Principles of Friday Prayer
Transcript
1:37 BISMI ALLAH AL-RAHMAN AL-RAHIM. In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
1:43 Brothers and sisters AL-Salãmu ‘Alaykum. The Friday congregational prayer is an
1:49 obligatory duty upon every Muslim man and woman. This is a social function
1:55 decreed by God Almighty for the Muslims to get together and to know each other
2:01 and to be familiar with their problems and their joys. And we find in SURA
2:07 number 62 verse number 9, the commandment from God says "o you who believe when the
2:14 contact prayers, the SALAT for Friday, is announced, you shall go to the mosque and
2:20 observe the SALAT prayer, and drop all business. This is better for
2:26 you if you only knew." So, if anyone is afraid that he or she may lose some
2:31 business during the Friday prayer, God is saying "this should be better for you"
2:35 God will make it up to you. God runs the world and He is the only
2:39 provider and He guarantees you doing better if you go to the Friday prayer.
2:44 And notice that the commandment said "o you who believe."
2:48 It didn't say "o you believing men or o you believing women." It says "o you who
2:54 believe when the contact prayer on Friday is called for, you shall go and
3:00 drop all business." It is very important. I'm emphasizing the role of the women
3:04 because this is also an educational meeting where people sit down and
3:09 listen to a sermon and the Muslim woman must be the best educated because she
3:15 teaches the children. Women are our mothers and they teach
3:20 us as we grow up and it is essential that they are educated, not ignorant.
3:27 The traditional customary Muslims of the Middle East, they kept the women away
3:33 from the mosque and this kept the children ignorant because the mothers
3:37 are ignorant as far as the religion is concerned. So, it is very important to
3:41 emphasize this fact that Muslim men and women are required. It is an obligatory
3:45 duty for them to go to the Friday prayer.
4:15 Now, there are certain conditions for the Friday prayer. The people dress nicely as
4:22 commanded in the Quran, and they go for the noon prayer on Friday to the mosque.
4:29 And the Imam or the person who gives the sermon is required to follow certain
4:35 traditions. These are religious traditions or duties that came to us all
4:40 the way from Abraham and it is universal. This is the way it is happening all over the world.
4:46 The first condition is that throughout
4:50 the prayer from the beginning to the end, you mention only the name of God, ALLAH
4:57 SUBHANAHU WA TA'ALA in the AZAN. The AZAN should be ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR
5:03 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, La Elaha Ella Allah. This is the AZAN.
6:24 Now, the AZAN should be ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR
6:27 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, La Elaha Ella Allah. This is the AZAN. So, the AZAN or the call for
6:34 contact prayer is delivered. Then, the Imam stands up in front of the
6:39 congregation and he starts the first sermon by saying "ALHAMDU LILLAH."
6:46 This is the first requirement. Now, you notice I said the first sermon,
6:52 because the KHUTBA or sermon on Friday consists of two sections or two sermons.
7:01 The prayer itself consists of two RAKATs, instead of four. The customary noon prayer
7:06 consists of four RAKATs or four units but on Friday, it is only two
7:11 RAKATs or two units and this is because the two sermons compensate for two
7:17 RAKATs or two units. So, the first sermon and also the second sermon, they must
7:24 begin by stating ALHAMDU LILLAH, praise be to God, followed by the SHAHADA.
7:32 And the SHAHADA, as dictated in the Quran, in SURA number 3 verse 81, the SHAHADA is
7:40 La Elaha Ella Allah. That's it. So, the Imam stands up and he begins
7:46 each sermon the first one and the second one by saying ALHAMDU LILLAH. La Elaha Ella Allah.
7:53 Then, he goes into the sermon, the subject in any language that he wishes.
8:02 Of course, in this country in the united states, it'll be English,
8:05 so the people will understand. If the Imam, during the sermon, uses Quran in Arabic,
8:12 he must translate it, so the people will understand. This is the whole idea of a sermon.
8:17 The sermon also deals with the local conditions of the local community.
8:24 Or it can deal with a general lesson from the Quran or a general religious lesson.
8:29 So, let me write for you the first requirement
8:34 which is stating ALHAMDU LILLAH. La Elaha Ella Allah. at the beginning of each sermon.
9:13 The Imam stands up for the sermon and the first thing he
9:17 says in the first sermon and the second sermon is ALHAMDU LILLAH. This is how it looks in writing.
9:31 AL-Hamdu Lillah,
9:44 which means praise be to God.
