Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

10 December 2021 / 5 Jamadilawal

Al-Hadi: The Provider of Guidance

Brothers and sisters blessed by Allah,

Let us continue our efforts to elevate our taqwa towards Allah (s.w.t.) by obeying all His commands, and by abstaining from all His prohibitions. Let us strive to overcome the challenges of life with taqwa, courage and patience.

 

Brothers and sisters,

As part of this month’s theme for our Friday sermons, which is to contemplate the meanings behind names of Allah. Today, we will reflect upon another name of Allah with hopes of knowing more about our Creator.

 

Brothers and sisters,

Everything that happens in our life is a chance for us to be closer to Allah and recognize His greatness. When Allah grants us goodness and blessings, we should do some self-reflections like asking ourselves whether we are grateful enough that we strive to increase our acts of worship? Similarly, when Allah tests us with trials and tribulations, do we continue to believe and be hopeful of His mercy? Or do we choose to turn away from Him?

Indeed, this religion reminds us to always return to Allah in every situation. This is because Allah knows our needs. He knows what is best for us and is always ready to bestow His guidance upon us. He is al-Hadi, The One Who Bestows Guidance. Allah (s.w.t.) mentions His name al-Hadi in the Quran in this verse:

Which means: “Verily Allah always guides those who believe to the straight path.”(Al-Hajj:54)

 

Brothers and sisters,

Everyone needs guidance from Allah when leading their lives in this world. Do not ever be arrogant or think we are good enough. Even worse, we should not mock those who are seeking Allah’s guidance. The best thing for us to do is to help and support them. This is because, every good deed that we do is a form of guidance from Allah. In fact, we do not know if Allah will take away the guidance that He has given to us.

 

My dear brothers and sisters,

Let us reflect upon the number of times we recite surah al-Fatihah in our prayers, which includes a supplication to seek guidance from Allah. We supplicate to Allah:

Which means: “Guide us to the straight path.” (Al-Fatihah: 6)

Such is the nature of humankind; we are in constant need of Allah in every aspect of our life. We will always need His guidance and direction.

 

My brothers and sisters,

In addition to making supplications, we should strive to ensure that we remain on the straight path and are not deviated or misguided. There is no other way to achieve this except by striving to increase our religious knowledge, through learning from qualified teachers.

As an example, when we wish to major in science and medicine, it requires many years of study in credible schools and formal institutions. This is because, whoever becomes a medical expert or professional, will be dealing with the health and lives of others. To prescribe the wrong medicine means putting someone’s life in danger.

The same can be said for religious knowledge. It is related to our religious obligations, prayers and hajj. It concerns our belief in the hereafter, and how we will then be judged by Allah. Surely, because of these reasons, we need to be cautious of our sources of reference when seeking religious knowledge.

In this digital era, many online platforms have provided us with the opportunity to easily acquire religious knowledge. However, at the same time, this also poses a great challenge for us to ensure the validity of the information that we receive.

 

Brothers and sisters,

I would like to emphasise the need to always be cautious when seeking religious knowledge. Refer to those who are qualified and competent if we are unsure about a particular piece of information. Be wary of individuals who spread religious information that are dubious. We should follow the Quran and prophetic traditions, as well as seek clarifications from qualified scholars and their explanations. 

In addition to this, one of the characteristics of misguided and doubtful teachings is when it is carried out secretly and closed to the public. This is one of the red flags to look out for, because it contradicts the way of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), in which everything has been clarified by Him (s.a.w.). Thus, there is no need for us to learn about Islam secretly.

Let us ask Allah to always bestow upon us His guidance. May Allah show us His straight path to acquire His mercy. May Allah (s.w.t.) protect us from all kinds of falsehood and misguidance. Amin. Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.