Friday Sermon: Allah Gives Power And Leadership To Whom He Wills

By Imam Murtadha Gusau In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Indeed, all praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His aid, and we ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our actions and from the evil consequences of our actions. Whoever Allah guides, there is none to misguide, and whoever Allah misguides there is none to guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant and Messenger of Allah. Dear brothers and sisters! In the Qur'anic verse of Surah Ali-Imran, Muslims have been taught and prompted to make a particular prayer which, in a subtle way, gives an indication that they are going to overpower disbelievers. This has its proof in the background in which these verse were revealed. When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) promised that Byzantine and Persia will be conquered, the hypocrites and the Jews laughed at the idea. Thereupon, Allah the Almighty revealed this verse. - The Background of the verse – An Episode from the Battle of Khandaq The recurring defeat of the disbelievers of Makkah at Badr and Uhud and their general failure to register any gains in their hostility against Muslims coupled with the growing strength of Muslims and the rise of Islam had made them nervous. The disbelievers of Arabia (Hijaz), the Jews, and the Christians all joined in a united front against Muslims and resolved to attack Madinah and fight a conclusive battle. They did this to eradicate Islam and Muslims from the face of the earth. The battle is called “Al-Ahzab” in the Qur’an and “Khandaq” in history. It is called the Battle of Khandaq or the Battle of the Trench because in this battle the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had instructed the Companions to dig a trench around parts of Madinah to block the unhindered attack of the enemy during this battle. According to narrations in al-Baihaqi, Abu Nu’aim and Ibn Khuzaimah, when the task of digging the trench was entrusted to the Muslim army, the plan was to allot the digging of a forty hand-span long trench to a group of ten men each. This trench was several miles long and fairly deep and wide so that the enemy would find it impossible to cross over. Then the digging had to be completed in the shortest possible time, which made the Companions put in whatever time and energy they had in this effort. They found it difficult to leave the job and take time for even the most pressing of their needs. They were working non-stop on empty stomachs. A modern army engineering service with its latest equipment would have not found this kind of job any easier to handle. Here, it was the power of faith which made the completion of this difficult assignment possible. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) took part in the digging as everybody else. While digging, the diggers came upon a huge rock in a certain part of the trench. Those who were assigned to dig that part of the trench tried their best to break it apart but they became helpless and gave up. They requested Salman al-Farisi to go to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and seek instructions from him. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) immediately came at the spot, took the pick-axe in his blessed hands and struck the rock. The rock was shattered into pieces and from it rose a streak of light which illuminated the area far and wide. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “In this light, I see the palaces (kingdom) and buildings of Hirah in the country of Persia.” He struck again and the second beam of light rose. He said: “In this light, I was shown the red palaces (kingdom) and buildings of the Byzantinians.”  When he struck the third time and the flame beamed its light around, he said: “In this, I was shown the great palaces (kingdom) of San’a in Yemen.” Then he said: “I share the good news given by Angel Jibril (Alaihis salam) with you that my community of Muslims will prevail over all these countries.” When the hypocrites of Madinah heard about it, they found an occasion to ridicule Muslims. They said:  "Look at these people (Muslims), here they are all scared of the enemy, digging trenches without eating or resting, not knowing if their lives will be safe, yet they are dreaming of conquering Persia, Byzantine, and Yemen." It was in reply to their criticism that Allah the Most High revealed verse 26: "Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him): O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things." [Surah Ali-Imran :26] Appearing in the form of a prayer, this Qur'anic verse eloquently brings into focus the most perfect power of Allah the Almighty as it manifests itself in the rise and fall of nations and in the revolutions that rock countries. At the same time, it gives a hint that the Prophecy made by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) will come to pass and Persia and Byzantine will fall