9:49 La Elaha Ella Allah, which looks like this. La means no.
9:56 Elaha means god with a small g.
10:01 La Elaha Ella, except
10:08 Ella Allah.
10:17 La Elaha Ella Allah. There is no god except Allah.
10:24 This is the required utterance at the beginning of the first sermon and the
10:28 second sermon. After this, you go into the subject of your sermon. Now, you notice
10:34 I didn't say anything else. This is what you start with. ALHAMDU LILLAH. La Elaha Ella Allah.
10:42 You don't start with BISMI ALLAH AL-RAHMAN AL-RAHIM, or dear
10:44 brothers and sisters or AL-Salãmu ‘Alaykum or anything else.
10:48 The minute you stand up for the sermon, you say "ALHAMDU LILLAH. La Elaha Ella Allah."
10:54 Then, you can say "dear brothers and sisters, AL-Salãmu ‘Alaykum. I want to talk
10:58 to you today about the contact prayers, the SALAT", for example, or whatever your subject is.
11:23 After you finish the subject of the first sermon, how do you finish the first sermon?
11:30 You finish it by asking the people to repent. You can ask them in
11:34 Arabic and then translate it to English. And the Arabic is Tooboo Ela Allah. Repent.
11:42 This is how you end the first sermon. Let me write it for you.
11:48 Tooboo means repent, plural.
11:54 Ela Allah.
12:03 Tooboo Ela Allah. And this is how you end the first sermon.
12:11 Now, as soon as you say Tooboo Ela Allah. Repent,
12:16 you sit down and you repent yourself. You sit down and you pray to
12:21 God "please, God forgive me. I repent to you. I will never commit a sin after
12:25 after now", and you mean it.
12:27 Now, as soon as you say "Tooboo Ela Allah" to end the first sermon,
12:32 you sit down yourself and you repent. You ask God to forgive you.
12:37 So, here's how you end the first sermon.
12:40 You finish your subject, then you say to the people "Tooboo Ela Allah. Repent."
12:46 And then you sit down
12:48 and you ask God to forgive you and you declare your repentance.
12:55 You say "please, God forgive me. I repent. I will never commit a sin after now." And you
13:00 mean it. Of course, you're gonna fall in sin again, but God says "He loves those
13:05 who continuously repent." So, you sit down for about a minute, no more, just one minute.
13:13 And everybody in the mosque will be asking God for forgiveness.
13:17 And everyone at the mosque will be repenting, and then you stand up for the
13:21 second sermon. And you start the second sermon by - that's right - ALHAMDU LILLAH.
13:27 La Elaha Ella Allah. This is how you start the second sermon
13:31 exactly the same way as the first sermon. Then, you either continue the subject you were
13:37 talking about in the first sermon, or you talk about a new subject. You can have
13:42 two different subjects for the two sermons. And after you finish talking in
13:48 the second sermon, you end this last sermon by saying
13:54 Aqem Al-Salah." And this is a sign to someone in the congregation to declare
13:59 that the SALAT, the contact prayer for Friday, is ready to be observed and
14:05 everybody stands up.
14:07 You end the sermon by saying Aqem Al-Salah. Let me write it for you.
14:16 Aqem
14:20 Al-Salah
14:27 Aqem Al-Salah
14:31 Now, the minute you say Aqem Al-Salah, the second sermon is over,
14:36 and a person in the congregation will say ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR
14:41 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, La Elaha Ella Allah. And this means everybody stand
14:48 up and let us pray. Then, as the Imam who gave the two
14:53 sermons, you stand up in front of the congregation and you pray two RAKATs as usual.
14:59 And I'm going to show you now an example of Friday congregation sermons.
15:07 God bless you.
15:36 So, let me summarize for you. You begin the first sermon by saying ALHAMDU LILLAH.
15:41 La Elaha Ella Allah. Then, you go into your subject in English. Then, you end the
15:47 first sermon by saying Tooboo Ela Allah. Then, you sit down and you ask God for
15:52 forgiveness and you repent. You sit down for about one minute, no more than that.
15:57 Then, you stand up and you start the second sermon by saying the same thing
16:02 ALHAMDU LILLAH. La Elaha Ella Allah. Then, you go into your subject that you want
16:07 to talk about and you end the second sermon by saying Aqem Al-Salah.
