By Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat – 19 Rajab 1436

His Eminence Sheikh Osama ibn Abdullah Khayyat –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday Khutbah entitled “The Struggle between Truth and Falsehood” in which he talked about this interminable and continuous struggle between Truth and Falsehood. In addition to clarifying its aspects and some of its manifestations with reference to the Holy Book and the Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. The Sheikh also pointed out to some of the contemporary manifestations of this struggle.

Due praise be to Allah Who decreed that glory, victory, and prevalence be the ally of the soldiers of truth till the Day of Last Judgement! I praise Him –May He be exalted– for He supports the persevering and truthful believers with irrevocable triumph! I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no associate. He raises to higher ranks whomever He wills and downgrades to lower ranks whomever He wills, by virtue of His prevalent Might. He is the All-Powerful, the Invincible. I equally bear witness that our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, is His Servant and Messenger. He performed Jihad in the cause of Allah until he departed this worldly life. O Allah! Send Your bountiful Ṣalat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy), Peace (and Blessing) upon your Servant and Messenger Muhammad, his family, Companions, thetabicīn (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salatand Peace be upon him] after his death), and whoever follows him piously till the Day of Last Judgement!

Now then!

O Servants of Allah! Observe Taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah), feel His omnipresence and return to Him in repentance. Whoever adheres to Taqwa will be assigned success and will have made provision for salvation in the hereafter.

“And fear the Day (of Judgement) when no person shall avail another, nor shall compensation be accepted from him, nor shall intercession be of use to him, nor shall they be helped.” [Al-Baqarah: 123]

O Muslims!

The battle which Allah Has decreed to resist abatement and withstand the test of time is the one between Truth and falsehood, guidance and misguidance, and faith and disbelief. Its flame never subdues and its flare can never be extinguished. In fact, it is bound to remain ablaze till the day Allah inherits the earth and its occupants. This battle represents the rebellion of good in opposition to evil in all its manifestations, regardless of its diverse affiliations, numerous mobilised supporters, convoluted machinations, and imminent perils. As a matter of course, this battle is not new; it is rather a series of episodic cycles deeply entrenched in history.This is attested to by the verses of the Holy Qur’an and declaimed by the Benevolent Lord to keep us informed about its significance so that seekers of moral lessons can gain lucid insights into it and thus remember Allah, and the pious can benefit from it in order to orientate their lives towards the path of guidance.

Consider the intifada of Ibrahῑm (Abraham) –Allah’s close companion [Peace be upon him]– to smash the idols with which his people were obsessed and to salvage them from the abyss of such conspicuous misguidance. He wanted religion to be wholeheartedly dedicated to Allah Who must be worshipped solely on earth.

As a reaction, however, the advocates of deceit violently opposed this plea for Truth, using their lethal weapons to inflict detrimental harm on him. They even threw him alive into a blazing fire. Nevertheless, this campaign just failed to attain its planned scheme. Allah ‒May He be exalted– has made that clear in a Qur’anic text to be recited by forthcoming generations, which will eternally commit to memory the idea that victory, in the final analysis, is always granted to Truth and that defeat is the end of falsehood.

“They said: “Burn him and help your aliha (gods), if you will be doing.” We, (Allah) said: “O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim (Abraham)!” And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers. And We rescued him and Lout (Lot) to the land which We have blessed for the ‘Alamîn (mankind and jinns). And We bestowed upon him Ishaque (Isaac), and (a grandson) Ya’qûb (Jacob). Each one We made righteous.” [Al-Anbiya’: 68-72]

And consider the battle of Truth whose banner was raised by Mūsa (Moses) –Peace be upon him– to combat falsehood as epitomised by the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt who was so arrogant and vicious that he said to his people (as is eternally recorded in the Holy Qur’an): “… I know not that you have an ilah (a god) other than me,…” [Al- Qaṣaṣ: 38]

He even said to them: “… “I am your lord, most high.” [Al-Naziaat: 24]

Threatening to penalise the advocates and followers of Truth by inflicting on them the worst forms of torture, he equally added: “We will kill their sons, and let live their women, and we have indeed irresistible power over them.” [Al-Aaraf: 127]

However, Allah willedthatTruth be triumphant and falsehood be defeated leading to the eventualperil of the Pharaoh and his army whereas Mūsa and his followers were salvaged. This is recorded by Allah –May He be exalted‒ in His Holy Qur’an:

“Then We inspired Mûsa (Moses) (saying): “Strike the sea with your stick.” And it parted, and each separate part (of that sea water) became like the huge, firm mass of a mountain. Then We brought near the others [Fir’aun’s (Pharaoh) party] to that place. And We saved Mûsa (Moses) and all those with him.Then We drowned the others. Verily! In this is indeed a sign (or a proof), yet most of them are not believers. And verily, your Lord! He is truly the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.” [Al-Shu’ara’: 63-68]

As to the dispossessed from among Mūsa’s community, they were benevolently rewarded by Allah through granting them the imamate (leadership of the believers) on earth, empowerment, and victory over the malefactors, the oppressors, and the tyrants.

