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When It’s Hard to say Alhamdulilah | Khutbah
Using the example of Marcellus Williams, an innocent man executed by a corrupt justice system, we can begin to understand how saying Alhamdulillah (All praise is due to Allah) during life's trials carries immense spiritual weight.
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We begin by praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in every situation. And we bear witness that He alone is to be worshipped and unconditionally obeyed.
And we begin by invoking His peace and blessings upon our beloved Messenger (ﷺ), on the Prophets and Messengers that came before him, and on his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment.
And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma Ameen. All praise is due to Allah in every situation.
It was a note written by our brother Imam Marcellus Williams, may Allah have mercy on him. His final testimony before he was executed.
And the first time that many people were introduced to this term, Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal. All praise is due to Allah in every situation.
There are many celebrities and many athletes and many people who at the height of their success, introduced the world to this term Alhamdulillah, as they stood in triumph in a ring or in an arena,
but probably none so more powerful than the written words of an innocent man, as he was executed by a criminal, criminal justice system. Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal.
All praise is due to Allah in every situation. I want us to reflect on this term,
and particularly how difficult and how rewardable it is to say Alhamdulillah when it's hard to say Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah when it hurts.
Alhamdulillah not in a moment of triumph, but in a moment of trauma. Alhamdulillah not in a moment of victory, but in a moment of, in quotation marks, defeat.
Alhamdulillah not when an obvious blessing has been born into your life, and you're carrying your child for the first time.
But the Alhamdulillah when Allah 'Azza wa Jal tests you to have to bury that child that you welcomed into this world. The one that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
that a house of praise, baytul hamd, is built for. Because it's so much easier to say Alhamdulillah at the moment of receiving a blessing,
than it is to say Alhamdulillah at the moment of losing a blessing, and there is a difference. There are two phrases of dhikr. Two phrases of the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
that are probably the most frequent in our lives, and the most difficult and rewardable to say at certain points in our lives. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, Inna afdala dhikr la ilaha illa Allah.
The best form of remembrance of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is la ilaha illa Allah, wa afdala du'a, and the best supplication is Alhamdulillah.
The best form of dhikr is la ilaha illa Allah, and the best form of du'a is Alhamdulillah. Now those already are the best phrases that you can say.
But there is a time in your life, and la ilaha illa Allah is probably the most frequent dhikr that you make as a Muslim,
but there is a time in your life where it will be harder to say than any other possible word in your vocabulary. And that is the moment that you are leaving this world.
Yuthabbitu Allahu alladhina amanu bil-qawli thabit Allah 'Azza wa Jal gives firmness to those who believe with a firm word. What is that firm word? That moment of leaving this world.
And someone says to you, and the Prophet (ﷺ) says, prompt your dying ones to say la ilaha illa Allah. It's so hard to say at those moments. You see tongues tied, you see hearts shut, you see eyes closed,
before someone can utter la ilaha illa Allah. May Allah allow each and every single one of us to have their dying words be la ilaha illa Allah.
Because the first thing you are asked in your grave, man rabbuk, who is your Lord? And it doesn't matter at that point how many people stood over you as you were being buried and said, when the angel comes to you, say Allah.
Because when the angel comes to you, it will shake you in a way that only a person who has that deep foundation of la ilaha illa Allah will be able to say la ilaha illa Allah. So it's a frequent dhikr.
The best form of remembrance is la ilaha illa Allah. And the best time to say it is the hardest time of your life, which is the last moment of your life. May Allah 'Azza wa Jal allow us to say it.
Likewise, when it comes to Alhamdulillah, the Prophet (ﷺ) taught us about the blessings of Alhamdulillah. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever eats food and says,
Alhamdulillah all praise is due to Allah who provided this to me, sufficed me with it. With absolutely no power or capacity of my own, the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
ghufira lahu ma taqaddama min dhanbihi, Allah will forgive him for everything that came before. And the one who wears a new dress or a new garment and says,
Alhamdulillah all praise is due to Allah who clothed me with this, without any power or capacity of my own,
ghufira lahu ma taqaddama min dhanbihi, Allah will forgive them for everything that preceded. Because there is an obvious blessing. The easiest thing to say when Allah gifts you with a blessing,
it's instinctive is Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. You won't find many Muslims tongue-tied at that moment. When you shake them and say, hey, congratulations, Alhamdulillah.
Even a person who is barely practicing Islam at their graduation, at their wedding, or when something obvious happens, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. But the real test is when a blessing is being taken away.