16:13 When you say that, someone in the congregation that knows that he was
16:18 going to do this, will stand up and say ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR,
16:22 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, La Elaha Ella Allah. And then, everyone in the mosque stands up and
16:29 they line... they stand up in straight lines behind you, the Imam. You take your
16:35 place and you do the Friday prayer exactly like the morning prayer. It is
16:41 identical to the morning prayer because it consists of only two RAKATs, or two units.
16:47 Now, the exact method of doing the SALAT, the contact prayers, is explained
16:52 in our tape entitled principles of Muslim prayer.
16:56 This gives the details of all five daily contact prayers.
17:26 ALHAMDU LILLAH, WA ASHHADU AN LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH, WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAH.
17:32 Praise be to God and we bear witness that there's only one God.
17:38 I want to start my KHUTBA this time with the beautiful quotation
17:43 from the Bible from Luke 12:29 to 31. It is, of course, a Quranic idea. The
17:52 author is one and the same. And this is expressed beautifully in English.
18:01 Starting at 29, it says "it is not for you
18:03 to be in search of what you are to eat or drink. Stop worrying.
18:11 The unbelievers of this world are always running after these things.
18:16 God knows that you need such things. Seek out, instead, His kingship over you
18:24 and the rest will follow in turn." So, all you need to do is seek
18:29 God's kingship over you and everything else you need follows, the food, the
18:35 provisions, the clothing, the health, everything else follows.
18:40 So, what does this mean? What does seeking God's Kingship mean?
18:46 It means that you give priority to God's commandments. You give priority to the
18:52 five contact prayers. You wake up in the morning and you say "my duty today is to
18:57 do the five contact prayers."
19:03 That you... the Friday prayer is a commandment from God. There is a
19:07 commandment in Sura 60, verse 9, that you must go to the Friday prayer. You give this priority.
19:13 You arrange your life and your job and your circumstances,
19:18 so you will do the five daily prayers and the Friday prayer.
19:24 And of course, you people here are the least people who need this. Some people
19:27 out there are the ones who need this kind of reminder.
19:33 You put on the list of your priorities the Quranic study. There's a Quranic
19:38 study every Friday night going on here, where we study the Word of God.
19:44 And you have to work your circumstances. You cannot be somewhere in Tucson and there's
19:49 a Quranic study going on in the mosque.
19:53 Otherwise, you don't really care. You're not seeking God's Kinship over you. To be
19:59 sitting within say 50 miles and there's a Quranic study going on.
20:07 What does it mean to seek God's kinship over you and everything else follows, the
20:11 provisions, the health, the happiness? You give priority to the activities
20:18 of the believers. You remember the verse in SURA 18 that says "force yourself
20:24 to be with those who worship God alone", because it takes some effort and some
20:29 work. It's not easy but this is what is good for you, as you'll see in the
20:34 second KHUTBA, IN SHAA ALLAH.
20:38 It means that you make a point of giving out the ZAKAT. charity, as
20:43 commanded by God. This is how you seek God's Kingship over you.
20:47 One day in the year, whatever January 1st, December 31st, the first day of Ramadan,
20:53 any day you set for yourself, one day in the year. You calculate exactly how
20:59 much you are worth and you give out two and a half percent to people that you
21:04 know, personally, people who need your charity. And the Quran gives the exact
21:11 order, your parents first. If they don't need it, then your relatives, your cousins
21:16 your brothers, sisters. I mean, your genetic brothers and sisters. And if all
21:23 your relatives are rich, they don't need it, then you go to the orphans, children
21:27 who have no support, one of the parents is missing somehow.
21:34 And after that the traveling stranger, somebody stranded from Mexico or
21:40 Nicaragua or whatever and passes by your house or you know personally, people who
21:45 immigrated from Thailand or Vietnam and they're living in a house in a terrible
21:49 conditions and you know them. Then, they come next. So, there is a specific
21:54 sequence or order to give out this charity.
22:01 You give priority to HAJJ, eventually, not now. I wouldn't advise you to
22:06 do it now. The Quran makes it conditional. Someday all of us, IN SHAA ALLAH, we'll go.
22:12 We're gonna charter a plane when we'll go all of us. We'll make HAJJ and we'll go
22:17 in as there will be great victory, because the land over there will be
22:20 worshiping God alone. This is God's promise to us and
22:24 therefore I can talk about it in this way. So eventually, you have to observe HAJJ.
22:31 You seek God's Kingship over you and everything else follows by observing the
22:38 prohibitions that God gave you. You don't drink. You don't gamble.
