First Khutbah – Main Points

Certainty doesn’t relate to just an isolated, distant notion of asserting the existence of God. This would be akin to agnosticism. Rather, it means to have that realization impact your actions - to have a genuine purpose. Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet [not nephew!], says:

قال علي, كرم الله وجهه: لو كشف الغطاء ما ازددت يقينا

“If the veil were to be lifted I would not increase in certitude.”

We should look for inspiration in our daily lives. One easy example to look at are pigeons. Many of us have stood at the corners of 15th and Broad and have seek flocks of pigeons - how many times have we really examined them in detail. I say this as it is similar to Allah’s question in the Qur’ān:

أفلا ينظرون إلى الإبل كيف خلقت

“Do they not look at the camel and how it was created?” [Q: 88:17]

The camel was something so common to the Arabs of the Prophet’s time - they were almost what cars are for us today. They also took sustenance from them. So they were at once familiar with them but somewhat mundane as well. Just like pigeons for us, or anything else in our environments, we should examine them with thought and attention. Through this, we can come to the extraordinary in the ordinary and mundane.

Additionally, some of the greatest signs are within ourselves. The human being is an amazing creation. Let us look to the Heavens and the earth for inspiration and what Allah has to say about them:

سنريهم ءايتِنا في الأفاق و في أنفسهم حتى يتبين لهم أنه الحق
أوَ لم يكفِ بربك أنه على كل شيء شهيد

“And We will show them our signs on the horizon and in themselves until it is clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient that your Lord is a Witness to everything?” [Q: 41:53]

Certitude helps us to be more connected with the nature of Reality. We all must return to Allah, where we will have a full account of our deeds [the hisāb]. (continue reading here…)