abdullah khan
Junior Member
The Story Of The Bull
12-05-2009
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Notes from a Khutbah by Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
“O you who believe! Fear Allâh (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 Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.” (Aali Imran 3:102) “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allâh through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship. Surely, Allâh is Ever an All*Watcher over you.” (An-Nisa 4:1) “O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allâh and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.” (Al-Ahzab 33:70)
Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Ubbay ibn Ka’ab (may Allah be pleased with him), “What is the meaning of Tawqa?” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “O Amir ul Mu’minin, have you walked on a field that had a lot of thorny plants?” Umar said, “Yes” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “So what did you do?” Umar replied, “I lifted up my clothes and I was very careful,” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “That is Taqwa.”
We are walking on a field that is full of thorny plants. Shaytan and his followers will try to seduce you and invite you to Evil. So having Taqwa in Dunya is lifting up your clothes and being careful, so that you would not touch this evil. And that is the definition of Taqwa and we ask Allah to make us of those of al- Muttaqeen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, there’s a famous Story (parable) that I will go through, you may have herd it before, but there are some very important lessons we can learn from it. The story goes like this:
“There were four Cows. One of them was white and the other three were black. They used to live in a dangerous area surrounded by wolves. The way they protected themselves was that they were always together, they would stick together, watch out for each other, everyone was keeping an attentative eye, and they survived, even though the area was surrounded by wild beasts.
But the three black cows had a meeting one day. And they said, “This white cow is giving us away. When we try to hide at night, because we are black no one can see us, but the enemy is able to see the white cow, so why don’t we just let him go. The three of us will be together and let’s just let the white cow go away because he is just too much trouble.” So now from that day on, the three black cows would be on one side and the poor white cow is alone. They boycotted the white cow.
Now the wolf is very intelligent. He was able to detect the disunity that was amongst these cows. So he made his move and he attacked the white cow, and while he was devouring his flesh, the three black cows were doing nothing. They were watching it, while their brother was being torn into pieces!
But the following night, the wolf attacked the three black cows, why? Because now there were one cow short. So they were not as strong as they were the day before. Because they let down their brother white cow, now the wolf attacked them and was able to snatch away one of the black cows. And now we only have two left.
So the following night, it was an even easier thing for the wolf because only two are left, so he ate one of them. And then on the final night there was only one cow left and the cow was trying frantically to run away from the wolf, but now the cow has no supporter and no helper. So the wolf is pursing it with confidence and he knows this cow will get tired and fall down, there’s nothing the cow could do. Nobody to help him, so the wolf is walking around very happily with confidence, and he pounced at the cow and grabbed him by the neck, and while he did that and the cow was pronouncing his last words, he made a very important statement, a statement that is a great lesson that we can learn from. This black cow said, (while he was dying), “I was eaten, the day the white cow was eaten. I had signed on my execution form, the day I allowed the white cow to be eaten, that’s when I died. I didn’t die now, I didn’t die today…I died when I allowed the wolf to eat the white cow”
Now brothers and sisters I’m sure some of you have already derived some lessons out of this story. I will now go through some of them Insha’Allah
Lesson 1: The Ummah
This story is a good representation of the situation of the Muslim Ummah today. This is exactly what is happening. We are watching one Muslim nation fall one after another, and we are watching, sitting back, doing nothing. When Palestine was taken, we did nothing. And then one nation after another is falling into problems; you have Kashmir, you have Chechnya, the Muslims in the Philippines, and now we have Iraq, and the Ummah is doing nothing. The Ummah is watching, while Iraq is being devoured. It’s not going to end there, because it’s going to spill over to other countries like Syria and only Allah knows who is next! So those nations weren’t taken today, they were taken along time ago. When we allowed a Muslim nation to fall down, we have allowed the same thing to happen to each and every one of us.
Lesson 2: Unity
This shows us the consequences of having disunity. When these cows didn’t stick together, when the allowed the enemy to snatch one of them away, this is what happened to them, they were all defeated. Dear brothers and sisters, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had given an analogy of the Ummah, Nu'man b. Bashir reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 032, Number 6258]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying, if your finger is injured or your foot is injured, any part of the body is injured and you feel that pain, you cannot sleep! And your body develops a fever because your body is trying to fight the bacteria inside the infection. It’s trying to fight the enemy so the whole body gets involved in that process. That is the description the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave of the Ummah.
