Imams encourage faithful to remain responsible

RIYADH: The Imam of a Riyadh mosque has called on every responsible person to behave properly and treat whoever is under his sponsorship with all respect and dignity by honoring their rights and dues.
Delivering his sermon on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha prayers in Dubath district yesterday, Sheikh Turki said the ongoing civil unrest and revolt taking place in some countries are the result of injustices, selfishness and not giving people their just dues.
“As a result, your employees and those under your supervision will not follow you and will abandon you,” he observed. He was referring to unrest in Syria and the behavior of some sponsors.
In his sermon on “Al-Ihsan,” or good manners, he said the meaning of Al-Ihsan is to treat everybody with kindness and right conduct on all occasions.
“Al-Ihsan in Islam has comprehensive meaning and applications. A father has to treat his family, his wife and children with gentleness and good behavior. The sponsor should be good to his drivers, employees and workers,” he said.
Calling on the business community to be fair in their dealings, the sheikh said: “Oh you traders, don’t take undue advantage of the people because of their needs; don’t misuse the occasion for your business interest in raising prices. Be good to the people as your Creator is always good to you,” he said.
The incidence of poverty in some countries is because of the act of spoliation by others and unjust distribution of dues to the people and absence of transparency in financial dealings.
He said Al-Ihsan is the highest of the three levels of faith and the closest to God. It is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him. While you do not see Him, He truly sees you. Then, Ihsan means that a Mu’hsen is sure that Allah is seeing him/her in everything he/she says or does.
Therefore, a Muhsen does his/her best to say and do only what pleases God and conforms to His commands. This is the level of righteousness, the level of perfection, the level of doing and saying the ultimate good, the level of Ihsan.
The word “Ihsan” in Arabic is a derivative of the verb “ahsana,” which means doing things better. Thus, the literal linguistic meaning of Ihsan is doing the best, which is doing what God commanded us to do, he concluded.
He said: “Today is the day of celebration, a day of delight and enjoyment and a time to show sincere obedience to Allah. It is the blessed Eid Al-Adha, the celebration of the sacrifice, one of the greatest days to Allah, about which our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, ‘The greatest day in Allah’s sight is the day of sacrifice.’ “
Sheikh Turki observed that the concept of Eid in Islam is unique, as it brings joy to Muslims after having strived hard and succeeded in performing acts of worship.
“They are also some important occasions to thank Allah for His infallible pledge to forgive His believing servants’ faults,” he said.
The sheikh paid tributes to those who have stood on the Mount of Arafat and returned with their sins expiated. On their way back to Al Masjid Al Haram, they would pass by Muzdalifa overwhelmed with Allah’s Mercy. From there they would set out for Mina for stoning of the Jamarat and again for the Ancient House (Kaaba) to perform Tawaf.
“For every act they do, pilgrims will have angels surrounding them and light shining on them, not to mention the limitless bounties they will get as a recompense. Credit also goes to non-pilgrims who stand by their counterparts performing Haj by fasting and praying to Allah with great hope to receive His blessed forgiveness, satisfaction and guidance.”
Elsewhere, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Asheikh, who led the prayers at the Eid ground near Riyadh Airbase in Malaz district, called on the Islamic Ummah to be leaders not only in religious affairs but also in the world of science and technology.
Addressing a 10,000-strong congregation, Al-Asheikh said in his sermon it is sad to see that the Ummah are merely consumers, while calling on the Ummah to be creative.
“To be creative we need to march in step with modern advancements,” he said.
Al-Asheikh said the faithful could be modern while being religious, and use the knowledge of science and technology to be creative. “Others make our clothes ready and we just wear them,” he said metaphorically.
Stressing the importance of manners and character, Al-Asheikh said, “Islam urges us to be kind, have good manners and right conduct and respect visitors.”
He added: “We belong to a society with divine guidelines to be cooperative and helpful to each other.”
He said the doors “are always open for objective discussions, but not at the expense of our religion or our country. At the same time, we do not accept corruption and injustice to the people.”
That’s why, he explained, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered officials to fight corruption. The scholar said committing acts of corruption, while in position, is not only ungrateful to Almighty Allah and His Messenger, but also treachery against the head of state.
Traffic police, meanwhile, had made elaborate security arrangements, as the worshippers started arriving for Eid prayers early. Altaf Khan, an expatriate from India, said: “This is a blessed occasion for us.”
Shamel Al-Arnous from Syria hoped Muslims would stay united, adding, “We strengthened our faith during Ramadan and, now we have to maintain the same spirit for the rest of the months.”