“And We wished to do a favour to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land, and We let Fir’aun (Pharaoh) and Haman and their hosts receive from them that which they feared.” [Al-Qaṣaṣ: 5-6]

Still consider another battle of Truthagainst falsehood. It was the one which fired up between, on the one hand, the Seal of the Prophets and Imam of the Messengers (Prophet Muhammad –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) and, on the other, Abu Jahl, the notables of his Quraish tribe, and their followers whose misdeeds predestined them to failure.

Totally disorientated by their wretched minds and thwarted by their constant mishaps, they had the illusion that they could extinguish “the light of Allah with their mouths” and stop the tide of Truth which invaded them in their own homes. However, only what Allah decreed eventually took place: His religion prevailed, His soldiers triumphed over pretence, and His enemy was defeated and rooted out.

The ultimate manifestation of such a victory was when the Prophet of Guidance –May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– reached this blessed and Holy Mosque standing in front of this venerated and sanctified House of Allah, and started tossing away idols from its premises, reciting the following Holy Words of his Lord ‒Glory to Him:

“And say: “Truth (i.e. Islamic Monotheism or this Qur’an or Jihadagainst polytheists) has come and Batil (falsehood, i.e. Satan or polytheism, etc.) has vanished. Surely! Batil is ever bound to vanish.” [Al-Isra’: 81]

Nowadays, Muslims’ battle in Palestine, the land of pride, Syria, the land of dignity, and Yemen, the land of wisdom and faith, is but one of the episodes of this continuous battle between Truth and falsehood. It is a vivid representation of the confrontation between, on the one hand, Truth which seeks to defend its religion, sanctified sites and beliefs, in addition to protecting its freedom, pride, and human dignity, and, on the other hand, falsehood as usurper, oppressor, transgressor,violator of sanctuaries, strainer of sacred things, and from whose injustice and aggression yelled the earth and heavens.

This battle ‒O Servant of Allah‒ is a long-term process which involves incurring multiple wounds and huge sacrifice.However, just like it was in the past a victory for the Truth, a defeat for falsehood, empowerment for the believers, and humiliation, belittlement, and downfall for aggressors and tyrants, it will also be today –Allah willing– glory, triumph, and prevalence for Islam and Muslims. It will hoist the banner of Truth and subdue the criminals, the envious and the tyrants. It is one of Allah’s graces and bounteous blessings He bestows upon whomever He chooses from among His servants. It is also an ordainment from the Mighty and the All-Wise –May He be exalted– and guidance, gentle counsel, and remembrance for those who would like to remember.

This is noticeable in the graces bestowed by Allah upon this blessed country –the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia‒May Allah protect it from all evil– and upon its sister countries in the Arab-Muslim alliance for the rescue of Yemen. It is namely perceptible in the success of operation ‘Decisive Storm’ in achieving its objectives and in being lately crowned by the ‘Restoration of Hope’ whose wide scope is visibly expanding through boosting the morale and infusing new blood into its veins.

Allah’s graces are also clearly visible in the extreme dedication, potent support, and blessed rescue efforts pioneered and aptly managed by the leadership of this honourable homeland, the land of the Two Holy Mosques. May Allah bestow on it further glory and honour, and may He generously reward its leader and ruler, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz! May Allah grant him and his brothers, the leaders of the Arab-Muslim alliance, abundant reward and generous recompense! May Allah grant him and them His full satisfaction, unremitting victory, providential protection, guidance to gain His approval, bountiful and plenteous graces! May Allah decree that he and his brothers be agents of victory for His religion, advocates of spreading His Holy Word and making it prevalent, and may He make them loyal soldiers in the cause of Allah! Verily, He is indeed Benevolent, Generous, Beneficent, Compassionate and Merciful.

May Allah benefit us all from the guidance of His Holy Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet –May Allah’s Salatand Peace be upon him! This being said, I beseech Allah, the Supreme and the Magnificent, to forgive my sins, yours, and those of all the Muslims! Verily, He is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful!