Note: The following transcript was generated using AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Every one of us is a walking sin. That's what we are. Who is free from mistakes? Who? Every single one of us. Every single one of us has sins. Allah is concealing these sins for us. يا عبد الله، يا أمة الله O servant of Allah, O female servant of Allah, Allah is speaking to you. What is He saying to you? Do not belittle anyone. Do not degrade and ridicule someone.
Why? The person you ridicule might even be better than you. When you stand in front of Allah, this is what you're going to have to answer for—the people you spoke against, the ones you ridiculed, the ones you put down.
So if you're a mu’min (believer), إن شاء الله, Allah is calling you, سبحانه وتعالى. He is speaking to you.
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ﷺ
O you who believe, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except in a state of Islam.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا
O you who believe, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا fear Allah and speak words of truth and justice. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great success.
أَمَّا بَعْدُ
Indeed, the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. The worst matters are those newly introduced (into the religion), and every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Hellfire.
أَمَّا بَعْدُ
My dear brothers and sisters, إن شاء الله تعالى, today I want to share with you—بإذن الله الكريم—a very important topic that many of us fall into.
And I ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى to forgive me for the many times I have fallen into this trait. So this lecture, this reminder, is a benefit for me, and إن شاء الله تعالى, I hope, a benefit for each and every one of you.
My brothers and sisters, the topic is السخرية—mocking and degrading your fellow Muslim.
And سبحان الله, my brothers and sisters, if we truly look at the Qur’an, at the Sunnah, and at the أقوال السلف—the statements of the pious predecessors, the giants, the great Imams of Islam who preceded us in knowledge, virtue, and piety—we will find that mocking, belittling, and degrading others is something that is prohibited. It is warned against.
It is not a quality a believer should want to have.
And in the time that we're living, my brothers and sisters, it's so common that we belittle our Muslim brother or we belittle our Muslim sister. Someone might comment or say something that you do not like, or point out something that you don't like, so what you do is, you belittle them, you degrade them, you shame them, humiliate them.
And the Prophet ﷺ, he said in a hadith, the Imam of Muslims narrated it in Sahih, the Prophet ﷺ said:
بِحَسْبِ امْرِئٍ مِّنَ الشَّرِّ أَن يَحْقِرَ أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمِ
What is enough sin for you, enough ذنب, is for you what?
أَن يَحْقِرَ—that you belittle أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمِ—your Muslim brother.
And you know what shocks me, my brothers and sisters? Many years back, you would find that this trait of belittling and degrading was more common amongst people who were not practicing the religion. The people who were not upholding Islamic values, who were not practicing Muslims or were not students of knowledge—you would find this trait with them.
But now, it's become common amongst people you would think are طُلاب العلم, students of knowledge. He's belittling another student of knowledge, or he's belittling another fellow Muslim. He's belittling another sister of his, a Muslim sister that he's seen on social media.
He's belittling her, putting her down, and degrading that individual.
Remember this hadith:
بِحَسْبِ امْرِئٍ مِّنَ الشَّرِّ أَن يَحْقِرَ أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمِ
It's enough for you ذنب, معصية, that you come on the Day of Judgment and you have belittled your Muslim brother.
You've degraded your Muslim brother.
Mocking, my brothers and sisters:
هي الاستهانة والتحقير والتنبيه على العيوب والنقائص على وجه الضحك من المسخور منهم
That's what سخرية means. It means that you belittle, you degrade someone, you point out their mistakes and their deficiencies and their errors على وجه الضحك in order to laugh and show the people, "Look at this."
It's not a good quality.
The great scholar Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله تعالى, in his Kitab al-Fatawa al-Kubra رحمه الله, he says:
الاستهزاء هو السخرية
He says it's the same.
وهو حمل الأقوال والأفعال على الهزل واللعب
It's to mock, and it's to laugh at someone's speech and action.
لا على الجد والحقيقة
You're being sarcastic, you're degrading, you're laughing at them. You're not taking their words or what they're saying seriously. You're belittling them.
فالذي يسخر من الناس هو الذي يذم صفاتهم وأفعالهم ذما يخرجها عن درجة الاعتبار كما سخروا بالمطوعين من المؤمنين في الصدقات
Which, insha'Allah, we're going to talk about later.
This, my brothers and sisters, and the trait of mocking and belittling—what's the cause? Where does it come from?
My brothers and sisters, mocking occurs when a person looks at himself بعين الرضا—when he looks at himself because he's pleased with himself— And he looks at others وينظر إلى الآخرين بعين الانتقاص—and he looks at other people seeing that they're not.
So what happens?
He looks at himself بعين الرضا, and he's pleased with himself: "Do you know what I've achieved? Do you know what I've got?"
And when does he look at other people?
وينظر إلى الآخرين بعين الانتقاص
When he looks at other people, he looks at them with a view of deficiency: "You're not at that level."
So you look at others بعين الانتقاص—by belittling them and degrading them— And you look at yourself بعين الرضا—pleased with yourself: "I've done this. I know this. What does he know? He's جاهل, he's ignorant."
Wallahi, this is a مرض—it's a sickness.
And just because someone tries to justify something that's clearly and categorically mentioned in our religion as wrong, somebody tries to justify it by saying, "But this person did it, and this person did it,"— That doesn't make it right.
Because you're trying to find justification for it.
Just because you feel like you have something to support it, That does not necessarily make it a permissible act.
Look at these evidences.
Actually, Allah تبارك وتعالى shows us that this is the trait of criminals.
In Surah Al-Mutaffifin, what does Allah say?
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا۟ كَانُوا مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ
What does Allah mention?
He mentions that the criminals:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا—Those who are criminals, who have exceeded their limits, committed atrocities and wrongdoings— What are they like?
كَانُوا مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ
They used to laugh at the believers!
So once a person is a Mu’min, he is a Muslim, and you don't mock them.
Correct them.
If you see that he has made a mistake, correct him.
Tell him: "This is wrong. Have you seen this evidence? Have you seen this proof?"
Show them. Educate them—no problem. Discuss it with them.
But go back and mock and degrade someone? That is not a Sifah or a characteristic that you, insha'Allah, as a Muslim, want to have.
Mocking other people:
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ
And when they go by them, يَتَغَامَزُونَ—they wink at each other.
This is part of their crime. They will look at each other and wink, all of that to belittle and put down the believers.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى has prohibited this for us.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى says in Surah Al-Hujurat—a Surah that talks about manners and etiquette, how a Muslim should conduct himself.
By Allah, brothers and sisters, these evidences—the ayat, the ahadith, the actions of our noble Prophet ﷺ, his companions, the students of the companions—once we gain knowledge, they must be the things that we follow.
This is Qur'an, Sunnah, and the way of the companions.
So we need to follow them.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, look at what He says, my brothers and sisters:
I ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to cleanse our hearts and to put humility in us, and to allow us to truly understand ourselves.
Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, we should really understand that we are nothing.
That we are nothing.
We can try to elevate ourselves, but in reality, we are nothing.
It is Allah’s mercy, it is His kindness, it is His generosity that will raise us, سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.
Not you trying to raise yourself and make yourself something.
Laughing, mocking, belittling, and ridiculing—Wallahi, my brothers and sisters, leave that.
And if somebody does that to you, know that they are not your teacher.
That person who is mocking you, ridiculing you, and humiliating your fellow Muslim—if he is doing that to you, then he is not your teacher in this evil trait.
He is not your teacher, so do not take from him.
Meaning: do not reciprocate this evil trait.
Do not respond to him with that same evil action that he is doing.
Don’t do it.
Turn away from him.
Turn away from those who are ignorant.
That is what Allah told you.
And walk away.
Just turn away.
That’s it.
Because at this moment, his engagement in this behavior is not a behavior of knowledge and righteousness.
So in that moment, you turn away and leave.
You turn away and you leave.
You don’t mock him, you don’t belittle him—you just don’t engage with him.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, look at what He says, my brothers and sisters.
Allah speaks to the believers.
May Allah make us from the believers.
May Allah grant us Iman.
Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّنْ قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِّنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ لِسْمُ الْفُسُوْقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
Allah says نداء—a call to the people of Iman.
Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا—Those of you who believe.
So if you are a Mu’min, insha'Allah, Allah is calling you سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.
He is speaking to you:
يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ يَا أَمَتَ اللَّهِ
Allah is speaking to you.
What is He saying to you?
لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ
Do not belittle anyone.
Do not degrade and ridicule someone.
Why?
عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ
The person you ridicule—he might even be better than you.
Allah has said this.
