What is your Objective? Second Jummah Khutbah - 29/03/2019

Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu

Al-hamdu Lillaahi nahmaduhu wa nasta’eenahu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na’oodhu billaahi min shuroori anfusinaa wa min sayi’aati a’maalinaa. Man yahdih Illaahu falaa mudilla lahu wa man yudlil falaa haadiya lahu. Wa ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu la sharika lahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu sallalahu alayhi wa ala alihi wasallam wa ba’ad.

Ya ayyu-hallatheena aama-nutta-qullaha haqqa tuqatihi wala tamootunna illa waantum muslimoon

(O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].^[6])

Ya ayyu hannas utaqoo rabba kumullathee khala qakum min nafsiw wahidatiw wakhalaqa minha zawjaha wabaththa minhuma rijalan katheeraw wanisaa-ah. Watta-qullahallathee tasaa-aloona bihi wal-arhama innallaha kana 'alaykum raqeeba

(O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.^[7])

Ya ayyu-hallatheena aama-nuttaqullaha wa qooloo qawlan sadeeda. Yuslih lakum a'maalakum wayaghfir lakum thunoobakum. Wamay yuti'illaha wa rasoolahu faqad faaza fawzan 'atheema

(O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment ^[8])

Amma bad fa inna khayral hadeethi kitabullah wa khayral hadee, hadee Muhammadin wa sharrol omoori muhdathaatuhaa wa kulla muhdathatin bidah wa kulla bidatin dalaalah wa kulla dalaalatin finnar

"Indeed the best speech is the speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace be upon him). And the worst of matters are those innovated by the people, and every innovated matter is a bid’ah and every bid’ah is astray, and every going astray is in the fire."^[10]

All praise is due to Allah made prayers and blessings be on to his Messenger sallallahu alayhi wasallam, on to his family and all those who follow him in righteousness till the last hour.

Brothers in Islam Allah SWT says in the Quran ‘O you who believe fear Allah in the true form that he must be feared and do not allow yourself to die except in the state of proper iman and faith. O you who believe fear Allah and do not allow your tongues to say anything but the truth, if you do so Allah will forgive your sin, raise your status and whoever obeys Allah and his messenger then they have truly succeeded a great success. 

Brothers in Islam the Prophet (SAW) told us ‘there shall come a time when the religion of Islam will return back strange, just the same way it began strange. Strange does not mean weird, strange does not mean something, which is out of this world. Strange meaning the Society in the world you live in, the people will think that life is about a particular thing and particular purpose but Islam will come back in the truth and everyone else will look at it as though Islam itself and its’ followers are on a very weird path but our Rasool Allah SAW is saying it's not weird, it’s strange. Strange to the people. People will lose their focus while the followers in adherence of the deen will remain on focus.

My respected brothers, I address you with the following pieces of advice inshallah even with the few more weeks we have until we enter into another the month of Ramadan. The thing we see in Ramadan and about fasting is that there is absolute sincerity and there is this idea of you being strange and different to the rest of the world. Rasool Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam did say ‘glad tidings and good news to those who are strangers’

Brothers in Islam, when you are strange you do particular actions that are very different to everyone around you. When you wake up in the night when people are meant to be asleep, you are strange. When you speak about pleasing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and making Him your objective, you are strange - because everyone else makes other things their objective.

Allah tells us in the Quran ‘Qul hu Allah o ahad’ say O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam that as a matter of fact it is Allah who should be your ultimate objective when everyone else makes something else there objective, their desires could be there objective, their wealth could be their objectives, at type of relationship that they fall into could be there objectives in life. A particular job that they want to reach they make that the ultimate objective in their life and many other objectives then these types of people have not made Allah SWT their main objective.

What do I mean? Yes, a Muslim can make their job or relationship or anything like that a main objective in their life, however, it should not be before the objective of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

What happens to people who make other things their main objective and their ultimate goal and forget that Allah SWT and the hereafter is their objective. What happens to these people? When a person makes their family for example the ultimate objective and their job their ultimate objective and then they lose their job one day. Or a member of their family dies.

What happens to that person who has lost that ultimate objectives in life? They become depressed, they become miserable, they feel like they have no reason to live anymore. They lose their way in their purpose in life because their ultimate objective is gone. 

When a person, makes their job their ultimate objective. For example, they want to become a director, they want to be earning over £100,000 a year salary and this is their objective. Their salah becomes secondary, their fasting becomes secondary, their family becomes secondary. If they don’t meet their targets and don’t get their promotion, you find that that person becomes suicidal sometimes.

Sometimes you find this person is becoming miserable, angry at their parents, angry at their children, if they have children, angry at their brothers and sisters, angry at society, angry at Islam itself. Because they will think why did the salah prevent me from my objective? Why did this fasting prevent me from my objective?

