Friday Sermon (1157); s1- Prerequisites of Successful Da'wa, s2. Man is Evaluated in Allah's Sight through His Good Deed.

Transcription

1 June Friday Sermon (1157); s1- Prerequisites of Successful Da'wa, s2. Man is Evaluated in Allah's Sight through His Good Deed. Praise Be to Allah - we praise Him, we seek aid from Him, we seek guidance, and we seek from Him refuge from the evils of ourselves, and our bad deeds. It is He whom Allah guides that is on true guidance; but he whom He leaves astray, for such wilts thou find no protector to lead him to the right way. And I profess that there is no god but Allah alone, & He has no partners. And I admit His lordship, compelling this truth for those who denied Him and disbelieved in Him. And I profess that our master Muhammad, May Allah's Peace & Grace be upon him, is the messenger of Allah, the master of the created and the human race, and I keep professing that for as long as sight can be seen with an eye, for as long as news can be heard with an ear. O Allah, our Lord, have peace and blessings upon our master Mohammed, upon his folks, his companions, his descendants, and those who allied with him and followed him until the Day of Judgment. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, and let us make use of what Thou hast taught us. O Allah and advance us in knowledge. O Allah show us the righteousness as right as it is, and bless us with following it. O Allah our lord make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of it, and admit us, by Thy Grace, to the ranks of Thy righteous Servants. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Thy Vicinity. 1

2 The Da'wah is fard 'ayn within the limits of everyoner's knowledge: Dear brothers, Almighty Allah says: (By Al-'Asr (the time)* Verily! Man is in loss,* Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf) which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah's Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad, etc.)) (Al-'Asr: 1-3) If we ponder over (recommend one another), we have to believe with certainty that the Da'wah to Allah is fard 'ayn for each Muslim within the limits of his knowledge and the circle of the people he knows.. There is a type of Da'wah which is fard kifayah; it is sufficiently carried out by some Muslims, so the other Muslims do not have to perform it. I may call this type of Da'wah the professional one; those who carry it out have deep Islamic knowledge, they are well-educated religiously speaking and they dedicate their time to the Da'wah. If those professional missioners carry it out properly, other Muslims do not have to perform it. However, the crucial fact is that it is obligatory for every one of us with no exception to call people to Allah within the limits of his knowledge and with people whom he knows. Surat Al-Asr is the proof of the Da'wah: We should have a precise discussion about the characteristics of this Da'wah which is fard 'ayn on every Muslim. The rigorous evidence of it is Surat Al-Asr: 2

3 (By Al-'Asr (the time)* Verily! Man is in loss,* Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf) which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah's Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad, etc.)) (Al-'Asr: 1-3) (Recommend one another) is the Da'wah as fard 'ayn on each Muslim. Also, what confirms this Ayah is the Hadith of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him: ((Convey (my teachings) from me (to people) even if it were a single Ayah.)) [Al-Bukhari & At-Tirmidhi, form Abdullah bin Amr Ibn Al-Ass] You should convey to people. For example, if you listen to a Khutbah, attend a religious lesson, read a book or watch a symposium, and you are impressed by an explanation of an Ayah, Hadith, a story about the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, then you are ordained as a Muslim to convey whatever impresses you to others. You can convey it to your family, wife, sisters, brothers, uncles, neighbors and whoever you meet in a meeting, a soiree, a feast or at a party. When you do this, you will be performing the fard 'ayn of Da'wah. The first proof is: (and recommend one another to the truth) (Al-'Asr: 3) The second proof is not less important than the first one: (Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allah i.e to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge) (Yusuf: 108) If you don't call to Allah with sure knowledge, you are not considered a follower of Allah's Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him: (Say (O Muhammad): "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows 3

4 me (also must invite others to Allah i.e to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge)) If you are a follower of Allah's Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, you should call people to Allah with sure knowledge. Sure knowledge means that your Da'wah should be supported by proof and reasons. Otherwise, everyone can claim that whatever he says is true. The proof strengthens your Da'wah to Allah, and it empowers this religion. Call people to Allah with sure knowledge and never accept anything without a proof, refuse anything without a proof, invite people to do something without a proof or forbids them from doing something without a proof. Accustom yourself to search for the proof, because the religion that is supported by the proof can make people convinced with it easily, but if your Da'wah is not supported by a proof, and you just give orders without telling others why they should do something, what you do is not considered Da'wah to Almighty Allah. Islam is the religion of Allah, and it is the fastest growing one: Dear brothers, do you know why I chose this subject for our lesson today? I chose it for a crucial reason. Let me explain it: about fifty years ago, the world was divided into three major entities: the east with its creed which favors the group over the individual, the west which believes in the individual and neglects the group and Islam which is the religion of Allah. The eastern entity collapsed, so only the west and Islam were left with their principles and values. Let me be frank with you and tell you the truth about the west. They are very powerful, very intelligent and very rich. Before September 11, the west promoted very wonderful humanistic values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and justice, but after September 11, their civilization turned into an oppressing power. As a result, only Islam was left concerning principles and values. Although we (Muslims) are weak, we live in the golden age of the Da'wah to Allah, because the whole world seeks embracing Islam. Believe it or not, in France, fifty French people embrace Islam daily, and in America more than thirty people embrace Islam every day. There is no other 4

5 religion which spreads amazingly like Islam. It seems that this civilization (the western one) has announced its bankruptcy (morally speaking), so it is unable to achieve happiness and safety for man anymore. In the fifties of last century, the west were the centre of everyone's attention, and people believed that happiness could be achieved by following the west. Even the Muslim world made a fatal mistake when it denied some of its principles and values and admired the west. However, the west disappointed it, because they turned into a destroying power. We watched on T.V what westerners did in the Islamic country (Afghanistan) which they occupied. Where are human rights? Where is justice? Also, we saw what the enemies of the Ummah(the Jews) are doing in Palestine. The west have become an oppressive power. Consequently, the world has aspired to embrace Islam, and people have started to embrace it in a surprising way. It is the fastest growing religion all over the world. Calling people to Allah should be based on sure knowledge: I would like in this blessed meeting to talk about some qualifications of the ordinary missioner, not the professional one. I mean that each one of you is a missioner since he conveys whatever idea he is touched by to his family, brothers, sisters etc. Hence, everyone in every Masjid is considered a missioner to Allah. Almighty Allah says: (and recommend one another to the truth) (Al-'Asr: 3) Listen to the other Ayah, please: (Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allah i.e to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge) (Yusuf: 108) Also, here is the sound Hadith: ((Convey (my teachings) from me (to people) even if it were a single Ayah.)) If someone asks you to give him a rigorous evidence of the Da'wah as a fard 'ayn, remind him of the following Ayah: (Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allah i.e to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge) (Yusuf: 108) 5

6 Thus, whoever calls people to Allah without sure knowledge, is not a follower of Allah's Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. Also, you can refer to the following Ayah: (and recommend one another to the truth) (Al-'Asr: 3) The following Hadith is another proof: ((Convey (my teachings) from me (to people) even if it were one ayah.)) The prerequisites of the successful Da'wah: 1- Sincerity and honesty with Almighty Allah: The subject of our lesson today is about how can the ordinary believer who attends a lecture, convey the main ideas of it? First of all, for your Da'wah to be a successful one as fard 'ayn, it must be accompanied with sincerity and honesty with almighty Allah. Therefore, Almighty Allah says: (Surely, the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allah only)) (Az-Zumr: 3) (And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)) ( Al-Baiyyinah: 5) About those who are not sincere, Almighty Allah says: 6

7 (And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.) (Al-Furqan: 23) (So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.") (Al-Kahf: 110) The scholars explained the righteous deed as the one which is sincere and right; sincere means that it is performed for the sake of Allah, and right means that it is compatible with the Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. Thus, the first prerequisite is sincerity: ((Whoever learns knowledge to rival scholars, to debate with fools, or to draw people to him, is in the Fire.)) [Majma' al-zawa'id: vol.i/ p. 141.] You are supposed to be sincere, and you should apply these words to your Da'wah, 'O my Lord, I seek closeness to you, and Your pleasure is what I am working for.' Whatever you say in a religious assembly, a soiree or a meeting, let it be for the sake of Allah, rather than for the sake of showing off. When you meet a heddles person, you should as a believer and a sincere kind brother remind him of his mission in this worldly life, and you should remind him that the purpose of our existence in this worldly life is worshiping Almighty Allah. The proof is: (And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)) ( Adh-Dhariyat: 56) With sincerity the few or many good deeds are acceptable: The following mutawatir sahih Hadith of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, confirms the significance of sincerity: ((The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention.)) [Al-Bukhari, from Umar bin Al-Khattab] Thus, the first prerequisite of the successful missioner who wants to carry out the Da'wah as fard 'ayn within the limits of his knowledge and within the circle of people he knows is to be sincere, because with sincerity, the few good deeds and 7

8 the many are acceptable. On the other hand, no matter how major the good deed may be, it will be worthless if whoever performs it lacks sincerity. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him said: (("Almighty Allah descends to the servants to call them into account (on the Day of Resurrection), and every Ummah will be in her knees. The first person to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who studied much and taught others, and recited Quran. He will be brought forth and Allah (swt) will remind him of His blessings, and he will recognize them. Then he will be asked, "What did you do with them?" He will say, "I studied much, and taught others, and recited Quran for Your sake. Allah (swt) will say, "You have lied. You studied so that people would say, 'He is a scholar,' and you recited Quran so that they would say, 'He is a qari,' and they did say it." Then He will order that he be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.)) [At-Tirmidhi, from Abi Hurairah] It is extremely dangerous to seek an earthly goal, a fame or a prominence from the Da'wah: ((Whoever learns knowledge to rival scholars, to debate with fools, or to draw people to him, is in the Fire.)) Sincerity is a must in the Da'wah, 'O my Lord, I seek closeness to you, and Your pleasure is what I am working for.' Be sincere whenever you say a word: ((Then there will be a man to whom Allah (swt) gave all types of wealth in abundance. He will be brought forth and Allah (swt) will remind him of His blessings and he will recognize them. Then he will be asked, "What did you do with them?" He will say, "I have never seen any way in which You would like money to be spent for Your sake without spending it." Allah (swt) will say, "You have lied. You did that so people would say, 'he is generous,' and they did say it." Then He will order that he be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire. Then there will be a man who was martyred. He will be brought forth and Allah (swt) will remind him of His blessings, and he will recognize them. Then he will be asked, "What did you do with them?" He will say, "I fought for Your sake until I was martyred." Allah (swt) will say, "You have lied. You only fought so that people would say, 'He is courageous,' and they did say it. Then He will order that he be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire." Then the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, hit his knees and said, "O Aba Hurairah, those three people will be the first of Allah's creations to be burnt in Fire on the Day of Resurrection.)) [At-Tirmidhi, from Abi Hurairah] 8

9 I know that the text is very scary, but I wanted to mention it in order to show you how important sincerity is. Watch yourself, and if you doubt your sincerity, do a good deed and don't tell anyone about it. None can judge your sincerity, so keep it (while performing good deeds). With sincerity, the few good deeds and the many ones are acceptable, but without it whatever good deed you do is worthless whether minor or major. It was reported in a Qudsi Hadith: ((I am self-sufficient, in need of no partner. Whoever performs a deed in which he associates something else with me, I will leave him to his partner.)) Man should be polite with almighty Allah: [Muslim, from Abi Hurairah] I am afraid that the knowledge seekers sometimes seek occupying a prominent social position or attracting people's attention. These are desires which don't please Almighty Allah. Although man may get bothered when he hears these words, I intended to mention them because the bitter reality is much better than the comfortable illusion. Man should always watch his deeds to see whether they are performed sincerely for Allah's Sake or for a worldly purpose: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: ((Mention of a man was made to the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and someone praised him whereupon he, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said, "Woe be to you! You have broken the neck of your friend!" He repeated this several times and added, "If one of you has to praise his friend at all, he should say: 'I reckon him to be such and such and Allah knows him well', if you think him to be so-and-so, you will be accountable to Allah because no one can testify the purity of others against Allah.")) [Al-Bukhari, from Abi Bakr] 9

10 I never forget the attitude of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him when he was in the house of one of his Companions who died. The Messenger, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, used to visit the deceased before his body was washed. While he was sitting in his house, he, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, heard the Companion's wife saying, "Congratulations Aba AsSa'eb Allah honored you.'' Had the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, kept silent, upon hearing that, her words would have been considered true, but he addressed her from behind the veil saying, "How did you know that Allah honored him? You should say may Allah honor him, instead. I am a Messenger of Allah, yet I don't know what would happen to me or to you." Be polite with Allah, and say may Allah grant that person Paradise or may Allah forgive that person, instead of saying someone will enter Paradise. Predicting the future of someone with certainty is claiming to have some of the Abilities of Allah, which is unacceptable. This is the first prerequisite of the successful ordinary missioner. 2- Acquiring true knowledge: The second prerequisite of the successful Da'wah, is that whoever calls people to Allah should have is acquiring the true knowledge; he should master reading and narrating the Noble Quran, choose the appropriate evidence, be acquainted with the Noble Hadith and memorize some sound Ahaeeth. It is a serious problem to mention something without having knowledge about. Therefore, Al-Imam Al- Ghazali said, " In Allah's Sight it is less serious for the common people to commit major sins than to say about Allah something they don't know." Almighty Allah arranged the sins in an ascending order. It is amazing how He mentions Al-Fahshâ' (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right,etc.), Al-Munkar (i.e all that is prohibited by Islâmic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds, etc.), Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppress ion), transgression, polytheism, infidelity and atheism, but at the top of all these sins: (to say of Allah what you know not ) (Al-Baqarah: 169) When you tell people that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, will intercede for his Ummah (on the Day of Resurrection) unconditionally, you will be encouraging them to commit sins. Man should seek knowledge first, and then call to Allah: Basically some Ahadeeth which are not sound, and the ideas that are not precise may frustrate the missioner and hold him back. Some Ahadeeth need elaboration. For example, some people refer to the Hadith: ((Whoever says Laa ilaaha illal-laah (There is no god but Allah) sincerely will enter Paradise.)) How about those who 10

11 have never prayed, and who have spent their lives indulged in sins? How could they simply escape Allah's Torment if they utter these words? If you mention the following Hadith to people, you should discuss it elaborately: ((Whoever says Laa ilaaha illal-laah (There is no god but Allah) sincerely will enter the Paradise." It was said: And what is the [sign of] sincerity? He, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: "That this kalimah [word] stops him from those things which Allah has forbidden.)) [Narrated by Zaid bin Al-Arqam in At-Targheeb wa At-Tarheeb] Sincerity is to prevemt him from committing sins. Hence, the second prerequisite is acquiring the true knowledge and getting the deep understanding of this religion. I would like to address whoever lacks accuracy in understanding the Noble Quran, the Noble Ahadeeth and the Islamic history, and he talks about things he lacks knowledge about, asking him to seek knowledge first, then he can call people to Allah. Almighty Allah says: (So know (O Muhammad SAW) that Lâ ilâha ill-allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) (Muhammad: 19) (But none will understand them except those who have knowledge (of Allâh and His Signs, etc.). (Al-Ankabut: 43) (Nay, but they, the clear Ayât [i.e the description and the qualities of Prophet Muhammad SAW written like verses in the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] are preserved in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge (from the people of the Scriptures). (Al-Ankabut: 49) 11

12 ( Allâh will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge.) ( Al-Mujadilah: 11) (Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not?") (Az-Zumur: 9) Let me repeat the first two prerequisites: the first prerequisite is sincerity, and the second one is seeking knowledge. Seeking knowledge is a must; the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: ((When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen.)) [Al-Bukhari from Hamid bin Abdul Rahman] Sectarian strife is the weapon of the Muslims' enemies: Dear brothers, you can call people to Allah for fifty years, but to do so you should concentrate on things which are agreed upon by all Muslims. At present, the ace in the hands of Muslims' enemies is the sectarian strife. Allah says about Fir'aun: (Verily, Fir'aun (Pharaoh) exalted himself in the land and made its people sects.) (Al-Qasas: 4) You can notice the division among Muslims and exchanging accusations between them; each party claim that it is right and that the other party is wrong. Muslims are afflicted with the disaster of rising tension between the Islamic groups and the Islamic sects which is forbidden, because the west put us all in one basket and we should stand all together (facing them) in one trench. I consider raising a controversial issue between Muslims a big crime We should look for what we share in common and what we agree upon. You should try to get Muslims closer to one another, not to separate them, try to settle down their conflicts, not to make them worse and try to unify them, not to divide them. Whoever separates Muslims is not one of us (is not a member of the Islamic Ummah). Allah the Almighty says: (And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them) (Aal-'Imran: 105) The clear knowledge had come to them, but their differences were out of mutual jealousy. 12

13 The types of differences between humans: a- The ordinary difference: It is said that differences are classified into three types: the first one has to do with the lack of information, so when things are clear the difference disappears. For instance, We heard a sound of a cannon on Shaban 29th, someone may say that it is an indication of that the next day is the first day of Ramadan, but other people may say that it is an explosion in the mountain which is done to break a huge rock there. Such difference is due to the lack of information, and it is an ordinary one. b- The bad difference: The other type is the dirty difference; Almighty Allah says: (Those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) did not differ except, out of mutual jealousy, after knowledge had come to them.) (Aal-'Imran: 19) They differ out of mutual jealousy, and such a difference is a dirty one. Since the knowledge which comes to them is the same, there should be no difference about it. In this case, the difference is the outcome of self-desires and interests. That is why it is a nasty one. c- The praised difference: Also, there is a type of difference which has to do with the competition between believers (And for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allah) (Al-Mutaffifin: 26) 13

14 A believer considers the Da'wah the best deed, another one disagrees, because he considers doing good deed to people the best deed and another believer disagrees, because he considers participating in a charity organization is the best deed. Well, this type of difference is praised since it has to do with competition. To wrap up, the difference people out of self-desires, and mutual jealousy is a dirty one, the difference between them out of competition is a praised one and the one which is the outcome of the lack of information is the ordinary difference. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: ((Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices by overbidding against one another; do not hate one another; do not harbour malice against one another; and do not enter into commercial transaction when others have entered into that (transaction); but be you, O slaves of Allah, as brothers. A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor does he look down upon him, nor does he humiliate him.)) [Agreed upon, from Abi Hurairah] This Hadith is considered a method: ((Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices by overbidding against one another; do not hate one another; do not harbour malice against one another; and do not enter into commercial transaction when others have entered into that (transaction); [this happens when a consumer buys a commodity which costs sixty, and the neighboring shopkeeper advises him to give it back to the seller and buy it from his shop because it costs fifty, which is forbidden.] be you, O slaves of Allah, as brothers. A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he neither oppresses him nor does he look down upon him, nor does he humiliate him.)) [Agreed upon, from Abi Hurairah 3- Calling people according to a detailed method: Dear brothers, one of the prerequisites of the successful Da'wah, which is fard 'ayn, is calling people to Allah according to a detailed method. For example, whatever you say should be based on the Noble Quran, the Sunnah, the Shari'ah rulings, the Fiqh, the biography of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him etc. These are considered broad lines in your Da'wah. Therefore, whatever you mention to others should be explained by an Ayah or confirmed by a Hadith. You also may refer to the Fiqhi ruling deduced from it, or an event from the biography which proves that the noble Companions and the followers and those who followed them applied the method you apply to your Daw'ah; it must be based on an Ayah, a Hadith, fiqh, an event in the biography and so on. There should be a method according to which you call people to Allah. Whoever depends in his Da'wh on telling people stories, referring to miracles and 14

15 mentioning dreams, what he does is not considered a Da'wah to Almighty Allah. The missioner needs to depend on the foundations in his Da'wah. 4- The missioner should be moderate: One of the prerequisites of a successful Da'wah is to be a moderate missioner; there should not be excessiveness, negligence or, exaggeration in your Da'wah. Also, you shouldn't stress something and neglect another. The moderate D'awah manifests the right Islam, and it is what we should follow. Extremism, on the other hand, always causes endless problems. Dear brothers, these are some notes to whoever wants to apply the Method of Allah the Exalted and call people to Allah as fard 'ayn within the limits of his knowledge and with people he knows. I say my words, and I ask the Forgiveness of Allah, the Most Great, for me and for you. Dear brothers, ask His Forgiveness, so that you will be forgiven, as those who are forgiven will be the successful ones. * ** The second Khutbah: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; the Protector of the righteous. And I bear witness that our Master Muhammad, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, the one with noble morals is His Servant and Messenger. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, his Folks and Companions. Man is evaluated in Allah's Sight through his good deed: Dear brothers, you are evaluated in Allah's Sight through your good deeds. Straightness entails negation; you do not lie, you do not cheat, you do not backbite and so on. You use the negative form to indicate your straightness. For example, 15

16 you say, 'I do not do this, nor do I do that etc. However, only through a good deed you are exalted in Allah's Sight. The proof is in the following Ayah: (To Him ascend(all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (the goodly words i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allah unless and until they are followed by good deeds) (Fatir: 10) Believe certainly that you are evaluated in Allah's Sight through your good deeds. Imagine yourself everyday in the critical and embarrassing situation when you stand before Allah On the Day of Resurrection and He asks you: "O My servant, what did you do for My sake?" Will you answer him, "O My Lord, I ate, drank, got married and bought a house."? Such an answer is unacceptable on the Day of Resurrection, because Allah wants you to do good deeds for His sake. What if each one of us asks himself, "How could I stand before Allah with no good deeds?" Most of the deeds of people are performed for the sake of their own interests; they have to do with their crafts, houses, incomes and positions. These deeds do not exalt you, whereas whatever you do seeking by it Allah's Face, rather than money or fame exalts you in Allah's Sight. Thus, while we make Du'a in Al-Fajr prayer, we say, ' O Allah grant us a deed that draws us closer to You.' I repeat: you are evaluated before Allah through your good deed, and keep in mind that good deeds are uncountable because the ways to approach Allah are as many as the people. For instance, you can feed a poor person, guide someone to the Right Path, call people to Allah, give Sadaqah, be kind to your neighbor, support an orphan or a widower financially and so on. Hence, the good deeds are limitless. Actually, when you do a good deed you feel that Allah loves you, and this makes you strongly connected with Him: 16

17 (To Him ascend(all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (the goodly words i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allah unless and until they are followed by good deeds) (Fatir: 10) Believe certainly that you are appreciated in Allah's Sight through your good deed: (So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.") (Al-Kahf: 110) Invocation: O Allah, we beseech You to show us the way of righteousness together with those to whom You showed it; and to give us good health together with those whom You have healed; and to be our Protector, as You are of those whom You protect; and to bless what You have bestowed on us; and to save us from the affliction that You have decreed for You rule with justice and You are never judged. He whom You protect shall never be humiliated and he whom You make Your enemy shall never be elevated. Blessed and dignified are You. We thank You for what You have decreed, we ask You for Forgiveness and we repent to You. O Allah, please lead us to the good deeds for no one leads to them but You; please lead us to the good conduct for no one leads to it but You; please make us do well in the Deen, which is our dignity, make us do well in our worldly life, in which we dwell and grant us safety on the Day of Judgment for it is our Final Destination. O Allah, please supply our life with all good things and make our death a rest from every evil. O our Master, the Lord of all Worlds, please make us desire what You have made lawful and reject what You have made unlawful, make our obedience to You turn us away from our disobedience and make us by Your benevolence independent of all others. O Allah, by Your Mercy and Benevolence, raise high the word of truth and this Deen, grant triumph to Islam, dignify Muslims and grant triumph to Muslims all over the world. O Allah, show us Your Omnipotence against Your enemies, You are the Most Generous. Translation : Leen Rodwan Edited by : Kawthar Hajj Saleh 17