Friday Khutbah (6th May 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.Iman or Faith is the belief of the heart in Allah and his Messenger (SAW) and acting upon it with all your senses. The faith that has an effect on a Muslim’s life is routed from within the soul and has numerous dimensions.
Faith that is well-established in a Muslim is the one that pushes his soul to manifest it outwardly in this life. It is Faith that has an effect in your speech and your actions and all your daily affairs in this life. True faith is when you believe that Allah is watching you; both when you are alone and with others, and being able to acknowledge the power of Allah, the Most High, in every single thing and at all times. If you find this, O Muslim, then know that your faith is true.
The person who has true faith is the one whose actions in life and daily dealings with others springs from his good inner conscience and belief – fearing Allah in his privacy before the fear of people in the open.
O Muslims, it seems we see today a group of Muslims that maintain their link to this religion by mere declaration of the Shahadah (testimony of faith) and we see them far away from the real meaning and practice of the Shahadah and far from the correct understanding of the religion and righteous deeds. In everything, they follow only what they themselves perceive - obscured by their desires and limited understanding, assuming authority to talk in judgment – the truth and what is good is only what they perceive as truth and good. But their judgment on things is based upon their self-interest. These kinds of people were described by Allah, the Most High in the following ayah:
“And yet there is among men such a one who argues about Allah without having any knowledge, without guidance and without a Scripture giving light (from Allah), twisting things around in order to lead others astray from the Path of Allah- for him there is disgrace in this life, and on the Day of Judgement We shall make him taste the punishment of burning fire” (Surah Hajj – 22:8-9)
They say ‘we believe, we surrender’, but they only say this, for in reality their hearts do not believe. They do not submit their hearts to Allah, nor do they surrender their deeds, thoughts and actions in this life, for His sake.
The faith of these people is only symbolic (like wearing a badge); they believe only so that they can disengage faith from the Qur’an and Sunnah. They challenge what is in Islam, by way of its beliefs, laws and its Prophet SAW, whilst at the same time they claim to be Muslim. Their freedom in speech, thought and criticism is levelled against the holiness of Allah and His Messenger.
These people regard other views and ideals as sacred. They throw aside what should be their religion, their Islam, their Messenger in exchange for backwardness, deviation and inflexibility.
These people cause harm in what they say and cause harm to their own souls. They exchange the life Hereafter for the life of this world, purchasing error over guidance and purchasing punishment over forgiveness; but their bargain brings them no gain, and neither are they guided.
There is another group who confine the religion to the rituals of prayer and other practices. Their faith and surrendering to Allah has no impact upon their life and actions, nor does it bear any effect upon their relationship with their wife, their children, their fellow Muslims or the community in which they live.
Their faith is a set of rigid movements and actions that have no connection to the reality of faith which Allah the Most High is pleased with and loves from His servants.
It is reported in a Hadith which is Sahih (authentic) and agreed upon;
On the authority of Abdullah bin `Amr Ibn al-`As who relates that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him said:
“Whoever has the following four (characteristics) is a hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up:
· on every occasion he speaks, he tells a lie
· on every occasion he is entrusted, he betrays
· on every occasion he quarrels, he behaves in a very evil and insulting manner
· on every occasion he makes a promise, he proves treacherous
(In the narration of Imam Muslim: “He prays and fasts whilst pretending to be a Muslim”)
The hypocrisy mentioned in this Hadith refers to minor hypocrisy, which is the hypocrisy in action; a person outwardly shows this, whilst inside they are the opposite of that. This is not the major hypocrisy; for major hypocrisy is when a person shows outwardly that they have faith in Allah, His Angels, His Prophets and the Day of Judgement, but inside they hide the opposite of what they show (as defined by the people of knowledge - according to Imam Ahmad bin Rajab Al-Hanbali).
O Muslims, as seen in this Hadith the presence of these characteristics - which contradict faith - collectively is an indicative of a bad state of being, the faith of a person who is in such state is a weak faith, and whoever is in such state is a hypocrite with clear hypocrisy.
Claiming to submit (to Allah) outwardly and having faith merely by saying so; without it affecting the heart and every action we perform, is pure hypocrisy (the same applies if someone is praying and fasting –without it corresponding to their inward belief- and then simply claiming they are Muslim).
This is hypocrisy as it opposes their claims to have faith in Allah, faith in the Day of Judgement, faith in the Messenger (SAW) and his Divine commands which prohibited lying, prohibited the betrayal of trusts, prohibited breaking promises and agreements and behaving in an evil and insulting manner when caught in a dispute.
The existence of even one of these vile and blameworthy characteristics indicates the existence of a form of hypocrisy. It is vital for the one who has such a characteristic –
O Muslims:
May we be – InshAllah, by the Will of Allah - from those who have true faith and are described by Allah the Exalted in the following verse found in Surah Baqara (2:177):
“Righteousness is not whether you turn your face towards the East or the West; but righteous is he who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Scriptures and the Prophets; and spends wealth out of love for Him on his relatives, the orphans, the helpless, needy travellers, those who ask and to set slaves free; those who establish the prayer, practice regular charity, fulfil promises when made, and are steadfast (patient) in tribulation, hardship and in times of distress. These (people) are the truthful and these are the pious”
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