The Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad (peace be and blessings upon him)
Sheikh Ali bin Abdurrahman AlHudaifi
9/4/1425
The
first sermon
Oh Muslims fear Allah and obey Him for your good in the
present life and a record for you on the Day of Judgment.
Be aware – believers- that Allah has obliged His creation and
has been kind to them by sending mankind the noblest of Adam's sons. Says Allah,
in the translated meanings of the Qur’aan,
And We have sent you [O Muhammad] not but as a mercy for the
‘Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists) [Chapter Al-Anbiyaa’21, verse 107].
Muslims have this special mercy through Prophet Muhammad's mission, because they
follow and practice it. And disbelievers have general mercy through the Islamic
mission because the Muslims’ adherence to Islam put a check on the disbelievers'
evil and curtail the sources of perversion in the globe. Allah says
And if Allah did not check one set of people by means of
another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allah is full of bounty
to the Alamin [Al-Baqarah 2, verse 251].
Allah has revealed the greatest book, and the greatest
interpretation of the Quran, which is the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad [peace
and blessings be upon him]. Allah has also protected both from change and
alteration, and from incorrect views, and misinterpretation. He has brought a
conclusive argument to all people by sending the Prophet [peace be and blessings
upon him], and leading him to the best direction, and facilitating for him the
best ways and the easiest methods. Allah said to His Prophet (translated as)
And We shall make easy for you (O Muhammad) the easy way [Al- A'la 87, verse 8].
Imam Muslim narrated that Jabir [May Allah bless him] said that Prophet Muhammad
said
The worst of evils are innovations [foreign to the true teachings of Islam], and
every innovated matter [in religion] is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is a
misguidance.
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him, has fulfilled
all the standings of worship and ultimate stages of Islam and perfected all the
morals of actions and habits. He achieved the intention of Allah in all of these
things. The prophet is the ideal for the worshiper, the herald, the instructor,
the president, the leader, the soldier, the husband, the father, and he is the
example in all aspects of human interaction.
Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah [Muhammad] you have a good
example to follow for him who hopes for (the meeting with) Allah and the Last
Day, and remembers Allah much [ Al-Ahzab 33, verse 21 ]
And verily, you [O Muhammad] are on an exalted (stand of)
character [ Al-Qalam 68, verse 4] Aisha [ May Allah be pleased with her ] said
the Qur’aan was his moral, i.e. he followed it in everything and characteristic
and did what the Quran calls for and avoided what it prohibits.
The Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad [peace be and blessings upon him] is a guidance
and a landmark in the Straight Path that leads Muslims. And it concentrates All
morals and good. Allah has given all goodness to those who follow the Sunnah,
and those who leave it will lose all goodness; and whoever takes some of it and
leaves some of it s/he will lose as much as s/he leaves.
So, since the sunnah is in such exalted position and glory,
then what does it mean?
Linguistically, it means way of conduct and the followed habit.
This was Our Sunnah (rule or way) with the Messengers We sent before you (O
Muhammad), and you will not find any alteration in Our Sunnah [Al- Israa 17,
verse 77].
And in legislation it means adherence to, and doing what
Prophet Muhammad [peace be and blessings upon him), his caliphs and faithful
companions did, in terms of their faith, acts and sayings. It also means the
sayings, deeds and statements of Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings upon him)
because this is the source of the right faith and conduct.
O Muslim nation, the state of Muslims nowadays breaks every
believer’s heart, makes their eyes shed tears, and grieves their souls. Enemies
have taken issues with Muslims and mistreated them. They have also desecrated
their honors in many countries, insulted their dignity and humiliated them.
