Norwich 21st May 2021
La ilaha illa Allahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir.
La ilaha ila Allah. There is nothing in existence worthy of being worshipped or submitting to other than Allah, that is, that any worship that is directed to anything other than Allah is misplaced, and merits response. Recall, that ‘jinn and men were only created to worship Him, subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Wahdahu la sharika lahu. Alone and without partner. He has no assistance in His Lordship and all outcomes are His.
Lahul Mulku wa lahul Hamd. The Kingdom, everything in existence belongs to Him and all Praise is His by right and reality.
Wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. And He has power over everything, without exception. This is not potential power but actual dominance over everything that exists and everything that happens.
This is the reality that everyone and everything exists within, from the first coming into existence of the universe until its end, and there is no escaping it. All that is happening, happened and yet to come, is His plan, will, and by His command. Everything seen as separate from this is an illusion or delusion. Every breath, thought, movement of any limb, particle of dust in the air, only has meaning in relation to Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala.
He, subhanahu wa ta’ala, in His mercy and compassion sent messengers throughout time to inform men and jinn how to respond to this reality through their own metaphorical existence, until He sent sayyidina Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim, whose message is the only comprehensive and authentic guidance until the end of time. It is the Book of Allah, necessarily accompanied by the life and example of the Best of creation among his companions and their inheritors.
This is not news to you, we all know it to one degree or another, but nowhere on the planet is there a place that we could recognise as a place of the Deen like Madinah al-Munawwara, offering clear leadership according to the Book and Sunnah, a community based upon worship of Allah and justice among men.
If you just look out from yourself for a moment, you will see we exist in a sea of Kufr. The world is moved and shaped by the lowest aspects of the Nafs al-amara bi su’. Greed, envy, licentiousness, cruelty, injustice and more, with riba the most extensive and destructive rebellion against Allah and humanity.
Throughout history men and jinn have destroyed themselves by following their own paltry desires, and even after following Allah’s messengers and prophets, revert to their animal selves, egged on by the arrogant and cursed Shaytan, Allah protect us from this enemy and our own capricious selves.
We are just another grouping of humans and jinn with our own form, extent and details, but the essence does not change. There are people who hear and obey the message from Allah and those who ignore or reject it. We are the people who follow the ultimate prophet, Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim, the excellent embodiment of Allah’s will and teaching through His noble Book. These two, Qur’an and Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim, are the only guidance or science any man or woman needs, because sincere worship and obedience lead to knowledge of the One worshipped, and the understanding of our brief existence in relation to eternity.
Islam is for the living. Those who have gone before us, including the best community that ever existed, are no longer here in body, but their existence echoes through our emulation of their sublime example. The establishment of Salat, the payment of Zakah, the blessed fast and the obligatory visit to Allah’s house, have to be done by us. If we don’t do it, who will? It is our time to establish what was put in place by the Rasulullah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim, and his noble companions and those who followed them in Madinah al-Munawwarah. Islam of its nature and construction is social; its reality emerges in the civic environment that enables interaction among people seeking to please Allah and avoid His punishment. This is critical in a society, as exemplified by Madinah al-Munawwara, because there, people competed with each other, not to get the better of the other, or the best for themselves, but to help those around them with no expectation other than from Allah.
What is an essential part of Islam is personal leadership and a community connected to, and obedient to it. One man, acceptable to those around him, must take on the responsibility of ensuring, to the best of his ability, that the Book and Sunnah are established among those under his authority, with the help of his Fuqaha. A man who has no leader will follow and obey himself, with Shaytan right next to him.
The dominant form of governance today, Democracy/Socialism is Kufr and neither democratic nor socialist, governed by money and supported by the religion, the belief system, of Science. As with Christianity before it, its rituals and dogma are being forced upon us, in the name of facts and expert opinion, but nowhere is the Creator mentioned, or the one inescapable truth of His sublime and majestic existence. They tell us that steam is created by applying heat to water. This is a lie, or at best a misrepresentation. It is Allah who creates steam. If you believe the lie, you will be committing the worst evil that man can do, shirk! Allah rules the universe from within the universe! Where was the fact that fire burns when sayyidina Ibrahim, alayhi sallim, was thrown into it, or is that just a story? A’udhu billahi min dhalik.
It is ironic that what people call science today comes from ancient Muslims, who armed with a pure Tawhid were able to take from the Greeks and pursue knowledge always in harmony with remembrance of Allah. The Kuffar of Europe are like the Samiri, who took dust from the footsteps of sayyidina Musa, alayhi wa sallim, and tricked the Bani Isra’il, into worshipping the golden calf. These Kuffar have taken this knowledge, without connecting it to the Divine and fooled people into thinking it is the truth. Modern science is the lowing of the cow, just a trick, with an element of reality to it. The Muslim scholars and scientists proceeded from the Book of Allah and with that deep understanding of existence were able to verify for themselves some aspects of how Allah does things in the Universe.
