Monday, September 5, 2011

Khutbah by Imam Hajj Abdassamad Clarke entitled “Being tested by fortune and misfortune.”

BEING TESTED BY FORTUNE AND MISFORTUNE 02/09/2011


Sep 2nd, 2011

Please click below to listen to the khutbah by Imam Hajj Abdassamad Clarke entitled “Being tested by fortune and misfortune.” This khutbah was delivered at the Ihsan Mosque in Norwich on Friday the 2nd September 2011.

اَلْحَمْدُ‏ ‬لِلَّهِ‏ ‬نَحْمَدُهُ‏ ‬وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ‏ ‬وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ‏ ‬وَنُومِنُ‏ ‬بِهِ‏ ‬وَنَتَوَكَّلُ‏ ‬عَلَيْهِ‏،
وَنَعُوذُ‏ ‬بِا‏للَّه‬ِ‏ ‬مِنْ‏ ‬شُرُورِ‏ ‬أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ‏ ‬أَعْمَالِنَا‏،
مَن‏ ‬يَهْدِ‏ ‬ا‏للَّه‬ُ‏ ‬فَهُوَ‏ ‬الْمُهْتَدِ‏،‏ ‬وَمَنْ‏ ‬يُضْلِلْ‏ ‬فَلاَ‏ ‬هَادِيَ‏ ‬لَهُ،
وَأَشْهَدُ‏ ‬أَنْ‏ ‬لآ إلَهَ‏ ‬إلَّا ا‏للَّه‬ُ‏ ‬وَحْدَهُ‏ ‬لَا شَرِيكَ‏ ‬لَهُ‏،‏ ‬لَهُ‏ ‬الْمُلْكُ‏ ‬وَلَهُ‏ ‬الْحَمْدُ‏،‏ ‬يُحْيِي‏ ‬وَيُمِيتُ‏،‏ ‬بِيَدِهِ‏ ‬الْخَيْرُ،‏ ‬وَهُوَ‏ ‬عَلَى كُلِّ‏ ‬شَيْءٍ‏ ‬قَدِيرٌ‏. ‬وَأَشْهَدُ‏ ‬أَنَّ‏ ‬مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ‏ ‬وَرَسُولُهُ‏،‏ ‬أَرْسَلَهُ‏ ‬بِدِينِ‏ ‬الْحَقِّ‏ ‬بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا‏،‏ ‬بَيْنَ‏ ‬يَدَيِّ‏ ‬السَّاعَةِ‏،‏ ‬صَلَّى ا‏للَّه‬ُ‏ ‬عَلَيْهِ‏ ‬وَسَلَّمَ‏ ‬وَعَلَى آلِهِ‏ ‬وَصَحْبِهِ‏ ‬وَمَنْ‏ ‬تَبِعَهُمْ‏ ‬بِإحْسَانٍ‏ ‬إلَى‏ ‬يَوْمِ‏ ‬الدِّينِ.
} يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ‏ آمَنُواْ‏ اتَّقُواْ‏ اللَّهَ‏ حَقَّ‏ تُقَاتِهِ‏ وَلاَ‏ تَمُوتُنَّ‏ إِلاَّ‏ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ‏ {
}يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلاً سَدِيداً يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً{
تاريخ اليوم هو الثالث من شهر شوال، في السنةِ ألف وأربع مائة واثنين وثلاثين
{ فَأَمَّا الْإِنسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلاَهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيَ أَكْرَمَنِص {‮15‬} وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلاَهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيَ أَهَانَنِ {‮16‬} كَلاَّ }
Today is the third of Shawwal 1432.
Allah, exalted is He, said:

15 As for man, when his Lord tests him
by honouring him and favouring him,

16 he says, ‘My Lord has honoured me!’

17 But then when He tests him
by restricting his provision,

18 he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me!’

كما أنّ من أهمِّ أركانِ الإيمانِ أن نومنَ أنّه تعالى قدر الخيرَ والشرَّ كلَّه، وإن كان الأدب يقتضي أن نَنسِبَ الخيرَ إليه وأن لا نَنسِبَ الشرَّ إليه ، كذلك أنّ كلاًّ منهما فتنةٌ وبلاءٌ منهُ تعالى ليختبرَ إيماننا ، وهو أعلمُ بإيمانِنا إذ هو الذي خلقنا وقدّرَ لنا إيماننا وعملنا .

One of the most important pillars of iman is that we believe that Allah has decreed all good and bad, although it is part of good manners towards Allah to ascribe the good to Him but not ascribe the bad to Him.

Nevertheless, the truth is that both are from him. It is also important for us to know, as is clear from these ayat, that both the good and the bad are tests and trials for us from Allah u so that He can test our iman and our deeds, even though He knows them best since He has created both us and our iman and our deeds, and He has decreed them for us. But this testing is for a purpose so that the truth of what Allah has decreed can be manifest, and this is the purpose of the creation.

فالفتنةُ الأُولى إكرامُه إيّانا بالخير ، مثلاً الرزق ، والأولادُ ، والجاهُ ، والعلمُ . فإذا أكرم اللهُ الإنسان بإحدى هذه النِّعَمِ يقول {ربّيَ أكرمني} ويحتمل أن يكونَ قولُهُ ذلك كِبراً وتفخُّراً ظانّاً أنّهُ من استحقاقِ نفسِه لا من تفضُّلِ ربّهِ، وظانّاً أنّ المُهِمَّ أمورُ هذه الدنيا ، وليس عند اللهِ كذلك.

The first test is Allah’s testing us with good, for example, provision, children, social standing, and qualities such as knowledge. Thus when Allah honours man with one of these favours, he says, “My Lord has honoured me!” which can be interpreted to indicate acknowledgement of the blessing and gratitude for it, although this gratitude may fall short in that it is simply regarding the things of the world significant. However, this saying of man, “My Lord has honoured me,” may also be interpreted as pride and boasting, because he thinks that it is due to his deserving it and not simply from the graciousness and generosity of his Lord, and also because he thinks that the affairs of this world are important, whereas to Allah they are not important.

ثمّ الفتنةُ الثانيةُ إذا قدر عليه رزقَه ، ولم يقلْ تعالى: إذا ما ابتلاه وأهانَه وقدر عليه رزقَهُ } أي لم يقلْ {أهانه} بمقابلة {أكرمه} لأنّ – كما قال المفسّر الصاوي رحمه الله – تقتيرَ الرزقِ {لا يَلزِمُ أن يكونَ دليلاً على الإهانةِ ، بلْ قدْ يكونُ دليلاً على المحبّةِ والتكريمِ لِمَا وُرِدَ {أشدُّكم بلاءً الأنبياءُ ثمّ الأولياء ثمّ الأمثلُ ثمّ الأمثلُ}}
فقولُ العبدِ حينئذٍ {ربّيَ أهانَنِي} من قصورِهِ وغفلتِهِ ، وإلا فالمطلوب منه أن يرضى ويُسْلِمَ .

The second test is with hardship and what we consider to be bad or evil, when Allah, exalted is He, constricts provision. Note here that in these ayat, Allah, exalted is He, did not say, “But then when He tests him by humiliating him and restricting his provision,” as He said in the first ayah, “when his Lord tests him by honouring him and favouring him.” Allah mentions in the first case His honouring the slave, but does not mention in the second case His humiliating him, because constriction and poverty and limited provision are not necessarily a humiliation from Allah, and indeed they may be a mark of His love and His honouring the slave, because of that which is narrated of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Those of you with the most difficult trials are the prophets, then the close friends (awliya) and then those most like them and then those most like them.”

The slave’s saying, “My Lord has humiliated me,” at that time of constriction is his shortcoming and it is from his forgetfulness, because what is really required of one is to be contented and to submit in resignation to Allah’s decree.

فأنكر على الإنسانِ قولَيْهِ إذ يقول تعالى{كلا}
قال ابن جزيِّ الكلبي &{لِمَ أنكر اﷲ على الإنسان قولَه ربيَ أكرمني وربيَ أهانني ؟ الجواب من وجهين :
أحدِهِما أن الإنسان يقول ربي أكرمني على وجه الفخر بذلك والكبر لا على وجه الشكر ويقول ربي أهانني على وجه التشكَّى من اللهِ وقلةِ الصبر والتسليمِ لقضاءِ اللهِ، فأنكر عليه ما يقتضيه كلامُه من ذلك ، فإنَّ الواجبَ عليه أن يشكُر َعلى الخير ويصبِرَ على الشر.

So Allah rejected both these statements when He said, “No indeed!”

Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Why did Allah reject man saying, ‘My Lord has honoured me, and my Lord has humiliated me’? There are two parts to the answer:

First, that man has said ‘My Lord has honoured me,’ boasting about it and pride, not out of gratitude, and he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me,’ out of complaint, complaining of Allah’s treatment of him, and out of the littleness of his patience and surrender to the decree of Allah. So Allah repudiated those things contained in what the slave says, because it is incumbent on him to show gratitude for the good and to be steadfast in difficulty.

والآخَر أن الإنسانَ اعتبر الدنيا فجعل بسطَ الرزقِ فيها كرامةً وتضييقََه إهانةً وليس الأمر كذلك، فإن اﷲَ قد يبسطُ الرزقَ لأعدائه ويضيِّقُه على أوليائِه، فأنكر اللهُ عليه اعتبارَ الدنيا والغفلةَ عن الآخرة، وهذا الإنكارُ من هذا الوجه على المؤمن.
وأما الكافر فإنما اعتبر الدنيا لأنه لا يصدِّق بالآخرة ويرى أن الدنيا هي الغاية فأنكر عليه ما يقتضيه كلامه من ذلك.

The other is that man reckons the world to be important and so he regards expansion of provision in it as an honour and he regards constriction and reduction of provision as a humiliation, but it is not like that, because Allah may expand His provision generously to His enemies and restrict it and reduce it for His close friends, the awliya. So Allah repudiates man’s considering the world important and his neglecting the next life, and so in this respect it is addressed to the mu’min.

As for the kafir, he only reckons the world to be important since he does not believe in the next life, and he thinks that the world is the goal, and so Allah repudiates that from the kafir.

أَقُولُ‏ ‬قَوْلِي‏ ‬هَذَا وَأَسَْتَغْفِرُ‏ ‬ا‏للَّه‬َ‏ ‬لِي‏ ‬وَلَكُمْ‏ ‬وَلِسآئِرِ‏ ‬الْمُسْلِمِينَ‏ ‬فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ‏ ‬إنَّهُ‏ ‬هُوَالْغَفُورُ‏ ‬الرَّحِيمُ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلاَةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى مَنْ لاَ نَبِيَّ بَعْدَهُ،
أُوصِِيكُمْ بِتَقْوَا اللَّهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ، وأُحَذِّرُكُمْ عَنْ مَعْصِيَّتِهِ وَمُخَالَفَتِهِ. فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فِيمَا أَمَرَ، وَانْتَهُوا عَمَّا نَهَى عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.
قال تعالى:
} فَمَن يَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ وَمَن يَّعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ{
أَمَّا بَعْد:
فنقول أنّ أكبرَ نعمةٍ أنعم اللهُ بها على الناسِ الإسلامُ ، ونحن نعيش من بين أُناسٍ غيرِ مسلمين ، ولو قلنا في أنفسِنا {أكرمنا الله بنعمةِ الإسلامِ } على وجهِ الكبرِ والتفخُّر ، ظانّين أنّها من استحقاقِ أنفسِنا لا من تفضُّلِ ربّنا علينا هلكنا ، فإنّ المسؤوليةَ علينا تبليغُ هذا الدينِ لغيرِنا من مواطِنِي هذه البِلادِ ، وهو كقولِهِ i {بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ {‮17‬} وَلَا تَحُضُّونَ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ {‮18‬}
جعلنا اللهُ وإياكم من الشاكرين لنعمِ اللهِ علينا ، الصابرين في أوقاتِ الشرِّ والتضييق ، وممن يشكره على نعمةِ الإسلامِ بحملِ مسؤوليةِ دعوةِ الناسِ إليهِ i وإلى اتِّباعِ نبيٍّ كريمٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم .

So, we say that the greatest blessing and favour which Allah has bestowed on man is Islam. We live among non-Muslim people who have not been given this blessing. If we say in ourselves, “Allah has honoured us with the blessing of Allah,” in this way of boasting of it and pride in it, thinking that it is something we deserve rather than that it is evidence of the extreme generosity of Allah towards us, if we do that, then we are destroyed, because the responsibility we have is to convey this dın to others of those who inhabit these lands. That is why Allah has given it to us, not because we ourselves are such special people. It is not given to us just for us to keep for ourselves, but to share with others. If we do behave like that, then we should hear the words of Allah which follow: “No indeed! You do not honour orphans nor do you urge the feeding of the poor.” For what person is more orphaned than he has not got the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and who is more poor than he who has nothing to eat of the fruits of the Garden in the next life, because he does not have Islam which is the way to the Garden in this life?

May Allah make us and you among those who are grateful for the blessings which Allah bestows upon us and who are steadfast in the times of difficulty and constriction, and may He make us among those who are grateful for the blessing of Islam and show that gratitude by undertaking the responsibility of inviting people to Allah and to following the generous and noble Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Amin.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلآئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ، يَآ أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيماً
اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيماً
وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَآءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ ، وَسَآئِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً الْأَنْصَارِ مِنْهُمْ وَاِلْمُهَاجِرِينَ ، والتَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ إلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
اَللَّّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينِ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ ولِاتِّباعِ سُنَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم
اَللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الْإسْلاَمَ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ ، وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ ، وانْصُرِ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ، واجْعَلْ كَلِمَتَكَ هِيَ الْعُلْىَا ، وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلّاً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ص رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَّدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَداً
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار
رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماً
إنَّ الصَّلاَةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ
ولَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ
وَقُومُوا إلَى صَلاَتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللَّهُ

http://www.muslimsofnorwich.org.uk/?p=2220