The World Cup and Iman Bil Ghaib

The World Cup and Iman Bil Ghaib

What if I came here and I claimed that the World Cup doesn't exist? Have any of you been there physically? You've not seen it. So I'm claiming right here on this minbar — the World Cup is a lie.

It doesn't exist. All the TVs are doctoring footage and pretending. None of you can prove me wrong.

Why? For you to see a website, a TV advert, someone tells you this team won, that team lost — this is all Iman Bil Ghaib. You are believing in something you don't see.

The World Cup for you right now is Ghaib. You can't see it. It's testimony. It is narrated to you by someone you trust — a television, a website, a person that you trust. If not for your trust for this person, I could stand here and claim the World Cup is a lie. It doesn't exist. You've never been there. You've never seen it.

A Deep Reminder

The World Cup must thus remind you of something very deep, dear brothers and sisters. When someone comes and tells you, "Do you know that team won 1–2–1?" — you realize in that moment, this could be a lie. You are trusting the information from somebody you trust. You've never seen it before. You're not there.

When Allah begins the Quran, the first way He describes the believers — they believe in that which they don't see, and they establish the salah, and they spend from what He has given. This whole deen is built on this foundation.

"Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them."

Have You Seen Jannah? Have You Seen Jahannam?

I have never seen Jannah. Have you? I have never seen Jahannam. Have you? I never saw Rasulullah ﷺ. Have you? I never saw Allah. Have you? But I believe they are real — the way you see me standing in front of you today. And that is what makes a believer.

Let Us Talk About the Hereafter the Way We Talk About the World Cup

The World Cup is a reminder, brothers and sisters. You realize every day people are talking about something they cannot see. Let us talk about Jannah like people talk about the World Cup. Let us talk about Rasulullah ﷺ like people talk about the World Cup. Let us talk about Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ — the One we don't see, but the One who, inshallah, one day we will see.