State Of The World - Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

In the Name of Allah

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless our Master Muhammad and the family of our Master Muhammad. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. O Allah, open for me my heart and ease my affairs. Clear my tongue and my speech.

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

The Greatest Blessing: The Deen of Islam

Allah has blessed us with the Deen of Islam. And this is the greatest blessing of Allah that we have. This Deen of Islam — Allah says:

"Today I have completed my favours upon you." This is one of the last ayahs that was revealed upon Rasulullah. الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ — I have completed the Deen that I have sent upon you, O Prophet. And I have completed my favours upon you. And I have chosen Islam as your Deen.

We have this belief, and it is a necessary belief that we have, that Islam is the chosen way of Allah for His creation. The only acceptable lifestyle. Allah says:

The only way of life acceptable to Allah is the way of Islam.

Whoever will adopt any other way of life besides the way of Islam will never be accepted by Allah.

In this Deen, Allah made it complete in all its aspects. And it will remain unchanging. It will remain equally valid and applicable at all times.

Islam as a Deen vs. The Condition of Muslims

On the other hand is the condition of the Muslims. The condition of the Muslims is not something that will not change — that they will always remain supreme, always remain dominant. That is the case with Islam as a belief among beliefs. Other Adeyan Batila, other deviant forms of religion — Islam is the supreme religion and will always remain the supreme religion. With respect to its proofs and evidences, with respect to its literature, with respect to its textual evidences, the Quran will always remain the living miracle of Allah.

The Deen of Allah as a religion can always be defended and will never be overpowered by any other religion. That is when it comes to the Deen amongst other Adeyan, amongst other religions. That is when it comes to our belief system versus other belief systems. Never can any other system of morals be superior to the morals given to us by Rasulullah. Never can any set of ideals and theology, or ethics, or society, or even mundane worldly ways of living our lives — any other system of economics or judicial system — ever be superior to the way shown by Rasulullah.

As we know, our beautiful Deen is a complete way of life. There is no aspect of our life in which we will not find teachings of Islam regarding it — from how to rectify your soul at an individual level, to how to run an entire government. We have all the teachings in our Deen. So that is when it comes to Islam, and that is something for us to be proud of, something for us to be thankful to Allah for — such a beautiful, relevant Deen.

But on the other side, we have the conditions of Muslims. This is one of the first lessons whenever I give Shahada to a new Muslim brother or sister entering the fold of Islam, that I have to teach them — unfortunately — this reality. That: my dear brother, you are entering the fold of Islam. If you have any questions regarding the teachings of Islam — what does Islam say about this, what does Islam say about that — then insha'Allah, whatever answers I have, I will be able to directly provide for you. And if you ask me something I do not know, which there could be many things, insha'Allah I have full confidence our scholars will be able to answer those questions. They can revert back to the books and come and give you a satisfying answer to defend the teachings of Islam, because Islam, as I said, is the supreme way of life from every aspect.

But unfortunately, do not become confused and regard the actions of Muslims to be equivalent to the teachings of Islam. Muslims and their actions at all times are not necessarily the most correct and can be defended and can be applauded and can be condoned. Rather, many times Muslims will be violating the orders of Allah. Muslims' actions will be contrary to the teachings of Rasulullah. Their behavior may not be representing the character of Rasulullah. And as a new revert to the faith, when you see the actions of Muslims, you might tend to equate that with the teachings of Islam — and say that if I want to learn how to pray, I pray how a Muslim brother prays; if I want to know how to perform the ablution, I follow the one next to me. And when you see a Muslim behaving otherwise, breaking the rules, then you might make this confusion and start regarding that as: that's the way Muslims behave, that's the way we are supposed to behave. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The Groups Mentioned in the Quran

In the beginning of the time of Rasulullah, we find in the Quran that there were different categories of people that the Quran addresses. And this category that we are talking about — the non-practicing Muslim — was non-existent. What are the different groups we find that Allah refers to in the Quran?

1. The True Believers — الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

We have يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — "O those who believe." الْمُؤْمِنُونَ — the true believers. These were the Sahaba, رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. They are those who were ready to give their life for Allah and His Rasul. There were two categories amongst them:

Among them are those who gave the sacrifice of their life for the sake of Allah — this is the first category. And the second category: وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ — those who are waiting, when can they give their life? That is it. There are only two groups amongst the مُؤْمِنُون.

