Exhortation
Exhortation
It is our duty to know that:
After confirming the Existence of Allah Almighty, His Oneness, and the greatness of His many blessings which cannot be counted or enumerated, and the first of which is guidance: that He (Glorious & Exalted) graced us with the blessing of true monotheism and Islam, we are required to:
1.Love Allah (Glorious & Exalted):
Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is the God Whom the hearts revere, Whom they feel affection and love for, Whom they crave and long for, and why not?
He (Glorious & Exalted) created us, after we did not exist. We were nothing, and He (Blessed & Exalted) graced us with hearts, minds, souls, and bodies, in addition to the other blessings He (Blessed & Exalted) bestowed upon us, which cannot be counted or enumerated; indeed, even a single one of His (Blessed & Exalted) blessings cannot be counted or enumerated.
He (Glorious & Exalted) is the One Who bestowed on us guidance and mercy, guiding us to believe in Him (Glorious & Exalted), in His Oneness, and in His prophets and messengers. It was He Who made us the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind, the nation of the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad (pbuh). And that's not all. He guided us to love Him (Noble & Sublime), to love His prophet (pbuh), to love his noble companions after him, and to follow them in creed and deed, due to their adherence to the example and way of their prophet (pbuh).
Allah (Glorious & Exalted) described Himself with Great and Beautiful Attributes and called Himself by the Most Beautiful Names, for to Him (Glorious & Exalted) belong the Most Beautiful Names.
Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the Beneficent, the Merciful. He prescribed Mercy for Himself, and that His Mercy (Blessed & Exalted) shall precede His Wrath.
He (Glorious & Exalted) is the Truth; He is never unjust to anyone, even to the weight of an atom or less, for Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the Truth and His Promise is True.
He (Glorious & Exalted) is the Forgiving, the Most Loving, the Generous, the Giver, in addition to the other Attributes of Allah Almighty and His Most Beautiful Names which He (Glorious & Exalted) chose to call Himself for those who believe in Him, affirm His Oneness, obey Him, follow His commands and avoid His prohibition.
From the Perfection of His Wisdom is that He (Glorious & Exalted) is the Compeller, the Subduer, in addition to the other Attributes of Allah Almighty and His Most Beautiful Names which He (Glorious & Exalted) chose to call Himself for those who turn away from Him and refuse to believe in Him, for those who associate partners with Him, who rebel against Him, and who stop obeying Him and following His orders.
He (Glorious & Exalted) is the One, the Unique, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, the Noble, in addition to the other Attributes of Allah Almighty and His Most Beautiful Names which refer to His Absolute Greatness (Glorious & Exalted).
As such, it is our duty to love Allah Most High, to vindicate Him, glorify Him, and magnify Him. We must not love anyone or anything except for His sake (Glorious & Exalted), seeking His good pleasure, and we must not hate or detest anyone or anything, except for His sake (Glorious & Exalted), for fear of His punishment and painful torment. We should not love except what Allah (Blessed & Exalted) loves, and we should not hate except what He (Glorious & Exalted) hates.
Likewise, we should love the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) more than his own soul that resides in his body, because:
A. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the most beloved of all creation to Allah Almighty and he was the best example to be followed in worshipping his Lord (Blessed & Exalted).
As such, it is our duty to love the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) more than our own souls that reside within our bodies, because he was the most beloved of all creation to Allah Almighty, for love of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) is love of the Seal of His Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad (pbuh).
B.Allah (Blessed & Exalted) made the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) a cause for our guidance and the guidance of all His slaves to the clear truth, to that which pleases Him (Glorious & Exalted) and brings them out of the darkness of disbelief and idolatry to the light of faith and true monotheism.
C.The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) loves his people. He used to miss those of them who did not see him.
And that is not all. He used to fear for them as much as a person could fear. He would not leave any path of goodness which would bring us closer to Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and His Mercy and Forgiveness, except that he would order us to do it and urge us strongly. Nor would he leave any path to evil which would lead us away from Allah Almighty and His Mercy and Forgiveness, except that he would forbid it for us and drive us away from it.
He did not rush to call down Allah's Wrath on his people when they rejected him; rather, he saved this for the Day of Resurrection (the Day of Judgment) so that he could plead for his nation (pbuh).
2. Magnify Allah (Glorious & Exalted):
It is our duty to magnify Allah Almighty in our hearts; then, we must magnify His prohibitions and His rites of worship. Thereafter, we must fear Allah (Glorious & Exalted) in secret and in public. We must obey Him, follow His commands, and avoid His prohibitions, for the Most High has said, {…and whoever honors the sacred things of Allah, then that is better for him in the Sight of his Lord…}[Al-Hajj 22: 30] and {Thus it is. And whosoever honors the Symbols of Allah, then it is truly from the piety of the heart.}[Al-Hajj 22: 32]
3.Defend Allah (Mighty & Majestic) and champion His religion:
Allah Most High has said, {Oh you who believe! If you help (in the cause of)Allah, He will help you, and make firm your foothold.}[Muhammad 47: 7]
Allah (Blessed & Exalted) bestowed His grace upon us by making us believe in Him and in His Oneness, and in His prophets and messengers. Therefore, it is our duty to defend Him (Mighty & Majestic) by:
A. Judging by His Book (the Holy Quran), abiding by His laws, and following the example of His prophet (pbuh).
B.Following His commands (Noble & Sublime) and avoiding His prohibitions.
C.Keeping His limits (Noble & Sublime) and honoring His covenants.
D.Championing His slaves, the true believers in Islamic monotheism, in every place against their enemies—the enemies of the religion—not taking into account the national alliances of the Days of Ignorance or artificial geographical borders. There is no difference between an Arab Muslim and a non-Arab Muslim. All are equal in Islam.
E.Championing His slaves, the true believers in Islamic monotheism, by advising them and reconciling between them.
Allah Most High has said, {The believers are nothing else than brothers. So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.}[Al-Hujuraat 49: 10] in addition to other methods of helping Allah (Mighty & Majestic).
It is also our duty to champion the religion of Allah (Mighty & Majestic) by:
a.Adhering to it, and inviting others to it using all different methods of preaching which are available to us in this day and age.
i.By printing books of preaching, Islamic law, Sirah (the Prophet's, pbuh, biography), and the Prophetic Sunnah, in all different languages: Arabic and foreign, and distributing them to Oriental Studies centers, public libraries, and university libraries all over the world.
ii.Starting websites on the Internet devoted to Islamic preaching, in different languages, and especially in English.
iii.Starting satellite channels, radio broadcasts and magazines that discuss Islam and invite others to it, in all different languages, especially English.
b.We raise the banner of beneficial knowledge as our motto. We strive to be serious in spreading and raising the level of religious knowledge of individuals in the Muslim World and beyond, in various forms, from doctrine to scriptural exegesis, jurisprudence, biography, and Islamic history.
We counteract the Western and communist opposition media, refuting the false accusations they stir up.
We resist fake websites of the enemies of Islam on the Internet that claim to belong to Islam in order to attack it, and we raise awareness about them among the Muslims and others.
c.We follow the methodology of the Pious Predecessors. We follow their path, for it is the path that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his noble companions walked. We avoid misguided and misguiding sects and innovating Sufi groups who make things up about the religion that appear over and over again, every day.
d.We know the reliable scholars of the religion—those that are agreed upon and trusted—their esteem and the greatness of their stature, and we defend them and come to their aid.
e.We defend this great religion—Islam—with everything of value: life, wealth, effort, etc.
f.We praise Allah (Blessed & Exalted), day and night, for this great blessing which He has bestowed upon us—that He made us true monotheists, Muslims, true believers, devoted to the best religion, none other than Islam, which the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (pbuh) came with. All praise be to Allah for the blessing of Islam, and all praise be to Allah for the blessing of faith.
Oh Allah, send Your blessing and peace upon our faithful messenger, the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad (pbuh). Give him the highest place in Paradise, a rank above the rest, and send him to the station of praise and glory which You have promised him.
Oh Allah, send peace and blessing upon his household, his pure, elect companions, and on those who have been guided by his example, who walk in his footsteps, and who follow his Sunnah until the Day of Judgment.
And all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
