Dear brothers and sisters, the motives for betrayal could be any of the Satanic emotions he injects into people’s hearts, sickening their souls such as jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, ego, and passion to power and control. Like all forms of sins, people betray when they choose Satan’s points of views over Allah’s.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his family, his Companions and those who follow him till the Hour is established.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raaji’uun!
Dear brothers and sisters, On Monday, March 9, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State finally mustered the courage to do what he had been planning against His Highness, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II for almost three years: He dethroned the 14th emir of Kano, His Highness, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II.
As Muslims, we accept this as a fate and predestination (Kaddarah). And predestination is a necessary factor in the Islamic faith. In Islam, predestination or fate means that Allah is the one who has destined everything that is happening in this universe (to human beings and everything). Allah knows what is happening or what will happen in the earth and in the heaven. Nothing can happen without the knowing of Allah. Therefore, we all should have the firm believe in predestination in order to have a good faith. His Highness, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II departure from the throne of Kano, was predictable from his very beginning and from the moment he ascended it.
But with all these, what we need the world to understand is that, His Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi was betrayed and deceived by hypocrites, those who don’t mean well for the north and Nigeria in general.
Let the betrayers and hypocrites understand that they can only take the throne away from His Highness, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II, but they cannot take away his royalty in the community of decent humans.
And one of the soul’s defects that brutally affects our ties with our Creator (Allah), as well as our relationships with others, is betrayal and hypocrisy. Betrayal is an unfaithful act characterised by deliberate but hidden deceiving, lying and scheming. Because of the intentional secretive planning that is involved in betrayal, its victims are always taken by surprise. The most harmful consequence of betrayal is the sudden and abrupt destruction of the bond of trust, loyalty, and confidence that exists in different kinds of social relations. This results in a deep sense of disappointment and serious damage of the integrity of such relationships. Allah the Almighty says:
“O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, and do not betray those who trust you, now that you know.” [Qur’an, 8:27]
Students of the Qur’an know that all the elements which might be involved in the ugly course of betrayal are clearly highlighted as prohibited bad behaviour and immorality, and therefore condemned by Allah. Allah the Most High says:
“All bad behaviour is condemned by your Lord.” [Qur’an, 17:38]
And He the Almighty says:
“Those who love to see immorality (or evil) spread among the believers have incurred a painful retribution in this life and in the Hereafter. Allah knows, while you do not know.” [Qur’an, 24:19]
Respected servants of Allah, the elements of betrayal might be summarised as:
– Cheating, hypocrisy, and the breaking of promises.
Allah the Most High says:
“Do not cheat the people out of their rights, and do not roam the earth corruptingly.” [Qur’an, 26:183]
And He says:
“O you who believe, you shall reverence Allah, and be among the truthful.” [Qur’an, 9:119]
And Allah the Almighty says in different Qur’anic verses:
“You Shall Keep Your Word.”
“You shall fulfill your covenant with Allah when you make such a covenant. You shall not violate the oaths after swearing (by Allah) to carry them out, for you have made Allah a guarantor for you. Allah knows everything you do.”
“Do not be like the knitter who unravels her strong knitting into piles of flimsy yarn. This is your example if you abuse the oaths to take advantage of one another. Whether one group is larger than the other, Allah thus puts you to the test. He will surely show you on the Day of Resurrection everything you had disputed.”</strong
“And the believers keep their word; they are trustworthy.”
“Consequently, He plagued them with hypocrisy in their hearts, till the day they meet Him. This is because they broke their promises to Allah, and because of their lying.”
Among the elements of betrayal are:
– Deceiving, and conspiring.
Allah the Almighty says:
“O you who believe, if you have to confer secretly, you shall not confer to commit sin, transgression, and to disobey the Messenger. You shall confer to work righteousness and piety. You shall reverence Allah, before whom you will be summoned.”
“Secret conspiracy is the devil’s idea, through which he seeks to hurt those who believed. However, he cannot hurt them against Allah’s will. In Allah the believers shall trust.”
Respected brothers and sisters, beating around the bush, and manipulating the facts, are choices made by betrayers over being straightforward in order to deceive and hit the target with minimal damage to their fake image. We are not righteous if we are not straightforward. Allah the Most High told us not to beat around the bush. He the Most High says:
“They ask you about the phases of the moon! Say, They provide a timing device for the people, and determine the time of Hajj.”
