MEC | I returned to MEC today for their Jummah Khutbah. I never like going here, but I am an optimist and really want people to succeed, even if they tend to be the obstacles to their own success. Today's khutbah is proof of that. The khutbah is transcribed below for your enjoyment. |

We ask Allah to give us the best way to die. That is the goal of every Muslim in this dunya. That we die saying the shahadah (Testimony of faith).
We will be talking about a verse from Surah Ibrahim.
The ayah, what does this ayah mean. "Closest translation in English. If you were to count, ni'mah, blessing, you cannot [count them]." Sneezing is a big blessing. What is the biggest blessing we have? Din (religion), number one, for which we recite Alhamdulillah for that.
Indeed Allah is very merciful and forgiving.
Dear Muslims, the question is this, once we bring our children together and read this ayah, how can we understand what Allah is saying to us?
Before we eat we say Bismillah and eat with the right hand. Unless you are handicapped, just fear Allah as much as you can.
Sit down eat together, not running around, sunnah of prophet.
Hadith by Sahih Muslim and Bukhari:
Anas (R) said, the Prophet (S) said, Allah indeed is pleased with his servants when he eats and says Alhamdulillah.
If Allah is pleased with you, this is an honor for us. We must teach our children to say Alhamdulillah and not waste or over spend.
People don't even have clean water, and all we have to do is turn on the faucet and there is water.
When we read the Qur'an, we see the family of Daud (A), 24/7 someone in the family is doing something good, praying, charity, etc. Allah said for him to continue being grateful.
Abdul Shakur, what does this name mean. The one and only....[khatib trailed off]
The Prophet never complained about food. We have divorces in the community, not this one specifically, generally, divorce because the wife cooked the food in a certain way. We should not be a nation of arrogant people.
Once the Prophet came in front of a man and he started shaking with nervousness, the prophet told him not to, I am just a son of a woman. And this is the Messenger saying this.
We can't go around calling everyone shaikh, we have to be humble.
We ask Allah to make us among those that are thankful.
The Prophet said that whoever does not thank the people does not give thanks to Allah.
You must respect the stop sign, if you don't, you have taken the right of another. Look our din controls us before that red sign.
This hadith, the Prophet describes the time that will come, fitan is plural of fitnah. Fitnah is controversy. Problems, it will come like a dark night, we ask Allah to protect us from this. A man will wake up a mumin (believer) and sleep a kafir (non-believer).
"We ask Allah to teach this din to our children. We have to teach our children, be patient and hold to your din until you meet me in the harb...."
The people of Lut (A) were homosexual, homosexuality has not been accepted by our din, Allah accepts male and female and puts regulations between them, we must explain them, you want to go to Jannah, don't be like the people of Lut (A). Allah made the angels lift up the city and crush it. It is the lowest point on earth, if you look on google, you will see this.
We ask Allah on this day of Jummah to protect us and gve us patience. Amin.
The khutbah was mediocre at best. Nothing inflammatory really sticks out. The khatib made some good points, I just wish he expanded on them a little more.
For example, the khatib referenced the hadith regarding when a man who was in the presence of the Prophet (S) began to tremble, and out of the Prophet's wisdom and consideration calmed the man and humbly told him that he was a son of a woman as well. Fortunately, the khatib said this immediately after, "And this is the Messenger saying this." For one, this point affirms, in my mind, that the khatib is not leaning towards Salafism where they degrade the maqam or station of the Prophet to that of an ordinary human being.
The Prophet was indeed extraordinary. He refered to himself as a man, as commanded by God, but also as a kind, also commanded by God. There is a hadith about a man who was forcefully brought to the Prophet for having committed adultery, now we all know that is a serious offense in any morally conscience society including Islamic society. What did the Prophet do? He said, and I am paraphrasing, "Don't bring a criminal to the king otherwise the king will be forced to exact justice."
Now we see two sides of the same holy man. He was always humble and always merciful. The Prophet is known to have not gazed at people for too long, simply because he understood the weight and magnitude of his gaze and how it affected people. Those who were in his presence were in utter awe and his gaze was heavy for them. As would a gaze of anyone whom you hold in high esteem and have immense love and respect for. This is the Prophet, the weight of his gaze can only be imagined by us today.
Now, this all needs to be taken into deep consideration, because the Prophet is not simply a man as the Salafists suggest. They like to bring him down to their dirty level. He is above us in every single way. That's why we follow him. Why on earth would anyone follow someone who is at their level? No legitimate religious tradition was founded by mediocre men.
Kings greeting kings.
As Muslims we don't deny respect to other traditions and those whom these blessed traditions sprung forth from.
Aside from that, what I was REALLY hoping the khatib would talk about was the Boston Marathon Bombing, and possibly address an appropriate way to help our fellow Americans. These khutbahs that are just found lying around on the internet are not always the best. I know khatibs look for stock khutbahs in the interests of convenience and time. I realize they are busy also, but some special effort should be made for the weekly gatherings at the masjid. More useful and profound thoughts need to be shared. Alas, be happy with what you get. Contentment isn't a bad thing.
Btw, I laughed at how the khatib snuck in that jab against homosexuals right at the end (it didn't even have anything to do with the khutbah), and clearly our faith does not encourage it. Yet, when you do speak to your children about not becoming a homosexual, do so with adding that they are human beings also and should be treated with respect. Do you really think the Prophet (S) would have mistreated a homosexual or ANYONE for that matter? Exactly.
Hope you all enjoyed that. Have a wonderful weekend folks!