Dark Mode
26-12-2024
Logo
Radio Sermon (05): Sustenance
   
 
 
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful  
 

First sermon:

Introduction:

 Praise be to Allah! It is You Who responds to the supplication of those in need. O Allah The Protector of believers, The Utmost Purpose of those who know You, The Destiny of the seekers, The beloved to the hearts of the sincere worshipers, O Best of those from whom is asked, O Most Merciful of those whose mercy is sought, O He from Whom is not hidden the eyelids' winking, the eyes' glancing, that which rests in the concealed, and that which is enfolded in hearts' hidden secret, how can we be guided to You given we can't do without You.
 Ali, May Allah honor his face, was requested to talk about Allah, he said: "Glory be to my Lord, He is not to be perceived by senses. He is not to be compared with people. He is above everything, and nothing beneath Him. He is in everything, but not like when something is in another thing, for there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.
 He is not in a body or image, He is not limited or portioned and He is not individualized.
 You can't say 'when He is?', because Allah is the Creator of time, and you can't ask 'where He is?', because He is the Creator of space. Whatever image you imagine or that crosses your mind, Allah, may He be exalted, is different from that. He knew what was, what is being, and what will be, and knew what did not be, if it is, how it will be."
 I testify that there is no deity but Allah Alone, and that He has no partners. It is You (Allah) Who created and proportioned what You created, It is You Who ordained and predestined, It is You Who gives life and causes death, It is You Who afflicts with illnesses and cures from them, It is You Who gives health and befalls calamities, It is You Who gives wealth and contentment, It is You Who makes (whom You will) laugh, and makes (whom You will) weep, to You return all affairs (for decision) and to You is the return of everything, and we exist because of You and to You we shall return.

Al Haqq (Allah), Sublimed be He, calls His believing servants:

"O My servants, you can neither do Me any harm nor can you do Me any good. O My servants, even if the first amongst you and the last amongst you and even the whole of human race of yours, and that of jinns even, become (equal in) God-conscious like the heart of a single person amongst you, nothing would add to My Power. O My servants, even if the first amongst you and the last amongst you and the whole human race of yours and that of the Jinns too in unison become the most wicked (all beating) like the heart of a single person, it would cause no loss to My Power. O My servants, even if the first amongst you and the last amongst you and the whole human race of yours and that of jinns also all stand in one plain ground and you ask Me and I confer upon every person what he asks for, it would not. in any way, cause any loss to Me (even less) than that which is caused to the ocean by dipping the needle in it. My servants, these for you I shall reward you for thern, so he who deeds of yours which I am recording finds good should praise Allah and he who does not find that should not blame anyone but his ownself."

[Muslim on the authority of Abi Dharr]

 And I testify that Sayyidina Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the Messenger of Allah…
 O messenger of Allah, I testify that those, who are dazed by your eminence, are pardoned, and those, who sacrificed their souls for your sake, are but victorious.
 What a wonderful character you, may Allah bless you and grant you peace, have, for you reached the highest rank of faith, determination, keenness, honesty, purity, chastity, modesty, affection and loyalty.
 When you, may Allah bless you and grant you peace, was a child, you kept yourself away from childish games, playing and chats and you used to say to your fellow friends upon being invited to play: "I have not been created for this".
 When you received the revelation and were assigned by Allah to convey His message, you, may Allah bless you and grant you peace, said to your wife after she invited you to have some rest: "The time of resting is over O Khadijah".
 On the day of Meccah's conquest and after your victorious banners filled the horizon with explicit triumph, you said to your enemies, who hurt you, got you out of Mecca and plotted to kill you: "You are free to go".
 When the Arabic Peninsula believed in you, and when the help of Allah against your enemies and the conquest of Meccah came, and when people embraced Islam in crowds, you climbed the Minbar (pulpit) and received people with tears saying to them: "Whoever I whipped his back , then this is my back and he is to take his right back ( i.e. to whip me), and whoever I took a property or an estate( any money ) of him, then this is my money and he is to take from it".
 We add our voice to those who said: "O messenger of Allah, how reasonable, how merciful, how dutiful and how wise you are, May Allah reward you with the best of rewards awarded to a prophet for his Ummah, for you were bestowed mercy and grace.
 O Allah, our Lord! Grant peace and blessings to Sayyidina Muhammad, upon his Family and his Companions, and his descendants, the trustees of his message and leaders of his army, and be pleased with us and them O Lord of the worlds.
 O servants of Allah, I advice you and myself of fearing Allah and I encourage you to obey Him and I will begin with what is good.

