Khutbah by Reis Kavazović: Staying at home, in your place, is the highest degree of benevolence these days

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Today's khutbah by the head of the Islamic Community, Husein ef. Kavazović, was delivered in the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo. We present the khutbah in its entirety:

"Praise be to Allah. With His name, we begin every sermon and speech, all our good deeds and actions. He is the Lord of all: known and unknown, visible and invisible. Blessed be the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the noble and sincere last prophet among people, his family, and his followers at all times!

Let us ask Almighty Allah, on this chosen day, on our day of unity: for love and health in our families, for love and mercy among our loved ones, for love and respect among different peoples, who are brothers and sisters, born of one mother and one father.

Dear believers, respected members of the congregation!

This is the second Friday prayer since we have been living under a state of emergency on Earth. Adversity and a great trial have befallen us. As believers, we accept it, because we are convinced that it is from God. In His Book, He said:

Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us; He is our Protector." And upon Allah let the believers rely (at-Tawba, 51).

In this situation, we have once again been convinced of the truth of the Sunnah, of the testament of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who taught us the purity of the body. Therefore, let us perform ablution more often and wash our hands and faces at least five times a day, wipe our heads, and wash our feet.

Let us stay in our homes, in our places of residence, because he said: If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it, and if it breaks out in a land while you are in it, do not leave it.

He further gladdened us with the words: Whoever stays in his home, patiently enduring the hardship, hoping for reward from God and believing that nothing will befall him except what Almighty God has decreed for him, such a person will have the reward of a martyr.

Staying at home, in your place, these days is the highest degree of benevolence and responsibility, because the message echoes across the Earth: Let's stay home and save humanity, for Allah said: Whoever saves one life is as if he saved all of mankind.

Brothers and sisters.

Another recommendation from our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is connected to this time of ours. He said: If the Day of Judgment were to come while one of you had a seedling in his hand, and if he is able to plant it, let him do so.

In these words, we hear the comfort and hope that we need these days. In them, we find a strong incentive to do what is best and most beneficial in these times. This is the Prophet's call to constantly seek a way out and overcome the trials that have befallen us. Surrender is never the Prophet's way of acting, nor is it the worldview to which we belong and which we follow. With this hadith, he tells us to constantly seek the best solutions and ways out, and that our search should never cease, even if the Day of Judgment were to come.

Brothers and sisters!

We must also think about our plans for the near future. We must not lose faith, hope, and reason, because man is a being of faith, hope, and reason. It is spring, so we should plant our trees, sow seeds in our fields and gardens. This is the time for sowing. I call on everyone who is not in the risk groups to cultivate our fields and gardens while doctors are fighting the virus. Let everyone plant their own garden. God always sends us signs, and we should learn to read His messages. Now is the time to stop, to look at the earth, to take it in our hands, to feel its scent again. Let us remember, from it we were created, to it we shall return. It is our body, and from it comes our food.

The earth has long been yearning for our hands, and fearing our greed. Let us go down to our fields and gardens, for there has always been God's bounty for us and our children. Through our example, let us teach them how to plant a garden, how to treat the earth with love. It is time to teach them how to thank God for the bounties of the earth, water, and air. Like a mother, she always gives us her fruits anew, and in return asks only for a little respect. It is time for our disrespect towards Mother Earth to end.

Brothers and sisters!

The great Abdulqadir Djejlani, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

"O people! Build what you have destroyed! Wash what you have dirtied! Correct what you have spoiled! Return what you have taken! Cultivate the fields you have neglected! Return to your Exalted Lord, stop fleeing and wandering! Seize the opportunities of life while they are still open, for they will soon be closed. Seize the doors of repentance while they are still open, and the doors of supplication that are answered, before they are closed!

People! We are preoccupied with collecting what we will not eat. We hope for what we will not reach. We build what we will not inhabit. Know that the greatest reward in this world is contentment with Allah's decree, closeness to Him, and humility of heart before Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and the lifting of the veil between us and our Lord.

We should remind ourselves of our transience and the transience of the world, be patient in adversity, and seek support from Allah in all circumstances. Those who remember death live as ascetics, those who are patient with Allah will achieve what they desire, and those who rely on Allah have Allah as sufficient."

Let us do what is required of us, and then rely on Allah. Let us cast aside laziness and neglect of duties. Our faith is a faith of obligations, duties before rights, work before hope, health before ritual, purity before prayer.

Brothers and sisters!

Ramadan is ahead of us. It is the month of Allah's mercy. The month of Sha'ban, in which we are, is a month of trial in which we are. If we fulfill our obligations, adhere to prayers, and offer supplications, we can hope that Allah will bless us with His mercy in Ramadan, as a reward, open the way to our mosques, and remove this great trial and calamity from us. Let us submit to Almighty Allah in adversity and hardship, in scarcity and abundance, in sickness and health, in good and evil. Let us surrender to Him completely and rely on Him with supplication:

O Allah, we ask of You Your grace and protection from sin. We ask of You mercy, health, happiness, goodness, and kindness. Our Lord, be with us, and not against us. Grant us health when we go and when we come, when we wake and when we sleep, guide us to Your mercy, forgive us our sins, help us to improve ourselves and to rely on You!

Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided them, and grant us Your mercy; indeed, You are the Bestower! Our Lord, You will gather mankind on the Day about which there is no doubt. Indeed, Allah does not break His promise. (Ali Imran, 8-9.)

Grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the punishment of the Fire.

Our Lord, protect us from severe illness and great trials.

Amen!