Juma Khutbas Mirza Yawar Baig

They say that reading biographies is perhaps the best way to learn real life lessons. That is because a biography is a record of practice. Of what worked and what didn’t. The life of Muhammadﷺ is perhaps one of the most well documented in human history. Having said that, one may ask why his life and all the details are important at all? I am not speaking from the perspective of a Muslim for whom to study the life of Muhammadﷺ and to live his life in accordance with it, is a religious requirement. I am asking this from the perspective of a neutral reader, Muslim or not, who is looking for biographies to read. The answer lies in the facts related to the life of Muhammadﷺ which are public knowledge. Here was someone who in a period of 23 years, took his people from being the weakest, most despised and oppressed in their community to being the leaders and role models in the same community. And he did all that without lies, cheating, corruption, violence, or bloodshed. My question is, ‘Would you like to know how to do that? Would you like to know how to bring about not incremental but transformational change in your society? Then study the life of Muhammadﷺ.’   







In the words of J. Krishnamurty, ‘It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.’ I don’t think there is anyone, including the 1% who appear to have it all who will disagree that we are very sick. Humanity is sick. The earth is sick. We are all very sick. This is no longer an academic issue for people to write scholarly papers about. It is something that we, the people of the world, need to address, recognizing it as the dire emergency that it is. If we don’t, the clock would be ticking backwards for us and fast. And the time is very close where we would have to make our own position as the inhabitants of this earth; not its owners as we like to believe; completely untenable. We need action. And we need it now.   Call it a strange coincidence but 7th Century Makkah was a microcosm of our global capitalist, pluralist, multicultural, multiracial society. Let me describe the Makkah that Muhammadﷺ was born into, grew up and lived in, until the age of 50. That is a long time for someone to spend in one town but that was what Muhammadﷺ did.  







Makkah was a town with one single claim to fame – the Ka’aba. This is the House of Allahﷻ built by Ibrahim (AS) and was a place of pilgrimage from time immemorial. Access to the Ka’aba was open to anyone who wanted to come. The environs of the Ka’aba were declared a sanctuary with all killing, hunting, and fighting banned within that sanctuary. This was the main reason why Makkah developed as a town because it was a safe haven for everyone from any of the many frequently warring tribes. Another similarity that 7th century Makkah had with our modern society is that it was a world of business. Businessmen were its leaders, and they ran the town. Acquisition of wealth was the primary concern. Makkan society was materialistic based on a free-market economy and markets were not regulated by any central authority. Traders charged the best price they could get, hoarded in times of scarcity, and sold at great profit and bought goods from as far afield as Syria and Yemen to sell in Makkah. Makkah being a sort of an aggregator of people from all of Arabia, was a great seller’s market where high prices could be commanded as goods sold in Makkah were simply not available in any other part of Arabia. That is how Makkan traders became extremely wealthy and became its nobility and created a sort of oligarchy. You can draw similarities with our capitalist society today and see how close 7th century Arabia was to most of our 21st century world.







Makkah was also a multicultural and pluralistic place as all centers of trade tend to be. That is because if you want to promote trade you must make it easy and safe for peo...

It is one of the articles of our faith to believe in Divine Destiny and to be pleased with it. Ridha bil Qadha is proof of our Imaan and a sign of Tawakkul. Islamic understanding about destiny is that we have been given limited choice in our lives. Some things have been written for us and can’t be changed. In others, we have the freedom to choose what we want for ourselves. For example, we are free to eat whatever we want but what that food will do to us physically and spiritually in not in our control. The best way to understand what matters we have choice in, is to look at the questions that we will be asked in the Aakhira. We will be questioned only in matters where we have the freedom to choose. That is justice and Allah is Al-A’adil, The Just. Those are the matters we must be concerned about exclusively.









عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ"‏، لاَ تَزُولُ قَدَمَا ابْنِ آدَمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّهِ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْ خَمْسٍ عَنْ عُمْرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاهُ وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِيمَا أَبْلاَهُ وَمَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَهُ وَمَاذَا عَمِلَ فِيمَا عَلِمَ"‏









Ibn Mas'ud (R) narrated that Rasoolullah  said: "The feet of the son of Adam shall not move from before his Rabb on the Day of Judgement, until he is asked about five things: About his life and what he did with it, about his youth and what he wore it out in, about his wealth and how he earned it, and what he spent it upon, and what he did with what he knew (knowledge)."