The الْمُؤْمِنُون here — the alif-lam is referring to a specific group of believers, the صحابة رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. They said سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — we hear the order of Allah, we hear the order of Rasulullah and we obey. Immediately. Instantly. Without any single moment of hesitation. This was the quality of the الْمُؤْمِنُون.

2. The People of the Book — يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ

Then we have another group mentioned in the Quran: يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ — "O the People of the Book." These were the Jews and the Christians. Allah taught us an etiquette of how to give da'wah: you pick one of their beautiful attributes and address them to attract them. Allah could have addressed them as يَا قَتَلَةَ الْأَنبِيَاءِ — "All those who killed the prophets of Allah" — which would have been an accurate representation of their history. But Allah did not address them like that. Allah addressed them as يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ — an honorific title.

If you want to bring them closer towards you, you want them to attain guidance and enter Jannah with you, and you have sincere love for them as a believer, then it does not help you to ridicule them, to defame them, to criticize them. Rather, address them in a noble and respectful manner and invite them towards the truth.

"O People of the Book, come — let us come to a common word between us that we can agree upon: that we do not worship anyone besides Allah." And so on. The whole ayah continues. This is the second group.

3. The Polytheists — الْمُشْرِكُونَ

Then we have the مُشْرِكُون — the polytheists, those who worshipped idols in Makkah. These were the pagan Arabs, the idol worshippers. This is the third group.

4. The Hypocrites — الْمُنَافِقُونَ

And then the fourth group are the مُنَافِقُون — the hypocrites of Medina. These were those who apparently acted like they were Muslims because the dominant religion of Medina was Islam, and Rasulullah was not only the head of the Deen but head of the state as well. For political advantage, they acted like Muslims, but they were hiding the kufr in their hearts.

"Among the residents of Medina, there are those who are hardcore hypocrites. You don't know who they are, O Nabi. I know who they are. They will be punished twice for their kufr and for hiding their kufr."

"They will be in the lowest level of Jahannam."

The Missing Group: The فَاسِقُون

What we find absent is this group — which is the most predominant group today — not even mentioned in the Quran directly, because they were not existent then. And that is the group of those who are reciters of the kalimah:

But whose actions are not in conformance with the demands of لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ. This group is identified in the third person, but is not addressed in the second person. This group is known as الْفَاسِقُون — the sinners. Technically they are believers, because they recite the kalimah; they are not مُنَافِقُون.

نِفَاق is a type of kufr — in fact, it is the worst type of kufr. There is one kafir who says with his tongue openly and proclaims: "I do not believe in Islam, I don't believe in Allah and in the Quran." That is an open kafir. And then there is another kafir who does not believe in his heart, but pretends to be a Muslim. This is the worst state of kufr. This is called نِفَاق اعْتِقَادِي — hypocrisy from the perspective of belief. His very belief is hypocritical.

Alhamdulillah, we are not of that group. There may be some of that group who are agents of the enemies of Islam, who portray themselves as Muslims — active Muslims — but are hiding kufr. That is a small minority, if they exist, who have different agendas, who are penetrating Muslim communities, acting like Muslims but are not Muslims.

But the vast majority we have is called نِفَاق عَمَلِي — not نِفَاق اعْتِقَادِي, not hypocrisy in belief, but hypocrisy in practice. We recite the kalimah لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ — that means that I believe in Allah, آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ كَمَا هُوَ, how He is, I believe in Allah the way He is, بِأَسْمَائِهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ — with all His beautiful names and all His beautiful attributes. وَقَبِلْتُ جَمِيعَ أَحْكَامِهِ — and I have accepted all of His injunctions and commands. That's what it means to be a believer. إِقْرَارًا بِاللِّسَانِ وَتَصْدِيقًا بِالْقَلْبِ — I testify to this with my tongue, and I believe in this with my heart.

Yet we are missing the obligations of the Deen. We are not performing the fard of salah, yet we are engaged in haraam. We are violating the orders of Allah, violating the Sunnah of Rasulullah. So what is this called? This is called نِفَاق عَمَلِي — practically, there is hypocrisy in our actions. Alhamdulillah, there is no hypocrisy in our belief — we hope and pray — but there is hypocrisy in our actions.

And all the promises of Allah for salvation and success in this dunya and in the akhirah — they are reserved for those who will have sincerity of iman and the reality of faith. Then Allah's promises will come true. If there is hypocrisy in our practice, then we are not deserving of any promise from Allah. And this is why we see the situation of the ummah throughout the world.

The Root Cause of the Ummah's Decline

We cannot blame anyone but ourselves. We have to wake up from our slumber. This distressing condition that the ummah has come to — and this depth that we have fallen to — is a result of ourselves leaving the teachings of Islam.

In the beginning, the actions that came from the limbs of the Sahaba, رضي الله عنهم أجمعين, were in total conformance with the injunctions of Allah. So much so that it was valid and legitimate and permissible for them to invite non-Muslims towards Islam with the very simple words — which were applicable and true at that point — which we are in no position to say today. What were those words? Kunu mithlana — become like us. Literally, they were in such a position that they could invite non-Muslim nations towards Islam by saying kunu mithlana — become like us.

Can we hold our head high and invite the nations of the world and say kunu mithlana — become like us? We are in no position to say that, unfortunately. The thing for us to realize is: it is not because Islam has changed, it is because we as Muslims have changed. Islam in the time of Rasulullah, Islam in the time of the Sahaba, is the same Islam today. Allah who was then is the same Allah today. The Quran that was then is the same Quran today. The beautiful injunctions in the religion that were then are the same today. All of these, if you want to compare, are constants. The only variable in the equation that has changed is our actions.

Somebody asked Aisha Siddiqa, "Can you explain to us how was the character of Rasulullah?" So she said, "Have you not read the Quran? His character was the Quran." Likewise was the condition of the Sahaba — their lives reflected the Quran. They were not فَاسِقُون; they were مُؤْمِنُون, مُحْسِنُون, مُتَّقُون. They were the Sahaba of Rasulullah. So whatever destruction we are facing as an ummah, it is because of our own actions.

Allah says:

The corruption that has spread throughout the earth — the Quranic ayah says on the land and on the sea; and today it's also in the air — بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ — it is as a result of what you yourself have earned. Aydin means your hands. With your own hands, you have brought this destruction upon yourselves.

And if you are subjugated by other nations, and other nations are put upon you to rule over you and to harass you and to oppress you — Allah wants you to taste the result of some of your own actions. Perhaps you will wake up from your slumber and return back to Allah. That is why Allah brings a test upon us.

If Allah did not love us, did not care about us, then He would let us go scot-free and let us continue to enjoy worldly progress with no difficulty — so that we would not make tawbah and return to Him. Allah did not bring any difficulty for Fir'aun, so he continued in his transgression. If he had any personal sickness, if he was in difficulty or under depression, he would never have been able to say "I am your Lord, the Most High." This is a form of punishment from Allah — that He gave him that respite.

Allah says: I give chance upon chance, and I give respite. This is my planning. So that when I catch you, I will bring the greatest reckoning upon you on the Day of Judgment.

If Allah did not love us, then we would not feel the difference. If we are suffering as an ummah and we are undergoing these crises, this is a wake-up call for us. A wake-up call for us today — what is happening to our Masjid Al-Aqsa. All of these trials are there to call us back towards Allah. For us to make ruju' towards Allah. For us to make tawbah towards Allah. Inabah — turn towards Him in repentance for our actions.

Allah's Promise of Supremacy

Allah's promises are most true. Verily, Allah does not go against His promise. Who can be more truthful than Allah? Whose words are more truthful than the words of Allah? And Allah Himself said: you will remain supreme on the land. You will have authority on this earth.

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ — this is the promise of Allah. الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — those who believe in Allah and follow up with righteous actions — not mere lip service, but rather they follow through with their actions and prove they are true believers — Allah will give them supremacy and authority over this earth.

But there is a condition mentioned there: in kuntum mu'mineen — provided you are true believers, provided you have true iman, you will have supremacy over this earth.

The Crisis of Masjid Al-Aqsa

No one can come and stop and take over the house of Allah — kick the people out and install cameras. No other authority can come into the house of Allah and install cameras in the house of Allah, as they are doing in Masjid Al-Aqsa — the third holiest Masjid in Islam. The place where the Anbiya gathered — where Rasulullah led the Salah during the night of Isra' and Mi'raj. There are so many ahadith about the virtues of this beautiful house of Allah.

They have installed metal detectors. They have closed down the Masjid. All of these crimes that are happening — it is an opportunity for us to reflect that we have to return to Allah in tawbah. And turn towards Allah and improve in our a'mal. Improve in our unity and ittihad. Remove the differences that we have brought amongst ourselves. Then Allah's promises are definitely true — He will grant us a victory.

Of course, by no means are we rationalizing or giving excuse for those who are committing these crimes. That is a crime on the part of those who are committing it. But we have to ponder and reflect on what we have to do. That crime remains.

Allah very clearly says in the Quran:

He asks an open-ended question: who can be a bigger zalim? Who can commit an act of greater injustice? وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ — who is a greater criminal than the one who prevents people from the house of Allah? So if these people are preventing people from entering the third holy site in Islam, closing Masjid Al-Aqsa, then this is a very great crime in the eyes of Allah.

And Allah — إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ — He is watching over the actions of His slaves. And this is the time of the examination. The results will not come right away, but the result will come on the Day of Judgment. There is a day of retribution. There is a Malik on the Day of Judgment — a Master of that day of retribution. He is watching. And Allah will bring the zalim to account. So they will face the justice of Allah for their zulm.

But the opportunity for us is to reflect on what we have to do. We have to make sincere tawbah to Allah as an ummah throughout the world — that this day has come upon us. Allah says:

The masajid — they are dedicated houses of worship for Allah. If any sources of falsehood, any groups of falsehood and disbelievers, overtake a house of Allah and start interfering in the way it is run, this is a grave, grave crime. And it is upon the entire ummah to rise up and defend the house of Allah.

If it is happening to the third holiest Masjid in Islam, what could be a bigger crime than that? I suppose the bigger crime than that could be if it happens to the second holiest Masjid, Masjid al-Nabawi — على صاحبه الصلاة والسلام — if Masjid al-Nabawi were overtaken by the enemies of Islam and they started imposing their authority and rule on it. And if you ask what could be a greater crime than that, very logically the greater crime would be if Masjid al-Haram in Makkah al-Mukarrama were overtaken by the enemies of Islam and they started imposing rule and authority there.

If this seems inconceivable to us, then we should know that this has already happened in the past. It has already happened that Masjid al-Haram was not only under the control of mushrikeen and disbelievers, but they had installed for centuries 360 idols in the Ka'bah — in the Baytullah. And when we talk about Masjid Al-Aqsa with so much fervor and love and loyalty — which it truly deserves as the third holiest Masjid — the Ka'bah is the first holiest Masjid. It is the first house of worship. Allah says:

"Verily, the first house placed for the people is that which is in Bakkah — Makkah — blessed and a source of guidance for the entire world. In it are clear signs of Allah: the station of Ibrahim. His footsteps are present there. And whoever enters there will be in peace, sanctity, and safety."

That place was overtaken by the mushrikeen of Makkah — not the Jews of Israel, but mushrikeen who worshipped all these false gods and erected their idols in the Ka'bah. But this did not decrease the glory of Allah. This did not decrease the might of Allah. Allah was present then, He is present today, He will be present tomorrow — He is present in all times. He is Samad. He is independent of His entire creation.

If the entire ummah from Adam till today, and from today till the end of time, if we all became like Fir'aun and Abu Jahl — enemies of Allah — it would not decrease the glory and might of Allah in the least. And if we all became like Muhammad Rasulullah, it would not increase the glory of Allah in the least. He is independent of His creation.

But Allah allowed that to happen. This occurred when the effort of Deen was not taking place. When we abandoned the Deen, then even the Ka'bah was overtaken by non-Muslims, by mushrikeen.

A Call to Awareness, Tawbah, and Du'a

So today, if this is happening, first of all we have to know what is going on. We need to be informed about this great trial that we are facing as an ummah. And we should feel the pain in our hearts that our brothers and sisters are being prevented from entering Masjid Al-Aqsa, praying in the streets.

Today in Jumu'ah, they were attacked as they were performing the Salah. If you have seen the footage from Al-Jazeera — there is a brother trying to complete his Salah, and while he is engaged in Salah, the Israeli soldier is kicking him, pushing him. Tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition on the Muslims who are performing Salah al-Jumu'ah in Masjid Al-Aqsa. Several hundred were injured and a few were killed while performing Salah in the third holiest Masjid of Islam.

This is a great tragedy for us. But at the same time, we hope that Allah brings some khair from this — that it creates awareness within us, creates within us some pain for the ummah and the condition it is in, and allows us to make tawbah to Allah, turn towards Allah, and make sincere du'a for our brothers there and for wherever they are throughout the world.

May Allah protect Masjid Al-Aqsa. May Allah return it back to the control of the Muslims. And may Allah allow us to realize the purpose of our life and to stand up and fulfill that purpose.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