Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
3 September 2010 Burton, Michigan
Jumu`ah Khutbah at ASIM Mosque
Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa-Llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan `abduhu wa habeebuhu wa rasooluh. Ayyuha 'l-mu'minoon al-hadiroon 'ittaqoollah ta`ala wa atee`ooh inna 'Llah ma` 'Lladheena 't-taqqaw w 'alladheena hum muhsinoon. Shahru ramadan al-ladhee unzila feehi al-qur'an hudan li 'n-naasi wa bayyinaatin mina 'l-hudaa wa'l-furqaan.
Allah (swt) did not leave a way except, as He mentions in Holy Qur'an or holy hadith, for saving the ummah and saving humanity from any kind of bad feelings or shame on the Day of Judgment. I didn't say "punishment" because it is not our responsibility or duty to discuss a punishment; that is only for Allah (swt), not for us. If we were pure and clean from falling into sins, then we would have the right to discuss punishment and to judge people. But no one can say, "I am clean." No one can; only the prophets. Allah (swt) cleaned them and protected them wa ja`alahum ma`soomeen. He made them protected, infallible. In English that means being protected from committing sins. If they want to judge they have the right, but we have no right. So don't judge people on their actions. Look at your `amal and yourself.
With His endless wisdom, Allah (swt) gave that authority to Prophet (s) where He said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا
Yā ayyuha ’n-nabīyyu innā arsalnāka shāhidan wa mubash-shiran wa nadhīra.
O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner. (Sūratu’l-Aħzāb, 33:45)
It means, "We will make you witness to whatever good people did, and on those who did above average." Today you have grades of "A," "B," or "C." Prophet (s) is witness on how much you achieved or progressed. If we have 51 percent, above average in good deeds, we will receive good tidings. mubash-shiran wa nadhīra, Allah (swt) is sending Prophet as nadheera, to warn you and straighten you out that the Day of Judgment coming.
Wa mā arsalnāka ila rahmatan lil-`Alameen.
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds. (Al-Anbiya, 21:107)
That means Prophet (s) can carry the burden of the ummah through the mercy that Allah (swt) has given him.
وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا
Wa da`eean ilá Allāhi bi idhnihi wa sirājān munīrā.
You are the one who calls people to Allah, by His permission, and (you are) a shining lamp. (al-Ahzaab, 33:46)
"Sirājan muneerah" is a guiding light stronger than that of a lighthouse which guides ships at sea. It is not like a pole star, but it continuously shines without stopping, to guide the ummah. So what did Prophet (s) give? He gave one of these stars; if you follow it, you will be saved. In the second year of da`wah, after two days of Sha`baan passed, Allah (swt) revealed to Prophet (s) the order to fast.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
Yā ayyuha 'l-ladhīna āmanū kutiba `alaykumu 's-siyāmu kamā kutiba `alá 'Lladhīna min qablikum la`allakum tattaqūna.
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become 'al-muttaqūn' (the pious). (al-Baqara, 2:183)
Fasting is a vehicle to enter Paradise, and if you wish to enter Paradise you have to follow the guidance of Prophet (s).
The Prophet (s) said:
`an sahl ibn sa`d anna li 'l-jannati baaban.
For Paradise, there is a door. (narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)
You have to go through the proper door, as Allah (swt) said:
وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Wa 'tū 'l-buyūta min abwābihā wa 'ttaqū Allāha la`allakum tuflihūn.
So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful. (al-Baqarah, 2:189)
That door is closed and it is called, "ar-Rayyaan," and you quench your thirst from it. In Ramadan, when fasting you need to quench your thirst, and especially in long days like today when we are fasting 16 hours. That is Allah's will. In the Far East fasting is 12 hours or 11.5 and if you are clever, you travel there and fast there. So there is one door there called ar-Rayyaan. Allah (swt) is great! Do you think he is keeping that door closed up, or down or wherever it is? The Earth is round so where is up or down, night or day? Wherever you want to quench your thirst from fasting, Allah (swt) is manifesting through that door.
How lucky you will be if your son or daughter is fasting, if they are under-age. Encourage them to fast. Don’t say, “They are young.” No. Encourage them to fast by age seven for a half day, and then by eight, and then by nine a whole day. Why? Their fasting is your safety. They are not yet mature and their fasting is more accepted than our fasting. Our fasting is blended with all kinds of sins, but their fasting is pure. They are under protection; they are pure. They are under-age, so their fast is with no sin and our fast is with sin. If you can, encourage them to fast.
I know some of them here are fasting and some, even at age eight, fast all of Ramadan. It depends on how strongly their parents are holding Ramadan. For the parents’ benefit, Allah (swt) will be happy when His servants make their children fast for His sake. So that door, ar-Rayyan, is for quenching thirst and it is written for those men and women to reach the beauty and manifestation of that door to quench their thirst on the Day of Judgment, when the sun will be so close to our heads. That is Allah power of (saying to a thing:) koon fayakoon, "Be!" and it will be. He can do what He likes, so why can’t He bring the sun down on the heads of people? Today, when it is 110 degrees Fahrenheit, what do you do? You keep drinking water in order to quench your thirst. On the Day of Judgment, the sun will be over the heads of people, and I am afraid to say, on our heads. Those who were fasting will be showered with cool water and it will protect them from the heat of the sun on the Day of Judgment. This is only for people who are fasting. Don’t give an excuse unless you are sick or traveling; otherwise, fast and try to get your children to fast.
So Prophet (s) said there is a door of Paradise called "ar-Rayyan," which will say, ayna as-saaimoon, “Where are the people who were fasting?” With discipline, each will come; it is not like today, with no discipline. Then they say, “Enter through that door,” and when the last has entered, the door is locked, finished. That is good tidings, as Allah (swt) said:
Wa mā arsalnāka ila rahmatan lil-`Alameen.(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds. (Al-Anbiya, 21:107)
That is from the vehicle that Allah (swt) made as a means to save Mankind on the Day of Judgment! Nadheera is also warning people, “If you don’t fast, you will be caught in problems.”
O Muslims! It is important for us to fast and not to leave fasting behind except for those who are sick. Prophet (s) said:
inna Allah farada 'ala 'n-nabi as-siyaam.
Allah ordered the Prophet (s) to fast. (Imam Ahmad, Bayhaqi and Abu Dawood)
And as we recited before:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
Yā ayyuha 'l-ladhīna āmanū kutiba `alaykumu 's-siyāmu kamā kutiba `alá 'Lladhīna min qablikum la`allakum tattaqūna.
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become 'al-muttaqūn' (the pious). (al-Baqara, 2:183)
This order was for Sayyidina `Isa (a) and other prophets before him. It is narrated by many books of Sahih that when that verse was revealed, many fasted and many did not. Those who fasted were not travelers, nor sick.
أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
ayyāmāan ma`dūdātin faman kāna minkum marīđāan 'aw `alá safarin fa`iddatun min ayyāmin ukhara wa `alá al-ladhīna yuţīqūnahu fidyatun ţa`āmu miskīnin faman taţawwa`a khayrāan fahuwa khayrun lahu wa 'an taşūmū khayrun lakum 'in kuntum ta`lamūn.
(Fast) for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a poor person (for every day). But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast, it is better for you if only you know. (Al-Baqarah, 2:184)
So whoever wanted to fast, fasted. And whoever was not able to fast gave money to the poor to feed them, or they fasted later. If you do that, it drops from you the sin of not fasting. Allah (swt) knows if you are sick or not, so you cannot make an excuse that you are sick and you are not.
Prophet said, if anyone fasts Ramadan and follows with six days of fasting in Shawwal, it is as if he fasted the whole year because the good deeds are rewarded by ten. So you fast 30 days of Ramadan, times ten is 300 days, and 6 days of Shawwal times ten is 60 days, and the year is 365 days. Where are rest of the days? There are five day in which we are prohibited to fast: the first day of Eid al-Fitr and the four days of Eid al-Adha.
Prophet (s) breaks fast with very fresh dates before he prays Maghrib. If he doesn't find that, he breaks his fast with ripe dates (what we have today). If they are not available, then he drinks water and then prays Maghrib. (Abu Dawud; al-Haakim, at-Tirmidhi)
(du`a)
No comments:
Post a Comment