*1444 HIJRA: GIVE GRATITUDE AND INCREASE DEVOTION TO ALLAH*
All Praise are due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been led astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the only one without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, SAW, is His servant, and His messenger. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the last Messenger, Habibi Muhammad, his family members, his companions and all those who follow his guided path till the Day of Judgement.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!
O You who believe, “Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.”
O You who believe, “Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we embrace a new Islamic year, it is important to take a step back and reflect on how to improve ourselves for the coming year. Today is 7th day of Muharram - the first month in the Islamic calendar that holds several important events in Islamic history. Muharram is also one of the four holy months, along with the Dhul Qa’da, Dhul Hijja and Rajab. These months were in the pre-Islamic era (al jâhiliya), already considered as special periods, forbidding the tribes to fight each other. These were periods of truce that allowed traders to cross the desert without fear of being attacked by an enemy tribe, as well as for any other activity that required travelling.
Allah (SWT), in His infinite wisdom, accommodated some practices that were in place before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the Arabian Peninsula. Among these were the sacred months. However, in the context of Islam, these are no longer considered months in which war is forbidden, but months during which the reward for good deeds increase. Muharram, being one of these months, let us take advantage of this opportunity to increase our good deeds.
Make intentions to institutionalize better, more productive routines that will bring us closer to Allah. Although, often we were disappointed with our past efforts, yet we must continue to strive for positive and pious change all the time.
Let us go back to basics and be realistic. Embrace change with a calm mind-set. Start with reciting the Quran more, apart from those during daily prayers. Being grateful is another form of worship that is easy to offer. We just need to take some time to think about everything we have. Write down everything we are grateful for. It may be our health, wealth, job, family, loved ones, or whatever else we have been blessed with. You will be surprised by how long the list gets! Let’s us say Alhamdulillah.
Let us pledge to give more to charities. Besides having our rewards multiplied, giving sadaqah removes your sins and stands in the way of calamities as well. And, as we collectively emerge stronger and wiser after the pandemic, and are faced with several debacles and threats, we need to deliberately allocate more time to spend with family. One significant learning point is cultivating and nurturing the discipline to be more patient and forgiving – not just to others, but, more importantly, to ourselves!
Let’s seize this opportunity to forge a closer connection with Allah by renewing our sincere intentions and efforts, so we could get closer to becoming genuinely repentant and serious in fulfilling our quotient of spiritual piety.
I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. Allah ( SWT) commands us to seek forgiveness from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Brothers and Sisters in Islam, based on the declaration by the Sultanate today Friday is the 7th of Muharram 1444AH, and Sunday and Monday will be TASU’A and Ashura. Ashura is the Day of Atonement. It is a day of great historical and spiritual significance for the Muslim community, and Rasulullah (SAW) has recommended that these days be observed with supererogatory spiritual worship and practices, as well as optional fast.
The word TASU’A and ashura literally means the “ninth and tenth day,” and some scholars of Islam have suggested that in addition to Ashura falling upon the tenth of Muharram, the Day of Ashura is also the tenth most honored and noble day that Allah Almighty has graced and blessed humanity with the following historical and spiritual events:
1) Allah (SWT) accepted the repentance of Adam (AS).
2) Allah saved Noah (AS) and his companions upon the ark.
3) Allah(SWT) extinguished the fire of Nimrod into which Abraham (AS) had been thrown.
4) Allah spoke directly to Moses (AS) and gave him the Ten Commandments.
5) The Prophet Job, Ayub (AS), was healed and restored to health.
6) The Prophet Yusuf (AS), was reunited with his father Yaqub (AS).
7) The Prophet Yunus (AS), was emancipated from the belly of the fish.
8) Allah (SWT) split the red sea, rescuing Moses (AS) and his people from the tyranny and oppression of Pharaoh.
9) Prophet Daud (AS) was forgiven.
10) Prophet Isa (Jesus) (AS) was raised up to heaven and spared death on the cross.
*Fasting on the Day of Ashura*
Regarding the importance of the fast on the Day of Ashura, the following tradition is narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA).
The Prophet (SAW) came to Madinah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura. He inquired, “For what reason?” They said, ‘This is a righteous day. It is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, and so Moses (AS) fasted on this day.” To which Prophet (SAW) then said, “We are closer to Moses (AS) than they.” And so he fasted on that day, and commanded the Believers to fast on that day as well. - Ibn Abbas (RA) [Sahih Bukhari]
It was the practice and recommendation of the Prophet (SAW) to fast one day in addition to the Day of Ashura, i.e. either the 9th and 10th, or the 10th and 11th of the sacred month of Muharram.
