By Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awwad al-Thubaiti – 27 Muharram 1438

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul-Bari ibn Awwad al-Thubaiti, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday khutbah entitled, “High-Mindedness,” in which he talked about the quality of high-mindedness, stating that it is necessary for Muslims to attain it, especially in our modern times. He referred to the common practice of many people on the internet, who post trivial video clips that bring no good at all but can cause a great deal of harm. He also indicated that the media, the young men and women, and all the categories of society must assume roles and responsibilities to combat such trivialities commensurate with their position in society.

Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has guarded hearts against error and trivial pursuits. I praise Him, Glorified be He, and I thank Him for His grace and for all His favours and bounties. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, and Who has filled our souls with faith and happiness. I also bear witness that our Prophet and Master, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who was the model to follow in government and leadership. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon his family and Companions, who led the Ummah to dominance and supremacy.

Now then,
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)

By virtue of its wise texts, rulings, values, and moral teachings, Islam has educated its followers to observe high-mindedness and nobility of purpose, which help them elevate their lives, firmly secure their aims, and make their acts productive and fruitful. As a result, a Muslim will acquire a distinguished character, rise above frivolities and trivialities, and face them with serious endeavour and lofty ambitions that fill his life with development, achievement, and giving. These features do not change by time, and a Muslim should adhere to them no matter how different the methods or technological means of any given age may be. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, “I have an ambitious soul. Whenever I obtain something, I crave something better. I aspired for leadership, and when I attained it, I aspired for caliphate. When I obtained this, I aspired for something better, namely, Paradise; and I hope I will attain it.”

Islam refines a Muslim’s character in such a way as to prevent him from engaging in frivolities or getting stuck in the mire of trivialities, and help him attain noble ends and realise lofty interests. It makes him adhere to servitude to Allah, Glorified be He, which is the highest rank, the loftiest objective, the light that illuminates the way ahead, the pivot of all acts, and the starting point for lofty interests. Trivialities and worthless matters distract one’s attention from lofty issues, destroy his sense of responsibility, and weaken his spirit of productivity, such that he becomes useless and even harmful to others. Errant people give up their ideals and high objectives, only to dedicate all their time to distractions, reduce most of their days to chaos, and neglect their obligations, thus rendering their life idle and valueless.

High aspirations wane as a result of indulging in trivial pursuits, which take different forms, such as documenting trivia, spreading obscenities in despicable video clips that are posted on social networking sites for the sake of false popularity, and taking photographs or recording videos of insignificant incidents. In fact, these bring harm and no good at all and cause mischief rather than reform. Besides, they distort the image of those featured in them and expose their faults, especially when they appear ill-dressed, use abusive words, behave indecently, or are involved in a shameful situation, which is despised by sagacious people and abhorred by those who have a sense of honour. In so doing, they cause great offence to their religion, their country, and the whole Ummah.

Giving free rein to trivialities testifies to moral declination and lack of understanding and is a sign of ignorance of the purpose of life, superficial thinking, and failure to keep up with science and knowledge. Furthermore, it kills determination, weakens development, and leads to dire consequences for society and family. Those who sink to the level of applying their minds to trivial pursuits see nothing but their whims and desires and underestimate Allah’s sacred ordinances. Their hearts become blemished and their pure nature gets deteriorated. Any sensible person can tell that the reason behind the Ummah’s humiliation and its insignificance in the sight of Allah and in the sight of His creation is its members’ violation of Allah’s sacred ordinances. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “…and whoever honours the sacred things of Allah, then that is better for him with his Lord…” (Al-Hajj: 30)

Giving in to insignificant and trivial matters leads to showing indifference to people’s feelings and committing sins openly, which destroys one’s sense of shame. That is what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, warned against when he said: “Every one of my followers will be forgiven except those who openly commit sins. An example of this is that of a man who commits a sin at night which Allah conceals for him. When the morning comes, he says, “O so-and-so! I committed such-and-such a sin last night.” Though his Lord has concealed his sins, he discloses them and reveals what Allah has concealed.”

Allah, Glorified be He, is the Concealer of Sins. He will conceal His servants’ errors on the Day of Judgement and will only do so for those who committed a sin but did not expose them to people. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said that on the Day of Judgement: Allah will bring a believer near Him, protect him against humiliation, and conceal him, saying, “Do you know such-and-such a sin?” He will say, “Yes, I do, my Lord.” Allah will keep on asking him until he confesses all his sins and thinks that he will be doomed. Allah will then say, “I concealed your sins for you in the life of the world, and I will forgive you them today.” Then the record of his good deeds will be handed to him.”

Paying attention to trivialities and following worthless people make us turn them into iconic stars and bring them to the forefront of the scene, while they are, in actual fact, mere worthless dwarfs. Thus, we make them popular through our propagation of their disgraceful works and shameful scenes, and we pave the way to them to corrupt public taste, destroy ethics, and dissuade people from achieving progress on the road to success and development.

To make matters worse, such worthless people become deceived by their popularity, and thus interfere in matters which they do not understand and disciplines whose basics they have no idea about. For instance, we have seen a man issuing legal opinions in religious matters out of ignorance and based on his own whims, and a woman underestimating the value of the veil (hijab) and making light of it. We have seen others make fun of Islamic teachings and rulings, violate the honour of their Muslim rulers, and disparage religious scholars, callers to Islam, and students seeking religious knowledge. As the ancient Arab saying goes, “When water is taken out of a vessel, it will be filled up with air.”

Those who follow trivia and worthless people waste their time getting into futile arguments, decrease their faith, spoil their manners by spreading false rumours, and bring harm to their society by alarming its people and shaking its security. In fact, such trivia have done much irreparable damage and caused much incurable enmity.

Love of fame is a hidden disease. If it overwhelms a person’s mind, he will tend to justify all means and disregard all values, and will envelop his heart with a veil that will prevent him from seeing the whereabouts of good and the light of truth. Therefore, Islam has warned against love of fame and false pretensions that affect people who suffer from the disease of showing off, which is bound to invalidate their good deeds. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “If anyone wears a garment for gaining fame, Allah will clothe him with a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection.”

Those who are now preoccupied with trivia will wake up from their sleep one day, only to find that the successful have left them far behind, the serious have been promoted, and the hardworking have occupied the highest positions. They will be stricken by remorse when they realise that they have been in deep sleep or have been chasing a deceptive mirage. They will discover that they have been the victims of their own ignorance, but only when it is too late, and when remorse is of no avail.

A Muslim, O servants of Allah, has a mission in this life. His high-mindedness prevents him from getting stuck in the mire of trivia and frivolous matters. He spends his time in doing things that are pleasing to Allah, and he benefits his religion, homeland, and Ummah with useful knowledge and righteous deeds. Islam has comprehensive recommendations to protect society from the negative consequences of acts that contradict the principle of ethics. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Indeed, Allah is Most Generous. He loves generosity and highly elevated manners, and hates inferior manners.”

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, the Most Great, for myself, for you, and for all Muslims for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.