Sustenance:

1- People in earning money fall into three types:

 With regards to earning money, mankind fall into three types: someone whose livelihood distracts him from his Afterlife, and he is thus of the ruined; someone whose Afterlife distracts him from his livelihood, and he is, therefore, of the winners; and someone whose livelihood distracts him for the sake of his Afterlife, and he is, thus, of those who follow a middle course. The Messenger of Allah, PBUH), says,

“My nation will be of three classes: The first class do not cleave neither for gathering money nor for saving it. They do not strive to possess or monopolize it. Their satisfaction of the present world is (only) something that satisfies hunger or covers private parts. They are contented, in it (i.e. the present life), with that which gives them access to the Hereafter. Those are the ones on whom there shall be no fear neither shall they sorrow. The second class are those who love to gather up wealth by the noblest ways, and to spend it in the best ways; they establish contact with their relatives and Kin; they favor their brother with it; they console the poor with it. It is easier for them to bite at a stone than to earn one dirhem (penny) illegally or to spend it improperly, to hold it back from those who deserve it, or to store it away till they die. Those - should they be interrogated they will be chastised; should they be forgiven, they will be safe. The third class are those who love to gather up wealth whether legally or illegally, and to hold it back from those to whom it has been ordained. If they spend it, they spend it extravagantly; and if they hold it back, they hold it back with avarice and monopoly. Those are the ones whose hearts have been invaded by the love for the present life that will bring them to the Hell Fire with their sins.”

[Mentioned in relic]

 Imam Ali, was also reported as saying, “The present world: Its lawful things are reckoning; its forbidden things are chastisement; its judicial errors are punishment”
[Ad-Dar Al Qatani and Ad-Daylami on the authority of Ibn Abbas]

2- Islam urges Muslims to make a living:

 Allah Most Merciful urges mankind to seek livelihood and makes it easy for them. He, says,

﴾ And have made the day for livelihood. ﴿

[An-Naba'; 11]

 and,

 

﴾ And surely, We gave you authority on the earth and appointed for you therein provisions (for your life). ﴿

[Al'A'raf; 10]

 And He says:

﴾ Then when the (Jumu'ah) Salat (prayer) is finished, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah (by working, etc.), and remember Allah much, that you may be successful. ﴿

[Al-Mumu'ah, 10]

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) also says,

“Verily, Allah has prescribed endeavor for you, so endeavor!”

[At Tabarani on the authority of Ibn Abbas]

 Omar bin Al-Khattab, also said, “None of you should refrain from seeking livelihood saying, ‘O Allah! Provide me with sustenance!’ You know that the sky rains neither gold nor silver.” He also said, “Be in no need of men; it is safer for your religion and more honorable for you with them.”

 However, for driving away anxiety for the sake of livelihood and preventing committing sins for the sake of livelihood, and for safeguarding oneself from humbling oneself for the sake of livelihood, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), reassured the believer that his provision is already allotted, guaranteed, and even well-proportioned, that Allah’s provision is never brought forth by greed or driven back by hatred, and that Allah, the Almighty has made happiness and delight in faith and consent, while worry and sadness in disbelief and discontentment To this effect, He (PBUH) says,

“The Holy spirit has inspired me that no living creature will ever die until it gets all its provision; so fear Allah, o servants of Allah! And make your demands reasonable and make your jobs decent, and let not delay of any of provision cause you to seek it through disobedience; verily what is with Allah is not obtainable by disobeying Him.”

[ Ibn Majah, Abu Na'eem and Al Hakim on the authority of Ibn Hayan]

 In the Divine Hadith, Allah, Praise be to Him, says,

“O My servant! I have created the heavens and the earth and I have not been tired by their creation. Does it tire Me to drive a loaf of bread to you every now and then?! You are to execute your duties towards Me, and I am to provide you with livelihood. Even though you might fail to do your duties towards Me, I shall never deprive you of your livelihood. By My Might and Majesty! If you are not contented with What I have allotted for you, I shall give the present life power over you, so that you run in it as a beast does in the wilderness, getting nothing save that I have allotted to you; and I shall not care, and you will then be reprehensible in My sight”.

[Mentioned in relic]

 That is why our Lord has forbidden us from being distracted by that which He has guaranteed for us and by that which He has ordained on us.

