Islam
Friday Sermon: Tafsir Surah Al-Ma’idah (The Table Spread with Food) Quran 5
Published
2 years agoon
By
Eric
By Babatunde Jose
In a multi-faith society, it is usually necessary to clear misconceptions about each other’s religion, particularly those things that are capable of causing disaffection between people. Some of such issues relate to food. What is halal and what is haram, interfaith marriage, attendance at burials, and even felicitations during festivals. Unfortunately, there are clerics who try to exacerbate these differences by accentuating the gulf between the religions out of ignorance, misinterpretation of the gospels and in some cases outright mischief to cause ill-will and disaffection. The Quran offers an insight into these issues in some of the Surahs. Today we shall examine the issue of food as enunciated in Chapter 5 of the Quran.
This Surah has been called Al-Ma’idah (the food), because of the invocation of Jesus (as) when he asked for the descent of heavenly food, mentioned in verse 114 of this Surah. The Arabic term Ma’idah originally is used for a tray with food inside. At-Tirmidhi recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr said, “The last Surahs to be revealed were Surat Al-Ma’idah (Chapter 5) and Surat Al-Fath (chapter 48).”
The chapter’s topics include animals which are forbidden, and Jesus’ and Moses’ missions. Verse 90 prohibits “The intoxicant” (alcohol). Verse 8 contains the passage: “Do not let the hatred of a people lead you to injustice”. And Verse 67 is relevant to the Farewell Pilgrimage.
The highpoint of this Surah relates to the permission and prohibition of foods, thereby clarifying confusions being perpetrated by ignorant interpreters.
This topic is very important in view of interfaith relations and understanding. Can I break bread with my neighbor from another religion? Can he break bread with me too? Can I marry from another religion? Can I join my friends in celebrating their religious festivals? Can I as a Muslim wish my neighbor Merry Christmas during their yuletide? Can I offer him meat from my Ileya ram? Can I eat the food he brings me during their Easter and Christmas celebrations? Can I attend his burial?
For the purpose of this exercise, we shall limit our interrogation to verses 1,3-5 of this Surah as they have a bearing on the illicit interpretation of ignorant and mischievous Alfas who are bent on endangering the religious harmony that exist between Muslims and their Christian brethren. They have caused so much confusion that one is at a loss to discern what food is halal and what is haram.
The Quran says in the opening of the Surah: Believers! Honor your bonds! All grazing beasts of the flock are permitted to you except those which are recited to you hereinafter, . . . . Indeed, Allah decrees as He wills. (Quran 5:1)
This brief introductory statement is followed by an enunciation of those prohibitions which people are required to observe.
The terms in which the injunction is conveyed are bahimat al-an’am (all grazing beasts of the flock). Hence the permission is of wider import and embraces all grazing quadrupeds of the cattle type, i.e. which do not possess canine teeth, which feed on plants rather than animals.
This implies that the flesh of those animals which have canine teeth and are carnivorous is not permissible. This implication was elucidated by the Prophet (peace be on him) and is embodied in a tradition in which he prohibited those beasts which kill and eat other animals. Likewise, the Prophet (peace be on him) also prohibited birds with claws and those that feed on carrion. (Bukhari, Tirmidhi, ‘At’imah’, Muslim, ‘Sayd’, Nasa’i, ‘Sayd wa Dhaba’ih’, Ibn Majah.
Allah went on to elucidate: Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, the animal slaughtered in any name other than Allah’s, the animal which has either been strangled, killed by blows, has died of a fall, by goring or that devoured by a beast of prey – unless it be that which you yourselves might have slaughtered while it was still alive – and that which was slaughtered at the altars. . . . . . . . . . This day I have perfected for you your religion and have bestowed upon you My bounty in full measure and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion. (Follow, then, the lawful and unlawful bounds enjoined upon you.) As for he who is driven by hunger, without being willfully inclined to sin, surely Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. (Quran 5:3)
It is lawful to eat the flesh of an animal which may have suffered from any of the above-mentioned accidents providing it was still alive until slaughtered. This verse also makes it clear that the flesh of an animal becomes lawful only by slaughtering ritually, and that no other method of killing is valid. The preferred method is slitting the throat so that the blood is completely drained from the animal’s body.
