Reis Kavazović: We must move forward because challenges await us, occasionally looking back to see the path we have traveled!

(Patria) - Reisul-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina Husein Kavazović delivered a hutba today in Sanski Most, where he spoke about trials as an integral part of human life, the need for perseverance in faith, and the importance of community in times of challenges.

He particularly reminded of the lessons from the lives of God's prophets, emphasizing that patience, moral steadfastness, and keeping one's word are the foundation of the survival of individuals and communities.

In the hutba, he also pointed to the symbolism of Hajj as a path of spiritual maturation and confronting temptations, calling on believers to strengthen mutual ties, protect the family, congregation, and neighborhood, and be prepared for the challenges that will surely come.

Speaking in Sanski Most, the reisul-ulema also evoked memories of the wartime sufferings and the restoration of this area, conveying the message that freedom, peace, and dignity are preserved by faith, solidarity, and determination to oppose every form of evil.

We transmit his hutba in full:

"Praise be to Allah with the words that fill the Mizan on the Day of Judgment.

Praise be to Allah Who sent His Prophet with Guidance and Truth and who conveyed His word to us in its clarity and beauty. Blessings and peace be upon him, his family and companions, and all his followers on the Straight Path.

Dear brothers in faith!

I am glad to be with you today at Jumu'ah prayer in our Sanski Most, the place of our suffering, struggle, and hope. I am glad to see you in your homes after a great trial, an even greater struggle, and a splendid victory. I am joyful to be in a city that is today a true inspiration to us all and in which one feels the pulse of strength and determination to persevere at every step. I pray to the Exalted One to protect you from all affliction.

When the months of ešhurul-huruma arrive, it is a sign that the rites of Hajj are approaching. In them, Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden people every kind of violence and aggressive behavior. These are months of peace in which every good is multiplied, and every violence is punishable and condemned. In these months, the fifth Islamic duty, Hajj, is prescribed for those who are able to perform it. Once, when asked to whom Hajj is obligatory, the Prophet said: Hajj is once in a lifetime, and whoever performs it more times, it is supererogatory for him.

Our pilgrims are preparing for the journey, and in a few days the first group will depart. From this place as well, we send prayers for their blessed journey, that they perform the rites of Hajj in health, that Allah, the Exalted, accepts it from them and forgives their sins.

In these days, important messages have been conveyed to us, which we need to listen to carefully and strive to understand. Hajj is a journey, and every journey is subject to trials and difficulties.

The Exalted Allah has said:

Hajj is in certain months; whoever undertakes to perform Hajj in them, there is no intercourse with women, no indecent speech, and no quarrelling during Hajj. Whatever good you do, Allah knows it. And take provisions for the journey, but the best provision is righteousness. So fear Me, O you who possess understanding!

Trials can be great, and no one is exempt from them. Those who were God's favorites, whom He sent as His prophets, were even more exposed to them. Allah cites them as examples so that we may learn from them and take lessons.

The trials of Allah's prophets can serve us as a paradigm. Generations of Muslims have learned from them for centuries that temptations, even the greatest ones, are part of human lives, and they happen to both individuals and communities.

Adam, peace be upon him, was tried with a promise, for he broke his given word not to approach the forbidden tree and not to eat its fruit. When he violated it, Allah expelled him from Paradise. Since then, both Adam and his descendants live in constant pursuit of peace and endure trials. That is the lesson we should draw from his example. Respecting commands and prohibitions, moral and legal regulations, brings peace and strengthens trust in the human community, while disregarding them brings unrest and suffering.

Let us also recall the words of Noah, peace be upon him:

My Lord, I have called my people night and day, but my calling only increases their aversion. Whenever I call them to seek Your forgiveness, they put their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments – they are stubborn and arrogant.

When Allah decided to punish them for immorality and arrogance and for transgressing the bounds of evil, He commanded Noah, peace be upon him, to build an ark that would carry him and his followers in Truth to the port of salvation. Therefore, salvation is always in truth and goodness, never in lies and arrogance. And while we follow the path of truth, we cannot sit idle with folded arms; we must constantly build the ark of salvation that will lead us to a safe place and save us from the flood, just as Noah, peace be upon him, did. That ark must be wide for all those seeking salvation from immorality and violence, from lies and arrogance. And life's trial encompasses everything. There is no guarantee for anyone, not even for one's own children. The trial that Noah, peace be upon him, experienced with his son is a lesson for us all. O Allah, do not put us and our children to the trial to which You put Noah, peace be upon him, and his people.

From the example of Abraham, peace be upon him, and his life path, we can learn day and night. He went through a hard path of trials: first with his father, then with his wife, and finally with his sons. He faced each trial bravely, with firm faith in the correctness of his path and trust in his Lord. He parted with his father because of faith in one God; he opposed Pharaoh in defense of his wife's honor; he kept his word and vow to God to sacrifice what he desired most. Abraham, peace be upon him, stood unwavering behind his convictions; he stood bravely and firmly before the oppressor, defending his wife's honor, and he stood humbly before the given promise even when it seemed to his detriment. Trials did not shake him. He stood upright despite pressure and persecution, drawing strength from faith, for the truth he advocated and the justice he demanded. Abraham, peace be upon him, is an example of perseverance and steadfastness that brings hope into our lives that with faith, determination, and keeping one's word, all challenges can be overcome.

And finally, I want to remind you of the life path of the last Prophet of Allah, Muhammad, peace be upon him. He grew up as an orphan in poverty and in the struggle for mere survival. He is an example that faith and perseverance are inner strengths we possess and can always rely on, regardless of the life circumstances we find ourselves in.

And today, his words spoken to his uncle Abu Talib still resonate among us: By Allah, even if they gave me the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left to abandon this path of calling to faith, I would not abandon it. The Prophet taught us that there is something more valuable than this world, than position and power, than prestige and influence, and those are the universal values to which God calls: morality, right, equality and justice, solidarity and brotherhood in the human community.

Therefore, we must look forward and move! But from time to time, we must also turn back and look at the path we have traveled. It was not long ago that our fathers and mothers bid us farewell with prayers and encouraged us to stand against the evil that had befallen us. We had to bravely stand before that evil and look it in the face, without asking about the price we would pay.

There are times when no calculations are relevant. There are people who take the risk, even though life is the only thing they enter the struggle with. We do not know what the day or night brings. But we know that it is written in the Qur'an:

Strive on Allah's path, fighting sincerely...

We can always invoke the example of the one for whom our Lord said that in him we have an excellent example. His life path, and the paths of Adam, peace be upon him, Noah, peace be upon him, Abraham, peace be upon him, Moses, peace be upon him, Jesus, peace be upon him, and other prophets, are signposts for us of what may await us in the future, individually and collectively.

Now we live in peace, but we must be aware that new challenges and trials will surely come. We need to prepare, strengthen our faith and our community. United, we can oppose any evil; divided, we will become prey to the beast lurking for its opportunity.

Protect your congregation, your families, and neighborhood. Care for people, recognize the righteous among them, and connect in goodness.

Help the weaker ones, strengthen them; thus we will all be stronger and safer. Let your given word be sacred, and faith the strength that guides you on the Straight Path. Let honor and integrity be what is defended at any cost, and humility and submission to God and respect for His word the virtue that adorns you.

O Allah the Exalted, unite our hearts in faith, strengthen our brotherhood in love, and our strength in unity and determination to defend our freedom and peace.

May our last prayer always be: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds."