The Responsibility of Preserving Their Unity

Resting on the Shoulders of the People of Oman

By

His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Khalili

The Grand Mufti of Oman

Translation from Arabic by:

Dr. Syed Bashir Ahmad Kashmiri

(University of Nizwa – Sultanate of Oman)

1435 A.H / 2014 A.D.

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In the Name of Allah the Gracious the Merciful

Praise be to Allah the extremely Bounteous who bestowed His comprehensive law,

the Glorious Who established for the humankind what would reconcile between

groups bent on mutual treachery and infuse love in their hateful hearts. I bear witness

that there is no god except the One and the Only God – Allah – Who created and

systematized and Who foreordained and guided; I bear witness that our guide and

messenger, Muhammad (pbuh), is His slave and his apostle whom He sent after a long

break in deputation of messengers, after a long pause in revelation, after

erroneousness of intellects and after elongated disenchantment of people. Through

him, He dispensed knowledge after prevalence of ignorance; with him, He guided out

of perversity; with him; He enlightened out of darkness; with him, He brought

together the detached and rescued the despondent. May Allah's blessings and peace be

upon him, his noble family, his companions – from amongst the Migrants and

Supporters –, and upon those who followed him with aptness - those whom their faith

united with each other and whom their impeccable characters integrated into cohesion

among themselves. Indeed, they formed the best Ummah (nation) raised for the

mankind. May Allah's mercy continue to be showered upon those who shall continue

to follow the right course until the Day of Judgment and Reckoning.

Certainly, Allah has chosen the humankind for certain instincts with which they

exalted above the lowness of all other animalistic creatures. By granting him the light

of the intellect and by bestowing upon him completeness of a natural character, the

human being was groomed to bear the responsibility of being His vicegerent on the

earth and to herald exploitation of the natural resources. Allah further complimented

His guidance of the human being and honored him by directing His address to him

through his apostles whom He sent with His divine law and by entrusting them with

the duty of delivering his religion to the humankind while commanding them to hold

fast by His religion, to implement his directives and to proclaim His call to their

respective communities and nations.

Adhering to the divine law and holding strong to it is one of the principal prerequisites

of success for the humans in their toil for the worldly life and as well as for their

blissfulness in the Hereafter. Only by steadfastness to the values of the religion, as

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creed and as canon, does the human being remain connected to his God, associated

with the humankind and harmonized with the universal order - which He has designed

as being absolutely subservient to His will and ever glorifying His name. "The seven

heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: there is not a thing

but celebrates His praise; And yet ye understand not how they declare His glory!

Verily He is Oft-Forbearing, Most Forgiving!" (Al-Qurān, 17:44)

With His ultimate wisdom, Allah the Almighty fashioned the humankind to be social

so as to harmonize within the system of mutual interests and to share benefits. No one

can get along without others with whatsoever influence he might be enjoying on the

ground or howsoever wealthy, shrewd, healthy, visionary, intellectual and wise he

might be. In fact as much more he enjoys the merits and advantages, the more he turns

dependent on others so that the integration among people is realized and their lives

fall in line with civility and sociality, exactly as a poet has said:

People to people, whether Bedouins or town dwellers,

To each other they are destined to be servants

Obviously throughout this interaction and interdependence of interests and benefits,

and collaboration in material and moral aspects, there must be chances for differences

between individuals and groups, simply because people naturally are self-centered,

inclined to egocentric and liking to be independent. This natural tendency may lead

them to attraction and abhorrence between themselves and subsequently shove them

to ordeals, which if left to aggravate, Allah forbid, may get out of control and end up

scorching everything in their vicinity, destroy crops and cattle and annihilate all that is

old and new, in which case the blazes anyway consume the hearth from where the fire

originates. In other words, the one who ignites fire for burning others gets himself

gulped by the flames in a manner worse than he intended for his adversaries. Certainly

when fire erupts it engulfs everything around it without any distinction or

discrimination between the igniter and the targeted.

This being the reality, people have always been in need of a system to rally around

and to litigate before. There cannot be a system that may not be prone to flaws and

drawbacks which expose it to deficiency in realizing its intended impacts. The only

exception is the divine system that was revealed through the flawless divine law based

on the divine judiciousness, as He alone is the One Who can foresee any breach or

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flaw, fill it and eliminate any snags. The divine system alone treats the people equally

and evenhandedly and thereby removes any impurities from their inner self, levels

their differences and draws them closer to each other so as to emerge like a single

body.

This was actualized through the living reality of the Muslim Ummah by its first

pioneering generation who blended in the melting pot of genuine faith and presented

to the whole world a model of fusion of principles and goals, of hopes and sufferings,

of ideology and demeanor, and in whose lives melted away all that was left behind by

the pre-Islamic paganism in the form of dissension, discord, spitefulness and

malevolence. It would seem to anyone pondering over their situation as if the tide of

the time had taken a turn in their favor and spread them with a disposition dissimilar

to the one they used to present before the advent of Islam; it would seem as if they

were connately unlike how they used to be seen when they were inconsiderately self-

centered and strongly inclined to highhandedness towards others. In fact this was

nothing but personification of the values of the religion they had come to believe in,

which empowered them to defeat the forces of falsehood that used to prevail over the

destiny of the humankind. They were able to liberate the humankind from the

bondage of ignominy and disgrace and to rise from the despicableness of servitude of

the tyrants and scale therefrom high in the zeniths of the servitude of the one and the

only God – Allah – after having been liberated from all other servitudes. They played

the historical role that changed the actuality of the planet earth as if to a different

earth; that transformed their minds as if to a different kind of minds; that changed the

people as if to a different kind of people. With them the earth adorned the gorgeous

garb of justice and righteousness, it became draped in truthfulness and uprightness;

intellects were purified from the filthiness of aberration and falsehood; the humankind

ascended high to the heavenly heights through their beliefs, perceptions, worship and

morality.

