Strangeness 

أما بعد: فيا أيها الناس، اتقوا الله تعالى حق التقوى.

عباد الله:

في صحيح مسلم عنه قال: ((بدأ الدين غريباً، وسيعود غريباً كما بدأ، فطوبى للغرباء))[1] وفي بعض الألفاظ: قيل: من الغرباء يا رسول الله؟ قال: ((الذين يصلحون ما أفسد الناس، أو يصلحون إذا فسد الناس)) [2].

أيها المسلمون:

Allah send Muhammad (sas) with the guidance and the way of truth. A mercy for all mankind. He sent his final messenger when the earth was filled with great ignorance and manifest evil.  A time when little was left of the previous messages and most of their people were lost. Arabs were worshipping Idols, Christians were worshipping Allah's Messenger and peoples to the north were worshipping fire.  In the midst of all this, Allah sent Muhammad once again affirming the true beliefs of monotheism. At first, most of the Arabs rejected this and found it a strange new thing.  They clung instead to the way of their immediate ancestors.

أَجَعَلَ ٱلآلِهَةَ إِلَـٰهاً وٰحِداً إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىْء عُجَابٌ [ص:5]،

مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَـٰذَا فِى ٱلْمِلَّةِ ٱلآخِرَةِ إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلاَّ ٱخْتِلاَقٌ [ص:7].

Allah send Muhammad to an ignorant folk who had never had their own messenger before. The Muslim suffered persecution from the ignorant who reject this "strange" new belief.  Allah reminded them (and us) of what those before them had to suffer in the way of truth.

وَكُـلاًّ نَّقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاء ٱلرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَجَاءكَ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ [هود:120]،

ويقول له: فَٱصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُوْلُواْ ٱلْعَزْمِ مِنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ وَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ [الأحقاف:35].

He continued day and night in the path of calling to the truth even though positive responses were few at first.  He (sas) was met with rejecgtion and violence. In the midst of this, Jibreel came and offered to finish off the oppressive people of Makka, but the Prophet (sas) said:

((أتأنَّى بهم، فلعل الله أن يخرج من أصلابهم من يعبده لا يشرك به شيئاً))[3].

Allah allowed the Muslim to migrate to Al-Madinah where a foundation of freedom and security was at last established. Soon, the entire peninsula became Muslim and shirk and oppression disappeared as Islam became strong and established. The Prophet (sas) and those after him continued to spread this truth in compliance with Allah's words:

لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى ٱلدّينِ كُلّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْمُشْرِكُونَ [الصف:9].

The Muslim lived this religion in a position of security, ruling by Allah's Shari'a. However, shortcomings continued to increase in the Muslims century after century as foretold by Allah and His Messenger (sas) until they fell into neglect of Allah's deen and the abandoning of his Shari'a.

قال : ((لا يأتي زمان إلا والذي بعده شر منه، قال: حتى تلقوا ربكم))، قال أنس: سمعته من نبيكم [4].

Weakness continued to plague this Ummah century after century until it fell into shirk, kufr, turning away from the deen and desiring other systems not Islam and implementing man-made laws in the place of Allah's Shari'a:

قال : ((وسيعود غريباً كما بدأ))،

Meaning that Islam will become something strange AMONG THE MUSLIMS THEMSELVES, just as it began as something strange among the people of Arabia. Strange because of their ignorance. Strange because of their turning away from it and rejecting it

It is sad that if you contemplate the state of Muslims, you will find that Islam is indeed something strange to most of them. Look at the area of tauhid and sincerity in deen and you will find much of our Ummah at odds with that. If one were to say to them, "Worship Allah and do not associate any with him.", they would persecute him and say, "This is a heinous innovation.  As Allah said:

وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ ٱشْمَأَزَّتْ قُلُوبُ ٱلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلآخِرَةِ وَإِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ [الزمر:45]،

When it is mentioned to them to assert the oneness of Allah, to devote all worship solely to Allah and that the dead ones in the graves cannot benefit the one who calls out them them or hear their calls - and if they could hear they would not respond and would know nothing about the state of the caller - they will condemn this and meet you with enmity and persecution. They will say things like, "You don't love the Messenger" or "You are insulting the righteous scholars" or "You are destroying 'traditional' Islam".

Islam taught us commanding right and prohibiting wrong and made it a characteristic of this Ummah:

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ [آل عمران:110]،

وَلْتَكُن مّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ [آل عمران:104]،

But if you mention that to them, they will criticize you because they see the prohibited as allowed and the good as something evil. They have reversed reality and perverted the sound nature upon which Allah created them. This is the greatest destructive element with which this Ummah has been afflicted.

Islam is strange even with regard to the most basic components like five prayers in the day. Instead of masjids being full every time, they lie in neglect as even prayer has become strange to so many Muslims. Worse is the case with the rulings of the Shari'a.  They have been nullified and ignored by governments and individuals alike.

فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ فَأْذَنُواْ بِحَرْبٍ مّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ [البقرة:279]،

 وأن الربا ممحق للبركة يَمْحَقُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْرّبَوٰاْ وَيُرْبِى ٱلصَّدَقَـٰتِ [البقرة:276]،

No, they will say that you are living in the past, are close-minded and do not understand "modern life".  Just because you insist that riba is haram.  And all transactions can be accomplished without riba. In fact, if people only left riba completely for Islamically legal transactions, they would see great benefits and increases in justice and fairness.

Character.

أيها المسلمون:

The strangeness of Islam is apparent in all lands of Muslims in their ignorance of Islam or their turning away from it in spite of knowledge and replacing it with other things. This is the strangeness of Islam in our times. Yes, Islam started out strange and will go back to being strange, but GOOD TIDINGS to the strangers who rectify what the people have corrupted.

فَلَوْلاَ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُوْلُواْ بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْفَسَادِ فِى ٱلأرْضِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ [هود:116]،

Allah guaranteed for this Ummah that there will ALWAYS be a "remnant" even if small at times who hold fast for the truth.

 يقول : ((ولا تزال طائفة من أمتي ظاهرين على الحق لا يضرهم من خذلهم ولا من خالفهم حتى يأتي أمر الله))[5]،

The obligation of every Muslim is to hold fast to his deen and not to be tempted by the opinions of those who lead astray and those who would corrupt this deen.  Allah said:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلّ نِبِىّ عَدُوّاً شَيَـٰطِينَ ٱلإِنْسِ وَٱلْجِنّ يُوحِى بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ ٱلْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ وَلِتَصْغَى إِلَيْهِ أَفْئِدَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلآخِرَةِ وَلِيَرْضَوْهُ وَلِيَقْتَرِفُواْ مَا هُم مُّقْتَرِفُونَ [الأنعام:112-113].

أوَمَا أَكْثَرُ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ [يوسف:103]،

وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى ٱلأرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ [الأنعام:116].

The origin of these efforts against Islam (after Shaitaan himself) is the enemies of Islam out of envy and spite after they have rejected Allah's final messenger to mankind.

وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلْيَهُودُ وَلاَ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَلَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم بَعْدَ ٱلَّذِي جَاءكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِيّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ [البقرة:120].

بارك الله لي ولكم في القران العظيم، ونفعني وإياكم بما فيه من الآيات والذكر الحكيم، أقول قولي هذا، وأستغفر الله العظيم الجليل لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب، فاستغفروه وتوبوا إليه، إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.