Title of the Sermon: The Firmest Handhold
Elements of the Sermon:
1- Belief in Allah is the firmest handhold.
2- The soul's need to deify Allah alone.
3- Why Allah is the true God.
4- Associating partners with Allah is a great injustice.
All praise is to Allah, the One, the Sustainer, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light. Yet those who disbelieve equate others with their Lord. I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without any partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, may Allah exalt and send peace to him, his family, and his companions extensively.
Fear Allah, servants of Allah, with true piety, and be mindful of Him in private and in secret,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims" (Alu ‘Imran:102).
Servants of Allah:
After the conquest of Mecca, Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl fled in fear of being killed. He boarded a ship, which then encountered a violent storm. The ship's crew said to its passengers, "Sincere your faith! For your gods cannot avail you here!" Ikrimah declared, "By Allah, if sincerity alone can save me at sea, nothing else will save me on land. O Allah, if You save me from this plight, I will go to Muhammad ﷺ and place my hand in his, and I will surely find him forgiving and noble." Thus, he was saved and embraced Islam. This narrative is reported by An-Nasa'i.
Every deity that people have taken besides Allah is false and vain, unable to benefit their worshipers in any way. Allah Almighty says,
فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
"So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing" (Al-Baqarah: 256).
There are only two paths, no third: either the firmest handhold or the depths of destruction.
Do you know what the firmest handhold is?
It is like the loop on a rope that a person holds onto, fearing to fall into a chasm. Just as there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and actualizing that in speech and action is the firmest handhold that will never break, no matter the storms and trials. Those who hold onto it will survive in this world from misguidance, confusion, and loss, and in the hereafter from hellfire.
But those who do not believe in Allah alone are like one clinging to a spider's web, falling from the peak of a mountain only to be torn apart by predatory birds, then plunging into the lowest of the low, torn apart among squabbling lords. Each vies for him; every descent he takes becomes a deity until he plunges into a deep valley of misguidance in beliefs, ideas, morals, and systems. Allah says,
فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ * حُنَفَاءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ
"So avoid the impurity of idols and avoid false utterance, being true to Allah, not associating anything with Him. And whoever associates with Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had swooped down upon him into a remote place" (Al-Hajj: 30-31).
Servants of Allah:
The soul has an inherent need, poverty, and desperation for Allah, the Exalted, because a servant is needy in all respects. He needs a purpose and an object of devotion to which he submits out of love and compliance, finding tranquility and satisfaction, feeling contentment, wealth, and joy. This is only possible with Allah, the Perfect, the Majestic, the Honorable. All other objects of devotion are false, deficient, and needy, but Allah is the Rich, the Praiseworthy.
A person either worships Allah and serves Him alone, without any partners, thereby loving, venerating, submitting, surrendering, fearing, hoping, relying, and turning to Allah alone, living then in tranquility, dignity, honor, and freedom, or his heart attaches to rivals and partners, fluctuating among conflicting lords, living in humiliation, agitation, disgrace, and fear, shackled by his chains.
Many people have attached themselves to false gods, be it angels, humans, stones, graves, the sun, the moon, idols, or idols. They may even deify a newly invented idea or a favored methodology, holding them sacred, submitting to them, draping them in divinity, and bestowing upon them a halo of sanctity. Yet, these are merely names they have given, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their souls desire, yet guidance has come to them from their Lord.
There is no true god, no deity for creation, except Allah, the One, the Unique. But why is there no deity except Allah? Why is Allah the true God, and all others besides Him are false?
Only Allah is the true God, worthy of worship alone without any partner, because He is the Creator, and everything else besides Him is created. Can the creator be like the created?
He is the Creator of everything, the Originator, the Fashioner, the Innovator of the heavens and the earth, the Splitter of the heavens and the earth, who created angels, humans, jinn, birds, and beasts, made the earth stable, placed mountains as pegs, and set rivers flowing. Allah says:
أَفَمَنْ يَخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لَا يَخْلُقُ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
"Then is He who creates like one who does not create? Will you not then remember?" (Al-Nahl: 17).
And He says:
أم جَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاءَ خَلَقُوا كَخَلْقِهِ فَتَشَابَهَ الْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ قُلِ اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ
"Or have they assigned to Allah partners who created like His creation so that the creation seemed similar to them? Say, 'Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Dominant'" (Al-Ra’d:16).
And Allah, the Exalted, says:
أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَنْبَتْنَا بِهِ حَدَائِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ مَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُنْبِتُوا شَجَرَهَا أَإِلَهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَعْدِلُونَ * أَمَّنْ جَعَلَ الْأَرْضَ قَرَارًا وَجَعَلَ خِلَالَهَا أَنْهَارًا وَجَعَلَ لَهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ حَاجِزًا أَإِلَهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"Or who created the heavens and the earth and sent down for you from the sky water? Thus We caused to grow through it gardens of delight. It is not in your power to cause their trees to grow. Is there any god with Allah? Yet they are a people who ascribe equals [to Him]. Or who has made the earth a resting place, set within it rivers, and placed upon it firm mountains and set a barrier between the two seas? Is there any god with Allah? Yet most of them do not know" (Al-Naml: 60-61).
