 Today is a day of praising our Lord. Today is a day of saying Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar means that God is great, God is greater, God is the greatest. God is greater than anything that our minds could possibly conceive. God is greater than the universe which he created out of nothing by his divine fiat. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar Kabira, Walhamdulillahi kathira. This is the day upon which we commemorate the faith, the sacrifice, the struggle, the obedience of our Master Ibrahim A.S. We are the millah of Ibrahim A.S. We are the standard bearers of pure Abrahamic monotheism, Tuhid Ibrahimiyah in the world. Nobody comes close to us. The Christians have slightly more followers, but the vast, vast majority of them are Trinitarians. They worship God as three distinct persons. This is not Tuhid. While the Jews are only 15 million or so worldwide and they reject Isa A.S. in the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. We are the standard bearers of Tuhid, Allahu Akbar. And in our times, and I'll come back to this later in the Khutbah, inshallah, in our times right now in 2021, people of all stripes all around the world are really starting to wake up to the truth that Islam as a worldview stands uniquely equipped as a formidable and robust opposition to the rational, extremist, unnatural and intolerant zeitgeist of our current age. The promise of Allah SWT is through If Allah SWT comes and you see humanity entering the religion of God in multitudes and masses, glorify the praise of your Lord. Truly, he is ever-relenting. Sadaq Allahul Azeem. There is a Surah in the Quran called Surat Ibrahim, Alaihi Wasallam. Appropriate for today's occasion. This Surah contains one of the great spiritual laws of the universe. So there are physical laws and there are spiritual laws. It's an equation, essentially, and this is how it goes. Gratitude to God equals increase from God. Gratitude to God equals increase from God. That's it. Shukr equals Ziyada. If we are grateful to Allah SWT, he will increase us. That's ayah 7 of Surah Ibrahim, Alaihi Wasallam. But let's look at the preceding ayat for some context. Allah SWT begins. Alif, Lam, Ra. The meaning of these letters is a sir, is a mystery, is a secret known only to Allah SWT. And we allow them to remain a mystery. Imam Ar-Razi said that the wisdom of this is that this keeps our hearts oriented toward that which is beyond our sense experiences and rational faculties. It reminds us of the numinal realities of the unseen that are imperceptible to our senses and unknown to our intellects. After this, Allah SWT says, Kitabun anzal nahu ilayka li tukhrijan nasa minal zulumati ilan nur. A book we have revealed to you in order for you to bring humanity out from the darkness and the Arabic here is in the plural, minal zulumati, from the many manifestations of darkness to the light. Imam Azam Akhshari, he said these are metaphors, isti'aratan, darkness and light. These are metaphors for dhalal and huda, for error and guidance. The ayah continues, ila surat al-aziz al-hamid, by the permission of their Lord to the path of the mighty that constantly praised. That's the first ayah. So, the Kitab, the Qur'an is the means through which Allah SWT guided us from error. The Qur'an is the ultimate and definitive revelation of Allah SWT. The Qur'an is the standard of judgment with respect to the previously revealed books such as the Torah and the Injil. There is no more wahi, there is no more prophetic revelation to come. It has been sealed with our master Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam, he said, this Qur'an is the rope of God. A rope that extends from the heavens to the earth. However, the Qur'an did not literally descend from the heavens as pages in a book or written scrolls that anyone can just unfurl and read. Kitabun anzalnaahu ilayka, a book we have revealed to you. And the pronoun here is masculine singular. Allah SWT is speaking directly to our master Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam. In fact, the Surat itself, the Surat mustaqeem is a reference to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam. This is why the word Surat is never in the plural. It is one specific path, the path of our master Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam. A path that never goes out of style. It stays relevant. It remains necessary. The Qur'an descended upon the heart of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa la'ali wa sallam. The Qalb in the context of the Qur'an is not the physical heart that pumps blood. It is really the mind, the seat of emotion and reason. This is why the Qalb can fail to understand something. لهم قلوبٌ لا يفقهون بها. Or لهم قلوبٌ يعقلون بها. This is why the heart can have diseases that are not physiological. في قلوبه مرض. This is why the exegetes say that when the Qur'an says about our master Ibrahim sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, إذا جاء ربه بقلبٍ سليم that indeed he approached his Lord with a sound heart. This means a heart free of doubt. A mind free of doubt and full of certitude. Never incline towards idolatry. A TOHEED-oriented worldview. So when the Qur'an interacted with the sacred prophetic heart, you have نورٌ على نور. Light upon light. The sunnah, the established prophetic ethos and way which is called siraat in the Qur'an. Which is called al-hikmah in the Qur'an. The sunnah is the timeless living tradition of the Qur'an itself. The sunnah is the lamp, the siraaj that illuminates the Qur'an. The sunnah is the lens through which we understand the Qur'an. He sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam is the teacher of the Qur'an. With his words and actions. He is قدم ستقٍ. He has أروة الوثقى. He is أولى حقٌ برهانٌ. These are all of his names in the Qur'an, in this. And for this, we can only say الله أكبر. We are the nation of the great teacher and seal of the prophets. الله أكبر. الله أكبر كبيرا. والحمد لله كثيرا. Surat Ibrahim continues. الله الذي لهما في السموات وما في الأرض. وويلوا للكافيرين من عذابٍ شديد. Allah unto whom belongs. Exclusively. Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. So woe unto the disbelievers for a severe punishment. All of creation belongs to Allah سبحانه وتعالى. الله أكبر. It is all his. And he can do whatever he wants with it. He is both Malik and Malik, owner and king. This is why the so-called problem of evil in Western philosophy is not really a problem for us as Muslims. For those who claim positively that God is love with God as a subject and love as a predicate, the presence of moral evil in the world becomes very, very difficult to explain. From a Muslim perspective, all of this, all of creation is Allah سبحانه وتعالى's exclusive dominion. And he can never be questioned for what he does to his dominion. Just a space and time do not apply to him. He is the creator of space and time. Our conceptions of good and evil do not apply to him. He is the creator of good and evil. Allahu Akbar. Yet he is the loving, al-wadood. He is the compassionate, al-rahman. He is the relentless, al-tawab. Allahu Akbar. This is our theoricy. This is our vindication of God. Allah سبحانه وتعالى is the omnipotent king of the universe who overwhelmingly deals with his creation, with what we understand to be love and compassion. But he is also al-jabbar, al-muntaqim, al-mutakabbir, al-qahir. Allah سبحانه وتعالى is beautiful, but he is also majestic. He's merciful, but also rigorous. Yet there is preponderance of mercy over rigor. Allahu Akbar. For those who say that the Messiah, peace be upon him, is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Allah سبحانه وتعالى responded to this through our master Muhammad, sallallahu aleyhi wa l-alaihi wa sallam, through the Prophet of the Abrahamic Restoration. Sallallahu aleyhi wa l-alaihi wa sallam. He said, Qul say, فَمَا يَمْ لِكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ الشَّيْئَنْ اِنْ أَرَادَ اَيُهْلِكَ الْمَسِيْحَبْنَ مَرْيَمْ وَأُمَّهُ وَمَنْ فِي الْأَرْجِ جَمِيعًا Then who would have an iota of power over Allah if he decided to destroy the Messiah, the son of Mary and his mother and everyone on the earth altogether? وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُوا السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْجِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَا يَخْلُكُمْ مَا يَشَاءَ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْئِنْ قَدِيرٌ unto Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala exclusively belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them, meaning the cosmos, he creates whatever he wills. And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has power over all things. الله أكبر الله أكبر كبيرة والحمد لله كثيرة This is Huda. This is clear guidance we've received from Al-Hadi Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. This is from Al-Wahab, the one who gives to the undeserving. Allahu Akbar. Surat Ibrahim continues Those who prefer the life of this world over the hereafter and who turn away from the way of God, from the سبيل الله and seek to make it crooked. It is they who are far astray. Those who prefer this fleeting life of 60 or 70 years over the abode of permanence are not being rational. This is unintelligent, irrational thinking. Putting all of your eggs in the basket of the dunya is irrational when you know that the specter of death lurks behind every corner. You can go at any time. We know this. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says Affa la taqilun Whatever thing, whatever shade you are given it is only an enjoyment of the life of this world and its ornament. But that which is with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is better and more lasting. Will you not use your intellect? Will you not be reasonable? Our Master Jesus, peace be upon him, is reported to have said What does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul? Our Master Muhammad, peace be upon him, said The intelligent one is the one who subdues his lower self and works for that which comes after death while the unintelligent one is the one who has put his lower self in pursuance of its desires and has vain hopes in Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. The commentators say that such a person follows his whims and desires. He leads a hedonistic and selfish lifestyle against his better judgment and expects Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to forgive him. That's not intelligent. That's not reasonable. We need to get our theology straight. This deen, this religion is an intelligent deen. It is a thinking person's deen. A wise old man once said, Would you rather hold a handful of dirt for several hours or a piece of gold for a moment? And the answer is a piece of gold for a moment. He continued, Yet there are people who would rather hold dirt for a moment than possess gold forever. There was a study conducted on children years ago by a Stanford professor. It was a study on delayed gratification. They found that children who preferred to have two cookies later rather than one cookie now were generally more intelligent and successful later in life. Self-control, discipline, patience. These are markers of success in both worlds. This world is a shadow of the next world. Why would someone prefer this fleeting life over the hereafter? It's because they have doubt about the hereafter in their hearts. But rather than try to alleviate their doubts with serious and sincere study using reason, logic, and academic inquiry, they take the lazy way out and allow their hawa, their caprice, their desires, their lust, their feelings to rule them. And then out of spite for those who engage in the way of God, the sabil of Allah, which Imam al-Siyuti says in this ayah, means al-Islam. Out of spite for those who practice Islam, they seek to change Islam to lies, deviation, and falsehood. وَيَسُدُونَ عَنْ سِبِيدِ اللَّهَ وَيَبْغُونَ هَاْ عِيْوَجَى The people of knowledge say that you're either calling to something or you are being called to something. No third option. Right now in our society, God rejecting deviants are openly saying that they are going to, quote, convert our children. We will convert your children, they are saying. They are saying this openly now. No more hidden agendas. No more conspiracy theories. It's all open. We want to convert your children. They want to convert our children into accepting their deviant lifestyles and perverted philosophies. But in order for them to do this, they need Muslims to forsake their tradition and accept the current zeitgeist. They need us to accept this highly intolerant and coercive liberalism that has now openly declared ideological war on traditional religion. This is their project. This is their project. And let me tell you something. We are gradually becoming the last line of defense when it comes to traditional religion. In the world, we, the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, have been entrusted with the minna of Ibrahim alayhi sallam. We must not allow ourselves to be bullied or intimidated. Fa staqim kama umirt Be upright as you have been commanded. Be strong, resolute, stand up straight. Ya ayyuhal muddathir Qum fa anthir Wa rabbaka fa kabbir Wa thiyabaka fa tahir Wa rujaza fa hajur Wa la tamnun tas takthir Wa lirabbika fasbir Stand up, warn people about their behavior. Say Allahu Akbar. Purify yourself. Shander defilements and idolatry. Don't expect anything from them and be patient. This is our project. This is our project. We are the last line of defense. The vast majority of Jews no longer believe in the 13 principles of faith as articulated by Maimonides, their greatest classical theologian. The historical critical method has ripped to the Torah to shreds. Most Jews today are non-practicing. They go to the synagogue for cultural or social purposes or they practice reformed Judaism where they can eat whatever they want. And their halakah, their sharia is optional, even belief in God is optional, is not required. The current pope of the Roman Catholic Church is an extreme liberal who constantly offends his traditional and conservative followers. This is the leader of a billion Catholics. He's made strange and bizarre comments about the existence of hell, about civil unions, about the Latin mass. Something strange is going on with this guy. Most Christian churches in the West have let the woke circus through their doors. They have capitulated to the same coercive liberalism that has overrun the academy like a scourge. They surrendered to the mob that claimed that their beliefs were not only offensive but constituted violence. Your beliefs, not actions. Your beliefs are violent, the mob said. So they let the circus in. And once you let the circus in, sooner or later, the clowns will run the show. Amazingly, during this time, people in the West continue to convert to Islam. Allahu Akbar. It's really not that surprising. It makes sense when you think about it. Islam is a religion of human fitrah. It appeals to our natural disposition. People naturally love monotheism, uncompromising monotheism. They are attracted to the simplicity of Muslim worship, bowing and prostrating without icons, without statues. They are attracted to the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam who was respectful of others, yet uncompromising when it came to his principles. People respect that. Even his enemies respected him for that. They are attracted to how Islam recognizes the difference and uniqueness of men and women, how they are equal but not identical, how they are compliments, not rivals, not antagonists. They are attracted to the sanctity of human life in Islam and the equality of all human beings before God. For then Islam is totally refreshing in the face of the current zeitgeist. And of course, there is a place for culture in Islam. There is a maxim in the sharia that says, al-ma'roofu orfan kal-mashrui shar'an, that which is known through custom or culture is like that which is legislated by revelation. But there is a caveat. Any cultural practice must be circumscribed within the hudud, the bound of the sacred law. It must not violate the revelation which is from Allah SWT. La ta'atalima khlookin fee ma'asiatil khalik. There's no such thing as obedience to creation in disobedience to the Creator. Interestingly, a lot of middle-aged adults are converting to Islam. These are people who have had some time to think and ponder about life and the current state of affairs in the world. They have come to see through the lies and deceptions of the current zeitgeist. Many of these converts who live in Europe are total submarines. A submarine is a Muslim who has chosen not to make his faith to anybody. Only Allah SWT knows who they are. You'll notice that children because they are close to the fitrah. They love Allah in his messenger. Children with terminal cancer never complain. They accept the qadr. They are awliya. But then when they go to public schools and colleges, they become exposed to this postmodern