Friday Sermon : Allah conceals 3 matters within 3 matters

 

Dear friends at The Islam Corner, for those of you who are in search of Friday sermon texts, may this post be beneficial to you. In the following paragraphs, you will find insightful and inspiring words that can guide and uplift you during this blessed day of congregation. May you find enlightenment and spiritual nourishment as you delve into the profound messages conveyed in these Friday sermons.

Friday Sermon : Allah conceals 3 matters within 3 matters

Sermon I

الحَمْدُ للهِ اْلحَمْدُ للهِ الّذي هَدَانَا سُبُلَ السّلاَمِ، وَأَفْهَمَنَا بِشَرِيْعَةِ النَّبِيّ الكَريمِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا اِلَهَ إِلَّا الله وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيك لَه، ذُو اْلجَلالِ وَالإكْرام، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنّ سَيِّدَنَا وَنَبِيَّنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ رَسولُه، اللّهُمَّ صَلِّ و سَلِّمْ وَبارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنا مُحَمّدٍ وَعَلَى الِه وَأصْحابِهِ وَالتَّابِعينَ بِإحْسانِ إلَى يَوْمِ الدِّين، أَمَّا بَعْدُ: فَيَاأيُّهَا الإِخْوَان، أوْصُيْكُمْ وَ نَفْسِيْ بِتَقْوَى اللهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُوْنْ، قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالىَ فِي اْلقُرْانِ اْلكَرِيمْ: أَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الَّشيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْم، بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيْمْ: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا الله وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا، يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ الله وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا وقال تعالى يَا اَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا اتَّقُوْا اللهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوْتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُوْنَ صَدَقَ اللهُ العَظِيمْ 

To begin this blessed sermon on this day, the preacher advises all of us to increase our God-consciousness (taqwa) towards Allah SWT by consistently striving to fulfill our obligations and abstain from all prohibitions.

Dear Friday congregation, in this life, there are matters that are clearly visible, allowing everyone to easily respond to them. Likewise, there are hidden matters that are not easily discernible. If Allah conceals something, surely there is a specific purpose behind it, though the objective remains clear. According to Ali Zainal Abidin bin Husein (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), Allah conceals three matters within three matters, as quoted by Allamah Sayyid Abdullah bin Alawi al-Haddad in his book Al-Fushul al-‘Ilmiyyah wal Ushul al-Hikamiyyah, as follows:

وَقَالَ زَيْنُ اْلعَابِدِيْن عَلِيُّ ابْنُ اْلحُسَيْنِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا: إنَّ اللهَ خَبَّأَ ثَلَاثًا فِى ثَلَاثٍ : خَبَّأَ رِضَاهُ فِيْ طَاعَتِهِ فَلَاتَحْقِرُوا مِنْ طَاعَتِهِ شَيْئاً فَلَعَلَّ رِضَاهُ فِيْهِ، وَخَبَّأَ سُخْطَهُ فِيْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ فَلَا تَحْقِرُوْا مِنْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ شَيْئًا فَلَعَلَّ سُخْطَهَ فِيْهِ، وَخَبّأَ وِلَايَتَه فِي خَلْقِه فَلَا تَحقِرُوْا مِن عِبَادِهِ اَحدًا فَلَعَلهُ وَلِيُّ اللهِ 

Ali Zainal Abidin (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said, "Allah SWT conceals three matters within three matters. Allah conceals His pleasure within acts of obedience, so do not underestimate any act of obedience to Him, as it may hold the key to His pleasure. Allah conceals His wrath within acts of disobedience, so do not underestimate any act of disobedience to Him, as it may incur His wrath. Allah conceals His righteous servants among His creation, so do not underestimate any of His servants, as they may be His chosen allies." (Refer to Al-Fushul al-‘Ilmiyyah wal Ushul al-Hikamiyyah, Dar Al-Hawi, 2nd edition, 1998, page 153).

From the above quotation, the following can be elucidated: Firstly, Allah conceals His pleasure within acts of obedience. There are numerous commandments of Allah, and perhaps we have performed many of them. However, we do not know which of our acts of obedience have obtained His pleasure, as Allah does not reveal His pleasure over these actions to His servants. This is intended to prevent His servants from becoming complacent and wasting opportunities to engage in other acts of goodness. Therefore, we must not underestimate any righteous deed, whether it is significant or minor, whether it is popular or not, whenever we have the opportunity to perform it. It is possible that Allah may grant His pleasure for an action that most people consider insignificant.

In this context, there is a significant story that serves as a reference—a captivating dream of Imam al-Ghazali, which illustrates how he entered Paradise due to a seemingly trivial act of goodness. The story goes as follows:

رُؤيَ الغَزَالِيُّ فِى النَّوْمِ فَقِيْلَ لَهُ: مَا فَعَلَ اللهُ بِكَ؟، فَقَالَ أَوْقَفَنِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، وَقَالَ لِي: بِمَ قَدَّمْتَ عَلَيَّ؟، فَصَرْتُ أذْكُرُ أَعْمَالِيْ، فَقَالَ: لِمَ أَقْبَلُهَا، وَإِنَّمَا قَبِلْتُ مِنْكَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ نَزَلَتْ ذُبَابَةٌ عَلَى مِدَادِ  قَلَمِكَ لِتَشْرَبَ مِنْهُ وَأَنْتَ تَكْتُبُ فَتَرَكْتَ اْلكِتَابَةَ حَتَّى أَخَذَتْ حَظَّهَا رَحْمَةً بِهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: اَمْضُوْا بِعَبْدِيْ إِلَى اْلجَنَّةِ

In that dream, Imam al-Ghazali was asked by someone, "How does Allah treat you?" He replied, "Allah SWT brought me before Him, and then Allah said to me, 'Why did I bring you to My presence?' I mentioned various deeds that I had done. He said, 'We do not accept those. What We accept from you is that one day a fly landed on the inkwell you were using to write, and while you were writing, you stopped until the fly finished drinking from it. You did that out of mercy for the fly.' Then Allah commanded, 'Bring this servant of Mine to Paradise.'" (Refer to Muhammad Nawawi bin Umar al-Jawi, Nashaihul 'Ibad [Surabaya: Nurul Huda, no year], page 3).

So, the story above tells us that Hujjatul Islam Imam al-Ghazali entered Paradise not because of the numerous books he wrote, but because he allowed a fly to enter the inkwell he used to write those books. The fly intended to drink because it was thirsty, and after satisfying itself, it flew away from Imam al-Ghazali.

Dear Friday congregation, secondly, Allah conceals His wrath over the sinful actions committed by His servants and does not immediately inflict punishment or torment upon those who commit sins. Every act of disobedience incurs Allah's wrath towards its perpetrator, but Allah does not openly display His wrath that can be directly felt by the sinner. Therefore, we should not underestimate any sins we have committed, no matter how minor they may seem, as Allah may be greatly displeased with those sins. This is to prevent us from taking them lightly, especially when one sin is followed by further sins that only increase Allah's anger. The essence is that every sin should be of concern to us, as it is possible that Allah is greatly angered by that sin. Hence, we are encouraged to seek forgiveness abundantly through increased istighfar, so that Allah may forgive the sins we have committed, accompanied by remorse and repentance.

Dear Friday congregation, thirdly, Allah conceals His righteous servants among His creation. This is meant to prevent us from underestimating any of His servants, as they may be His chosen allies (waliyullah). In other words, we do not need to dig into whether someone is a waliyullah or not, especially if such efforts will only lead us to belittle that person once we believe they are not a wali. Instead, when Allah intentionally keeps His allies hidden from His servants, we should have the conviction to respect every individual, as they deserve respect due to their humanity. Allah Himself honors them, as mentioned in the Qur'an as follows:

وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا 

"Indeed, We have honored the children of Adam and carried them on land and sea and provided for them from the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference." (Quran 17:70)

Furthermore, in order to prevent us from easily belittling others and instead be motivated to respect them, we need to believe that every person has their own strengths and virtues. This approach ensures our safety from underestimating others. There is an Arabic proverb that states:

  لَا تَحْتَقِرْ مَنْ دُوْنَكَ لِكُلِّ شَيْئٍ مَزِيَّةٌ.  

"Do not belittle others, for everyone (or everything) has their own strengths (that we may not possess)."

This proverb is in line with the saying of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran, which states:

  يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِنْهُنَّ

"O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them. Nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers." (Quran 49:11)

Dear Friday congregation, once again, Allah deliberately conceals three matters within three matters, as mentioned above, so that humanity may exercise caution and fairness towards themselves and others. All of this is for our own good, both in this world and the hereafter.

وَالْعَصْرِ (١) إِنَّ الإنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ (٢) إِلا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ (٣

1. "By time."

2. "Indeed, mankind is in loss,"

3. "Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and advise each other to truth, and advise each other to patience."

بَارَكَ اللهُ لِيْ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيْمِ . وَنَفَعَنِيْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِاْلآيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيْمِ . وَتَقَبَلَّ اللَّهُ مِنِّيْ وَمِنْكُمْ تِلاَوَتَهُ . إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْمُ . وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِيْنَ . وَاسْتَغْفِرُوْهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ

Sermon II

الحمد للهِ عَلىَ إِحْسَانِهِ وَالشُّكْرُ لَهُ عَلىَ تَوْفِيْقِهِ وَاِمْتِنَانِهِ. وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ اِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَاللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أنَّ سَيِّدَنَا مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ الدَّاعِى إلىَ رِضْوَانِهِ. اللهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وِعَلَى اَلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كِثيْرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَياَ اَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اِتَّقُوا اللهَ فِيْمَا أَمَرَ وَانْتَهُوْا عَمَّا نَهَى وَاعْلَمُوْا أَنَّ اللهَ أَمَرَكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ بَدَأَ فِيْهِ بِنَفْسِهِ وَثَـنَى بِمَلآ ئِكَتِهِ بِقُدْسِهِ وَقَالَ تَعاَلَى إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلآئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّوْنَ عَلىَ النَّبِى يآ اَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا. اللهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمْ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِناَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى اَنْبِيآئِكَ وَرُسُلِكَ وَمَلآئِكَةِ اْلمُقَرَّبِيْنَ وَارْضَ اللّهُمَّ عَنِ اْلخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِيْنَ أَبِى بَكْرٍ وَعُمَر وَعُثْمَان وَعَلِى وَعَنْ بَقِيَّةِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِيْنَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِيْنَ لَهُمْ بِاِحْسَانٍ اِلَىيَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ وَارْضَ عَنَّا مَعَهُمْ بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِيْنَ

اَللهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ وَاْلمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَاْلمُسْلِمِيْنَ وَاْلمُسْلِمَاتِ اَلاَحْيآءُ مِنْهُمْ وَاْلاَمْوَاتِ اللهُمَّ أَعِزَّ اْلإِسْلاَمَ وَاْلمُسْلِمِيْنَ وَأَذِلَّ الشِّرْكَ وَاْلمُشْرِكِيْنَ وَانْصُرْ عِبَادَكَ اْلمُوَحِّدِيَّةَ وَانْصُرْ مَنْ نَصَرَ الدِّيْنَ وَاخْذُلْ مَنْ خَذَلَ اْلمُسْلِمِيْنَ وَ دَمِّرْ أَعْدَاءَ الدِّيْنِ وَاعْلِ كَلِمَاتِكَ إِلَى يَوْمَ الدِّيْنِ. اللهُمَّ ادْفَعْ عَنَّا اْلبَلاَءَ وَاْلوَبَاءَ وَالزَّلاَزِلَ وَاْلمِحَنَ وَسُوْءَ اْلفِتْنَةِ وَاْلمِحَنَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ عَنْ بَلَدِنَا اِنْدُونِيْسِيَّا خآصَّةً وَسَائِرِ اْلبُلْدَانِ اْلمُسْلِمِيْنَ عآمَّةً يَا رَبَّ اْلعَالَمِيْنَ. رَبَّنَا آتِناَ فِى الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى اْلآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. عِبَادَاللهِ ! إِنَّ اللهَ يَأْمُرُنَا بِاْلعَدْلِ وَاْلإِحْسَانِ وَإِيْتآءِ ذِي اْلقُرْبىَ وَيَنْهَى عَنِ اْلفَحْشآءِ وَاْلمُنْكَرِ وَاْلبَغْي يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُوْنَ وَاذْكُرُوا اللهَ اْلعَظِيْمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوْهُ عَلىَ نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرْ

In conclusion, may these Friday sermon texts serve as a source of guidance, reflection, and inspiration for all readers. Let us embrace the teachings and lessons shared within these sermons, striving to increase our faith, perform righteous deeds, and encourage one another towards truth and patience. May these words resonate in our hearts and lead us to a path of spiritual growth and closeness to Allah. May our Friday gatherings be filled with blessings, unity, and a renewed commitment to live a life aligned with the teachings of Islam.

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