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- Friday Sermons
We need a rationalized generation who is healthy, purified and wise:
Dear brother, our nation is in need of a generation that will be able to elevate it high among other nations. Such a generation should be healthy, purified and wise; it should be structured properly to make a balance between materialism and spiritualism, needs and values, between a good worldly life and a good hereafter. This generation will make man a privileged one to be able to see things that none can see and feel. It is a generation that is rational enough, wise and has a big heart. Such generation should be strong, solid, its targets are superior to its needs, it controls its own self and its desires, controlled by values without trying to subject them to fit its interests or make fun of them, it should understand this great religion, apply it properly to its daily life and know how to show it to other people using the proper methods. The last point reminds me of what a well known American scientist, who has embraced Islam, said when he met the members of the Muslim Community in the U.K, "I cannot believe that the Muslim world can catch up with the West seeing it from a narrow perspective.. Perhaps the reason is the widening gap between the two worlds, but I deeply believe that one day the whole world will be at the Muslims’ feet. This is not because they are powerful, but because Islam is absolutely the redemption of the whole world. However, this can come true only if Muslims understand Islam, apply it properly and know how to show it to other people. " This is what you are supposed to do; to understand Islam properly, apply it properly and make it known to other people properly.Dear brother, Islam is a moderate religion; no extremism, no deviation, no transgression and no weakness. It is midway between disgusting materialism and dreaming spiritualism, between the bitter realism and the imaginative idealism, between the tyrant individualism and the overwhelming collectivism, between steady stability and troublous changing, between the urging needs and the far values, between the cold rationalism and the firing emotionalism and between the physical needs and the spiritual requirements.
When man is structured in such a good way, he can be presented to the good of humanity as a privileged man in society. This is the main goal of education. Dear brother, believe me I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we can defeat the nuclear bomb with a nuclear one when we have a promising generation who believes in the aims of its nation.
Children may go astray when the father is busy for the worldly life:
Dear brother, the Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said,
"It is sin enough for a man that he neglects someone whom he is supposed to feed. "
Whom does he feed? His children; he gets them food and clothes, and he cares about their studies. However, he may not care about how strong their faith is and what kind of friends they have,
"It is sin enough for a man that he neglects someone whom he is supposed to feed. "
Dear brother, when the father neglects his children and works for his worldly life instead, his children could go astray. they will run to the dirty satellite channels, as well as the web pages on the internet which revolve around pornography. A number of researchers have studied scientifically the theft, rape, individual and collective killing and violence murders. They have found that pornography has remote and remarkable effects on all murders, let alone that forty million people suffer from AIDS nowadays. Twenty two million people died during the last two decades because of this disease. It is the disease of pornography and the loss of morals.
A father may lead his son to stray when he does not raise him according to the true Islamic teachings, when he does not implement in him the good morals, when he does not lead him to the Divine world or when he does not introduce him to the moderate and balanced Islam, which is the same of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and his honored companions.
He may also get his son lost when he does not observe the details of his daily life. The father may have no idea about what kind of friends his son has or with whom he is spending his evenings. Your son may meet some extremists or immoral people. Both kinds of people are extremists. Puritanical extremism starts with takfeer to end up with bombing, while the other kind of extremism starts with pornography and ends up with immoral deterioration.
extremism in religion:
Avoiding extremism in religion:
Dear brother, all what I want you to do is to avoid extremism in Islam. Almighty Allah says,"Do not exceed the limits in your religion"
Exceeding the limits in our religion is the subject matter of our sermon today. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him said,"O you people, beware of being extreme and exceeding the limits in the religion, for that which destroyed the people before you was none other than extremism in the religion. "
The meaning of gholu is exceeding the limits. When you exceed the limits, you commit gholu. The limit we have is represented by the Shar’ai texts. They are the Sayings of Allah Most High and the authentic ones of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. These texts must be understood according to the rules of Usul al-Fiqh. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an,
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His
Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. "
The believer should not rationale Quranic ayah and Prophetic texts:
At many conferences, people agree that some clauses should not to be disputed or debated, for they are steady and can never be changed. Similarly, the sayings of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. They are considered eternal values and principles. Thus, the believer is not allowed to rationalize Allah's Ruling which is included in the Noble Qur'an, nor is he allowed to question the authentic Hadiths which contain Allah’s Sayings. The believer should never rationalize these texts,
"I have left amongst you two things. You will not go astray so long as you hold fast to them. These are the Book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His Messenger."
