NASFAT WEEKLY FRIDAY SRMON FOR JANUARY 3RD 2020.
TOPIC: PROHIBITION OF ADULTERY AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ISLAMIC SHAREEAH.
‘Audhu billahi minash shaytanir rajeem Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdu lillaah Rabbil aalameen was salatu was salaamu ‘ala nabiyyinaa Muhammad (SAW)
Reading through the sources of Shari`ah, i.e., the Glorious Qur’an and the tradition of Allah’s Messenger , one would find that Shari`ah promotes a set of values through all of its teachings, rulings, laws, and guidance. Erudite scholars found a reason and wisdom behind what it teaches and there is a set of major objectives it aims to achieve. Muslim scholars such as Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali and Ash-Shatibi paid special attention to the values and objectives of Shari`ah.
Those objectives are explicitly mentioned in some Shari`ah rulings. They are also implicitly understood through deep examination of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet .
Scholars expended great effort to come up with a set of major objectives Islamic Shari`ah aims to achieve. Though written and articulated differently, almost all of them arrive at a very similar set of objectives. Sheikh Mohamed Abu Zahra stated that Shari`ah came as a mercy to humanity. This mercy demonstrates itself in achieving three major goals: nurturing the righteous individual, establishing justice, and realization of benefits. (Sheikh Mohamed Abu Zahrah, Usul Al-Fiqh)
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d.111) has stated that “The Shari’ah’s purposes of the creation are five, to:
1) preserve their religion, 2) their souls, 3) their mind, 4) their offspring and 5) their money.
So, everything that includes preserving these five principles is considered a maslaha (interest). And everything that result in failure of these principles is a harm that should be fought and tuned to an interest.
Adultery is a harm that should be fought as failure to do this will result into inability to achieve one of the purposes of the creation of human beings which is preservation of offspring. It is based on this that we are looking at the sinful act, adultery for our sermon this week.
Adultery is having illicit sexual intercourse with a female by virtue of a male adult inserting his penis into a desirable but forbidden vagina of a female,
Allah in the following verses of the Qur’an
Allah commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed. Q16:90
And do not come near adultery. It is immoral, and an evil way. Q17:32.
The adulteress and the adulterer—whip each one of them a hundred lashes, and let no pity towards them overcome you regarding Allah’s Law, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment. The adulterer shall marry none but an adulteress or an idolatress; and the adulteress shall marry none but an adulterer or an idolater. That has been prohibited for the believers.Q24:2-3
And those who do not implore besides Allah any other god, and do not kill the soul which Allah has made sacred—except in the pursuit of justice—and do not commit adultery. Whoever does that will face penalties. Q 25:68
Relevant prophetic traditions include: According to Abu Hurayrah (RTA) the Messenger of Allah said: The adulterer when committing adultery is not a believer, the thief when stealing is not a believer and a wine drinker when drinking it is not a believer . According to Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (RTA), the messenger of Allah said:The blood of any Muslim who admits that there is no God but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah may be shed only in three cases: A married adulterer, life for life and a forsaker of his religion who alienates himself from the Muslim community. According to Sahl Ibn Sa’ad (RTA), the Messenger of Allah said “Who guarantees what lies between his moustache and beard as well as what lies between his thighs I guarantee heaven for him.
Furthermore,it has been related, according to certain companions that the messenger of Allah (SAW) said: Beware of adultery as it brings forth six evils. Three in this world and they are:the adulterer will have diminished(non-blessed) provisions, be deprived of good things and becomes hateful to people. Three in the hereafter:God’s anger,severe judgement and entering hell fire.
‘Umar Ibn Al Khattab (RTA) used to say:avoid being in privacy with any woman even for teaching her the Qur’an.
It is evident that individuals who engage in zina face the struggles of lack of interest in their lawful spouses. This could be as a result of the energy they lose while in the haram act. It could also be, that the beautified acts that attracted them to zina, is not being produced or acted by their legal spouses. The implication of this is that more domestic problems emerge that lead to the breaking of more families. In a Hadith reported by Imam Muslim from the narration of Jabir Ibn Abdullah (RA), the Prophet (Pbuh) says:
“The woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil, so when one of you sees a woman, he should come to his wife, for that will repel what he feels in his heart.”
This means a woman is by default attractive to man. So if a man is attracted to a woman who is not lawful for him, he should go and seek his satisfaction from his lawful wife. Those who choose to seek that pleasure from the ladies they see in the streets are unable to generate desire when they meet their lawful wives.
It is important to conclude this sermon by mentioning that the essence of this prohibition is to protect human beings from harm.
May Allah help us in seeing the harmful effects of not only zina but also all prohibited acts in Islam and also give us the ability to refrain from them.
UTHMAN ADEKUNLE ANIMASHAUN
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