By Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat – 22 Rajab 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat – May Allah protect him – delivered this Friday Khutbah titled “Calling to Allah: Method and Exemplary Model” in which he talked about the Da’wah (call) to Allah and its honourable status. He also explained how it allowed Islam to reach the four corners of the earth. The Sheikh also elaborated on the methods of calling to Allah that every Da’iyah (caller to Islam) should adopt and uphold. He finally made it clear that it was the same method adopted by Prophet Muhammad – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him!

Praise be to Allah! He guides whomever He wishes to the Straight Path. I thank Him –May He be glorified– for His abundant favours, profuse graces and overwhelming benediction. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no associate. He blesses whomever He wishes with His Compassion; none can preclude His favours and none can object to His divine decree. He is the Most Benign, Most Kind, and Most Compassionate. I also bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah and His Prophet select among His creatures, the one who follows the righteous method (of inviting people to Islam) and upright morals. O Allah! Send your Salat and Peace upon Your Servant and Messenger Muhammad, his family, all of his Companions, the tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Prophet’s Companions after his death) and all of those who follow in their footsteps until the Day of Judgement!

Now then,

I exhort you –O servants of Allah– to observe Taqwa vis-à-vis Allah:

“And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allâh. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” [Al-Baqarah: 281]

O Servants of Allah!

If Da’wah is mentioned within the context and confines of Islam, what it actually means is the Da’wah which had brought happiness to humanity after it had been wrapped in falsehood and after truth was obscured for a period of time. The rise of the Islamic Da’wah over mankind and its widespread extension had the effect of a soothing balsam which cured the sick and, with Allah’s permission, eradicated the disease.

Such was the case of the Islamic Call when it treated the hearts from their ailments. Hearts were relieved after dejection and freed from fetters and shackles; they thus moved onward guided by the light of Allah and following His Path.

“Is he whose breast Allâh has opened to Islâm, so that he is in light from His Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)? So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allâh! They are in plain error!” [Al-Zumar: 22]

“Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men, like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out? Thus it is made fair­seeming to the disbelievers that which they used to do.” [Al-An’am: 122]

Yes, Servants of Allah! The types of people (mentioned in the two verses above) can never ‒I swear by Allah‒ be equal. Allah granted man life by casting into his heart the light of faith that guides him to the Straight Path and shows him where to place his feet with surety so as to save him from tripping and tumbling into the fathomless abyss of sin.

Allah had opened through the Islamic Call blind eyes, treated uncouth hearts, and minds corrupted by imitating their predecessors’ traditional misguidance. Once opened, such eyes, hearts, and minds set out to reach new horizons of calling to Islam, thus expanding its vista, hoisting its banner, fighting tooth and nail in defence of Islam and declaring to the world that Allah had commissioned them to persuade whomever he wished to renounce the worship of people (Allah’s servants) and embrace the worship of Allah alone, to move from the narrow scope of worldly life to its broad, and from the injustice of (distorted or man-made) religions to the justice of Islam.

With the relentless efforts of dedicated da’iyahs (callers to Islam), early Islam achieved far-reaching eminence and expansion. Various nations developed awareness of its pure and bright Da’wah that flourished albeit with modest means. The only means at hand was their own enthusiasm to spread good, guide the multitudes to Allah’s Straight Path via a perfect example set by the model of the Prophet’s guidance and the path of the Holy Qur’an and the Noble Sunnah; such model example which combined the deep, unshakable faith ‒that dwelled the hearts so easily‒ with the meticulous fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) which controls the rhythm of life.

O Muslims!

