Part One


Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has ordained that His believing


servants will be admitted to Paradise, the Abode of the Righteous. I praise Him, Glorified


be He, and thank Him in public and in secret. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah


alone, Who has no partners, and Whose Oneness we firmly acknowledge. I also bear


witness that our master and prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger; we


believe in him and love him with certainty and determination. May Allah bestow His


peace upon him and upon his family and Companions, who were blessed with grace and


altruism.


Now then!


I advise you and advise myself to fear Allah. Allah, Exalted be He, says:


O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has


ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden)


as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him,


and remember Him always], and die not except in a state


of Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to


Allah)]. (Al ‘Imran: 102)


Our relation with other Muslims should be based on truthfulness, sincere love,


heartfelt harmony, and boundless generosity. The people who deserve our best treatment


are our parents, without whom we would not come to life. Their right to be honoured is


therefore confirmed and honouring them is given the highest priority. Good treatment of


parents is realised by honouring them, showing kindness to them, serving them with


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one’s effort and money, praying for them whether they are alive or dead, and showing


respect to their friends. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,


“The highest form of honouring one’s father is to maintain relations with the


people whom he loved.”


The good treatment of brothers and sisters is realised by showing kindness to


them and observing good manners in both words and deeds when dealing with them. The


young should respect the old and the old should show mercy to the young so that love


may prevail, affection may increase, harmony may be established, and happiness may


surround them all. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The


hand that gives is the upper hand. Start with those whom you support – your


mother, your father, your sister, your brother, and then the next closest to you.”


Good treatment should also be extended to the close and distant relatives by


attending to their needs, helping them, enquiring about them, and frequently visiting


them. Allah, Exalted be He, says:


They ask you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings be


upon him)) what they should spend. Say: Whatever you


spend of good must be for parents and kindred ... (Al-


Baqarah: 215)


The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Charity given to a


poor person is a single act of charity, but charity given to a relative is twofold; for


it is both charity and maintenance of ties of kinship.”


The good treatment of one’s wife is realised by saying sweet words to her,


treating her kindly, being nice to her, spending generously on her, demonstrating


unceasing joy and amiability to her, fulfilling her psychological and emotional needs, and


bringing happiness to her. Regarding wives, Allah, Exalted be He, says:


... and live with them honourably. ... (An-Nisa’: 19)


The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The best among you


is the best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family”. In the khutbah of


the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, reminded the


Muslims of the rights of women and the husbands’ duties towards their wives. He said,


“Take good care of women, for they are under your charge.”


The wife should also adhere to the good treatment of her husband, which is done


by showing kindness and gentleness to him, patiently bearing any minor misbehaviour


that he may make, dealing well with his children and bringing them up properly, speaking


well of him, praising him, fulfilling the right of his mother and taking good care of her,


and never showing ungratefulness to him.


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The good treatment of neighbours is realised by showing kindness to them,


enquiring about them, keeping their secrets, refraining from harming them, not violating


their rights, respecting them, and caring for their feelings. The Prophet, peace and


blessings be upon him, said, “Jibril (Angel Gabriel) continued to advise me to treat


neighbours kindly so much so that I thought he would order me to make them


heirs.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said, “By Allah, he is not a


believer! By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer!” It was said,


“Who is that, O Allah’s Messenger?” He said, “He whose neighbour does not feel


safe from his evil.”


Muslims should also observe the good treatment of the weak and the poor by


helping them with money, sharing with them some of their time, and showing sympathy


with them. This is bound to relieve their distress, alleviate their suffering, save them from


begging, keep their dignity, and satisfy their hunger. The Messenger of Allah, peace and


blessings be upon him, said, “The one who looks after a widow and a poor person is


like the one who fights in the cause of Allah, or like the one who prays all the


night and fasts all the day.”


The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, urged us to honour the elderly and


treat them well. Abu Musa Al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the


Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Part of glorifying Allah is


to honour elderly Muslims.” Honouring them involves providing them with medical,


psychological, social, and financial care, giving priority to them, lending them a listening


ear, and showing kindness to them. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,


“Jibril (Angel Gabriel) ordered me to give priority to the elderly.” Aishah, may Allah


be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,


was using the tooth-stick (siwak), in the presence of two men, one older than the other.


Then Allah revealed to him that part of the virtues of siwak is to begin with the elderly,


so he gave it first to the older one.”


Good treatment, servants of Allah, involves dealing with people according to their


status, giving them their due respect and appreciation, and mentioning their merits and


good qualities. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recognised people’s


merits. He said, “He who does not respect our elderly, show mercy to our young,


or recognize the rights of our scholars is not one of my Ummah.” When Allah’s


Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, victoriously returned to Makkah, Abu


Sufyan came to him and embraced Islam. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,


wanted to keep his faith firm, being aware that he was one of the Quraish notables who


liked to be granted a privilege and liked to have something to boast of. Therefore, the


Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever enters Abu-


Sufyan’s house is granted safety.”


