Worship During Chaos

Occasion: Summary of a Jumuʿah khutbah delivered at Brighter Horizons Academy on May 23, 2025Source: transcription of a recorded khutbah by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — watch the original video on YouTube

Everybody doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants. No one in control, no one watching, no rule that stops anybody. Desires become the first teacher the whole world listens to. This is what the Prophet ﷺ called al-harj: chaos, corruption, the collapse of the manners and order that Allah established.

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help and His forgiveness, and ask Him to protect our īmān and increase it in our hearts. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and the last of His messengers. Today's topic is worship in the time of chaos.

What Islam first taught the world

When Islam came into this world, what was the first thing Allah taught the Prophet ﷺ? To read. Read the rules of this world; follow how people live, learn how to restrain them when they do wrong and how to encourage them when they do good. That is a mindset of reading, from the very first day.

The speaker then says that in one of the earliest revelations Allah described the Prophet ﷺ as standing on the highest level of character: respecting others, following the direction Allah set for the community, wise enough to lead and to be led.^[1]

And look around today. Look at what is happening in Palestine, in Gaza: people under attack around the clock, in their houses, women and children, for no reason anyone can make sense of. The speaker says he will not say more, because he cannot find decent words for it. And look at how people cheat one another, lie to one another, and do abnormal things.

A hadith that sounds like an invitation to retreat

The Prophet ﷺ said:

«الْعِبَادَةُ فِي الْهَرْجِ كَهِجْرَةٍ إِلَيَّ»

"Worship in the time of harj is like emigrating to me."^[2]

Big words. But to understand the reward of the hijrah, ask: what was the first hijrah? People left everything behind and went to Madinah. Some may hear the hadith as an invitation to move to the same city, to sit in the Prophet's mosque, recite the Qur'an, pray five times a day, and enjoy a calm life until we meet Allah.

What the Companions actually did

Look at what the people who made that hijrah did. They left Makkah and its chaos and came to Madinah. Did they sit around the Prophet ﷺ in comfort, saying, "O Messenger of Allah, I love you so much, I will never leave you"? No. They began another journey. They sat to listen only when revelation came with new commands, and then they went out to carry them out. They set about building a community, defending Islam, and raising the generation that would come after them. They did not settle in Madinah letting everyone do as they pleased, whether the Jewish tribes there or the Arab tribes around them who were not yet Muslim. They set about fixing the problem, and started another journey.

Now another narration of the hadith makes sense. The speaker explains that, in another wording, the word "worship" is replaced by a word of action.^[3] If you want the reward of the hijrah to the Prophet ﷺ, you must understand that it means more than sitting at home, or sitting in the masjid and saying, "The corruption is everywhere, I am going to the masjid to keep my religion." You will lose your religion in the masjid if you stay in it without carrying what you learn outside it.

He is speaking to those who attend the masjid, he adds, not to those who come only on celebrations and are gone afterwards.

The reformer's way of seeing

The engineers have a joke: Allah created two kinds of people, the engineers and the rest of humanity. The reformer looks at people in a similar way, as another kind of creation: what is wrong with them, and how can it be fixed so they stay on the right path, the path we ask Allah to guide us to seventeen times every day?^[4] When we see corruption around us, we are meant to reform it into something good.

Abu Bakr: a mindset, not a story

The speaker returns to Abu Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him. What did he do? He brought his money and put it in the hands of the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ asked him what he had left for his children.^[5] We do not honor him with so many stories because of the act itself; we honor him because of the mindset behind it. He brought everything he had saved; he taught what sacrifice means and what it means to look ahead. In the eyes of his children he saw those who would one day lead the Muslim community, and not only their own community but humanity.

Becoming a reformer where you stand

How can I be a reformer? The speaker gives an example from his own work as an imam. A couple comes and says, "We have a problem, we need five minutes." If he answers, "I'm not in a good mood today. Come tomorrow," or "Fill in the form and we'll make you an appointment," they may go on to a more difficult relationship and perhaps divorce, and their children may suffer for it later. Had he given them even a few humble words, a reminder of Allah, he would have done his part, whatever happened afterwards. If a teacher withholds from students because he is in a bad mood, and they are confused in their religion because of how he dealt with them, the responsibility will be his on the Day of Resurrection. The same for the doctor who cheats; the reformer sees the patient and does his best.

Allah will ask each of us about the ability He gave us, not about what we wished to do.

One community, one mission

How many millions of Muslims are there in America? How can we hold together, help one another, stand strong enough to face our problems? Why did Allah bring me to America? Why do I hold this position in my hospital, my school, my company? Allah placed each one of us in a specific place with a goal, and if we do not seek that goal, we will not fulfil our duty toward the religion. Allah gave us the religion as an amānah, a trust; we must protect it and defend it as far as we can.

This, he says, is why the community must prepare the next generation of imams, and it is what the American Imams Academy is trying to do.

Closing

His last word: when someone comes to ask you for something, remember that Allah has given them your address and they are knocking on your door. So be careful with Allah.

--- ^[1]: The transcript has the speaker describe this as "the second surah revealed", and the Arabic words of the verse are lost in transcription. Editor's documentation: the likely reference is ﴿وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾ [القلم: 4], "And indeed, you are of a great moral character." The speaker's identification is not confirmed. ^[2]: Narrated by Muslim from Maʿqil ibn Yasār (may Allah be pleased with him). The Arabic wording is supplied by the editor. The transcript gives only a spoken paraphrase. ^[3]: The Arabic words of this narration are not audible in the transcript. The editor has not supplied them. ^[4]: An allusion to the request for guidance to the straight path in Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, recited in the prayers. Editor's documentation. ^[5]: The speaker retells the story of Abu Bakr bringing all his wealth. Editor's documentation: it is reported by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him). The speaker did not cite it, and the editor's confidence in the attribution is moderate.