This last year has clearly demonstrated how the so-called scientists are like the sorcerers of Fir’aun, working for their masters, weaving their magic with false numbers, graphs and daily updates, scaring people into believing that ropes are snakes. We don’t believe them for a moment; We believe in Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, and His Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim. What is coming we cannot stop and what is not coming we cannot produce, this is not our concern. Allah has informed us what our true concerns are, and what we are commanded to do. Our prophet, sallallahu alayhi was sallim, taught us to pray and made clear that our lines should be straight and shoulder-to-shoulder, so that Shaytan does not come between us. Where does it say we should remain two metres apart? There will be more shayateen than Muslims in the mosque. It is makruh, disliked, to cover the face in salat and although it does not invalidate your prayer, why would you want to incur the displeasure of Allah in favour of obeying the Kuffar? It is distressing to see Muslims all over the world, and especially in the Haramain, praying in a manner unrecognisable to us. Another demonstration of the lack of informed leadership within the Ummah. Muslims are the ones Allah has charged with obeying Him and calling others to obey Him; it can only be done by them. Now is the time to be distinct from the Kuffar, not like them; distinct as a torch is to the darkness. Show them the form of your Islam, the light of your Iman and the perfection of your Ihsan and, as has happened for fourteen hundred years, they will flock to Allah. Do you doubt it? As the modern world descends ever further into darkness and injustice, all we as Muslims have to do is obey Allah and His Rasul. All results and outcomes are with Allah; we will only be asked about what we did with the life He gave us, subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Why do we say, bismillah and alhamdulillah before and after eating? It is not a ritual, it is a reminder that Allah is ar-Razzaq, and our needs have been met by Him. If you stop with, ‘this food and drink have nourished me’, you are in serious trouble. You have forgotten Allah.
Everything about your existence, your self, your family, your occupation, your wealth or poverty, your proclivities and aversions, your upbringing, country of origin, stage of life, masculinity or femininity, your joys and difficulties are all from Allah from the moment you came into being until your last breath, in order that you worship and know Him, subhanahu wa ta’ala, and if you have been doing that all your life, if Allah has willed that for you, you may die affirming His Oneness and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallim, delivered His message, Do you see?
A great man once said, “If you know why you are here, you know everything”.
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Second Khutbah
Critical to understanding our being here is that you are part of an Ummah, a community, which suggests a single entity. You come in and go out alone, but while here, your destiny is tied to others, clearly because you are close to, and interact with, your immediate neighbours, but remember also, what the Rasulullah told us about the pain of the Mumin in the city being felt by the Mumin in the countryside. It pains us to hear about the crimes being perpetrated upon Muslims all over the world, by Kuffar and Muslims alike, but what do we do about it? As at all times, obey Allah and His Rasul! Back to the foundations; your self, your family, your neighbours, your community. Your behaviour affects all these elements, and the behaviour that is informed by Taqwa of Allah is that ‘amal that is salih, that is the action that pleases Allah in any given circumstance, being the appropriate one, demonstrating His presence. “The best of you are those who when seen remind others of Allah”.
| إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ |
Certainly, Allah will not change what is with a people until they change what is in themselves.
This informs us that Allah is the Changer, but He, subhanahu wa ta’ala, has enabled us to change ourselves, and by that token we change our community. If you live by the knowledge that Allah has already given you, He will give you more. He will show you your next move, He will clarify what you can do with what you already have. He will bring you what you need, personally and as a community.
Whatever circumstance you are in, you always have du’a. If you live your life obeying Allah with sincerity, He, subhanahu wa ta’ala, is the Near who hears the call of those who call on Him. That is the call from the heart of one in need, and even more so from those oppressed; far more powerful than rockets and bombs. If you want a tried and tested weapon against oppression turn to the du’a of Shaykh ibn Nasir, with sincerity and expectation of Allah.
The greatest example is Madinah al-Munawwarah, and those great generations, were people of preference. They preferred others before themselves because all their expectations were turned towards Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Allahumma, Ya Allah. We ask you for the best of blessings on our Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi, strengthen his health and prolong his life.
Bless and protect our Amir Abdalhakim and help him with good counsel and men of action and bless those who obey and help him. Bless all the Muslims of Norwich, fill our hearts with what is pleasing to You and Your Rasul, and make us lights for the people of this city.
Have mercy and protect the Ummah of the Rasul, raise it up over the Kuffar, protect it from the Munafiqin and frustrate Shaytan by its reliance upon You, Ya Allah.
Ya Allah help the weak, poor and oppressed by the strong, wealthy and independent, and help those in poor health and make their difficulties and pain a means of Your mercy, forgiveness and pardon.
Allah forgive us, pardon us and grant us a glimpse of Your turning towards mankind with Your help and victory.
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