Khutba on Waqf

D"0+7 3MLG K89+JIG D"0+7 #$%G 96 -?0FE D;C 6+$B""#$% & "#$% & "( "#$% & "( *+, -/0 23 -56 78$96 ":;% =>, ?@ Z & \%Z K" Z % XLG% S35 09" K" %B7 R;= ,;>? R5% JXY@ X= &% X? R5 08"0$C0 V92 R580 IOG3 S R5 &0E +@G KP9NJIG3 ONJIG 6"023" f;E K9Oe K:9:\ K"@2:% C 0 5#$%GZ@5 0 G%92 % XLG^ /%?3 S ,b D;C @a9% "`93 E _9$? "#$% ?#9^ K" ;] Y K" K" ]?3S mX+:7 R5 KE0#e K" D;C m;2 K9;C & D;e 6C0I" ?% lE (?3G93 LE k#" R?%"% X"0E & K;2 -56 "8:^ -5^ "( jiG6 G05- .R?%" ?@ D"0 I\oE R5. mME@G mM" 3ON? mM"0$C mM" j;i? 2%?%Z@/ @ & /@"@F7 58@ R?("0 X?p? .;$@I5 mJG Z R7@$7 Z K70F7 k\ &@ F7:0 & C 09= !%+E 05 rq? .3* K8C 0XG 0$C @XJG@ & =9$0 53 F79$0. tC % =0 =@F= K"@2& Last week we mentioned in a hadith narrated by Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Hasan, mX/ 2@l$;IY D;C v%i7 & 2@ The Messenger of Allah gave the Muslims their markets as a sadaqa. Now, this was important for the Muslims from the point of view that it highlighted the fact of the market being free and for all the Muslims to use, but it was also important for another reason. And that is that it set a precedent and a sunna for waqfs/ awqaf being set up for other than purely religious purposes. For, up until that point, the only waqfs that had been set up were mosques - rst the mosque of Qubba and then the mosque of Madina. And these waqfs were to prove one of, if not the, key cog in the healthy functioning of Muslim society. A waqf, in essence, is a very simple institution and its basic purpose can be understood from the linguistic meaning of the word from which it is derived waqafa- which means to stop. So it is restricting the benets of a particular piece of property or wealth to a specied group of recipients and stopping or prohibiting those benets from being used for any other purpose. These benets were commonly given in perpetuity by the waaqif and usually consisted of the usage, income or produce of the mawquf (the property or item in question). Hence consumables could not be given as waqfs because their benets end as soon as they are consumed. The waaqif would specify the recipients of his waqf, usually either a group or category of people, or an institution such as a mosque, or even animals, and it would not be permissible for that wealth to be used for anything else. This practice of setting up waqfs has its roots in the Quran and Sunna. As for the Quran, setting up a waqf is an act of sadaqa and so it falls within the general exhortation of the Quran to give sadaqa, such as when Allah says: @ 5$0 7#:@FO87 DJ\ 3:" 780"@ R" the translation of which is, You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love And His Words: z z } l/%iJ Y{ B? &;980 C v%i79, M" "80 p= z the translation of which is, but ll the measure for us generously. Allah always rewards a generous giver. And as for the Sunna, the waqf is the sadaqatun jariya referred to in the hadith of Abu Hurayra from the Prophet, K" @C%? j"0e %" KE rOJ8? m;C %/6 *0?6 e R5 Z R5 Z K;$C K8C rqFG0 IG~ 50 When a person dies, all of his actions stop except for three: an ongoing act of sadaqa, knowledge from which he benetted and a right-acting child who makes dua for him. The ulama are in agreement that this refers to waqfs since they are the only form of sadaqa that continues to give forth even after the death of the donator. And that is conrmed by the words and actions of the Messenger of Allah. Abu Hurayra narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, 6509F" ?@ KG =^ 59{K"@E K K? K+:S o= %C@E 0F?%i70& E 0G0$?: =320 =^ 2:9, & J\ R5

"If anyone makes a horse into a waqf that is to be used in the way of Allah out of belief in Allah and in conrmation of His promise, its food, water, droppings and urine will be placed in his balance on the Day of Rising." The story is narrated in Ibn Ishaq of a Jewish man from the Banu Nadir called Mukhayriq who bequeathed seven orchards in Madina to the Prophet when he came to ght alongside the Muslims at Uhud, saying, &0 \9 X+>? #$% Y ^"5@p= _:e If I am killed, then my wealth is for Muhammad - he may use it in which ever way Allah shows him. Mukhayriq was killed in the battle and so the Prophet took possession of those seven orchards and made them a waqf for the Muslims. And his Companions followed him in implementing that noble sunna: z z z /0 KE ^G35 p7 9M= K85 OG / Z05 e m" 0:_ e 0 F= m;2 K9;C & D;e ^:z8" D7 p= 0`9:3 E 3$C 0e $0 /0 X8C &$3 ^ C RE RC z z } z z z z 08* Z ,9:I" RE 9>" "3/0 =^ 2:9, & DE3F"3 FO" ?