 All praise belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Lord of the worlds, the one and only true God, the most compassionate, the merciful. There is nothing like him whatsoever, yet he is the all-hearing and the all-seeing. And peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa la alihi wa sahb wa sallam, the final Messenger of God, the Seal of the Prophets, the Commander of the Righteous, the Leader of the Messengers, and the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds. Insha'Allah ta'ala, the verse that is going to set the tone for this khutbah is in Surat al-Nisa, verse 59, which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Ya ayyuha alladina amanu, ati'u allah wa ati'u al rasul wa ulil amri minkum. O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger. And those in authority over you, fi intana za'atun fi shaytan, faradduhu ilallah wa al rasul. And if you should dispute among yourselves in anything, refer it back to Allah and His Messenger. In kuntum tu'minuna billah wal yawmil aakhir. If you believe in Allah in the last day, thatika khayrun wa ahsanu ta'weela. That is better and it provides the best outcome. So this is our broad method as Muslims. So it's very clear, we've been given clear guidance, alhamdulillah, by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in matters of dispute, fi shaytan, in anything. Fi shaytan, as the Qur'an says, we refer it back to Allah and His Messenger. In other words, the Qur'an and the sunnah. Both of these are mass transmitted and providentially protected revelation. These are wahi, any words that authentically escaped the blessed lips of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam, is revelation. It is wahi, la yakhruju minhu illa al haq. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, nothing comes out of this, pointing to his blessed mouth, except the truth. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, wa ma yantiku anil hawa inhu illa wahi yuhah, allamahu shadeed ul qua, that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never speaks from his hawa. He never speaks from his caprice or desires. It is no less than wahi, than revelation given to him. He is taught by one exalted in power. Imam al-Shafi'i said that this religion is essentially a qala Allah wa qala Rasool. That's essentially the religion. Allah said, the Messenger said, Allah said, the Messenger said, this is our foundation. We find all of our answers, all of them, in the Quran in Sunnah, not in the so-called zeitgeist, not in the current spirit of the age, not in the cultural trends of our time, or what happens to be popular or currently influential. Allah and His Messenger, the Quran and the Sunnah are mass-transmitted revelatory tradition, which is trans-historical. In other words, it stays relevant for all times, peoples, and places. How do we worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? The answer is in the Quran and Sunnah. What is iman? What is kufr? The answer is in the Quran and Sunnah. What is lawful and unlawful? The answer is in the Quran and Sunnah. How do we answer atheists or materialists? How do we answer Christian polemicists? How do we answer post-modern liberals, the woke crowd? The answer is in the Quran and Sunnah. How do we deal with immorality? How do we conduct ourselves around the opposite gender? What are the theological virtues that constitute good character? How do we run ourselves both on the micro and macro levels? That is to say, on the level of the individual and on the level of society. The answer is in the Quran and Sunnah. If you dispute and anything, refer it back to Allah on His Messenger. In kuntum tu'minuna billah wal yawmin aakhir. If you truly believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and in the last day, 10 ayat later in verse 69, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says Subhanallah. And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they will be the ones who have the favor upon them, the favor of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon them. From the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous, what a beautiful fellowship. This is what we are working toward as people of iman, as people of faith. Not blind faith, not faith without evidence. Faith that is supported by reason, by evidence, by proofs. The Quran says, The verses of the Quran are called signs. Ayat, the Quran itself is called Kitab Mubeen, an evident book. The Quran says, The unbelievers from the Ahl-e Kitab and the Mushriqin, they're not going to break away from their kufr until Al-Bayna comes to them. Who or what is Al-Bayna? Rasulun min Allah, a messenger from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, is called Al-Bayna. He is clear in convincing evidence. His sunnah speaks for itself. And when you say, you are essentially saying that you have made your soul safe by means of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because amna is a causative verb. It means to cause safety. It is more intelligent to find safety and security through God, through Allah, who is the all powerful sovereign king of the universe than it is to find safety and security through human beings or philosophies or governments. One of Allah's name is Al-Mu'min. This does not mean the believer when referred to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It means the one who causes safety. And that is intelligent. That is rational. We believe because it is intelligent to believe. And we are people who work toward Al-Akhirah, Al-Jannah. We seek Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's ridwan. This is very strange for many modern people. This is for them, for many of them just nonsense. And that's fine. We should take pride in our estrangement the people of dunya, they mock and laugh at the people of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is what they do. And they've been doing it for thousands of years. Inna alladhiina ajra muqanumina alladhiina amanu yadhakun. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us, people who are steeped in sin, they laugh at the believers. Wa idha marrubihim yataqa mazoon. And when they pass by the believers, they wink at each other. On one occasion, a mustahzi named Ubay ibn Khalaf. He came to the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he picked up some bone or decomposing bone. And he said, you really believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is going to resurrect this bone on some days, on the day of Qiyamah. And the Prophet said, and he took the bone, this man, and he crumpled it up and he threw it over the head of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on account of this occasion, on account of this sabab. But the Ibra, the lesson is general. And he propounds for us a parable and he forgets his own creation. And he says, who's going to resurrect decomposing bones? Say the one who gave them life the first time. We'll surely raise them up again. He's well acquainted with every type of creation. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala creates from existing matter. He creates ex nihilo from nothing. He fashions, he refines. As monotheists, we have a robust worldview that answers questions of cosmology, of ontology, of teleology, biology, psychology. Our worldview is coherent. It is comprehensive. It is time tested and totally relevant. But for the people of Dunya, people who worship their own nafs and hawa, we are a maschara for them, an object of mockery and ridicule. But that's okay. Here's the reality, the jokes on them. On the day of judgment, the believers will laugh at the kuffar. There's going to be a reversal. If you mock us, we will mock you for your mockery. And this is really a warning to them. And we should pray for people sincerely. We should want the guidance of all of humanity. We should want guidance for people. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam had a deep concern for the guidance of his people. Perhaps you will worry yourself to death over them because they do not believe in this message. The point is don't allow human beings to dishearten you about your religion. At the end of the day, their opinions will not matter. They will not judge you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the judge on the day of judgment. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows our innermost thoughts and secrets. Wa la taheenu wa la tahzanu. Wa antumun a'alawna inn kuntum mu'mineen. Do not falter nor grieve. You are uppermost if you are believers. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling us the reality of things. Kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijatlin nats. You are the best umma for humanity. Why? Ta'mununa bin ma'rufa tanhauna alil munkar. Wa tu'minuna bin la. Because we call to the good and we prohibit the evil. There's good and evil, objective. Good and evil. And we believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Wa la amana ahlu l-kitabi la kana khairu l-lahum. And if the people in the book had believed that would have been better for them. Minhumun aqfaruhum ul-faasikun. From them, there are believers, but the majority of them are transgressors. In another ayah wa atisi mu billahu wa maulakum fi ni'mal maula wa ni'mal nasir. So hold fast to Allah, your master. How excellent a master. And how excellent a helper. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is our maula in the absolute sense. For other people, their absolute maula is Isa alaihi salam or Karl Marx or Charles Darwin. So let people mock, let them laugh. We should pity them. We should really feel sorry for them. They're tying their own nooses. They're digging their own graves as it were. People often ask me, why is Islam under such attack? You know, people go down these YouTube rabbit holes, channel after channel after channel of anti-Muslim content. You know, what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say? Read Quran. Qul la yastawil khabeethu wa tayyib wa law a'ajabaka kathratu l-khabeeth. Say, the foul in the good are not equal even if the abundance of foulness should amaze you. Fatakul la, fear Allah. Ya ulil albab la alakum tuflehun. O people of intellect, the people of, ulul albab, the people of lub, the people of deep essential understanding in order to prosper. Because it's an illusion. The name of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is written on the auraq of the trees of Jannah. This is the reality. On the