22:44 You don't eat pork. You don't lie. You don't cheat. You don't
22:51 violate your promises. You must be a person of your word.
22:56 You must be an example of a person of God, one a member in God's Kingdom.
23:09 Anything else in your life must take place number two. You give priority to
23:16 these activities, the commands of God, and this way you seek God's Kingship over you
23:20 and this way, you attain all other goals: money, health, wealth,
23:27 happiness et cetera, et cetera. Tooboo Ela Allah. Repent.
23:43 ALHAMDU LILLAH, WA ASHHADU AN LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH, WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAH.
23:51 By studying the Quran continuously, we have discovered the secret of happiness.
23:58 The secret of happiness is a developed, nourished and growing soul, the real you,
24:03 the real person, not this body. This is the secret of happiness and we
24:08 came to this conclusion by studying people who obtained everything. They got
24:13 everything that the human beings go after: money, fame, good looks, sports cars,
24:22 whatever. And I have used the example of Eddie Murphy, a movie star, when he was
24:28 interviewed by Barbara Walters. He's got millions of dollars. He got palaces in
24:35 California exclusive places and in New Jersey, five luxurious cars, all the
24:42 girls, all the money, all the fame that he wants, and he told Barbara Walters he was
24:48 not happy. So, what is the secret of... Aren't these the things that people are
24:52 going after, money and fame and wealth and whatever? And he's not happy. So, the
25:00 secret of happiness is that he must develop his soul and the soul can be
25:05 developed by worshiping God alone.
25:10 Now this KHUTBA,
25:13 I want to talk about God's name: AL-RAZAQ, the provider, the provider. God is
25:19 the exclusive provider. He's the one who decides how much money
25:27 you're going to make or you made from birth to death.
25:31 And I want to shed a whole new light on this word: the provider, because God
25:37 provides for the body and for the soul.
25:41 Therefore, the contact prayers that you do five times a day are a provision from God.
25:50 The duties that I talked about in the first KHUTBA,
25:53 they're actually a gift from God. And we see this... there's a lot of
25:59 evidence in the Quran for this.
26:03 For example, in SURA 7 verse 43, we see that the people in Heaven pray and say
26:09 "ALHAMDU LILLAH, praise be to God who guided us to this. We could not... we could
26:14 never be guided without God's blessing and guiding us." In other words, it was not their
26:20 doing. It is God's blessing and God's gift to them that guided them.
26:27 In SURA 10 verse 9, we see a very clear principle saying that God guides the
26:34 people because of their faith, or their belief. In other words, when you decide to
26:39 worship God alone, then God provides for your soul.
26:44 And God provides the five contact prayers for your soul and the fasting of
26:49 the month of Ramadan for your soul. I mean, you think that you're gonna do
26:54 the five prayers, but really it's a gift from God. You cannot do it without God's
26:59 guidance, SURA 9 verse 10.... SURA 10 verse 9, excuse me.
27:05 In SURA 49 verse 17, another clear evidence for this. The verse says
27:13 "they act as if they are doing you a favor by embracing Islam or by
27:17 practicing Islam. Instead, God is the one who blessed them
27:24 by guiding them to Islam." So, when we worship God alone, when we do the five
27:30 daily prayers, when we fast the month of Ramadan, when we join the Quranic
27:35 study, and even the picnics of the Muslim group,
27:39 we are not doing God a favor. It is God's provisions to our souls.
27:48 In SURA 14 verse 40, we see Abraham praying, and what is he saying? He says
27:54 "please, God make me an observable of the contact prayers",
27:58 because it's a gift from God - "and also my children" he said. He said
28:05 "please God make me an observer of the contact prayers. رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ (14:40) in Arabic.
28:14 He didn't say "please God give me a million dollars."
28:18 So, observing the five contact prayers is a privilege and a gift and a
28:22 blessing. It is not a hardship. It is not work. You get up for the morning prayer
28:28 before sunrise not because you want to do this or because you're doing such a
28:35 great effort, you know, for God's sake, it's because God blessed you and enabled
28:40 you to get up before sunrise to feed your soul, this very important meal the
28:46 morning prayer.
28:50 Abraham said رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ (14:40) My lord make me one who observes the
28:55 contact prayers, and also my children.
29:02 People in Satan's Kingdom are provided with sins.
29:12 We see this in SURA of 24 verse 21, when Satan collects people in his
29:18 kingdom, he pushes them to go to the bar, and lie, and cheat, and drink, and do not
29:27 feed your soul. This is what sins are, not feeding the
29:32 soul, depriving the soul, poverty of the soul.