@ =^ Z a@? Z0 X;e ?:0 Z KzG $3 C v%iJ= 0XE _/%i70 X;e _ Iz:\ _ VS z } K9= $@J5 39 0F?%e m+q? +3 Y0E 0X85 ,b p? 0 X9" R5 D;C It is narrated by Ibn 'Umar that 'Umar got some land in Khaybar, so he went to the Prophet and said, "Messenger of Allah, I have got some land in Khaybar, and I have got no property more precious to me than it. What do you command about it?" He said, "If you wish, you can make its capital a waqf and you can give it as sadaqa." So 'Umar gave it as sadaqa provided that it would not be sold or given away or inherited. Its was for the poor, relatives, slaves, in the way of Allah, for guests, and travellers. Its trustee does nothing wrong if he consumes some of it in a correct and reasonable manner or feeds his friend without storing up." As the years went by, it became common practice for the wealthy to give portions of their property as waqfs until they came to comprise almost a third of the total land of the Muslims. And those who established them made great efforts to nd recipients who were genuinely in need so that there was no aspect or element of society that was not supported by a waqf. All of the madrasas and universities that were at the forefront of the great scientic advancement in al-Andalus and the Maghrib were all established as waqfs and their upkeep (including lighting, teachers wages, provisions of books, sleeping quarters, student grants and so on) was provided for by waqfs). Indeed, in Fes in the Qarawiyyin, there was a separate waqf to support each subject that was being taught. Abdal-Hadi at-Tazi mentions that eighteen different subjects were being supported in that way in his time. And each city was furnished with great libraries, funded totally by waqfs and free for all seekers of knowledge to use. It is mentioned in Nafh at-Tib that one of the great scholars of Granada, Abu Hayyan ibn Yusuf criticised another great scholar, al-Maqri, for buying so many books, saying, Allah has provided you with an intellect and you should live by it. Any book I want to read, I simply borrow from the libraries of the awqaf! And hospitals, pharmacies and clinics abounded. Indeed, in Baghdad alone in the fourth century AH, there were ve great hospitals, and in Qurtubi, it has been narrated that there were fty hospitals! And that is not to mention all the smaller clinics and pharmacies that could be found in every district, as well as specialist hospitals dealing with particular illnesses and asylums for the mentally unwell. And all of these places treated the sick for free since the upkeep of the hospital and the wages of the doctors, nurses and medical students were all provided for by the waqfs that were attached to them. Awqaf were also established to maintain the roads, provide weaponry to soldiers, look after orphans, widows and divorcees, provide free guesthouses for travellers lacking means, provide fresh drinking water, give young people the means to get married, provide milk and sugar to breast-feeding ladies and even, most astonishingly, give help to servants who broke things. And it was not just humans who were provided for, for there were even waqfs to look after stray cats and worn-out donkeys. In the Muslim umma, all of these things were free, just like the mosque and the market - the citizens were not taxed to pay for them. And whenever such taxation was levied on the Muslims, it was immediately recognised as being unjust and the Muslims freed themselves of it at the rst available opportunity. The main battle cry of the Murabitun when they freed the Muslims of al-Andalus from the yoke of their rulers was: 0NY rq/ m"0tY k#"@ C Call to the Truth, put right injustice, abolish unjust taxes. The only acceptable tax, if you can call it that, was zakat. Compare that to the modern state where every conceivable thing is taxed - your income, your home, your inheritance, your business transactions, your vehicle etc. etc., in exchange for which, the state