Religion Isn't Advice—It's Allegiance

What's up, tough guy? How you doing?

[Arabic recitation]

That's something else, buddy. You be careful with that firepower.

[Silence]

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

A very brief narration this evening that I think many of us know or most of us know and that really is what knowledge is, isn't it? It's not the new exciting novelty that you've never heard before which is referred to by the scholars as or knowledge is when a person gets down under the foundation and reassesses takes inventory of what he already knows but puts those pieces together. Most of these narrations that we discuss every night except for the rarity we are we all already know. The problem that we have as we've mentioned before and the problem that really most of humanity has and struggles with isn't a lack of knowledge most of us know. It is either a lack of understanding of application or the intricacy intricacies of what they already know or a lack of motivation to implement and uphold that knowledge. This narration has been was featured in the 40 narrations of Noahi. It's actually 42 narrations very well-known book. it is the beginning step for most students of knowledge and memorization of hadith after the book of Allah since we put pen to paper. This narration is on the authority of ibari. Tamimari tells us in Sah Muslim that the prophet sallall.aii Wasam once said to the companions three times.

[Silence]

So he mentions five. Now the reason that we want to discuss this narration is not just to discuss its meanings and remind of its meanings but also to correct a misunderstanding. This this misunderstanding is also for native Arab speakers. But the misunderstanding becomes compounded with respect to those of us who rely on translation of the narrations of the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. Most of the time this narration is translated as that the religion is advice. The religion is advice. We've heard this before. The religion is advice. What does that mean? Even that limits the meaning and takes it out of the context that it was intended. Even in Arabic, the word is used to refer to advising someone. So commonly that this is the only understanding of this word that usually comes to mind. The word the word in the Arabic language is to filter something and purify something. This is called aus in the Arabic language. When a beekeeper takes the wax out of the honey and then purifies the honey and filters it, this process is referred to as ana in the Arabic language. Now this translates to a metaphorical and aa in this context is allegiance, loyalty. That is what here means. The proper translation of this should be meaning our religion is an allegiance and a loyalty. It's an allegiance. That's why they said to who? An allegiance to who? They didn't say of who. Meaning it's advice of who? To advise someone. No, they said to who? To whom is this allegiance? He said to Allah and to his me to his book and to his messenger to the leaders of the Muslim and their general folk to every Muslim. Now the narration makes sense because when we say the religion is advice advice to whom? to Allah and his book. What what does that mean? How do you advise Allah and his book? And so the word advice is part of loyalty, but it is not loyalty. Loyalty is a much broader term than that. So advice is included in the term loyalty. Yesterday, for those of us who were here, most of us were last night, we discussed priorities. We discussed the narration of the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam speaking about priorities. Those who prioritize the dunya and those who prioritize the hereafter. Most of the problems that we have is a mixup in priorities. That list is constantly shifting and changing. However, if our priorities are set perfectly, 99% of your choices have already been made. All you have to do is follow through. And so this narration is setting into focus for those who prioritize the hereafter over the dunya. What are the priorities of the hereafter? Who is my allegiance to? Who does my loyalty belong to? Here the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam tells us that our religion is an allegiance. It's loyalty. Loyalty to whom? Loyalty to Allah, to his book, to his messenger, to the leaders of the Muslim and to the general folk of the Muslim. This is to whom our allegiance belongs to. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks in the Quran about every type of agreement between people as a me as a type of allegiance. He even refers to the marriage contract as an allegiance. It's a me and he refers to his book and his messenger as a messenger who comes with an allegiance. And this is why when people would accept Islam, they would come to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam, he would extend his hand. They would put their right hand in his right hand. And he would tell them, "I hereby testify that none is rightfully worshiped but Allah Muhammad Allah. I pledge allegiance to this, to that, to this and that, whatever it was that was appropriate for that person and that people make making those allegiances. This is what our religion is. It's an allegiance. It's an allegiance between us and Allah. We have pledged an allegiance to Allah that if we follow through with A, we will receive B. He says subhanahua. He says, fulfill my allegiance and I will fulfill yours and me alone. Fear, fear only me alone. He says subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this narration tells us that list of allegiances. Our allegiance is to Allah. We do not do anything in the obedience of other than Allah that interrupts our obedience to Allah. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said he says there is no obedience to a creature of Allah when it involves the disobedience of the creator. The prophet sallallah.aii wasallam says it is allegiance to Allah. It is an allegiance and a loyalty to the book of Allah. The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said he says every condition that people place in their contracts and allegiances with one another if it is contradicting to the book of Allah it is an invalid condition even if it were a hundred conditions it is invalid out of the gate why because Is the Muslims allegiance is to the book of Allah first? What about a human being? Who does our allegiance f first belong to? The messenger Muhammad sallall.aii wasallam. We do not obey anyone in the disobedience of Muhammad sallall.aii wasallam. No human being carries the authority of our messenger. No one. No human being carries the authority of our messenger. What is that authority? His words in themselves are an evidence. His words in themselves are binding. That is an authority that belongs only to Muhammad Sam. Wasallam. To the point that the prophet sallall.aii wasallam said.

[Silence]

He said, "I swear by Allah that if MS was alive today that he would have no choice but to follow me and pledge his allegiance to me." And in another wording, he said, "I swear by Allah that if MS was alive today and you all obeyed him and left me and my obedience, you would all go astray." If we followed MS, the one who speaks to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Why? Because MS is not our messenger. Our messenger is Muhammad sallall.aii, the im and foremost of the messengers of Allah. He says after that our allegiance belongs to the leaders of the Muslim whatever those leadership positions are. Notice how the leadership and the allegiances to the position even if we happen to disagree or even disrespect the person who holds that position. For instance, a person obeys his parent, which is a type of leadership position, not because his parent earned his obedience, not because his parent is worthy of his respect, it's because he has that position of parenthood. And so even if we are faced with a person who does not deserve that position, someone who is unqualified or someone who does not belong in that position, it does not mean that we are necessarily respecting him. But we respect the position, the position of the scholars. That is a type of leadership. the position of the general rulers, the Khalifa, the governors, the area mayors, the clerks, all of these people as you go down in rank, these are all considered to be leadership positions of the Muslims, not of the non-Muslims. He says and our allegiance is to every Muslim, every Muslim. And part of that is advising our Muslim brothers. We advise them. Why? Because I owe them loyalty. And I have to tell them what they need, not what they want. This is part of their allegiance to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore, the prophet sallallah.aii alaihi wasallam made this statement very short. Why? So that you and I and everyone else could easily memorize it. There's just one sentence. Memorize it. Make it your mantra. repeated in your head over and over and over that this is to whom my allegiance belongs. And anyone else who threatens that allegiance by by near or far than this person does not receive my loyalty or my allegiance. My loyalties lie with Allah and his book and his messenger and the leaders of the Muslim and every subsequent Muslim. Subhanahu waala.

[Silence]

Alhamdulillah.