- Sermons
- /
- Friday Sermons
The Prophet's immigration is a crucial event
Dear brothers, we are welcoming the new Hijri year in days, and this religious occasion requires explaining the meanings it embraces and of which we are in dire need. The most crucial event that happened to the Arab Ummah is the Bi'thah (Divine Mission) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, because due to it we, Arabs have become the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind
(You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind;)
The Ayah goes as follows:
([You enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allah.)
The reason why we are the best peoples ever is enjoining Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden) after believing in Allah the Almighty. Thus, when we fall short, restricting our mission to fulfilling our basic needs and achieving our personal interests, and we abandon conveying the Divine Message, we are not considered the best Ummah of all peoples at all, and we will be like other nations. Allah the Almighty says:
(And (both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?" Nay, you are but human beings, of those He has created,)
If we give up enjoining Al-Ma'ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar, and if we stop conveying the Divine Message to the eastern and western worlds, we will be no longer the best of all peoples, and we will become just like other nations. We stopped acting upon Allah's Order properly, so Allah the Almighty has forsaken us.
In fact, these days we desperately need to return to our religion, to reconcile with Allah the Almighty and to act upon Allah's Order at least in our houses and at work, so that Allah the Almighty will be pleased with us. Listen what Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell.)
Unfortunately, Muslims have been thrown in earthy Hell.
Let me repeat this point, the most critical even in the history of this Ummah after the Bi'thah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is his Hijrah (migration). The Bi'thah is the truth and Hijrah is the movement that was made according to the truth known. Hence, you are supposed to know the truth first and then to move according to it. Allah the Almighty says:
(And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH), you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate…)
If you do not apply your beliefs, if you do not call people to Allah the Almighty, if you do not give others for Allah's Sake, if you do not make any positive move, if you do not get angry for the sake of this religion, if you are not pleased for the Sake of Allah, if you do not take a stand that serves your religion, or if you do not act according to your beliefs, you are not considered a believer. Allah the Almighty says:
(And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH), you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate…)
You are not considered a believer in the sense that your faith does not save you in the Hereafter. In other words, it is not enough to believe that this universe has a Creator, because such a belief does not save man in the Hereafter by itself.
Bi'thah is truth and Hijrah is a movement:
Dear brothers, pay attention to this Ayah concerning the concept of Hijrah:
(So take not Auliya' (protectors or friends) from them, till they emigrate)
Let everyone think of the actions he has taken after he knows Allah the Almighty, the bad things he quit, seeking Allah's Pleasure, the bad companions he abandoned, the good people he took as friends, the good places he went to, the bad places he stopped going to, and so on. The main point is that there should be an action, and as I said earlier the Bi'thah is a fact and the Hijrah is an action. Allah the Almighty says:
(Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God i.e. Allah). So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness…)
He price of meeting with Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is good deeds. You may think that Hijrah in its limited meaning is moving from one place to another, such as moving from Makkah to Madinah or from any other city to another one that look like these two cities. The wide meaning of Hijrah is changing your job, such as leaving a job that does not please Allah the Almighty and starting another one that pleases Him. besides, it is changing the social environment, such as your friends. The main thing is taking a positive action and making an effective movement. There is important information about the wide meaning of Hijrah in the following Hadith:
(Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "The reward of worship performed at a time of trials is equal in reward to an emigration to me.")
If you apply he Islamic teachings to your household and work, you will have paid the price of meeting with Allah, so do not worry if your customers at work became less because you become religiously committed. This is how Hijrah is turned to practice; it is to worship Allah the Almighty and act upon His Order under all circumstances.
Movements are two: one towards Allah and one towards Shaitan:
Dear brothers, because man has been given the free will whatever is installed in him is neutral. Accordingly, Hijrah at present is moving towards whatever pleases Allah the Almighty.
("I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord…)
On the other hands, there is a movement towards Shaitan (Satan), but how will it be discovered? It will be discovered by the niyah (intention). Listen to the following Hadith, please:
(Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), reported: Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Messenger, his emigration will be for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration would be for what he emigrated for")
In the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him, a man was called by his companions Umm Qays, because Umm Qays refused to marry him unless he emigrated from Makkah to Madinah and he did.
(…And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration would be for what he emigrated for")
Facts about Hijrah:
Dear brothers, soon we will celebrate the anniversary of Hijrah which has changed the track of history and corrected the human path. In Madinah the Da'wah was established and the Ummah was founded. The Da'wah addressed the white, the black, the red and the yellow, making the number of Muslims one billion and three million. Also, Islam has become the fastest growing religion on earth although the first Muslims were very weak.
The following generations established great nations that opened many spots on the earth. Due to Hijrah, the people of the Ummah turned from shepherds to leaders, and they started to worship the Lord of servants instead of worshiping His servants. Furthermore, it cancels oppression, establishing instead it the justice of Islam. Allah the Almighty says:
(And if We had ordered them (saying), "Kill yourselves (i.e. the innnocent ones kill the guilty ones) or leave your homes," very few of them would have done it;)
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, who is the master of all mankind and the beloved of Al-Haqq (Allah), wanted to immigrate to Al-Madinah he talked to Makkah by telling her:
(Verily, You are the most beloved land to Allah, and you are the most beloved part of Allah's land to me. Had your people not got me out of you, I would never have got out of you.)
Also, when one of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, described Makkah in spring while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was in Madinah, he shed tears out of missing her, and he said to him, "O man, do not make us yearn for her."
Actually loving the country where one was born is installed deeply inside man's human nature, but you are assigned to look for another country where you can worship Allah properly, where you can preserve your dignity, where you can guarantee your, your children's and your grandchildren's safety.
Dear brothers, as I said earlier, the movement you make is either for the Sake of Allah the Almighty, for the sake of Islam, for the sake of seeking Islamic knowledge and for the sake of spreading Al-Haqq (the truth) and for the sake of making a living if it is difficult to make a living in one's own country, or it is for the sake of Shaitan, by running after more money, fulfilling pleasures and living in luxury at the expense of one's religion and the religion and the future of one's children and grandchildren.
Dear brothers, Hijrah is a movement that is taken either towards Ar-Rhman (the Most Gracious) or towards Shaitan. Unfortunately the majority of Muslims travel for the sake of Shaitan; they make a fortune at the expense of their religion and the religion of their wives, children and grandchildren.
What will be the answer of the one who leaves his country where he can worship Allah the Almighty when Allah asks him why he favors living a luxuries life and enjoying the pleasures of the worldly life over guaranteeing his and his children's religion? Such a man loses everything instead of being a winner in the life.
Hijrah is one of the activities of the Prophets, peace be upon them:
Dear brothers, it seems that Hijrah is one of the activities of the Prophets, peace be upon them. For instance, our Master Ibrahim, peace be upon him, emigrated, leaving behind his wife in an uncultivable valley. Also, our Master Lut emigrated for the Sake of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, he said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
("I will emigrate for the sake of my Lord…)
Our Prophet Musa, and our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them, emigrated as well. Furthermore, the sincere believers and the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, emigrated, leaving behind their country, sustenance, position and all the advantages of their homeland and moved to live as strangers in another country.
Dear brothers, the story of the Hijrah started when Quraish let the Prophet, peace be upon him, down, opposing his Da'wah aggressively using different means of torture. Not to mention they belied him strongly. After that, he called some tribes to Allah, but their people said to him, "Will we have the upper hand after your death?" Then one year later he called the people in Madinah to Allah, and 73 men and 2 women gave him Bay'ah (allegiance), and that was how Hijrah started.
Ibn Hishaam reported that when they gathered together for the allegiance, Al-Abbas bin Ubaada bin Nadlah said, "Do you know on what basis you are giving the Bay'ah? Indeed, you are giving him Bay'ah to fight the black and the white from amongst the people. If you fear that your property will be at stake, or the lives of your noble ones will be endangered, then leave him now, because if you do this after the pledge; it will be degrading for you in this life and in the Hereafter. However, if you think that you will fulfill your promise; even if your wealth has been forsaken and your nobles are killed, that is for you the goodness in this life and in the Hereafter."
