By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May the salutations of Allah, His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, his family, his companions and his true and sincere followers until the Last Day – then to proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! These days, my beloved family, associates and friends normally send me Jumu’ah Mubarak greetings on WhatsApp. There are wise quotes and video clips that share inspiring thoughts. Recently, I received a video clip that grabbed my attention so that I watched it again and again. Then I decided to transcribe the audio and share it with you. I have no idea who the speaker was, but these were his wise words:
“If Allah is on your side, then who can harm you? No one! And if Allah is against you, then who can defend you? No one! And if you have earned the love of Allah, then what did you lose? Nothing! And if you lose the love of Allah, then what did you really gain? Nothing!
Respected brothers and sisters! Allah’s love can benefit us in endless ways! To mention just a few:
• If Allah loves you, He will place your love in the hearts of the people. And if the people love you, that’s priceless. Imagine being loved by everyone around you!
• When Allah loves you, He grants you Wisdom! And whoever is granted wisdom, certainly has been given a lot of goodness.
• A wise person will manage and be happy with a small income. But without wisdom, a person could be miserable with a huge income.
• A wise man will be happy and content with an average wife. But an unwise man could be miserable with a first-class wife!
• A wise person can turn enemies into friends. But an unwise person could turn friends into enemies!
In short, one is granted priceless gains if one is granted wisdom from Allah. And wisdom from Allah is granted to believers as a reward for their faith (Iman) and right conduct. That’s only one of the gains of Allah’s love, that He grants you wisdom.
When Allah grants you wisdom, He blesses you with peace and tranquillity (Sakinah). Sakinah is a high status that gives you contentment, happiness, optimism, strength, self-confidence, the right perspective. Sakinah (inner peace and tranquillity) will give you happiness even if that’s all you possess. But if you lose it you will be miserable, even if you possess everything else.
You could be blessed with health, wealth and intelligence, but if you lack wisdom, you’ll surely be miserable. It’s narrated that Allah grants health, wealth, intelligence, and beauty to many people, but Allah grants wisdom only to his chosen believers!
Do you not wish to become one of Allah’s chosen believers? I do!
Read how Surah Al-Anfal, describes this special category of the True Believers: (Qur’an 8:2, 8:3 and 8:4):
“The ˹true˺ believers are only those whose hearts tremble at the remembrance of Allah, whose faith increases when His revelations (Qur’an) are recited to them, and who put their trust in their Lord. They are those who establish prayer and donate from what We have provided for them. It is they who are the true believers. They will have elevated ranks, forgiveness, and an honourable provision from their Lord.”
To sum it up, we must train ourselves to love Allah, to obey Allah and His Messenger (Peace be upon him), with complete and loving obedience. There should be no resistance in our hearts. No ifs, buts or maybes. If we’re chosen by Allah for his special favour, Allah blesses us with wisdom.
Respected servants of Allah! According to Abu Hurairah, the Messenger of Allah Almighty said that:
“A word of wisdom is the lost property of the believer. Whoever finds it is most deserving of it.”
“He (Allah) gives wisdom to whom He pleases; and those to whom wisdom is given has received indeed a benefit overflowing; but no-one will grasp the Message except people of understanding.”
Clearly, Allah’s wisdom will only be conferred on those of us who use their intellect, those who ponder, who contemplate on Allah’s abundant signs in the world around us and the world within us. This regular exercise of deep contemplation must inevitably lead us to appreciate how much Allah loves us, how much Allah loves His entire creation.
Let’s sum up the key points of my sermon today:
• We can enjoy lasting peace and contentment (Sakinah) if we have wisdom.
• Wisdom is a gift from Allah to the most devoted believers.
• The believers love Allah more than anything and anyone else.
• Our love for Allah is the natural outcome of recognising and appreciating Allah’s love for us.
Oh Allah! Have mercy on humanity and cure us of the hate and evil that are destroying us and dividing us through wars, ethno-religious crisis, armed banditry, terrorism, and other acts of violence and intolerance.
Ya Allah! Have mercy on all of those who are suffering from starvation, relieve their difficulties and provide them with what they need, as You are the best of Providers!
Oh our Lord, You are the most Merciful of all Who have mercy. Please have mercy on us, in all of our affairs in this life and the next.
Our Creator, please have mercy on us and our family on the Day of Judgment, when Your Mercy will be most important.
Ya Allah, have mercy on our brothers and sisters in Islam and our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Our Merciful Creator, please strengthen the hearts of those who are innocent but serving time in prison wrongfully.
Our Lord, have mercy on all who continue to suffer due to disasters of the past which others have forgotten. Have mercy on those who are in physical pain.
Oh Merciful One, please have mercy on those who are still struggling to rebuild their lives in the war zones of the world. Give them strength and resilience.
Our Creator, increase us in love for and mercy toward the poor, hungry, poverty-stricken and oppressed wherever they are.
Our Sustainer, please have mercy on us and our family as we struggle to deal with our family problems. Please strengthen us and put love and mercy in our hearts for each other.
Oh Merciful One! Please cure us of our sickness and grant us good health.
Our Lord, You are the Provider, please have mercy on us and provide for us.
Oh Allah, have mercy on everyone who is struggling financially. Relieve their suffering, help them pay off their debts, cover their expenses, and increase their Halal earning.
Our Merciful Lord, relieve the suffering of the sick and grant us a cure for every disease, ameen.
All praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Safar 23, 1443 A.H. (October 01, 2021).
