أَطِيعُوا اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرّسُولَ

And obey Allāh and obey the Messenger. 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ.

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Dear Brothers and Sisters …                                     السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ  

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam.

Recently the month of Rajab concluded and it is from the sacred months. And today we are well into the month of Shabaan and then afterwards we will enter into the blessed month of Ramadan. And between the sacred month and the blessed month is a month that people are inattentive to. And perhaps they slacken in worship in the month of Shabaan.

And there is a deed authenticated from the Prophet ﷺ in the month of Shabaan and that is to fast most of it as I explained in my previous sermon “Virtues of Shaaban”. And people, of past and present, introduced new practices that are not found in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Brothers & Sisters When we reflect on the biography of the Prophet ﷺ we realize that he set the highest example for his community in all matters. Allah Almighty made it the excellent role model that each Muslim must follow. For Allah Almighty said:

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

Al Ahzab 33:21. There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allāh an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allāh and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allāh often.

Allah took an oath that his Prophet ﷺ , in all his affairs, is on the straight path. Allah Almighty said:

يس * وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ * إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ * عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

Ya-sin (36) 1-4: (1) Yā, Seen. (2) By the wise Qur’ān, (3) Indeed you, [O Muḥammad], are from among the messengers, (4) On a straight path.

And Allah Almighty said:

إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُبِينًا * لِيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا

Al Fath (48) 1-2: (1) Indeed, We have given you, [O Muḥammad], a clear conquest (2) That Allāh may forgive for you what preceded of your sin [i.e., errors] and what will follow and complete His favor upon you and guide you to a straight path

So Allah Almighty’s description of His Prophet Mohammad ﷺ being on the straight path, is a comprehensive description of good and noble qualities. And it is a testimony from Allah Almighty that His Messenger ﷺ is absolved from defects and shortcomings.

And when the believer hears about the guidance of the noble Prophet ﷺ and his authentic sunnah, they are keen to pursue it to attain good deeds and triumph with the reward. And whoever is not eager for that, and does not perform the Sunnah, misses out on the reward.

As it is a calamity to be indifferent to the Sunnah and turn away from it and to neglect acting on it and to fall short in it while, at the same time, holding tight to and magnifying the innovated matters having no basis in the religion of Allah Almighty or guidance of His Prophet ﷺ.

Such a person’s condition is terrifying due to them turning away from the sunnah and not desiring it along with their intense desire for the newly invented matters that have no basis in Allah’s religion. And when the Prophet ﷺ delivered a khutbah he would say:

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ

To proceed, the best speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ, the worst matter is the introduction of new practices in Islam and every Bid’ah is a misguidance. [Muslim 867]

Allah Almighty linked His Name and obedience to Him with obedience to our Prophet ﷺ in more than 25 places in His Book. Allah Almighty said:

أَطِيعُوا اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرّسُولَ

Al Maidah (5) 92: And obey Allāh and obey the Messenger.

And Allah Almighty said:

وَأَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ

Al Anfaal (8) 1: And obey Allāh and His Messenger

And Allah Almighty said:

وَمَن يُطِعِ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ

An Nisaa (4) 13: And whoever obeys Allāh and His Messenger.

Allah Almighty even made following the Messenger ﷺ a sign of obeying, following and loving Him the Almighty. Allah Almighty said upon the tongue of His Prophet ﷺ:

فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ

Al Imran 31: If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful. 

And among what one following the example of the Prophet ﷺ attains is the aim of every Muslim; triumphing with paradise, which is promised by the Lord of the worlds and is the reward of those conscious of Allah. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

كُلُّ أُمَّتِي يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَبَى. قِيلَ: وَمَنْ أَبَى  قَالَ: مَنْ أَطَاعَنِي دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فقد أَبى

Every one of my Ummah will enter Paradise except those who refuse. He was asked: Who will refuse? He (ﷺ) said, Whoever obeys me, shall enter Paradise, and whosoever disobeys me, refuses to (enter Paradise). [Bukhari 7280]

So let us be conscious of Allah and adhere to the sunnah and beware of the innovations and newly introduced matters in religion in spite of the ignorant promoting them. And the Prophet’s disavowing those who turn away from his sunnah, his guidance and his way is sufficient for any rational believer to hate innovations in religion and those practicing them and to avoid them. The Prophet ﷺ said:

فَمَن رَغِبَ عَن سُنَّتِي فَلَيسَ مِنِّي-رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيُّ وَمُسلِمٌ

Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me. [Bukhari 5063, Muslim 1401]

So let us strive within ourselves to follow the example of our Prophet ﷺ and make all our affairs upon his Sunnah.  And let us make the effort and expend energy to perform deeds according to his guidance and learn his blessed biography to follow his way. Allah Almighty said:

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

Al Imran (3) 31: Say, [O Muḥammad], “If you should love Allāh, then follow me, [so] Allāh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.”

And let us hold on to what the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were upon. For whoever opposes them has lost and strayed from the right way. Allah Almighty said:

An Nisa (4) 115: And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers – We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.

We ask Allah Almighty to make us among those who adhere to the sunnah of His beloved Prophet and make the most of the month of Shaaban. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our Prophet as your Lord commanded:

Allahumma Sallai Al’a Muahmmad’n wa’aila Muhammad

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

For Any further Information please contact me at info@irlammosque.org.

Imam Mahboob Rasool