All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him and seek His aid and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Him from the evil of our own selves and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides none can allow him to go astray, and whomsoever Allah allows to go astray never will you find for him a protecting guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone and without a partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Slave and Messenger. May Allah’s blessings be upon him, his family, his companions and all those who follow his Sunnah in excellence until the Day of Recompense.
To proceed:
O slaves of Allah, fear Allah; fear Allah Almighty who has said to you:
“Inform My slaves that it is I who am the Oft Forgiving, the Most Merciful. And that it is My punishment which is the most painful punishment.”[Al-Hijr 15:49-50]
Allah Almighty has mentioned in His Concise Book concerning His great authority, powerful might and the greatness of what He possesses of completeness and attributes – that which makes the believer to fear his Lord Almighty. From among the most specific characteristics that Allah Almighty has described the believers with is that they are a people who fear Him:
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in Iman.”[Al-Anfal 8:2]
It is they who have truly believed; for they are a people who when their Lord is mentioned, they fear Him and venerate Him. The believer is he who when Allah is mentioned, his heart dreads with fear, he submits to the command of his Lord and yields to the remembrance of Allah Almighty, out of fear of Him and fear of His punishment.
O believers! Fear of Allah Almighty is one of the characteristics of the People of Taqwa and Iman. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to his companions, “Indeed, I am the most knowledgeable of Allah among you, and also the most fearful of Him among you.”
And `Abdullah bin Shikhir (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) while he was praying, and there was a sound coming from him like the sound of water boiling, as a result of crying.”
This is even after Allah has forgiven his sins, raised high for him his repute and overlooked whatever he may have done:
“Indeed, We have given you a clear conquest; That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow.”[Al-Fath 48:1-2]
This was the state of his fear, such that he said to his companions, “By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much, and you would go out in the su`udat,” i.e. the deserts and mountains, “beseeching Allah,” i.e. asking Him to lighten your burden for you and ward off the terrors that you will come to face.
O believers! The believer proceeds to Allah Almighty with love that motivates him to perform every act of obedience and compete for every act of righteousness, and with fear that deters him from every sin and act of disobedience. This is how the believer is in his life and procession to his Lord; in a state of motivation and deterrence, fear and hope.
O believers! Allah Almighty has warned us and sent us signs that serve as a deterrence and admonition for a person. The warning has come to you from your Lord in various colours and kinds; a clarifying warner in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and what he brought of guidance and light, and a tangible warner in what a person perceives and witnesses of examples and events through which the greatness of the prestige of the Lord is perceived.
O Allah, bring our hearts to life, grant us Your love and fear, and fill our hearts with Your veneration, O Lord of the worlds.
I end with what I have said thus far, and I seek Allah Almighty’s forgiveness for myself and you. So seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Oft Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
All praise is due to Allah, the praise of those who are grateful. I further praise Him the praise of His slaves who testify to His great might and magnificent prestige. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone and without a partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Slave and Messenger. May Allah’s blessings be upon him, his family, his companions and all those who follow his Sunnah in excellence until the Day of Recompense.
To proceed:
Fear Allah Almighty; and know, O believers, that the fear of Allah Almighty is not always connected to wrongdoing. Rather, even the righteous could be fearful of Allah Almighty. Allah says:
“Those who live in awe from fear of their Lord; And those who believe in the signs of their Lord; And those who do not associate anything with their Lord; And those who give what they give,”i.e. they perform righteous acts, “while their hearts are fearful because they are sure they will be returning to their Lord.” [Al-Mu’minun 23:57-60]
These are slaves who perfected their actions, devoted themselves to obedience of their Lord and turned to Him; their hearts were purified and their limbs upright – except that they still feared Allah Almighty and did not feel safe from His punishment.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) left behind a real-life example of those who perfected obedience along with perfection of love, veneration and fear of the Lord of the worlds. He was as `A’ishah says, “On any day there was windstorm or dark cloud, (its effects) could be read on the face of the Messenger of Allah,” i.e. the companions knew that he was troubled and distressed due to this windstorm or this dark cloud, “and he moved forward and backward,” which indicates anxiety and fear, “and when it rained, he was delighted and it (state of restlessness) disappeared.” `A’ishah said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the reason of this (anxiety) when people are (usually) delighted when they see rain?” So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said explaining the reason for the anxiety and fear, and moving forward and backward, “I was afraid that it might be a punishment that will fall upon my Ummah.” In another narration, he said, “A nation (people of `Ad) saw it (the punishment) and said, ‘This is a cloud which has come to give us rain.’”
Also, when the sun had eclipsed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went out dragging his lower garment thinking that it was the Hour that had arrived, out of fear of what he saw of a natural phenomenon suddenly changing which people perceive with their very own eyes.
This is how the believer is supposed to be, reacting to events and realities that surround him; connecting them to Allah’s power, greatness and planning; and understanding that Allah Almighty gives respite to the oppressor, but when He seizes him, He does not let him escape.
Furthermore, Allah Almighty commands us to fear Him:
“Indeed, in that is a sign for those who fear the punishment of the hereafter.”[Hud 11:103]
Thus, such signs are warnings that those whose hearts are filled with veneration of their Lord fear; and Allah has said:
“And We left therein a sign(i.e. the place of the Dead Sea) for those who fear the painful punishment.” [Al-Dhariyat 51:37]
The slave must realize that windstorms and other changes that take place in nature are, in reality, from among the soldiers of Allah Almighty, because they bring mercy and also bring punishment. Furthermore, no one is supposed to become discontent with Allah Almighty’s destiny, regardless of how great the tragedy is and how large the losses are. Rather, one should understand that Allah Almighty’s destiny is precedes and that His mercy is all encompassing. That is why the Messenger (peace be upon him) would say when he would see a windstorm blowing fiercely, “O Allah, I ask You for its good and the good of what it has been sent with; and I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil of what it has been sent with.”
This is how the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would take refuge and seek protection with his Lord when distress and calamity would fall; he wouldn’t turn to the creation. For it is Allah in whose hand is the dominion of all things; He dispenses it as He wills, ordains what He wills and commands what He wills. It is when the believer’s good thoughts of his Lord become perfected and his attachment to Him magnifies, that he does not find any refuge from Allah except in Him:
“So flee to Allah. Indeed, I am a clear warner to you from Him.”[Al-Dhariyat 51:50]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) left for us the finest of examples of the believer having perfected his Iman, in times of adversity and prosperity, hardship and ease, willingness and reluctance:
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example to follow.”[Al-Ahzab 33:21]
O Allah, we ask you for guidance, Taqwa, chastity and prosperity. O Allah, we ask you for continuous pardon and well-being in religion and worldly life. O Allah, grant us security in our places of residence, rectify our leaders and those in authority over us, and make those to be in authority over us who fear you, have Taqwa of you and pursue Your pleasure, O Lord of the worlds.
O Allah, lift the harm from those whom it has befallen, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, have mercy on our brothers in Omanand the rest of the Muslim countries that have been afflicted with what You have destined, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, we ask you to aid them, rectify them and guide them.
Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.
O Allah, guide those who enjoin the good to what You love and are pleased with, and direct them to righteousness and Taqwa. O Allah, ward off whoever tries to do them harm. O Allah, we ask You to repel the plot of those who plot evil and to give victory to Your pious slaves wherever they may be, O Lord of the worlds.
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the followers of Muhammad, just as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the followers of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are full of praise and majesty.
الخوف من الله عز وجل