Preparing sermon for this Friday as I am pinch hitting for our travelling Imam and I came across the following passage from Shaykh Nabulsi (www.nabulsi.com)
"Religion is action, faith is action, Islam is action and blessings lay in action. A passive stance, a theoretical admiration, intellectual contemplation or empathy on its own lacks action. There is no expending of energy, no sacrifice. When you do not help carry the burden of Muslims, when you do not participate in alleviating the stress upon other Muslims, when you do not take part in elevating the status of other Muslims then your faith has no value. Because it is only when true faith settles in the heart of a believer does that faith express itself in action towards the creation. There is doubt in the belief of a believer who does not act towards good, there is doubt in the authenticity of that faith" (p.s. the Shaykh references Islam/Muslims because his address was to Muslims and in the context of an Islamic teaching about the life of the prophet Mohamed peace be upon him. One can simply replace the word Muslim however with humanity and the concept is universal and profound) الدين حركة، و الإيمان حركة، و الإسلام حركة، و في الحركة بركة، الموقف السلبي، إعجاب نظري، تأمل فكري، تعاطف نفسي، لا يوجد حركة، لا يوجد بذل، لا يوجد تضحية، لم تحمل همّ المسلمين، لم تسهم في تخفيف الأعباء عن المسلمين، لم تسهم في رفع شأن المسلمين، إيمانك لا قيمة له، لأنه حينما تستقر حقيقة الإيمان في قلب المؤمن تعبر عن ذاتها بذاتها بحركة نحو الخلق، مؤمن لا يعمل خيراً هناك شك في إيمانه، شك في مصداقيته.
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So pretty much most of us know the story of Moses fleeing with his people from the tyranny of Pharaoh only to find themselves in front of a sea.
No one has a boat. Pharaoh and his army are closing in. No one can fight. You get the picture. Most scripture describe what happened next. The Quran, the scripture I'm most familiar with, picks up from that point and describes what happened next Holy Quran 26:63 ------------------ فَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنِ ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْبَحْرَ ۖ فَٱنفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَٱلطَّوْدِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ Then We inspired Moses: "Strike with your staff the sea." And it parted, and each parting was like a great towering mountain. Now most of us read that and think "what a miracle! God has split the sea to save the righteous". Most sermons, or at least most sermons I heard, use this example to show how faith can save even in the most dire of situations. Most however forget to discuss one key point. The action verb "strike". God could've completely skipped the part about inspiring Moses to strike and went straight to the sea being parted, but there are no freebies on this earth. If you want to be saved, then you need to couple your reliance upon God with action. Have a blessed Friday.
Continuing to read from the book "the character of a Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" Chapter discussing how a Muslim should be with themself Reading from the book "Character of A Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" with an emphasis on the role of the Muslim in their family At the conclusion of this presentation the audience will be able to: - List the five pillars of Islam - Discuss modesty and gender Interaction considerations when caring for a Muslim patient - List dietary restrictions - Discuss Maternity, Labor and Delivery and End of life issues as they pertain to the Islamic faith Reading from the book of "The character of a Muslim as molded by the Quran and Sunnah" with an emphasis on the role of a Muslim in their community My radio interview with Jessica Crew of Clear The Noise. This aired on WELT 95.7 FM on July 18th A translation of a khutbah (sermon) by Dr. Nabulsi (http://www.nabulsi.com) وعن أبي هريرة، رضي الله عنه، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: "يقول الله تعالى: أنا عند ظن عبدي بي، وأنا معه إذا ذكرني، فإن ذكرني في نفسه، ذكرته في نفسي وإن ذكرني في ملإٍ ذكرته في ملإٍ خير منهم ، وإن تقرب إلي بشبر تقربت إليه ذراعا ، وإن تقرب إلي ذراعا تقربت إليه باعا ، وإن أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة ) رواه البخاري ومسلم" ((متفق عليه)). Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah the Exalted says: 'I am as my slave expects me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me inwardly, I will remember him inwardly, and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in a better assembly (i.e., in the assembly of angels) and if he approaches me an inch, I come towards him an arm's length and if he walks towards me I run towards him" [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Also, God says in the Holy Quran 39:53 ------------------ ۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." A couple of things to ponder: Firstly, God still calls the ones who sinned and excessively transgressed the limits set by Him as His servants. He did not excommunicate them or oust them from the folds of the faith even though they are sinning. He instead reminds us of His expansive mercy and His limitless forgiveness. Secondly, things like "You haven't prayed in 5 years, now you want to pray?" Or "you were just out partying and drinking, now you want to come close to God" are ways in which satan tries to detract you from the mercy of God but think about the verse in light of the above hadeeth. If one is to assume/expect the best of God then one shall receive that and then some. You take the first step and God will run towards you. |
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October 2023
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