Fundación Mezquita de Sevilla Fundación Mezquita de Sevilla y Centro Cultural Islámico de Sevilla®
Good afternoon, almost night to everyone.
The first thing, as it could not be otherwise, is to thank you for your presence in this blessed place, a place that has an incomparable setting, one of the most beautiful in our country, and why not say it, and here comes my Granada vein, one of the most beautiful places in this world.
A framework that is the fruit and result of what I want to speak to you today, which is none other than the path of Islam.
And what better place to talk about Islam than this one we are in?
How to talk about Islam, how to summarize an ocean in a few minutes, how to condense in a few words a way and a way of life?
Today I have been thinking a lot about this same question, what to say, what to talk about, what to try to convey, what image to try to give, how to make people understand what Islam really is.
And I was thinking about it when a passage from the Qur’an came to my heart and mind, a wonderful passage, which describes not Islam, but the Messenger of Islam, Muhammad, salla allahu alaihi wa sallam.
And at that moment everything has fallen into place, for is there a better way to talk about something than the person who embodies in himself, in all his behavior, in all his actions, in his words and in his silences, what the Message of Islam really is?
He was the personification of Islam.
And that passage is when Allah, when God describes it by saying,
“Verily a Messenger has come to you from yourselves; it is painful for him that you suffer any evil, he is committed to you and to believers he is kind and compassionate.”
This is Muhammad, this is the Messenger of Islam, and this description is perfectly applicable to the rest of the Prophets and Messengers sent to human beings; it is a description applicable to Moses, who leaves the riches of this passing world for his people, who renounces everything for his people, facing for it and suffering the consequences, one of the greatest tyrants known in the history of humanity; it is a description applicable of course to Jesus, who goes out of his way for his people, who cares for them, who is all goodness, indulgence and good character, who is committed to his people, who hurts him, who suffers, when not only someone of his people, but anyone suffers some kind of evil.
This is Jesus, and as he was Moses and as he was Muhammad.
And you know what’s the most wonderful thing about all this?
That if we reflect sincerely on it, we realize how close we are to each other, we realize that the Messengers and Prophets are very similar, all of them giving their all for their people, and we realize also that the path they call, the path they establish, is a path whose foundations are the same.
Knowing and knowing this, I ask myself: where does hatred come from, where does enmity come from, where does confrontation come from?
What example do those follow who, claiming to be acting in the name of Islam, attack and murder innocent people?
What path do those who claim to act in the name of Allah attack and kill innocent people follow?
If I tell you the truth, I don’t know what path they follow, but I can tell you with total certainty and without fear of being wrong, which is the one they don’t follow. They do not follow the path of Islam, they do not follow the path established by God, by Allah, or whatever we want to call it, they do not follow the path established by Prophet Muhammad, nor the path established by Prophet Jesus nor the path established by Prophet Musa; for all these ways have the same origin and that origin is:
“Verily a Messenger has come unto you from yourselves; it is painful for him that you suffer any evil, he is committed to you and to believers he is kind and compassionate.”
There is no religion or way of life that does not call for kindness, good treatment, indulgence; There is no religion or way of life that calls for murder, mistreatment, barbarism. Why?
Because there is no religion or way of life that comes from God, that does not call for the next life after this world, in which we will be of the fortunate or the unfortunate, and this is the key to everything.
Since everything depends on our way of life here, everything depends on our present, everything depends on our behavior, on our treatment of others, whatever their belief, whatever religion they are.
Can any of you conceive that someone who murders innocent people will be able to be in the Garden of Eden in the next life?
It is impossible, it is impossible for it to be so, and this is for everyone, followers of Jesus, of Moses, of Muhammad, it is the same for everyone, since they all call us to the same thing, they all call us to good treatment, they all call us to kindness, to indulgence, to forgiveness, to consideration for others, and they all say to us: “Depending on what you do in this life, it will be what you get in the Next Life.”
So what I am calling you to today, what I want to show you, what I want to share with you, is that we understand that there is no excuse or place for murderous terrorists in Islam or in any other way of life, as that is not the path shown by any of the Prophets and Messengers.
Isn’t this beautiful?
Isn’t this beautiful?
Well, this is the reality, there is no more, the differences that may exist between the Messengers and between their paths are secondary, but the origin is the same and the end is the same as well; and this is what I want us to understand, for this is one of the great gifts that Allah, that Allah, has given to mankind.
I bid you farewell by opening our hearts and our doors, reminding you that we are at your service and disposal for whatever you need, reminding you that we are at the service of all those who want to come closer, of all those who want to meet, of all those who want to taste the beauty and sweetness of Islam.
Thank you very much for your attendance, thank you very much for your attention, I hope you have enjoyed our company and I hope that next year we will meet again in this blessed place, since this is your home and in everything you need, in everything you want, we will try to serve you and help you, in the best way we are able.Good afternoon, Assalamu Alaykum. Sheikh Ahmed Bermejo, Imam of the Great Mosque of Granada, Friday, July 7, 2017.
