Masjid Al-Taqwa- Lesson 44: Religion is life
- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
- /
- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Religion is life:
Dear noble brothers, we are about to celebrate the anniversary of Hijah (the Prophet's migration), so I would like to seize the opportunity to discuss some facts that we are familiar with. The first fact is: Islam is not about passive admiration; every Muslim admires and is proud of this religion, but this admiration is valueless if the Muslim does not apply the teachings of this religion. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I am but a follower; I am not an innovator."
The Muslim's admiration to religion is considered passive if he does seek obeying Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, in his actions. The bitter truth is that the 1 billion and 700 million Muslims on earth do not have the upper hand, and they do not have control over their own affairs. Not to mention, the other parties (enemies of Islam) have control over them in many ways. The miserable situation of the Muslim World that is presented on T.V proves this fact. The other party controls their own affairs, they do not have the upper hand and the other party dominates them in many ways.
Religion is not passive admiration, traditions, customs, or folklore, but rather it is about the permissible and impermissible, and it is a detailed way that embraces all aspects of life starting with the private relationship of the married couples and ending with the international relations. I am not exaggerating when I say that Islam contains about 500.000 items some of which are about how man should choose his wife, treat her, raise up his children, choose his profession, and treat other people and so on. Indeed, it is a detailed way of life, so those who narrow it down to the five acts of worship are gravely mistaken, because the Noble Prophet said:
(( On the authority of Abdullah Ibn of Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, "Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the Salah (prayer), paying the zakat (obligatory charity), making the hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadhan." ))
These are the pillars Islam has been built on, but they are not what Islam is all about, because Islam is a detailed way of life that starts with the private relationship of the married couple and ends with the international relations, so if we do not understand religion as such, we are far away from it.
The Divine Promises are pending:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth… ﴿
Believe the bitter truth and not the comfortable delusion to answer this question: have we been given succession in the earth? No, by Allah we have not.
﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them… ﴿
We have not been given succession in the earth.
﴾ As He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). ﴿
We do not have the authority to practise our religion.
﴾ And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear… ﴿
We are neither secured nor safe, and this is the bitter truth. We, Muslims, in the Muslim World have not been given succession in the earth, we do not have the authority to practise our religion and we are not safe, but why? The Ayah indicates the reason nearly at the end of it:
﴾ (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿
If the second party (Muslims) do not fulfill their religious duties toward Allah, Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, will not fulfill the three Divine Promises, and thus are pending.
Listen to the following Hadith, please:
(( Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The best number of companions is four, the best number in expeditions four hundred, and the best number in armies four thousand; and twelve thousand will not be overcome through smallness of numbers. ))
This Hadith is reported in Sihah:
(( …And twelve thousand will not be overcome through smallness of numbers. ))
The number of Muslims is about 1 billion and 700 million people, but as I have just said they do not have the upper hand, they do not have dominance over their own affairs, and they are under the control of their enemies. In fact, the Muslim World is facing a third World War that is used to be prepared for secretly, but nowadays it is launched publically.
Let me tell you the second fact: Annihilating the whole universe is easier to Allah than leaving His Promises to the believers unfulfilled. When faith is deeply rooted in the heart of the believer, it will be manifested in his activities.
Islam is not mere admiration of it, which is the case of most Muslims; they admire Islam, boasting about the fact that we are the Ummah of the two Revelations (the Noble Quran and the Sunnah), that we are the Ummah of the Master of all Prophets and Messengers, peace be upon them, and that we are the Ummah of the Miracle of the Noble Quran. How passive such admiration is!
If a patient goes to the doctor due to suffering from a curable chronic disease, and the doctor prescribes a certain medicine to him, will he recover if he reads the prescription correctly? Will he recover if he hangs it on the wall of his room? Absolutely, he will not. He will recover if he takes the medicine as prescribed to him. Similarly, we will never overcome our problems if we do not solve them using the proper means.
