1 Eid Khutbah - 30th August 2011 By: Shaikh Abdool Hamid I praise and thank the Most Merciful and Beneficent Lord for having blessed us all with health and strength as we observed the institution of fasting, in the month of Ramadan, which ended only yesterday! It is with this health and strength that we were able to adequately perform our God-given duties of fasting, prayers, meditation, reflection, and caring for the less fortunate and those in need! For submission and surrender to God also includes God s command to care for and look after our fellow humans - our brothers and sisters in faith and humanity, and the world around us. ارحموا من في األرض يرحمكم من في السماء said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) "Be kind and compassionate to those on the Earth, the Lord who is above the Heavens will be kind and compassionate to you". Brothers and Sisters, one of the greatest gifts which Allah has blessed mankind with, is the revelation of the Noble Quran. This gift embodies God s love, care, concern, and compassion for His servants. اليوم أ كملت لكم د ينكم و أتممت عليكم نعمتي و رضيت لكم اإلسالم د ينا says: Allah "This day I have perfected for you your way of life (religion), and have completed My favours upon you, and I have chosen, and I am pleased with Islam as your way of life", (Q:5:3). Through this revelation of the Noble Quran, God has not only made serving and worshipping Him easy for mankind but He has also removed, all unnecessary hardships, constraints, and shackles! Thus, ease and "removal of unnecessary difficulties" are the corner stone of the Islamic way of life.
2 ھو اجتباكم و ما جعل عليكم في الد ين من حرج says: Allah the Glorified He has chosen you, and did not impose on you undue hardships in Religion, (Q:22:78). So let us embrace whole-heartedly, all of us, this wonderful message, which Allah sent as شھر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآن ھدى للناس mankind: guidance for all of Ramadhan is the month in which the Quran was revealed, as guidance for mankind ", (Q:2:185). And let our behaviour and character loudly proclaim the message of justice, fairness, equality, compassion and tolerance that Allah has enshrined in the Quran: إن ھذا القرآن يھدي للتي ھي أقوم Surely this Quran guides to the way of life that is best and most just, (Q:17:9). Brothers and Sisters, there are many challenges facing the Muslims these days! We cannot solve all of them at the same time, so let us deal with one at a time. One of the most deserving of our immediate attention is the state of divisiveness, division and disunity that has befallen us! This has resulted in the sad state in which we find ourselves these days, where it seems like Islamophobia is "freedom of speech and expression". و أطيعوا الله و رسوله و ال تنازعوا فتفشلوا و تذ ھب ريحكم و اصبروا إن الله مع الصابرين Allah the Exalted said And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute with one another, lest you loose courage and your strength departs, but be steadfast. For surely Allah is with those who are steadfast", (Q:8:46). We have disobeyed, and we have disputed so we lost courage and our strength has departed us! Yet it is time for us to regain our courage and our strength! The time has come for us to say enough is enough. Inaction is not an option if we desire success. We have been inactive far too long.
3 ألم يأ ن للذ ين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبھم لذ كر الله و ما نزل من الحق says: Allah Hasn t the time come for the hearts of the believers to submit to Allah s reminder and to the truth that has been revealed (Q:57:16). So why then do we still harbour ill feelings for one another? What harm can possibly come to the one whose heart humbles itself, and, for the sake of Allah is the first to greet the one with whom he/she has a disagreement? What good is there in being proud and unwilling to forgive and overlook the faults of one another? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not only preach the message of compassion, love and forgiveness, he also lived by it! Brothers and Sisters, when Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq found out that his relative Mistah played a role in spreading the rumour about Aaesha, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he decided to cut off his financial support to Mistah. But Allah the Exalted sent revelation, announcing to the world that forgiving, and not holding any malice or grudge for anyone is the nobler character. Allah says: و ليعفوا و ليصفحوا أال تحبون أن يغفر الله لكم و الله غفور رحيم Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft- Forgiving Most Merciful", (Q:22:24). When Abu Bakr heard this verse, he said: Sure I want Allah to forgive me, he then reinstated his financial support of Mistah. Brothers and Sisters: What is the matter with us, that due to one wrong a brother or sister does to us, we feel so hurt that we write off that person for the rest of our lives? Would we want God to treat us like that? Would we want God to turn away from us, due to a mistake we make, or one sin we commit?