This must be attributed in the first place to the spotlessness of their faith and their

sincerity solely for Allah the Almighty for His calling them to monotheism and to

unity among themselves for His cause. Just as they devoted themselves to His oneness

and to renounce any other deity, they strongly adhered to unity amongst themselves

under the banner of truth that waved over them in compliance with the Qurānic edict:

"O ye who believe! Fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of

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Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you), and

be not divided among yourselves…" (Al-Qurān, 3:102-103)

The Holy Qurān decorated anew their morals and their character to the extent that

they emerged as a model Ummah, as if they were somewhat different from the

humankind. In fact it detached from their nature all the inferior human traits of lust,

egocentricity, abhorrence of altruism, propensity to arrogance, demeaning of others

and self-absorption. Through their incessant interaction with Muhammad, the

Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), passionate attentiveness to him and close

observation of his superior morals, they were able to adorn themselves with his very

transcendent morality; their innate character became a shadow of his prophetic

character (pbuh). It is needless to mention that "his (own) morals were an embodiment

of the Holy Qurān"1 as asserted by 'Āisha, the Mother of the Faithful (may Allah be

pleased with her).

While the Holy Qurān was being revealed to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and his

Companions used to receive it fresh directly verbally from him; they used to observe

him while he embodied every edict of the revelation. He was firmly keen on nurturing

them on the Quranic pattern and habituating them on implementing its canons without

any concession or dilution. They had noticed in the folds of its educative verses the

high standards that would transform the same humans to become a distinguished stock

consistent with its vision – exalted with its values and morals, sophisticated in its

association and genuinely honest in its dealings. They would have recited and

pondered over the verses like: "O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh

at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women

laugh at others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor

be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is

a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those

who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong. O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as

much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other

behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye

would abhor it...But fear God: For God is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful." (Al-Qurān,

49:11-12)

Pondering over such verses, they transcended with themselves above demeanors like

sarcasm, humiliating others, bad-mouthing, insulting, baseless suspicions, mutual

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spying and backbiting. As a result of this the Satan could not intrude amongst their

ranks to seduce them against each other or to arouse commotions or to plant

spitefulness and malevolence in their hearts; their heart harmonized with the

concordance of faith, their sentiments united with their consciousness of the fact that

the brotherhood based on faith was the sturdiest bond binding a human being with his

fellow human being whereby one would feel as if his brother in faith was his own self.

This unique phenomenon was eloquently expressed by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh

him) saying, "The case of the faithful, in their compassion, affection and empathy,

towards each other, is the case of one single body; when any of its organs suffers

from pain, the whole body reciprocates with sleeplessness and restlessness".2

Besides the guidance derived from the verses of the Holy Qurān, the Messenger of

Allah (pbuh) used to inculcate in them these morals through his prophetic guidance.

Besides observing his exemplary towering character, they used to receive from him

verbally luminous expressive messages that would enlighten their inner selves and

eliminate the darkness of character and exterminate any ugly residues of their innate

dispositions. How time and again the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) kept directing them

to a moral state whereby they would rise above the causes of discard and dissension;

how often did he habituate them to affection and concord! For example, he said,

"guard yourselves carefully against suspicion; suspicion is the most fallacious talk;

do not spy against each other; do not viciously compete against each other; do not be

jealous of each other; do not plot against each other; be genuinely slaves of Allah -

together as brethren."3

It is noteworthy that the divine revelations they used to receive as well as the

prophetic discourse to them (pbuh) were stringent towards eradicating all that could

have caused estrangement between them. Allah cautioned them against the human

tendency of feeling pride in ethnicity, boasting of lineage and bragging of ancestry.

He enlightened them that all humans were of the same race of Adam and Eve and that

between them and Allah there was neither lineage nor any other closeness except

piety; there was not any preference in favor of anyone of them over any other except

with piety and that the proximity to Allah could be gained only through piety. Allah

said, “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and

made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may

despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who

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is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted

(with all things).” (Al-Qurān, 49:13).

The same meaning was embedded in the valediction sermon of the Messenger of

Allah (pbuh) to the Muslim Ummah that he delivered at the Arafah to the enthusiastic

and magnificent mass on the occasion of his final Hajj. It included: "O people, Allah

has eliminated the arrogance of the days of pre-Islamic paganism and vanity in

lineage; all of you belong to Adam and Adam was created from dust; now on, there is

none but a righteous faithful or a dissolute desperado; the most honorable with Allah

is the most righteous amongst you."4

His guidelines regarding any exploitative inclinations from anyone even in

commercial or social matters were rigorous. Among these was: "No one from amongst

you should propose (for marriage) where it has (already) been proposed by a brother

of him nor should anyone of you offer for sale what has (already) been offered by a

brother of him."5

All this was to safeguard the sentimental and emotional unity among the Muslim

Ummah and to protect its advantages so that there is no clash therein that would lead

to dissension and mutual intimidation. This way the Ummah was able to consolidate

its forces and to defeat all its enemies; this is how it led numerous nations to the

Religion of Truth and rescued them from the worship of the creatures to the worship

of the One and Only God, from the despotism of religions to the justness of Islam and

from the narrowness of the world to the spaciousness of the world and of the

Hereafter together.