3- The believer should seek Halal sustenance:


 However, not every sustenance is lawful, neither is all that people earn licit. A true believer is supposed to seek what is lawful for his livelihood, knowing that illegal wealth is easily perishable and conduces to destruction and perdition. He believes that he whose earnings are illegal will deserve Allah’s Wrath and painful Chastisement. That is why Allah, bids us quite obviously, to earn what is good and righteous,
Allah says:

﴾ O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good﴿

[Al-Baqarah; 168]

 The lawful is that which is as such in itself and the way it is earned. Thus it is permissible to man and it maintains the good relations between him and his Lord, whereas the good is that which is as such for man’s body, spirit and life.
 The good and lawful might sometimes be less in quantity than the evil or unlawful. Being as such, it is a trial by Allah to His believer servants. Whosoever passes the trial, by preferring the less but good and lawful to the more but evil and unlawful, Allah is sure to bless his wealth and enable him to enjoy it, to bless his family and children, and make him happy with them, and to protect his health and dignity and ensure his happiness in the present life and the world to come. Allah, says,

﴾ Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, in order that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds. ﴿

[Al-Kahf; 7].

 Allah the Most Wise made earning of the good and lawful harder and more difficult than that of the evil and unlawful so as to try the believer in the extent of strive for the good and lawful, which substantiate his endeavor to gain Allah’s consent and pleasure. To this effect, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says,

“Whosoever goes to bed (at night) dead beat of seeking what is lawful, he goes to bed with his sins forgiven.”

[Ibn Asaker on the authority of Anas]

 When Islam orders Muslims to detect what is lawful in their earning, Islamic Religion forbids them strongly to inquire into the lawful or unlawful with regards to earnings of other people. It is even of man’s good faith to leave off what doesn’t concern him, and blessed is he whose faults distract him from the faults of others!

4- The lawful job is considered striving in the Cause of Allah:

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) also points out that whosoever seeks livelihood through lawful ways, and pursues lawful earning, aiming at sufficing himself and providing his parents, family and children, he will meet Allah pleased with him. He, says,

“Whosoever seeks the present life lawfully and decently for the sake of not begging (people) and to provide his family or to be favorably disposed towards his neighbor, he will meet Allah with a face as beautiful as a full moon.”

[Al Baihaqi]

 He, was one day sitting with his companions when they saw a young man, possessed of strength and endurance, going early to work. They said: “ Woe unto that man! If only his youth and strength were only in the Way of Allah!” The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said:

“Do not say that! If he works for himself to safeguard himself against begging (sh3er) and be in no need of people, truly he is in the Way of Allah. If he works for the sake of arrogance and hoarding up wealth, he is in the way of Satan.”

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), confirms,

“(The value of) an action depends on the intention behind it. A man will be rewarded only for what he intended.”

[Bukhari on the authority of Umar]

 Intention determines the value of work. A man, for example, might pick up something from the ground. If he does that for the intention of making it his own, he is obviously a transgressor. If he does so for the purpose of looking for its owner, he is surely a good-doer. There is a great difference between aggression and good-doing.
 Work, in the absolute sense of the word, is the basis of man’s rank in the sight of Allah. Of the good righteous work is man’s work for earning his living. If such work is based on precision and perfection as well as honesty, and if man cares to improve and develop such work so as to serve whereby his other fellow humans, who are all Allah’s dependents, and if he is fair in wage or price and treats people tolerantly and reasonably, his work is a way to gain Allah’s pleasure and consequently to win the everlasting bless of Paradise. He (PBUH) says,

“ Verily, Allah loves the believer who has a profession.”

[Al Hakim, At-Tabarani and Al Baihaqi on the authority of Ibn Umra]

 It may even be said that the man who earns his living lawfully, spending both his time and power, is better in the sight of Allah than that who devotes himself for worship. A man was one day seen worshipping Allah at midday. When asked: “What are you doing?” He answered, “I’m worshipping Allah!”, “Who feeds you, then?” They asked. He replied, “My brother does.” “Your brother is more devoted than you are!” They said.

5- We are forbidden from begging people for money:

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) forbids begging people and points out that begging people for money opens the gates for poverty.
 Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said,

"By Him in Whose Hand my life is, it is better for anyone of you to take a rope and cut the wood (from the forest) and carry it over his back and sell it (as a means of earning his living) rather than to ask a person for something and that person may give him or not."

[Bukhari]

 Abu Kabshah Al-Anmari narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

“No slave (of Allah) opens up a door to begging except that Allah opens a door for him to poverty.”

