Friday Sermon Presented by
Dr Mahmud Abul-Huda Al Husaini
Al 'Adiliyya Mosque, Aleppo, 24\8\2007

Last Friday, the sermon was about two types of people mentioned in the Holy Qur'an:
The first oppresses himself by being negligent in his duties towards the Exalted Allah. He commits some forbidden sins and neglects some other duties, so he is unjust towards himself when he deprives himself of the honor that the Exalted Allah has prepared for His chosen and beloved servants. Consequently, he falls in the pit that results in repentance.
The second is not only dissatisfied with oppressing himself, neglecting his duties and committing the forbidden, but he also transgresses the limits to oppress the others. So he trespasses on the others' rights by stealing, usurping, harming, slandering and dishonoring them.
I have mentioned formerly that the first type may get the Exalted Allah's forgiveness if he repents and asks the Exalted Allah to forgive him. The Exalted Allah said:
"If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-Returning, Most Merciful" (Al Nisa', v. 64).
On the other hand, the other type that oppresses people should not be described as oppressing himself, for there is a difference between the one who oppresses himself and the one whose self, itself, is the oppressor. Concerning this type of people, a fair great court will be held for him on the Day of Judgment:
"Think not that Allah doth not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but giveth them respite against a day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror" (Ibrahim, v. 42).
There remains a third type who will be the focus of our interest in this sermon.
The Exalted Allah charges His servants with praying, fasting and pilgrimage. So if anyone falls short of one of them, or commits some sort of sin that breaks their law, he is considered as oppressing himself, but he can repent and make for what he has missed. On the other hand, the one who steals and deceives people, the one who traps them in his intrigues, his oppression, his lying and his deception, cannot be forgiven until he recompenses them for the oppression he causes them. The more expanded the circle of his oppression is, the more humiliating and disgracing his state will be when he stands in the Fair Court set for him by the Exalted Allah.
There remains one sort of worship the people of this country used to do in the month of welfare, Ramadan, that is approaching with its bright face. This type of worship is connected with wealth. It is the worship of Zakat.
In this type of financial worship, the third type appears. It is the type of people who do not steal or usurp the others, nor do they commit the sin of disgracing people, or devouring the others' property and openly aggressing them, but they do not pay Zakat and charity. Such people oppress themselves on the one hand, because it is a ritual man is charged with, and on the other, it is oppressing the others because of its negative results and effects, as it implies implicit hidden oppression of the others. The Exalted Allah makes a right for the poor in the wealth of the rich. It is a concealed right that nobody knows about but the Exalted Allah and the owner of the wealth.
There is another right in the wealth of the rich other than Zakat. The Exalted Allah's right in the wealth is of two types: Zakat, in addition to whatever man produces voluntarily out of his wealth such as donation or charity or any spending in any way of goodness. This is mentioned in the Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) when he said that there is a right other than Zakat in the wealth.
The abstainer from paying Zakat is the third type that is described by the Exalted Allah as the oppressor of himself, because he is charged to perform this obligatory ritual as the other rituals, but he disobeys this order. On the other hand, the results and effects of not performing this ritual will result in depriving the others of their right, and in upsetting the balances of social solidarity after which you find 'a well and a built up palace deserted'.
Hasn't the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sworn that the rich one who neglects his poor neighbor that has no food to eat and let him sleep hungry, will not enter Paradise?
This is a sample that refers not only to a specific case, but it also refers to a general rule in a society whose members support one another so that social solidarity is set up.
Accordingly, the Holy Qur'an describes the abstaining from Zakat as denial of religion:
"Seest thou one, who denies the Judgment (to come)? Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness. And encourages not the feeding of the indigent" (AL Ma'un, vs. 1-3).
The Exalted Allah describes this type of sinner as an oppressor of himself and adds the threat of an immediate punishment. In the Holy Qur'an there is no mention of such a threat for the other types of sins described as oppressors of themselves in neglecting their duties and committing the sin of doing the prohibited.