The relation of those triumphant Muslim conquerors with those who gave themselves

over to their leadership was not a relationship of a dominating oppressor with a weak

and subjugated. It was rather an association of a brother with his brother and of a

comradeship of bosom friends. With this, people found in the shade of Islam the value

of their humanity which they had lost through all other creeds and systems; they

found in it the meaning of mercy, justice and equity. With these values, Islam kept

spreading further among nations and disseminating farther through lands as does the

daylight spread over the globe shoving the veil of darkness when the sun rises and

emanates its rays across the horizons.

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When the Muslim Ummah began to backslide and retreat into the swamps of

deterioration by abandoning its duty to safeguard its intellectual and moral legacy,

feebleness crept into its being and ailments spread into its body after it had been

resilient. It dissented after having been united; it cringed after having been venerated;

it retrograded to the lowest rank behind other nations gasping to find favor with

pickings dropped by others on their tables of intellect; it then sang of taking pride in

aping the steps of other nations; it followed their course leaving behind the course of

the Holy Qurān and the path of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), of His noble

Companions and of those who followed him thereafter.

After the Muslim Ummah was at the helm of command and control, it turned to be

reigned by others – directed and commanded by them; it became so docile to be

reigned, to be steered and even to be rebuked that it submitted in compliance to

everything dictated to it. This is how dissension and discord was imposed upon it and

how every group within turned bigheaded in the face of others and took toll of each

other while at the same time having submitted in disgrace and dishonor before its

enemies; it had no guts to raise its voice or even to hint, not to mention gathering its

courage to confront its enemies lurking for it in different ways and forms, who went

too far in butchering and dismembering and cutting it into pieces. In their infightings,

they assaulted against each other like ferocious lions, while they were chickenhearted,

cowardly and subservient in the face of their enemies. To their situation, fits exactly

what a poet has said:

An imposing lion yet an ostrich in the battle;

Languid and frail fleeing with a mere whistle

The enemy skillfully aroused factional slogans of sectarianism within it as if it has

been made to dismember and to be tattered. This was followed by the mottos of

racism and even dogmatic schism in the name of juristic schools – attitudes, for which

there was no justification whatsoever in the Holy book of Allah.

We do not know how long this Ummah shall continue with the vicious internal strife

driven to infighting and mindless strife and endure being blazed in the inferno while it

embraces the hellhole! Behind the scenes, there are those who by hook or by crook

want these pyres of ordeal to remain aflame and continually keep adding fuel and

gunpowder to them! Paradoxically, the prey on its side, has blissfully agreed to be and

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to continue to be the firewood and to aid flare up the flames as and when the infernos

neared to extinction. Those who blow into the fires, are reclining back enjoying the

melancholic situation of the Muslim Ummah and how it is digging its own grave and

unreservedly marching to its own destruction. However, we are certain that if it ever

sobers up to consciousness and returns back to the Book of Allah and to the guidance

of His Messenger (pbuh), it will have the blinding coatings removed from its eyes that

blur its vision and the seals broken that block its ears and petrify its hearts; it will

realize that it is nowhere near the worldly glory or soundness of its faith. This ongoing

affliction, whose millstones are grinding it day in and day out, it had been warned by

the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) against its viciousness and cautioned abut its

dangerous repercussions. He had said, "The disease of the earlier nations – the

disease of envy and antipathy - shall creep into you. Beware that antipathy is a

shaver; it does no shave hair, but it shaves off the faith. By my lord who controls my

life, you shall not be admitted to the Paradise until you had true faith; certainly you

shall not enjoy true faith until you enjoy mutual love and affection. Won't you want me

to enlighten you about an act that if you did it, you shall enjoy mutual love and

affection? Do popularize amongst you the (Islamic) greeting of peace saying: "may

peace be unto you").6

How much do we yearn for the day when the bits and pieces of this torn apart Muslim

Ummah fall in and be arrayed together once again in response and fulfillment of the

directives of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and in patterning after the righteous

forebears, who built the magnificent glory and unfurled the flapping flags of

exaltation across the globe, under the protective spacious shades of which the world

harbored itself and enjoyed tranquility and stability.

This being the state, we find ourselves obliged to submit to Allah in extolment when

we find our beloved country (Oman) away from the commotions of storms erupting

from those afflictions and a safe haven away from their blazing flames. The dignified

people of Oman have inherited tolerance, brotherhood, close association and

cooperation for the cause of common good from their ancestors. This has been the

blend of Oman's civilization with which it has distinguished itself and for which

people have envied it. Wise people have paid attention to its characteristics and the

judicious have appreciated it. How many a scholars, intellectuals and astute statesmen

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have put on record their testimony valuing it, which amount to badges of honor

decorating its chest and a crown adorning its head!

All those who have studied the history of this land and its noble people, have not

found throughout its history any schism or dispute resulting from sectarian fanaticism

or racial predisposition. Of course, through some periods of history clannish discords

have flared up between various tribes due to vagaries of tribal chieftains themselves,

not because of lineage itself. Many times tribal conflicts used to flare up even between

two tribes that had branched out from the same ancestry. This, of course, was during

the days when ignorance prevailed widely, when knowledge had dwindled and

dispersed, and when the knowledgeable treated and introverted to themselves in their

private prayer rooms seeing that their voices had been subdued in the wilderness of

falsity and supporters of falseness.

