Part One
Praise be to Allah, the Unique in Majesty with perfect Beauty; praise be to Him by way of
glorification and exaltation. He is exclusively in control of all affairs in the Universe, in the
minute details as well as in the overall design,and in measurement as well as in disposal. He
is Supreme in Might and Glory alike. He revealed the Holy Qur’ān unto His Servant, Prophet
Muhammad (mayAllah’s Salâtand Peace be upon him) and sent him as Warner to al-͑ālameen (the Worlds).
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone with no
associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Servant and Messenger who is sent
by Allah to the thaqalain (the two major species: mankind and Jinn), asBringerof glad tidings
and Warner, as Caller to the Path of Allah, with His Will and Permission,andaradiant
lamp.May Allah’s bounteous Salāt (Graces, Honours, Mercy) and peace be upon him, his
pious and immaculate family, his wives ‒Mothers of the believers‒ his Companions, his
tābı͑īn (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [mayAllah’s Salât and Peace be upon him]after his
death), and all those who follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgement.
Now then,O servants of Allah!
The best advice ever offered to all of us is taqwā (fear of disobeying Allah). I mean
taqwāvis-à-vis Allah (may He be extolled) in all states of affairs: in private and in public, in
discontentment and in satisfaction, in sound health and in sickness: And whosoever
obeys Allâh and His Messenger (SAW), fears Allâh, and keeps his duty (to
Him), such are the successful ones.[Al-Noor: 52]
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O servants of Allah!
Purity inside-out is a trait hardly achievable by so many people.Suchare precious things;they
arerare to comeby and their prices keep rising. Thus, whoever wishes to look for such a
precious metal in an era where egotism prevails and meanness controls individuals will at
first sight notice the presence of manypeople but he will see nonesavethose endowed with
Allah’s blessing;and these are very few indeed.
Outer appearance should normally be a faithful reflection of the inner self, because
appearances are worthless if they merely serve as screenshiding disgraceful intentions. This
resembles the state of water whose surface may look crystal clear but whose taste ismuddy.
Prophet Muhammad (mayAllah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) said, “Allah certainly looks neither at your
bodies nor at your outer appearance; He rather looks at your hearts and deeds.” [Narrated
by Imam Muslim]
In time of parsimony when most people become selfishly opinionated, our Ummah is in
dire need of friendly concord whereby people express reciprocal apologies and deliberately
ignore slight inadvertencies, caused either by ijtihād1,that is approvedbysharia and supported
by valid evidence, or by error provided thatit is based on permissibleijtihād, where utmost
capacity hasbeenmade. Therefore, we should not lose sight of the ajr (reward) which Allah
(the Great and Almighty) grantstothe mistaken mujtahid2 forhissincere effort in making ijtihād, though
erroneous, and forgives him for his involuntary error.
Truth is as clear as daybreak no matter how thick the blurring curtains of falsehood might
be and no matter how facts are overturned to conceal it, whereas falsehood is stammering, no
matter how many ornamented expressions and resonant arguments have been made at its
disposal: Verily, they had plotted sedition before, and had upset matters
for you, -until the truth (victory) came and the Decree of Allâh (His
Religion, Islâm) became manifest though they hated it.[Al-Tawbah: 48]. Thus,
whoever mistakenly believes that he is able to conceal truth is actually like someone who
tries in vain to hide sunrays with a sieve.
O servants of Allah! Once this is known,every Muslim should foster good intentions vis-àvis
his Lord and vis-à-vis people in general. He should behave in good faith and patiently
tolerate people's flaws rather than mistrust them,for whoever commits a fault while giving
1 In Islamic Law, ijtihād ( اجتھاد ) is independent judgement in a legal or theological question, based on the
interpretation and application of the four usūl ( أصول الفقھ the four foundations of Islamic jurisprudence: the
Holy Qur’ān, the Sunnah, al-qiyās [analogy], and al-ijmā’ [consensus]), as opposed to al-taqlīd ( التقلید
convention, tradition, custom).