And I have told this story so many times.
In the course of my life, in this world that I have lived in, I have seen wonders.
عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ—I have seen this a lot.
I have looked at people and thought to myself—
And this is, again, ignorance.
And again, it is the mistakes, the faults, and the errors.
Again, it is the mistakes, the faults, and the errors that we fall into—every single one of us.
I looked at someone and thought, مسكين.
In my head, in my eyes, I was ridiculing the person.
I was putting them down.
I looked down at them.
And guess what I found?
That person was doing dhikr.
I saw a sister, SubhanAllah, and I’ve told this story many times.
She was in the airport.
She was not wearing hijab.
She was not covered up—nothing.
Wallahi, in the airport, she was reading Qur'an.
I saw her.
When we came to give our passports and tickets, and to weigh our luggage, this woman was right there—reading Qur’an.
I could see her.
She was not wearing hijab, her hair was showing.
And she went to the waiting area.
In the airport, there’s the duty-free.
I could see all of that.
I stayed there, and after the luggage check, I didn’t see her anymore.
Then, when we came to the waiting area again, she was still holding a mushaf.
So I’m thinking—from that time until now, she’s been holding on to the mushaf.
Then we boarded the flight.
She was holding a small mushaf.
I couldn’t stop myself.
I went over to her.
I said, “Look, sister, I have a question I want to ask you.
I’ve seen you from the moment we entered the airport until now, on the flight.
You’ve been holding a mushaf.
You’ve been holding the Qur’an.
You’ve been reading it.
What’s your story?
Tell me.”
She said, “Yes, I finish the Qur’an every three days.”
Ajeeb.
Ajeeb.
And at that moment, I realized—never in my life had I finished the Qur’an in three days.
Never.
I was shocked.
Baffled.
That woman, in the eyes of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, could be higher than you in stations.
عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ
The person you look down upon, the person you shame—
And no, I am not saying that it’s fine for a sister not to wear hijab.
That’s not what I’m saying.
But what I am saying is that a person can be indulged in a sin, a mistake, or an error in their life—whether man or woman.
But that does not mean that you are better than them.
عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ
The person you belittle—
عَسَىٰ—it’s possible—
أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ
وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِّنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ
وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ
وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ
Look at that, my brothers.
This is the majority of what happens on social media.
This is each and every single one of us.
Do not throw labels at each other.
Mocking each other.
“You are this.”
“You are ignorant.”
“You’re a fool.”
“You’re this.”
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ
وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ
بِئْسَ لِسْمُ الْفُسُوْقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ
Then Allah says:
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ
Anyone who doesn’t repent from all of that—
فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
You are a ظالم, بِنَصِّ الآية—based on the verse.
العَلَّامَة الإمام المفسرون—he was called Ibn Jarir al-Tabari.
What did he say?
He said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَمَّ بِنَهْيِهِ
Allah has generalized His prohibition.
Of what?
Of the Mu’minoon.
Allah said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
That any Muslim—
Any Muslim—
Do not belittle or ridicule them.
Then he said:
فَلَا يَحِلُّ لِمُؤْمِنٍ أَنْ يَسْخَرَ مِنْ مُؤْمِنٍ
It is not permissible for a Mu’min to ridicule and belittle another believer.
لَا لِفَقْرِهِ
Not because of his poverty.
He is a poor guy.
تحقير—belittling him.
Some people walk away.
They don’t want to sit next to that poor person.
“I don’t sit with these types of people.”
“I’m from an upper class.”
Stuff like that.
وَلَا لِذَنبٍ اِرْتَكَبَهُ
A sin that person has fallen into—
That person has committed a sin—
Don’t belittle him because of that.
وَلَا لِغَيْرِ ذَٰلِك
And not for any other reason.
Who among us is free from mistakes?
Who?
Every single one of us.
Every single one of us has sins.
Allah is concealing them for us.
Allah is hiding these sins for us.
He is the One who is choosing not to expose them publicly for us.
سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى
Every one of us is a walking sin.
That’s what we are.
It is the rahmah, the lutf, and the kindness of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ كَلَّا لَيُنبَذَنَّ فِي الْحُطَمَةِ
Allah says: وَيْلٌ
Wail is وَعِيدٌ وَوَبَالٌ وَشِدَّةُ عَذَابٍ—severe punishment.
Severe punishment!
وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ
What is it?
It is every person who is humaza:
الَّذِي يَهْمِزُ النَّاسَ بِفِعْلِهِ وَيَلْمِزُهُمْ بِقَوْلِهِ
The word I’m looking at—humaza—is the one who shames people.
وَيَطْعَنُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالإِشَارَةِ وَالْفِعْلِ
He belittles them.
He shames them.
Ridicules them.
Slanders them with his actions.
He makes gestures—belittling them.
And lumaza is what?
The one who uses his vocabulary and his tongue.
الَّذِي يَعِيبُهُمْ بِقَوْلِهِ
He does it with his speech.
وَيْلٌ—for him is what?
عَذَابٌ وَوَعِيدٌ وَوَبَالٌ
That’s what’s for you—severe punishment.
When you stand in front of Allah on the plains of Yawm al-Qiyamah,
this is what you’re going to have to answer for.
Those people you’ve spoken against,
those you’ve ridiculed,
those you’ve put down—
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى is saying to us:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّنْ قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰ أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِّنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَىٰ أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ
This verse alone will eradicate and get rid of—
My brothers and sisters—
The gender war.
Brothers belittling the sisters.
Sisters belittling the brothers.
How can we ridicule one another when we’re all full of mistakes?
How can we shame each other when we’re full of mistakes?
Even, my brothers and sisters—
A video leaks, for example—
Of a group of sisters doing something bad,
or a group of brothers doing something bad—
And people comment.
And they say things.
I swear by the One who has permitted me to swear by Him—
Every single thing we say.
Everything we write with our hands.
Everything we type.
It will be brought to us on Yawm al-Qiyamah.
As Allah said in the Qur’an:
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
There are no words that you utter.
There are no words that come out of your mouth—
مَا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ
إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
Except that there are angels writing it.
فَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ فَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا فِيهِ وَيَقُولُونَ يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَا لِهَٰذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا
The person will look at their book—
And he will see inside this book—
Everything he has said.
Everything he has written on Twitter.
Everything he has said and written on Instagram.
On Facebook.
Videos that he has made.
Everything will be brought to him.
He will say:
مَا لِهَٰذَا الْكِتَابِ
What is this book?
لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا
What is this book that has not left out anything?
It’s documented and recorded—
Every single thing I’ve said and done.
وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا
Allah says, everything that they did—
Will be presented.
It will be brought.
وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا
Allah does not oppress anyone.
سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ
The scales of justice will be brought on that day.
And no one will be oppressed.
No one.
Everybody will be given their rights.
So here, my brothers and sisters—
When we mock others,
When we ridicule others,
There’s going to come Yawm al-Qiyamah.
There’s accountability.
There’s interrogation.
There’s questioning.
Those statements that you said.
And a lot of the time—
You might hurt this person for a few months.
A few weeks.
Maybe even a few years.
But guess what?
The person will move on from it.
But they will take that from you on Yawm al-Qiyamah.
Yes—
People are not the same.
Allah did not make people all equal.
Of course—
People are of different levels.
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى did raise some people above others.
Yes—
That’s a reality.
Allah says it in the Qur’an.
أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّكَ
نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا
Allah said:
أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّكَ
Are they the ones who are giving out the mercy of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى?
Are they the ones who are dividing it?
You're not.
Allah is the one who chooses who He gives what.
Allah chooses who He is going to raise.
Allah chooses who He is going to lower.
How dare you come?
How dare you say:
"This one is high."
"This one is low."
Who are you?
The ones whom Allah has raised,
whom Allah has selected and chosen,
and whom He has told us about in the Qur’an,
and whom His Prophet ﷺ has told us about—
of course, those people are raised above everybody else.
But you—raising yourself?
Do you have any evidence for it?
Allah says:
نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا
Some of the Mufassirīn, some of the Ulamā', they mention—
that this giving, this dividing,
is not only rizq—provision.
But it’s also status and knowledge,
as well as righteous deeds.
It is given out the same way that people's provisions are given out.
Look what Allah then says:
وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا
Allah says: We raised.
And I want you to underline this.
Allah says: وَرَفَعْنَا—We raised.
بَعْضَهُمْ—Some of them.
فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ—Over others.
دَرَجَاتٍ—In levels.
Why?
لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا
So that some of them can take—
Take each other as what?
سُخْرِيًّا
What does سُخْرِيًّا mean?
It means to aid one another and to help.
لِيُسَخِّرَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا فِي الْمَصَالِحِ
For one to make things easier for another in his worldly affairs.
If everybody was rich,
then we wouldn't have workers.
So I have to work for this rich person.
I need the money.
And he needs someone to work for him.
He gives me the money I need.
And I give him the service he needs.
Why?
لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا
Allah did not create these levels so that we mock and belittle one another.
No—
That goes against the purpose.
Also, Allah mentions in Surah Al-Isra:
أُنظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَلَلْآخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًا
Allah says:
أُنظُرْ—Look.
كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا—How We have given virtue.
بَعْضَهُمْ—Some of them.
عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ—Over others.
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ—But the Hereafter—
أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَاتٍ—It has the real levels.
وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًا—And it has the true virtue.
But in the dunya—
The reason why this person is higher—
Why this person is upper-class—
is not so that they can mock and belittle others.
And the reason why one person is given a lot of knowledge,
while another is given little knowledge,
is not so they can mock one another.
It is so that they can aid and benefit one another.
That they complement one another.
Wallahi, look how Shayṭān has deceived us.
And he has fooled us.
Shayṭān has always worked towards shifting the focus—
Shifting our perspective.
A paradigm shift.
Changing how we look at things,
compared to how Allah Ta'ala commanded us to look at them.
If you look at the Qur'an, my brothers and sisters—
Allah placed virtue not in a person’s color.
Not in their background.
Not in the land they are from.
Not in how they look.
What did Allah connect virtue to?
He connected it to a person’s piety.
In the same surah—Surah Al-Ḥujurāt—Allah says:
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ
The greatest among you,
the best among you—
is the one who is pious.
But what do we believe?
What do we think is piety?
Who do we think is the greatest person?
Not the one who is pious.
That’s not what we think.
Let’s be truthful to one another.
We believe that the best among us is—
The one who is rich.
The one who looks a certain way.
The one who has a certain complexion.
That’s what we consider to be the best person.
But to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى—
No way!
No shape!
No form!
It is not about how you look.
Allah doesn’t even take that into consideration.
Allah does not look at your physique.
He does not look at how you appear.
He does not look at whether you spend time in the gym.
Allah does not look at that.
But rather, what does Allah look at?
Your actions.
Your hearts.
Your actions.
And what’s in your heart.
This is what Allah looks at.
Why are we neglecting what Allah looks at?
Why are we ignoring what He focuses on—
what He will judge us based on?
And instead, we focus on things that do not matter?
It’s the same deception Shayṭān used before.
And now, he’s deceiving us again—
making us focus on status and differences,
instead of seeing them as a blessing.
Instead of appreciating one another,
we mock, belittle, and ridicule one another.
Again, this is nothing but Shayṭān.
Wallahi, my brothers and sisters,
The majority of you who are going to watch this on social media—
Wallahi, fear Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.
Fear Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.
Do not belittle.
Do not insult.
Do not ridicule your Muslim brother.
And if you have,
then free yourself from those evil actions that you’ve done.
Ask those people for forgiveness.
Ask them to forgive you.
Now is your opportunity.
Now is your chance—
while you’re on this earth.
On the Day of Judgment,
it is your deeds that will be taken from you.
It is oppression.
You have oppressed.
You are a ẓālim if you don’t repent and you don’t ask for forgiveness.
Bukhari and Muslim both narrated that ظُلْم (oppression) is ظُلُمَات (darknesses) on the Day of Judgment.
Is that what you want?
Is that what you want to do?
Do you not want to repent from it?
If you don’t repent, then—
But if you repent, in shā’ Allāh,
Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى will place in that person’s heart—
the one you’ve wronged—
compassion and mercy toward you.
They will forgive you, in shā’ Allāh,
when they see that you are genuine.
When they see that you are sincere and honest.
My brothers and sisters,
Mockery and belittling is not the trait,
it is not the characteristic,
and it is not the attribute of a believer—
a person who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgment.
That is not a ṣifah (trait) that he comes with.
It is known by the disbelievers.
Muslims today are copying and taking this from non-Muslims.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
What did Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى inform us here?
Look at what He said:
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
It has been beautified—
For who?
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
For those who are disbelievers.
يعني this is أساليب الكافرين والمشركين.