[At Tirmizi on the authority of Abu Kabshah]

It is narrated in the tradition that the prophet PBUH said: "whosoever cringes before a wealthy man, he losses two thirds of his religion (faith)."

[Ibn Jarir]

 It does not befit a true believer to humiliate himself. He is supposed to seek his needs with self-respect because all things go according to divine foreordained. The upper giving hand is better than the lower taking one.

6- We are forbidden from eating others' money unjustly:

 In fact, Islam strongly forbids eating people's money unjustly, and even makes it a major sin. Allah the Almighty, says,

﴾O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent.﴿

[An-Nisa'; 29].

 In the above verse, the term “Eat not up your property” refers to that believers are, or should be, in true brotherhood and faithful compassion substantiated by the feeling that a believer’s goods also belong to his brethren believers in the sense that they are supposed to protect their brother’s goods and safeguard them against destruction or loss. Therefore it is more adequate for believers to abstain from eating unlawfully goods of one another and to avoid encroaching upon their rights unlawfully. If you eat up your brother’s goods in his weakness you would be weak, too. Moreover, the term “among” denotes that goods and wealth should be circulated among all individuals of the Islamic nation, and consuming it in vanity makes it circulate only among the rich, which means oppression and injustice to the poor.
 Wealth is the backbone of life, and eating up the wealth of people unjustly is an aggression on the pillar and essence of their lives, which inevitably entails to Allah’s Wrath and Painful Punishment. Causing harm to people comes too close in evil to polytheism. On the other hand, consuming people’s goods lawfully means to consume such goods as recommendation for real and lawful return, a real service with full content and satisfaction on the part of the one whose goods are being consumed. Such denotation can be inferred from Allah’s words,

﴾ O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you. ﴿

[Al-Nisa', 29]

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), also emphasized prohibition of unlawful earning of wealth and considered it as evil as bloodshed or transgression on people’s honor and dignity. He said,

"The whole of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim: his blood, his property, and his honor.”

[Muslim on the authority of Abu Huraira]

Thawban, the mawla of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is not lawful for a Muslim man to look inside a house until he has been given permission.

[Ahmad]

 It was narrated from 'Imran bin Husain that the Messenger of Allah said:

"There is no 'bringing', no 'avoidance' and no Shighar in Islam, and whoever robs, he is not one of us."

[At Tirmizi]

 Plundering, usurpation, looting, bribery, robbery, the Maisir [an ancient Arabian game of chance (forbidden by Islam) played with arrows without heads and feathering, for stakes of slaughtered and quartered camels], and usury are all kinds of eating up people's wealth unjustly. And the unlawfulness, limits and evil consequences of such evil deeds are so obvious that most Muslims avoid lest they should deserve Allah’s Wrath and incur self-destruction.
 However, other secret ways of consuming people’s properties are hidden to a great many Muslims, due to negligence and ignorance. Omar bin Al-Khattab, the venerable Companion and Caliph was often seen walking about in the marketplace scolding some merchants: “None is to purchase in our markets save those who are well versed in fiqh [i.e., Islamic jurisprudence], because otherwise one will inevitably practice usury.”

The different ways of eating people's money unjustly:

1- Monopolization:


 Monopoly is another Kind of eating people’s money unjustly. Monopoly can be defined as “hoarding up and withholding a certain commodity, property, benefit, job, and refusing to sell or offer it until it becomes too scarce and badly needed and, thus, too expensive". Those who practice monopoly are much dispraised by the Messenger of Allah, who described them as damned wrong-doers who deserve the Wrath and Chastisement of Allah. He (PBUH) said,

 

“Whosoever monopolizes is a wrong doer!”

[Muslim on the authority of Ma'mar bin Abdullah]

It was narrated from 'Umar bin Khattab that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The importer is blessed with provision and the hoarder is cursed."

[Ibn Majah]

He also said,, “ “whosoever monopolizes food for forty days seeking high price has nothing to do with Allah and Allah has nothing to do with him!”

[Ahmad on the authority of Ibn Umar]

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), on the other hand, praised and advocated those who avoid monopolization, due to fear of Allah, mercy on Muslims and facilitation for Muslims. He said,

“Whosoever imports food and sells it at its proper update price, it is as if he has given it away for charity.”

