Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

7 May 2021 / 25 Ramadan 1442H

Gaining Allah’s Love Through His Creations

 

My brothers,  

Let us together strive to gain Allah’s love through our taqwa of Him. Taqwa towards Allah can be cultivated through loving all His creations, including animals and plants. When Allah loves us, He will instil in His creations, be it in on this earth or in the skies, their love for us.  

Brothers,

Let us look at how Rasulullah (s.a.w.) taught us to love animals and commanded us to have taqwa in the way we treat them. In an authentic hadith reported by Imam Ahmad, it was narrated that one day, when Rasulullah (s.a.w.) was passing by a garden, a camel saw him and cried. Rasulullah (s.a.w.) dismounted from his donkey and went up to the camel and stroked its ears and neck affectionately. The camel then calmed down.   

Rasulullah asked, “Who is the owner of this camel?” A young man answered, “I am.” Rasulullah then asked the young man, “Do you not have taqwa of Allah in taking care of this camel which Allah has given you authority over? It just complained to me that you let him starve and caused him to overwork.”

Such is how Rasulullah (s.a.w.) educated a young man to increase his taqwa by showing his love and care for a creation of Allah. If we are commanded to be kind to animals, what more to fellow human servants of Allah? If we love Allah the Creator, we will love His creations.  

Brothers,

The month of Ramadan is the month where the rewards of all good deeds are multiplied. We are encouraged to do any form of good deed and act, no matter how small. In fact, we are commanded to not only strengthen our relationship with Allah, but also our relationship with other people and creations of Allah. Allah declares in Surah an-Nahl, verse 97:

Meaning: “Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.”

Let us reflect upon how Allah emphasizes on whoever does “sālihan”, that is, whatever good deed, towards anyone or anything, and regardless of how small it is. As long as a person does good because he believes in Allah and out of love and sincerity, Allah will bless him with a good life and grant him with rewards that far exceed the good he has done.

This is how we can gain Allah’s love, by loving His creations and His servants, and this will in turn give us a better and more meaningful life.

Brothers,

The month of Ramadan is reaching its end. However, it is still not too late for us to pursue Allah’s blessings and to make prayers to Him, hoping for His help and His mercy.

Let us make full use of the remaining time we have this month to strengthen our relationship with Allah and continue to do good towards His creations. This is what we mean by gaining Allah’s love through His creations. May all these efforts provide us with the spiritual strength and resilience required to tide through life after Ramadan and beyond; that is a good life (hayātan tayyibatan) and a meaningful one.

Besides spending the final days of Ramadan on performing acts of worship and good deeds, and amidst of our preparations to welcome the month of Syawal, remember that the COVID-19 situation is far from over. As we know, the cases in the community are once again on the rise. This is a reminder for us that as long as the global situation remains unstable, we are still not immune to this pandemic.

Therefore, I would like to invite us all to continue to observe the safety measures that have been set in place. Remember that even though the spaces in the mosques remain limited, it is all for our communal safety and protection.

If we are not successful in getting a slot to pray Friday prayers in the mosque, then perform our prayers in our homes or wherever we might be. As it is considered a concession (rukhsah) in this pandemic situation.

In addition to this, I would like to encourage all of us to go for the vaccination once we get the opportunity to do so. This is to ensure that members of our society continue to be protected from any harm.

Remember, all these efforts are aimed to protect human life, which is also in line with our Islamic teachings. In fact, it is a good deed that we should not take lightly. Do good deeds (sālihan) no matter how small or little.

May Allah protect us and bless us all with all the efforts that we put in. Amin. Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، 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.