Sheikh Abdurrahman al-Sudais – 11 Rabi al-Awwal 1436

His Eminence Sheikh Abdurrahman al-Sudais – May Allah protect him – delivered this Friday Khutbah entitled “False Religiosity: Its Forms and Characteristics.” He spoke about false religiosity which has recently characterised many people. He cautioned against fanaticism and extremism, and equally warned against the other path followed by a number of youths: atheism and scepticism vis-à-vis the incontestable foundational precepts of religion. Then, he showed that true religion resides midway between those two extremes.

Praise is due to Allah! We praise Him, seek His assistance, and implore His forgiveness. All glory and gratitude is attributable to Him. To Him all tribute must be deservedly paid for ever. I praise Him (Glory Be to Him) and show Him thankfulness. He is glorified by the heavens and their expansive dominion, stars and their respective orbits, the earth and its inhabitants, along with the oceans and their fishes. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, alone with no associate. He has granted us the privilege of being the recipients of anobleShariah (religion) which is comparable to a pure water-spring whose supply is unceasingly plentiful. Whoever adheres to it inwardly and outwardly will gain protection, success, and elevation. I also bear witness that our Prophet and Master Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah. He is the noblest among mankind and the most pious secretly and publicly. May Allah send His Salaat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon him, his family who were honoured by being the pioneers of moral rectitude, his Companions whose commitment to faith and adherence to Taqwa(piety) are unparalleled, the Tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salaat and Peace be upon him] after his death), and all those who righteously follow in their footsteps till the Day of Judgement!

Now then, Servants of Allah!

Show strict adherence to Taqwa vis-à-vis Allah; it is truly the best and most viable option for you:

“O You who Believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).” [Al-Tawbah: 119]

(The Sheikh includes two lines of poetry paraphrased as follows):

Taqwa vis-à-vis Allah is indeed the most dignified attribute,
Which people of noble descent usein vying for pride.
Once you compete with your fellow Muslims for Taqwa,
You will surely leave this worldly life in safety.

O Muslims!
In an era when fierce materialism has become prevalent, spiritual vacuum is rampant, numerous moral values have been utterly eradicated, sweeping intellectual transformations are taking place, culture is oscillating between conflicting trends, souls are estranged in an erratic voyage away from religious virtues, and a plaguing and extremely aching pestilence has infiltrated into the body of the Ummah, exhausted it, and caused it to agonise with unbearable burdens.

It is not surprising to learn that such a plague is capable of defeating even invincible armies equipped with artillery and deadly weapons. This is why religion has denounced it, cautioned people against its perils, and dealt with it with intransigence. We are talking here –May Allah protect you all– about retreat from the firm, reliable grip of religion and deviation from the most refined line of conduct, when people adopt erroneous modes of religious behaviour, mixing up priorities and highlighting deceiving appearances at the expense of truth, constant values, and convictional certitudes in Islamic faith. Thus, we find that some people do not practice what they preach and some others do what they are not supposed to.

O Muslims!
There is no doubt that human beings are equipped with an innate need for true religion. Accordingly, Islamic Shariahh as catered for such harmony between the spiritual needs of the soul and the physical necessities of the body, and by extension between the deeds spiritually undertaken by the heart and those performed by the limbs (i.e. physiological acts). Islamic Shariahgives priority to spiritual achievements and to virtuous comportments. In true religiousness it is the quality of good deeds that matters, and not quantity.

