By Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Hudhaifi – 24 Rajab 1435

His Eminence Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Hudhaifi, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday Khutbah entitled, “Take Advantage of Your Life to Do Acts of Obedience to Allah”, in which he said that it is every Muslim’s duty to make the most of his life by doing good deeds and keeping away from forbidden acts. He cited a lot of evidence to this effect from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, emphasizing the importance of paying special attention to the Ummah’s youth by encouraging them to do good deeds and dissuading them form distractions and anything that is harmful to their religion and worldly life.

Praise be to Allah, Who has created everything, and measured it precisely according to its due measurements.

“… He makes the night to go in the day and makes the day to go in the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon. Each running (on a fixed course) for an appointed term. Verily, He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.” (Az-Zumar: 5)

I praise my Lord and thank Him. I turn to Him in repentance and ask Him for forgiveness. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, the One, the All-Dominant, and I bear witness that our prophet and master, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, and His chosen prophet. O Allah! Bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon Your servant and messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions, the pious, righteous people.

O Muslims!
Fear Allah as He should be feared, and grasp the trustworthy handhold of Islam, for if anyone fears Allah, Allah will save him from all evils and sins that doom one to Hell and protect him from disgraceful punishments, and in the hereafter he will gain the good pleasure of his Lord and attain the Gardens of Paradise.

Servants of Allah!
Your Lord, Might and Majesty be to Him, has made this worldly life an abode for doing deeds, where each one has an appointed term, and He has made the hereafter an abode for judgment for what we did on earth, with reward for the good deeds and punishment for the evil deeds. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“And to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done (i.e. punish them in Hell), and reward those who do good, with what is best (i.e. Paradise).” (An-Najm: 31)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds. [i.e. those who do good deeds in the most perfect manner, that means to do them (deeds) totally for Allah’s sake and in accordance to the legal ways of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him].” (Al-Kahf: 7)

Allah helps people in worshipping Him, which is the reason why He created them, by subjecting His creatures to them and by providing them with the means and ways to do so. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“See you not (O men) that Allah has subjected for you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, (both) apparent (i.e. Islamic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks, etc.) and hidden (i.e. One’s Faith in Allah (of Islamic Monotheism) knowledge, wisdom, guidance for doing righteous deeds, and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise, etc.)? …” (Luqman: 20)

Allah, Exalted be He, says:
“Allah, it is He Who has subjected to you the sea, that ships may sail through it by His Command, and that you may seek of His Bounty, and that you may be thankful. And [He] has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth; it is all as a favour and kindness from Him. Verily, in it are signs for a people who think deeply.” (Al-Jathiyah: 12-13)

Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, also says:
“… and He has made rivers (also) to be of service to you. And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you; and He has made the night and the day, to be of service to you. And He gave you of all that you asked from Him, and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them. Verily! Man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, a disbeliever (an extreme ingrate who denies Allah’s Blessings by disbelief, and by worshipping others besides Allah, and by disobeying Allah and His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him).” (Ibrahim: 32-34)

If man reflects upon all the gifts and blessings that Allah has endowed him with; if he ponders on the traits and qualities that Allah has attributed to him, such as the ability to do good deeds and shun sinful and prohibited acts; if he realizes that the hereafter is the eternal abode, either for everlasting bliss or for painful torment; if man realizes all that, he will not waste his time and will make full use of it, he will never miss a chance to act righteously in every instance, and will then reform his life by observing the principles of the true religion so that his life may be better for him and for his offspring and may end in goodness.

If a man’s life is not ruled by the straight religion, it is worthless, and if any life in this world is not dominated by the religion of Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, it is devoid of all blessings. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Whoever desires the quick-passing (transitory enjoyment of this world), We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell; he will burn therein disgraced and rejected (– far away from Allah’s Mercy). And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it (i.e. do righteous deeds of Allah’s Obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allah – Islamic Monotheism) – then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated (thanked and rewarded by Allah). On each – these as well as those – We bestow from the Bounties of your Lord. And the Bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden.” (Al-Isra’: 18-20)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“So let not their wealth or their children amaze you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him); in reality Allah’s Plan is to punish them with these things in the life of the this world, and that their souls shall depart (die) while they are disbelievers.” (At-Tawbah: 55)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“Say (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him): “Who has forbidden the adornment with clothes given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Taiyibat [all kinds of Halal (lawful) things] of food?” Say: “They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them).” …” (Al-A‘raf: 32)