Hakam ibn al-Arat (RA) relates, “I went to Ibn Abbas (RA) and said to him, “Tell me of fasting on the Day of Ashura.” He said, “When you see the moon of Muharram, count the days and begin to observe fasting on the ninth.” I asked him, “Is this how the Holy Messenger of God (SAW) observed the fast?” He replied, “Yes.” [Sahih Muslim]
Prior to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the Quraysh used to fast the Day of Ashura as well. They had apparently inherited this custom from the time of Abraham and Ishmael (AS), as they did other practices, most of which were corrupted over time (such as the Hajj and the tawwaf, the circumambulation around the Kaaba).
The Quraysh used to fast on the day of Ashura in the pre-lslamic period, and Allah’s Apostle too used to fast on that day. When he came to Medina, he fasted on that day and ordered others to fast as well. Later when the fasting of the month of Ramadan was prescribed, he abrogated obligatory fasting on the day of Ashura and it became optional for one to fast on it or not.” [Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, al-Muwatta]
The Ottomans, who carried the flag of Islam for centuries and who were particularly pious and respectful of the Way of the Prophet (SAW), in addition to fasting the Day of Ashura, generally fasted the first ten days of Muharram.
Abu Hurayrah (RA) reports that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) stressed the importance of fasting in the Sacred Month of Muharram as being next in virtue to fasting in the month of Ramadan.
“After Ramadan, the fasts of Muharram have the greatest excellence.”
— Prophet Muhammad (SAW) [Sahih Muslim]
*Additional Suggested Voluntary Practices*
In addition to fasting on the Day of Ashura, the following supererogatory optional acts of worship, ibadah, are highly meritorious to take advantage of the unique blessings of the day.
1) Nawafil Prayer
Between the Dhuhr and Asr prayers, pray an additional 4 raka’, cycles of prayer. In each raka’, recite Surah al-Fatiha once and Surah al-Ikhlas eleven times.
2) Dhikr
After the prayer, recite the following dhikr.
(a) La ilaha ill Allah (1000 times).
(b) Salawat, Allahum sali ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin wa sallim (1000 times).
(c) Surah al-Ikhlas, Holy Quran Chapter 112, (1000 times).
3) Then make the following dua, supplication:
(a) Allahumma thabbitna ‘alal Haqq.
Ya Ghaliban ghaira maghloob,
Ya Nasiral Mu’mineen,
Ya Ghiyathal Mustaghitheen,
Ya Qariban ghaira ba’id,
Ya Shahidan ghaira ba’id!
(b) Hasbi Allahu wa ni’mal wakeel, ni’mal mawla wa ni’man naseer (70 times).
(c) La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah il ‘aliyyul ‘azheem,
Ghufranaka rabbana wa ilaykal naseer.
(d) Surah al-Fatiha, Holy Quran, Chapter 1.
O Allah! Bestow Your peace, prayers, and blessings upon our master and beloved prophet, Muhammad. O Allah! Be pleased with the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and Imams, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali, along with all Your Prophet’s family and Companions, and those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
O Allah! Grant power and glory to Islam and Muslims. O Allah! Subdue polytheism and the polytheists. O Allah! Take revenge on those who show enmity to this religion. O Allah! Make Your religion prevail and reign supreme everywhere.
O Allah! Protect Muslims everywhere. O Allah! Alleviate their sufferings. O Allah! Relieve their distress. O Allah! Spare our blood. O Allah! Help us achieve unity and agreement.
O Allah! O Owner of Majesty and Honour! Make good our condition and the condition of Muslims everywhere.
O Allah! Cure our sick; Relieve the distress of the distressed among us; Alleviate the sufferings of those who are suffering among us, O Owner of Majesty and Honour!
O Allah! Save Muslims from the raging pandemic, trials and turmoil; Facilitate our affairs in the right way. Grant us peace, safety and security in Nigeria, and to all of the world, O Owner of Majesty and Honor!
O Allah! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.
O Allah! You are Free of all wants and needs, the All-Praiseworthy! O Allah! Send down rain upon our lands and upon all Muslim lands and grant us bountiful harvest.
O Allah grant us the strength of sincere Faith, the reality of our Hope, the joy of our sincere Charity and crown it with the contentment of a Happy Heart. Oh Allah distance us from envy, ignorance, hatred and malice as well as reward every little we do in multiples, and make all our wishes and desire sincere.
“Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.”
Aameen.
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