At last Friday's prayers, the preachers of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina urged worshippers towards repentance, correcting past mistakes and contentment with what God has decreed.
Sheikh Dr Faisal bin Jamil Ghazzawi, imam and preacher of Masjid al-Haram, said human beings are created from clay and are prone to error by nature. A mistake is no cause for despair, he said; the real danger is persisting in it and staying away from repentance. A true believer, he said, regrets a slip at once and returns to the right path with firm resolve.
He recalled the Quranic story of the People of the Elephant, whose campaign to destroy the Kaaba failed, and urged listeners to learn from the fate of earlier nations. In the second part of the sermon he warned against associating partners with God, excess in religion, innovation, abandoning prayer, disobeying parents, cutting family ties, spreading rumours and rejecting good advice, and quoted verse 31 of Surah An-Nur, which calls all believers to turn to God in repentance.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Buaijan, imam and preacher of the Prophet's Mosque, said God has divided provision among His servants and varied their lifespans and circumstances, and that peace of heart comes only from accepting that division. A person who keeps eyeing others' wealth may look rich, he said, but is poor at heart.
Contentment, he made clear, does not mean idleness or giving up the search for a livelihood; it means making every lawful effort and leaving the outcome to God. He cited a hadith in Tirmidhi (2305): be content with what God has allotted you and you will be the richest of people.
Closing, he reminded worshippers that God tests people through both want and plenty, urged kindness to those in need, and cautioned against showing off blessings and posting pictures of them, which can hurt those who go without. Keeping some blessings and good deeds private, he said, is part of gratitude.
The report is from Ittefaq's digital desk.
Photo: Bluemangoa2z / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Source: Ittefaq
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