Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

5 March 2021 / 21 Rejab 1442H

Islamic Considerations for Lived Realities

My dear brothers,

Let us observe taqwa of Allah by performing all of His commands and abstaining from all of His prohibitions.

My dear brothers,

Every believer is aware of the importance of understanding religion for himself as well as his family. We are fully aware of the religious command to follow the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.). It is part of the process of understanding and obeying this religion. Allah (s.w.t.) says:

Which means: Say: Obey Allah and the messenger. If you turn away, verily Allah does not like those who ignore (His commands). (Ali Imran: 32).

Nevertheless, let us not forget that part of obeying the Quran and Sunnah is through a proper understanding of both sources. It is a responsibility of a believer to not take matters of his religion lightly. Thus, in understanding these two main sources, it is inadequate for one to search for religious information merely from social media. Rather, in seeking and understanding religious knowledge, we must go through a thorough process, that is to seek knowledge from true and reliable sources, and qualified teachers.

My dear brothers,

The true understanding of religion will never be separated from the reality of our daily lives. That is the reality. This understanding is what has been instilled by scholars when they wrote their books. They do not only record knowledge, but they strive to provide solutions to issues faced by the people in their time. The treasury of their knowledge always appreciates both context and realities.

The fact is that this religion is not separated from taking into account the realities that communities go through. Just look at the various religious principles such as, (i) Raf’ul Haraj, which means alleviating difficulty; (ii) keeping away harm, (iii) and presenting a solution in a situation of dire necessity. Everything proves that this religion is not separated from the reality of life.

For instance, the Prophet (s.a.w.) once explained in a hadith that for those who are sick, there are concessions. The way of performing acts of worship is performed slightly different due to the concession given. This is an example of how this religion takes into account different situations faced by individuals, and strives to observe the well-being based on the differing contexts.

This is extremely crucial, because when a person fails to find the relation between a religious injunction and the reality of life, it will only create confusion. Eventually, one fails to truly appreciate the religion when a ruling is implemented without understanding the reality of life. It will only bring destruction and deviation, because that is not the path set by the prophets and not from the traits of our religion.

My dear brothers,

The ongoing spread of the pandemic has driven us to make adjustments, whether to our daily lives or our religious lives. Just look at how we are standing in our rows in congregational prayers, the safe distancing measures we are observing when in mosques, so on and so forth. It proves that some adjustments are still needed.  In fact, these adjustments are based on the traditional Islamic scholarship by referring to general principles of religion, making the work done by the past scholars as a source of reference and a treasury of guidance.

As long as we are not truly free from the spread of this virus, we must continue to prioritise the safety and welfare of individuals and the community.

We are grateful and heartened that none in our community say: Are you afraid of Allah or the virus?

We cannot accept such way of thinking, for our faith in Allah teaches us to be responsible individuals. Our fear towards Allah drives us not to behave recklessly such that we put anyone in danger, because we have confidence that is what Allah expects of us.

May Allah (s.w.t.) continue to preserve us and our families, and grant safety to this beloved nation of ours. Amin.

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

 

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.