UofC |  Salam everyone, Today I attended Jummah prayer at the Rockefeller Chapel on the University of Chicago's campus. The Jummah is hosted by the campus's MSA, they also have a permanent chaplain for the Muslims on campus. He was the one who led today's Jummah. His khutbah, was one worthy of imitation. The following is a brief transcript of the khutbah. |
The U of C Muslim Chaplain.
Today I want to talk about Allah's Messenger (S). Allah has praised the Prophet (S) in the best manner, he holds an exalted place in all of creation.
Whoever obeys the messenger has obeyed Allah. Thus obeying the Prophet is on par or in conjunction with obeying god.
Allah says in the Qur'an, elevating the status of the prophet,
"We have not sent you except as a mercy to all of the world."
Everything receives mercy simply because of the prophet's existence.
The prophet was a primordial light from which all of creation was created, both the seen and unseen.
Say to the believers, if you Iove Allah, then listen to me. We must follow the Sunnah of the messenger of Allah. We have an exemplar in the Prophet to follow. We strive to make our lives in conjunction with the Prophet's.
Imam Malik said: "The Sunnah is like the ship of Noah. Whoever rides the ship is saved, whoever leaves it, drowns."
The Prophet (S) said: "The mercy of Allah is with my caliphs. The caliphs are the ones who give life to my Sunnah."
The esteem that God has placed on the prophet makes it obligatory upon us to love the Prophet. Among the signs of the those who love the Prophet is preferring his hadith and his adab (manners). The Prophet would meet people at the level of the person, if they were sad he was sad, if they were happy, he was happy, if they were smiling he was smiling.
The Messengers are masoom, impeccable in their character. If they were not, they could have lied about their revelations. They did not sin. That doesn't mean they did not weep, eat, buy, sell, get sick. But they had impeccable character.
Have the utmost respect of the Prophet. Sending blessings on the Prophet is obligatory at least once in a lifetime. Our Prophet (S) said: "Whoever sends blessings upon me, the angels will send blessings upon him."
If you send blessing once one the Prophet, God sends ten times the blessings upon you. "Whoever sends blessings upon me at my grave, I will hear it, and if you are far from my grave, it will be conveyed to me." This is the status of our prophet, he is honored by the seen and unseen.
Here is a line of poetry from my teacher:
"Muhammadun bashurin.... "
"Yes Muhammad is a man, but he is not like the rest of men, he is a ruby and we are rocks."
We do a disservice to him calling him just a man. He was THE man.
Whoever obeys the messenger has obeyed Allah. Thus obeying the Prophet is on par or in conjunction with obeying god.
Allah says in the Qur'an, elevating the status of the prophet,
"We have not sent you except as a mercy to all of the world."
Everything receives mercy simply because of the prophet's existence.
The prophet was a primordial light from which all of creation was created, both the seen and unseen.
Say to the believers, if you Iove Allah, then listen to me. We must follow the Sunnah of the messenger of Allah. We have an exemplar in the Prophet to follow. We strive to make our lives in conjunction with the Prophet's.
Imam Malik said: "The Sunnah is like the ship of Noah. Whoever rides the ship is saved, whoever leaves it, drowns."
The Prophet (S) said: "The mercy of Allah is with my caliphs. The caliphs are the ones who give life to my Sunnah."
The esteem that God has placed on the prophet makes it obligatory upon us to love the Prophet. Among the signs of the those who love the Prophet is preferring his hadith and his adab (manners). The Prophet would meet people at the level of the person, if they were sad he was sad, if they were happy, he was happy, if they were smiling he was smiling.
The Messengers are masoom, impeccable in their character. If they were not, they could have lied about their revelations. They did not sin. That doesn't mean they did not weep, eat, buy, sell, get sick. But they had impeccable character.
Have the utmost respect of the Prophet. Sending blessings on the Prophet is obligatory at least once in a lifetime. Our Prophet (S) said: "Whoever sends blessings upon me, the angels will send blessings upon him."
If you send blessing once one the Prophet, God sends ten times the blessings upon you. "Whoever sends blessings upon me at my grave, I will hear it, and if you are far from my grave, it will be conveyed to me." This is the status of our prophet, he is honored by the seen and unseen.
