In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
BEING THE SECOND SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF J. AKHEERAH, DATED 13TH J. AKHEERAH, 1444 AH (6TH JANUARY, 2022 CE).
TITLED: MUTUAL COOPERATION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PIETY: ITS ASPECTS AND METHODS
THE FIRST SERMON
All Praises belong to Allah, we praise Him, Glorified and Exalted He is, we thank Him, we believe in Him, and we trust in Him. We seek refuge in him from the evil of our own souls, and from our bad deeds. He whom Allah guides is the one who is guided and nothing that can mislead him, and whoever is let astray, none can guide Him. I testify that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and His Messenger, who said in his honorable hadith: “A believer to a believer is like a building, one part of it strengthens the other.”. O Allah! Bless and grant peace on him, his family, his companions in general.
Thereafter…
Servants of Allah! Fear Allah the way He ought to be feared, and know that Allah with obedience of Allah upon the Light from Allah hoping for reward and recompence of Allah, and abandon sins and disobedience to Allah upon the Light from Allah, fearing Allah’s punishment. Allah Ta’alah says: (يَا أيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنْتُمْ مسلمون) “O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah.” (Aal-Imraan: 102).
Servants of Allah, dear listeners! Mutual cooperation in goodness has a great position in Islaam, as it is a divine command: (وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى البِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا َتعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالعُدْوَانِ وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ إِنَّ اللهَ شَدِيدُ العِقَابِ) “Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.” (Al-Maaidah: 2), and it is one of the branches of faith as indicated by the prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). He said: “Whoever guides to something good will have a reward similar to that of its doer.” (Muslim).
Brothers in Faith! The command to mutually help one another in righteousness and piety means that we help each other in everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, whether in the matters Allah’s Rights or the rights of the people. Ibn Qayyim (may Allah Ta’alah have mercy on him) said that this verse “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and transgression” encompasses all of the areas of interest of the servants of Allah, in their present existence and their hereafter, in what is between them and in what is between them and their Lord. Indeed, no servant goes outside of these two situations and these two obligations. The obligations between him and Allah and the obligations between him and other creations. As for what is between him and other creations, including living together, assistance and companionship, it is obligatory for him in it that his coming together with them and his companionship with them be a mutual cooperation in pleasing Allah and obeying Him, which is the goal of the servant’s happiness and success. There is no happiness for him except with it, that is, righteousness and piety, both of which are the totality of religion in its entirety.
O Beloved brethren! Our mother Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him): “..You join family ties, you speak the truth, you bear people’s burden, you help the destitute, you entertain guests, and you help against the vicissitudes which affect people.” (Sharh Nawawi of Saheeh Muslim). She was describing his character (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) before he was raised as a prophet. Abubakr As-Sideeq (may Allah be pleased with him) was described in the same way. This points to the fact that mutual help on goodness is a human instinct that Allah distinguishes human with over all other creatures.
Brothers in Faith! It is incumbent upon a Muslim to promote all forms of mutual cooperation on goodness in his society. Some of them that follows (below) should suffice us:
Firstly: Helping one another in obedience to Allah: Abu Uthman Al-Nahdiy says: “Abu Hurairah was my guest seven times, and he, his wife, and his servant spent the night in three parts, one person prays then wakes one person, and he prays and then wakes the other person.
Secondly: Cooperation in seeking knowledge: This is found in the life of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) as a result of his house being far from the mosque, whence he and his neighbor were helping each other in seeking knowledge while he was descending: He said: “And we used to go to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in turns. He goes down one day, and I go down another day, and when I go, I come to him with news of that day from revelation and other than that, and when he goes, he does the same.” (Bukhaary)
Thirdly: Cooperation between spouses: When ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about what the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do in his house, related from the hadith of Al-Aswad ibn Yazeed, she said: “He was in the service of his family (helping),” meaning serving his family, and when the time for prayer came, he would go out to the prayer. (Ahmad)
Fourthly: Cooperation in implementing the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil: Enjoining good and forbidding evil is one of the characters of this Ummah: (وَلِتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أًمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ) “And let there be from among you a people that invites to good and enjoins good and forbids evil” (Aal-Imraan: 104)
(كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّة أخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ) “You are the best people brought forth for mankind, you enjoin what is right and forbidd what is wrong.” (Aal-Imraan: 110)
Fifthly: Cooperation in assisting the oppressor and the oppressed: The oppressor is assisted by keeping him away from injustice and warning him of its evil consequences and the dangerous outcomes that is promised the oppressor: (وَلَا َتحْسَبَنَّ اللهَ غَافِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ الظّالِمُونَ،إِنّمَا يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ الأَبْصَارُ) “Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror..” (Ibrahim: 42). And so is the oppressed assisted by being with him and taking his rights from those who oppress him. And the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him): “Help your brother, whether he is the oppressor or the oppressed” (Bukhaari).
And the lack of cooperation in enjoining good and forbidding evil and helping the oppressor and the oppressed, has a bad consequence according to the saying of the prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): “Nay, by Allah, you either enjoin good and forbid evil and catch hold of the hand of the oppressor and persuade him to act justly and stick to the truth, or, Allah will involve the hearts of some of you with the hearts of others and will curse you as He had cursed them” (Abu Daawud and Tirmidhiy). And Alah Ta’alah says: (لُعِنَ الّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَى لِسَانِ دَاؤُودَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ذَلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوْا وَكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ. كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُون) “Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dawud (David) and ‘Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds. They used not to forbid one another from the Munkar (wrong, evil-doing, sins, polytheism, disbelief, etc.) which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do.” (Al-Maaidah: 78-79).
Dear beloved people! These illustrations that we have mentioned and other aspects of sharing and participating in good righteous deeds in words and action, for the great reward, are only for the sake of mutual assistance.
It is the duty of the scholar to help the people with his knowledge, so he teaches them. It is the duty of the rich to help people with his money, and the brave to help with his courage in the way of Allah., and for the muslims to show this as one single joined hand, and this undoubtedly brings benefits and fruits to everyone from the fruits of Islamic brotherhood, as each individual benefits from the experttise and experiences of others in various aspects of life. And so is the the ease of accomplishing big things that individuals may not be able to do, so it speeds up the wheel of scientific development and technological progress and the appropriate exploitation of faculties and energies for the benefit of the individual and society. In addition, reward is the same form as the work done, so whoever helps his brother, Allah helps him. He (the prophet) (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) says: “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, he does not wrong him or betray him, and whoever fulfills his brother’s need, Allah will fulfill his need. Allah is in the aid of a servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother.
We ask Allah Ta’alah to benefit us from what we have heard and to make us among those who listen to the Words (of Allah and admonition) and follow the best of it, and I say all these and ask forgiveness from Allah for me and for.
THE SECOND SERMON
All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Who says in His revelation thus: (لَيْسَ البِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ المَشْرِكِ وَالمَغْرِبِ وَلَكِنّ البِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللهِ وَاليَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَالمَلاَئِكَةِ وَالكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى المَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي القُرْبَى وَاليَتَامَا وَالمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَاب) “Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, ˹needy˺ travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives” (Baqarah: 177). Then, prayers and peace be upon the best of those who have been commanded to ensure goodness for the orphan thus: (فأَمَّا اليَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ) “So do not oppress the orphan, nor repulse the beggar. And proclaim the blessings of your Lord.” (Adh-dhuha: 9-11)
Caring for an orphan is one of the matters encouraged by Islamic law since the time of the Prophet fourteen centuries ago, even before the attention of the United Nations to commemorate the The World Day of War Orphans annually on every sixth day of January to remind the world of the suffering of the orphans who were victims of wars, riots and crimes in the world, so suddenly the enemies of humanity appear to claim what they do not deserve and loving to be praised for what they did not do, by convening days in which they propagate, in sharp contrast to what they want for the world, because majority of the fires of wars were kindled by them and they never cease to ignite it every day.
Allah, Glory be to Him, has made Paradise a reward for kindness to the orphan. And caring for the orphan is not limited to those who lost their father in war situation, rather it includes whoever lost the father and is under age. Caring and spending for the orphan, as mentioned in the hadith: “On the authority of Saeed bin Al-Musayyab, he said: “When an orphan cries, the Throne shakes for his sake, so Allah Almighty says: Who made the orphan, whom I took his father, cry? They said: You are the All-knowing, All- wise, He said: ‘O my Angels, whoever consoles him with the pleasure (of his provision), I will give him from the paradise until he is pleased”. And the one who is spends on the orphan or is responsible for his upbringing, is promised by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of a supreme position on the Day of Resurrection by being in the company of the Prophet in the paradise of bliss. May Allah make us among them, O Lord of the worlds.
