1 Shahadah alan-naas Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr Munawar Haque at AMDA Masjid on February 14, 2014 Insha Allah, in today s khutba, I intend to share some thoughts with you on the concept of Shahadah alan-naas, which means bearing witness to the truth before mankind. As a Qur anic terminology, the expression Shahadah alan-naas has its signification when used in respect of ar-risalah or the institution of prophethood. Therefore, to understand the meaning and concept of Shahadah alan-naas, we have to first understand the real purpose for which the prophets and messengers were sent. Their function was mainly to convey the message of guidance from Allah to mankind. Further, it was to establish a hujjah; an argument for man s accountability on the Day of Judgment, so that man may not plead ignorance that he did not know what the truth was. To fulfill this purpose, the primary mission of all prophets and messengers of Allah was to give glad tidings, and to warn the people. This is indicated in an ayah of Surat an-nisa, which says, ر س ا ل م ب ش ر ين و م ن ذ ر ين ل ئ ا ل ي ك ون ل لنااس ع ل ى اللاه ح اجة ب ع د الر س ل و ك ان اللاه ع ز ي ا زا ح ك ي ا م ا They were messengers bearing good news and warning, so that mankind would have no excuse before Allah, once the messengers had been sent: Allah is almighty and all wise. (al-nisa, 4:165). This divine message, far from just having a theoretical, a philosophical, and an ideological aspect to it, as some may argue, had a much more practical, realistic, and down to earth feature. All prophets and messengers of Allah demonstrated on a human level, the practical implementation of the divine message, which they conveyed to their people. All of them were models for their people. The Qur an emphasizes this point very strongly when it says, ل ق د ك ان ل ك م ف ر س ول اللاه أ س و ة ح س ن ة Certainly, you have an excellent model in the Messenger of Allah. (al-ahzab, 33:21). The institution of prophethood reached its climax with the prophethood of Muhammad (SAW). It was his duty not only to present before humanity an individual human model, but also a collective model model of an Islamic society, an Islamic polity, and an Islamic state. First, his message was delivered by him to his contemporaries living in Arabia, and second, his message was for the whole of mankind till the end of times as he was the last of the glorious chain of prophets. After his death this responsibility of conveying the message was assigned to his ummah the Muslim community.
2 We Muslims are the members of an ummah whose sole purpose of existence and the aim of installation, according to the Qur an, is none other than calling people to Allah. As such, in this earthly existence, not only our dignity and honor depends on realizing this collective aim, but our very existence as an ummah also depends on executing this duty in the right earnest. It is in this context that the expression Shuhada alan-naas appears twice in the Qur an: once in ayah 143 of Surat al-baqarah and second time in ayah 78 of Surat al-hajj. The ayah 143 of Surat al-baqarah says, و ك ذ ل ك ج ع ل ن اك م أ امةا و س طاا ل ت ك ون وا ش ه د اء ع ل ى النااس و ي ك ون الارس ول ع ل ي ك م ش ه يادا Thus, We have appointed you as ummatan wasatan so that you may be witnesses in regard to mankind and the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you (al-baqarah, 2:143). The implication of this ayah is that on the Day of Judgment, when all mankind will be called to account together, the Prophet (SAW), as Allah s authorized representative, will give evidence in regard to the believers that he had imparted to them, by word and by deed, without any reservation, the whole teaching of sound thought, righteous deed and justice given by Allah. Then the believers, being representatives of the Prophet, in their turn, will be required to give evidence to prove that they had done their utmost to impart, by word and deed, to mankind whatever the Prophet had imparted to them just as they had received it from him. Being representatives of the Messenger is a position of great honor, but it carries very onerous responsibilities with it. It requires that the Muslim community should become a living witness of piety, truth, and justice before the world just as the Prophet (SAW) bore witness before it, and its words and deeds should suffice to demonstrate to the world the meaning of truth, justice, and piety. It also implies that it is a great responsibility for which the Muslim community is accountable. Just as the Prophet (SAW) was responsible for conveying the guidance of Allah, so also the Muslims are responsible for conveying it to the people of the world. If they fail to prove in the Court of Allah that they had discharged this responsibility to the best of their ability, they will be held liable. And they along with their evil geniuses and accomplices shall be accountable for all the evils which prevailed during their term of leadership, if they had shown any relaxation in the performance of their obligation as witnesses of the truth. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will surely ask, What did you do to prevent the epidemic of sin, tyranny, and impiety breaking out in the world? What does ummatan wasatan or community of the golden mean or a balanced nation signify? It signifies a balanced community which follows a balanced approach in all issues of life. It implies a righteous and noble community which does not go beyond proper limits. It means a community that keeps an equitable balance between extremes, and is realistic in its appreciation of man's nature and possibilities, rejecting thoughtlessness, recklessness, irresponsibility, and extravagance on the one hand, and exaggerated asceticism and mere
3 formalism on the other. The community follows the middle course. It bases all its relations with other nations on truth and justice. We learn through a hadith that Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud (RA) narrated that Allah s Messenger (SAW) asked him to recite the Qur an. Abdullah Ibn Mas ud said, "Shall I recite it to you although it has been revealed to you?!" The Prophet (SAW) said: "I like to hear the Qur'an from others". So Abdullah Ibn Mas ud began to recite Surat-an-Nisa' till he reached: ف ك ي ف إ ذ ا ج ئ ن ا م ن ك ل أ امة ب ش ه يد و ج ئ ن ا ب ك ع ل ى ه ؤ ل ء ش ه يادا How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against these people?" (al-nisa, 4: 41). 'Then the Prophet (SAW) said: "Stop!" and his eyes were shedding tears. This Prophetic tradition highlights to us the emotional trauma the Prophet (SAW) must have undergone on realizing that on the Day of Judgment, he would have to be a witness over his own people including his kith and kin who had not followed him. After the Prophet (SAW) had concluded 23 years of unflinching and unwavering effort of propagating and establishing the deen of Allah, Allah (SWT) signaled His pleasure to him and to the community of believers by revealing what is believed to be the last chronologically revealed ayah of the Qur an. ال ي و م أ ك م ل ت ل ك م د ين ك م و أ ت م ت ع ل ي ك م ن ع م ت و ر ض يت ل ك م ا ل س ل م د يناا Today I have perfected for you your faith, and have completed my favor upon you, and am wellpleased with Islam as your deen (Al-Ma idah, 5:3). The Prophet (SAW) realized that his mission had been accomplished in Arabia. On the occasion of his last Hajj, he delivered his farewell sermon replete with gems of wisdom that deserve to be constantly reflected upon. After praising, and thanking Allah, the Prophet (SAW) said, "O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today. The Prophet (SAW) urged his audience to listen to him attentively as he realized that he may not live long, and that the global message of Islam had to be spread far and wide beyond the boundaries of the Arabian Peninsula. Among many other gems of advice, exhortations, and admonitions, the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said, O people, no Prophet or Messenger
4 will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur an and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people." The Prophet (SAW) after having accomplished his mission was relieved of the burden laid on his shoulders, and he transferred the onus of responsibility of carrying on the mission of conveying the message to the Muslim ummah a responsibility that has to be carried out across the world for all times to come. It is said that out of nearly 120 thousand or so companions of the Prophet (SAW), only about 10 thousand remained and died in the Arabian Peninsula. All others had migrated to foreign lands to disseminate the teachings of Islam and were laid to rest outside their native land. The message of Islam has to be conveyed until the end of times. This is the work of da wah that has to be practiced and propagated. It is our duty as Muslims to convey this message in the footsteps of the Prophet (SAW). The aim and objective of the formation of this ummah has been described very clearly in Surat Aal Imran, ك ن ت م خ ي ر أ امة أ خ ر ج ت ل لنااس ت أ م ر ون ب ال م ع ر وف و ت ن ه و ن ع ن ال م ن ك ر و ت ؤ م ن ون ب اللا ه You are indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind. You enjoin what is good, and forbid what is evil, and you believe in Allah (Aal Imran, 3:110). This verse makes it very clear that according to the Qur an, there is a radical difference in the ultimate aims and goals of the Muslim ummah and other nations and communities of the world. By and large the goals which most nations of the world have been aiming at are selfaggrandizement, political power and military armaments, amassing of wealth, and subjugation of other people for their own selfish ends. This subjugation has been political, cultural and economic. On the other hand, the aim and objective of the very existence of this ummah is that Allah is recognized as the Lord of the universe; that His commands are exalted and upheld by all; that virtues and good deeds flourish, and that vices and wickedness are uprooted. In other words, this ummah is in reality the representative of God on earth. History is witness to the fact that so long as the Islamic community as a whole discharged its divinely ordained duty, it was itself exalted and honored along with the truth it stood for. But when it turned a blind eye to its very reason or justification for existence and became only a nation like other nations pursuing only worldly riches and comforts, it became the target of divine wrath in the same way as the children of Israel had become earlier. Let us reflect upon our own state of affairs. Does it dawn upon us that just as the Prophet (SAW) is going to be a witness against those of his people who did not follow him; likewise we
as an ummah are going to be witness for and against the people who did or did not respond to our call when we invited them to Islam. But the flip side of the situation is that the people will be witness against us if we do not let them know about Islam and what it stands for. Since actions speak louder than words, we ll first have to demonstrate Islam in our personal and collective lives so that when the message is conveyed, people can look at us and relate to that message. And our tawfiq is from Allah. 5