In this regard, Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salaat and Peace be upon him–said, “Mind out! In the human body there is a morsel of flesh; if it is maintained in a good condition, the whole body will remain in a good condition, but if it is spoiled, the whole body will consequently be spoiled: it is the heart.” [An agreed-upon Hadeeth] Again, the Prophet –May Allah’s Salaat and Peace be upon him–also said, “Allah does not consider your complexion and bodily appearance; He rather considers your hearts and deeds.” [Reported by Imam Muslim in his Ṣahῑh Book]

As a system of constant standards, principles, and values, religion does not tolerate scepticism, belittlement, or exaggeration. Therefore, it is impermissible that a wise Muslim indulges in blasphemy or improper attitude vis-à-vis religion, because Islam is the religion that Allah has chosen for His creatures:

“…This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above-mentioned meats), then surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-Mā’idah: 3]

Nonetheless, it is the way people manifest their religiosity as a personal human behaviour to translate the teachings of religion into practice that might differ among individuals as they become off-age for religious accountability (taklῑf). Their performance differences depend on their respective rational, emotional, and circumstantial capabilities. This difference between religion and religiosity requires a re-examination of the whole process of religiosity in human societies. It also calls for a series of intellectual changes associated with it in an era characterised by intellectual hegemony in the name of religion as well as by ideological conflicts and agendas. As a corollary of such a metamorphosis, contradictory forms of behaviour and intellectual affiliations have come to the fore. A comprehensive knowledge of regulatory rules in religion remains a prerequisite for dealing with constants and variables in this respect.

Thus, on the one hand, re-examining issues in religion –including its unequivocal precepts– with the intention of demolishing its very foundations represents a red line. On the other hand, denouncing certain forms of human behaviour moderately, equitably and after due verification equally remains plausible and tolerable, as the target of such denunciation is merely an instance of human behaviour that offends the image of true religion and deserves neither infallibility nor holiness.

O Ummah of Islam!

In this era where differences are ravaging, schisms, crises, conflicts, and diverse forms of false religiosity have emerged. Various forms of misguidance are openly spread by injudicious, mischievous people, who are imbibed with extremism, takfῑr (accusing Muslims of unbelief), violence, homicide, explosions, sabotage, and demolition, among other forms of calamities unanimously denounced by all believers who hope for Allah’s reward and look forward to Doomsday.

In so doing, they are just offering the enemies an invaluable service on gold-decorated platters and therefore spoiling irreplaceable opportunities for the Ummah to call for the Straight Path of Allah. In addition, so many people have been so far victimised by such ill advised behaviour and mischievous deeds. All these consequences are the natural outcome of a deviant, extremist ideology tainted by abnormal, instinct-driven impulsions which resuscitate dormant schisms and erroneous approaches leading their followers astray. In fact, they are based on the idea of shedding sanctified blood, behaving impertinently, and perpetrating crimes.

As a result, many people have lost their way to true guidance and have been induced to error. In addition, they have been acting as the organic allies of those who conspire to demolish the potentialities of the Muslims and to blur the distinctive features of their identity. Accordingly, these psychological depressions and social problems have turned into fits of pseudo-religiosity unrestrained by any Shariah guidelines or principles.

This has led certain people to sacrifice their lives by engaging in the pits of conflict and the sites of afflictions. Their description has been eloquently formulated by Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salaat and Peace be upon him–in his Hadith referring to their similitude with Al-Khuwaiṣirah: “From the descent of my Ummah, there will come people whose prayer you will consider as incomparably better than yours and their fasting you will consider as incomparably better than yours; yet, they will renege religion just like an arrow ejects from its bow.” [An agreed-upon Hadith]

Look –May Allah protect you–at how their abundant religiosity has not brought them any benefit because of their erroneous religious approach. By contrast, some other people may engage in counter-extremism and fall prey to a wave of scepticism, atheism, and dire corruption, which represents an ominous sign of immeasurable peril. This trend of thought is used by enemies as a camouflage for their conspiracy and arrogance. It is a variety of obscurantist thought fostering false and venomous humility. Its advocates have dominated the scene of deviant thinking and revelled in spreading chaos, scepticism, religious alienation, cultural deracination and also in taking the entire value and thought system as hostage.

