Khutba on Qadar

الحَمْدُ للهِ، الحَمْدُ للهِ الذي جعل الدنيا دارَ الفتنةِ والبلاءِ، ليمتحنَ بها قلوبَ المومنين والفقراء، ويرى من كان منهم يُلقَّاها بالصبرِ والرضا، نَحْمَدُهُ تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، مَنْ يَهْدِ اللهُ فلا مضل له، ومَنْ يُضلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ، ونَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ  وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، له الملك وله الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير، ونشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا ومولانا مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُه وَرَسُولُهُ، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدّى الأمانة ونصح الأمّة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحقّ، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعَلَى آلِهِ وأَصْحابِهِ ومَنْ تَبِعَهم بإِحْسانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ.  أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَيَا عِبَادَ اللهِ اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون، يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا، يُصْلِحْ لَكُم أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا، يا أيها المسلمون اتقوا الله فيما أوصى وأمر، وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آَمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ

Last week we mentioned that all power belongs to Allah and that nothing comes to pass except that He wills it. This is something we all know at a conceptual level, but not something many of us take on board on a practical and day-to-day level. We go through life under the illusion that we are the masters of our destiny, that we are the main actors in our lives and that the events and variables are under our control. And we spend our lives seeking to strengthen that control and expand its sphere, thinking that the more elements we place under our sway, the more we can fashion our present and our future. We think of ourselves as the architects of our destiny, autonomous and independent, but we would be presumptious and wrong to think so. Allah says,

إِنَّ الْإِنسانَ لَيَطْغَى أَن رَّءَاهُ اسْتَغْنَي

the translation of which is, “Man goes too far, viewing himself as self-sufficient.” We do this both as individuals and as societies, putting into place more and more measures to control our populations and the world around us. But then events like this fire, or like the flash floods in the US last year, or the sudden collapse in consumer confidence in the world economy a few years ago, show that no matter how sophisticated we get, we remain powerless. Such events are a profound and humbling reminder to us of our limitations. No matter how much temporal power we possess, no matter how much wealth we hold in our hands, no matter how strong and mighty, we cannot prevent such disasters. And the more we try to bend this world to our will and control every variable, the more frequent they become. Our attempts to prevent all too often result in new disaster. The more we seek to strengthen our grip on the world, the more it slips away from us and the more chaos ensues. Adam Curtis made a very interesting documentary recently entitled Bitter Lake in which he showed how the west repeatedly achieved the complete opposite of what it was trying to achieve in almost its endeavours in Afghanistan, inadvertently sowing the seeds of the terrorism and extremism that was to follow. An example he gives of this is the dams they built in Helmand that were meant to strengthen democracy, but in fact created the perfect conditions for the growth of the poppy and increased the power and influence of the warlords, making democracy next to impossible. Allah says, 

وَمَكَرُوا مَكْراً وَمَكَرْنَا مَكْراً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ مَكْرِهِمْ

the translation of which is, “They make their plots and we make our plots unbeknownst to them. Look at the outcome of their plots.” The outcome of most of their endeavours is the opposite of what they hoped for, and very often puts in motion events that lead to their destruction. Allah says, in a continuation of this ayat, 

إِنَّا دَمَّرْنَاهُمْ وَقَوْمَهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ 

the translation of which is, “We destroyed them and their people completely.” Their plots and plans blow up in their faces, and a world that they expend so much energy on understanding and controlling ceases to make sense to them. Adam Curtis said, “Increasingly, we live in a world where nothing makes any sense. Events come and go like waves of a fever, leaving us confused and uncertain.”
That confusion and uncertainty only arise because we strive for control. If we let go, and realise our powerlessness, then everything makes sense, and we know peace and tranquility. The Prophet said,

إن الله جعل الروح والراحة في الرضا واليقين

“Allah places solace and rest in contentment and certainty.” And we rediscover hope. We realise we never have to fear our own inadequacy, we never have to dwell on our lack of capacity. Our needs will be met despite ourselves and our whims and caprices, not because of them.
Look at yourself, look around the world, and through no effort on your part, you get exactly what you need. The air is oxygenated to the prescribed levels for us to breathe, the sun the right distance away that we are kept warm without burning up. Night is alternated with day so we can find rest and keep out energy levels up.We have the capacity of sight, smell, taste, feel and hearing to enable us to navigate our way through life, and natural levels of love and concern for one another to enable us to form into stable communities and societies. The only thing that threatens this is hawa.
Look at the infant child, totally helpless and unable to move, and yet it cries, and the world rushes to serve it, rushes to bring it what it wants and needs. It has no illusions that is in control, and yet the dunya hurries to its aid.
So, the first stage to living a contented life is to accept that there is no power and no strength except with Allah, and that the outcomes are all in His hands, not yours. Allah says,

وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ وَمَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ

the translation of which is, “Your Lord creates what He wants and what He chooses, and they do not have choice.” And the second is to make your wants be in line with the wants of Allah. And Allah wants us to believe in Him, remember Him and obey Him, He does not want the opposite. Allah says, 

وَلاَ يَرْضَى لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ

the translation of which is, “He is not pleased with kufr for His slaves.” If we do that, then the world will serve us completely. It will bend to our will, because our will will be the will of our Lord. Allah says,

وَمَا تَشَاؤُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَّشَاءَ اللهُ

the translation of which is, “You will not want except that Allah wants.” And Allah says, in a hadith qudsi.

يا عبدي أنا أقول للشيء كن فيكون أطعني أجعلك تقول للشيء كن فيكون

“My slave, I say to something, ‘Be!’ and it is. Obey Me and I will make it that you say to something, ‘Be!’ and it will be.” We will see wonders and nothing will stand in our way. All obstacles will be removed from our path as they were removed from the path of the Prophet and His Companions. They said, ‘Persia will be ours’ and it was. They said that the Byzantines would be defeated and they were. They said that Islam would spread to every corner of the earth and it did. And this was repeated time and again throughout history. Every time the Muslims returned to their Lord, the reins of the world were restored to them and seemingly unbeatable enemies melted away. The key was obedience, following the deen of Allah, implementing His commands and avoiding HIs prohibitions. Nothing more and nothing less. The dunya is the riding-beast of the believer, as the Prophet said, so fulfil your contract of belief and it will take you where you need to go. But do not try to carry it and bend it to your whim, for it will exhaust you and tire you out and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, unhappy and uncertain.

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.

We have mentioned that the power all belongs to Allah, and that nothing comes to pass except by His Will, but this does not mean that we never plan ahead, that we never strive to get your affairs structured and in order. No, quite the contrary. Planning ahead is a requirement, for what is niyya if not a plan for the future. And niyya is agreed upon by the majority of the ulama to be a condition for the validity of acts of worship. Indeed, there could be no action, full stop, without intention. The Prophet said,

إنما الأعمال بالنيات

“Actions are only by intention.” And, indeed, that niyya that you make is often more valuable to you in the long run than the action that it leads to. The Prophet said,

نية المؤمن خير من عمله

“The niyya of the believer is better than his action.” And it is a good action in its own right, even when no action results from it. Allah says in a hadith qudsi, 

إدا هم عبدي بحسنة فلم يعملها كتبت لها حسنة كاملة

“If My slave makes an intention to do a good action but does not do it, a complete good action is written for him.” Intentions and planning ahead are even important in what are known as dunyawi matters, such as trade, business or marriage. Indeed, it is one of the cornerstones of our lives on this planet. We do not simply react, we are proactive. We use the faculties and intellects that Allah has given us. The Prophet said,

التدبير نصف العيش

“Planning ahead is half of living.” But all of those plans and intentions must be made on the right basis. As soon as we give precedence to our own whims and opinions over the commands of Allah, it becomes a plot rather than a plan and brings confusion and destruction in its wake.
The outcome is ever in the hands of Allah, and need not concern us. All we must do is live our lives according to what He had commanded and plan our lives in the light of what He has directed. If we do that, we will have success, and our time on this planet will make sense to us. If we do not, confusion and discontent will be our only reward.
We ask Allah to increase us in knowledge of Him, and purify our intentions. And we ask Him to protect us and give us the best of outcomes and the best of seals.

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.