Title of the Sermon: Indeed, Allah Does Not Neglect His People.
Elements of the Sermon:
1. Indeed, Allah Does Not Neglect His People.
2. The Principle of Protection.
3. The Distinction Between the Promise of the Most Merciful and the Lies of Satan.
All praise is due to Allah, the Protector and Sufficient, who protects His allies with His might and suffices them from evil with His mercy. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone without any partners, a testimony affirming His oneness. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah exalt and send blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions abundantly.
To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah with true piety, and observe Him in secret and in private,
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).
O servant of Allah:
Do you know what the best water found on the surface of the earth is?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam." Narrated by al-Tabarani.
It is the blessed water about which the Prophet ﷺ said: "The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for." Narrated by Ibn Majah.
This blessed water has an enduring story with lessons and admonitions, titled: "Indeed, Allah does not neglect His people."
Allah commanded Ibrahim, the close servant of Allah, peace be upon him, to take his wife Hajar and his son Ismail, peace be upon him, to Mecca, where there were no vegetation, water, or people. Ibrahim complied, submitting to the command of his Lord and Master. Upon reaching there, he left Hajar and her infant son with a bag containing dates and a water skin, then started to return. Hajar followed him, repeatedly asking: "O Ibrahim, where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there are no people or anything?" But he did not respond or look back. She then asked: "Did Allah command you to do this?" He said, "Yes." She said: "Then He will not neglect us."
Ibrahim stood and prayed to his Lord, saying:
رَبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنْتُ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِنْدَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُمْ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
"Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House. Our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So, make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful" (Ibrahim: 37).
Hajar began to eat the dates, drink the water, and nurse Ismail until everything was exhausted, and they both became thirsty. Ismail started to twist from hunger. She ran towards Mount Safa, then Mount Marwah, back and forth seven times, hoping to see someone in the distance. But she saw no one and no signs of life. While on Marwah, she heard a sound and saw an angel at the spot of Zamzam, digging with his heel or wing until water gushed out. The angel said to her: "Do not fear abandonment, for this is the House of Allah, built by this boy and his father, and Allah does not neglect His people."
Consider the connection between Hajar's statement: "Did Allah command you to do this?" He said, "Yes." She said: "Then He will not neglect us," and the angel's statement: "Do not fear abandonment... Indeed, Allah does not neglect His people."
The feeling of being lost and doomed is extremely painful, but the believer is certain that the control of the heavens and the earth is in Allah’s hands. He manages all affairs. Whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will does not happen. Even if all humans and jinn were to harm him with something that Allah did not will, they would not be able to. Therefore, he trusts in Allah, complying with His statement:
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ * الَّذِي يَرَاكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ
"And rely upon the Exalted in Might, the Merciful, who sees you when you stand" (Al-Shu’ara: 217-218).
The believer who submits to his Lord’s command is under Allah’s protection and care. He lives under Allah’s watchful eye, within His guarantee and protection.
The Prophet ﷺ engraved this principle of protection, saying: "Be mindful of Allah, and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him before you." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
Whoever protects his faith from doubts and does not accept them, protects Allah’s commands and does not neglect them, protects Allah’s limits and does not transgress them, Allah will protect his faith, suffice him from evil, loss, and destruction. They are the people of Allah, the people of His obedience. The degree of his faith and obedience corresponds to the degree of his protection and sufficiency.
Did our Prophet ﷺ not say: "Whoever seeks to please Allah by displeasing people, Allah will suffice him against the people. Whoever seeks to please people by displeasing Allah, Allah will leave him to the people." Narrated by Ibn Hibban.
Indeed, pleasing Allah and submitting to His law is protection and sufficiency for the servant from being lost.
Here is Ibrahim, the close servant of Allah, peace be upon him, migrating with his wife Sarah until they reached a town ruled by a king, one of the oppressive tyrants. This unjust tyrant would take any woman he fancied if she was with her husband but would not take a woman if she was with her brother. This was his cruel law. When Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and his wife Sarah entered this town, the soldiers of this tyrant informed him about them, saying: "A woman has entered your land who should belong only to you." So, the tyrant sent for Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and asked him: "O Ibrahim, who is this woman with you?" Ibrahim replied: "She is my sister." Then Ibrahim, peace be upon him, went back to his wife and said: "This tyrant will overpower me if he knows that you are my wife, so if he asks you, tell him that you are my sister, for you are my sister in Islam. I do not know any believers on earth except you and me." Allah revealed to Ibrahim that He would protect Sarah from the tyrant.