2 A mujtahid ( مجتھد ) is a legist formulating independent decisions in legal or theological matters, based on the
interpretation and application of the four usūl, as opposed to muqallid ( مقل دّ he who follows convention,
tradition or custom).
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people the benefit of doubt will certainly have committed a much less serious sin than
someone who commits a fault due to constantly mistrusting people.
Accordingly, any sincere person should by now be able to perform self-evaluation as
regards the optimal way of dealing with people’s faults in accordance with religious
guidelines. Such self-assessment is meant to help the Muslim individual firmly curb his own
whims lest he should fall in the quagmire of fault-finding behaviour which violates others’
privacy. His main guide in all that is religious knowledge and fairness.
Nonetheless, a distinction still has to be made between fault-finding and fault-mending.
While the former represents a form of reviling,defaming, and avengingoneself, the latter
consists in offering people advice on Truth and calling them up to embrace it. Difference is
thenso big between reviling and advisingas it is between personal desire and aspiration to
divine satisfaction: Whatever is with you, will be exhausted, and whatever
with Allâh (of good deeds) will remain...[Al-Naḫl: 96]
In addition, it is learnt from witnessed experience that revilers who defame others for their
faults will eventually beovertakenby their verydefamation and will end up falling in the traps
they set for the reviled. This is because reviling is an equitable disease which catches the
revilers in the same way it does with the reviled,and punishment is indeed from the same
kind.
In the hadith narrated by Al-Tirmithi, Prophet Muhammad (mayAllah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) said,
“Whoever reviles his Muslim brother for a sin the latter has committed will not die untilhe
commits the same sin.” Because there is conspicuous malicious joy in reviling others that
takes the Muslim away from noble, high standing matters into despicable trivialities,Prophet
Muhammad (mayAllah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) is reported to have said in another hadithnarrated by
Al-Tirmithi and considered by some Muslim scholars to be good: “Do not showmalicious joy
in your brother’s affliction, for Allah may have mercy on him and send an affliction on
you.”
Undoubtedly, every individual who claims to have minimal common sense ‒be he a TV
viewer, a radio listener or a social networks user ‒ would clearly recognise the dire need for
therules of discussionand conversation, preserving people’s rights and privacy, abstaining
from fault-finding, maliciousjoy(over other peoples’ afflictions) and obscenelanguage.
Such channels and sites might have great advantages in promoting good and
knowinglycalling people to the Truth. The reward of kind words addressed to a thousand ears
and read by a thousand eyes is greater than that of words directed to a fewer audience.By the
same token, vicious wordsyield a greater sin and a heavier burden if the number of their
readers and listeners isbig. That is because the tongue is the mirror of the heart and the pen is
the mirror of the tongue.
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Prophet Muhammad (mayAllah’sSalât and Peace be upon him) indeed spoke the truth when he said, “There
is nothing else that throws people in Hellfire with their faces down‒or with their noses
down) exceptthe harvest of their tongues.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmithi]. Thus, no rational
mature person woulddoubt the factthat one’s tongue and pen mirror one’s truenature and
innerself. Just as humans can have truthful, honest, and poised tongues, they can equally have
lying, intrusive, and garrulous tongues. This is why Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s Salât and Peace be
upon him) said, “Humanorgans will find fault with the tongue and say to it: ‘Fear Allah and
spare us torment; for if you mend your ways, we will mend ours; and if you deviate,so will
we.” [Narrated by AbuYa͑lā via agood chain of reporters]
Servants of Allah!
It has been proved by factual evidence that fault-finding is the result ofwrong information or
ill intention. If it results from the former,it reflectsa deficient perception but if it results from
the latter,it reflects a corrupt heart, which is more serious and yields a greater sin. Certainly,
ill intention is irreparable by the tongue, but good intention can repair slips of the tongue.
(The Sheikh cites a line of poetry):
Many a faultfinderfindingflaws with correct speech
While his blight is poorunderstanding.
O people!