We understand from this that the quantum of what we can get in this life is fixed. But we have the choice of how to get it. And that is what we will be questioned about. Rasoolullah explained this in the following Hadith.









عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: "كُنْت خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمًا، فَقَالَ: يَا غُلَامِ! إنِّي أُعَلِّمُك كَلِمَاتٍ: احْفَظْ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْك، احْفَظْ اللَّهَ تَجِدْهُ تُجَاهَك، إذَا سَأَلْت فَاسْأَلْ اللَّهَ، وَإِذَا اسْتَعَنْت فَاسْتَعِنْ بِاَللَّهِ، وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْأُمَّةَ لَوْ اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوك بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَنْفَعُوك إلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَك، وَإِنْ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَضُرُّوك بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَضُرُّوك إلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْك؛ رُفِعَتْ الْأَقْلَامُ، وَجَفَّتْ الصُّحُفُ.









On the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) who said: One day I was behind Rasoolullah  [riding on the same mount] and he said, “O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask Allah [alone]; and if you need help, seek help from Allah [alone]. And know that if the nations were to gather to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah  has already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah  has already prescribed against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.” (Tirmidhi)







The deception of Shaytaan is that he convince

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ









Ma’aida 5: 3    Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; what is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars. You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions. This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me! Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger—not intending to sin—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.







I have a friend who used to train pilots of fighter jets. I asked him what happens when a pilot has serious engine or other problems in flight. He said, ‘We tell them to go back to the Manual.’ I asked, ‘You mean while he is in a tailspin, he is going to read the flight manual?’ He replied, ‘No. Go back to the manual means go to the basic instructions which begin with an instrument check. Very often you find a solution when you go back to the basics.’ In business consulting we give the same advice when we diagnose a problem with a business and are looking to solve it. We use a tool called ‘Root-Cause Analysis’. We ask, ‘Why’, 5 – times. Say, there has been a drop in sales. We ask, ‘Why?’ Because we have too few salespeople. Why? Because they leave. Why? Because they are dissatisfied with the job. Why? Because they are not paid according to merit. Why? Because our managers don’t go to the market and so don’t know what the salespeople must face. Try this with any problem that you face, and you will get to the root cause.







Today we are living in a society which is in a tailspin, headed for a major catastrophe. The magnitude of our crisis can be seen in what we are most famous for. In what we spend the most money, time, energy, technology, effort, brainpower, and mindshare on. And that is in building ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction. As a society, our maximum investment in every way is in massive death. Not in life. Our markers and symbols are ICBMs, highly sophisticated planes, and ships to carry highly complex scientific marvels created for the sole purpose of destroying life in the most massive way possible. Imagine how the world would look if instead, we spent the same, or even half that amount, on providing free education, free health care, cancer research, poverty eradication, housing for the homeless, clean water supply, and to fight global warming and climate change. I can add to this list, but this will suffice. People in the future will marvel and say, ‘They had all that knowledge, all that wealth and yet they did nothing to solve real problems of their society, but instead spent i

بَدَأَ اللَّهُ كِتَابَهُ بِإِظْهَارِ كَيْفَ نَبْدَأُ كُلَّ أَيَّامِنَا، وكُلَّ لَيَالِينَا، وَكَيْفَ نُوَاجِهُ كُلَّ مَوْقِفٍ فِي حَيَاتِنَا، سَواءٌ كَانَ ذَلِكَ سَهْلََا أَوْ صَعْباََ. 







لَقَدْ عَلَّمْنا أَنْ نُرَكِّزَ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَنْ نَشْكُرَهُ عَلَى كُلِّ مَا أَعْطَانَا إِيَّاهُ وَأَنْ نَتَذَكَّرَ أَنَّ كُلَّ مَا نَعْرِفُهُ، بِمَا فِي ذَلِكَ أَنْفُسَنَا، يَنْتَمِي إِلَيْهِ.







إِعْتَادَ رَسولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ يَقُولَ مَا يَلِي عِنْدَمَا يَسْتَيْقِظُ عَلَى تَّهَجُّدٍ







 ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا قَامَ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ يَتَهَجَّدُ قَالَ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ قَيُّومُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ، لَكَ مُلْكُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَنْ فِيهِنَّ وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ، أَنْتَ نُورُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ، أَنْتَ الْحَقُّ، وَوَعْدُكَ حَقُّ، وَلِقَاؤُكَ حَقٌّ، وَقَوْلُكَ حَقٌّ، وَالْجَنَّةُ حَقٌّ، وَالنَّارُ حَقٌّ، وَالنَّبِيُّونَ حَقٌّ، وَمُحَمَّدٌ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَقٌّ، وَالسَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ، اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ وَعَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْتُ، وَبِكَ خَاصَمْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ حَاكَمْتُ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ، وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ، أَنْتَ الْمُقَدِّمُ وَأَنْتَ الْمُؤَخِّرُ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ.‏"‏‏ (رواه بخاري)









Allahﷻ began His Book by showing us how to begin each day, each night, and how to face every situation in life, be it one of ease or difficulty. He taught us to focus on Him, to thank Him for all that He gave us and to remember that everything we know, including ourselves, belongs to Him. Rasoolullah used to say the following when he would awake for Tahajjud:







Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated that when Rasoolullah  used to awake for Tahajjud he would say: O Allah! All praise and all thanks for you, You are the Establisher of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. All praises for You; You have the possession of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. All praises for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. And all praises for You; You are the Truth. And Your Promise is the Truth, And the meeting with You is True. Your Word is the Truth, And Jannah is True, And the Fire is True. And all the Prophets (Peace be upon them) are True and Muhammad  is True. And the Day of Resurrection is True. O Allah! I surrender (my will) to You; I believe in You and depend on You. And repent to You, And with Your help I argue (with my opponents). And I take You as a judge (to judge between us). Please forgive my previous and future sins; And whatever I concealed or revealed. And you are the One who raises some people to stations of honor and lower others. There is none to be worshiped but You. [Bukhari]







Rasoolullah taught u

قال الله - وَخَشِىَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَأَجْرٍ كَرِيمٍ لِمَاذَا خَشْيَةُ اَلرَّحْمَنِ عِنْدَمَا يَكُونُ اَللَّهُ هُوَ اَلرَّحْمَنُ؟ تَتِمُّ تَرْجَمَةُ خَشْيَةِ اَللَّهِ بِخَوْفِ اَللَّهِ، اَلْخَوْفُ هُوَ عَاطِفَةٌ سَلْبِيَّةٌ، نَحْنُ نَكْرَهُ مَا نَخَافُهُ، وَلَكِنَّ اَللَّهَ قَالَ: إِنَّ اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُحِبُّونَهُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ آخَرَ. اَللَّهُ ذَكَرَ صِفَةً اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَقَالَ - وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِكَيْفَ نَفْهَمُ اَلْعَلَاقَةَ بَيْنَ اَلْخَشْيَةِ وَالْحُبِّ؟ لَيْسَ خَوْفُ اَللَّهِ بَلْ هُوَ خَوْفُ إِغْضَابِ مِنْ نُحِبُّ أَكْثَرَ - فَكُلَّمَا أَحْبَبْنَا اَللَّهَ زَادَ خَوْفُنَا مِنْ غَضَبِهِ وَزَادَتْ خَشْيَتُنَا – وَاَللَّهُ اَلرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ، رَحْمَتُهُ لَا تَنْقَطِعُ أَبَدًا، هُوَ اَلْأَكْثَرُ تَسَامُحًا وَغُفْرَانُهُ لَا يَنْقُصُ أَبَدًا. كَيْفَ نَزِيدُ حُبُّنَا لِلَّهِ؟ نَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ بِالتَّفَكُّرِ في نِعَمِهْ. دَعَوْنَا نَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ اَلْآنْ، لِنُفَكِّرْ بِصَمْتٍ فِي ثَلَاثِ نِعَمٍ مِنَ اَللَّهِ وَنَشْكُرُهُ عَلَيْهِمْ، اَلطَّرِيقَةُ هِيَ اَلتَّفْكِيرُ فِي كُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ وَالتَّفْكِيرُ فِي اَلْكَيْفِيَّةِ اَلَّتِي سَتَكُونُ عَلَيْهَا إِذَا فَقَدْنَا تِلْكَ اَلنِّعْمَةْ - قَالَ اَللَّهُ:







وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ 







دَعُونَا نَجْعَلُ هَذِهِ عَادَةً وَنَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ فَكِّرُوا بِثَلَاثِ نَعَمٍ مِنْ نِعَمِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا وَتَخَيَّلُوا اَلْحَيَاةَ بِدُونِهِمْ وَاحْمَدُو اَللَّهَ عَلَى كُلٍّ مِنْهُمْ بِالِاسْمِ، عِنْدَمَا تَفْعَلُ هَذَا سَتَجِدُ أَنَّ قَلْبَكَ يَمْتَلِئُ بِالِامْتِنَانِ وَالسَّعَادَةِ لِمَا أَعْطَاكَ اَللَّهُ، وَسَتَحْصُلُ عَلَى أَعْظَمِ ثَرْوَةٍ وَهِيَ اَلْقَنَاعَةُ، هَذَا هُوَ سِرُّ اَلسَّعَادَةِ، اَلسَّعَادَةُ لَيْسَتْ حِيَازَةَ اَلذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ أَوْ اَلدُّولَارِ أَوْ اَلدِّينَارِ أَوْ اَلسَّيَّارَاتِ أَوْ اَلْمَنَازِلِ أَوْ اَلْمُمْتَلَكَاتِ،  اَلنَّاسُ اَلَّذِينَ لَدَيْهِمْ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ ومَا زَالُوا يَنْتَحِرُونَ، ولَكِنَّ صَحَابَةَ رَسُولِ اَللَّهِ صَلَّى اَللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَدَيْهِمْ مِنْ هَذَا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ لَدَيْهِمُ اَلْقَنَاعَةُ، كَ

قَالَ الله تَعَالَى عَنْ وَرَثَةِ الفِرْدَوسْ:







قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ 







ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ 







وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ ٱللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ 







وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَوٰةِ فَـٰعِلُونَ 







وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ 







وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ 







وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٰتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ 







أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثُونَ 







ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ 







سُؤَالٌ لِي وَلَكُمْ - مَا مَعْنَى وَارِثْ؟ مَنْ هُوَ الْوَارِثْ؟







الوَرِيثُ يَمْلِكُ الشَّيْءَ. لاَ شَكَّ فِي حَقِّهِ فِي الشَّيْء.







 فِي هَذِهِ الآيَاتِ الكَرِيمَةْ، وَصَفَ اللهُ صِفَاتَ وَرَثَةِ جَنَّةِ الفِرْدَوسْ - مِنَ المُهِمِّ بِالنِّسْبَةِ لَنَا التَّرْكِيزُ عَلىَ الآيَاتِ وَالبَحْثَ فِي قُلُوبِنَا، فِي حَيَاتِنَا، فِي أَخْلَاقِنَا، فِي ثَقَافَتِنَا وَنَسْأَلْ. هَلْ فِينَا أَيٌ مِنْ هَذِهِ الصِّفَاتْ؟ واستغفر والرجوع إِلَى الله بِالتَّوبَةِ الصَّادِقَةِ قَبَلَ اليَوْمِ الذِي نَقِفُ أَمَامَ اللهِ لِلْحِسَابْ.







تحريم ط:٦٦ :٨  يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ   -    اللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مَعَهُمْ







إِخْوَانِي وَأَخَوَاتِي الأَعِزَّاءْ، أُذَكِّرُكُمْ وَنَفْسِي أَنَّ هَذِهِ الدُّنْيا مَكَانُ جِهَادٍ. نَحْنُ نَحْصُلُ فَقَطْ عَلَى مَا نَعْمَلُ مِنْ أَجْلِهْ.







 قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى فِي كِتَابِهِ العَزِيزْ:







النجم ٥٣: ٣٩ -٤٠   وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ







وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُۥ سَوْفَ يُرَىٰ 







كَمَا قُلْتُ مِن قَبلْ، أَعْلَنَ الله تَعَالَى:







قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ 







ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ صِفَاتَ المُؤْمِنِينَ النَّاجِحِينْ.







 فِي هَذَا ذَكَرَ اللهُ عِبَادَةً وَاحِدَةً مَعَ مَسْأَلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ مُهِمَّةٍ مِنَ الأَخْلَاقْ. قَالَ الله تَعَالَى:







ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ 







وَ