Title of the sermon: The Embellishment of Speech (Terms and the Distortion of Awareness)
Elements of the sermon:
1. Embellishment: Deceptive camouflage.
2. Various forms of embellished speech.
3. How are minds occupied?
4. Knowledge of the revelation and acting upon it as the path to salvation.
All praise be to Allah, who sent His Messenger with guidance and light, and made His Book a criterion between truth and falsehood. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner, a testimony we hope to meet Him with on the Day of Resurrection. I also bear witness that Muhammad is the servant and Messenger of Allah, who fulfilled the trust, conveyed the message, and strove against the people of disbelief and wickedness with the truth. May Allah exalt and send peace to him, his family, and his companions abundantly.
As for what follows, fear Allah, O servants of Allah, as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in secret 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" [Aal-Imran: 102].
O servants of Allah:
Haven't you heard about the "Tree of Eternity"?
Allah granted Adam (peace be upon him) and his wife the blessing of residing in Paradise, allowing them all its pleasures except for one tree, from which they were prohibited, so they would not become among the wrongdoers. Satan approached Adam, whispering to him to disobey his Lord and to bring him out from the abode of bliss into a world of hardship. How did Satan manage to embolden Adam to disobey?
Satan needed to beautify the matter, to adorn it in a way that concealed its reality, and to describe it as something it was not. He chose a dazzling name, saying:
يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَا يَبْلَى
"O Adam, shall I direct you to the Tree of Eternity and a kingdom that will never decay?" [Taha: 120].
Who wouldn't love eternity? Who would despise an everlasting kingdom? The result, as Allah says, was:
فَأَكَلَا مِنْهَا فَبَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِنْ وَرَقِ الْجَنَّةِ وَعَصَى آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوَى
"So they both ate of it, and their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred" [Taha: 121].
Satan summarized his mission to lead people astray when he said:
لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
"I will surely beautify for them [evil] on the earth, and I will mislead them all" [Al-Hijr: 39].
This is the essence of deception: enchanting words, misleading appearances, disguising truth with falsehood, flipping concepts, distorting terms, falsifying reality, and poisoning minds.
Allah has created humans with an innate love for truth and hatred for falsehood. But for Satan and his human allies to mislead people, they must first occupy their minds and then reshape reality until the picture becomes blurred and the light is extinguished. This leads the heart to see truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, in a way that prevents one from abandoning the false and pursuing the true. Allah says:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا
"And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy—devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion" [Al-An'am: 112].
Zukhruf (decorative speech): beautifying falsehood and tarnishing truth with enchanting words and deceitful appearances.
In the embellishment of speech, falsehood is adorned,
While truth may suffer from poor expression, forlorn.
Did not Pharaoh stand before his people, speaking like a reformer, expressing concern for them against corruptors, justifying the killing of Moses (peace be upon him) by saying:
ذَرُونِي أَقْتُلْ مُوسَى وَلْيَدْعُ رَبَّهُ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ يُبَدِّلَ دِينَكُمْ أَوْ أَنْ يُظْهِرَ فِي الْأَرْضِ الْفَسَادَ
"Let me kill Moses and let him call upon his Lord. Indeed, I fear that he will change your religion or cause corruption in the land" [Ghafir: 26]?
Did not the pagans worship idols besides Allah, disguising their polytheism in ornate, embellished terms, claiming:
مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى
"We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position" [Az-Zumar: 3]
And:
هَؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ
"These are our intercessors with Allah" [Yunus: 18]?
Did not the deviant sects deny Allah's attributes under the pretext of 'purification'?
Did they not deny Allah's decree under the guise of 'justice' and 'freedom of will'?
Did not grave worship become widespread under the guise of venerating the family of the Prophet r and saints?
Do you know what is worse than the occupation of lands? It is the occupation of minds and the distortion of understanding.
The colonizers who, for hundreds of years, invaded Muslim lands, spreading corruption, murder, theft, and oppression, eventually met defeat in most lands, leaving in disgrace and burdened by the loss of their soldiers' lives.
But they finally discovered the key:
What if we called occupation: “the establishment of democracy and peace”?
What if we stopped referring to disbelievers as enemies of Allah and His Messenger r and instead referred to them as “friends and partners”?
What if we got them to fight their own religion, values, and morals with us, under the terms of “renewal” and “progress,” and “rejecting stagnation and backwardness”—terms that do not provoke strong emotions?
What if we called the war on Islam "the war on terrorism"?
What if we labeled cultural invasion as "enlightenment"? And apostasy from the religion as "intellectual freedom"? And atheism as "believing in science"? And the spread of immorality and indecency as "art and sophistication"?
What if we referred to homosexuality and sexual deviance as "sexual orientation"? And adultery as "freedom and romance"? And alcohol as "spirits"?
And what if we made people feel ashamed of Islamic conquests by calling them "barbaric invasions"?
What if we labeled those defending Al-Aqsa Mosque, their faith, and their honor as "terrorists and vandals," and the murderous, occupying Jews as "citizens"?
What if we called calling people to Allah and enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong as "religious coercion"?
And what if we labeled ruling by what Allah has revealed as "theocratic rule" or "political Islam"?
What if we called returning to the scholars of Shariah "the creation of a priesthood"?
And what if we redefined the purpose of man's creation as "inhabiting the world" and "building material civilization"?
This is how a dazzling, yet malicious term is created to pass falsehood through, and another repulsive term is coined to make people despise the truth.
O servants of Allah:
How does the occupation of minds occur, how are concepts changed, and how are truths obscured?
Firstly: People are made ignorant of religion, and awareness is eroded, where young people are taught only a few pages of the religion throughout their lives. These lessons may not even be mandatory or count towards their final grades. So, the young person grows up knowing very little about their Lord, religion, and Messenger ﷺ. Often, the teaching is superficial and fragile, failing to build a foundation of knowledge or the basics of sound thinking, leaving them weak and easily manipulated into believing every falsehood.
Then, secondly: Realities are distorted, the world is redefined, and new convictions are imposed, so that people see things the way the deceivers want them to. This is repeated in their ears through various means and from different angles, by paid agents and suspicious writers. It is exactly like what Pharaoh said:
مَا أُرِيكُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَرَى وَمَا أَهْدِيكُمْ إِلَّا سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ
"I do not show you except what I see, and I do not guide you except to the path of right conduct" [Ghafir: 29].
This falsification occurs in two ways: by distorting the truth and beautifying falsehood.
The first: by concealing the truth, discrediting it, labeling it with ugly names so that people turn away from it, and accusing those who call to it of every defect.
This is what criminals have always done. Every time a prophet or messenger came, they said: He is a sorcerer, madman, poet, or fabricator. They described what he brought as foolishness and misguidance, labeled Muslims as "Sabians" and fools, and called the Quran "falsehood" and "the tales of the ancients." They accused the people of truth of being worldly and of ruining the homeland. Allah said:
كَذَلِكَ مَا أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا قَالُوا سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
"Likewise, no messenger came to those before them but they said, 'A sorcerer or a madman'" [Adh-Dhariyat: 52].
And He informed us about Pharaoh and his people, saying:
إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ * يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ
"Indeed, this is a learned sorcerer. He wants to drive you out of your land, so what do you suggest?" [Al-A'raf: 109-110].
The second way to falsify: is to cloak falsehood in the guise of truth, to rename it with an attractive and charming label that people do not despise but instead seek after, even dying for it, considering it a noble and lofty cause.
O servants of Allah:
The occurrence of this falsification in the ummah is something that the truthful and trusted Prophet ﷺ warned us about. He ﷺ informed us that some people from his ummah will drink wine but under a different name. He said: "Some people from my ummah will certainly drink wine, calling it by other than its name. Musical instruments and singers will be played for them, and Allah will sink them into the earth and turn some of them into monkeys and pigs." (Reported by Ibn Majah).
It’s no wonder, for lying about our religion is one of the gravest sins, and fabricating lies about Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is among the greatest evils.
This is why Allah took a covenant from the people of knowledge to clarify the truth without concealing it or distorting it, and to expose falsehood without embellishing or polishing it. Allah says:
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ
"And [mention] when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture, [saying], 'You must make it clear to the people and not conceal it'" [Aal-Imran: 187].
And He says:
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
"And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]" [Al-Baqarah: 42].
And He warns those who fabricate lies against Allah of humiliation and loss. He says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ * مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
"Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed. [It is but] a brief enjoyment, and they will have a painful punishment" [An-Nahl: 116-117].
May Allah bless me and you with the great Quran and benefit us with its verses and wise reminders. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness, for He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions, and those who follow him.
O servants of Allah:
It is our duty to learn our religion and to teach it to our children. We are the nation of
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ
“Read in the name of your Lord” [Al-'Alaq: 1]
Thus, the first word that touched the ears of our Prophet ﷺ from the revelation of Allah was “read.”
A nation that truly learns its religion cannot be manipulated by deceivers and falsifiers.
Eradicating illiteracy, both in terms of reading and writing and in terms of religious knowledge, is a sacred duty that every guardian must pursue with sincerity and diligence.
The infallible revelation — the Quran and the authentic Sunnah — understood correctly, protects from the deceitful embellishments of false claims, for the Quran launches the projectiles of truth that destroy falsehood. Allah says:
بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ
“Rather, We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it destroys it, and there it departs” [Al-Anbiya: 18].
Thus, the revelation — the Quran and the Sunnah — remains and will remain a protection from misguidance, no matter how hard they try to turn people away from it. Allah, the Exalted, says:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ
“And those who disbelieve say, 'Do not listen to this Quran and speak noisily during [the recitation of] it that perhaps you will overcome'” [Fussilat: 26].
Meaning: cause distraction during its recitation, mix it with falsehood, and label it with vile terms. The goal is to prevent people from accessing the infallible revelation.
Allah warned us against a deceptive word that the Jews played with. He says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقُولُوا رَاعِنَا وَقُولُوا انْظُرْنَا
“O you who believe, do not say 'Ra'ina' but say 'Undhurna'” [Al-Baqarah: 104].
They — may Allah curse them — pretended to mean ‘care for us’ when they actually intended ‘stupidity.’ So, Allah commanded us to use a clear word that has no ambiguity, which is ‘Undhurna’ (watch over us).
Thus, adhering to the revelation includes using its infallible terms instead of embellished statements, and expressing truths with clear words. We should call disbelief by its name, immorality by its name, truth by its name, and reformers by their names.
Among the greatest obligations is preparing righteous scholars and sincere students of knowledge who fulfill their duty of clarification without deception, falsification, or concealment.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “This knowledge will be carried by trustworthy ones of every generation, removing from it the distortions of the extremists, the false claims of the liars, and the misinterpretations of the ignorant.” (Reported by Al-Bayhaqi).
O Allah, keep us firm upon Islam, grant us insight into the truth, and do not make it confused for us so that we go astray.
O Allah, deliver the oppressed believers in Gaza and everywhere, relieve the distressed among our believing brothers, and grant victory to Your monotheistic servants over the criminal Zionists.
O Allah, grant us security in our lands, and rectify our leaders and those in charge of our affairs, and make our leadership be among those who fear You, follow Your guidance, and seek Your pleasure.
Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
