Khutba on Following the Sunna of the Prophet and his Companions
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل النجاحَ والتوفيقَ في طاعةِ الصادقِ الأمين، وجعل سنتَه وحياتَه تفسيرا وتوضيحا لكتابه الكريم، 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 وأدٌى 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. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع
الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر. قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم، فَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “Those who believe in him and honour him and help him, and follow the Light that has been sent down with him, they are the ones who are successful.’” We have talked in recent weeks about the importance of the Messenger of Allah in all our lives, and about how the secret to a successful existence is through believing in him, honouring him, loving him, revering him and giving him his due. How do we do this? With our hearts by remembering him and thanking him, with our tongues by mentioning him and his qualities and praising him, and with our limbs by following him and obeying him. If we do not, then our claims that we honour him are false and our claims to love him empty and without substance. Allah says, addressing His Prophet,
قُلِ اِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي
the translation of which is, “Say, if you love Allah, then follow me.” ‘Follow me with every fibre of your being, make my actions your actions, my example your guide, my teachings your bread and butter. Do as you see me do. Hold to my Sunna and do not deviate from it.’ When Sayyidina Ibn Umar was asked, “We find the fear prayer in the Quran, we find the prayer at home in the Quran, but we do not find the travel prayer, [so why do we pray it]?” Ibn Umar replied,
يا ابن أخي إن الله قد بعث محمداً صلى الله عليه وسلم إلينا ولا نعلم شيئا وإنما نفعل كما رأيناه يفعل
“My nephew, Allah sent Muhammad to us and we did not know anything, so we di as we saw him do.” Our deen is taken from him, he is our guide. What he said, what he did, that is what is important. If we do not follow him meticulously then we have understood nothing and we remain ensconced in deep ignorance, for that is the primary purpose for which he was sent. Allah says,
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ اِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللهِ
the translation of which is, “We have not sent any Messenger except that he be obeyed by the permission of Allah.” If we relegate his sunna to the optional as many seek to do, and make this deen about Quranic principles and overriding moral codes, then we have lost our way completely and can no longer be said to be a part of this umma. The Prophet said,
كلُّكُم يدخلُ الجنةَ إلا مَنْ أبى، قيل: ومن يأبى يا رسولَ الله؟ قال: مَنْ أطاعني دخَلَ الجنة، ومن عصَاني فقدْ أبى
“Every one of you, (i.e all of my community) will enter the Garden except for those who refuse to.” They asked, “Messenger of Allah, who will refuse?” He replied, “Whoever obeys me will enter the Garden. Whoever rebels against me has refused.” Rebelling against him means adopting a different path, following other than him, using some other criterion to determine your courses of action. The most common of these is hawa, a person’s nature or appetites, what each individual thinks in his own best interests, his own personal beliefs and opinions. To all intents and purposes, following human reason, the internal and circular logic of the self-absorbed human mind. If this is given free reign and left ungoverned, then it is a most destructive force, ripping apart the fabric of society and creating imbalance and injustice on an unprecedented scale. For each person’s hawa is different and does not readily fit in with those of others. If they are given free reign, then they clash and those who are more powerful make society serve their interests and force the mustad’afin, the weak, to spend their lives and energy serving their master’s interests. This is what we see in the world around us today, and it has reached the stage where not just individual people but entire countries are being forced to serve the hawa of what elements of the press likes to call, ‘The masters of the universe’, the banksters and their allies. This is the ideology of capitalism that has even seeped into the psyches of many of our Muslim brothers. And the more they succumb to its ideology, the more unrestrained freedom they give to their hawa, the further they get from the Messenger of Allah. For the only time our hawa brings benefit to us is when it is fettered by the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet said,
لا يؤمِنُ أحدُكُم حتى يكونَ هواهُ تبعاً لما جئْت بهِ
“None of you believes until his hawa is subservient to what I have brought.” What does this mean in practical terms? It means we do not embark on any course of action, no matter how appealing it may seem to us, until we have first made sure that that course of action is in line with the sunna of the Messenger of Allah. In other words, is correct according to the parameters of the deen as laid down by the great defenders of the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah, the imams of the four madhhabs and the thousands of right-acting scholars who followed in their footsteps. Every decision we have, every dispute we become embroiled in, we must refer it to Allah and His Messenger, and accept what they give us without demur and without complaint. That is what it means to follow the Sunna. Allah says,
وما آتاكم الرسول فخذوه وما نهاكم عنه فانتهوا
the translation of which is, “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take, and whatever he forbids you, leave.” That is what it means to be a believer. Allah says,
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
the translation of which is, “No, by your Lord, they are not believers until they make you their judge in the disputes that break out between them, and then find no resistance within themselves to what you decide and submit themselves completely.” Indeed, that is what it means to be alive, for it is only through following his teachings that hearts are brought to life. Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اسْتَجِيبُواْ لِلّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُم لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ
the translation of which is, “O you who believe, respond to Allah and His Messenger when they call you to what brings you to life.” And as everything he calls you to brings you to life, that means that you must respond to everything that comes from him, that you must listen to every word and implement his every command. You must make obedience to him your number one priority and model your life on his. And copy his actions even if they seem trivial. When Umar ibn al-Khattab kissed the black stone, he said,
إني لأعلم أنك حجر لا تنفع ولا تضر ولولا أني رأيت رسول الله يقبلك ما قبلتك
“I know that you are a stone that neither benefits nor harms. Were it not for the fact that I saw the Messenger of Allah kiss you, I would not kiss you.” Then he kissed the stone. And when Ibn Umar was asked why he turned his camel around at a particular spot, he replied, “I once saw the Prophet do it, so I do it.” The more of his actions and teachings we incorporate into his lives, the more of his sunna we bring to life. And the more of his sunna we bring back to life, the stronger the presence of the Messenger of Allah amongst us. The Prophet said,
ومن أحيا سنتي فقد أحياني
“Whoever brings my sunna to life brings me to life.” And when the Messenger of Allah is alive amongst, our societies will thrive and be exempted from the terrible wrath of Allah. Allah says,
وَمَا كَانَ اللهُ لِيُعذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ
the translation of which is, “Allah would never punish them while you were among them.” And we will be guaranteed a place next to our beloved in the Next Life. The Prophet said,
ومن أحياني كان معي في الجنة
“Whoever brings me to life will be with me in the Garden.” So we ask Allah to grant us the success to follow the Messenger of Allah and bring his sunna to life in every part of our lives.
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر 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.
The sunna of the Messenger of Allah is not just limited to himself but extends to his Companions. In a well-known narration, mentioned by Ibn AbdalBarr, the Messenger of Allah is quoted as saying,
أصحابي كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم
“My Companions are like stars – whichever one of them you follow, you will be rightly guided.” Now while the provenance of the hadith is disputed, its meaning is sound. The Prophet said,
فعليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين، عضوا عليها بالنواجذ وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور
“You must follow my sunna and the sunna of the Rightly-Guided Khalifs. Cling to it fiercely and beware of new things.” The sunna of the rightly-guided khalifs is the sunna of the Companions because they consulted with them and did not embark upon an action until they knew it to be sound. Our knowledge of many of the most important elements of our deen stem from their time. And without them, we would not have known how to act or what to do in all such circumstances. No one can claim to follow the Messenger of Allah, can claim to love the Messenger of Allah, until he follows ands loves them. They are our link to him, and if that link is broken, damaged or degraded, we will be cut adrift. Anyone who casts aspersions on them or paints them in a negative light, that person insults the Messenger of Allah and accuses him of being gullible and blind, since he surrounded himself with them, invited them into his home, saying,
المرء على دين خليله فلينظر أحدكم من يخالل
“A person takes on the deen of those whom he takes as close friends and companions, so look closely at those whom you befriend,”
Furthermore he placed them in positions of authority over parts of his community, and allowed them to marry his daughters. Did he not instruct Abu Bakr to lead the prayer in his absence, and marry not just one but two of his daughters to Uthman ibn Affan? Did he not entrust Muawiya with writing down verses of the Quran and place an army under the command of Usama bin Zayd? No, the only way to protect the name of the Messenger of Allah and preserve his Sunna is through honouring the names of his Companions and preserving their Sunna. They must be considered an extension of him, for they are the people amongst whom he chose to live and to whom he chose to transmit a message that he knew was for the whole of mankind. Qadi Iyad says,
“Part of respecting and obeying the Prophet, consists in respecting his Companions, obeying them, recognising what is due to them, following them, praising them, asking forgiveness for them, refraining from discussing their differences, showing enmity to those who are hostile towards them and shunning the misguidance of the Shi‘a and the innovators and the reports of any historians or ignorant transmitters who detract from any of them.”
He was pleased with them and never spoke out against them, never delivered a warning as would have been obligatory for him if they were a potential source of misguidance. Indeed, his Lord was pleased with them and expressed His pleasure in His Timeless Book. Allah says:
لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنِ المُومِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ.
the translation of which is, “Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave allegiance to you under the tree.” This verse is not abrogated and its meaning has not been nullified. That contentment of Allah applies now as much as it did then. Allah remains pleased with them and how could he pleased with anyone who alter and corrupt His deen?
The Prophet loved his Companions immensely, and praised them constantly. He said,
إِنَّ اللهَ اخْتَارَ أَصْحَابِي عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْعَالَمِينَ سِوَى النَّبِيِّينَ وَالمُرْسَلِينَ،
“Allah chose my Companions over everything else in existence except for the Prophets and the Messengers.” He never had anything bad to say of them, not even of the least of them, so how can anyone belittle them in even the slightest of ways? If they do so, they betray the Messenger of Allah, and put their entire deen at risk. They incur his displeasure and bring upon themselves the displeasure of their Lord. There can no success for anyone who holds enmity for them in their hearts. Rightly-guided Muslims throughout the ages have always understood this. Indeed Imam Malik mentioned that,
كان السلف يعلمون أولادهم حب أبى بكر وعمر كما يعلمون السورة من القرآن
“The salaf used to teach their children to love Abu Bakr and Umar in the same way that they used to teach them suras of Quran,” To do the opposite and hate them, to curse them and speak badly about them and disregard their sunna, is a sure and swift path to destruction. The Prophet said,
مَنْ سَبَّ أَصْحَابِي فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللهِ وَالمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ لاَ يَقْبَلُ اللهُ مِنْهُ صَرْفاً وَلاَ عَدْلاً
The Prophet said, “Anyone who curses my Companions has the curse of Allah on him, as well as that of the angels and all people. And Allah will not accept any exchange or recompense from him.” This applies to each and every Companion without exception. None of them may be cursed or disparaged in any way, and whatever disputes and conflicts that occurred between them is none of our affair. We honour them all, including Muawiya and those who were on the opposite side of Sayyidina Ali at Siffin, and anyone who does not is not worthy of our time or attention, no matter his credentials or apparent level of knowledge. The company of such people is poison, and their words are without benefit, no matter how much honey they are laced with. No one can love the Prophet and his family unless he also loves the Companions. So beware and keep from their circles, and bring back to life the sunna of the khulafa ar-rashidin.
We ask Allah to increase us in love of Him and His Prophet. And we ask Him to increase us in love of His family and Companions and give us the means to defend them from any who seek to revile them and cast aspersions upon them. We ask Him to allow us to see the truth as being true and give us the strength to follow it and falsehood as being false and give us the strength to avoid it. We ask Allah to join the hearts of the Muslims in this difficult age and give victory to His deen.
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، وعن خديجة وعائشة وسائر أزواج النبي، 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.
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.
their name and their honour must be protected The Prophet said, “Do not let any of you be found reclining on his bed when he hears an injunction from me which is from among those things which I myself have commanded or forbidden so that he says, ‘I do not know. We only follow what we find in the Book of Allah.’” Those who reject hadith fall into a number of different camps – there are those who reject them completely, either claiming that the Prophet only came to deliver the Quran, or that the only ones directed to follow the sunna were the Sahaba, or that it is incumbent on us to follow the Sunna but impossible because the sources cannot be proven to be authentic or trustworthy.