Eid ul-Fitr Khutba - July 6, 2016 

Transcript of the Eid ul-Fitr Khutba delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on July 6, 2016

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illallah. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar; wa lillahil hamd.

My dear respected brothers and sisters! Alhamdulillah, we have gathered here this morning on this blessed day of Eid to glorify, praise, and thank Allah (SWT) for His infinite blessings. We thank Allah (SWT) for giving us the will, the strength and the endurance to observe fasting during the blessed month of Ramadan. May Allah accept our fasting, our prayers, our supplications, and our good deeds. Ramadan came and has gone. It looks like a dream. This should teach us about the momentary nature of life of this world. Today we are here and tomorrow we will be standing before our Lord. There were some amongst us last year, but they are no longer with us. They have moved from this life to the next—the dominion of the hereafter; our eternal abode.  

Allah has guided us to His deen and without His guidance we would be lost. The one who is guided in this life to the straight path will also be guided in the hereafter to the straight path that leads to paradise. The Qur’an tells us that the believers while entering paradise will say:

 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ

 “Praise be to Allah who has guided us to this! We would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us” (AL-A’raf, 7:43).

May Allah (SWT) make us among those who are truly guided; Ameen ya Rabb al-‘Alameen.

Allah has brought us together as a Muslim ummah, and we are here today only for His sake. Our differences in color, race, nationality or cultural backgrounds do not divide us from being an ummah; a community of believers.  As members of the ummah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW),   we bear the responsibility to live Islam as our way of life and to convey the message of Islam to all of humanity. We must convey this message sincerely, kindly, and in the wisest of manners, just as all the messengers of Allah did before us.

Allah created man as His vicegerent (khalifa) and honored him over all His other creations. He created everything else in the universe for the service of man. Everything in the creation is a trust (an amanah) from Allah (SWT) to man, and as the khalifa of Allah on earth, man has been assigned to establish a peaceful society and civilization on earth. This is a great honor, yet a difficult task that cannot be fulfilled completely without full cooperation among human beings.

 وَتَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى الْبرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلاَ تَعَاوَنُواْ عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ

"Help one another in goodness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and transgression” (al-Ma’idah, 5:2).

In this ayah, Allah clearly defines the areas that we should or should not help one another. Allah however, does not specify who we must or must not cooperate with. This is because we are supposed to cooperate with all people regardless of their race, faith, or gender. Such differences should not be an obstacle in cooperating with one another in righteousness and piety. This is the great foundation that Allah set for the Muslim ummah to build their relationships upon.

Encouraging others to do good is one of the many ways that Muslims can cooperate with each other in righteousness. According to a prophetic tradition, those who encourage others to goodness receive the same reward as those who do the good deed. On the other hand, when people encourage others to engage in sinful activities, then they will receive the same penalty of those who committed the sin.

During the month of Ramadan, we went through a rigorous program. We are now graduating from that spiritual boot camp and going into the real world. With our batteries charged, and our taqwa raised, let us move ahead to fulfill our duties and responsibilities.

While Islam aims to build upright individuals, it also takes interest in building a strong Muslim community. Allah desires the Muslim ummah to be the model for all of humanity. Cooperation is one of the important foundations the community must build upon. Before we can begin working on a community level, individual Muslims must find cooperation among their own families. The family is the building block of society. Only when a husband and wife find mutual cooperation between each other can they carry out the roles delegated to them. If they cooperate, then they will raise their children in the correct manner, and those children will then become good citizens in the Muslim community and the entire society.

Cooperation must be the basis for our relationships in our various efforts and endeavors, so that our consolidated efforts combine to form a force for good and against evil. Every person has a force and potential in him, and every group has a force and potential in itself. And when these individuals and groups cooperate and unite towards a goal, everyone will benefit.

Brothers and sisters! As Muslims, we have a responsibility toward all our brothers and sisters in humanity. This is because Allah (SWT) sent prophets and messengers, specifically for their nations, their tribes, or their people. It was only Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the last and final messenger of Allah (SWT) who was sent for the entire humankind for all times to come. Since the institution of prophethood has come to an end after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the responsibility of guiding humanity now devolves upon Muslims. 

