Khutbah Reflections: Rabiulawwal
The khutbah by Ustaz Tengku Mohd Fouzy Bin Tengku Mahid Jumat (or better known as Ustaz TM Fouzy) at Masjid Al-Istiqamah on 11th January 2013
Rabiulawal was the month of the birth as well as the ascension to prophethood of our beloved Prophet Muhammad(S). It’s an opportune time to for us to reflect on how special he really is. Of all our amal, Allah SWT did not do any of them Himself before commanding them of us; Allah did not establish salah, fast, paid zakat nor went for hajj before they were commanded of us. None save one, the act of giving salawat to the Rasulullah (S).
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.
(Surah Al-Azhab, ayat 57)
Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, we too are giving salawat to Rasulullah(S) in every salah that we establish during the tahiyyat. Be it the obligatory (wajib) or supererogatory (sunnah) ones. However, instead of giving it ourselves, in our salah we ask Allah to do it on our behalf because the perfect salawat can only be given by Him.
Allahumma salli ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ‘ala alihi sayyidina Muhammad.
Oh Allah, send blessings upon our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad.
When the khatib stressed the significance of that ayah it was like a switch being turned on in my head. I didn’t realize how significant that act was. I must have said it at least a hundred times before but I’ve never really contemplated it. This was something that Allah Himself did and made known to us (sent blessings to Rasulullah(S)) after which His malaikah (angels) asked Him to do before We were told to do the same (ask Allah to send blessings to Rasulullah(S)).
During salah Jumu’ah, I slowed down in my recitation to try and really mean what I said especially during the tahiyyat akhir. When we’re giving salam to Rasulullah(S) in our salah, the specific words in Arabic that were used is meant to address someone that is right in front of us. It’s no mistake. Though not physically, he is near to us spiritually.
One can’t be called a Muslim until he/she accepts that there is no god but Allah and that the Prophet Muhammad(S) is a messenger of Allah. Such is the status of Rasulullah(S) in Islam that the belief in him must follow suit in the belief of Allah.
May this month of Rabiulawwal bring us ever closer to our Prophet Muhammad (S).
[divider]Fadhuli Taufek
Fadhuli is an aspiring writer and believes in putting in the time and effort into meaningful causes. He strives to improve himself as a person and as a Muslim.
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