Life is shorter than any of us may wish for, and one would do oneself much injustice by
taking out a big portion of one’s time to track down others in ways that would do more harm
than good; ‘cripple the game short of killing it’, scale up one’s sins and bring down one’s
merits. One would then start ‘looking back too often while walking’.He who does so will
make it there only late; he who goes after the game will be distracted into negligence; and he
who gazes at others’ flaws will not be able to see his own; hence his sin will be twofold.
After all, people will be people and none of them is infallible or angel-like. They certainly
eat food in order to stay alive and walk around in markets, running their errands. Sometimes,
they are right; sometimes they are wrong, but often enough, they are more right than wrong.
Why do some people then seem to prefer to pick on open wounds, just like flies, or to live on
others’ blood, just like mosquitoes? A mosquito may cause the lion’s eyeball to bleed.
Why would some of us seek affability solely in backbiting, calumniation, tattling,
innuendoes, accusing others of having bad faithand pretending to knowwhat lies in their
hearts?
Why would some people choose to live in bankruptcy, rather than in opulence,with
theirtongues and hearts? Such people are thus portrayed through the following lineof poetry:
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Were a tattletale’s home in Yamamah3 and mine at the farther
Endof Hadhramaut4, still he would find his way to me.
Addressing his Companions, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) said: "Do
you know who the bankrupt is?" They said: ‘The bankrupt among us is he who has neither
money nor property.’He said, "The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would
come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum (fasting) and Sadaqah (charity), but he
will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds because he
reviled others, brought calumny against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others,
shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the
account of those (who suffered at his hand). If his good deeds fall short to clear the
account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would (eventually) be thrown in
the (Hell) Fire." [Narrated by Imam Muslim]
O Allah! How numerous the bankrupt are! How wretched they are in this life and how big
their retribution will be in the Hereafter! Allah Almighty says: Show forgiveness,
enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. don't punish
them). (199). And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaitan (Satan)
then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.[Al-
A’rāf: 199-200]
May Allah bless you and me by the Glorious Qur'ān and make its verses and wise sayings
beneficial to you and me! This is what I have said. If it is correct, it is so thanks to Allah, but
if it is wrong, it is my own fault and Satan’s. I ask Allah to forgive my sins, yours, and those
of all the Muslims, so ask Him for forgiveness, for He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful!
3Al-Yamamah is an ancient district lying to the east of the plateau of Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia.
4Hadhramaut is the name of the region currently retained inHadhramaut Governorateof the Republic of Yemen.
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Part Two
Praise be to Allah for His blessings, and thanks are due to Him for His guidance and bounty.
Now then,
Observe taqwa, O servants of Allah, and you should know that the obligation to control
one’s tongue, to keep others’ flaws from being exposed and refrain from pursuing their faults
does not –obviously– mean to refrain from giving them advice in case they make mistakes.
This must be carried out in proper ways that are free of reviling and defamation.
There is no good in those who never give advice and those who never show the will to
accept it; for “all the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent
often.” There is nothing wrong with making mistakes as this is only human. Perfection is
proper to Allah alone, and infallibility is limited to His messengers. However, it is all too
shameful not to accept advising after erring.
Likewise, a simple human error should not warrant recourse to assaulttheerrant person and
sharpen the ‘swords’ of advice for him under the pretext of giving counsel, as though fighting
an enemy. Verily, the presence of leniency in any matter brings about grace and propriety
whileits absence therein only brings about disgrace. Allah Almighty says: Then, as for
the foam it passes away as scum upon the banks, while that which is for
the good of mankind remains in the earth.[Al- Ra’d: 17]
Beware of always standing for yourself even though you might be right for it annihilates
goodwill and eats it away as fire does firewood. Beware of shunning sincere advising and
sincere advisors, for such is the path of the Messengers’ enemies.
Imam Abu Abdullah Ibn Battah put it well enough when he said: “Feeling dejected
because someone else has been proven correct is practice of deception on your part and
entertainment of bad faith with respect to fellow Muslims. It is important to know that he who
hates to hear others speak the truth and seeks to uphold his own errors is liable to be
stripped of his knowledge and presence of mind by Allah. Therefore, hearing the truth and
then stubbornly denying it is considered an act of arrogance vis-à-vis Allah.”
In the same vein, Ibn Al-Qayyim pointed out: “Allah Almighty would vilify those who
would resist or accept the truth depending on whether the person reporting it is someone they
like or dislike, for such are the morals of those Allah despises.”
This is particularly applicable –O servants of Allah– to all of those contributing to
(religious) learning and da’wah (call) as well as those media agents, whether in TV, the press,
or the radio. These ought to observe fear of Allah in what they choose to report and not to.
They ought to avoid major blunders and overlook excusable ones. Such is indeed the
moderation that so exclusively marks our Muslim Ummah.
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(The Sheikh includes two lines of poetry paraphrased as follows):
Beware, O people of wisdom,
Lest a Muslim scholar among us slips,
Forhis slip is a major stumble
That could lead a whole world to stumble.
Ask Allah –may He have mercy on you– to send His Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy) and
Peace on the best ofHis creatures and the purest of mankind, Muhammad Ibn `AbdAllāh, who
is given al-Hawdh5 and is vested with intercession; for Allah sent His Salat (Graces, Honours
and Mercy) and Peace on him and then ordered His angels, that are praising His sanctity, to
do likewise and called out to you, O believers, to ask Him to send His Salat (Graces, Honours
and Mercy) and Peace on him. Allah the Almighty says: Allâh sends His Salât
(Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad, peace
be upon him), and also His angels (ask Allâh to bless and forgive him). O
you who believe! Send your Salât (ask Allâh to bless) on him (Muhammad
peace be upon him), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islâmic
way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum).[Al-Aḫzāb: 56]
O Allah! Send Your Salat(Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace on Your Servant and
Messenger Muhammad and on his four Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, on all the
Companions of Your Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him), and the tabi’īn6, and
those who righteously followed them till the Day of Judgment. O Allah! Be also pleased with
us all, along with them, by Your Pardon and Generosity, O You, Most Merciful, Most
Compassionate of all!
O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims!
O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Fail polytheism and polytheists (who
associate partners with You)! O Allah! Grant victory to Your Religion, Your Holy Book,
Your Prophet’s Sunnah, and Your true servants!
O Allah! Bring an end to the suffering of Muslims! Rescue those in distress, and help
those indebted pay back their debts! Cure those of us and those of the Muslims who are ill, O
You, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate!
O Allah! Set right the conditions of Muslims everywhere! O Allah! Set right the
conditions of Muslims everywhere! O Allah! O Allah! Grant them victory over their
5This is the Arabic word for the water basin given by Allah (the Great and Almighty) to the Prophet (may Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon
him) in the Hereafter, from which he will give the believers to drink and they will never feel thirsty thereafter.
6 The Arabic name given to the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him)
after his death.
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oppressors in Syria, Burma, and all over the Muslim world! O You, Lord of al-'ālamîn(the
worlds)!
O Allah! Grant victory to our Muslim brothers in Burma and in Syria, O You the Lord of
Majesty and Bounty! O Allah! Fail their enemy and plague their lives and make them
disastrous! O You the Ever-Living, the Eternal Guardian! O You, Lord of al-'ālamîn(the
worlds)!
O Allah! Grant us security in our homelands! Make pious our leaders and those
responsible for our affairs, and make our leadership from among those who are fearful of
Allah, who observe taqwā(fear of Allah), and seek your satisfaction. O You, Lord of al-
'ālamîn(the worlds)!
O Allah! Guide our Imam (leader) to do and say whatever you please and accept. O You
the Ever-Living, the Eternal Guardian! O Allah! Make his retinue righteous, O You, the Lord
of Majesty and Bounty!
O Allah! You are Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are Self-
Sufficient and we are poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O
Allah! You are Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship except You! You are Self-
Sufficient and we are poor! Send down rain upon us and do not make us despondent! O
Allah!We implore You not to make our sins impede Your grace! O You, the Lord of Majesty
and Bounty!
… Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the
Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the
Fire![Al-Baqarah: 201]
Glorified be You, our Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! You are free from what they
attribute unto You! May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon the Messengers! The last of our
supplications is all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!
