Title of Sermon: Secularism Leads to Corruption of Life
Elements of Sermon:
1. The good life is found in following the guidance of the Lord of the Worlds.
2. Most people deify their desires.
3. The reality of secularism.
4. Secularism corrupts the lives of creation.
All praise be to Allah, the Living and the Sustainer, who gives life and takes it away, to whom belongs creation and command, whose judgment prevails, and to whom we shall return. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah exalt him and send blessings to him abundantly.
O servants of Allah
Fear Allah as He should be feared and remain mindful of Him in private and public. Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims" [Alu 'Imran: 102].
Servants of Allah, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would say upon going to bed, "O Allah, in Your name I live and die" [Bukhari]. Allah is the One who created life and death, and He alone gives and takes life. All life in this world and the Hereafter comes from Him and by His will.
Indeed, Allah decreed that a good life can only be found in belief in Him as the sole Lord and deity, with no partners, and in submitting to His commandments, religion, and law. Allah says:
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
"O you who believe, respond to Allah and the Messenger when they call you to that which gives you life, and know that Allah comes between a person and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered" [Al-Anfal: 24].
He also says:
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely give them a good life, and We will reward them according to the best of what they did" [Al-Nahl: 97].
When Allah decreed that Adam and Eve descend to earth, and that their descendants would live there, He informed them of the path to a good life and prosperity, which is following His guidance sent down to His messengers. This is the only safeguard against misguidance and the wretchedness of life. Any other paths and ideas are merely a production of death and a spread of darkness. Allah says:
قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى * وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى
"Descend from it, all together, some of you enemies to others. Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor be miserable. But whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a wretched life, and We will raise him on the Day of Judgment blind" [Ta Ha: 123-124].
But what did humanity do? Allah says:
بَلْ يُرِيدُ الْإِنْسَانُ لِيَفْجُرَ أَمَامَهُ
"But man wishes to continue in sin ahead of him" [Al-Qiyamah: 5].
This is how man is: he seeks to fill his void and satiate his spiritual hunger by doing what he wants, when he wants, however he wants, without restriction. He rushes toward sin, chasing the desires of his soul, wanting to quench its thirst as he sees fit, and to find happiness in what his soul tempts him to, even if it means disobeying his Lord and Master.
Throughout human history, with few exceptions, man has led himself astray, corrupting and even killing his soul by distancing it from Allah's guidance and law. Allah sent His messengers to bring people out of darkness into light, calling them to the oneness of Allah, to worship Him alone, to submit to His command, and to seek His pleasure, leaving behind all forms of tyranny, be it from their own souls, desires, or other deities that oppose and resist submission to Allah, the Lord of all creation.
This is what the perished nations did: they first arrogantly refused pure servitude to Allah and took deities other than Him. These deities could be of people, trees, stones, or even systems and customs created by human minds. In truth, these are false gods, yet people follow them to satisfy their desires and whims, facing no obstacle in doing what they wish whenever they wish.
Thus, when Shuaib (peace be upon him) came to his people, calling them to monotheism and forbidding them from shirk, and from corrupting and oppressing by cheating people, they responded,
قَالُوا يَا شُعَيْبُ أَصَلَاتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَنْ نَتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا أَوْ أَنْ نَفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوَالِنَا مَا نَشَاءُ إِنَّكَ لَأَنْتَ الْحَلِيمُ الرَّشِيدُ
"O Shuaib, does your prayer command you that we should leave what our fathers worship or do with our wealth as we please? Truly, you are forbearing and rightly guided" [Hud: 87].
And when Lot (peace be upon him) called his people to monotheism and to abandon the immoral act of sodomy, they replied,
أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِنْ قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
"Expel the family of Lot from your town. They are people who want to be pure" [Al-Naml: 56].
This aversion to the truth, which opposes desires, has been the way of nations with their prophets, as Allah says:
لَقَدْ جِئْنَاكُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَارِهُونَ
"Indeed, We brought you the truth, but most of you are averse to the truth" [Al-Zukhruf: 78].
In our present time, an idea has emerged that deifies humanity, glorifies its intellect, desires, and opinions, and rejects Allah's divinity, guidance, and law. This idea is secularism.
This Western, blasphemous idea arose in an environment dominated by a distorted religion, distorted by priests and monks to please the elite and emperors. They rebelled against their religion and rejected their book, then deified their desires and opinions, making them the foundation for formulating beliefs and laws, believing in them and judging by them.
Secularism means excluding religion from all aspects of life: legislative, legal, economic, political, social, and cultural life. It means marginalizing and sidelining religion, and excluding Allah's law and guidance.