Praise be to Allah, that those dark days have bygone due to widespread awareness and

openness of the tribes to each other right after they had been isolative and ghettoized.

How many a tribes that had been ferociously at loggerheads among them, came to

realize, due to the enlightenment of their own folks, that they had previously been on

the path of aberrant perversity! With those developments guidance was infused into

those tribes like the spread of the radiance of dawn through the pitch-black late-night

night and they reverted to sensibleness signifying a rollback of sedition and strife that

previously prevailed among them. Thereby they replaced that despondency with deep

love and effluent compassion. Love and compassion filled their hearts and manifested

perceptibly in all dealing of their people – just like what was noticed between the two

branches of the Ansār [people of Medina who sheltered and supported the Messenger

of Allah (pbuh)] when the dawn of Islam broke on them and its piercing radiance tore

apart the gloomy dark shrouds of ignorance that used to drape them previously.

Praise be to Allah, everyone has turned to feel the overwhelming bliss of this return to

the pristine nature and the rescue of all from the impasse of those bygone ordeals. The

gloomy melancholic days have gone for good with no one to feel sorry for them;

Allah left no reminiscence of those days even to be mentioned nor does anyone want

to think of them even in his reflections.

These characteristics marking the nature of the people of Oman go back first of all to

the grace of Allah the Almighty and His favor to them and after that to the wisdom of

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its leaderships, throughout the history until our time, which characterized itself with

sincerity, justice, prudence, farsightedness, compassion and mercy to all subjects.

Secondly these go back to their civilizational traits that qualified them to be able to

control deleterious inclinations and to tackle problems by treating them profoundly

and in a civilized manner in light of the guidance from the Holy Qurān and the

tradition of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).

When Allah the Almighty smoothened the way for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos to lead

the people of Oman and to steer them out of isolation and to dart to the vast fields of

modern civilization, among the most important aspects to which he focused his

attention – besides the material and incorporeal advancement of the people - was his

keenness to ensure equality between all citizens in their national rights - individual as

well as collective. He made it certain to eliminate everything that could promote

favoritism and discrimination among the people. With this, everyone basked in the

blessings of security and all were fortunate enough to enjoy freedom and tranquility;

bonds between the people strengthened further, relations between them took deeper

roots and love and harmony came to prevail.

These blessings oblige us to thank Allah and to be grateful to Him. The judicious

from all categories of our people have realized this and have called for preservation of

this merit and for continuation of proceeding on this course without any remissness

regarding its bases, which have been appreciated by the wise people of our brotherly

and friendly countries too. The latter have been expressing their admiration of the

people of Oman and their pleasure with their virtues, nobility, high-mindedness and

soundness of approach.

Usually a healthy person appreciates the value of his soundness and feels even better

upon noticing the affliction befallen on others. He understands it better and realizes

the need to preserve its grounds. He becomes more careful about protecting himself

from the sources of diseases. People of Oman – while they observe what has befallen

upon other peoples in the form of blazing ordeals and grinding wars – must hold with

extra strength their grip of the most trustworthy hand-hold that in turn holds together

various components of the society, mends relations and eliminates dissension and

discord. They must remain vigilant to protect themselves from the flames of those

commotions so as not to allow any of those flames fall in their safe milieu. They must

protect themselves to be able to expound their traits to other peoples as well so as to

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enable the latter benefit from them; perchance the ill-fated societies would find a way-

out from their ordeals and discover herein some of the principles of virtue, which the

people of Oman follow and hold closely to themselves with a strong grip; perchance

the philosophy of tolerance, brotherhood and cooperation would be marked out to

them too so that they too can root out the sources of their ordeals and put out their

fires and revert back to brotherly association, harmony, compassion, righteousness

and virtuous interplay between them; perchance their individual entities too shall

synthesize in their all-embracing national unity and thereby shield them from tumults;

perchance they too shall adorn themselves with the garments of affinity and concord

and take off the outfits of schism and factionalism; perchance they too shall revert to

how they used to be with their brotherly relations, love, sincerity, and cooperation

prior to their discords. Therein lies their collective interest and advantage; thereby

shall their hands cooperate in rebuilding the walls of defense and castles of security

which have been destroyed by the turmoils; thereby shall they embellish the vibrant

manifestations of national belongingness that has been disfigured by the mutual

wrangling. For sure, curing those who are suffering from afflictions is the

responsibility of those who enjoy good health.

If the people of Oman, along with what they have been blessed with in the form of

prudence, maturity and moderation - instead of immoderation and remissness – are

quite qualified to take a lead, in cooperation with their Muslim brethren, in solving the

problems that are taking their toll on the Muslim Ummah, it becomes indispensable

that the judicious from all groups seize the has hands of their nonsensical so as not to

bring upon them undesired consequence. A prudent person learns a lesson from

everything that befalls on others; ignoramus is the one who becomes a lesson for

others. There is no doubt that the sounds that emanate from the blasts originating out

of tumults reach to the Omani ears, even from far away distances, are deafening to the

ears of all those who live in this country; they also get perturbed by what they witness

with their eyes in the aftermath of fires blazing with those peoples communally and as

individuals. In this are lessons for those who are rational.

