Khutbah: Corruption

Friday, 15 May 2009
bribery.jpgAddressing the ongoing corruption scandal

[OPENING DUA]

إن الحمد لله نحمده و نستعينه و نستغفره و نعود بالله من شرور أنفسنا و سيئات أعمالنا من يهده الله فلا مضل له و من يضلل فلا هادي له و اشهد إلا اله إلا الله و حده لا شريك له و اشهد أن محمد عبده و رسوله

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ)
(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا)
"يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا"

أما بعد

[TEXT OF FIRST KHUTBAH]

O you who Believe, Allah has told us in His Book
وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنْطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لَا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَائِمًا ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ سَبِيلٌ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (75) بَلَى مَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ وَاتَّقَى فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ (76)

Among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is he who, if entrusted with a Qintar (a great amount of wealth, etc.), will readily pay it back; and among them there is he who, if entrusted with a single silver coin, will not repay it unless you constantly stand demanding, because they say: "There is no blame on us to betray and take the properties of the illiterates" But they tell a lie against Allâh while they know it. (75) Yes, whoever fulfils his pledge and fears Allâh much; verily, then Allâh loves those who are Al-Muttaqûn (3:75-76)

My dear brothers in Islam, when we look around at what has been happening in the last week or so regarding the expenses crisis that has engulfed the political arena in the UK, we should not be surprised.

We should not be surprised that the people have become so disillusioned with their politicians here, that they are turning away from the so called democratic process and institutions in disgust.

We should not be surprised that no one believes a word that is uttered from the mouths of those they elected to represent them, to represent their interests, to take care of their affairs, since it has been proven that there is endemic corruption and greed amongst them. We should not be surprised at the widespread resignation to the current situation, since this is simply a confirmation of what everyone already knew; that the whole system here is broken.

Previously we heard about the ‘cash for honours’ scandal, my dear brothers, where investigations were undertaken after people were given titles and honours soon after donating large sums of money to the leaders of this country, courting them in their yachts and mansions.

Previously we heard about the ‘cash for questions’ scandals, where it was shown that certain politicians took money to ask specific questions in parliament, democracy for sale. This was no surprise, since anyone who studies the Western systems will see that while they promote their politics as a voice for the people it is in reality controlled by large vested interests who are able to lobby and influence the politicians. This is evidenced by the cosy relationship between the British government and the Banking sector, where tax payers money was used to reward the failure of their colleagues and associates in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and others.

Previously we saw the investigations into bribery with respect to large military contracts between the British and its client regimes, which were cancelled, supposedly for security purposes but in reality to protect the interests of both regimes.

Previously we heard that MPs employed their wives, sons, daughters and mistresses in their offices, some of them doing no work for the salary, all to maximize the profits they could gain from their position.

This is no surprise brothers, since the problem is not that those individual politicians are corrupt, or that the expenses system in the parliament is wrong and needs to be fixed, it is much more fundamental than that.

As Allah has told us - and among them there is he who, if entrusted with a single silver coin, will not repay it unless you constantly stand demanding, because they say: "There is no blame on us to betray and take the properties of the illiterates”.

Allah has informed us about the People of the Book, that amongst them are people who cannot be trusted with a single silver coin because they feel they are more entitled to it than the illiterates, than those worse off than them. If this is true about some of the People of the Book, then what about those today my dear brothers who are People of the Pound and Dollar rather than People of the Book?

And look how we are told the only way to get the one coin back off them – is to stand over them constantly demanding it from them – imagine brothers, this expenses issues has only come to light after a long period of time where the parliament tried its best to block the information coming out, at every turn they tried to use their laws and influence to prevent the release of this information under the so called Freedom of Information Act. And in the end – it has only come to light because of someone elses greed, someone who sold the CD of expenses illegally to a national newspaper for hundreds of thousands of pounds!

Those people who believe in nothing except wealth, all they seek in life is money and possessions, success for them is defined by how much material things they can amass. They feel no accountability to anyone except their own greed. This is not unique to politicians, this is a societal value that they all hold today – from the unemployed man up to the richest banker – each one looks to get as much they can for themselves with no regard for anyone else. So the bankers did nothing illegal, but they acted in a greedy and corrupt manner seeking to maximize their profits. The MPs on the whole have done nothing illegal according to the letter of their manufactured laws, but have acted in a greedy and corrupt manner seeking to maximize their profits. Who has suffered in both cases? The average man, the man on the street, the normal taxpayer, who can do nothing except to look on and wish that if he was in the same position he would also be able to get whatever he desires, because that is what the society has taught him.

What do you expect the MPs to do brothers? Are they not part of this society? Isn’t their greed just a mirror on the society and its values? Of course they will act in the same way as the rest of society, its something natural and to be expected. This is why you will find that the American system brothers is even more broken and more corrupt and greedy than here, where becoming a politician is a career choice that will lead to millions of dollars, and they have no shame in admitting that.

This is not a problem with the details of the rules brothers, this is not some small issue that can be repaired with a plaster, in the same way that their failed economic system cannot be repaired by merely tinkering with the rules, and as their economic system is destined to collapse after collapse until it is fundamentally changed, until the society embraces a different set of values, and replaces their system with a totally different system that reflects those values, their problems will continue.

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ
Verily! Allâh will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves [13:11]


[TEXT OF SECOND KHUTBAH]

إن الحمد لله و اشهد إلا اله إلا الله و حده لا شريك له و اشهد أن محمد عبده و رسوله

At this time brothers, day after day we are witnessing the failure of the Western systems, not just the failure of their leadership of humanity that has destroyed much of the world as a result of their greed, but even the failure of their ability to look after their own people.

