- Sermons
- /
- Friday Sermons
Why were the people of the scripture mentioned in so many Ayahs?
Dear brother, an honorable brother asked me that there are more than 200 Ayahs in the Quran talking about the people of the scripture, so what is the wisdom behind that big number of Ayahs, what does that have to do with us and what is the moral of mentioning them, talking about them and about their problems.In fact dear brother, the people of the scripture are people of scripture as much as Muslims today are people of scripture, namely, they have a book sent to them from the Almighty Allah, and thus we, as Muslims, might be subject to all the detrimental and deep-rooted diseases which afflicted them. Therefore, mentioning the people of the scripture is in fact a warning, guidance and an alarm which draws the attention of believers and Muslims.
The Almighty Allah says in Surat Al Ma’idah
﴾ And if only they had acted according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord (the Qur'an), they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. There are from among them people who are on the right course (i.e. they act on the revelation and believe in Prophet Muhammad like 'Abdullah bin Salam ), but many of them do evil deeds.﴿
Applying the Method of the Quran in our daily life:
If we apply this Ayah on Muslims today, and if only Muslims apply the noble Quran in their houses, at work, in their commercial transactions, in their social relations, in their economical affairs, in their war, in their time of peace and in their call to Allah, why would Allah punish them?﴾they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. ﴿
The withholding through which Allah withholds provision from His servants is a divine treatment and Allah’s means in order to teach them a lesson and it is not out of divine incapability or divine shortage
﴾they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. ﴿
This is a gentle reminder to Muslims. If you, as Muslims, were in hardship and in shortage of provision, livelihood, resources, rain and water, then the blame is all yours because you didn’t apply the noble Quran. Had you applied it in all aspects of life, nothing of this would happen to you.
Unfortunately, Muslims today adorn their houses with the Quran instead of reciting it, reading it and being proud of it. Verify, putting the Quran at work or in the house as an adornment is meaningless (has no effect).
﴾ And if only they had acted according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord (the Qur'an), they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet.﴿
﴾Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell.﴿
This Ayah, dear brother, can be interpreted on a collective level or on an individual level.
﴾O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered ﴿
﴾And strive hard in Allah's Cause as you ought to strive (with sincerity and with all your efforts that His Name should be superior).﴿
﴾So stand (ask Allah to make) you (Muhammad) firm and straight (on the religion of Islamic Monotheism) as you are commanded and those (your companions) who turn in repentance (unto Allah) with you, and transgress not (Allah's legal limits).﴿
If an individual Muslim, alone amongst a thousand million Muslims, applied the noble Quran in his house, he would ward off the fear of poverty, and he would get provision from above him and from underneath his feet.
Also if the entire Islamic nation applied the noble Quran in life, in their judgments, in their laws, in their legislations, in their economical and social affairs, they would get provision from above them and from underneath their feet.
These are The Words of The Lord of worlds, The Words of Allah, The Words of The Creator of the universe, The Words of the One in Whose Hand is the possession of everything and The Words of The One Who says:
﴾And there is not a thing, but with Us are the stores thereof.﴿
The stores of all fortunes (under the ground, above the ground or whatever is in between the heaven and earth) are owned by the Almighty Allah.
﴾ And if only they had acted according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord (the Qur'an), they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. There are from among them people who are on the right course (i.e. they act on the revelation and believe in Prophet Muhammad like 'Abdullah bin Salam ), but many of them do evil deeds.﴿
This means that few only are the ones who are on the right course and who fear disobeying Allah.
﴾ but many of them do evil deeds.﴿
They committed the sin of eating Riba (usury) and they committed the sin of Ikhtilat (mingling between men and women) and thus they were driven away from the Almighty Allah and lost the connection with Him, because they evaluate life from the perspective of the western world, they exalt those who own money and they inflict the legal punishments on the poor and forgive the rich. Those, who do so, will be afflicted with the same ailments which afflicted those who preceded them, and thus they deserve to be thrown in Hell.
﴾Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell.﴿
Here is another Ayah which talks about the people of the scripture:
﴾Say (O Muhammad) "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! You have nothing (as regards guidance) till you act according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur'an).﴿
This Ayah is also applicable on Muslims today.
﴾You have nothing (as regards guidance)﴿
If you, Muslims, authored books, published some of them, made them available to people, established Islamic institutions or built Mosques and did what you did:
﴾You have nothing (as regards guidance)﴿
All this is meaningless unless you apply the noble Quran instead of publishing it and putting it as an adornment in houses or hanging it on walls and in shops.