Certainly, everyone realizes the heinous conspiracies that the lurking enemies of the

Muslim Ummah keep weaving and which shove it mercilessly to the destruction of

types. These scandalous plots destroy any remnants from motives of affection or

means of strength within so as to turn them to ruins and to a mere history after having

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had been living realities. What is further distressing is that those fires are ignited with

the fortunes of this Ummah which are syphoned into the coffers of the enemies for the

sake of currying their favors and seeking their pleasure even though this may mean

even making the sons and daughters of Muslim lands fodder of wars with their own

wealth. However, this only substantiates the absurdity and complete loss of vision on

this side, because the lurking enemies do not distinguish between one group and the

other within this Ummah but they strive to nothing but annihilation of them

altogether. Would that all those groups sobered up from their drunkenness before

mumbling they uttered expressions like, "I ate only when the white bull ate".

Would it not have been more appropriate of them to have realized that the assets they

squander are the trust of Allah deposited with them for custody and that they had not

been authorized to spend it except for their benefit and advantage in conformity with

their religion and in advancement of their worldly life; they had never been authorized

to turn these assets into destructive weapons in the hands of their enemies so that they

would exterminate them with these. Certainly Allah is going to ask every one of them

on the Day of Judgment about how and where they had spent these possessions as

well as about how they had earned them. Abu Barzah Al-Aslami (may Allah be

pleased with him) has reported from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) that he said, “No

slave of Allah shall be able to tread a single step until he is asked about four things:

about his lifetime, how he had spent it; about his knowledge, what he had done about

it; about his wealth, how he had earned it and how he had expended it; about his

body, how he had exhausted it."7

This whole backdrop amounts to a plea to the people of Oman to grow in love and

affection among themselves, and to augment their unity and consolidate their

concordance. They must remain intensely vigilant not to be influenced by the

propaganda of those having their own nefarious designs. They must not heed to the

voices of the deceptive forces so as not to allow the aforementioned annihilating

diseases to creep into their own entity which have taken to extirpate sons and

daughters of many Muslim peoples and to shove them into the dark abyss of

devastation. Everyone has seen that no one has benefitted from these anarchies;

instead, these have brought about nothing but misery to all. The only beneficiary has

been the lurking enemies. The destination of the people of Oman must remain none

but Allah the Almighty. They must earnestly strive to patch up the fissures of the

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Ummah, to congeal its chasms and consolidate it voice. They must take their

experiment of tolerance, unity, compassion and harmony to all peoples on the globe

so that – Allah willing – the voice of the Ummah shall be consolidated under the

banner of devotional unity based on the guidance from the Book of Allah, the

tradition of His Messenger (pbuh) and the approach of the noble ancestors. Certainly,

the best among the people is the one with whose efforts Allah binds the hearts of the

people, with whose endeavors they come together after having been in schism, they

unite on his call after having been in dissension and they recuperate with his

prescribed cure from illnesses and ailments.

Certainly, the best means to realize this desired state are:

Firstly, call to hold fast by the Book of Allah (the Holy Qurān) and the tradition

of His Messenger (pbuh as in them lies the light, foresight, guidance and the ),

description of the hidden and exposure of the unclear. Allah describes His book by

saying:

"This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear God." (Al-

Qurān, 2:2).

"…in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for

guidance and judgment (between right and wrong)." (Al-Qurān, 2:185)

"O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the

(diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy. Say:

'In the bounty of God. And in His Mercy,- in that let them rejoice': that is better than

the (wealth) they hoard."Al-Qurān, 10:57-58)"

"We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things, a Guide, a Mercy, and

Glad Tidings to Muslims." (Al-Qurān, 16:89)

"Verily this Qur'an doth guide to that which is most right (or stable), and giveth the

Glad Tidings to the Believers who work deeds of righteousness, that they shall have a

magnificent reward;"(Al-Qurān, 17:9)

"We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to

those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss."(Al-Qurān,

17:82)

P a g e # 16

"These are verses of the Qur'an,-a book that makes (things) clear; A guide: and glad

tidings for the believers."(Al-Qurān, 27:1-2)

"These are Verses of the Wise Book,- A Guide and a Mercy to the Doers of Good."

(Al-Qurān, 31:2-3)

Allah has sternly warned of the worst doom all those who turn their back to His book:

"Thus do We relate to thee some stories of what happened before: for We have sent

thee a Message from Our own Presence. If any do turn away therefrom, verily they

will bear a burden on the Day of Judgment; they will abide in this (state): and

grievous will the burden be to them on that Day." (Al-Qurān, 20:99-101)

"But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down,

and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment." (Al-Qurān, 20:124)

"If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (God) Most Gracious, We appoint

for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him." (Al-Qurān, 43:36)

Allah warned his Messenger (pbuh) against obeying anyone whose heart was let to

neglect the remembrance of Allah:

"…nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us,

one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds." (Al-

Qurān, 18:28)

In a Hadeeth, narrated by Ali Ibn Abi Tālib, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says:

"Beware, it will be an affliction. I asked: O Messenger of Allah, what can be the way

out? He replied: The Book of Allah; in it is the accounts of the previous peoples, the

tidings of the people to come after you and the precepts for disputes among you; it is

the unmistakable decision; it is not any jocularity. Whosoever forsakes it, Allah shall

smash him and whosoever seeks guidance with something else other than it, Allah

shall let him go astray. It is the sturdy rope of Allah; it is the wise remembrance of

Allah; it is the straightforward path; with it hearts do not deviate from the guidance;

with it tongues do not become equivocal; with it scholars nerve become saturated of

knowledge; by returning to it over and over, it does not make one weary; its wonders

never cease to reveal; when the Jinn heard it, they exclaimed saying: 'We have really

heard a wonderful Recital! It gives guidance to the Right, and we have believed

therein…' (Al-Qurān, 72:1-2). Whosoever speaks with it speaks the truth; whosoever

