Chastity

All praise be to Allah. We thank Him, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We repent to Him, and we ask Him to protect us and guard us from the evil within ourselves, and the evil of our deeds.

Those who are guided by Allah, nothing shall misguide them, and those who are misguided by Allah; nothing shall guide them.

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, the one; the only; who has no associates. And I bear witness that Mohammad pbuh is His servant and His messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, and all those who live like them till the Day of Resurrection.

As to what follows, I call upon myself first and all of you to be ever conscious and do construct our lives in accordance to what He has ordered us as He says, “And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him of his matter ease.” (Attalaq: 4).

O Muslims,

The topic of today is about chastity, a moral characteristic that is in perfect harmony with common sense. In principle, it underlines every act for restraining the self from unlawful desires leading to committing sins or being involved in begging, for example. As such, it is one of the perfect deeds and highest qualities a person can have, for our Prophet Muhammad pbuh considered it one of the reasons for entering Paradise. He said, “the first three people who will enter paradise were presented to me…one who abstains from both the unlawful and the doubtful.” Chastity is also evidence to self-perfection and wisdom, about which a scholar said, “perfection is in three: religious chastity, patience in adversity, and good government of livelihood.

No wonder then that chastity is at the core of prophetic virtues and one of the beneficial calls for people to fulfill. Abu Sufyan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported, in course of his detailed narration about Heraclius when the latter questioned him about the teachings of the Prophet pbuh he said that: he pbuh told (us): “perform Salat, speak the truth, observe modesty and strengthen the ties of kinship.” So for its high merit the Prophet Muhammad pbuh used to supplicate to Allah in these words, “O Allah. I beg of Thee the right guidance, safeguard against evils, chastity and freedom from want.”

O Servants of Allah,

Please know that chastity is first and foremost manifested in our senses, the latter being tools to perform deeds. So as long as one’s senses are free from evil and sins, Allah, the Most Exalted, bestows upon him abundant provision and grants him Paradise. Our Master Muhammad pbuh said, “whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him.”

In this context, chastity requires of the individual to control his senses and use them only in what Allah has made it lawful and permissible. So if it happens that his self and faith have weakened, he should recall that the sweetness of faith lasts while the thrill of lust shall soon perish. He should also be aware that Allah, the Almighty, stands by his servant if he turns away from sins and remains patient.

However the reasons are, a Muslim must abstain from engaging in Haram and get over the lure of his own desires until Allah makes it possible for him to marry. Allah, the Most Exalted says, “But let them who find not [the means for] marriage abstain [from sexual relations] until Allah enriches them from His bounty.” (Annur: 33).

Dear Muslims,  

Allah, may Glory be to Him, has ordered us to avoid taking others’ money unlawfully and the economically independent guardians to not take any return from orphans under his charge. Yet He, the Almighty, has allowed the poor guardian to get an acceptable portion of it. On this matter, He says, “And whoever, [when acting as guardian], is self-sufficient should refrain [from taking a fee]; and whoever is poor – let him take according to what is acceptable.” (Annisaa: 6).

Part of chastity is also to abstain from abusing public properties, for these should not be used for any purposes other than those allocated to. Nor should they be utilised for own personal ends. Therefore, everyone is advised to protect them because they belong to all, and so the responsibility of maintaining them should be incumbent upon each individual.

Furthermore, a Muslim should spare himself the shame of begging people or asking for money without doing a work in return. Allah, the Most Exalted, has praised those seeking self-independence saying, “An ignorant [person] would think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently [or at all].” (Al Baqara: 273). In the same regard, our Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, “whoever has forbearance, Allah will help him. Whoever tries to be independent, Allah will enrich him.”

By the same token, a Muslim needs to make sure every bite he put in his mouth is Halal. About this, our Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, “If you have four things, don’t worry about anything you missed in this world: Truthfulness in speech, preserving one’s trust, good conduct and purity of food.”

Dear Believers,     

Chastity gives a Muslim resilience, protecting him from bad manners while guiding him to righteousness and prosperity. So he will speak but good. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh used to warn about lying because it is against good manners and the chastity of the tongue. He pbuh said, “It is great treachery that you should tell your brother something and have him believe you when you are lying.”

With this in mind, we ask Allah’s favour to grant us chastity and modesty in speech and deeds. May Allah help us also to obey Him and those He has ordained upon us to obey pursuant to His instructions: “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” (Annisaa: 59).

May Allah bless you and me with the ability to implement the Holy Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger Muhammad pbuh. I say my words and pray to Allah, the Almighty, to grant us forgiveness. Supplicate to Allah for forgiveness for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

Second sermon

Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and messenger, who was true to his promise. May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows, Please obey Allah and know that the way to acquire chastity is through strong faith. Thus, if a person’s heart enjoys the appeal of faith and feels the presence of Allah, he can hardly dare to violate His orders. It can also be attained by avoiding doubtful matters, because from this window Satan would lure believers to commit sins. Allah says, “O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan – indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing.” (Annur: 21).

Dear Muslims

Please know also that chastity brings great benefits for people as Allah, the Most Exalted, has made it a reason to bestow His help and assistance. Our Master Muhammad pbuh said, “There are three who are promised the help of Allah [including]… the one who gets married seeking to keep himself chaste.” It is thus a shield protecting the chaste person from loss as evidenced in the story of the three people who got stuck in a cave and related by our Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

It says, “O Allah! I had a she-cousin whom I loved as much as a passionate man loves a woman. I tried to seduce her but she refused till I paid her one-hundred Dinars. So I worked hard till I collected one hundred Dinars and went to her with that But when I sat in between her legs (to have sexual intercourse with her), she said, ‘O Allah’s slave! Be afraid of Allah! Do not deflower me except legally (by marriage contract). So I left her O Allah! If you considered that I had done that only for seeking Your pleasure then please let the rock move a little to have a (wider) opening.’ So Allah shifted that rock to make the opening wider for them.”

Be watchful therefore of Allah’s commandments and be keen to observe chastity. You are also required to teach your children to live and act according to it so you win Allah’s reward in this life and the next.

O Servants of Allah,

Allah has commanded you an order to which He and His angels are both committed, when He says, the meaning of which is, “Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect.” (Al Ahzab: 56).

The Prophet pbuh said, “for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah.” May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad pbuh, his family and all his companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

O Allah! I ask You for all the good that is near and that which is far, the one of which I know of and the one I do not.

O Allah! I ask You for the good of what Your Prophet and Servant asked of, and I seek refuge in You from the evils of which Your Prophet and Servant asked of.

O Allah! I ask You for Paradise and for such deeds and sayings that will bring us closer to it, and I seek refuge in You from the deeds and sayings which would take me further from it. I ask You to make all decisions good for me.

O Allah, Give us piety and purify our souls. You are Master and the Lord of souls. O Sustainer, amend our intentions, grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes and make success be an ally to us. O Allah, give us rain and do not make us among the despondent. O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us.

O Allah, we implore You at this instant not to let a sin unforgiven, a distress unrelieved, an illness unhealed or a handicapped without relief, a dead without mercy or a debt unsettled. Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.

O Lord, forgive and show mercy, You are the Ever Merciful and there is no strength or power save with Allah, the High, the Great.

O Servants of Allah, remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful for His benevolence He will increase His blessings to you. Allah, the Most High, says: “And establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.” (Al Ankaboot: 45).