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَر وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ

“You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind. You enjoin the right, forbid the wrong and have iman in Allah” (Aal “Imran, 3:110).

While we should continue to do various types of charitable work towards serving humanity, our prime responsibility is to invite and lead people to the path of Allah (SWT); to tawhid. We need to practice this collective effort to be able to carry on the message of Islam and fulfill the goal of serving the Muslim ummah and the humanity at large.

Alhamdulillah, we have been positioned to live in North America, a land that is very fertile for the work of da’wah, as people here are hungry for guidance. If we are neglectful of the job we have been assigned to do, we will be held liable and accountable on the Day of Judgment.

Rather than immersing ourselves in the momentary pleasures of this world, we should strive for the eternal bliss of the hereafter. A hadith suggests that the world (al-duniya) was created to be subservient to us but we were created for the hereafter (al-akhirah). We have to fulfill our obligations toward our fellow human beings, and our primary obligation is to inform them the truth, which is contained in the Book of Allah (Kitabullah)—the best of speeches. We have to invite them to the best of guidance—the guidance of the Prophet (SAW). The Qur’an says,

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“Who could say anything better than someone who calls people to Allah and acts rightly and says, ´I am one of the Muslims´?”(Fussilat, 41:33).

While giving da’wah, it is imperative that the caller himself or herself is a person of good conduct and behavior; otherwise the da’wah will have no impact on the person being called. Example is better than precept. We have to be proud of our Muslim identity. We must treat our fellow human beings with utmost respect. We should reach out to them and pray for them that Allah may guide them. We should never denigrate them with epithets like ‘kafir’; rather we should engage with them with a positive mindset. Negative attitude toward human beings adds to division, dissension, and discord.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

“O mankind! We created you from a male and female, and We made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely, the most

honorable among you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Allah is

all-knowing; all-aware.” (Qur’an, 49:13)

All human beings are children of the same parents - Adam and Eve (Alaihimussalam). They are all brothers and sisters in humanity regardless of the faith and doctrine they profess. This is the basic principle of the social system in Islam—complete social equality. We can learn to celebrate this great diversity that Allah has created among us by not ridiculing each other, detesting each other, and hating each other.

We should be grateful to Allah (SWT) for having blessed us with this diversity.  Islam came to unite people; not to divide them. To worship, obey and serve Allah is the collective purpose of the human race.  How can we celebrate the praise of Allah and worship Him as we ought to worship Him if we cannot even understand the diversity of our creation?  Settling differences between people acquires an added value on the Eid day. May Allah give us the tawfiq to do so.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

It is true that there is a lot of anti-Islamic propaganda today, but we should be thankful to Allah (SWT) that there are still a very large number of people who have goodwill towards us and who want to know more about our faith. Let us build on this trust. Let us use whatever freedom we have and whatever opportunities we find to help others to know us, to know about the universal values of Islam.

We must pay special attention to the next generation of Muslims growing up here. They need good upbringing and extensive Islamic education. We must protect them from the wrong influences of drugs, violence, immoral behavior, and the evils that are negatively affecting our youth globally. We must give them knowledge, give them hope, give them love and care, and do our best to keep them on the straight path.

My dear brothers and sisters! Let us keep the spirit of Ramadan and the spirit of Eid alive among us. Let us strengthen our bond with our Creator and with each other. Let us be more united. Let us become more and more committed to righteousness in our own lives, in the lives of our families, and in the society in which we live.

Let me conclude with a Hadith Qudsi. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “Once people come out of Eid prayer, Allah (SWT) says, "O my servants, you fasted and held prayer for me. Return back to your homes while you have been forgiven." On behalf of the board of the American Muslim Diversity Association (AMDA), and myself, I congratulate you and your families on this joyous occasion. May the blessings of Allah (SWT) keep your hearts happy, and your homes happy. Wa akhiru da`wana ‘an il hamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen.

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