Arsh of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, la ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur Rasulullah. Put things in perspective. So my answer is always the same. Islam is under attack because Islam is true. That's why, as I said in the past, we are the last line of defense. In all of this post-modern madness, with the very foundations of logic and reason and science and metaphysics are being turned upside down. And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam he told us about these things. It is related. Imam At-Tirmidhi that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, in that Islam abad'a khariban fa sayuudu khariban kama abad'a fatubal il-ghurabaa o kama qala alayhi sallatu wa sallam that this religion, al Islam, it began as something very strange, kharib. And then it became sort of normative, normal, right? And then it's going to return again and become very strange. So glad tidings to the strangers. He's a mushrikin of the Quresh. They thought the Muslims were strange. These people are khari, no drinking, no fornicating, worship only one God who is unseen, whom we can't represent by iconography, no images, no statues, belief in some day of judgment, fasting, charity, modesty, dietary restrictions, very strange. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, he atei ala nasi zamanun asabiru fihim ala dinihi qalqabiti ala jamar o kama qala alayhi sallatu wa sallam a time will come upon the people when a person among them practicing his religion with perseverance will be like one clutching onto a cinder. Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi, he told us sallallahu alaihi wa sallam imagine holding a cinder or a piece of hot coal. You juggle it in your hands so it doesn't burn you and then you drop it because it gets too hot. Eventually you give up. It becomes too difficult. No, keep juggling. Life is too short. Waspiru, waspiru, persevere, persevere. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is with those who persevere. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam once said to the Sahaba, there will come a time when the unbelievers will invite each other to the killing of the Muslims, like they're inviting each other to a banquet. You know the hadith is very well known. One of the companions said, min khilda tin yoma idinya rasoolallah, are we very few in number during that time? bal antum yoma idin kathirun, kathirun, kathirun. No, you're going to be many, many, many, but you're like the froth or the scum on the ocean. You see the pre-modern way of thinking was strengthened numbers, the larger your numbers, the more manpower you had, the more strength you had. That's why in pre-modern times, it was an acceptable and necessary practice to take war captives and integrate them into your society. This was absolutely crucial for the survival of any nation. It was all about numbers. But in our modern world, it's not so much about numbers anymore. It's about influence. As a faith community, we often boast about our numbers, 1.5 billion, whatever, but we constantly underestimate the power of influence. We tend to get stuck in this old world mentality. I'll give you an example. There's a certain community who is very, let's say proud to be who they are. And you know who I'm talking about. This community is a fraction of the population of the world. In contrast, traditional Muslims, traditional Christians, Protestants, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Jews Orthodox and conservative make up about half of humanity. Yet in the month of June, virtually every government building in the Western world, the airports, state parks, they raise the flag of this proud community. That is power. The raising of the flag indicates conquest. They have conquered these lands with their ideology, with their influence, but this is not some oppressed minority. They present themselves as oppressed because they are a minority, but oppression is a lie. They are in power. Criticize them to your own peril and good luck finding a job afterwards. And you know, people talk about freedom of speech. It's kind of a sham. You know, in today's world, you can get fired from your job for making a comment in a personal email. You wrote to your friend because one individual from a certain community found it offensive. It hurt their feelings. That is power. The French philosopher Voltaire is believed to have said, to learn who rules over you, determine who you're not allowed to criticize. Some say, well, Voltaire didn't say that. I think that's fine. Whoever said it is still true. It doesn't contradict what I said earlier that the religion is Qal'Allah Qal'Allah Rasul because the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, wisdom is the lost property of the believer. He takes it wherever he finds it. Your livelihood, food on your family's table can be taken away because of your personal religious convictions. So where do we have freedom of speech then? In our closets at home? And to go inside my closet and whisper to myself? Even there, if your neighbor heard you say something that a certain community found offensive, he can expose you on social media and cancel you. In other words, ruin your life. At least in a place like Saudi