Khutba on Sidq and Amana

الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أمرنا أن نَفِيَ بالعقود، ونفعَلَ ما نقول، ونعاملَ الخلقَ بالصدقِ والأمانةِ سواءً كان صَديقاً أو خصماً لدود، 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. قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ اِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللهِ

Allah says in the Noble Quran, the translation of which is, “We sent no Messenger except to be obeyed by Allah’s permission.” And He also says,

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللهِ إِسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ

the translation of which is, “You have an excellent model in the Messenger of Allah, for all who put their hope in Allah and the Last Day”
There are three qualities that are necessary for every Messenger of Allah – that no Messenger can do without. They are sidq, amana and tabligh, loosely translated as truthfulness, trustworthiness and conveying the message. These three qualities are an essential part of who they are, and thus lie at the very heart of their sunna.
And so when Allah commands to follow them and imitate them, He commands us to take on these three qualities. Last week we talked about the quality of tabligh in relation to knowledge, the necessity to pass on what we know of the deen in both our words and our actions. This week I would like to touch on the other two attributes: sidq and amana. The Messenger of Allah was known from an early age as as-Sadiq al-Amin. Even his greatest enemies never denied him that. He never told a lie and never betrayed a trust. If he made a contract, he honoured it to the letter and so people sought him out when they needed someone to look after their property in their absence or to conduct business on their behalf. Indeed, that was how his wife Khadija first came into his life – when she engaged him to take her caravan to Syria and trade on her behalf. These qualities were his even before prophethood. And these properties came to be those of those who followed him and believed in him, so much so that Allah praises them for that in the Quran, saying about the believers,

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَا تِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ

the translation of which is, “those who honour their trusts and their contracts.” For this whole affair is one based on amana and contracts. Indeed man’s special status with Allah is due to him having taken on the amana and making a contract with Allah to recognise Him as his Lord when Allah gathered all of mankind before Him and said to them,

أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ

the translation of which is, “Am I not your Lord?” And they all answered without exception,

بَلَى

“Yes, indeed.” The key to our success with Allah is looking after our amana from Him and holding closely to the terms of our contract with Him, but how can we claim to be abiding by that contract when we fail to abide by the contracts we make with and the promises we make to His creation, especially when maintaining those contracts is part of our contract with Him, and part of what singles us out from the hypocrites. The Prophet said,

أربع مَن كنَّ فيه كان منافقاً ، ومن كانت فيه خصلة من أربعة : كانت فيه خصلة من النفاق حتى يدعها إذا حدَّث كذب ، وإذا وعد أخلفَ ، وإذا عاهد غدر ، وإذا خاصم فجر

“There are four qualities that mark the hypocrite, and anyone who engages in any part of them has an element of hypocrisy within him until he stops. Those four characteristics are that: he lies when he speaks, he breaks his promises, betrays his trust and acts dishonestly when he has a dispute.” This may be the quality of most of those with whom we deal on a day-to-day basis, but that is not an excuse for us to adopt the same qualities, for us to be similarly lax with our business transactions. They are not our role model, we have a far better one – The Messenger of Allah, and he said,

أدِّ الأمانةَ إلى مَن ائتَمَنَك ، ولاَ تَخُن مَن خانك

            “Return the things you hold on trust to those who entrusted them to you and do not cheat those who cheat you.”
            One of the reasons the deen of Allah spread so quickly in the first generations was because the peoples whom the Muslims encountered knew that their word was their bond – they knew that once the Muslims had entered into a contract, they would fulfil it. And so they welcomed the Muslims with open arms and gladly and willingly entered into the jizya contract, knowing that their Muslim conquerors would uphold their side of the bargain and keep their lives, lands and wealth safe. It was not by the sword that the deen entered the hearts of the peoples whom the Muslims encountered, but by the honesty and straightforwardness of their dealings, and the importance they attached to fulfilling their contracts. Indeed, vast nations, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, nations that had never seen a mujahid, entered into Islam after seeing these qualities in the Muslim traders who sailed into their ports.
            This is, and always has been, the very heart of the deen: indeed, we might even say that there is no deen without it, for the Prophet said,

لا إيمانَ لمن لا أمانةَ له ، ولا دِينَ لمن لا عَهدَ له

            “The one who has no amana (i.e. does not return what has been entrusted to him), has no iman. And the one who does not keep his promise has no Deen.” We ask Allah to keep our deen safe and keep our transactions clean and re-establish among us the business practices that set the Muslims apart from the kuffar and the hypocrites and attracted, strengthened their mutual trust and brotherhood and attracted so many to His deen.

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. قال الله تعالى في كتابه العزيز: يَأَيُّهَا الذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ، كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللهِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ.

