Self Accountability

By His Grace Sheikh Dr. Ali ibn AbduRrahman al-Huthaifi

A Friday Khutbah in the an-Nabawi Mosque in al-Madeenah an-Nabawiyyah

The First Khutbah( )

Praise be to Allah, al-Waahid( ), al-Gahhaar( ).  He wraps night over day and wraps day over night.  He made the sun and the moon beneficial and exploitable; Each runs to a predetermined deadline.  He is al-Azeez( ), al-Ghaffaar( ).  He handles affairs, conducts Aayaat( ), changes situations and does whatever He wills: (…Surely, herein is a moral lesson for those of sight)( ).

I praise my Lord and thank Him for His countless bounties.

I bare witness that there is no ilaah( ) except Allah alone, having no partner and having the good names, and I bare witness that our prophet and master Muhammad, the selected and chosen one, is His servant and messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).  O Allah… Bless your servant and messenger and grant peace to him and to his dutiful and akhyaar( ) family and companions.

Hence forth…

[Worshippers of Allah…]  Be pious with a piety that pleases your Lord, makes your deeds good, and becomes beneficial and useful for you on your Day of Return( ).

Worshippers of Allah…  Account for yourselves' deeds before you are accounted for, and weigh your deeds before they are weighed on the Great Day of Presentation( ).

O human… Because you shall be returned to your Lord, confronted with your deeds and be recompensed for them, awake your heart from total inattentiveness, beware of wishful slumber, wake up from desire intoxication and be wary of obstacles to good deeds.  When you confront Allah after death, it is better for you to confront your Lord in obedience and be happy and delighted with what you have offered, and woe to you if you confront Allah as a runaway slave.  Allah (Ta`aala) says: (And you are not incapacitating in earth nor in heaven, and you have no guardian or defender inferior to Allah)( ), and He said: (Say( ): "Surely, the death from which you flee will indeed confront you, and then you will be returned to the All-Knower of al-Ghaib( ) and ash-Shahaadah( ), and He will inform you of what you were doing")( ).

After the Be`thah( ) of the Master Human Being( ), Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and the descent of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, there is no argument nor any excuse, for anyone, that can save from torture on the Day of Judgment;  The path has been illuminated( ) and as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem( ) has become evident, as [Allah] (`azza wa Jall) said: (And that this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow the ways, for they will part you away from His way.  That is what He has exhorted you with so that you may be pious)( ).

The reciprocation of night and day, the progression of months and years, the succession of generations, the variations of a human's situations and the history of mankind.  In all of that, there are evidences, testimonies, moral lessons, exhortations, and scolding preachings that encourage the obedient to gain more of any good( ), to reprimand the inattentive and disobedient from every evil and to strengthen ambitions to seek the highest goals and avoid ruin and doom.  Today is work and no accountability, and tomorrow is accountability and no work;  So, Toobaa( ) for anyone who has pleased his Lord and then got rewarded by [entering] Heaven, and woe to anyone who has followed what angered Allah and then got the taste of painful torture.

O people… You are within ample time, the ability to do deeds and [also] in the deception of hope.  So, work for your Hereafter and do not allow your present to baulk you.  Get closer to Allah with whatever deeds you can and purify yourselves from misdeeds with Tobah( ); Life terms are depleting and opportunities are not in the hands of worshippers.  Allah (Ta`aala) said: (And hasten to a forgiveness from your Lord and a garden( ) as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious)( ).

According to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), he said: Allah's messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: (Take advantage of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your spare-time before your busyness and your life before your death), an authentic Hadeeth narrated by al-Haakim, and he said: "Authentic based upon their condition( )".

According to Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah's messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: (Hasten with deeds [before the occurrence of] six( ): The sun rising from its sunset( ), the Dukhaan( ), the Dajjaal( ), the Daabbah( ), the private affair of one of you, or the public affair), narrated by Muslim.  "The private affair of one of you" means: Death or the private affairs of a human that distort his thinking and disperse his heart.  "The public affair" means: The incidents and calamities that affect people, and people are much concerned with and keep their minds and hearts occupied.

Also, according to Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah's messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: (Take the initiative with deeds, lest ordeals like total darkness of night), narrated by Muslim.

There is a moral and a remembrance with the closing of one year and the approach of another.  Allah (Ta`aala) says: (And it is He who made night and day in succession for whoever wants to be mindful or wants to be thankful)( ).  Night and day, each one succeeds the other and takes its place, and both have advantages and benefits to creatures, some [benefits] are known and others are not.  Night and day are times for whoever wants to remember Allah in his worship and obedience, or wants to mention Allah with his tongue and heart, and praise his Lord for His bounties and be exhorted and take lesson, or wants to thank Allah through obedience or praise… and Allah is ever thankful and ever tolerant.

Give thought to the Hijrah( ) of Allah's messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and the hardships and horrors he faced during [this Hijrah], and the significant matters, the harshness and adversity of life, the enmity of the polytheists, the machination of the Munaafigeen( ), and the misfortunes he and his companions endured after his Hijrah.  To the point that one of them slew his female camel and put its stomach's bristles on top of his liver because of thirst, as happened in the Ghazwah( ) of Tabook( ), and to the point that a man ties a rock onto his abdomen because of hunger.  They endured all of that for the sake of establishing the religion, and they did fully establish it.  They were good to [people] by guiding them to the religion, and so they won the good outcome both in this life and in the Hereafter.

So, praise Allah for removing obstacles and making the means to His obedience and worship easy, and for the bounties He made plentiful for you.  Be on the right track in pleasing Him and do Jihaad( ) unto yourselves to remain obedient and to keep away from Muharramaat( ).  Allah (Ta`aala) said: (Verily, in the variation of night and day, and what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth, are signs for people of piety * Surely, those who do not yearn to meet Us and are pleased with the worldly life and are content with it, and those who are heedless of Our signs * (As for) those, their abode is the fire for what they were earning * Surely, (as for) those who believe and do good deeds, their Lord guides them by their faith; there shall flow from beneath them rivers in the paradises of bliss * In it, their call is: "Glory to Thee, O Allah!" and their greeting in it is: "Peace;" and their last call is: "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds")( ).

May Allah bless me and you with the Great Quran, and may He benefit me and you with the Aayaat and the Thikr al-Hakeem( ) it contains.

I said what I have said, and I seek forgiveness from Allah, The All-Great, for me, you and all Muslims.  So, seek His forgiveness, for He is The Most Forgiving, The Most Merciful.

The Second Khutbah

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

I bare witness that there is no ilaah except Allah alone having no partners, al-Gawiy( ), al-Mateen( ). And I bare witness that Muhammad, our prophet and master, is His servant and messenger.  Allah has sent him with guidance and Yageen( ) to warn those who are alive( ) and the due word is upon the infidels( ).  O Allah… bless Your servant and messenger Muhammad, and grant peace to him and all his family and companions.

Hence forth…

Worshippers of Allah…  Be truly pious towards Allah and hold on to Islam by its strong handle( ).  Allah (Ta`aala) says: (And say( ): "Do deeds! For Allah shall see your deeds, and [so shall] His messenger and the believers.  And you shall be returned to the All-Knower of al-Ghaib and ash-Shahaadah.  And then He will inform you of what you have been doing")( ), and He said: (Whomever does good, it is for himself, and whomever does bad, it is upon himself; and then to your Lord you are returned)( ).  Know that the doors of benevolence( ) are many and the paths of Birr( ) are diverse.  A Muslim must adhere to the worship of Allah (`azza wa Jall), and when Allah opens a door of benevolence for a Muslim, he should adhere to it.  Because this door of benevolence, which Allah opened for him, will enter him onto His Lord and raise him [to] the Paradises of bliss.

No one should under appreciate any good deed, because Allah (Tabaaraka wa Ta`aala) multiplies good deeds( ).  Allah (`azza wa Jall) said: (O my son!( ) If it is the very weight of a grain of mustard-seed, and it is in a rock or in the heavens or in the earth, Allah surely brings it out; Allah is indeed Lateef, Khabeer)( ).  According to Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), that when the indigent of the Muhaajiroon( ) complained to the prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) from scarcity of wealth from which they can give out to charity, the prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ("Hasn't Allah provided you with something for Sadaqah( )?  It is with every Tasbeehah( ) there is a Sadaqah, with every Tahleelah( ) there is a Sadaqah, with every Tahmeedah( ) there is a Sadaqah, with every Takbeerah( ) there is a Sadaqah, promoting a Ma`roof( ) is a Sadaqah, preventing a Munkar( ) is a Sadaqah, and assisting a man onto his ride by lifting him onto it or raising his things onto it for him is a Sadaqah.  A human should have a daily Sadaqah, and the two morning Rak`ah( ) suffice for that.  And in the Budh`( ) of one of you is a Sadaqah".  They said: "Does one of us tend to his desire and get Ajr( ) for it?".  He said: "Yes!  You see, if he puts it in Haraam( ), doesn't he get Wizr( )?  Likewise, when he puts it in Halaal( ) he gets Ajr").  The prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also says: (Do not under appreciate any Ma`roof, albeit encountering your brother( ) with a cheerful face).  So people… do not under appreciate Ma`roof.

In the Hadeeth according to Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah's messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: (Faith is a few more than seventy branches.  Its highest is saying "Laa Ilaaha Illa Allah", and its lowest is removing harm away from the pathway).  So, the doors of benevolence are many, and a Muslim should be keen on doing good deeds and avoiding Muharramaat.

Worshippers of Allah… Allah has commanded you with something which He has begun Himself, and He (Tabaaraka wa Ta`aala) said: (Indeed Allah and His angels pray upon the Prophet( ).  O you who believe, pray upon him and salute him with a befitting salutation)( ).  So offer prayer and peace onto The Master( ) of the first and last humans, the Imam of the messengers.

O Allah… Bestow blessings upon Muhammad and his family, as You have bestowed blessings upon Ibraaheem and his family, You are Hameed( ) Majeed( ).  O Allah…  Bestow Barakah( ) upon Muhammad and his family, as You have bestowed Barakah upon Ibraaheem and his family, You are Hameed Majeed.

O Allah… Be pleased with all the companions and with the guided Khulafaa( ) of the messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), those who ruled and served justice by the Hagg( ): Abi Bakr, Omar, Utmaan and Ali, the rest of the companions, the Taab`een( ) and those who followed them with Ihsaan( ) up until the Day of Judgment.  O Allah… Most Merciful of all the merciful, with Your Grace, Generosity and Mercy, be pleased with us.

O Allah…  Grant sublimity to Islam and Muslims.  O Allah… Lord of the `aalameen( ), grant sublimity to Islam and Muslims and degrade infidelity, infidels, polytheism and polytheists.  O Allah… Destroy Your enemies, the enemies of the religion( ).  O Allah… Most Merciful of all the merciful, give victory to Your religion, Your book( ) and the Sunnah of Your prophet.

Worshippers of Allah… (Indeed, Allah commands to do justice, Ihsaan and giving [help] to relatives and forbids immorality, Munkar and aggression.  He admonishes you that perhaps you will remember * And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have taken a covenant, and do not break oaths after their confirmation while you have made Allah a patron over you.  Indeed, Allah knows what you do)( ), and remember Allah, al-Adheem( ), al-Jaleel( ), He will remember you, and thank Him for His bounties and He will increase for you.  The mentioning of Allah is greater, and Allah knows what you are doing.

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