By Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awad Ath-Thubaiti – 06 Jumaadal Ulaa 1435

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awad Ath-Thubaiti, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday Khutbah entitled, “Life and Death in the Qur’an and the Sunnah”, in which he talked about the literal and the metaphorical meanings of life and death in Allah’s Book (the Qur’an) and in the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, citing many Qura’nic verses and hadiths that show the true meaning of life and death in the worldly life and in the hereafter.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, and the Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. I praise Him, Glorified be He, and thank Him for his immense grace. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, the Protector, the All-Praiseworthy. I also bear witness that our master and prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who called to Allah’s straight path. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon his family and all his Companions.

O Muslims!
I advise you and advise myself to fear Allah. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
“O you who believe! Fear Allah (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 Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allah)].” (Al ‘Imran: 102)

Life and its opposite, death, have both literal and metaphorical meanings. For instance, the growth of plants gives life to the earth, while knowledge and sound judgment give life to the mind. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “(They are) dead, not alive …” (An-Nahl: 21)

Islam has revived humanity and brought it back to life. Through Islam, Allah has delivered us from spiritual death, which is more serious than the death of the body. Unless the message of Islam enlightens the servant’s heart and fills it with life and guidance, he will be engulfed in darkness and will be counted among the dead. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“Is he who was dead (without Faith by ignorance and disbelief) and We gave him life (by knowledge and Faith) and set for him a light (of Belief) whereby he can walk amongst men – like him who is in the darkness (of disbelief, polytheism and hypocrisy) from which he can never come out? …” (Al-An‘am: 122)

This is the description of a believer – he was dead because of his complete ignorance but Allah gave him life through the message of Islam and the grace of faith and provided him with light by which he can walk among people. As for disbelievers, they are dead in the darkness of their disbelief and polytheism.

One form of death is the death of hearts through lack of belief. A dead heart does not know the Lord and is not guided by His Light. In fact, the true life is the life of the heart. A man’s life is measured by the extent to which he is close to Allah and by the hours he spends in doing acts of righteousness, piety, and obedience to Allah. Beyond that, life is worthless and meaningless.

If a servant turns away from Allah and preoccupies himself with sinful acts, he will waste his true life and will end up saying:
“… “Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my life!”” (Al-Fajr: 24)

Allah, Exalted be He, says:
“So verily, you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) cannot make the dead to hear (i.e. the disbelievers), nor can you make the deaf to hear the call …” (Ar-Rum: 52)

Here Allah compares the disbelievers, with their dead hearts, to those who are buried in the graves, for their souls have died and their bodies have become tombs for them. Just as those buried in the graves do not hear, so the disbelievers cannot hear the voice of truth.

If life means feeling and movement, the hearts that do not react to knowledge and are not moved by faith are truly dead. This is not to compare their death to physical death, but rather this is the death of the heart and the soul.

Ignorance is death and waste of life, while knowledge provides light to life, guides hearts and minds, and helps attain happiness in this world. Whoever lives in ignorance has indeed wasted his life and lost part of its splendour. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “Shall he then who knows that what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) from your Lord is the truth be like him who is blind? …” (Ar-R’ad: 19)

An ignorant person is nothing but a body that walks on the earth morally devoid of life, even if he is physically alive. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “… This is only a Reminder and a plain Qur’an. That he or it (Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, or the Qur’an) may give warning to him who is living (a healthy-minded – the believer), and that Word (charge) may be justified against the disbelievers (dead, as they reject the warnings).” (Yasin: 69-70)

A man dies when he loses his vigour and determination. His energy withers and he becomes a slave to his lustful desires and worldly pleasures, his main concern being only to satisfy them. Conversely, a Muslim’s life is lively and energetic as a result of the remembrance of Allah and of Paradise and Hellfire, and he is fully determined to engage in acts of obedience and worship. Such vigour is the sign of life, for it gives value to a Muslim and adds meaning and effect to his life.

A man may die morally when his feelings die and he becomes emotionally frozen. The liveliness of emotions and their continuous responsiveness to events are a proof of life and a sign of faith. How can a Muslim stand still, without his feelings and emotions being stirred by the various events in the east and the west, including the continuous tumults and successive trials and tribulations that have rocked the ummah, giving rise to genocide, violation of all that is sacred, killing and displacement, ridicule and mockery, disunity and diaspora, and backwardness and poverty?