It is meaningless (if we don’t apply the Quran) to hang a picture in our shops that says:
In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad) a manifest victory.
So stand (ask Allah to make) you (Muhammad) firm and straight (on the religion of Islamic Monotheism) as you are commanded
﴾You have nothing (as regards guidance)﴿
Religious appearances will do no good to the one who does them.
Wearing a white rope, putting on glasses, using a stethoscope, holding an expensive pen and a white piece of paper will not make you a doctor, for medicine is something else and it is long years of studying, abundant knowledge, subtle comprehension and so many years which are spent in anatomy, asking questions and doing tests.
﴾Say (O Muhammad) "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! You have nothing (as regards guidance) till you act according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur'an).﴿
In a third Ayah The Almighty Allay says:
﴾And (both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones﴿
This is their claim, their case, those are their people and these are their words, but as for the answer of the Almighty Allah (to that claim), it goes as follows:
﴾" Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?"﴿
If you are claiming that you are the children of Allah and His loved ones, then:
﴾" Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?"﴿
If we were Allah’s loved ones, then why do we have all these problems, why do we suffer this pressure, why do we have shortage of provision, why this tightness in financial means, why do we hate one another?
﴾" Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?"﴿
It is meaningless to keep sinning then say: “I am a Muslim, praise be to Allah, and I am one of Mohammad’s nation PBUH, and his nation is included in the Mercy of Allah“.
Some men from my companions will come to my Lake-Fount and they will be driven away from it, and I will say, 'O Lord, my companions!' It will be said, 'You have no knowledge of what they innovated after you left: they have done mischief after you o prophet of Allah and the prophet (saw) said "suhkan, suhkan"
Dear brother, you will never belong to this Great man (prophet Mohammad PBUH) unless you follow his Sunnah, trace his milestones, track his steps and embrace his Sunnah, and you should keep in mind that the innovations, imported to us from the west, do not appeal to the believer, rather the believer follows only the pure Sunnah.
﴾And (both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?" Nay, you are but human beings, of those He has created,﴿
In a forth Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhammad) explaining to you much of that which you used to hide from the Scripture and passing over (i.e. leaving out without explaining) much. Indeed, there has come to you from Allah a light (Prophet Muhammad) and a plain Book (this Qur'an).﴿
Listen dear brother how the Almighty Allah allocates the abundant gains from comprehending the Quran and following it.
﴾Wherewith Allah guides all those who seek His Good Pleasure to ways of peace﴿
This means that if you follow the teachings of the noble Quran in your marriage (for example), Allah will guide you to the ways of peace through which your family will live tranquilly, happily, restfully, sincerely and warmly till the end of life. On the other hand, if the husband followed other than what Allah commands, so as the wife, this will lead both of them to dissension, hatred, poor cohabitation and it might lead them to divorce.
﴾Wherewith Allah guides all those who seek His Good Pleasure to ways of peace﴿
If you follow Allah’s commands in your commerce, in your job, at work or in any activity of your life, big disasters and destruction will neither befall you in your money, in your children, in your house nor in your marriage.
﴾Wherewith Allah guides all those who seek His Good Pleasure to ways of peace﴿
You will enjoy peace at work, at home, in your health and in your instincts. Hence this Ayah includes everything in your life, and the ways of peace are not limited, namely, whichever Quranic path, you follow, it will lead you to peacefulness in worldly life and in the hereafter.
﴾Allah calls to the home of peace﴿
The home of peace, wherein there will be no worries, no hardship, no melancholy, no fear, no torment and no humiliation.
﴾Allah calls to the home of peace﴿
The Ayahs of the noble Quran are the ways of peace, so if you seek Allah’s pleasure and you follow the noble Quran, this will lead you to the ways of peace.
Dear believer brother: These are some examples of the Ayahs and they are not everything. When the Almighty Allah mentions the people of the scripture in more than 200 Ayahs in the noble Quran, He is actually saying to us that these ailments, which afflicted them, might also afflict us. Actually, we are already afflicted by them, for we sinned, we said: “We are the nation of Mohammad PBUH, given his nation is included in the Mercy of Allah”, we oppressed one another, we said: “The prophet will be our intercessor”, we abandoned Salah and we followed our lusts claiming to be the followers of Mohammad PBUH.
﴾So they will be thrown in Hell.﴿
We claimed to be Allah’s loved ones, while we are not, and thus Allah punished us because of our sins, for we were just like any other human being created by the Almighty Allah.
