Sermon Title: Excellence in Worship
Themes of the sermon :
Excellence in worship is the ultimate goal of worshippers.
The meaning of excellence in worship.
Excellence in worship is a fruit of knowing Allah.
The impact of excellence in worship on the servant in this world and the Hereafter.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and whoever follows him. As to what follows:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in secret and in your private conversations:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.” (Quran 3:102).
O Muslims:
Allah, the Exalted, created the heavens and the earth, death and life, to test His servants: which of them is best in deeds? As He said:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
“Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed.” (Quran 18:7)
And He said:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
“Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving.” (Quran 67:2).
Thus, excellence in worship is the ultimate goal of the worshippers and the culmination of the aspirations of the seekers. The Prophet ﷺ used to ask Allah for excellence in worship and command his companions to ask for it. Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Nasa'i narrated from Mu'adh ibn Jabal that the Prophet ﷺ took his hand one day and said: “O Mu'adh! I truly love you.” Mu'adh said: “May my father and mother be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah, I love you too.” He said: “I advise you, O Mu'adh, not to miss supplicating after every Salat (prayer) saying: “O Allah, help me remember You, expressing gratitude to You and worship You in the best manner.”
O Brothers in Islam:
Excellence in worship is when the servant worships his Lord in the most perfect, complete, and highest manner. It is the highest level of religion and the loftiest station of the believers. That is why Jibril asked the Prophet ﷺ about three levels: he asked him about Islam, then about faith, and then about excellence, because it is the highest of the three and encompasses them all. The Prophet ﷺ answered him, explaining the reality of excellence, saying: “It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.” (The hadith is agreed upon).
The level of excellence is the fruit of knowing Allah and perfecting knowledge and certainty in Him. Whoever truly knows the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, through His Names and Attributes, will feel as if he sees Him. His heart will be filled with glorification, praise, and love for Him, and his chest will be expanded and open for submission to Him and obedience to His command. The Attributes of the Lord will become visible to him, as if the veil between him and his Lord has been lifted, and he will delight in gazing upon Him, not desiring any substitute nor seeking any alternative.
This knowledge of Allah cannot be attained by a servant except through four matters:
Firstly, seeking knowledge, by contemplating the Noble Qur'an, understanding the words of the Prophet ﷺ, and comprehending the knowledge of the deep-rooted scholars, from the companions of the Prophet, their followers, and the imams of the Muslims.
Secondly, purifying the soul and cleansing it from defects and flaws, and avoiding the forbidden acts that darken the heart and corrupt it.
Thirdly, abundant remembrance of Allah through glorification, praise, magnification, declaration of His oneness, and seeking forgiveness, so that the tongue remains moist with it, not ceasing nor tiring.
Fourthly, seeking help from Allah and relying on Him, asking Him for beneficial knowledge that yields good fruits in the heart.
When a servant is keen on these matters, Allah grants him success and fills his heart with knowledge. The perfection of his knowledge of Allah serves as a basis for perfecting his worship. Indeed, the one who knows Allah better is more fearful of Him and has more love and reverence for Him, and thus is more sincere in his worship and more keen to follow His Messenger ﷺ and comply with His will, combining the perfection of his inner sincerity and the perfection of his outward following.
It was narrated from Fudayl ibn 'Iyād (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said regarding Allah's saying:
لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
“…that He may test you which of you is best in deed.” (Quran 67:2),
“The sincerest and the most correct.” He was asked: “What is the sincerest and the most correct?” He said: “If the deed is sincere but incorrect, it will not be accepted, and if it is correct but insincere, it will not be accepted until it is sincere and correct. Sincerity is when it is done for Allah only, and correctness is when it is done according to the Sunnah.”
The people of excellence are those who perfect their actions according to what Allah wants the most. They fulfill both the obligatory and the recommended acts, avoid the forbidden and the disliked, and are cautious with doubtful matters.
Excellence encompasses all acts of worship and all transactions, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “Indeed, Allah has prescribed Ihsan in everything. So when you kill, do it in the least painful manner you can, and when you slaughter an animal, do it in the best possible way. Let one of you sharpen his blade and give ease to his animal to be slaughtered.” (Narrated by Muslim).
May Allah bless us and you with the Great Qur'an and benefit us from its verses and the wise reminder therein. I say this and seek forgiveness from Allah for myself, for you, and for all the Muslims. So seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The second sermon:
All praise is due to Allah, may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. As to what follows:
O believers: Indeed, excellence is a blessing for its possessor in this world and the Hereafter. The doers of good are the best of people in religion, as Allah the Almighty said:
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا
“And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth?” (Quran, 4:125)
The doers of good are the people of Allah's company, as He, the Exalted, said:
وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“And indeed, Allah is with good doers.” (Quran, 29:69).
The mercy of Allah is closest to the people of excellence, as He, the Exalted, said:
إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“Surely, Allah’s Mercy is (ever) near unto the good doers.” (Quran, 7:56).
The doers of good are the people of Allah's love and closeness, as He said:
وَأَحْسِنُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“…and do good. Truly, Allah loves the good-doers.” (Quran, 2:195).
For the people of excellence in Paradise, there is Allah's honor and lasting bliss, as He, the Almighty, said:
لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ وَلَا يَرْهَقُ وُجُوهَهُمْ قَتَرٌ وَلَا ذِلَّةٌ أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
"For them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.” (Quran, 10:26).
The extra reward is seeing Allah in Paradise, as narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Suhayb, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah the Blessed and Exalted will say: 'Do you want anything more that I may give you?’ They will say: ‘Have You not brightened our faces? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from the Fire?’ He will then lift the veil, and of things given to them, nothing will be dearer to them than the sight of their Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious.” Then he recited this verse:
لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ
“For them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra.” (Quran, 10:26)
Ibn Rajab) may Allah have mercy on him (said: “This is suitable as a reward for the people of excellence because excellence is to worship the believer's Lord in this world with presence and mindfulness, as if he sees Him with his heart and gazes at Him during his worship. So the reward for that is to gaze at Allah directly in the Hereafter.”
We ask Allah, by His grace and generosity, to make us among the people of these stations and the owners of those ranks. Indeed, He is the best to be asked.
Then, pray and send peace to our Prophet Muhammad. O Allah, exalt and send peace upon Your servant and messenger, Muhammad, and be pleased with the rightly guided caliphs, all the companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
O Allah, help us and do not help against us; support us and do not support against us; plan for us and do not plan against us; guide us and make guidance easy for us; and help us against those who transgress against us. O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and are pleased with, and lead him by the forelock to righteousness and piety. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
O Servants of Allah, remember Allah with much remembrance and glorify Him morning and evening. Our closing prayer is, “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
