FROM THE MINBAR OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES IN MAKKAH AND MADINA (Friday, January 3, 2003) ISLAM, A TOWERING, DEEP-ROOTED TREE: IMAM OF MAKKAH HARAM The Imam and Khateeb of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madina urged Muslims to be pious and win the favors of Allah Almighty through good deeds and refrain from committing sins. IN MAKKAH The Imam and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque in Makkah Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Sudais in his Friday Sermon spoke about the merits and good qualities of Islam and said Muslim to day need to know more than ever before the true and good qualities of their religion in order to face the hostile and misguided campaigns against Islam, its Prophet (Sallallaaho alaihi wa sallam) and the Muslim Ummah. The tendentious and fierce anti-Islam campaigns must be countered by sound logic and cogent evidence for a better understanding of (our religion) by the international community and for peace and stability to prevail in the world so that the whole humanity enjoys a better life and head to a prosperous future. He described Islam as a towering tree with its roots deeply embedded, which has numerous twigs and branches that cannot be shaken by the strongest of winds and storms, and yet its sweet fruits are within the reach of everyone, and its shade extends to everybody. The Islamic faith connects human beings with the one and only Allah, the Creator of the Universe. It is a simple and pure faith, devoid of philosophical polemics and logical complications. Its essence being total devotion to the eternal God Who has no associates and besides Whom no one is worthy of being worshiped. "He is the First without a beginning and the Last without an end,” he said. Islam is the sum total and the quintessence of all heavenly religions and divine faiths which have been merged in the message sent down to Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaaho alaihi wa sallam). “It contains all the principles and fundamentals that meet the needs of humanity everywhere and at every time,’ Sheikh Sudais said. “It enjoins Muslims to believe in all prophets of Allah,” he added. In the Holy Qur’an Allah says: “Say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Ibrahim, Ismail,, Ishaq, Yaqub and the tribes, and in (the Book) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (In Islam)” (Qur’an: 3:84) “Islam is thus a perfect religion that promotes tolerance and justice among mankind. Why then (has the world embarked on) a blind hostile campaign against it? “Failure of some Muslim to adhere to the tenets of Islam is not because of certain shortcoming in the faith. Islam, like any other religion,is not to be blamed if some of its followers fail to live up to its teachings. Even so,the tendentious and wicked campaigns go as far as implicating the Prophet of Islam with outrageous characteristics in newspaper cartoons and articles.” “The followers of Prophet Mohammed (Sallallaaho alaihi wa sallam) strongly condemn the attacks on his person and the racist stereotyping of all Muslims in an attempt to belittle their religion, and incite world’s public opinion against them.” he said. IN MADINA The Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Dr Hussein Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, in the Friday Sermon spoke about what could be the consequences of committing sins and wrongdoings. “Every evil in this life and the life to come is brought about by the commission of sins and evil deeds, which takes away and wipes out blessing of Allah and invite his wrath. “Sins and wrongdoing bring calamities and disgrace to the individual and groups. They affect the body and heart, and cause misfortunes and suffering in this life and the life after death,” he said. “Sins committed by individuals and groups affect the whole society because they prevent Allah’s graces and blessing from reaching His Slaves, which lead to the spread of poverty. The Prophet (Sallallaaho alaihi wa sallam) of Islam said that a person deprives himself of good fortune and sustenance by virtue of the sins he commits,” Sheikh Hussein said. “A life of sins is not only a cause of inviting Allah’s wrath and punishment, but it also earns a person disgrace in the eyes of other people. When sins and wrongdoings become widespread in a Muslim society, then that society becomes a subject of humiliation and insults from others.” he concluded. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^END^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ With the very best of good wishes, Musa Amadu Pembo Glasgow, Scotland UK. [log in to unmask] Da’wah is to convey the message with wisdom and with good words. We should give the noble and positive message of Islam. We should try to emphasize more commonalities and explain the difference without getting into theological arguments and without claiming the superiority of one position over the other. There is a great interest among the people to know about Islam and we should do our best to give the right message. 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 . We ask Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allaah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions..Amen. _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~