undertakes to provide you with all these same services that waqfs traditionally provided. But, by handing over all of these functions to the state, as well as impoverishing ourselves to fund a massive, corrupt and inefcient bureaucracy (for by way of comparison, the entire Ottoman empire only had three thousand administrators), we have given them an unprecedented degree of control over almost every aspect of our lives. They control what our children must study, the types of treatment we must take and even those with whom we must do business. Never before, in the entire history of mankind, has any nation ever exercised such control over its people as the modern parental welfare state - not even the most tyrannical of dictators. Never before has a citizenry been so dependent on its government - almost every move we make must be sanctioned by them before we can do it. This total dependence on the state has ripped apart the natural brotherhood of people and destroyed the impulse of taawun alal-birri wa-taqwa, helping one another to birr and taqwa. Instead, it has led to a situation where neighbours of twenty years are strangers to one another

and children leave their aging parents in state-run old peoples homes. And so long as we are so totally dependent upon the state, we will not be able to accomplish anything. Hence, the creation of waqfs. They are the most important step we as Muslims can take to reassert our freedom, regain our strength and prosperity and move outside of the realm of state control and interference. So we ask Allah to give us the means to establish the awqaf necessary for a healthy society and, by means of them, help us to put right injustice and bring an end to unjust taxation. .m9\3"@ ON"@ a KG3 ONJ20= G, b R5 l$;IY03 I" mM" 3 & "^ ONJ2( a ^"@/ /@ z l+E0J" K:#e K" D;C K9;C 0E m;2 & D;e K"@2:% C % 5#$%XS K" ]?3S Z & \%Z K" Z % XS lY0+""#$% & "#$% & .R?%" ?@ D"0 I\oE mX+:7 R5 l+E0J"+^ E07 RC ?0mb \(KJC0@ & FJE ?0mM9e:0 & C 0? .mMIOG- @ 93FOG 2$+@ 9+@ mJ+qJ2@ & 50 F7 58@ R?("0 X?p9= !%+E 05 &3 b D" $+6 =02+@ B" ?@ R5 i;" @G 58@ R?("0 X? p? :m?3M" KE0Jb ^= ,*{ C &. /0 KJO"0`5 KJ9i+5 z z Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, You who have belief! when you are called to prayer on the Day of Jumu'a, hasten to the remembrance of Allah. In recent weeks, I have been noticing that a lot of people are arriving late to Jumua, so I thought it timely to remind ourselves of a few things with respect to the Jumua. Firstly, the time leading up to the prayer before the imam comes out is one of those rare special times that you will denitely regret having missed out upon. And the more of that time you get, the greater your reward. Abu Hurayra narrates that the Messenger of Allah said, z z z z z z R50 /3 L:b $0 /3zG pM= 6 P"0z P"6 C0I" =^ R53 FE $0 /3zG pM= 69G0z P"6 C0I" =^ R56 G%E $0 /3zG pM= m 6E08B", I 6+$B", ?@ IJ R5 z z z 3b("$+@ JI? 6M Y 3 ~50 \>3 o= 6>9E $0 /3zG pM= 6I50`"6 C0I" =^ R5$0 /3 *0*6 zG pM= 6+E6 "3C0I" =^ } z z Abu Hurayra narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, Anyone who does ghusl on the day of Jumua, the same as for janaba, and then goes in the rst part of the time, it is as if he has sacriced a camel. If he goes in the second part of the time, it is as if he has sacriced a cow. If he goes in the third part of the time, it is as if he has sacriced a horned ram. If he goes in the fourth part of the time, it is as if he has sacriced a hen. If he goes in the fth part of the time, it is as if he has offered an egg. When the Imam comes out, the angels settle down to listen to the reminder. Those angels record the actions of everyone inside the mosque, until the Imam comes out, at which point they shut their books. Everything you do in that time is witnessed and rewarded many times over, so arrive early and make use of that time to draw closer to your Lord, by reciting Qur'an, doing dhikr and reecting upon His signs. But if you come late - after the imam has begun the khutba - then you get nothing, not even the reward for praying Jumua, even though you have fullled your obligation. Secondly, when the imam comes out, you must cease all speech. You should not even return a greeting, even by a gesture. And when the imam begins the khutba, you should turn to face him, give him your full attention and listen carefully. This is not just a courtesy but is an obligation upon every Muslim, man or woman, for the entire duration of the khutba, as our Muadhin reminds us every week in the hadith he recites so beautifully before calling the adhan: z z z z z } @N" %F= 6+$B" ?@ q`? _ ~50iG 0\:] i" _;/ /0 m;2 K9;C & D;e &3?3 2@ a ^E RC 3C - RC 0G{"^ E RC ]"05 RC From Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah said, Even saying, 'Be quiet!' to your companion while the Imam is speaking on the Day of Jumua constitutes idle chatter. K" 6+$* = DN" R5 =^ \%? 3 /0: And in another hadith: Whoever chatters (during the khutba), will have no Jumua. Meaning, his Jumua will not be valid. Thirdly, if you arrive late and nd the Imam already upon the mimbar, then sit down straight away and do not pray any sunna rakats. Do you not know that the khutba contains ayats of the the Book of Allah and that Allah has commanded us to listen to His Book when it is recited? " 73\$@mM;+" @JiG K" $+@J20= 3F" "+{?{ " /3 KE0Jb ^= ,*{ C &/0 Allah says in His Noble Book, the translation of which is, When the Qur'an is recited, listen to it and be quiet so that hopefully you will gain mercy. How can one both listen and concentrate on one's prayer at the same time? Do you not know that the khutba is said to replace two rakats of the Dhuhr prayer? If you enter the mosque and nd the imam in the Dhuhr prayer,

would you pray two sunna rakats or join straight in with the imam? The obligatory always takes precedence, for the Prophet has said there is no nala (i.e. no voluntary rakats) when the obligatory prayer has been embarked upon. The same is true with respect to the Jumua - as soon as the khutba begins, all supererogatory actions stop. That is the position of the people of Madinah where 10,000 companions remained praying the Jumua prayer in the Mosque of the Prophet and that is position of Malik. And nally, again according to the position of Imam Malik, no rakats should be prayed in the mosque after the Jumua prayer. Indeed, the Prophet himself used to leave the mosque and go to his home to pray any sunna rakats he wanted to pray. And that is because Jumua is not like other prayers, but is a time for socialising and gathering with your Muslim brothers - it is the only time in the week when many people see each other so take full advantage of one anothers company. If however you insist upon praying sunna rakats after the Jumua prayer, then please do not pray them right at the back or near the doors of the mosque where you block people who want to exit the mosque from leaving. Instead pray as near to the front as possible to the far wall opposite the entrance, where you are unlikely to block anyone wanting to pass. The day of Jumua is an Eid, a day to strengthen bonds and bring happiness to hearts, so take advantage of it while it lasts and open your homes to guests. It is by feeding others that you bring life and light to the places in which you live. We ask Allah to accept our Jumua and grant the success to observe all its courtesies. And we ask Him to make it a means for us to increase in love of Him and His Messenger and love for the jamaat. } } z z z .l+$* K:#e K" D;C K9;C 0E m;2, e mX;";9$0 . I7 2;$@K9;C ;@e 58@R?("0 X? :^ ?0 z8" D;C ;@i? KJM5 & } } z z z l+E0zJ"+^ E07 l+E0zJ" RC R?3*0X Y mX85 0iG - 0 e@i l+$* 6 E0#i" 203 RC;^ C $0 PC$3 C3 ME ^E R?%S0 "3O;`" RC mX;" z } .R?%" ?@ D"0 I\oE mX+:7 R5 } z z } z z .lY0+" ?0 mX#;e m9FJI Y3 i" D;C mX5 :}_ /%m;2 K9;C & D;e ]9:G 6z82 7}:0Z 0 ?39] Y l$;I Y 5@ Z% a mX;" z z z .l$;I Y$0 C 53 r9$* D;C0 G395 D;C9`80 S D;C 0E mX;" } z z .l53b -3 b 730 ?0 K:#7 0 Y mXF= %?86 Y( a ^= l$;I Y D;C 0E mX;" z z z .D;OI"^ a 3OM";$6 b^ "+;90 a ]J$;b ,+* =^ 2:9, &. R?%a0B Y3 iG R?3=0M"3 OM" )3( ( l$;I Y{ ~2 C mX;" z .0z8"( C 08/86 I\ 86 =^ 3I\ 09G%"80 780 =^ E z z z z } z KJ$;2 Z#3 E3 E ^= 0=3I5 Z K\_ 23F; Z0 G@BI5 Z KJ9=0C KJ9OS Z 53?>0 Z K73J2 Z9:0 C Z K73O Z:0 G( a 0850F5 ^= 7%Z mX;" z z .KJ$8 D"8+@. /@5@ i7 05 m;+? &:3 b 3 & b("3 b(7 mM;+" mMt+? ^N:"3 M8 Y0 L#O" RC DX8? DE3F"0 J?0 I\~0"+% E 350? & zz z z .& mM$\3? mM7e