philosophy, critical theory, deconstructionism, atheistic materialism, poststructuralism, radical hermeneutics, et cetera, et cetera. And they have a falling away. Their fitrah takes a hit. Their common sense is questioned. But then eventually, when they get older and wiser with experience, when they begin to do some real thinking on their own, they come to realize Sadaqa Allah or Sadaqa Rasulullah. This is happening everywhere right now. These unnatural, deceptive, and irrational philosophies are making people miserable. These philosophies turn the world into a godless battleground where different identity groups are constantly vying for power. Everything becomes a struggle for power. These backward philosophies turn people into mean-spirited, self-righteous cynics. It bifurcates the world into two classes, the oppressed and the oppressor. And ironically, those who are often labeled as oppressed are actually the oppressors. And vice versa. Toba and Shukr and Tawador, humility are thrown out the window. And people are getting tired of it. They're getting tired. They want an alternative. And they're discovering Islam. They're discovering the Prophet Muhammad. Sallallahu alaihi wa la'ali wa sallam. Surat Ibrahim continues, I'm nearly out of time. Wa ma'ar sallamir rasoonin illa bilisani qawmi. Bi yubayna lahum. Foyodidlul lahum ma yashaa wa yahdi ma yashaa. Wa hu al-Azizul hakeem. And we did not send a messenger except in the language of his people in order for him to clarify for them. And God leads astray whomsoever he wills. And guides whomsoever he wills. And he is the mighty, the wise. The surah continues, We indeed said Moses with our sign saying, Bring your people out from the darkness to the light and remind them of the days of Allah. Truly in that are signs for those who are patient, grateful. Here the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is juxtaposed with Musa alaihi sallam as he is often in the Quran. Yet the superiority of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is explained in that while Musa alaihi sallam was commanded to take his Qaum, his people, the Bani Israel out of the darkness. The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was commanded to take a nas humanity out. The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is the universal messenger. Rahmatil ila alamin. Musa alaihi sallam was commanded to remind his people of the days of Allah. These days are those special days throughout the calendar that commemorate certain events in the history of Bani Israel. They remind people of the blessings of Allah such as Allah saving them from the Fir'aun and making exodus to Egypt. We have special days as well. Today is one of those special days. The shaitan also has his days. His special days, his special months or months. But while we say, The shaitan wants to compel us to commemorate his days. During the entire month of June, Shayatin were working overtime inundating us with reminders of their special days. Even children's cartoons were not spared from their demonic efforts. But during this time, Allahu Akbar, the izzah of this Dean was discovered by many decent non-Muslims because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in charge. They noticed that there is something about Islam that prevents Muslims from surrendering their moral truth. They noticed that there is something about Islam that prevents Muslims from groveling and genuflecting before the mob that we have istiqama, that we stand up straight. Allahu Akbar, people are coming to this Dean. And when Moses said to his people, I remember the blessing of Allah upon you. When the people of Thir'auna come to you, you will suffer the punishment and your children will be buried here and your women will be exiled. And in that, your Lord's blessings will be great. The surah continues. And now we come to verse 7. And your Lord proclaimed, If you are grateful, I will surely increase you. But if you are ungrateful, kafartum kafara means to disbelieve. It also means to be ungrateful. If you disbelieve, if you are ungrateful, truly my punishment is severe. This is the great lesson for this day. If we are grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He will increase us. Don't let the current za'iqaist convince you that you're some sort of victim. This eliminates toba. This eliminates toadur. This makes you an ingrate. Follow Allah on this messenger. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase us in all good things in both worlds. May we all show immense gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his many blessings. May he continue to give us the istiqama needed to uphold the millah of our Master Ibrahim a.s. I say this word and ask forgiveness from Allah. I ask forgiveness. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Tubu ila Allah, yata wa abtubu alayn. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace and blessings of the Messenger of Allah be upon him. May the blessings and blessings of the Messenger of Allah be upon him. The substitution of a ram for Ibrahim's son, alayhim as-salam, serves as the basis for the ritual of the slaughtering of an animal, the udhiyya, the qurbani, that is required as a final rite of the hajj. We are to do this as well, or at least have someone do it on your behalf. Also, it is wajib in the Hanafi school to continue the takbirat at least once, right after every fard salah, up to and including salat al-asr on the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah. So that's this Friday, July 23rd. Asr on Friday is the last time. He says, Allahumma innaka afu wa-ntuhippu l-afwa fa'fu anna. Allahumma innaka afu wa-ntuhippu l-afwa fa'fu anna.