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The first Khutbah:
The rank of morals in religion:
Dear brother, I was urged me to choose the subject of Khutbah by what happened to one of our bsh3er. Two days ago he was in a meeting, and during it he was shocked by the behavior of one of the attendants. The brother told me, "That man was very eloquent when it came to discussing religious matters; he attracted the attention of everyone, but when it came to treating him, dealing with him and knowing him well, you would find that his behavior contradicted his words (religious discussion)." Our brother exclaimed, "What a great disparity it is!" He asked, "Why is that awful contradiction between someone's words and his actions?" His question provoked me to make the rank of morals in religion the subject of this Khutbah.
Faith is good conduct:
I would like to start with a concise but a comprehensive phrase said by one of the well known scholars; Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him. He said, "
"Faith is good conduct, so whoever has better morals than yours has deeper faith than yours."
This is proved to be true by the answer of the Companion of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, Ja'far bin Abi Taleb, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was in Al Habashah and before An-Najashi, who asked him about the reality of this religion. Listen how one of the great Companions defined the religion saying:
((O King, we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds. breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests badly and the strong among us exploited the weak…))
These are the deeds of the ignorant at that time. Allah mentioned those people saying:
(And do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance,)
This Ayah explicitly refers to the first times of ignorance and it implicitly refers to the second times of it which are more horrible. We live in those second times. Listen again how Ja'far, may Allah be pleased with him, defined Islam:
(( O King, we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds. breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests badly and the strong among us exploited the weak. We remained in this state until Allah sent us a Prophet, one of our own people whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity were well-known to us. He called us to worship Allah alone and to renounce the stones and the idols which we and our ancestors used to worship besides Allah. He commanded us to speak the truth, to honor our promises, to be kind to our relations, to be helpful to our neighbors, to cease all forbidden acts, to abstain from bloodshed. ))
What do you think? How do you find this answer? The answer of our master Ja'far, may Allah be pleased with him, is all about the good morals, isn't it? This is religion; "Faith is good conduct, so whoever has better morals than yours has deeper faith than yours." It is axiomatic that Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim refers to the Muslim whose Creed is sound and the performance of the acts of worship is 
proper. What makes this man distinguished from other and push crowds of people enter Allah's religion is his conducts. Let me give you a rigorous proof for this point from the Sunnah; the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((Allah did not send me to give difficulty or to wish to give difficulty; rather (He sent me) as a teacher and facilitator.))
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((I have been sent only to perfect good morals and conduct.))
This Hadith indicates that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, compresses the essence and contents of his Message to the moralistic values.
Good conduct is the greatest trait of the prophet:
Almighty Allah granted the Noble Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, countless perfect attributes; He granted him Revelation and miracles, and Almighty Allah avoided him from forgetfulness,
(We shall make you to reauthor (the Qur'an), so you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) shall not forget (it))
Almighty Allah granted the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, many traits and privileges, but when He praised him, what did Almighty Allah say?
(And verily, you (O Muhammad PBUH) are on an exalted standard of character.)
Religion is worshiping the Creator and treating people kindly:
Dear brother, 'Iesa (Jesus), may Allah have peace upon him, said in the Noble Quran:("And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I live.")
(Maryam: 31)
As if this verse compresses Islam in two movements; one movement towards Allah, and the other one towards mankind. The movement towards the Creator is embodied in worshiping Allah, putting the trust in Him, loving Him, trusting Him, depending on Him and resorting to Him. As for the movement towards mankind, it is represented by beneficence; man should treat other people with discipline and kindness.
Dear brother, it seems that good conduct comes at first immediately after having a sound Creed and performing acts of worship. As you know one of the definitions of religion is that it is, "Creed, acts of worship and good conduct." Hence, good conduct comes after beliefs and acts of worship.
The rules which we are compelled to follow are not part of good conduct:
Dear brother, I would like to make clear-cut distinction between traditions, customs and worldly rules on the one hand and morals on the other in, so that things are not mixed together. We should remove from the subject of morals every action we are obliged to do because it is socially imposed on us. Everyone lives in a country that has certain rules, laws and systems, and he is compelled to apply these rules, but our subject has nothing to do with that. Man applies these rules whether out of fear or out of making benefits. Unlike these rules, good conduct springs from the inside (it is not imposed on man), it is a personal initiative and it is not a behavior by which you seek Allah's reward or you fear His punishment. These sublime morals and values are example of exalted relations.
Another point dear brother, our subject is not about the earthly deterrents which make man committed to apply the worldly rules. For example, someone will never steal, why? Because he lives in a country where the punishment of theft is very severe, so he fears that punishment. Things are different with some orders in religion. There are some orders that if you do, none on earth have the right to punish you, such as lowering your gaze. If you look at whoever you are forbidden from, no earthly law prevents you from doing so. Hence, acting upon the orders which are exclusively related to religion proves man's devotion.
The commands of religion correspond with Fitrah:
Dear brother, I would like to pay your attention to a precise fact; the Divine Method which was revealed to us corresponds completely with Firtah. This is why some thinkers said, "Islam is the religion of Firtah, which means Allah has ordained you to do what your inner soul likes and has prevented you from what your it detests."
Almighty Allah says:
(But Allah has endeared the Faith to you and has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience (to Allah and His Messenger ) hateful to you. These! They are the rightly guided ones,)
Dear brother, the rules of Fitrah are very wonderful and they correspond totally with the commands of Allah. The relief you feel when you act upon Allah's Order is just the same one you feel when you work on relieving your inner self. If you respond to the call of your Fitrah, you will find that it corresponds completely with the commands of Allah:
(So set you (O Muhammad ) your face towards the religion of pure Islamic Monotheism Hanifa
(worship none but Allah Alone) Allah's Fitrah (i.e. Allah's Islamic Monotheism), with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq-illah (i.e. the Religion of Allah Islamic Monotheism), that is the straight religion, but most of men know not.)
One of the greatest blessings bestowed on Muslims is that enjoining Ma'ruf (whatever is permitted in Islam) and forbidding Munkar (whatever is prohibited in Islam) which is mentioned in both the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah are in full harmony with Fitrah ;with its love to mercy, justice, equity, kindness, forgiveness and patience. You were created to correspond with whatever Allah has ordained you to do, so that you act upon it, and with whatever He has made forbidden to you, so that you keep away from doing it. The rest found by whoever keeps acts upon Allah's Order is beyond description, why? Because the Jibillah (natural disposition) of man's inner self is completely compatible with Allah's great Shari'ah, which is mentioned in the Noble Quran and was clarified by the Master of all Messengers, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him.
I would like to confirm to you dear brother the fact that when you keep upright on Allah's Order you will find indescribable rest; it is the correspondence of the Fitrah to Shari'ah. The noble Companions of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, used to be happy whenever a command was sent down to them because whatever was sent is compatible with their Fitrah. The strongest proof for this point is that Allah calls what relieves the soul Al-Ma'ruf (the meaning of this word in Arabic is something you know, and whatever you are familiar with), and He calls what the soul detests Al-Munkar (the meaning of this word in Arabic is something you reject and deny). What does that mean? It means that the sound Fitrah knows the truth and rejects the falsehood by its nature.
The price of Paradise is keeping committed to avoiding the forbidden:
Dear brother, I would like to give you an example of one of the things accepted by Fitrah, which is man's love for women. This love is part of Fitrah, an instinct and a lust which can be satisfied the way man wishes, but according to Shari'ah it can only be satisfied lawfully (by marriage). If you desire a woman then marry her, you can enjoy the beauty of your wife without feeling that you deviate from Allah's Method. Also you are permitted to look at your mother, sister, daughter, aunt, nephew and granddaughter, provided that your look is lawful in accordance with the degree of kinship. This look is within what is permitted to you, but having an illicit affair with a woman starting with a gaze and ending up with adultery is a forbidden deed, and it contradicts your Fitrah. Keeping away from this prohibited deed is the price of Paradise:
(But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts. Verily, Paradise will be his abode.)
The religious assignment contradicts man's nature:
Dear brother, let me comment on the fact that man is assigned to fulfill the Divine assignment. He
was granted sound Fitrah and he has nature. His nature is closer to his physical side (his body), while Fitrah is closer to his spiritual one (his soul) and the Divine assignment is objective. Out of the Divine wisdom Allah has decreed to make the Divine assignment contradicts human nature (here are some examples):- You like to sleep till the morning, but the Divine assignment makes you wake up to pray al-Fajr.
- You like to gaze freely at women, but the Divine assignment commands you to lower your gaze
- You like to hoard money, but the Divine assignment orders you to spend it for the sake of Allah.