(A man came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said, "By Allah, I love you." The Prophet, peace be upon him, "Act upon these words." Then the man repeated the same phrase, "By Allah, I love you." The Prophet, peace be upon him, "Act upon these words." The man repeated the same for the third time, "By Allah, I love you." To which the Prophet, peace be upon him said, "If you are honest in your words, poverty is closer to you than your shoes.")
This poverty is caused by spending money in Allah's Cause, which is a great honor. There are other two types of poverty; one of them is decreed, so the poor man of this type is excused for his poverty, while the other one is caused by man's laziness, so the poor man of this type is dispraised.
In the abovementioned Hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to the type of poverty that is caused by spending the precious and the cheap, the soul and the precious thing in Allah's Cause.
Hijrah is the measure according to which the believers are categorized:
Dear brothers, one of the meanings of the Hijrah is that it is the measure according to which the believers are categorized. Allah the Almighty says:
(Allah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good.)
Those believers were supposed to be the best people of a complete, cooperative and correlative society, so they had to be categorized and tested to see the ones who would scarify his house, money, business, position and the close ones for the sake of emigrating to Al-Madinah as a stranger, a hungry man and a homeless person having none by his side but Allah. If the believer succeeds in this test, he will succeed in all other ones.
You can notice how in driving test the driver is tested with the most difficult things in driving, so that if he succeeds in them, he can drive safely. Similarly, Hijrah is the measure according to which true believers are distinguished.
Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, acted in Makkah as a Prophet and a Messenger who was sent to convey Allah's Message. On the other hand, he acted in Madinah besides being a Prophet and a Messenger as the responsible leader for Muslims, the great Imam, the wise leader, the fairest judge and the sublime Mufti (A Muslim legal expert who is empowered to give rulings on religious matters). Listen to the following Hadith, please:
This Hadith is a message conveyed by the leader of Muslims. Abu Hanifah An-Nu'man, may Allah have mercy upon him soul, said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said these words, "If anyone revives dead land, it belongs to him" as an Imam."
Pay attention to the following Ayah:
(Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them.)
Some scholars of the interpretation of the Noble Quran said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, was addressed in this Ayah as the leader of Muslims, and the money of Zakat is taken from the payer instead of letting him pay it, because it is related to the Ummah's interest."
Why was cancelled Hijrah after the conquest of Makkah:
Dear brothers, before opening Makkah, Hijrah was a must, but after the conquest of Makkah it was cancelled, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(There is No Hijrah (migration) after the Conquest.)
What is the wisdom behind that? Before I answer you let me refer to this point: Whoever believes in Allah should support the believers, should call other people to Allah the Almighty to make the majority of them believers and should empower them, lest he is not considered a believer. Similarly, the one who does not strengthen the position of the believers and establish their high values, immersing instead in a heedless social environment where people are seduced to commit sins, enjoy the worldly life and fulfill their lusts unlawfully is not a believer.
Unfortunately, this is the case of most expatriates; they have immigrated to the foreign countries for the sake of enjoying their life since everything there tempt them to commit sins. In one park of a foreign country, a car parked there and male and female students got out of it to have fun, but the things they did were very shameful. Believe it or not, they acted like couples. Imagine that a Muslim's son or daughter had been among those students, what would have happened to his or her religion?
I would like to keep this great minbar (pulpit) purified, so I cannot mention the things that take place in the foreign countries and which do not please Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. Those Muslims have left their own counties where they can practice the rites of Islam and guarantee the safety of their children and their grandchildren, seeking the adornments of the worldly life, so they would pay a heavy price. Keep in mind that I am not saying all Muslims, but I am referring to most of them.
Dear brothers, Hijrah is a must when your religion is threatened, but of course this Hijrah should be for the Sake of pleasing Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him. Besides, it is necessary to call people to Allah and to strengthen Muslims in other countries.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, got out of Makkah at night, because he was chased by the infidels, but after conquering it, he got back to it in the daylight and as the conqueror. Moreover, after that great event, people embraced Islam in crowds and the Prophet, peace be upon him, ruled all the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, he, peace be upon him, said:
(There is No Hijrah (migration) after the Conquest.)
In other words, the purpose of Hijrah in the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him, no more exists. In other words, whoever travels from Makkah to Madinah is not an emigrant. However, scholars said, "There will always be Hijrah till the Day of Resurrection as long as there are cities that look like Makkah and cities that look like Madinah. Hence, when you live in a country where you cannot worship Allah due to the threats against Islam there, you should leave this country to another safer one. Likewise, when you live in a country where life is luxurious, and there are many temptations, which make you disobey Allah the Almighty, you should leave this country. In both cases man's religion is threatened, so Hijrah from these countries to other safer ones is necessary, because you have been created to worship Allah, better yet worshiping Allah is the purpose of your existence.
Being prevented from worshiping Allah is a reason to leave the country:
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(O My slaves who believe! Certainly, spacious is My earth. Therefore worship Me (Alone).")
This is a crystal clear Ayah: "O My servants, you who believe in Me, know that the purpose of your existence on earth is worshiping Me, so if you live in a country where you cannot achieve the purpose of your existence, you should leave this country, because My earth is specious."
Allah the Almighty promises the one who emigrates in His Cause with something unbelievable; He promises him with abundant provision. One of my bothers in faith told me that he emigrated from a country in the north of Syria for the sake of his religion's safety, and he moved to live in Damascus. He swore by Allah that he owns about 35 houses. This is what the Ayah means:
(He who emigrates (from his home) in the Cause of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by…)
One of our brothers in faith used to live in a foreign country where Allah is not worshiped, and upon listening to some religious lectures, he decided to get back to his homeland for the sake of saving his religion. Few days after reaching Damascus, he died in an accident. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
(And whosoever leaves his home as an emigrant unto Allah and His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah.)
Man rewards someone else when the latter achieves something, but Al-Wahid (Allah the One), Ad-Dayyan (Allah the Judge) rewards man even for his intention. This is the case of the man I mentioned above; he intended to get back to his country, and few days after his arrival he died. Yet, his reward was then surely incumbent upon Allah the Almighty.
Dear brothers, since people in crowds have entered Allah's religion, and the Muslims have become stable in all spots of the earth, there is no Hijrah after the opening of Makkah. However, as long as there are cities that look like Makkah in the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and there are other ones that look like Madinah at that time, you should leave the city that looks like Makkah and move to live in the one that looks like Madinah.
Dear brothers, after the conquest of Makkah Muslims started to repeat, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, Alone, He was true to His promise, and He helped His servant, and He gave might to His soldiers and defeated the Confederates alone. There is nothing before Him and there is nothing after Him."
Types of Jihad:
Dear brother the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(He who dies without having fought or without having the intention to fight in Allah's Cause, will die the death of Jahiliyyah.)
Here is another Hadith:
(Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying "He who dies without having fought or having felt fighting (against the infidels) to be his duty will die guilty of a kind of hypocrisy.")
The Hadith refers to Al-Jihad Al-Qitali (fighting Islam's enemies in the Cause of Allah), and there is a type of Jihad, which is the first one, and it is called Jihad An-Nafs. You can never convince even a little child to worship Allah if you are defeated from within (by your unlawful lusts), so you should fight against your ownself and desires then you should fight for the sake of spreading the truth. Allah the Almighty says:
(So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them (by preaching) with the utmost endeavour, with it (the Qur'an).)
Allah the Almighty calls Al-Jihad Ad-Da'wawi striving against the disbelievers by learning the Noble Quran and Shari'ah rulings and teaching them.
If Muslims are called to fight against the enemies of Islam, they have to respond and fight in Allah's Cause, which is called Al-Jihad al-Qitali.
Can you guarantee your grandchildren’s religion in the West:
Dear brothers, I would like to repeat what I said earlier; in the foreign countries, there are circumstances that may make you disobey Allah. Let alone, there are seducing things that may push you commit sins. Thus, if you live in a foreign country where freedom and human rights are preserved, but you cannot urge your children to know Allah the Almighty and act upon His Order since they are detached from the history and religion of their Ummah, you should leave this country. A scholar once delivered a speech in a conference that was held in a foreign country, and I was one of the attendants. He said, "If you do not grantee that your son, your grandson and the son of your grandson will be a true Muslim, you should leave the foreign country you live in at once."
Dear brothers, Allah the Almighty says:
(Verily! As for those whom the angels take (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatory for them)…)
The following Ayat are very impressive. Allah the Almighty says:
(He who emigrates (from his home) in the Cause of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by. And whosoever leaves his home as an emigrant unto Allah and His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful* And when you (Muslims) travel in the land, there is no sin on you if you shorten your Salat (prayer) if you fear that the disbelievers may attack you, verily, the disbelievers are ever unto you open enemies.)
If you migrate for a logical excuse let your intention be Da'wah:
One more thing dear brothers, scholars say that whoever migrates for a logical and an accepted excuse to Allah the Almighty, he should make Da'wah his intention. Do you know why? Because Da'wah is Fard Ayn (a individual religious) on every Muslim, lest you are not considered a follower of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him. Pay attention to the following Ayah:
(Say (O Muhammad PBUH to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah)…)
This means whoever does not call to Allah the Almighty with knowledge, which is Fard Ayn on every individual Muslim, is not a follower of Allah's Messenger, and he does not love Allah the Almighty:
(Say (O Muhammad PBUH to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins.)
Hence, whoever migrates for excuses that please Allah the Almighty and His Messenger, peace be upon him, and he resides in that country, should have the intention of Da'wah (that he will call people there to Allah the Almighty).
Actually, this is how the people of the biggest Islamic countries have become Muslims. The Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Pakistan have become Muslims because of the Da'wah of the merchants who resided in those countries and became bright candles to these heedless nations.
The back Hijrah:
Dear brothers, I hope Allah helps me go deeper with the concept of Hijrah and discuss more details about the back Hijrah, because it is a very important topic.
Unfortunately, most young men think about travelling abroad, and the same goes for the merchants, but they have no idea about the bad things that might happen to them there. One of them may suffer severe pains. Once I visited a school of the Islamic Community of a foreign country, which was equipped with the modernist technology that cost millions, but I was shocked, because after I finished talking, I found out that none of the students understood what I was saying until a translator came to translate my speech. I said to myself, "Subhana Allah! I am at a school of an Arab Islamic Community who understood no Arabic word, because they spent only one hour for the Arabic language, while they talked English for 23 hours.
The one who decides to live aboard will be disconnected from his Ummah, religion, Quran and the Sunnah of his Prophet, peace be upon him. This is what happens to the best groups of people, so what about the heedless from Allah the Almighty?
Accordingly, if you want to leave your Islamic country, think about the consequences, such as the corruption which is widely spread there. You will need harder efforts to defeat it, than the effort you pay in your homeland.
Hijrah is a crucial event in your life; it is a movement that is made either for the Sake of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He (for Da'wah or getting closer to Allah) or for the sake of the worldly life (seeking collecting more money and enjoying this life).
If someone is poor and making a living is difficult in his own country, then this is another case that I would like to discuss in another lesson. However, if you live in an Islamic country where you can make a reasonable living that suffices your need, you will miss many advantages that only Allah knows, and you will know when you leave for a non-Muslim country
Dear brothers, call yourselves to account before you are called to do so, and weigh your deeds before they are weighed against you, and you should know that the Angel of Death has reached others and will reach us soon, so pay heed. The wise man is the one who calls himself to account (and refrains from doing evil deeds) and does noble deeds to benefit him after death; and the foolish person is the one who subdues himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of his vain desires.