Read the following verses:
1-The Exalted Allah said:
"What they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind that has Sarr (very cold, very hot or it has a devastating sound), it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls; it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wronged themselves" (Al Umran, v. 117).
In spite of the general meaning of the wind (Sarr) mentioned in this verse, it is better to refer, herein, to the connotative meanings the word implies. A specialist in astronomy told me that the three natural phenomena, namely, excessive cold, excessive heat as well as deafening sound exist in the hurricane. Thus, the mention of the wind (Sarr) is one of the miraculous aspects of the Holy Qur'an, because the three connotative meanings are included in one word. Thus three bad effects of the hurricane are expressed in one word only.
What oppression did they do towards themselves so that the Exalted Allah punished them with destroying their plants?
The Holy Qur'an expresses itself by itself. The Exalted Allah said:
"Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden (i.e., the garden full of plants), when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning (i.e., they joined together and swore to cut the fruits of their orchards and harvest their crops before morning and before people get up from their sleep), but made no reservation (i.e., they would not give part of their crops to the poor). Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep (i.e., the devastating wind came). So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). As the morning broke, they called out, one to another. Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits (i.e., if you are resolute to carry out what you have determined to do, that is depriving the poor from their lot in your harvest). So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (i.e., they set out silently without making noise so that the poor would not wake up and know about their deed), saying : Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day. And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve" (they were able to do that with arrogance 'Hard'). In Arabic the word 'Hard' means their pride, arrogance, anger and self-conceit. The comprehensive meanings of the word 'Hard' together with their ability to do that means that that they were able to do everything in their orchard, i.e., they were free to do whatever they liked with their property. "But when they saw the (garden), they said: We have surely lost our way (i.e., these are not our orchards for ours were green with plants, but these are black with destruction. the plants are torn off, burnt and destroyed. Then they realized that these were their real gardens and orchards, and that they were not lost, and they realized the justice in the universe, so they said: " Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labor)" (Al Qalam, vs. 17-27).
What is astonishing in this verse is the frequent mention of the stem 'Sarm' which means 'cutting', for one is called determined only when he does something by one decisive decision like the cutting of something: "they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning", " And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve".
The stem 'Sarm' with its many connotative meanings mentioned frequently in this verse refers to the fact that the Exalted Allah wants to say to man: "If you want to cut welfare, you will be cut from welfare; if you want to deprive somebody of the good, your will be deprived of the good, and if you want to make people poor, you will become poor; if you want to humiliate the others, you will be humiliated; if you want to insult the others, you will be insulted; because retribution is in accordance with wrong deeds.
You, who are proud of your wealth, do not believe that you oblige the poor with your money when you give them Zakat, for you should know that that the poor save you from what may harm you. After all, do not have the illusion that you have performed the duty of spending from your money on the poor. No, by Allah, for deprivation is prevalent in society, and the needy are plenty.
On the Day of Judgment, you will be asked to account for your luxury, for your tyranny, for your ingratitude. You will be asked to account for the money the Exalted Allah has bestowed upon you while the needy are plenty around you. But if you save part of your money to spend it on the poor, the Exalted Allah will bless you and make your wealth blessed.
Hasn't the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) told us about the owner of the garden who used to divide his income into three parts. He spent the first part on his land, the second part on his family, and the third part on the poor and needy?
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) told us how the Exalted Allah ordered His angels to drive the clouds to the good man's land, and how a voice was heard coming from the clouds saying: "water the garden of so and so".
The angels changed into servants of this man because he served the servants of the Exalted Allah.
The sky is one of the soldiers of the Exalted Allah. On the day of the flood, the Exalted Allah said to the sky "rain", and it rained, then He said to it "stop raining", and it stopped. He said to the earth 'swallow your water", and it swallowed the water.
When shall we understand that the universe around us is one of the soldiers of the Exalted Allah?