- You like to indulge yourself into talking about the scandals of people, but the Divine assignment orders you to keep silent.
Hence, the relation between the Divine assignment and man's nature is contradictory, while the relation between it and Fitrah is correspondent. When you perform your duties, give everyone his right, treat people kindly and favor other's happiness over yours, you will feel indiscernible comfort. Thus, treating people kindly, favoring other's interests over yours and worshipping Allah make you find indescribable rest. I repeat again: The Divine assignment corresponds with Fitrah, but it contradicts man's nature. This contradiction is the price of Paradise:
(But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts. Verily, Paradise will be his abode.)
Difference between Sibghah (religion) and Fitrah:
We must distinguish between Sibghah (religion) and Fitrah, Almighty Allah says:
(The Sibghah (Religion) of Allah (Islam) and which Sibghah (religion) can be better than Allah's? And we are His worshippers. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir.])
Sibghah is to be dyed by perfection through your connection with the Lord of heaven and earth, whereas Fitrah has to do with the fact that you were created to love justice, mercy, and kindness. Fitrah is to love perfection whereas Sibghah is to be perfect.
Distinguishing between the good deeds and the bad ones:
Dear brother, the first thing I would like you to do is to throw away all the traditions and the social customs that contradict the Divine Method of Almighty Allah. Some of the prevailing traditions nowadays are deviation from Allah, having women almost naked in the streets, and in most
countries drinking wine whenever you want. As for the traditions of the pre-Islamic period, burying girls alive was one of those traditions. The believer should ponder on the traditions in his country to keep away from whatever contradicts Shari'ah. We should know the tradition we can adopt; there are many traditions which we should keep away from. The good traditions are the accepted one according to Shari'ah, and the bad ones are those which are rejected by Shari'ah. There are some societies where a woman can go out with indecent clothes which exposes all her beauty, because this is normal according to their traditions. If people do not mind seeing woman in indecent clothes does that mean this is a good deed? Absolutely not. Thus, the believer has a reference which is Shari'ah.Dear brother, undoubtedly when the morals in a country vanish, this country vanishes too. The poet said:
Nations last as long as their moralities last.
Once their moralities vanish, the nation will vanish too.
If nations lose their moralities,
Make them funeral and wail over them.
Almighty Allah is the source of moral discipline:
Dear brother, some people think that the mind is the source of moral discipline, i.e. conscience,
benefit or pleasure, and other people say that it is obligation, but I believe that the real source of moral discipline is Almighty Allah. You either fear His punishment or seek His reward, so your moral behavior is motivated by these two real and effective motives. Whatever motives people think they have are mere claims. You may claim that you have morals if you defeat temptations which are not that effective; this happens when the bribe offered to you is not that much. This bribe is against your morals, so you strongly refuse it saying, 'Allah forbid, I never sell my conscious.' However, if the bribe is millions of money, then you start to think about accepting it. Thus, you should not depend on your conscience, mind, the good uprising, social discipline, pleasures or benefit. The only fact which you should believe in is that when you fear Allah's Punishment and seek His Mercy you avoid immoral behavior. This fact is the only reason behind your discipline, why? Because you find that who claims to have conscience, can easily sell it, and that who claims to be rational is irrational. Not all intelligent people are rational; someone may excel at his specialty, but if he is oblivious of His Lord, death and the Hereafter, this intelligent man can never be considered rational. It was reported in the relic that: ((The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, saw a mad man on the road, so he asked: "What is wrong with this man?" They said: "He is a mad man." He asked, "What does that mean?" They answered him. Then he, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: "The mad man is whoever disobeys Almighty Allah.))
The one who disobeys Allah is the madman, so whoever is intelligent cannot be considered rational unless he knows Allah (he acts upon His Order) and the purpose of his existence.
Kinds of morals:
Dear brother, we have various kinds of morals. There are morals which regulate the relationship between man and himself, man and His Lord, man and his family, man and his society and between man and whom he likes and whom he does not.
Dear brother, if we go into details, we will notice that there are Divine morals. They have to do with being sincere to Allah, being content with His decree, being grateful to Him for His blessings; the blessing of existence, giving and guidance, being modest towards Allah, hoping for His Mercy, fearing His punishment and putting trust in Him. These are morals which regulate your relationship with Allah.