P a g e # 17

acts on it, is rewarded, whosoever governs with it, does justice, and whosoever calls

to it, is guided to the right path."8 A poet rightly says:

Hold fast by the Divine Book, it will suffice you

as a lucid guide and escort on the path;

No one who takes the Qurān as his guide goes wrong,

No one when he follows the path of the Qurān goes astray;

Hold fast by it whether in rage or in pleasure

Shove off with it diseases – as it does purify;

Fight with it the Satan while your own self triumphs

It very much suffices you as a defender and a supporter

How many a texts from the Book of Allah affirm to the fact that obedience to His

Messenger (pbuh) is obligatory upon his Ummah just like their obedience to Him the

Almighty is obligatory! Allah says: "Say: 'Obey God and His Apostle': But if they turn

back, God loveth not those who reject Faith." (Al-Qurān, 3:32) The Holy Qurān is

very much unequivocal in emphasizing that disobeying the commands of the

Messenger of Allah (pbuh) amounts to disobedience to the divine guidance and

shoves one to disbelief in the form of ungratefulness to Allah – may Allah save us

from that. Allah says:

"And obey God and the Apostle; that ye may obtain mercy." (Al-Qurān, 3:132)

"He who obeys the Apostle, obeys God: But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to

watch over their (evil deeds)." (Al-Qurān, 4:80)

"We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of God." (Al-

Qurān, 4:64)

"But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all

disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against Thy decisions, but

accept them with the fullest conviction." (Al-Qurān, 4:65)

"O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority

among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God and His Apostle,

P a g e # 18

if ye do believe in God and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final

determination." (Al-Qurān, 4:59)

About the hypocrites, He says: "When it is said to them: 'Come to what God hath

revealed, and to the Apostle', thou seest the Hypocrites avert their faces from thee in

disgust." (Al-Qurān, 4:61)

"Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know

ye that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner."

(Al-Qurān, 5:92)

"So obey God, and obey His Apostle: but if ye turn back, the duty of Our Apostle is

but to proclaim (the Message) clearly and openly." (Al-Qurān, 64:12)

"O ye who believe, obey God and His Apostle, and turn not away from him when ye

hear (him speak). Nor be like those who say, 'We hear,' but listen not: For the worst

of beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb,- those who understand not."

(Al-Qurān, 8:20-22)

"They say, 'We believe in God and in the apostle, and we obey': but even after that,

some of them turn away: they are not (really) Believers. When they are summoned to

God and His apostle, in order that He may judge between them, behold some of them

decline (to come). But if the right is on their side, they come to him with all

submission. Is it that there is a disease in their hearts? Or do they doubt, or are they

in fear, that God and His Apostle will deal unjustly with them? Nay, it is they

themselves who do wrong. The answer of the Believers, when summoned to God and

His Apostle, in order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: they say,

'We hear and we obey': it is such as these that will attain felicity. It is such as obey

God and His Apostle, and fear God and do right, that will win (in the end)." (Al-

Qurān, 24:47-52)

"Say: 'Obey God, and obey the Apostle: but if ye turn away, he is only responsible for

the duty placed on him and ye for that placed on you. If ye obey him, ye shall be on

right guidance. The Apostle's duty is only to preach the clear (Message)." (Al-Qurān,

24:54)

"So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle; that ye

may receive mercy." (Al-Qurān, 24:56)

P a g e # 19

"Deem not the summons of the Apostle among yourselves like the summons of one of

you to another: God doth know those of you who slip away under shelter of some

excuse: then let those beware who withstand the Apostle's order, lest some trial befall

them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them." (Al-Qurān, 24:63)

"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by

God and His Apostle to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys God

and His Apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path." (Al-Qurān, 33:36)

All these verses are unmistakable in that the virtue in its totality is qualified by the

obedience of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). This obedience is the extension to the

Obedience to Allah the Almighty. Whosoever obeys the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)

obeys Allah Himself and whosoever disobeys the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) disobeys

Allah Himself. Furthermore, these verses are unambiguous about the strong warning

to those who turn their backs to obedience to Allah or to obedience to the Messenger

of Allah (pbuh). In other words, these texts make the latter mandatory.

There is no evidence to the assumption that the obedience to the Messenger of Allah

(pbuh) was restricted to the time of his worldly life and that upon his departure from

the world, obedience to him became suspended. Statements like this come from those

who would like to dissuade believers from the Holy Qurān and who relinquish the

divine guidance that he (pbuh) brought to the humankind. Indeed, this goes against the

consensus of the whole Ummah. Obedience to him, after his departure from the world

is realized through reverting back to his tradition and by seeking guidance from its

folds. This means that the genuine prophetic tradition is associated with the Holy

Qurān and that whosoever turns away from it, turns his back to the Holy Qurān itself.

