IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL.
THE FOURTH FRIDAY SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF RABI‘ AL-AKHIR,
DATED 25 RABI‘ AL-AKHIR 1447 AH (CORRESPONDING TO 17/10/2025 CE),
ON THE TOPIC: POLYTHEISM AND ITS DANGERS.
THE FIRST SERMON
All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
Allah says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ﴾
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” [Āl ʿImrān: 102]
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا﴾
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.” [An-Nisāʾ: 1]
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا﴾
“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.” [Al-Aḥzāb: 70–71].
Thereafter: The truest speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The worst of matters are newly invented ones, for every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire.
O believers, the gravest form of injustice and the ugliest of evils is that a servant associates others with Allah after Allah has created him, chosen him, subjected the creation for his benefit, sent messengers to guide him, and revealed scriptures for his enlightenment.
The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah — to equate anyone with Him in that which is exclusively His. How can the Creator, the Provider, the Sovereign, the Controller of all affairs be equated with a creation that cannot cause harm or benefit, nor has power over death, life, or resurrection?
This reality will be made clear to the polytheists on the Day of Resurrection when they will say to those they worshipped besides Allah:
﴿تَاللَّهِ إِن كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ * إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُم بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾
“By Allah, we were indeed in manifest error when we equated you with the Lord of the worlds.” [Ash-Shuʿarāʾ: 97–98].
Polytheism is among the major sins — in fact, it is the greatest of all. For this reason, Allah has forbidden forgiveness and Paradise to the one who dies upon it:
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا﴾
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.” [An-Nisāʾ: 116]
﴿إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنْصَارٍ﴾
“Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.” [Al-Māʾidah: 72].
The Prophet ﷺ narrated that Allah, the Most High, said: “I am the One Who is most free from want of partners. Whoever does an act for the sake of someone else along with Me, I leave him and his act of shirk.” (Reported by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him).
The Prophet ﷺ also forbade it, saying: “Do not associate anything with Allah even if you are cut to pieces and burnt. Do not abandon an obligatory prayer deliberately, for whoever abandons it deliberately, his covenant with Allah is void. And do not drink wine, for it is the key to every evil.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah).
O brothers, some people think that warning against polytheism and discussing it is not appropriate among those whose outward appearance shows they are monotheists. This is a mistaken notion, for the entire Qur’an and the whole of the Sharia came to affirm the necessity of singling out Allah Almighty in all that is His due, to warn against following the ways of the polytheists, and to clarify their evil end. If half of people’s discussions or even most of them revolved around warning against this grave sin — the greatest of all sins — it would not be considered excessive by those who truly understand the Sharia of Allah correctly.
The Glorious Qur’an came to warn the polytheists against their shirk, to guide them toward monotheism, guidance, and salvation:
﴿فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ * وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا آخَرَ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ﴾
“So flee to Allah. Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner. And do not make [as equal] with Allah another deity. Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner.” [Adh-Dhāriyāt: 50–51].
The warning against polytheism was not limited to disbelievers; Allah also warned the believers and commanded them to maintain their faith along with their belief:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا﴾
“O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.” [An-Nisāʾ: 136]
And ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَآمِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ﴾
“O you who have believed, fear Allah and believe in His Messenger.” [Al-Ḥadīd: 28].
The believing servants, although Allah has guided him and shown him the straight path, still recites in every unit of every prayer:
﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ﴾
“Guide us to the straight path.” [Al-Fātiḥah: 6].
Due to the gravity of shirk, the Qur’an does not suffice with warning the disbelievers and believers; rather, Allah even warned His prophets and messengers against it, though they are infallible from committing it:
﴿وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَنْ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا﴾
“And [mention, O Muhammad], when We designated for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], ‘Do not associate anything with Me.’” [Al-Ḥajj: 26].
After mentioning a number of prophets in His Book, Allah said:
﴿وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾
“But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.” [Al-Anʿām: 88].
The scholars said: “If those who are protected from shirk are warned against it, then what about others besides them?” This is Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him); Allah tells us about him:
﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَـٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ﴾
“And [mention] when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this city secure and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols.’” [Ibrāhīm: 35].
Ibrahim — who broke the idols with his own hands, disassociated from his people, and was made a model for monotheists, Ibrahim — whom his people threw into the fire for eradicating shirk, still said:
﴿وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ * رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ﴾
“And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols. My Lord, indeed they have led astray many among the people.” [Ibrāhīm: 35–36].
Ibrahim At-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “Who can feel safe from trial after Ibrahim?” O believing brothers, just as Allah warned the disbelievers, believers, and messengers against shirk, He also addressed the leader of the monotheists and the seal of the messengers, Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace and blessings be upon him), warning him against it — though he was protected from it — and his warning is a warning for his Ummah:
﴿وَلَا يَصُدُّنَّكَ عَنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أُنزِلَتْ إِلَيْكَ وَادْعُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾
“And let them not avert you from the verses of Allah after they have been revealed to you; and invite [people] to your Lord and never be of those who associate others with Allah.” [Al-Qaṣaṣ: 87]
And He also said:
﴿لَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا آخَرَ فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًا مَّخْذُولًا﴾
“Do not make [as equal] with Allah another deity and [thereby] become censured and forsaken.” [Al-Isrāʾ: 22].
And in another verse:
﴿وَلَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا آخَرَ فَتُلْقَىٰ فِي جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًا مَّدْحُورًا﴾ “And do not make [as equal] with Allah another deity and [thereby] be thrown into Hell, blamed and banished.” [Al-Isrāʾ: 39].
And since shirk (polytheism) carries such extreme danger, a servant must never feel secure from it—especially considering that the Prophet ﷺ himself feared it for his Companions. Abu Saʿīd narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I not tell you what I fear for you more than the false Messiah (al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl)?” They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” He said: “Hidden shirk: when a man stands to pray and beautifies his prayer because he sees another man looking at him.” (Reported by Ahmad).
A person can only be cautious of it if he learns about it and understands it, so that he does not fall into anything that harms his faith without realizing it. Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “People used to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī).
Among the most fearful aspects of shirk is its extreme subtlety, for the Prophet ﷺ said: “Shirk in this Ummah is more hidden than the creeping of an ant upon a black stone at night.” (A sound ḥadīth reported by Abū Yaʿlā).
Yet the Prophet ﷺ also taught the remedy to erase it, as he instructed Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) to say three times each day: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ شَيْئًا وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُهُ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ — “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.” (A good ḥadīth).
O servants of Allah, is there any excuse left for one who falls into shirk after such clear and divine warnings in the Noble Book of Allah—الَّذِي لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنْزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ — “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from One All-Wise, Praiseworthy.” (Qur’an 41:42).
So, fear shirk, beware of it, and seek refuge in Allah from it—for He, the Exalted, is the best Protector. May Allah bless me and you…
THE SECOND SERMON
All praise is due to Allah, the Helper of the oppressed and the Humiliator of the tyrants and wrongdoers. Nothing on earth or in the heavens can defeat Him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and all his Companions.
O Muslims, servants of Allah! Here is Gaza of Dignity once again presenting to the world a living example of unshakable faith. After two years of devastating war, suffocating siege, and horrifying massacres, the voice of resistance rises again—unbroken and unbowed. They sought to subdue her with fire and iron, but she emerged stronger than steel. They sought to humiliate her through hunger and blockade, but her faith and conviction only increased.
O servants of Allah, the recent prisoner exchange deal was another page of victory, for the resistance compelled the enemy to negotiate while broken and powerless—after failing to achieve its goals despite its military arsenal and global support. Who would have imagined that the occupier and its allies would be forced into an exchange they had long rejected? Indeed, it is a victory from Allah—a victory through faith, not weaponry; through steadfastness, not numbers; through truth, not falsehood.
O believing brothers, the prisoners who have been released from the occupation’s prisons were in a condition that makes hearts weep and stands as living proof of the brutality of an enemy that knows no meaning of humanity. They were tortured in the darkness of their cells, deprived of sunlight and fresh air, denied medicine and food, and their dignity was violated day and night. Yet, despite all this, they neither weakened nor surrendered; rather, they emerged from the prisons as they had entered—stronger in faith, firmer in resolve, and closer to Allah, the Almighty. And indeed, many others still remain unjustly imprisoned.
O people of Islam, the occupation’s projects have collapsed one after another — from the so-called American Riviera plan that sought to turn Gaza into a commercial colony built upon the skulls of the innocents, to the false “peace summits” held only to beautify the face of ugliness and conceal the crimes of genocide. But Allah willed nothing except that the truth be made manifest, and the outcome turned against their desires: worldwide sympathy for Gaza and a moral scandal for the regimes that claimed to defend peace while being partners in aggression. Dear beloved in Allah, what we witness today is not merely a political or military victory, but a victory of faith and civilization — one that has restored the Ummah’s awareness, revived its spirit of dignity and honor, and proven that “Whoever has Allah with him, none can overcome him.” فَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ over every arrogant tyrant, and all praise is due to Allah, Who grants respite but never neglects. وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ — “And those who wronged will come to know what evil end they will meet.” (Qur’an 26:227).
Dua: O Allah, grant victory to our brothers in Gaza; O Allah, heal their wounded, accept their martyrs, and free their captives. O Allah, deal with the usurping Jews and all who supported and aided them in oppressing Your believing servants. O Allah, make this bloodshed a curse upon the oppressors and a light for the oppressed. O Allah, raise high the banner of Islam and cool our hearts with a decisive victory and manifest honor soon to come. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our master Muhammad, his family, and his companions.