1st Jummah Prayer | July 24 2026

[00:00:00]Oh, [screaming] hi.

[00:00:28]El [screaming] [screaming] Allah [screaming] Allah.

[00:01:06]>> [screaming] >> Diamond of the night.

[00:06:41]Allah.

[00:06:47]Allah Allah Allah Shadow Hayam.

[00:07:48]>> [screaming] >> High [screaming] Alf.

[00:08:12]Hi fell Allah. [screaming] down.

[00:08:50]Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

[00:09:03]Subhanahu Alhamdulillah.

[00:09:28]Indeed, all praise belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. I bear witness that there's no god but Allah and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam is his final prophet and messenger.

[00:09:41]Brothers and sisters, as we know that the month of July which is almost coming to an end is synonymous with a national holiday which we just passed not too long ago.

[00:09:57]the national holiday of the 4th of July which is also known as the independence day and this year happened to be the 250th anniversary of such a day.

[00:10:13]Although it has passed us now, I believe it is important for us to reflect upon that in particular for us as Muslims as Muslims to understand what our history in this country is what our present is and what our future will be. And if we don't have this perspective, then things are going to be difficult for us.

[00:10:44]Islam is not a new religion, a new way of life that came to this country just a few years ago.

[00:10:55]As a matter of fact, the historians, they tell us, who were non-Muslims, by the way, they tell us that up to anywhere between 10 to 15% of the slaves that were brought here from the African nations were Muslims.

[00:11:16]Which leads us to the conclusion that we it would be safe for us to say that the blood, sweat and tears, literal blood, literal blood and literal tears of Muslims is infused in the founding of this nation. It is important for us to understand that Muslims were part of when this nation was founded.

[00:11:47]Muslims were part of when this nation was built.

[00:11:53]Muslims are currently part of this nation and they will continue to be in the future. And there is absolutely no one that can prevent that from happening except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

[00:12:08]There's no entity, there's no single party, there's no single person that can prevent that from happening because no one is able to force anyone to what to believe and what not to believe. And Islam is connected to our belief. The belief in the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the belief that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam is his final prophet and messenger.

[00:12:38]There's no one that can prevent anyone from believing in that.

[00:12:42]With that being said, in the verse that I have recited here, Allah subhana wa ta'ala says, and the translation is if you are thankful, if you are grateful for what I have blessed you with, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will increase that even more.

[00:13:11]And in the same sentence, Allah subhana wa ta says, "But if you cover it up," meaning if you do not acknowledge the blessing that I have blessed you with, remember that my punishment is severe and it is indeed a blessing for those of us who are living in this nation as Muslims.

[00:13:43]The freedoms that we have, the opportunities that we have, they are indeed a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

[00:13:54]I'll be the first one to say that it is not perfect. Anyone says it's perfect must be living in a different country, but a it it's not here.

[00:14:06]We have many opportunities here to practice our faith to the best of our ability. And I'll take it a step further to say that some of the opportunities that the Muslims have here, they don't have this unfortunately in the Muslim majority nations as well. And this can be a great example of that.

[00:14:29]Because for the most part, if you don't know, in most of the Muslim nations, the hudba is printed out and handed to you by the ministry.

[00:14:42]And by the end of the hudba, you're not sure if you're supposed to praise Allah subhana wa ta'ala or you're supposed to praise the rulers that are over you.

[00:14:51]That is the reality.

[00:14:53]And we must acknowledge that for sure.

[00:14:58]There are things that are not so great here as well. No doubt about that. No one can deny that. But we must be thankful for what we have. For Allah subhanana wa ta'ala has told us if you're thankful and grateful, Allah subhanana wa ta'ala will increase this blessing even more for you. And we can see examples of that today. Few examples that I'll mention here. But Allah subhanaa tala says, "But if you're unthankful, if you're ungrateful, IF YOU DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE blessings that Allah subhanana wa ta'ala has blessed you with, remember the punishment Allah subhana wa ta'ala is severe.

[00:15:35]We have to do make do with what we have at our disposal.

[00:15:40]We have the ability to practice our faith to the best of our ability.

[00:15:44]Whether it is establishing massages, whether it is establishing schools, whether it is establishing our funeral homes, whether it is establishing homeschooling, whatever you can think of. And we are doing the best that we can to practice our faith to the best of our ability and that is a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we must acknowledge that and we must recognize that.

[00:16:08]But at the same hand on the same in in the same token the journey has not been easy.

[00:16:16]We go back to the slaves that were brought here. A vast majority of them who were Muslims they ended up somehow leaving their faith and we cannot blame them for that either. For the difficult situations that they were in. They had no freedom. They had absolutely nothing. literally slaves and many of them ended up losing their fate. But yet some of them they remain Muslims.

[00:16:47]A lot of them that were brought here were kufal.

[00:16:51]A lot of them that were brought here were scholars of this fate and they did what they could to preserve their faith.

[00:16:58]And today we find whatever they had written, whatever they had uh you know preserved in the museums that you can go and check out.

[00:17:12]So the journey was not easy for them and the journey has not been easy since then either and it will continue to be difficult.

