Transcription
[Music] Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. [Music] You meet m. [Music] Subhanahu wa ta'ala. All praises are due to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Him and we glorify Him on this blessed day of J, in this special month of Rab, the month of the celebration and the commemoration of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And in reality, the celebration of Islam, because the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is the greatest and the most potent symbol of Islam. There is nothing greater as a symbol representing Islam than the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. We mentioned in the month of Safar, as we welcome then the month of Rab, we mention it every night. [Music] We would have mid-program here at the Masjid in the month of Rab, in honor of the Prophet s. wasallam. And I want today in our to mention some of the great benefits of the mid. Many of the Great Scholars of Islam have said that the majus of mid is the greatest gathering Muslims can be part of. And [Music] firstly, it is an expression of thanks to Allah for the ni'mat that He has bestowed upon us. The majus gathering does this. There is hamd, or praise of Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals in the Quran: And as for the ni'mat, the bounties and blessings from Allah, then mention it, talk about it, express thanks for it. And talking about the blessings you have in your life, in a good way, is an expression of [Music] gratitude. For example, Allah has given you the ability to say the statement: "Allah has blessed me with good health." It is a recognition that this ni'mat, this blessing, comes from Allah, the source of the blessing. It is Allah. Many times in our life, we don't, or some people don't, recognize the source of the blessings in their life. Sometimes they attribute the things they get in their life, the progress in their life, the good things in their life, to themselves, to their efforts. But really and truly, ultimately, it is a blessing from Allah. Everything we have in our life. So a recognition of that, and therefore we express thanks for the ni'mat, or the bounty that Allah has bestowed upon us in our lives. This is human nature. Human beings do this. You get some gift in your life, you get some good thing in your life, you're happy about it, and you want to express thanks to, for example, the person who gave you that. You're looking for a job, a job, and you need a job desperately, and someone helps you to get a job. You're thankful to that person because they helped you, and ultimately, the thanks is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the mid is his expression of thanks for the ni'mat from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Secondly, we must also recognize that the greatest blessing and bounty in our life is the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. This is something that we need to remind ourselves of and fill our hearts with. This—the greatest bounty in our lives is the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. It is immeasurable, the magnitude of this bounty from Allah that comes to us in the form of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Really, He is the one who shows us the way for salvation in the dunya and in the akhirah. If it wasn't for the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, how would we know to worship Allah? And their people, their people, other people, other civilizations, religions who do all kinds of strange things because they've not been guided. They don't follow a guidance that comes to them from Allah, and therefore they want to decide for themselves how to worship Allah, and they do all kinds of strange things. One of my sheikhs, one of my teachers, he mentioned this story to me once, many years ago. He said he attended an interreligious conference once in another country. People from different religions, leaders of different religions were there. So he was in the hotel for this conference, and a non-Muslim, another scholar of that—his religion was there—they were sharing the room together. And he got up early in the morning for fajr, and he saw that this roommate who was sharing the room there in the hotel, he—he was already up, and he was sitting down on the ground, and he had a small bell in front of him, and he was shaking this bell and meditating. So the Sheikh prayed fajr, and then, late in the morning, at breakfast, he asked him what he was doing. He said he was praying to God. That is how he does it. Their culture has developed, developed. And I wouldn't mention the religion or nothing because I don't want to point fingers at anyone or any religion. That's not the point. But the point is, if you are not in receipt of guidance from Allah, if you don't get guidance from Allah, you will not be guided. Last night, in here in the Masjid, I was teaching the students from the Aqeedah text, and we mentioned the same point: Whomever Allah guides, that is the person who's guided. It's a point of Aqeedah. And whoever Allah does not guide will never find guidance. So people do all kinds of strange things in the name of worshipping their Divine being, whoever that is that they believe in. If you go to Danforth, Toronto, in the summertime, young and bl—uh, you—you would see people, sometimes you see them dressed in white robes, their—their heads are shaved, and they have a piece of hair at the top of their head remaining there, uh, and—and they—they're hitting two pieces of medals together and chanting some phrases. Say that's their worship of the Divine being they believe in. That's their worship. SubhanAllah. When you look at what other people do, then you realize the great bounty that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is for us. We got up this morning, and we knew what we had to do for fajr. We know today is Friday, where we have to be for Juma'at time. We know what we have to do. We know what we have to do. We know when we get up to eat, or when we're eating, how we—what—what hand we have to use to eat. You—you go and meet other people, and you see something different. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam says, "Eat with your right hand." That's the guidance He gave you. He said, "Don't eat with your left hand." Shame, eat with his left hand. You go with other people in other cultures, and you see what they do. You eat it with your right hand; they look at you as if you're strange because they eat with the left hand. But look at the guidance from the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. These are simple examples I'm sharing with you, but so you understand the great bounty and blessing of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam in our lives. If He didn't give us this, how would we get it? Where would we know it from? All the details in our life, guided to Allah because we follow the Prophet s. [Music] wasallam. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is the greatest ni'mat from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that's what we talk about in the mid. This mid-gathering that talks about the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. You're reminded—the mid is perhaps the most effective way of learning and of being reminded about the sirah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Because one of the things we do in the majus is to recite poetry. Recite poetry at the mid reminds you about the sirah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. One of the things, one of the popular poems that we recite—so I explain to those who are present—this is the song, the poem, or the poetry that the people of Medina recited when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam came from Mecca to Medina on Hijrah. When he did Hijrah from Mecca to Medina, he arrived in Medina. The people of Medina came out of Medina, on the outskirts, and they stood up in lines and rows to welcome the Prophet. "The bright, shining moon has come upon us." And this is the symbol in Islamic poetry to show, to—to indicate or denote something or someone that's very beautiful. The—as opposed to there are different words in the Arabic language for moon and the different phases of the moon—the hilal, for example, at the beginning phase, and so on—but badru is this symbol of love and beauty. So one of the Sahaba said, "San'a, I looked to the Prophet's face. I looked to the Moon that was shining that night, so beautiful. And I kept looking to the face of the Prophet and the beautiful Moon, and then I concluded, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is more beautiful than that beautiful Moon." So in the mid, when we recite this, everyone is reminded about the sirah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and about what the Sahaba did. And not only in this occasion—in the Hadith it's mentioned, in the sirah it's mentioned—when—when—when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam came to Medina on Hijrah, the Muslims, they welcomed him. He never stopped them from doing that. He never told them, "It's bad." Never told them that. He encouraged them to do it. He encouraged them to do this. This is the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. When he came back from Ghazwat Tabuk, also it's mentioned when they came back from the expedition, and he arrived in Medina once again—more Muslims now because more Sahaba are there now—they all came out. The people of Medina came out to welcome the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, and they also recited [Music] So refers to a mountain range on the outskirts of Medina, and through that mountain range runs the—the—the path where the road from Mecca to Medina—anyone coming from Mecca to Medina will go, come through those roads, through the mountain ridge, a huge mountain range which is still there in Medina now. You go, you see it. It is incumbent upon us, it is wajib upon us, to express thanks and gratitude, because the one, the one who comes and calls us to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the one who's inviting us to Allah, the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, it's incumbent upon us to express, express, express thanks to Allah. So this is what happens in the mid. The knowledge is transferred, and this is one of the ways in which Islamic sciences, Islamic knowledge is transferred—through poetry. In all the different sciences of Islam, they're what are called mutun. Mutun that summarizes or codifies that knowledge, that science. And this is how you would transfer knowledge. You want to do Arabic grammar, the Arabic language—when we would study that, the teacher, the Sheikh, would let you memorize the Alfiyyah of Imam Malik. Alfiyyah means "of two thousand"—lines of poetry that contains all the rules of Arabic grammar. You memorize it, and then the Sheikh explains to you what it means, and that knowledge remains with you for the rest of your life. It's a very effective system of Tajwid. Tajwid, recitation of Quran, lines of poetry that tells you the rules of Tajwid of [Music] Hadith. This is the way of—this is our tradition. Poetry is an integral part of our tradition. It is not bad, and those who say it is, they are destroying Islam from within. Be mindful about this, and be mindful of them. So the mid has this great benefit as well—transferring knowledge to you. SubhanAllah. In places like the city of Fez in Morocco, in the Qaraouiyine, which is the second oldest university in Islam after Al-Azhar Sharif, built by a Muslim woman, they have practiced their mid every day, and part of that mid, they recite Quran. And they have a practice: they recite one juz' of the Quran every day. So by the end of the month, they finish the recitation of the Quran. If the month has 29 days, they'll do two juz' finally to do the—if the month has 30 days, one juz' in the final day to do the mid. And their children, as young as 10 years old, who would attend that mid from when they're babies and young children, growing up, 3, 4, 5 years, and by 10 years old, they would memorize the entire Quran without going to a high school, just by being there every day, listening to it every day, every day. They grow up in that culture; they memorize the Quran. This is the benefit of the mid, that it instills in us an amazing culture, an amazing heritage that we should have. And this is why the scholars have said the mid is the greatest gathering you can be in. Support it. Let your family be part of it. Let your children especially come out and be part of it, so that they can grow up in this culture, in the culture of mid, love