the earth for them but instead they denied and so they were taken as a result of that which they used to do Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also says فَلَمَّا نَسُوا مَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ in the very next surah when they forgot between الأنعام والأعراف when they forgot the reminders that were sent to them فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ We opened for them all the doors of good حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فَرِحُوا بِمَا أُوتُوا until they found joy in that which was given to them أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَ فَإِذَاهُمْ مُبْلِيسُونَ We suddenly snatched them and they found themselves in despair So Allah talks about punishing a people with obvious punishment and Allah also talks about punishing a people by giving them exactly what they want نَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنًا That Allah عز و جل utilizes both of these upon a wicked people to wake them up or to punish them and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also utilizes for the believers that which brings out the best potential of their righteousness for their time that produces the best benefit for them in regards to their circumstances but the rule still remains فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِدْرَارًا وَيُمْدِدِكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينٍ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ أَنْهَارًا إِنْ تَنْصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنْصُرُكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ
the verses still connect very clearly righteousness with goodness in this life, in the next reflected in what is above us reflected in what is around us reflected in what is beneath us righteousness produces good and if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tests you when you are righteous then it may be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wishes to elevate you and so when you look at the people of Gaza when you look at the people that are struggling in our ummah the way that they are struggling it may be that they are the negligence or it may be that they are the sin of your negligence but at the same time a maqam a station that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wishes to bring them through it could be both of those things they could be our sin and their own elevation all of those things are possibilities where we still look inside and we say are our leaders, are our circumstances due to anything that I am doing you see dear brothers and sisters in conclusion many times we talk about our du'a and our sadaqa a solidarity for the wronged of this ummah but when you read a hadith of the prophet where he mentions al-muslimoon كرجل واحد كالجسد الواحد if the people the Muslims are like one man or one body it's one thing to say that I feel the pain of the other parts of the body it's another thing to say that I will not cause pain to the rest of the body if I'm the hand of the ummah I will not stab the rest of the ummah in the back or in the front I will not be the weak link when he says alayhis salatu wassalam المؤمن للمؤمن كالبنيان يشد بعضه بعضا that the believer to the believer is like a structure he reinforces the rest of the building then I will make sure that I am holding up my part and I am not an empty slot in the building
I'm not the missing brick in the building that actually causes harm to the ummah so when you look at what is happening in the ummah do not ask is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala punishing these people with their leaders is Allah punishing them with their circumstances ask yourself is anything that I am doing producing that which causes harm to me or to my ummah is anything that I am doing producing the miserable circumstances that we find ourselves in and it may be that those same sins that are a cause for your misery or my misery may Allah protect us and this life or the next could also be a cause for the elevation of another part of the ummah because even if they feel the pain of our negligence they will still taste the reward of their lord who is the most merciful may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase us in righteousness and in victory may Allah increase us in that which brings about goodness in this life and the next and raise us with our brothers and sisters to the highest level, the highest rank so that we can be alongside our beloved prophet you are the one who hears and answers prayers may Allah forgive us and have mercy on us and forgive us and do not punish us our lord we have wronged ourselves and if you do not forgive us and have mercy on us we will be among the losers may Allah forgive us and have mercy on us may Allah forgive our parents may Allah have mercy on them as our parents did when we were young may Allah grant us from our wives and children
the pleasure of our eyes and make us for the righteous an imam may Allah help our weak brothers in the east and west may Allah honor Islam and Muslims and destroy polytheism and liars and destroy the enemies of religion may Allah destroy the wrongdoers among the wrongdoers and make us and our brothers out of them in peace O servants of Allah may Allah command justice and kindness and grant us nearness and forbid immorality and evil and transgression he promises you that you will remember so remember Allah and He will remember you and thank Him for the blessings that increase for you and the remembrance of Allah is greater and Allah knows what you do and keep up the prayer May Allah forgive us and have mercy on us and make us for the righteous an imam and destroy polytheism and liars and destroy the enemies of religion and destroy the enemies of Allah and make us and our brothers out of them in peace O servants of Allah may Allah command justice and kindness and grant us nearness and forbid immorality and evil and transgression he promises you that you will remember so remember Allah and He will remember you and thank Him for the blessings that increase for you and the remembrance of Allah
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