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Scholars have the right to be given their due respect by Muslims. Islam guides us


to treat them well by attentively listening to them, appreciating and respecting them, and


seeking their company. When the Prophet’s Companions, may Allah be pleased with


them, sat by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to listen to his teachings, they


would be so attentive and motionless as if birds had alighted upon their heads. Zaid ibn


Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, once performed the funeral prayer and then his


mule was brought to him to ride. Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him


and his father, took the mule’s reins to bring it to Zaid, so Zaid said, “You don’t need to


do that, O cousin of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him!” Ibn


‘Abbas then said, “This is how we were commanded to treat our scholars and elders.”


The good treatment of scholars also includes holding one’s tongue from speaking


ill of them or disparaging them, for insulting scholars is bound to cause one’s own


destruction, and the Way of Allah to dishonour those who insult them is well-known. If


anyone insults scholars by his tongue, Allah will afflict him by the death of his heart


during his life.


Servants of Allah!


The good treatment of those in authority is realised by showing obedience to them


(as long as this does not involve any disobedience to Allah), praying for them in their


absence so that Allah may make them good and so that others may become good through


them, and giving them sincere advice in all religious matters. The Prophet, peace and


blessings be upon him, said, “Religion is sincere advice.” The Companions asked, “For


whom, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “For Allah, His Book, and His Messenger,


and for the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.”


Some people, servants of Allah, are hard to deal with, and their bad manners


cause a lot of harm to those around them. Some kind of tact is therefore required when


dealing with such people. Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that a man


asked permission to see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. When the Prophet


saw him, he said, “What an evil brother of his tribe! What an evil son of his tribe!”


When that man sat down, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, smiled at him


and was cheerful to him. After the man had left, Aishah said to the Prophet, “O Allah’s


Messenger! When you saw that man, you said such and such about him, and then you


smiled at him and were cheerful to him.” Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon


him, said, “O Aishah! Have you ever seen me utter obscene words? The worst


people in Allah’s sight on the Day of Resurrection are those whom people avoid


for fear of being hit by their evil.”


Good relations last and become stronger by fulfilling people’s needs, appreciating


their good deeds, avoiding showing negligence to them, visiting them, enquiring about


them, supporting them with money, patiently bearing their roughness, defending them in


5


their absence, and dealing with them according to their own ways. Shabib ibn Shaybah,


may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, “Do not sit with anyone without taking his status


into account, for if you speak to the ignorant using knowledge, to the unmindful using


Islamic jurisprudence, and to the inarticulate using eloquence, then you will definitely


harm your companion.”


Servants of Allah!


Good relations last by keeping away from disputes and giving priority to


reconciliation over alienation. It is narrated that Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased


with him, said, “Love your beloved moderately, for perhaps he will become hateful to


you someday; and hate the one you hate moderately, for perhaps he will become your


beloved someday.”


May Allah bless you and me with the Great Qur’an and make us benefit from its


verses and wise words. I have said what you have heard and I ask forgiveness of Allah,


the Most Great, for myself and for you. Ask Allah for forgiveness. He is the Oft-


Forgiving, the Most Merciful.


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Part Two


Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has beautified hearts with faith and


adorned souls with patience and consolation. I praise Him, Glorified be He, and thank


Him in public and in private. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has


no partners, and to Whom belong the Most Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes, and I


bear witness that our master and prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who


promised the patient and the pious victory and power. May Allah bestow His peace upon


him, upon his family and Companions, and upon those who follow them in righteousness.


O Muslims!


I advise you and advise myself to fear Allah.


Part of giving good treatment to our fellow Muslims is to look into the conditions


of the Ummah, the most deplorable of which is currently the tragedy of Gaza, namely, the


tragedy of massive genocide that is being unrelentingly practiced in a repulsively brutal


way against the people of Gaza, with total disregard for the blood that is being spilled


from the bodies of old men and the torn-off limbs of children and women. It is a painful


scene that reeks with the smell of death and overflows with saddening images that no


living conscience could possibly bear. Such events reflect the depth of the human crime


perpetrated by the machine of killing, destruction, and devastation. It is indeed a


humanitarian disaster in various aspects of life: there is no water, no electricity, and no


medicine.


An entire people is suffering and is being painfully tormented. It wakes up daily


to the sight of scores of corpses and sleeps to the sounds of bombs and devastating


missiles that make no distinction whatsoever between a stone, a tree, and a human being.


Such sounds cause terror, spread fear, and create panic among people, which can be felt


in the cries of children, the tears of the bereaved, the suffering of the displaced, and the


search of those fleeing destruction for a place that saves them from death.


Allah, Exalted be He, says:


... Verily, Allah will help those who help His (Cause).


Truly, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty. (Al-Hajj: 40)


O Allah! We ask You by Your Most Beautiful Names and Exalted Attributes, We


ask You, O Allah, Who are the One, As-Samad (the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all


creatures need), Who beget not, nor were You begotten, and there is none co-equal or


comparable unto You, we ask You, O Allah, to save the oppressed people in Gaza. O


Allah! Save the oppressed people in Gaza and grant them victory over their enemy and


Your enemy, O Lord of the Worlds!


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O Allah! Guide their shots, unite their hearts, and gather them around the word of


truth, O Lord of the Worlds!


O Allah! They are hungry, so feed them; they are on foot so provide mounts for


them; they are naked so clothe them; and they are oppressed, so grant them victory. O


Allah! They are oppressed, so grant them victory. O Allah! They are oppressed, so grant


them victory. O Allah! Be their Supporter, Helper, and Protector, O Lord of the Worlds!


O Allah! Be their Supporter, Helper, and Protector, O Lord of the Worlds! O Allah! Send


down Your victory upon them, O Lord of the Worlds! O Allah! Grant them victory over


Your enemy and their enemy, O Most Merciful of all the merciful!


O Allah! Revealer of the Book, Controller and Dominator of the clouds, Defeater


of the Confederates! Defeat Your enemy and their enemy, O Lord of the Worlds! O


Allah! Destroy the disbelievers who avert people from Your way and fight against Your


allies. O Allah! Destroy the disbelievers who avert people from Your way and fight


against Your allies. O Allah! Destroy the disbelievers who avert people from Your way


and fight against Your allies.


O Allah! Make good the condition of Muslims everywhere. O Allah! Make good


the condition of Muslims everywhere. O Allah! Make good the condition of Muslims


everywhere.


O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil intentions towards us and towards Islam


and Muslims preoccupied with his own problems and make his plotting the cause of his


own destruction, O All-Hearer of Supplication! O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil


intentions towards us and towards Islam and Muslims preoccupied with his own


problems and make his plotting the cause of his own destruction, O All-Hearer of


Supplication! O Allah! Make whoever harbours evil intentions towards us and towards


Islam and Muslims preoccupied with his own problems and make his plotting the cause


of his own destruction, O All-Hearer of Supplication!


O Allah! We ask You for Paradise and every word or deed that brings us closer to


it, and seek refuge in You from Hellfire and every word or deed that brings us closer to it.


O Allah! Make good for us our religion, which safeguards our affairs. Make good


for us this world in which we live, and make good for us the Hereafter which will be our


eternal abode. Make our life an increase for us in all goodness and our death a respite for


us from all evil, O Lord of the Worlds!


O Allah! Be with us and not against us, render us victorious and not defeated,


plan for us and not against us, guide us and lead us to guidance, and grant us victory over


those who have oppressed us.


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O Allah! Make us among those who remember You and praise You, who are


humble to You, and who often implore You and return to You in repentance.


O Allah! Accept our repentance, forgive our sins, approve our cause, guide our


tongues to say the truth, and purify our hearts from envy.


O Allah! Guide our leader and ruler to what You love and accept. O Allah! Lead


him to Your guidance and make him do what pleases You, O Lord of the Worlds! O


Allah! Guide his two Deputies to what You love and accept, O Most Merciful of all the


merciful!


O Allah! Guide all Muslim rulers to act according to Your Book and to rule


according to Your Shari’ah, O Lord of the Worlds!


... Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive


us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall


certainly be of the losers. (Al-A‘raf: 23)


... Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have


preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred


against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed


full of kindness, Most Merciful. (Al-Hashr:10)


... Our Lord! Give us that which is good in this world and


that which is good in the Hereafter, and save us from the


torment of Hellfire! (Al-Baqarah: 201)


O Allah! Send Your peace upon Muhammad, his wives, and his offspring as You


sent Your peace upon the family of Ibrahim, and send Your blessings upon Muhammad,


his wives, and his offspring as You sent Your blessings upon the family of Ibrahim; You


are All-Praiseworthy, All-Glorious. O Allah! Be pleased with the four Rightly-Guided


Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, along the Prophet’s honourable family and


Companions, and also be pleased with us together with them, by Your forgiveness,


generosity, and benevolence, O Most Merciful of All the merciful! .


Verily, Allah enjoins Al-‘Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping


none but Allah Alone – Islamic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsan


[i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allah,


totally for Allah’s sake and in accordance with the Sunnah


(legal ways) of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon


him) in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and


kin (i.e. all that Allah has ordered you to give them, e.g.


wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of


9


help), and forbids Al-Fahsha’ (i.e. all evil deeds, e.g. illegal


sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell


lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right), and


Al-Munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islamic law:


polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil


deeds), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression), He


admonishes you, that you may take heed. (An-Nahl: 90)


Remember Allah and He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours and He


will give you more. Verily, remembrance of Allah is greater than all, and Allah knows


what you do.