The soldiers of the tyrant came to take Sarah by force to him so he could see her and verify the matter. Ibrahim, peace be upon him, told her: "Go to him, for Allah will protect you from him." When the tyrant saw her, he could not control himself and tried to assault her. She then supplicated to her Lord: "O Allah, if I have believed in You and Your Messenger and have preserved my chastity except from my husband, then do not let this disbeliever overpower me." He was immediately seized and fell to the ground, suffocating and striking the ground with his feet. She prayed again: "O Allah, if he dies, they will say I killed him," so he was released. The tyrant tried to approach her again, and she prayed: "O Allah, if I have believed in You and Your Messenger and have preserved my chastity except from my husband, then do not let this disbeliever overpower me." He was seized again, suffocating and striking the ground with his feet. She prayed again: "O Allah, if he dies, they will say I killed him," so he was released a second time or a third time. Then the tyrant said: "By Allah, you have only sent a devil to me. Return her to Ibrahim and give her Hajar." Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.
So, observe, O servant of Allah, how Sarah pleaded to Allah with her chastity and purity, and Allah, the Protector, preserved her from the evil plot and aggression of this criminal.
May Allah bless me and you with the great Quran and benefit us from its 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
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. Moreover:
O servants of Allah:
Indeed, Satan frightens his allies, making them think that if they submit to Allah’s law, they will be lost and perish. He makes them believe that if they indulge in forbidden things and follow desires, they will succeed and be happy. These are, by Allah, mere illusions, delusions, and deceptions. What Satan promises them is nothing but delusion.
This statement is similar to what the polytheists said to the Prophet ﷺ:
وَقَالُوا إِنْ نَتَّبِعِ الْهُدَى مَعَكَ نُتَخَطَّفْ مِنْ أَرْضِنَا
"And they say, 'If we follow the guidance with you, we would be swept from our land.'"
Allah replied to them, saying:
أَوَلَمْ نُمَكِّنْ لَهُمْ حَرَمًا آمِنًا يُجْبَى إِلَيْهِ ثَمَرَاتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ رِزْقًا مِنْ لَدُنَّا وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ * وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ بَطِرَتْ مَعِيشَتَهَا فَتِلْكَ مَسَاكِنُهُمْ لَمْ تُسْكَنْ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا وَكُنَّا نَحْنُ الْوَارِثِينَ
"Have We not established for them a safe sanctuary to which are brought the fruits of all things as provision from Us? But most of them do not know. * And how many a city have We destroyed that was insolent in its way of living, and those are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them except briefly. And it is We who were the inheritors" (Al-Qasas: 57-58).
Satan threatens the believers with destruction, poverty, and loss, but Allah promises them forgiveness and bounty from Him. Who is more truthful in speech than Allah?
Allah said to His Prophet ﷺ:
ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَى شَرِيعَةٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ فَاتَّبِعْهَا وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ * إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يُغْنُوا عَنْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ
"Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know. * Indeed, they will never avail you against Allah at all. And indeed, the wrongdoers are allies of one another; but Allah is the protector of the righteous" (Al-Jathiyah: 18-19).
Allah, the Exalted, is the protector of the righteous; He guides them, supports them, suffices them, and does not neglect them. And sufficient is Allah as a protector and sufficient is Allah as a helper.
On the day of Hudaybiyyah, when the treaty was made between the Prophet ﷺ and the disbelievers of Quraysh, the conditions seemed unjust to the Muslims. However, Allah revealed to His Prophet ﷺ to accept them. When the companions learned of this, they were grieved and saddened. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, approached the Prophet ﷺ seeking clarification, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, are we not upon the truth and they upon falsehood?" He said: "Yes." Umar said: "Are not our dead in Paradise and their dead in Hellfire?" He said: "Yes." Umar said: "Then why should we accept disgrace in our religion? Should we return while Allah has not yet judged between us?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "O Ibn al-Khattab, I am the Messenger of Allah, and I do not disobey Him, and He is my helper, and He will never abandon me." Umar then went to Abu Bakr and said the same thing he said to the Prophet ﷺ. Abu Bakr said: "O man, he is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he does not disobey his Lord, and He is his helper, so adhere to his guidance, for by Allah, he is upon the truth, and Allah will never abandon him." Then the Surah Al-Fath (The Victory) was revealed, and the Prophet ﷺ recited it to Umar to its end. Umar asked: "O Messenger of Allah, is this a victory?" He said: "Yes." Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.
This is the certainty that the Prophet ﷺ taught his companions: "I am the Messenger of Allah, and I do not disobey Him, and He is my helper, and He will never abandon me."
O servants of Allah:
Living by the way and law of Allah is the salvation from loss and destruction in this world and the hereafter. Establishing life on the violation of Allah’s law leads to loss and distress in this world and the hereafter.
O Allah, preserve us with Islam standing, preserve us with Islam sitting, and protect us with Your protection, for You are the best protector, and You are the most merciful of the merciful.
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 much, and glorify Him morning and evening, and our last call is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
