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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين
نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونؤمن به ونتوكل عليه ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا من يهده الله فلا مضل له ومن يذلل فلا هدي له ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ونشهد أن محمد ﷺ رسول الله أرسل الله تعالى بالحق بشيره ونذيره دعيا لله بإذنه وصراجه منيره فعما بعد فقال تعالى يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ قَاتُوا فَاتِهُ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ وقال يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُسْلِحَ لَكُمْ عَمَلَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ظُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا وقال النبيون محمد ﷺ إِنَّ أَزْدَقُوا الْهَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرُ الْهَدِيهَ ذِي مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمُ وَشَرُّ الظُمُورِ مُهْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُهْدَثَةٍ بِدَعٍ وَكُلَّ مِدَعٍ ضَلَالَةٍ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّار
My dear brothers and sisters
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala the glorious and the magnificent the one and only other than whom there is nobody worthy of worship
ordered us and commanded us to be brothers and sisters to each other to live a life of harmony to live a life where we resolve conflicts
not by force but by reconciliation. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala created all human beings to be brothers and sisters, and He gave us Muslims a global mandate: to take goodness to all human beings no matter where they may be.
Allah ta’ala said, “You are the best of peoples extracted for the benefit of the people.” You promote good, you do good yourself, and you help others to do good. You stand up against oppression; you speak truth to power—all forms of good—and you forbid evil whatever that evil might be, whether it is personal or physical, such as drugs, alcohol, fornication, stealing, dishonesty, and corruption, or whether that evil is in discrimination. In Islam, there is no discrimination.
Rasulullah ﷺ delivered Khutbatul Wada, the khutbah of Hajj, where he said very clearly that there is no Arab who is superior to a non-Arab, nor is there any superiority based on race or color. He stated that the best of you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most pious, the one with the most *taqwa*. I remind myself and you to reflect on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala Himself and ask ourselves this question not because we don’t know the answer but to draw attention to something which should be self-evident: Who do we worship? We worship Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala jalla jalaluhu.
Who is Allah? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala introduced Himself to us. Reflect on the glory and mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. When you take somebody to introduce that person to someone who is higher in status—for example, if you are taking somebody to meet the president of South Africa—you will say to the president, “Your Excellency, may I present so-and-so?” You do not say to the person you took there, “This is the president.” You are supposed to know that; you do not introduce a person of higher status to a person of lower status. You do it the other way around. What do you say, however, about the glory, majesty, and mercy of our Rabb jalla jalaluhu who introduced Himself to us? We are His creatures, we are His slaves, we are His *ibad*.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said: “Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa, Al-Hayyu, Al-Qayyum… Madha alladhi yashfa’u bi izni ya’alamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum…”
Allahu Akbar! La ilaha illa Allah! And He described Himself as the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious, The King, The Pure, The Peaceful, The Faithful, The Everlasting, The Powerful, The Tremendous, The Supreme. Subhanallah! Amma yushrikul huwa allahu al-Khaliqu, Al-Bali, Al-Musabbiru! To Him belong the best names. He guides what is in the heavens and earth. He is the Mighty, the Wise. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim! Qul huwa Allah, Wa’adullah, As-Samad! Lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakul la’u kufu!
When we recite Ayat Kursi as part of our *Asghar* in the morning and evening, I remind myself: when you reflect on what we are reciting, reflect on the glory and majesty of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala so that our hearts are filled with the *khashyat* of Allah, with the awe and glory and majesty of Allah.
This Rabb, Jalla Jalaluhu, said to us: “Inna hazihi ummatukum ummatan wahida wa ana rabbukum fa’abudun.” Allah said verily and truly, this ummah of yours is one brotherhood, and I am your Lord, so worship Me. In the Arabic language, *ummah* also means mother. Allah said this brotherhood of yours, this brotherhood of faith, which transcends every other boundary—tribe, color, nationality—even family ties—is one brotherhood: the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. It is one brotherhood. And I am your Rabb. So therefore worship Me, and worship Me only, and do not join partners with Me.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said in another place: “Wa inna hazihi ummatukum umbatan wahida wa ana rabbukum fattaqun.” Verily and truly, this ummah of yours, this brotherhood of yours, is one brotherhood, and I am your Rabb, so have My *taqwa*. Fear displeasing Me. In every decision, in every speech, in every action of your life, ask one simple question: Does this please Allah? Whatever I am intending to do or speak, does this please Allah? If the answer is yes, it pleases Allah, and I know this for sure, then do it. If the answer is no, it does not please Allah, then don’t do it, no matter who else it pleases or what the pressure is. And if the answer is “I don’t know,” then do not do it until you find out, clarify, then decide whether to do it or not. This is the meaning of *taqwa*. *Taqwa* is to fear the displeasure of the One we love the most. It is not fear of Allah; you cannot fear Allah because none can approach Him. It is fearing to displease the One we love the most, because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said about the believers that they are those who love Allah more than anyone or anything else. So like we have in our human relationships, we never want to displease them—for example, parents. You don’t want to displease your mother or father, and you will go to all kinds of extents not to displease them.
So what should we be with Allah?