It is not righteous to beat around the bush; righteousness is attained by upholding the commandments and by being straightforward.
“You shall observe Allah, that you may succeed.”
Among the elements of betrayal is:
– Backbiting
Allah the Almighty says:
“O you who believe, you shall avoid any suspicion, for even a little bit of suspicion is sinful. You shall not spy on one another, nor shall you backbite one another; this is as abominable as eating the flesh of your dead brother. You certainly abhor this. You shall observe Allah. Allah is Redeemer, Most Merciful.”
Dear brothers and sisters, the motives for betrayal could be any of the Satanic emotions he injects into people’s hearts, sickening their souls such as jealousy, envy, hatred, greed, ego, and passion to power and control. Like all forms of sins, people betray when they choose Satan’s points of views over Allah’s. He, then, continues to justify evil for only one sole purpose: breaking their covenants with Allah. When the betrayers fail to realise that lowly trap, fix their works, and repent, Satan keeps on stirring them up in an endless circle of misguidance, and pollution, making them lose their logic and the ability to reason. Allah has warned His sincere servants against those who are stuck in that vicious circle in Qur’an, 5:13, warning them about the consequences of violating Allah’s covenant:
“It was a consequence of their violating the covenant that we condemned them, and we caused their hearts to become hardened. Consequently, they took the words out of context, and disregarded some of the commandments given to them. You will continue to witness betrayal from them, excepting a few of them. You shall pardon them, and disregard them. Allah loves those who are benevolent.”
When they believe Satan’s justification of betrayal, betrayers think that Allah is not aware of their actions! This is expressed in the following Qur’anic verses. It is also not recommended by Allah to defend any of the unethical acts:
“Do those who commit sins think that they can ever fool us? Wrong indeed is their judgment.”
“Do they not realise that Allah knows their secrets, and their conspiracies, and that Allah is the Knower of all secrets?”
And Allah the Almighty told us not to defend or support the transgressors and betrayers. He says:
“Do not argue on behalf of those who have wronged their own souls; Allah does not love any betrayer, guilty.”
“They hide from the people, and do not care to hide from Allah, though He is with them as they harbour ideas He dislikes. Allah is fully aware of everything they do.”
And Allah the Most High told us not to help the betrayers:
“Here you are arguing on their behalf in this world; who is going to argue with Allah on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection? Who is going to be their advocate?”
And as believers we are commanded to stand up for our rights in the face of any form of aggression. Standing up for our rights is always a practice for advocating justice as well as a chance to address and proclaim the commands that are violated by the aggressive party. Those who are betrayed are commanded by Allah to fight back equitably. Allah the Almighty says:
“When you are betrayed by a group of people, you shall mobilise against them in the same manner. Allah does not love the betrayers.”
Those who betray Allah and the believers don’t realise that they cannot hurt us in the least. They are only betraying their own souls and they are destined to lose the battle. Allah has promised to defend those on the straight path. He the Most High says:
“It is not us who wronged them; it is they who wronged their own souls.”
“And if they want to betray you, they have already betrayed Allah. This is why He made them the losers. Allah is Omniscient, Most Wise.”
Allah promised to defends the believers. He says:
“Allah defends those who believe. Allah does not love any betrayer, unappreciative.”
And Allah promised that He suffices the believers. He says:
“If they want to deceive you, then Allah will suffice you. He will help you with His support, and with the believers.”
Allah promised to protects the believers. He says:
“They plotted and schemed, but we also plotted and schemed, while they did not perceive.”
And Allah said that all dignity belongs with Him. He says:
“Anyone seeking dignity should know that to Allah belongs all dignity. To Him ascends the good words, and He exalts the righteous works. As for those who scheme evil works, they incur severe retribution; the scheming of such people is destined to fail.”
Respected servants of Allah, have you ever given advice or suggestions to others, which you yourself fail to follow? Have you ever boasted about what’s right and what’s wrong, when in fact you fall into the same category which you label as ‘forbidden?’ Which Allah the Almighty mentions in the Qur’an:
“Verily the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of Hell. You will find no one to help them.” [Qur’an, 4:145]
Beloved servants of Allah, how do we save ourselves?