Secondly, devotion to Allah, in word and in deed:

Devotion to Allah is the anchorage of salvation in this world as well as in the

Hereafter; it is the harbor of success in words and deeds. Devotion to Allah means

setting ones direction to Allah the Almighty without deviating towards anyone else

from among His creatures. Allah says: "And they have been commanded no more than

this: To worship God, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith);" (Al-

Qurān, 98:5). The Book of Allah mentions that turning to the creatures of Allah, away

from Him, is a sort of polytheism - may Allah protect us from it. He says: "whoever

expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord,

P a g e # 20

admit no one as partner." (Al-Qurān, 18:110). This is also categorized as minor

polytheism, as the great scholar Abu Muslim says in poetry:

Watch out the divine directives in open and in hiding

In every soul there is negligence and languor;

Dedicate your persistence in righteousness for His devotion

knowing that there above you is the One Who watches the minor polytheism

It is reported from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) that he said: "When Allah shall

gather the predecessors and the successors on the definite Day of Judgment, a caller

shall call out: 'whosoever had done any deed for the sake of Allah while ascribing

anyone as His partner therein, let him seek the reward from that partner; Allah is

absolutely in no need to any partners beside Him."9

It is also reported from him (pbuh) that he said: "Allah has said, 'I have absolutely no

need to any partners beside me; whosoever does a deed and ascribes therein anyone

as a partner to Me, I shall abandon him and renounce his ascribing anyone as my

partner."10

Thirdly, observance of "enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil":

Observance of enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil, is the anchorage

amongst the believers. As much as they care and adhere to this responsibility so much

does the bond between them strengthen and the nexus that associates them to each

other become fortified. Thereby their hearts become like one heart. Allah says: "The

Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just,

and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practise regular charity, and

obey God and His Apostle. On them will God pour His mercy: for God is Exalted in

power, Wise." (Al-Qurān, 9:71). It is very much evident how the responsibility of

enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil, has been mentioned in this verse,

before the mention of observance of Ṣulāt (the obligatory regular daily prayers) and

handing out of Zakāt (the mandatory charity). This certainly implies that the

compliance with all religious obligations, including observance of regular daily

prayers and handing out of the mandatory charity, can be achieved only by enjoining

what is just and forbidding what is evil.

P a g e # 21

In the context of unity and concord, and while cautioning against schism and discord

– in Chapter 3 of the Holy Qurān, Āl-'Imrān / The House of 'Imrān – it is noticeable

that the emphasis on the responsibility of enjoining what is just and forbidding what is

evil occurs in midst of the verses which contain these divine commandments, for

example: "Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good,

enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain

felicity." (Al-Qurān, 3:104). One can conclusively perceive that the responsibility of

enjoining what is just and forbidding what is evil, blocks all inlets that allow Satan to

intrude into societies to rip them apart and to breakup their unity. This is because

commitment to this responsibility exterminates the causes of antagonism, extinguishes

the flames of every commotion and deracinate spitefulness and grudges from the

hearts and minds by uprooting their causes. As a result of this milieu, hearts reconcile,

sentiments harmonize and passions synchronize so that everyone become a live

emulation of what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said: "The case of the faithful,

in their compassion, affection and empathy, towards each other, is the case of one

single body; when any of its organs suffers from pain, the whole body reciprocates

with sleeplessness and restlessness".11

Fourthly, restraining all those who might seek after dissension and discord:

There might be those who hanker after spreading lewdness among the faithful and

remain restless and impatient until they manage to ignite the fire of commotion and

allure people to become fuel to be added to the pyre just to be turned into ashes to be

thrown away to the winds. Thereupon their meadows perish away, their habitats ruin

and their dignity vanishes. About such people the Holy Qurān identifies them: "Every

time they kindle the fire of war, Allah doth extinguish it; but they (ever) strive to do

mischief on earth. And Allah loveth not those who do mischief." (Al-Qurān, 5:64).

Fifthly, promoting the culture of affection and harmony, and cultivating the

attitude of mercy and compassion:

With this the society is showered with the sentiments of harmony, concord and

affection; the causes of estrangement, secession and alienation vanish; hearts get

cleansed from grudges, envy and hatred. This state must be followed by deeds that

harmonize with those noble sentiments and thereupon hearts cherish this milieu of

concord.

P a g e # 22

Sixthly, providing justice to all and wishing wellbeing for everyone:

These two virtues pave the way for extinguishing the fire of abomination and for

compassion between hearts and thereby reinforce affinity between people so that none

of the motivations of antipathy and schism return back to the society.

Seventhly, emulating and acquiring Islamic etiquettes and morals:

These guarantee pureness of hearts whereby they do not get contaminated with

anything that may leave behind sediments of malevolence or spread mistrust between

them or push them to antipathy and reciprocated alienation.

Eighthly, bequeathing these values to the future generations:

Let the young and the old be brought up on these noble values so that they become

interlinked loops connected with each other wherein the successors complete what the

predecessors had initiated and then build further on that.

Ninthly, implementing the just Shariah (divine law):

Shariah is the impenetrable fortress and the protective wall. It is the guarantee for

justice and equity for the strong, the weak, the near and the distant. It is from the

Almighty the Creator who knows the hidden in the skies as well as in the earth and

that is why it is impeccable from all discordances and disarrays that come upon the

manmade laws.

Since a believer is naturally precast on fondness for others' wellbeing, the people of

Oman are under obligation to disseminate this genuine culture of faithfulness among

the peoples of the Muslim Ummah to awaken them all from their slumber so that all

of them would join forces to fill the gaps among themselves, to uproot all that leads to

schism between them and feebleness of their entity, and to extinguish every

commotion ignited by the hands of Ummah's own children as well as by its enemies

who wish that the religion of Allah dos not prevail, that the direction is not towards

Him alone and that the arbitration is not sought only from His book and the tradition

of His Messenger (pbuh).

"…on that Day shall the Believers rejoice with the help of God. He helps whom He

will, and He is exalted in might, most merciful." (Al-Qurān, 30:4-5).

Yours brotherly in Islam,

P a g e # 23

Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Khalili

20th

Shawwal, 1435 A.H. / 6th

August, 2014 A.D.