[00:17:26]And you might say, "What's the Khadib saying today? Why is he saying it's going to be difficult?

[00:17:32]Why doesn't he have a positive outlook on this?"

[00:17:36]Well, don't take my word for it.

[00:17:40]Let us listen to what Allah subhana wa ta'ala has told you, has told us in the first few verses.

[00:17:53]Do you think it is going to be sufficient for you to say that you believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you believe in Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and your faith is not going to be tested?

[00:18:12]Allah subhana T SAYS FOR SURE WE WILL test you just as we had tested the ones that came before you.

[00:18:22]Each one of us our faith is going to be tested and our test is not going to be the same. It may not be the same but it will be tested and there is no better example of this than what we FIND IN THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET sallallahu alaihi wasallam of how the companions were tested.

[00:18:45]We know the life of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is divided in two main time periods. is the Makkan period and the Madni period. And the Makkan period is the longer of the two.

[00:18:55]And the Makan period is the one in which the Muslims were living as a minority in a society that was majority non-Muslims.

[00:19:10]I want to say that one more time so we can understand what we're talking about.

[00:19:15]Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and the senior companions who had accepted Islam in the beginning stages they were living in a society as a Muslim in a society that was majority non-Muslim and they faced immense hardship they faced ridicule they faced abuse verbal abuse physical abuse but they remained firm firm in their faith.

[00:19:47]That tells us that we may also and we are sometimes face these situations.

[00:19:56]They are going to come. We ask Allah subhanana wa ta'ala to protect us from those situations. But we should not be surprised if they come upon us. For this is a guarantee from Allah subhanana WA TA'ALA. BUT WHY is he going to put us in these situations? He tells us the reason.

[00:20:19]We want to know if you truly believe in this message ofahillasool Allah or are you just offering empty lip service?

[00:20:31]How strong is your faith going to be when you face difficulties?

[00:20:37]That is the question that you and I need to ask ourselves.

[00:20:42]And as as Muslims again living as a minority in a society that is majority non-Muslims, we are often asked to prove our loyalty to this country. I'm sure all of us are familiar with this. They see a person with a weird name.

[00:21:06]The color skin, the the skin tone is not the right one. The accent may be a little bit different and they were automatically viewed as foreigners.

[00:21:17]But nothing can be further from the truth.

[00:21:21]For when we look at this in its proper context, we can see that this is not how we can determine if someone really cares about the nation that they belong to.

[00:21:37]And the best way that they can do is that put their nation and their faith above everything else. And Muslims have been doing that. A great example of that is for the past 25 years or so or even longer, Muslims have been saying that this nation is really not independent.

[00:21:59]The foreign policy is influenced by a foreign entity. No one took Muslims seriously. But now look at where we are at now. Every candidate that is running for any public office, they're weary of being funded by a foreign entity because they found out the the the average American has found out that these people that we're electing ARE REALLY NOT SERVING our interest. It seems like they're serving someone else's interest, a foreign entity.

[00:22:38]What can be more American than to ASK TO PUT YOUR NATION AND PUT YOUR country first, which is what the Muslims have been doing for so long. BUT IF WE EXPECT others to respect us, then we ourselves must first respect ourselves.

[00:23:03]And I'm going to give you two examples of this.

[00:23:07]You might find them hard to believe, but we must address them if we are to improve.

[00:23:14]We all know that the ongoing genocide that has been happening in Philistine, it's been ongoing for the past 80 years, but every now and then it has its ups and downs. But the most recent one that started couple of years ago, and that is exactly what it is, a genocide because there's no other word that can be used to describe that. And that's just not me that's saying that. That's majority of the scholars who know a thing or two about this have been have have are are saying that we know that one incident that happened locally about a young child that was murdered by his landlord not too long ago.

[00:23:56]And then when that story happened, it was a major news national and international.

[00:24:02]And there was a vigil that was held for that child that the Muslims had organized it.

[00:24:08]I want you to pay attention to this and I want you to go back to think about what I said. IF WE WANT OTHERS to respect ourselves, if we want others to respect Muslims, then we must respect ourselves.

[00:24:21]So this gathering that was held the previous administration they sent a Muslim representative to offer their condolences to the Muslim community but they forgot to say that they are the ones who are funding the killing of the Muslims.

[00:24:40]So what happened when this representative came?

[00:24:44]THE NON-MUSLIMS WERE MORE UPSET that this person came than the Muslims.

[00:24:51]This is the truth. And the Muslims, they offer this representative a platform to speak to us to tell us how sorry the administration is for the killing of the innocent child. And that was only one child. What about the tens and thousands of the Muslims that have been orphaned, killed, and pregnant men and the pregnant women and the and the elderly men that are continually being bombed by this administration. WHAT ABOUT THAT? TO THE POINT THAT THE non-Muslims were raising their voice against the Muslims saying that how can we allow this person TO SPEAK AT YOUR EVENT, the Muslims event?

[00:25:31]How do we expect others to respect us if we don't respect ourselves?

[00:25:37]And that may have been too long ago. And I'll just mention one more incident THAT OCCURRED NOT TOO LONG ago that we know just a couple of months ago.