Brothers in Islam, when a person makes other than Allah SWT their objective, this is the state of these people. And when a person makes their role model someone other than the Prophet (SAW), then when they're role model whom they have placed in his place fail them, they also become miserable, they become unhappy

Brothers in Islam, when Allah SWT created us he put in us something very special and he valued you with that. The thing, which he valued you with was the reason why he ordered the angels to prostrate down to your father Adam alaihissalam. Ultimate prostrating himself down to you and Iblis refused because he knew your value this spirit of the soul, which Allah SWT placed inside of us is what makes us valuable and it needs to be nourished and this soul only has one objective. Allah created it to have a very strong connection with Allah, it’s creator.

When we nourish the soul we have noticed our connection with Allah SWT. When we nourish this soul, then whatever you lose in life - you're wealth, your health, your relationship with someone, some members of your family who died, an education, which you could not reach according to your objectives. 

Then you know that there is always something you can fall back on and that is that soul, that ruh, which when you forget about it, that ruh begins to cry and yurn and say ‘where are you taking me? why are you not nourishing me? why do you only think about your body and your desires and you forgot about me? why do you only think about your mind and you forgot about me? what do you think about this and that and forget about the thing, which connects you with Allah SWT.

And so when a person loses their job for example and they haven't nourished their soul what happens to them? They’re not patient during that time. They begin to get angry at the most beloved of people and they begin to blame Allah SWT himself.

Brothers in Islam, a Muslim will be a stranger and stranger means that when everyone else is following some other objective you are following the ultimate objective, which earns you the happiness in this world and also the her after. 

Your souls happiness is a very important objective, which connects you to Allah SWT. But when I follow my desires and I follow worldly objectives, what happens to my soul? It dies out. When I follow these objectives what happens to Allah SWT and my salah and my fasting? It becomes secondary.

Everything revolves around whatever you make as your objectives, and brothers, we are a slave to something. Every single person has a god of some sort. Some people call it God, other people call it different different names. We are a Slave to something. 

What is a Slave to something? When this particular thing governs your life governs your time revolves everything around it then it becomes your god. If you're salah become secondary to this objective, your fasting become secondary to this objective, the people have rights towards you such as your parents become secondary to this objective, than that objective becomes your god, this is what governs your life. You know what happens when a person makes a particular objective other than Allah their purpose? On the day of judgement Allah SWT will say ‘let that which you made your objective save you today’

It’s like we are here working for this company, do you expect some other business pay you? You’re putting your effort in for this company, do you expect some other company to pay you? Does that make sense? No it doesn't, it’s quite absurd. So when I work for someone other than Allah SWT and his Messenger or other than Allah SWT and my objective and role model is other than his messenger SAW, then it's only fair that you would expect the reward to come from them.

You expect the reward to come from them and this brings to light a hadith of the Prophet SAW where he said, and this is in sahih Muslim that: ‘on the day of judgement, a scholar and a donator of wealth and a person who died in the cause of Allah, apparently will be called on the day of judgement’ and the Prophet was speaking to a companion named Muadh ibn Jabal RA he said to him ‘on the day of judgement a person you gave him charity and a person who fought in the cause of god they will be brought and each one of them will be asked first of all the scholar what did you do with the knowledge which I gave you? and he will say I did it only seeking your pleasure my lord.

And Allah SWT will say you are lying, the angels will repeat you are lying and then Allah will say you only learnt this knowledge and spread it so that people can call you a knowledgeable man or knowledgeable woman. this is what your objective was and you will only receive what you intended for. You have received it already.

Then the person who donated their wealth - Allah will ask ‘what did you do with the wealth I gave you?’ they will say I didn't for your sake Allah and Allah will say you are lying, the angels will say you are lying, you only did so, so people can call you a generous person and you have received that which you intended for.

Then the person who died ‘what did you do with the body I gave you?’ and he will say that ‘I died in your cause seeking your pleasure but Allah will say ‘you are lying’ and the angels will say you are lying, you only did this so other people can build monuments out of you and call you a hero and you have received what your objective was for, as for today, you have nothing with me.

So the Prophet SAW grabbed hold of the knee of Muadh and said to him ‘Ya Muadh these are the first three people with whom hellfire shall be delighted. Allahu akbar a scholar who’s knowledge reached the end parts of the world and people benefited and probably repented and became better people and this person with all his wealth and that person with all their life allahu akbar they end up in vain? Yes. Why? Because Allahs name is Al Adl. He is the Just. Yes, he is compassionate, but he is also the Just. If you do things for other than Allah SWT, for some other worldly purpose and your intention is so, then Allah will only give you for that what you intended.

Some people, for example, they act religious when they want to ask for a girls hand in marriage, so they go to the father and they put on an act ‘look at me mashallah, my beard is on I've got my hat, I go to the Masjid mashaAllah’ but they're putting on an act because what's driving this force, what's motivating him to do that is the love for this particular girl, they want to marry her and they think that she is the ultimate woman that is part of their fantasy. So they will do anything to get to her and to trick the father and the family. As soon as they are married the true colours do come out.

