Role of Islām in Worldly Affairs

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al- Ḥaqqānī. Madad. Ṭarīqatunā aṣ-Suḥbah wa l-Khayru fi l-Jam‘iyyah.

Mubarak upon you [the new Dergah in Berlin]. Masha’Allah; was this the first Friday prayer here? [Yes Sultan]. May it be of barakah and blessings, in shā’a Llāh. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ, in shā’a Llāh, may this Friday prayer connect to the first Friday prayer our Holy Prophet ﷺ performed on the way to Madīnah, and may its reward come to us as well, in shā’a Llāh. We are in the heart of disbelief. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ, we were granted the opportunity—by Allāh’s ﷻ help—to come here to mention Allāh ﷻ, confess the Oneness of Allāh ﷻ, to follow the path of our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, to exalt him ﷺ, and to spread this message; we came not with cannons, but with the help of Allāh ﷻ. In shā’a Llāh, may this be a means of guidance for people.

This is the religion of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. The religion is Islām. From the time of Adam ‘alayhi s-salām until the Day of Judgment, there is no other religion. All the prophets declared, “We are Muslims”; this is written in the Qur’ān ‘Aẓīmu sh-Sha’n as well. All the divine scriptures that preceded the Qur’ān ‘Aẓīmu sh-Sha’n proclaimed the same truth and stated that there is no other religion.

Now, they ask here, "What is religion? What does ‘religion’ mean? Why is Islam the religion?” Religion is founded upon counsel, naṣīḥah. What is naṣīḥah? Naṣīḥah is saying the good thing. When a person seeks counsel or consultation regarding anything, they ask, “What is the best course of action?” They ask, “How can my life be good?” and the answer provides that guidance. A person who wishes to do good and to be good seeks naṣīḥah. And naṣīḥah consists entirely of matters found within religion. No one ever seeks counsel on “How can I commit evil?” People do not go around asking others, "How can I commit such an evil act? How can I steal? How can do all kinds of badness?” That is not the sort of naṣīḥah given there; if they were to assist one another in such ways, they would be committing a sin. So, if someone sought advice on how to do evil, was shown the way, and they were caught, they would then have committed a crime.

That is why such places are centers of goodness. These places—dergahs and mosques—are centers that teach and spread goodness. Furthermore, while doing this, they also explain how worldly affairs should be conducted. The ayah karīmah we recited in the Khutbah today speaks to this: “O you who have believed! When you contract a debt—that is, when there is an allotted time for repayment—write it down.” Qur’ān ‘Aẓīmu sh-Sha’n commands that when you engage in transactions—not for minor purchases, but in major matters—you should put it in writing; involve a notary or have witnesses present. Why are we saying this? One might ask, “What does religion have to do with trade?” Yet, this is one of the most important matters in religion: not to violate another person’s rights and not to let another person’s rights be violated. For if you allow someone else’s rights to be violated, you both lead them into sin and incur harm yourself; you are effectively causing the other person to consume what is ḥarām. You cannot simply trust someone and say, “Here, brother, you can pay me later,” without writing anything down. If you intend to gift it, that is fine—that is a different matter—but if you are lending money, you must put it in writing. Because if you fail to do so and the man does not pay—if he deliberately withholds payment despite being able to afford it—then that money becomes impure, unclean, and ḥarām. If he then uses that money to feed his child, that child will turn out to be an unrighteous offspring. Consuming what is ḥarām brings illness to the body. You cannot build a mosque with that ḥarām money, nor will any charity or zakāt given from it be accepted. Therefore, do not be upset simply because you "lost money"; rather, you should grieve over how you allowed that money to become ḥarām. What should you do? The command is clear: put it in writing. Once you have written it down—well, if they pay, they pay; if they do not, the responsibility is no longer yours. In the time of Mawlānā Shaykh Nāẓim people used to come with many complaints, saying, “I lent money to this person, but I couldn’t get it back.” Mawlānā Shaykh Nāẓim would ask, “Did you consult me?” People come to us in the same way; the same pattern continues. Not a day goes by without someone coming to say, “I lent money and couldn’t have it back,” or "I did this and didn’t get my money back." Many people come with such issues. And the ḥadīth we recite in the Khutbah—which follows a Quranic ayah—our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam gives this good tiding: "If a person borrows money with the genuine intention of repaying it, Allāh ﷻ grants them ease and enables them to repay that debt easily." This is a crucial point. As we have said, one must pay close attention to these matters, for people are the same everywhere—here and there alike. Some borrow with the intent to swindle, while others borrow intending to repay but find themselves unable to do so. When repayment isn’t possible, one might handle the situation differently—the creditor shows leniency and, if necessary, counts it toward Zakat to relieve the debtor. However, if the intention was malicious from the start— thinking, “These people are mollas, dervishes, or fools; let me take this money and cheat them”—then it brings benefit to neither party. May Allāh ﷻ protect us.

Some who come here with an interest in Sufism, some Sufis might ask, "Why get involved in worldly affairs?" Yet, worldly matters are part of the human experience—after all, we are not merely spirits; we have bodies made of flesh and bone. The soul has not yet departed from the body, so one cannot simply ignore worldly affairs. If worldly matters are neglected, spiritual affairs disrupt as well. Of course, people in the old days were different. It is said that thieves of the past—a thief from a thousand years ago—would not enter a man’s bedroom when breaking into a house; out of respect for the family, they would steal from the outer areas and leave. There was a sense of respecting what was entrusted to one’s care. Even when about to commit a wrong, a person would reflect: “We are committing one ḥarām; let us not commit another.” May Allāh ﷻ protect people from committing such ḥarām acts. Committing what is ḥarām is a bad thing; may Allāh ﷻ keep us far removed from it. Abstaining from sin is a great blessing. Faith is the greatest blessing; after that, abstaining from the ḥarām is also a tremendous blessing. May Allāh ﷻ be pleased with us all.

Wa min Allāhi t-Tawfīq. Al-Fātiḥa.

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 25 September 2026/ 14 Rabih Al-Akhir 1448 Naqshbandi Sufi Zentrum Berlin, Germany