ICICE AN-NOOR KHUTBAH FOR FRIDAY 27/12/2019

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME IN THE LIFE OF A MUSLIM

[Verily] all praise is for Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our souls [and from our bad deeds]. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that no deity deserves worship but Allaah, [alone and without any partner] and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

{{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ، وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ} [آل عمران: 102] }} 

(O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allaah.) [Aal ‘Imraan 3:102],

{{ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا} [النساء: 1] }}

(O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him, He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship) Surely, Allaah is Ever an All-Watcher over you). [al-Nisaa’ 4:1],

{{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ، وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا } [الأحزاب: 70-71] }}

(O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth). He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (SAW) he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). [al-Ahzaab 33:70-71].

To proceed, O Muslims! Fear Allah and remember that Allah sees and know what you do. Know that the tickling of the clock and movement of night and day are not for amusement and merry chase. Surely there is a reason for all of these. Time in Islam is of great importance that is why Allah swore by time at the beginning of some surahs in the Qur’an to stress its importance. Allah The Most High Says: By the sun and its brightness (1) And [by] the moon when it follows it (2) And [by] the night when it covers it (3). Allah the Exalted says: “By Time”, “Surely man is in loss,” and 1. “By the Glorious Morning Light,”

2. “And by the Night when it is still, We must know that Allah has the power to swear by any of His creation. As for His creations, it is not permissible to swear by other than Allah. If Allah swears by any of His creations, it shows the importance and greatness of that creation

The Sunnah also affirmed the value of time, and emphasized that a person would be asked about his lifetime and youth, how did he spend it?, on the authority of Mu’adh ibn Jabal reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four matters: his lifetime and how he used it, his youth and how he exhausted it, his wealth and how he earned it and spent it, and his knowledge and how he acted upon it.”

And the youth of man is a segment of his life, and thus The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, praised the young man who grew up in the worship of Allah, and invested his youth’s period in obedience. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, counted him one of the seven who will remain in the shadow of Allah in the day when there is no shadow except His shadow, and he mentioned among them a young man who grew up In worshipping Allah.

Therefore, Muslims must invest their lives, long or short, in obedience to Allah, benefiting people and serving them. Longevity: is a great blessing if a Muslim invests it. Thus, the Prophet praised those who lived long and had put forth righteous deeds. Abu Bakrah reported: A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, which of the people are best?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “One whose life is long and his deeds are good.” The man said, “Which of the people are worst?” The Prophet said, “One whose life is long and his deeds are evil.” Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2330. The greatest hope of Man is to live long. He yarns and seeks for it, and that is why the devil – may Allah curse him – was able to deceive Adam, peace be upon him, and Allah The Almighty said: Then Shaytaan (Satan) whispered to him, saying: ‘O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?’ Verily man desires two things, longevity, power or money that will not end. So, Adam, peace be upon him, was encouraged and ate from the tree that Allah forbids him, and he disobeyed Allah.

It is also mandatory that everyone invest his/her life in righteous deeds that its rewards continue even after death. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘”Whosoever introduces a good practise in Islam, there is for him its reward and the reward of those who act upon it after him without anything being diminished from their rewards. And whosoever introduces an evil practice in Islam, will shoulder its sin and the sins of all those who will act upon it, without diminishing in any way their burden”

[Muslim].

O believers, Allah had guided us to the right path. The path in which the chosen ones followed, the Prophets, the ones constantly sincere, the martyrs, and the righteous. Islam came to reaffirm this path and to distinguish it from other religions and their traditions. The doctrine of Islam supersedes other doctrines and overrides them. Allah says: ‘Then we put you, (O Muhammad), on an ordained way concerning the matter (of religion); so, follow it and do not follow the inclination of those who do not know. (18)

How can a Muslim who prays and invokes Allah in his salaah asking for His guidance and mercy join the disbelievers to celebrate their festival or imitate them in their religion? Why do you seek for their pleasure in the expenses Allah’s pleasure? Verily Allah forbid us from tilting to the oppressors and those who turn away from the right path so that we will not be punished as they were punished. Allah say: ‘And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped.’

O Muslims, if New Year is approaching, you see people preparing for it by buying of gifts, Halal and Haram food and drinks, many people spend the whole night rejoicing, exchanging gifts, congratulating one another, holding parties here and there, decorating their houses with electric lights, pictures and greeting cards.

O Muslims: These are all forbidden and delusions. It is prohibited by the Sharia, and Islamic scholars of all the school of taught have warned people from this, and they all gave verdicts that it is prohibited because it is imitating the disbelievers, Allah says: ‘and do not follow the inclinations of people who had gone astray before and misled many and have strayed from the soundness of the way.”

” the messenger of Allah May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him says: “He who resembles some people is one of them.”

Muslims must boycott these evils, stay away from them, and not celebrate the New Year day, but rather consider it an ordinary day like other days because it is not one of the festivals of Muslims. Therefore, children, family and neighbours should be urged to stay away from everything that is committed in it and highlight its negatives and harms on the religion, ethics and our lives.

Finally

• Muslims are advised to be conscious of Allah and remember that Allah sees and know what we do. 
• A believer should not waste precious time on things that will not bring him closer to his Creator.
• Muslims are enjoined to invest their time in obedience to Allah, benefiting others and serving them.
• Human development is part of ‘saqatun jariyah’ how?
• Parents are advised to concentrate more on the ‘Tabiyah’ of their children, so they can pray for them after their death.
• Muslims are advised to shun New Year Celebration because it is part of our religion.