I’ve been attending a specific masjid recently because overall the sermons tend to be powerful, impactful and relevant. Today was much of the same story. The Khatīb delved into the story of the Prophet Shu’ayb (God’s peace and blessings upon him) when God tells us in the Quran, And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu’ayb. He said, “O my people, worship God; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers. Quran 7:85.

The Khatīb mentioned that this is the way of the prophets, to call towards the belief and the worship of God. However, that is not their only mission. They also have a mandate by God of making sure that people fulfill the rights of one another. So right after Shu’ayb mentions worshipping God, he mentions the need to fulfil the rights of the people. He also mentions it in a way that if you truly are people that believe and worship God then your only course of action is to fulfill the rights of people. In this particular verse Shu’ayb discusses financial transactions, however, the message transcends any singular topic. It is important to note though that financial transactions happen to be the area where people take advantage of the weak most often. It is God’s command that we worship Him and that we also give our due to those around us because how can one worship the Divine and not serve His creation?

And if we deny the rights of the people around us and proudly proclaim that we still believe in God and worship Him… well then we end up with corruption. We end up with people who want nothing to do with God because their only example is that of corrupt self-serving people. This is why God’s commandments are not solely actions that are between God and I, but also between mankind and I. Because they go hand in hand, they are tied together like Yin and Yang, like the Light and Darkside of the Force, if you favor one over the other you create a disturbance and that disturbance ruins everything for you and everyone else.