By Murtadha Gusau,
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. To Him is due all praise and He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone without partners. He created death and life to see which of you is best in deeds and He is the Almighty, All-Wise. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, the bringer of glad tidings and a warner from destruction; a shining bright lamp – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his Companions. To proceed:
Servants of Allah! To be saved from destruction, one is obligated to hold fast to Straight Path. Abdullah Ibn Mas`ud (RA) said that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) drew a straight line and said:
“This is Allah’s Straight Path.”
Then he drew lines to the right and to left, and said:
“These are divergent paths. At the head of each of these paths is a devil calling to it.”
Then he recited:
“And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not other paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become pious.” (Surah Al-An’am: 153)
So Brothers and Sisters beware of tribulations that steer you away from following the Book and Sunnah and take heed of the saying of Allah:
“Alif-Lam-Mim. Do the people think that they will be left to say, “We believe” and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.” (Surah Al-Ankabut: 1-3)
Brothers and Sisters! Fitan (singular fitnah) are tribulations, trials and testing that Allah puts His servants through to distinguish between the truthful, devoted, steadfast believer and the hypocritical deceiver; and the one strong in faith (iman) from the weak-hearted believer. So when the fitan appear then from the people are those who make apparent their hypocrisy and the absence of faith, or at least it’s terrible weakness. Allah stated, regarding the hypocrites:
“And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers. They think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 8-9)
My people! Know that those who are tried the most are Prophets of Allah, then those who resemble them the most:
Mus`ab Ibn Umayr narrated from his father that a man said: “O Messenger of Allah, which of the people is tried most severely?” He (SAW ) said:
“The Prophets, then those most resembling them, then those most resembling them. A man is tried according to his religion; if he is firm in his religion, then his trials are more severe, and if he is frail in his religion, then he is tried according to the strength of his religion. The servant shall continue to be tried until he is left walking upon the earth without any sins.” (At-Tirmidhi)
So those who are most like them are those who proceed upon their methodology in calling to Allah and in calling to what they called to.
The Prophet (SAW) said:
“No one has ever been harmed like I was harmed in the way of Allah.” (Hasan, reported by Ad-Daylami, 4/51; See As-Silsilah, 2222)
Servants of Allah! Fitan are of two types: The trials that cause doubts (shubuhaat) to enter the souls and the trials that lead the souls to following their desires (shahawaat).
The fitan of the doubts are onslaughts against the beliefs of a Muslim, and this eventually leads to unbelief and polytheism, such the fitnah that has gripped the grave-worshippers who go to excesses with respect to the deceased ones whom they take as “saints”, calling upon them in their supplications – and how many have fallen into this from the nations past and present.
When the people abandon the righteous, sincere scholars of Sunnah, and follow those who call to doubts, then fall into tribulations such that they regard innovations to be Sunnah and Sunnah to be innovations. So a person who calls to Sunnah is accused of “causing fitnah” or “causing division”!
Abdullah Ibn Mas`ud (RA) said:
“How will you be when you are enveloped by fitan – a time when the young will become elderly and the elderly will become decrepit – such that when one stays away from any of the fitan, it will be said: ‘The Sunnah has been abandoned.” It was said: “When will that happen O father of Abdur-Rahman?” Ibn Mas`ud replied: “When your scholars pass away and your ignorant ones become numerous; your reciters become numerous; your scholars become few in number; your leaders become many; the trustworthy amongst you are little; and the world is sought by the deeds of the Hereafter – and religious understanding is sought for other than the Religion.” (Sahih; reported by ad-Darimi, 191-192; Shaikh Al-Albani said in Qiyam Ramadan page 3: “It is authentic as the statement of Ibn Mas`ud and in its ruling it is elevated to the Prophet (SAW))
My respected people! To exit from fitnah one is obligated to return back to the earliest affair (in religion) as it was in the time of the Prophet and his Companions. Abu Waqid al-Laithi (RA) said:
“Whilst we were sitting with the Prophet (SAW) on a rug spread out, he said: ‘Indeed there will be fitnah!’ It was said: “How should we behave O Allah’s Messenger?” So he took firm hold of the rug and said: ‘You will behave like this!’
In another narration from Mu`adh Ibn Jabal (RA) who said that Allah’s Messenger said:
“Indeed there will be fitnah!’ But the people were not listening, so Mu`adh said: ‘Did you not hear what Allah’s Messenger said?!’ They asked: ‘What did he say?’ He said: ‘Indeed there will be fitnah!’ So they asked: ‘How should we conduct ourselves O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘You must return back to the affairs as they were in the beginning.” (Sahih, reported by at-Tabarani in al-Kabir, 3307; and al-Awsat, 8679; See also as-Sahihah, 3165)
So there are those from the scholars constantly protecting and preserving this religion seeking only the face of Allah; and Allah raises such individuals in every age. Ibrahim Ibn Abdir-Rahman al-Adhari (rahimahullah) said that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said:
“This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy ones of every generation. They will expel from it the distortions of the extremists, the fabrications of the liars and the interpretations of the ignorant.” (Hasan, Reported by Ibn Qutaibah in Uyunul-Akhbar, 2/118; al-Bayhaqi in Sunan al-Kubra, 10/209; al-Ajurri in Ash-Shari`ah, 1-2; See also Mishkat al-Masabih, 248)
Shaykh Siddiq Hasan Khan stated in Ad-Din al-Khalis (3/261-263) in explanation of this narration:
“Meaning: the knowledge of the Book and Sunnah – this knowledge will be carried by every jama’ah that comes after the Salaf (Pious predecessors); the trustworthy ones from amongst them and narrators of it. “They will expel from it the distortions of those who go beyond the limits,” meaning: those who change the affairs of religion by going beyond its limits. Tahrif means to replace the truth with falsehood by changing the words or changing the meanings. “The fabrications of the liars,” meaning: they ward off the lies of the people of falsehood. Intihal is to claim something for oneself falsely such as poetry or speech or other than that – so it is a substitute term for kadhib (lying). “The interpretations of the ignorant,” meaning: they protect [the religion] from their interpretations wherein they interpret the verses and narrations without knowledge and without understanding – and they alter them from their apparent meanings. This hadith is a clear proof of the praise of the People of Hadith upon the tongue of the Messenger of the Ummah and the Prophet of mercy (SAW) – so this is an excellence and an honour. There is no equivalent to it in terms of virtues – however this excellence is conditional upon the qualities mentioned in this hadith. These qualities are found amongst a band of the people of hadith and a group of muhaddithin, past and present, and all praise is for Allah. This hadith gathers together the qualities of the people of hadith and they are particularised with these qualities. And these particular qualities are not found in a complete manner except with the people of pure Sunnah! Those who enter into this hadith: every person who knows hadith and knows the Book and has these characteristics. And likewise anyone for whom it is attested that he is an extremist, or a fabricator or an ignoramus – then such a person enters into those mentioned as the ones who are countered [and rebuked]. So from the extremists and those who go beyond bounds, those who go over-board (ghaleen) are: the group that claims the oneness of all existence (Allah being one with His creation, wahdatul-wujud ) – those who claim they have extrapolated this understanding from the Qur’an and hadith! So this extrapolation of their’s from the Book and Sunnah is distortion (tahrif) because the Book and Sunnah have judged with unbelief the one who speaks with these words with evidence from the texts and which is indicated by the Book and Sunnah. From them also are the Rafidah who proclaim love for the household of the Prophet – and their fitnah is the most severe of fitan upon the rest of Islam. And from them also are the Khawarij, extremists who went to extremes with the Book of Allah, they negated the hadith and using them as a proof. And from them are the Mu`tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, the Qadariyyah, the Muriji’ah, the Jabriyyah and those who are like them from their offshoots and other than them. As for the falsifiers (al-Mubtilun), then they are the philosophers amongst the Muslim ranks, and the sages of this religion who assign to themselves the religion of the Greeks and their principles, and their sayings that are present in their ancient and later books – they speak based upon these about the legislations of the Shari’ah and they establish principles of logic and they are proud of this ascription. They vie with one another regarding these sayings that are mere gossip. So they, in reality, are the enemies of Islam. They falsify the religion of the best of creation – they teach this ascription of their’s to the religion of the Greeks and they falsify the Religion of Muhammad (SAW). As for the ignorant (jahilun), then from them are the blind followers of the madhhabs (Taqlid); they are ignorant of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. They take the sayings of the noble Imams and make a religion from it, and a methodology that they traverse upon, and a Shari`ah that they follow. If they come across a clearcut verse or an established Sunnah or an legislated obligation that opposes their madhhab, they proceed to explain away these texts upon other than their actual explanations. They distort them from their apparent explanations so as to affirm and fit in with their madhhabs…” (Abridged)
Starting point:
Al-Allamah Al-Albani (rahimahullah) stated:
“Without any doubt, we must begin [our da`wah] with tasfiyah (purification) and tarbiyah (cultivation). And any movement that is not established upon this foundation there will be absolutely no benefit in it.”
He (rahimahullah) also said:
“Firstly: the tasfiyah (or purification) of the Islamic Belief from that which is alien to it such as: shirk; rejection of the Godly Attributes and explaining them away. One must return to authentic narrations and connect them to belief (i.e. aqidah) and so on. Secondly: Purification of the Islamic Fiqh from erroneous conclusions (ijtihads) that run contrary to the Book and Sunnah. Thirdly: Purification of the books of Tafsir, Fiqh, and writings that are intended to soften the hearts, etc, from weak and fabricated narrations and false stories of the People of Book (Isra’iliyyaat). And this is what I have done in this “Silsilah” series and in other works such as: “Da`if Abi Dawud”, “Da`if Al-Jami` as-Saghir” and “Da`if At-Targhib wat-Tarhib.” (See As-Silsilah Ad-Da`ifah, introduction, page 2, abridged).”
I ask Allah to assist us in living by the Quran and Sunnah. I pray that He lets us recognise the truth for what it is and helps us to follow it, and that He lets us see falsehood for what it is and helps us to avoid it.
O Allah! Guide us and protect us from the causes of ignorance and destruction! Save us from the defects of ourselves! Cause the last of our deeds to be the best and most righteous! And forgive all of us, ameen.
My respected people! Anything good I have said in my today’s Khutbah (Sermon) is from Allah the Al-Mighty, and any mistakes are my own and we seek refuge in Allah from giving wrong advice and from all forms of calamities and fitnah. And I ask Allah’s forgiveness if I stepped beyond bounds in anything I said or I do.
May Allah be praised; and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.
With this I conclude my Khutbah (Sermon) and ask Allah, the Almighty and the sublime, to forgive all of our sins. So seek his forgiveness, He is all forgiving Most Merciful.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday Sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Rabi’ul Akhir 7th, 1438 A.H. (January 6, 2017), By Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and Alhaji Abdurrahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene Kogi State Nigeria. He can be reached through: +2348038289761.