His Eminence Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Hudhaifi, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday Khutbah entitled, “Maintaining Steadfastness and Adhering to Acts of Obedience”, in which he talked about steadfastness and adherence to acts of obedience to Allah, stressing that this is the best condition for Allah’s servants. In his Khutbah, he urged Muslims to follow up good deeds with other good deeds and warned them against following up good deeds with evil deeds.
Praise be to Allah, the Bestower of favours, the Revealer of clear distinct verses, the One Who accepts repentance from His servants and forgives sins. I praise my Lord and thank Him. I turn to Him in repentance and ask Him for forgiveness. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, the Owner of Perfect Words, and I bear witness that our prophet and master, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger. O Allah! Bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon Your servant and messenger Muhammad and upon his Household and Companions, the winners of the highest ranks in Paradise.
Fear Allah, Exalted be He, in secret and in public, for none of the servants’ deeds is hidden from Allah. Fear of Allah is the only means to improving your worldly life and the way to Paradise in the Hereafter.
O Muslims!
Every one of us should aim to be in the best condition, seeking Allah’s assistance, putting his complete trust in Him, hoping for His reward, and fearing His punishment.
Servants of Allah!
Do you not know that the servant will have the best condition if he observes steadfastness in religion, adheres to acts of obedience, and forsakes prohibited acts? The key to happiness for the morally accountable is to follow up good deeds with other good deeds and to avoid wrong deeds. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
"While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their piety." (Muhammad: 17)
Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
"And Allah increases in guidance those who walk aright [true believers in the Oneness of Allah who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden), and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]. And the righteous good deeds that last, are better with your Lord, for reward and better for resort." (Maryam: 76)
O Muslims!
You are now in the days that follow hajj, so whoever has been helped and supported by Allah to perform the obligation of hajj should thank Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, for enabling him to perform this obligation and pray to Him to end his life with good deeds. If Allah accepts His servant’s hajj, his life will be blessed and he will be admitted into Paradise, and if Allah favours a Muslim by enabling him to perform supererogatory hajj after performing the obligatory one, Allah has certainly blessed him with additional good and endowed him with great bounties. Therefore, he should maintain the reward that Allah has in store for him and should never render it vain by doing sinful acts. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Islam wipes out one’s previous sins, and hajj wipes out one’s previous sins” (i.e. it leads to the expiation of such sins).
As for those who were unable to perform hajj, Allah will raise their degrees due to the acts of obedience they did during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and on the Day of ‘Arafah. Therefore, they, too, should maintain obedience to Allah, adhere to the Right Path, and should not turn to acts that Allah dislikes. If anyone turns away from the path which Allah likes and adopts the way He abhors, Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, will act towards him in a manner which he dislikes. Similarly, if someone turns to what Allah loves and approves, Allah will grant him what he loves. The reward will be according to the deed.
The best form of honour is to demonstrate steadfastness in religion. Sufyan ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I once said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me something concerning Islam about which I will never ask anyone else.’ He said, ‘Say I have believed in Allah and then be steadfast’” (Reported by Muslim). Allah, Exalted be He, says:
"Verily, those who say: ‘Our Lord is (only) Allah,’ and thereafter Istaqamoo (i.e. stood firm and straight on the Islamic Faith of Monotheism by abstaining from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which Allah has forbidden and by performing all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained), on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. Such shall be the dwellers of Paradise, abiding therein (forever), a reward for what they used to do." (Al-Ahqaf: 13-14)
Steadfastness in religion means adhering to true monotheism, i.e. believing in the Oneness of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and fulfilling its requirements for His sake. It also means performing the obligatory acts and duties and avoiding forbidden acts, seeking what Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, has in store for the faithful. Therefore, we should hold fast to acts and obedience to Allah and veer away from the course of whims and the path of Satan and from all prohibited acts lest Allah should alter our affairs and make us relapse into a worse state. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
"So when they turned away (from the Path of Allah), Allah turned their hearts away (from the Right Path). And Allah guides not the people who are Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)." (As-Saff: 5)
Below the level of continuously doing good deeds and abstaining from prohibited acts is that of following up a bad deed with a good one to wipe it out. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
"And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salat (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice)." (Hud: 114)
The worst state for man is to follow up sins with other sins or to follow up good deeds with sinful acts which render them vain. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger (Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) and render not vain your deeds." (Muhammad: 33)
Following up good deeds and acts of obedience with sins and evil deeds may render such deeds vain or invalidate part of them, or they may diminish their reward. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
". . . Say: “Was it at Allah and His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that you were mocking?” Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed . . ." (At-Tawbah: 65-66)
This verse makes it plain that a single evil deed may render vain all the good deeds preceding it. We seek refuge in Allah from such a state.
O Muslim!
If Allah opens a door for you to goodness and affords you the opportunity to do good deeds, keep them up and even try to add more good deeds to them. Do not underestimate any good, no matter how little it may be, for a good deed leads to another good deed, while a bad deed leads to another bad deed. Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, “O Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so. He used to get up at night for optional prayers but abandoned it later” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Allah, Exalted be He, says:
"So stand (ask Allah to make) you (Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) firm and straight (on the religion of Islamic Monotheism) as you are commanded and those (your companions) who turn in repentance (unto Allah) with you, and transgress not (Allah’s legal limits). Verily, He is All-Seer of what you do." (Hud: 112)
May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its verses and wise words and benefit from the guidance and right sayings of the Master of all Messengers. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
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