The disadvantage of killing an animal by either guillotine or strangulation is that the greater part of the blood remains within the body, and at various places it sticks to the flesh and forms congealed lumps. If an animal is slaughtered by slitting the throat, on the other hand, the connection between mind and body remains intact for a short while, with the result that the blood is thoroughly drained out from all the veins and the flesh becomes fully cleansed of blood. We have just come across the injunction prohibiting the eating of blood. So only that flesh which has been purged of blood is declared lawful.
As regards the swine, its prohibition is not only in the Quran but dates back to the older religions. According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they don’t chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8. In the old days, it was believed they ate calorie-dense foods, not only nuts and grains but also less salubrious items such as carrion, human corpses and feces. The pigs were unclean because they ate filth. The Jews were not alone in this prejudice. In the great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, priests and rulers avoided pork at all costs.
In Ayat 4 of the Surah, Allah said: They ask you what has been made lawful to them. Say: ‘All clean things have been made lawful to you, and such hunting animals as you teach, training them to hunt, teaching them the knowledge Allah has given you – you may eat what they catch for you – but invoke the name of Allah on it. Have fear of Allah (in violating His Law). Allah is swift in His reckoning.’
There is a certain subtlety in how the query is answered. Religious-minded people often fall into a prohibitionist mentality by tending to regard as unlawful everything not expressly declared as lawful. This makes them excessively fastidious and over-suspicious and inclined to ask for a complete list of all that is lawful and permitted. The Qur’an’s response to this question seems to be aimed, in the first place, at the reform of this mentality.
Henceforth, except for a few prohibitions, the lawful domain embraced virtually everything.
The lawfulness of things has been tied, however, to the stipulation of their being clean so that no one can argue for the lawfulness of things which are unclean. Therefore, everything is clean apart from those things which can be reckoned unclean either according to any of the principles embodied in the Law or which are repellent to man’s innate sense of good taste or which civilized human beings have generally found offensive to their natural feelings of cleanliness and decency.
Hence, Allah says: This day all good things have been made lawful to you. The food of the People of the Book is permitted to you, and your food is permitted to them. And permitted to you are chaste women, be they either from among the believers or from among those who have received the Book before you, provided you become their protectors in wedlock after paying them their bridal-due, rather than go around committing fornication and taking them as secret-companions. The work of he who refuses to follow the way of faith will go to waste, and he will be among the utter losers in the Hereafter. (Quran 5:5)
The food of the People of the Book includes the animals slaughtered by them. The rule that ‘our food is lawful to them and theirs lawful to us’ signifies that there need be no barriers between us and the People of the Book regarding food. We may eat with them, and they will eat with us. But this general proclamation of permission is preceded by a reiteration of the statement: ‘All good things have been made lawful to you.’
This indicates that if the People of the Book either do not observe those principles of cleanliness and purity which are considered obligatory by the Law or if their food includes prohibited items, then one should abstain from eating them.
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend.
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You drunken and confused lot! You who take delight and indulge in rivalry for wealth, children and the pleasures of this life, from which you are sure to depart! You who are absorbed with what you have, unaware of what comes afterwards! You who will leave the object of this rivalry, and what you seek pride in, and go to a narrow hole where there is no rivalry or pride! Wake up and look around, all of you! For indeed, “you are preoccupied by greed for more and more, until you go down to your graves.” – Sayyid Qutb: In the Shade of the Quran
Takathur, or Piling Up. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things), Until ye visit the graves. But nay, ye soon shall know (the reality). Again, ye soon shall know! Nay, were ye to know with certainty of mind, (ye would beware!) Ye shall certainly see Hellfire! Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight! Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about joy (ye indulged in!) (Quran 102:1-8).
In this Sura people have been warned of the evil consequences of worshipping worldly possessions which leads them to greed and avariciousness an increases their propensity to acquire more and more of worldly wealth, material benefits and pleasures, position and power, till their death, and in vying with one another , bragging and boasting about their acquisitions. This one pursuit has so occupied them that they are left with no time or opportunity for pursuing the higher things in life.
They mortgage their soul on the altar of acquisitiveness. After warning the people of its evil end the Quran says: “These blessings which you are amassing and enjoying thoughtlessly, are not mere blessings but are also a means of your trial. For each one of these blessings and comforts you will surely be called to account in the Hereafter.”
In his Tafsir of the above Sura, Sayyid Qutb, the ‘Martyr’ says of the first two Ayah that the passion for piling up more and more has made the people heedless of God, of the Hereafter, of the moral bounds and moral responsibilities, of the rights of others and of their own obligations to render those rights.
They are only after raising the standard of living and do not bother even if the standard of humanity is falling. They want to acquire more and more wealth no matter how and by what means it is acquired. They desire to have more and more means of comfort and physical enjoyment and, overwhelmed by this greed, they have become wholly insensitive as to the ultimate end of this way of living. They are engaged in a race with others to acquire more and more of power, more and more of forces, more and more of weapons, and they have no idea that all these are means of filling God’s earth with tyranny and wickedness and of destroying humanity itself.
We are under the delusion that the abundance of the worldly goods and surpassing others in it, is real progress and success, whereas the opposite is the case. Soon you will know its evil end and you will realize that it was a stupendous error in which you remained involved throughout your life.
In several Hadiths it has been reported from the Holy Prophet (SAW) that the believers and the disbelievers, both will have to account for the blessings granted by Allah. However, the people who did not show ingratitude but spent their lives as grateful servants of Allah, will come out successful from the accountability, and those who proved thankless to Allah for His blessings and committed ingratitude by word or by deed, or by both; will emerge as failures.
The Holy Prophet (SAW) said: “By Him in Whose hand is my life: this is of the blessings about which you will be questioned on the Resurrection Day: the cool shade, the cool dates, the cool water.”
These Ahadith make it explicit that not only the disbelievers but the righteous believers too will be questioned. As for the blessings which Allah has bestowed on man, they are unlimited and countless. There are many blessings of which man is not even conscious.
The Qur’an says:
And He giveth you all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favors of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.(Quran 14: 34).
Countless of them are the blessings which Allah has granted directly to man, and a large number of these are the blessings which man is granted through his own skill and endeavor.
About the blessings that accrue to man in consequence of his own labor and skill, he will have to render an account as to how he acquired them and in what ways he expended them. The man who claimed to possess 25 buildings and plots in choice parts of Lagos and Abuja will have questions to answer on the Day of Qiyamah, as will the banker who built an estate of over 753 buildings.
In respect of the blessings directly bestowed by Allah, he will have to give an account as to how he used them. And in respect of all the blessings, on the whole, he will have to tell whether he had acknowledged that those blessings had been granted by Allah and whether he had expressed gratitude for them to Allah with his heart, and by word and deed, or whether he thought he had received all that accidentally, or as’ a gift from many gods, or whether he held the belief that although those were the blessings of One God, in their bestowal many other beings also had a part, and for that very reason he had taken them as his gods and worshiped and thanked them as such.
That mutual increase in wealth diverts man is commented on by the Prophet (SAW) in the Hadith in which he said: (If the Son of Adam had a valley of gold, he would desire another like it…).
Imam Ahmad recorded from `Abdullah bin Ash-Shikhkhir that he said, “I came to the Messenger of Allah (SAW) while he was saying: The Son of Adam says, “My wealth, my wealth.” But do you get anything (of benefit) from your wealth except for that which you ate and you finished it, or that which you clothed yourself with and you wore it out, or that which you gave as charity and you have spent it)” Muslim, At-Tirmidhi.
Imam Ahmad recorded from Anas that the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘The Son of Adam becomes old with senility, but yet two things remain with him: greed and hope.’ Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about joy (ye indulged in!). (Quran 102:8)
Meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, you all will be questioned concerning your gratitude towards the favors that Allah blessed you with, such as health, safety, sustenance and other things. You will be asked if you return His favors by being thankful to Him and worshipping Him.
