Yahya Ibrahim is Canadian by birth & education, Egyptian through a rich ancestry, Turkish via the blessing of marriage to Songul and Australian by Choice of residence and migration.
Since his early teens Yahya has been talking about Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims. He was blessed with numerous opportunities to meet, translate, study and teach alongside some of the Islamic worlds top scholars.
Yahya Ibrahim began memorizing the Qur’an at the age of 16 and finished 20 months later, receiving an ijazah (certification) in proficiency and an instruction to teach. He began lecturing at the age of 17 and has been involved in the Islamic community since 1993 , alhamdulillah.
Ustadh Yahya is blessed now to be living in Perth, Western Australia with his wife and three wonderful children – Shireen, Omar and Adam. He is a regular lecturer to Muslim and non-Muslim audiences their and around the world. He travels in Australasia, Africa, South East Asia, Europe and Canada to deliver lectures on Islam and Muslims to a variety of audiences.
He is committed to spreading a message to Muslims that empowers them spiritually and helps them integrate into the broader community. He is born in the west, raised in the west and lives in the west. A message of anti-militancy, religious tolerance, and moral universality are a part of his outlook.
Yahya is a registered Teacher and serves the Muslim community at Curtin University and teaches internationally with al-Kauthar Institute www.alkauthar.org .
MuslimMatters.org Discourses in the Intellectual Traditions, Political Situation, and Social Ethics of Muslim Life
SubhanAllah.
SubhanAllah this is so beautiful! Jazakallahukhair!
Hope i can c u again Syeikh here in Malaysia Insyallah!
assalamualykum ,
Mashaallah.Truly touching.The more ilm you have ,the more humbleness you have ..Subahanallah.
This is one of those stories that gives you goose-pimples… subhanAllah, great start Shaykh Yahya to your blogging career :)
Subahan Allah, ya shaykh.
This last ever Peace Conference was full of such events.
Ain’t this struggle to get true ikhlas (which Allaah blessed Musa AS) require working so much , whole our life , on first hadith of niyyah.
o Allaah, help us being among mukhliseen ( those who have ikhlaas to say do things and mean it for Allaah’s sake). ameen.
it may be possible for shuyookh with their knowledge to try maintain this consistency at a much higher level than masses like us.
hence i remember there to be such a du’a to be to Allaah made before any/every knowledge session by every student to make us focused on knowledge and not on personal lacunae of the teacher.
subahan Allaah.
SubhanAllah!
Assalamu Alaikum,
SubhanAllah, left me speechless…
SubhanAllah…
SubhanAllah. Jazak Allah khayr shaykh- may Allah preserve you, Shaykh Salah, and all of the a’immah.
Subhanallah.
Masha’Allah, may Allah forgive us of the sins we do knowingly and unknowingly.
May Allah Swt purify our deeds for His sake alone. Ameen!
Sorry to add to the many “Subhan Allah, great blog” comments, but I just had to say that this is simply one of the most moving and wonderful blog articles I have read, ma sha’ Allah. Ever. Jazakumullahu khayran, brother Yahya, for sharing with us such wisdom.
Could someone please explain what ‘trust’ the shaykh is referring to? As I understand his only responsibility as an employee of the government is to lead the daily prayers and give the Friday khutbah. I would love to know what additional roles and responsibilties the shaykh discharges as Imam of Masjid Nabwi.
The responsibility of being Imaam of any Masjid, much less Masjid an-Nabawi or Masjid al-Haraam, is a great trust that the person occupying the position has in his hands. By being in the position he is in, Shaykh Salah (hafidhahullaah) has the ability to guide (with the Tawfeeq of Allaah, of course) or mislead literally millions of people around the world. Anyone who leads even one Salaah in a Masjid (even a small one) and is truly sincere should feel a heavy weight on their shoulders when they are in that position.
I believe that this is the trust that he might have been referring to, Wallaahu A’lam.
I don’t understand. He is not giving lectures or issuing fatawa. So how does he guide or mislead others? The salah consists of dhikr and recitation. How can that ‘misguide’ others, regardless of the sincerity of the imam?
Please clarify your comments with examples.
Sorry for the confusion – I was referring to the khutbah, not necessarily through the daily Salaah.
Even if he didnt give lectures or fatawa, being an Imaam of a Masjid – and Masjid an-Nabawi, to boot – is an enormous responsibility because people automatically look to him as a role model. So on the one hand, he has to make sure his entire life is ‘clean’ and legitimate – not only meeting the minimum requirements as a normal Muslim, but rather, excelling in them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – so that people wouldnt have the excuse to look at his actions and be misguided, or even slack off.
Even if he never opened his mouth to talk to the people directly he has the ability to inspire millions of people one way or another, every time he leads the Salaah. Because of WHERE he leads the Salaah. In this manner, he is in a position of trust.
On top of all that, he has to keep his actions ‘clean’ and ‘exemplary’ not because of what the people might say, but fi sabil illah alone. To try and ignore what the people say.
Being a leader, a scholar, or an imaam of a masjid – Shaytan focuses his attack heavily on these people, because they are the pillars that support the community. if they are corrupted, then society will follow.
So lets pretend, for a second, that his dhikr and recitation do not have an impact on the people. Even if it had zero impact, there is still the matter of the niyyah of the Shaykh remaining pure in the face of Shaytan’s attacks, and his responsibility in this regard, to Allah [subhanahu wa ta'ala].
So these scholars have to walk a very fine line… on the one hand, they need to exert their utmost against Shaytan and maintain ikhlaas, and the other, they need to be role models of excellence for us, and on the third hand, they need to realize when they’re not performing up to par, and step down if required.
….But if they step down, are they succumbing to yet another one of Shaytan’s plots?
Stress upon stress.
Isn’t this enough of a responsibility for a person to handle? To lead the daily prayers at the Masjid of the Prophet peace be upon him?
The Prophet peace be upon him says: “They lead you in prayer; if they get it right (the reward) is for you and for them, and if they get it wrong, (the reward) is for you and (the sin) is on them.â€
And the Prophet peace be upon him said: “The imam is responsible and the mu’adhdhin is trusted, O Allah, guide the imams and forgive the mu’adhdhins.”
Or is it just because many Imams of masaajid don’t take this responsibility of theirs seriously, that we take it for granted?
NurKhan, go back and read the hadith about “The first amongst mankind to be used as kindle for hell-fire…” and you will see that studying the Quran and reciting it is enough of an obligation in itself to make a mu’min afraid.
I hesitate to teach Quran for this very reason. But then, on the other hand, withholding knowledge is also a sin. So you see how the accumulation of knowledge right away becomes a burden…
JazakAllah khayr for sharing this humbling story.
As a side note, be careful about which shaykh you decide to give advice to, because some don’t want it, others are too arrogant to accept it, and some might just blow up in your face! Alhamdulillah, these types of “shuyukh” are not the majority, but keep in mind that they still do exist.
Asalamu Alikum
Jazakum Allah khair. May Allah protect all of our Shuyukh and raise their status in this life and the Hereafter.
May Allah reward you for this reminder
Beautiful, masha’Allah. What an amazing reminder. :)
SubhanaAllah!
May Allah (swt) increase his honor
Wonderful reminder, may Allah SWT give us all Ikhlas. Brother Nur Khan, Imamat even in front of a small community is a huge burden and commitment and trust. Even if you don’t count the khutbas, the lectures, the fatwas, leading prayer and making a mistake in it results in the deficiency of the prayer of the people behind you. And he is standing in the exact position and place in which the Prophet himself stood…what greater burden and trust could that be??
salamalaikum,
Its very beautiful reminder, May Allah help us with our ikhlas.
I have this issue with how one can implement knowledge that he gains, that is everytime he learns something new : whether from reading the Quran or beneficial books, ahadith etc.? Everything he knows?
Because I reda this book, that spoke about the great scholars of the past and how they were very worried about putting what they learned into action, otherwise it is a sin. Some Sahabas would learn every few ayahs then act on them, THEN learn few more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Wallahi from start to end it scared me, because I thought there is so much that perhaps, small things, I learn everyday, and learnt but have not yet fully implemented, and if I did in the past am not consistent.
I donot mean the fard/obligatory actions like salah or sawm etc.
Subhannalh, it paralysed my thirst for learning a bit! I need to stop and acton everything I know otherwise these things are going to be a witness against me on the Day of Judgement.
How does one do it?
Jazakallah khair , ws
there is a lot of responsibility in leadership positions, especially when it comes to taking care of the Muslim community.
this was a beautiful reminder, mA!
jazakallahuhkair.
@Amad – …great start indeed :)
Beautiful story masha Allah :) may Allah preserve the imaams of Muslims
I hardly ever comment on articles but this one, subhan Allah, left me speechless and compelled me to do so. May Allah preserve our shuyookh and bless us all with this level of ikhlaas.