The best way to avoid being a hypocrite is to ask yourself why you are doing a certain good deed. If, for example, you are praying in a Mosque, sincerely ask yourself, “Why am I praying here in this Mosque?” If the honest answer is “To please Allah the Almighty” or “To receive Allah’s forgiveness for my sins,” then you are doing it for the right reasons.
If you find that you are there because you want someone to see that you are a good Muslim who prays in the Mosque, you need to get this out of your heart.
Having the proper intentions is the most important aspect of our actions. If our deeds are for anyone other than Allah the Almighty, or for Allah the Most High and someone else, He will reject them and there will be no reward for them, no matter how great the deeds.
Dear brothers and sisters, bare in mind being in a state of hypocrisy is really far worse than being a non-believer. At least non-believers are up front about not believing in the message of Islam. Their position is clear and we know where we stand with them, what to expect from them.
Hypocrites, on the other hand, are not up front and do not reveal what is in their heart. They pretend to be believers when in the company of Muslims, but when they retire to their intimate friends, they show their true colours.
Allah the Almighty described in the Qur’an:
“When they meet those who believe, they say: “We believe”, but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say: “We are really with you: We [were] only jesting.” [Qur’an, 2:14]
Hudhaifah Bin Al-Yaman, the great Companion of Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“The hypocrites among you today are worse than the hypocrites who lived at the time of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him)!” He was asked: “O Abu Abdullah, how is this so?” He replied: “They used to hide their hypocrisy. As for the ones today, they display it openly.” [See Al-Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaibah, vol. 15, page 109]
“And of mankind, there are some (hypocrites) who say: “We believe in Allah and the Last Day” while in fact they believe not. They (think to) deceive Allah and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not! In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Allah has increased their disease. A painful torment is theirs because they used to tell lies.” [Qur’an, 2:8-10]
Beloved servants of Allah, here I add in my today’s sermon the translation of a beautiful poem titled, ‘YOU WILL REMAIN THE PRINCE OF HEARTS’, composed by Professor Isa Alabi Abu Bakr, one of the best contemporary Arabic poets in Nigeria, in solidarity to the Prince of hearts, the deposed Emir of Kano, His Highness, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II, may Allah continue to protect him, ameen. The poem is as follows:
“Severe grief in the gasket flames
And the heart is heartbreaking
The world of betrayal has revealed its command
For flattering temptation shall be avoided
He tempted people who reigned as king
In both worlds and in the end it is malfunctioned
What does hair say after their error?
And he sees the draft in the country being tortured?
The supplication of righteousness is a crime
When the tyrants are good and do not like
They made hypocrisy a virtue in their religion
So you see a great wreck being dislodged
They have disappointed the exhausted people’s hopes
He asked to be saved, and his fanatics were fanatic
Do not accept what came out of their mouths
They always make a comeback
This country is honest, but they are honest
They have wasted it and the deposit has been destroyed
Stripping the glory of glorified slogans
They have the deed of treachery
Al-Sanusi’s isolation made us worse and hurt us
Bring the complainant and the smuggler to you
The king of kings with his knowledge and intelligence
South and West listen to him
The joy of being mean to see you bound
In isolation, your sun will think of the west.
The sun of knowledge and science is illuminated
And Ma’in who provided the Hajj is not depleted
They envy you that you are loved in the country
Envy will inflame its anger
Glory be to He who gave you what loves the most
Mind and tongue, so let the one who gets angry
The person who loves you the most is hard-pressed
I blame those who say you are blindfolded
I praise you and the Principality is outraged
Today I curse what went wrong and love
The emirate cried that its protector tomorrow
In the hands of the tyrants get what is not disturbed
Trust in God, and he is appointed by whom
Please do well in difficult circumstances
You will remain proud of the prince of our hearts
May your Lord protect you from the evil of those who receive it.”
Dear brothers and sisters, I ask Allah to purify our hearts from betraying and hypocrisy of all types and to lead us all to what pleases Him alone. Ameen.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday Sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Rajab 18, 1441 A. H. (March 13, 2020).
