Who are the scholars?

Allah said in the Qur’an: in Chapter 7 verse 181: “Of those we have created are people who direct (others) with truth, and dispense justice therewith”

Imam Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer: Allah says: “And from those we have created” Meaning some of those who were created. “Are people” who are upon the truth in speech and action. “Who direct (others) with truth” They say it and they call towards it. “And dispense justice therewith.” They act upon it and judge by it, and it has come from Hadeeth that those people mentioned in the verse is the nation of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) , Sa’eed narrated on the Authority of Qatadah in the tafseer of this ayah that it was relayed that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) whenever reading this verse used to say: “This is for you and something like this was given to another people who are amongst you” then he read the verse: “And from the people of Musa there were people who directed(others) with truth, and dispensed justive therewith”.

And Abu Ja’far Ar Razi narrated on the authority of Rabee’ Ibn Anas in the saying of Allah: “Of those we have created are people who direct (others) with truth, and dispense justice therewith” he said : The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) said :”Verily from my ummah there will be a group of people upon the truth until Jesus the son of Mary descends whenever he descends“. And in Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Mu’awiyah Ibn Abee Sufyan he said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “There will always be a group from amongst my Ummah who will be clear upon the truth those who curse and diffrentiate from will not harm them until the hour comes.”. …

N.B As mentioned before the Truth is what is found in the Qur’an and the Sunnah upon the understanding of the Prophet’s companions as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “They (the saved sect) are those who are upon what I am upon and my companions.” And Allah said himself in Surah 2-137: “And if they believe in what you all believed (speaking of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and his companions) they would be guided”.

Importance of Salaat

Know Oh believing men and women that Allah has made the Prayer compulsory upon every one of you. Allah has said : “And they have not been ordered except to worship Allah alone without any partner, staying away from Shirk and to establish the Prayer and to give the poor Due.”

This verse shows that Allah alone is to be worshipped. All worship should be directed to Allah alone without making partners with him and this is from the fundamentals of this religion. And Allah’s saying : “And staying away from Shirk.” meaning not making partners with Allah in worship and disassociating oneself from its people.Therefore O Muslims it is upon you to direct all worship to Allah alone without any partner. As Muslims we should not make du’a to other than Allah or ask help from other than Allah in matters which only Allah is capable of giving help and whoever does this ( i.e make du’a to other than Allah etc) he has commited Shirk and has become a Mushrik and a Kaafir. Because he/she has associated with Allah another creature in worship. Hence O Muslims stay away from making du’a to the dead from the Prophets (alaihim as salaam) and the righteous and to the Jinn and direct all worship to Allah alone.

And after this Allah has ordered us to establish the prayer. As this is being good to Allah, And he has ordered us to give the Zakaah which is goodness to the Creation.

And know that Prayer is from amongst the 5 Pillars of islam. And the Islam of a person is not proper unless he practises the five Pillars. The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Islam is built upon five Pillars. Bearing testimony that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his Prophet, and to establish the Salaat…” For the Testimony means that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and that one should worship Allah upon the way of Prophet Muhammad Salallahu alaihi wa sallam. And the meaning of establishing the prayer is to establish it with its condition ( e.g Wuduu),and its pillars (e.g rukuu and sujuud) and what is compulsory in it (like saying Rabbana Laka Al Hamd), with Humility in the Salaat (meaning not moving around and looking right and left). And he put Salaat after the Shahadah because of its importance. And because it is what connects a slave and his Lord. And it has many benefits to be gained from it if done properly which include:

1)Prayer erases sins (Except for the major sins) Allah has said : “And establish the prayer during the day and night, verily good deeds erase bad deeds” And this verse was sent down when a man came to the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and informed him that he kissed a woman.

And on the authority of Abu Hurairah Radiallaho anhu the Prophet Salallahu alaihi wa sallam said “The five daily prayers and from one Jum’ah to the next Juma’ah erases sins for what is between them for whoever does not do a major sin.” Narrated by Imam Muslim

2)It prevents a person from evil and Shameless acts.

Allah has said: “Verily Prayer prevents Shameless and evil deeds.” Shaikh Abdur Rahmaan As Sa’di said : “And Salaat preventing a person from doing evil and shameless deeds means that if one establishes it with its pillars and conditions with humility in the prayer his heart will be purified and filled with light, and his eman will increase, and his desire to do good and stay away from evil will increase.”

And the Prophet Salallahu alaihi wa sallam has said : “And prayer is light” The Scholar Ibn Daqeeq Al ‘Eed said : And as for the Prophet’s (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) saying “And Salaat is light” it means that it prevents sin and shameless actions and guides to the truth as how a light is used to guide (through the darkness)

Hence look at yourselves may Allah have mercy upon us all. Did we do any sins from the big sins? Has our desire to do good fallen? If it is so look at your Salaat. We must also ask ourselves if we are praying according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and if we have made Wuduu properly and if we have made Rukuu’ and Sujuud properly and if we have done some of the Sunnah in the Salaat like raising the hands before and after Rukuu and if we were conscious of what we were doing and saying during the salaat.Make sure and ask yourself these questions.

And it is upon the men to pray in the mosques in congregation. Allah has said: “And establish the Salaat and give the Zakaat and bow with those who bow.” Also the Muadhin says when he is calling the Adhan, “Come to Prayer” and he says this twice. So what is the benefit of the Muadhin saying come to prayer in congregation and praying in congregation is not compulsory?

And in a hadeeth narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah Radiallaho anhu, A blind man came to the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and told him that he did not have a person to carry him to the mosque so do I have persmission to pray in my house”? The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Did you hear the Adhaan”. He said: “yes” The he (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said : “Then answer it”.

And know that staying away from Salaat in congregation is from the descriptions of the Hypocrites. Allah said about them : “Verily the hypocrites try to deceive Allah and he deceives them and when they go to establish the Salaat they establish it in a lazy manner”. And Allah has said: “And Woe to the ones who pray. Those who are forgetfull about their prayer”. Hence it is upon us to establish the Prayer with out fellow Muslims and to not delay it. As for the women their houses are better for them. The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Do not prevent your women from the Mosques. But their houses are better for them.”

And Abdullah Ibn Mas’uud Radiallaho anhu said: We used to see those who used to stay away from Salaat in congregation as hypocrites whose hypocricy was known.

Oh Muslims safeguard your prayers so that Allah may have mercy upon you. Whoever establishes it according to how it supposed to be established he will be succesful. Allah has said: “The believers have been succesful, those who are humble in their prayer” And whomsoever does not establish it properly or at all he is a loser in this world and the Hereafter.

Allah has said: “And those after them stopped establishing the Salaat properly and started to follow their desires.” Allah has given news that the one who does not establish the Salaat is a follower of his/her desires. Imam As Sa’de said: “Hence their goal is to run towards their desires, and they put this over the rights of Allah, and from this they started to not give Allah the rest of his rights including the prayer and started to follow their desires, whenever and however they get it they relish it, and in whichever manner they get it they take it (their desires)

And the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The first thing that a slave will be judged for on the day of judgement from his actions is his prayer, if it is good, then he has become succesfull, and if not then he has become a loser. And if his compulsory prayer is lacking Allah will say :”Look to see if my slave has done extra prayer” and it will complete what was lacking in the compulsory prayers, and the rest of his actions would be upon this.”

Second Khutba (after sitting)

The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said within a long hadeeth: “When Allah wants to take people out of the fire by his Mercy, he will tell the angels to take out those who did not worship others with Allah, for whoever Allah wishes to have mercy upon from the people who saud La Ilaha ill Allah would be known in the fire. They would be known by their prostration marks, the fire eats everything from the children of Adam except their prostration marks, and Allah has made it Haraam for the fire to eat the prostration marks, hence they would be taken out from the fire and they would be charred, and then the water from the river of Hayaa will be put on him, and he will be taken out of it like how a seed is taken out by waves.”

This hadeeth shows:

1)Some Muslims will be in the hell fire because of what they did of big sins and the fact that they did not repent from them before they died.

2)That these same Muslims would be taken out of the fire because they declared that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah and practised this by not making partners with him in worship.

3)That these people who are taken out of the fire would be known as Muslims because of their prostration marks on their feet and knees and hands and faces, And it is feared that those that call themselves Muslims and do not pray would not be recognised as Muslims in the herafter because of the absence of the prostration marks which is a sign that one has prayed.

Therefore O Muslims fear Allah and look at what you have put forward for the day of judgement and do not think that you can put forward nothing and get something out of it. As it was narrated from the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) : “The clever one is the one who practised his religion and worked for what is after death and the foolosh one is the one who followed his desires and looks for safety from Allah,”

And Allah knows best

What is Salafeeyah (Jum’uah Khutbah)

Know oh Muslims that the methodology of the Salaf which is the call toward the Qur’an and the Sunnah upon the understanding of the Companions is affirmed in the evidences of the Qur’an and the Sunnah and what the Muslims have consensus upon. Allah has said: “And whoever disputes with the Messenger after the guidance has been made clear and follows a way other than the way of the believers we will leave him in the path he has chosen and throw him into the Hellfire and what an evil abode”. And Allah has said: “The ones who came before from the Emmigrants and the Helpers (the companions) and those that follow them in goodness Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah”. Imam Ash Shawkani said : And the meaning of the part of the verse which says ; and those that follow them in goodness; they are those who follow those who came before from the Emmigrants and the Helpers, and they are the ones who came after from the companions and those that follow them until the day of judgement. And Allah has said: “Say this is my way I call to Allah upon knowledge, myself and those that follow me”. Imam Muhammad Ibn Abee Izz said: This is evidence that those who followed the Messenger (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) are callers to Allah… and his followers are those who were specified in having knowledge over others. And Allah has said: “The ones that came after them say Our Lord forgive us and our brothers who came before us in Faith”. Imam As Sa’di said: Allah has described the companions of the Messenger (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) with Faith, because the meaning of ; those who came before us in Faith; shows that they share the same characteristics as they do, because they follow the Prophet’s companions in their belief and fundamentals, and they are Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah.