4 How numerous are the disobedience and transgression of you and I, yet Allah the Exalted is Ever Merciful and Most Compassionate! He does not visit upon us brimstone and fire from the Heavens for our sins! Rather, He is Forbearing; He is always ready to accept us, to forgive us. He wants to forgive us. So, why do we treat each other so harshly and hard-heartedly? Brothers and Sisters, it is in our best interest to get along! We will never be a cohesive community, one that is progressive and successful, unless and until we are able to forgive and pardon each other. Unless and until we hold no hard feelings for each other! Who does not have faults? Where is the faultless person? Before Islam came to them, the Aws & Khazraj tribes in Medina were at war, each seeking to annihilate the other, yet with the message of Islam, Allah reconciled their hearts and they became brothers. و اذ كروا نعمة الله عليكم إذ كنتم أعداء فألف بين قلوبكم فأصبحتم بنعمته إخوانا says: Allah و كنتم على شفا حفرة من النار فأنقذ كم منھا كذ لك يبين الله لكم آياته لعلكم تھتد ون And remember Allah s favour on you when you were enemies, yet He united your hearts, so you became brothers, as a result of His grace. And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, yet He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes clear His signs to you that you may be guided. (3:103) The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Do not envy one another, do not inflate prices on each other, do not hate one another, do not turn away from one another, do not under cut one another, but be, O servants of Allah, brothers! A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him, nor does he fail him. He never lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. Piety is right here and he pointed to his breast 3 times. It is evil enough for a person to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. The whole of a Muslim for another Muslim is inviolable: his blood, his property, and his honour!
5 Brothers and Sisters, a nobler message than this you will not find; yet its absence is quite conspicuous in our behaviour? So before we disperse today, let each person turn to his brother, or sister on both sides of him/her and embrace him or her! Let us ask each other to forgive us and overlook our faults. Let anyone who has a problem with anyone else, be the first to go to that person and shake their hand, and embrace them and ask them to forgive and overlook their shortcomings. لن تد خلوا الجنة حتى تؤمنوا و لن تؤمنوا said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) حتى تحابوا أ و ال أ د لكم على أمر إن فعلتموه تحاببتم أفشوا السالم بينكم "You will never enter Paradise until you believe, and you will never truly believe until you love one another. Should I not tell you of a matter, if you do it you will love one another? Spread greetings to one another". Therefore, Brothers and Sisters: Let us remain together as a community as we were in Ramadhan. Meeting every night for Salaatul Esha and Taraweeh, meeting every Saturday evening for Iftar in large numbers, meeting for Qiyaam in the last 10 nights of Ramadhan, standing together shoulder to shoulder, with our hands outstretched, beseeching our Lord for His mercy, favours and forgiveness! We have demonstrated our willingness and ability to be part of a cohesive community! And we have witnessed the strength, the love, the joy and the delight that come from being a community, united in purpose and goal. Let us continue to be part of the IIT. Let us continue to support the IIT with our wealth, with our presence by attending programs and classes, and volunteering. Let us continue to support the IIT with our advice, with our constructive criticism, with our willingness to work together to leave a lasting and positive legacy for future generations to come. May Allah the Exalted continue to bless all of us and may He accept our fasting, our prayers, our supplications & all our good deeds. And may He forgive for us our mistakes and shortcomings. May He protect our families, our children, and our youth from deviation, and the temptations and seductions of Shaitaan! Eid Mubarak to all of you and your families! May we all have a blessed day of Eid.