to Muslims. Here, the enemies of Islam have been warned that they have not learned their lesson from the rise and fall of past wielders of power for they judge events and personalities from the material aspect. The truth is that all powers and governments of the world are in the hands of the most pristine power of Allah, the One in whose hands lies all honour and disgrace. He is Capable of making the poor and the meek sit on the thrones and wrest power from the kings and monarchs. Why then, should it be difficult for Him to choose these ragged believers digging trenches to rule over Persia, Syria, Iraq and Yemen? - Things usually considered bad may ultimately prove not to be that bad The expression "biyadikal khair" translated as “in Your hand is [all] good,” needs some explanation. Notice that in the earlier part of the verse both giving and taking of power and bestowing honour and bringing disgrace have been mentioned. Allah the Most High does not use the word sharr [evil] next to the word khair [good]. He elects to use the word “khair” alone and thereby points out to something real and significant in human affairs. The point worth noting is that a person or a people may regard something as undesirable, and it may even be so for that particular person or community, but if looked with a broader view, it may not be really evil. The Arab poet, Mutanabbi has put it succinctly when he said: "The losses of one group are the gains of another." The evil of things that we regard as evil is partial. Looked at from its relationship to the Creator of the Universe and the Lord of all there is, nothing is truly evil or bad. - Allah’s Will encompasses human will Respected brothers and sisters! Everything happens according to Allah’s Predestination and Will, and the Will of Allah will be definitely put into action, while man has no will except what has been predestinated for him. Thus, whatever Allah has predestinated will occur and whatever is against His Will never occurs. Actually, the entire Universe belongs to Allah, so nothing happens against His Will, and no-one, no matter how powerful, has the capability to do anything against His Will. As regards the above it has been said: "Everything happens according to the Will of Allah, and whatever Allah wants will definitely occur, and Allah’s Will is related to the ultimate wisdom, and the ultimate wisdom is related to the absolute goodness." To harmonise the concept of Allah’s Will encompassing that of a human being with man having the power of free choice, consider the example of a dissolute man who wants to commit a theft, and Allah allows him to do that. That man’s will is related to stealing and Allah’s Will is related to allowing him to do that because man has the power of free choice. However, Allah the Almighty arranges this matter through leading him to steal from a certain man who will be disciplined by this theft. Hence, Allah the Almighty enables the thief to fulfill his proposal and disciplines the other man by means of this act and it has been said:  "The oppressor is the whip of Allah as He disciplines people through him, and then He dispenses retribution to him." In other words, Allah’s Will gets embodied in human will, so when a criminal steals or kills, he is not doing it against Allah’s Will. Rather, out of a profound wisdom, Allah the Almighty enables him to fulfill his objective because he has the power of free choice. At the same time Allah Most High disciplines other people through him.  To summarise, everything happens according to Allah’s Predestination and Will. The Will of Allah will be surely executed; man has no will except what has been predestined for him; whatever Allah wills will definitely occur and nothing will happen against His Will. Thus, whatever happens is according to the Will of Allah the Almighty, and when you choose to do something and execute it, it means that Allah’s Will encompasses yours, because you cannot choose to do anything and carry it out unless Allah the Almighty enables you to do that. Consequently, you have the power of free choice, but all your matters are arranged by Allah. Allah the Almighty says: "Verily! This (Verses of the Qur’an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah). But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise." [Surah Al-Insan :29-30] In summary, your power of free choice notwithstanding, you cannot carry out your plan unless Allah the Almighty enables you to. So, He is the real Doer, and you will not fulfill your proposition but according to His Will. - His Will is related to His Perfection Then Allah the Almighty says: "Verily! This (Verses of the Qur’an) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah). But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise. He will admit to His Mercy whom He will and as for the Zalimun, (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) He has prepared a painful torment." [Surah Al-Insan :29-31] Definitely, Allah’s Will is not a matter of mood