By Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Sudais – 01 Rajab 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Sudais –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday Khutbah titled “Warning against Fickleness and Hypocrisy” in which he talked about deviated paths and twisted ways, namely fickleness and hypocrisy. The Sheikh cautioned against such improper conduct and against people behaving in like way. He equally highlighted certain other traits characterising their profile and insisted on the need to act against them, using all possible means and tools at hand.

Verily, praise is due to Allah! We praise Him, thank Him, seek His help, ask Him for forgiveness, and return unto Him in repentance. We thank Him –May He be exalted– for He is worthy of all praise. He is the initiator of all graceful gifts. He made praise the key for acceding to the realm of gratitude. We do praise You –O Allah– for the immense favours and blessings You bestowed upon us and for the numerous gifts You benevolently conferred on us. Neither spaces nor words can really exhaust the scope of our praise.

(The Sheikh recites one line of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

Praise be to Allah for Whom we could find neither proper reward nor gratitude,
But Allah’s servant was told to say something, and he uttered the All-Knowing’s Words.

I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner. He did so perfectly design such a clear Sharia for our Ummah to enjoy blissful life both in the Herein and the Hereafter. I also bear witness that our Prophet and Master, Muhammad, is the Servant and Messenger of Allah who was sent with the most perfect and sublime divine laws. May Allah send His profuse Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon him, for he is the best to have purged souls of sins and revived them with faith, upon his family and his Companions, whose souls are the most pious and the most righteous, upon the Tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him] after his death), and those who righteously followed in their footsteps until the Day of Judgement!

Now then!

O Servants of Allah! Observe Taqwa vis-à-vis Allah (fear of violating His commands), for Taqwa is the optimal behaviour through which the servant of Allah can get closer to his Lord. Indeed, Allah will grant whoever adheres to Taqwa generous gifts, protection, sound health, and self-sufficiency.

“O you who believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.” [Al Imran: 102]

(The Sheikh recites two lines of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

Hold fast to piety so as to reap gains,
For the pious are the most venerated amongst mankind.
Act in obedience to Allah, and you will win His satisfaction.
For the obedient will indeed be His close companions.

O Muslims!

Whenever one tries to put the whole scene in perspective, engage in constant reflection on diverse matters morning and afternoon, and seek to gain deeper insights into the events of history and the chronicles of time, he might be able to make inroads into the hidden secrets of events whose enigmatic nature will unfold to him. What one can notice then is that since the Bi’thah of Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– the dreaded Muslim Ummah has been suffering from a category of people who keep changing their colour like a chameleon, spit their venom like a speckled snake. They claim being part of this Ummah while they are in actual fact a poisoned dagger in its back and blows causing gaping wounds in its haunch. The most dangerous enemies and the grimmest of all foes are those who have Muslim names, while Islam is free from their false allegations.

Although our Ummah is like a sea whose water can never be roiled by slop pails, such a handful of malicious and misguided people behave like mange which keeps latent for a while and then spreads all over the skin. A prudent person is he who knows his enemy and he who is all the time on his guard.

Among Allah’s universal laws is the constant struggle between truth and falsehood and guidance and misguidance. Each has its own supporters, disciples, advocates, and partisans. The more Truth towers up and gains further radiance, the more ferocious and exposed falsehood will be. That is why after perilous ordeals, worrying and withering adversities, light tends to dissipate the residual effects of debauchees whose disgraceful acts will be exposed to the public and their arrows will turn against them.

“…Then, as for the foam it passes away as scum upon the banks, while that which is for the good of mankind remains in the earth. Thus Allâh sets forth parables (for the truth and falsehood, i.e. Belief and disbelief” [Al-Ra’d: 17]

(The Sheikh recites one line of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

Nothing can ever harm the sea abounding in water,
If a lad throws a stone into it.

O Muslim Ummah!

Genuine Islam is the religion of splendour, beauty and perfection. It can never be the object of scepticism, belittling, or outbidding. It is neither acceptable nor tolerable to see someone belittle Islam or offend it, because it is the Religion that Allah has chosen for His servants and His Sharia lasting till the Day of Encounter:

“… This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm 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, Allâh is Oft­-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-Maedah: 3]

In his exegetical comments on the verse above, Imam Al-Tabari – May Allah bless his soul – said: “Allah –May He be extolled– means ‘O believers, today I have completed the duties you have to observe, my hudood2, my commands and proscriptions for you, my criteria for halal (permissible) and haram (impermissible) acts. I have perfected the revelation of my Book. Henceforth, nothing should be added to it.’”

Thus, whoever accuses the Sharia of being deficient is literally deprived of the faculty of reason and therefore induced to error and loss. In fact, the foundational principles of our Sharia are intrinsically and eternally in harmony with the interest of humanity regardless of time and space. For they are in concord with whatever serves the interests of mankind in the Herein and the Hereafter.

O Ummah of faith!

When the Chosen One (Prophet Muhammad) –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– passed away, he left us on the Straight Path and said: “I left you on Straight Path where night and day are equally bright. None but the doomed may go astray. He who outlives me will witness huge divergence. Therefore, hold fast to what you have learnt of my Sunnah which will be the Sunnah of the rightly-guided Caliphs. Cling stubbornly to it.” [Reported by Ibn Majah with a sound chain of narration]

(The Sheikh recites two lines of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

Ask them about true love and its description,
You will receive true news.
Reviving the Prophet’s Sunnah means loving him truly
This love will show in the heart, words, and thoughts alike.

Thus, whoever pretends to love Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– his Companions or his family without following his Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided Caliphs is considered to have gone too far in falsehood, fabricated intolerable lies, and misinterpreted the true meaning of loving the Prophet. Accordingly, he will never be trusted again for whatever matter, whether it is trivial or significant, and his credibility will be seriously vitiated.

(The Sheikh recites one line of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

If speech is not backed by action,
The former is counted only as transient and non-existent.

We take Allah, His angels, and all mankind as witnesses that we do love Allah, His Messenger –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– along with the Messenger’s virtuous family and descendants, his chaste wives –Mothers of the Believers– and his righteous Companions, both the Muhajireen (emigrants from Makkah to the Madinah upon divine command) and the Ansar (hosts and supporters of the Muhajireen at Madinah).

Any rational person would be surprised to notice how far such minds have strayed away and taken both reason and divine revelation behind their backs (i.e. neglected them). Their hearts are in fact replete with hatred and saturated with dissidence. Their schemes are clear and their objectives utterly disclosed; their errant approach has proved to be obviously deviant. But those are Allah’s laws in His Universe, as stated in the verses below:

“… And if Allâh did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief …” [Al-Baqarah: 251]

“… For had it not been that Allâh checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the Name of Allâh is mentioned much would surely have been pulled down. Verily, Allâh will help those who help His (Cause). Truly, Allâh is All-Strong, All-Mighty.” [Al-Hajj: 40]

O Believers!

In an era when the phenomenon of brainwashing in the name of religion, the notion of inter-ideology conflict, and the surfacing of hidden agendas have all combined to trigger the emergence of contradictory behaviour and different intellectual affiliations, it has become imperative to identify the main rules, foundations, and core objectives of religion in order to be able to stick to constant values in an age dominated by variables. This becomes all the more urgent in order to be immunised against tempestuous fits of uncertainty and to preserve authentic Islamic identity, which is falsely claimed by juvenile vagabonds as well as by any person whose record in Islam is nil and who has nothing to take pride in.

This suggested awareness is meant to protect the Ummah’s youth from the venomous discourse emitted by those who deceptively speak on behalf of religion. They are indeed the pioneers of misguidance and the real misleaders whose record in fabricating lies is unprecedented. They have deviated from the principle of championing truth, as they instrumentalise religion for their own interests and act contrary to the Sunnah of the Master of Messengers. They exploit Islam to achieve political goals and to fulfil hidden expansionist schemes.