So this Rabb of ours, this Rabbul Jalal, who we worship and who we obey, He said to us: “Wa’itsimu bi-habli Allah jamee’an wa la tafarriqu.” Hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided! I want to draw your attention to this fact: Allah did not say “Do not have a difference of opinion.” He said “Do not become divided.” Do not make the difference of opinion something to build a wall between you and your brother. If I have a difference of opinion with you, therefore I will not pray behind you, so I will not come to your masjid, so I will not come to your home—you say *salam*, I will not say *wa-alaikum salam*—because I have a difference of opinion, this is haram, haram, and haram! Allah did not say “Do not have a difference of opinion”; of course you can have a difference of opinion; don’t allow that to become a division between you because you are one Ummah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said: “And remember that when you were enemies…” This refers to the times in Medina before Rasulullah s.a.w. came. There was internecine fighting between the tribes, and they had actually killed off all their elders. Allah said you were enemies to one another, killing each other. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala brought your hearts together. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala: “Draw us close, draw our hearts together!” And then Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said: “But by His favor you became brothers, and you were on the edge of a pit of fire.” It means that if you are not together, if you have internecine fighting, if you are dividing each other, you are on the edge of a pit of fire. You are on the edge of a pit of fire, and He Jalla Jalaluhu saved you from it. Thus does Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make clear to you His *ayats*: being together is a sign that we are Muslims. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded us and He said: “Innama al-mu’minuna ikhwatun fa-aslihu bayna akhawaykum.” Verily and truly, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala said the believers are brothers and sisters to one another. So if there is a difference, if there is a quarrel, if there is a fight, make reconciliation! Conciliate between the two.
In one hadith, Rasulullah s.a.w. said conciliating between brothers is more virtuous than *itikaf* in this Masjid—meaning *Nafil Itikaf*, not the Ramadan *Itikaf*. To draw together to conciliate between two people is more worthy of the reward of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, more virtuous than doing *Nafil Itikaf* in the Masjid of Nabawiya Sharif. I want to close with a very beautiful hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik radiyallahu anhu. He said that while Rasulullah s.a.w. was sitting among us, we suddenly saw him smile so much that we saw his beautiful teeth. Umar radiyallahu anhu who was there said, “Ya Rasulullah, you smile so beautifully; what is it? Why did you smile?” Rasulullah s.a.w. said, and Umar radiyallahu anhu used to say in the usual way: “May my mother and father be sacrificed on you. You smiled so beautifully; why did you smile?”
Rasulullah s.a.w. said two men from my Ummah knelt before the Rabb of all honor. Then one of them said to Him, Jalla Jalaluhu, “O my Rabb, take on my behalf my brother; take him to task, punish him for having oppressed me.” My brother oppressed me, so I am coming to You. I want justice; take him to task for this.
Allah s.w.t. said to him, “What will you do to the one who has no good deeds?” He said, “What do you want me to do to him? He has no good deeds!” So the one seeking retribution said, “Ya Rabb, give my evil deeds to him! Give my evil deeds to this brother of mine who oppressed me!” Rasulullah s.a.w. started weeping. He said, “That day will be a very hard day. That day will be a very hard day, and there will be everyone who will want someone to take him and someone else to carry his evil deeds for him.” But Allah said, “La Taziru Waziratan Bisra Ukhara”—nobody will carry anybody’s good deeds, nobody will carry anybody’s evil deeds. And then Nabi s.a.w. said Allah s.w.t. said to the one who was seeking retribution: “Look up.” And he looked up. And he said, “My Rabb, I see cities and castles of gold, and I see cities and castles ornamented with pearls. Which prophet is this for? Which Siddique? Which Martyr? Which Shaheed?” Allah s.w.t. responded and He said, “This is not for any prophet or Siddique or Shaheed; this is for the one who paid its price.” This is for the one who paid its price. The man seeking retribution said, “Ya Rabb, who has the amount to pay for this? Who can pay for this?” Allah s.w.t. said, “You have it! You can pay for it!” The man said, “Me? I have nothing!” Allah s.w.t. says to him, “No, you have it!” He said, “Ya Rabb, what is it?” Allah s.w.t. said, “Forgive your brother!”
Allah s.w.t. said, “Forgive your brother!”
The man said, “Ya Rabb, I have forgiven him! ” Allah s.w.t. says then take his hand and enter him into Jannah! But this—both of you go to Jannah! Take his hand and enter him into Jannah! Rasulullah s.a.w. said at this point: “Ittaq Allah, fear Allah, and reconcile between yourselves! Reconcile between yourselves, for indeed Allah s.w.t. loves reconciliation so much that He will reconcile between the people on the Day of Judgment.”
My brothers and sisters, I ask Allah s.w.t. to help us to keep our hearts together. I ask Allah s.w.t. to help us to keep our hearts together so that we can reconcile, so that we can reconcile with each other. Remember whatever you are holding against your brother in this life is not worth losing that Jannah. So forgive your brother; whatever it is, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, whatever it is, forgive your brother, brother, forgive your sister. Do it now. Make the *niya* now and make *dua* to Allah and say, “Allah, I have forgiven so-and-so.” And I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, like He gave Jannah to that person, may Allah give Jannah to you.
Do it now. Forgive the person. Say, “Allah, I have forgiven.” Khalas.
I heard the beautiful hadith of your Rasul alayhi salatu wasalam. The respect for the Rasul is to obey the Rasul. It’s not only in making *salaam* and making *durood*; it is to obey the Rasul alayhi salatu wasalam.
So obey the Rasul alayhi salatu wasalam. Forgive whoever it is, whatever the reason; it is not worth losing Jannah. And if you make that *niya* now and you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala for it, it is between you and Allah. Then I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, Ya Rabb, you made me tell them this hadith. If they have forgiven whoever it is that they were holding grudges against, Ya Rabb, give them Jannah.
Ameen, Ya Rabb.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.