All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Allaah’s favour on Muslims are countless. Among these favours is that He made us the best community ever raised up for the mankind.
Yes! Islaam is the complete religion and law. Its words are decisive and its judgments are just. Whoever holds fast to it prospers in this world and the next and whoever deviates from it will have misery and hardship as his lot in this life and the next. It is an upright religion whose teachings are noble and characters are lofty. It is full of wisdom, incontestable proofs and the only guidance for mankind.
“Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.” (Aal ‘Imraan 3: 85)
It is the only true religion on the surface of the earth; the abrogator of earlier laws and systems. Whoever rejects it is an infidel and the enemy of Allaah, His Messenger and the believers and his final abode will be Hellfire. The Messenger of Allaah said,
‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, if any of this people be he a Jew or a Christian hears of me and yet does not believe in what I was sent with, he will be among the dwellers of Hellfire.’
Fellow Muslims! However the enemies of Islaam toil to cripple Islaam and Muslims, they will never succeed. Allaah says, “They intend to put out the light of Allaah (the religion of Islaam) with their mouths. But Allaah will complete His light even though the disbelievers hate (it)” (As-Saff 61: 8)
To corroborate this verse, the Messenger of Allaah said, ‘A group among my nation shall continue standing firm on the religion of Allaah. None of those who forsake or disgrace them shall be able to harm them until they become victorious over all people.’ (Muslim)
Brothers in faith! We Muslims have never been in such need of self-examination as we are in these days of crises and hardship. We are in dire need of unity so as to wash away the filth of ignominy that is presently our lot. We must go back to the pristine sources of our great religion and follow their injunctions. The Messenger of Allaah warned the Muslims of the causes of degeneration and weakness when he said,
‘When you become preoccupied with transaction in credit and are so engaged in cattle rearing and in crops that you abandon jihad; Allaah will enforce an ignominy upon you and will not remove it until you go back to your religion.’ (Abu Dawood)
We must understand the causes of our problems and calamities in the light of the Qur’an, the sunnah and the guidance of our righteous predecessors. And while dealing with those problems, we must be truthful, sincere and free from whimsical desires and shirk. We must have confidence in Allaah and put our trust in Him. He says,
“When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear they make it known (among the people), if only they had referred it to the Messenger or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have understood it from them (directly). Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allaah upon you, you would have followed Satan, save a few of you.” (An-Nisaa 4: 83)
Brothers in faith! What is incumbent upon us Muslims when calamities and trials befall us is to unite in order to protect our faith and to cooperate with each other in piety and righteousness in order to defeat the enemy. Allaah addresses us:
“And do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength departs, and be patient. Surely, Allaah is with those who are patient.” (Al-Anfaal 8: 46)
The Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Allaah is pleased with you when you do three things: He is pleased that you worship Him without ascribing any partner to Him, that you hold fast unto the rope of Allaah and that you are not divided. He is displeased that you engage in gossip, much (unnecessary) questions and wasting of money.”
Brothers in Islaam! The relationship brought about by our religion is the straightest relationship. It has its meanings and obligations enshrined in the Qur’aan and sunnah. It is a relationship that destroys disbelief and aggression. Allaah says,
“The believing men and women are supporters of one another, they enjoin all that is good (on the people) and forbid all that is evil. They perform salaah, give the zakaah and they obey Allaah and His Messenger. These are ones upon whom Allaah will have mercy. Surely, Allaah is Almighty All-Wise.” (At-Tawbah 9: 71)
The Messenger of Allaah also said: ‘All Muslims are equal … and they are united against their enemies.’ (Abu Dawood)
He also emphasised the importance of Islaamic brotherhood when he said, ‘Whoever prays our prayer, faces our qiblah and eats our slaughtered animal is a Muslim who is under the protection of Allaah and His Messenger.’
He also said, ‘The believers are like a structure whose different parts strengthen one another.’ (Al-Bukharee)
Brothers in faith! Each individual Muslim possesses a great sacredness and high position in Islaam. We must give him this privilege and not deny him of it whenever he falls in trouble. Ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allaah stood on the pulpit one day, raised his voice and said, ‘O you who are Muslims by tongue and faith has not penetrated your hearts! Do not harm Muslims nor pursue their imperfections for whoever pursues the imperfections of his Muslim brother, Allaah will pursue his imperfection and whosoever Allaah pursues his imperfection, He will disgrace him.’ He also stressed the sacredness of Muslim life when he said, ‘Indeed, the termination of this world is of lesser importance to Allaah than the killing of a Muslim man.’ (At-Tirmidhee)
Dear brothers! Muslims today are facing different kinds of persecution from all parts of the world; they are being killed, tortured and expelled from their lands. In fact they are in pitiful and deplorable situations.
Fellow Muslims! One fact remains indisputable in view of our present condition: we will never conquer our enemies unless we first of all conquer our souls and whimsical desires. We can never defeat our enemies unless we first of all implement the law of Allaah in every aspect of our lives. The Messenger of Allaah stressed this point when he said,
‘Nations will be on the verge of calling one another to attack you as people call on one another to a plate of food.’ The companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! Is it because we will be few then?’ He replied, ‘No. You will rather be many and will be in multitude like the scum floating on flood waters. Your fear will be removed from the hearts of your enemies and theirs will be put in your hearts.’ The companions said, ‘What is the cause of this?’ He answered, ‘Love for this worldly life and the hatred of death.’ (Ahmad and others)
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