الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أحل البيع وحرّم الربا، ونهى الإنسان من اتباع الهوى، 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 وأدى 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.

قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم: وَلَوِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلْحَقُّ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ لَفَسَدَتِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ وَٱلأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ

Allah says in his Noble Quran, the translation of which is, “If the Truth were to follow their whims and desires, the heavens and the earth and everyone in them would have been brought to ruin.” 

Muslims, all of today’s problems, all of the crises that currently beset the world are down to one thing and one thing alone and that is worship of Allah has been replaced by the cult of the self. Men, in their arrogance, have come to see themselves as the masters of the universe. “What need have I of God,” they say, “when I can create laws that better serve mankind myself.” But the truth is that their laws bring nothing but misery, injustice, poverty and suffering. Allah says in surat al-Baqarah:

قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

the translation of which is, “They say, ‘We are only putting things right.’ No indeed! They are the corrupters, but they are not aware of it.” And that is hardly surprising, for a self that is untempered by belief in Allah will only ever command to what is bad. Allah says,

إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي

the translation of which is, “The nafs indeed commands to evil acts – except for those my Lord has mercy on.” A self that is untempered by belief in Allah will always call to its lower appetites and desires, until it becomes little more than an animal or even little less. Allah says,

أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا

the translation of which is, “Have you seen him who has taken his whims and desires to be his god? Will you then be his guardian? Do you suppose that most of them hear or understand? They are just like cattle. Indeed they are even more astray!” And why not when, in their eyes, this world is it - the be all and end all of existence. Their godless philosophy leaves them with nothing else to aspire to. Why should they care about the well-being of the planet when they are going to be dead and buried long before it does? What difference does it make if they cause a million people to starve if they themselves are well-clothed and well-fed? There is no wrong and right, for they have no true moral compass nor any ‘aql to distinguish between them, there is just material wealth and might. For them, success is measured by how much money one can accumulate and how much stuff one can acquire - there is nothing else to aim for. And that is why so many of them claim that they never have enough, and lie, cheat and steal to get more and more. Thus, growth is the overriding necessity that underpins the atheist capitalist worldview, and hence its reliance on riba or increase in the transaction. The creation of ‘monetary wealth’ - in actuality, simply extra numbers on a computer screen - out of nothing.

Shaykh AbdalQadir says concerning this, in his essay on the collapse of the Monetarist Society:

“The foundation of modernist atheism lies not in a metaphysical construct which declares that man does not ‘need’ the idea of Divinity – it lies in the embracing of usury as no longer forbidden, but necessary. In a limited and finite world the modern men declared that increase in the exchange was not only permitted but theoretically without limits. Atheism has to precede usury. The Divine Creator affirms His reality by the confirmation that since nothing is associated with Him, everything in existence, that is creation, is other-than-Him, thus is in-time, has form and limits. It is because of the limit nature of the universe, that an exchange system that admits of the theory that increase can function when what is at hand is limited, must be forbidden.”

Usury and the law of man have brought this world to the brink - its seas are dying, its forests are disappearing and even its skies are eroding - all to feed their greed, and need for instant gratification. They think that this trade of theirs brings them joy and happiness, but the truth is that it does not even benefit them in this world, for Allah says,

يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الرِّبَا وَيُرْبِي الصَّدَقَاتِ

the translation of which is, “Allah obliterates riba but makes sadaqa grow in value.” In other words, according to the mufassirun, it brings them no benefit in this world. And, as for the Next World, they will burn in it timelessly forever. Allah says: 

فَأَمَّا مَن طَغَىٰ وَآثَرَ ٱلْحَيَاةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّ ٱلْجَحِيمَ هِيَ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ * وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى ٱلنَّفْسَ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰ فَإِنَّ ٱلْجَنَّةَ هِيَ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ

the translation of which is, “As for him who overstepped the bounds and preferred the life of this world, the Blazing Fire will be his refuge. But as for him who feared the Station of his Lord and forbade the lower self its appetites, the Garden will be his refuge.”

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين 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.

Muslims, the only way to rescue our dying planet and restore it to its former health and glory, the only hope for the survival of the human race is the restoration of the deen of Islam in its entirety. Islam must once again be uppermost in the land. For Islam is the deen of Fitra and every aspect of it is geared towards placing mankind in harmony with himself and with the rest of existence. The world is like a well-oiled machine with everything in creation playing a role in keeping it running smoothly. But if one part, especially if that part is as vital a cog as the human race, is faulty and not doing what it is meant to be doing, then the whole machine grinds to a halt and starts to come apart at the seams, as indeed we are seeing today. So man must go back to fulfilling his primary function once more. But what is that primary function? It is twofold - first to worship our Lord and second to preserve and maintain the earth on His behalf. Allah says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

the translation of which is, “I did not create jinn and men except to worship Me.” And He says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْضِ

the translation of which is, “It is He who appointed you khalifs on the earth.” This is the higher vision of man described by Shaykh AbdalQadir in his essay ‘The World Crisis’: “It is that man has been placed on earth to preserve and protect it. Man, in Islam, is the guardian of the world, its lands, its waters, its air, and all its living creatures. Islam’s return will be the ecological rescue of a dying planet.” For there is nothing higher than fulfilling the job you have been entrusted with.

As for the first part of man’s function in existence, worshipping his Lord, there is but one way to do that and that is by following the sunna of His beloved Messenger. If it were not for him none of us could have known our Lord, and if it were not for him then none of us would have known how to worship. Allah says:

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ 

the translation of which is, “Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you for your wrong actions. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’” He is our guide in all aspects of our lives - ‘ibadat and mu‘amalat, for it is only when both these halves of the deen are implemented that the deen can be said to be in place. That is the reality, as we have mentioned many times over the last few weeks, of our testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and so we must put into practice everything that he brought, starting with the pillars. We must restore the lost pillar of zakat and all that that entails, including the return of gold and silver currency and leadership that is strong enough to take zakat when it is refused, as Sayyiduna Abu Bakr did when the Arab tribes refused to pay him their zakat after the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah. 

We must abolish usury - a practice against which Allah and His Messenger have declared war - and reinstitute justice and equity in the transaction. Trade must once again be transacted in real time with real money and for real goods. And money must cease to be static and hoarded up in banks, but must circulate among the people and once again become a medium of exchange, as Allah Himself indicates in surat al-Hashr:

مَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الأغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ

the translation of which is, “Whatever booty Allah gives to His Messenger from city dwellers belongs to Allah and to the Messenger and to near relatives and orphans and the very poor and travellers, so that it - i.e. booty and all other forms of money - does not become something which merely revolves between the rich among you - i.e. and stays locked away and inaccessible to the masses.” Money is the lifeblood of a society - when it flows it allows that society to function smoothly but when it clots it puts it in grave danger of death and collapse.

Muslims, today we stand at a pivotal crossroads in the history of mankind. The current usurious system built upon the greed and avarice of its godless overlords is on the point of collapse, lurching from one crisis to the next, each crisis being greater and more destructive than the last. Our species stands on the brink of the abyss and we alone possess the capacity to pull it back to safety. We, the Muslim umma, hold in our hands ‘the unique social instrument of rescue from the monetarist disaster’, for we have direct access to the authentic deen of Allah whose complete and perfected form was practiced by the Prophet and his companions. We have access to the sunna of the last Messenger of Allah, whose practices and teachings remain valid and applicable until the Day of Qiyama. 

We ask Allah to give us a firm niyya and strengthen us for the task ahead. We ask Him to place us in the vanguard of those who re-establish His deen and make all of our actions and all of our transactions just and honourable. Let us embody the shahadatayn in all aspects of our lives and thereby show people how a healthy human being lives and interacts. We ask Allah to protect us from the hedonism that pervades these modern times and the ecologism that has sprang up in direct opposition to it, and instead make us people of the middle way. We ask Him to give victory and success to His deen.

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وعَنْ عَائِشَةَ وسَائِرِ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.