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You have been made Successors on the Earth
Shaykh Salah
Al-Budayr [(Rabee'ul Awwal 1, 1424 (May 2, 2003)]
All praise is
due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims!
Fear Allaah, seek for the reward of the Hereafter and do not cause
mischief on the earth.
Brethren in
faith! Allaah created you and made you successors on the earth by His
Wisdom. He subjected to you the adornments of the earth by His Mercy and
made you live therein. With Allaah is the dominion and authority of this
world and the Hereafter. His command is always executed and nothing stands
between Him and what He wills.
“Say (O
Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "O Allaah! Possessor of the kingdom, You
give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You
will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You
will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.”
(Aal ‘Imraan
3:26)
Allaah made you
successors on this land in order to establish His law, execute His
commandments, implements His injunctions, believe in His Oneness and
worship Him. He says,
“Those
(Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, (they) enjoin the
performance of prayers, pay the Zakât and they enjoin Al-Ma'rûf (i.e.
Islaamic Monotheism and all that Islaam orders one to do), and forbid Al-Munkar
(i.e. disbelief, polytheism and all that Islaam has forbidden) (i.e. they
make the Qur’aan as the law of their country in all the spheres of life).
And with Allaah rests the end of (all) matters (of creatures).”
(Al-Hajj 22:41)
This is the
covenant. Whoever fulfills it will attain the happiness in this world and
will be protected against its misery; and whoever fails to fulfill it will
earn the consequences of his failure and the misery of his ignorance.
Allaah says,
“(It is
Allaah) Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you
is best in deed.”
(Al-Mulk
67:133)
Allaah created
you that He may test you as to who among you is the best in acts of
worship and in seeking His pleasure. He also says,
“And your
Lord is Rich (Free of all wants), full of Mercy; if He wills, He can
destroy you, and in your place make whom He wills as your successors, as
He raised you from the seed of other people.”
(Al-An‘aam
6:133)
This is a
reality that the Qur’aan repeatedly asserts.
Fellow Muslims!
The blessings of Allaah that He bestowed on us by making us successors on
the earth on which we live and on whose different parts we walk, is only a
trial. There is no trial greater than that of prosperity and comfort. For
a comfortable life makes one forget the Hereafter. The Messenger of Allaah
said, “This world is sweet and pleasant. Allaah made you successors in it
that He might watch what you do. Therefore, beware of this world and
beware of the (temptation of) women. For the first tribulation of the
children of Israel was from the women.” (Muslim)
Imaam An-Nawawee
said, “The meaning of ‘He made you successors in it’ is that: He made you
succeed the generations that had been before you, that He might test you
as to whether you will obey Him or disobey Him and follow your desires.”
Dear brethren!
You are successors of those who are gone and dwellers of the abode of
those who were before you.
“Then We
made you successors after them, generations after generations in the land,
that We might see how you would work!”
(Yoonus 10:14)
Yes, that He
might see how you judge and what you do. Are you going to obey Him or
disobey Him? Are you going to fear and thank Him or you are going to
disobey Him and be ungrateful to Him?
‘Umar read this
verse and said addressing himself: ‘O son of Umm ‘Umar! You have been made
the successor. So consider what you do.’
He also said:
‘Our Lord has said the truth. He has not made us successors but to see
what our deeds are going to be. So show Allaah from yourselves good deeds
day and night, in public and private.’ Allaah says,
“It may be
that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the
earth, so that He may see how you act?"”
(Al-A‘raaf
7:129)
Allaah sees
what the rich does with his wealth, what the famous does with his fame and
what the healthy does with his health.
Fellow Muslims!
Allaah had made some nations successors in the land for many years. But
they did not keep any covenant for Allaah though their Lord wanted
guidance for them. Allaah told us some of their stories, that people might
learn lessons from them, and that they might be deterrent for the
wrongdoers and admonition for the pious. Allaah says about them,
“And most of
them We found not (true) to their covenant, but most of them We found
indeed (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).”
(Al-A‘raaf
7:102)
They were not
truthful to their covenant and they were not sincere. They were rebellious
and sinless. They were the leading nations and then they went into
oblivion and
“All that
with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them.”
(As-Shu‘araa
26:207)
We should
beware lest we become like them. We should beware of disobeying Allaah on
His land or challenging His will. For the land belongs to Allaah and He
gives it to whomever He wills of His servants.
Fellow Muslims!
You are now living in abundant wealth and peaceful atmosphere. Do you
thank Him Who blessed you with that and made you successors on the land or
you just disobey Him in His land and under His heaven while you are
enjoying His provision and favours?
Dear brethren!
Who is He that gives us security against fear? Who is He that covers for
us our misdeeds? Who is He that drives away calamities and evils from us?
Is He not the Most Gracious, Oft-Forgiving Lord? Why that we commit much
sins and learn little lesson? Why are we always disobedient and heedless?
Why do we allow Satan to deceive us with Allaah’s mercy and forgiveness
while we do not stop from committing sins? Our houses are full of
forbidden things that we fail to remove. Our societies are full of sins
that we fail to discourage. Where is the respect for the laws of Allaah O
you who commit sins? Where is the regard for the limits of Allaah O you
disobedient ones? Where are those who fear their Lord?
The youth of
today has been fed with evil and cast into the contaminated abyss. Who is
he that led him to the way of destruction? Who threw him into thorns of
immorality? Far is the difference between the Muslim generations of
yesterday and that of today.
Our growing
generations of today are being exposed to the hell of immorality,
westernisation, and neglect. Allaah will certainly ask us about our
negligence of these generations. Have we provided any answer for that
question? Is our answer for that going to be a correct one?