So if a Muslim, in the East, or in the West, or South or North, whether if it’s in the centre of the body or the tips, where it’s on the finger or the toes, you should feel the same pain as if it is happening to you own family. If you are only concerned about your own safety and the safety of your direct family, then there’s something wrong. You are not really part of the body. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying the Ummah is one body, it doesn’t matter if they are split into different political states or if they are in different groups, or if they belong to different Madhahabs, as long as this person is a Muslim; and a Muslim is a person who has a sound belief in Allah, somebody who is not deviant, that’s a Muslim.
The thing is that sometimes we look at it as, “Only me and my group are Muslim”, Why? Because he doesn’t follow my Jamaa’h, he’s not following my way. As long as you cannot prove that that Muslim is a Kaffir, he’s a Muslim. As long as you don’t have evidence, that such a person is a Murtad (Apostate), he is a Muslim; whether he belongs to the same Madhhab or the same group or the same country, it doesn’t make a difference.
Now we all talk about the importance of having Unity. If we talking about having Unity in terms of having one Group and just abandoning all these different Jamaa’ts and we get ride of all of these different Madhahabs and we’ll all just be copies of each other, that’s an impossible thing to have. What we mean by Unity is that even though your approach to Islamic work might be different, the Madhhab that you follow might be different, however, you are there to help you brother when your brother is in need, that is Unity. You could have different approaches to work, you could be doing different things, because we need different things, the Ummah needs everything today. We have a short coming and deficiency in each and every area, therefore we need Muslims to fill those posts, and therefore our approach would be different. Some people are into Da’wah, some people will be into seeking ‘Ilm (Islamic Knowledge), some people will be into ‘Ibadaah (Worship), people are different. Not everybody can be a copy of everyone else.
People have different abilities. Some people make good scholars, some people make good Imams, some people make good teachers and some people make a good advisor. People are different. Some people, they are good at doing work, they are not really into talking and theory, they are good at doing the daily work that the Muslims need. Everybody is fulfilling a role. And we need to appreciate that. So what is ment by Unity, it means when your brother is in need, you jump to help him, that is Unity. Regardless of what his ideology is as long as he is a Muslim. That is Unity.
So we have to fulfil the meaning of the hadith, that the Ummah is, “…one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches…” You need to feel the pain and suffering when you see what is happening to your brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. You need to be concerned about what is happening in Palestine and Iraq. You need to be concerned with what is happening in Kashmir, even though it is not you country. And some of these Muslim countries have problems among them, they have wars, they have political problems, but as a Muslim, it shouldn’t make a difference to you. These governments are having problems with each other, but that nation, the Muslims in there are my brothers (and sisters). That’s how you should look at it. So we should have that concern for the Muslim Ummah. The one that is not concerned about the Muslims doesn’t belong to them.
Narrated 'Abdullah: The Prophet said, "Everyone will be with those whom he loves." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 189] You will be with the people you love on the day of Judgement. If you have love for the Muslims, you will be with the Muslims on the day of judgement. If you have love for the Kuffar, you will be with the Kuffar on the day of Judgement, that’s how it works. That’s the Justice of Allah. Somebody who loves the Muslims, will be with the Muslims, and will follow them wherever they will go. And that’s why on the Day of Judgement, the Prophet (peace be upon him said, “Allah will tell the people, ‘Follow the Gods you used to worship.’” So whoever used to worship the cross will follow the cross, and whoever used to worship an idol will follow that idol. Allah is telling them, if you didn’t worship me, you can’t expect me to give you the Rewards. Go to your gods and tell them to reward you on this day. And then Allah will take all of the false gods and throw them in Hell fire, and there people will have to follow them. Because Allah is just, u did it for Him, He will reward you, but if you did it for somebody else, you go and ask the reward from the other god. And there is No god besides Allah.
