Khutba on Taqwa
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل منفعة العلم في الأعمال، ونجاح العمل بالإخلاص فيه لله الواحد الفعال، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما.
Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “You who have iman! have taqwa of Allah and speak words which hit the mark. He will put your actions right for you and forgive you your wrong deeds. All who obey Allah and His Messenger have won a mighty victory.” Every week, in every khutba, we call on people to have taqwa of Allah. Every week, we recite this aya, and others like it. Every week I counsel you and myself to have taqwa of Allah, and no better counsel could be given to any man or woman, for it is the counsel and instruction that Allah has given to every human being who ever walked this planet. Allah says,
وَلَقَدْ وَصَّيْنَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنِ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ
the translation of which is, “We have instructed those given the Book before you and you yourselves, to have taqwa of Allah.” And it is the first instruction given by every Prophet to his people. It is that which ennobles the human being and raises him up above his fellows, for the Prophet said,
من أحب أن يكون أكرم الناس فليتق الله
“If you want to become the noblest of people, then have taqwa of Allah." And Allah says,
إن أكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم
the translation of which is, “The most noble of you in the eyes of Allah are those with the most taqwa.”
But what does it mean to have taqwa of Allah? Is taqwa a state of being that one acquires or a type of action that one does? Well, the truth is that it is both – it is a quality of the heart whose effects translate immediately into action. The word taqwa derives from the Arabic word waqaa, which means to safeguard oneself and ward something off by placing a barrier between you and it. Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ
the translation of which is, “You who have iman! safeguard yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones.” So, linguistically-speaking, taqwa is the action that you do to put up a barrier between yourself and what you fear, namely the punishment of Allah and the terrors of the Last Day. And you do that by taking great care in your life to obey the Commands of Allah and avoid His prohibitions. When ‘Umar asked Ubayy what taqwa was, Ubayy replied with a question,
هل أخذت طريقا ذا شوك
“Have you ever taken a path that was full of thorns?” Umar replied, “na‘am – Yes,” so Ubayy asked,
فما عملت فيه
“What did you do?” Umar replied,
تشمرت وحذرت
“I rolled up my trouserlegs and took great care moving along it.” Ubayy said, “fa-dhaaka-t-taqwa – that is taqwa.”
Such care, however, is only taken by people who have fear of Allah and what He might do to them on the Day of Rising and in the Next World, and it is for that reason that taqwa is often considered synonymous to khawf and often translated as fear. Ali ibn abi Talib said,
التقوى الخوفُ من الجليلِ، والعملُ بالتنزيل، والقناعةُ بالقليل، والاستعدادُ ليومِ الرحيل
“Taqwa is the fear of the majestic, acting according to the revealed Book, being satisfied with a little and preparing for the day of departure.” This fear must be your constant companion through life, and must underly absolutely everything that you do, for there are consequences to every action, no matter how big and no matter how small. Allah says,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ
the translation of which is, “Nothing in the heavens or earth is hidden from Allah.”
He sees all that you do and is with you in every moment. Allah says,
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
the translation of which is, “He is with you wherever you are. Allah sees what you do.” And for this reason, some of the ‘aarifin have said that taqwa of Allah is that He not see you where He has forbidden you from being and not fail to find you where He has commanded you to be.
This fear and awareness that Allah is with you is the principle cause of taqwa developing in a person’s heart, but it is not the only one, for fear on its own is not enough. One must also have knowledge, love and gratitude, as Ibn Juzayy mentions in his tafsir. We must have knowledge, because without knowledge of what Allah has made lawful and what He has made unlawful, we would not know how to obey Him, and because without knowledge of His Power and Might and all-encompassing knowledge, and without knowledge of the Reckoning and the punishments and rewards that lie in store for us in the NExt World, we would not truly fear Him. It is for that reason that Allah says,
إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ
the translation of which is, “Only those of His slaves with knowledge have fear of Allah.” And we must love Him, because it is only with love that obedience becomes a joy. What lover does not leap to bring about even the slightest wish of his beloved. Every culture is full of stories of men going above and beyond to fulfil the most trivial request of the women they love. Well the true believers love Allah still more,
وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلَّهِ
the translation of which is, “But those who have iman have greater love for Allah.” And because of that, they seek to know His will and expend all their efforts to carry out. Because of that they love what He loves and hate what He hates. Because of that they obey His commands and avoid His prohibitions. Because of that they submit to Him absolutely. That is true love and that is what we must strive for. If we remain in disobedience, however, then we are lying to ourselves when we say we love Him. A poet once said,
تَعصي الإلهَ وأنت تَزعمُ حُبَهُ هذا لعَمري في القياسِ شنيعُ
لو كان حُبُكَ صَادقاً لأطعتَهُ إنَّ المحبَ لمن يحبُ مطيعُ
“You disobey God and claim that you love Him!