It is a principle based on denying the reference of religion in organizing life affairs. Yes, the Western person suffered from distorted religions, but their suffering increased when they shut their eyes to their Lord, drowned in their own tyranny, became enslaved to their desires, and deified humans instead of Allah.
Servants of Allah:
If this misguidance happened in lands where Allah's religion was distorted, how can such falsehood, oppression, corruption, and misery be called to in lands that Allah illuminated with pure monotheism, blessed with the true revelation, and guided to follow His law and righteous religion?
The essence of Islam is submission and surrender to Allah in all matters, without selection or objection, believing that Allah, the All-Knowing, the Wise, who created humans, is the only one who knows what benefits or harms them, what brings them life and joy, and what brings them death and suffering.
Islam means being devoted to Allah in all aspects of life, establishing servitude to Him alone in everything, as Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ
"O you who believe, enter into Islam"
—meaning surrender to the law—
كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ
"completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. He is an open enemy to you" [Al-Baqarah: 208].
Secularizing life and isolating religion from it leads to death, corruption, and misery. Every corruption on earth is a result of man's distancing from Allah's law.
Open your eyes, O servant of Allah, and reflect:
See what usury, gambling, and games of chance have done to the economies of nations.
See what immoral acts such as adultery, homosexuality, and pornography have done to the lives and souls of people.
See what alcohol and drugs have done to people's minds and lives.
See what oppression and man-made laws have done to people's rights.
See what imported social values like feminism have done, and consider their impact on families and societies, bringing separation and destruction.
Wherever you look in their reality, you will find nothing but poverty, crimes, suicide, mental illnesses, rape, the commodification of women, neglected children, family disintegration, incurable diseases, and a lack of justice.
Indeed, our Lord speaks the truth:
ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُمْ بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
"Corruption has appeared on land and sea by what the hands of people have earned, so that He may let them taste some of what they have done, that perhaps they may return" [Al-Rum :41].
Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ approached us and said: "O Muhajirun! There are five things with which you will be tested, and I seek refuge in Allah that you do not encounter them:
If immorality becomes widespread among a people until they make it known publicly, plagues and diseases that were not known to their forefathers will spread among them.
If they reduce the measure and weight, they will be afflicted with years of drought, hardship, and the oppression of their rulers.
If they withhold their wealth’s zakat, rain will be withheld from them, and were it not for the animals, they would not be given rain at all.
If they break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, Allah will empower an enemy over them from outside their community, and they will take some of what is in their hands.
If their leaders do not judge according to the Book of Allah and choose from what Allah has revealed, Allah will cause them to fight among themselves." This is narrated by Ibn Majah.
This is the inevitable result when the Sharia of Allah is abandoned and treated as insignificant, and when the desires of the ignorant and oppressive human are revered.
May Allah bless me and you with the Noble Qur'an, and benefit us with its verses and wise reminders. I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second sermon
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and all those who follow him.
To proceed:
O servants of Allah:
The defining feature of a Muslim's life, as Allah Almighty said, is:
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
"Say, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds" (Al-An'am: 162).
Thus, a Muslim's life is guided by the infallible revelation from Allah, by the Book of Allah, and by the teachings of His Messenger ﷺ, in all aspects of his life:
In his beliefs, worship, dealings, buying and selling, marriage and divorce, disputes and conflicts, politics, war and peace, loyalties, laws and legislation, values, manners, and ethics.
He does all of this knowing that he is a servant of Allah, to whom belongs the creation and the command, and whose judgment none can challenge.
He acts with the certainty that goodness and guidance lie in following the revelation, that the end is for the righteous, that there is no way to improve this world except through this guiding Shariah, and that any deviation from it leads to a corrupt life, distress, worldly punishment, and ultimate torment in the Hereafter. Allah says:
أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ
"Should We treat those who believe and do righteous deeds like those who spread corruption on earth, or should We treat the righteous like the wicked?" (Sad: 28).
O Allah, set right for us our religion, which is the safeguard of our affairs; set right for us our world, which is the source of our livelihood; and set right for us our Hereafter, which is our ultimate destination. O Allah, do not make our misfortune in our religion, do not make the world our greatest concern or the extent of our knowledge.
O Allah, grant victory to Your weak servants, destroy the Jewish criminals, and with Your mercy, save Your vulnerable servants.
O Allah, bring safety to our lands, set right our leaders and those in authority over us, and place our leadership in the hands of those who fear You, follow Your guidance, and seek Your pleasure.
Servants of Allah, remember Allah abundantly, and glorify Him morning and evening. And our final call is all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