Then, on that day (shall ye be questioned that Day about joy) you will be asked whether you gave thanks for all the bounties you enjoyed, of food, drink, clothing, etc’.
Bukhari, At-Tirmizi, An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “There are two blessings of which many people are deceived (i.e. about which they wrong or deceive themselves): Health and leisure time.” That is, they are slack, or negligent in giving thanks for them, neither making full use of them nor fulfilling their obligations in regard to them.”
It is reported from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah will say (on the Day of Judgement): ‘O, son of Adam! I made you to ride on horseback and on the camel and I gave you wives and made you to rule and to sit upon thrones, and what thanks do you give for all that?’
This Surah reminds one of the story of the miserly and stingy rich man in Yusuf Olatunji’s ballad Oba Oluwa loni dede. After death, the rich man gets to heaven and meets his maker and God asks him ‘what have you brought for me’. The rich man was embarrassed and he replied, opening his palms ‘Lord, I have brought nothing. See my empty palms’. We come with nothing and will go with nothing.
O Allah we thank thee for all You have blessed us with. We recognize that it is not by our power but by Your Grace.
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend.
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Jesus was crucified between two thieves. According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the penitent thief on his right was named Dismas while the unrepentant thief on his left was Gestas. We could liken the corrupt civil servant to Gestas, ‘Ole apa osi’.
“That Nigeria is not working is a fact that only those who deceive themselves would dispute. Yet, there is nothing that one can accuse the political class of for which the civil service can be exonerated. As the main organ through which the policies and programs of government are implemented, it stands to reason that the civil service is also culpable in the rot that now defines our society. Indeed, according to a research paper published by the United Nations University titled ‘Civil Service Reform: A Review’ credited to Sarah Repucci, “The civil service is the backbone of the state, and can either support or undermine a country’s entire system of governance.”- Segun Adeniyi.
Our civil service is not only excessively bloated (both at federal and state levels), but a cesspool of corruption, nepotism and tribalism. The reasons for the corrupt civil service which in turn has given room to ineffective service delivery are the weak institutional structures, cumbersome administrative procedure, negative attitude of the civil servants to work and individuals’ insatiable appetite for wealth at all cost. – Gabriel Favor Eke: Corruption in the Civil Service: The Dearth of Effective Service Delivery.
The 1975 purge of the service led to its gradual transformation into the Evil Service that it is today. Our erstwhile hardworking and diligent civil servants were transformed into Gestases, ‘Ole Apa osi’. They are now working in tandem with their political compatriots to ruin the commonwealth.
Lack of policy implementation and policy inconsistency are products of political corruption. While religious organizations are neck deep in monetization, the proliferation of civil societies in Nigeria has become an avenue to attract international donors. These are all off-shoots of corruption.
Nigeria’s civil service was declining due to its inability to articulate a vision and develop the required capacity to implement such vision:“Many, who mourn the decline of the civil service today from its days as ‘primus inter pares’ in the Commonwealth to one which has earned a reputation for inefficiency, low productivity, corruption and insensitivity to the needs of the public, fall into the error of thinking that the problem is a poverty of ideas and capacity on the part of the civil service; whereas, it is the inability to clearly articulate a vision, ensure that the service develops the required capacity to articulate and implement the various components of the vision.
Talking of vision presupposes that there are cherished values. The question that begs for an answer is what are our values? It is our values that translate into vision and ultimately goals; where there are no values there can be no vision. This unfortunately is where we find ourselves today.
We had it coming right from the pre independence period when the tripod of leadership was seating on divergent and irreconcilable values. The Northern People’s Congress (Jammaa Mutani Arewa) and its leadership had a Northern people’s agenda. The Action Group (offshoot of Egbe Omo Oduduwa) in the west was equally focused on its insular values.
The NCNC, which was the most national in outlook however revealed it’s true colour as an Ibo irredentist organ; what with its Ibonization of the civil service, a situation that led to the pejorative sobriquet ‘ikeji ‘ani’. Said Zik, in an address to the Ibo State Union in Aba as early as 1949: “It would appear that God has specially created the Ibo people to free the people of Africa from the bondage of ages . . . the Ibo cannot shirk the responsibility conferred on it by its manifest destiny. That was Zik who would later be known as Zik of Africa and a foremost nationalist. Indeed!
The absence of commonality of values would eventually lead to the schism among the leadership and the creation of a fertile soil for widespread corruption that would see the civil service turned into ‘The Evil Service’.
In the Bible, particularly in the parable of the “Faithful and Evil Servant,” the evil servant represents someone who is entrusted with a responsibility but chooses to be unfaithful, neglecting their duties and mistreating others. This figure serves as a cautionary tale against unfaithfulness and the consequences of failing to fulfill one’s obligations.
• Matthew 24:48-51:
This passage depicts an evil servant who, in his master’s absence, mistreats fellow servants and indulges in worldly pleasures.
• Parable of the Talents:
This parable also highlights the importance of using entrusted resources wisely and faithfully.
• The consequences of unfaithfulness: Neglecting our duties and mistreating others will lead to judgment.
“Flowing from these is the imperative that our society must be governed by the rule of law, administered by a trustworthy, fearless, impartial and efficient judiciary”.
In our public service, certain species of corruption have gone mainstream and have become normalized. Nowhere is the evolution of smaller evils into bigger evils more evident than in Nigeria.
The Nigerian public service is irretrievably dysfunctional with the cardinal characteristic as a silo of corruption. The civil servants and the amoral middle class are the foremost destroyers of Nigeria. During the military era, everyone puts the blame of Nigeria’s dysfunction on the military. Under various democratic regimes, we blame the politicians for all ills but there is a constant enabling entity common under the various systems of government we have experimented with – the civil service.
“There are civil servants today who are richer than their ministries. Apart from kickbacks, envelope budgeting allows them to budget for the same things, whether these are needed or not. Unspent funds are shared at the end of the year, instead of returned to the treasury. Despite a ballooning population and dwindling revenues, many agencies exist whose functions have no impact on our daily lives.
“What is the impact of the millions of dollars budgeted for the National Space Research and Development Agency, the Defense Space Administration, and Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited?
“The Biotechnology Development Agency operates twenty-six centers cross country. Have you ever heard of these government bodies? What do they do? What are the benefits of these agencies to Nigerians? What are the economic returns on their significant budgets? . . . We do not have nuclear reactors, yet we have an Atomic Energy Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Authority. One can only say these establishments are conduits for bureaucratic corruption.”- Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú
There are some universal attributes such as self-reliance, trustworthiness, communication skills, compassion, positivity, inspiring, awareness and far sightedness which can be helpful in order to become a successful Leader.
Allah SWT has considered in the Quran:“There has undoubtedly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an exceptional arrangement for any person whose faith is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] evokes Allah frequently.”(Quran 33:21)
If we summarize the qualities of leadership as observed in the life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his companions, these are values that if shared among our leaders our lives could be transformed and made better than what we have now.
No doubt a clean and reformed civil service will make it very difficult for any politician to steal public funds or convert our joint patrimony for private use.
The former Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo said; a situation where privileged civil servants subvert the system for personal gains at the expense of the poor is the greatest tragedy that a nation could experience.
Recently, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, made the revelation in an interview that most houses in Asokoro and Maitama, Abuja, are owned by civil servants, suggesting widespread corruption.
A commentator said that: This is no news because, “for years some of us have been describing them as ‘evil servants’. They are at the heart of the corruption enterprise of Nigeria. Simply looking at all wealthy Nigerians, 99% are ex-government officials, retired or otherwise. They typically have no known businesses, no IP attached to their names or not known to have inherited their wealth.”
It is these ‘evil servants’ that have rendered the Nigerian government very useless to the extent citizens do not enjoy any government services in the country called NIgeria. Beaming searchlights on the corrupt ‘evil servants’ will not suffice, life should be made unbearable for them in the country by actively going after them, confiscating the properties identified everywhere including their states of origin. They are the termites that have been eating up Nigeria from the inside and need to be treated as such…
“Ihdinas-Siraat-Al-Mustaqeem” “Guide us upon the straight path”
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend
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Islam
Friday Sermon: The Farewell Sermon: A Prophet’s Final Admonition
Published
3 weeks agoon
June 6, 2025By
Eric
The last sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), known as the Farewell Sermon, was delivered on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 10 AH (6 March 632 CE), in the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat during the Hajj pilgrimage. In this sermon, he emphasized the importance of equality, justice, and the sanctity of life and property, stating that all humans are equal and that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab. He also conveyed the final revelation from Allah, which completed the Quran, affirming that “this day I have perfected your religion for you”(Quran 5:3). The sermon serves as a significant reminder of the core principles of Islam and the importance of unity among Muslims.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is an example for all of humanity. He was a remarkable man at all times. He excelled in all walks of life by being a prophet, ruler, statesman, orator, soldier, husband, friend, father and a grandfather. He was a man of love, patience, courage, wisdom, generosity, intelligence and exemplary character who inspires over a billion lives throughout the world. Allah says in the Quran that he was sent as a mercy for the people of the world: “We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples.” (Quran 21:107)
Historically, the Farewell Sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) occupies an important place in Islam. The sermon consisted of summarized exhortations reflecting some of the core teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. The sermon exemplifies the Quran’s assertion that the prophet was but a warner: This was mentioned 57 times in the Quran.
The farewell sermon of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is one of the most profound speeches in the history of humanity. It is a timeless message that holds relevance for all people, regardless of their background, religion, or ethnicity.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) undertook his farewell and only pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H. and it has since been the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.
The Final Sermon:
“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.
“O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. God has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. God has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abd’el Muttalib shall henceforth be waived…
“Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
“O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
“O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat. Perform Hajj if you have the means.
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
“Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
“O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.
“All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”
Thus the beloved Prophet (SAW) completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down: “…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)
Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are astounding and it could rightly be described as the Prophet’s last Admonition.
But how have we as his followers kept to his admonitions? We have kept to them in the breach: An incorrigible generation, hell bent on disobedience and trenchant iniquities, we kill our fellow men, we enslave our women in the name of Sunnah, we persecute people of other faiths and engage in terrorism and are unjust to peoples of other races and ethnic persuasions, we are intolerant and intemperate in our manners and speech and we are bigots and fanatical in our ways.
We have gone against all the things in the admonitions. We are unjust, nepotic and consume usury (riba); we even export hard drugs to the ‘House of God; child abuse, prostitution and other forms of iniquities that make Sodom and Gomorrah pale into insignificance.
What will we not do for money? We dispossess the orphans and maltreat the widows. Sexual inequality which the Prophet (SAW) preached against is still the order of the day; 1,393 years after the Prophet (SAW), the Saudis and their cohorts still treat women as chattels. The Admonition talks about equality of men but the Arab Muslims did not remember that when they came to enslave Africans, especially from East Africa. They still do, with many of our women serving as sex slaves in Arab countries.
A generation of vile men and human anacondas, we even attempt to bribe God, but He refused to be mocked. On the Day of Qiyyauma they will reap their just recompense.
LA ILAHA ILLA ANTA SUBHANAKA INNI KUNTU MINAZ ZALIMEEN: “None has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)), Glorified (and Exalted) are You (above all that (evil) they associate with You). Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.”(Quran 21:87)
Eid Mubarak and Barka Juma’at.
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Nigerian Engineer Wins $500m Contract to Build Monorail Network in Iraq
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WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Will Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Join Presidential Race?
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Boss Picks7 years ago
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Headline7 years ago
Rehabilitation Comment: Sanwo-Olu’s Support Group Replies Ambode (Video)
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Fashanu, Dolapo Awosika and Prophet Controversy: The Complete Story
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Boss Picks7 years ago
The Great Gani Fawehinmi: His Life, His Legacies & His Frustrations
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Headline7 years ago
Pendulum: Can Atiku Abubakar Defeat Muhammadu Buhari in 2019?