29:37 On the other hand, in SURA 7 verse 28, we see the principle that God does not
29:42 advocate vice.
29:49 So, it's the exact opposite of what Satan does.
29:53 And this is why I want to remind you again that God never ordered Abraham to
29:57 slaughter his son, because this is a terrible vice, of course. And this is why we
30:03 never never find it in the Quran that Abraham ordered Abraham to sacrifice
30:08 his son. That wouldn't make sense, and it does not... this law that God does not
30:14 advocate sins would be violated.
30:29 People in Satan's kingdom, because of their idol worship,
30:34 they may observe the five contact prayers,
30:37 but they do not make contact. They dial the wrong number.
30:42 They dial Satan's number, because they mention other names with God. And this is
30:48 a trick of Satan. And this is why we find in the Quran such statements as "woe to
30:53 those who observe the SALAT prayers." وَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ (107:4)
30:58 Because now they are really doing an effort,
31:03 but it's all in vain, as we see in SURA 39. It is all in vain. Once there's a name
31:07 mentioned with God in the prayer, it violates the commandment in SURA 72 verse 18.
31:14 Once another name is mentioned, the whole
31:17 effort is in vain. And we are blessed here. See, we're gonna
31:22 stand up. We're gonna pray to God. We're gonna establish contact
31:28 with God and there will be no name from the moment we say Allah Akbar to open
31:33 the prayer, to the end, there'll be no name but the name of God.
31:38 And you can see the difference.
31:43 Aqem Al-Salah
31:44 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, LA ILAAHA ILLAA ALLAH.
31:49 ALLAH-O AKBAR
31:53 (1:1) بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
31:55 (1:2) ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
31:57 (1:3) ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (1:4) مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ (1:5) إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
32:03 (1:6) ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ (1:7) صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
32:12 ALLAH-O AKBAR
32:18 سمع الله لمن حمده (God listens to those who say praise) ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
32:28 ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest) ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
32:39 ALLAAH AKBAR (God is the greatest)
32:42 (1:1) بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (1:2) ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ (1:3) ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
32:48 (1:4) مَـٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ (1:5) إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
32:53 (1:6) ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ (1:7) صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
33:01 ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
33:08 سمع الله لمن حمده (God listens to those who say praise) ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
33:19 ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest) ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
33:29 ALLAH-O AKBAR (God is the greatest)
33:36 ASALAAMU ALAYKUM (peace be upon you) ASALAAMU ALAYKUM (peace be upon you)
33:43 This is why it is appropriate to say
33:45 congratulations at the end of the prayer, because you just received a gift
33:49 from God, the equivalent of a hundred million dollars in your account.
33:55 Congratulations.
34:10 ALHAMDULILLAH, praise be to God
34:14 WA ASHADU AN LA ILLHA ILLA ALLAH WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAH.
34:17 And I bear witness there's no god except the One God.
34:21 Our topic today is a very important one, marriage in Islam.
34:28 God has prescribed for us laws to govern the important aspects of
34:34 our lives and He left a lot of freedom for many other aspects in our lives.
34:41 And we're told that these laws are recommendations or commandments.
34:50 They are commandments because we should do them
34:53 and they are recommendations because we have the freedom not to do them, as long
34:59 as we are ready to pay the price.
35:03 God tells us in SURA 10 verse 62 that if you follow these commandments, you are
35:08 guaranteed happiness, perfect happiness in this world.
35:14 And tells us in SURA 21 verse 142 that if you disregard these commandments, you
35:21 are guaranteed a miserable life.
35:24 So, it is very important for us to know these laws with regard to every aspect of
35:34 our lives, and today I'm going to share with you the commandments dealing with
35:39 marriage.
35:43 There are two requirements that must be fulfilled
35:47 for two people to get married. And these are... Number one is love.
35:55 And we see this in SURA 4 verse 24. The Arabic is فَمَا ٱسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِۦ مِنْهُنَّ
36:04 the ones that you like, you get married to. So, love must exist between the two.
36:13 And this cannot happen without
36:18 good acquaintance with the person. You must know the person. You must
36:23 know his or her habits and you must know his or her temper. You must know his or her
36:30 principles. You just must know the person. You cannot love a person
36:36 without knowing that person. So, this calls for a period of
36:42 acquaintance, getting to know each other. And then based on that knowledge, you
36:48 either love the person or not. And God tells you if you love the person, then
36:54 you get married.
36:58 God says that if this is the person intended for you, God will put love in
37:02 your hearts. And this is in SURA 30 verse 21.
37:08 So, the first requirement before ever becoming intimate
37:14 is love. You must know each other very well and you must be in love with each
37:20 other. And God will help you along if this is the right person. If you don't love
37:26 the person, that is not the right person for you.
37:30 The second requirement is dowry for the wife.
37:35 And we, we understand throughout the Quran, we understand from the Quran that the
37:41 purpose of the dowry is security for the woman.
37:45 Because in many cases, you are taking a girl from her parents house. Then, she
37:53 becomes dependent on the husband. This is the majority of wives in the whole world.
38:00 And you can't just throw her out after a year or two,
38:06 because she is not the same person. And after what the Quran calls a
38:11 formidable oath has been made between the two of you. So, the purpose of the
38:18 dowry is security. And this can be
38:23 attained by writing a contract and paying the dowry in advance or saying that
38:31 if divorce takes place or if the marriage breaks up, then the wife must be given
38:37 a certain amount of money that will provide her security. The Quran is very
38:42 careful in this respect, even with divorce.
38:47 In SURA 2 verse 240 and 241, we see that divorcees must be given
38:55 alimony or some kind of security. In SURA 65 the first verse says very
39:02 carefully that you can't kick the wife out of your house.
39:07 And this provides security for the wife. This is the divorced wife.
39:11 And you cannot even fabricate conditions and situations to make them so miserable
39:17 that they leave on their own. You must guarantee their housing and
39:23 staying with their children. And she will not be the man's wife.
39:28 He cannot touch her, but she has to stay in that house.
39:31 She must be provided with security of housing, provisions and this is
39:37 throughout the Quran. So, this is the purpose of the dowry. These are the two
39:40 condition. There must be a sufficient period of time
39:46 for the two people to know each other and to satisfy the first requirement of
39:51 love before becoming intimate.
40:05 What is being done now, what my parents did and what is happening in most Muslim
40:10 countries is they actually do official the marriage.
40:17 And then, the now husband and wife, they don't touch each other. They do not
40:22 become intimate, but this marriage, official marriage gives them a chance
40:27 to be together alone, hold hands, go places, know each other. And then after
40:32 months or a year or years, the marriage is consummated.
40:37 And of course during this period, if it doesn't work out, they break up. They find
40:42 somebody else. And she is still a virgin. And she still hasn't lost her chances.
40:50 This is how my parents got married, this is how my sister got married.
40:54 How long were you... you did the marriage first and then how long was it before consummating the marriage?
41:03 You didn't...
41:12 There were two years between كتب الكتاب which is the...
41:16 Oh, it was an engagement and then two years and then you did official marriage and the consummation
41:24 at the same time. So, you had two years of knowing each other. If I was in Egypt, you wouldn't do it....
41:30 I'm just kidding.
41:36 Oh, you didn't go outside.
41:39 You were all... you had a chaperone... OK. I'm satisfied now.
41:51 But this is really the way it is done of most marriages in the Muslim world.
41:59 Worship in Islam, and all practices in Islam, and all the commandments that God
42:04 gave us are based on self discipline and self-control.
42:10 I mean, Ramadan is coming up where you're
42:12 gonna tell your body "you're not gonna eat or drink untill sunset."
42:17 This is self....it takes self-discipline and self-control.
42:21 Where self discipline and self control is lost,
42:27 the human being becomes worse than animals. And there's a specific
42:32 reference in the Quran for this in SURA 7 verse 179. God called some
42:37 people "they are like animals, even worse." I mean, what is happening now in this
42:45 country and in Europe is that people meet. They don't even know each
42:51 other "let's hop in bed." This is worse than animals.
42:56 because you can take a female cat or a female dog or a female horse that is not
43:04 in heat, not in that proper period and put her in the midst of two hundred
43:12 best-looking horny males. Can they touch her?
43:18 They will not touch her. They cannot touch her because it is not the proper
43:22 time, but with human beings the way it is done now here, it's a lot worse than
43:27 animals. They're worse than animals and these are the laws that God
43:33 lays down for our happiness. Because
43:38 especially for the woman, I mean, she cheapens herself when she acts this way,
43:46 for the man, too.
43:48 So, the two requirements... I'm repeating again
43:52 are that long period of time where people
43:57 must know each other and must fall in love before becoming intimate. So, remember love before intimacy,
44:04 and the dowry that is to provide security for the wife.
44:10 Now, the Quran leaves room for forfeiting the dowry if the wife is independently
44:18 wealthy. And being married or unmarried or
44:22 divorced or widowed or whatever will not affect her security, then she can forfeit the dowry.
44:30 But we have examples of a man who's holding a fantastic position and he's
44:35 wealthy and his ex-wife is on welfare. That's not fair.
44:40 This is what the Quran... this is what God's laws are supposed to avoid a situation like that.
44:48 So, it is to the best for the benefit of the girl to demand her
44:55 right when the situation calls for it.
45:02 Tooboo Ela Allah. Repent.
45:29 ALHAMDU LILLAH, praise be to God. WA ASHHADU AN LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAH.
45:35 And we bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
45:40 The marriage principles are laid down in the Quran must be known to all of us because
45:43 we come across these once in a while. And these are the principles God
45:48 prescribed for us to guarantee perfect happiness.
45:55 And from my experience, from life experiences and the things I have seen
46:00 even if it may look difficult at the beginning,
46:07 it is for the best of the couple to follow these prescriptions.
46:15 Quite often you read in the newspapers that "if I don't acquiesce to him, he's gonna
46:19 leave me and find somebody else." Well, let him. He doesn't love you anymore. I mean,
46:23 he doesn't love you. That love is not there.
46:27 But if the man loves the woman, respects her, then he will...
46:34 she will guarantee a husband who loves her. If you follow these steps,
46:40 you'll be guaranteed happiness from the physical and spiritual aspect.
46:53 Self discipline and self-control,
46:58 is easy when the soul is grown and developed and is stronger than the body
47:04 which is what the practices of religion are all about, developing your soul, so it'll be
47:09 stronger than your body. What you hear about Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker,
47:17 it shows that they are people whose body
47:19 is stronger than their soul. I hear they were preaching against
47:24 adultery, and preaching the Word of God supposedly,
47:28 and then they are dealing with, with prostitutes.
47:35 And for the Muslim, it's.... the Quran provides the solutions to all these problems
47:44 that we find in this country, alcohol drugs,
47:50 marital problems. Solutions to all the problems are found
47:56 in the Quran. We are becoming increasingly
48:00 aware of the problems of alcohol and the disasters that come from it. I mean,
48:05 wherever you look, there are victims of alcoholism.
48:09 But, and please forgive me if I appear to be bragging or anything, but I have
48:14 to share with you what the Quran does, what Islam does to us
48:19 it's that alcohol is just not in my mind at all. It's out of the question.
48:25 And this is the most effective way of dealing with alcohol or drugs. There's
48:31 just no way I will be tempted or even think about trying whiskey or gin or
48:37 champagne or whatever those things are. It's out of the question. It's just not in my
48:43 thinking at all, the same with drugs. And there was a demonstration on the TV
48:48 recently, with, what's his name that
48:52 had Muslims on the TV talking about drugs? Geraldo Rivera. They had a bunch
48:58 of Muslims and they were talking about drugs and they set the example for Harlem or something where drugs are going rampant
49:07 and they just, drugs are not
49:08 on their mind. Nothing is gonna tempt them to use drugs.
49:16 It's the solution to all problems.
49:20 And there is a mechanism for it, and the mechanism is that the soul is stronger
49:24 than the body, because of all the prayer and the fasting and the things
49:29 that God has prescribed for us and constitute gifts from God to us.
49:38 And again I will ask you to forgive me if I appear to be bragging, but again I
49:42 wanna share with you what Islam does. Now, in my line of work, work with the
49:47 United Nations, traveling to different Countries in the world and making a lot
49:52 of money. The UN pays the highest salaries in the world
49:56 when I was... when I'm with them on assignment.
50:00 And I have been to conferences, the American Chemical Society conferences, the
50:05 American Association for advancement of science. And in those conferences,
50:11 it seems like all the prostitutes of the whole town converge on the hotels where
50:15 these conferences are. And I have looked around, and I see
50:22 scientists that I respect,
50:26 going up or down in the elevator with prostitutes.