12-05-2009
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Notes from a Khutbah by Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
“O you who believe! Fear Allâh (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 Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.” (Aali Imran 3:102) “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allâh through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship. Surely, Allâh is Ever an All*Watcher over you.” (An-Nisa 4:1) “O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allâh and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth.” (Al-Ahzab 33:70)
Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Ubbay ibn Ka’ab (may Allah be pleased with him), “What is the meaning of Tawqa?” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “O Amir ul Mu’minin, have you walked on a field that had a lot of thorny plants?” Umar said, “Yes” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “So what did you do?” Umar replied, “I lifted up my clothes and I was very careful,” Ubbay ibn Ka’ab said, “That is Taqwa.”
We are walking on a field that is full of thorny plants. Shaytan and his followers will try to seduce you and invite you to Evil. So having Taqwa in Dunya is lifting up your clothes and being careful, so that you would not touch this evil. And that is the definition of Taqwa and we ask Allah to make us of those of al- Muttaqeen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, there’s a famous Story (parable) that I will go through, you may have herd it before, but there are some very important lessons we can learn from it. The story goes like this:
“There were four Cows. One of them was white and the other three were black. They used to live in a dangerous area surrounded by wolves. The way they protected themselves was that they were always together, they would stick together, watch out for each other, everyone was keeping an attentative eye, and they survived, even though the area was surrounded by wild beasts.
But the three black cows had a meeting one day. And they said, “This white cow is giving us away. When we try to hide at night, because we are black no one can see us, but the enemy is able to see the white cow, so why don’t we just let him go. The three of us will be together and let’s just let the white cow go away because he is just too much trouble.” So now from that day on, the three black cows would be on one side and the poor white cow is alone. They boycotted the white cow.
Now the wolf is very intelligent. He was able to detect the disunity that was amongst these cows. So he made his move and he attacked the white cow, and while he was devouring his flesh, the three black cows were doing nothing. They were watching it, while their brother was being torn into pieces!
But the following night, the wolf attacked the three black cows, why? Because now there were one cow short. So they were not as strong as they were the day before. Because they let down their brother white cow, now the wolf attacked them and was able to snatch away one of the black cows. And now we only have two left.
So the following night, it was an even easier thing for the wolf because only two are left, so he ate one of them. And then on the final night there was only one cow left and the cow was trying frantically to run away from the wolf, but now the cow has no supporter and no helper. So the wolf is pursing it with confidence and he knows this cow will get tired and fall down, there’s nothing the cow could do. Nobody to help him, so the wolf is walking around very happily with confidence, and he pounced at the cow and grabbed him by the neck, and while he did that and the cow was pronouncing his last words, he made a very important statement, a statement that is a great lesson that we can learn from. This black cow said, (while he was dying), “I was eaten, the day the white cow was eaten. I had signed on my execution form, the day I allowed the white cow to be eaten, that’s when I died. I didn’t die now, I didn’t die today…I died when I allowed the wolf to eat the white cow”
Now brothers and sisters I’m sure some of you have already derived some lessons out of this story. I will now go through some of them Insha’Allah
Lesson 1: The Ummah
This story is a good representation of the situation of the Muslim Ummah today. This is exactly what is happening. We are watching one Muslim nation fall one after another, and we are watching, sitting back, doing nothing. When Palestine was taken, we did nothing. And then one nation after another is falling into problems; you have Kashmir, you have Chechnya, the Muslims in the Philippines, and now we have Iraq, and the Ummah is doing nothing. The Ummah is watching, while Iraq is being devoured. It’s not going to end there, because it’s going to spill over to other countries like Syria and only Allah knows who is next! So those nations weren’t taken today, they were taken along time ago. When we allowed a Muslim nation to fall down, we have allowed the same thing to happen to each and every one of us.
Lesson 2: Unity
This shows us the consequences of having disunity. When these cows didn’t stick together, when the allowed the enemy to snatch one of them away, this is what happened to them, they were all defeated. Dear brothers and sisters, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had given an analogy of the Ummah, Nu'man b. Bashir reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: “The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 032, Number 6258]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying, if your finger is injured or your foot is injured, any part of the body is injured and you feel that pain, you cannot sleep! And your body develops a fever because your body is trying to fight the bacteria inside the infection. It’s trying to fight the enemy so the whole body gets involved in that process. That is the description the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave of the Ummah.