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I asked the Prophet ﷺ, "Which sin is greatest in the sight of Allah?" He replied, "That you set up a rival unto Allah though He created you." This hadith is reported by both Bukhari and Muslim.
Allah is indeed the true God because He is the true Sovereign, in whose hands lies the dominion of all things. Those besides Him do not own even an atom's weight in the heavens or on the earth. They cannot benefit or harm themselves, nor can they avert harm or change it, nor do they own death, life, or resurrection. Allah says:
قُلْ مَنْ بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ * سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ فَأَنَّى تُسْحَرُونَ
"Say, 'Who is it in whose hands is the sovereignty of all things - who protects while against Him there is no protection - if you should know?' They will say, 'Allah.' Say, 'Then how are you deluded?'" (Al-Mu’minun: 88-89).
Meaning how are you deceived and turned away from His oneness? And the Exalted says:
قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِنْ شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ ظَهِيرٍ * وَلَا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ
"Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allah; they do not possess an atom's weight of ability in the heavens or on the earth, and they have no share in either, nor does He have an assistant from among them. And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits" (Saba’: 22-23).
There is no ownership, even of the slightest thing, for anyone other than Allah, no partnership in sovereignty, no assistance to the Sovereign, nor is there any intercession except with His permission.
Allah is the true God because He is the Lord of the worlds, the sole possessor of lordship. He manages all matters, maintaining all of His creation and organizing all their affairs. He provides for them, grants them health, relieves them, and alleviates their distress. He responds to the distressed one when he calls upon Him and relieves evil. Allah says:
قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَمَّنْ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَمَنْ يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُ فَقُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ * فَذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمُ الْحَقُّ فَمَاذَا بَعْدَ الْحَقِّ إِلَّا الضَّلَالُ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ
"Say, who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight? And who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living? And who arranges [every] matter? They will say, 'Allah,' so will you not fear Him? That is Allah, your Lord, the truth. Then what after the truth can there be but error? How are you turned away?" (Quran 10:31-32).
And Allah says:
أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الْأَرْضِ أَإِلَهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
"Or who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remember" (Al-Naml: 62).
And Allah says,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَابْتَغُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
"Indeed, those you worship besides Allah do not own for you [the provision of] a single thing, so seek from Allah provision and worship Him and be grateful to Him. To Him you will be returned" (Al-‘Ankabut: 17).
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, to whom do you call?" He replied, "I call to Allah alone, who, if you are afflicted with harm and you invoke Him, He will relieve you; and who, if you lose your way in a desolate land and you invoke Him, He will respond to you; and who, if you suffer a drought and you invoke Him, He will cause vegetation to grow for you." Reported by Ahmad.
Allah is the true God because He is the Praised, the Glorious, the Perfect, and the Beautiful, the Majestic and the Honorable, without any peer, equal, counterpart, or likeness. To Him belong the most beautiful names and the highest attributes. He possesses all perfection, transcendent is He above any deficiency or flaw.
He is the Living who does not die, the Sustainer who does not sleep, the First with nothing before Him, the Last with nothing after Him, the Manifest above whom there is nothing, and the Hidden below whom there is nothing, the All-Knowing who neither errs nor forgets, the All-Wise who is not frivolous, the All-Powerful, the Able who is never incapable, the Just Judge who does not oppress, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Witness who neither declines nor is absent.
Allah says,
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى
"Allah - there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the most beautiful names" (Ta Ha: 8).
And Allah says,
إِنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَسِعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا
"Your God is only Allah, except for whom there is no deity. He encompasses all things in knowledge" (Ta Ha: 98).
May Allah bless us and you in the Noble Quran, and may He benefit me and you with what it contains of verses and wise remembrance. I seek Allah's forgiveness for me and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. Thereafter, fear Allah, servants of Allah, observe Him, obey Him, and do not disobey Him.
Servants of Allah:
Indeed, believing in Allah and worshiping Him is a right purely His alone, and associating partners with Him is the greatest injustice. Allah said:
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَابُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
"And [mention, O Muhammad], when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, 'O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with him] is great injustice'" (Luqman: 13).
O servant of Allah! Allah alone, the Perfect and Majestic, created you, provided for you, and bestowed His blessings upon you. He is the one who manages all affairs, and to Him belongs everything. So, who else deserves to be deified but Him?
The Prophet ﷺ said, "The example of the one who associates others with Allah is like a man who bought a slave with his own pure gold or silver, then he housed him and said: 'Work and give me the earnings.' But the slave worked and gave the earnings to someone other than his master. Which of you would like his slave to be like that? Indeed, Allah created you and provided for you, so do not associate anything with Him." This hadith is reported by Tirmidhi.
O Allah, rectify for us our religion which is the safeguard of our affairs, rectify for us our worldly life in which is our livelihood, and rectify for us our Hereafter to which is our return. O Allah, let not our calamity be in our religion, and let not the worldly life be our greatest concern or the extent of our knowledge.
O Allah, support your weakened servants, and destroy the criminal Jews.
O Allah, grant us safety in our lands, reform our leaders and those in charge of our affairs, and place our governance in those who fear You, observe piety towards You, and follow Your pleasure.
O servants of Allah: Remember Allah frequently and glorify Him morning and evening. And our final call is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
