Mankind Oppress Themselves

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

“مَّنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ۗ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ”

(Qur’ān 41:46)

“Man `Amila Şāliĥāan Falinafsihi, Wa Man ‘Asā’a Fa’alayhā, Wa Ma Rabbuka bi- Zallaamin lil-Abeed’, ‘Whoever does righteousness – it is for his [own] soul; and whoever does evil [does so] against it. And your Lord is not ever unjust to [His] servants.” Sadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm.

Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla does not oppress anyone. Ḥāshā! (far from it). Oppression is not from the attributes of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla. The attributes of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla are mercy, patience and all kinds of beautiful things. Oppression and other things don’t refer to Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla. Ḥāshā!

Things that are Wajib for Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla are written in our books of belief. Oppression is the attribute of shaytan. It is the attribute of those who follow him. And the greatest oppression is when a person does it to himself; not otherwise. Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla has favoured people and created them to worship. But they leave Him ﷻ and worship themselves. Instead of worshipping Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla, they worship their egos. Therefore, they make oppression to themselves.

Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla does not need anything from anyone. Because He ﷻ is the creator. He ﷻ is the creator of this universe. We are not even dust inside this universe. He ﷻ has favored us. Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla said in Qur’an Karim, ‘وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ’, ‘Wa Laqad Karramnā Banī ‘Ādam, ‘And We have certainly honored the children of Adam.’ (Qur’ān 17:70). “We have given favors to mankind. We have raised and exalted them.” But as we said, not only us, but the whole world is like dust inside this universe. It is not even dust in the enormous realm of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla.

He ﷻ has favored us with so many treats, but we leave Him ﷻ. As if Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla needs our worship, when people pray or do something, they admire themselves and think they’ve done something important. Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla has favored you with that. You must do it no matter if your ego likes it or not. You must do it to have benefit. It won’t bring benefit to anyone. And Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla doesn’t need it at all.

Everything is in the Hand of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla. Allah ﷻ has given this favor. Who doesn’t do it oppresses himself. And the greatest oppressor is the one who oppresses himself. Many people do that. They dogmatize and say, “This is so and so. It works this way and that way. We are clever. We know everything.” Who are you to think so high of yourself? As we said, even the world is not like dust inside this universe. And what are you?

Who is with Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla will be raised. Who is not with Him ﷻ will be lowered. This is what Ayat of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla say. Those who oppress people oppress themselves. May Allah ﷻ protect us. May Allah ﷻ give guidance to people. People who think they are clever – there is no cleverness in them unless they use their mind on the way of Allah ‘Azza wa-Jalla. May Allah ﷻprotect us. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 

14 January 2025/ 14 Rajab 1446

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