Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Friday Sermon

4 August 2023 / 17 Muharram 1445H

Thinking Well of Others

My beloved brothers and sisters in Islam,

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 of Allah’s servants who are obedient to Him, and may we be of His servants who receive His forgiveness. Amin. 

My fellow Muslims who are beloved by Allah, 

Allah (s.w.t.) said:

Which means: “O you who believe! Avoid having many suspicions, for indeed, some suspicions are sinful. And do not spy, nor backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of their dead brother? You would despise that! And fear Allah. Surely Allah is the Accepter of Repentance, the Most Merciful.” [Al-Hujurat: 12]

The verse that was just recited reminds us to avoid harbouring suspicions towards others. This is because having suspicions can cause a person to be quick to judge, and to look down on other people. These are behaviours that are considered inappropriate in Islam.

My brothers and sisters,

In our daily lives, we will meet different people, from many different walks of life. Sometimes, we may come across individuals who live very different lives from us, and who are facing different challenges as compared to us. For example, we come across individuals who may have tattoos on their bodies, and so on. Sadly, what often happens is that we tend to judge these individuals, looking down on them. And maybe subconsciously believing that we are superior to them.

SubhanAllah. Possessing such a prejudicial attitude can prevent us from approaching and extending help to these individuals, which is what we should be doing. A Muslim is someone who is approachable and seeks to benefit those around him. He is willing to listen to them, to hear from their point of view, and to understand their situations. If we were to approach the situation with compassion and understanding, we will be in a better position to work together with them. And hopefully, be able to leave a positive impact to those around us. 

My brothers and sisters,

As Muslims, the idea of “having suspicions” should not have a place in the life of a devout Muslim. What more thinking that we are better than others, while we ourselves do not know how our life journey will end! Can we consider ourselves to have reached perfection in our good deeds? Are we certain that all the acts of worship that we have done will surely guarantee a beautiful end for ourselves? These are the questions that we should continually ask ourselves, so that we may remain humble.

Reflect on the hadith of our Prophet (s.a.w.):

فَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ مِنْكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ إِلاَّ ذِرَاعٌ، فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ كِتَابُهُ، فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ، وَيَعْمَلُ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ النَّارِ إِلاَّ ذِرَاعٌ، فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ، فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ ‏

Which means: “And indeed, a man amongst you may do good deeds till there is only a cubit between him and Paradise, and then what has been written for him decides his behaviour and he starts doing (evil) deeds of the people of the Hellfire. And similarly, a man amongst you may do (evil) deeds till there is only a cubit between him and the Hellfire, and then what has been written for him decides his behaviour, and he starts doing (good) deeds of the people of Paradise." [Hadith narrated by Imam al-Bukhari]

And so, my brothers and sisters, we must remember that seeking Allah's pleasure is a continuous process. Even if today we are given taufiq, or guidance, to remain on the straight path of Allah (s.w.t.), we do not know our final fate in the future. Therefore, we should not tarnish the purity of our hearts by thinking badly of anyone.

If we find someone committing a sin, or if we have reason to doubt their behaviour, what we should do is to verify first in order to find out more about the situation. We should not be quick to blame, nor judge him with haste.

However, even as we try to remind ourselves to always be kind to others, we must also be mindful to avoid being a cause for gossip and slander too. This is in line with our Prophet’s (s.a.w.) command to not to put ourselves in a place or situation that can cause us to be a source of gossip for others.

May we be of His servants who maintain and protect our relationships by always being kind to our fellow brothers and sisters. And may we always be under the mercy and love of Allah (s.w.t.). Amin Ya Rabbal 'Alamin.

أَقُوْلُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ العَظِيْمَ لِي وَ لَكُمْ، 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 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 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، يَارَبَّ 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.