Friday Sermon - Emulating Prophet's character in us

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore
Friday Sermon
28 March 2008 / 20 Rabiulawal 1429

(3rd of Maulid Series)
Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h as a Blessing to All
My dearest brothers, may we all gain the blessings of Allah,
Let us remain truly conscious of Allah through taqwa. Taqwa that will develop in us the love for Allah s.w.t. and His beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Taqwa that is further developed when we follow his footsteps and emulate his examples. Such will enable us to bring blessings and mercy to everyone around us.

Last week, we reinforced our commitment to recite the selawat upon our beloved Prophet s.a.w., as a sign of our love for him. We have also promised to follow his footsteps and beautiful character that bring blessings to others.
This week, let us learn how we can bring blessings to anyone around us, as taught by our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

My dear brothers,
In the Islamic history (sirah), it is reported the story of an old Jewish lady who hated the Prophet s.a.w. She would litter the path of the Prophet s.a.w. with thorns and waste. The Prophet s.a.w. ignored her actions, and removed the litter so that others would not be hurt by it if they take the path. One day, the path was clear of any litter. The Prophet s.a.w. asked those who sat around the path what happened to the old lady. They responded that she was not well and was resting at home. The Prophet s.a.w remarked ”Poor lady, she must be very sad. Let’s pay her a visit.”

The Prophet s.a.w. went to her house, together with several companions. The Prophet bought some sweets as a gift to the old lady. Upon reaching her house, they sought permission to enter. The old lady was shocked to learn who had come to visit her. She felt embarrassed too. The Prophet s.a.w. presented the sweets, whilst asking after her. She relayed news of her illness to the Prophet s.a.w. Soon after, the Prophet raised his hands in prayer for the lady. Allah s.w.t. the Most Benevolent would not reject the prayers of His most beloved Prophet. The old lady felt better and was able to sit up. She wept out of sheer intrigue, and said”I never expected you to be so concerned with what befalls me. This, despite the fact that I hated you and did everything to hurt you. From this moment, I declare my faith as a Muslim.” She then recited the syahadah.
Let’s pause for a moment and reflect upon the beauty of the Prophet’s character. His boundless kindness, which had such a profound effect on a person who hated him that she repented and embraced the faith. That is the beauty of Rasulullah’s character.

This is in accordance to what Allah has said in the Holy Quran:
Which means: “and We have sent thee not but as a mercy to all the universe.”
( Surah Al-Anbiya: 107)

Let us reflect: how would we act if we are in the same situation? Can we show the same strength and pureness of character that Rasulullah has, no matter to whom? Can we repay an evil deed with kindness? Can we bring goodness even in the face of challenges?

My dear brothers,
We can still contribute and bring benefit to others although we face very difficult challenges in our lives today.

If we look at the example of our Prophet s.a.w., he always brought goodness to others at all times. In each of his role, whether as a husband, father, neighbour, leader or general, the Prophet remained compassionate and exhibited the best of moral character. He was concerned with what happens to others. He was very affected by the tribulations that afflict others. He loves his ummah dearly. These are the characteristics of our Holy Prophet s.a.w. at all times and in facing all challenges. Allah states this in the Holy Quran:

"Now has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that you should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the believers is he most kind and merciful.”
(Surah At-Taubah verse 128)

Thus, my dear brothers, in facing the challenges of today, we must always seek the path of spreading compassion and blessings to others. Lets think of how others can enjoy the mercy and blessings of Islam through our personality and actions. What we therefore need to do is to embody the examples of the Holy Prophet s.a.w.

Firstly: We must be aware and concerned with all that happen around us. We need to know what happen to our families such as our children and wife, our relatives, neighbours and also friends. Share with them our concern and sorrow for them in times of need, in a kind and compassionate manner.

Secondly: Offer our help and assistance to them. We should not only be concerned, but instead, manifest our concern in offering assistance to those in need, either through financial means, or guidance, motivation and other ways possible. Any of these help will ease the burden on those going through periods of hardship in their lives.

Finally: In face of adversity and challenges, either to ourselves or our families, we must remember how our Prophet s.a.w. reacted. He had always remained patient and sought goodness to those who had hurt him. Let us follow his examples in doing good and bringing blessings and compassion to all. Leave the outcomes to Allah. As Allah says in Surah At-Taubah:
Which means: “But if they turn back, say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no god but He; on Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of mighty power.”
(Surah At-Taubah verse 129)


Hopefully, with sincere love for Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., and by emulating his honourable personality, our community will stand firm with an honourable Muslim identity. We can become a community with a deep sense of kindness (ihsan) and desire to brings blessings to all. This is the essence of our Singaporean Muslim Identity that we aspire to forge together, InshaAllah.

Remember our Lord

Each day in our solat,we repeatedly make one humble request to Allah, our Creator and Sustainer: 'Guide us on the Straight Path'.(al fatiha 1:4) It is only by seeking and staying on the straight path, that we can ever hope to attain true salvation and success.

The Quran explains:
'Whosoever holds onto Allah, he has already been guided onto a Straight Path.'(al-imran 3:101)

'Remember Allah, for He has guided you. '(al-Baqara 2:198)

'O you who believe! Remember Allah often with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening.' (Luqman 31:41-42)

Hadith literature is similarly replete with references to the remembrance of Allah:

The Servant cannot perform a better deed which will save him from God's punishment than the remembrance of God.

The significance of dhikr lies in the fact that it is God's own chosen and recommended mode by which the muminun or Believers show gratitude for having been shown the straight path.In addition, it is indeed the surest way of attaining God's forgiveness and achieving the ultimate reward of Paradise.

The importance of dhikr then is not difficult to understand. It is dhikr that purifies your qalb or heart and makes it sound.And you can only attain salvation and true success by having a pure and sound heart.The qalb or 'heart' referred to here is not the pump in your breast that pushes blood around your body but rather the centre or locus of your personality which pumps out your desires and motivations and which makes you conduct yourself as you do.It is this qalb that lies at your centre and dictates your actions which is the key to your ultimate success.Thus, with reference to the Day of Judgment, the Quran declares:

'(It will be a Day) when neither wealth nor children shall profit, (and when)only he (will be saved)who comes before God with a sound heart(free of evil).' (ash-Shuara 26:88-89)

This point is more elaborately made in a hadith in which the Prophet says:
'Listen(to me)carefully.There is a lump of flesh in the body - if it is set right and made good, the entire body becomes good and healthy; but if it becomes diseased, the entire body becomes diseased.Remember well - it is the Heart. (Bukhari)

If the heart is the key to ultimate salvation and success, it may, likewise be the seat of much curruption and open doors to many evils.It may facilitate the corruption of political and economic activities and ultimately the social institutions of a society. Where such a state prevails, the Quran suggests that it is because people, individually, have become diseased in their hearts. (al-Baqara 2:10). In this state, people stop seeing and doing what is right.The Quran explains that this is not because they have become blind in their eyes but because their hearts have become blind.(al-Hajj 22:46) This blindness only draws them nearer to the ultimate chastisement.

It is the heart, as the decider of our ultimate fate, that must then be the starting point of any tazkiya programme, to purify this heart and then summon it to the service of mankind.Ibn al-Qayyim, one of the great scholars of Islam, states in his Kitab al Adhkar (the Book of Remembrance), that 'the heart which is devoid of the remembrance of Allah is a heart that is dead'; it is dead even and long before the body carrying the heart reaches its grave.Indeed, this living body that carries the heart is the heart's grave. Ibn al-Qayyim's statement is reminiscent of the hadith of the Prophet which states: 'The difference between someone who remembers His Lord and someone who does not is like the difference between the living and the dead.'(Bukhari) The statement is also reminiscent of the following verse of the Quran: Do not become like those who forget Allah and Allah makes them forget themselves. It is they who are truly deprived. (al-Hashr 59:19)

The purpose of tazkiya is to ensure that the heart never falls into a sorry state of being and that it is always alive with the remembrance of God. Prosperous indeed is one who purifies himself and remembers the name of his Guardian-Lord, and prays (unto Him). (al-Ala 87:14-15) The Prophet s.a.w further emphasised the importance of dhikr when he said to his Companions: 'Shall i not inform you of the best of your actions, the purest in the sight of your Lord, which raises your rank to the highest, which is better for you than spending gold and silver, better than meeting your enemy so that you strike at their necks and they strike at yours?' They replied: 'Yes indeed,' and he said: 'It is the remembrance of Allah.' (Tirmidhi)

Strive then, to fill all your moments, all your thoughts and all your actions with His remembrance. Recite tasbih or words of glorification and praise to punctuate all your actions and achievements.

taken from 'In the Early Hours..reflection and spiritual development by Khurram Murad

Muhammad (saw) - The Ideal Prophet

Man needs the light of his past experiences to brighten his present and future.

The different segments of humanity which have done anything to make this world a better place to live in deserve our gratitude; but, the most deserving of our gratitude are the prophets of God. Each one of them has, in his own time, presented a winsome example of his sublime conduct and moral behaviour. If one was a model of endurance, others were embodiments of selflessness, sacrifice, fervour for Truth and Oneness of God, submission to the Will of the Lord, chastity and piety. In short, each of them was a lighthouse of guidance showing the path of exalted behaviour in one or the other walk of life every man has to tread in his sojourn on the earth. Man, however, stood in need of another guide who could illuminate the entire gamut of human behaviour, in all its diversity, by his comprehensive example of goodness and virtue.

Man, in other words, needed a perfect and universal exemplar who could place in his hands a guide book of practical life, so that every wayfarer may reach his destination safely. And this exemplar did come to the world in the person of the last of the prophets, Muhammad, on whom be peace and blessings of the Lord.

taken from Muhammad - the ideal Prophet

Slippers were Stolen!

I went to Vivocity with my husband last Saturday. I planned a birthday luncheon celebration for my mum.

After our noon swimming, we headed straight down to the Temenggong Mosque for our zuhr prayers. As usual, there wasn't much people in the mosque. After zuhr, we headed to Vivocity, Swensens to meet my family. It was a hearty and sinful lunch. I could have burnt away quite alot of calories after the swim but i ordered 'fried chicken delight'. Too late for regrets. Since everyone was so full, we didn't have any desserts after that. Instead we walked around to digest the food and we had some hot drinks before we parted.

Asar (prayers) sets in by the time we left Vivocity. So we headed back to the mosque. Frankly speaking, I didn't quite like the toilet there because it's quite open and you need to leave your shoes at 2 different spots and they were actually quite exposed to the 'public'. After taking my ablution, I left my slippers (at the usual place) and walked towards the female praying area. A lady who just walked out from the female prayer hall passed me. Usually, i wouldn't think so much after removing my slippers but strangely, I had somekind of a feeling that something would happen.

After my prayers, I walked towards the shoes area. I was already looking ahead before I reached. My blue slippers was GONE!!!!!!! I called out my hubby, who was standing there, that my slippers was gone. I told him to look around for me while i check the toilet. Perhaps there might be some makcik who mistakenly used my slippers and went to the toilet. But it was not there either. We looked around and checked everywhere; the drains, rubbish chute, ablution and toilet cubicles but my favourite slippers was nowhere to be found.

I was very sad. I just experienced a 'stolen experience' at a mosque. A place which i never thought that stealing would happen.Though i knew that this wasn't right but i had some suspicions about that lady that passed me because no one left the prayer hall after her.

I had to console myself that 'everything comes from Allah and shall return back to Him'.

Inevitably, I can't help to think about my slippers till now. I do feel a little bit for my slippers even though i know i should not yearn for the 'dunya' (worldly)things too much. I don't want it to get attached to my heart but i don't know why i kept thinking about it. Maybe the reason is, I can't accept the fact that this has happened. In a mosque. Period.

Or perhaps, it's a test from Allah.

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

"If Allah touch thee with affliction, none can remove it but He; if He touch thee with happiness, He hath power over all things. "He is the Irresistible, (watching) from above over His worshippers; and He is the Wise acquainted with all things." (Surah al-anaam 6:16-17)

Sometimes we would forget that EVERYTHING comes from Allah swt. When something bad falls upon us, we tend to ask ourselves;'Why?' or 'This shouldn't happen'. When something good happen to us, did we remember to thank Him, or all we did was;'Something far more better than this should happen' or maybe 'Why was I given this, when i asked for that?'

We can only perceive things from our level of wisdom but Allah knows all things. He has power over ALL things. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Though Allah might not answer your du'as (supplications), that doesn't mean He didn't hear you. In actual fact, He hears and He knows what we asked for. But because whatever that He gives, He knows if it's good or bad for us.

Here's the good news (i was told) that if Allah swt doesn't answer your supplications here, don't despair or be disheartened. Because He is keeping all that you have asked for when you goes to Paradise.

Alhamdulillah.

May Allah swt forgive my mistakes in this post. May Allah swt forgives us all. Amin amin.

How do you use your time?

Think and reflect about this:

As time slipped past us so swiftly everyday, is it wise to ask ourselves, have we done anything fruitful here in this world or for the Hereafter?

We will be asked about how we spend the time given to us, the wealth given to us, the knowledge bestowed upon us.... Did we use it wisely?