Islam:
The Upright Religion
by Imâm al-Madîna al-Munawarrah Salâh al-Budayr
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All
praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace
and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow
Muslims! Allaah’s favour on Muslims are countless. Among these
favours is that He made us the best community ever raised
up for the mankind.
Yes! Islaam is the complete religion and law. Its words are
decisive and its judgments are just. Whoever holds fast to
it prospers in this world and the next and whoever deviates
from it will have misery and hardship as his lot in this life
and the next. It is an upright religion whose teachings are
noble and characters are lofty. It is full of wisdom, incontestable
proofs and the only guidance for mankind.
“Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never
be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he will be one of
the losers.” (Aal ‘Imraan 3: 85)
It
is the only true religion on the surface of the earth; the
abrogator of earlier laws and systems. Whoever rejects it
is an infidel and the enemy of Allaah, His Messenger and the
believers and his final abode will be Hellfire. The Messenger
of Allaah said,
‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, if any of this people be
he a Jew or a Christian hears of me and yet does not believe
in what I was sent with, he will be among the dwellers of
Hellfire.’
Fellow
Muslims! However the enemies of Islaam toil to cripple Islaam
and Muslims, they will never succeed. Allaah says, “They
intend to put out the light of Allaah (the religion of Islaam)
with their mouths. But Allaah will complete His light even
though the disbelievers hate (it)” (As-Saff 61: 8)
To
corroborate this verse, the Messenger of Allaah said, ‘A
group among my nation shall continue standing firm on the
religion of Allaah. None of those who forsake or disgrace
them shall be able to harm them until they become victorious
over all people.’ (Muslim)
Brothers
in faith! We Muslims have never been in such need of self-examination
as we are in these days of crises and hardship. We are in
dire need of unity so as to wash away the filth of ignominy
that is presently our lot. We must go back to the pristine
sources of our great religion and follow their injunctions.
The Messenger of Allaah warned the Muslims of the causes of
degeneration and weakness when he said,
‘When you become preoccupied with transaction in credit and
are so engaged in cattle rearing and in crops that you abandon
jihad; Allaah will enforce an ignominy upon you and will not
remove it until you go back to your religion.’ (Abu Dawood)
We
must understand the causes of our problems and calamities
in the light of the Qur’an, the sunnah and the guidance of
our righteous predecessors. And while dealing with those problems,
we must be truthful, sincere and free from whimsical desires
and shirk. We must have confidence in Allaah and put our trust
in Him. He says,
“When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety
or fear they make it known (among the people), if only they
had referred it to the Messenger or to those charged with
authority among them, the proper investigators would have
understood it from them (directly). Had it not been for the
Grace and Mercy of Allaah upon you, you would have followed
Satan, save a few of you.” (An-Nisaa 4: 83)
Brothers
in faith! What is incumbent upon us Muslims when calamities
and trials befall us is to unite in order to protect our faith
and to cooperate with each other in piety and righteousness
in order to defeat the enemy. Allaah addresses us:
“And do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage
and your strength departs, and be patient. Surely, Allaah
is with those who are patient.” (Al-Anfaal 8: 46)
The
Messenger of Allaah said, ‘Allaah
is pleased with you when you do three things: He is pleased
that you worship Him without ascribing any partner to Him,
that you hold fast unto the rope of Allaah and that you are
not divided. He is displeased that you engage in gossip, much
(unnecessary) questions and wasting of money.”
Brothers
in Islaam! The relationship brought about by our religion
is the straightest relationship. It has its meanings and obligations
enshrined in the Qur’aan and sunnah. It is a relationship
that destroys disbelief and aggression. Allaah says,
“The believing men and women are supporters of one another,
they enjoin all that is good (on the people) and forbid all
that is evil. They perform salaah, give the zakaah and they
obey Allaah and His Messenger. These are ones upon whom Allaah
will have mercy. Surely, Allaah is Almighty All-Wise.” (At-Tawbah
9: 71)
The
Messenger of Allaah also said: ‘All Muslims are equal … and
they are united against their enemies.’ (Abu Dawood)
He
also emphasised the importance of Islaamic brotherhood when
he said, ‘Whoever
prays our prayer, faces our qiblah and eats our slaughtered
animal is a Muslim who is under the protection of Allaah and
His Messenger.’
He
also said, ‘The believers are like a structure whose different
parts strengthen one another.’ (Al-Bukharee)
Brothers
in faith! Each individual Muslim possesses a great sacredness
and high position in Islaam. We must give him this privilege
and not deny him of it whenever he falls in trouble. Ibn Umar
narrated that the Messenger of Allaah stood on the pulpit
one day, raised his voice and said,
‘O you who are Muslims by tongue and faith has not penetrated
your hearts! Do not harm Muslims nor pursue their imperfections
for whoever pursues the imperfections of his Muslim brother,
Allaah will pursue his imperfection and whosoever Allaah pursues
his imperfection, He will disgrace him.’ He also stressed
the sacredness of Muslim life when he said, ‘Indeed, the termination
of this world is of lesser importance to Allaah than the killing
of a Muslim man.’ (At-Tirmidhee)
Dear
brothers! Muslims today are facing different kinds of persecution
from all parts of the world; they are being killed, tortured
and expelled from their lands. In fact they are in pitiful
and deplorable situations.
Fellow
Muslims! One fact remains indisputable in view of our present
condition: we will never conquer our enemies unless we first
of all conquer our souls and whimsical desires. We can never
defeat our enemies unless we first of all implement the law
of Allaah in every aspect of our lives. The Messenger of Allaah
stressed this point when he said,
‘Nations will be on the verge of calling one another to attack
you as people call on one another to a plate of food.’ The
companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! Is it because we
will be few then?’ He replied, ‘No. You will rather be many
and will be in multitude like the scum floating on flood waters.
Your fear will be removed from the hearts of your enemies
and theirs will be put in your hearts.’ The companions said,
‘What is the cause of this?’ He answered, ‘Love for this worldly
life and the hatred of death.’ (Ahmad and others) |