First Sermon
All praise is due to Allāh: I praise Him, ask only Him for help, and ask Him alone for guidance and His mercy. I have faith in Him only. Do not disbelieve in Him, despise those who deny Him, and I bear witness that there is no lord but Allāh. He is alone; He has no equal and I bear witness that Muḥammad ﷺ is His servant and His Prophet whom Allāh sent for guidance, the true way, light, sincere advice and wisdom at a time when the delegation of prophets to this world had ceased, knowledge was meager, the majority had deviated from the straight path, time was at its end, the Day of Judgment was near and the world had fulfilled its time-frame.
Dear brothers and sisters in Islām! Last week we discuss the significance of the Hijrah of the Prophet. Today we shall be looking at some lessons to be derived from the Hijrah and see how it can reshape our lives on the path of righteousness. Over 1442 years have passed since our beloved Prophet (SAW) made his Hijrah (migration) from Makkah to Madīnah, yet it still provides us with many lessons for all different times and places. He (SAW) migrated and left behind his family and his home and everything he possessed for the sake of his religion and so that he could spread the message of Islām. He did not fear anything and he had no hesitation, because he trusted in Allāh and the promise of Allāh, and that Allāh would never disgrace him. Allāh says in Sūratu’l-Qaṣaṣ:
وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱستُضعِفُواْ فِي ٱلأَرضِ وَنَجعَلَهُم أَئِمَّة وَنَجعَلَهُمُ ٱلوَٰرِثِينَ
“And We wanted to confer favour upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them successors”. (Q. 28: 5)
Just as the Prophet (SAW) was given victory by Allāh (SWT), and his migration was the starting point for the truth to separate from falsehood, you are also promised victory if you perform Hijrah. But not a Hijrah from Makkah to Madīnah, or from one country to another, but rather you are promised victory over Shayṭān if you leave behind the places of sinning for the places of obedience and goodness.
The Messenger of Allāh (SAW) said: “The person who performs Hijrah is the one who leaves behind that which Allāh has forbidden”.
This is an ongoing hijrah where you are leaving behind the ḥarām actions you have been committing. You migrate with your heart from loving other than Allāh, to loving Allāh and his Messenger. You migrate from obeying your desires to obeying Allāh and his Messenger. You migrate from sins towards repentance and you make your whole life for Allāh.
As Allāh (SWT) tells us in Sūratu’l-An῾ām:
قُل إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلعَٰلَمِينَSay, ‘My prayers and sacrifice, my life and death, are all for Allāh, Lord of all the Worlds. (Q. 6: 162)
Dear brothers and sisters in Islām, a year has gone by, and just like there are many lessons for us in the Hijrah of the Prophet (SAW), there are many lessons for us in the year that has passed.
If you look back to the events of the past years, the days and the nights, the weeks and the months, then you would notice how quickly time is passing by. And what is scary is this time is never going to return. This portion of your life and your health is now gone. And you are closer to the end than you were yesterday. So beware of this Dunyā (worldly life) and its deception, as it has deceived many people before you. A case in point is the Covid-19 pandemic which caught us unaware and is still battling with us.
How many of our brothers and sisters, mother and fathers, friends and family have returned to their Lord in this past year. How many people who were delaying their good deeds, and delaying their repentance and delaying changing their lives were interrupted by their death. So learn from these lessons and make the most of your life, your health, your youth, your time and your wealth.
Allāh (SWT) said:
يَٰأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَلتَنظُر نَفس مَّا قَدَّمَت لِغَد وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرُ بِمَا تَعمَلُونَ
“O believers! Be mindful of Allāh and let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow. And fear Allāh, for certainly Allah is All-Aware of what you do”. (Q. 59: 18)
May Allāh direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Qur’ān and the Sunnah of His Messenger (SAW) and benefit us all in whatever is in them.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say this and ask Allāh for forgiveness for me and you, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
All praise is due to Allāh, the Lord of the Worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon ou¬¬r Master Muḥammad, his pure family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
O Believers! we remind you and remind ourselves that whenever you remember a sin you have committed, or mistake or shortcoming towards Allāh, then be positive and race to perform as much good as you can, as they purify the sins. And race towards a paradise that is greater than the whole universe, which has been prepared for the believers.
Beware of being negative, and drowning in regret for your sins, and then taking no action as a result. Make your regret a starting point for changing yourself and use it to motivate you to improve. Do not allow your regret to make you lose hope in the mercy of Allāh.
Allāh (swt) says in Sūratu’z-Zumar:
قُل يَٰعِبَادِيَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسرَفُواْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِم لَا تَقنَطُواْ مِن رَّحمَةِ ٱللَّهِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful”. (Q. 39: 53)
And in a Ḥadīth Qudsī, the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said:
O Son of Ādam, If your sins were to reach the skies, and then you asked me for forgiveness, I would forgive you and I would not mind.
O Allāh, please confer Your blessings and grant peace upon our Prophet Muḥammad (SAW), his family and all of the companions.
May Allāh be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī, and all of the noble Companions.
O Allāh, we seek Your grace to make us amongst those who remember you much and are steadfast on performing acts of worship. O Allāh, please forgive us all.
O Allāh, we seek refuge in Your perfect words from the evil of that which descend from the sky and from the evil of that which ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of that which comes out of it. O Allāh we seek refuge in You from the trials of the night and the day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good. Indeed, You are the Most Merciful.
Wriiten by Imam Dr. Mubin Olatoye Raji