Faithfulness/Loyalty

Bismillah: Assalamo Alikum.

Below is brief verbatim of our last topic delivered at Ammar Mosque/Hong Kong on Sunday 20, 2008

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Our topic today is about faithfulness, Loyalty. Let us ask ourselves a question!! Are we really loyal? The common answer that we might get is, of course we are, but after that comes more questions!! Like, are we loyal to Allah? And how can we be loyal to Him? Sadly the majority of us don't know how to be loyal to Allah. Are we loyal to Prophet Muhammad pbuh? And how can we be loyal to him when he died hundreds of years ago? Are we loyal to the people around us?
Whether Muslims or Non Muslims? Are we loyal to people who have done favors to us? Etc…

ARE WE LOYAL???

So are we loyal to Allah? And how can we be?Being loyal to Allah is to follow His commandments, so if He asked you to wake up from your sleep at Fajr to offer your Salah, then `come on' Muslims, get up and do your Salah… if you counted Allah's blessing upon you, you will never be able to count them, so doesn't Allah deserve your obedience? How many Muslims are loyal to Allah today?... look at your beloved Prophet Muhammad pbuh who used to pray all night until his feet is swollen, and when Aisha `RA' told him, "doesn't Allah forgave your all previous sins and the ones to come'?" in other words, you don't need to worship Him that much, you are granted paradise, so what did he pbuh say??? "Shouldn't I be a thankful servant to Allah then?" let us learn from our beloved Prophet pbuh who was given the honor by Allah to be His agent/Messenger to all people, and yet he was so humble and eager to worship Allah all night, but sadly today we still have got some difficulties to wake up for Fajr.

Another example on how to be loyal to Allah is the story of Anas ibnul Nadr, who did not witness the battle of Badr because he was on a journey, but when he comes back he said: "By Allah, if Allah made me a witness to another battle, I will show Him my best." Days have passed, and comes the battle of Uhud, and the Muslims started to retreat and run away for their lives, except Anas, who still remember his commitment with Allah to show Him his best and bravely he went towards the enemies to fight them, on his way he met another companion who asked him "where are you going"? he said, TO PARADISE, "I swear by Allah, I smell the fragrance of paradise from the back of this mountain". And later on they found him dead at the back of mount Uhud, and no one could recognize his body except his sister.

Can we be that loyal to Allah? Can we respect our words as Anas did? I am not asking people to go and fight if there are no requirements for that, I am only asking our Muslim brothers and sisters (and the entire people) to stick to their words when they make commitments. Like our new Muslim brothers and sisters who took Shahadah (became Muslims) recently, are they ready to follow Allah's commandments and respect the meaning of the Shahadah?? Please ask yourselves.

How can we be loyal to Prophet Muhammad pbuh?

The companions of Muhammad pbuh were the most loyal people to him, they believed him in every word he uttered, even if it was sounds impossible, like for example, during the migration from Mecca to Madinah, Abu Sufyan announced, that the person who will be able to bring Muhammad pbuh and his friend Abu Bakr back to Mecca, will be given a 100 she camel as a reward, and so a man by the name Suraka went in the desert to find Muhammad pbuh and his friend, and every time he get closer to them, the Prophet pbuh would pray to Allah to protect him, and so Suraka would fell off from his horse, this happens several times until Suraka realized that Muhammad pbuh was protected and so the 100 she camels are not going to be his, so Suraka told Muhammad "keep me safe", and he asked Muhammad pbuh to give him some money, but Prophet Muhammad pbuh promised him something greater, he told him "I will give you the treasure of Khesrah"

Later on Suraka embraced Islam, Prophet Muhammad pbuh died, followed by Abu Bakr, then came Omar Ibn Al Khatab to be the leader/caliph of the Muslim nation, and during his time the Khesra or the city of Al Madain was conquered and the treasure of Khesra was brought to Omar, standing on the pulpit, Omar start crying, and shouting "where is suraka ibn Malek?" then he held the bracelets of the King of Khesra and said to him "here are the bracelets you were promised to take long time ago by Muhammad pbuh the truthful the honest", then all people in the mosque start crying.

Can you see how Omar was truthful and loyal to Muhammad pbuh to fulfill his promise to Suraka that took place more than 25 years ago? Can we be that loyal by following Prophet Muhammad pbuh way of life??


How can you be loyal to people? Whether they are Muslims or not.


Is to speak the truth, and fulfill your promises, and to be honest with them in everything that you do or say.

The Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: "the sign of a hypocrite person is three, if he speaks, he tells lies, if he promised, he breaks his promises, and if he entrusted with something, he betrays that trust"

So be aware of telling lies, "whether it is WHITE lie or BLACK lie", lie is lie (except in three cases). Also you should stick to your words when you promise someone, and we must be honest and trustworthy following the behavior of our beloved Prophet pbuh who was called by his enemies the truthful and honest, we don't want to be hypocrite right? So be aware of lies, breaking promises and dishonesty, because the hypocrites will be thrown in the lowest part of hellfire.We ask Allah the Almighty to keep us honest. Ameen.

How can we be loyal to people who have done favors to us?

Do you remember who was the first person to support the Prophet pbuh on his mission? Who was the first one to believe in him without a slight of doubt that he was sent by Allah? Who was the first person to spend her wealth for the sake of Islam? It is Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her… long time after her death the Prophet Muhammad pbuh never forget her favors upon the entire message of Islam. On one occasion, after the peaceful conquest of Mecca, and in the middle of the Muslims celebration and greetings to the Prophet pbuh, he left everyone and went to sit with an old lady, he spread his coat on the ground for her to sit on, and spent about one hour talking to her.

Later on at home, Aisha may Allah be pleased with her, asked the prophet pbuh, "Who was this lady?" he pbuh said, "she's Khadija's friend, she used to visit us at home during her life and we were remembering those past days of Khadija", So Aisha `RA' replied, "do you still remember that old lady until now when Allah has given you a better wife?" the Prophet immediately answered, "No by Allah, I was never given a wife better than her, she stood by my side when everyone left me aside, she believed in me when everyone else did not"

Just see how he was loyal to his first wife even after her death, and I wonder how many of us are loyal to their wives today while they are still alive!!!

I hope that everyone today insh a Allah will promise Allah to be loyal with Him by following His commandments as much as he can, to be loyal and faithful to our Prophet pbuh by following his sunnah, to be loyal to people by being honest and truthful whether they are Muslims or not, to be loyal to those who have done favor to us even if they were Non Muslims.


May Allah keep us honest and keep us on the straight path, may He shower us with His mercy and blessings and prolong out lives till we observe Ramadan,. Ameen Ameen Ameen.

Assalamo Alikum.