If you want to know what kind of a person you are, then look at yourself when you are alone and when nobody else is watching. Does your prayer equal the same value as when you prayed in front of people? When you make your dua to Allah SWT is it the same as when people are watching it? What kind of a person becomes of you when you are alone in the darkness and only Allah can see you? Is this a time to go to my desires and fulfill them or do I know that Allah SWT watchers me in open and in secret. 

Fasting time of Ramadhan, is the ultimate sign of that and this is why Allah said ‘I have made fasting for me, when every other action is for you’ Meaning you deal with it, as for fasting I know that when you fast, it is truly sincere to me because you can't fake it, you can't show it off and I want your whole life to take a lesson out of fasting to be in the same way. Make your intentions clear, make your sincerity clear, make Allah your objective and Allah promises you happiness in this world and in the hereafter.

Aqoolu qawli haa dhaa wass tagh fi rullaha li wa lakum

*sit down*

*stand up*

Alhamdulillah was Salatu Wassalamu ‘ala Rasulullah

Brothers in Islam, the fasting of Ramadan, which is coming up, is the ultimate sign of true sincerity because when a person fasts, what is it that Stops them from eating a bit of meat or a bit of any type of food when someone is not watching? What prevents you from going to the tap and drinking a little bit of water when no one is watching? How quick and swiftly can you do that and trick the people? But a person finds themselves not able to do that. You find yourself that ‘I can't take a drink of water. I can't eat that bit of meat or that bit of food because Allah SWT is watching me and I'm not going to waste this energy. If you are one of them, then inshallah the flame is still inside of you your objective is truly Allah SWT let this be a lesson.

Everything that you do in your life should also be that way. Your brotherhood in Islam, when you meet a brother say salam alaikum. The first thing on your mind should be I really want this person to be a brother of mine in Islam and I want Allah SWT to see our love for His sake. You don't concentrate on for example where he's from, or what kind of a background he has and then I'll decide whether I'm going to be close to that person or not. We say we are brothers and sisters in Islam because Allah SWT called us brothers and sisters in Islam and let us start from there.

When I meet my parents and I feel that they're not giving me what I actually want and they’re not understanding me then I should remember that Allah SWT is looking at my objective. Is my objective Allah SWT and His Messenger? Yes it is and therefore I'm going to respect them and deal with them and sacrifice my own needs in order to please them inshaAllah. And when I do any type of action, then the sincerity must be for the sake of Allah SWT first and foremost. If you do that then you'll discover what your identity is and you will know your purpose in life.

All your education will be directed in that direction. You're acting of anything in the day, your work, your study, your sitting down at home, you're spending of time on the internet, everything becomes fit to fulfill that purpose of making Allah SWT your objective. So you only choose your wealth coming from halal and you spend it on halal. You look on the internet on that which benefits you and you avoid the things which harm you. 

When you are in secret and alone you worship Allah SWT and still stay away from the things which he has forbidden because you know that ultimately on the day of judgement it is your actions and the sincerity of your actions that matter the most.

May Allah SWT make us among those who are sincere. And May Allah SWT give us the benefits of this great Ramadan. I ask Allah SWT to make us Muslims of the whole year and not just of the month of Ramadan. I ask Allah SWT to give us mercy throughout the year and in the coming month of Ramadan as he has promised and ask the lord to forgive our shortcomings and clear our heart and bring our hearts together, unite our ummah and that which He loves. 

I ask Allah SWT to save us from harm and hardship in our iman, in our lives, in our body, in our health and in our relationship's. And I Allah SWT for all my brothers and sisters here and around the world to make their objectives successful and to guide them into that which benefits them the most in this world and in the hereafter.

I ask Allah SWT to accept this jummuah from us, to forgive our sins and to unite us with the Rasool Allah sallallahu alayhi wasalam, to drink a beautiful drink from his blessed hands from which will never be thirsty after that again and ultimately to see Him subhanahu wa ta'ala and speak to him in jannah, as he has promised us.

I ask Allah SWT to accept this.

Allah SWT commands you to be just and fair. And to do good unto others. And to connect your family ties and He forbids you from doing things that are indecent, forbidden and from attacking others and going beyond boundries. 

Allah SWT is teaching you, reminding you, so that maybe you will remind yourselves and reestablish your connection with Allah SWT.

Allahumma salli `ala Muhammadin wa `ala ali Muhammadin kama sallaita `ala Ibrahima wa `ala ali Ibrahima Innaka hameedun Majid Allahumma barik `ala Muhammadin wa `ala ali Muhammadin kama barakta `ala Ibrahima wa `ala ali Ibrahima Innaka hamidun Majeed

wa aqimas salah

 This was taken from a Bilal Assad khutbah. Here's the YouTube link of the original: