https://www.khutbah.info/wickedness-in-disputation/ I enjoin you and myself, to maintain consciousness of Allah, to adhere to the community, to cultivate pure hearts, and to break free from those hateful attachments that breed grudges, incite strife, and cloud a Muslim’s reason. Beware of discord and division, for they destroy communities and consume good character just as fire consumes wood: Ash-Shura (42) 10: And in anything over which you differ – its verdict is [to be settled] by Allah. [Say], “That is Allah, my Lord; upon Him I have relied, and to Him I turn back.”
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
I enjoin you and myself, to maintain consciousness of Allah, to adhere to the community, to cultivate pure hearts, and to break free from those hateful attachments that breed grudges, incite strife, and cloud a Muslim’s reason. Beware of discord and division, for they destroy communities and consume good character just as fire consumes wood:
وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِن شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبِّي عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ
Ash-Shura (42) 10: And in anything over which you differ – its verdict is [to be settled] by Allah. [Say], “That is Allah, my Lord; upon Him I have relied, and to Him I turn back.”
Conflict between people is an inevitable reality of life, except for those upon whom my Lord has shown mercy. This is because many associates transgress against one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and how few they are.
The natural state of humanity is the absence of conflict and dispute. However, discord arose ever since one of the sons of Adam killed the other. Since then, the situation shifted, making disputes and conflicts inescapable. This reality fluctuates and is in proportion to how close people are to their faith or how far they stray from it.
Disputes with adversaries are more intense than with friends. They are more severe between peers than between those who are distant. Among neighbors, they are harsher than within a single household. Between cousins, they are stronger than between siblings. And so it continues, conflicts tend to grow sharper the nearer people are to one another, especially when closeness is mixed with rivalry rather than affection.
For this reason, the radiant Shariah came to condemn dispute and resolve conflict. It warns against overstepping bounds during disagreements or deviating from the legitimate framework which is the pursuit of truth. The Shariah considers anyone who exceeds these limits to be tainted by a characteristic of the hypocrite namely, wickedness in dispute, which is the inclination toward falsehood and the transgression of limits and justice.
It is well known that human reality consists of either acts of worship or social dealings. Social dealings manifest as intentions, words, or deeds. Anyone who exceeds the limit in these three areas or violates them possesses a degree of “practical hypocrisy” proportional to what they have acquired of these traits. This is summarized in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:
آيَةُ المُنَافِقِ ثَلاَثٌ: إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ
The signs of a hypocrite are three: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays his trust. [Bukhari 33, Muslim 59]
In another narration—which is our focus here—it adds: “And whenever he disputes, he behaves wickedly.”
The wicked disputants are those who know that the truth is not on their side yet argue using falsehood. Thus, they fall into what Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, prohibited:
ولاَ تَأْكُلُواْ أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُواْ بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُواْ فَرِيقاً مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Al-Baqarah (2) 188: And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin while you know [it is wrong].
Some of the righteous predecessors said: “This refers to a man who disputes without evidence while knowing that the right is against him.”
Since hypocrisy is baseness, then viciousness in disputes is a third of this baseness. It combines the ugliness of character with the vileness of speech. And thus baseness is followed by ugliness.
The fault does not lie in the mere existence of dispute itself. For conflict is an unavoidable reality among people, in matters of feelings and opinions, wealth and property, honor and reputation, and religion. For who is there that all people will be pleased with? And who is there that, if the noble and honorable are pleased with them, the base and ignoble will not be angered by them?
It is truly astonishing that some people find it easy to restrain themselves from consuming the forbidden, from adultery, oppression, and theft, yet find it nearly impossible to restrain their own tongues.
How often do we see someone who holds themselves above such indecencies and sins, yet their tongue tears through the honor of others without a second thought? They transgress against their opponent, while Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
إِنَّ اللّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاء ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
An-Nahl (16) 90: Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If you reflect upon disagreements that occur within this Ummah, among its scholars, its worshippers, its leaders, and its authorities, you will find that most of it stems from this type of transgression, whether through misinterpretation or otherwise. The fundamental principle is that the blood, wealth, and honor of Muslims are sacred among them. They are not permissible except by the permission of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
Therefore, the wicked disputants recognize no limits or controls. To them, the end justifies the means, whether this wickedness occurs in matters of legal rights, core beliefs, or ethics.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَومٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْراً مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاء مِّن نِّسَاء عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْراً مِّنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ الاِسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
Al-Hujurat (49) 11: O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one has returned to] faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
Fear Allah, and know that the most hated to Allah is the one who is most quarrelsome and stubborn in dispute, as is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ in the two Sahih collections and elsewhere. The “quarrelsome” person is the one who is crooked in dispute through lying, forgery, and deviating from the truth.
Whoever possesses this trait resembles those intended by Allah’s words:
فَإِنَّمَا يَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِكَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَتُنذِرَ بِهِ قَوْماً لُّدّاً
Maryam (19) 97: So, [O Muhammad], We have only made it [i.e., the Qur’an] easy in your tongue that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a hostile people.
That is, people who argue with falsehood and deviate from the truth during debate and disputes.
Some of the righteous predecessors mentioned that whoever argues excessively falls into lying frequently. For this reason, Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz (may Allah Almighty have mercy on him) said: “Whoever makes his faith an arena for disputes will frequently change his positions.” This means such a person will never settle upon a specific methodology or a clear principle.
In the Sunan of Abu Dawud, on the authority of Ibn Umar (may Allah Almighty be pleased with them both): The Prophet ﷺ said:
وَمَنْ خَاصَمَ فِي بَاطِلٍ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُهُ، لَمْ يَزَلْ فِي سَخَطِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى يَنْزِعَ عَنْهُ، وَمَنْ قَالَ فِي مُؤْمِنٍ مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ أَسْكَنَهُ اللَّهُ رَدْغَةَ الْخَبَالِ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ مِمَّا قَالَ
Whoever disputes in a matter of falsehood while he knows it, he will remain under the wrath of Allah until he gives it up. And whoever says something about a believer that is not true, Allah will lodge him in the mud of the discharge of the people of Hell (Radghat al-Khabal) until he retracts what he said. [Abu Dawud 3597, Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)]
Consequently, the rational and intelligent person is not merely one who can distinguish between good and evil during a dispute, for many people possess this discernment. Rather, the truly wise person is one who can distinguish, in such matters, the better of two good options and the lesser of two evils. Many who have failed in both religious and worldly disputes did so only because of their ignorance of this great principle. How excellent is the one who said:
When a wise man discovers in his body two different ailments, he treats the more dangerous one.
History is filled with countless examples of justice and fairness during disputes and disagreements. We highlight two examples concerning scholarly and theological differences:
Regarding scholarly differences we find some commentators on Sahih al-Bukhari remarking on a specific issue where Al-Bukhari agreed with the Hanafi school of thought. They would say: “Al-Bukhari agreed with the Hanafis on this issue despite his frequent disagreement with them, however, the evidence led him to that conclusion.
As far as theological differences consider the stance of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) toward the famous Al-Razi, who had fallen into doctrinal deviations and methodological errors. Sheikh al-Islam dedicated a ten-volume work to refuting his errors. Yet, despite this, Sheikh al-Islam said of him: “Some people think ill of him—meaning Al-Razi—believing he intentionally spoke falsehood. This is not the case. Rather, he spoke according to the extent of his knowledge, observation, and research in every instance as it appeared to him.”
How magnificent is justice and fairness during disputes and disagreements, and how base is oppression, wickedness, and false accusation within them!
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
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