Some of the Companions of the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ learned no more than ten verses of the Qur’an, yet they comprehended their meaning and applied them in their everyday life. In Surat Al-‘Asr, these Companions –May Allah be pleased with them all– found the perfect guide to good life in the following Words of their Lord ‒Glorified be He:

“By Al-‘Asr (the time). Verily! Man is in loss, Except those who believe (in Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma’rûf)which Allâh has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allâh has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allâh’s Cause during preaching His religion of Islâmic Monotheism or Jihâd, etc.)” [Al-‘Asr: 1-3]

In Surat Al-‘Asr, these Companions found the right direction away from the cohort of the al-khasirin (losers). Such is the influence of this particular Surat that it directs attention to so coherent precepts that following only some of them does not necessarily exclude the others. These are respectively belief, practice (of one’s belief) and Da’wah (call). Moreover, these precepts are based on preliminary Islamic precepts such as tawheed (believing in the Oneness of Allah –May He be extolled– in His Lordship, Divinity, Names and Attributes. Then comes patience, the tool of da’iyahs and the road conducive to their goal, namely the expansion of the Da’wah to Truth and Guidance regardless of hardships and difficulties.

No belief is possible without knowledge, and no knowledge is right without practice. Practice and knowledge dovetail when supported by patience and the will to withstand grievance for the sake of spreading Da’wah. A faith based on the knowledge of Allah and his religion motivates one to follow Allah’s Path:

“”And verily, this (i.e. Allâh’s Commandments mentioned in the above two Verses 151 and 152) is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious – see V.2:2).”” [Al-An’am: 153]

Giving directives to His Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ Allah Almighty also says:

“Say (O Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam): “This is my way; I invite unto Allâh (i.e. to the Oneness of Allâh – Islâmic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allâh i.e to the Oneness of Allâh – Islâmic Monotheism) with sure knowledge. And Glorified and Exalted be Allâh (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh; those who worship others along with Allâh or set up rivals or partners to Allâh).” [Yusuf: 108]

In every step he takes, in every problem he faces, and in every obligation he commits himself to when dealing with people, the da’iyah follows the Straight Path of Allah. This, he is certain, is the best Path leading him to Allah and will thus spend his life without tripping, acting haphazardly, or deviating.

Belief is also what motivates him to spread, uphold, and call to Truth. Thereby, he may set the roadmap to virtue and righteousness and exhort others, via various means, to follow suit. The most important among such means are the good conduct and the righteous path of the committed believer.

A good example and a righteous model are the eye-catching star whose light is so bright that it beacons others to the right path. This is the parable of the one who calls to Allah with enlightened insight and follows the method of the Qur’an which adopts wisdom and fair preaching, that divine method which Allah ordered His Prophet to uphold when He said:

“Invite (humankind, O Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islâm) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur’ân) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.” [Al-Nahl: 125]

In so doing, the Da’iyah would be following the footsteps of the Seal of Prophets and Imam of Messengers, Muhammad ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ in terms of lowering the wing of submission (to the believers) and observing leniency and compassion. This is an ethic of which the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ has highlighted the good consequences and effects by saying: “Whenever there is leniency in anything, it adorns it; and whenever it is removed from anything, it disgraces it.” [Narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih from the hadith reported by the Mother of the Believers, A’isha ‒May Allah be pleased with her.

This is also highlighted in his words to A’isha ‒May Allah be pleased with her: “O A’isha! Verily Allah is lenient and loves leniency in any matter.” [Reported by Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs (hadith books) from the hadith narrated by the Mother of the Believers, A’isha ‒May Allah be pleased with her.

In his version, Imam Muslim added: “… and confers upon leniency that which He does not confer upon severity and even that which He does not confer upon anything else besides it (leniency).” This is the noble moral trait that Allah Almighty praised in the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. He, the Almighty, said in favour of this trait and in warning against its opposite:

And by the Mercy of Allâh, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh-­hearted, they would have broken away from about you; so pass over (their faults), and ask (Allâh’s) Forgiveness for them; and consult them in the affairs. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allâh, certainly, Allâh loves those who put their trust (in Him). [Al Imran: 159]

May Allah grant me and you benefit from the guidance of His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him! I say this and ask Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic to forgive me, you and all Muslims for all our wrongdoings, as He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful!