Do Not Oppress and Do Not Support the Oppressors
NEWS DIGEST –In The Name Of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
All thanks and praises are due to Allah, we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our evil deeds. Whoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whoever Allah leads astray will never find guidance.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, He is alone without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger.
“O you who believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims in submission to Him.” [Quran, 3:102]
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Verily, Allah is Ever-watching over you.” [Quran, 4:1]
“O you who believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will then amend for you your deeds and forgive your sins, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.” [Quran, 33:70-71]
Verily, the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, and the worst affairs are newly invented matters (in the religion). Every newly invented matter is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.
Dear Brothers and Sisters! The meaning of oppression is to take away other people’s property without right; to beat, abuse, and mistreat them; and to take advantage of the weak people and the poor followers. Allah the Almighty says in the Quran:
“Do no suppose that Allah is unmindful of what the unjust and oppressors do. He only gives them respite until a Day when the eyes will stare in terror as they come hurrying on in fear, their heads upraised, their gaze not returning to them, and their hears blank. And warn mankind of a Day when the punishment will come upon them, and then those who commit oppression will say: “O Lord, give us respite for a little while. We will respond to your call and will follow the Messengers.” Thereupon they will be told: “And did you not swear earlier that there would be no ending for you? And you dwelt in the dwellings of those (earlier peoples) who wronged themselves (and were destroyed), and when it was made clear to you how We dealt with them and We set forth examples for you.” [Quran, 14:42-45]
And He the Most High Says:
“The way (of blame) is only against those who oppress people.” [Quran, 42:42]
And He says:
“And those who do wrong will come to know by what a great reversal they will be overturned.” [Quran, 26:227]
Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) said:
“Allah grants the oppressor respite, but when He finally seizes him, He will not let him escape. He then recited: “And such is the grasp of your Lord when He seizes them while they are doing wrong. Truly, His grasp is painful, strong.” [Quran, 11:102] [Sahihul Bukhari]
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“If anyone has done wrong to his brother with regard to his honour or anything else, he should make reparations to him before a Day in which there will be no Dinar or Dirham (no Naira, no Dollar, etc). If he has any good deeds to his credit, they will be taken from him to the extent of his wrong-doing, and if he did not have any good deeds, the evil deeds of the wronged one will be loaded upon him.” [Sahihul Bukhari]
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Allah says ‘O My servants, I have prohibited oppression to Myself and have made it prohibited among you, therefore, do not oppress each other.’” [Hadith Qudsi – Sahihul Muslim]
Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) asked:
“Do you know who the poor is?” The Companions said: “The one who is without wealth or property.” The Prophet said: “Among my followers, the poor one is that person who will come on the Day of Resurrection with Prayers, Fasting, Zakah and Hajj, but also with injustices against others; abusing this one, taking the property of that one, slandering another, hitting another, shedding the blood of another. Then his good deeds will be taken away from him one by one and given to this person and that person (whom he wronged in this life). If his good deeds are exhausted before all his wrong deeds are settled, some of the evil deeds of those whom he wronged will be allocated to him, and he will be thrown into the hellfire.” [Sahihul Muslim]
When the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) sent Mu’adh bin Jabal to Yemen, he told him:
“Beware of the supplication (Du’a) of the oppressed, since there is no veil between him and Allah.” [Sahihul Bukhari]
Aisha (RA) reported the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) saying:
“If anyone wrongfully takes even one span of another person’s land, on the Day of Resurrection his neck will be encircled by it to the depth of seven earths.” [Sahihul Bukhari]
Jabir (RA) reported:
“When Makkah was conquered, the Muslims from Abyssinia returned and came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He asked them to tell something of interest about the Abyssinian people. They said: “A very old woman was walking by with a jug of water on her head. She passed by a young man, who put his hand between her shoulders and pushed her so hard that she fell down and broke the water jug. Then she stood up and looked at him, and said: ‘You treacherous young man, you will learn! On the Day when Allah will gather the former and latter people together, and your hands and feet will speak about what they did. You will know! That day, the matter between you and me will be settled.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) remarked: “She spoke the truth. How can Allah bless a nation which does not help its weak ones against its strong?” [Ibn Majah and Baihaqi]
Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said:
“There are five person with whom Allah is angry. He may punish them in this world, or may postpone their punishment by fire in the Hereafter:
1. Any leader of a nation who takes from the people but does not share with them nor remove injustices from them.
2. Any leader of a people whom they obey but who does not deal equitably between the strong and weak and speaks according to his selfish desires.
