By Sheikh Salah al-Budair – 25 Rabiul Awwal 1436

His Eminence Sheikh Salah al-Budair, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday Khutbah entitled, “Reflecting on Allah’s Favours and Creation”,in which he talked about contemplating and reflecting upon Allah’s favours and creation, such as the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the stars and the planets, and the seas and the rivers. He explained that it is such reflection that leads one to have belief in Allah alone without associating any partners with Him and to devote all acts of worship to Him only. In the second part of his khutbah, he stressed the importance of the bond of brotherhood among Muslims, which should be embodied in showing sympathy for our fellow Muslims who are suffering great disasters and catastrophes in Syria and other places.

Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has lavished His abundant blessings upon us and Who has created the universe with its heavens and earth; meadows and waterways; plants, gardens, and forests; seas, rivers, and ponds; and black, red, and white mountains. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, a testimony of a servant who has returned to his Lord; and I bear witness that our prophet and master, Muhammad, is His servant and messenger, who never told a lie or engaged in any falsehood. May Allah bestow His peace and blessings upon him and upon all his family and Companions, perpetually and continuously until the Day of Judgement.

Now then, O Muslims!
Fear Allah, for fear of Allah is the best of all gains and obedience to Him is the most honourable source of pride. “O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam [as Muslims (with complete submission to Allah)].” (Al ‘Imran: 102)

O Muslims!
Allah created this great universe, with all its heights and depths, by His ability. He is its Creator, Originator, and Maker, Who brought it into being out of nothing. He is the Disposer of all its affairs by His command, power, might, and knowledge. In His Hand lie all its affairs; He can establish and revoke whatever He wills without the least resistance or opposition. He is the Only Owner of this world and all its dwellers, and He is the Giver and Bestower of life. Therefore, draw lessons from Allah’s creation, which shows His Divine Being and Attributes, as well as His laws, His decrees, and His signs. Reflect upon the heavens and the earth, upon their creation and greatness, and upon all that is in them and between them.

Reflect on the earth with its mountains, its seas and deserts, its valleys and flatlands, and its buildings and inhabitants. Reflect on the heavens, with their height and wideness, their planets and orbits, their stars and mist, and their shooting stars and clouds. Reflect on the sun and the moon and see how they revolve in their orbits according to a predetermined calculation and run in their fixed courses according to a system that never falters or alters. Look at the moon and see how it is born and how its body, light, and height increase until it becomes a full moon, and then how it decreases in size and dwindles away until it eventually disappears.Reflect on light and darkness and see how Allah takes away the darkness of the night and brings forth the light of the day.

Then the whole existence becomes full of light, the horizon is illuminated, and darkness fades away. The night and its darkness dissipate, and the day breaks with its brightness and rays.

“He it is Who has appointed for you the night that you may rest therein, and the day to make things visible (to you). Verily, in this are Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for a people who listen (i.e. those who think deeply).” (Yunus: 67)

Look at the two bodies of flowing water; one is fresh, sweet, and pleasant to drink, and the other is salty and bitter, with a taste that makes it thoroughly undrinkable. Look at all types of creatures: the animals, the beasts of prey, the flying birds, and the swimming fish. Reflect upon the winds that He sends as heralds of glad tidings of rain. Reflect upon the clouds and see how the winds drift them, drive them along, amass them, disperse them in the sky, change their direction, or seed them. Reflect on the burning hot summer and the biting cold winter. Reflect on the hailstones that come down, by virtue of the power of Allah, Exalted be He, from piled up, massive clouds that resemble mountains in their size and mass.Ponder on the cold countries and see how their lands are covered in a blanket of snow and hail that neither humans nor any other creature can prevent or remove. Allah sends them down as a punishment to whomever He wills and as a blessing upon whomever He wills, and He turns them away from whomever He wills.

“See you not that Allah drives the clouds gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap of layers, and you see the rain comes forth from between them. And He sends down from the sky hail (like) mountains, (or there are in the heaven mountains of hail from where He sends down hail), and strikes therewith whom He will, and averts it from whom He wills. The vivid flash of its (clouds) lightning nearly blinds the sight. Allah causes the night and the day to succeed each other (i.e. if the day is gone, the night comes, and if the night is gone, the day comes, and so on). Truly, in this is indeed a lesson for those who have insight.” (An-Nur: 43-44)

These are indeed great signs and proofs of the power and might of the Creator, the One Who regulates all affairs and determines everything.They indeed provide a lesson and a reminder for those servants of Allah who frequently turn to Him and deeply reflect on His creation. The more they reflect on His creation, the more they increase in certainty, conviction, submission to Allah, faith, fear of Allah, and submissiveness to Him, and the more they will turn to Him in repentance.

The greatest fruit of reflecting upon Allah’s creatures and whatever beings He has made is to worship Allah alone without assigning partners to Him, and to testify that He is the Creator, the All-Provider, and the Bestower of all favours upon His creation at all times and under all circumstances. He is the only One Whose Oneness people should declare without associating any of His creatures with Him.Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I once said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! What is the greatest of all sins?’ He said, ‘To set up a rival to Allah though He alone created you’” (Agreed upon).

Whoever turns to other than his Creator and Lord to relieve his harm and affliction will surely lose his hereafter and will incur eternal misery upon himself. Whoever calls upon the dead in their graves, visits tombs, and asks their keepers to let him in will be utterly disappointed, as he is in fact calling mere dust and asking a mirage to answer his call. Calling upon the dead and their remains is futile, for they cannot possibly do anything or benefit anyone. They neither hear a supplication nor understand to a call.

“And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes), besides Allah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them?)” (Al-Ahqaf: 5)

Similarly, whoever asks a sorcerer, a soothsayer, an astrologer, or a diviner about anything and believes him, or wears an amulet, a thread, or a talisman, or hangs a charm made of string or a cord of beads to ward off evil will be stricken with humiliation and met with disappointment, and he will suffer great loss. Such outrageous innovations in religion are only practised by those who do not reflect upon Allah’s great creation that testifies to His Oneness, Lordship, Divinity, Self-Sufficiency, Divine Being, Names, and Attributes, and those who do not affirm that He alone can relieve distress and remove harm.

O You who have dared to commit forbidden deeds and have engaged in reprehensible acts! Have you forgotten that Allah is watching all your deeds and that He knows all your states while you are persistently given to unlawful distractions and sins?Repent to Allah before you are afflicted by painful torment, dreadful punishments, and destructive disasters.Hasten to do good deeds that draw you nearer to Allah, and forsake all sins and deeds that doom you to Hellfire.

“And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah’s Forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (An-Nisa’:110)

O Allah! Make us among those who reflect upon Your creation and take heed, those who remember and draw lessons, and those who repent and seek Your forgiveness before being stricken by death and entombed. I ask forgiveness of Allah, the Most-High, the Most-Great. Ask Allah for forgiveness; He is Oft-Forgiving to all those who often return to Him in obedience and in repentance.