(Please check back for audio file, to uploaded shortly)
Jummah Speech:
Imaam Muhammed Shoayb Mehtar
Khadeeja Islamic Center
November 14th 2014
Alhamdulillah Allah (SWT) has given us an opportunity once again to interact and be part of listening to the Qur’an, be part of an environment that has one function and purpose: to invigorate and create an awareness so we can better bond with our Creator. Last week we mentioned very clearly where Allah (SWT) says first and foremost, “Save yourselves from the torment of the Hereafter”.
One cannot save themselves from anything adverse if they do not know that which they must be prevented from doing. We must therefore evaluate our current situation and make decisions that are such that will help us in becoming better in everything we do. We must find creative and healthy ways that will help our families become the best in what they are to accomplish. By virtue of example, we spoke about our schooling system. In particualar we have an Islamic school as part of our Utah community, likewise, as humans we have needs and desires that are always present and prevalent, similarly we have masjids to take care off. How do we grade our efforts within each area? This is not a talk of creating negativity. It is a question pertaining to community/self-reflection.
Looking at what we have and how we are using it, unfortunately we have created a profound level of injustice to ourselves. We are living in a country that we always say is foreign to our belief system. For example, we always say we are living in a country that holds true to Judeo-Christian ideology and how fortunate we are that ‘the jews and Christians are our cousins.’ Despite challenges, Allah (SWT) has given us the opportunity to practice our religion in relative freedom – more-so in America than anywhere else. Right now in various parts of the Islamic world, Muslims will tell you it is difficult for them to go for the Jummah Salah. There have been cases where Muslims went to pray and people came with AK-47s, lined them up, took away wallets and cell phones. Allah (SWT) has given us an opportunity in America to not only pray but to be part of doing what is necessary for us to do. Question is, am I doing justice this safety? Yes, there are those that feel that every motion of ours being monitored and we ‘better be careful,’ but if we are clean and clear, we have nothing to hide. And we don’t! look around? How many American muslim do we have in prison? How many of them are leading criminals? Fortunately, very few in comparison to other groups.
On one hand we complain opportunity of religion is not present and we must do better. Yet, we have an Islamic school. I have been in Utah since 2007, they had grade 4 or grade 5. You add 7 years to my being here and the community should have had a high school and started of a college by now. We have BYU students here, they have what we consider an LDS university. Where is our Islamic university to make a positive change for Muslims and humanity? Leaders, and I am not talking about management, scholars in particular are so involved in there petty argument and discussion – imam malik and shafee said this and imams hanfee/hambal got it right/wrong when he said such and such that scholars have shifted focus and remained petty and have helped in the decline of communities. Now do not get me wrong, these are all great scholars – I am referring to imams shafee, etc. but why involve the community when we can give simple non complicated responses and focus on the bigger aspects of our existence – at least for the sake of our children.
The Qur’an is saying something very powerful. Save yourself and save your families from the fire of Jahannam with the choices you are making. And we are purposly not understanding that this is what the Quran is telling us. Spend on chidlrens Islamic inferstructure? We have no money. Buy halal meat? Haram is cheaper! Get you children married and have halal releationships. No, my child in young, let them enjoy and indulge in haram! For evey thing halal, we have no money. For everything sick we have all the money. We have the money to go overseas, to fill our bags going time and coming time, and those bags get full very, very fast. Anyone going abroad, a month in advance the bags start getting packed up. Clothes shopping is done from Macy’s (can’t go to Kmart because overseas they will think you are cheap, and most foregners do not want unwanted or walmart like brands anyway. They can get all that local). So we have the energy and money for all these things. You look at the average cell phone $500 to $700 and those are the basic ones out there. So my brothers and sisters, the Qur’an is saying something – understand full well regarding the choices you are making because your choices are going to put you in Jannah or Jahannam, in Paradise or in Hellfire.
We mentioned also many individuals in the United States especially in the bigger cities, spend so much money on ensuring that the child will do well in school. After-hours tutoring in math, science, physics, we spend all our energy in doing all that. Because we want our child to be a winner in the future. Although we don’t advocate dancing and piano lessons, but many Muslims are sending their children for these lessons. Why? “We need to refine the mind of the youth”, that’s what they say at least. “We need to make them culturally sensitive”. We aren’t passing a ruling of permissibility or impermissibility, that’s a separate issue. Some of our parents have even bought dogs and brought them into the houses for their child to play with, why? Because my child has friends that have dogs so I have to bring dogs in the home. I have to bring parrots into the house because my friend has children that have parrots and parrots are entertaining. So my children need to be entertained so that they can feel part of the American fabric and culture. We are not answering the question whether this is right or wrong. We do so much to make our families feel inclusive of the American fabric but yet when it comes to religion, then we have changed everything. Then we say, “Well, there is time, later on we can do it”. Now let me ask one simple question: for argument sake lets say all of the above are okay – dog keeping, paino lesson, slumber parties, etc. why is it not okay for that same child to read quran for 45 minutes a day? Can I tell you why? Because when your child sees and eats haram all day, halal becomes difficult to follow. Period!!! Haq and batil can never mix. It is like oil and water, it will never mix!
My brothers and sisters in Islam, in order to lead you have to become a leader. Study any business model out there. Companies that have created success are those that understand the value of a human. You have a child, you don’t know the value of that child. You think your business is worth $100,000, $10 million, $100 million, wonderful. That child that you have is worth billions and trillions of dollars. You look at a trillion dollar economy, it’s made up of people. You look at a billion dollar company, it’s made up of people. You admire that billion dollar company but you don’t admire that trillion plus-dollar child, it’s amazing. Because “it’s a child, it’s just a child”, that’s what we say, yet you know full well there are certain things you have in your head that took place when you were 1 year old, 2 years old, 3 years old, that influenced who you are and your relationship between yourself and your parents, yet we forget that. Memory of this just alone indicates, it is not just a child, it is an amazing magnet of good. But we would still prefere to invest our energies else. Or at least the record shows this.
So my brothers and sisters the Qur’an is passing a very powerful message, it is saying: be cognizant of the decisions that you make and make yourself aware of who you are so that you can produce that which is fruitful now and later on in life. That is why when the Qur’an for example says, I ((Allah SWT)) have created men and women in pairs, created mountains, created rainfall, created different skin colors, different languages, night and day, it’s passing a message. The question is, are we listening to that message?
What is the lesson of the Quran? When you do things that are cheap and seek easy ways out, you get things that are cheap and nonproductive in return. You give peanuts to a monkey, you get peanut service later on. That is why monkeys do tricks, it is because they eat peanuts! Peanuts produce peanut like work. We have lowered ourselves so much, and have pursued materialism to such an extent, that we have forgotten who we are within this maze. This has taken place to such an extent where the value of the Qur’an has left our minds. That is why when the Sahabi came to Rasulullah (SAW), and he (saw) read the Ayahs: when the sun will become darkened, it will lose its luster. When the stars in essence, begin falling, they lose that twinkle that you are known to see out there. When the mountains become like cotton wool, when in essence the pregnant she-camel will even let go of a given child, when the wild beasts will become gathered together (of course, there is a Tafseer behind all this), when hydrogen and oxygen (that make up water as we all know) becomes separated, we will begin to see a fire, a raging fire in the ocean… when the child will be asked, the woman will be asked, the girl will be asked, why did your father and mother kill you? Was it because you were a female? When the Sahabi, the companion heard this, he took his hand and put it on the mouth of Rasulullah (SAW). He was embarrassed for his action and could not hear anymore. Why? Because he realized the Quran was talking to him! It was addressing him.
What will you and I say when the quran is being read?, The Sheikh is reading, let him read, because we like the tune, so get get your hand of his lips. Yet, this sahabi said, enough, enough and he started weeping. Because when the Qur’an was being read, he realized the Qur’an was addressing him and immediately realizied that I may have killed my child, I may have abused something out there and that is something Allah (SWT) did not like.
So what must I do when I read the Quran? When Allah (SWT) talks about interest and you read the Qur’an, I must say: it’s talking about me and you. When Allah (SWT) is talking about healthy eating, the Qur’an is talking about me and you. When Allah (SWT) is talking about respecting your parents, it’s talking about me and you. When Allah (SWT) is saying believe in one Allah, He (SWT) is talking to me and you. When the Imam is talking about interest, we say, yeah, talk louder, the guy sitting next to me is dealing in interest. When the Imam is talking about healthy food, yeah, my brother next to me ate McDonald’s today, maybe the Imam is talking to him or should be talking to him. The Qur’an is not talking to him, the Qur’an is talking to me and you. When the Qur’an talks about charity, the Qur’an is saying are you doing it yourself and if you are giving, how much are you giving? When the Qur’an talks about death, (the Imam is not saying to give money to the funeral project out there), we should ask, am I giving what I am supposed to be giving, am I doing what I am supposed to be doing? When the Qur’an talks about burying our daughters alive, we have to ask ourselves, how am I treating my daughter? That’s what the Qur’an is all about. The Sahabah understood this value and because they understood this value they were able to save themselves from the fire of Jahannam.
May Allah (SWT) help us in learning the value of these things so that insha’Allah we can attain benefit in this world as well as in the Hereafter. May Allah (SWT) help us in making good decisions that will help in not only promoting ourselves but our society and culture as well.
May Allah (SWT) help us and guide us at all times.