collections khutbah Caring For One Another
Caring For One Another

Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

27 August 2021 / 18 Muharram 1443H

Caring For One Another

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,

Let us together continue our efforts to elevate our taqwa towards Allah (s.w.t.) by carrying out His obligations and abstaining from His prohibitions. With our consistent efforts, may we achieve success in this world and the hereafter.

My brothers and sisters,

If we internalise the teachings of our Prophet (s.a.w.), we will find that there are numerous hadiths that emphasise upon the rights of neighbours. One of the hadiths mentions that: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement, he should do goodness towards his neighbours.” (Narrated by Imam Muslim). There is also a hadith that states: “He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while his neighbour goes hungry.” (Narrated by Imam at-Thabrani).

The rights of neighbours are highly important, as they are mentioned in the Quran along with the commandment to worship Allah and not commit polytheism. This implies that fulfilling the rights of neighbours is an important command that should not be neglected. Allah says in surah al-Nisa’, verse 36:

Which means: “And worship Allah; associate nothing with Him. Be good to your parents, to relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to neighbours near and far, to travellers in need, and to your slaves. Verily Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful.”

My brothers and sisters,

A holistic understanding and appreciation of our religious guidance will allow us to realize that preserving all types of communal relationships is heavily emphasised in our religion.

Our religious guidance requires us to cultivate in ourselves the spirit of caring for one another. Caring for our family members, our neighbours, the environment, and the community. Indeed, perfecting one’s faith does not only depend on our relationship with Allah (s.w.t.), as He also values our relationship with others, including our neighbours and community.

Rasulullah (s.a.w.) once mentioned in a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad that there is no goodness in someone who hurts their neighbours, although he is a constant worshipper.

My brothers and sisters,

The COVID-19 situation that we are still facing has taught us to instil this spirit of caring for one another. We are required to abide by the advisories and measures implemented. We make the necessary changes in the way we carry out our daily activities, including our religious practices.

In addition, we have also started taking the vaccines to protect ourselves, our family members and the community. This is part of our efforts in overcoming this pandemic.

All the adjustments we make have nurtured in our souls the spirit of caring for one another, with the intention of safeguarding the well-being of others. This is the kind of spirit that we should strive to continue to instil in ourselves.

My brothers and sisters,

Alhamdulillah, having gone through this situation for quite some time, we are now seeing some positive developments. Some changes to the safe management measures have been announced. In relation to this, most mosques in Singapore are now able to offer more prayer spaces and slots, due to the increasing number of vaccinated individuals.

We should therefore play our part in encouraging those who have yet to take the vaccines to quickly do so, especially the elderlies, in order to ensure that they are protected. This is because when one is vaccinated, it acts as a protection for them, so that if they are infected with the virus, especially the new variants, they would be more capable of fighting against the infection and would not experience severe or life-threatening symptoms that require intensive treatment. This will then lighten the workload of our community’s healthcare system. This is part of our efforts to protect the welfare of our neighbours and also the larger society.

May Allah (s.w.t.) grant us strength to continue our noble efforts, as well as our role in contributing towards the harmony of our community, society and country. Amin Ya Rabbal ’Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَ لَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ

 

Second Sermon

الْحَمْدُ للهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا كَمَا أَمَرَ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَيَا عِبَادَ الله، اِتَّقُوا اللهَ تَعَالَى فِيمَا أَمَرَ، وَانتَهُوا عَمَّا نَهَاكُم عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.

أَلَا صَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ الْمُصْطَفَى، فَقَدْ أَمَرَنَا اللهُ بِذَلِكَ حَيْثُ قَال فِي كِتَابِهِ الْعَزِيزِ: إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَـا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَ بَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ.

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ المَهْدِيِّينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيِّ، وَعَن بَقِيَّةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالقَرَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ، وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ، وَعَنَّا مَعَهُم وَفِيهِم بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالمُؤْمِنَاتِ، وَالمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ، الْأَحْيَاءِ مِنهُم وَالْأَمْوَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا الْبَلَاءَ وَالوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلَازِلَ وَالْمِحَنَ، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، عَن بَلَدِنَا خَاصَّةً، وَسَائِرِ الْبُلْدَانِ عَامَّةً، يَارَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً، وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.

عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ، وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، فَاذْكُرُوا اللهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ، وَاسْأَلُوهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ يُعْطِكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللهُ  يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ.