Khutbah #14 - 02/10/98

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Alhamdulillahi rabbil'alamin wa salaatu wa salaamu ala Rasulihi  

"Surely God - He has knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain; He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it shall earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it shall die. Surely God is All-knowing, All-aware." (Surah 31)

Welcome to our new students- Marhaban!

And marhaban to our old students - Welcome back!

Those that were here last Semester may remember that I started off that series of khutbas examining the purpose of the khutbah itself, and the relationship between the Imam and the congregation - examining what is going on in Jummah prayer.

But of course, the new students didn't hear any of it. A University community is different from other communities, constantly changing - full cycle every few years. An aggregation of passers by, travellers, strangers from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

"Oh mankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another." (Surah 49)

And what unifies amidst this variety? Tauhid, a belief in the existence and Oneness of God and Muhammad's Messengership? But belief is very internal and individual. What else do we share as a community?

Is there a single word for what we share as a community? How about Shariah? One of the great benefits of the muslim world was always that you could travel from one end to the other and still recognise the laws of the land.

But Shariah lawyers clearly have some very different opinions in different times and places, and it usually seems to me that in most discussions of Shariah, a reasonably diverse group of muslims is as likely to end up arguing as agreeing - just like lawyers anywhere. And any law requires enforcement, which ultimately means physical force, which is dependent on the muscle of a police force or army - and we must admit that throughout history our understanding of Shariah has always been susceptible to military might.

But we have another word we use for what we have in common in our community of muslims, more all embracing in its variety of meaning, more subtle and intangible. It is, of course, the Deen - a word muslims so often unthinkingly use in the phrase 'We muslims don't have a religion. We have a Deen - a Way of Life'.

As well as faith and the customary rites of religion, Deen also implies the ideas of indebtedness, duty, and obedience, as well as judgement and justice, the idea of each person receiving his precise and just earnings, and all the inequalities of this life being redressed.

This justice is not only something other worldly that comes to you on the Day of Deen. It is to be fought for in this life. But when it comes down to it, all we can do in this world is try our best, and in the end it is up to God. The deen belongs to God alone.

"Judgement belongs only to God; He has commanded that you shall not serve any but Him. That is the right deen; but most men know not. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth; His is the deen for ever."

The deen embraces muslims in all their variety, and in fact, in its essence the deen even embraces religious variety, as our deen is the deen of al-din al-hanif, the primordial Islam of Abraham and Adam.

The deen is not something that started with Muhammad.

"He has laid down for you as deen that He charged Noah with, and that We have revealed to you, and that We charged Abraham with, Moses and Jesus: 'Perform the deen and scatter not regarding it.' "

The deen is something that was taught by all the prophets, so what is there that we can see is common to them all? The idea of submission to the will of the Creator, which binds us to Him, and to all men and women who are sincerely trying to do the same, in bonds of brotherhood.

"If they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then they are your brothers in deen."

It can be seen from this that prayer and repentance is balanced by worldly action in the form of alms, or charity. We are not in any position to judge our neighbours sincerity of worship, and this sincerity is of course essential. It is a bit easier to judge someone's sincerity, however, when you are considering their worldly behaviour. Their selflessness in the various forms of charity.

"Have you seen him who cries lies to the Deen? That is he who turns away the orphan and urges not the feeding of the needy. So woe to those that pray and are heedless of their prayers, to those who make display and refuse charity."

So to such expressions of the Will of God, a man is bound by duty. He is not forced to accept these bonds, he is a free man.

"There is no compulsion in deen."

But sincere submission to the bonds of brotherhood, the duty to give your wealth in charity, and fight for justice, are the deen that will show you the truth about the way this creation functions.

"There is no changing God's creation. That is the right deen; but most men know it not."

*****

"It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the deen of truth, that He may uplift it above every deen. God suffices as a witness."

"God has promised...that He will surely establish their deen for them that He has approved for them, and will give them in exchange after their fear, security."

In the last few weeks of his life, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, made what is known as the Final Pilgrimage, though it was in fact his only Hajj. Before a vast crowd of his friends and followers, he received the last few lines of the Qur'an, with the words of God which say:

"Today the unbelievers have despaired of your deen; therefore fear them not, but fear you Me. Today I have perfected your deen for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Submission for your deen. But whosoever is constrained in emptiness and not inclining purposely to sin - God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate."

O God, forgive us, and have mercy on us, and guide us, and grant us security, and grant us sustenance.