3. Any man who does not order his wives and children to obey Allah and does not teach them their religious duties.
4. Any man who hires a worker, and after the work is completed, does not pay him his full wages.
5. Any man who unjustly keeps his wife’s mahr.”
Abdullah Ibn Salam said:
“When Allah created people, they stood upon their feet and lifting their faces toward the sky, they asked: “O Lord, who are you with?” and He replied: “With the oppressed one until he is given his rights.”
● Do Not Socialise With Or Support The Oppressors
Allah the Almighty says:
“Assemble the oppressors and their cohorts.” [Quran, 37:22]
Allah the Most High says:
“… And do not lean toward the oppressors, lest the Fire touch you and you have no protecting friends against Allah, then you will not be helped.” [Quran, 11:113]
Ibn Abbas elaborated that:
“Do not lean toward them with love, do not support them, nor soften your speech with them and show kindness.”
Imam Al-Suddi and Ibn Sayd said:
“Do not flatter the tyrants.”
Ikramah said:
“It is leaning toward love of them when you obey them and show affection to them.”
Abu Aliyah said:
“Do not be pleased with their deeds.”
“Lest the Fire touch you” means that you will be scorched. In the explanation of “You have no protecting friends against Allah” Ibn Abbas says: “There will be no one to prevent Allah’s punishment from reaching you.” [See Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
Sa’id bin Musayyib said:
“Never be pleased with the supporters of tyrants, but oppose them in your hearts; otherwise your good deeds may become as nothing.”
Makhul Damashqi said:
“On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will call, ‘Where are the tyrants and their supporters? If anyone who is present who so much as gave them ink, or filled their bottle with ink, or sharpened their pen, or anything greater than that, he will be gathered with them under the dome of fire and thrown into Hellfire.”
A tailor came to Sufyan Thawri and asked:
“I sew the tyrant Sultan’s, President’s or Governor’s clothes, am I a supporter of the tyrants?” Sufyan replied: “ Yes, you are amongst the tyrants! The supporters are those who sell the needles and threads to you.” [See ‘The Major Sins’ by Muhammad Bin Uthman]
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said:
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“On the Day of Resurrection, among the first people to enter the Fire will be the floggers who have whips with which they flogged people wrongfully.”
Ibn Umar said:
“On the Day of Resurrection, the aides of the oppressors, their police and their army will be the dogs of Hellfire.”
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Do not stand around in a place where an oppressed person is being beaten or being oppressed without coming to his defense, because Allah’s curse descends upon such a place.”
● Some Of The Reasons Why People Reject The Truth And Support Oppression
Respected Brothers and Sisters! There are many reasons why a person chooses to remain blind, ignorant, supporter of oppression and a follower of innovation and misguidance. Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah mentioned several reasons that hinder a person from accepting the truth and facts and thus prefers misguidance to guidance in his blessed book ‘Miftah Daris Sa’adah.’
He said:
1. Weak Knowledge About The Subject And The Inability
The first reason is a person is unable to actually comprehend the truth. If a person has a rigid hardened heart then knowledge will not affect it. This is similar to an arid land. This kind of land is unable to grow trees, as its unable to accept water. Therefore if the heart is hard like a stone then the things that purify it aren’t accepted therein, nor does advice soften it. Moreover, the hardened heart doesn’t benefit from any knowledge it knows. Similar to the barren land which isn’t fertile to grow trees, or sprout plants no matter what kind of seeds were planted; even if a rainfall hit it. Allah said about the people unable to comprehend the truth:
“Truly! Those, against whom the Word (Wrath) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, – until they see the painful torment.” [Yunus, 96-97]
2. Jealousy And Arrogance
This was the reason that Ibliss (Satan) refused to follow Allah’s command. Arrogance and jealousy is a sickness for everybody, except those whom Allah has protected from it.
3. The Love Of Leadership And Power
If arrogance and jealousy don’t prevent a person from accepting the truth, then the love of leadership and power will prevent him; along with the love of his kingdom and reign. This is similar to Heracles and other non-Muslim leaders who knew Muhammad was a Prophet of Allah deep down in their hearts and wanted to be sincere Muslims, but refrained from doing so due to their reign of power.
This is a disease that plagues Kings, Rulers, and Leaders. Only a few of them are saved from this illness. This was the sickness of Fir’aun (Pharaoh) and his people. Allah the Almighty said:
“They said: “Shall we believe in two men like ourselves, and their people are obedient to us with humility (and we use them to serve us as we like).” [ Al-Mu’minun, 47]
Fir’aun (Pharaoh) didn’t believe and follow Prophets Musa and Harun. It’s said that when Fir’aun wanted to follow Musa and believe in him he took counsel from Hamman and his minister and they told him: You are a “God” who is worshipped and if you follow them you will be a servant who will worship other than yourself. For that reason, he refused to worship Allah and choose to remain a leader who was worshipped!
