Leaving Behind a Legacy - A MUST READ!!

[hidaayah]

:sl:

source: suhaib.wordpress.com

Transcribed by the Brothers and Sisters at Irvine Masjid. May Allah reward them. Khutbah given Oct. of this year.

All praise is to Allah and peace up on the Prophet (sa)

Let us begin by asking a question, this question can be applied to everyone in the room, whether you are males or females, students or working professionals, young or old. The question is- If you were to die today and leave this world, how will you be remembered by your neighbors, your coworkers, fellow students, your spouse and children? What type of impact are you going to leave behind? If you were to disappear today what type of legacy would you leave? Allah(swt) says,
“Every soul of this earth will taste death” {Quran 3: 185}
If we look at the life of our blessed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)…He left an incredible impact that can be measured in many different ways.

* First, his impact on the Community:

Allah(swt) is the best of witnesses and He bears witness to the effect the Prophet had on his local community in Surat Al-Imran…ا

“Indeed, you were enemies and Allah joined you hearts so that by His Grace, you united in brotherhood” {3:103}
Let us look at the actual statements from the community of the Prophet. The greatest museeba (trial) to ever befall the Ummah was the death of the Prophet. It was too overwhelming for the Muslims to comprehend that the revelation had truly been stopped and the connection between them and the heavens had ceased forever. The Prophet himself reminded his Ummah in a Hadith, “Whenever you are inflicted with a tribulation indeed remember the affliction of my death and you will find that that infliction is nothing compared to my death.” Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, detailed the time of his death, it was on a Monday and he was buried on Wednesday after Isha`a prayer. The death of the Prophet had not hit them until that night after prayer, as Umm Salama described “We heard the sounds of shovels outside and we began to weep and shriek because then we realized that the Prophet was gone… and the masjid of the Prophet began to weep and all of Medina began to shake with convulsions out of the intense sadness and grief at the loss of the Prophet.” His burial came after prayer- Can you imagine being in the shoes of Omar ibn Khattaab or Aisha when the time of Fajr prayer came after the burial? Belal stood for the athan and when he came to pronounce the name of the Prophet, he could not continue and he weeped instead. Um Salama says that at that moment of the athan, Medina began to convulse again. The effect of his prophetic light can be seen on the community from their reaction to his death.
This is the impact of the Prophet on his community.

* Second, his impact on his family:

Who was the first person to visit the Prophet’s grave-? It was not Abu Bakr or Omar or Ali, may Allah bless them all - but it was his daughter, Fatima, to visit his grave first. Do we have this connection with our daughters like that the prophet built with his daughter? When Fatima arrived at the grave and saw men putting dirt on it, she asked Anas ibn Malik how he could throw dirt upon the grave of the Prophet? At her father’s grave, Fatima lamented, “Indeed, patience is noteworthy in every situation except with death of you because at your death patience is extinguished.” After the death of the Prophet, Fatima was never seen smiling again until her own death. What type of effect do we have on our children? When we get old will we be surprised that the connection with our children is not there when we need them most? Parents, we must get involved with our children’s lives -ask how their day was, see what type of friends they have, take them to the masjid and tell them you are passing on the waseeya(legacy) of the Prophet.

* Next, how did the wives of the Prophet remember him? It is said that “the reflection of man is his wife and the reflection of a woman is her husband” Just one statement tells all- Umm Salama said that “After the death of the Prophet, whenever any hardship would befall me I would remember the absence of the Prophet and that would completely overshadow any difficulty that I ever faced in my life.” Maybe some of us ask how can we put the death of the Prophet into a trans-modern reality? Ask yourself when was the last time you read a book of hadith or on the seerah of the Prophet’s life? So if your not connected to the Prophet it as though he is dead in our life - do youfeel the same sadness?

* Third, his impact on his friends:

The best friend of the Prophet was not Abu Bakr, but first it was Allah(swt) and then Abu Bakr(raa). It is well-known that Abu Bakr, at the time of the Prophet’s death, had great composure and exhibitied great leadership although he was still overcome with sadness. On that day, Abu Bakr described, “The eyes are crying but it does not bother me and the right of this weeping belongs to Al-Sayed (Prophet Muhammad), the possessor of great blessings and wonderful ahkhlaq(behavior), fidelity, and high morals, the one who at the moment of severe tests will be there for you.” This was how Abu Bakr remembered his dear friend of more than 20 years. How will our friends remember us? Will they remember us for our walks in the mall, smoking, backbiting…? SubhanAllah, the scary thing is that we think of these people as our friends, but undeniably they will be witnesses against us not for us on the Day of Judgement for those same things they remembered us for. The Prophet (pbuh) says in a Hadith “The man is on the religion of his friends”

* Fourth, his impact on his enemies:

Abu Sufian became a Muslim on the day Mecca was conquered – but before that he was someone who used to plot to kill the Prophet(pbuh) and his wife was the woman who maligned the body of Hamzah(raa). However, they later made severe penitence and were granted forgiveness from Allah(swt). Abu Sufian, once a true enemy of the Prophet, at his death said something remarkable: “This Prophet, he removed doubts from us by what was revelaed to him by Allah(swt) and he guided us, so do not fear we will every be astray and the Prophet is with us as a guide.”Today, Muslims face a new difficulty in the criticism from our antagonists, leave the political commentary behind but now our ethics, the essence of Muslim morality, is being condemned. In my hometown, one night a lady saw a car blocking her driveway and immediately, she went to the nearby masjid to find its owner. When she arrived, she complained that she knew exactly where to go when she saw the inconsiderate parking. This lady will be a witness on the Day of Judgement against our community, and maybe if she never becomes a Muslim, she will point to such behavior. The Prophet(pbuh) was never criticized for his ethics or his morality. Abu Bukhari narrated that when Abu Sufian, in his days before Islam, was asked by a Roman king if the Prophet was truthful, and he replied, “Yes, he is truthful and keeps his word,” even though he had intense hate for him at the time. This is a new era in which Muslims are allowing themselves, because of their own shortcomings, to be criticized in areas of morality. Ignorant peoples called the Prophet(pbuh) a crazy man, a poet, a magician - but never was he called a person with no morals. The Prophet’s Ummah is known for its akhlaq and so many people enter into Islam because of the actions of Muslims they know. The Sunnah is divided into three important parts- the statements of the Prophet, the actions of the Prophet and the silent approvals of the Prophet. Number one in quantity and significance are the actions. About the Prophet(pbuh), Abu Sufian said “We never saw anyone like the Prophet living ever nor anyone after his death who is equal to him.” This is a statement from someone who once was the enemy of the Prophet, but was transformed by the ,i>noor of Allah’s Messenger. The great poet, Shawky wrote in a description of the Prophet: “Your brother Issa called the dead to stand for him but, you, Oh Muhammad, brought generations into Islam with the light of your message.”

Second Khutbah

After seeing the effect of the Prophet’s life upon his community, his family, his friends, and his enemies… Now, how can we leave such an impact? How can we actualize this impact when we leave this world? As the Prophet(pbuh) says in a Hadith, “ Of three things in this world , two leave a person immediately when they die- their money and their family. The one that stays is their good actions.” What can we do to achieve this?

* Understand the major goal of Islam:

If we have the sound understanding of Islam, Allah(swt) will only help us to increase our knowledge. In a story about Abu Hanifa(ra), one day he was sitting with Al-Aamash, a muhadith, and a man asked the muhadith for a fatwa(Islamic decree).However, he could not give him the fatwa, and Abu Hanifa instead gave the man a ruling on his question. After the man left, the muhadith asked Abu Hanifa where he found his answer from, and he replied that he had recognized the fatwa from a hadith the muhadith had just recited. Although Al-Aamash had the ahadith memorized, he could not understand them like Abu Hanifa could. There is a difference between understanding and knowing. We must know that the highest goals in Islamic Sharia`ah is to bring benefit to the people and prevent harm. Al-Izidin Abdu Salam (ra) once noted that if you look at all the verses in the Qur`an that begin with “Oh ye who believe” you’ll notice that this call is always followed by advice that will bring you benefit or keep you from harm. This is a proof that the major goal in Islam is to prevent harm from reaching people. Here’s an example:”Oh ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint {2:183}
Thus, the prescription of fastings goal it piety. Thus, it brings a benefit.


* The ways and means of good are many

Our communtiy is, perhaps, one of the most talented in the West. However, most of the leaders in our communities are already collecting their retirment checks! Where are the young generations? Where are the 30 somethings? These people have a number of important talents and qualities that they can bring to our communties. They represent the first generation to grow up, as we say, in the Hood. However, they are not used? Their talents are not exercised by our communties. They are artists, computer engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers and parents. Where are they? Once we realize that the Prophet (sa) used many different peoples with many different talents, then we, if we act on that, will really achieve something great: The Prophet used:

1. K’ab bin Mallik (poet)

2. Abu Bakr (knowledge of the Arab tribes)

3. Salaman (the builder of the ditch)

4. Bilal (His sweet voice)

5. Amir bin Alas (manager and organizer)

6. Zaid bin Thabit (speaker of Hebrew)

7. Abu Hurairah (his memory)

8. Umar (could write and negotiagte)

Thus, we must involve all are talented young and old males and females. I’m sure our sisters are saying, there are no sisters on this list. Inshallah, I dedicated and entire 11 CD series to the most talented women around the Prophet. Inshallah, there you’ll get more than you could ask for by Allah’s will alone.

* “Whoever does an atom weight of good is any type of good”{99:7}

Here the word good is left an an indefinite article. Thus, it signifies any act of good no matter how little, one will be rewarded.

* Work as ONE Ummah and strive for unity:

The type of unity that we talk about is to allow ourselves to differ in the branches of Islam in issues that are furua`a- branches of faith- not from the foundations of the faith. The one qa`ida “golden principle” we should follow is what we agree on we work on and where we differ we excuse each other .Try to sit with your sisters, brothers, on campus, at home, in your community, and in your families, and with the will of Allah(swt) develop that sense of unity.The Prophetic mark on society is one we can ill afford to neglect. During these times when Islam is misrepresented by different heretic factions within our camp, it is obligatory upon us to take the Prophetic plunge and leave a lasting benefical mark on our societies.

[khalid zaheer]

Assalaam o alaikum

Good post, but I could not understand this portion

We must know that the highest goals in Islamic Sharia`ah is to bring benefit to the people and prevent harm. Al-Izidin Abdu Salam (ra) once noted that if you look at all the verses in the Qur`an that begin with “Oh ye who believe” you’ll notice that this call is always followed by advice that will bring you benefit or keep you from harm. This is a proof that the major goal in Islam is to prevent harm from reaching people. Here’s an example:”Oh ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint {2:183}
Thus, the prescription of fastings goal it piety. Thus, it brings a benefit.

Other verses have not the same reason? Besides these things are when an Islamic state is established, other wise first goal of the Muslim community should be the strugle to established an Islamic state I think.


Allah Hafiz

[Sahabiyaat]

an excellent read
JazakAllah Khair for this post.

[Umm Safiya]

:sl:

Barak Allâhu fiki ukhti.. That was a veeery nice and beneficial read.. Jazak Allâhu khayr hilwa.. :love:

:w:

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[Khayal]

:sl:

Jazaak ALLAH khayr.

:w: