Shaikh Abdol-Hamid shed light on some virtues of Omar bin al-Khattab, Othman bin Affan and some other companions of the prophet, peace be upon him, in his Friday sermon of Oct. 24, 2014 in Zahedan, Iran.
Khateeb of Sunnis in Zahedan began his speech by recitation of ‘al-Asr’ chapter of the Noble Qur’an. He termed cruel martyrdom of the third caliph, Othman bin Affan, one of the important events of the last month of lunar year.
“These days mark the martyrdom anniversary of some great companions of the prophet; Othman was martyred brutally on 18th Dhul-Hijjah. While the first day of Moharram marks the martyrdom anniversary of Omar bin al-Khattab, the second caliph, and on 10th Moharram the grandson of the prophet, Hussein bin Ali, may Allah be pleased with all of them, was martyred along with his comrades in Karbala. Othman was martyred ruthlessly when he was the caliph of Muslims in Madinah inside his home,” he added more.
The rector of Darululoom Zahedan urged, “All of these great men were loved by the prophet, peace be upon him, and they also loved him a lot. Othman is the man whom the prophet trusted and sent him to Makkah for negotiation when the infidels stopped Muslims to perform Umrah at Hudaibiyah. When a rumor spread that Othman got martyrdom, the prophet took Bai’ah (pledge of allegiance) from his companions for Jihad against the infidels of Makkah. One of the companions told the beloved prophet, if the news was wrong, Othman would miss the blessing of pledge of allegiance. Then he put his hand on his own hand making pledge of allegiance on the behalf of Othman ibn Affan.”
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid urged the prophet had full trust on his companions. He said, “The story of migration from Makkah to Madinah is a proof that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah be pleased with him, had full trust on his companions; he left Ali in his bed with all trusts of people. As well as, Abu-Bakr as-Seddiq accompanied the prophet in the journey of migration.”
Pointing out to another virtue of Othman ibn Affan, Shaikh said, “The third caliph equipped the army of Muslims in the battle of Tabouk with 300 camels. Where Omar in al-Khattab donated half of his entire wealth and Abu-Bakr donated whatever he had for Muslims.
Allah supported Islam by Omar al-Farooq
Khateeb of Sunnis also shed light on some virtues of the second caliph, Omar bin al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, saying, “It has been narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari: “While I was asleep, I dreamt that I drank (milk) until I could feel moisture coming out of my nails and then I gave it to Omar ibn al-Khattab.” They asked, “How do you interpret it, Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “It means knowledge.” There is another Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari that suggests: ”While I was asleep, I dreamed I saw some people who were shown to me and who were wearing shirts some of which reached to their breasts and some of which were shorter than that. Omar ibn al-Khattab was shown to me wearing a shirt that was trailing on the ground.’ They asked, ‘How do you interpret that, Messenger of Allah?’ He answered, ‘The Religion.’”
He reminded the audience, “Allah Almighty supported His perfect religion by Omar when he embraced Islam; after his Islam, Muslims could establish prayers openly in Masjid al-Haram in congregation. He was showing distaste to wealth. When he was the caliph of Muslims, he used to dress in callous cloths; there were 17 patches on his cloth when people counted them in a day. It was the condition of Ali ibn Abi-Talib before and after caliphate. As he said that he was ruling as a caliph just to implement the commands of Allah and give justice to oppressed people.”
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid concluded his points by saying Sahabah and households of the prophet are examples for all Muslims. “We love all of them and it is a part of our faith and tenets,” he underlined.
Targeting Penmen, a Big Cruelty
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid decried target-killing of some educational and cultural activists in Baluchistan of Iran in the second part of his speech in Zahedan.
He termed the target-killing of ‘Reza Sargazi’, a primary school teacher in Qasarqand district of Sistan-Baluchistan ‘very painful’.
Khateeb of Sunnis urged, “Murder of innocent people is a big crime, but killing teachers is a much bigger crime. Opening fire on writers and educational activists who do not carry guns is a big cruelty. We strongly condemn such attacks. People of Sistan-Baluchistan will not pardon culprits behind such crimes.”
He expressed his satisfaction with the role of the provincial government, saying, “By the blessings of Allah and sanely management of officials in the country and province, Sistan-Baluchistan is going on the right path towards development. A sort of confidence between local and regional officials has been obtained that is a good move.”
“People who live outside of their province [Sistan-Baluchistan] must not destabilize peace by provocation of others. Problems and incompetence should be resolved by legal channels and negotiation,” he added more.
Warning over sectarian disputes in Sistan-Baluchistan, the rector of Darululoom Zahedan made it clear, “As we urge on the protection of peace in the province, we do not allow anyone to create sectarian disputes. We want to live peacefully with fraternity. Different ethnic and religious communities must live together peacefully and friendly.”
I hope a new Hijri year with success and peace for Muslims
Pointing out to the arrival of new lunar, Hijri, year, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said, “After the painful departure of the prophet, peace be upon him, the Companions decided to create a history as a starting point. After analyzing and consultation, they agreed to declare the migration of the prophet from Makkah to Madinah as the starting point of Islamic history; it is the most important event in the history of Islam.”
He added more, “I hope the Almighty make the new Islamic year full of blessings, peace and reconciliation among different groups for Muslims.”
At the end of his speech, Khateeb of Sunnis expressed his regret over the death of Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, chairman of the Assembly of Experts in Iran.