Salamualaikum,
If Imam of Madinah is saying this, what is our level ( of imaan)? Allahul Musta’an. Great example for the imam to lead from front.
How about sharing individual attempts ( if possible ) of achieving certain level of ikhlas in the things we do. Come on, give real life scenarios like what do you do when you try to check out items from walmart and music is going on where you can’t avoid it or the shelf is full of pictures you don’t want to look towards and .. most importantly having that (fake?) smile everytime during you come/go out of masjid when someone is in your way and you say alhamdulillah everything is fine ( just for the sake of it, without possibly meaning it for the sake of Allaah). Allaahu ‘alam.
For example, Sporadically whenever i am asked to lead the prayer I try to remind myself and entire congregation that listen. (Its just a naseehah with no base in sunnah as far as i know.) Whatever you did till now its past. Now you are about to stand before Allaah, and this is your personal chance to speak to him. Your own worries, problems, thanks anything. our creator and if you are forgetful of any part of this prayer, be sure that its not going to be accepted. Stand straight and close. Allahu akbar. ( i may be wrong but i found it to be beneficial to me personally but again that riyaa thing creeps in your heart and you start battling it whether you did it for self or selfless reason.) may Allaah accept our deeds, ameen.
PS one thing i also learn as a side note that its ok to narrate such incidents for educational purposes, even though imam himself wouldn’t really want things to be disclosed about him in this level ( got this from the way he pulled the author aside and told his personal story) so this does not count as backbiting instead sadaqa jariya inshAllaah.
For any ounce of goodness that is bestowed upon us by Allah, it is only a realization of the Mercy of Allah, and a means to further praise Him, Alhamdulillah.
May Allah increase eveyone in ikhlaas, ameen.
Thank you brother for this glimpse into the doubt and stress in the hearts of individuals that we “the public” tend to think of as beyond all of that. And this reminder of the importance of purity of intention, and that in fact nothing is more important.
Also for sharing us a very private moment and letting us learn from it, Insha’Allah.
First, Jazakum Allahu Khayran shaykh…
And to add… not just shaykhs need advise… add to that those who are active in their communities, the sisters who work with the youth, the brothers who give little halaqas here and there… this article applies to them…
I ask Allah to keep us all on the straight path! Allahumma Ameen.
Thanks again shaykh for this beautiful article!
Asslam u alaikum wr wb
JazakALLAH! That is beautiful! To stand where the Prophet (saw) stood and not start considering it an ordinary mundane duty that some of us do when working in the way of ALLAH comes easily to us, is another aspect highlighted to us, Sometimes ALLAH Chooses us for His work but we start considering it a daily routine, until it is snatched away. May ALLAH Help us!
This post made me realize how blessed we are to have people with such ikhlaas among us. May Allah protect and preserve our shuyookh.
O Allah, grant us ikhlaas. Ameen!
Great post, as a young Imam myself this hits very hard; I was just thinking about this when I read it.
May Allah forgive us all.
SHIRTMAN
By far the one of the BEST post on MM. May Allah azza wa jal reward you and the Shaykh over and over again.
salam.
can you guys give me yahya Ibrahim’s contacts please, I have this question that is private, and i urgently need an answer to it. and yahya is the only one I can trust……
“Trust”… Subhan’allah… Another amazing read. I have a question … If a “Shaykh” takes advantage of this trust, portrays himself very differently behind closed doors, is a compulsive liar, impinges upon the rights of others, does not seek the forgiveness of those he has wronged should others be warned about him?
Very touchy
…..speechless…SubhanAllah
Subhanallah. I’m speechless. These type of discussions are so needed. Whether one is khateeb or Islamic university graduate, don’t we all suffer from these ‘common’ issues ? Who here that has been involved in dawah or gave or gives lectures to the masses has not fallen or called to something that he is guilty of ? We all love Allah even tho we sin against Him everyday. We all love the gathering of the pious even tho we are not one of them. We all hate sinners yet even tho we are one of them. I know myself that I have been giving khutbahs for some time , many many years and I always feel so ashamed of my sins that when I stand n preach, I actually consciously ask myself. that I’m probably the worst sinner here. And no this is not trying to be humble, this is how I feel. If I were to make the duaa that shaykh saleh made, I might not be around. Maybe others feel the same. Also reading that hadith makes me almost wish I was not involved in dawah out of fear of opening myself to be judged in that category and then being dragged on my face. May Allah protect us.