الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي ملّك أرضَه أمما ودولا، وأملى لهم مدة ثم عزلهم عنها عزلا، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدّى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

 

It is now 2010 - a nice round number and a perfect time to sum up the situation in which we - that is to say the Muslim umma - find ourselves. This past decade has been a time of great upheaval and unprecedented levels of human greed and atrocity. It has been a period in which the self-styled masters of the world and defenders of all of that is right and decent, the USA and her banking allies, have seemingly enjoyed unprecedented levels of power and influence, occupying whatever countries they please and stealing money, wealth and commodities from whomsoever they desire, even from their own peoples. Even at this very moment, we find them contemplating invading yet another country and bringing down death, misery and poverty upon its populace. But the truth of the matter is that their unfettered imperialism has had consequences that they, in their arrogance and sense of invincibility, did not foresee. The irony is that it is they, and not the victims of their aggressive foreign policy, that today find themselves on the brink of collapse. They have overreached themselves - their imperialism and siphoning of funds away from their own peoples to fuel their desperate struggle for control of the world’s commodities has led them to the brink of utter social disintegration. ‘Human rights’, their buzzword of the last century, is slowly being swept under the carpet in favour of ‘security’, and the police are more and more being used as an oppressive tool rather than as a service to the community. 

The startling events of the past two years have shown the fragility of the hegemony of the oligarchy of the money men and their political servants - for all their talk of about the ‘failed states’ of Syria, Sudan, Somalia or Yemen, it is their own states that are failing, crippled and brought to their knees by excessive levels of debt! In Europe, two obvious examples - Iceland where the government was overthrown by furious mobs and Greece where we witnessed weeks of bloody violence against the banks. And in America where their national debt has gone over $1.4 Trillion, with the interest alone on that debt representing more than 40 cents of every dollar paid in taxes, where 1 in 8 have not got enough money to even feed themselves and so rely on food stamps and handouts, and where thousands are being made homeless everyday as their homes are repossessed by greedy bankers who continue to line their own pockets while civil society collapses around them. And, all the while, their puppet-like politicians continue to pump more and more dollars into their ill-advised ventures into the quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan, blind to the fact that far from underlining their world hegemony, these campaigns have totally undermined it. The point of no return has been reached - their arrogance and sense of invincibility has been their downfall. They called themselves the sole super power, and failed to heed that there is no power and no strength except by Allah. Like those who came before them, they failed to heed the lessons of history. If they were but to have followed the Quranic injunction to look at those who came before them, for Allah says:

 

أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ

 

the translation of which is, “Have they not travelled about the earth and seen the final fate of those before them?” If they were to have looked, they would have seen that:

 

دَمَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ أَمْثَالُهَا

 

the translation of which is, “Allah destroyed them utterly. And those who are kafir will suffer the same fate.” For destruction is, and always has been, the fate of every people who obtain great temporal power or wealth and forget where it came from. Take ‘Ad, for example, the people of the Prophet Hud, who were so powerful that nothing on earth could stand in their way. Allah says:

 

فَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَقَالُوا مَنْ أَشَدُّ مِنَّا قُوَّةً أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُمْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَكَانُوا بِآَيَاتِنَا يَجْحَدُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “‘Ad were arrogant in the land, without any right, saying, ‘Who has greater strength than us?’ Did they not see that Allah, who created them, had greater strength than them? But they renounced Our Signs.” They thought they were too big and too powerful to fall and were blinded by their arrogance. They thought they could do as they wished and that their power would last forever. How wrong they were!

 

فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا صَرْصَرًا فِي أَيَّامٍ نَحِسَاتٍ لِنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَعَذَابُ الْآَخِرَةِ أَخْزَى وَهُمْ لَا يُنْصَرُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “So We sent a howling wind against them on disastrous ill-fated days to make them taste the punishment of degradation in the dunya. And the punishment of the akhira is even more degrading. And they will not be helped.” 

Or take Pharaoh, whose arrogance led him to set himself up as an equal to Allah. Allah says:

وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي

 

the translation of which is, “Pharaoh said, ‘Council, I do not know of any other god for you apart from Me.’” He was blinded by the trappings of power that surrounded him and so:

وَاسْتَكْبَرَ هُوَ وَجُنُودُهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا يُرْجَعُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “He and his troops were arrogant in the land without any right, thinking they would not return to Us.” He failed to pay heed to the warnings of the Prophet Musa, and so his fate was sealed:

 

فَأَخَذْنَاهُ وَجُنُودَهُ فَنَبَذْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الظَّالِمِينَ 

 

the translation of which is, “So We seized him and his troops and flung them into the sea. See the final fate of the wrongdoers!”