of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Love of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says [Music]: "If you love Allah"—in this rhetorical question, it's not that you, the believer, has an option not to love Allah. We love Allah, but it is to draw our attention to it—"You love Allah, how do you express your love for Allah?" Love and follow the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Love and follow the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Allah will love you then. When you love the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, Allah will love you. SubhanAllah. And when you love the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, Allah will forgive you your sins. SubhanAllah. Look at the great benefit of loving the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And when—when you truly love the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, you are propelled, you are inspired to live his Sunnah in your lives. And so today I want to tell you, love the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Love Him and love His Sunnah. And the mid is the vehicle towards achieving this noble objective. May Allah bless us with—with love of the Prophet and with—with love for the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Alhamdulillah. [Music]
Continuing with our nightly mid uh program for the events of Rabil Awwal. Tomorrow night, Saturday night, we have a special uh mid starting from 6:00 p.m. I want to encourage you to come out, uh, bring your family, especially your children, so that they can be part of this noble gathering, majus, inshallah. There are some important events that we are planning, coming up soon. I want to uh share this information today with you, so hopefully you can plan your time to attend and participate. On Sunday, February the 2nd, uh, we are having a special sacred knowledge seminar. This is a one-day intensive seminar from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, February 2nd, and the theme of this seminar is "A Matter of Life and Death." Uh, so in this seminar, many important practical things will be discussed, uh, including the conditions—during illness, before death, during death, after death—what you should do or you should say. How, if anyone in your family passes away, what do you do? What do you recite? How do you prepare them immediately after that uh for—for burial, for Janaza. The ghusl that has to be done on the body, how it's done—we'll have demonstrations for both males and females, two separate sessions during the seminar to show you how to do that. How to wrap the body with a kaffan, uh, how to do the burial of the uh Muslim deceased. What to say when you're lowering the body in the grave, when the body is in the grave after, and so on. What to recite after you finish covering the grave, uh, what do you do after? What about the—the—the—the journey of the soul in the barzakh? What happens in the barzakh? The life of the grave. What happens at Resurrection? What happens at uh—and thereafter. So many important things will be discussed. I want to encourage you to register today with the volunteers in the back, inshallah, for the—the special sacred knowledge seminar, the intensive one-day program, inshallah, on February—January—February the 2nd, inshallah. We need some sponsors to support this program, and we've divided the sponsorship into shares of $50. Please make a pledge today to sponsor this program. The second item: the following week, the 9th of February, Sunday as well, uh, we're having a special Milad program here featuring Sayyid Fudain Suari, uh, who is from Pakistan, and he is uh a very famous naat khawan, reciter of naats and kasidas. He'll be here and other speakers as well. Um, so we want to invite you to reserve that date—that's the 9th of February, Sunday—uh, for this special program, in coordination with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and the Islamic Forum of Canada. So February the 9th, inshallah, at 5:00 p.m. Uh, and the following Sunday, 16th of February—that weekend is the Family Day weekend here in Ontario—so on that Sunday we're having our annual usra that we have every year, the special family program. Uh, tickets are available today. Please get the tickets uh from Brother Usman and C. Raman and the other volunteers, inshallah. Um, and we also need sponsors for the expenses of this program. We've divided that into $50 each. We hope you can make a pledge of one or more shares today, inshallah. The Salat project continues. Remember to recite your salawat for the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. I announced the Sunnah project today. Try to implement at least one Sunnah in—in your lives, inshallah, by next Friday. And every week we can introduce a new Sunnah, implement a new Sunnah in our lives because of our love of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Uh, our TV program tomorrow, 3:30 on Channel 9. Islamic school, 10:30 tomorrow morning. Tonight we have the special Quran classes uh for adults, the adult program for all of you, inshallah. Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uh, starts at 7:00 p.m. every Friday evening, the Quran classes to teach you to read Quran, memorize Quran, Tajwid of Quran, Tafsir of Quran, and other Quranic sciences, inshallah. Um, we have requests for dua. Um, my father, Brother Ali Baku, was here every week at the bookstore; uh, he's ill. He—he had to be rushed to emergency two days ago. Um, so please make dua for him. We'll make dua for him. If you can call him or visit him, that would be good, inshallah. Uh, Sister Aisha, 11 years old, uh, passed away this week um in Trinidad. We make dua for her, inshallah. Uh, Sheikh Kabir, who's here today, we want to make special dua for him. He's leaving uh in a few hours to go for Umrah, uh, and he decided to come here and pray Juma'a with us, and then he'll leave from here to go to the airport for his flight to—to go for Umrah. We make special dua for him and request him to make special dua for us as well. And we make special dua for Qazi Bashir Sahab, who's here with us today. May Allah bless him with good health and long life, inshallah. Please remember to visit the donation boxes before you leave today, so you can respond to the appeals that we've mentioned. May Allah bless you. I for know.