By Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al-Huthifi – 18 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1436

His Eminence Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman al-Huthifi, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday Khutbah entitled, “On Self-Reckoning”, in which he talked about self-reckoning, watching oneself, and striving against one’s evil thoughts and desires, showing that this has always been the practice of the righteous and pious among Allah’s servants. He also referred to some Qur’anic verses, Prophetic Hadiths, and sayings of the righteous predecessors to this effect. At the end of his Khutbah, he asked those who commit follies to bring themselves to account so as to realize the erroneous stance they are adopting and the enormous danger of accusing others of disbelief and carrying out terrorist attacks.

Praise to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who accepts repentance from His servants and forgives sins. He comprehends all things in mercy and knowledge, multiplies good deeds by His grace, and raises the good-doers in degree. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners. Nothing on the earth or in the heavens is beyond His power. And I bear witness that our prophet and master, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, whom Allah supported with His victory and with miracles. O Allah! Bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon Your servant and messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions, who were foremost in all good deeds.

Now then,
Fear Allah, Exalted be He, by drawing nearer to Him through doing the deeds that please Him and keeping away from the deeds that cause His displeasure and bring down His wrath. For those who fear Allah will achieve success, while those who follow their evil desires are the true losers.

Servants of Allah!
Know that a man’s success and happiness lie in his ability to control himself, bring himself to account, and closely watch whatever words he utters and whatever deeds he does, be they small or big. Those who bring themselves to account and control their words, deeds, and inner thoughts, ensuring that they are all pleasing to Allah, will certainly attain great success.Allah, Exalted be He, says: “But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode.” (An-Nazi‘at: 40-41)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says: “But for him who fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise).” (Ar-Rahman: 46)

Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, also says: “O you who believe! Fear Allah and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Acquainted with what you do.” (Al-Hashr: 18).

Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, also says: “Verily, those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious), when an evil thought comes to them from Shaitan (Satan), they remember
(Allah), and (indeed) they then see (aright).”(Al-A‘raf: 201)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says:
“And I swear by the self-reproaching person (a believer).” (Al-Qiyamah: 2)

Commentators on the Qur’an say, “Allah swears by the self-reproaching person, who reproaches himself often for neglecting duties and committing some prohibited acts, with the result that he eventually follows the straight path.”

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement must say good or remain silent”(Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim). This can only be achieved by bringing oneself to account. Shaddad ibn Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The wise man is one who brings himself to account and strives for the life after death, and the helpless man is one who follows his evil whims and seeks from Allah the fulfilment of his false hopes”(A Hasan Hadith (i.e. a Hadith with a good chain of ransmission)). Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Bring yourselves to account before you are brought to account, weigh your deeds before they are weighed for you, and prepare yourselves for the great exposure (on the Day of Judgement).” Maymun ibn Mahran said, “A pious person brings himself to account more thoroughly than a miserly associate checking accounts with his partners.” Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “A believer regards his sins as though they were a mountain which he fears might fall on him, whereas a wicked person regards his sins as though they were flies hovering over his nose that he could wave away with his hand” (Reported by al-Bukhari).

A true Muslim brings himself to account, watches his own deeds, and seeks to keep himself upright and remain in the best possible condition. He reckons himself about all that he does and strives hard to perform acts of worship and obedience to Allah in all sincerity, making certain that they are free from anything that may blemish them, such as innovation in religion, showing off, and conceit about his good deeds, and seeking nothing but Allah’s good pleasure and Paradise in the hereafter. He also brings himself to account so that he may do more righteous deedsthat agree with the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, committing himself to doing such deeds continuously and steadily. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths (i.e. Allah’s religion – Islamic Monotheism). And verily, Allah is with the Muhsinun (good doers).” (Al-‘Ankabut: 69)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says: “And whosoever strives, he strives only for himself. Verily, Allah stands not in need of any of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns, and all that exists).” (Al-‘Ankabut: 6).

Allah, Might and Majesty be to Him, also says: “Verily, We have sent down the Book to you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)) in truth: So worship Allah (Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allah’s sake only.

Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allah only …” (Az-Zumar: 2-3)

Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, also says: “Say (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”” (Al ‘Imran: 31)

Sufyan ath-Thawri said, “I have never struggled with anything harder than my intentions; they keep shifting all the time.” Al-Qutr ibn Ziyad said, “I asked Imam Ahmad about one’s intentions regarding deeds, saying, ‘How should one’s intention be like?’ He said, ‘When someone intends to do something, he must struggle hard to ensure that this is done for the sake of Allah and not for the sake of people.” Shaddad ibn Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Whoever performs prayer with the intention of showing off has associated partners with Allah, whoever fasts with the intention of showing off has also associated partners with Allah, and whoever gives charity with the intention of showing off has associated partners with Allah.”(Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, by al-Hakim, and by at-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir)

A Muslim should reckon himself regarding every word that he utters, thus holding his tongue against uttering false statements or prohibited words. He must remember that there are two angels delegated to write down every word that he utters and every deed that he does and that he will be rewarded or punished for these. Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“But verily, over you (are appointed angels in charge of mankind) to watch you, Kiraman (Honourable) Katibin (writing down your deeds). They know all that you do.” (Al-Infitar: 10-12)

Allah, Exalted be He, also says: “Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).” (Qaf: 18)

Commenting on this verse, Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said, “He [this angel] writes down every good or evil word that one says, to such an extent that he even records words like I ate, I drank, I went, I came, and I saw.”

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “A man may utter a word which pleases Allah without realizing the full extent of its outcome, and because of it, Allah raises him in degree. And a man may utter a word that causes the displeasure of Allah to which he attaches no importance, and because if it, he falls down in Hellfire for seventy years”(Reported by al- Bukhari). Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “By Allah, the One other than Whom there is no god, nothing on earth is more deserving of long imprisonment than one’s tongue.” Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, used to take hold of his tongue and say, “It is this that has led me to dangerous places.”

A Muslim should also bring himself to account and strive hard against himself regarding the thoughts that come into his mind and whispers that creep into his heart, for the source of all good and all evil lies in the inner thoughts that come into one’s mind. A Muslim should control such thoughts; if he welcomes the good ones, feels pleased by them and puts them into practice, he will be successful and blessed. Similarly, if he keeps away the Devil’s whispers and seeks refuge in Allah from them, he will be saved from perpetrating sins and acts of disobedience. Conversely, if he accepts and obeys the Devil’s whispers, the Devil will only lead him to sins and prohibited acts.Allah, Exalted be He, says:

“And if an evil whisper from Shaitan (Satan) tries to turn you away (from doing good), then seek refuge in Allah. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” (Fussilat: 36)

Allah commands us in Surat An-Nas to seek refuge in Him from this open foe.Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said, “Satan is lying over a man’s heart all the time; if the man remembers Allah, Satan withdraws, and if he becomes heedless, Satan whispers evil [into his heart].” Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Satan places his snout over the heart of a child of Adam; if he remembers Allah, Satan withdraws, but if he forgets (Allah), he starts whispering into his heart. This is the meaning of ‘the whisperer’ and ‘the withdrawer’”(Reported by Abu Ya‘la al-Mawsili).

In order to guard himself against sins, a Muslim should first pay attention to the Devil’s whispers and be wary of his attempts to turn him from the right path. Allah, Exalted be He, says: “… come not near to Al-Fawahish (great sins, illegal sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, and kill not anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause (according to Islamic law). This He has commanded you that you may understand.” (Al-An‘am: 151)

The first step in keeping away from such great sins (fawahish) is to resist Satan’s whispers calling to commit them. As a result, whoever engages in bringing himself to account and strives against his evil desires will increase his share of good deeds and reduce his sins. In this way, he will leave this world well-praised, will be resurrected
happy, and will be in the company of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who was sent as a witness. As for those who follow their evil desires, turn away from the Qur’an, yield to the dictates of their whims and lusts, take delight in unlawful pleasures, commit major sins, and allow the Devil to be their guide, they will only be led by the Devil into committing all major sinful deeds and will suffer painful torment with him eternally in Hellfire.Allah, Exalted be He, says: “… and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance, and who follows his own lusts and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.” (Al-Kahf: 28)

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 Imam of Messengers. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.