because He admits to His Mercy those who act justly as well as the righteous, and wards off the wrong doers, which means that His Will is related to His Perfection. - Human will is in need of the Divine Will In fact, your will lacks the capacity of being carried out, while Allah does whatever He wills. So, we only intend something but we cannot definitely perform it. For example, you may wish to have a large amount of money but you cannot fulfill your wish, while Allah the Almighty does whatever He wills. Also, man’s will cannot be executed except through the Will of Allah, so if it turns into action, that happens according to the Will of Allah. Hence, man’s will is in need of Allah’s Will. So, Allah the Almighty allows you to have the power of free choice; He grants it to you as a means of honouring you. All other creatures, such as animals, angels as well as inanimate objects are all compelled. Not so mankind and jinn, who have a will out of Allah’s Will. Allah the Almighty says: "But you cannot will, unless Allah wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise." [Surah Al Insan, 30] - Allah describes the only way leading to faith Allah the Almighty says: "And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them, and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, they would not have believed, unless Allah willed, but most of them behave ignorantly." [Surah Al-An'am :111] What is the meaning of this Qur'anic verse? It means that there are some people who claim that they will not believe unless they see miracles with their own eyes, such as being able to ascend to the Heaven and see the Divine Being; or seeing a dead person come out of his grave and his talking about the Hereafter; or seeing a mountain being moved from one place to another, and so on. Allah the Almighty says: "And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them, and We had gathered together all things before their very eyes, they would not have believed, unless Allah willed, but most of them behave ignorantly." [Surah Al-An'am :111] So, Allah the Almighty describes the only way leading to the belief in Him. To illustrate this point –reading medical books for five years or staying at a hospital for five years will not get you a medical degree, because the only way to get it is to excel in your baccalaureate first, then to study medicine at a university for seven years, and so on. Likewise, you cannot believe in Allah Most High only by means of miracles. The Jews saw miracles before their very eyes –they saw a stick turn into a snake, nevertheless some of them did not believe! So, this verse carries a very exact meaning and Allah the Almighty has identified for us the only way leading to the belief in Him. - Allah never enjoins disbelief but allows it as a means of testing man Allah the Almighty says: "If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it, so leave them alone with their fabrications." [Surah Al An 'am, 112] Because the real Doer is Allah the Almighty, consider the following example which I am in the habit of mentioning: You are a chemist and you need a professional employee. You will probably first test him by asking him to put different sets of vitamins, drugs, and poisonous substances in the places where they belong. If, seeing that he puts the vitamins together with the toxins, you prevent him from doing so; you will not be testing him. Thus, in order to carry out your test you should let him do whatever he wants. Likewise, Allah the Almighty does not enjoin disbelief, but when someone disbelieves in Him, it is according to His Will, even if it does not please Him, and His Will implies that He allows it. - The reason behind man having been honoured above all creatures Allah the Almighty says: "And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you (O Muhammad Peace be upon him) then compel mankind, until they become believers?" [Surah Yunus :99] Had Allah the Almighty compelled us (in our choices), we would have been like angels or animals –with no mandate, trust, or desires. Allah the Almighty, however, has granted us the power of free choice, so that we can get elevated in His Sight (when we choose to perform righteous deeds) and to be truly honoured creatures. - Allah’s support comes after man’s choice Let’s ponder over the following Qur'anic verse in which Allah the Almighty says: "And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not." [Surah Al-An'am :125] Allah the Almighty helps the believer when he chooses the right way by making him feel at ease, and this is called Allah’s Help. So, when man prays and remains upright upon the Straight Path, he will be pleased and will be at ease. Thus will Allah create pleasure and comfort within you to encourage you to worship Him. On the other hand, going astray, abandoning Salah (prayer) and deviating from the Path of Allah makes man feel uneasy. Hence, the hearts (of men) are in the Hand of Allah –at times He makes you feel comfortable to encourage you and on