O sensible people! Do you have any doubt that life in this world is nothing but a transient joy and a short-lived pleasure? If you are heedless of this, then learn lessons from those who preceded you, for in that is indeed a lesson to people of understanding. If you, O you who are morally accountable for your deeds, understand the verses in which Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Nay, you prefer the life of this world; although the Hereafter is better and more lasting.” (Al-A‘la: 16-17),

then work for the everlasting hereafter and toil hard for the unchanging, never-ending bliss, so that you may be saved from a burning fire with a far-reaching pit, whose dwellers get their food from the infernal tree of Zaqqum and drink scalding water and dirty pus. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“… Then as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them, boiling water will be poured down over their heads. With it will melt (or vanish away) what is within their bellies, as well as (their) skins. And for them are hooked rods of iron (to punish them). Every time they seek to get away therefrom, from anguish, they will be driven back therein, and (it will be) said to them: “Taste the torment of burning!”” (Al-Hajj: 19-22)
Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“The man who had the most luxurious life in this world from among the dwellers of Hell will be brought and dipped in the Fire but once, and then he will be asked, ‘O son of Adam! Have you ever seen any good? Have you ever found any pleasure?’ He will say, ‘No, by Allah, O my Lord! I have never seen any pleasure.’ The most miserable man [in this world] from the dwellers of Paradise will be brought and dipped in Paradise but once, and then he will be asked, ‘O son of Adam! Have you ever seen any misery? Have you ever suffered any hardship?’ He will say, ‘No, by Allah, O my Lord! I have never seen any misery, nor have I suffered any hardship.’” (Reported by Muslim)

Servants of Allah!
No one can obtain the good that Allah has except by obeying Him. Verily, Allah’s commodity is priceless. Verily, Allah’s commodity is Paradise. The capital that a morally accountable person has is the span of his lifetime. He will succeed if he spends his life doing good deeds, but will fail if he wastes it in diversions and forbidden acts. No one deserves a better and more blessed life than he who takes the guidance of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as the example to follow in his life. This is the best guidance, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in his khutbahs, “The best speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the worst matters are newly-invented matters [in religion], and every innovation [in religion] is misguidance” (Reported by Muslim, as part of the hadith narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him).

He who follows the guidance of our master, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in his life will obtain all good and will attain the Gardens of Pleasure in Paradise. He who misses the Prophet’s guidance will miss all good, and he who misses part of his guidance will miss part of good commensurate with the part he has missed of the guidance of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. One of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, said, “We used to teach our children the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as we taught them the Noble Quran.” Their aim was to make them take the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as their example, which they managed to achieve, and so they became the best people raised up for mankind.

If each Muslim sees how much he practices the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and acts on his guidance in worship, conduct with people, sincerity, support of religion, and uprightness in all his conditions, he will realize how much he has fallen behind, but will be able, with the help of Allah, Exalted be He, to make up for what he has missed, and all his affairs will be in conformity with the right path. A Muslim must guard against wasting his life in negligence, abandoning useful knowledge and good deeds, and engaging in practices that are neither good for this world nor for the hereafter. This particularly applies to the youth, who are in dire need of all that protects their religion, morality, and innocence, and safeguards their future and happiness.

Each stage in man’s life is influenced by the previous one. The most damaging thing for Muslims in general, and the youth in particular, is searching for and being affected by harmful Internet websites that destroy Islamic ethics, reading books that propagate atheism and corruption, seeking the company of those who follow their lusts and commit deadly sins, and wasting time watching those satellite channel serials that fight good and adorn evil and sins.

It is also a harmful habit to stay up late at night and sleep during the day. This habit changes the nature of anyone who acquires it, and it mostly occurs when one has a lot of leisure time. Those who fall into this habit become less productive and usually fail in their study. Many young people who get into this habit drop out of school and suffer from physical and psychological diseases. Those who get used to staying up late at night also become immoral, less patient and persevering, and less proficient in their work. Moreover, they become easy preys to devils, because Satan has more influence over man at night than in the daytime. Sleeping during the day rather than at night is a waste of life and of benefit. Staying up late at night may also lead to drug addiction and moral delinquency.

Young people have many problems whose solution lies in adhering to the guidance of our master, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Parents, teachers, and wise people in society should set a good example for the youth, especially the young ones among them, who need a real example to follow and are still too young to weigh up things or read avidly about the lives of righteous people. Allah commands us to assist those who seek the right path, and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him urged us to do so. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “In their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy, the believers are like one body. When one of the limbs aches, the whole body responds to it with sleeplessness and fever.” Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allah)]. And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith) …” (Al ‘Imran: 102-103)

May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words and benefit from the guidance and right sayings of the Imam of all Messengers. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.