Sermon's Title: Guidance Through the Qurʾān
Themes of the Sermon:
1- The Qurʾān is guidance for all people
2- What does the Qurʾān guide us to?
3- Why is the Qurʾān a source of guidance?
4- How do we seek guidance through the Qurʾān?
All praise is due to Allah, the Provider, the Possessor of strength, the Ever-Firm. He expands provision for whom He wills and restricts it as He wills. He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and His Messenger. May Allah’s peace and abundant blessings be upon him.
To proceed: Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with true God-consciousness, and be mindful of Him in private and in public. Allah the Exalted 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 in a state of Islam.” [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 3:102]
Servants of Allah,
Abū al-Dardāʾ, may Allah be pleased with him, said: We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he raised his gaze toward the sky and said: “This is a time when knowledge will be taken away from people until they are unable to grasp anything from it.” Ziyād ibn Labīd said: How can knowledge be taken away from us when we recite the Qurʾān? By Allah, we will surely recite it and teach it to our wives and our children. The Prophet ﷺ replied: “May your mother lose you, O Ziyād! I used to count you among the jurists of the people of Madinah. Here are the Torah and the Gospel with the Jews and the Christians—what benefit have they brought them?” This was reported by al-Tirmidhī.
Every day in his Ṣalāh—his formal prayer—a Muslim stands before Allah asking Him for guidance to the straight path. That is the path to which Allah guided the prophets and those who followed their way. The Jews and the Christians turned away from it, so Allah became displeased with them, and they went astray.
The People of the Book had the Torah, and then the Gospel, yet they still deviated from the straight path. Do you know why those scriptures did not benefit them?
Come, let me tell you the story of guidance. Allah the Almighty says:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ
“The month of Ramaḍān is the month in which the Qurʾān was sent down, as guidance for mankind, and as clear proofs of guidance and the criterion between truth and falsehood.” [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 185]
And the Prophet ﷺ said: “The Book of Allah contains guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and cling firmly to it.” Reported by Muslim.
Allah sent down the Qurʾān to guide His servants. But what does guidance mean?
Guidance is clear explanation, unmistakable direction, and truthful instruction that leads the one who seeks it to his intended destination.
So, what does the Qurʾān guide us to?
Among the most comprehensive statements made by the jinn about the Qurʾān—when they listened to it—is what Allah Himself related:
قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبًا * يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ وَلَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا
“Say: ‘It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said: Indeed, we have heard a wondrous Qurʾān. It guides to sound judgment and right conduct, so we have believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord.’” [Sūrat al-Jinn: 1–2]
Right conduct (al-rushd) means truth, correctness, and uprightness in everything that brings about the well-being of creation in this world and the Hereafter.
A human being without revelation is like a lost traveler in a desert battered by relentless storms, or like someone on a ship in the middle of the sea, surrounded by crashing waves. Both are searching for salvation, looking to the stars that Allah made as guides for people in their journeys, trying to trace from them a map that leads to safety.
In the same way, a human being amid the storms of human ideas and the darkness of earthly philosophies cannot find the truth without the light of protected revelation.
By his natural disposition, a person searches for his Lord: Who is He? What are His attributes? What is His right over us? Is it really possible that the true deity could be a human being, or a stone, or the sun, or the moon, or an idol?
Who am I? What is this world? Who brought me into existence? And for what purpose was I created?
What are these events that occur in the universe—life and death, good and evil, health and illness, poverty and wealth, calamities and disasters? What is the wisdom behind all of this?
A person looks at his fellow human being and wonders: How should I deal with him? What is the true standard of justice and fairness? Where is the clear line between good character and bad character?
What is pure and wholesome, and what is corrupt and harmful? What is the reward of the righteous, and what is the punishment of the criminals? Is death itself a punishment for the oppressors? And what comes after death? Is it reasonable that there would be no return and no reckoning?
In the midst of these endless questions, revelation comes with its light and provides clear, satisfying answers. There is no existential question, and no issue over which human minds have differed, except that the Qurʾān has given a clear and decisive judgment about it—free from deviation and distortion.
But why is the Qurʾān the ultimate source of guidance?
Because it is the speech of Allah, the All-Knowing, who revealed it with His perfect knowledge and explained it in detail with full awareness. There is no report or ruling in it that comes from ignorance or misguidance. Allah the Exalted says:
وَإِنَّكَ لَتُلَقَّى الْقُرْآنَ مِنْ لَدُنْ حَكِيمٍ عَلِيمٍ
“Indeed, you are receiving the Qurʾān from One who is All-Wise, All-Knowing.” [Sūrat al-Naml: 6]
And He says:
وَلَقَدْ جِئْنَاهُمْ بِكِتَابٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
“We have certainly brought them a Book which We explained in detail with knowledge—guidance and mercy for a people who believe.” [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 52]
And because Allah, the One who guides, placed within it the means of guidance. It is the clear Book, containing evident signs from Allah. He made it plain and unambiguous, with no confusion or obscurity, and He made it an explanation for everything people need in their religion, their law, and their way of life. Allah the Exalted says:
هُوَ الَّذِي يُنَزِّلُ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ آيَاتٍ بَيِّنَاتٍ لِيُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
“He is the One who sends down upon His servant clear verses, to bring you out of darkness into light.” [Sūrat al-Ḥadīd: 9]
And He says:
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ
“We have sent down to you the Book as a clear explanation of everything.” [Sūrat al-Naḥl: 89]
The Qurʾān is guidance because Allah made it a light. Whoever seeks illumination through it is brought out of darkness into light. Whenever its light shines upon any form of darkness, it exposes it, and the one who follows it can clearly see the path ahead. Allah the Exalted says:
وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنْتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِنْ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ نَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
“And in this way We revealed to you a Spirit from Our command. You did not know what the Book was, nor what faith was, but We made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, you surely guide to a straight path.” [Sūrat al-Shūrā: 52]
It is guidance because it is the Furqān—the Criterion. Allah the Exalted says:
تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا
“Blessed is the One who sent down the Furqān upon His servant, so that he may be a warner to all the worlds.” [Sūrat al-Furqān: 1]
It is a clear criterion that distinguishes between the true God and the attributes that truly belong to Him, and the false gods; between faith and disbelief; between Tawḥīd and Shirk; between truth and falsehood; between good and evil; between reform and corruption. Everything that has become confused to people finds in the Qurʾān a clear criterion that removes confusion and clarifies the matter.
The Qurʾān is guidance because it is the Wise Book. Its verses are perfected, and all of its rulings are founded upon ultimate wisdom, through which the well-being of this world and the Hereafter is achieved. Allah the Exalted says:
تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ * هُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِلْمُحْسِنِينَ
“These are the verses of the Wise Book—a guidance and a mercy for those who do good.” [Sūrat Luqmān: 2–3]
It is guidance because it is the Book of truth. Within its verses are decisive truths that strike falsehood and render it powerless. With truth it was sent down, and with truth it descended. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it nor from behind it. It is a revelation from One who is All-Wise, Most Praiseworthy. Allah the Exalted says:
وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ
“Those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, and that it guides to the path of the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.” [Sūrat Sabaʾ: 6]
But once we understand that the Qurʾān is guidance, the question remains: how does a person actually become guided through it?
Allah has made the Qurʾān guidance for all people—humans and jinn alike. Yet among people are those who truly seek the truth. When the Qurʾān reaches them, they accept it and turn toward it. They are guided by it, and Allah increases them in guidance, so they become among the rightly guided. And among them are those who encounter the Qurʾān and witness its light, yet they do not accept Allah’s guidance. They turn away from it, grow arrogant toward its guidance, and prefer blindness over guidance. Thus they go astray and become among the misguided.
