Sermon Title: Muslims’ True Sense of Honor
Elements of the Sermon:
Islam is the Source of True Honor
Manifestations of a Muslim's True Honor
How Islam Cultivates True Honor within Its Followers
The Ultimate Humiliation of the Disbelievers’ Honor Founded on Falsehood
Praise be to Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Most Powerful, who honors those who obey and are mindful of Him as due, and humiliates those who defy His commands and disobey Him. I bear witness that none is worthy of worship but Allah, alone with no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His servant and messenger, the noblest, most honorable, and most dignified of all people in the sight of Allah. May Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), his family, and his companions abundantly until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Him as He should be feared, be mindful of Him, and remember that whoever is mindful of Him as due, He grants relief from every worry and a way out of every distress.
Dear Muslim brothers,
Our Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Indeed, there will not remain on the face of the earth a mud-brick house or a camel’s hair tent which Allah will not cause the religion of Islam to enter, bringing both mighty honor to the honorable and abject abasement to the humiliated ones; Allah will either honor the occupants by adhering to Islam, or humiliate them by being subjected to it." [Ahmad]
Indeed, Allah is the Most Exalted in Honor and Might and the Most Benevolent. He raises whomever He wills and lowers whom He wills; He bestows honor on whomever He wills and disgraces whomever He wills. If Allah wills to honor a servant, He guides him to Islam. Whoever humbles himself before his Lord and surrenders to Him will be elevated, honored, and raised high. Conversely, whoever is arrogant and defiant will be debased, humiliated, and brought low. Allah, The Almighty, says:
وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know." (Quran 63:8)
True honor belongs only to Allah and His allies, while humiliation and disgrace are the ultimate fate of His enemies. May Allah be pleased with the inspired and enlightened ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattāb who said: "We were the most disgraceful and humiliated (with disbelief) people until Allah honored us with Islam. If we seek honor from anything besides that with which Allah honored us, He will disgrace us." [Al-Hākim]
O Servants of Allah:
Regarding the current circumstances of Muslims, they remain spiritually superior as long as they are hold onto their faith in their Lord. Allah did not create the believers to be humiliated, nor did He reveal the Quran to them so that they would be disgraced by others. Allah says:
ألَقَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ َفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
"We have certainly sent down to you a Book in which is your mention. Then will you not reason? " (Quran 21:10)
This means that the Quran is the ultimate source of true honor, dignity, and glory.
A believer transcends and rises above all corrupt beliefs and deviant ideologies by his faith and (adherence to the refined) Sharia because he dispenses with all man-made systems and laws produced by whims and uncertainties and is rather contend with the divine revelation and Sharia.
A believer deems himself above coveting what others have; he would not undermine his dignity to obtain any worldly gain. Rather, he turns to his Lord only for help and support to fulfill his needs.
A believer is never two-faced; he is the furthest from lying, hypocrisy, and flattery. He does not give false praise and his main concern is earning the pleasure of Allah alone.
A believer is inherently honorable and noble; he does not accept humiliation or oppression and cannot tolerate any transgression against his religion and what he holds as sacred, nor any aggression against himself or any Muslim in any part of the world.
A believer is merciful towards his fellow believers, and powerful when facing the disbelievers, celebrating his dignity and true honor. Allah says:
أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ
" O you who believe, whoever of you should revert from his religion – Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic." (Quran 5:54)
A believer (defends himself and) seeks retribution against those who wrong him when he has the power to do so. Allah says:
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ يَنْتَصِرُونَ
"And those who, when tyranny strikes them, they defend themselves." (Quran 42:39)
If the wronged person chooses forgiveness and reconciliation, he may do so as an act of strength, not weakness. He should be powerful enough to (defend himself and) retribute and may willing choose to forgive and pardon. His forgiveness must not be prompted by weakness, submission, or humiliation.
Dear Muslim brothers:
Verily, Islam nurtures true honor, pride, and dignity within the hearts and minds of its adherents. A believer in whose heart and mind the faith and submission to Allah, the Sovereign and the Judge, are instilled cannot tolerate humiliation nor accept disgrace. How could he do so while Islam fosters this sense of true honor within the hearts and minds of its followers? Indeed, a pious believer is an ally of Allah, the Exalted, who says:
َلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ * الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ
"Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve; those who believed and were fearing Allah." (Quran 10:62-63)
A person who has Allah, The Exalted in Honor and Might, as his ally will relish true honor and dignity in proportion to this alliance; true honor is sought from Allah, The Almighty, who says:
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا
"Whoever desires honor [through power] - then to Allah belongs all honor." (Quran 35:10)
Muslims believe with certainty that Allah alone possesses the ultimate power, grants protection, and to Him belongs absolute dominance and self-sufficiency. They derive their strength, self-sufficiency, and victory from Allah alone. During the Battle of Uhud, Abū Sufyan said: "We have (the idol) Al-‘Uzza, whereas you have no ‘Uzza!" The Prophet (ﷺ) commanded his companions) to reply saying: "Allah is our Helper and you have no helper!" [Al-Bukhārī]
The belief in Tawhīd (Islamic Oneness) of Allah generates within the soul the most refined meanings of honor, dignity, and nobility. He who believes in Allah as the One and only God, knows with certainty that everything belongs to Him, and He controls all things in the universe; He grants life and causes death, gives and withholds, humiliates and honors, and grants victory and dominance. The only way to true honor is through and from Him.
He who believes in Allah as the One and Only God knows with certainty that He alone creates and governs all things in the universe. Accordingly, he would not flatter anyone, humiliate himself, kneel, bow, or prostrate before none but his Lord.
He who believes in Allah as the One and Only God does not fear anyone else and fulfills the due rights of his Lord, undeterred by the blame of the blamers. Allah says:
الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللَّهَ
"[Allah praises] those who convey the messages of Allah and fear Him and do not fear anyone but Allah." (Quran 33:39)
He defiantly proclaims the truth without fearing anyone's reproach because he knows that speaking the truth will neither delay his preordained time of death nor withhold his share of provisions. The chase after the alluring worldly pleasures has humiliated many people!
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Do not let the fear of people prevent you from speaking the truth if you see or witness it; it will not shorten lifespan nor decrease your livelihood if you tell the truth or remind people of something significant.” [Ahmad]
He who upholds Tawhīd and believes in Allah as the One and Only God, does not ask anyone but Him and saves his face. His true honor lies in being independent from all the creation, relying only on the Lord of the worlds, the Sovereign, the Self-Sufficient God, whose treasures are never depleted. Angel Gabriel said to our Prophet (ﷺ), “A believer's dignity lies in performing night prayer, and his true honor lies in being independent of people.” [AtTabarānī in Al-Awsat]
Allah bestows true honor on the believer by connecting his heart to Him instead of having it inclined to and engrossed in the worldly life. All that comes from Allah is good, and evil can only be averted by Him. All people are His servants who cannot benefit nor harm anyone on their own. If He wills that any of them should be a means to bring about good or avert harm, he is merely a tool (to carry out the will of Allah). You should put everything into perspective, perceive the reality of things, and hold onto the true honor bestowed on you by your Lord, to Whom belongs the whole creation.
Islam teaches Muslims to transcend with their faith, celebrate their spiritual superiority (nurtured by their bond with their Lord), and rise above the inferiority of disbelief and wickedness; a believer is elevated and honored by his faith and obedience to his Lord. Allah says:
وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
“Do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.” (Quran 3:139)
A believer prides in his bond with his Lord and relishes the true honor bestowed on him by Him, and this prompts him to disassociate himself from disbelief, its evils, and people, and praise Him for having saved him from it. He does not take the disbelievers as allies nor does he follow their example. Rather, he feels sorry for them and earnestly call them to the truth, to which he adheres.
May Allah bless me and you with the devotion to the Quran, and help me and you benefit from its verses and wise reminders therein. I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you; seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful.
Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah as befitting Him, and may He exalt and send peace to His Prophet and His servant. O servants of Allah, fear Him as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and in public.
Servants of Allah:
If the believers seek true honor from their belief in Allah, the people of falsehood certainly seek honor through various misguided ways. The polytheists seek honor from their false deities and man-made religions, but they gain nothing but disgrace. Allah says:
وَاتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ آلِهَةً لِيَكُونُوا لَهُمْ عِزًّا * كَلَّا سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدًّا
“And they have taken besides Allah [false] deities that they would be for them [a source of] honor. * No! Those "gods" will deny their worship of them and will be against them opponents [on the Day of Judgement].” (Quran 19:81-82)
Those who arrogantly reject the Sharia of Allah and seek honor from their disdain of the servitude to Allah, opposing His revelation, and breaking free from His rulings, their ultimate fate will be disgrace and destruction. Allah says:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُجَادِلُ فِي اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَلَا هُدًى وَلَا كِتَابٍ مُنِيرٍ * ثَانِيَ عِطْفِهِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَنُذِيقُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ
“And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge or guidance or an enlightening book [from Him]. * Twisting his neck [in arrogance] to mislead [people] from the way of Allah. For him in the world is disgrace, and We will make him taste on the Day of Resurrection the punishment of the Burning Fire [while it is said].” (Quran 22:8-9)
The hypocrites seek honor from the alliance with the enemies of Allah, and their end will be humiliation and utter loss. Allah says:
بَشِّرِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا * الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا
“Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment. * Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor [through power]? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely.” (Quran 4:138-139)
The materialistic people, who are engrossed in the worldly life, seek honor from the accumulation of wealth and having many children, even if it is done by unlawful means and circumventing the Sharia of Allah. Their end will be humiliation and abasement. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “If you engage in Al-‘Einah transaction (i.e., an usurious sale that involves selling a commodity on credit, for a price to be paid at a later date, and buying it back for a lower price to be paid on the spot), take hold of the tails of cattle (instead of riding horses), settle for agriculture (at a time when Jihād becomes an obligation) and give up Jihād, Allah will make disgrace prevail over you and will not remove it from until you return to your religion.” [Abū Dāwūd]
Some people seek honor by boasting about their lineage and pre-Islamic legacy, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Let the people cease to boast about their ancestors who have died, while they are mere fuel in Hellfire; or they will certainly be more humiliated and be of less account with Allah than the beetle which rolls dung with its nose." [Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd]
This is the fate of those who seek honor through means other than Allah, who says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ فِي الْأَذَلِّينَ * كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ
“Indeed, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger - those will be among the most humbled. * Allah has written, 'I will surely overcome, I and My messengers.' Indeed, Allah is Strong and Exalted in Might.” (Quran 58:20-21)
O Allah, honor us with Your obedience, and do not humiliate us with Your disobedience! O Allah, bestow true honor on Islam and the Muslims, humiliate disbelief and the disbelievers, aid Your monotheistic servants, and destroy the enemies of Your religion from among the Jews, the Crusaders, and the hypocrites, with Your power and might; You are the Firm Possessor of strength and Lord of unbreakable might.
O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and is pleased with, and bless him with righteousness and Taqwā (mindfulness of Allah). Our Lord, give us in this worldly life [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Hellfire.
O Servants of Allah
Remember Allah with much remembrance and glorify Him in the morning and evening. Our final supplication is “All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.”
