FRIDAY SERMON] True Faith: Strength Of The Islamic Nation, In the name Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Alhamdulillah. Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from our wrongdoings. He whom Allah guides, no one can misguide; and he whom He misguides, no one can guides. I bear witness that there is no (true) god except Allah – alone without a partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (S.A.W) is His ‘abd (servant) and messenger. “O you who believe! Revere Allah the right reverence, and do not die except as Muslims”. (Al-Imran, 3: 102) “O people! Revere your Lord who has created you from a single soul, created from it its mate, and dispersed from both of them many men and women. Revere Allah through whom you demand things from one another; and (cherish the ties of) the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever-watchful over you.” (An- Nisa’, 4:1) “O you who belive! Revere Allah and say fair words. He will then rectify your deeds and forgive your sins. He who obeys Allah and His messenger have certainly achieved a great victory.” (Al-ahzaab, 33: 70 -71) Indeed, the best speech is Allah’s book and the best guidance is Muhammad’s (SAW) guidance. The worst affairs (of religion) are those innovated (by people), for every such innovation is an act of misguidance leading to the fire. As to what follows: O servants of Allah, The famous American poet, essayist, and lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid- 19th century, wrote these words in his poem entitled, A Nation’s Strength: [It is a long poem, and I quote only the last two verses]: “Not gold nor petrol but only men can make A people great and strong; Men who for truth and honour’s sake Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep, Who dare while others fly… They build a nation’s pillars deep And lift them to the sky.” These words were to inspire generations of people, to recognize the value of those noble human qualities, rather than its mineral wealth, in building a nation. My today’s Khutbah, brothers and sisters, is about a nation’s strength. And, the nation I refer to has nothing to do with nationalism or modern nation-states. When we speak of a Muslim nation, we mean the Ummah. The Ummah is our nation. The Ummah is not defined by race, or geography or language, like other nations are. Our Ummah is a faith nation, defined by its adherence to belief in Allah, and the prophet hood of Muhammad (SAW). It is the nation that grew out of a divine invitation. We all know that beautiful verse in Surah ali-imraan verse 104, where Allah the Most High said: “Let there arise out of you, a band of people inviting to what is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to attain Success.” Here, in this one beautiful, evocative and inspiring verse, the Noble Qur’an defines the key element of true nationhood. More than a thousand years before the French Revolution called for Liberty, Equity and Fraternity, or Abraham Lincoln gave his speech at Gettysburg, or Nelson Mandela took his famous walk to freedom, the Noble Qur’an set out this immortal code for a successful people. Look at all other empires and great nations; the pharaohs of Egypt, The Ancient Greeks, the Persians, the Roman Empire. They were either built on wealth, power, language, race or military might. The Ummah of Islam was built only on faith. Even if we take just a cursory glance at history, we will understand what a great honour we enjoy, by our association with this great Ummah of Muhammad (SAW). The Noble Qur’an knows how rebellious and skeptical we are as human beings, so, it further challenges us, in many verses, like as follow: “Travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who stood against faith.” (Al-An’ am, 6
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:57:40 +0000
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