Imam Murtadha Gusau

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy

All praise is to Allah, the Lord of the universe, and peace be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, the seal of Prophets, and upon his household, companions, and all those who follow their example until the end of time.

“Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you; You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, you tell the truth, you help the poor and the destitute, you serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.” [Sahihul Bukhari]

Respected brothers and sisters! By these great words, the Mother of Faithful Believers, Khadijah (RA), strengthened the heart of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), when he talked to her about the Angel that descended to him in the cave of Hirah. Expressing his fear, he (Peace be upon him) said to her:

“I fear that something may happen to me.”

The role of the righteous woman and wife was to relieve the severity of the hardship that affected the Prophet of mercy (Peace be upon him), following this hard difficult meeting with Angel Jibril; and to ensure him about Allah’s Care for him, proving that by referring to the virtuous morals that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to practice in his community. She is clarifying for him that Allah, Glory be to Him, will never disgrace him for one collective reason: he is preserving a group of social worships, so Allah, Glory be to Him, will never disgrace a person, who keeps good relations with kith and kin, who tells the truth, who helps the poor and the destitute, who serves his guests generously and who assists the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.

She is speaking to her husband as if she was a psychologist, a philosopher and a scholar, who is knowledgeable about Allah’s Divine rules in his creatures… By such words, she anticipated what the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him), said:

“Good deeds protect against bad ends, epidemic and ruin…” [Imam Al-Hakim]

Dear brothers and sisters! Wallahi, Allah will never disgrace this great heart that carries all this goodness for people. Sadness will never touch this heart.

Fear from people will never reach his soul. Happiness rather will fill his life, tranquility will fill his soul, bliss will overwhelm his life and the dust of misery will be shaken off his head.

Never… Your heart will not become sad as long as it carries goodness for people… Have glad tidings… The wound will be healed, all the pain will vanish away, and you will move forward in the way of life with this righteous heart, out of which light is overflowing to humans, to light up covered hearts, blind eyes and deaf ears.

By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you… You’re not that kind of people that Allah would disgrace; you’re not that servant that his Lord would abandon him, because you’re a servant, who does good deeds to the servants of Allah. You fed them when they were hungry, you clothed them when they were naked, and sympathised with the orphan. Thus, you acted as a father. You forgave those who did wrong to you. Thus, your forgiveness was like that of a mother towards her children. You have mercy like that of a father or a mother. These are the two merciful ones in this life. Allah did not disgrace you and will never disgrace you.

Enjoy your life! You keep good relations with kith and kin. You keep good relations even with those who abandoned you. You enrich the poor kin, and strengthen the weak kin. You are support for your people and a stake for your relatives. They did not hear but good words from you. They did not touch but good deeds from you. You are a son for their old, a father for their young and a brother for their fellows. You tell the truth. You never tell lies. You never cheat, you never commit perjury, or conceal the truth. You have never been charged of even one lie in your life. You have never been stained by the claws of lying even for a single moment.

You help the destitute. The destitute is that one, who can not afford his own needs. You do not only help him, but you support him! You even carry his stuff on your shoulders! No one seeks your help without having his need fulfilled, his weakness comforted and his heart pleased.

You serve your guests generously. What an honoured guest that you host! What a great guest that you serve! You prepared the kettles, provided the pillows and fulfilled the needs. Guests spend their nights at your home in safety and hospitality, and they leave it honoured and pleased.

You assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones. Life calamities are countless, and reality misfortunes are enormous. However, you help those afflicted till they overcome their calamities, and you help those agonised till they get over their agony. You are the aid of the miserable, treating their wounds and looking after their orphans.

His (Peace be upon him) friend is no Exception! Abu Bakr, his great student, his great companion, follows his steps and practices his morals. When he was tried, he emigrated towards the Land of Habasha, till he reached (Bark Al-Ghamad), where he met Ibn Ad-Dughunnah, the master of the (Peninsula). He asked, “Where are you going Abu Bakr?” Abu Bakr said, “My people ousted me, so I like to travel in the land, in order to worship my Lord.” Ibn Ad-Dughunnah said, “A person like you, Abu Bakr, should not be ousted. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, you tell the truth, you help the poor and the destitute, you serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones. I’m your protector. Go back and worship your Lord in your land.”

Wallahi, Allah will never disgrace the doers of these good deeds. He will never abandon them in the face of a far disbeliever or a near oppressor. Those people are the most worthy of having the power in the land. They are the most deserving ones to have pleasure in this life and in the Hereafter. It was incumbent upon Allah to employ persons such as Ibn Ad-Dughunnah to love, assist and support them, so that good doers enjoy under the protection of Allah, Glory be to Him. Hence, you should do good deed so your heart is pleased and Allah will never disgrace you.

Our great religion (Islam), is not just to pray, to fast and to go to Hajj or Umrah many times, but also give to people their due rights. We need to pay attention to the people around us as well–our parents, our family, our neighbours, our guests, the poor and the destitute, people afflicted with calamities.

During the Prophet’s spiritual retreat in a cave of Hirah, outside Makkah, he encountered Angel Jibril (AS) and was given the first Message. Profoundly perplexed and heavy hearted, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, rushed home and said to his wife, Khadijah Bint Khuwailid, Allah be pleased with her, “Cover me! Cover me! O Khadijah, what has happened to me? I fear for myself!”

How did his wife responded and comforted him? She said:

Never! I swear by Allah! He will never forsake you…you keep good relations with your kith and kin, you help the poor and the destitute, you serve your guests generously, you assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.

She didn’t say, “Never! I swear by Allah, He will never forsake you..you pray, you fast, you spent a lot of time thinking about Allah…” because our relationship with Allah appears in our treatment of others, and she saw only the best of her husband by his excellent treatment of others.

This is the message from the tongue of the best woman of Paradise (Khadijah). It should remind us about the importance of choosing a righteous spouse (and to teach our children that) as well as keep family ties, help the poor and the destitute, serve the guests generously (don’t be stingy) and help those who are afflicted with calamities.

Our great religion (Islam) is a social religion and by you serving His creation well for His sake, you are serving Allah. One certainly cannot claim to be religious or righteous if one is not good and merciful to others.

So evaluate yourselves! How is your relationship with your parents, your children, your spouse, your family? How do you treat those under your charge, your neighbours, your teachers/students, your elders? What are you doing to help the poor, the needy and those afflicted with calamities? If you are oblivious of these things and lacking, change. They have certain rights in Islam and you have to give them their due rights and treat them in the best possible manner and Allah will not forsake you In Shaa Allah.

Dear servants of Allah! Allah will never leave you. No matter how difficult a situation, no matter how long you’ve been there, Allah is by your side.

“Allah will never forsake you, for you maintain the ties of kinship, you are true to your word, you bear the burdens of the weak, you give to people what no one else is able to give, you hospitably entertain your guests, and you help people who are afflicted with calamities.” [Sahihul-Bukhari]

And all praise is for Allah, Lord of all creation, who guided us to Islam and the Sunnah. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Rajab 16, 1443 A.H. (February 18, 2022).