Arabia, they're honest and upfront about this. You do not have freedom of speech. They do not tolerate slander and blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam because that destroys the social cohesion of their society. When sacred religious symbols are mocked and denigrated, then anything can be mocked and denigrated. This leads to civil unrest and violence and there is a difference between academic inquiry, the critical analysis and blasphemy and denigrating something. There's a big difference. We are not offended by people being rigorously academic. We actually encourage it. We want people to use their brains. However, in the West, college students are taught by their neo-Marxist professors that using logic and reason are, quote, white ways of engaging the world. In other words, when white people use logic and reason, they are being racist, as if logic and reason are the exclusive possession of white people. What is the subtext here? The subtext is that, quote, unquote, people of color, like brown and black people, like most of us, were too stupid to use logic and reason. This is called CRT, critical race theory, yet another brainchild of cultural Marxism, another horrible idea among the motherload of horrible ideas. This is what university education is now. You can drop $100,000 on an education that teaches your children that white people are inherently evil and yet also superhuman in their intelligence. It doesn't end there. You'll also be taught about radical feminism, right? Gino-centrism, gino-supremacy. They will be taught that every man, regardless of race, without exception, operates in the mode of predation. This is where the discourse is leading. Every man is a predator. And their solution is not to reform men and make them more virtuous. Their answer is to emasculate men. Testosterone is toxic. They wanna make men more like women. But Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, made us men and women. The Quran says, The male is not like the female. And there's a reason for that. There's a great wisdom behind that that we can demonstrate through logic and reason and science. Men and women complement each other. Women are more emotionally intelligent than men. Men are more analytical and stoic than women. Women are more nurturing than men. Men are more protective and physically stronger than women. Our definition of marriage works and it's worked for thousands of years. But people in rebellion against Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, and who worship their own Hawa, like many of these professors in a liberal academy or talking heads in our woke media, for them, traditional marriage is characterized more and more as rape and slavery. We are people who view the world through reason and revelation. Aqal and naqal, Allah gave us two eyes. Not just reason, not just revelation. Reason and revelation. Nurun a'ala nur. There are people who reject both and view the world through their own passions. They worship their Hawa and believe in no higher authority than themselves. So these people are miserable and they want us to be miserable. But only in the remembrance of Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, our hearts made tranquil. So it's no longer about numbers. And today, Zeitgeist, it's all about influence. There are millions of young people who call themselves quote unquote social media influencers. I'm a content-creating influencer. These are full-time job. These are people who barely know how to think. They don't know basic grammar. They don't know basic facts of history. Yet under the guise of peace and love and tolerance, love is love, they convinced the next generation of Muslims that their own parents, the mother and father who raised them in Islam, who loved them, who cherished them, who would have sacrificed their lives for them, they convinced them that their own Muslim parents are hateful, misogynist, racist, arrogant, oppressive bigots. They convinced Muslim youth that they should hate their parents and everything they stand for. And then these sentiments are reinforced by their high school and college teachers and professors who rage against traditional value systems and traditional religions. So now the question is, what can we do as individuals? Let's turn to the Quran. Allah told us what to do in such circumstances. Allah revealed these ayat on the occasion of Ghazwat Badr. But again, the salient point is taken from the generality of the wording, not the specificity of its occasion of revelation. Allah says, Oh you who believe, when you meet a force be firm, stand your ground. Don't be a pushover. Don't be wishy-washy. Don't let people intimidate you and bully you. What's qul allaha kathira la'allakum tuflihoun. And remember Allah much in order to prosper. Prosper, wa ati'u allaha wa rasulahu. And obey Allah and His messenger. Wa la tanaza'u fa tafshalu wa tathhabari hukum wa smiru. Inna allaha ma'asabireen. And obey Allah and His messenger and do not fall into disputes lest you fail and your ri'h, which literally means wind, will depart from you. And the exigents here, they say, Allah's protection will depart from you and be patient, persevere. Allah is with the patient. And I'll end with this. Notice Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, make remembrance, make zikr. The greatest form of zikr is the prayer. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spoke to Musa alayhi salam, he said, I am Allah, there's no God but me. So worship me and establish the prayer for my remembrance. So let me tell you why I think we fail nowadays. And this is, you know, this is an obvious, one of the obvious reasons. Many Muslims have left the prayer. This is a major tribulation of our times. And you might say, what does leaving the prayer have to do with our current crisis? And the answer is everything. Because we don't just believe in physics. We believe in metaphysics. We believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There's a metaphysical equation in the Quran. If you are grateful, I will increase you. Gratitude equals increase. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ordered us to pray. But we prioritize ourselves over the command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is in gratitude. This is in gratitude. We have Muslim college students investing hours and hours of their time going out and shouting slogans in the streets and some protests rather than standing in prayer. To Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is Allah not in charge? Who has all power? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The actual function of, the actual function or rationale of the prayer is given in the Quran. Indeed the prayer prevents from indecency and sin. Even if the prayer begins as something that's more perfunctory, just going through motions. If you have to pray with wudu at five different times during the day, engaging in indecent and sinful acts becomes much, much more difficult. And at some point you will change. The prayer is transformative. Trust the process. This is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's tried and tested. Do not leave the prayer. As-salatu al-imad al-deen. The prayer is a quintessential pillar of the religion. According to Imam Ahmad, leaving the prayer is kufr. You leave Islam by leaving the prayer. This is his opinion. And there's strong support for it. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, bain al-kufri wal-iman tarqas-sala. Man tarqas-sala faqad kathara. Between disbelief and iman is abandoning leaving the prayer. Whoever leaves the prayer has disbelief. Think about it. Why is Iblis a kathar? Why is Shaytan a kathar? You might say, he doesn't acknowledge Allah as his Lord, as his Robb. He sure does. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent him, fa khruj min hafa inna ka rajim wa inna aleyka la'nati ila yawm ad-deen. What did Iblis say? Qala rabbi fa anzirni. Rabbi fa anzirni ila yawmi yub'atun. Oh my Lord. Oh my Lord, give me respite. Everyone move up insha'Allah ta'ala. I'm getting a message. Move up. You might say, Iblis doesn't fear Allah on the day of Badr. What did Shaytan say to the mushrikeen? Ibi bari'um min kum inni araa ma la tarawna inni a khaafu Allah. Wa Allahu shadeedu l-iqab. I fear Allah. I see what you can't see. He saw the angelic hosts on the day of the battle of Badr. I see what you can't see. I fear Allah. Allah is strict in retribution. Shaytan knows that Allah is God. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam is a messenger of God. But the religion is not called al-ilm. It's not called al-ma'rifah. It's called al-islam. It's called submission. You must submit mind, body, and soul. So why is Shaytan a kafir? Because he disobeys Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Makes Sajda to Adam. Aba wa stakbara wa kana minal kafirin. He refused and thought he himself greater. Is stakbara means to find you, to deem yourself greater. When one does not pray, when one does not perform the salah, one is deeming one's desires above that of Allah's command. You might say, well everybody sins. Everyone disobeys Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in some way. I'll cofar the answer is no, it doesn't. But the prayer has a special significance. It has a unique maqam with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Abanding the prayer is to abandon one of the major pillars, the arcane of the religion. If we establish the prayer, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will establish us. Insha'Allah ta'ala. I'll say this. Wa astaghfirullah li walakum fa astaghfiruh. Innahuhu wa l-ghufrur rahim. Tubu ila Allah yata wa tuba alayna. Alhamdulillahi rabbil al-alameen. As-salatu wa s-salam ala Rasulillahi al-mustafa wa ala sadaatina wa immatina bi bakar'um al-arthman wa ali. Wa radiyallahu ta'ana as-habi rasulillahi ajma'in. Yuku l-Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fi kitabil aziz ba'da nakulu wa a'udhibillahi min as-shaitan al-rajim. Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim. Inna Allah wa malaiqatahu yusalluna al-anabi. Ya ayyuhal ladina aminu yusallu alaihi wa salim wa taslima Allahumma salya'la Sayyidin Muhammad wa la alisaida Muhammad kama salita ala Sayyidin Ibraheem wa la alisaida Ibraheem naka hamidun majeed. Allahumma baraka ala Sayyidin Muhammad As-salaamu ala ala Sayyidin Muhammad wa la alihi wa sahbihi as-salam wa alhamdulillahi rabbil a'lamin aminu wa a'qimu as-salat al-i thikrihi.