Standing for Justice in the Sanctity of Human Life
| Khatib : |
Ahmed Shama |
| Khutbah No: |
157 |
| Khutbah Date: |
07/08/05 |
O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well- acquainted with all that ye do. [Q4:135]We are commanded by Allah (swt) in the Qur’an to stand for justice, even if it be ourselves. When we stand against an unjust act, we do so regardless of who the perpetrator of the act is, and regardless of who the victim is. If a Muslim deals unjustly with a non-Muslim, then we stand against the unjust act of the Muslim.
…If anyone kills a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he killied all of mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind… [Q5:32]Islam holds human life sacred. This was best exemplified in the noble example of our Beloved Messenger Muhammad
(pbuh).At his lowest point of weakness, after being attacked with rocks by an angry mob in the city of Ta’if, he sat in sadness and solitude. The Angel Jibril offered to destroy Ta’if at his command, but the Beloved Messenger (pbuh) refused, arguing that one day their descendants may be guided.At his highest point of strength, at the head of the largest army ever assembled in Arabia, he returned to reclaim Makkah from Quraysh. Despite Quraysh’s repeated efforts to torture and attack him, he ordered no reprisals that day and that no blood should be shed. As he triumphantly marched into the city, he entered with such humility, that his beard was touching the animal that he was riding on.In the spirit of these two ayat – by standing for justice and by honoring the sanctity of human life – that we categorically condemn the heinous and disgusting terrorist attacks that took place in London on Thursday, July 7, 2005. These attacks have no place in Islam whatsoever. If it is determined that the perpetrators of these attacks claimed to be Muslims, then the least that can be said is that they had a flawed understanding of Islam and that they acted in clear violation of the Islamic law dictated by the Qur’an and the Sunnah. People who use Islam to justify the taking innocent lives are a cancer within this Ummah.
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