And yet our political leaders in the Muslim world remain enthralled by the Western politics and the Western politicians, and follow them in everything they do except in a more crude and ugly fashion.

The hidden corruption and greed here is open in our countries.
The hidden abuse of peoples rights and dignity is hidden here and open in our countries,
The politicians here hide their failure and unsuitability to lead, whereas this is open in our countries.
The politicians here demand, and our leaders follow, even the demand to abuse and kill their own people.

And our Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him said
إنما أخاف على أمتي الأئمة المضلين
I fear for my Umma, astray leaders (who will lead them astray) (Tirmidhi)

Islam is the only solution for the world at this time and any time, it is only the values of Islam which engenders within its leaders that sense of responsibility and fear, because the leadership is considered a trust and not an opportunity for personal benefit.

Our Prophet told us
إنكم ستحرصون على الإمارة وإنها ستكون ندامة وحسرة يوم القيامة فنعمت المرضعة وبئست الفاطمة
You are eager for leadership and it is truly a regret and a sorrow on the day of judgment, what a good wet nurse and what an evil weaner (Ibn Hibban)

And he said to Abu Dharr when he sought a position of leadership among the people
يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ إِنَّكَ ضَعِيفٌ وَإِنَّهَا أَمَانَةٌ وَإِنَّهَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ خِزْىٌ وَنَدَامَةٌ إِلاَّ مَنْ أَخَذَهَا بِحَقِّهَا وَأَدَّى الَّذِى عَلَيْهِ فِيهَا
O Abu Dhar, you are weak and authority is a trust, and on the Day of Resurrection it is a cause of humiliation and sorrow except for him who fulfills its obligations and (properly) discharges the duties thereon (Muslim)

Ruling is a position of great responsibility and comes with great accountability on the day of judgment, so any Muslim who takes such a responsibility understands that he will not answer to the letter of the law, or to the media, or to public opinion, but rather he will answer to the One who Knows and Sees everything, that is Allah. And such a mentality produces the most upstanding individual, and we see that amongst us today, where any practicing Muslim even with all the suspicion on them from the media, will be considered as the most trustworthy in their workplace because of their principles and integrity.

Ruling for us is a trust with Allah, not a career to benefit ourselves. When we look at the examples of the leaders throughout Islamic history, you do not find a parallel to the Islamic nation in terms of the general integrity of its rulers, their accountability and strictness with the wealth of the ummah they were made responsible over.

Once the Prophet (pbuh) appointed a man to collect zakah from Muslims. When he returned, he divided the collected money into two parts and said, “This part is for you, and this part was given to me as a present”. The Prophet (pbuh) got angry, then he stood up, praising Allah and said, “I employ people from you to perform a task to which Allah appointed. And here comes a man who says, ‘This part is for you and this was given to me. If this man sat in his house, would he expect to be given any present? By Allah who has full authority over my soul, if a man takes anything illegally, on the Day of Judgement he will carry it on his neck.”

Umar heard that the famous Sad ibn Abi Waqqas was building a palace at Kufa. Umar sent Mohamed ibn Maslamah to deal with the situation. On reaching Kufa, Mohamed promptly burnt the palace down. ‘Umar also confiscated some of the wealth of ‘Amir ibn al-As when he was governor of Egypt. He wrote to him saying "Let me remind you that I am sending Mohamed ibn Maslamah to you to help you distribute your wealth. Accommodate him and forgive any harshness of his towards you."

When Umar asked another of his governors, Saeed bin ‘Ameer about a complaint from the people he was ruling over "I asked what other complaints they had, and they said: 'One day every month, he does not come out to us at all.' The reply was “Ameer ul-Mumineen, I have no servant, and no clothing save that which I am wearing. I wash it by hand once a month, and it takes it a whole day to dry so that I can put it on and go out again.”

This was the sense of responsibility, accountability, and carefulness in the early generations.

But this was not just amongst the early generations; we have the examples of many ulama accounting the rulers throughout the time, such as Imaam Nawawi account Sultan Baybirs for seeking to impose more taxes for the sake of Jihad – because he felt he had not used enough of his own wealth to justify more taxes on the people.

This is because a society based upon Islam and ruled by Islam produces Islamic personalities, in the same way that this society based upon materialist interests and ruled by a system that protects those interests produces materialistic people concerned only about themselves.

The Islamic mentality is built upon our aqeeda – which tells us

لاَ إِيمَانَ لِمَنْ لاَ أَمَانَةَ لَهُ وَلاَ دِينَ لِمَنْ لاَ عَهْدَ لَهُ
No Imaan for whoever cannot be left with a trust and no deen for whoever does not fulfil their contracts (Bayhaqi)

At this time when people are questioning their system, their values upon which their system is based, as Muslims we must present to them the only alternative that will save humanity not just in the next life but also in this life as well.

Isn’t it enough to see the failure of their way of life, my dear brothers, to give us the confidence and encouragement to refuse to be intimidated to conforming and integrating into their failed system, and to refuse to be intimidated to conforming and adopting their failed values?

And isn’t this failure enough my dear brothers that we demand of our failed politicians in the Muslim lands, who continue to follow these people even into the holes of Lizards, to either adopt the Islamic aqeeda, its values and implement its systems, or to step aside and leave it to those sincere Muslims in the ummah who wish to stand for Islam and for the Deen of Allah and to be Witnesses onto Mankind.

بارك الله لي ولكم في القرآن والسنة، ونفعنا بما فيها من الآيات والحكمة. أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله تعالى لي ولكم

[CLOSING DUA]