Khutba on Ease
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل دينه يسرا، ولم يحمل على هذه الأمة إصرا، 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. 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.
One of the reactions we see among many of our youth to the excesses of the modern age, and to an absence of lived Islam, is for them to go to the opposite extreme and make the deen extremely constrictive and narrow, to limit what is allowable, to declare haram much of what is not haram, and to make life hard, harsh and unforgiving. This is partly due to the way that many study the deen, taking it from texts and the pages of books, rather than directly from living teachers, rather through osmosis through the observation of the practices of the men of knowledge of the previous generation. Rulings in books, even given that you understand the context of them, tend to be expressed in absolute terms – this is the way that it is and this is what you do and you do not do. Few of the complexities of life or the situation in which you live are taken into account. For example, in the Maliki books of fiqh, it is stated that the travel prayer is a sunna, and so if you pray the full resident prayer behind a resident Imam, it is recommended that you repeat the prayer as a travel prayer to meet the sunna. This is what it says in the books, but the truth is I never saw any of my teacher’s do that. They did not see that recommendation as an absolute, but rather contingent upon context and situation. A similar one is girls of five or six wearing the hijab, which may well have been appropriate in a society where that is the norm, but is extremely tough on little girls in primary school where many of their activities require full freedom of movement. Childhood should be about play, not forcing them to grow before their time and lose their joie de vivre.
This approach to the deen is destructive in the extreme and indicates a complete misunderstanding of existence and our place in it. The deen is not meant to be hard, it is not meant to be heavy and limiting, it is meant to be fulfilling and uplifting. If you make it like a millstone, and concentrate on telling people and yourselves all the things you believe you are not allowed to do, you will weigh people down and suck out all of the joy and happiness from their lives. Instead of bringing them closer to Allah, you will push them away, and you may even be contributing to their misguidance and leaving of the deen. Harshness begets harshness, it repels instead of attracts, it distracts instead of reminds. Allah says,
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ
the translation of which is, “It is a mercy from Allah that you were gentle with them. If you had been rough or hard of heart, they would have scattered from around you.” A friend of mine told me that his wife was planning a baby shower, a celebration of the birth of her child and an opportunity to gather together her closest friends, but an acquaintance of theirs came and told her, ‘This is haram – you cannot do it. It is a sin against Allah,’ and left her in tears, because she thought the thing she had been planning was an affront to her Lord. Firstly, the celebration of ni’ma, of blessing, is never a bad thing and can never be declared haram unless the practices in that celebration go against the teachings of the Messenger of Allah. And secondly, even if that person’s assertion were true, that is not the way we convey knowledge, not even to the kuffar. When Sayyidina Musa was instructed to go to Fir’awn, Allah addressed him, saying,
فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا لَعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى
the translation of which is, “Speak to him with gentle words so that perhaps he will be reminded or will fear [his Lord].” You use kind words and gentle admonition. you do not simply come out and declare something forbidden and haram, and tell them to desist immediately. Even the greatest community ever placed on this earth were given time to wean themselves off their vices. For example, alcohol was forbidden over a number of years, not in one fell swoop.
This deen has ever been one of ease, not hardship. One that conforms to the human condition and not denies it. There is nothing required in it, nothing, that is beyond us or even particularly hard on us. Allah says,
وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِي ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ
the translation of which is, “Allah has placed no hardship/ no constriction on you in the deen.” And the Prophet said,
الدِّين يُسْرٌ فَيَسِّروا ولا تُعَسِّروا
“The deen is ease, so make things easy and do not make them difficult.” And he said when asked what form of deen was most beloved to him,
الحنيفية السمحة
“The samih hanafi deen,” i.e. the deen that is most forgiving and most in line with our nature as human beings. Our Lord created us – He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, what we are capable and what we are not, and He has structured the deen accordingly. He only asks of us what we are able to do, never more. He is merciful to us even when we are not merciful to ourselves. Allah says,
ٱلآنَ خَفَّفَ ٱللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفاً
the translation of which is, “Now Allah has made it lighter on you, knowing there is weakness in you.” The deen is khafif – it is light and can be borne without difficulty, it is not heavy and debilitating, and as soon as it starts to be then something is very very wrong.
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.
This umma has been blessed beyond all other ummas, and has been granted gifts by Allah never before given to other ummas. Our Prophet was the most beloved of all Allah’s creation and his Book has been preserved unchanged and unadulterated with the passage of time, unlike all the other books. We still have and will always have direct access to the guidance of Allah. And, furthermore, our deen has been made easy for us in a way that it was never made easy for the previous peoples. The entirety of the earth has been made a mosque for us, we can purify ourselves with dirt in the absence of water, the booty of war is halal for us and much more besides. All of this is indicated in two great ayats of the Quran, themselves a treasure and a gift beyond compare. The Prophet said,
أوتيت هذه الآيات من آخر سورة البقرة من كنز تحت العرش لم يؤتهن نبي قبلي
“I have been given these ayats at the end of Surat al-Baqara. They are part of the treasure from under the Throne and no Prophet before me was given them.” These ayats are the last two ayas of surat al-Baqara. These ayats encapsulate everything about which we have been speaking and provide great insight into the reality of the human condition. In the course of these ayats, Allah says,
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْراً كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
the translation of which is, “Allah does not impose on any self any more than it can bear. For it, is what it has earned; against it, what it has merited. Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake! Our Lord, do not place on us a load like the one You placed on those before us! Our Lord, do not place on us a load we have not the strength to bear!” wus’aha means to bear with ease, not to bear with difficulty. So even when you are capable of something, but it is difficult, Allah in his mercy gives you a way out. Allah says,
وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ
the translation of which is, “For those who are able to fast (i.e. but only with difficulty), their fidya is to feed the poor (i.e. in exchange for not fasting).” Even something that is an obligation of the deen may be foregone if it is too onerous and taxing. The deen only commands things that come easily to the human being in his natural fitri state, and rewards him for them. This is what Allah means when He says,
لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ
the translation of which is, “For it is what it has earned; against it, what it has merited.” For those with some comprehension of the complexities of the Arabic language, this statement is truly wondrous, for the word kasaba indicates what you earn with ease, while iktasaba indicates what is earnt with straining and effort. In other words, it is easier to obey Allah than disobey him. Disobedience requires extra effort and going the extra mile, whether that be physically or psychologically in the sense that your heart feels weighed down by it. For the heart of the healthy human being is usually a good gauge of what is right and wrong. As the Messenger said, when you are unsure of something,
استفت قلبك
“Seek a fatwa of your heart.” However, this only applies to the healthy human being. If your heart has become sick through repeated wrong action, then it is no longer an accurate gauge. It is completely inverted, and it is wrong action that comes to feel normal to it. Allah says,
بَلَىٰ مَن كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً وَأَحَاطَتْ بِهِ خَطِيـۤئَتُهُ
the translation of which is, “No indeed! Those who accumulate/earn bad actions and are surrounded by their mistakes,” For such people, Allah uses the word kasaba, not iktasaba, for their wrong actions. Their ease is not our own and has nothing to do with the deen.
Then Allah says,
رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
the translation of which is, “Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake,” Even when we forget or are ignorant of a particular ruling or understand it erroneously, our Lord is generous to us and does not take us to task, for it is related that when the Prophet recited these words, Allah said, “I have done so,” i.e. I have done as you asked. And he said the same for all the duas that followed. So all the heavy loads that previous ummas may have to bear, we do not have to. We have only five prayers instead of fifty, we must only give a fortieth of our wealth, not a quarter, and good things are halal for us, even the meat and women of those previous peoples of the Book. Nor are we required to toss aside the culture of our people, instead our deen integrates it and straightens it out. This is shown by the extraordinary diversity in wedding celebrations across the Muslim world.
There is nothing in this great deen that is beyond our capacity, even if it might be momentarily out of our reach, and we are not required to do any more than we are able. It is like for the prayer – if we are capable of standing, then we stand, if all we can do is to sit then we pray seated and if all we can is lie down then we pray lying down. If we cannot move our body, then we move our head and if we cannot move our head then we move our eyes. But we try and get ourselves healthy and get to a position whereby we are able to do more and pray in a more complete fashion. It is the same with life and the deen as a whole, we do what we can while seeking ways of improving our situation and getting into a position where we are able to do things more completely. If we do that, then we are doing all that our Lord has commanded us, even if it amounts to less than 10% of the deen. The deen is ease so stop trying to force the template of what you view as a perfected deen onto a society that is not yet ready for it. That is like tying a very sick man to a tree so he can stand while praying. Instead put in practice the parts of your deen that you can and remember that you are capable of much more than you realise.
We ask Allah to give us healthy hearts and make good action come easily to us. And enable us to treat ourselves and one another with mercy and gentleness, so that our hearts and bodies are attracted to what our Lord loves and what brings us benefit, and not repelled. We ask our Lord to restore this umma to health and make His Word uppermost once more in the land.
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 أم المومنين عائشة التي أمرنا الله في سورة النور أن ندافع عنها، 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، 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