Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

5 January 2024 / 23 Jamadil Akhir 1445H 

The Beauty of Islam’s Teachings

My blessed Friday congregants,

Let us continue in our efforts to elevate our taqwa towards Allah (s.w.t.), by obeying all of His orders, and by abstaining from all of His prohibitions. May we be granted success in this world and the next. Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

My beloved fellow Muslims,

All praise be to Allah (s.w.t.) for the abundance of His favours and blessings. He has extended our time on this earth, and we live to usher in the new year 2024. We express our gratitude to Allah (s.w.t.) for granting us the blessing of faith and the gift of life over the past years.

As people of faith, we should continue striving to preserve our faith by constantly seeking beneficial knowledge. In fact, as we already know, the first revelation that was revealed to our Prophet (s.a.w.) was Allah's (s.w.t.) command for us to read in order to gain knowledge. Allah (s.w.t.) said:

Which means: “Read (o Muhammad), in the name of your Lord who created.” (Surah al-‘Alaq, verse 1)

Imam Ibn Kathir, in his book of tafsir, explained that through the first revelation - that is, verses 1 to 5 of surah al-'Alaq - Allah (s.w.t.) poured out His mercy and His love to mankind.

As such, knowledge is the key to understanding Allah's mercy, which we are blessed to receive through Islam. With knowledge, we can get to know Allah (s.w.t.) and His messengers better. Knowledge also enables us to cultivate good manners and a noble character. With knowledge, we will be able to understand and consequently improve our practise of the religion.

Dear Friday congregants,

The Qur'an and the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Sunnah are ourguides. They are our Prophet’s (s.a.w.) legacy for all of mankind. An example of this profound guidance is the encouragement for us to observe and appreciate Allah’s creations. Contemplating the miracles of the rising and setting sun, the moon's phases, the steadfastness of mountains, and the life cycle of green leaves unveils the divine power of Allah (s.w.t.). These remarkable signs serve as a testament to His boundless might, reinforcing the faith of those who earnestly reflect. This can be achieved by following the guidance of true and beneficial knowledge.

The Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.) remind us that every action has its consequence. Acts of kindness will be returned in kind and rewarded by Allah (s.w.t.), while conversely, wrongful actions will face just retribution. They remind us to always pursue goodness, and to avoid all evil in our practices, actions, and disposition. Again, only true knowledge can push us in that positive direction.

Brothers and sisters,

A true believer will adorn his faith with the beauty of his manners. Faith and good character are two values ​​that are closely related to each other and cannot be separated. Our manners are a reflection of our faith. Let us exemplify the Muslim character through our good manners and behaviour. Let us not tarnish our self-honour nor the sanctity of our religion with our unworthy attitudes. Remember the message of the Prophet (s.a.w.), in a hadith narrated by Imam Al-Tirmizi:

أَكْمَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا

Which means: "The most complete of all believers in their faith is the one with the best manners."

Let us work together to gain Allah's (s.w.t.) pleasure. We can make today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today. Let us seek to build confidence, cultivate wisdom, and spread peace.

We can make a resolution this new year to deepen our understanding of religious knowledge. At the same time, we should reflect upon and evaluate our actions in 2023. As believers, have we fulfilled our duties in the best possible way? Are we fair and just in our actions, and in every interaction? What are our strategies for self-improvement in this new year?

Brothers and sisters,

In our efforts to improve ourselves and to enhance our understanding of religious knowledge, we should take advantage of the opportunity to attend courses or programmes offered by mosques or registered Islamic study centres.

We must protect ourselves and our families from participating in activities which claim that only their teachings are true and guarantee us a place in Heaven. We must also safeguard ourselves and our families from any teachings that are based solely on ilham or inspiration, or through the attainment of spiritual truths and mystical knowledge (or ilmu hakikat dan makrifat), that are distorted from the true teachings of Islam.

In truth, such misconstrued understandings can lead towards restrictive religious teachings that result in distortions and deviations. I would thus like to remind everyone of the importance of learning religious knowledge from authentic and qualified sources. It is incumbent upon us to investigate the qualifications of the religious teacher in question. As a consideration, a famous scholar, Abdullah ibn Mubarak, once said when talking about the science of hadith narration: "Indeed, studying the isnad (researching the narrator's background) is part of the religious demands. Without isnad, surely anyone can say anything (narrate the Prophet's hadith) according to his will."

May Allah (s.w.t.) bestow his taufiq and hidayah on all of us. May we belong among His servants with whom He is pleased with. Amin Ya Rabbal 'Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْم

 

 

SECOND SERMON

 

الحَمْدُ 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 العَزِيزِ: إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَـا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسلِيمًا. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ 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 لِلمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالمُؤْمِنَاتِ، وَالمُسْلِمِينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتِ، الأَحْيَاءِ مِنهُم وَالأَمْوَاتِ. اللَّهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا البَلَاءَ وَالوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلَازِلَ وَالمِحَنَ، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، عَن بَلَدِنَا خَاصَّةً، وَسَائِرِ البُلْدَانِ عَامَّةً، يَا رَبَّ العَالَمِينَ. اَللَّهُمَّ انْصُرْ إِخْوَانَنَا اْلمُسْتَضْعَفِيْنَ فِي غَزَّة وَفِي فِلِسْطِينَ وَفِيْ كُلِّ مَكَانٍ عَامَّةً، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين. اللَّهُمَّ بَدِّلْ خَوْفَهُمْ أَمْنًا، وَحُزْنَهُمْ فَرَحًا، وَهَمَّهُمْ فَرَجًا، يَا رَبَّ العَالَمِينَ. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً، وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ.  

 

عِبَادَ اللهِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي القُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ، فَاذكُرُوا اللهَ العَظِيمَ يَذْكُركُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدكُمْ، وَاسْأَلُوهُ مِن فَضلِهِ يُعطِكُم، وَلَذِكرُ اللهِ أَكبَرُ، وَاللهُ يَعلَمُ مَا تَصنَعُونَ.