Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Allah guides to his light the one who wills to be guided(Surah An-Nur 24:55). And for those who respond to His guidance,He increases His guidance(Surah Mohammad 47:17). 102. O you who believe! Fear Allah(by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden)as He should be feared.(obey Him,be thankful to Him,and remember him always),and die not except in a state of Islam[as Muslims with complete submission to Allah)]. 103. And hold fast ,all of you together,to the rope of Allah(i.e. this Quran),and be not divided among yourselves.and remmember Allah's Favour on you,for you were enemies,one to another but He joined your hearts together,so that,by His grace,you became brethen(in Islamic Faith) and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and he saved you from it.Thus Allah makes His ayats (proofs,evidences,verses,lessons,signs,revelations,etc.,) clear to you,that you may be guided. 104. Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good(Islam),enjoining Al-ma'ruf(i.e. Islamic monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden).And it is they who are successful.(Surah Al-Imran Ayat 102-104). Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi says: Open a window towards Allah and begin to delight yourself by gazing upon Him through the opening. The business of love is to make this window in the heart,for the breast is illumined by the beauty of the beloved. Gaze incessantly on the face of the beloved. Listen,this is in your power my friend. [ Mathnawi IV, 3095-3097 ] And it is Allah who leads us out of the depths of darkness into light(Surah Al-Ahzah 33:42).And Who has given the Quran as a clear light(Surah An-Nisa 4:174) And A Mercy (Surah Al-raf 7:204) to all the Worlds,to all levels of being. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi goes on to say: When you read the Quran,dont look only at the exterior,my son:the devil considers Adam as nothing more than clay. The external sense of the Quran is like a person's form:while his features are visible,his spirit is hidden. Some one's uncle look at him for a hundred years,and yet of his inward state don't see so much of the tip of a hair. [Mathnawi III,4247-4249] The Khutbah for today now follws: A true Muslim is one who believes in Islam,and practices it.and conveys it to people.That is our duty as Muslims.But before learning Islam and practicing it the way it should be practised,it is unfair to ask others to accept it.Our duty is to educate ourselves about Islam and behave like Muslims and then preach Islam to others.It is not sufficient for someone to boast that he is a Muslim merely by virtue of the fact that he was born of Muslim parents, or that he was registered as a Muslim in his birth certificate,or that he was born in a Muslim country. I was recently in a conference in Germany and was asked questions on Islam.One of the ladies in the audience stood up and exclaimed that if what I was saying was the truth about Islam then the problem of most Muslims was that they do not know now to communicate their beliefs to others.This is a fact,we do not know how to preach Islam. Some of us when speaking to non-Muslims speak harshly to them,calling them pagans,or saying to them 'follow Muhammed(peace be upon him) or your destiny will be hellfire'.Do you think that people will listen to you if you shout at them or abuse them? Others begin by addressing people on questions of detail,telling them that Islam prohibits pork,prohibits wine, and so on......All such matters are true,but they are minor things compared with the essence of the message. The way of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not like that.He in the beginning used to speak to people about the majors aspects.Those are the matters concerning belief in God and the fundamental principle of submitting to Him which is the meaning of the word 'Islam '. one of our Muslim brothers told me that he went to a meeting of the Hari-krishna sect.He was surprise to see many Englishmen there,and asked me "Why dont we have such meetings?" I told him that we have,Alhamdulillah,a lot of Muslims among the British people.He further exclaimed that one man here has thousands of followers,while we have hundreds of mosques and a relatively small number of native Muslims! One reason for this attraction of people to such sects is that people in the west are tired of material life.Many of them are seeking a way out of such a life.Although they have everything,they are not living happily.That's why you find them following any way that will satisfy them spiritually.When we talk to people we tend to neglect this side totally. We muslims should,when introducing Islam to others,show them that while Islam does not mean closing your eyes to the realities of the world,it creates balance in the life of a human being. The material side and the spiritual side develop together.You do not neglect your body at the expense of your soul.You have to strike a middle path, the straight path described by the Quran.If you cut off yourself completely from the world you'll live like beggar,and how then can you conductyour worldly affairs?Therefore to live spiritually only is an extreme,and to live materially only is the other extreme.The correct way is to create a balance,and that is what Islam does. The Quran says:" Seek the abode of the hereafter with the means that Allah has given you and don't neglect your portion of this world".and that is an excellent way of how we should approach life. When I as a Muslim have the belief that Allah is the only One Who can benefit me,the Only One who can harm me,and the Only One in whose hands is my life,and I follow the middle path physically and spiritually,I will indeed live a happy life with the minimun of problems.That's actually what we see among many sincere Muslims.When one of us puts his face on the pillow saying " In the name of Allah,Most Merciful,Most compassionate,I rely fully on Allah ",he quickly falls asleep. The materialist who has millions of pound cannot sleep without taking drugs or drinking,and if he manages to sleep at the end he will not enjoy his sleep and in the morning he will wake up facing the same worries. Those who submit to God are saved from such anxieties.They live a happy life because of the balance that the Quran and the example of the Prophet(peace be upon him)created.The result is a normal happy human being and a good citizen,who has no difficulties and internal social conflicts. The End. *********************************************************************** This khutbah was first delivered at the London Central Mosque & Islamic Cultural Centre, Park Road, London By Shaikh Zahran Ibrahim on the 12th July,1985.Taken from my collection of Khutbas. Dua: May Allah guide us straight in our return to Him. May the light of the words of the Holy Quran strengthen us in that which is right and enable us to live justly on this earth,without spreading corruption,and with tenderness and compassion towards each other,lowering towards those who follow us the wings of tenderness May the light dawn within and all round us. " O our Sustainer! Do not take us to task if we forget or unknowingly do wrong! O our Sustainer! Do not lay upon us a burden like that which you placed on those who lived before us! O our Sustainer! Do not make us bear burdens which we have no strength to bear! And efface our sins,and grant us forgiveness, and bestow your mercy on us! You are our Supreme Lord:help us when we face those who stand against truth "[2:285-6] Al-Fatiha. Ameen. With the very best of good wishes, Musa Amadu Pembo Glasgow, Scotland, Uk. [log in to unmask] May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,guide us all to His Sirat Al-Mustaqim (Righteous Path).May He protect us from the evils of this life and the hereafter.May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,grant us entrance to paradise .. Ameen _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------