SANCTITY OF SEXUAL MORALITY

Jummah Khutbah delivered by Maulana Syed Aftab Haider on the 29th of July 2018 at the Ahlulbait (AS) Mosque Complex, Ottery, Cape Town.

After imploring Allah (SWT) to send his choicest blessings upon Nabi Muhammad (SAW) and his pure immaculate Ahlulbait (AS), we shall continue with the discussion of the Servants of the Beneficent, as described in chapter 25 of the holy Quran.
Previously we had examined how these servants do not commit murder except with due cause, and further shows us the immense sanctity Allah (SWT) bestows on life.

Th eighth quality discussed in Surah Furqaan continues in verses 68 to 70:

“nor commit fornication, and whosoever does this shall find a requital of the sin.”

“On the Day of Judgment, the chastisement will be doubled to him, and he shall abide therein in abasement.”

“Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, then these are they who, Allah changes their evil deeds to good ones, And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

Purity, morality and dignity are the most striking qualities of this category of people. This is not only displayed in their ritualistic forms of worship, but in the manner in which they interact with the people.

The attribute focussed on here in this instance is the importance of sexual sanctity, namely abstaining from adultery and the various sins associated with it. This sin holds such grave consequences that the Quran commands the faithful to not even go near it - never mind committing the action itself! 

“And do not approach fornication, verily it is an indecency and an evil way.”
(17:32)

In the tradition of the Ahlulbait (AS), they have also paid special attention to this vice. The Prophet (SAW) was so sensitive about this topic, that he had forbidden actions that he feared could lead to adultery. 

The strictness of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is seen in verse 2 of Surah Noor:

“The fornicatress and the fornicator, scourge you each one of them (with) a hundred stripes. And let not pity for them withhold you from enforcing the sentence of Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the Believers witness their punishment.”

Not only is he instructed to not slacken in their punishment, but a group of believers must be amongst the witnesses. This shows that the stern attitude of the Prophet (SAW) ought to be displayed amongst the Mumineen as well. 
The reason for this approach is because the corruption between genders has multiple negative effects in society. It causes families to break, marriages to collapse, children are lead astray, and the community at large takes a different direction. The problem is that when such an evil action becomes frequent, it becomes accepted as a norm.

CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

Islam is often criticized for its approach towards a child born out of wedlock. These individuals, according to most Ulama, are not allowed to lead the salaah nor occupy any highly influential roles of leadership in an Islamic government.

These children are not responsible for the sin of their parents, yet the sharia is so harsh towards them? Why do they have various positions taken away from them, if they are innocent of the crime of others?

We indeed undeniably believe that they are innocent and will be judged purely on their own actions. The sensitivity towards them is because if they are allocated in positions of power, it serves as a reminder of where they come from. By placing these specific individuals on a pedestal, it creates an atmosphere of acceptance, while Islam attempts to view adultery for what it truly is. 

This condition which prevents them from leadership is only met when both the individual and the society at large knows this as a matter of fact about a person.
In order to understand this topic more simplistically, consider the following example:

If a glass of water containing poison was drunk, does that mean an individual ignorant about the poison should not feel the effects? Of course not. The undeniable reality is that there is a cause and effect relationship here, and the same applies to the above case.

It is on this basis that the Islamic tradition has highly recommended such actions to be kept as a secret – if it has occurred. Such events should not become public information. The sharia has therefore encouraged practices such as hijab as well as regulated gender mixing to prevent an outcome as adultery. Although these sexual inclinations are natural to a certain extent, the Imams (AS) have even warned us against these.

Imam Sadiq (AS) has narrated from Nabi Musa (AS) advising that we should not even have thoughts about this form of a relationship, as this too is destructive. He further gives an example of a beautiful room filled with paintings. If one makes a fire in this room, the fire will not destroy the paintings – but the smoke will ruin them. 

Similarly, these sinful thoughts will ultimately lead us into our own ruin.
Hakam ibn Aas, the father of Marwan, was one day passing by the Prophet’s (SAW) house.  During those days, a curtain was used as a door. He had tried to look through the curtains, which caused the Prophet (SAW) great distress. The Prophet (SAW) then struck him with an arrow or a spear (according to different narrations), and as a result expelled him from the city due to his immodesty. 

Although we live in an entirely different context, it still is upon us to control our eyes as well as our intentions with regards to the opposite gender.  

Inshallah, we will highlight the next topic, where the servants of the All-Beneficent are described as never giving false witnesses.

SECOND KHUTBAH
BATTLE OF UHUD – WHAT DOES IT TEACH US TODAY?

The 15th of Shawaal holds a deep significance in the Islamic year, as it reminds us of the Battle of Uhud. It is also in these days that Islam had lost a great hero in the form of Hamza ibn Abdul Mutallib (ra), the Master of the Martyrs, who had been killed in the most brutal manner.

Although other battles are important, this one in particular was an eye-opener for the Muslims as they had faced defeat on numerous fronts. Besides the physical losses of great companions like Hamza and Mus’ab ibn Umayr (ra), the damage done to the psyche of the army was hefty.
The lessons that we learn from Uhud are not confined to its time, but remain eternally relevant. Amongst these lessons, the most astounding of them was how the victory of the Muslim Ummah became defeat as a result of the in-fighting between themselves.  

When the battle had started, the first phase was successful. However, due to the weakness of the Muslims, they had changed their own destiny into one of disgrace. While we enjoy to continually blame the enemy for our problems, this lack of introspection will also lead to what happened in the Ummah in this battle.

When the archers had left their position out of fear of not receiving booty, the Muslims had been ambushed from both sides. This had launched them into a complete frenzy, even propelling some to raise the slogan of the Prophet (SAW) being killed.

The appeal of worldly gains coupled with their lack of loyalty to the leadership was the complete cause of their failure. All of these events strengthen the common theme in this battle - internal weaknesses -  which we are not free from today.

Although we love discussing the West and the Zionists, they are only powerful because of the capabilities that we bestow upon them through our disunity.

TAKFIR BASED ON UNITY?

We also are witnessing the phenomenon of individuals declaring others disbelievers, simply because they strive for unity. The irony amongst this commotion is the true nature of sectarianism being exposed. The fight no longer exists amongst the two different sects, but within the same school!!

This methodology does not allow for difference of opinion, and is not limited to the only two schools of Sunni and Shia. Therefore, anyone who differs with them is declared outside of the fold of Islam, and their blood becomes legitimate to spill.

In Uhud, we see how numerous of companions had displayed great courage, but only a few that had been deceived by their whims. Despite this, the Muslims were not victorious because of this small deviant group. 

In this week we also have Maulana Tariq Jameel visiting our country from Pakistan. He is by no means a Shia nor even a Shia sympathiser, yet he never calls for hate and is never dogmatic in his approach to others. He firmly believes in his path being true, but never disrespects others for the path they have chosen. 

Maulana Tariq Jameel admits that the Prophet (SAW) accepted people for simply taking the Shahadah, while he fully knew what their intentions were. People who were well known hypocrites were not killed, and that is the crucial point.