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Praise be to Allah; I praise Him; I beg for His help, His
forgiveness and His guidance. I have faith in Him: I do not disbelieve in Him. I
bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, having no partner; and I
bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle. He sent him with
proper guidance, true faith, light and exhortation because of an interval among
the Apostles, because of want of true knowledge, because of the deviation of the
people from the right path, because the passing of time, because of the
closeness of the Hour [of resurrection], and nearness of the appointed time. He
who obeys Allah and His Apostle is rightly guided and he who disobeys them is
misled, forsaken and gone astray, far away.
I recommend to you the fear of Allah. For the best
recommendation which a Muslim may make to the other Muslim is to urge him to
[keep in mind] the next life, and to commend him the fear of Allah. So refrain
from what Allah Himself warned you to refrain from. No admonition is more
excellent than this and no remembrance is better than this. Surely the fear of
Allah, for him who acts accordingly with a fearful caution and dread of his Lord
is true help to attain what you desire of the affair of the next world. He who
joins what is between him and between Allah, secretly as well as openly,
desiring hereby nothing but the pleasure of Allah, will gain for himself fame in
the near future and a treasure for the life after death when man will need
whatever he previously stored up, and will prefer to be far away from everything
else. Allah cautions you about Himself and Allah is very compassionate to His
slaves.
He is the One whose words are very true and Who fulfils
His promise; there is no change for it and verily He says: ‘The word is not
altered to Me and I am not at all an oppressor to the slaves.’ So fear Allah in
your present and future affairs in secret as well as in the open. For he who
fears Allah, Allah will forgive his sins and magnify his reward. He who fears
Allah, will receive great success. Verily the fear of Allah will save you from
His hatred and will keep you away from His punishment and wrath. And verily the
fear of Allah brightens the face, satisfies the Lord and elevates the position.
So take your share and do not transgress in the region of Allah of which He has
certainly taught you by means of His Book, and has prepared for you the way
leading to Him; so that He may know those who are sincerely truthful and also
those who are insincere.
Do, therefore, good as Allah has done good to you, be at
enmity with His enemies and wage the holy war in [the way of] Allah as it should
be done. It is He Who has chosen you and named you Muslims: so that those who
are to perish may perish after the clear sign [has been given] – there is
neither any turn nor any power except with Allah,– and that those who are to
live after the clear sign [has been given]. There is no turn and no power except
with Allah.
So frequent the remembrance of Allah and act for what is
to come after death. Because he who repairs what is between him and between
Allah, He will suffice him in what is between him and between the people. It is
because Allah executes His authority upon the people and they do not have any
power on Him. Allah is the Great; and there is no turn to and no power with
except Allah, the High, the Magnificent.
(Extracted from: ‘The Orations of Muhammad’.)
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