By Sh Saud Al-Shureim – 22 Shaban 1435

His Eminence Sheikh Saud Al-Shureim – may Allah protect him – delivered this Khutbah entitled “Warning against Aggressing Muslims” in which he spoke about how Almighty Allah honoured Adam’s children (i.e. mankind). He stressed that among the biggest duties and rights between Muslims is to refrain from committing acts of aggression against one another, their personal properties or reputations. To substantiate his argument, the Sheikh cited evidence from the Holy Qur’ān and the Noble Sunnah.

Praise is due to Allah, the Great, the Sublime, the All-Powerful, the Sovereign, and the Glorious:

“He has created the heavens and the earth with truth. He makes the night to go in the day and makes the day to go in the night…” [Al-Zumar: 5]

“…He has created everything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements” [Al-Furqān: 2]

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone with no associate. He owns sovereignty, power, and perfection. I equally bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Servant and Messenger. He is known for his perfect traits, affection and compassion for the believers, kind-heartedness, and truthfulness in speech. May Allah send His Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon him, his wives (mothers of the believers), family, Companions, and all those who follow in their footsteps until the Day of Judgement.

Now then!

I advise you -O people- as well as myself to observe taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah), for it is the provisions of the believer in his journey to Allah, in his pursuit of intimate companionship amidst the wilderness, and in his immunity against the perils of dire afflictions and sable nights. Whoever opts for taqwa as a lantern illuminating his path and adopts it, in secret and in public, as a code of conduct will never be disappointed:

“…And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness, etc.). So fear Me, O men of understanding!” [Al-Baqarah: 197]

O People!

Allah indeed honoured Man, created him in the most perfect shape, and privileged him greatly over many of His other creatures. He has furnished him with divine light that distinguishes him from among his peers if he believes in his Lord and beneficently submits to Him. Thus, by embracing the Islamic faith, Man will acquire more dignity and honour and will accordingly be entitled to a set of rights from his brothers and sisters in faith, and will equally be accountable for a set of duties towards them.

One of the most important duties the Muslim individual has vis-à-vis his Muslim brother (or sister) is to avoid committing any acts of aggression against him and to abide by Allah’s command as to how to deal with him. As a matter of fact, every Muslim has the right to preserve his Five Essentials of life in Islam: ‘Deen’ (religion), ‘Nafs’ (life), ‘Māl’ (property), ‘Aql’ (intellect), ‘Irdh’ (honour), and (the sixth) ‘Nasab’ (lineage). This is based on the hadith of the Truthful and Credible (Prophet Muhammad ‒may Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him): “The entirety of a Muslim’s (following essentials of life) are forbidden for another Muslim: his blood (i.e. killing him), property, and honour.” [Reported by Imam Muslim]

Therefore, you should not trespass on the property of your Muslim brother through theft, acquisition by force, or unlawful exploitation without his express consent; nor should you offend him through defamation or vilification of his honour. In addition, you must not engage in hostile action detrimental to his reason by imposing on him a mode of thinking that causes him to deviate from Allah’s commands or by inciting him to take to alcohol and to drugs and narcotics, while these would impair his intellect which Allah has honoured him with. You should not aggress the sanctity of his blood (i.e. kill him), except in cases ordained by Allah; neither should you falsely attribute children to him or falsely trace him back to other than his own parentage.

Therefore, any act of violation of any of the Muslims’ rights – whether as individuals or groups – is considered an act of aggression which Allah has interdicted in the following words:

“…but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allâh likes not the transgressors. [This Verse is the first one that was revealed in connection with Jihâd, but it was supplemented by another (V.9:36)].” [Al-Baqarah: 190]

Therefore, O servants of Allah, any form of violation of Muslims’ rights – whether minor or major – is indeed considered a sinful act of aggression and a violation of Allah’s ordinances. Both the aggressor and those who assist him, regardless of their number ‒be they few or numerous – are held accountable before Allah Who says:

“…Help you one another in Al¬Birr and At¬Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression…” [Al-Mā’idah: 2]

Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) did warn whoever assists those who commit aggression against the intellect when he said: “Allah cursed wine, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its brewer, the one ordering its brewing, its carrier, its recipient, and the beneficiary of its price.” [Reported by Abu Dawood and Al-Hākim]

Aggression, O servants of Allah, is a base characteristic motivated by rancour and disdain of Allah’s rights as well as His servants’. It is a scorching fire which scalds both individuals and groups and which is kindled by contempt, depreciation of others’ rights, and lack of fear of Allah’s chastisement. In this respect, Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) said: “Suffice it for an individual to be taxed with malevolence to despise his Muslim brother.” [Reported by Imam Muslim]

If the warning above just pertains to contempt, which is already a symptom of moral baseness, how will it be like when aggression is committed against property, life, intellect, honour and lineage?

