Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura Friday Sermon 1 April 2011 / 27 Rabiul Akhir 1432 Ar-Rahman Allah Is The Most

t Compassionate

Dear blessed brethren, Let us increase our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. by understanding His Most Noble names and attributes. May such appreciation of His attributes inspire us to perform all His commandments,
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and to leave behind all that He has forbidden. Verily, we hope to be among those who are loved and blessed by Allah in this world and in the hereafter. Dear congregant, Certainly most of us were taught and are familiar with words glorifying Allah s.w.t.. At the very least, the recitation of basmalah or Bismillahirrahmanirrahim has become a common practice for us before we start to do anything; before we leave our house, before we drink or eat, and so forth. In fact, on a daily basis, we will make mention of it in every single performance of our prayer, commencing with the recitation of Al-Fatihah and including every recitation of the subsequent surahs in our prayer. However, what is the meaning behind the words Ar-Rahman or Ar-Rahim? It refers to Allah, who is the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful. It alludes to Allahs vast mercies bestowed upon His creations; the Lord who is the Most Gracious and the Most Loving upon His servants, and the Lord who will forgive all the sins of His servants even though they accumulate as high as the mountains.
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The Prophet s.a.w. once said in a hadith Qudsi which means: O My servants, you commit sins by day and by night, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you. Hadith narrated by Imam Muslim. Therefore, we should never despair from seeking forgiveness for the sins that we have committed throughout our lives. Let us open a new chapter full of hope and compassion, as well as blessings granted by Allah s.w.t. Let us reflect, my dear brothers, on the words of Allah in surah Az-Zumar verse 53:

Meaning: Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. My dear brothers, Through the attribute of Ar-Rahman, we can also associate the characteristic of justice. As the lord who is Most Gracious
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and Most Loving, Allah s.w.t. will not allow His servants to live without any guidance from Him. The Justice of Allah s.w.t. is a result of His compassion for all of His creations. This is clearly illustrated by the words of Allah in a surah attributable to Himself, that is surah Ar-Rahman in verses 1-4:

Meaning: (Allah) The Most Compassionate. It is He Who has taught the Quran. He has created man; He has taught him speech (and intelligence). It is clear from this verse how Allah has manifested His Love and Grace upon us. Allah s.w.t. has bestowed to us knowledge so that we are able to reflect upon the proofs of His greatness. In fact, Allah s.w.t. has revealed the holy AlQuran in the same manner as He revealed the previous scriptures so that we remain guided in the right path. In addition to that, Allah s.w.t. appointed prophets to ensure that His hidayah and guidance will reach all people in every generation.

My beloved brothers, Just as Allah loves His servants, in return, we should exhibit similar characteristics of love and compassion towards our fellow mankind. Hence, our faith is not perfected when we claim to be a believer and a person of taqwa if we do not have an iota of love and compassion for mankind, for our brothers in Islam or towards our own family members. Let us be guided by the best example of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. who not only loves his family, but continuously expresses and articulates his love to them. It was narrated that Abu Hurairah r.a. said: The Prophet s.a.w. kissed Hassan Bin Ali while on his side sat Al-Aqra Bin Habis At-Tamimi. Al-Aqra then said: Verily I have 10 children and I have not even once kissed any of them. The Prophet s.a.w. then turned to him and said: He who does not love will not be loved. Hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari and Muslim.

At the same time, my dear brothers, if we truly love someone or our family members, we must be fair in extending our love and affection. As an example, for young parents or those who are about to be blessed with a child, we need to develop a wise long-term planning to ensure that every one of our children will receive equal treatment in terms of their development and self-confidence from an early age. Do not spend excessively on the improvement and development of just one child, resulting in the lack of enough funds or time or energy to be spent on the other children. In addition, my dear brothers, as evidence of our love for someone, we must be able to advice them of their shortcomings, with wisdom. This can be achieved if we possess and demonstrate noble characteristics either in speech or through our actions. Every single one of us is able to exemplify this through our various leadership positions in our community, in our workplace, as parents, teachers, asatizahs or as students. Hopefully all of us from now on, are able to better appreciate the love of Allah s.w.t., particularly by performing His commands to the best of our ability. This includes loving and
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caring for mankind and all of His creations. May be we able to receive Allahs mercy and blessings in this world, and be reserved a place in Paradise in the Hereafter. Amin.