This is their method—
how they dealt with their Prophets.
What did they do?
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا
The dunya has been beautified for them.
They love the dunya.
All they talk about—
in their music,
in their interviews—
is dunya.
Money.
Cars.
Women.
Dunya all day.
وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
And what do they do?
They mock.
They ridicule.
وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
They mock.
They ridicule.
They belittle.
Who?
وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
The believers.
Those who have come with piety.
They mock and they belittle.
أَهْلُ الإِيمَان—the people of īmān.
أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى—those of taqwā.
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
But the truth of the matter is—
Ahlul Īmān, Ahlul Taqwā—
on the Day of Judgment,
they are above them and greater than them.
وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
Allah provides and He gives to whom He wills,
without measure.
Just because you are richer than a Muslim today,
don’t ridicule him for it.
Wallahi, don’t ridicule him for it.
Also, Allah Ta'ala said in another verse,
showing us how this is the method of the disbelievers:
قَالَ جَلَّ وَعَلَا
وَأُوحِيَ إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ أَنَّهُ لَنْ يُؤْمِنَ مِن قَوْمِكَ إِلَّا مَن قَدْ آمَنَ فَلَا تَبْتَئِسْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ وَاصْنَعِ الْفُلْكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا وَوَحْيِنَا وَلَا تُخَاطِبْنِي فِي الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِنَّهُم مُغْرَقُونَ وَيَصْنَعُ الْفُلْكَ وَكُلَّمَا مَرَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلَأٌ مِّن قَوْمِهِ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ قَالَ إِن تَسْخَرُوا مِنَّا فَإِنَّا نَسْخَرُ مِنكُمْ كَمَا تَسْخَرُونَ
Allah Ta'ala tells us—
He informs us that Nabī Allah Nūḥ عليه السلام was building the ark.
And when a group of the leaders, the chiefs of his people,
would pass by Nabī Allah Nūḥ, what would they do?
سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ
They mocked him.
They ridiculed the Prophet of Allah.
So this practice—
this mocking, this ridiculing—
where does it come from?
Who does it belong to?
It is the way of the disbelievers.
It is not the way of the believers.
سَخِرُوا مِنْهُ—
They mocked him.
And Nabī Allah Nūḥ عليه السلام, what did he say to them?
Did he mock them back?
Did he stoop to their level?
No, he did not.
He said to them:
إِن تَسْخَرُوا مِنَّا فَإِنَّا نَسْخَرُ مِنكُمْ كَمَا تَسْخَرُونَ
If you mock us,
then a day will come when we will mock you—
just as you mocked us.
The Mufassirīn said—
the scholars of Tafsīr said—
that Nūḥ عليه السلام meant:
If you mock us today,
then the Day of Judgment will come—
and on that day, we will be laughing at you.
Not in the dunya.
He’s not going to mock them in the dunya.
These are kuffār.
He said no.
But on the Day of Judgment,
that’s the day we will be laughing at you—
when you end up in the Hellfire.
And these were disbelievers.
Then what about Muslims?
You should never mock a Muslim.
However many sins he is in, however deviated he is, there's no need to mock. If you've got something to say to this person, if you want to advise them, if you want to correct them, you can do that. But why are you resorting to, why are you choosing to go towards as-sukhriya, al-istihzaa? Why are you choosing that for? Quraysh did the same thing to the Prophet ﷺ. They mocked him, our Prophet ﷺ.
He says:
وَإِن يَكَادُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا الذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ (Surah Al-Qalam)
They belittled him. They would even say, in Surah Al-Anbiya, Allah told us:
أَهَذَا الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ
When they saw the Sahabah of the Prophet ﷺ, what did they say in Surah Al-An’am?
أَهَٰؤُلَاءِ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّن بَيْنِنَا
Are these the people that Allah has favored from amongst us? Is it Bilal and Ammar and these guys that Allah has favored over us? Mocking.
And I mentioned before:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ وَإِذَا انقَلَبُوا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمُ انقَلَبُوا فَكِهِينَ وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ لَضَالُّونَ
It’s what they would say.
In Surah As-Saffat, Allah says:
بَلْ عَجِبْتَ وَيَسْخَرُونَ وَإِذَا ذُكِّرُوا لَا يَذْكُرُونَ وَإِذَا رَأَوْا آيَةً يَسْتَسْخِرُونَ
Mocking, belittling.
So, in essence, my brother and my sister who is watching this video—and myself, I do not take myself out of this discussion—these verses should really affect us, and they should change the way that we are. We should never be a people who mock, belittle, and ridicule our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters.
And as Allah Ta'ala said to our beloved Messenger ﷺ:
إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ الَّذِينَ يَجْعَلُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ
That we are going to suffice you from those who mock you, Muhammad.
إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِينَ
We are going to suffice, we are going to take care of them, we are going to deal with them.
Some of the mufassirun, the scholars of tafsir, mentioned that إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ includes the people of knowledge and the people of virtue, who also have a naseeb (portion) from the things they inherited from the Prophets.
That Allah will also defend them:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
Allah will defend the believers.
In Surah Al-Anbiya, look where Allah Ta'ala says that the people who mock— that will go back to them.
Allah says:
وَلَقَدِ اسْتُهْزِئَ بِرُسُلٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَحَاقَ بِالَّذِينَ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ
It would come back.
يعني ينقلب وبالا عليهم
It's going to come back to them—the mocking that they are doing. So you don't need to entertain it.
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
And if somebody mocked you because of your beard, if someone mocked you because of your jilbab, sister, or your niqab, don’t worry.
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ
This was done before. The righteous people—Ahlus-Salah, Ahlul-Khayr—they were mocked before as well. But don’t stoop to that level where you ridicule the person.
The Prophet ﷺ warned against as-sukhriya and al-istihzaa.
And Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih, from the hadith of Abu Huraira, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لَا تَحَاسَدُوا وَلَا تَنَاجَشُوا وَلَا تَبَاغَضُوا وَلَا تَدَابَرُوا وَلَا يَبِعْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَيْعِ بَعْضٍ وَكُونُوا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِخْوَانًا
الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ
The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim.
لَا يَظْلِمُهُ وَلَا يَخْذُلُهُ وَلَا يَحْقِرُهُ
He does not wrong him, he does not forsake him, and he does not belittle him.
Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
التقوى هاهنا
And he pointed towards his chest three times.
And then the Prophet ﷺ said:
بِحَسْبِ امْرِئٍ مِنَ الشَّرِّ أَنْ يَحْقِرَ أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمَ كُلُّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ حَرَامٌ: دَمُهُ وَمَالُهُ وَعِرْضُهُ
This person's honor is haram for me. How dare you open your mouth about someone else's honor, speak about them, and belittle them?
So, my brother and my sister who, in shaa' Allah Ta'ala, is watching this, and myself—let’s take this on board. Let this reminder change us, and let these words from the Prophet ﷺ and from our Lord, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, change us. Let’s not do that.
Our mother Aisha, and I’m going to conclude with this, in shaa' Allah Ta'ala—our mother Aisha said that one day, I said to the Prophet ﷺ:
حَسْبُكَ مِن صَفِيَّةَ كَذَا وَكَذَا
Our mother Aisha said something about her co-wife, the honorable and righteous wife of the Prophet ﷺ.
Aisha said to the Prophet ﷺ:
حَسْبُكَ مِن صَفِيَّةَ كَذَا وَكَذَا
And what she meant was that Safiyyah was short—قصيرة.
What did the Prophet ﷺ say to Aisha?
And Aisha, my brothers and sisters—she is who she is, الطاهرة المطهرة.
Aisha is an honorable woman, a righteous slave of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
She was the Prophet’s wife in this dunya, and she is also going to be his wife in Jannah.
But when she said that word about her co-wife Safiyyah رضي الله تعالى عنها—رضي الله تعالى عن عائشة ورضي الله تعالى عن صفية—look at what the Prophet ﷺ said to her.
And Aisha herself narrated this:
She said, when I said this to the Prophet ﷺ, he said to me:
لَقَدْ قُلْتِ كَلِمَةً لَوْ مُزِجَتْ بِمَاءِ الْبَحْرِ لَمَزَجَتْهُ
لَقَدْ قُلْتِ كَلِمَةً لَوْ مُزِجَتْ بِمَاءِ الْبَحْرِ لَمَزَجَتْهُ
Aisha, you have said a kalima, you have said a word,
لَوْ مُزِجَتْ بِمَاءِ الْبَحْرِ
If it was mixed into the ocean,
لَمَزَجَتْهُ
The ocean wouldn’t be able to cleanse it.
You said something very bad.
So, if that is our mother Aisha—and this is not something she does, just one time, one statement like that—then remember the millions, the thousands, the hundreds, or the tons of times that you have belittled others.
And remember the ayah that I recited in Surat Al-Kahf, where Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says:
مَا لِهَٰذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا
He will bring it forth for you on the Day of Judgment.
Ibn Abbas actually explained that verse to mean:
مَا لِهَٰذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً
Ibn Abbas said about that verse:
الصغيرة التبسم بالاستهزاء بالمؤمنين، والكبيرة القهقهة بذلك
He explained it to mean that the small sin is smirking in mockery of the believers, and the major sin is laughing out loud in ridicule of them.
I ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, by His generosity and kindness,
I ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to forgive us for our mistakes and shortcomings, and that Allah Ta'ala forgives us and bestows His never-ending mercy upon us.
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And I also ask Allah Ta'ala that He forgives us for our private and public mistakes and that He does not expose us, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
اللهم أرنا الحق حقًا وارزقنا اتباعه، وأرنا الباطل باطلًا وارزقنا اجتنابه. O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it.
اللهم اغفر لنا ذنوبنا وإسرافنا في أمرنا، وثبت أقدامنا، وانصرنا على القوم الكافرين. O Allah, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs, make our steps firm, and grant us victory over the disbelieving people.
اللهم اغفر لنا هزلنا، وجدنا، وخطأنا، وعمدنا، وكل ذلك عندنا، يا رب العالمين. O Allah, forgive us for our moments of levity and seriousness, our mistakes and intentional acts— all of that is within us, O Lord of the worlds.
اللهم لا تجعل الدنيا أكبر همنا، ولا مبلغ علمنا، ولا تسلط علينا بذنوبنا من لا يخافك فينا ولا يرحمنا. O Allah, do not make this world our greatest concern nor the extent of our knowledge, and do not place over us, due to our sins, one who does not fear You regarding us and does not have mercy on us.
ربِّ آتِ نفوسنا تقواها، وزكِّها، أنت خير من زكاها، أنت وليها ومولاها. O Lord, grant our souls their piety and purify them, for You are the best to purify them. You are their Guardian and Protector.
ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة، وفي الآخرة حسنة، وقنا عذاب النار. Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة، وفي الآخرة حسنة، وقنا عذاب النار. Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
اللهم أرنا الحق حقًا، وارزقنا اتباعه، وأرنا الباطل باطلًا، وارزقنا اجتنابه. O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it.
اللهم هب لنا من أزواجنا وذريتنا قرة أعين، واجعلنا للمتقين إمامًا. O Allah, grant us from our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us leaders for the righteous.
اللهم إنك قلت، وقولك الحق المبين: "ادعوني أستجب لكم". O Allah, indeed You have said, and Your words are the clear truth: "Call upon Me; I will respond to you."
اللهم هذا دعاؤنا، ومنك الإجابة، وعليك التكلان، ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بك. O Allah, this is our supplication, and from You is the response. Upon You is our reliance, and there is no power nor might except with You.
اللهم اعفُ عنا، اللهم اغفر لنا، اللهم ارحمنا. O Allah, pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us.
اللهم آتِ نفوسنا تقواها، اللهم آتِ نفوسنا تقواها، اللهم آتِ نفوسنا تقواها. O Allah, grant our souls their piety. O Allah, grant our souls their piety. O Allah, grant our souls their piety.
اللهم آمنا بما أنزلت، واتبعنا الرسول، فاكتبنا مع الشاهدين. O Allah, we have believed in what You have revealed and followed the Messenger, so record us among the witnesses.
اللهم آمنا بما أنزلت، واتبعنا الرسول، فاكتبنا مع الشاهدين. O Allah, we have believed in what You have revealed and followed the Messenger, so record us among the witnesses.
اللهم ارحمنا، واغفر لنا، وعافنا، واعفُ عنا. O Allah, have mercy on us, forgive us, grant us well-being, and pardon us.
اللهم إنك الحي الكريم، إذا رفع إليك عبدك يداه لم تردهما صفرًا. O Allah, You are the Ever-Living, the Most Generous; when Your servant raises his hands to You, You do not return them empty.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك، أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك. Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I testify that there is no deity except You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