Or take Qarun to whom Allah granted such wealth that a large party of men would struggle to even lift the keys to his treasure houses. But he neglected to use it for good and instead used it to spread corruption on the earth, thinking it was his to do with as he saw fit:

 

قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا

 

the translation of which is, “He said, ‘I have only been given it because of knowledge I have. Did he not know that before him Allah had destroyed generations with far greater strength than his and far more possessions?” But he failed to pay heed and continued to strut arrogantly about the earth, and so shared the fate of those who came before.

 

فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِ وَبِدَارِهِ الْأَرْضَ فَمَا كَانَ لَهُ مِنْ فِئَةٍ يَنْصُرُونَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُنْتَصِرِينَ

 

the translation of which is, “We caused the earth to swallow up both him and his house. There was no group to come to his aid, besides Allah, and he was not someone who is helped.”

Wealth, like power, is only borrowed from Allah, and He lends it to man on condition that he use it well and does not use it to spread corruption on the earth. If he does, then it is only a matter of time until He strips it away from him, as the US is now learning, and lends it to others - those who who acknowledge la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah and that the entire affair belongs to Him. Those who see that with power comes responsibility - the Muslim umma. The Muslim umma, which has been asleep for almost a century, is reawakening. Life and light is returning to the great metropolises of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Indonesia. The fallen pillar of zakat is being re-established, gold and silver are being minted, and with them true leadership has returned. The nasr - the help - of Allah is close at hand.

 

أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله العظيم لي و لكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو التوّابُ الرَّحيمالحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله أن لا إله إلا الله وليُّ الصالحين، والعاقبة للمتقين، ولا عدوانَ إلا على الظالمين، والصلاةُ والسلام الأتِمَّانِ الأَكملَانِ على أشرفِ الأنبياءِ وإمامِ المرسلين، وعلى آله وصحابتِهِ أجمعين، والتابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

قال الله تعالى في كتابه العزيز: “وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا.”

 

Allah says in His Mighty Book, the translation of which is, “Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate.”

Muslims, here in Cape Town, we have been extraordinarily blessed, for this is the only city outside the Muslim world with a defined indigenous Muslim culture, developed over centuries, and a proliferation of mosques, awliya and karamat. Indeed, the adhan can be heard in almost every corner of this great city. Allah has placed us in a place and environment where all the means for establishing the deen are at our fingertips - people, land and wealth. All we must do is forget our differences - for they are but a mercy - and unite. We are part of a single umma, whether we are Shafiis or Malikis, Arabs or non-Arabs, black or white. We are all brothers in Islam. Allah says:

 

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

 

the translation of which is, “The muminun are brothers, so make peace between your brothers and have taqwa of Allah so that hopefully you will gain mercy.” We must act mercifully to one another and counsel each other to restore the true deen and to have patience, for Allah has described the believers as those who are ruhama baynahum - merciful among themselves, and those who tawaasaw bi-l-haqq wa tawaasaw b-s-sabr - bid each other to the truth and bid each other to steadfastness. And the Prophet has said,

 

إن الله تعالى يقول: حقت محبتي للذين يتزاورون من أجلي وحقت محبتي للذين يتحابون من أجلي وحقت محبتي للذين يتباذلون من أجلي وحقت محبتي للذين يتناصرون من أجلي

 

“Allah says, ‘My love for those who visit one another for My sake is true; My love for those who love one another for My sake is true; My love for those who exchange gifts with one another for My sake is true; and My love for those who help one another for My sake is true.’”

We are all brothers here and so we must help one another and educate one another. We must  remind one another and call one another to the full establishment of the deen. We must re-establish guilds and markets to empower those who have no work or find themselves under the thumb of unjust employers. We must mint gold and silver to allow us to emerge from under the yoke of usury. We must re-implement zakat to purify our wealth and help out those who are poor and destitute and have absolutely nothing. We must appoint amirs and qadis to act as intermediaries between the people and resolve their disputes. We, the Muslims of the Cape, must become a model and inspiration for the Muslims of the whole world and come to play a pivotal role in the victory of Allah’s deen over the forces of kufr, thereby gaining the highest possible reward in both this world and the Next. The size, diversity, maturity and cohesion of the community here make us uniquely placed to do this. 