When shall we understand that the sky and the earth carry out the orders of the Exalted Allah?
When shall we understand that the disorder that surrounds us is caused by us? If welfare and blessings take place, it is because of the obedience of the good people, but if corruption and confusion spread, it is because of the disobedience of the sinners and the depraved.
" Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the deed) that the hands of men have earned" (Al Rum, v. 41).
2-The Exalted Allah said:
"And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty. On the day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs. This is the (treasure) which ye buried for yourself: taste ye then, the (treasures) ye buried." (Al Taqbah, vs. 34-35).
As is related in the sound Hadith from the Honest and trustful, our master, Muhammad (PBUH), who said:
"Whoever is given wealth, and he refrains from paying Zakat, his wealth would turn into a bald snake (i.e., a great snake), with two raisins (like two raisins on its head), that would encircle him on the Day of Judgment (i.e., like the robe of the gallows).
The wealth that man believes to honor and raise him in society will be changed into a serpent that would encircle his neck and body in case he does not spend some of it on the poor. One day I heard one of the officials say: "Stop speaking about the bald snake". In response to such people, we had better answer him as our Master Noah (PBUH) said:
"If you ridicule us now, we, in turn, can look down on you with ridicule likewise" (Hud, v. 38).
We see what you cannot see. You look at the earth and your footing, so you see nothing but the land, but the Exalted Allah expands the circle of our eyesight so that we are able to see the unseen and the special world. We have witnessed the unseen with the light of belief in what the Exalted Allah and our Prophet (PBUH) said. So laugh, ridicule and after that wait. For we are an Ummah that believes and certifies what our Lord tells us: "Who believe in the Unseen" (Al Baqarah, v.3).
We are an Ummah that is disciplined by the Islamic law, and our hearts believe in what the Owner of the special and unseen world tells, so let the materialistic make fun of us as much as they can while they defend the law of taxes and believe that it is better than the law of Zakat.
No, by Allah, when Zakat, that is one of the laws of the Exalted Allah, is not applied, all the affairs of society become confused.
Zakat saves society from deprivation. It saves the debtor and the traveler who is cut from his country. It is spent in the way of Allah. It satisfies every person who is in need for money in society. It is taken only from the one who accumulates wealth. It is not taken from the one who has a machine because the machine benefits society by its movement and its performance.
Zakat enhance man to be active.
Zakat is the life of the Ummah. When the Ummah does not care for Zakat, and does not discipline it, wealth becomes unemployed even if individuals perform Zakat separately.
If the wealthy paid Zakat, financial figures will be very high to benefit society.
Where are the honest bodies that would use Zakat properly and would not transfer it from the city where it is collected to make its benefit be reflected upon the inhabitants of this city so that welfare prevails?
Crowded mosques with prayers in Ramadan does not mean that we are on the threshold of reform. Definitely not, for it is inevitable that goodness should present reformation. If goodness does not lead to reformation, that means reversing the balance. Accordingly, confusion and corruption would be the outcome instead of reformation. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
"Whoever is given wealth, and he refrains from paying Zakat, his wealth would turn into a bald snake with two raisins that would encircle him on the Day of Judgment taking hold of the corners of his mouth and saying: 'I am your wealth. I am your treasure".
Then he (PBUH) recited the following verse:

"And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah hath given them of his Grace, think that it is good for them: nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar, on the day of judgment" Al Umran, v. 180).
Then he concluded in the following verse:
"As to the Righteous, they will be in the midst of Gardens and Springs, taking joy in the things which their Lord gives them, because, before then, they lived a good life. They were in the habit of sleeping but little by night, and in the hours of early dawn, they (were found) praying for Forgiveness, and in their wealth and possessions (was remembered) the right of the (needy,) him who asked, and him who (for some reason) was prevented (from asking)" (Al Thariyat, vs. 15-19).
Allahum…Guide us to You favorably, and make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.