Imam Ali – May Allah be pleased with him – addressed their precursors and described them in the following terms: “You have infantile behaviour and your minds resemble those of females wearing anklets. I wish I had not seen and known you. I swear by Allah that I regret having known you and I feel extremely depressed because I made your acquaintance.”

When Imam Malik –May Allah bless his soul– was asked about some of them, he replied: “Do not talk to them; do not report anything they narrate, for they are liars.”

(The Sheikh recites two lines of poetry which can be rendered as follows):

They offered us to drink extra delicious honey,
But it was fused with lethal venomous substance.
They broke up the unity of Islam so much
That hatred and conflict have spread amongst us.

So, do they realize that; those pretending allegiance and devotion to religion while, in fact, they are but intent on vilifying the virtuous and the best among this Ummah as well as slandering its Salaf (righteous Muslim predecessors) and religious icons? Much worse yet is their willingness to support those evil tyrants who are wreaking havoc and destruction upon their people and are oppressing them with iron and fire, among other manifestations that translate chilling practices and faith-notching aberrations. It is indeed the sentiment of extreme sorrow being imparted by such outrageous insolence and tyranny! Their atrocities in many a country in the region are no secret to anyone or any living being capable of seeing. They sow discord and dispute, and induce terrorism, sectarianism, conflict, violence and bloodshed, in addition to their hidden and evil agendas across the region as well as the brutal massacres being carried out not far away from us. Indeed, there is no strength or power except in Allah!

(The Sheikh quotes one line of poetry that can be rendered as follows):

And their fire was manifested in all subtlety
And there was a sense that it could be burning.

Brothers and sisters in Islam!

It is our duty to stand firm and determined vis-à-vis those impostors. We cannot lend an ear to just anyone, particularly the arrogant and the insolent. Woe to those who have been prey to stray ideas; those who have been enchanted by scourge; those whose atrocities have stirred havoc on fertile and waste lands alike; those whose rancor and actions have caused great suffering to the Ummah! History will speak of them as nothing but dark instances of wanton tyranny and icons of oppression and aggression. Their leaders put on a façade of flashy slogans and sweet and charming words carrying on the surface generous loads of mercy and compassion. However, in truth, it is but the resonance of clashing words imparting the hissing sound of a deadly snake getting ready to strike.

(The Sheikh quotes two lines of poetry that can be rendered as follows):

You may be able to set right that which is ugly from the outside.
Nevertheless, it will always go back to its state of ugliness.
How many times the malevolent have embellished their words
And driven them into minds, but woe, for these hardly ever hold.

Their evil games have run out, but their hatred and rancor continue to pour on relentlessly. They are shunned by the truthful and the benevolent and their words are falling into deaf ears. Their words are similar to the ravings of the mad and the darkest of gloom; they are heavier than rocks and bitterer than colocynth.

Notorious among their evil acts is their tendency to use the new media outlets in order to get at the Straightforward Religion, the land of the Two Holy Mosques and its holy sites, its true and devout leaders, its godly religious scholars, and its well-trusted icons. They launch a dirty media campaign inciting wars and conflicts and spreading out rumours and lies. Such actions ought to be resisted through devising effective, powerful and global media plans in order to uphold truth and rebut aberration and falsehood.

O, you! Enough using religion to carry out your evil interests! Enough deceiving the Muslims!

The Lord of mankind –Exalted be He– has so truthfully said:

“And of mankind there is he whose speech may please you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), in this worldly life, and he calls Allâh to witness as to that which is in his heart, yet he is the most quarrelsome of the opponents. And when he turns away (from you “O Muhammad “صلى الله عليه وسلم”), his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle, and Allâh likes not mischief.” [Al Baqarah: 204-205]

May Allah bless you and me with the Two Revelations (the Holy Qur’an and the Noble Sunnah) and may He grant us benefit through the guidance of the Master of all jinn and mankind (Prophet Muhammad)! I say what you have just heard, and I ask Allah, the Almighty, the Majestic, to forgive my sins and wrongdoings, yours, and those of all Muslims. Therefore, do ask Him for forgiveness and repent unto Him, for my Lord is indeed Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.