Opening and Foundation in Taqwa
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, the protector of the righteous. I bear witness that our master and prophet Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger, the truthful and trustworthy. O Allah, bless him and his family, his companions, and all those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.
O brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah the Most High says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ﴾ (Yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū ittaqū Allāha ḥaqqa tuqātih wa-lā tamūtunna illā wa-antum muslimūn) — "O you who have believed, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared and do not die except as Muslims." And He also says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ﴾ (Yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū ittaqū Allāha wa-ltanẓur nafs mā qaddamat li-ghad) — "O you who have believed, fear Allah and let every soul look to what it has sent forward for tomorrow." Indeed, Allah is fully aware of what you do.
Our Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, advised some of his companions, saying: Fear Allah wherever you may be, and follow a bad deed with a good one that will erase it, and treat people with good character. We are living in the final age about which the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, spoke, saying: In this time there will be trials like fragments of a dark night. Trials will come one after another, and when a Muslim sees one trial, he says, "This is it, this is the great trial," only for another trial to follow, making the previous one seem lighter by comparison.
The Nature of Trials and Their Spread
We are indeed in these final times, in an era when, for the most part, harm outweighs benefit. Therefore, the believer must be cautious and reflect deeply upon the words of Allah the Most High: ﴿خُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ﴾ (Khudhū ḥidhrakum) — "Take your precautions." Allah warns humanity against trials when He says, the Mighty is His Majesty: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً﴾ (Wa-ittaqū fitnatan lā tuṣībanna alladhīna ẓalamū minkum khāṣṣah) — "And fear a trial that will not strike those among you who have wronged exclusively."
The indication in this verse is clear: when a trial occurs, it does not remain confined to those who initiated it. Rather, its evil spreads and affects all people. Therefore, the Muslim must be aware and take every precaution to shield himself and his community from trials. The verse is explicit: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً﴾ (Wa-ittaqū fitnah) — "Guard against trials," meaning create a barrier between yourselves and trials. Establish a protective shield between yourselves and tribulation. This barrier that protects you from trials is something you must build with your own hands. Thus, all people must return to what the forefathers and ancestors practiced: turning to Allah the Most High through His Noble Qur'an, seeking refuge in Him through giving charity, through offering sadaqah, through providing all the means of protection that shield you, O Muslim, from the harm that befalls you.
Present Dangers and Individual Responsibility
You all know what trials are occurring in this time upon the earth—whether at the level of nations, tribes, or individuals. What is happening in our lands these days, the killing you have heard about in the land of Beheira, confirms for you, O Muslim, living in this land, that you are targeted by all types of targeting. You must be vigilant and not say, "This is a matter that concerns the government; it is not my concern." The verse is clear: trials may begin with one person, but their calamity affects all people. Therefore, hardship is collective, and all people must unite in repelling it. As Muslims, the first thing we must do is turn to Allah the Most High in supplication.
Supplication is, as the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, said, the weapon of the believer—the most powerful weapon a person possesses. To supplicate to your Lord, asking Him to save you from trials, is essential. For He is the One who says: ﴿وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ﴾ (Wa-idhā sa'alak 'ibādī 'annī fa-innī qarīb ujīb da'wata al-dā'ī idhā da'ānī) — "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me."
This address was for our master, the Messenger of Allah. When your servants ask you about your Lord, tell them: Your Lord is near; there is nothing for you to do but turn to Him. Therefore, in these brief words, I say to the Muslims in this country: each one of you must turn to Allah the Most High during your prayer, turn to Him after reciting the Noble Qur'an, turn to Him during the night prayer if Allah grants you that opportunity, turn to Him after remembrance if Allah grants you that. Each one of us must turn to Allah the Most High and beseech Him to preserve this land from trials.
The Blessing of Security
Brothers, by Allah, we are now experiencing the greatest blessing. One of you travels from place to place fearing only Allah. One of you conducts business in his marketplace without fear, opens his shop in security and closes it in security, returns to his home in security, reaches his children and finds them in safety, sleeps his nights in security, wakes and prays to his Lord in security. All these are blessings. There are peoples in the world who never find rest; they are threatened at every moment. Yet we, in our weakness, Allah the Most High has granted us such blessings that no trial has come to us. But people have not left us; they have not left this country to enjoy these blessings in peace. Many nations wish that trials would come to shake this country, to devastate it, to tear apart this society.
Therefore, deny them these opportunities. Deprive them of this by standing firm, by understanding one another, by your supplications, by turning to Allah the Most High. This is very important. Let us gather in the mosques to recite the Qur'an and to supplicate to Allah the Most High with all types of invocations. And I say to those whom Allah has granted success: give charity, for charity is among the matters through which Allah lifts calamities. We are in the greatest blessing, my brothers. This is a blessing that Allah the Most High has bestowed upon us. Therefore, all of us must turn to Allah, and let us all be concerned about the security of this country.
Vigilance and Collective Responsibility
When you see any suspicion, when you see anyone lying in wait, when you see anything you doubt that seeks to extend its hand to destroy this country or paralyze it through intimidation, you must report it immediately to those who work to prevent it. This is from the category of cooperation. Allah says: ﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ﴾ (Wa-ta'āwanū 'alā al-birr wa-al-taqwā) — "Cooperate in righteousness and piety." Do not say that if I report this, I become a spy or a carrier of tales and thus become blameworthy. No, absolutely not. This is cooperation in righteousness. We cooperate together to protect the security of this country. If this land becomes secure, you will be secure. Your wealth will be secure. Your children will be secure. Everything will be secure. Therefore, this protection is part of worship.
My counsel to you is this: hold fast to your Islam, hold fast to your identity, hold fast to your unity. Do not allow those who wish to corrupt to enter your country and ruin this society and bring those trials that are like fragments of a dark night. I ask Allah the Most High to preserve this country and to help us continue upon this path that we have inherited from father to father. Verily, He is the Hearkener, the Responder.
A Call to the Pilgrims
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that our master and prophet Muhammad is His servant and His messenger. O Allah, bless him and all his family and companions together.
Brothers and sisters, there is something I must draw your attention to during these days. These are the days of Hajj, the days of pilgrimage to the House of Allah the Most High. I say to my brothers who are performing Hajj to the House of Allah, who are heading to the Sacred Sanctuary, heading to Madinah the Illuminated to visit our master the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions: that land is the secure land. That land is from which Islam spread. In that land lived our master the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. In that land lived his companions. In that land lived the best of people. Therefore, it is a land of supplication, a land of entreaty, a land of turning to Allah the Most High with all types of drawing near to Him.
Therefore, O pilgrims, whom Allah has honored, when you reach the sacred lands, do not forget this country. This country is in need of your supplications. This country needs your prayers. Supplicate to Allah for its safety. Supplicate to Allah for its security. Supplicate to Allah the Most High to unite the ranks of its people, to unify the word of its inhabitants, to grant success to those to whom He has given the responsibility of leadership, to guide them toward working for this country, to bind their hearts together. And whoever wishes evil upon this country, I ask Allah the Most High to turn that evil back upon him. And whoever wishes good for this country, I ask Allah the Most High to bring good through his hands.
You are in that land heading toward the purest place, to Arafah, and Arafah is the place of answer. Supplicate to Allah the Most High there for yourselves, for your children, and for this homeland. By doing only this, you will have given to this country something that only those who do as you do have given. I ask Allah the Most High to preserve us, to unify our word, to unify our ranks, and to save us from the trials of this age.
Closing Supplications
O Allah, we turn to You in this blessed hour, we Your poor servants who have neither strength nor power. O Most Merciful of the merciful, we ask You for mercy from You with which to guide our hearts, gather our affairs, mend our brokenness, set right those who are absent among us, purify our deeds, and inspire us with right guidance. O Allah, preserve us as You have preserved Your righteous servants. O Allah, preserve us as You have preserved Your righteous servants. O Allah, protect our lands from all evil. Whoever intends good for it, place good through his hands. Whoever intends it evil, turn that evil back upon him, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Allah, unite our hearts. O Allah, we ask You to let us die as Muslims. O Allah, sustain us as Muslims. O Allah, sustain us as Muslims. Our Lord, accept from us. Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. And turn toward us in repentance; verily, You are the Ever-Returning, the Merciful. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
O servants of Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master, the Messenger of Allah. Allah the Most High says: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾ (Inna Allāha ya'mur bi-al-'adl wa-al-iḥsān wa-itā'i dhī al-qurbā wa-yanhā 'an al-fahshā' wa-al-munkar wa-al-baghyi ya'ẓukum la'allakum tadhakkarūn) — "Indeed, Allah orders justice and kindness and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will take heed."
Now stand for your prayer. May Allah have mercy upon you.