Become a trustworthy Muslim
Become a trustworthy Muslim
Arshad Gamiet
Royal Holloway University of London 6th May 2016
(To hear the audio version, please click here: AG become a trustworthy Muslim )
“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem
Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”
All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”
O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, with correct awareness, an awe-inspired awareness, and die not except as Muslims.
Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”
O You who believe, – Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.
In the opening verse of Sura An-Nisaa’, Allah says:
“O mankind! Show reverence towards your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate and from the two of them scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;― Be conscious of Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (show reverence towards) the wombs (that bore you): for surely, Allah ever watches over you.”
My Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Last Friday we spoke about the Isra’ and Mi’raj, the mystical Night Journey of our Prophet Muhammad sws from Mecca to Jerusalem. We spoke of his ascension through the heavens and we spoke about the Gift that Allah sent down to us on that amazing night of Mi’raj. That heaven-sent gift is the salaah, the five daily prayers, as we know it today. This is how Allah wants us to connect with Him. Allah wants us to purify our bodies in Ghusl and Wudu. Then, He wants us to shut off the outside world and escape into our inner world as we disappear into sujood. This is how Allah wants us to be in our prayers. He wants us to be fully present, in body, mind and soul, in His majestic presence. In our salaah we are truly in the grand audience hall of the Lord of the Universe. We have to become oblivious to everything else except Allah’s light. Our minds and our hearts must be truly focussed on the moment so that we can become energised by our prayers. This is how we fulfil the purpose of salaah. This is how we enjoy and honour Allah’s gift of Mi’raj.
A few weeks ago my khutbah was about putting our Trust in Allah. This is a vital aspect of Iman. Iman isn’t just blind faith to believe that Allah exists. Iman also means that you trust Allah to take good care of all your affairs. You trust Allah more than you trust yourself or anyone else. You make Allah your Wakeel.
Today I want to touch on a complementary topic. Trusting Allah is one thing. Becoming a trustworthy person is another. The two go hand in hand. We cannot be good Muslims simply by saying we believe and we trust in Allah [in other words, we have tawakkul] but we do as we please and we misbehave as we please. We also have to become trustworthy. We must earn the trust of others. This means that we must keep our promises. We must be honest, truthful, sincere and reliable in all our transactions: in business, in family life, in our workplace and in our sport, recreation and social relationships.
As a young man, long before Muhammad sws became the last Prophet, the last teacher and educator of mankind, he was already known as ‘Al Ameen’ the Trustworthy. This reputation was earned by honesty, reliability and integrity of character. We who claim to follow his example, should also earn the trust of all those around us.
Being trustworthy is a vital part of a Muslim’s character. To be the opposite is to be a hypocrite, a munaafiq. In a well known Hadith in Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari: Narrated by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (SAW) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks he lies; whenever he is entrusted he betrays that trust; whenever he promises he breaks his promise.“
My dear sisters and brothers, as you can see from this Hadith, being trustworthy is no small matter. Telling lies, behaving dishonestly and breaking promises are a complete opposite of our Prophetic Sunnah. In Sura Al Baqara (2:6-20), Allah describes the hypocrites as
“those in whose hearts there is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease; Allah will give them rope in their trespass; deaf, dumb and blind, they will wander to and fro”
I pray that Allah will protect you and me from the disease of hypocrisy. May Allah help us to cultivate good character. Help us to become truthful and trustworthy in all our day to day dealings. Say Ameen!
Now, let’s take a few practical examples.
When we buy and sell fruit, do we put the rotten apples under the good ones? When we sell our car, do we mention that the gears are faulty and the brake pads are worn? When we sell a house, do we cover up the damp walls and crumbling brickwork and we don’t tell the new buyer? When we write our exams, as some students are doing right now, do we cheat? Do we claim someone else’s hard work as our own? Do we bribe examiners or do buy our degrees and qualifications from dodgy institutions? Dear Brothers and Sisters, halaal isn’t only about the food we eat. Halaal is also about how we do business, and how we earn our livelihood.
As truthful and upright Muslims, we should remove the bad apples and discount the slightly bruised ones. We should tell the person buying our car about the problems and reduce the price. We should tell the new home-buyer that we haven’t fixed the walls or the dampness, but we’ll reduce the price because of that. Study hard, obey the rules, submit your own work in exams. Be truthful. Be trustworthy. Allah will love you for it. People will also respect you for it.
Let’s consider one or two good examples from history. When Abu Ubayda was the commander of the Muslim armies in Syria, the Emperor of Byzantium set out with a large army to recapture Hims. Abu ‘Ubaida decided to evacuate the city because he had only a handful of soldiers. He gathered the people of Hims in the middle of the city and announced, “We collected the protection tax (jizyah) from you because we planned to defend you. Now we are too weak. In this case, we return the tax we collected.” All the taxes collected were returned to the non-Muslim people of Hims. Such was the depth of feeling and understanding displayed by the early Muslims. They were constantly aware of their obligations towards Allah, towards their brothers and sisters and those who were under the protection of the Muslim armies.
Let’s take another example:
The Muslims ruled Spain for nearly 800 years. Many attempts were made to remove them. King Ferdinand and Isabella sent spies in to see when would be the best time to attack. At first, the spies would report that in the markets they hear traders saying to their customers: “Thank you, I’ve earned enough money for today. But my neighbour’s shop over there has been rather quiet. Please go and buy from him. I have enough for now.” Then the King would say, “Don’t attack! Not yet! The Muslims are still too strong. Let’s wait.” A few years later the same spies would report that the mood in the marketplace has changed. Now the Muslim traders are all shouting. “Come to my shop! Come buy from me! I have the best!” Then the King would say: “Now is the time to attack! Now the Muslims are weak! They no longer care for their neighbours! They are no longer trustworthy!”
Dear Brothers and sisters. This is how Muslims lost Spain after 800 years. As one scholar put it, “We liberated Spain as Muslims, and we were kicked out as Arabs. With Salahuddin Ayyubi, we liberated Jerusalem as Muslims, and again we were kicked out as Arabs.” (Shaykh Fadlallah Haeri) As soon as we forget to be the truthful and trustworthy Ummah of Muhammad sws we lose it all.
I pray that Allah will help us once again to become trustworthy, sincere and truth loving in all our relationships. Ameen.
“Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-bihee, aj-ma’een. Ammaa ba’ad:
“Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”
(Second Khutbah):
“Soob’ hanallahi wal hamdu lillah, wala hawla wala quwwata illah billah yu althi yual theem”
Glory to Allah! Praise to Allah! There is no power and no strength except from Allah!
My dear sisters and brothers,
Ramadan is just 4 weeks away, and insha-Allah, in 2 weeks’ time it will be Lailatul Bara’ah, also known as Lailatul nisf Sha’baan. This great and auspicious night in the middle of Sha’baan is the night during which Allah assigns the Risq, the provision, to every human soul for the coming year. This is very important to remember and internalise. Your and my provision is fixed. It cannot be changed. This is Allah’s decree. Nothing we do can earn us a penny more nor a penny less.
So, what’s the point of lying, cheating, trying to ‘catch someone out’? What’s the point of deception? When we lie, when we cheat, when we steal or try to deceive others, we only deceive ourselves. WE are the real fools. Allah will take what’s left of our good deeds and He will assign it to those we have wronged. And if we haven’t got any good deeds left, Allah will take from their bad deeds and He will assign that to our account as well. Is that a good bargain? I don’t think so.
Dear sisters and brothers, let’s not fool ourselves. Let’s try to be reliable and trustworthy like our noble Prophet Muhammad sws was. Even his enemies knew that he would never lie. He would never break a promise. He would never be unjust to anyone. Let us work hard to follow his good example.
Nowadays there’s so much prejudice against Muslims. We must change that perception and win the trust of our neighbours.That’s the challenge we face today. It’s not difficult. Allah blesses the smallest efforts we make. Yesterday my wife and I were invited to a local school to teach them about Islam. Br Mushtaq and Br Nuruddin came to help. There were no Muslims in the group of about 40 ten year olds. After showing some PowerPoint slides and answering questions, we let the children have some fun wearing hijabs and prayer caps and taking photos. This is a real ice-breaker. It removes fear and prejudice instantly. You should have seen the excitement. One girl said it’s the first time she wore a scarf, and she liked it so much she didn’t want to remove it! Allah alone knows where this will lead. Perhaps one day she’ll grow to love Islam and become a Muslim. Allah is muqallibul quloob, Allah is the ‘turner of hearts.’ Allah guides whoever He loves, to Islam.
I pray that Allah will help us all to become as trustworthy and truthful as our noble Prophet sws and his illustrious Companions. I pray that Allah will help us win the trust, the respect and love of our neighbours throughout this country. Anything is possible for Allah. I pray that Allah will illuminate our Islam, strengthen our Iman and radiate our Ihsaan. Say, Ameen!
Brothers and sisters, to conclude our khutbah:
InnaAllaha, Yamuru bil adel, wal ihsaan, wa eetaa-i zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshaa-i, wal munkari walbaghi; ya-idzukhum lallakum tathak-karoon. (Sura 16:90), Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon [2:152]. wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu ya’lamu maa tasna’oon.” [29:45].
“Surely Allah commands justice, good deeds and generosity to others and to relatives; and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may be reminded.” “and remember Me: I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject faith.” “and without doubt, Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest Thing in life, and Allah knows the deeds that you do.”
Ameen. Aqeemus salaah
Polite reminder: Please try to get here in time for the khutbah. Some people come running in after the prayers have started. They missed the khutbah. Remember, the khutbah is part of your Jumu’ah. If you miss it you’ve missed Jumu’ah. Please remind those who don’t know this. Thank you.