Back to Home Page  

Khutba # 22

Human Societies According to Islamic Teachings

I advise all of us, including myself, to put piety and righteousness in practice, and to revere Allah and obey His divine commands.  Be heedful of your choices in this life and their likely consequences in the hereafter.  Be aware of your final destination, your eventuality and departure into the everlasting life.

Let us discuss in this Khutba the future of human societies. We admit that modern societies and cultures are basically divergent and dissimilar, yet it cannot be denied that they vary widely in their form and quality.

Now let us ask:  What is the future of human societies?  Will humanity eventually move towards a single culture, a single civilization, and a single society?  In other words, will all societies one day coalesce and assume a global form in genuine humanity?  Such a question hinges on the nature of society and the relation between the individual and the collective spirit.

From the viewpoint of the Holy Quran, it is indisputable that ultimately The Truth shall prevail and falsehood shall be vanquished, reduced to nothing.  Ultimately piety and the pious are bound to succeed. The Holy Quran teaches that the establishment of Islam in the world is inevitable.  This is another way of saying that man will reach his complete perfections.  The Holy Quran says in Surah 5 (al-Maa’ida), Ayah 54:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَلاَ يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لآئِمٍ ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاء وَاللّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

O’ Believers!  If you abandon your Faith,

Allah will in time bring forth [in your place] people whom He loves and who love Him —humble towards believers, mighty against the infidels: [people] who strive hard in Allah’s Cause and are never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault.”

Allah (swt) says in Surah 24 (al-Noor), Ayah 55:

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الارْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا يَعْبُدُونَنِي لا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًاَ

“Allah has promised such of you who believe and do good deeds that He will cause them to gain power on earth, as He appointed those before them; and He shall certainty establish their religion [Islam] which he has chosen for them,

and He will give them in exchange security after their fear.  They shall worship Me and not associate any one with Me….”

At another place the Holy Quran says in Surah 21 (al-Anbiya’), Ayah 105:

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الاَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ

“… Surely My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.”

Tabatabai, the Author of the treatise Al-Mizaan says under the heading: “Belief in the frontiers of the Islamic world, not its geographical or contractual boundary”:[3]

“Contrary to what is generally believed, Islam is not opposed to nationalism as such.  In fact Islam supports nationalism in its cultural sense.  What Islam opposes is nationalism in its racial sense.  In other words Islam is against racism only.” [4]

Man looks at the world to accommodate what he wants, how he moves, and what his destination is to be.  If so, such a man is like an empty receptacle not yet having form or color.  Every side of his personality is conditioned by what is subsequently put in it.  It is this input that gives him a form and a personality.

Natural advancement of societies is towards the formation of a single society and a single culture. In Islam our belief in Imam al-Mahdi is based on this idea, about the future of Islam, man, and the world.

As quoted by Ibn Mas’ood, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has once said:[5] 

Let us also quote Imam al-Ridha (the eighth Imam) saying: [6] 

As about its time, my father had told me, having ­heard it from his father, who heard it from his father, who heard it from his ancestors who heard it from Ali, that it was asked of the Holy Prophet, 'Oh Prophet of God, when will the al-Qaa'im who is from thy family appear? 

The Prophet answered: 

Al-Qaa’im’s case is like that of the Hour of the Resurrection.  Allah alone will manifest it at its due time.   It is a weighty matter in the heavens and the earth.  It won’t come except very unexpectedly.”

For the end of the 1^st part of the Khutba, read Surah Al-Asr, take a short intermission, then start the 2^nd part of the Khutba with a short Du’aa.

In the second part of this Khutba let us discuss the death anniversary of Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari.  Imam al-Hasan al-Askari was the 11^th Imam.  He, like the Imams before him, used to live with the people, conveying to them the Prophet’s message, and fighting off any deviation, and offering the role model that should be followed.

When we remember our Imams we know that Allah made them Ma’soom and removed from them all ideological and emotional impurities.  Their thoughts became the right that could not be deviated from, and although they are not among us, their heritage, spirituality, and conduct are still with us.  Their spirituality and teachings fill our hearts, spirits, and minds with the light it needs to make our lives virtuous and pious.

Thus we have to learn how they presented Islam to us and how they wanted us to rise to a high level in all aspects of life, be it personal, cultural, political, or social.  Because they wanted Islam to guide our lives, a code of behavior in our houses was instilled; a law and a unifier in our lives became a source of strength and resolve in the face of challenges.

Allah wants us to be dignified, He wants us to be full of wisdom and to know the real value and rank of the members of the House and not to exaggerate their role, because exaggerating their role will lead us to deviate and become non-Muslim. We also have to follow their way as they taught us.

When Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari (a.s.) died on the ninth of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the era of Imamah of Imam Al-Mahdi began, and since Imam Al-Mahdi (a.s.) said before his long occultation:[7]  

This opened the way for the pious religion scholars to give judgments about new developments and contemporary matters.  The pious religious scholars are the faithful to God and His messenger (pbuh), who do not trade their religion for material gain.

Al-Mahdi also said:[8] 

Based on this Saying, these scholars must conform to these high standards when he said “the scholars are the keepers of the Messengers unless they enter this world” and he explained how they do that.

One of the principal aims of Islam is to establish justice and bring about complete equilibrium in Islamic society. The Quran says in Surah 57 (al-Hadeed), Ayah 25:

لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَنزَلْنَا مَعَهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيزَانَ لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ ٌ

“Indeed We sent forth Our Messengers with clear Proofs; and sent with them the Book and the balance, that people may conduct themselves with equity…”

All men were born of one ancestor and have a common nature.  The differences in rights on the basis of race, rank, class, tribal attachments etc. is totally denied by Islam.  Islam officially proclaims that: All men are equal like the teeth of a comb, and they are descendants of Adam and Adam was made of clay.  The Quran says in Surah 21 (al-Anbiya’), Ayah 92:

إِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

“Verily this is your Ummah (community), one Ummah, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me [alone]”

In fact, all men are servants of Allah and they are virtual brothers of each other.  With that concept Islam sees it necessary that among individuals there should exist a sort of unity, harmony and equality in the matter of basic legal rights. 

Finally, let us read Surah Al-Nasr with a short Du’aa to close the Khutba