IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICIENT, THE MERCIFUL
BEING THE FIRST KHUTBAH FOR THE MONTH OF SAFAR, DATED 2ND SAFAR 1445AH (18TH AUGUST, 2023CE)
TOPIC: FIGHTING THE MEANS OF POLYTHEISM AND INNOVATION SINCERELY FOR ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY AND EXALTED AND FOR SEEKING HIS FACE.
THE FIRST SERMON
All Praises belong to Allah, Lord of the worlds, who sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion to make it prevail over all religion, even if the idolaters hate it. He forbade his servants from polytheism, and He told them that He does not forgive that partners should be associated with Him, so He, Glorified He is, the Most High, said: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا) “Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin. (An-Nisaa: 48). We praise Him, Glorified and Exalted He is, we thank Him we believe in Him and depend on, and put our trust in Him. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. He has no partner. And I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. He delivered the message, he fulfilled the trust, he admonished the ummah, and Allah removed, through him, the confusion (of humanity), and he strived in the way of his Lord as he should until the Certainty (death) came to him. O Allah, may Your blessings and peace of be upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them in kindness until the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter…
O servants of Allah! I advise you and myself to fear Allah Almighty, secretly and openly, and know that piety is the desired purpose of all acts of worship and good deeds according to His saying, Glory be to Him: (يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) “O people, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may attain piety” (Al-Baqarah: 21).
Dear Muslims! This is the first meeting in the month of Safar, and the topic of our sermon today revolves around: combating the means of polytheism and innovation sincerely for Allah, the Almighty and Exalted and for seeking His Face, Glorified He is.
Brothers in Faith! The Islamic creed is the one with which Allah sent His messengers and revealed His Books and made it obligatory for all of His creation, jinn and mankind; As the Most High said: (وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونِ) “And I (Allah) have not created the jinns and humans except that they should worship Me (Alone).” (Adh-Dhariyyaat: 56). And He, the Most Exalted said: (وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ) “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him} (Al-Israa: 23), and He, the Almighty, said: (وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اُعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ) “And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taghut besides Allah” (An-Nahl: 36).
All the messengers came with the call to this creed, and all the divine books were revealed to explain it and clarify the things that invalidate it, or contradict it, or diminish it. Everybody who has the duty to worship Allah is instructed with it. In any case, this matter and its importance is worthy of attention, research, and awareness of it above everything, especially more that the happiness of humanity depends on this creed, on this belief in this world and the hereafter.
Allah Ta’alaa says: (فمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا) “Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.” (Al-Baqara: 256).
And the meaning of that is that whoever loosens his hand from this creed, then he’s holding on to delusions and falsehood; So what is that if not destruction?! (ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الْبَاطِلُ) “That is because Allah He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Baatil (falsehood)…” (Al-Hajj:62). And thus, his return will be to the Fire and it’s the most evil abyss.
And creed means: what the servant believes in and adheres to. If such creed is in accordance with what Allah has sent messengers and his Books, then it is a correct and sound creed by which happiness and salvation from the punishment of Allah in this world and the hereafter can be obtained.
And if this belief is contrary to what Allah sent His Messengers with and revealed His Books with, then it is a belief that will necessitate punishment and misery for its adherents in this world and the hereafter.
Servant of Allah! The most dangerous and greatest of the major sins that every Muslim should pay attention to, knowing about and being wary of committing, is associating partners with Allah Ta’alaa. Why? It is because associating partners with Allah is the greatest of all major sins, and it is enough that it is a sin that Allah does not forgive, except for those who repent and return to Allah before they die.
Allah Ta’alaa says: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا) “Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin.” (An-Nisaa: 48).
And He – the Most High – said: (إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ) “Verily, whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode.” (Al-Maa’idah: 72).
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah b upon him)- said: “Shall I not inform you of the greatest of the major sins? Associating partners with Allah” (Agreed upon).
Polytheism, associating partners with Allah Ta’alaa, is of two types: greater polytheism, which is worshiping any other than Allah, or directing any part of worship to any other than Allah, and the lesser polytheism, one of which is showing off. He – the Most High – said in the Qudsi Hadith: “I am the most needless of partners from polytheism. Whoever does an act in which someone else joins me in it, I leave him and his partner (that he has set up).” (Muslim).
THE OCCURRENCE OF POLYTHEISM IN THE TAWHEED OF WORSHIP
It is required of the Muslim, after knowing the Truth, to know what contradicts it of falsehood in order to avoid it, as it is said: I knew evil, not because of evil *** but to avoid falling into it.
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say: “People used to ask the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah b upon him) about good, and I used to ask him about evil for fear that I might fall into it.”
The Amirul Mu’mineen, Umar ibn Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, says: “The bonds of Islaam are about to be unraveled one by one when those who do not know the pre-Islamic era grow up in Islaam.”
And before that, Ibrahim Al-Khaleel, peace and blessings be upon him, said: (رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ) “O my Lord! Make this city (Makkah) one of peace and security, and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols. O my Lord! They have indeed led astray many among mankind.” (Ibraheem: 35).
This is what makes it necessary to intensify of being wary of polytheism and being aware of it and recognizing it so that Muslims can avoids it. Polytheism (associating partner with Allah) is directing any part of any type of ‘ibaadah to any other than Allah, such as supplication, slaughtering, making a vow, and seeking help from other than Allah in a situation or matter that only Allah is capable of.
And Tawheed (monotheism) is sincerely singling out Allah Ta’alaa for worship. It is what is inherent in the children of Aadam, and polytheism only evolves upon it. The Almighty said: (كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ وَأَنْزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ) ”Mankind were one community and Allah sent Prophets with glad tidings and warnings, and with them He sent the Scripture in truth to judge between people in matters wherein they differed. And only those to whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it after clear proofs had come unto them through hatred, one to another. Then Allah by His Leave guided those who believed to the truth of that wherein they differed…”(Al-Baqarah: 213).
Ibn Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: “There were ten centuries between Aadam and Nuuh, all of them upon Islaam.” Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “This saying is the correct opinion concerning the verse.” This view was also confirmed by Ibn Katheer.
The first time polytheism happened on earth was among the people of Nuuh when they went to extremes regarding the righteous one that used to be among them: (وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا) “And they have said: ‘You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa’, nor Yaghuth, nor Ya’uq, nor Nasr (names of the idols)” (Nuuh: 23).
Al-Bukhaari said in his book of Saheeh on the authority of Ibn Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with them: “These are the names of righteous men from the people of Nuuh, and when they perished, Shaytaan inspired their people to set up monuments in their gatherings in which they used to sit, and named them by their names. So, they did, but they did not worship them, until when those ones also all died and knowledge was lost (forgotten), then they (the monuments of the righteous one that they built) were worshiped.”
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “More than one of the predecessors said: When they died, they bent over their graves, then made their statues, and then a long time passed over them and they started to worshiped them.”
Dear honorable Muslims! No matter how short, we now turn to talk about innovation in worship, even if it’s a word or two, because the constraint of time and space.
According to Hassan Al-Banna (Rahimahullahu): “Every innovation in the religion of Allah that has no basis, and that people have approved and made good for themselves, according to their whims, whether by adding to the Deen or removing from it – is a misguidance that must be fought and eliminated by the best means that do not lead to what is worse than fitnah of the innovation itself. (Hasan al-Banna).
He also said: “Innovation of addition, innovation of removal, and commitment to absolute worship are matters of differences in understanding (Fiqh), each having his own view, and there is nothing wrong with scrutinizing the truth with evidence and proof.” (Hasan Al-Banna – may Allah have mercy on him).
THE SECOND SERMON:
In the name of Allah, and all praises are due to Allah. and blessings and peace be showered upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and those who followed him.
Thereafter,
Dear Servants of Allah, since Islam ensures the preservation of the intellect faculty of its adherents, including their honor, morals, and their dealings, for there are matters that are entry doors to evil and corruption. If a person enters through such, his mind gets corrupted, his religion gets lost, his morals becomes ruined, and he falls into all kinds of lowly status, and things get worst.
On this matter, what could be worst harm and danger to people, especially the youth, than taking Drugs.
What could inform you of what intoxicants are!!
How great is its evil, how great is its danger, and how great is its crime against the minds, intellects, morals, ethics, religions, and values. It has become established among the men of wise and discerning that drugs have become, at this time, one of the most powerful weapons used by the enemies of Allah’s religion and the decency to destroy our children.
It was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: “Avoid wine, for it is the key to all evil.” They are the keys to evils, the source of evils, and the source of all kinds of abominations. If a young man sets his foot on this path – the path of consuming alcohol and drugs – then he would have committed a great crime against himself and would have set it on a dangerous path and a dangerous gate that leads it to all evil and affliction.
In addition to that, brothers in faith, Muslim scholars and Islamic organizations in Lagos State held a peaceful demonstration against the Governor of Lagos State Mr. Olusola Sanwo-olu on Wednesday 16th, August, 2023 regarding his unjust list of commissioners against the Muslims, thus seeking their legal democratic rights as citizens of Lagos State and Muslim voters for the Governor and Deputy Governor of Lagos State in the 2023 election. They submitted their letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives through his representatives, requesting him to present a new list of nominees that will favor the Muslims with 60% stake, going by the population of Muslims in Lagos state.