Khutba on Rajab and the Prayer

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أنعم على عبده بالصلاة، وأمرهم أن يقيموها بالخشوع وفي الأوقات، 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 كتابة الكريم إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ  ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ أَنْفُسَكُمْ

Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “There have been twelve months with Allah in the Book of Allah, from the day He first created the heavens and earth. Four of them are haram (sacred). That is the true deen. So do not wrong one another during them.” Today is the fourth day of Rajab, one of these four sacred months and an incredible time of the year, a time of great opportunity. So do not wrong one another during it and do not wrong yourselves by remaining oblivious to the immensity of the days that you are in. This is the month of Allah. According to as-Suyuti, the Prophet said,

رجبُ شهرُ الله وشعبانُ شهري ورمضانُ شهر أمّتي

“Rajab is the month of Allah, Sha‘ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah.” Now while this hadith is considered weak, that does not mean that there is no truth in what it has to say. The importance and greatness of Rajab is confirmed by words of the Prophet relating to Sha’ban. When he was asked why he fasted so much in Sha’ban, he said,

هذا شهر يغفل الناس عنه بين رجب ورمضان

“This is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadan.” This shows that the early community paid great attention to Rajab, just as they paid great attention to Ramadan, and the only reason they would have paid it extra attention is if it was indeed significant. And we know it is indeed significant, for at least two reasons. 
Firstly, it is a sacred month and the consequences of actions are magnified during the sacred months, both right actions and wrong actions carry more weight, and so it is an ideal time to stock up. This is why so many good actions are emphasised for these months, such as fasting and istighfar. 
Secondly, according to one of the stronger positions narrated by the mufassirin, it is host to one of the greatest nights of the year, the night of the Isra and Mi’raj, a night after which an entire sura is named and which is mentioned in at least two suras of the Quran, Surat al-Isra and Surat an-Najm. This night is said to fall on the 27th of this month and we will talk about it in more detail closer to the time, for it was a night packed with significance for this umma. And that is not just because of the astonishing nature of it, for it was so far outside of the norm that the first reaction of the vast majority of people who heard about it was to laugh and mock and deny, even some of those who had hitherto believed in his Message. The event was indeed awe-inspiring and scarcely believable, but the lessons that can be learnt from it are even more awe-inspiring, even more significant and more impactful on our day-to-day lives if we reflect on them and put them into practice.
Perhaps, the most significant thing that happened on that night relates to the prayer, for it was on that night that it was prescribed, it was on that night that it was given to this Umma. The prayer is a gift beyond compare. But many of us take it for granted, forgetting its immense worth, and rush through it, distracted and with our minds elsewhere, forgetting to savour its moments. We are anxious to get it done rather than anxious for it to come. When my father was in Morocco, he spent some time in the company of a man called Mouli Hasan, one of the men of the circle of the great Shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib. Mouli Hasan’s biological clock was set to the prayer. An hour before the time of the prayer was due, he would invariably get out his pocket watch to check the time, and this would happen with increasing frequency the closer the time got. Then just before its time arrived, he would leap to his feet and make himself ready, straighten his clothes, get out his prayer mat out and face it towards the qibla, his excitement at its approach palpable, and growing all the while it grew closer. It was as if he were awaiting the visit of a loved one whom he had not seen for some time. And his joy when its time arrived with the first syllables of the adhan was apparent on every inch of his face – he could once again enter the audience chamber of his Lord. Now, while we cannot all be like that, for his love of the prayer and connection to it was a gift to him from Allah, we can all at least have some appreciation of it and a taste. The prayer is our direct link to our Lord, a personal audience with the King of Kings and Lord of all the Worlds, granted to us regardless of however lowly our status in this world. The Prophet said,

إن المصلى يناجي ربه

“The one who is praying is speaking intimately with his Lord.” He listens to everything we have to say, and responds. In His audience chamber, we are never overlooked or ignored and disregarded. Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi,

قال الله تعالى: قسمت الصلاة بيني و بين عبدي نصفين ولعبدي ما سأل؛ فإذا قال العبد: الحمد لله ربّ العالمين، قال الله تعالى: حمدني عبدي. وإذا قال الرحمن الرحيم، قال الله تعالى:  مجّدني عبدي. وإذا قال: مالك يوم الدين، قال: فوّض إليّ عبدي. فإذا قال: إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين، قال: هذا بيني وبين عبدي ولعبدي ما سأل. فإذا قال:اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضّالين، قال: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل

“Allah says, ‘I have divided the prayer between Me and My slave into two halves, and My slave will have what he wants. When the slave says, ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, Allah replies, ‘My slave has praised me.’ When he says, ‘The All-merciful, Most Merciful’, Allah replies, ‘My slave has glorified Me.’ When he says, ‘The King of the Day of deen,’ Allah says, ‘My slave has handed his affair over to Me .’ When he says, ‘You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help’, Allah says, ‘This is between Me and My slave, and My slave will have what he asks for.’ When he says, ‘Guide us along the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed, not of those with anger on them nor of the misguided,’ Allah says, ‘This is for My slave and My slave will have what he asks for.’” 
This is granted to every slave of Allah who recites the Fatiha in his prayer, every time He recites the Fatiha. In other words, at least 17 times a time. Even the closest advisers and confidantes of earthly kings are rarely granted access to them that often, let alone the general public and lowly peasants. They would be lucky to be admitted into his presence once in their lifetimes, but our Lord is generous, beyond need, and His door is open at all times of day and night. He is always there ready to listen. And when we are with Him, unlike with many earthly kings, our Lord addresses us directly and not through intermediaries. The Prophet said, 

إن العبد إذا قام إلى الصلاة رفع الله الحجاب بينه وبينه وواجهه بوجهه وقامت الملائكة من لدن منكبيه إلى الهوى يصلون بصلاته

“When the slave stands in prayer, Allah lifts the veil between them and faces him directly, while the angels that are on the slave’s shoulders do the prayer with him.”
Wake up to what you have been given. Our whole life’s goal is to get to know our Lord and get closer to Him, that is the reason for which we were created, the reason we were put on this earth. And there is no means of doing that better than the prayer. And there is no point in the day that we are closer to our Lord than during it. Abu Hurayra said,

أقرب ما يكون العبد إلى الله عز وجل إذا سجد فأكثروا الدعاء عند ذلك.

“The closest a slave can get to Allah is when he is in prostration, so make lots of dua when you are there.” Give the prayer its due and honour its time. Be constant in it and have khushu, for much of its benefit is lost to those whose minds are absent while their bodies are in prayer. And try and catch it in jama’a for all its benefits are magnified and multiplied by company.

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.

Not only does our Lord honour us with His intimate conversation while we are in the prayer, but He continuously showers us throughout it with gifts and rewards. No slave leaves His presence empty-handed, no slave completes a prayer except that he leaves it wealthier than when he started, in both this world and the Next. For the prayer is the secret to our rizq and increase in our rizq. The Prophet said,

يا أبا هريرة مر أهلك بالصلاة فإن الله يأتيك بالرزق من حيث لا تحتسب

“O Abu Hurayra, command your family to pray, for if you do then Allah will bring you provision from where you know not.” Provision in wealth, provision in health, provision in time. If our prayer is healthy, then so are we, and our energy levels as we go through life are so much greater. If the times of our prayers are maintained, then our days feel so much longer and we can so much more done. Compare any day when you have gotten up for Fajr and when you have slept through it to see the truth of that. 
As for the Hereafter, the prayer is the key to the Garden, it grants us access. The Prophet said,

مفتاح الجنة الصلاة

“The key to the garden is the prayer.” Without it, its doors will remain locked and you will be unable to enter. It is through the prayer that we are given the best of this world and the Next. It should not be viewed as an imposition, but an honour, as something we begrudge, but something we eagerly anticipate. These two gifts we have mentioned would be enough of a reward, but they do not even touch the surface of its secrets. I would like to conclude this khutba with a truly remarkable hadith of the Messenger of Allah in which he describes the significance of the prayer. He said,

الصلاة مرضاة للرب تبارك وتعالى، وحب الملائكة وسنة الأنبياء ونور المعرفة وأصل الإيمان وإجابة للدعاء وقبول الأعمال وبركة في الرزق وراحة في الأبدان وسلاح على الأعداء وكراهية للشيطان ، وشفيع بين صاحبها وملك الموت ، وسراج في قبره وفراش تحت جنبه وجواب مع منكر ونكير ، ومؤنس في قبره إلى يوم القيامة ، فإذا كانت القيامة ، صارت الصلاة ظلا فوقه وتاجا على رأسه ولباسا على بدنه ونورا يسعى بين يديه ، وسترا بينه وبين النار ، وحجه للمؤمنين بين يدي الرب تبارك وتعالى وثقلا في الموازين وجوازا على الصراط ومفتاحا للجنة، لأن الصلاة تسبيح وتحميد وتقديس وتعظيم وقراءة ودعاء، وإن أفضل الأعمال كلها الصلاة لوقتها

“The prayer is the pleasure of the Lord, the love of the angels, the sunna of the Prophets, the light of direct knowledge, the source of imaan, the answering of dua, the acceptance of action, baraka in provision, rest for the bodies, a weapon against enemies, hated by Shaytan, an intercessor between you and the angel of death, a lamp in the grave, a soft bed under your side [in the grave], a barrier between you and the Fire, a proof for the believers when they are in front of their Lord, a heavy weight in the balance, a swift crossing of the sirat and a key to the Garden. And that is because prayer is glorification, praise, recitation and dua. The best of all actions is doing the prayer in its time.”
We ask Allah to give us a true appreciation for the value of the prayer, and the strength and himma to get it done in its time. We ask that He make our prayer acceptable to Him, and through His acceptance of our prayers, accept the rest of our lives and grant us access to Him and an everlasting audience with Him in the Next Life.

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.