[Hadith Da'eef Al Sanad]

 Monopolization is, therefore, consuming people’s wealth and property in vanity and robbing it by causing less supply and more demand on the market. Such a profit is not at all lawful, because it is not in recompense for real services offered by the merchant, and is not earned through real content on the part of the buyer, but forcing those who need such goods to buy them at much higher prices than usual. To the same effect, the Prophetic Hadith goes,

“What an evil man is he who monopolizes goods; if Allah causes prices down, he is displeased; and if Allah causes prices to rise, he is pleased.”

[At Tabarani and Al Baihaqi on the authority of Mu'ad]

 Well-known scholars like Imam Abi Yousef, even went further to consider any act of withholding back goods and causing harm to people is as evil as real monopolization. Some scholars also went on to say that any Kind of deceit or misleading for the purpose of more demand for a certain commodity in order to bring its price up is also a kind of monopolization.

2- Deceit:

 Another way of eating people’s money unjustly is cheating and deceiving, which is of various Kinds most of which come from deceit by showing the good side of something and concealing the bad one, giving false identification, unjust pricing, jumbling the good and bad together and selling them at the price of the good. Of deception is that the owner says, “I have bought it at such and such price” just to deceive the customer. Of deception is to conceal faults, playing with weight, measure and number, length, size, area. Of deception is to forge the origin and source of goods or giving false information about them. Of deception is to display the goods in a way to magnify their good qualities and conceal their disadvantages. Of deception is to recommend bad goods that are in little command, making use of the customer’s ignorant. Of deception is to utilize the customer’s ignorance and raise the price many folds. Such an ignorant customer who doesn’t know the real quality and price of goods, was called by the Messenger of Allah “ Al-Mustarsel”. He said,

“Doing injustice to the Mustarsel is usury”

[Al Baihaqi on the authority of Anas]

 And he said:

“Doing injustice to the Mustarsel is unlawful.”

[At Tabarani on the authority of Abi Umamah]

 Therefore, any wealth earned by man through deception and cheating is illegal, ill-gotten unjust and is considered as consuming people’s goods in vanity.
Cheating can be not only in selling but also in buying. The Messenger of Allah prohibited receiving caravans to buy their goods before the others and before they know the real value of such goods. He also prohibited any kind of misunderstanding that leads to the deception of the seller or buyer and causes disagreement or dispute.
In Islam it is equally sinful to deceive Muslims and non-Muslims, because human rights know no discrimination, for mankind are all Allah’s dependents; and dearest to Allah are the most good-doing to His dependents. He (PBUH) says,

'Whoever cheats, he is not one of us.'

[At Tirmizi on the authority of Abu Hurairah]

 In fact, cheating non-Muslims is considered more sinful because it leads to contempt of religion because each Muslim is (as it were) at a guard-post of the castle of Islam, every Muslim must strive that the castle is assaulted from his guard-post.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) happened to pass by a heap of corn. He thrust his hand in that (heap) and his fingers felt wetness. He said to the owner of that heap of corn, "What is this?" He replied: "O Messenger of Allah! These have been drenched by rainfall." He remarked, "Why did you not place this (the drenched part of the heap) over the corn so that people might see it? He who deceives is not of us."

[Muslim]

 The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), praised merchants who do not tell lies, break promises, breach their covenants; when they sell, they don’t praise their goods, when they buy, they do not dispraise the seller’s goods; when they owe people money, they are never slow at paying back, when they are owed money by people, they never press their debtors.

The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), also said,

“Whosoever deals with people but does not tell lies to them, and promises them but never puts them down, he is verily of those who are ideal in manhood, whose justice is manifest, whose fraternity is due, and whose back-biting is forbidden.”

[Al Qada'ee on the authority of Ali]

 Should he ill-treat or deceive them, or break his promise to them, his justice collapses. Scholars have enlisted lots of items that blemish one’s record of honor, whereof is eating one mouthful from illegal or giving less even in the weight of a date.

Living models of truthful merchants:

 Good living models substantiate principles, verify values and turn idealism into reality. They manifest truth with its evidence and are eternal human models and good exemplars for the generations to follow. Abou Hanifah An-No‘man, may Allah have mercy on him, brought honor to himself and his knowledge when he made up his mind to earn his living on his own and to have a high hand, having believed that the most delicious, precious and wholesome food man eats is that he earns by his own hands. Therefore, he devoted part of his time for earning money. He had a well-known clothes shop where people found honesty and trustworthiness. He also used to earn money honestly and spend it duly; and every year, he used to estimate his profits, keep only what he needed for his living and spend the remaining part on scholars and disciples.
 Here is another example of the rightly guided Khaliphah, Umar Ibn Al Khattab, who was good example in enforcing justice, in being merciful and in asceticism and who left his successors restless (striving to follow his steps).
 Once, the envoy of Omar’s governor in Azerbaijan arrived at Medina late at night. He did not want to go straight to the Caliph’s house at that late hour, so he headed to the Holy Prophet’s mosque, where he heard a groaning voice of a man standing up the night in prayer to Allah: “O my Lord! I am standing at your door, holding to your rope! Have you accepted my repentance so that I congratulate myself, or rejected it so that I console it? The convoy said: “Who are you, may Allah have mercy on you?” The man replied, “I am Omar ibn Al-Khattab.”The convoy said, “O Commander of Believers! Do you not sleep at night?!”Omar said, “If I sleep the whole night I shall lose myself before my Lord; and if I sleep during the day, I shall lose my subjects!”
 Then they stayed in the mosque till the dawn prayer. And after prayer, Omar invited the envoy to his house to breakfast. Omar bade his wife, Um Kulthum , may Allah be pleased with her, to prepare breakfast, asking, “What have you got for us to eat?” “Nothing but a little bread and salt!” was her reply.
 Having had a rough breakfast, Omar asked the envoy, “Why did you come?”He said, “Your governor there sent me with this present, a box of sweets made only there.”Omar said, “Do all Muslims there eat such food?” “No, it is specially made for the high class.” was the man’s reply. Omar said, “Did you give all poor people of Medina the same thing that you gave to me?!” “No, it is especially for you.” was the man’s reply. Omar said, “Tell my governor there to eat from what common Muslims eat there, and never to do what he did again!” Then he bade the envoy to go to the mosque and to distribute all the sweets among the poor, saying, “Unlawful is it for Omar’s stomach to eat sweets that poor Muslims do not eat!”
 No wonder, for Omar had addressed his stomach after a long time of abstention from meat, during the year of famine, saying, “O my stomach! It matters not if you rumble or not! I swear by Allah that you will not taste of meat before Muslim children’s stomachs have been filled up with it!”
 How great the venerable Companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) were! What could it be said about them?! Were they human beings?! Yes, indeed they were, but not like other human beings! Were they angles?! Yes, but in terms of purity, chastity and nobility.
 O people! Repent to Allah before you die. Hasten to do good deeds before you become preoccupied (because of sickness and old age). Uphold the relationship that exists between you and your Lord so that you will prosper, and give a great deal of charity in secret and openly so that you will be granted provision. Enjoin the good so that you may be safe against social harms; and forbid the evil so that you may get help; The cleverest one among you is the one who remembers death the most; and the most prudent among you is the one who is most capable and ready to receive death. Be aware that there are four signs for one being wise: not being proud, having love in the world Hereafter; compiling provisions for the other world; and being prepared for the Doomsday

 Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds

Second Khutbah: The barrier between the two seas:

 Dear brothers, Allah says:

 

﴾ We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their ownselves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Qur'an) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?﴿

[Fussilat, 53]

1- Discovering the barrier between the salty water and sweet water:

 Scientists discovered lately that there is a barrier between every two salty seas. It has been photographed from spaceships. This barrier prevents the water of the two seas from being mixed, thus none of them can transgress.
 Each sea keeps its density, salt concentration and its own sea life isolated from the other.
 This barrier is not fixed in one place, for it might move due to wind and due to ebb-and-flow.

2- The miraculous scientific breakthroughs in the noble Quran:

 While in glee due to this breakthrough, the scientists were informed that the noble Quran tells us about this barrier, Allah says:

 

﴾ He has let loosed the two seas (the salt water and the sweet) meeting together. Between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny? ﴿

[Ar-Rahman, 19-21]

 They were taken by surprise.
 The scientists also discovered the existence of a barrier between the salty water and the sweet water.
 None of the two waters can transgress, just like the two salty waters.
 The fish can't move from one sea to the other sea or from the salty water to the sweet water.
 The noble Quran mentions this breakthrough.
 The Quranic term for this barrier is "Barzakh" and this is the barrier between two salty seas, and the Quranic term for the barrier between the salty water and sweet water is "Hijr", Allah says:

﴾ And it is He Who has let free the two seas (kinds of water), one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter, and He has set a barrier and a complete partition between them. ﴿

[Al-Furqan, 53]

 As for the nature of this barrier, it is still subject of study.

 Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds

Download text

Other Languages

Hide Images