Liars and oppressive leaders
Don’t side with liars
In an authentic hadith, Khabbab bin Al-Aratt reported:
I was sitting next to the door of the Prophet (peace be on him) and when he came out he said ‘Listen to me’ and we replied, ‘We are listening, ya Rasul Allah’ and he said ‘There will be, after me, leaders who will lie to you, and commit oppression among you. Whosoever believes their lies or helps them in their oppression he is none of me and I am not of him and he will not come near my Hawd (lake) on the Day of Judgement.’ (Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i)
Prophesying the deceitful leaders of the future
There are other similar narrations mentioning oppressive leaders and deceitful leaders who would come after the Prophet (peace be on him). He warned his ummah not to be overwhelmed by their power, not to be their support and not to buy into their lies.
Be people of principles. Do not sell your principles for any position or worldly gain.
Being the ummah of the Prophet (peace be on him)
If you do sell your principles, you are not from the ummah of the Prophet (peace be on him), and he is not from you. On the Day of Judgement such people will not come near the lake, (hawd). This is their choice.
You make your destiny through your choices. Choose the right direction.
1400 years ago the Prophet (peace be on him) mentioned this hadith to his ummah. And we have the same situation today, with oppressive and deceitful leaders in power. And we see in their cabinets, and in their helpers and supporters the same level of deceit and lies. So be careful not to be part of this in any shape or form.
In a sound narration by Tirmidhi and Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, the prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Whoever is not believing their lies and not being a support for their oppression, he is of me and I am from him and he will come to my hawd lake.
We have the choice but sometimes the glitter of the position and worldly gain overrides our principles and we sacrifice our principles to get on the leadership ladder and grip into power.
Do you have what it takes to be the people of the akhirah? Or are you of the people of dunya? The Prophet (peace be on him) is clarifying the cloudy vision for many of us. Stick to your principles.
Be a man of truth and justice. Not a man of deceit and oppression.
Shortsighted or blinded
What about those who can’t see the oppression? I won’t say go to the optician, but you need to have a real accountancy between you and Allah. Sit down and do your audit. Review your accounts, because the moment you cannot see the truth, even when it is like sunlight, you have a problem in your imaan (faith), in your heart and your understanding. It is not too late to sort it out; it is still possible to sort it out. But you need to understand this is a problem.
When you side with liars and oppressors deep down you know you are on the wrong side but as you have families to feed you use this as justification to take the oppressors’ side. No. Don’t do this.
This dunya is a test. And Allah Almighty is testing us financially or through our health or through leadership and power. We have to be careful whom we side with.
Those who are chasing the mirage of dunya, I can assure you it won’t last. And you might face Allah Almighty tomorrow following a car accident or heart attack or something simpler than that.
Stick to your principles otherwise when it is too late you can’t go back.
The original hadith is in Sahih Muslim,
The nations on the day of judgement will be presented to me. And they asked the Prophet (peace be on him) ‘How will you recognise us. And he replied from the streaks of light on your forehead, and ankles and elbows from the traces of wudu, this is how I distinguish my ummah.
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said:
On the Day of Resurrection a group of ummah will come to me, but will be driven away from the Lake-Fount, and I will say, ‘O Lord those are from me!’ It will be said, ‘You have no knowledge as to what they committed after you left. (Bukhari and Ahmad)
Corruption, siding with liars, and being the supporters of those who are oppressing others. And then the Prophet (peace be on him) commented:
‘Do not make me feel ashamed of you on that day’ or : ‘Do not embarrass me on the day of judgement’.
Ya Rasul Allah, some of us really will make you ashamed. But we promise you we do our best to stay with truthful leaders and just leaders and to support the truth and justice, no matter what it takes.
Khutbah delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 26th July 2019.
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Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.
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