Jumu’ah khutbah at Durham University 13/1/2023

Prepared by: Muchammad Taufiq Affandi, S.H.I., M.Sc

(Lecturer, University of Darussalam Gontor / PhD Student, Durham University)

Reviewers: Ahmad Kali Akbar, M.Pd.I.

Duration: Approx. 13-15 minutes

إِنّ الْحَمْدَ ِللهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِيْنُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُوْرِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا

مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلاَ مُضِلّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين القائل : كُلُّ شَىْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُۥ ۚ

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاّ اللهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنّ مُحَمّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ

صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى أَشْرَافِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالمرْسَلِيْنَ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أجمعين

أما بعدُ

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي

All praises are due to Allah, the Creator and the Lord of the entire universe. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. And I bear witness that our Prophet, Sayyiduna Muhammad SAW, is His Messenger. Ya Allah, send Your peace and blessings upon him and upon whoever follows him in guidance until the Last Day. Amma ba’du…

To continue: I advise myself and everyone here, with the Taqwa of Allah, for verily Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

O you who believe, be in the state of taqwa to Allah, in its fullest sense, and do not let yourself die unless you are Muslims.

My beloved brothers and sisters…

It is guaranteed that each of us, when our time comes, will leave this world and start the next phase of our journey. We will go to another life after this life. And the gate to that next life is death. Allah SWT says three times in Al-Quran: in surah Al-Ankabut Ayah 57, Al-Anbiya: 35, and Ali Imran: 185:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ ذَآئِقَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۖ

Every soul will taste death.

And there is no way to run from it. Allah SWT says in surah Jumu’ah ayah 8:

قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْمَوْتَ ٱلَّذِى تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُۥ مُلَـٰقِيكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَـٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ٨

Say, “The death you are running away from will inevitably come to you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the seen and unseen, and He will inform you of what you used to do.”

Knowing that death is inevitable, it is then our duty to prepare ourselves as best as possible to face it. As a proverb says:

مَنْ عَرَفَ بُعْدَ السَّفَرِ اسْتَعَدَّ

If someone knows how far the journey is, he has to prepare for it.

So how do we prepare ourselves to face the afterlife? On this blessed Friday, I’d like to mention inshaAllah three preparation we need to do before it comes.

First, we need to do as many good deeds as possible.

In surah Al-Mulk, ayah 1 to 2, Allah SWT says:

تَبَـٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ ١

Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything.

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٢

˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.

What is one of the signs of best deeds? In my previous khutbah, I mentioned Ihsan. But now I want to introduce another element in the best deeds, which is consistency. Rasulullah SAW said, in a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah:

فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْعَمَلِ أَدْوَمُهُ وَإِنْ قَلَّ

The best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little.

The second thing we need to do, knowing our current life is short, is to do more deeds which rewards keep flowing when we die.

In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (RA), Rasulullah SAW said:

((إِذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثَةٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَه))؛ رواه مسلم

When a son of Adam dies his deeds are discontinued, with three exceptions: Sadaqah jariyah; or knowledge from which benefit continues to be gained, or a righteous child who prays for him.” [Reported by Muslim].

What is sadaqah jariyah? Sadaqah Jariyah means a continuous, flowing and ongoing charity. It is one of the most rewarding acts we can do in our lives as the benefits of giving this type of charity can be reaped in this lifetime and long after we have passed.

One of the best things about Sadaqah Jariyah is that we can give on behalf of the deceased and benefit them directly without decreasing our own rewards.

This is clearly indicated in the following hadith hasan we can find in Sunan Abi Dawud when a companion’s mother passed away and he sought the beloved Prophet’s SAW advice about what to do for her:

قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أُمَّ سَعْدٍ مَاتَتْ فَأَىُّ الصَّدَقَةِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ ‏ “‏ الْمَاءُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَحَفَرَ بِئْرًا وَقَالَ هَذِهِ لأُمِّ سَعْدٍ ‏.

Narrated Sa’d ibn Ubadah: Sa’d asked: Messenger of Allah, Umm Sa’d has died; what form of sadaqah is best? He replied: Water (is best). He dug a well and said: It is for Umm Sa’d.

My beloved Muslim brothers and sisters…

The third thing we need to do is to pray to Allah to bless us with husnul khatimah.

Husnul khatimah translates to “beautiful closure”. But what is the sign of husnul khatimah? One of the signs of husnul khatimah is whoever says laa ilaaha illallaah before he passes away. This is in accordance with a hadith sahih narrated by Abi Dawud, where the Prophet PBUH said:

‏” مَنْ كَانَ آخِرُ كَلاَمِهِ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ‏”‏

“If anyone’s last words are “There is no god but Allah” he will enter Paradise.”

Another indicator for someone who is blessed with husnul khatimah is doing good deeds at the end of his life.

قَالَ رَسُولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ إِذَا أَرَادَ اللهُ بِعَبْدٍ خَيْرًا اسْتَعْمَلَهُ‏”‏.‏ فَقِيلَ كَيْفَ يَسْتَعْمِلُهُ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ قَالَ ‏”يُوَفِّقُهُ لِعَمَلٍ صَالِحٍ قَبْلَ الْمَوْتِ‏” ‏

In this hadith sahih, narrated by Ahmad and Tirmidhi, Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah SAW said:

“When Allah wants good for a slave, He puts him in action.” It was said: “How does he put him in action O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “By making him meet up with the righteous deeds before death.”

Besides doing good deeds, it is a must for us to pray to Allah to bless us with husnul khatimah. One of the prayers to get husnul khatimah, is as the prayers of prophet Yusuf AS, which is recorded in surah Yusuf ayah 101:

فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ

O the Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my protector in this world and the Hereafter. Allow me to die as a Muslim and join me with the righteous.

بَارَكَ اللهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيْمِ، وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيْهِ مِنَ الآيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيْمِ. أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَاَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوْهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ.

Second Khutbah

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه

 وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أنَّ محمّداً عبده ورسولهُ

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ… اَمَّا بَعْدُ

My beloved Muslim brothers and sisters

Do not let this world deceive us. Allah SWT says in surah Ali Imran 185

وَمَا الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَآ اِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُوْرِ

the life of this world is no more than the delusion of enjoyment.

But also, do not let our life in this world be meaningless and impactless life. Allah reminds us in surah Al-Qasas ayah 77

وَابْتَغِ فِيْمَآ اٰتٰىكَ اللّٰهُ الدَّارَ الْاٰخِرَةَ وَلَا تَنْسَ نَصِيْبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا

And seek the (reward) of the Hereafter using what Allah has granted you, without forgetting your share of this world.

The purpose of remembering death is not to make us have a constant worry in our lives, but rather to remind us to stay alert, and steadfast in our religion, use our time as well as possible, and give us hope for a better life after this life.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَقَـٰمُوا۟ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَبْشِرُوا۟ بِٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ٣٠

Surely those who say, “Our Lord is Allah,” and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them, ˹saying,˺ “Do not fear, nor grieve. Rather, rejoice in the good news of Paradise, which you have been promised. (Al-Fussilat: 30)

Finally, may Allah bless us with long life in good deeds, and give us strength to use every single second of our life to do what Allah loves.

فَيَااَ يُّهَاالنَّاسُ …اعْلَمُوْا اَنَّ اللهَ اَمَرَكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ بَدَأَ فِيْهِ بِنَفْسِهِ. وَثَنَّى بِمَلاَئِكَةِ قُدْسِهِ.

فَقَالَ تَعَالىَ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ قَائِلاًعَلِيْمًا اِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلاَئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّوْنَ عَلىَ النَّبِىْ يَاَ يُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا

اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ

 وَبَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيْمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيْدٌ مَجِيْدٌ

اللهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُسْلِمِيْنَ وَالمسْلِمَاتِ وَالمؤْمِنِيْنَ وَالمؤْمِنَاتِ الأَحْيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ وَالأَمْوَاتِ إِنَّكَ سَمِيْعٌ قَرِيْبٌ مُجِيْبُ الدَّعْوَةِ

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالعَفَافَ وَالغِنَى

رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْوَهَّابُ.

رَبنا أَدْخِلْنا مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنا مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَلْ لنا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَصِيرًا

ربنا اوزعنا ان نشكر نعمتك التى انعمت علينا وعلى والدينا وان نعمل صالحاً ترضاه و ادخلنا برحمتك فى عبادك الصالحين

رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ

رَبَّنَا اغفر لنا ولوَالدِيْنا وارحمهم كما رَبَّونا صِغارا

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِيْنَ.

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ. وَسَلاَمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ. وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ.

عباد الله، إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون.

فاذكروا الله العظيم يذكركم واشكروه على نعمه يزدكم وادعوه يستجب لكم ولذكر الله أكبر.

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