4. Following Desires And The Love Of Wealth
The following of desires and love of wealth is among the main causes that prevent some of the Jews and Christians from accepting the truth. They fear the food and money they receive from their people will be null and void. The pagans of the Quraish used to impede people from accepting Islam by using their love of desires. They would go to those who loved to commit Zina and say to them Muhammad doesn’t allow Zina and drinking alcohol.
5. The Love For Family And Close Relatives
The people tested with accepting the truth due to family and close relatives fear that if they accept the truth then they’ll be an outcast and exiled from their relatives.
6. The Love Of Homeland And Country
If there aren’t any of his family members or loved one where he rejects the truth based on the premise that other people there haven’t and he’ll be banished from his homeland and country to place he doesn’t know, thus he prefers to choose his homeland and country’s norms and practices; than accepting the truth.
7. The Belief That Islam And The Muslims Dispraise His fathers and Grandfathers
This was the reasons that prevented Abu Talib and others from becoming Muslims. They extolled their fathers and grandparents disbelief and misguidance over Islam and choose that path for themselves.
8. The Person Has A Personal Grudge Towards The One Presenting The Truth
This prevents a lot of people from accepting guidance and truth. A person will have hatred and enmity towards the person presenting the facts, to the point that he hates the ground he walks on. Therefore he intends to oppose him thinking that his way is following the truth.
9. The Truth Goes Against The Way He Was Nurtured Or Trained
A person’s normal upbringing becomes his nature. For example, a person is nurtured on certain beliefs from an early age and it becomes instilled in his heart. This is similar to how the bones are nurtured on certain nutrition. The intellect can only accept this kind of nourishment, then true knowledge comes and its people to remove the old methods he was nurtured on, and to remove it from the heart and take its place; thus this becomes difficult to change and remove.” [See ‘Miftahu Daris Sa’adah’ by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah]
Dear Servants of Allah! As Eid-ul-Fitr celebration has come and gone, the days and nights of around-the-clock worship and unity in community are over. While some of us are trying to keep as many Ramadan habits alive as possible, most of us are returning back to our pre-Ramadan routines.
● It’s Depressing
It’s akin to the post-holiday blues some people get after Christmas. All that buildup and excitement of meeting, eating, and greeting is all done.
But we should be like Prophet Yusuf (Peace be upon him), when he prepared for a famine by making sure that there was enough grain in Egypt’s stores to prevent starvation. [Quran, Surah 12] Ramadan was a time for us to replenish our spiritual stock, so that we can spend it wisely over the next eleven months.
There will be times in the coming months when we will feel weak, far from Allah, and depleted. It will be like a spiritual famine. The state of our world, domestically and internationally, the state of our individual development, as well as that of our families may bring us down; getting up to pray, read Quran regularly, or controlling a bad habit will be hard. But the strength we built in Ramadan should help us push through and preserve our faith.
Let us set goals to reach by next Ramadan, which we pray we will be blessed to live to In Shaa Allah. Let us build on what we worked so hard for this Ramadan, with our fasting, prayers, charity, and character building.
And let us remember that Allah is with us always, The Wise, The Loving, The Merciful. He never abandons us, whether we are in happiness or misery.
May Allah bless us to reach next Ramadan better and stronger than ever. May He never let us fall into despair and pessimism. May He strengthen us from this Ramadan to the next, ameen.
Respected Brothers and Sisters! I ask Allah to assist us in living by the Quran and Sunnah. I pray He lets us recognise the truth for what it is and helps us to follow it, and that He lets us see falsehood for what it is and helps us to avoid it.
O Allah! Guide us and protect us from the causes of ignorance and destruction! Save us from the defects of ourselves! Cause the last of our deeds to be the best and most righteous! And forgive all of us.
Dear Brothers and Sisters! Anything good I have said in my today’s Sermon is from Allah the Almighty, and any mistakes are my own, and I seek refuge in Allah from giving wrong advice and from all forms of calamities and fitnah. And I ask Allah’s forgiveness if I stepped beyond bounds in anything I said or I do.
May Allah be praised; and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.
With this I conclude my Sermon and ask Allah, the Almighty and the Sublime, to forgive all of our sins. So seek his forgiveness, He is all forgiving and Most Merciful.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday Sermon) was prepared for delivery today Friday, Shawwal 15, 1439 AH (June 29, 2018), by Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdurrahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached through: gusaumurtada@gmail.com or +2348038289761.
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