Regarding the morals you should have while dealing with people, they are honesty, faithfulness, virtue, courage, generosity and sacrifice. Also, there are individual morals such as calling yourself to account, keeping humble, making the way you behave in private similar to the one you behave in public and making your appearance a mirror which reflects your inner self. These are personal morals. In addition to the Divine morals and the humanistic ones, which I have already referred to, there are social morals like fulfilling your promises to sh3er, fulfilling every covenant, being honest in what you say, being merciful to sh3er, being patient with them and forgiving them.
Leaving good conduct causes Ummah evil results:
This means that when morals are removed from man's life, he turns into a monster. Don't you see the brutality of man? Is it reasonable to shoot twenty million sheep in a country whose first trade is selling sheep in order to maintain the price line? Is it reasonable to damage the crops in order to maintain the price line, though many peoples die out of starvation?
If man abandons his morals, faith and his belief in the Hereafter, he becomes the most evil monster. By Allah Who there is no god by Him, man sometimes feels ashamed of belonging to the human race, because of the big number of crimes that he sees:
((…Epidemics such as plague, that is, the disease that hits sheep; it will seize you. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the world would not come to an end until a day would come to the people on which the murderer would not know as to why he has killed and the slain would not know as to why he has been murdered. On that day, the heart of the believer melts upon witnessing the harshness of bloody events, but he cannot do anything. If he announces his rejection, he will be killed and if he keeps silent, he will be considered a lawful target to be transgressed.))
Globalization: A set of immoral principles:
Concerning globalization which comes from the west, what does it mean? Excuse the expression that I use as a definition to this word, but by Allah I could not find a better one. Animalization is the most comprehensive and concise equivalent to globalization. It turns man into a wild animal; he eats alone (without caring about sh3er whether they have their share of food or not), builds his glory on the destruction of sh3er, accumulates his wealth on the poverty of sh3er, builds his life on the death of sh3er and he maintains his safety on scaring sh3er.
Globalization, dear brother, means the following:
- Materialism and atheism
- Dissoluteness and corruption
By Allah, this is what globalization is all about although it may seem eye-catching. It is about the denial of the Divine existence, the denial of the Divine Revelation, dissoluteness and corruption. As a result, man dies out of indulging in lusts. The effects of globalization can be noticed at Conferences on Population which were held in some countries like Egypt, Beijing and New York. Those conferences have permitted the safe abortion, recognized same-sex marriages, so that it has become legitimate and allowed the illegitimate relationships between a man and a woman. In some countries in the far east of the far west if a husband finds another man with his wife in bed, he can do nothing about that, because what happens in bed is called liberty!
Also, if the father sees a young man with his single daughter in bed (committing adultery), and he is outrageous, he will be arrested to sign a commitment writing on it that his reaction is uncivilized, because the young man is invited by his daughter (the illicit affair happens at her own free will).
Dear brother, the 'morals' of globalization are materialism, atheism dissoluteness and corruption. The conferences which are held successively serve it. If a country refuses such conferences and their recommendations, it will be punished by the economic sanctions imposed on it. One of these recommendations is changing the personal status law in order to permit the same-sex marriage and having countless choices for young men and women in having sexual relationship outside the framework of marriage.
The original attributes of morals:
Dear brother, there is a crucial fact that I would like you to be aware of. Some people think that morals are changeable values. I attended a conference held in Damascus two week ago, and one of the officials said, "In Paris, it is part of the French culture to see the daughter with a young man in
bed (committing adultery). There is nothing wrong with that. Thus, what is considered Haram (unlawful) and a crime in here is something very normal there (in Paris)." As if he was saying that having illicit affairs in Paris is part of the French morality. If you believe that moral values are changeable, you commit a deadly mistake which may put an end to the progress of Ummah.Dear brother, one of the characteristics of the original Islamic morals are stability and comprehensiveness; there are stable values which can never be changeable, modifiable or improvable. Like man, who has stable physical characteristics and systems, there are stable values in his life. As long as we do not believe in these stable values, Ummah will never progress.
Morals are justified in Islam:
Dear brother, the acts of worship are justified in the Noble Quran by the interests of people:
(And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance.)
(Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.)
(O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).
(Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it)
(And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence)
(That you may know that Allah has knowledge)
All the acts of worship in the Noble Quran, as Imam Ash–Shafi'i said, are justified by the interests of people. Similarly, the moral rules are justified in Islam in a great way. Almighty Allah makes At-Tayyibat (all kinds of Halal) lawful for us. Also He makes the values of beauty permissible to us:
((Indeed, Allah is beautiful, and He loves beauty)).
According to Shari'ah regulations, and since the love for women has been beautified for him, Almighty Allah gives man the right to marry. Islam is realistic, because it admits that man has two parts: An earthly part and a heavenly one, and it gives each part its right. Accordingly, you can marry, live in a house, have children, have a job be comfortable and know your duties towards Allah; you should worship and obey Him. Islam is realistic to the extent that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((All the sons of Adam are sinners and the best among the sinners are those who repent)).
Hence, Almighty Allah has legislated repentance. He has ordained us to repent only to accept our repentance, He has ordained us to ask Him for Forgiveness only to forgive us and He has ordained us to approach Him only to accept us.
Dear brother, in Islam even your body has a right over you:
(( Your body has a right over you)).
Its right is to feed it, to cure it, to relieve it when it is exhausted and to keep its systems healthy. All these are part of worship. We should use our minds the way Allah has ordained; Almighty Allah gave us the mind to think and ponder. The Ayat in which mind, knowledge, remembrance and meditation are mentioned are almost thousand Ayat.
The family, as well as the whole society, has a big part in this Method. Therefore, dear brother, whoever does not have exalted conduct, and he claims to be devout, suffers from a disorder in his life. He neglects morals which are considered a fundamental pillar in Islam.
* * *
Finally:
Dear brother, call yourselves to account before you are called to account, weigh your deeds before they are weighed against you and know that the Angel of Death has passed over us to reach sh3er and will pass over sh3er to reach us, so let us be cautious. It is the clever one who condemns himself, and works towards what is after death; and the incapable one is who follows his desires, and then expects to be rewarded by Allah.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
***
The second Khutbah:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Alone the Protector of the righteous, and I bear witness that our Master Muhammad, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, the one with noble morals. O Allah send your peace and blessings on our Master Muhammad, his Folks and Companions.
Da'wah through deeds ( the silent Da'wah):
Dear brother, some thinkers said, "The believer is a willy-nilly missioner to Allah, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously", how?
The believer is honest, so his honesty alone is Da'wah to Allah, he is trustworthy and his truthfulness is Da'wah to Allah, he is virtuous and virtue is Da'wah to Allah, he fulfils his promises and this is Da'wah to Allah and he is kind to neighbor and kindness is Da'wah to Allah, what does that mean?
You can't convince people of the greatness of this religion by your performance of the acts of worship, because it is between you and Allah, so people are not influenced by it. However, you can attract people and make them eager to know about this religion through your dealings, patience, wisdom, virtue, honesty, doing your job properly, forgiveness and sincerity. Your words can never be
influential unless you have good conduct. That is why Almighty Allah says:
(And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character)
If you have good morals, you are a missioner to Allah whether you like it or not, and even your Da'wah is called 'the silent Da'wah'. This Da'wah is more eloquent than the speaking one, because people learn with eyes, not with their ears, and so they can distinguish between the good and the bad. If you want to be a missioner to Allah, which is the highest rank, you should have good morals.
(And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.")
You can make your Da'wah silent with no need to eloquence, fluency or good style in speech by applying Allah's Method and having perfect traits, which every believer should have. Only then you will be a true missioner.
Supplication:
O Allah, we beseech You to show us the way of righteousness together with those to whom You showed it; and to give us good health together with those whom You have healed; and to be our Protector, as You are of those whom You protect; and to bless what You have bestowed on us; and to save us from the affliction that You have decreed –for You rule with justice and You are never judged; and he whom You protect shall never be humiliated, and he whom You make Your enemy shall never be elevated, blessed and dignified are You. We thank You for what You have decreed, we ask You for Forgiveness for our sins, and we repent to You.
O Allah, please lead us to the good deeds, for no one leads to them but You; please lead us to the good conduct, for no one leads to it but You; please make us do well in the Deen, which is our dignity, make us do well in our worldly life, in which we dwell and grant us safety on the Day of Judgment for it is our Final Destination. O Allah, please supply our life with all good things and make our death a rest from every evil.
O our Master, the Lord of all Worlds, please make us desire what You have made lawful and reject what You have made unlawful, make us by Your benevolence independent of all sh3er and make my obedience to You turn me away from my disobedience.