Hudhaifah ibn Al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
‘Temptations will be presented to men’s hearts as a reed mat is woven stick by stick. Any heart which is impregnated by them will be branded by a black mark, while any heart which rejects them will be branded by a white mark. The result is that there will be two types of heart: a white heart, like a pure stone, which will not be harmed by any turmoil or temptation so long as the heavens and the earth endure, and a black heart like a vessel which is turned upside down, not recognizing any good nor rejecting any evil, but being impregnated with his own desires.’”

The senses may also die. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “… They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). …” (Al-A‘raf: 179)

The senses are brought to life by observing good moral conduct, speaking politely, lowering one’s eyes and avoiding looking at what Allah has forbidden, and being humble towards one’s fellow Muslims. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Smiling in the face of your brother is charity.”

A person may also die socially. This happens when his role in life and society becomes limited and when his communication with his family, relatives, and people in general becomes weak. ‎As a result, he lives in solitude, which is bound to have a negative impact on his mission to build his society, country, and ummah and also on the development of his character.

True life, servants of Allah, involves making achievements and having ambition, unlike death, which is associated with despair, lethargy, laziness, waste of energy, and idleness. Achievement means doing something for yourself, your society, your country, and your ummah. A believer will never be satisfied with the good he does until he ends up in Paradise. Our noble Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, instilled ambition in us when he said, “When you ask Allah (for something), ask Him for Firdaws [i.e. the best and highest part of Paradise).” Umar ibn Abul-Aziz, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, “Mine is an ambitious soul.”

Waste of time, servants of Allah, is in fact a kind of death, and it implies man’s death in this worldly life and causes serious consequences with regard to behaviour, ethics, and belief. Al-Hassan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, said, “There is no day on which dawn light first begins but a caller sent by Allah, the Truth, says, ‘O Child of Adam! I am a new creation, and I am a witness to your deeds. Therefore, take your provision of good deeds from me, for if I am gone, I will never come back again until the Day of Judgement.’”

Being inspired to make use of every hour in one’s life is a sign of Allah’s grace. It is regrettable that some people do not care about wasting their time in useless activities. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There are two blessings in which many people incur loss: health and free time.” Many nights are actually wasted and dead when some people stay up all night doing useless or unlawful activities, ironically calling this “nightlife”. In fact, doing so kills and wastes one’s life and dissipates one’s energy.

Values and principles may also die, giving way to the spread of negative qualities, such as envy, selfishness, hatred, and injustice. In this way, virtuous life disappears completely because of the prevalence of these shameful traits. For instance, having a sense of honour, protectiveness, and solicitude for one’s women (or ghayrah, as it is called in Arabic) is a sign of life. Lack of such sense of honour is bound to cause destruction and lead to all forms of shame, for one’s honour is precious and invaluable. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever is killed in defence of his family’s honour is a martyr.” A man’s sense of honour and solicitude for his family’s women is a mark of his strong faith and good moral character; as a matter of fact, a society where women are protected and where men have a sense of honour with regard to them is a pure, chaste society.

The disappearance of trustworthiness (al-amanah) from people’s lives and the drying up of its fountains are symptoms of a severe disease that affects the whole society. When trustworthiness is removed from people’s hearts, this is sign of some deficiency in the fabric of society. Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The first thing that will be lost in your religion is trustworthiness, and the last thing to remain will be the prayers.” Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The Hour [i.e. the Day of Resurrection] will not come until obscenities and abominable deeds spread, the ties of kinship are severed, and the unfaithful are trusted and the trustworthy are accused of betrayal.”

Answering the call of Allah and His Messenger brings life to man. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (peace and blessings be upon him) calls you to that which will give you life …” (Al-Anfal: 24)

Answering the call of Allah becomes a source of life by performing virtuous deeds and by revering, implementing, and complying with the orders of the religion. The more responsive we are to the call of Allah, the better and more beneficial our life will be. Those who do not answer the call of Allah and the call of His Messenger lead a deficient, imperfect life which is not worth being called a life at all, even though they walk upon the earth like all the living. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “It is only those who listen (to the Message of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him), will respond (benefit from it), but as for the dead (i.e. disbelievers), Allah will raise them up …” (Al-An‘am: 36)

May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for every sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.