50:30 And I lose respect for them. And what appears to be bragging is that
50:35 I can make a statement here in a KHUTBA in front of you, in a prayer
50:39 that I never never fell for prostitutes, for prostitutes, or dealt with a prostitute,
50:46 because it is not on my mind. And Jimmy Swaggart cannot make that
50:51 statement, or Jim Baker cannot make that statement. Because they lacked... they are using
50:57 the wrong techniques. Because of their idolization of Jesus, they
51:02 they nullify their work. If they do anything that may cause growth or
51:07 development of their soul, it is nullified as the Quran says because of their
51:11 idolatry. Therefore, their body is stronger than their souls.
51:16 But like with alcohols and drugs, it's just not on my mind.
51:20 Now to make that statement absolutely truth, in saying, dealt with
51:25 prostitutes, there was one instance where a friend of mine, a colleague,
51:29 we went into his room in the hotel in one of the American Chemical Society meetings
51:34 to get a book or something. And there was a prostitute passing out in the hall and he
51:38 called her in his room and I guess he was bragging or showing off or something,
51:43 and bargained with her and I was there witnessing this. This is the extent of my
51:47 dealing with prostitutes. So, Islam and the Quran,
51:54 just solves all these problems, and lays down the laws and regulations,
52:04 and not only teaches self discipline, but it instills it on you and becomes
52:09 easy. I mean, there's... it's no problem at all.
52:20 God says that you can speak up of God's blessings on you.
52:27 And this is the category where we can share with each other
52:31 these things, because some people may think it is incredible,
52:35 when you go in those conferences and if you make a statement like this to the
52:39 people, it's an incredible statement.
52:45 And I just... I just couldn't think of a man who under those circumstances did not, for after the
52:51 things I have seen, under those circumstances did not fall for prostitutes. The temptation is great.
53:00 But for the Muslim, there is no temptation at all. It is zero, doesn't mean a thing.
53:07 Aqem Al-Salah.
53:09 ALLAH-O AKBAR, ALLAH-O AKBAR, LA ILLAHA ILLA ALLAH.
53:13 When you talk about marriage in Islam, you cannot avoid mentioning polygamy
53:18 and polygamy is allowed. Throughout history, it was
53:24 allowed. In the Bible, it is allowed without
53:28 limits. In the Quran, it is allowed with many many conditions and strings
53:32 attached to it. But all I can...I need to say is that the prophet Muhammad
53:38 provided the perfect example, as far as polygamy is concerned. Muhammad was
53:43 married to one wife for 25 years until she died. He had only one wife and
53:49 he raised all his children with that one wife.
53:55 And after she died, he married women who had many children, who had no support, and
54:02 no home. They were widows of his friends who died
54:05 in battle or died naturally, and they needed the support. They were old
54:10 women. There were only two political marriages;
54:15 to the daughter of Abu Bakr and the daughter of Omar, his best friends who
54:21 insisted, you know, "please you have to marry my daughter."
54:25 Because this is a tribal...it's a tribal
54:28 tradition. In tribal societies, for different tribes to marry and be connected in marriages important and
54:34 this is probably why after the prophet's death, Abu Bakr was elected to be the
54:39 Khalifa after the prophet, and Omar followed Abu Bakr. And these are the two
54:44 men whose daughters were married to the prophet. But the message, the loud message
54:49 here is that Muhammad spent his life, all his young life with one wife and
54:55 raised his children and then after that polygamy came into the picture and there
54:59 were many special conditions surrounding that. The other subject that I need to
55:07 talk about is divorce and I just have to tell you out right that God hates divorce,
55:14 throughout the Quran.
55:18 Almost invariably children are victimized, even the husband and the wife
55:23 are victims in divorce, and this is why it is imperative that we follow these
55:29 regulations that God prescribed for us, and avoid divorce at any cause. There's a
55:36 verse in Quran that says "if you want to substitute a wife in place of another wife..."
55:43 No, this is not the verse, but there's a verse that says "if you dislike your present
55:49 wife, you may dislike something where in God has put a lot of good."
55:56 The verse that I was mentioning before is "if you want to substitute one wife
56:00 in place of another," which again actually emphasizes monogamy,
56:06 it says "do not take anything from the first wife back," and this also brings in
56:12 the matter of security for the wife. Because women have been abused
56:17 throughout history and God knows that. And God says in SURA 28 verse 5 that
56:22 He is for the oppressed and for the rights of the weak. And marriage is a tremendous
56:27 contract, is a formidable contract. This is what the Quran calls it.
56:33 To take a wife out of her house and take her
56:38 into your house, supposedly to live forever.
56:42 You know there's tremendous responsibilities associated with that.
56:48 So, we pray to God to guide us on His path and to gift... give us the gift of following His commandments.