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The Rhythm of the Ummah – glorification and gratitude

The Rhythm of the Ummah - glorification and gratitude
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July 09, 2022
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Every Eid begins with the takbeer. Across all countries around the world, Allahu Akber, Allahu Akber, Allahu Akber, wa lilahi hamd.

The rhythm of the takbeer is like the beat of the heart. All together north and south, east and west, the takbeer resounds throughout the Ummah. It shows how strong we are when we are together. It shows us how strong we are when we are grateful to Allah Almighty. Our salah begin with the takbeer. It is about Allah’s power. We repeat it to glorify Allah and show gratitude to Him. Without Him we have no power. There is no might except from Allah – la hawla wa la quwwata ila billah. Whenever we finish any major act of ibadah we recite the takbeer – during Hajj, one of the great pillars; when we finish Ramadan, one of the great pillars; when we perform salah, we begin with salah. Allah Almighty wants us to be in the state of gratitude to Him and mindfulness of Him at all times.

The Prophet (peace be on him) said on the day of Eid:

“They are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah.” (Muslim)

Do not forget Allah during the festivities

Enjoy the halal food, from your halal earnings but do not forget Allah during that time because He is the One who provided that to you.

During the first sermon that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave in Madinah, he stood there, praised Allah for what He deserved, then said that Allah would ask them if they had received a Messenger, and what they had sent forth for their souls in the Hereafter. He mentioned that one day all the wealth we spent our time in dunya acquiring would be left like a sheep without a shepherd and we would find ourselves before Allah Almighty – accountable for the gifts that He bestowed on us:

كانَت أوَّلُ خطبةٍ خطبَها رسولُ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّهُ علَيهِ وسلَّمَ بالمدينةِ، أن قامَ فيهم فحمِدَ اللَّهَ وأثنى علَيهِ بما هوَ أَهلُه، ثمَّ قال: أمَّا بعدُ، أيُّها النَّاسُ، فقدِّموا لأنفسِكم، تعلمُنَّ واللَّهِ ليُصعقنَّ أحدُكم، ثمَّ ليدَعنَّ غنمَه ليسَ لَها راعٍ، ثمَّ ليقولَنَّ لَه ربُّهُ -ليسَ لَه ترجمانٌ ولا حاجبٌ يحجبُه دونَه -: ألَم يأتِك رَسولي فبلَّغَكَ، وآتيتُك مالًا، وأفضَلتُ عليكَ، فما قدَّمتَ لنفسِكَ؟ فينظرُ يمينًا وشمالًا فلا يرى شيئًا، ثمَّ ينظرُ قدَّامَه فلا يرى غيرَ جَهنَّمَ، فمَنِ استطاعَ أن يقيَ وجهَه منَ النَّارِ، ولَو بشقِّ تمرةٍ، فليفعَلْ، ومَن لَم يجِدْ فبِكلمةٍ طيِّبةٍ، فإنَّ بِها تُجزى الحسنةُ عشرَ أمثالِها إلى سَبعِ مئةِ ضعفٍ، والسَّلامُ عليكُم وعلَى رسولِ اللَّهِ.

“O people, whatever good you advance for yourselves you will find it, you know, that (one day) you will die suddenly, then will leave your sheep with no shepherd, then He will say to him, your Lord – you have no interpreter, and there is no veil that veils you – did not my Messenger come to you and inform you? And I gave you money, and I favoured you, so what did you offer for yourself? So he looks from his right and his left and does not see anything, then he looks in front of him and does not see anything but Hell, so whoever is able to protect his face from the Fire, even if it is by half a date, let him do so. And whoever does not find it, then with a kind word, for with it the good will be rewarded ten times up to seven hundred times, and peace be upon you and the Messenger of Allah. (Bayhaqi)

Be thankful and be happy

The core of Eid is to be grateful for Allah’s favours and to show happiness and dress well and spread goodness, as well as to avoid what is prohibited and doubtful. The sunnah of Eid is to be obedient to Allah, as we should be throughout the year.

Qurbani

This year those who can afford to give qurbani (‘odhiya) it is the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be on him). You can eat from it, distribute it to your family and the poor. For those who cannot afford to offer it, then at least they can do their best to be engaged in dhikr and show gratitude to Allah.

Stay in happy mode, not grumpy mode.

The sunnah of Eid is to show happiness despite the difficulties we may face, and the current rise in the cost of living. No matter what pain and calamities we might be suffering, the sunnah is to show happiness. Focus on all the favours we have been given, rather than the things you lack. When you show gratitude, Allah increases the favours. If you are ungrateful, Allah takes your blessings away. As He stated in the Quran:

“If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour].” (Surah Ibrahim 14:7)

The Prophet (peace be on him) used to spread happiness in his family and in his community. Let’s emulate him.

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will grant you increase; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe.” (14:7)

The Eid for the Ummah

We should feel the rhythm of the heart of the Ummah in our bodies and minds. Let’s keep our brothers and sisters in our duas.

O Allah, bless us and our families this Eid, pour peace and tranquillity upon us, forgive our sins and have mercy on us.

Eid Mubarak to you and all your families.

Eid Khutbah 9th July 2022

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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