FROM THE MIMBAR OF HOLY HARAM IN MAKKAH AND MADINA (Friday, August 3, 2001) Always be conscious of the Hereafter; do not enslave yourselves to worldly desires, Muslims told The Imams and Khateebs of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah in their Friday sermons this week (August 3, 2001) called on Muslims to be pious, to seek God’s favors through good deeds, and to lead a righteous life in this world in order to win abundant reward in the Hereafter. IN MAKKAH The Imam and Khateeb at the Grand Mosque in Makkah Sheikh Dr Omar Bin Muhammad Al-Sebail in his Friday Sermon said that the way to man’s eternal happiness and success is total devotion and submission to his Lord during his life. Man should not allow himself to be carried away by worldly concerns not be distracted from preparing himself and taking provisions for the life to come. Allah says in Qur’an: “Know Ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children”. He said turning to God and treading the road of piety and righteousness, turning away from base desires and guarding against glamorous illusions of this world is real happiness and victory in the life to come. He warned against the love of this world to the extent of forgetting the remembrance and praise of God. He said that anyone who does that will be made to forget himself and end up in misery. Sheikh Al-Sebail noted that love of this world is evident in the desire for wealth and fame even at the expense of professing religious faith and performing meritorious and virtuous works, and amassing wealth through dubious means. Many people have succumbed to the call of their lowly desires and committed grave evils of consuming intoxicants and narcotic drugs, he said. Stressing the role of the information media in shaping morals in societies, he warned against the falsehood and seductive materials aired by satellite channels. He called on the faithful to work for the bliss of the Hereafter, and not to be immersed in the fantasies of this world. IN MADINA In Madinah, the Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet’s Mosque Sheikh Saleh Bin Muhammad Bedair in his Friday sermon drew attention of worshipers to the great struggle and deadly danger facing Muslims in the confrontation with the onslaught of modern materialist Western civilization which is devoid of moral values. The Western world is trying hard to spread its civilization with the aim of effacing the noble character of Muslim societies and implanting Western patterns of living, thoughts, social and cultural values, he said. Sheikh Bin Bedair said obstinate unbelievers harbor a deep fear and hatred about Islam, and going all out to suppress its spread. The enemies of Islam have mobilized all their technical and material resources in the fight against Islam and its adherents. They also try to invade the Muslim countries ideologically in order to control them and take over their means of living, he said. Of what use is a civilization where man has become a slave of money, material things and bodily desires, he wondered, and said such a man is bound to fall and end in misery like all human beings who were overwhelmed by the vagaries of the so-called modern civilization. He noted, however, that Islam does not object to making useful inventions and reaping the fruits of research and technological advancement of modern Western civilization, but rejects its social ills. The Holy Qur’an says: 1 Ya_ ayyuhan na_suttaqu_ rabbakumul lazi khalaqakum min nafsiw wa_hidatiw wa khalaqa minha_ zaujaha_ wa bassa minhuma_ rija_lan kasiraw wa nisa_'a(n), wattaqulla_hal lazi tasa_'alu_na bihi wal arha_m(a), innalla_ha ka_na'alaikum raqiba_(n). 1 O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person created of like nature his mate and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women; reverence Allah through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights) and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.(Surah An-Nisaa, Ayat 1) 504 505 506 Commentary by A. Yusuf Ali 504 Nafs may mean: (1) soul; (2) self; (3) person, living person; (4) will, good pleasure, as in iv. 4 below. Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razn. The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity. The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (4.1) 505 All our mutual rights and duties are referred to Allah. We are His creatures: His Will is the standard and measure of Allah; and our duties are measured by our conformity with His Will. "Our wills are ours, to make them Thine," says Tennyson (In Memoriam). Among ourselves (human beings) our mutual rights and duties arise out of Allah's Law, the sense of Right that is implanted in us by Him. (4.1) 506 Among the most wonderful mysteries of our nature is that of sex. The unregenerate male is apt, in the pride of his physical strength, to forget the all-important part which the female plays in his very existence, and in all the social relationships that arise in our collective human lives. The mother that bore us must ever have our reverence. The wife, through whom we enter parentage, must have our reverence. Sex, which governs so much of our physical life, and has so much influence on our emotional and higher nature, deserves-not our fear, or our contempt, or our amused indulgence, but-our reverence in the highest sense of the term. (4.1) Hadith Qudsi O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him finds good praise Allah and let him who finds other that blame no one but himself. Supplications Allâhmmaj’al fi galbi nooran, wa fi lissani nooran, wa fi sam’I nooran, wa fi basari nooran, wa min fauqi nooran, wa min tahti nooran, wa an yameeni nooran, wa an shamaali nooran, wa min amaami nooran, wa min khalfi nooran, waj’al fi nafsi nooran, wa a’zim li nooran, wa azzim li nooran, waj’al li nooran, waj’alni nooran, Allâhum-ma a’tini nooran, wal’al fi ‘asabi nooran, wa fi lahmi nooran, wa fi dami nooran, wa fi sha’ri nooran, wa fi bashari nooran {Allâhum-maj’al li nooran fi qabri… wa nooran fi ‘izzami}. {wa zidni nooran, wa zidni nooran, wa zidni nooran}. {wa hab li nooran ‘ala noor}. Oh Allâh, bring into my heart light, and to my tongue light, and in my ears light and in my sight light, and above me light, and below me light, and to my right light, and to my left light, and before me light, and behind me light, bring into my spirit light, Magnify for me light, and amplify for me light, make for me light, Oh Allâh, grant me light, and make in my mind light, and in may body light and in my blood light, and in my hair light and in my skin light. {Oh Allâh, make for me a light in my grave.. .. .. and a light in my bones}. {Increases me in light, increase me in light, increases me in light}. {Grant me light upon light}. Spread the Message of Allah Courtesy of brother Haroon Basha of Saudi Arabia.Brothers and sisters please remember brother Haroon in your dua for going all out and at personal expense to make this Khutbah available to us.May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'la richly reward him in this world and Hereafter.Ameen. With the very best of good wishes, Musa Amadu Pembo Glasgow Scotland UK 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------