I would like to repeat the delicate point I have just mentioned: If faith is deeply rooted in the believer's heart, it will be represented through his actions, such as attending a religious lesson and establishing Islam in his household. The husband should be careful about the way his wife and daughters get dressed. Actually, every detail in the dressing code of the woman is related to her commitment to Islam, and it is a kind of Jihad (fighting) against one's own desires. Jihad is described as follows:
(( The peak of Islam is Jihad ))
Jihad is of many kinds: Jihad An-Nafs (fighting against one's own desires), Jihad Bina'i (the constructing Jihad, which is paying efforts to construct a powerful Muslim society), Jihad Da'awi (striving while calling people to Allah the Almighty) and Jihad Qitali (fighting in Allah's Cause). The problem of Muslims is that they only think of one kind of Jihad which is Jihad Qitali, whereas the concept of Jihad embraces many senses. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(( "We have come back from the lesser jihad to the greater Jihad." They said, "What is the greater Jihad?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, "The Jihad of the heart". ))
The meaning is controlling one's own desires, which is the first kind of Jihad. In addition to this kind, there is Jihad Bina'i, which is having constructing projects in your Ummah. Like constructing dams, reclamation of lands, offering jobs to people, and health insurance law for people. I repeat; there are Jihad Bina'i, Jihad Da'awi, and Jihad An-Nafs. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …But strive against them (by preaching) with the utmost endeavour, with it (the Qur'an). ﴿
The last one of these kinds of Jihad is Jihad Qitali. There are three kinds that precede Jihad in Allah's Cause; the first one which is the most important Jihad is fighting against one's desires, and then come Jihad Bina'i and Jihad Da'awi.
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, refers to the traits of the true believers in His following delicate Words in Ayah No. 72 of Surat Al-Anfal:
﴾ Verily, those who believed, and emigrated and strove hard and fought with their property and their lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help, – these are (all) allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH), you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate… ﴿
These words urge Muslims to move and take an action instead of the worthless passive admiration and glorification of this religion. To make this point clearer take the example of the illiterate son whose father is a well-known scholar; no matter how this son talks about his excellent father who has earned many great scientific degrees, his praising and admiration of his father will do him no good, but rather he will remain ignorant, and his ignorance will always be the reason of his backwardness.
Keep in mind that praising and glorification give no benefit to Muslims. Once, I had a meeting in Damascus with my closest brothers in faith, and I said to them, "No word of praising should be said. Instead, you should criticize the flaws, because only in this way we elevate." Praising a certain scholar is easy, and the latter likes it.
Unfortunately, people praise the scholar they admire to the point that they idolize him, which is wrong. The religiously deviated and extremist parties have common characteristics; they idolize human beings, they are easy on religious duties and obligations, they stick to their own opinions, they treat other people who have different opinions than theirs violently. You can notice these characteristics in all religiously deviated groups in the Muslim World: they treat their scholars as deities, they have few religious obligations and they are violent towards other people.
Loyalty and disavowal:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, those who believed, and emigrated and strove hard and fought with their property and their lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help, – these are (all) allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH), you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate… ﴿
This behavior is called loyalty and disavowal which some scholars consider as the sixth obligation in religion. Loyalty is to remain loyal and supportive to believers even if they are weak and poor and to disavow any support to the Mushrikeen (polytheists) even if they are powerful and wealthy.
﴾ …These are (all) allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH)… ﴿
Those who believe but did not migrate are like the Muslims who all they do is praising and glorifying Islam and scholars instead of applying Islam. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, expects Muslims to act and be positive not to have wishes and desires.
﴾ It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works evil, will have the recompense thereof… ﴿
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH), you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate. ﴿
The following Ayah is decisive concerning this point:
﴾ And those who disbelieve are allies to one another… ﴿
The enemies of Islam keep up late at night planning against Muslims to impoverish, misguide, corrupt and kill them. In the 1957, when Russia sent Laika, a female dog, to space, different countries all over the world denounced such a deed, feeling sorry for the dog and blaming Russia for exploiting it in its scientific discoveries. Ironically, when 450.000 people were killed, 400.000 people were missed, 400.000 people became disabled, 400.000 people migrated, and more than 10 million people became homeless, no one denied, denounced or condemned such crimes. This is the situation of the world around us, so if you do not disbelieve in Taghut, you are not considered a believer in Allah. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold… ﴿
Carter, a former American President, once visited Damascus, and I read the agenda of his visit which started with Ramallah, Tel Aviv, and then Damascus. During that visit, the first thing he did was paying a visit to the family of the Israeli captive Gilad Shalit, who was a priority in the president's agenda, while the 11.800 Palestinian captives in the Israeli prisons were neglected and forgotten. Did one family at least not deserve to be visited the same way of Gilad Shalit's family?
