Praise be to Allah, Alone, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions!
Muslims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will offer Salat-ul-Istisqa' (Prayer for rain) on Monday 27 Shawwal 1386 A.H., so I decided to draw the attention of my fellow Muslim brothers to some matters which every Muslim should consider. Muslims should bring themselves to account, strive against their souls to achieve prosperity and salvation, do what pleases Allah, and protect themselves from anything that is harmful to their lives and the Hereafter. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
O you who believe! Fear Allâh and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is All-Aware of what you do. And be not like those who forgot Allâh (i.e. became disobedient to Allâh), and He caused them to forget their ownselves, (let them to forget to do righteous deeds). Those are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh).
In this Noble Ayah (Qur'anic verse), Allah orders the believers to fear Him and consider the deeds they have brought forth for the Day of Resurrection in order to hold fast to what benefits them and pleases Allah (Exalted be He), and to beware of deeds which incur Allah's wrath. This is the great benefit of contemplating the deeds which one has sent forth for the Day of Resurrection. Allah (Glorified be He) has clarified that He is well- acquainted with the deeds of His servants as no secret is hidden from Him that we must fear Him and reform our inner and outer deeds. He repeatedly orders them to haveTaqwa (fearing Allah as He should be feared) as it is the only means to happiness and well- being.
Taqwa is to obey Allah and His Messenger and to refrain from whatever Allah and His Messenger prohibited out of devotion and sincere belief in Him, His Messenger, and the message of Allah which His Messenger (peace be upon him) conveyed in order to obtain the reward of Allah and avoid from His punishment. In their explanation of the meaning of Taqwa, some of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) said, "Taqwa is that you act in obedience to Allah, and hope in His Mercy, upon a light from Him; and to leave the acts of disobedience to Allah out of fear of Him, upon a light from Him."
The great Companion and scholar, `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) explained the meaning of Taqwa saying: "The real meaning of Taqwa is for Allah is to be obeyed, and not disobeyed; remembered at all times, and not forgotten; and to be thanked; and not to be ungrateful towards."
In the previous Ayah, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) warns His servants against forgetting and turning away from Him so He accordingly forgots them. They turned away from the means of their salvation and happiness in this life and the Hereafter. Allah (Exalted be He) says: And be not like those who forgot Allâh (i.e. became disobedient to Allâh), and He caused them to forget their ownselves, (let them to forget to do righteous deeds). Allah described those who turned away and disobeyed Him as disobedient who follow their whims and the promptings of Satan.
Every Muslim must fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) and follow His commands. They should not follow their whims and the insinuations of Satan. They must avoid the imitation of the enemies of Allah and His Messenger who turn away from remembering and obeying Allah in order to be safe in this life and the Hereafter.
Allah (Glorified be He) informs us in many verses in His Noble Book that all the afflictions that befall us such as: hard-heartedness, drought, loss of wealth, lives and crops
domination by the enemy, and all other afflictions are due to the sins which we commit. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much. (See the Qur'ân Verse 35:45). , Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allâh, but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself. , Evil (sins and disobedience to Allâh) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds), that He (Allâh) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allâh, and begging His Pardon). and And indeed We punished the people of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) with years of drought and shortness of fruits (crops), that they might remember (take heed).
Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) states after referring to the tyrannical nations and their punishment, So We punished each (of them) for his sins; of them were some on whom We sent Hâsib (a violent wind with shower of stones) [as on the people of Lût (Lot)], and of them were some who were overtaken by As-Saihah [torment - awful cry. (as Thamûd or Shu'aib's people)], and of them were some whom We caused the earth to swallow [as Qârûn (Korah)], and of them were some whom We drowned [as the people of Nûh (Noah), or Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his people]. It was not Allâh Who wronged them, but they wronged themselves. He