other occasions He makes you feel uneasy to prevent you from committing sins. Actually, this does not mean that man is compelled, and I want to clarify to you that the meaning of these verses is far away from the creed of fatalism (the belief that all actions are predetermined and the free will is impossible). - Retributive deviation is based on the optional one Allah the Almighty says: "And my advice will not profit you, even if I wish to give you good counsel, if Allah’s Will is to keep you astray. He is your Lord! And to Him you shall return." [Surah Hud :34] How can this verse be explained? The meaning of the phrase “keep you astray” is to reveal the hidden evil in your hearts. Thus, the first meaning of this verse is: If it is Allah’s Will to keep you astray, my (the Prophet’s) advice will not profit you; and the other meaning is: If you believe that Allah’s Will is to keep you astray, you will not benefit from my advice. Allah the Almighty says: "Those who reject Our verses (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) are deaf and dumb in darkness. Allah sends astray whom He wills and He guides on the Straight Path whom He wills." [Surah Al An'am :39] Thus, there is retributive deviation based on the optional one. For example, if a man has a wonderful wife, and he treats her kindly and is good to her, he is not doing anything special for her; but if his wife gets paralysed and he gets annoyed with her and neglects her, then he is a liar and a hypocrite, because he only thinks of his own comfort. Likewise, the hidden evil will not be revealed except after a test. Knowing that there was hidden evil in the souls, Allah the Almighty puts them to the test which reveals their badness. - The disbeliever's claim that incredulity has been predestinated for them Allah the Almighty says: "Those who took partners (in worship) with Allah will say: “If Allah had willed, we would not have taken partners (in worship) with Him, nor would our fathers, and we would not have forbidden anything (against His Will).” Likewise belied those who were before them, (they argued falsely with Allah’s Messengers), till they tasted of Our Wrath. Say: “Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but guess and you do nothing but lie." [Surah Al An'am :148] Also, Allah the Almighty says: "And those who join others in worship with Allah say: “If Allah had so willed, neither we nor our fathers would have worshipped aught but Him, nor would we have forbidden anything without (Command from) Him.” So did those before them. Then! Are the Messengers charged with anything but to convey clearly the Message?" [Surah Al-Nahl :35] And He the Most High says: "And they said: “If it had been the Will of the Most Beneficent (Allah), we should not have worshipped them (false deities).” They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do nothing but lie!" [Surah Az-Zukhruf :20] So, Allah condemns them because they attributed their shirk (the wrong action of associating something with Allah) to Allah’s Will, ascribing, thus, their sins to Him. - Iblis' (Satan) claim that Allah has misled him Also, Allah the Almighty condemns Iblis because he ascribes his going astray to Allah. Allah the Almighty says: “[Iblis (Shaitan)] said: “O my Lord! Because you misled me, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all." [Surah Al Hijr :39] These are Iblis’ words. However, Allah Most High does not confirm them. - The relation between the Divine Will and the Order and the Pleasure Allah’s Will is totally unrelated to His Order and His Pleasure. In this context, consider the example of an educated father who hopes that his son will also be an educated man. Unfortunately, his son is not like him, so he consents to him learning a craft. Thus, the father, who expected his son to become an educated man, is in fact displeased with the idea of his becoming a craftsman. Hence, it is a big mistake to think that Allah’s Will indicates His Pleasure or that Allah’s Will indicates His Order! It is absolutely wrong. For example, is there a father who is pleased with the idea of his son undergoing a surgery? Of course not! Nevertheless, he lets the surgeon perform it. So, Allah’s Will is totally different from His Pleasure and His Order. - The Divine Will is not against what It orders Some people mention the Divine Will not out of belief in the Oneness of Allah, but as an excuse for going against the Order of Allah and to oppose the Law of Islam, as when the disbelievers or the ignorant, ordered to follow the Commands of Allah and to avoid His Prohibitions, use predestination as a pretext for their wrong conduct. Once, the thief brought to Caliph Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, (to apply the punishment for theft), claimed that he had committed this wrongdoing because it had been predestinated for him, so Umar said: "I will cut off your hand on account of Predestination! If you think that committing theft is due to Fate and Divine Decree, then I will