Muslims have been torn apart by the creed of fanaticism, by different parties,
methods, benighted nationalities, and new heresies. And they have been weakened
by their infightings and divisions as well as by their misguided inclinations to
follow their forbidden desires. This weakness, depression and lowness is not due
to their few numbers; on the contrary, Muslims are among the majority of
religious followers, but Muslims’ misfortune is rooted in their neglect of their
religion
{…Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they
do not change their state (of goodness) themselves ( by committing sins and by
being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah). But when Allah wills a people's
punishment, there can be no turning it back, and they will find besides Him no
protector [ Ar-Ra'd 13, verse11 ]
This critical situation of Muslims resulting in the concerted
assault of enemies inflicting various ordeals on them has weakened those with
resolute determination, and released warning screams and sincere advice for
Muslims to repent, rely on Allah, and adhere to their religion and follow the
Quran and Sunnah. May Allah have mercy upon you and eliminate your misfortune!
Muslims' diseases have increased. The reasons of the deterioration of their
condition are varied, their catastrophes following upon one another, with
sanctions taking a prominent place. The matter could be worse than it is now,
but the good consequence is for Islam.
Muslims' diseases have no cure but one solution, which is
acting upon the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be and blessings upon him).
Following the Sunnah and adhering to the method of the righteous predecessors is
the remedy for the diseases, the eradication of the adversities and the cause
for blessings and goodness. Sticking to the Sunnah means abandoning conflicts,
uniting hearts and minds around a common purpose. Adhering to the Sunnah is the
real triumph over the enemies of truth and the people of seduction. Some
scholars said, If the people of a country act upon the Sunnah and make it
apparent, then they will gain victory over the enemies. On the other hand, if
the light of the Sunnah goes out of a country, it will be defeated by its
enemies. Abdullah bin Omar reported the Prophet [peace be and blessings upon
him] as saying
And whoever imitates a people then s/he will be among them.
Al-Irbad said: One day the Apostle of Allah [peace and
blessings upon him] led us in prayer, then faced us and gave us a lengthy
exhortation at which the eyes shed tears and the hearts were afraid. A man said:
Apostle of Allah! It seems as if it was a farewell exhortation, so what
injunction do you give us? He [peace be upon him] then said: I enjoin you to
fear Allah, and to hear and obey even if it be an Abyssinian slave, for those of
you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my
Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it.
Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an
error.
The call for the adherence to the Sunnah is for all people,
every Muslim must call for that. The mission of a Muslim to his brother in Islam
is to complete and rectify what his brother does miss of the Sunnah, correct his
shortcomings in faith, remind him of his lapses, teach him what he doesn't know,
help him to do well and warn him of evil. On the other hand, the mission of
Muslims to the disbelievers is to reveal the merits of Islam provide the proof
for them and be a good example in his faith. Muslims in this country, may Allah
protect you from what the others have in different kinds of malice! So thank God
for that, but be careful and don't open for yourselves the doors of evil which
have been opened to others, and beware underestimating offenses, for they are
the reasons for punishment. The Muslim's today should be better than his
yesterday and his tomorrow should be better than his to day. Also, he must not
accept for himself to be late in the obedience of Allah or to be lenient in the
disobedience of Allah.
O Muslims, beware of anything that may prevent you from
acting upon the Sunnah, specially following your desires, which is following
your lust
But if they answer you not (i.e. do not bring the Book nor believe in your
doctrine of Islamic Monotheism), then know that they only follow their own
lusts. And who is more astray than one who follows his own lusts, without
guidance from Allah? Verily, Allah guides not the people who are Zalimun (
wrong-doers, disobedient to Allah, and polytheists [Al-Qasas 28, verse 50].
Our predecessors call the people of heresies people of
fancies because of their avoidance of the Sunnah; beware of the life seduction
and beware giving in to cravings because that will hold you back from the
Prophet’s Sunnah :
Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat ( the
prayers ) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering
them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper
fixed times ] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell [Maryam
19, verse 59]
Among the things that divert us from following the Sunnah of the Prophet [peace
be upon him] are following the misguided and those who misguide, who advocate
fanaticism, deviance, desires and innovations.
[Say [O Muhammad] to these idolaters (pagan Arabs) of your
folk:] Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord [the Quran and
Prophet Muhammad's Sunnah], and follow not any Auliya' [ protectors and helpers
who order you to associate partners in worship with Allah], besides Him (Allah).
Little do you remember [Al-A’raf 7, verse 3]
Among other things that keep people away from Sunnah is having no knowledge of
it, for
If Allah wants to do good to a person, He makes him comprehend the religion.
So Muslims, don't let any obstacles keep you away from the Sunnah, because
nobody can be safe from evil or punishment, and nobody will attain goodness or
paradise unless s/he holds on tight to what the Prophet and his companions were
doing:
Say [O Muhammad, to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah,
then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quran and the
Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [ Al-Imran 3, verse 31]
O you who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not
away from him (i.e. the Messenger Muhammad) while you are hearing.
And be not like those who say:"we have heard," but they hear not.
Verily, the worst of (moving) living creatures with Allah are the deaf and the
dumb, who understand not (i.e. the disbelievers).
Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen; and
even if He had made them listen, they would but have turned away with aversion
(to the truth) [Al-Anfal 8, verses 20-23].
May Allah bless me and you in the Holy Qur’an, give us the
benefits of its verses and give us the benefits of the Prophet’s path and
sayings. I say this and ask Allah’s forgiveness for me, you and all Muslims for
every sin; so ask Him for forgiveness, He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
The second Khutbah
Praise be to Allah, the Protector of the righteous. I praise
and thank Allah and acknowledge Him all rights, unable to enumerate all His
praise as he did for Himself. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, the
only God with no associates, Lord of the first and the last. I bear witness that
our prophet Muhammad (peace be and blessings upon him) is a truthful and honest
messenger.
Worshipers of Allah fear God by obeying His orders and avoiding his
prohibitions.
Oh Muslims you have to know that Muslims' diseases and what causes punishment in
the present life and in the Day of Resurrection are due to the negligence of
following the Sunnah and the Way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah says,
And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have
earned. And He pardons much [Ash-Shu’ara’26, verse 30].
Verily, the different forms of whims and desires and
statements and the discord between hearts are caused by disregarding and
neglecting the implementation of the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah, May Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said,
I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go
the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet.
And he says
Jews have separated into seventy one confessions, and
Christians into seventy two confessions, and this ummah will separate into
seventy three confessions, all of them will go to Hell except one of them; We
said, O prophet of Allah, " Who is it?" He said, "Those who acted as I and my
companions did.”
The reason for the deviations of the Islamic sects that existed throughout the
history of Islam is their ignorance of the Sunnah of the Prophet and of his
sayings as well as keeping away from their practice as were the cases of
Al-Khawarij, Al-Morji'ah, Al-qadariyah, Al-jahamiah and others. They deviated in
understanding the Sunnah and in their interpretation of the Quraan. And they
deviated by moving away from the Sunnah and because they did not take its
interpretation from the scholars.
What a great similarity between yesterday and today! The
Khawarij of this time have gone astray in comprehending the Sunnah, and have
gone away from the scholars who know it most; so they label Muslims as
disbelieving in God and legitimize killing them and taking their money as their
precursors did. They also legitimize killing non- Muslims who are in, and under
the protection of Islamic countries. They carry out the plans of the Muslims’
enemies and meet with them in their goals – whether they realize it or not. With
these thoughts, they have indeed brought a great evil to their peoples and
countries.
So Muslims, go back to your Prophet (peace and blessings upon
him)’s Sunnah by learning, teaching and acting upon it. And adhere to the works
of the righteous predecessors_ May Allah be pleased with them. This is the cure
for the illnesses of Muslim nations. O Muslim ummah, denounce all those who are
intent on causing mischief among Muslims and in Islam. Fear Allah in everything
you do or abstain from. Allah says,
O you who believe! Fear Allah and keep your duty to Him. And
let every person look to what he has sent forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah.
Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do [Al-Hashr 59, verse 18].
O believers, Allah has commended you – by starting it Himself- to invoke
blessing upon the holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet
(Muhammad), and also His angels (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who
believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad), and (you
should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e.
As-Salamu Alaykum [ Al-Ahzab 33,verse 56].
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