Friday Sermon Archive Series
The following excerpt provides timeless advice – more than 25 years after it was first given – on matters requiring reflection, focus and action. Sheikh Abu Suhaib Ahmad Salaam delivered a lecture in Brixton Mosque during one of its Return to Ilm conferences in the mid-1990’s and was asked the following question:
“Should we consider what the Ummah is going through now as a fitnah (trial, punishment etc.)? Is it the methodology of the Salaf to sit down as we are doing and not participate in that.”
The insight provided by the sheikh can be seen in the answer that followed:
“The following is a principle that you can take and apply for this type of question; Any fighting which you see taking place and the scholars have not given a fatwa that such fighting is Jihad and is legislated in the Deen, then this fighting is considered to be fitnah.
In addition to this, whenever we find a group of people starting a war or participating in a military battle somewhere, but they do not have the ability to establish safety and security to the people nor repel the advances of those who are over them – thereby increasing the fitnah that the people were already in – then this is also to be considered a fitnah.”
Answering the second part of the question, the sheikh continued:
“To ask the question, “Is it the methodology of the Salaf to sit down as we are doing and not participate,” is to suggest that everything in Islam is sitting down and not participating, unless it be fighting and killing people. So if you’re killing people then you are on Islam, but if you are studying and doing other things then this is to be described as “sitting down and not participating!
- As if it is not important for the Muslims to become aware of their religion and the other many issues that are of paramount importance to them;
- As if it is not important for the Muslims to know their aqeedah (beliefs) and about Sunnah.
We need to understand that the war that is taking place now is not a battle between human beings… In reality, it is a battle between truth and falsehood. So if our Ummah does not know truth from falsehood, then inevitably it will fall into the falsehood.”
End of excerpt