Consequently, this orientation in thought has spoiled many people’s mode of life, distorted their thoughts, deformed their faith, alienated them from their societal values, caused them to suffer estrangement from their religious origins, and left them easy prey to the tempestuous currents of anxiety, slackness, delinquency, fatalism, defeatism, loss of identity, blind imitation, dependency, and imitation of non-Muslims. All that has given rise to dissociative identity disorder or even schizophrenic symptoms which have become manifest in their audacious opinions. Their ideas always trigger agitation and turmoil, especially in According to Islamic scholars of the Sunnah, Abdullah Ibn Dhῑ Al-Khuwaiṣirah Ali Tamῑmi is considered as the pioneer of the Kharijites (those who declared sedition during the early era of Islamic Caliphate). Ibn Dhῑ Al- Khuwaiṣirah once protested against the way Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salaat and Peace be upon him– distributed the spoils of victory to his Companions. He told him that he was “unfair.” [Imam Bukhari: Hadith number 6933]

(The Sheikh includes one line of poetry paraphrased as follows):

Their duly voiced blame is, to me,unavoidable,
For in this erathereis the healthy, the afflicted, and the chronically ill!

Those people have been cherishing a sense of self-righteousness, fostering the selfopinionated belief that they are endowed with divine guidance. Being totally unaware of the necessity of using deductive reasoning and argumentative tools to prove the veracity of their claims, they feel overconfident about the superficial significance of certain religious texts derived from the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. They enthuse over showing off false scholarship, often not hiding their excitement about exceptional cases in religion. In fact, many a well intentioned person virtually fails to perform the good deeds he initially aimed at! “…while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds!” [Al-kahf: 104]

Brothers and sisters in faith!
Anyone witnessing the reality of the Ummah, which is full of contradictory movements harbouring conflicting opinions, will feel astonished, especially when he notices that there are people from our own community who unwittingly contribute to demolishing it, destabilising its order, and causing it to sink to the bottom of the quagmire. The youths of this glorious Ummah, normally selected by Allah as the best Ummah among mankind, are oscillating between fanatical religious extremism and slack adoption of Shariah. Some have even become active members of certain parties, sects, jurisprudential affiliations, and political strife, whereas Allah (Glory Be to Him) says:

“Truly! This, your Ummah [Shariah or religion (Islamic Monotheism)] is one religion, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me (Alone).
[Tafsîr Ibn Kathîr]”[Al-Anbiyā’: 92]

O Muslim believers!
Our Shariah already contains a set of principles which are in harmony with the essential needs of mankind and are in line with the interests of human beings anytime and everywhere. It accommodates the resources required for realising people’s welfare in the Herein and their salvation in the Hereafter. It is worth pointing out that adhering to the Shariah does not require an exceptional effort, nor does it entail extremism, intransigence or disengagement from its precepts. On the contrary, Shariah is characterised by moderation; it is a middle ground between both extremes.

“Thus We have made you [true Muslims – real believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, …”[Al-Baqarah: 143]

Imam Al-Shatbi –May Allah bless his soul– said: “Implementation of the Islamic Shariah is carried out within the confines of moderation, justice and neutrality. If you choose to closely examine, for instance, any of the core values upheld by Islamic law you will realize that they are all motivated by moderation and clearly call for fairness and temperance. Indeed, moderation is man’s stronghold and main source of reference.”

Then see how a Coptic would avenge himself of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, and you shall be astonished. Read how Abu Bakr would instruct his soldiers, and you shall hardly see any oddities in trust. Therefore, for the sake of Allah, do hold fast to the fundamentals of your religion –O Servants of Allah– particularly during this time of tribulations, where Islam is undergoing much estrangement amidst such raging challenges and tremendous adversities.

All of this, however, should by no means be a reason for discrediting religion, religious people, or slandering good believers. You are hereby called upon to beware the provocations of ill-minded agitators and bidders and the malevolent campaigns staged by the malicious and those seeking to harm Islam: “So be patient (O Muhammad). Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, and let not those who have no certainty of faith, discourage you from conveying Allah’s Message (which you are obliged to convey).” [Al-Rūm: 60]

Having said this, I ask Almighty Allah to forgive me, you, and all Muslims; so ask Him for forgiveness and repent to Him, for our Lord is Most Forgiving!