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-Qurn, 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 selfcentered 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 Qurnic 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-Qurn, 3:102-103)
The Holy Qurn 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 Qurn"1 as asserted by 'isha, the Mother of the Faithful (may Allah be
pleased with her).
While the Holy Qurn 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-Qurn,
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 Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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 Qurn 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 Ansr [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 Qurn 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 wayout 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 Qurn) 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." (AlQurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 10:57-58)"
"We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things, a Guide, a Mercy, and
Glad Tidings to Muslims." (Al-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn,
17:82)

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"These are verses of the Qur'an,-a book that makes (things) clear; A guide: and glad
tidings for the believers."(Al-Qurn, 27:1-2)
"These are Verses of the Wise Book,- A Guide and a Mercy to the Doers of Good."
(Al-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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." (AlQurn, 18:28)
In a Hadeeth, narrated by Ali Ibn Abi Tlib, 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-Qurn, 72:1-2). Whosoever speaks with it speaks the truth; whosoever
P a g e # 16

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 Qurn as his guide goes wrong,
No one when he follows the path of the Qurn 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-Qurn, 3:32) The Holy Qurn 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 4:80)
"We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of God." (AlQurn, 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-Qurn, 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 # 17

if ye do believe in God and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final
determination." (Al-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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)." (AlQurn, 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-Qurn,
24:54)
"So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle; that ye
may receive mercy." (Al-Qurn, 24:56)
P a g e # 18

"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-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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 Qurn 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
Qurn and that whosoever turns away from it, turns his back to the Holy Qurn 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);" (AlQurn, 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 # 19

admit no one as partner." (Al-Qurn, 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-Qurn, 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 ult (the obligatory regular daily prayers) and
handing out of Zakt (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 # 20

In the context of unity and concord, and while cautioning against schism and discord
in Chapter 3 of the Holy Qurn, l-'Imrn / The House of 'Imrn 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-Qurn, 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 Qurn 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-Qurn, 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 # 21

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-Qurn, 30:4-5).

Yours brotherly in Islam,

P a g e # 22

Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Khalili

20th Shawwal, 1435 A.H. / 6th August, 2014 A.D.

Narrated by: Ahmad (41/148, No: 24601), (42/183, No: 25302) and (43/15, No: 25813); Bukhri in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (1/160), No: 308); Tabarni 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 Mjah (2/782, No: 2333);
Nasa'ei (1/244, No: 424), (3/199, No: 1601) and (10/79, No: 11073); Drimi (2/923, No: 1516), Ibn Rhweh (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 'Awnah (2/55, No:
2294); Ibn-Hubbn (6/292, No: 2551); Musnad Ash-Shmiyeen (3/144, No: 1963); Hkim (2/426, No: 3841), (2/541, No: 3842)
and (2/670, No: 4222)
Narrated by: Bukhri (5/2238, No: 5665); Ahmad (4/268, No: 18381), Tabarni in Ash-Shmiyeen (1/293, No: 512);
Baihaqi in Shu'abu AlEimn (6/102, No: 7609); Muslim - with comparable wording (4/2000, No: 2586), Ahmad (4/276, No:
18456); Ibn Abi Sahaibah (7/89, No: 34415)
2

Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/270, No: 698); Mlik - with comparable wording (2/907, No:1616); Ahmad (2/287, No: 7845);
Bukhri (5/1976, No: 4849); Muslim (4/1985, No: 2563); Abu Dawood (4/280, No: 4917); Tirmii terming it as genuine (4/356, No: 1988); Tabarni in Al-Awsat (8/222, No: 8461); Baihaqi (7/180, No: 13813)
3

Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/170, No: 419); Azraqi In Akhbru 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)
4

Narrated by: Ar-Rabi' (1/208, No: 516); Ibn Mjah (2/734, No: 2172), Ahmad with variation in wording; Ahmad (2/153, No:
6411); Abdur Razzq (8/199, No: 14868); muslim (2/1032, No: 1412); Abu Dawood (2/228, No: 2081); Nasa'ei (7/258, No:
4504)
5

Narrated by: At-Taylisi (P: 27, No: 193); Ahmad (1/164, No: 1412); 'Abd Bin Humaid (P: 63, No: 97); Tirmii (4/664, No:
2510); Ash-Shshi (1/114, No: 54); Ibn Qn'e (1/223); Baihaqi (10/232, No: 20854); Ad-Diy (3/81, No: 889)
6

Narrated by: Tirmii through Abi Barzah Al-Aslami terming it as genuine (4/612, No: 2417); Abu Ya'l (13/428, No:
7434); Abu Na'im in Al-Hilyah (10/232); Tabarni in Al-Awsat through Abu-Dard (5/74, No: 7410); Tabarni through
Mu' (20/60, No: 111); Baihaqi in Shu'abu Al-Eimn (2/286, No: 1785); Al-Khatib (11/441); Ibn 'Askir (35/118); Ibn Abi
Shaibah (7/125, No: 34694); Dailami (5/74, No: 7498); Tirmii through Ibn Mas'ud (4/612, No: 2416); Abu Ya'l (9/178, No:
5271); Tabarni (10/8, No: 9772); Ibn Udai (2/353, Translation by: Al-Husain Bin Qais Abu Ali Ar-Rahbi); Baihaqi in Shu'abu
Al-Eimn (2/286, No: 1784); Al-Khatib (12/440)
7

Narrated by: Ibn Abi Shaibah (6/125, No: 30007); Drimi (2/526, No: 3331); Tirmii (5/172, No: 2906); Baihaqi in
Shu'abu Al-Eimn (2/325, No: 1935); Ahmad with variation in wording (1/91, No: 704); Dra Qutni in Al-Afrd
(1/194, No: 269); Bazzr (6/125, No: 834); Abu-Ya'l (1/302, No: 367); Ibn Abi Shaibah (6/125, No: 30007);
Tirmii (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.
Narrated by: Ahmad (3/466, No: 15876); Tirmii terming it as fair but unusual (5/314, No: 3154); Ibn Mjah (2/1406, No:
15876); Tabarni (22/307, No: 778); Baihaqi in Shu'abu Al-Eimn (5/330, No: 6817); Ibn Hibbn (2/130, No: 404)
9

10

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

11

As preceded

P a g e # 23