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Afterlife

The Value of Just One Righteous Life | Khutbah

December 8, 2023Dr. Omar Suleiman

The Prophet ﷺ spoke about the value of saving one life, but taught us how to especially make du’a for Allah to preserve a righteous life. As we see the amazing people of Gaza and Palestine, use these Prophetic du’as to pray for these pious people and advocate for saving every single one of them.

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We begin by praising Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam 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 their blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahuma Ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, what makes this earth worth it, worth its existence, are the people on this earth that say la ilaha illallah, that bear witness to the oneness of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, and that live lives pleasing to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. And as we look at the final days and the final hour, one of the things that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam insinuates is that the hour will not come until there aren't a people on this earth who even say Allah, Allah, la ilaha illallah anymore. Almost to say that the earth is no longer worthwhile. This entire world is no longer worthwhile when there isn't a single person left on the face of this earth that says Allah, Allah. What makes Mecca special and so beloved to us is that it was the place where our father Ibrahim Alayhi Salam took our Prophet Ismail Alayhi Salam and set into motion with Hajar and Ismail the eventual events that lead to the birth of our messenger Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, and make Mecca what it actually is. What makes Medina special is not the geography of the city. It was the presence of our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and the companions that were there, and the presence of that spirit that exists until this day that causes us to go to Medina.
What makes Al-Quds so special, Jerusalem so special, and Ard al-Sham in the broader sense, the land of Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, that entire area, is that that is the land of the Prophets. That is the land of the Anbiya, and it was the people there that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed that land through. Why do I start with this particular introduction? What makes Gaza special as we've been watching this enormous massacre and factory of slaughter in front of our eyes? Is it the land? Is it the waterfront that should be beautifully developed? Is it the natural olive trees of Palestine? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala liberate it all that is constantly being taken away. Or is it the people themselves, many of whom we're suddenly starting to learn about? Their stories have become so close and intimate to us that even if we never met them, we feel like we knew them. And subhanAllah, it's a different dimension. Yesterday, Brother Rif'at, many of you saw the martyrdom of a shaheed, Rif'at rahimahullah, a beautiful brother who used to give so much of the news, the voice of Gaza. And he was murdered, martyred in an airstrike along with his family. A piece of us dies even though we don't know who he is. Many of us hold our breath as we watch the likes of Mu'taz, as we watch all of these names, Wissam, others that we feel like we've come to know even though we never met them. But they're so part of us at this point. The beautiful man Khalid, the grandfather of Reem, the soul of his soul, who we've been speaking about. And subhanAllah, the man looks like he's been taken out of a book of seerah and put into the 21st century
for us to see suddenly what looks like an individual that manifests the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in the most horrific tragedy. We feel like we know them. And I want to take us back to a couple of years ago where so many ulama were passing away when COVID first broke out. And one of the chapters that was covered in almost every single part of the world was Baab Zihab Salihin. The chapter in Bukhari or Muslim and many books of hadith. When the righteous depart. And the hadith where the Prophet ﷺ mentions that Allah does not take away knowledge from a people by suddenly ripping it from their hearts but it is taken away with the sudden taking back of scholars. How many scholars did we not even know exist in Gaza that have been martyred? How many special people that brought barakah to this earth, brought blessing to this earth that we did not even know exist. And some of them we still don't know exist. That are being taken away in this moment. Why do I want us to stop with this insha'Allah ta'ala in this particular khutbah. Every single life that is lost is a tragedy. Every single unjust taking of a life is a tragedy. Every single child that dies is a tragedy. Even if they didn't live long enough to quote unquote build anything in this world of a legacy. Every single one of those people. It's a tragedy. In fact it's a tragedy even if the person was not righteous at all because the person might have had the potential of righteousness taken away from them through an unjust murder. So the unjust taking of a life is a tragedy. And Allah azzawajal commissions us to this idea that it is worth saving one person.
And to save one person it's as if you have saved all of mankind. We speak about this. And it's important for us to keep that in context when we're watching mass murder take place. Because if through the efforts, the collective efforts of people around the world with the acceptance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The death toll can be 24,999 instead of 25,000. Then the collective efforts of everyone around the world would have been worth it. If through our collective efforts and Allah azzawajal's acceptance. This ends one day earlier than had those efforts not been present with the ultimate authority and control of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is worth it. There are a lot of doctors that have been speaking in this community about when they're going to try to get in inshallah to offer medical care when this is all over. If through that you save one person it's worth it. Whether that person carries the value of ilm and knowledge or a legacy that is celebrated or not. It is worth it. But beyond that I wanted to come to a very specific way that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam used to make dua for righteous people. When the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke about the collective. When he stood the night before Badr. And Allah says that you called out to your Lord all night and he answered you. He answered you're seeking glory. You're seeking his aid in that moment. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not say oh Allah if you allow them to do to us what they want to do. Then they are going to say this and this and this and that. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he called out to Allah. And he said اِن تُهْلِكْ هَذِهِ الْعِصَابَ فَلَن تُعْبَدَ فِي الْأَرْضِ
Oh Allah if this group of people are killed you're not going to be worshipped on this earth. Think about that. He wasn't thinking about his own name sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He wasn't thinking about all of the gory possibilities. And to us perhaps because we see so much of it. It seems like the worst possible thing to see a person whose limbs are ripped here and there. And the goriness of the situation. Because the material is so ugly we can't even start to imagine the immaterial. And what is beyond the veil of this world. But what is worse than all of that. What is the quality of the people that would be taken away in this process. And including that in your dua. It breaks our heart in a very particular way to see children be killed. It breaks our heart in a very particular way to see the nastiness and the goriness of the situation. But what is the quality of the people. What I'm coming to is how much of the world right now depends on the survival of the people of Gaza. How much of the world right now, our communities around the world, our ummah actually depends upon the survival of the people of Palestine. Those people that are in Ard al-Ribat. That are fulfilling in that land of holding down the fort. What the entire ummah looks to them to do. Despite the betrayal of leadership around the world. And despite the betrayal of those who claim to be for human rights. What value do they hold in particular. Oh Allah don't let Abu Bakr and Omar and Uthman and Ali. And those people that are going to set legacies in motion. Where people will worship you 1400 years later. Don't let them go. Don't let them be taken away from us. Oh Allah. That was the ingredient that is mentioned in the dua of the Prophet ﷺ. Keep in mind he made dua the entire night. But that's the one that made it through in the narration.
That if this group of people die. You will not be worshipped on this earth. Ibrahim ﷺ. Our father Ibrahim when he says. رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ Subhanallah. One of the beautiful meanings of that. Oh Allah don't make us a trial for those who disbelieve. Is that what Ibrahim is saying. That if they gain complete victory over us. Then they might be deluded into thinking that they are upon truth. And we are upon falsehood. Therefore the truth will not continue to succeed in generations to come. Don't let it be a fitna for them as well. And so the idea here is the persistence of something special. The quality of a people. Not just their breaths. But their duas. Not just their lives. But their souls. Not just their physical presence. But their presence of righteousness. That keeps the entire equilibrium of this world. Preserved in a way that we cannot capture. I want you to include this ingredient in your dua. And I'll tell you exactly why. Because whether someone is being brought into this world. As Zakariya a.s. was praying for a son. وَجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيَةً Make him pleasing oh Allah. Don't just give me a son I can play with. Make him pleasing oh Allah. Make him someone that's going to establish righteousness on earth. When the Prophet s.a.w. would visit a sick person. One of the duas that is authentically narrated from him. And I can't think of a dua that applies more to the people of Gaza right now. And he said to us s.a.w. When you go and you visit someone who is sick. Particularly people of righteousness. The Prophet s.a.w. would say اللهم اشفي عبدك ينكأ لك عدوة أو يمشي لك إلى صلاة اللهم اشفي عبدك ينكأ لك عدوة
أو يمشي لك إلى صلاة What a beautiful dua. Oh Allah preserve this servant of yours. ينكأ لك عدوة Who will continue to stand against an enemy of yours. Continue the oppressor of an enemy of yours. أو يمشي لك إلى صلاة Or who will continue to record those footsteps to salah. Those footsteps to prayer. Because you know what? Those people that walk to salah. They are not just recording footsteps for themselves. There is something that comes into the preservation of an entire ummah. Of a collective. Through those elderly people that walk to salah. That walk to the prayer. There is something to be said about a small group of people that continue to do what the broader ummah can't do. When a couple of thousand people maintain what a couple of billion cannot do. Then the rest of us have to make dua for that couple of thousand to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for their preservation. And so think about that when you're making dua for the people of Gaza. Think about that as you're making dua for the people of Palestine. Oh Allah preserve these people that serve as a fortress against your enemy. And preserve these people who have their footsteps recorded to the salah, to the prayer. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect our people in Gaza. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect our people in Palestine. May Allah protect our Khalid and our Mohtaz. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect our Ismaheil and our Dana. May Allah protect all of them. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect our Maryam. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala preserve all of the people of Gaza and all the righteous people that we know and that we don't know. Who serve as a protection for us in ways that perhaps we cannot understand. Allahumma ameen. I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness. And to you, O Muslims, ask forgiveness. He is Forgiving and Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow him. May Allah forgive the believers, the believers, the Muslims, and the Muslims, the living and the dead. You are All-Hearing, All-Near, All-Responsible. 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 not be among the losers. O Allah, You are Forgiving and Merciful. You love forgiveness, so forgive us. O Allah, forgive our parents. O Lord, have mercy on them, as You raised us up when we were young. O Lord, grant us from our wives and offspring the pleasure of our eyes. And make us a leader for the righteous. O Allah, help our oppressed brothers who are weak in the east and the west. O Allah, destroy the wrongdoers among the wrongdoers, and make us and our brothers among the righteous. O servants of Allah, may Allah command justice and kindness, and grant us nearness to Him, and forbid us from immorality, and from evil, and from transgression. He promises you that you will remember. So remember Allah and He will remember you. And give thanks to Him for His blessings, and He will increase for you. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows what you do. And establish prayer. For more information, visit www.fema.org
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