The Messenger of Allaah said, “Every
one of you is a shepherd and every one of you will be held accountable for
his flock. The ruler is a shepherd and he will be held responsible for his
subjects. Man is a shepherd over his household and he will be held
accountable for them. The woman is a shepherd in the house of her husband
and over his children and she will be held responsible for that. Every one
of you is a shepherd and every one of you will be held accountable for his
flock.” (Al-Bukhaaree)
Dear Muslims!
If we fail in our jihaad with our own selves and in reforming our
societies and our growing generations, we will also fail on the
battlefields in our wars with the enemies. Constant attacks from the
enemies and successive defeats that we suffer are a result of our
negligence of the covenant for the purpose of which Allaah made us
successors on the earth. We should therefore do away with false sense of
security and from our heedlessness. Let us learn lessons from experiences
and not be deluded by comfortable life. For the way of Allaah does not
change.
“Is it not
clear to those who inherit the earth in succession from its (previous)
possessors, that had We willed, We would have punished them for their
sins. And We seal up their hearts so that they hear not?”
(Al-A‘raaf
7:100)
Who is he that
is going to help us against the punishment of Allaah when it comes?
Brethren in
faith! Hasten to repentance and be helpers to the religion of Allaah. Turn
to Allaah with all humility and seek for His forgiveness for He is
Oft-Forgiving. Repentance ward away what weapons and mere rhetoric and
slogans cannot prevent. Allaah says,
“Allaah has
promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He
will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth,
as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the
authority to practice their religion, that which He has chosen for them
(i.e. Islaam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security
after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not
associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after
this, they are the (rebellious, disobedient to Allaah).”
(An-Noor 24:55)
The earth is
going to be inherited and there are many candidates who want to have a
share of it, but only those who are pious are going to be its rightful
inheritors.
Dear Muslims!
This abode of yours is that of bitterness and it is not a permanent abode.
Do not be satisfied with what is inferior and a loser’s bargain. Make the
abode of permanent bliss your utmost goal. For,
“Little is
the enjoyment of the life of this world as compared to the Hereafter.”
(At-Tawbah
9:38)
The Messenger
of Allaah said, “The one who enjoyed the pleasure of this world most among
the dwellers of Hell will be given a dip into the fire and then asked: ‘O
man! Have you ever enjoyed any pleasure in your life?’ He will say: ‘No,
by Allaah! I have never enjoyed any pleasure.’ And the most wretched
person in the life of this world among the dwellers of Paradise will be
given a dip into Paradise and then asked: ‘O man! Have you ever
experienced any hardship?’ He will answer: ‘No, by Allaah! I have never
experienced any hardship.’” (Muslim)
Fellow Muslims!
The door of repentance is opened. Now is the time to make corrections as
long as you are still alive.
O you who are
wandering in the wilderness of heedlessness! O you who has surrendered to
lusts and passions! You are not going to live in play and pastime forever.
You will certainly die one day and you will be asked of what you did in
this world. The Prophet said, “The feet of man will not slip on the Day of
Resurrection until he is asked about four things: About his life as to how
he spent it, his youth as to how he used it, his wealth as to where he got
it and how he spent it and his knowledge as to what he did with it.”
The Messenger
of Allaah also said, “A servant will be cast (into Hell on the Day of
Judgment) Allaah will then tell him: ‘O so and so! Had I not honoured you,
made you a leader, provided women for you to marry, subjected to you
horses and camels and left you enjoying the fourth of the booties and
leading your people?’ The servant will say: ‘Yes, O Lord!’ Then Allaah
will say: ‘Have you ever thought of meeting Me?’ He will say: ‘No.’ Allaah
will then say: ‘I will also forget you (today) as you forgot Me (while you
were in the world).’ Another servant will be cast and Allaah will tell
him: ‘O so and so! Had I not honoured you, made you a leader, provided
women for you to marry, subjected to you horses and camels and left you
enjoying the fourth of the booties and leading people?’ The servant will
say: ‘Yes, O Lord!’ Then Allaah will say: ‘Have you ever thought of
meeting Me?’ He will say: ‘No.’ Allaah will then say: ‘I will also forget
you (today) as you forgot Me (while you were in the world).’ A third
servant will be asked the same question and he will say: ‘O my Lord! I
believed in You and in Your Book and Messenger. I also observed prayer and
fasting and I paid Zakaah. He will praise Allaah as much as he can. He
will then be told: ‘Stop there. Now, We will call our witness against
you.’ He will then tell himself: ‘Who is he that is going to testify
against me?’ His mouth will then be sealed and his thigh, flesh and bone
will be commanded to speak. And they will speak so that the evidence will
be established against him. That is the hypocrite and that is the one that
will earn the wrath of Allaah.” (Muslim)
Dear brother!
Salvage yourself from the abyss of sins before it is too late for there is
nothing after death but Paradise or Hell.
Blessed is he
who repents today, confesses and abandons sins. Allaah will forgive him
his past misdeeds. Allaah says,
“O you who
believe! Turn to Allaah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord
will expiate from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which
rivers flow (Paradise) - the Day that Allaah will not disgrace the Prophet
(Muhammad (peace be upon him)) and those who believe with him. Their Light
will run forward before them and (with their Records - Books of deeds) in
their right hands. They will say: "Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us
and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able to do all things."”
(At-Tahreem
66:8)
Dear brethren! The fruit of listening
is to follow what is said. So be among those who listen to the word and
follow the best thereof.
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