CIRCLES OF REMEMBRANCE
First Khutbah
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His servant and messenger.
Al Imran(3) 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
All praise is due to Allah. He pardons the slips of His servants and forgives their sins. And he is forbearing of the arrogant. And He appreciates the grateful. We thank Him for guiding and selecting us. And we thank Him for what He gave us and took care of us. There is nothing greater than Him. And there is no mention better than remembrance of Him the Exalted. For whoever busies himself with His remembrance, will have tranquility in his heart and relaxation in his chest. And he will be granted what he asked and he will find solace in his grave and he will be successful on the day of resurrection.
Al Juma’ (62) 10 – And remember Allah often that you may succeed.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to praise Allah all in all his circumstances. And used to remember Him the exalted at all times. And encourage His ummah (nation) with regards to the circles of remembrance. He صلى الله عليه وسلم informed that they are from the gardens of paradise.
Be conscious of Allah and obey Him. Persist in remembrance of Him, learn His religion and reflect on His signs. For the heart knows no joy except through Him.
Ar Ra’d (13) 28- Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.
Oh people:
Circles of knowledge, remembrance and Quran are gatherings that charge the hearts with Iman (faith). And the chests are relaxed through the remembrance of Allah. And the believers learn the religion and the ordinances. It is no wonder that there are many textual references indicating the virtue of the gatherings of knowledge, remembrance and studying the Quran.
Among the virtues of the circles of remembrance is success through obtaining forgiveness, paradise, deliverance from the fire and the attendance of the Angels in these gatherings. And the Angels attend by the command of Allah the Exalted which
indicates that the people attending gatherings of remembrance are taking a big step in the sight of Allah as illustrated in the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with Him) who said:
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: Verily, Allah the Blessed and Exalted has caravans of angels who follow the gatherings of remembrance. When they find gatherings of remembrance, they sit with them and surround each other with their wings until the space between them and the heaven of this world is filled. When they disperse, they ascend and rise to the heaven and Allah the Exalted asks them – although he is best
informed about them: From where have you come? They will say: We came from Your servants on earth who were glorifying You, exalting You, declaring Your and oneness,
praising You and asking from You. Allah will say: What do they ask from Me? They will say: They ask You for Your Paradise. Allah will say: Have they seen My Paradise? They will say: No, our Lord. Allah will say: What if they were to see My Paradise? They will say: And they seek Your protection. Allah will say: From what do they seek My protection? They will say: Our Lord, from the Hellfire. Allah will say: Have they seen My Hellfire? They will say: No. Allah will say: What if they were to see My Hellfire? They will say: And they ask for Your forgiveness. Allah will say: I have forgiven them, given them what they ask and grant them protection from which they sought protection. They will say: Our Lord, there is one among them, a sinning servant who happened to pass by and sit alongside them. Allah will say: And I have also forgiven him, they are a people that no one who sits with them will be miserable. [Bukhari 6408 Muslim 2689]
And from the virtues of the gatherings of remembrance is that Allah the Exalted boasts about them to the angels. As was related in the Hadith narrated by Abe Sa’eed from Muyawiyyah (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said:
Indeed the Messenger of Allah came out upon an assembly of his Companions and said: ‘what has caused you to gather for this?’ They said: ‘We have gathered to remember Allah, and praise Him for guiding us to Islam and favoring us with it.’ So he said: ‘By Allah, nothing caused you to gather except for that?’ He said: ‘Indeed, I did not ask you out of suspicion, verily Jibreel came to me and informed me that Allah boasts of you to the angels.’ [Muslim 2701]
And from the gatherings of remembrance is that Allah the Exalted gives its people shelter. He accepts them and draws them nearer. As is in the Hadith narrated by Abi Wafed Al Laithy (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting in the Masjid and the people were with him when three people came. Two of them came near the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم and one went away. When the two stopped at the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم they said the Salam. One of them saw an opening in the circle so he sat there. As for the other one, he sat behind them, and the other one went way in the rear. When the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم had finished, he said: ‘Shall I inform you about the three people? As for one of them, he sought refuge in Allah so Allah gave him shelter. The other, he was shy so Allah was modest of him. As for the other one, he turned away, so Allah turned away from him.’ [Bukhari 66 Muslim 2176]
And from the virtues of the gatherings of remembrance is that the sins of its members are replaced with good deeds. As was indicated in the Hadith narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
There is not a people who gather to make remembrance of Allah, not seeking from it except His countenance (His pleasure), but that a caller from the sky calls them: You have been forgiven, I have replaced your sins with good deeds (Ahmad 12453)
And from the virtues of the gatherings of remembrance is what was indicated in the Hadith of Abu Dardaa (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Allah will resurrect a group of people on the Day of Resurrection who will have light on their faces. They will be on pulpits of pearls. People will wish to be like them. They are not prophets or martyrs.” A Bedouin fell on his knees and said: ‘Oh Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم describe them for us so that we may recognize them.’ He صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “They are the ones who love one another for the sake of Allah, from different tribes, they gather for the sake of remembering Allah and they remember Him.” (at-Tabarani 262/2, al-Munthiri classed it as Hassan (good) 335/2 and al-Haythamy 80/10)
And this description is found a lot in the gatherings of knowledge and the Quran. What gathered them is learning knowledge and the Quran in spite of their different nationalities and countries of origin. They are there to learn the Quran and knowledge which draws them closer to one another. They have mutual love for the sake of Allah. They have not come together like those who do so for worldly interests. If they are given they are content and if they are not given they become angry. We ask Allah the Exalted to guide us to what benefits us and avert what harms us. And that we die in the state of Iman and follow the Sunnah. Indeed He is the All Hearing, Answering.
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgiveness from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh people:
Be conscious of Allah and obey Him
Al Baqarah 198: And remember Him, as He has guided you, for indeed, you were before that among those astray.
The Prophetic Hadiths indicate that the gatherings of remembrance of Allah the Exalted are from the greatest ways of getting close to Allah and the most beneficial acts of obedience. From the different forms of this are short talks and reminders on topics including the blessing of guidance, heart softeners, the afterlife and the importance of self-restraint in this world. For this reason, if there happens to be a short talk after the prayer the believer should sit and listen to it for it is from the gatherings of remembrance as indicated in the Hadith narrated by Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him): “We have gathered to remember Allah, and praise Him for guiding us to Islam and favoring us with it”. Also, it was related from some groups of companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that they used to say to one another “let us sit to remember Allah” And Allah called the Friday Khutbah remembrance:
Al Juma (62) 9: then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade.
So it is important for the Believer to strive to attend gatherings of remembrance, knowledge and studying the Quran. And to adhere to the Prophetic guidance and the actions of the companions in this regard. And if the man gathers with his family he should remind them and advise them for that is from the gatherings of remembrance. Or if people have a social outing they should dedicate time for a circle of Quran, Hadith or a short reminder so that it is counted as a gathering of remembrance. And the believer’s life should be characterized by many gatherings of remembrance for in them is the life of the heart and they are the places of mercy and tranquility and witnessed by the angels. And the Lord the Exalted boasts about its members in the highest of all places.
Al Baqarah (2) 152: So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
Al Ahzab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided , grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided, pardon me among those You have pardoned, turn to me in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
Source: Khutbah
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