Title of Sermon: Exaggeration and the Worst of Creation
Elements of Sermon:
1. You have no say in the matter.
2. The deceit of misguided leaders.
3. The Prophet’s ﷺ protection of the sanctity of monotheism.
4. One of the widest paths of falsehood is exaggeration regarding the righteous.
All praise be to Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who made darkness and light. Yet, those who disbelieve equate others with their Lord. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah exalt and send peace to him. To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and in public. Allah says:
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!
This is what Allah said to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after the incident of Uhud, following the great calamity that befell him and his companions, the martyrs, and the wounded. After bowing in prayer, the Prophet ﷺ stood and invoked curses upon three of the disbelievers, saying: "O Allah, curse so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so." Allah then revealed: "To you belongs nothing of the matter, whether He turns in mercy to them or punishes them; indeed, they are wrongdoers." (Alu ‘Imran: 128), narrated by Al-Bukhari.
This means that nothing of Allah's command belongs to you. All matters are in Allah’s control alone. If He punishes them, as they deserve, it is up to Him. And if He forgives them, it is also up to Him.
Do you know who these three were? They were Abu Sufyan bin Harb, Al-Harith bin Hisham, and Safwan bin Umayyah. Years later, Allah granted them repentance and guided them. They all embraced Islam, and they practiced Islam well.
Servants of Allah!
The ultimate purpose for which Allah created creation, revealed the scriptures, and sent the messengers is so that they worship Allah alone, without any partners. Allah says:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." (Adh-Dhariyat: 56).
Allah also says:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid false deities.'" (An-Nahl: 36).
However, the devils from among mankind and jinn inspire each other with embellished words to deceive people and lead them away from this purpose, thus causing them to fall into shirk.
The most dangerous of these embellished words are those propagated by deceivers who set themselves or their followers up as rivals to Allah. They called for excessive love of the righteous, elevating them above their status. They fabricated a false aura of sanctity around them, claiming that the shaykh is the path to Allah, and that one cannot reach Allah except through him. They declared that what the shaykh forbids is forbidden by Allah, and that whoever does not believe in the shaykh's perfection will never succeed. They claimed that Allah reveals the unseen to them through visions and dreams, that blessings are to be taken from them, that they control the affairs of creation, and that their bodies radiate with celestial lights. People began to circumambulate around them, both in life and after their death. It became obligatory for the Muslim to be as passive before them as a corpse in the hands of its washer, with no choice but to comply. They would not engage in any act of obedience or remembrance except with the shaykh’s permission. Whoever objected was cast out. Thus, they became rivals to Allah. Exalted is He above what they associate with Him.
Servants of Allah!
The best of prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, taught his nation monotheism (tawhid), protected its boundaries, and closed the doors to shirk (associating partners with Allah). He recited to us the verses in which Allah commanded him to say:
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ
"Say, 'I am only a man like you to whom has been revealed that your god is one God.'" (Al-Kahf: 110).
Thus, he is a human being like us, made from dust. However, Allah honored him with revelation and prophethood, purified his morals and characteristics, blessed his deeds, and made his state pure. Through revelation, he became a shining lamp by which Allah guides those who seek His pleasure to the paths of peace and leads them from darkness into light by His permission.
Indeed, he ﷺ is the servant and Messenger of Allah, a mediator in conveying the religion, not a mediator in worship and supplication between the servant and the Lord of the worlds. He does not possess for himself or others any benefit or harm, nor does he control guidance, Paradise, or Hell. He does not know the unseen except what Allah has informed him of. Allah said to him:
قُلْ لَا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَلَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
"Say, 'I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.'" (Al-A'raf: 188).
Allah also said:
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا * إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا
"He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His knowledge of the unseen to anyone except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before each messenger and behind him observers." (Al-Jinn: 26-27).
When the Prophet ﷺ heard a young girl say: "And among us is a prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow," he said to her: "Do not say that. Instead, say what you were previously saying." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari).
Did Allah not say to him when his uncle Abu Talib died in disbelief:
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ
"Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills." (Al-Qasas: 56)?
