According to Ibn H~ajr
of Asqala#n and Ibn H~azm
of Cordova the following oration was the first oration delivered by
the Holy Prophet in Madi#nah on Friday
in the mosque of Banu# Sa#lim
while on his way from Quba#
to Madi#nah proper in 1 A.H. (Editor)
Praise be to Allah; I praise Him; I beg for His help,
His forgiveness and His guidance. I have faith in Him: I do not disbelieve
in Him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, having no
partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Apostle.
He sent him with proper guidance, true faith, light and exhortation because
of an interval among the Apostles, because of want of true knowledge, because
of the deviation of the people from the right path, because the passing
of time, because of the closeness of the Hour [of resurrection], and nearness
of the appointed time. He who obeys Allah and His Apostle is rightly guided
and he who disobeys them is misled, forsaken and gone astray, far away.
I recommend to you the fear of Allah. For the best recommendation
which a Muslim may make to the other Muslim is to urge him to [keep in
mind] the next life, and to commend him the fear of Allah. So refrain from
what Allah Himself warned you to refrain from. No admonition is more excellent
than this and no remembrance is better than this. Surely the fear of Allah,
for him who acts accordingly with a fearful caution and dread of his Lord
is true help to attain what you desire of the affair of the next world.
He who joins what is between him and between Allah, secretly as well as
openly, desiring hereby nothing but the pleasure of Allah, will gain for
himself fame in the near future and a treasure for the life after death
when man will need whatever he previously stored up, and will prefer to
be far away from everything else. Allah cautions you about Himself and
Allah is very compassionate to His slaves.
He is the One whose words are very true and Who fulfils
His promise; there is no change for it and verily He says: ‘The word is
not altered to Me and I am not at all an oppressor to the slaves.’ So fear
Allah in your present and future affairs in secret as well as in the open.
For he who fears Allah, Allah will forgive his sins and magnify his reward.
He who fears Allah, will receive great success. Verily the fear of
Allah will save you from His hatred and will keep you away from His punishment
and wrath. And verily the fear of Allah brightens the face, satisfies the
Lord and elevates the position. So take your share and do not transgress
in the region of Allah of which He has certainly taught you by means of
His Book, and has prepared for you the way leading to Him; so that He may
know those who are sincerely truthful and also those who are insincere.
Do, therefore, good as Allah has done good to you, be
at enmity with His enemies and wage the holy war in [the way of] Allah
as it should be done. It is He Who has chosen you and named you Muslims:
so that those who are to perish may perish after the clear sign [has been
given] – there is neither any turn nor any power except with Allah,– and
that those who are to live after the clear sign [has been given]. There
is no turn and no power except with Allah.
So frequent the remembrance of Allah and act for what
is to come after death. Because he who repairs what is between him and
between Allah, He will suffice him in what is between him and between the
people. It is because Allah executes His authority upon the people and
they do not have any power on Him. Allah is the Great; and there is no
turn to and no power with except Allah, the High, the Magnificent.1
(Extracted from: ‘The Orations of Muhammad’.)
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