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. "
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. "
The most accurate interpretation I have ever read of the above mentioned ayah is the one of Imam Shaf'i. Who are the ones in authority? Imam Shaf’i said, "The scientists and those who are in authority; the scientists know the orders and the people in authority implement them. " As if this great Imam refers to the cooperation between the scientists and the kings; the scientists know the orders and the people in authority implement them.Stay away from the extremist who chooses texts that suit his interests:
Dear brother, if you want to be true Muslims and belong to the moderate and complete Islam, to the one spread by the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, you should make a link between the Qur’anic and the Prophetic texts. You should not prefer one to the other, apply some of them and neglect the sh3er, or work according to a paragraph of a text and ignore the other paragraphs. The extremists will distort the texts when they pick those that suit their exaggeration and shed the light on them, while they totally ignore the texts that contradict their extremism. They stick to the ayat that may highlight their exaggeration, so they interpret them on the basis of their interests to make their extremism seem like the right thing, while they intentionally ignore the ayat which contradict their extremism. When it comes to the ayat which refer to their extremism, they will give them meanings that differ from the ones Allah intends.
Concerning the Hadiths, those extremists depend on the weak and the invented ones, and they reject the authentic Hadiths, for they reveal their extremism. They depend on any saying that supports their ideas exceeding by that the methodological basis. If you want to transmit something, you have to prove it. If you claim that something is correct, then you should give the proof. Your ideas should be supported by the proofs, and the text you transmit should be correct.
Dear brother, as you notice the extremist chooses the texts that suit him just like those who depended on their opinion. Those people modify the texts the way they like instead of making them their basic reference. Also they believe, then they deduce instead of doing the opposite. We have to look for the proofs before believing. Deduction should be the first step not the second one; it should come before believing.
Types of exceeding the limits in religion:
1- Doctrinal extremism:
Dear brother, there are two major types of extremism; the first one is the doctrinal extremism. This type means that the extremists make a part of Islam the whole Deen. The second type has to do with the extremists of one branch of the Islamic Deen. They make such branch the root, and they look down to those who are concerned with the other branches of the religion. Imam Ash-Shatibi, may Allah have mercy upon him, referred to these two types of extremism in his agreements. It is obvious that Islam has many aspects; the doctrinal, the behavioral and the psychological. If one of these aspects exceeds its limits at the expense of the other, we call this extremism. The heart has its own needs, the mind has its own needs and the body has its own needs. What is extremism? It is when you think that the human being is structured from mind only, so you nourish the mind and neglect the heart.
The other type of extremism is when you think that heart is the most essential part in man, so you nourish it ignoring the other parts. The third extremism is when you think that the body is all what man is made of, so sensual desires should be satisfied. The West is trapped by the materialistic extremism, while we are trapped by two types of extremism; the first type makes the mind superior to the, and the second one makes the text submitted to the heart only. Man is made of a mind that realizes things, a heart that loves sh3er and a moving body. Mind is nourished by knowledge, the heart is nourished by love and the body is nourished by food and drinks. You will be a successful man if you satisfy the needs of your mind, heart and body. However, you will be an extremist if you satisfy the needs of one of those and neglect the ones of the other. There is a big difference between success and extremism.
2- Practical extremism:
Dear brother, the second type is the practical extremism. When man becomes an easy prey to his whispers, he thinks that he can save the whole nation from its agony and pain by using methods which are illegal¬¬ in Islam. When a servant exceeds the limits that Allah has ordered in worships, he will neglect his job and his family. Such kind of extremism makes him unbalanced and unable to achieve the supreme goal of being religious.
Scholars said that the doctrinal extremism is the most dangerous type of extremism, because the extremist is completely ignorant of his extremism.
Dear brother, power does not work when it is used as the only means of confronting extremism. It should be accompanied by good listening to the extremist, accurate understanding of his opinion and high care to his urges and pains. By using these means you can convince the extremist of the righteous things instead of suppressing him. Power can never make righteousness. on the other hand,; righteousness make power. If power is not accompanied with wisdom, it destroys you.
Dear brother, there are many branches of extremism which were invented by extremists, and which have become the main reasons of minds and hearts clashes. Also they are the very reasons of bloodshed. Allah Almighty says,
"And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength depart, and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.). "
The reasons of exceeding the limits in religion:
1- Ignorance:
Dear brother, there are many reasons for exceeding the limits in religion. The most prominent one is ignorance. We always refer to colonialism and Zionism as the eternal foes to Islam, but the truth is that ignorance is this foe. The ignorant may harm himself in a way that may not be achieved by his enemy.