Did he ﷺ not say to his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): "O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me for whatever you want of my wealth, for I can avail you nothing against Allah." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)?
Did his Lord not say to him:
أَفَمَنْ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ كَلِمَةُ الْعَذَابِ أَفَأَنْتَ تُنْقِذُ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ
"Then, is one who has deserved the decree of punishment [to be guided]? Then, can you save one who is in the Fire?" (Az-Zumar: 19)?
One day, a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "What Allah wills and what you will." The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Have you made me equal to Allah? Rather, [say]: What Allah wills alone." (Narrated by Ahmad).
The Prophet ﷺ used to warn his Ummah against exaggerating in praising him. He once said from the pulpit: "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary. Verily, I am only a servant, so say: 'The servant of Allah and His Messenger.'" (Narrated by Al-Bukhari).
A man once came to him and said: "O Muhammad, O our best and son of our best, O our leader and son of our leader." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Say what you need to say, but do not let the devil tempt you. I am Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger. I do not like for you to raise me above the position that Allah has assigned to me." (Narrated by Ahmad).
Did he ﷺ not say: "O people, do not elevate me beyond my status, for Allah made me His servant before making me His Prophet"? (Narrated by Al-Hakim).
He was the most rational of people and the most sound in judgment, yet he would consult his companions and even his wives, and he would accept their opinions in worldly matters. Where is this noble character in comparison to those who falsely claim sanctity and deceive others?
May Allah bless me and you with the Qur'an and benefit us with its verses and wise remembrance. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise be to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet, those who disbelieve equate others with their Lord. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah exalt and send peace to him, his family, and his companions. To proceed:
O servants of Allah!
One of the most dangerous paths of falsehood is exaggerating the status of righteous scholars, so how much worse is the exaggeration regarding the ignorant and the lowly? Indeed, the origin of shirk in the world was due to the excessive reverence for righteous people. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr were the names of righteous men from the people of Noah. When they died, Satan whispered to their people to set up statues in their meeting places and name them after these men. They did so, but they were not worshipped until the knowledge was forgotten, and then they were worshipped.” Narrated by Al-Bukhari.
This is why the Prophet ﷺ prohibited any form of exaggeration in religion. He said: “Beware of exaggeration in religion, for those who came before you were destroyed because of exaggeration in religion.” Narrated by Ahmad.
The most dangerous form of exaggeration is that which involves righteous people. This is the practice of the worst of creation, those who are cursed and misguided. Umm Habibah and Umm Salamah mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ a church they saw in Abyssinia that had pictures. He ﷺ said: “Indeed, when a righteous man among them would die, they would build a mosque over his grave and place those images in it. They are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah on the Day of Judgment.” Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Do not think that this will not happen today, for the Prophet ﷺ foretold that it would occur after him. He said: “The Hour will not be established until tribes from my Ummah join the polytheists, and until tribes from my Ummah worship idols.” Narrated by Abu Dawud.
Indeed, this has occurred in our times, when ignorant individuals have assumed positions of leadership, and deceitful turbans have risen, claiming sainthood and special spiritual powers. They have gathered around them the foolish masses, spinning lies and fantasies. They present a religion to the wealthy that carries no responsibilities, consuming the wealth of the people unlawfully. They claim to be “helpers” and “poles,” and there are impostors who give “permission” for acts of remembrance. But in truth, they are devils in human disguise.
O servants of Allah!
The path is clear, and the truth is radiant like the day, while falsehood is bound to perish, apparent to all except those who prefer blindness over sight. Allah says:
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
“Who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And who arranges [every] matter? They will say, ‘Allah.’ So will you not fear Him?” (Yunus: 31).
O Allah, we seek refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and we seek Your forgiveness for what we do not know.
O Allah, give victory to Islam and strengthen the Muslims. Destroy the criminal Jews. O Allah, bring tranquility to the hearts of those striving in Your path, and save Your oppressed servants. Raise high the banner of Your religion, O Almighty, O Strong.
O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and are pleased with, and direct him to righteousness and piety.
Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