cut off your hand according to Fate and Divine Decree." What that thief meant was that Allah the Almighty forced him to steal. This (wrong attitude) is also mentioned in the noble Qur'anic verse below in which Allah the Almighty says: "Likewise belied those who were before them, (they argued falsely with Allah’s Messengers), till they tasted Our Wrath. Say: “Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but guess and you do nothing but lie." [Surah Al-An'am :148] So, their only aim was to tell lies, because how could they have known- before performing the deed-whether it had been predestinated by Allah or not? Did they have the knowledge of the Unseen?! Thus, given that you do not know what Allah knows, you cannot use it as a pretext for committing sins. - It is compulsory on Muslim to believe in a fate (Qadara) Dear brothers and sisters! The sixth and final article of Islamic belief, as detailed by a famous Prophetic Hadith, is belief in Qadara/destiny, its good and evil. The Arabic word for destiny/Qadara, implies the measuring out of something or fixing a limit to it. Thus, in a technical sense, destiny is the divine decree in its fixing limits for existent things, or its measuring out the being of things. In the long Hadith of Angel Jibril reported by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab may Allah be please with him, he said, Angel Jibril asked the Prophet (Peace be upon him): "...Inform me about iman (faith)." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate (Qadara), both in its good and in its evil aspects." He  said, "You have spoken truly." Muslim scholars say that Qadara can be seen at two levels:  1. We believe that Allah knew, with His ultimate knowledge, what all His creations will do, even before the creations took place. Allah recorded all this knowledge in Al-Lauhul mahfuz - the preserved tablet. 2. We believe that it is the will of Allah  that these things will take place, whether they are good or bad. As mentioned earlier, Allah created our willingness and our ability of doing things - we can only do something if we are willing and able to do it. However, we are responsible for the choices we make. - Misconceptions about Qadara Many Muslims believe that what they are going to do is  caused by what has already been written in Al-Lauhul mahfuz - they confuse 'causation' with 'association'. In truth what we have is association, not causation. What we do is not caused by what is written by Allah. Allah with His ultimate knowledge knew what we are going to do. He could easily have put the good-doers into Jannah and the evil-doers into the Hellfire. But Allah is Adil (Just) so He created us in this life as to test us which way to go. What we are going to do will match what has already been written but it's not a matter of causation - what we do is out of our own willingness and ability and we do have full responsibility on whatever choice we make. Looking at guidance and misguidance, guidance (hidayah) is a gift (rahmah) from Allah. It is Allah who created us and gave us the mind so we can distinguish between right and wrong to  a certain capacity. It is Allah who equipped us with fitrah to like the truth and good and to dislike the wrong and evil It is Allah who gave us the ability and power to do things and it is Allah who sent the Messenger with the Message to guide us in things, which are beyond the reach of our conception. So when it comes to guidance it is a bounty from Allah. But when it comes to misguidance, it has to do with us. When we do bad deeds, it is from our own willingness and ability. Those who turn away from guidance do so because they want to turn away, i.e. they choose not to be guided. They have been misguided because they are arrogant - they refuse to listen. "And so when they swerved from the right way, Allah let their hearts swerve from the truth." [Surah As-Saff :5]  Nevertheless there are people who have not received the Message of Islam/guidance at all or the Message has not reached them in the clearest form, i.e. it is incomplete or distorted. These people are called Ahlul Fatrah and will be excused and not be punished, even though there are misguided.  - There are certain situations where we can do something about our Qadara For example: * Illness/sickness is Qadara  - but we have been commanded by the Prophet (Peace be upon him), to look for a cure should we become ill. Finding a cure is also Qadara. Thus, a Qadara could be dealt with through another Qadara. * If something unfortunate happens to us, e.g. if  we lost our job, we don't just say that it's Qadara and do nothing about it. We look for another job, the consequence of which is another  Qadara.   Umar Ibn Al-Khattab was traveling with a group of Sahabahs during his Khilafah (leadership). They were coming to a town when they heard that it had a contagious/infectious disease, i.e. cholera. Umar asked his group whether they should proceed or go back (to Madinah). The majority of the Sahabahs said they should go back but some said they should proceed. Then one Sahabi said he knew a Hadith  where the Prophet (Peace be upon him), said: "If you hear that disease (plague) exists in a country, don't travel to that country."  So Umar decided that they should go back. Another Sahabi (it seems from the second group) asked him whether he was running away from a Qadara. Umar replied that they were moving away from one Qadara to another Qadara. Thus, whenever there is a problem, a challenge or any hardship which we can remove, overcome, solve or minimize, it is a must that we do so. Some scholars like al-Imam al-Jilani use the term: "overcoming Qadar" in this regard.  In one Hadith, the Prophet (Peace be upon him), said: "Be keen for whatever is beneficial for you. Seek the help of Allah. And don't be reckless."  This Hadith implies we must make the effort.  The right concept of Qadara is: we are responsible for whatever we do.  For example: If we were to drive recklessly and caused an accident where someone died or was injured, we cannot simply say that it is Qadara, abusing the concept to justify our mistakes. It is Qadara that the incident took place because it is by the permission of Allah. But we are responsible for the death because it is through our willingness and ability that it happened. That's why in the courts we will be found guilty. If  Qadara can be used as an excuse, then many crimes will go unpunished - a thief can simply claim that his stealing was  Qadara!  Those who abuse the concept of Qadara are those who fail to be responsible. They abuse it to justify their failure.  The correct way of using Qadara as an excuse is: if someone exerts himself to do his best to fulfil an obligation but due to an unavoidable circumstance, which was out of his control, he could not achieve that obligation - then he might be excused. For example, a student has studied hard for an exam but on the day of the exam he falls sick and does poorly or cannot even attend the exam, then he can say that it is Qadara and that it is the will of Allah.  When it comes to religious obligations, the matter is the same. We cannot blame Qadara for committing sins or failing to do a wajib (obligatory) as some Muslims might do. We have to know that we are responsible. We might get into a weak status of Iman in doing a sin or delaying a wajib.  Islam is such a practical religion that it gives us room for repentance and getting back to the right path. Respected brothers and sisters! The noble Qur’an affirms all these things (of Qadara and Destiny) in numerous verses, such as the verses in which He the Almighty says: “And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden/unseen), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.” [Surah Al-An’am :59] And He says: “No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al‑Lauh Al‑Mahfuz) before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.” [Surah Al-Hadid :22] And He says: “And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allah wills the Lord of the Aalamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).” [Surah Al-Takwir :29] And He says: “Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees Al‑Lauh Al‑Mahfuz).” [Surah Al-Qamar :49] And Imam Muslim narrated that Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn Al-Aas said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “Allah wrote down the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.” He said: “And His Throne was upon the water.” Lastly, I'm congratulating Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari and all the winners. May Allah guide them to deliver on the promises they made to the electorates. And a big congratulations to Nigerians for conducting a peaceful 2019 elections. Alhamdulillah for that. And all our politicians suppose to understand that when you win, be a good winner, and when you loose, be a good loser. After all, if Allah keep us alive, 2023 is just by the corner. "Say, O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty (power or leadership), You give sovereignty (power or leadership) to whom You will and You take sovereignty (power or leadership) away from whom You will. You honour whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is [all] good. Indeed, You are over all things competent." [Surah Ali-Imran :26] "...Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him): All the bounty is in the Hand of Allah; He grants to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creature's needs, the All-Knower." [Surah Ali-Imran :73] Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Ever-Living, Who does not die, and Peace and Blessings be upon our beloved Prophet, Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions. This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday Sermon) was prepared for delivery today Friday, Jumadal-Thani 23, 1440 AH (March 1st, 2019), by Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusaumurtada@gmail.com or +2348038289761. ReplyForward