And the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said : “There will always be a group from my nation who are clear upon the truth, those who do ill to them shall not harm them until the hour comes and they are upon this (the truth)”. Imam Al Bukhari said: They are the people of Hadeeth. And the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said: “And my nation will be seperated into 73 different groups all of them are in the hellfire except one”. The companions asked : Who are they oh Messenger of Allah? He then said: “They are upon what myself and my companions are upon today”. And Imam Ahmad was asked about them and said: If it is that this aided group is not the people of Hadeeth I do not know who they are. And the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said: “The best of generations is my generation, then those that follow them, then those that follow them”. They are the best out of all the Muslims in terms of the practise of this religion, Ibn Mas’uud (Radiallaho anhu) said: They are te companions of the Messenger (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam), they were the best of this nation, and were the most righteous, and had the deepest amount of knowledge, and their disobidience is little”.

And the sayings of the Salaf (the first 3 generations of Muslims) are many. Abu Aliyah said: Upon you is what the Muslims were upon before they seperated. Abu Haneefah said: Upon you are the narrations and the way of the Salaf. Imam Al Auza’ee said: Upon you are the narrations of those that came before even if the people despise you for this, and beware of the opinions of men even if they decorate it with their speech. Imam Ahmad said: The basis of the Sunnah according to us is to hold on to what the companions of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) were upon and following them. Imam Al Barbahari said: And the basis upon which the Jama’ah is built are the companions of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) and they are Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah. And whoever does not take from them, they have innovated and have become misguided. And he said: Do not enter into any matter until you ask and look: did any of the companions of the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) speak about it or any one of the scholars?”

And the scholars of this time have remained upon this methodology. Shaikh Ibn Baaz was asked about the saved sect and he said: They are the Salafis and anyone who proceeds upon the way of the companions. And Shaikh Abdullah son of Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab said: Our Madhab in creed is the madhab of Ahlus Sunnah and our way is the way of the Salaf which is the safest and most knowledgable. Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Salih Al Uthaimeen said: Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah are characterised by having the belief of the companions, even those who come later until judgement day, once they are upon the way of the salaf they are salafi. And Shaikh Fawzaan said: And the Salafis are the group upon the methodology of the companions, what the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) was upon and his companions. Shaikh Al Albani said: And there is no doubt that the best thing to clearly describe oneself (as being upon the right path) is to say; I am upon the Qur’an and the Sunnah upon the way of the companions, in short saying I am Salafi.

Therefore whoever follows the companions they are Salafi, Ahlus Sunnah, Sunni, from Ahlul Hadeeth, from Ahlul Athar, from the saved sect, from the aided group. We do not say that this person is Sunni and Salafi and this other one is Sunni and other than Salafi. This is an incorrect statement. Because the Sunni is the Salafi and he is from Ahlus Sunnah and they are different names for being upon one thing which is following the way of the companions. There the tableeghis, the Ikhwanis and the Sufis are not to be called Sunni rather they are from the people of innovation and seperation. Therefore we do not give them any appraisal whatsoever (calling them Sunni) and they are not upon this. As Ahlus Sunnah is one group.

Second Khutbah (Some Parts cut off as it was specific to the Mosque I gave the Khutbah in)

What has just preceeded clearly shows that the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) has left us upon clarity of which the night of it is like the day of it. And Allah has made clear the truth and has destroyed all falsehood. And it has been made clear that the way of the Salaf is the way which Allah himself has told us to follow. And from the principles that are known is what Imam Al Barbahari mentioned in his book: The explaination of the creed: where he said : It is not Halaal to say that a person is a person of the Sunnah unless he follows the Belief and methodology of the companions”. Therefore the person of the Sunnah meaning the one that is upon the way of the Salaf is not known by the fact that they wear a thobe or niqaab, or that they belong to a certain mosque or organisation… we know the person of Sunnah by the fact that they try to seek knowledge about the way of the companions and act upon it from those who are known to be Salafi… and by the fact that they stay away from the gatherings of the people of innovation… and the fact that they try to bring together their brothers and sisters from Ahlus Sunnah… .