And it's more rewardable at that point. The Prophet (ﷺ) said in an authentic narration,
inna afdala ibadillah, that the most blessed and virtuous of the slaves of Allah on the Day of Judgment are al-hamadun. May Allah make us amongst them. People of praise. People of praise.
You see, they are identified by that praise because it's not circumstantial praise, it's a condition that they have. They are people of hamd. They are people who praise Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, in good and in bad times.
They're hamadun, they're identified by the praise because the praise is not circumstantial, it's not conditional, it's who they are. And anything that happens to them, they immediately say Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah. And who was the most obvious manifestation of that? Habibuna (ﷺ), our beloved one, 'alayhi salatu wassalam, who was authentically narrated, that when the Prophet (ﷺ) had something good happen to him,
something that made him happy, he said, Alhamdulillahilladhi bini'matihi tatimmu salihat. All praise is due to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, who by His favor, all favors are completed, all blessings are made complete.
So he praised Allah specifically, Alhamdulillahilladhi bini'matihi tatimmu salihat. It's by His favor that these blessings became complete, when something good came to him, (ﷺ).
And when something bad happened to him, or something distressed him, he responded, Alhamdulillahi 'ala kulli hal.
All praise is due to Allah in every situation. The words that Marcellus wrote on his last statement. All praise is due to Allah in every situation.
And he used to seek refuge, 'alayhi salatu wassalam, to be from those who are min hali ahlin naar. To be in the situation of the people of hell. So he would thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala 'ala kulli hal for every situation,
he would seek refuge in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala min hali ahlin naar. To be from the circumstances, or to have a circumstance, or to be of the state of the people of hellfire. So it was hamd from him, (ﷺ).
He was always grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Every single time when he suffers, 'alayhi salatu wassalam, or when he is satisfied, he's driven to the same state and words of praise.
If you saw him in sajda 'alayhi salatu wassalam, if you walked into a masjid and you saw him in prostration, you wouldn't know if something really bad just happened to him or if something really good just happened to him.
Because both, the bad and the good, drove him to the same place. His sajda 'alayhi salatu wassalam. Drove him to the same praise. His hamd, (ﷺ).
His tears were of gratitude, no matter what. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah alladhi bini'matihi tatimu salihat. Alhamdulillahi 'ala kulli hal. Sometimes your body language, when someone asks you how are you, you say Alhamdulillah.
Your body language contradicts your words. The Prophet (ﷺ) said the words, and he explained what he meant by the words. 'Alayhi salatu wassalam. What's the difference between the two?
And I want us to reflect on this, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, with the few minutes that we have. When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives you a blessing, there is an obvious manifestation of his karam,
an obvious manifestation of his bounty, of his generosity. And so your Alhamdulillah is thanking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for an obvious blessing,
and a seen attribute of his generosity, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. It's different. The opposite is true. When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tests you with something, when he afflicts you with something,
when you say Alhamdulillahi 'ala kulli hal, when you praise Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for every situation, in that state, you are praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
for an unseen blessing, behind a seen trial. And you are explicitly praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
from a place of tawakkul, from a place of trusting Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's wisdom, his unseen wisdom, rather than his obvious generosity. So there is a different manifestation of a blessing,
and there is a different attribute of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala that you are connecting yourself to. And if you were to take any one of us, and you were to say, which one is harder to recognize? Obviously, it's the latter, not the former.
Obviously, it's the latter, not the former. And the former is to prepare you for the latter. Just like your practice of la ilaha illallah, in times of ease, and in times where you're not dying,
where you're alive, where you can feel your heart beating, where it's easy to say la ilaha illallah, is to train you to say la ilaha illallah for the most consequential time in your existence on this earth.
Likewise, your hamd, Alhamdulillah, you get yourself used to Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, so that as soon as something strikes you, your heart, your mind, your tongue,
go to a familiar place. You know, SubhanAllah, you think about a person who curses regularly, who complains regularly. What makes you think that if you curse and complain regularly,
you're suddenly going to garner up the most important word of your life that contradicts your nature under more distressing circumstances. Look at brother Marcellus,
and I hold myself guilty, guilty, I haven't followed his case until last week, guilty. I didn't know about the brother. Guilty.