2- Being oblivion of the Ruling of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger,:
Dear brother, another reason of extremism is being oblivion of the Ruling of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. The extremist sometimes exaggerates in his glorification to the sacred things and his religion. He hates those who commit sins and calls them unbelievers. Thus, he cannot even imagine that their sins are forgivable. We should stick to the rule that no one has the right to call sh3er unbelievers. This is not your business; there is another opinion that says that if anyone commits an act of disbelief does not necessarily mean that he is an unbeliever. What does that mean? Let me give you an example; a desperate person, whose camel was lost with all his drink and food, fell asleep. When he woke up, he found his camel, so he said unintentionally, "O Allah, I am your Lord and You are my servant. " Is not this kufr? However, the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, did not consider this kufr. Thus, we should not consider those who commit kufr unbelievers. No one whosoever has the right to evaluate other people, for this is not your mission. You are not appointed to be a supervisor of Allah’s creatures. Work on what you are sure of and leave what you are not. I have been saying for thirty five years that evaluating people is the Mission of Allah. I do not have the right to accomplish such mission.
Dear brother, extremism can be caused by loving a religious man. This love is legitimate in Islam, but it may exceed the limits due to one’s ignorance. The extremist may elevate this man high and accuse those who do not agree with him of being unbelievers. His ignorance can be the result of not being aware of the proof, not being able to deduce it or not having enough knowledge of the Arabic grammar.
Dear brother, ignorance is the easiest cause that can be cured, particularly if the extremist is not trapped by temptations and evil desires. One can get rid of Ignorance by learning. Omar Bin Abdul Aziz, the guided Caliph, argued with the Khawarej (dissents) and discussed issues with them. He came back accompanied with more than two thousand dissents after one discussion. Do not accuse people of being unbelievers; just try to discuss things with them instead. Do not evaluate anyone and try to take their hands to the Path of Allah.
3- Passion:
Passion is also one of the causes of extremism. It makes the passionate person exceed the limits in interpreting correct texts. Such passion can be dragged by personal interests; such as leadership, fame and so on and so forth. The extremist might not have any personal interests, but he allows deviation to control his mind and heart strongly. It is said that,
I was trapped by her love when I was oblivion of the meaning of love
This love easily conquered my heart, for it was vacant
***
If the heart of the extremist is as weak as the one of the above mentioned lover, he will find it very difficult to give up his extremism. He will not admit that he is mistaken by deviating from doing the righteous things and persuing evil.. Thus, he starts to look for weak ideas in order to prove his points. It is said that if you want to be in charge you should be knowledgeable enough, because if you are not, you will not get this knowledge after being in authority.
Dear brother, passion can be affected by one’s weak and deviated self. such person tends to have aggressive and violent opinions and attitudes. He always looks at the dark side of people. He looks down to sh3er and considers himself superior to them, and he does not even admit that. When he meets people or reads their works, all what he does is look for their shortcomings and ignore their advantages. Consequently, he feels that he cannot confine in any scholar or Muslim missioner. He gets away from them and depends on his own opinion. Extremism will result from these eccentric thoughts and opinions.
4- Extremism of the other party:
Dear brother, one last type of extremism is the one of the other party. When the West leads the Islamic society to corruption, pornography and loss of morals, it actually causes this extremism. Westerners usurp sacred places, make fun of Islamic principles and contaminate the holy basics. These are major causes of extremism and the West has announced the war against it.
Man has to make a difference between the real extremism and the unreal one:
Dear brother, I would like turn your attention to the fact that if we want to find the effective solution to get rid of extremism, we should first differentiate between the real extremism, which is exceeding the limits in Shar’e and deviating from the right path on one hand, and the unreal extremism, which is invented by the enemy of our Islamic Deen on the other hand. Those enemies call the committed believers names such as; fundamentalists and extremists. In fact those believers have devoted their lives to call upon people to worship Allah, to believe in Islam, to be ruled by Allah’s Ruling and work according to His Qur’an and the Sunnah of His messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him.
Rooting out the real extremism can only be achieved by:
1- Supporting religious scholars to accomplish their duty:
Dear brother, we cannot destroy the real extremism in Islam except by supporting the religious devoted scholars in accomplishing their duty towards Allah according to a well balanced basis, a clear vision of the Islamic Deen and the methods that are derived from the Noble Qur'an and Sunnah.