Here is a line of poetry from my teacher:
"Muhammadun bashurin.... "
"Yes Muhammad is a man, but he is not like the rest of men, he is a ruby and we are rocks."
We do a disservice to him calling him just a man. He was THE man.
The prayer nook used by the MSA in Rockefeller Chapel.
Quite simply, this was a very good khutbah. The khatib clearly came from a traditional Islamic background. He only spoke about the Prophet (S) and it was perfect. He is right, the Prophet is not "just a man" like the Wahabites like to proclaim. No, he was the crown of creation, the perfect man.
I really can't find anything bad about this khutbah. Sorry, looks like my commentary is going to be brief. But that's a good thing right? It means, if you are ever in the Hyde Park area around Jummah time, head over to Rockefeller Chapel, you won't be disappointed.
Something interesting to note. In the nook where we were praying, there was beautiful wood carvings of cherubim (little angels), the entire chapel was quite lovely btw, it felt really nice to pray in there, much better than a basement or store front mosque. Hmm... I wonder why? Anyway, going back to the cherubim, they surrounded us and it didn't seem like anyone was bothered by little wood carved faces. Had this been the case for the UIC MSA, they would have covered it up for sure, or maybe they would not have been comfortable to even pray there or in a church or chapel in general. I mean, they covered up wooden carvings that were not even in the direction of the qibla. It's kind of ridiculous really. I mean, is your heart and Iman (faith) so weak that you will automatically pray to a face that is before you, unless it's covered?
I mean, we are praying in the direction of the Ka'bah, can't people easily mistake that as one big idol? But clearly we don't. We pray and worship God, it's just a point of uniting us in our prayer to the rest of the Ummah. It's a symbol, not an idol. So, why should it matter if there is something in front of you? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you might as well put pictures up in front of you whenever you pray, but if you are in a place where there are pictures or structures, either don't pray there, or accept it and realize you are not worshiping that thing. It's very simple.
Some people like to show their religiosity, the best way to do that is through the outward actions, such as rolling up your pants, growing an untamed and unkempt beard, wearing a thob and hatta combo, using the word "Bid'ah" in every sentence, disrespectfully correcting people left and right without even asking their names, covering objects remotely resembling an image in a prayer area. I wonder what their opinion is regarding their own shadows? Hmm...
Anyway, I apologize for the rant. Hopefully it made sense. That khutbah was great and I hope to see more khutbahs like this!
I really can't find anything bad about this khutbah. Sorry, looks like my commentary is going to be brief. But that's a good thing right? It means, if you are ever in the Hyde Park area around Jummah time, head over to Rockefeller Chapel, you won't be disappointed.
Something interesting to note. In the nook where we were praying, there was beautiful wood carvings of cherubim (little angels), the entire chapel was quite lovely btw, it felt really nice to pray in there, much better than a basement or store front mosque. Hmm... I wonder why? Anyway, going back to the cherubim, they surrounded us and it didn't seem like anyone was bothered by little wood carved faces. Had this been the case for the UIC MSA, they would have covered it up for sure, or maybe they would not have been comfortable to even pray there or in a church or chapel in general. I mean, they covered up wooden carvings that were not even in the direction of the qibla. It's kind of ridiculous really. I mean, is your heart and Iman (faith) so weak that you will automatically pray to a face that is before you, unless it's covered?
I mean, we are praying in the direction of the Ka'bah, can't people easily mistake that as one big idol? But clearly we don't. We pray and worship God, it's just a point of uniting us in our prayer to the rest of the Ummah. It's a symbol, not an idol. So, why should it matter if there is something in front of you? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you might as well put pictures up in front of you whenever you pray, but if you are in a place where there are pictures or structures, either don't pray there, or accept it and realize you are not worshiping that thing. It's very simple.
Some people like to show their religiosity, the best way to do that is through the outward actions, such as rolling up your pants, growing an untamed and unkempt beard, wearing a thob and hatta combo, using the word "Bid'ah" in every sentence, disrespectfully correcting people left and right without even asking their names, covering objects remotely resembling an image in a prayer area. I wonder what their opinion is regarding their own shadows? Hmm...
Anyway, I apologize for the rant. Hopefully it made sense. That khutbah was great and I hope to see more khutbahs like this!
Isn't this space beautiful?