            Allah says in His Mighty Book, the translation of which is, “Why do you say what you do not do. It is very hateful to Allah that you should say what you do not do.”
            The very essence of all mu‘amalat is doing what you say you are going to do, and doing it when you said you were going to do it. Of course, there are many other rulings that relate to them – indeed those rulings fill tomes and have largely been lost and forgotten today by being neglected and neither applied nor practised. And that knowledge must be recovered for the deen to once again thrive. And that knowledge is being recovered and is already being re-implemented and we must all become part of that re-implementation.
            And that re-implementation begins with us fulfilling our contracts and appointments to the letter and to the minute, for when it comes to contracts the element of time cannot – I repeat, cannot – be overstated. Everything in the deen of Allah is appointed a time. For example, Allah says about the prayer,

إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى المُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا

The translation of which is, “The prayer is prescribed for the believers at specific times.” And that applies to our contracts with each other just as much as to our contracts with our Lord. If we agree to a time or a deadline, then we keep to it, no matter how difficult.
But, of course, many of us make so many contracts with others that it is not always possible to keep them straight in one’s head. Man is created forgetful, and that is often the reason for missed deadlines or disputes about prices and amounts. So Allah provides us with the solution,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِذَا تَدَايَنْتُمْ بِدَيْنٍ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُ

            the translation of which is, “You who believe, when you take on a debt for a specified period, write it down”. And then, later in the same aya, Allah says,

وَلاَ تَسْأَمُوْاْ أَن تَكْتُبُوْهُ صَغِيراً أَو كَبِيراً إِلَى أَجَلِهِ

            the translation of which is, “Do not think it too trivial to write down, whether small or large, with the date that it falls due.” Although this aya refers specifically to debts, its ruling applies to all types of transactions. And because of that, a whole branch of knowledge came to be, called watha’iq, the science of formulating and writing up contracts. And, indeed, this science continues to be taught and studied until the present day in the great institutions of learning such as the Qarawiyyin in Fes and the Azhar in Cairo.
            The essentials for making our transactions halal and correct in the sight of Allah are easy. If we put them into practice and have a firm intention, then the whole matter will fall into place.
            Firstly, you must never enter into a contract, or carry out a transaction, unless you fully intend to uphold your end of the bargain – you must never go into it with the intention of taking advantage of someone else, or ripping them off. That may make you a profit in this world, but in the Next world, you will be one of the big losers
            Secondly, if you agree to do something by a certain time, or at a certain time, then do not take that deadline lightly or start procrastinating. Do what you said you would do when and where you said you would do it. Honour time as it should be honoured. There is a famous hadith of the Prophet, narrated by Abu Hurayra, in which he tells the story of a man of Allah from the Banu Israel who asked another man for a loan of 1000 dinars. The man replied that he would lend it to him if he brought a witness and a guarantor, so he replied, kafaa billahi shahidan wa kafaa billahi wakila. So the man lent it to him, specifying a date upon which the money should be returned. So the man set out to sea to conduct his business. Then when the time of deadline was approaching, he looked for a ship to take him back, but could not find a single one. The time was running out, so he got a piece of wood, hollowed it out, put in 1000 dinars and a letter from him to the lender and then sealed it up and tossed it into the sea, saying, "O Allah, you know that I borrowed this money from so-and-so and that when I made you my witness and guarantor, he accepted. I have made every effort to find a boat to get to him but have failed, so I entrust the affair to you." Then he went off to continue his search for a boat to get back to the lender. It so happened that the lender had gone down to the beach to look out for the return of the borrower and not finding him, had gathered some firewood for his family, inside of which he found the letter and money. Then, the borrower arrived, having found a boat, and brought him 1000 dinars, apologising for being late. Whereupon the other man told him to keep it, since Allah had brought him the 1000 dinars he had sent in the wood safely."
So this man was prepared to lose 1000 dinars just to meet the deadline he had promised, even though he had a valid reason for being late. For him, keeping his deadline was as important as returning the money. That is how it should be for each and every one of us.
            And thirdly, when you do something, make sure to do it well. We, as Muslims, must not be guilty of shoddy workmanship nor of doing things half-heartedly. The Prophet said,

إن الله يُحبُّ إذا عمِل أحدُكم عملاً أن يُتقِنَه

            “Allah loves that whenever you do something you do it well.”
            If we do these simple things, if we fulfil our contracts and keep our words, then we will soon see the weakness and lethargy that has overcome the Muslim Umma evaporate and its strength return. We will soon see the mistrust with which people view us transformed into respect, we will soon see them hurrying to enter Islam in their droves. Because that is what our Lord has promised us – if we fulfil our contracts, He will fulfil His contract to us and grant us victory and success. So we ask Allah to enable us to fulfil our contracts. We ask Him to make us people of our word and people who appreciate the importance of time. We ask Him to make us people who do what they say they will do. We ask Him to make us people who change themselves and give us the promised victory. We ask Him to re-establish the deen in its full glory in our time and make us among those who are at the vanguard of its re-establishment.

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، وعن خديجة وعائشة وسائر أزواج النبي، 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 وَالمُسِلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمَتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

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

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.