Transcript of Eidul Fitr khutbah (sermon) delivered by Shaikh Ahmad Kutty at the Islamic Institute of Toronto on Sunday, September 20, 2009 Brothers and sisters: Allah is great; Allah is great; Allah is great. All praises be to Allah. We praise Him abundantly for His countless mercies and favors upon us; we thank Him above all for the gift of Islam, for the gift of Qur an, for the gift of salah (Prayer), for the gift of fasting, for the gift of vigils, and for the gift of devotions; we thank him for the gift of family, health and wellness. We beseech You, Our Lord, to make us among those who are ever grateful for Your favors, acknowledging them with gratitude, and we implore You to consummate them for us. I bear witness there is none worthy of worship but Allah, the Creator and sovereign Lord and Master of the worlds; I bear witness that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His chosen servant and Messenger. May Allah s blessings and peace be on him, his family and companions, and on all those who shall walk in their footsteps. And may the Lord honor us all to be among them. I advise your and myself to ever mindful of Allah; to obey His orders and stay away from the things He has forbidden us for our own good. يا أيها الذين ا منوا اتقوا االله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون O you who believe, be mindful of Allah as You as you ought to, and do not die except in a state of surrender to Allah. I greet you all with blessed greeting of Eid; I pray that this Eid opens for all of us and for the entire Ummah of Islam a new era of joy, honor, glory and felicity.
Today we are bidding farewell to the blessed month of Ramadhan; we are doing so with a heavy heart, for soon the fond memory of the sweetness of the month and its spiritual graces will remain only as dreams. I must take this opportunity to remind us all of the lessons we have learnt as we fasted, prayed and recited the Quran and offered charities and devotions--lessons which we are called upon to internalize; and to live by in the weeks and months ahead of us. Ramadhan is a course in spiritual empowerment; it is intended to help us develop ideal Islamic personalities; to remold us and make us worthy of bearing the great trust or amanah of being good shepherds of the planet earth and all of its inhabitants. Today the scientists tirelessly warn us against the perils of a life of greed and consumerism, which is playing havoc with the earth and its creatures; creating such imbalances that the entire humanity and all of the planet earth face imminent danger of self-destruction. These warnings are sadly going unheeded. ظهر الفساد في البر والبحر بما آسبت أيدي الناس (Disorder and chaos have become rampant in the land and sea because of the corruption human beings have wrought). Lessons of Ramadan are intended to guard us against greed; to save us from the enemy within. Our enemy is our own greed; which is built into our nature as God created us. So the purpose of fasting is to help us overcome the enemy within; to help us curb our passions and greed, to help us remain humble servants of God, to function as good shepherds of the earth and its inhabitants.
Brothers and sisters: As we reflect on the lessons of Ramadan, I wish to point out three of the important lessons that we must take with us. I am sure that these lessons will ensure for us a life of tranquility and peace; a life of true joy and fulfillment. First, we need to develop تقوى االله (mindfulness of Allah): To be mindful of Allah means to be mindful of destiny and true mission in the universe; to be mindful of our spiritual nature; to lead a life of remembrance; to be conscious of the fact that we must all stand before the Lord to account for our thoughts, words and actions. اتق االله حيثما آنت The second important lesson we must carry from Ramadhan is to develop empathy for the less fortunate among us. We must never forget that Allah s blessings are given to us as a trust; we are therefore responsible to share them with the less fortunate. Islam teaches us that we must love for others what we love for ourselves. The Prophet of Allah said, أيما أهل عرصة أصبح فيهم إمرأ جاي عا فقد برأت منهم ذمة االله ورسوله If a single person in a city goes to bed hungry, the protection of Allah and His Messenger is taken away from them. Today more than ever we are called upon to implement the lessons of fasting; to be charitable and to develop empathy for the many millions all over the world who are starving. Allah forbids wastefulness. It is a pity that while the majority of the world lives in subhuman conditions, the people of so called developed nations lead a life of gluttony and wastage; when vultures in Africa are waiting to prey upon the children dying of starvation, we in the so called world of plenty lead a wasteful life. Surely we will be called to account for our neglect, for our failure to take responsibility; A third lesson of Ramadhan is that we must translate our new consciousness into tangible steps; let us get involved in food banks, let us get involved in fighting homelessness, let us get involved in the project of doctors
without borders, let us get involved in fighting poverty; let us get involved in curbing emissions, let us get involved in creating a peaceful community, a peaceful country and a peaceful world. Let us remember we cannot make peace with the rest of the world unless we make peace with ourselves; our own family; our own neighborhood; and our own fellow Muslims and fellow citizens. Let us begin the process of peace making. I must emphasize we can never exaggerate the importance of building a peaceful family. Charity begins at home: The Prophet said, The best among you is the one who is best to his family. خيرآم خيرآم لا هله I leave you all by reminding all of us as individuals and as a community to take responsibility: Every one of you is a responsible shepherd, responsible for the welfare of his flock. آلكم راع وآلكم مسو ول عن رعيته Let each one of us do his share; let us remember that we cannot do it alone; we must stand united as a community. We must forge alliances, and learn to cooperate with everyone for good causes; causes that are noble, and dear to Allah, our Creator: وتعانوا على البر والتقوى ولا تعاونوا على الا ثم والعدوان And cooperate with one another on virtue and piety, and do not cooperate on sin and aggression. I pray to Almighty Allah to shower His mercy on our parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, who have passed away; may the Beneficent Lord, enhance their goodness, and forgive them of their sins and admit them all into His mercy and paradise. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters who are sick and suffering; may Allah the healer, heal and cure them, and ease their suffering and pain and help them lead a good and comfortable life to serve Him;
Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Kashmir, Chechnya, Myanmar, and other parts of the world, as well as our fellow humans who are suffering under varying levels of occupation and denial of rights, may Allah help them regain their dignity, honor and freedom and God-given rights; Let us pray that Allah accept our prayers, fasts, charities and devotions. May Allah help us all live as Muslims, die as believers and may He grace us all to be raised up in the company of prophets, saints, martyrs and the righteous ones, when we die.