That, by my life, is an ugly claim.
If your love were true you would have obeyed him,
for the lover is the one who obeys the one he loves.”
The more you love Allah and His Messenger, the more knowledge you have of Him and His deen, and the more fear and hope you have of Him, the greater your degree of taqwa and the more careful you become in ensuring that you put all the aspects of His deen into practice. The first step is the shunning of kufr, the second step is the avoidance of all that is unlawful in Islam, the third step is the avoidance of all doubtful matters, the fourth step is putting aside much of what is permissible, and the fifth and final step is keeping all that is other than Allah out of the heart. That is taqwa of Allah in its absolute sense and that is when the slave arrives. Ibn Wardi says in his famous laamiyya:
واتق الله فتقوى الله ما جاورت قلب امرئ إلا وصل
“Have taqwa of Allah, for taqwa never
took up residence in a person’s heart except that he arrived.”
So we ask Allah to make our love of Him sincere and to increase us in knowledge and fearful awareness of Him until He places among the ranks of the muttaqin.
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.
As well as increasing us in nobility with Allah and nobility among the people of the earth, taqwa brings many other benefits, a large number of which are listed by Ibn Juzay in his tafsir.
Firstly, it bestows guidance, for without taqwa we would remain lost and in dalaal. Allah says:
هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
the translation of which is, “Guidance to the people of taqwa”
Then, it ensures that one’s action are accepted, for without it all one’s actions are empty and meaningless. Allah says:
إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
the translation of which is, “Allah only accepts from people who have taqwa.” Then it ensures Allah’s love and protection and that He will never abandon you. Allah says:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
the translation of which is, “Allah loves those who have taqwa” And He says:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَواْ
the translation of which is, “Allah is with those who have taqwa” And He says:
وَٱللَّهُ وَلِيُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
the translation of which is, “Allah is the Protector of those who have taqwa”
Then it ensures that you will be granted a constant increase in knowledge and discrimination, and that whatever wrong actions you do will be erased and forgiven. Allah says,
وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ
the translation of which is, “Have taqwa of Allah and Allah will give you knowledge.” And He says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَيُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ
the translation of which is, “You who believe! if you have taqwa of Allah, He will give you discrimination and erase your bad actions from you and forgive you.”
Then it gives you a way out when all other avenues seem shut and brings you provision for where you know not. Allah says,
وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجاً وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَحْتَسِبُ
the translation of which is, “Whoever has taqwa of Allah – He will give him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect.” The people of tafsir say that this aya was revealed about ‘Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja’i, an exceptionally poor man. His son was taken prisoner by the idolaters, so he went to the Prophet and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, the enemy have taken my son prisoner and his mother is close to despair. What should we do?” The Messenger replied,
اتق اللهَ واصبر، وآمرك وإياها أن تكثرا من قول لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العلي العظيم
“Have taqwa of Allah and be patient. And both you and your wife must say la hawla wa la quwatta illa billahi al-aliyi al-adhim – there is no power and no strength except for Allah the High, the Great’ as often as you can.” So he went home and told his wife what the Messenger of Allah had said, and she replied, ‘What a wonderful thing he has told us to do!’ So they started to say it and it was not long before the enemy left their son unattended and he slipped away from them, taking with them all their sheep, over four thousand of them, which he brought back to his parents. Thus, Allah rewarded them for their taqwa.
Then Allah grants you ease in your life and takes away all difficulty. Allah says:
وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْراً
the translation of which is, “Whoever has taqwa of Allah – He will make matters easy for him.”
Then He grants you success you success and entry to the Garden, and spares you the torment of the Fire. Allah says:
وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
the translation of which is, “Have taqwa of Allah, so that hopefully you will be successful.” And He says
إِنَّ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
the translation of which is, “The people who have taqwa will have Gardens of Delight” And He says,
ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَواْ
the translation of which is, “Then We will rescue those who had taqwa” All of these blessings, all of these rewards are reserved for the people of taqwa, those whose hearts are submitted to Allah, whose beings are infused with fearful awareness of Him, and whose limbs act only in obedience to Him. They are the successful ones in this world and the successful ones in the Next. They are the true heroes, as Ibn Wardi says in his Laamiya:
إنما من يتقي اللهَ البطل
“The hero is he who has taqwa of Allah.” It is they who are the true party of Allah, and that is why Allah instructs to have taqwa more than eighty times in the Book and that is why the Prophet never addressed his umma except that he called them to it. So we ask Allah to place taqwa in our hearts and upon our limbs. And keep us always in the company of the muttaqin.
إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.
وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ.
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.
رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.
اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.
إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.