Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Centre
We came to give, not to take.
Perspective is the ability to hold two pictures simultaneously in your mind – where you are and where you want to be. Without this, it is impossible to give any directions. Physically, mentally or spiritually, we need awareness of where we are and where we need to be, to be able to chart out a… Continue reading Benefit of Perspective
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We are living the parable of the boiled frog. That is why we must get ourselves educated – not merely trained to make a living. Just ask yourself which books you have read in the past one year and you have the answer. Without reading and skills of reflective observation, introspection and abstract conceptualization you… Continue reading Understanding our World
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Islam is the name of the relationship between our Creator, Allahﷻ and us. The Kalima Shahada is an affirmation of that relationship and the one who accepts it is a Muslim. To accept this relationship means to believe it in your heart, state that with your tongue, and act upon it with your limbs. That… Continue reading We know you by your gifts
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My brothers and sisters, Allahﷺ sent his Kalaam (Word, Speech) so that we would reflect on it and change our lives to make them obedient to Him. In that lies our success both in this life and the next. Allahﷺ said in the Qur’an: لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ Anbiya 21:10 Indeed,… Continue reading Where am I in the Qur’an?
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The purpose of education is to civilize the individual. To connect the human being to his Creator, so that he recognizes Him, has a relationship with Him, strives to please Him, relies on His Mercy, and looks forward to His Forgiveness. The purpose of education is to give the child ethics, values, and morals which… Continue reading What is real education?
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The Qur’an commands us to be patient, to have Sabr and promises help to those who have patience. Allahﷻ taught us how to face difficulty and said: فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِى وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ Baqara 2: 152-3 Remember Me; I will remember you. And thank Me,… Continue reading When the rubber meets the road
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The month of Muharram is a great and blessed month. It is the first month of the Hijri year and is one of the sacred months about which Allahﷻ says: إِنَّ عِدَّةَ ٱلشُّهُورِ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِى كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ مِنْهَآ أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ Tawbah 9: 36 “Verily,… Continue reading Muharram, another New Year
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Last week I told you that Allahﷻ prohibited sadness. That sounds unreasonable and you may say, ‘I don’t want to feel sad. But I do. So, why is sadness prohibited?’ We are conditioned to see emotions as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. The reality is that emotions are value neutral. They are neither positive… Continue reading How to beat sadness
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We live in a paradoxical world. We are knowledgeable about the earth but are burning it up at a pace which is out of control. We are knowledgeable about health but disease, especially mental illness is in rampant proportions. We collectively have enormous wealth, but its distribution ensures that vast populations are deprived, even starving,… Continue reading It’s my Life
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My brothers and sisters, we are living in difficult times which are testing us in ways that at least I had never imagined. On the one hand Allahﷻ has kept us and our families safe and well in this land. On the other hand, we are seeing every day what is happening to Muslims and… Continue reading Don’t be sad
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He was Khaleelullah. And Allahﷻ loved him, so He tested him. In each test, by the help of Allahﷻ, he proved true to his Covenant with Allahﷻ. So, Allahﷻ gave him the job of building His House, the Ka’aba. Allahﷻ said: وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَٰهِيمَ مَكَانَ ٱلْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِى شَيْـًٔا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِىَ لِلطَّآئِفِينَ وَٱلْقَآئِمِينَ… Continue reading Hajj – A Journey of Love
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The most important thing in life is not wealth or knowledge or even action. It is attitude. With the right attitude, you can create wealth, acquire knowledge and find the motivation to act. Without it you may have wealth, fame, influence, and knowledge but you despair. Just look for celebrity suicides on Google and you… Continue reading Joy of Submission
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There are several ways to guide. The most reliable way is to give the person a compass to find direction, a map with details of the route and a guide to take them to their destination. That is what Allahﷻ did. He gave us the compass, the Qur’an, a map, the Sunnah, and the guide,… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 4
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All knowledge begins with Adab – an attitude of respect for knowledge and everything and everyone related to it. Adab is like the preparation of the soil for planting. Without preparation the best seed will perish. So also with knowledge, especially the knowledge of Islam. Without Adab we may get the words, but never the… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 3
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Allahﷻ declared that Muhammadﷺ is His Messengerﷺ and the last of them and the Seal of the Prophets and that after him there is no other. مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًا Ahzab 33: 40 Muḥammad is not the father of any of your… Continue reading The position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam – 2
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The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. Ignorance which is recognized is a blessing because the person then seeks to dispel it by learning. But the illusion of knowledge produces arrogance which shuts the door to learning and greases the slide into Jahannam. As happened for the first time when… Continue reading Position of Rasoolullahﷺ in Islam