Unfortunately, we wait sometimes until people are at the end of their journey to take interest in their plight. May Allah 'Azza wa Jal forgive us for our deficiency in regards to him and the many innocent people, innocent people,
that are in this criminal, criminal justice system. But I started to watch some of his old interviews. Hamd flows. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.
I guarantee you that's a brother who on death row and in prison, they don't serve you good food on death row. That would say Alhamdulillah when he finished his food. I guarantee you that's a brother who if he got a moment with his family would say Alhamdulillah.
You don't garner that stuff up at the last moment of your life unless it was a familiar place during your entire life. So when is the most praiseworthy praise? It's when the least obvious blessing
is present to you. When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tests you and afflicts you. And at that moment, the same person, the same heart, the same tongue that would praise Allah for the obvious blessing,
for His obvious karam, for His obvious generosity, can praise Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for the unseen blessing and the unseen wisdom. And that is Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakil Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
All of these are expressions of praise to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala because at the end of the day, they are all admissions of our vulnerability to understand, to think, to do in a way that matches
what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has given to us. We're admitting deficiency with all of those statements and so they are all statements of hamd. They're all statements of praise. Alhamdulillah
Inna lillahi We belong to Allah. A statement of humility. Allah 'Azza wa Jal knows and I don't know. A statement of humility, a statement of praise. You're praising Allah's knowledge. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala controls and I don't control.
You're praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's power. You're praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's authority. And the best Alhamdulillah is the one you say with a smile on your face and with a heart that's beating with praise.
Because let me tell you something. Rasulullah (ﷺ) didn't feel sorry for himself. We read his seerah, 'alayhis salatu wassalam. We feel sorry when we go through the moments of devastation,
the moments of him burying his children, the moments of rejection. The Prophet (ﷺ) didn't feel sorry for himself. It's important for us as well not to feel sorry for ourselves,
but to say Alhamdulillah for everything that Allah 'Azza wa Jal has given to us to be grateful for. May Allah make us from al-hamadun. May Allah make us from those who praise Him in every situation. May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala enable us to properly thank Him,
to properly remember Him, to properly praise Him. Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik. Allahumma amin aquluka hadha wa astaghfirullah li wa lakum fa-staghfiruhu innahu al-ghafur ar-rahim.
Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin. Hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fih. Hamdan yaliqu li-jalali wajhihi wa 'azimi sultanih. Allahumma-ghfir lil-mu'minina wal-mu'minat wal-muslimina wal-muslimat.
Al-ahya'i minhum wal-amwat. Innaka sami'un qaribun mujibud-da'awat. Allahumma-ghfir lana warhamna wa'fu 'anna wa la tu'adhdhibna. Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa in lam taghfir lana wa tarhamna lanakunanna minal-khasirin.
Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun karimun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu 'anna. Allahumma-ghfir li-walidina rabbir-hamhuma kama rabbayana sighara. Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyyatina qurrata a'yunin waj'alna lil-muttaqina imama.
Allahumma-nsur ikhwananal-mustad'afina fi mashariqil-ardi wa magharibiha. Allahumma-nsur ahla ghazza. Allahumma-nsur ikhwanana fi filastina wa fis-sudan wa fi kulli makan. Allahumma 'alayka bi-a'da'ika a'da'id-din. Allahumma ahlikiz-zalimina biz-zalimin.
Wa akhrijna wa ikhwanana min baynil-salimin. 'Ibadallah innallaha ya'muru bil-'adli wal-ihsani wa ita'i dhil-qurba wa yanha 'anil-fahsha'i wal-munkari wal-baghy. Ya'izukum la'allakum tadhakkarun. Fadhkurullaha yadhkurkum washkuruhu 'alan-na'ma'i yazidkum.
Wa ladhikrullahi akbar wallahu ya'lamu ma tasna'un wa aqimis-salah.


































































































































































































































































































