The Core Messages of Islam - Shaykh Sa'd al-Shithry

The Core Messages of Islam

A khutbah delivered by Shaykh Sa'd al-Shithry at Greenland Masjid's Annual Winter Conference. The following is the original khutbah followed by a summarized translation provided by the translator.

The Adhān

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. O people of prayer, O people of prayer. O people of success, O people of success. Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest.

Opening Praise

Praise be to Allah who guided us to the religion of Islam. Our souls are pleased with it and our Lord is pleased with us. I praise Him and I thank Him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, there is no partner for Him. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.

The Six Core Messages of Islam

There are six important messages to which our religion aims. Let us explore each of them.

The First Message: Strengthening the Connection with Allah

The first message to which our religion aims is to strengthen the connection with Allah, so that hearts may be attached to the Lord of Glory and Majesty — worshipping Allah alone. As Allah says:

"You alone, O Allah, we worship, and You alone do we seek assistance from."

From here the believer connects to his Lord. The connection with Allah is through many things. One of them is the remembrance of Allah. As Allah orders us in the Quran:

"O you who believe, remember Allah often and remember Him much."

Another means is the worship of supplication — du'ā — especially when the soul is at ease and connected to Allah, and the feeling of intense need for Him. As Allah says:

"Call upon Me, invoke upon Me and I shall respond to you."

Another is the fear of Allah — we fear that punishments will be sent down upon us in this world, and we fear that He will put us in the Fire of Hell. As Allah says in Surah ar-Rahmān:

"And whosoever fears the standing before his Lord, for him there will be two Gardens."

Likewise, we connect to Allah through murāqabah — the feeling of His watching over us. As Allah says:

"There is nothing in the heavens and the earth that is hidden from Allah."

And thus we connect to Allah through the worship of supplication, which is the connection between the servant and his Lord. As the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 405)

"When one of you is in his prayer, he is indeed calling upon his Lord." As Allah also says:

"Establish the prayer, give the zakāh, and be from amongst those people who make rukū'."

The Second Message: Tranquillity and Peace of the Heart

The second core message to which our blessed Sharī'ah is striving is the tranquillity of the souls, their comfort, their stability, and their feeling of peace. As Allah says:

"Indeed, through the remembrance of Allah do the hearts gain contentment."

For this reason, anything which removes this type of contentment and peace from any person is something which Islam frowns upon and is forbidden. To the extent that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6290; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2184)

"If there are three of you, then do not let two of you whisper to one another to the exclusion of the third, because this will upset him." Even to this extent, Islam has come with these laws and etiquettes and regulations.

Look at these great verses in Surah al-Ḥujurāt, in which the Islamic morals are organised. For example, Allah says:

"O you who have believed, avoid much assumption. Indeed, some assumptions are sinful. And do not spy upon one another, and do not backbite one another."

"And do not insult one another, and do not call each other by offensive nicknames. Evil is the name of disobedience after faith."

The Third Message: Stability and Harmony of the Family Unit

The third goal to which our blessed Sharī'ah is striving is the stability of the family — so that the wife is at ease with her husband, and the husband is at ease with his wife, and the home is a place of comfort, tranquillity, and stability. As Allah says:

"And from His signs is that He has made from amongst you spouses, and He has placed love and compassion between you." Many verses in the Quran speak about the rights of the different people within the family unit so as to establish this harmony.

The Fourth Message: Maintaining the Ties of Kinship

The fourth goal to which our blessed Sharī'ah is striving is the connection between the ties of kinship — to extend harmony to the wider family unit: the relatives that we have, the people who are related to us through blood and marriage. As Allah says:

"Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with Him, and be respectful to your parents and to those of your relations."

The Fifth Message: Social Cooperation and Communal Benefit

The fifth goal to which our blessed Sharī'ah is striving is social co-operation, so that the members of the community co-operate on what fulfils their good and their happiness in this world and in the Hereafter. As Allah says:

"And cooperate with one another upon goodness and upon piety."

From this starting point, the Sharī'ah came with justice and kindness. As Allah says:

"Indeed, Allah orders you with justice and He enjoins upon you goodness."

This is something which is mentioned in the Quran — to look after the rights of those who need help: the poor, the weak, the orphans, the widows, the elderly. As the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Hadith 4941; al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 1924 — graded Ṣaḥīḥ)

"Have mercy upon those upon the earth, and the One who is in the heavens will have mercy upon you."

And from this starting point, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also emphasized the command of bearing witness to justice. And in this regard, Allah said:

"Do not conceal the witness. And whoever conceals it, his heart is truly sinful."

The Sixth Message: Security of the Land

The sixth goal to which our blessed Sharī'ah is striving is the security of the countries, so that the people may be secure and so that there may not be any crime or incidents that shake the souls. This is one of the greatest principles of Islam, because it is through security and safety that one is able to worship Allah in comfort, in peace, and in security. As Allah mentions this blessing in Surah Quraysh:

"Then let them worship the Lord of this House, the One who gave them food when they were hungry and gave them security and peace at a time of fear."

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2346 — graded Ḥasan)

"Whosoever wakes up and he has security in his community, and he has health in his body, and he has the food for that day — then it is as if all of the world has been presented before him."

From this starting point, the Sharī'ah came with the command of the Muslims to adhere to those rules that are in the hands of the ruler, and to adhere to that order, a close order that draws one near to Allah. The Sharī'ah commanded cooperation with those who work on security matters in order to achieve the security of the countries and their stability. The Sharī'ah also came with many texts regarding money, public benefits, and the preservation of them as a matter that draws one near to Allah.

The Importance of Knowledge and Returning to Scholars

From this point, the intellectuals realized the need to adhere to this religion. Indeed, when emotions are found in people and those emotions are not based on knowledge, it may become a means of exploitation. From this point, the need arose for the existence of Sharī'ah scholars to establish the Sharī'ah rules and to adopt the Sharī'ah method. As Allah says:

"Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know."

And Allah says:

"And when a matter comes to them of security or fear, they spread it around. And if they were to return it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, those among them who investigate would have known it. And if it were not for Allah's grace upon you and His mercy, you would surely have followed Satan but a little."

And as Allah says:

"And the believers did not go forth all at once. So why did not a group of each community go forth to study the religion and to warn their people when they return to them so that they may beware?"

May Allah bless me and you in the Great Quran and may He benefit me and you in it through the verses and the wise remembrance. I say this and I ask Allah for forgiveness for me and you and for all Muslims from every sin. So ask His forgiveness. Verily, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah: Holding Fast to Religion and Discerning True Islamic Organizations

We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant, His Messenger, and His Prophet, peace be upon him, and upon his family, his companions, and his followers.

O believers, fear Allah by adhering to your religion. As He said:

"Hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you, and do not be divided."

Allah has saved us by adhering to this religion. It is not from any era of this Ummah except that there is one who raises glorious slogans and the general public is deceived by them, not distinguishing what lies beneath those slogans. Is it true? Does it conform to Sharī'ah? Or is it not so?

In our present era, there are organizations that raise the flag of Islam and call themselves by its name. Some people are deceived by them because of their religious sentiment. A believer, before judging any of these tendencies, should look at five things:

Five Criteria for Evaluating Organizations that Claim to Represent Islam

The First is the leadership of that organization. Who are they? What is their history? What are their deeds? Where did they study? What were they doing before we came to know of them?

The Second is the principles and beliefs they follow. What do they believe in? What do they stand for? What is their core message?

The Third is the practices and behaviors they have. What do they do? How do they do it? What are their mannerisms? How do they interact with those around them? Does it conform to Sharī'ah?

The Fourth is the support or position of the Sharī'ah scholars towards those organizations. What do the bonafide scholars of Islam say concerning those groups?

The Fifth is to look at the consequences and repercussions of these organizations' actions — so that a person becomes aware of the true facts of the matter. What are the pros and harms? What comes about as a result of what they say and do?

Look at the era of prophethood. Some people were found and they began to deceive people by doing Islamic deeds, until they even built a mosque for people to gather in. But that mosque was nothing but a mosque of destruction — Masjid al-Dirār. So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered its destruction even though it bore the name and title of a masjid. He did not allow the apparent Islamic appearance to be a means of accepting those who do these practices.

This is what Allah wants from us: when we hold on to our religion and we learn our religion, we are able to traverse through these challenges and problems.

Closing Du'ā

O believers, send prayers upon your noble Prophet. Your Lord has commanded you to do so. He said:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send prayers upon him and give him your greetings of peace."

O Allah, send Your prayers and blessings upon Your servant and messenger, Muhammad, the owner of the praised station (al-Maqām al-Maḥmūd), the Visited Pool (al-Ḥawḍ al-Mawrūd), and the Raised Banner (al-Liwā' al-Ma'qūd). O Allah, be pleased with all the companions of Your Prophet, and with the followers, and those who followed them with goodness until the Day of Recompense — and with them, through Your forgiveness, Your generosity, and Your goodness, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, honour Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, humiliate the polytheism and the polytheists. O Allah, destroy the enemies of the religion. O Allah, strengthen our bond with You. O Allah, help us to thank You, remember You, and worship You well, by Your mercy, O Most Merciful. O Allah, O Living, O Self-Subsisting One, correct our psychological, family, and social conditions. O Allah, make us in the best condition and in the most perfect state, by Your mercy, O Most Merciful. O Allah, grant us the ability to call to Your religion and grant us the insight to distinguish the affairs of Your creation.