The famous statement said by our master Umar Ibn Al Khattabe to our master Sa’d goes as follows: “Sa’d, don’t be dazzled by being the uncle of the Prophet PBUH, as people are equal in the sight of Allah, and no ancestry is to be taken into account save their obedience to Him”,
Dear brother, call yourselves to account before you are called to do so and weigh your deeds before they are weighed, and you should know that the Angel of Death has been reaching sh3er and will reach us soon, so pay heed. The clever one is he who upbraids himself and works for what comes after death; and the weak one is he who follows his desires and lives on wishful thinking, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
***
Second sermon:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds and I bear witness that there is no God but Allah the ally of the pious, and I bear witness that our Master Muhammad PBUH is His slave and messenger the one with noble morals. O, Allah grant your blessings and peace to Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest, and may Allah bless his folks and companions.
Allah Cursed…
Dear believer brother, as an application to the aforementioned Ayahs, the prophet PBUH said:((May Allah curse whoever consumes Riba, whoever pays Riba, the two who are witnesses to it, and the scribe who records it.))
Also the one who prevents Sadaqa (alms-giving) is cursed, namely, he will be far from Allah, so as the one who eats usury, for he will be distant from the Almighty Allah.
How impossible it is for the one who is distant (from Allah) to be happy, to be successful or to be secured.
Allah curses the one who eats Riba (usury) even though he might offer Salah and Sawm and claim to be a Muslim.
((May Allah curse whoever consumes Riba, whoever pays Riba, the two who are witnesses to it, and the scribe who records it.))
If the acts of worship are not preceded with uprightness, they will be meaningless.
((Allah curses anyone who separates a mother from her son and anyone who separates the siblings))
The person who separates a mother from her son, or a brother from his brother, is cursed, namely, he will be far from the Mercy of Allah because he has no mercy in his heart, and thus Allah will not manifest upon his heart with His Mercy and he will become distant and miserable.
((Allah curses anyone who curses his parents.))
The one, who wrongs people, is forcing them to curse his parents. Hence, this Hadith doesn’t mean that the man is literally cursing his parents, but it means that as if the one who seeks sins and who hurts people on the road, in their houses, who corrupts their morality and causes harm to people, is cursing his parents, and may Allah curse anyone who curses his parents.
((Allah curses anyone who sacrifices an animal to something other than Allah.))
((Allah curses anyone who gives shelter to an innovator.))
The one, who innovates in Islam and spreads his innovation, is cursed by the Almighty Allah, so as the one who helps him, approves his action or supports it
((Cursed be the slave of the Dinar, cursed be the slave of the Dirham))
Dunia (worldly life) for the one who sells his religion for a few Dinars, who forges an oath and does not follow the laws of Allah, is everything, so as a Dinar and Dirham, and in their quest, he is able to do everything regardless of any religious considerations and whether this Dinar comes from a Haram or Halal source.
((Cursed be the slave of the Dinar, cursed be the slave of the Dirham))
((Allah curses anyone who tortures an animal))
The person, who tortures the animal and kills it and stuffs it in order to sell it, and he makes a living out of that, is cursed by the Almighty Allah.
((Who curses my companions is cursed by Allah, the Angels and all mankind.))
The one, who speaks about things which are not of his business, is cursed.
((My companions are like stars, whichever of them you use as a guide, you will be rightly guided))
((When my Companions are mentioned then withhold.))
Who are you to evaluate a companion of the prophet PBUH?
((Do not insult my companions, for, by Allah, if any of you gave gold the extent of Mount Uhud in charity, you would not reach even a handful or even half a handful [of what they did))
((Allaah, Allaah. My Companions! Do not make them targets (of slander etc.) after me!))
For the sake of the messenger of Allah PBUH, and out of respect for him, when his companions are mentioned, one should withhold. Don’t ever say such and such companion did so and so, or this companion owned a weak personality, while that one was harsh in situations in which he should not be, who are you to say so?
((Who curses my companions is cursed by Allah))
Cursing the companions here means to criticize them or to ascribe flaws to their personalities.
((Allah curses men who copy women and cursed women who copy men))
The woman, who copies men, will lose her femininity and turn into a shameless person, such woman is cursed.
((Women who are dressed but appear naked, who will be inclined (towards men) and make (men) incline (toward them)))
Curse them because they are cursed by Allah.
((Allah curses the mannish from women.))
The woman who copies men.
((Allah’s curse is on the briber, the bribed and the agent between them))
It is a Haram earning and it leads its taker to destruction, for Haram money destroys its taker.
((Allah’s curse is on the briber, the bribed and the agent between them))
((Allah has cursed wine, and whoever drinks it, pours it, buys it, presses it for another, presses it for himself, carries it, accepts its delivery or the one who is paid for it))
Is there anyone left out?
((Allah has cursed wine, and whoever drinks it, pours it, buys it, presses it for another, presses it for himself, carries it, accepts its delivery or the one who has paid for it))
According to these noble As7adeth, the one who does such acts is cursed even though he/she might offer Salah, Sawm and claim to be a Muslim, and we should consider these Ayahs and As7adeth lest we fall in the mistakes in which the people of the scripture fell in.
﴾They said, "We have heard and disobeyed." ﴿
They follow part of the Scripture and reject the rest. They apply part of the Scripture and ignore the rest. They believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in the rest. Taking the easy part and applying it and denying the hard part is but double standard in regard of Allah’s laws:
((People of the scripture were cursed because they used to inflict the legal punishments on the poor and forgive the rich))
Whoever does the actscursed by the prophet PBUH, will become miserable in this worldly life and in the hereafter.
Dear believer brother: our Khutba in brief (concise is an adjective)is about the many noble Ayahs of Allah’s book, in which the people of the scripture are mentioned, and how these Ayahs are related to us, for they are gentle indirect guidance and a warning of the ailments that befell the people of the scripture and caused their destruction, and by which they became miserable, so Allah is warning you, as Muslims, not to fall in the same diseases and thus be destroyed (like they were destroyed).
Therefore, the Ayahs of the people of the scripture are addressing us as well, so whenever you reauthor them, don’t you ever say: “This is a history book”, and by which statement you are considering two third of Al Baqarah, Aal ‘Imran, Nisa’a, Mai’dah and other Surats of Quran, which mention the people of the scripture, as a history book. On the contrary, they are indirect warning to us, as Muslims, that we are nominated to fall in the ailmenrs they had fallen in.
Hence dear brother, we will be living purposelessly unless we apply the noble Quran. All the religious appearances are meaningless. Luxury carpets, air conditioning and bright lights in Masjeds are good, but meaningless unless we apply the Quran in our houses.
The same goes for owning a luxury bookcase in which you can find books about the noble Hadiths, books about the Quran interpretation, and books about the prophetic biography, yet the owner of this bookcase doesn’t obey Allah or His messenger PBUH, so in this case, will this bookcase do its owner any good?
Absolutely not!
Islamic appearances, Masjeds, books, interpretation references and cassettes are of no use to their owners unless they apply the noble Quran.
Our lives, as Muslims, will be in vain unless we apply the noble Quran.
Supplication:
We beseech you Allah to show us the way of rightness, together with those to whom You have showed it; and give us good health, together with those whom You have healed; and be our Protector, together with those for whom You have become their Protector; and bless us in what You have bestowed on us. O Allah bestow upon us and don’t deprive us, honor us and don’t humiliate us, choose us and don’t choose sh3er over us and please us and be pleased with us. O Allah, make us rich in knowledge, adorn us with tolerance, dignify us with piety, beautify us with health and purify our hearts from hypocrisy, purify our deeds from duplicity, purify our tongues from lying and purify our eyes from fraud, for You are the One who knows the fraud of the eyes and all that the breasts conceal.O Allah forgive our sins, cover our flaws, accept our repentance, set us free, make our salvation in the best ways and make us achieve that which pleases you of our hopes and seal our deeds with good ones.
O Allah cover our defects, grant us security, let us feel safe in our countries, and make this country and the rest of Muslims secured and make them live in prosperity.
O Allah we seek refuge with you from making our needs in people’s hands instead of Your Hand, from fearing anyone else but You, from lowering ourselves before anyone save You, from an intractable ailment, from enemies who glee at our misfortune and from withholding after bestowing”, Mawlana Lord of worlds, O Allah predestine health and safety upon all Hujjaj (pilgrims to Mecca), travelers, the settled and Murabiteen (keeping watch and carrying out jihad in a voluntary defense of Islam) in your land and sea of Mohammad’s nation PBUH, O Allah Who is the Kindest of all, grant us and them an accepted Hajj, meritorious Sa'y (7 rounds of walking between As-Safa and Al-Marwah) and a forgiven sin O Lord of worlds.
O, Allah, by your mercy grant victory to the word of truth and to this religion, and grant triumph to Islam, dignify Muslims and lead their rulers to that which pleases you, You are Able to do all things and You are The Only One to answer our Dua’a.