So if a Muslim, in the East, or in the West, or South or North, whether if it’s in the centre of the body or the tips, where it’s on the finger or the toes, you should feel the same pain as if it is happening to you own family. If you are only concerned about your own safety and the safety of your direct family, then there’s something wrong. You are not really part of the body. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying the Ummah is one body, it doesn’t matter if they are split into different political states or if they are in different groups, or if they belong to different Madhahabs, as long as this person is a Muslim; and a Muslim is a person who has a sound belief in Allah, somebody who is not deviant, that’s a Muslim.
The thing is that sometimes we look at it as, “Only me and my group are Muslim”, Why? Because he doesn’t follow my Jamaa’h, he’s not following my way. As long as you cannot prove that that Muslim is a Kaffir, he’s a Muslim. As long as you don’t have evidence, that such a person is a Murtad (Apostate), he is a Muslim; whether he belongs to the same Madhhab or the same group or the same country, it doesn’t make a difference.
Now we all talk about the importance of having Unity. If we talking about having Unity in terms of having one Group and just abandoning all these different Jamaa’ts and we get ride of all of these different Madhahabs and we’ll all just be copies of each other, that’s an impossible thing to have. What we mean by Unity is that even though your approach to Islamic work might be different, the Madhhab that you follow might be different, however, you are there to help you brother when your brother is in need, that is Unity. You could have different approaches to work, you could be doing different things, because we need different things, the Ummah needs everything today. We have a short coming and deficiency in each and every area, therefore we need Muslims to fill those posts, and therefore our approach would be different. Some people are into Da’wah, some people will be into seeking ‘Ilm (Islamic Knowledge), some people will be into ‘Ibadaah (Worship), people are different. Not everybody can be a copy of everyone else.
People have different abilities. Some people make good scholars, some people make good Imams, some people make good teachers and some people make a good advisor. People are different. Some people, they are good at doing work, they are not really into talking and theory, they are good at doing the daily work that the Muslims need. Everybody is fulfilling a role. And we need to appreciate that. So what is ment by Unity, it means when your brother is in need, you jump to help him, that is Unity. Regardless of what his ideology is as long as he is a Muslim. That is Unity.
So we have to fulfil the meaning of the hadith, that the Ummah is, “…one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches…” You need to feel the pain and suffering when you see what is happening to your brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. You need to be concerned about what is happening in Palestine and Iraq. You need to be concerned with what is happening in Kashmir, even though it is not you country. And some of these Muslim countries have problems among them, they have wars, they have political problems, but as a Muslim, it shouldn’t make a difference to you. These governments are having problems with each other, but that nation, the Muslims in there are my brothers (and sisters). That’s how you should look at it. So we should have that concern for the Muslim Ummah. The one that is not concerned about the Muslims doesn’t belong to them.
Narrated 'Abdullah: The Prophet said, "Everyone will be with those whom he loves." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 189] You will be with the people you love on the day of Judgement. If you have love for the Muslims, you will be with the Muslims on the day of judgement. If you have love for the Kuffar, you will be with the Kuffar on the day of Judgement, that’s how it works. That’s the Justice of Allah. Somebody who loves the Muslims, will be with the Muslims, and will follow them wherever they will go. And that’s why on the Day of Judgement, the Prophet (peace be upon him said, “Allah will tell the people, ‘Follow the Gods you used to worship.’” So whoever used to worship the cross will follow the cross, and whoever used to worship an idol will follow that idol. Allah is telling them, if you didn’t worship me, you can’t expect me to give you the Rewards. Go to your gods and tell them to reward you on this day. And then Allah will take all of the false gods and throw them in Hell fire, and there people will have to follow them. Because Allah is just, u did it for Him, He will reward you, but if you did it for somebody else, you go and ask the reward from the other god. And there is No god besides Allah.