2- Everyone has to do his duty towards Islam:
Dear brother, there are individual duties. Fathers, for example, have to teach their children that fatherhood is an extremely important mission and responsibility. they also have to teach them that raising children is their greatest earning. Msh3er, on the other hand, have to devote themselves to raising their children and taking care of them, so that families will always be solid and sons will have their parts in constructing societies. Teachers have their supreme mission accomplished by their students whom should always be the best. The workers have to do their jobs in a good way, and the farmers have to plant their farms. Employers have to accomplish their duties towards other citizens, and the judges have to be just. Professors have to prefer serving their nation over hoping for their share sh3er' worldly life.
Our missioners have to give pieces of advice instead of praising some people and dispraising sh3er. Officers should be aware of the fact that war against our enemy is imminent and that peace talks with enemy is merely a big lie to earn more time. Our treasures should be excavated, our factories should be developed, our lands should be reclaimed and our water should be consumed correctly. If we want all these things to be done we should believe in Allah and obey him. Also we should believe in the hereafter, so this belief will stop us from being unfair to sh3er.
When you ask a student to pursue his studies, be always the best and make a plan for the next years to be successful in future, he finds that a heavy burden. He prefers listening to the news and be a passionate person instead of an effective one. His passion may increase the agony instead of relieving it. Just as we feel small in before those who die for Allah’s sake, so we are in desperate need of young men who devote their lives to Allah. We are in need of those who work for the good of this nation. We neglect the future, so we do not work on relieving the next generation from their agony, because all what we are doing is being busy with defeating the fires here and there. If we want to heal a serious cut, we should never forget about the future of our generation whom would ask what we have left for it other than agonies.
Dear brother, in fact the subject of exceeding the limits in religion in its negative and positive aspects is a serious problem. Only knowledge can be the effective solution of it. You should know that Islam is moderate; it combines the worldly life with the hereafter, the needs with the values and the requirements of life with the ones of principles. I ask Allah that we all be His believers just like His best messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him.
2nd Sermon:
Praise be to Allah, and May He have peace and blessings upon our master Mohammed, upon his folks, his companions, his descendants, and those who allied with him and followed. O Allah, the Lord of the Worlds may You be pleased with them and with us.
Wrong wild emotions may destroy Muslim's lives and their interests:
Dear brother, Imam Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Remember that there are three kinds of people: one kind is of those learned people who are highly versed in the ethics of truth and philosophy of religion, the second is the kind of those who are acquiring the above knowledge and the third is that class of people who are foolish. They follow every pretender and accept every slogan, they have neither acquired any knowledge nor have they secured any support of firm and rational convictions. Beware son that you will not be like anyone of them."
Thus, dear brother the greatest thing you do is to suppress your anger so that you will not invent new rules that may have harmful effects on Muslims and their interests. Muslims should have clear insight to see things clearly and not be affected by their wild emotions. Our enthusiasm should not be the cause of our collapse. Enthusiasm should be an active factor that shall lead us to the right path. The moral lesson is not learned by being affected by our wild emotions and enthusiasm. It is learned by achieving Muslims' interests and by rooting out corruption.
The Supplication
We beseech You Allah to show us the way of rightness among those whom You showed, and give us good health among whom You gave, and be our patron like those whom You became their patron, and bliss what You bestowed us, and save us from the traumas that You destined, for You rule in rightness and You are never judged, and he whom You patron shall never be humiliated and whom You make as enemy shall never be honored, blessed and dignified are You, and we thank You for what you destined, we ask Your Forgiveness and we repent to You. O Allah, instill in us doing good so that it may bring us closer to You. O Allah, give us and do not withhold from us, honor us and do not disgrace us, choose us and do not turn away from us to sh3er, satisfy us and be satisfied with us. O Allah, make right our religion, being the safe guide of our lives, make right our present life,in which we live, make right our other life to which we'll return, grant us this life as supply for good deeds, and make death an ease of any evil thing. O Allah, our protector and guardian, the Lord of the worlds, grant us satisfaction of your permissions (Halal) from your wrong-doings (Haram), your obedience from disobedient, Your Grace from any sh3er' grace. O Allah, by your Grace and Mercy, raise high your religion and the Word of Truth. And grant victory to Islam and honor Muslims. O Allah, grant Islamic presidents success to follow your path, You, Allah, have the full ability to do whatever you want, and capable of answer.
