ICICE AL-NOOR MASJID KHUTBAH FOR FRIDAY 17/5/2019

THE REPERCUSSION OF SINS

All praise is due to Allah the glorious, the knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the One and Only and the prevailing, his Knowledge overshadows everything and he has made for everything a cause, “and everything with him is by due measure”. I praise him the exalted and thank him upon his bounties, I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him alone who has no partner, and I bear witness that our master Muhammad is his servant and messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, his household, his companions and those who follow their path till the last day.

O servants of Allah fear Allah, fear your lord, fear the one who knows your secrets and what you make public, fear him through pious deeds and abstaining from evil ones.

Indeed, Allah had arranged causes for all things, he has set for everything a cause such that they happen when the causes exist or fade away when there are none. Allah the exalted has the absolute ability and blessings that cover all, but he has made this Dunya to be a home of examination, trials and test… “[It is he] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed” [67:02].

Allah the exalted created His servants for them to worship Him, he ordered them to obey and rely upon Him, He took charge of their provisions as well as the provisions of all creatures, He says: “And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision, and He knows its place of dwelling and place of storage. All is in a clear register.” [11:06]

O servants of Allah, indeed Allah had mentioned that the wealth of sons of Adam and their livelihood are one thing that Allah the exalted sends from above, Allah says: “And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised” [51:22] And whenever Allah wishes to reduce provisions, he withholds rain, then, the streams halt, the springs disappear and well waters run out, so trees, plants, animals become lifeless. These are indeed the most ubiquitous sources of creatures’ provisions and wealth. Allah the exalted has made depletion of fruit-yields and reduced rainfalls to be caused by -among other causes- the sins of sons of Adam; the sins of those who know very well that Allah is their creator and sustainer, but despite that, they don’t thank him for these blessings, they forgot their lord and followed their whims, they transgressed against the divine commands and decrees while Allah had promised that he will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves, if they stay steadfast, he stabilizes their condition and if they deny his favors, he changes against them.

Verily, Allah the exalted has warned about the repercussions of sins, he categorically mentioned that there isn’t any corruption that happens on earth except that the cause of that is sins, and no tribulation befalls, except that the cause of it is committing evil and sins. Allah says: “Corruption has appeared throughout the land and the sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned” [30:41] and he says: “And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.” [07:96]

Some scholars said: You are the ones causing delays of rainfall, and Allah tactically delays his punishment. Indeed Allah the exalted had punished previous nations because of their perpetual indulgence in their transgression and sins, so also, for falsifying the messages of their messengers, these are the stories of the Quran recited for you or you recite yourselves and these are the repercussions of sins that you read and know, what is it that befell the people of Noah (AS) when they disobeyed and continued on their denial? Didn’t they experience a widespread drowning, and none of them escaped from it except those that believed among them? Similarly, the nation of Aad got their share when they disdained and transgressed in the face of their lord’s command, Allah says: “And as for ‘Aad, they were destroyed by a screaming, violent wind Which Allah imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so you would see the people therein fallen as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees.” [69:6-7]

These are Thamud, when they disobeyed the command of their lord and trespassed the boundary demarcated by Allah with regards to his camel that he made to be a sign for them, a blast was sent to them that disintegrated their hearts within their chests. These are the people of Shuaib when they used to decrease from the measure and the scale, then denied the messenger of Allah, “So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.” [07:78]

The people of Lot when they committed the ugly obscenity and denied their messenger, Allah sent Jibril, he uprooted their land and homes, he raised them to the space then turned them upside down towards the ground to be buried in their rubbles, then they were followed with stones, they were all destroyed, except Lot and the believers that were with him.

Is there no warning in this O servants of Allah! Are these not the biggest signs! And these punishments are not far away from the transgressors of this era and time. Allah says: “So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.” [29:40]

O servants of Allah! Return to your Lord, repent to him, abstain from what you are in of sins before you get seized. Is it not time for every one of us to assess himself and fear his sins and their consequences? Indeed lusts have captured us, so also the love of this worldly life and amassing wealth alongside competitiveness in that, a lot have forgotten Allah their creator and have forgotten the hereafter. Is usury not widespread? Is trust not being destroyed? Are the prayers not being taken for granted while they are the most important aspect of Islam? Where is Islam from the one who doesn’t pray, who is not afraid of committing what Allah forbids and who is not fearful of the punishment of Allah? Our matter is wonderous; we shamelessly expect rainfall and wish for success while we don’t care about warnings, we confront Allah with sins, we fight him by committing what he forbade, are we doubtful of Allah’s capability? Or is it that a long period of sins and transgression has passed over us, so the hearts have become hardened? Beware of the ascendancy of the Almighty o servants, indeed, his seizure is painful and severe.

Finally, Allah says: And said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.” [71:10-12]