“And whoever commits that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire, and that is easy for Allâh.” [Al-Nissā’: 30]

Aggression, O servants of Allah, means demolition of solidarity, an axe deployed for the destruction of the lofty edifice of security and comfortable living. Aggression is total evil, malevolence and destruction both lexically and semantically. It means destruction rather than construction, injustice rather than justice, disunity rather than unity, along with egotism where the aggressor considers only his own interests even if they are made at the detriment of other people’s lives. Thus, he would kill to survive, steal to enjoy a comfortable life, do injustice to feel happy at the expense of those killed, stolen, or transgressed. Some of the aggressors may seek justification in popular maxims such as: “Eat or be eaten” or “Be a wolf or else wolves would devour you.”

Servants of Allah! With aggression fear spreads and security disappears. Aggression triggers wars, claims innocent lives, devastates production, and annihilates the human species. Aggression, servants of Allah, represents the law of the jungle where the strong eat the weak and where wild predators devour defenceless animals.

Since Allah has honoured the children of Adam, He prohibited that they drag themselves low to the rank of beasts which have neither intellect nor can they make fair judgement. Had Man kept his wits about him and was not inadvertent of the Greatness of his Creator and that He is All-Powerful and Avenger, he would not have insulted people, usurped their property, or fought them. Nevertheless, the absence of such an intrinsic drive will not exempt aggressors from divine wrath and chastisement reserved for wrongdoers who transgress Allah’s limits and the limits of others.

Since Islam has prohibited aggression, it has also prohibited all means leading to or encouraging it, be they minor or major, such as fanaticism, sectarianism, denigration, provocation, disturbance, and sowing dissention. All such means are likely to kindle the fire of conflicts and devastating wars.

(The Sheikh reads a line of poetry paraphrased as follows):

Fire is kindled by dried sticks,
While wars started as words.

Wars are often triggered by fanaticism and excessive pride but they end in total disaster and destruction. Imam Bukhari reported in his Sahîh Book that our salaf (i.e. early pious generations of Muslims) invoke the following poetic verses by Imru’ al-Qais whenever an affliction befell them:

(Again, the Sheikh cites three lines of poetry paraphrased as follows):

War first starts in the guise of a female in prime age,
Ornamented, and dating every ignorant fellow!
But as soon as it breaks out and its flame is kindled,
It is reduced to a crone separated from her spouse,
Extremely ugly, whose complexion is defaced by age,
And odour is repulsive, quite unfit for kissing.

Therefore, Allah commanded us to carry out justice and righteousness and forbade injustice and aggression so that people may be able to lead a decent life filled with accord and brotherhood and feel their obligations vis-à-vis one another.

Any time the Ummah lapsed into negligence Satan would jump in to incite discord, stoke the fire of aggression, oppression, hatred, bloodshed, and corruption on earth, and to divide its members into factions that would assault and curse one another.

It is for this reason that the Sheikh of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah ‒may Allah have mercy on his soul‒ said: “A believer is one who would carry out justice and kindness whenever possible, and in case of defeat, he would endure and sacrifice in anticipation of Allah’s reward.”

Still in this context, and with reference to such believers, Ka’b Ibn Zuhair once said in the presence of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him):

They are neither too joyful when triumphant,
Nor are they sorrowful when defeated.

An Arab was once asked about the reaction of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) in such circumstances, and he said: “I saw him carry the day, but he would not show arrogance. I also saw him in defeat and he would not get vexed over it.”

In fact some of the infidels among the Quraishis were called Aṭṭulaqā’ (the free) because the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) said to them, while at the peak of his victory and still remembering how they drove him out of his homeland (Makkah), “Depart; you are free to go.”

“Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad ) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful (128). But if they turn away, say (O Muhammad): “Allah is sufficient for me. La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), in Him I put my trust and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.” [Al-Taubah: 128- 129]

May Allah bless you and me by the Glorious Qur’ān and make its verses and wise words beneficial to you and me! This is what I have said. If it is correct, it is so thanks to Allah, but if it is wrong, it is my own fault and Satan’s. I ask Allah to forgive my sins, yours, and those of all the Muslims, so ask Him for forgiveness, for He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful!