Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Centre
We came to give, not to take.
One of my friends, a rarity in that he reflects and asks good questions, asked me, “Sh Yawar, how do we reinvigorate people’s love for the masjid and have it be a unified place for Muslims’ education? As Imam Mohamed al-Ghazali says in Egypt, the masjid is the heart of the Muslim community and the… Continue reading The problem with our Da’awa
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I want to begin by quoting one of the greatest of our modern scholars, Ml. Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi in his address to Muslims living in the UK and US. I have paraphrased some of what he said in my own words. The advice is beyond price. I hope I do it justice. He… Continue reading Da’awa is the true treasure
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Allahﷻ sent Ramadan to enable us to draw close to Him. That’s why He said about the purpose of Ramadan: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Baqara 2: 183 O you who believe! Fasting (Sawm) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before… Continue reading Is this my last Ramadan
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My brothers and sisters, all praise and thanks be to Allahﷻ that he granted us another Ramadan. This is a gift the value of which depends on what we choose to do with it. It is up to us to make it as valuable as we wish. Rasoolullahﷺ gave a Khutba on Friday, which was… Continue reading Prepare for Ramadan
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In this life you can be one of two things. You can be a wall builder or a bridge builder. I am a bridge builder. That is because walls keep people apart while bridges give them a way to meet. Building bridges is not about bringing someone from one side of the canyon to the… Continue reading Build bridges
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The secret of influencing, happiness in this life, and a true resource is good relationships. Recently someone sent me a video about the longest running study in Harvard, on human behavior. It has been running for 84 years. Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and co-author of ‘The Good… Continue reading Repair your relationships
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Allahﷻ sent us Muslims with a job. That is why we exist. He said: كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ A’al Imraan 3: 110 You [Muslims] are the best people ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma’ruf (all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (all that Islam… Continue reading Muslims are role models
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سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ Isra 17: 1 Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] Who took His slave (Muhammadﷺ) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to Masjid Al-Aqsa… Continue reading Isra wal Me’raj
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Let me ask myself and you a question. What would we pay to get the blessing of Allahﷻ and a promise of His Forgiveness when we meet Him? وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَٰتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ… Continue reading Give before the Day
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Which choice is more important? Where to go on a vacation or what career to enter? Which choice is more important? Who to employ or who to marry? Why? A wrong vacation choice means some money and maybe two weeks gone down the drain. But a wrong career choice means what? You can employ someone… Continue reading Choose Wisely
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Everything successful has careful preparation behind it. Without that preparation, there can be no success. A good and easy way to understand the importance of preparation is to think of a farmer who has the best seed. What is the first thing he does? He prepares the soil because he knows that toxic soil will… Continue reading Purify your heart if you want to learn Islam
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Allahﷻ said in the Hadith Qudsi: On the authority of Abu Hurairah (R) who said that Rasoolullahﷺ said: Allahﷻ said: Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, (my Wali) I shall be at war with him. My slave draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I… Continue reading The Honor of Slavehood (Uboodiyat) of Allahﷻ – Part 2
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To begin let me make dua for Shaikh Muhammad Metwalli al-Sha’rawi to whose inspiration I owe today’s Khutba. May Allahﷻ grant him the best of the best in Jannatul Firdous. What I find the most impressive and endearing about him is his love for Allahﷻ, his pride in being Abdullah, and his relationship with Allahﷻ… Continue reading The Honor of Slavehood (Uboodiyat) of Allahﷻ
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We spoke about writing down our purpose in life, last Friday. Keeping the Purpose Statement in front of you ask yourself, “What are the three things that I need to do in order of priority to go forward?” Focus on the first thing in your list. When you finish it, go to the next. Not… Continue reading Become Overcomers – Part 2
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In life only overcomers are rewarded. Allahﷻ is the only one who rewards effort, but not this world. In this world you get rewarded for results only. Allahﷻ said about effort in Dunya and Aakhira: وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ Najm 53: 39 And that man can have nothing but what he does (good… Continue reading Become an Overcomer
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There is a misunderstanding among some people that it is not necessary for a Muslim living in a land which has a non-Muslim government, to obey the laws of the land, because these are “man-made” and not Divine and because the country is not an Islamic Khilafa. That belief is totally false. The first thing… Continue reading Laws must be obeyed
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Allahﷻ sent us Islam to make us successful in this life and the Hereafter. In this and subsequent lectures, I want to share with you some key lessons for us to follow to become successful. It is only at the finish line that you know who won the race. Not before. This life is a… Continue reading Success is inevitable…if….
