Sheikh Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, Imam and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque in Makkah advised Muslims to be mindful of Allah Almighty, seek His mercy and fear His punishment. In his Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Sheikh Bin Humaid stressed the importance of making the best use of time. He called on the congregation to do some soul-searching which is the sure way to reforming and correcting oneself. He said that soul-searching and reforming oneself requires determination, seriousness and hard work. He said a person who is preoccupied with useless matters cannot focus on things that are beneficial. Sheikh Bin Humaid said that holding and discharging trust and feeling one's responsibility are great traits; life is short and the greatest gain is derived from self-scrutiny and making the best use of one's time. Sheikh Bin Humaid said the problems and temptations have increased tremendously to the extent that they have left no time or space for the duties and to upset one's priorities. It is strange that the soul enjoys indulgence in what is not beneficial and wasting time in what is useless and not constructive. He said if a person ponders over how his time is wasted, he will realize that it is the lowly people who are concerned with nothing but petty matters and it is the idle ones who are concerned with other people's private matters, shortcomings and failures. Sheikh Bin Humaid said many of the Ummah's problems, tragedies and sufferings are not in political matters, nor in economic domain nor they stem from the enemy's domination, but they can be traced to the lack of sense of personal responsibility. He cited the Qur'anic verse: “…Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves (by committing sins and by being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah).” (Qur'an, 13:11). Sheikh Bin Humaid quoted the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying that a good Muslim must give up what does not concern him. He called on the congregation to reflect on this great Hadith, as it outlines a measure of a Muslim's morals, is an indication of piety and an approach to introspection that shows the way to correcting oneself and inculcating consciousness of Allah. He said some Ulama have considered this Hadith as one third of Islam as it encompasses piety in all its meanings. Sheikh Bin Humaid said if one is a good Muslim, he will be seen to be keeping away from all that does not concern him in word and deed, not to speak of the forbidden, doubtful and reprehensible matters. Not only this, but he will also keep away from permissible matters that he does not need and will make the best use of his time in beneficial matters. Sheikh Bin Humaid criticized gatherings, including those parties in which people just keep talking about what does not concern them nor benefit them. They listen to matters from which Allah has kept their hands and legs safe. He said the ears and tongues could commit graver sins than the hands and legs could do. Sheikh Bin Humaid said many people chitchat and indulge in backbiting against others. They appear to be inquiring about some people but their intention is to know their secrets including their private lives. They rejoice in other people's shortcomings and defects. The matter does not end here, but they even go to the extent of talking about the private matters concerning pious and virtuous people. Sheikh Bin Humaid said some even have the intention of committing what he termed as “hidden assault” against such pious people and committing injustice against them by maligning their creed and intentions. Sheikh Bin Humaid said people have to be careful about what they say in order not to do injustice to others in this age in which a word can spread fast with the medium of the Internet, newspapers, magazines and satellite channels. Sheikh Bin Humaid said that indulging in what does not concern one includes such bad habits as following the minute details about someone's life and condition and analyzing them. He said a reasonable person will look into his heart and will divert his attention to reform himself. It is among the duties of a Muslim, especially the student, intellectual and thinker not to get saturated with the latest developments of this age and other trivial matters. He should scrutinize what he reads, listens and sees. Doing anything that is not beneficial and indulging in it is exceeding the proper bounds and entering into the domain of the impermissible – that is, engaging in what does not concern a person. He warned against wasting time, effort and money. Sheikh Bin Humaid warned that occupying oneself with what does not concern him may lead the person to disappointment, corruption of opinion, inability to get to the truth, hardness of the heart, lack of blessing in one's life span, deprivation of knowledge and lack of piety. He said Allah dislikes in people their habits of gossiping, asking too much about others and engaging themselves in what is of no concern to them. He said these lead to foot-dragging in obeying Allah, negligence in doing what is beneficial, being preoccupied with matters that do not concern him instead of pursuing noble and sublime matters. Such a man shirks from responsibility and is lazy in performing his religious duties. His relationship with Allah becomes weak and he is ignorant about the public interest. Sheikh Bin Humaid stressed that a Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands other Muslims are safe and the immigrant (Muhajir) is the one who forsakes all that Allah has forbidden. Sheikh Bin Humaid said, “Whoever seeks to reform himself and inculcate a sound and clean soul, should focus on his own shortcomings and lament his mistakes. Preoccupying yourself with your own shortcomings and keeping away from others' shortcomings, brings light to the heart, generates peace of mind, cultivates a clear conscience and sound innermost thoughts and feelings. Keeping away from what does not concern a Muslim is the demand of Islamic Shariah and does not come from whims and desires.” He said enjoining virtue and preventing vice, expecting reward from Allah alone, shouldering one's responsibility towards one's family, and doing one's duty with sincerity, whether one be in the market, at the school, in the office and at the workplace and showing keen interest in the affairs and condition of the Muslim community – all these matters should concern a Muslim and come within his responsibilities and duties. Sheikh Bin Humaid called upon Muslims to differentiate between what is of concern to them and what is not. He said that among the indications of Allah turning away from a person is that He keeps him preoccupied with what does not concern him. Meanwhile, Sheikh Salah Al-Bedair, Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet's Mosque in Madina said that these days people are inclined to swearing much and making vows without fulfilling these pledges. In his Friday sermon at the Prophet's Mosque in Madina Sheikh Al-Bedair said that these matters are of serious nature in religion. Hence, rules of jurisprudence (Fiqh) need to be elaborated and clarified in regard to them. __
