A Qur'anic Odyssey: Examining the Imams in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed and Examining Ourselves

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

A Qur’anic Odyssey: Examining the Imams in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed and Examining Ourselves

Khatīb: Jibrīl Abdul-Hafīz (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, January 23, 2009 / Khutba-tul-Jumu’ah, Al-Muharram 26, 1430

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows of this traditional salutation.

Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in Sūrah 51:56,

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

We stand in the shadows of all those who stood before us, looking into the light that produced the likes of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ), peering into the concept of: لِيَعْبُدُونِ | li-yaع-bu-dūni | that they may serve Me. This expression answers the questions for every man, woman and child following in the footsteps of everyone who has sought the answer to the ultimate question; why was I born?

The answer: لِيَعْبُدُونِ | li-yaع-bu-dūni emphasizes that we are created to engage in the lifelong struggle to overcome egotism (preoccupation with self) by following Allah’s guidance as stated in the Qur’ān which lies not in mere witnessing the declaration of the oneness of Allah and that Prophet Muhammed is His Messenger by the lips and performance of certain rites of service, e.g. prayer, charity, fasting and hajj, but it is an excellent life modeled on obedience to Allah as demonstrated during the final twenty-three years of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) work as Allah’s servant.

A prophetic commentary on: لِيَعْبُدُونِ | li-yaع-bu-dūni states that Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

«قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: يَاابْنَ آدَمَ تَفَرَّغْ لِعِبَادَتِي أَمْلَأْ صَدْرَكَ غِنًى وَأَسُدَّ فَقْرَكَ، وَإِلَّا تَفْعَلْ، مَلَأْتُ صَدْرَكَ شُغْلًا وَلَمْ أَسُدَّ فَقْرَك»

Allah the Most High has said, O son of Adam: busy yourself obeying Me and I will fill your chest with riches and dissipate your meekness. Otherwise, I will fill your chest with distracting affairs and I will not do away with your meekness. The term meek is a disposition that is demonstrated by timid, docile, compliant, passive submissiveness and lack of initiative or will. The other side of this situation is assertive, confident, courageous, firm, and progressive.

Imams, spokesmen for Muslims at our Masājid/Islamic Centers are we busying ourselves obeying Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) planning and developing ways to assure that we are living in progressive Islamic settings as safe and sound Muslims? It is self evident that the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed in America is preoccupied and distracted about what is the true picture of a Muslim. There are Imams and Muslims that has set up walls of isolation asserting their superiority over all Muslims who refuse to be subjugated to the judgments, rulings and acquiescence’s of deadbeat Muslim leadership that interact with us like they are interacting with a family of illegitimate bastards.

We repeat the words we that expressed in a previous Khutba-tul-Jumuعah that unquestionably the most perfect praise is obedience to Allah’s guidance as demonstrated by the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ). Commenting on this issue, Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

«أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، وَأَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءِ الْحَمْدُلله»

The most excellent remembrance is there is no G’d but Allah and the most excellent calling is the thanks belong to Allah. I stand in the capacity of a spokesman as an Imam in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed and I invite you to join with me submitting everything we say and do for examination based on Allah’s words and the lifestyle of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) as a permanent record to everyone that we are not now, nor do we intend to ever be beholding to any man, women, child or any power on earth that thinks that they can put themselves before Allah and His Messenger in our lives. Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in Sūrah 3:64

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى كَلَمَةٍ سَوَاء بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ ﺍﷲﹶ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ ﺍﷲ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُولُواْ اشْهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

Upon close examination and understanding of this verse, it is no less than a declaration of independence intended to bond all Muslims together on the basis of obedience to Allah.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُم