Sheikh Khalid ibn Ali al-Ghamdi – 23 Jumaadal Ukhra 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Khalid ibn Ali al-Ghamdi – May Allah protect him –  delivered this Friday Khutbah titled “Social Security and How to Achieve It”. In which he talked about social security sought diligently by all nations and states due to the current wave of uprisings and violent unrests in thought, politics, wars and seditions which the world is now witnessing. He explained that Islam had laid the groundwork for such security, strived toward realising it, and showed how the Prophet –  May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him –  his Companions –  May Allah be pleased with them –  and all those who came after them had applied it. Finally, Sheikh al-Ghamdi advised that all social segments should bear the responsibility of achieving social security.        
       
Praise is due to Allah! We thank Him, seek His help and ask Him for forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from our misdeeds. He whom Allah guides, none can lead astray, and he whom He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah. May Allah send His Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy) and Peace upon him, his family, his Companions and those who followed them in righteousness until the Day of Judgement!

Now then,

I exhort you – O Servants of Allah –  to observe Taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah) and to keep in mind that it is the basis of all good, and the source of every virtue. Allah, the Almighty, looks neither at your image nor your wealth, but He looks at your hearts:

“O you who Believe [in Mûsa (Moses) (i.e. Jews) and ‘Iesa (Jesus) (i.e. Christians)]! Fear Allâh, and believe too in His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), He will give you a double portion of His Mercy, and He will give you a light by which you shall walk (straight), and He will forgive you. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-Hadid: 28]

Therefore, set your hearts right by taqwa and your deeds will, as a result, be right.

O Muslims!

Humankind are suffering from violent waves of intellectual and cultural disputes as well as feverish revolutions, psychological and military warfare that have yielded all kinds of fear, hunger, bloodshed and depletion of wealth, lives and crops.

These various disputes will leave their imprint on the beliefs, concepts and behaviour of many people, which has apparently undermined the stability of social security whose achievement and maintenance have recently become the greatest concern of individuals and societies. All countries and nations are striving to establish their social security so that society may live in peace and stability and enjoy productive and constructive work, and the individual may feel secure about himself, his family and livelihood.

Social security is one of the most important religious aims. It is a great divine grace that Almighty Allah uses as a model example:

“And Allâh puts forward the example of a township (Makkah), that dwelt secure and well content; its provision coming to it in abundance from every place.” [Al-Nahl: 112]

Moreover, social security is a divine duty, an absolute necessity for prosperity, for representing Allah on earth, and for the advancement of civilization. That is why Allah aligns the favour of living with that of security. He bestows both on His servants and makes them two of the most important aspects of enabling His servants to worship Him:

“So let them worship (Allâh) the Lord of this House (the Ka’bah in Makkah). (He) Who has fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from fear.” [Quraish: 3-4]

O Muslim Ummah!

One of the greatest favours and magnificent graces that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon His servants is that of peace and security whether they are coming or going, travelling or sojourning. Such feeling enables people to worship their Lord while enjoying psychological, familial and living stability without fear, disunity, or disputes:

“Have they not seen that We have made (Makkah) a sanctuary secure, and that men are being snatched away from all around them?” [Al-Ankabout: 67]

The Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his family-  made the feeling of security in society one of the aspects of happiness and contentedness. He said: “He who feels secure in his household, in perfect health, and in possession of his day’s food is like the one who possesses the whole world.” [Narrated by Termithi and ibn Majah]

All this – O Servants of Allah-  is but one of the advantages of social security. It is positively reflected on the whole Ummah and it will thus look proud and powerful because of the coherence and unity of its members who observe love and affection for each other as well as exhortation, mutual help, cooperation, protection, forgiveness, justice, fairness and tolerance for wrongdoers.
     
Social security is a necessity for enjoying a prosperous and affluent life, happiness, moral rectitude, progress and advancement.  The Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah are not lacking in texts about this; they both stress the importance of social security and urge Muslims to maintain it so that the whole society may enjoy peace and tranquillity and be able to administer Allah’s law and utilise the earth and bring growth and prosperity to it with the purpose of upholding welfare and righteousness.
 
This – O Servants of Allah-  will not be possible without mutual help, righteousness and taqwa and avoiding sinful acts and transgression.

“Help you one another in Al¬Birr and At¬Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Severe in punishment.” [Al-Ma’idah: 2]

O Muslim Ummah!

The most fundamental basis of social security is fraternity in faith which gives the community a firm and unshakable grounding. Love, altruism, mutual protection, cooperation and well-wishing will thus spread in the community, and so will numerous forms of beneficence such as good treatment of parents, relatives and neighbors; social solidarity, caring for orphans, widows and the destitute; seeking to allay people’s misery, seeing to their needs, paying off their debts, and allowing more time for the debt-ridden if in financial distress, conceal the wrongdoer’s misdeeds from being revealed to the public, etc. Allah Almighty said:

“The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islâmic religion).” [Al-Hujarat: 10]

He also said: “The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another” [Al-Tawbah: 71]

The Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him-  said: “The truest in faith among Muslims is the one who does not hurt other Muslims with his tongue or with his hand.” [Narrated by Al-Tabarani with a good chain of narration]

He – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him-  also said: “The true believer is the one with whom people feel secure in their lives and possessions.” [Narrated by Ahmad and al-Termithi]

The Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him-  also said: “The dearest people to Allah are the most beneficial (to others), and the best deeds are those that bring happiness to a Muslim, lift off his misery, pay off his debt, or abate his hunger.” [Narrated by Al-Tabarany with a good chain of narration]

True fraternity in faith is one of the most fundamental bases of spreading social security whereby each Muslim feels that he is living in a community whose members are good-natured, merciful, compassionate, loving, resilient, pitiful, and helpful. They reward and help the beneficent, conceal the wrongs of the wrongdoer and have pity for him; they do not expose him, treat him harshly or drive him away from the community; they do not help Satan against him, for he is still their brother.
 
From all the foregoing will emerge a secure, coherent and formidable society. Describing such society, the Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his family-  said: “In their mutual love, mercy and compassion, the believers are like a (single) body.” [Narrated by Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim]

The feeling – O servants of Allah-  of stability, security and good treatment is not restricted to Muslims. Nay! It is a guaranteed right to all the followers of other faiths who live among Muslims, such as the Jews, the Christians, the covenanters, and those granted official protection, for Islam guarantees their security, livelihood, and stability. It makes sure that they are treated in a just, fair, compassionate, and benevolent way. Allah – May He be exalted-  said:

“Allâh does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allâh loves those who deal with equity” [Al-Mumtahinah: 8]

Ibn Omar – May Allah be pleased with him and his father-  had a Jewish neighbour. Whenever he wanted to give food or gifts in charity, he would begin with him. He used to ask people to treat him well.

This is a bright and shining image of the merits of Islam and its keenness on spreading social security to all Muslims and non-Muslims living on Muslim territory. Where are those who falsely accuse Islam of terrorism and level unfounded charges against Muslims!?

O Muslims!

Social security will not be achieved across all social segments unless Allah’s sharia is unequivocally enforced and given power and authority by the state. This may give it firmness and comprehensiveness that people may feel tranquil and their minds are set at ease, and that each citizen feels safe about his religion, his life and his family. Thus, he may enjoy freedom, dignity and pride.

This explains why sharia accords to the Muslim ruler and emir great respect and a high status. It makes it incumbent on the subjects to show him obedience (in what is righteous), respect and veneration. It prohibits disobedience or rising against the ruler, exposing his mistakes with the aim of stirring the masses against him, and this may undermine social security, spread chaos and unrest and thus destroy one of most fundamental bases of the social security edifice.

A secure society is the one that is based on obedience to Allah, His Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his family-  and the rulers. He who obeys the Emir (leader) will have obeyed the Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his family-  and he who obeys the Prophet, will have obeyed Allah.  Allah curbs through the ruler’s authority what cannot be curbed through the Qur’an.

Sharia urges and orders that love, compassion and trust be forged between the subjects and their ruler, between the governed and the governor so that the Ummah may live in total security and in the umbrageous shade of stability, empowerment, and resolve.

O Muslims!

There is another crucial matter that affects greatly the security of society, namely the fact that an individual does not live alone in society in order to achieve only his own personal interests. For a true, mindful Muslim feels that he is responsible for himself, his family, his society, his Ummah, and his homeland. He is responsible for maintaining security and stability, for all that would keep the Ummah’s faith, dignity, and status, especially during the successive attacks, and the mad media campaigns launched by the enemies of the Ummah. These are attacking the Ummah’s creed and firmly-fixed principles and distorting the image of those who are in charge of its protection in the country of the two Holy Mosques as well as in other Muslim countries.

If every individual in the Ummah feels that he is directly responsible for the protection of his own faith and the very existence of his Ummah and homeland, this will make him a positive and useful element both to himself and his own society. He will become conscious of the dangers surrounding his faith, his homeland, and his Ummah. Being a conscientious and responsible individual, he would neither cheat nor betray his Ummah. He would not work as a spy or supporter to its enemies, nor would he be a helper to the corruptors or malevolent. Rather, he would be an active participant in keeping the security of the society by resisting the aggression of every aggressor and plotter from within or from outside.

Feeling responsible at both the individual and societal levels is one of the most important bases of establishing a secure, stable, mindful, and coherent society. All shall be questioned about the blessing of security: whether they thanked Allah for it and strived to protect it, or not?

“Then, on that Day, you shall be asked about the delight (you indulged in, in this world)!” [Al-Takathur: 8]

Ibn Abbas – May Allah be pleased with him and his father-  and Qatadah said, explaining the meaning of the word ‘delight’ in the verse above: “It means security and health.” It is stated in the two Sahih Books (those of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim) that the Prophet – May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him and his family-  said: “Every one of you is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. The Imam (ruler) is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects; man is a guardian among his family members and is responsible for his subjects; woman is a guardian in her husband’s house and is responsible for her subjects; a slave is a guardian in his master’s property and is responsible for his subjects; man is a guardian in his father’s property and is responsible for his subjects. Every one of you is therefore a guardian and is responsible for his subjects.”

May Allah bless you and me by the recitation of the Glorious Qur’an and may He make its wise verses beneficial to you and me! I say this, and I ask Allah, the Almighty, the Glorious to forgive me, you, and all Muslims! So ask Him for forgiveness and repent unto Him, for our Lord is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful!