Friday Khutbah (18th March 2005) delivered by Shaykh Muhammad Taher
DISCLAIMER: This reminder was originally delivered in Arabic. Any meanings lost in translation are not to be attributed to the speaker as reminders are translated by volunteers. The mosque has no official translater and volunteers often have no formal qualifications to translate on the day. Please forgive any errors as they are from our human weakness and any right guidance is from Allah.Iblis, may the curse of Allah be on him, continues to stick by the oath which he swore against Allah’s power; rebelling against his Lord in arrogance. He took the step to disobey Allah and he himself consented to be the one that calls people to misguidance and sin and he is the leader of those that follow him and his ways. Those from the tribe of Adam who fall into his trap are lead into disbelief, associating others with Allah, deviation and error.
And Allah says in the Noble Qur’an:
“He (Iblis) said: Because you have let me deviate, now I will lie in ambush for mankind on your straight path. Then I shall come upon them from their front, from behind, from the right and from the left, and You will not find most of them to be ungrateful” (Surah 7:16-17)
And it is mentioned in Surah An-Nisa verse 118-120:
“Allah did curse him, and he (Iblis) said ‘I will take a portion of Your servants and shall lead them astray and arouse in them vain desires. I shall command them-and they will cut off the ears of cattle (in adulterous sacrifice), and I will command them- and they will change Allah’s creation. So, whoever takes Shaitaan as their master instead of Allah has become a clear-cut loser. Shaitaan makes them promises and stirs in them false desires, but Shaitaan’s promises are nothing but deception”
People today that follow Shaitaan and take him as a leader will be lead by him to deviate from the path of Allah, to change the creation of Allah and His laws regarding His creatures and the universe. This is all part of Shaitaan’s plan and he has appointed others from both humans and Jinn to help him accomplish this.
And Allah says:
“Likewise did we appoint for every Prophet an enemy- Shaitaans from among human beings and Jinn, inspiring each other with adorned speech as a delusion. If your Lord had wanted, they would not have done so; so leave them and their inventions alone. To such (deceit) let the hearts of those who incline who have no faith in the Hereafter: let them delight in it and let them earn from it what they may” ( Surah 6:112-113)
Oh Muslim!
Just recently the 10th Peking Conference took place, which discussed the issue of women and the family. One of the commentators on such conference states : “ Perhaps the most important thing is to be acquainted with the philosophy which gives rise to these conferences and policies so that we can understand what is wanted of women generally and Muslim women in particular.
This philosophy consists of the following:
Transforming the cultures of other peoples, their civilisations, in the name of secularism and substituting culture, tradition and religion with a culture very peculiar from their own.
This culture is a controlling force in the world today, changing people’s morals and values. We see today that these morals and values are disintegrating and are very far from the Divine methodology which has come to us from the Divine religions (of Monotheism).
This has been done under the supervision of the United Nations; a powerful controlling force in the world.
They call for complete equality between both men and women without taking into consideration the biological and psychological differences between both genders and their respective rights and obligations in regards to them.
Religion and its role in directing the nation and protecting values, is ignored.
The role of the family is also disregarded. These policies wrongly depict the problems faced by women.
The aim of the consumer society is to break up ties wherein each individual in society is transformed into a mere consumer, left on their own, devoid of natural family life.
Sex outside marriage is talked about in a very open manner. These policies respect promiscuity and the right of those who indulge in this, to build families.
Abortion is not seen as crime, in fact it is being encouraged. It is labelled as a safety measure and is required to be taught to children in schools as part of sex education. In addition to this, children are taught about safe sex and methods of contraception.
Many articles mentioned in the Peking conference go against human nature and instead favour the wiping out of Divine laws and in particular, the laws of Islam.
Brothers and sisters!
Many scholars and Islamic organisations have opposed attempts such as these, including the European Research Council ( which we regard to be a uniting authority for the Muslims of Europe). This Council includes the renowned Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, may Allah preserve him and our dear Sheikh Abdullah Al-Judai’, may Allah preserve him also. It clearly states its position in regards to such issues after numerous lengthy discussions on these controversial issues, as is mentioned in their publication.
Brothers and sisters, I wish to summarise for you in six points the most important of issues discussed by the European Research Council.
Firstly, the issue of women, children and the family requires increased efforts to solve issues such as the fragmentation of the family, the rise in divorce rates, seeking non-permissible alternatives to marriage which lead to the spread of deadly diseases, the births of illegitimate children in societies and the issue of teenage pregnancies.
Conferences like these reflect universal concerns regarding this issue.
Secondly, Islam considers health and well being to be the biggest of blessings after faith. For this reason, lslam calls for the preservation of health in all its forms; psychological, sociological and spiritual. It gives special attention to the expectant mother and the child.
Thirdly, Islam, like many other religions, considers the family to be the basis for the unity of society and marriage as the only path which facilitates this. Marriage is the only acceptable institution for lawful sexual relations. Therefore, any sexual relationship outside marriage between a man and women is rejected as unlawful and forbidden in Islam.
Fourthly, it is necessary that sex education be given in a controlled environment and should be appropriate to their age and the biological developments of both sexes, in a dignified environment as recommended in the Noble Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet (SAW). Islam in no instance allows sex education to include any practical presentation of any kind.
Islam nurtures and guides the youth towards chastity and to be content with one’s worship when the opportunity for marriage is yet to come, so that they can be strengthened by this in order to obey Allah and control their desires.
Distributing contraception in schools is inexcusable and there is no good reason for it, in fact it is a means of corruption and evil and encourages unlawful acts.
As for abortion, there are Islamic rules regarding this and it is not permissible without certain requirements and conditions but as for abortion as a safety measure, the Council does not approve of this.
Fifthly, Islam calls for the equality of men and women; their rights and duties. Islam recognises the competence of women; she has her own wealth which she may use as she pleases, and she has her own personality. She has the right to education, work, protection and participation in everyday life.
Islam makes no preference of one gender over the other. It is stated in Surah Al-Imran, verse 190: “ So their Lord answers their prayers, saying ‘I will not let the good deed of any one of you, male or female, be wasted”
In Islamic law, women are the partners of men.
Islam has forbidden all forms of oppression against women, as female infanticide, forced marriages, deprivation of inheritance and any other form of harm.
The last point discussed by the Council calls the United Nations and international organisations, in regards to the matter of women and children, to refrain from interfering in cultural and religious matters and those pertaining to general behaviour. This should be left for people to decide, according to their religious knowledge, cultural awareness and personal interests. This was the summary of the report given by the European research council which was published this year 2005/ 1426 AH.
Second Khutbah
It is vital that the Muslim minority, and in particular both mothers and fathers, to pay full attention to these issues. Likewise it is also necessary to take a serious look at the efforts which aim to preserve our morals and values. The Muslim minority will not be influenced by such attempts to disunite them in their position on these issues and the rights which they demand.
It is sufficient that we are united, if this was not so, then this would result in the destruction of our families, our children, our beliefs and our values.
If the Jewish people encountered such opposition against their religion and beliefs, they would not allow that system to impose such ideas upon their sons and daughters in schools, nor upon their family life. Why is this? This is because they stand united and are firm in expressing their religion.
So what is wrong with the people of Qur’an, the followers of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him? We are divided in our affairs but Allah says “ Hold fast to the rope of Allah all of you and be you not divided”.
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