But a word of warning. Allah says:

 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ

 

the translation of which is, “As for those who divide up their deen and form into sects (are shiya’a) You have nothing whatsoever to do with them.” There are those who have cut themselves away from us and slandered the Companions of our Messenger whom we revere, and yet still tell us to our faces they are with us, and indeed position themselves as spokesmen for the entire Muslim umma. We cannot accept this. These people do not represent us, as is clear from the practices they engage in on the day of ‘Ashura.

My father related to me the story of a shi’a mosque he visited in London. He arrived to find the mosque in pitch blackness, all the lights switched off - he could see nothing and all he could hear were bumping and slapping noises. Then the lights were switched on and he saw that it was hundreds of people flagellating and beating themselves. He told me that it was one of the most disconcerting moments of his life and one of the oddest and most unpleasant sounds he had ever had the displeasure to hear. This is a defining practice of the Shi’a sect and is their way of mourning the death of Imam al-Hussain who was martyred at Qarbalah. But the practice flies in the face of common sense and the principles of the Deen. First, as Jalaludeen ar-Rumi mentioned, the martyrdom of Hussain should be a cause of joy and an eid, for it is the day upon which he went to see his Lord. When the Prophets and men of Allah die, there is good in it for themselves and the entire Muslim umma, as the Prophet said, speaking about his own life,

حياتي خيرٌ لكم وموتي خيرٌ لكم

 

“My life is a blessing for you and my death is a blessing for you,”

It is not the practice of the Muslim umma to commemorate death - we do not commemorate the death of the Prophet nor that of his Companions who were martyred such as ‘Umar, ‘Uthman or ‘Ali. We commemorate victory and life, not death, tragedy and defeat.

Furthermore, the practice of self-flagellation is one that contradicts one of the most basic principles of the deen, found in a famous hadith of the Messenger of Allah transmitted by Imam Malik in his Muwatta and Ibn Majah in his Sunan,

لا ضرر ولا ضرار 

 

“There must be no harm and no harming.” In other words, one should not inflict harm upon oneself or upon others. Clearly, beating oneself is inflicting harm upon oneself and is thus forbidden. 

The human body is a trust - it is on loan to us and ultimately belongs to Allah. It will either be a witness for us or against us on the day of Rising, depending on how we treat it. It is an enormous blessing from Allah and it would be the height of kufr - ingratitude - to maltreat it. That is not the act of the ‘aqil - the man of intellect - and that is not the act of the ‘abdun shakur - the grateful slave. Our deen is clear and that is not part of it, so beware of those who make it part of their deen. Hold firm to the rope of Allah and do not separate. And remember the blessings of your Lord who placed you in this place, and surrounded you with brothers and sisters, believing in Allah and His Messenger and desiring to see the victory of His Deen.

 

إنَّ اللهَ ومَلائِكَتَهُ يُصلُّونَ على النَّبِي يَا أَيُها الذينَ آمنوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وسَلِّمُوا تَسْليماً. اللهمَّ صَلِّ وسَلِّم وبارِك عَلَيْهِ وعلى آلِهِ وصَحْبِهِ أجمعين. 

وارض اللهم عن الخلفاء الراشدين أبي بكرٍ وعمرَ وعثمانَ وعلي ، وعن سائر الصحابة أجمعين، خصوصا الأنصارَ منهم والمهاجرين، وعن التابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

اللهم اهد ولاة أمور المسلمين لما يرضيك ولاتباع سنة نبيك صلى الله عليه وسلم  وثبت أقدامهم على الصراط المستقيم وأصلحهم يا رب العالمين.

اللهم بارك على شيخنا، و على أميرنا، وعلى جميع أمراءِ وزعماء المسلمين.  

اللهم بارك على المسلمين في هذه المدينة ووفقهم لما تحبه وترضاه يا أكرم الأكرمين. 

اللهمّ أَعِزَّ الْلإسلامَ والمُسِلمينَ (3)  واَخْذُلِ الكُفْرَ والكافِرينَ، وانْصُرِ المُجاهِدينَ في سَبِيلِ اللهِ. واجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وكَلِمَةَ الكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلى.

ربنا ءاتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الأخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار. 

اللهم لا تضعْ في مقامِنا هذا ذنبا إلا غفرْتَه، ولا عيبا إلا سترْتَه، ولا مريضا إلا شفيتَهُ وعافيتَه، ولا مسجونا إلا طلَّقْتَ سراحَه، ولا مسافرا في برِّك وبحرِك إلا سلِمتَهُ وغنِمْتَه.

إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عَنِ الفحشاءِ والمُنكَرِ والبغي، يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون، ولَذِكْرُ اللهِ أكبر والله يَعْلَمُ ما تَصْنَعُون. وقُومُوا إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يرحمكم الله