That is the difference between those who go astray and those who are guided. Those who follow their desires, prefer the life of this world, and do not truly want the truth will not be guided by the light of the Qurʾān. As for those who free themselves from following desire and sincerely seek to reach the truth, Allah will guide them by the light of the Qurʾān and bring them out of darkness into light. Allah the Exalted says:
قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ * يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلَامِ وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
“There has certainly come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. By it Allah guides those who follow His pleasure to the ways of peace, brings them out of darkness into light by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.” [Sūrat al-Māʾidah: 15–16]
Everyone who turns away from revelation receives a share of misguidance in proportion to how much they turn away. They only turn away because revelation conflicts with their desires and pleasures. Allah the Exalted says:
فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ مَنْ تَوَلَّى عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا * ذَلِكَ مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اهْتَدَى
“So, turn away from whoever turns away from Our remembrance and desires nothing but the life of this world. That is the extent of their knowledge. Indeed, your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who is guided.” [Sūrat al-Najm: 29–30]
Here begins the journey of being guided by the Qurʾān—the complete and beneficial guidance.
The first step is faith in it: believing that it is the speech of Allah, and believing that it is light, the Furqān, the Wise Book, the clear signs, and the manifest truth. Allah the Exalted says:
وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَقَالُوا لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ آيَاتُهُ أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُولَئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ
“Had We made it a non-Arabic Qurʾān, they would have said, ‘Why are its verses not explained clearly? Is it non-Arabic while the messenger is Arab?’ Say: ‘For those who believe, it is guidance and healing. But for those who do not believe, there is heaviness in their ears, and it is blindness for them. Those are being called from a distant place.’” [Sūrat Fuṣṣilat: 44]
As for those to whom the Qurʾān came, yet they rejected it and turned away from it, it becomes a cause of blindness for them—despite the fact that their tools of understanding and guidance, such as hearing, sight, and sound hearts, are intact. Allah the Exalted says:
إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ الْمَوْتَى وَلَا تُسْمِعُ الصُّمَّ الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا مُدْبِرِينَ * وَمَا أَنْتَ بِهَادِي الْعُمْيِ عَنْ ضَلَالَتِهِمْ إِنْ تُسْمِعُ إِلَّا مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا فَهُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“Indeed, you cannot make the dead hear, nor can you make the deaf hear the call when they turn away retreating. And you are not a guide for the blind away from their misguidance. You can only make hear those who believe in Our signs, so they submit.” [Sūrat al-Naml: 80–81]
May Allah bless me and you through the Magnificent Qurʾān, and may He benefit me and you through its verses and its wise reminder. I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon:
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family, his companions, and all who follow his path.
Servants of Allah,
Along with faith in the Qurʾān and belief in it, holding firmly to it is essential.
Guidance is not complete except by clinging to the Qurʾān—through learning it and acting upon it, through belief and judgment—like a drowning person clinging to something in the depths of the ocean, fully certain that there is no salvation except through it. Allah the Exalted says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بُرْهَانٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ نُورًا مُبِينًا * فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاعْتَصَمُوا بِهِ فَسَيُدْخِلُهُمْ فِي رَحْمَةٍ مِنْهُ وَفَضْلٍ وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَيْهِ صِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا
“O mankind, there has come to you a clear proof from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light. As for those who believe in Allah and hold firmly to Him, He will admit them into mercy and bounty from Him and will guide them to Himself along a straight path.” [Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: 174–175]
Here is the Prophet ﷺ advising his companions on the Day of ʿArafah—and his advice is for the entire Ummah after them—when he said: “I have left among you that which, if you hold firmly to it, you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah.” Reported by Muslim.
Being guided by the Qurʾān means leaving behind the human-made systems, philosophies, and materialistic worldly theories that clash with protected revelation—the Qurʾān and the Sunnah—and then making the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ the lamp by which you find your way through the darkness of ideas and methodologies.
When you seek to reform life—social life, economic life, or political life—there is no option before you except the reformative vision of the Qurʾān. Hold firmly to it alone, and then guidance will be realized.
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor the Muslims, destroy the Zionist criminals, send down tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your path, rescue Your oppressed servants, and raise high the banner of the religion—by Your power, O All-Powerful, O Ever-Strong.
O Allah, grant us security in our lands, rectify our leaders and those entrusted with our affairs, and place authority over us in the hands of those who fear You, are mindful of You, and follow what pleases You.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Servants of Allah, remember Allah with much remembrance, and glorify Him morning and evening. And our final call is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.