[00:25:48]The elections here in this state came to an end and there was a Muslim brother that was running for Congress and he ended up not winning.

[00:26:00]And the candidate that won was funded by APEC.

[00:26:06]Fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago.

[00:26:10]There was an event that was organized at a local mazjid and for some reason they chose to invite THIS APEF FUNDED CANDIDATE as a guest to the mus.

[00:26:28]And when people ask why are we doing this, they're told this is da brother.

[00:26:35]This is da.

[00:26:38]This is the reality that we're living in. IF WE WANT OTHERS TO RESPECT OURSELF, if we want others to respect us as Muslims, WE MUST RESPECT OURSELVES.

[00:26:48]WE MUST understand who we are. Who we are is what Allah subhanana wa ta'ala has told us. AND WHAT HE HAS TOLD US IS this is that you the um of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam IS THE BEST NATION that has ever been raised for the entire mankind.

[00:27:07]Why? WHY ARE YOU WHY ARE we considered the best of the best? Allah subhana wa ta'ala has told us you ENJOY WHAT IS GOOD AND YOU FORBID WHAT IS EVIL AND YOU BELIEVE in Allah subhanana wa ta'ala. THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU THE BEST of the best. Recognize who we are. Recognize who we are. UNDERSTAND THIS GREAT HONOR THAT Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us that was not given that has not been given to any other nation that you are THE BEST OF THE BEST BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE in Muhammad sallallahu ALAIHI WASALLAM. YOU STAND UP FOR WHAT is right. You stand UP FOR WHAT IS TRUTH. YOU STAND UP AGAINST EVIL and speak out speak out against it even if you are few in number. Numbers are nothing. Historically numbers are nothing. Yes, WE ARE FEW IN NUMBER. BUT THE IMPACT that we had in the past and that we continue to have now and that we will continue to have in the future as well is going to be big. And this is a promise from Allah subhana wa ta'ala when he told us how many times was it that a small group of believers WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME a larger group ex it only happens by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah subhana wa ta'ala is the one who is patient so brothers and sisters the message that I want everyone to take home today is that recognize who you are. You are a Muslim. This is the greatest honor that you can have. This is the great This is the greatest honor that any human being can have. It is not the color of your skin. It is not the color of your passport. It is not which tribe you belong to. It is not which nation you belong to. IT IS NOT WHAT YOUR BACKGROUND IS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE SECONDARY. The highest honor that you can have is that you are a Muslim. Recognize that. Understand that. And when you walk out of here today, you walk out with your head held high above your shoulders AND YOUR CHEST FULL OF pride because you are a Muslim.

[00:29:33]Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

[00:29:46]forchech.

[00:30:29]Philistine Hindu Pakistan.

[00:30:46]Amen.

[00:31:32]Allahbar. Allahbarb.

[00:31:35]Allahbar. Allahbarb.

[00:32:08]Allah.

[00:32:17][singing] So, so make sure your lines are straight. Fill up any gaps that you see in between and or in front of you of you. And make sure your phone is switched to silence.

[00:32:40]Alhamdulillah.

[00:32:53][singing] foreign [singing] involve.

[00:33:26]for [singing] whatever religion. for [singing] the rule rule. for [singing] the >> [singing] >> Allah say [singing] Allah.

[00:35:18]Allah will [singing] Allah Allah work.

[00:35:39]Alhamdulillah.

[00:35:47]>> [singing] >> One of Oh, I Foreign [singing] [singing] >> [singing] >> Allah.

[00:37:12][singing] Allah.

[00:37:26][singing] Come on. [singing] Come on.

[00:38:32]Just a few announcements. Alhamdulillah.

[00:38:33]That'll be a busy weekend here at the Islamic Foundation. Tonight, inshallah after join us for the Echoes of Revelation. Saturday and Sunday, alhamdulillah, we have our sisters only conference. Mashallah, this is hopefully to be an annual event, two days, mashallah, of speakers and inspirational events and moments of sisterhood.

[00:38:53]Alhamdulillah, this weekend for our sisters conference. Then on Sunday, mashallah, we have our next episode of Grounded. grounded is our adult discussion series discussing Muslim topics and how we balance that with our adult responsibilities. So inshallah we're invest requesting our brothers and sisters typically 30 and above to join us inshallah on Sunday from 11 to time 1:30 and then inshallah from 3 to 4 we also have a sisters only udu hadith session and mashallah throughout the morning our next um the the health screening alhamdulillah we have a free health screening alhamdulillah available on Sunday morning. So in a lot going on here at the Islamic Foundation if you'd like to stay uptodate with what's happening at the foundation you can join our WhatsApp group or follow our socials or you can see anyone in the administration to sign up for the weekly emails.

[00:39:50]We ask Allah subhanana wa ta'ala to put it within the hearts of each and every one of us to donate generously to our Islamic foundation. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala grant forgiveness to all of those who have passed away. May Allah grant ease and patience to all of those going through difficulty. And may Allah subhana wa ta'ala put it within our hearts to maintain our Islamic character as we leave the facility in making way for others before ourselves. Parking in places that you are supposed to park and not parking in places you're not supposed to park in.