Khutba on Celebration and Ashura

         الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل لعبده أسباب الفرح والنصرة، وجعل قوم نبيه أحق باحتفال أيامه ممن قبله، 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.

            Last week, we talked about the hijra of the Messenger of Allah, one of the great victories of the Muslims. And, indeed, you will see that that is a common thread on all the days that we celebrate and commemorate – the two Eids, celebrations of our success in completing two of the key acts of worship, the mawlid, the celebration of the birth of the Messenger of Allah, the sole gateway to Allah and key to mankind’s successful acceptance by their Lord, the battle of Badr, Laylat Nisf Sha’ban when many souls are freed from the Fire, the Laylat al-Isra wal-Mi’raj, when the Prophet of our Umma was singled out from all of Allah’s creatures for the station of qabi qawsayni aw adna and beyond. All of these we commemorate to show our thanks and gratitude to our Lord, and tomorrow, the day of Ashura, the tenth of Muharram is no different, for tomorrow is a day that has seen, throughout the history of mankind, many victories and openings for the friends of Allah. In his well-known book, “tanbih al-ghafilin”, Abu Layth as-Samarqandi mentions a large number of gifts and blessings Allah bestowed upon mankind on Ashura, for on this day He accepted the tawba of Adam, raised up Idris to a high place, brought the Ark of Nuh to land at al-Judi, gave Ibrahim a son, as well as taking him as a khalil and keeping him safe from the fire into which he had been thrown, forgave Dawud, raised up Isa to the heavens, saved Musa from the sea and drowned Pharaoh, saved Yunus from the belly of the whale, returned Ayyub to his family, health and wealth, and restored Sulayman’s kingdom to him in all its glory. Indeed, such importance did the Messenger of Allah attach to the day that it was the first fast He made obligatory upon His companions:

عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال: قدم النبي  المدينة فوجد اليهود صياما يوم عاشوراء، فقال لهم: ((ما هذا اليوم الذي تصومونه؟)) قالوا: هذا يوم عظيم، أنجى الله فيه موسى وقومه، وأغرق فرعون وقومه، فصامه موسى شكرا فنحن نصومه، فقال: ((نحن أحق بموسى منكم))، فصامه  وأمر بصيامه
 
         Ibn Abbas narrated that when the Prophet arrived in Madinah, he found the Jews fasting the day of Ashura, so he asked them, “What is this day that you are fasting?” They replied, “This is an immense day, for on it Allah rescued Musa and his people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people. So Musa fasted it out of thanks to his Lord and we fast it as well.” So the Prophet said, “We have a greater right to Musa than yourselves,” and started to fast that day and commanded the Muslims to fast it. And it remained obligatory for the Muslims until fasting the month of Ramadan was prescribed, at which point the Prophet said about Ashura,
 
من شاء صامه ومن شاء تركه

         But, despite the fact that fasting it is no longer obligatory, still it is one of the most recommended days in the year to fast, bringing with it an immense reward,
 
عن أبي قتادة رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله  سُئل عن صيام يوم عاشوراء، فقال: أحتسب على الله أن يكفر السنة التي قبله
 
         Abu Qatada narrated that the Messenger of Allah was asked about fasting the day of Ashura and replied, “I have hopes from Allah that it will expiate the sins of the past year.”
         However, one should not fast the day of Ashura alone as that is tantamount to imitation of the Jews , a matter that is frowned upon in the deen and is to be avoided. No, it is best to fast it in conjunction with either the day before it or the day after it. The Prophet said,

خالفوا اليهود صوموا يوماً قبله أو يوماً بعده
        
         “Be different from the Jews and fast the day before it or the day after it.” And he also said,
لئن بقيت إلى قابل لأصومن التاسع والعاشر
 
         “If I am still alive around for the next Ashura, I will fast the ninth and tenth days.” And in another narration, he said, ‘I will fast the ninth day.’ From this and the other narrations, it follows that, in order of preference, it is best to fast the ninth and tenth days, then the tenth and eleventh days, then the ninth, tenth and eleventh days, and finally the day of Ashura on its own.
         Fasting is the primary way of marking the day, but is by no means the only one, for all good actions are magnified on the day of Ashura, especially that of giving and spending on your family.  Indeed, by doing so, you guarantee your own provision for the remainder of the year. Muhammad ibn Maysura narrated,

من وسّع على عياله يوم عاشوراء، وسّع الله عليه سائرَ السنة
 
         “Whoever provides generously for one’s dependants on the day of Ashura, Allah will provide generously for him throughout the rest of the year.”
         This is the source of the practice of Muslims, here in Cape Town and throughout the world, of celebrating this day by preparing feasts and giving presents, especially sweets and nuts, to the children. We ask Allah to make this new year and this month of Muharram a time of renewal for the Deen and a time in which the hearts of the Muslims are united. We ask Him that He give every one of us the strength and himma to take full advantage of it and We ask Him to bring ease to those who are in difficulty, victory to those who are struggling in His Way and good health to those who are ill. We ask Him to bless the Muslims of this city and bring its other inhabitants to Islam in their droves. We ask Him to give us the best of seals.
        
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.

         While tomorrow is a day of joy and celebration for the Muslims, it is also a day we must be on our guard. On our guard against the slowly encroaching views and practices of a group who have hijacked this day and perverted it, indeed inverted it and turned it into a day of grief and sorrow, a day of mourning and self-flagellation, a day of the dead. This group’s views and practices have, over the centuries, slowly and surreptitiously been seeping into the mainstream consciousness of the Muslim umma so that today we find many of their lies and misrepresentations being swallowed wholesale by the rank and file of the Muslims, especially when related to Muawiya and the Bani Umayya. And their push for acceptance, fuelled by Iranian petrodollars, has gathered pace in recent years, to the extent that we find many of our own scholars advocating their acceptance into the mainstream of the umma and echoing their views about certain Companions of the Messenger of Allah. I would like to remind those scholars that all the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, I repeat, all Companions of the Messenger of Allah, are beyond reproach and are not to be cursed or badmouthed, especially those placed in positions of authority by the Messenger of Allah and his closest Companions. 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.” And any who go against that are not be trusted and not to be associated with. The Prophet said,

لاَ تَسُبُّواْ أَصْحَابِي، فَإِنَّهُ يَجِيءُ قَوْمٌ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ يَسُبُّونَ أَصْحَابِي فَلَا تُصَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَلاَ تُصَلُّواْ مَعَهُمْ، وَلاَ تُنَاكِحُوهُمْ، وَلاَ تُُجالِسُوهُمْ، وَإِنْ مَرَضُواْ فَلَا تَعُودُوهُمْ.

     “Do not curse my Companions. A people will come at the end of time who will curse my Companions. Do not pray over them or behind them, do not marry with them and do not sit in their assemblies. And when they are ill, do not visit them.”
         The grouping today who are most guilty of insulting the Companions are the Shia. And they are a group whose every word should be taken with a pinch of salt, for one of the cornerstones of their deen is taqiya, hiding certain practices and beliefs from non-adherents to protect the integrity of their religion. In other words, lying and deliberately misleading. And they do so with honeyed words, speaking of love of the Messenger and love of his family, and telling us that to not commemorate the events of Karbala is to fall short in showing the love required for the grandson of the Prophet.
         For it was on this day, during the reign of Yazid ibn Muawiya, that Al-Husayn ibn Ali was martyred on the fields of Karbala. And so, to show their great sadness and solidarity with Husayn, the Shia forbade fasting on that day and instigated the practice of tatbir, the practice of wailing, whipping and beating themselves, a practice that has been described by their ulama as being mustahabb and the source of a great everlasting reward, so long as it does not cause permanent damage to the one doing it.
         Do not be fooled by the Shia and do not be drawn in by their words. Every aspect of their practice on this day flies in the face of the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah, the one to whom we look for guidance. Firstly, he encouraged people to fast and considered it praiseworthy. Secondly, he did not commemorate death and did not encourage his Companions to commemorate it. None of them commemorated his death nor the death of any of the rightly-guided khalifas who followed him, instead they commemorated his life and his victories. And, anyway, the death of the awliya is not a cause for sadness but rather a cause for joy, especially when they die shahid. Jalaludeen ar-Rumi famously said that the martyrdom of Hussain should be a cause of joy and an eid, for it is the day upon which he went to see his Lord. When the Prophets and men of Allah die, there is good in it for themselves and the entire Muslim umma, as the Prophet said, speaking about his own life,

حياتي خيرٌ لكم وموتي خيرٌ لكم
 
         “My life is a blessing for you and my death is a blessing for you,”
And thirdly, he forbade people to cause harm to themselves, saying,
لا ضرر ولا ضرار
 
            “There must be no harm and no harming.” no harm to others and no harming oneself, one of the basic principles of the deen of Allah. And, clearly, beating oneself is inflicting harm upon oneself and is thus forbidden.
            The human body is a trust – it is on loan to us and ultimately belongs to Allah. It will either be a witness for us or against us on the day of Rising, depending on how we treat it. It is a great blessing and it would be the height of kufr – ingratitude – to maltreat it. That is not the act of the ‘aqil – the man of intellect – and that is not the act of the ‘abdun shakur – the grateful slave. Our deen is clear and that is not part of it, so beware of those who make it part of their deen. Hold firm to the rope of Allah and do not separate. And remember the blessings of your Lord who placed you in this place, and surrounded you with brothers and sisters, believing in Allah and His Messenger and desiring to see the victory of His Deen. May Allah give us the strength and knowledge to keep the sunna of His beloved Messenger alive, and may He protect us from engaging in reprehensible and repugnant practices that will take us away from Him.

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.