Pay attention to this Ayah, please:
﴾ Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not… ﴿
We did not believe in Allah's Words, but the current events prove them:
﴾ Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not… ﴿
Unless we disbelieve in Taghut, we won't be considered believers in Allah:
﴾ There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold… ﴿
The truth of migration:
The crucial truth which proves one's deep faith is migration. Migration teaches us to make use of the available means as if they are sufficient, and then put our trust in Allah the Almighty as if these means are not enough.
If you intend to travel to al-Aqba, as a believer, you will check the car carefully to make sure that everything in it works properly, such as the engine, the wheels, the oil and so on. This is how you make use of the available means. After that, you may say, "O Allah, You are the Guardian and Protector." This issue is critical in the sense that whoever makes use of the available means, depending on them completely, and forgetting about Allah the Almighty, will lose, and whoever neglects the available means mistakenly thinking that putting trust in Allah the Almighty is enough does not know the true meaning of Tawakkul (putting trust in Allah).
Once, our Master Umar, saw a group of people begging from other people, so he asked them, "Who are you?" They replied, "We are al-Mutawakilun (the ones who put their trust in Allah)." Upon hearing their reply Umar said, "You are liars. Al-Mutawakkel (singular of Mutawakkilun) is like the one who plants a seed in the soil, and then he puts his trust in Allah the Almighty."
In another incident, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, saw a camel afflicted with scabies, so he asked his owner, "O brother, what have you done to it so far?" The man said, "I have made Du'a to Allah for it, so that it may be cured." Then, Umar said, "Will you treat it with tar alongside the Du'a you have made?"
All we do is making Du'a to Allah saying, "O Allah, destroy our enemy and disrupt their unity", and so on. We keep making Du'a for half an hour without paying efforts to let our deeds and activities accord with Allah's Way, so this Du'a is in vain.
It was narrated in an old anecdote that a British man hired the donkey of someone, and the latter badmouthed the former using dirty words, so a man who knew the two was shocked at the words used by the owner of the donkey. He said to the one who hired the donkey, "Its owner is cursing you. Do you not hear him?" The man said, "Yes, I do, but I do not care as long as I am making use of his donkey." Likewise, no matter how many names you call the enemies of Islam referring to them as Zionists and colonizers, they do not care, because your words cause them no harm.
In fact, what Muslims do to their enemies is like the deed of the Bedouin whose camels were stolen before his eyes, but all he did was calling them names! Cursing the thieves did not stop them from stealing the camels nor did it get the camels back to their owner (the Bedouin).
Dear noble brothers, Hijrah (the migration) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, teaches us many moral lessons, one of which is how to make use of the available means. He, peace be upon him, asked for the help of a Mushrik to guide him, which means that we can benefit from the experience of the other party. Also, the Prophet, peace be upon him, walked along the coastal way with As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, to misguide the chasers. Furthermore, he appointed someone to tell him the news in his absence, and someone else's mission was to erase his trace in the sand.
If you read the lessons of Hijrah attentively, you will notice how the Prophet, peace be upon him, made use of all the available means, and then he put his trust in Allah, Lord of all lords. Hence, we, Muslims, should make use of the available means as if they are sufficient for us, and then we should put our trust in Allah the Almighty as if these means are useless. Bear in mind that making use of the available means mark one's faith, while neglecting them marks one's Shirk.
Concerning Isra' and Mi'raj (the Night Journey of the Prophet, peace be upon him) things are different. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him] [Tafsir Qurtubi, Vol. 10, Page 204] Who took His slave (Muhammad PBUH) for a journey by night… ﴿
The Prophet, peace be upon him, went from Makkah to Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem), and then he ascended to heaven in a second. He could have traveled from Makkah to Madinah the same way, but the Divine Wisdom is:
﴾ …In order that We might show him (Muhammad PBUH) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.)… ﴿
The wisdom is to show us the right way of dealing with matters. So, Hijrah teaches us to make use of all the available means just like the Prophet, peace be upon him, who was careful about every detail. He hired three men: the first one to erase his traces, the second one to bring him the news, and the third one to bring him food and water. Moreover, he, peace be upon him, took the coastal way, and he hid in Thawr Cave with Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. Listen to what happened to them there:
(( Abu Bakr narrated: I said to the Prophet (peace be upon him) while I was in the Cave. "If any of them should look under his feet, he would see us." He said, "O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two (persons) the third of whom is Allah?" ))
The main point is to make use of all the means you have, but never depend on them to succeed, because you should depend on and trust in Allah Alone. This is the critical issue. Hence, our reading of Hijrah lessons should not be shallow.
While the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, were running away from their chasers, Suraqah succeeded in following them. Killing the Noble Prophet was declared in Quraish lawful, and a reward of 100 camels would be given to whoever brought him, peace be upon him, whether dead or alive.
When Suraqah was able to follow the Noble Prophet, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him, "O Suraqah, I wonder how you will feel like when you put on the bracelets of Khosrau on your wrists" As if the Noble Prophet, who was chased, threatened to be killed, and was wanted alive or dead for a 100 camel reward, assured Suraqah, "I am sure that Allah will save me, and I will reach Al-Madinah, establish a state there, establish an army, fight the two most powerful empires in the world, defeat them and then the loots of Khosrau will be brought to me. O Suraqah, I will give you his bracelets." Allah's Promise to the Prophet, peace be upon him, was fulfilled at the era of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who called for Suraqah bin Malik and put Khosrau's bracelets on his wrists, so Suraqah said in amazement, "Bravo! Bravo! A humble Arabian from Bani Mudlij puts on Khosrau's bracelets!"
Teminating the whole universe is easier to Allah than unfilfilling His Promises to the believers. How about the people who resist the zionists in Palestine? I think they are group of believers and not a country. Yet, they were able to manufacture a plane that flew above Tel Aviv and bombed specific important targets. Their surprizing achievemnts prove Allah's Words concerning His Promises to the beleivers. Their resistence was unbelieveable; I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the balance of power was disturbed in earth by some people who are an organization, but not a state, or an army. Those people could manufacture a plane that could bomb delicate targets. It seems that Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, assures us saying: Do not worry, I exist and all affairs are under My Control.
The successive crises that occur in the Ummah cause what I may call the culture of despair, helplessness, and deadlock, which is dangerous because it paralyzes and finishes the Ummah. Due to this culture, Muslims stop believing that true victory can be achieved. They belie the achievement of positive things, because they are desperate and helpless. However, Allah the Almighty refreshes us by three refreshers: The first one turning a Kafir hostile state towards Islam into a secular state. The second refresher is granting victory to a group of people (Palestinians) who could defeat in 2006 and 2012 the fourth best army in the world and the most powerful army in the region (i.e. The Israeli army in Palestine). The third refresher is the finical crisis which caused by the mortgage crisis. This is how Allah the Almighty pacifies us and makes us optimistic.
Dear noble brothers, success lies in putting our trust in Allah the Almighty after making use of the available means. Concerning this point, you can get help from a Mishrik to learn from him, why not? A famous Egyptian author was asked, "What should we take from the western civilization?" He replied, "Take what lies in their mind and leave what lies in their ownselves." We can benefit from their scientific achievements and leave their moral deviation and debauchery. If we imitate them in fulfilling forbidden pleasures and in moral deviation, leaving their breakthroughs, then this is the biggest catastrophe ever. I ask Allah the Almighty to guide us to whatever is good for us.
