First Khutbah – Main Points
What do we want from Islam? We seldom ask this question. What does Allah want us to get from Islam? And in the negotiation of these two questions, how do we go about making this a reality?
Piety, to a large extent, has been replaced by such plastic words as “tradition”. This word has garnered so much attention in recent years that Muslims are beginning to identify themselves as “traditional Muslims”. But my question is: what is “traditional Islam”? Often what is deemed to be traditional is expressed in modes of dress, pious affectation, perhaps even cuisine. Allah has a different definition of piety:
ليس البر أن تولوا وجوهكم قبل المشرق والمغرب
ولكن البر من ءامن بالله واليوم الآخر والملائكة والكتاب والنبئين…
“Piety is not the turning of your face to the East or the West. No, piety is the one who is secure in his belief of God and the Last Day, the Angles, the Book and the Prophets…”
[Q: 2:177]
الذين ءامنوا ولم يلبسوا إيمانهم بظلم اولئك لهم الأمن وهم مهتدون
“Those who profess faith and do not wear their faith on their sleeve, security is their reward. They are the rightly guided.”
[Q: 6:82]
The downside to all of this is that we often create psychological spaces were people do not feel safe to grow as Muslims. This plays on people’s religious sensibilities and in fact, when they do not stand up to this comparison, they may be afflicted with doubt and uncertainty. (continue reading here…)
Verily all praise belongs to God [known as Allāh in the Arabic language] - thus do we praise God, seek God’s Divine aid, seek forgiveness and repent our sins to and from God, and in God do we place our trust. We seek protection in God from the evil whisperings of our own souls as well as from blameworthy actions and deeds.
For the one God has chosen to guide, there is no misguider for him. And as for one whom God has misguided, there is no guidance. And we bear testimony that there is no god but God, Allah, One is He, with no partner, Lord of lords, Causer of all causes, the Fashioner of the Seven Heavens, Creator of all that is. We also bear witness that Muhammad, the Unlettered Prophet, is His slave and messenger, Seal of the Prophets and most noble of the Messengers. May God send peace and blessings upon him, his family, his wives, his companions, his helpers, and his progeny. Surely God and His Angels send blessings upon the Prophet therefore O’ you who believe!, send prayers and blessings upon him abundantly.
Let it be said that responsibility is one the primary charges leveled at the human being. Not a responsibility to provide for his or herself, but rather the responsibility each and everyone of us has towards the Creator, so long as each one of us is a sane and capable human being. Let us take to heart the supremely wise words of the Almighty in the Qur’ān, as a guide and a warning for us to help sculpt our thoughts and actions:
إن ربهم بهم يومئذ لخبير
“Surely, on that day, their Lord shall be well-acquainted with them.” [Q: 100:11]
More importantly, reflexes should be seen as a self-defense system and it is from here, the idea of self-defense, is where we will look at and examine taqwā. (continue reading here…)