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As you are aware we have started our After School program and have received a wonderful response. That shows that you are concerned about your children. This is an excellent thing, given that our children are our investments in this life and the Aakhira. Therefore, let me speak to you about some essentials to raising… Continue reading Grow your investments
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The message of Islam is to remind all mankind that we have a Rabb to whom we are directly connected without the need for any intermediaries, agents, intercessors, or facilitators. When we speak, He hears us. When we ask, He gives us. He created us, sustains us, protects us, tests us, helps us, rewards us,… Continue reading The Connection
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In my Halaqa last week someone challenged me about the prohibition of interest-based finance and said, “There is no alternative, so what can we do? Without interest-based finance Muslims can never have a big business or industry.” I asked him, “No alternative to what? No alternative to making money, buying a house or whatever? Or… Continue reading Change your glasses
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As I mentioned in my last Khutba, ‘Living in the Revolution’, there are three things that we must change to survive and thrive in the AI Revolution. Change the way we connect with Allahﷻ and Rasoolullahﷺ, change the way we teach, and change the way we relate with one another. I have taught and… Continue reading Change the way we relate
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As I mentioned in my last Khutba, ‘Living in the Revolution’, there are three things that we must change in our approach to life to leverage the benefits of technology and counter its ill effects. Change the way we connect with Allahﷻ and Rasoolullahﷺ, change the way we teach, and change the way we relate… Continue reading Change the way we educate
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As I mentioned in my last Khutba, ‘Living in the Revolution’, there are three things that we must change in our approach to life to leverage the benefits of technology and counter its ill effects. Change the way we connect with Allahﷻ and Rasoolullahﷺ, change the way we teach, and change the way we relate… Continue reading Change the way to connect
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We live in a world where we seem to be surrounded by bad news. That leads to us feeling stressed, depressed, threatened, and hopeless about the future. Many people seem to feel that we are living at the end of times, and in a world and society that is terrible to live in. If you… Continue reading Gratitude is to acknowledge the truth
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I spoke to you about the Industrial Revolution and how it was far more than the invention of the assembly line. It profoundly changed our values, culture, and behavior. It changed how we saw ourselves, how we measured our effort, what we gave significance to, what we ignored, how we taught and learnt – including… Continue reading Living in a Revolution
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What is the first thought that comes into your mind when you think of Rasoolullahﷺ? For me it is someone to run to if I need anything. Someone who will intercede for me when I meet Allahﷻ. Someone who I love more than I can say and who I yearn to meet. May Allahﷻ grant… Continue reading Allah’s blessing is Rasoolullahﷺ
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Allah told us why He created us and said: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ Zariyaat 51: 56 And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). In order that we can live our lives in a state of worshipping Allah, He sent Islam and told us to follow… Continue reading Enter Islam completely
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We continue from where we ended last Friday about the things to keep in mind as you negotiate college life. I dealt with four things last week; Factor Allahﷻ into the equation, always be thankful, forgive others, and seek forgiveness. Today let us look at six more to complete the ten. 5. Never compromise your legacy. Never lose… Continue reading Commencement advice to students – Part 2
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As the academic year starts again and as our children are about to go off to university, I thought it would be good to share some thoughts to help them to be focused and grounded. I hope this will be good advice for all of us wherever we may be. To the students I say,… Continue reading Commencement advice to students – 1
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They asked Rasoolullahﷺ, ‘Who is Allahﷻ?’ And Allahﷻ answered: قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ Ikhlaas 112: 1-4 Say (O Muhammadﷺ): He is Allah, (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (Free from all needs, whose creatures need Him). He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is… Continue reading Allahu Akbar
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It is the purpose of the Juma Khutba for the Khateeb to speak about current critical issues and help to put them in perspective to chart a course going forward. Today the most critical issue in America is the tragic series of murders in Albuquerque and the even more tragic haste with which this is… Continue reading Albuquerque – the way forward
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The purpose of Islam is to solve the problems of this world in a way that gives us success in this world and the next. I want to emphasize this because often we fall into the either/or trap when it comes to the practice of Islam. Not surprising because we have all been raised in… Continue reading Root cause Analysis #1
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One of the most important lessons we learn from the Qur’an is that appearances don’t indicate reality. Something may appear to be the epitome of success but may hide failure and vice versa. The criterion of success and failure is faith in Allah and obedience to Him. Tawakkul means to trust that Allah knows what… Continue reading The Reality behind the Apparent
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“Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.” Sir Henry Royce of Rolls Royce. Among the RR legends is one when Charles Rolls met Henry Royce in his workshop where he had designed a car. Charles Rolls looked at the… Continue reading Trap of minimalist thinking
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Islam is about knowing Allah. Not just knowing about Allah. But knowing Allah at the deepest, most intimate level of our beings. Last week we spoke about the young Ibrahim asking Allah to show him how He brings the dead back alive. The purpose of the stories is to help us to realize the truth… Continue reading Obedience is the result of Yaqeen – part 2
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