1 Narrated by: Ahmad (41/148, No: 24601), (42/183, No: 25302) and (43/15, No: 25813); Bukhāri – in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad -

(1/160), No: 308); Tabarāni – in Al-Awsat – (1/30, 72); Baihaqi – in Ash-Sh'ab (3/22, No:1359 and 3/23, No: 1360); Baghawi – in Sharhu As-Sunnah (13/76, No: 3494); Muslim - with comparable wording (1/512, No: 746; Ibn Mājah (2/782, No: 2333);

Nasa'ei (1/244, No: 424), (3/199, No: 1601) and (10/79, No: 11073); Dārimi (2/923, No: 1516), Ibn Rāhweh (3/711, No: 1316),

(3/828, No: 1478) and (3/956, No: 1666); BazzVr (4/295, No: 1469); Ibn Khuzaimah (2/171, No: 1127); Abu 'Awānah (2/55, No: 2294); Ibn-Hubbān (6/292, No: 2551); Musnad Ash-Shāmiyeen (3/144, No: 1963); Hākim (2/426, No: 3841), (2/541, No: 3842)

and (2/670, No: 4222)

2 Narrated by: Bukhāri (5/2238, No: 5665); Ahmad (4/268, No: 18381), Tabarāni – in Ash-Shāmiyeen (1/293, No: 512); Baihaqi – in Shu'abu AlEimān (6/102, No: 7609); Muslim - with comparable wording (4/2000, No: 2586), Ahmad (4/276, No:

18456); Ibn Abi Sahaibah (7/89, No: 34415)

3 Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/270, No: 698); Mālik - with comparable wording (2/907, No:1616); Ahmad (2/287, No: 7845); Bukhāri (5/1976, No: 4849); Muslim (4/1985, No: 2563); Abu Dawood (4/280, No: 4917); Tirmiḍi – terming it as genuine -

(4/356, No: 1988); Tabarāni – in Al-Awsat (8/222, No: 8461); Baihaqi (7/180, No: 13813)

4 Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/170, No: 419); Azraqi – In Akhbāru Makkah – (2/121) wording: "Allah has removed from you the remnants of the pre Islamic paganism and the boasting of ancestry in those days. You are the children of Adam and Adma was

created from the dust. Let people give up It is either a devout believer or a rogue dissolute. Men must renounce boasting of the

People who have become carbonized charcoal or else they shall be to by Allah worse than dung beetles which put their noses into the dirt."; Ahmad (2/523, No: 3965) Rafi'I (2/62); Al-khatib (6/187)

5 Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/208, No: 516); Ibn Mājah (2/734, No: 2172), Ahmad – with variation in wording; Ahmad (2/153, No:

6411); Abdur Razzāq (8/199, No: 14868); muslim (2/1032, No: 1412); Abu Dawood (2/228, No: 2081); Nasa'ei (7/258, No: 4504)

6 Narrated by: At-Tayālisi (P: 27, No: 193); Ahmad (1/164, No: 1412); 'Abd Bin Humaid (P: 63, No: 97); Tirmiḍi (4/664, No:

2510); Ash-Shāshi (1/114, No: 54); Ibn Qān'e (1/223); Baihaqi (10/232, No: 20854); Ad-Diyā (3/81, No: 889)

7 Narrated by: Tirmiḍi – through Abi Barzah Al-Aslami – terming it as genuine (4/612, No: 2417); Abu Ya'lā (13/428, No:

7434); Abu Na'im – in Al-Hilyah (10/232); Tabarāni in Al-Awsat – through Abu-Dardā – (5/74, No: 7410); Tabarāni – through

Mu'āḍ – (20/60, No: 111); Baihaqi – in Shu'abu Al-Eimān (2/286, No: 1785); Al-Khatib (11/441); Ibn 'Asākir (35/118); Ibn Abi Shaibah (7/125, No: 34694); Dailami (5/74, No: 7498); Tirmiḍi – through Ibn Mas'ud (4/612, No: 2416); Abu Ya'lā (9/178, No:

5271); Tabarāni (10/8, No: 9772); Ibn Udai (2/353, Translation by: Al-Husain Bin Qais Abu Ali Ar-Rahbi); Baihaqi – in Shu'abu

Al-Eimān (2/286, No: 1784); Al-Khatib (12/440)

8 Narrated by: Ibn Abi Shaibah (6/125, No: 30007); Dārimi (2/526, No: 3331); Tirmiḍi (5/172, No: 2906); Baihaqi – in

Shu'abu Al-Eimān (2/325, No: 1935); Ahmad – with variation in wording (1/91, No: 704); Dāra Qutni – in Al-Afrād

(1/194, No: 269); Bazzār (6/125, No: 834); Abu-Ya'lā (1/302, No: 367); Ibn Abi Shaibah (6/125, No: 30007);

Tirmiḍi (5/172, No: 2906). This Hadeeth, although not one unanimously agreed to, from its diction and expression

prophetic radiance emits. In all probability it illuminates with that incandescence only.

9 Narrated by: Ahmad (3/466, No: 15876); Tirmiḍi – terming it as fair but unusual (5/314, No: 3154); Ibn Mājah (2/1406, No:

15876); Tabarāni (22/307, No: 778); Baihaqi – in Shu'abu Al-Eimān (5/330, No: 6817); Ibn Hibbān (2/130, No: 404)

10 Narrated by: Muslim (4/2289, No: 2985); Ibn Mājah (2/1405, No: 4202)

11 As preceded