Khutba on Support for the Mosque
الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي جعل أحسن بقاع أرضه المساجد، وأمر عباده بعمارتها وصيانتها من الكواره والخبائث، 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.
Allah’s generosity to us is without limits, His mercy inexhaustible. He fulfils all our needs and provides us with every means. He gives us life, warmth and light, He blesses us with smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight. He puts roofs over our heads and food and drink on our tables. He grants us intellects and discrimination and access to all manner of knowledge and information, knowledge not given to other beings. Allah says,
وَعَلَّمَ آَدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا
the translation of which is, “He taught Adam all the names.” And He gives us all – every human being on this planet – the opportunity to know His Creator, the greatest boon imaginable as it is for that that we were created. It is by that that we truly understand ourselves and our place in existence and can achieve true joy and content, a real sense of fulfilment and completion, it is by that that we can finally rid ourselves of that nagging sense of emptiness and futility that nags away at the hearts of so many of mankind. For we are realising the purpose of our existence. Allah says,
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالاِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
the translation of which is, “I have not created Jinn and Man except to worship Me.” These signs that indicate and point the way to our Creator are not hidden, they are manifest. They are to be found in every direction that you look, in both the inward and the outward. They are everywhere, the whole of existence is a reminder and a clue for those who reflect. Allah says,
وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آَيَاتٌ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
the translation of which is, “On the Earth there are signs for those who have certainty. And in yourselves if only you would see.” And Allah says,
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآَيَاتٍ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
the translation of which is, “In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are Signs for people with intelligence.” To see them and benefit from them and increase through them in knowledge of our Lord, all we have to do is to exercise our lubb, our core, our intellect and really look. But too many do not, too many shut down that capacity and limit their perception and conception of reality to what their five senses reveal to them. But those senses are not operating at full capacity because they have hobbled them by cutting their ties to the deeper levels of their intellect. For a sense without intellect is next to useless – do you not see that when your eyes settle on something, it is your mind that deciphers those signals and tells you what to make of them. Otherwise it is a meaningless jumble of shapes and colours. If the intellect denies the truth and covers it over, the senses cannot make full sense of what confronts them. They are as our Lord describes,
صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
the translation of which is, “Deaf, dumb and blind, they do not understand.” Their lack of belief, and belief is simply knowledge and awareness, has made the signposts unintelligible to them. Allah says,
وَمَا تُغْنِي الْآَيَاتُ وَالنُّذُرُ عَنْ قَوْمٍ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
the translation of which is, “The signs and the warners benefit not a people who do not believe.” They are like someone who comes upon a wooden signpost that points the way, but instead of seeing it as a signpost, all he sees is some form of tree largely indistinguishable from all the others, and so he continues to wander lost and alone. For such is the fate of those who fail to heed the signs.
But, alhamdulillah, Allah has guided us, the Muslims, and unlike many of our fellow human beings, given us the capacity to make full use of those gifts He has given us. We see His signs and are able to follow them along the the sirat al-mustaqim. Truly His generosity is beyond compare.
So let us honour His gifts and not take them for granted. Let us make full use of them and give them their due. Look out for His signs and go out in search of them, follow our Lord’s advice to us throughout His noble Book, for He says,
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الاَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا
the translation of which is, “Will they not travel the earth and look.” And He says,
قُلُ انظُرُوا مَاذَا فِي السَّمَوَتِ وَالاَرضِ
the translation of which is, “Say, look at what is in the heavens and earth.” And He says,
أَوَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا
the translation of which is, “Will they not look?” Do not hide from the world, go out amongst it, look around you and reflect. Reflection is our secret, it is what keeps our senses honed and our intellect sharp, it is what deepens our understanding and gives us the wisdom to know when to act and what to do. It is more beneficial than any amount of worship. The Prophet said,
فكرة ساعة خير من عبادة ستين سنة
“An hour of reflection is better than sixty years of worship.” Speak out about His gifts and mention them often. Remind yourself and others about them constantly. Allah says,
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
the translation of which is, “As for the blessings of your Lord, speak out.” And chief among those blessings are those which provided guidance – the Book of Allah and the one who brought it, the Messenger of Allah. They are the two gifts that set us apart from the rest of mankind and elevate us above them, their value cannot be quantified, they are beyond value, they are invaluable. There is no greater ni’ma, and so our speech should be filled with their mention. The ayats of Allah should ever be on our tongues, the qualities of His Messenger should colour our every conversation. He is our muse and inspiration, sallaa-llaahu alayhi was sallam.
And most of all, let us be thankful, let us direct our gratitude towards the one to whom it is due, the true source of our every thought, action and possession. Allah says,
وَاللهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
the translation of which is, “Allah created you and what you do.” Every blessing, every bounty, every joy and happiness comes from Him, but most take all of that for granted, just as they take their existence for granted, and never give Him a thought, let alone give Him thanks. Allah says,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
the translation of which is, “Allah shows favour to mankind but most of them are not thankful.” And that is their great downfall, that is why their lives are marked with drudgery and hardship, even when it appears to others that they have everything. Indeed, a recent study in the US discovered that the rates of anxiety and depression among the young and rich are twice as high as those among the young and poor. And that is because of a feeling of entitlement and a lack of gratitude. For make no mistake, it is us who benefit from being thankful, it is our lives that are improved beyond measure, and our existences that are enriched. Our gratitude or lack of it makes no difference to our Lord. Allah says,
وَمَنْ شَكَرَ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ رَبِّي غَنِيٌّ كَرِيمٌ
the translation of which is, “Whoever gives thanks only does so to his own gain. Whoever is ungrateful, my Lord is Rich Beyond Need, Generous.” So we ask Allah to put gratitude in our hearts and place thankfulness on our tongues, and enable us to honour His gifts in the best and fullest of ways.
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. قال الله عز وجل في كتابه الكريم: فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَن تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاء الزَّكَاةِ
Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, “In houses which Allah has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory, morning and evening, not distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the establishment of the prayer and the payment of zakat.”
One of Allah’s great gifts to us, especially in these dark times, is the mosque. In this age of godlessness, for us to have a dedicated place of worship is something momentous. And we would do well to not take it for granted, to not forget the tremendous efforts that were made to establish this place, or made by our forebears to make this city ready to accept mosques, or made by our Messenger to establish the first great mosque of the Muslims in Madina. The Muhajirun had to leave everything behind, cut themselves from their old lives completely in order to go to Madina and establish their mosque.
This mosque is an amazing blessing, situated at the very heart of Cape Town, built in the form of a mosque, facing the qibla, 80 years before it actually became one. A beautiful building, a place of light and gathering, a place of tremendous baraka, a place that has borne witness to hundreds of shahadas in its short existence.
And we, each and every one of us, are privileged to pray in it, sit in it, frequent it. We are privileged to be the guests of Allah, for every mosque on the earth is one of His houses. Allah says in a hadith qudsi,
إنّ بيوتي في أرضي المساجد، وإنّ زوّاري فيها عمّارها، فطوبى لعبد تطهّر في بيته ثم زارني في بيتي فحقّ على المزور أن يكرم زائره
“My houses upon the earth are the mosques, and those who frequent them are my visitors. Blessed be the slave who purifies himself in his house and then visits Me in Mine, for it is the duty of the host to honour the one who visits him.” So every time we step through these doors, we are being honoured by our Lord. He becomes more intimate with us and takes us ever more under His wing. The Prophet said,
من أَلِفَ المسجدَ أَلِفَهُ اللهُ تعالى
“If someone becomes intimate with the mosque, Allah will become intimate with him.” And the more intimate with our Lord we become, the more gifts He showers upon us.
But, because we have become so familiar with the mosque, it is sometimes easy to take it for granted and assume that it will always be there, and that there will always be somebody to look after it and maintain it, for despite the mosques being the houses of Allah, it is our Lord’s Sunna in creation to have the affairs of created things looked after by other created things. And so we keep coming to the mosque without giving any thought to its upkeep. We all know the reward for building mosques, and many of us participated in that process, for the Prophet said,
من بنى لله مسجدا ولو كمفحص قطاة لبيضها بنى الله له بيتا في الجنة
“If anyone builds a mosque for the sake of Allah, even if the section he builds is no bigger than the nesting place of the sand grouse, then Allah will build him a home in the Garden.” But keeping something going is as important as establishing it. There are few higher callings than the maintenance of a mosque, even if that be no more than sweeping its halls or installing and maintaining its lights. Anas ibn Malik said,
من أسرج سراجا في مسجد لم تزل الملائكة وحملة المسجد يستغفرون له ما دام في ذلك المسجد ضوؤه
“If anyone installs a lamp in a mosque, the angels and carriers of that mosque will continue to ask forgiveness for him as long as that lamp continues to provide light.” And Allah says in surat al-Baqara,
وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ
the translation of which is, “We contracted with Ibrahim and Isma’il: ‘Purify My House’”. One of the primary jobs of two of the Messengers of Allah was to keep the House, and by extension all other houses of Allah, clean and smelling nice. It is a job that confers the highest levels of nobility on any one, man or woman, who does it. And it has been the making of many of the great men and women of Allah. In the time of the Prophet there was a woman called Umm Mihjan who used to sweep the mosque. One day the Prophet passed by a freshly dug grave was informed that it was hers so he scolded his companions for not telling him that she had died so that he could have prayed the janazah prayer over her. Then he went up to her grave, stood beside it and prayed over her then and there, the only time he prayed janaza for someone after they had been buried. She was honoured like no other. She did not take her mosque for granted, but placed herself in the service of her Lord and the service of His house and reaped the rewards.
Another way people take their mosques for granted is to think of it as just any other please, and not to make any special efforts in its honour. It is the House of the King of Kings, the Lord of all that He surveys, and we turn up at the door having made no efforts to make ourselves presentable. We would never imagine doing such a thing if we were invited to the king’s palace for a function, or even to the house of our boss at work. So how can we not make the same amount of effort when visiting the house of Allah. People used to seek to denigrate this mosque by called it the Armani mosque, as people dressed up so smartly when they came. In reality, that is the highest praise. Allah says,
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ
the translation of which is, “Children of Adam, wear fine clothing in every mosque.” And put on your best perfume, and avoid bringing in to its walls anything that smells bad or has the potential to distress those inside. The Prophet said,
من أكل الثوم والبصل والكراث فلا يقربن مسجدنا فإن الملائكة تتأذى مما يتأذى منه بنو آدم
“Anyone who eats garlic, onions or leeks should not come near our mosque, for the angels are troubled and distressed by what makes humans troubled and distressed.” This is something we all use to take care about and something which some of us have forgotten or about which we have become lax. Let us recover our respect for the House of Allah, and take care of its needs. Let us frequent it and keep it full of life and light, and not allow it to become an empty and peopleless ruin. We ask Allah to give us success in that, and fill this mosque with light and baraka. And we ask Him to reward all of those who are involved in its establishment, building, upkeep, protection, management and cleaning.
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.