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There are two ways to lead our lives. The way we want and the way Allahﷻ wants for us. Whichever way we choose, we will be held accountable for it when we die. The issue with living the way we want is that our knowledge is limited, and our desires rule us. The benefit of… Continue reading Remember the Standard
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Every relationship in the world has two things associated with it; a benefit that we derive from it and a responsibility that we owe to it. Any relationship that does not benefit ceases to exist even if it began and carried on for a while. Very soon any intelligent person will realize that they are… Continue reading Build the Relationship
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Ramadan comes to help us to become Muttaqoon and become eligible for all the promises of Allahﷻ. That process begins with Istighfaar and Tawba. فَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ مُّجِيبٌ Hud 11: 61 So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Rabb is Ever Near, All-Responsive ˹to prayers˺.” Seeking… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan – Part 4
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The purpose of fasting is not to fast but to transform our lives and put ourselves on the path of success in this world and the next. Ramadan comes to reset our standard, the criterion of what has value and what doesn’t. When we stay away from even the Halaal during the hours of daylight… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan – part 3
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Ramadan is the month of self-reflection and introspection with the intention of getting our lives back on track. Our life is a journey which we hope will end in Jannah. Our parents Adam (AS) and Hawwa (AS) came from Jannah and when Allahﷻ sent them to the earth, He gave them the key to return… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan – part 2
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My brothers and sisters, in another day or two we will enter Ramadan. The question I ask myself and you is, will we enter Ramadan or will we allow Ramadan to enter us? If we enter Ramadan then on the 1st of Shawwal, we will exit Ramadan. But if we allow the spirit of Ramadan,… Continue reading Spirit of Ramadan
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We hear this Ayah in every Jumu’ah Khutba in practically every masjid on the face of the earth. Let us focus on just two words in it – Al Adl wal Ihsaan. إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ Nahl 16: 90 Indeed, Allah commands justice,… Continue reading Justice and Ihsaan
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Allahﷻ gave us a purpose of existence which is given to the highest in any society – to guide and show the way. This is the purpose that we inherited by being the followers of Rasoolullahﷺ – to give to the world. To give mankind a standard by which to live. To give it by… Continue reading Become a Standard Bearer – Part 2
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“Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers.” Saheeh Hadeeth [Ibn Maajah, Kitaab al fitan 3986 Like most thinking Muslims of our time, over the last few years, I have also been thinking about the sad state that the Muslim Ummah finds itself… Continue reading Become a Standard Bearer
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“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Jabir (R) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.” I… Continue reading Winning is about staying in the race
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بَدَأَ الإِسْلاَمُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ Abu Huraira (R) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” Ibn Majah (Kitab Al-Fitan) In a world based on oppression, courage is strange. In a world based on amassing personal wealth, charity is strange.… Continue reading Problems and Solutions
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This Khutba is a summation of the 7 Khutab titled ‘The Way Forward’. Here, I am going to highlight the action points only. I will begin with my gift to you, which is my own motto: “I will not allow what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my… Continue reading The Way Forward – Summary
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What distinguishes people who never experienced subjugation from those with a collective memory of empire and subjugation, is their willingness to speak up, fight for their rights and to pay for what they enjoy, while the others only complain but do nothing to change the situation. This is the ‘learned helplessness’ of people whose bodies… Continue reading The Way Forward – Part 7
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Most of us are historically illiterate and our cherry-picking approach to history ensures illiteracy. However, our lives won’t change until we learn lessons from history and break out of the vicious cycles that we are caught up in. We don’t learn the lessons because we can’t differentiate between critiquing and critical analysis and criticizing. We… Continue reading The Way Forward – Part 6
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My brothers and sisters, in these series of my 7 – Khutab called, ‘The way forward’, I will try to define for you the problem that we Muslims face globally and to suggest the way forward to a solution. There are two critical things which you must remember as you listen to me. One, that… Continue reading The way forward – part 5
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If I must die,you must liveto tell my storyto sell my thingsto buy a piece of clothand some strings,(make it white with a long tail)so that a child, somewhere in Gazawhile looking heaven in the eyeawaiting his dad who left in a blaze–and bid no one farewellnot even to his fleshnot even to himself–sees the… Continue reading In the Dhikr of Allah is peace
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History teaches one critical lesson: Only those who contribute are valued. Only they have leverage, are influential, and have power. Their religion or ethnicity doesn’t matter. What matters is their contribution to society on a local or global scale. The world works on one overarching principle: What’s in it for me? WiiFM. That’s how it… Continue reading The way forward – Part 4
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Think long term. It is not about winning one conflict. It is about becoming influential and creating a situation where there are no more conflicts. It is about becoming influential where you can initiate and direct local and national policy. It is about being in positions where the decisions you take will positively impact people… Continue reading The Way Forward – Part 3
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