The topic in front of us is the saying of Allāh, the Exalted:

Those who believe and do not mix their belief with oppression, they will have security and they are (the ones) who are guided.^[1]

So what is the meaning of (يلبسوا), it means (يخلطوا), which is to mix (confuse), as occurs in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukharī from Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه), that when it was revealed it caused some confusion upon the Companions, so they said: "Which one of us does not have oppression (ظلم) in his faith (إيمان)."

So the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "It is not that (what you think), have you not heard the saying of the righteous servant (Luqmān), ( إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ ), "Indeed shirk (associating partners with Allāh) is a great oppression"^[2]

So this story gives us two benefits:

The first is the intense and severe fear of the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) when this verse was revealed upon them. They feared for their faith, because they understood the (verse upon) the generality of its meaning, that the one whose īmānis mixed with dhulm (oppression), he wil not have security (amn) on the Day of Judgement and he is not from the guided ones. In a like way, the Muslim is eager for his eeman (faith) from everything which negates it from (affairs of) shirk and kufr or which decrease it (and remove it from) perfection such as major sins.

The second benefit is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) explained the meaning of the oppression (ظلم) mentioned in the verse and that it was not what they understood for they understood it in a generalized sense involving major sins (such as cutting of ties and what is similar to that). So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) explained that the oppression mentioned in the verse is actually shirk (setting up partners in worship) with Allāh, and the intent (by ‘shirk’) is the major shirk alongside which īmān will not benefit (at all) and no action will be of benefit in its presence, for every action alongside the presence of shirk is vain (invalidated).

There remains two further issues in the verse.

The first is regarding the types of oppression (ẓulm) which are present amongst the people. Know O listeners from the Muslim men and women (present) that the oppression occurring amongst people is of three types:

1) The oppression which Allāh does not forgive except with repentance and whoever dies upon this type of oppression, he will remain in the fire forever, forever absolutely, and this is the major shirk.

2) The oppression which Allāh forgives when the wrong has been corrected, this is the oppression of the servants regarding that which occurrs between them. This oppression between the servants is not removed by repentance on its own, rather the right which has been taken or transgressed against must be returned to the person (in question). The Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

“Let the one who has wronged his brother return his right before the day when there is no dīnār nor dirham (to offer as ransom).” The rights of the people (that have been transgressed against) are to be returned or rectified first then repentance is to be made.

3) The oppression of a person upon himself, (such as stealing, drinking), this is under Allāh's will. He, the Exalted said:

"Allāh does not forgive that partners should be associated with Him (in worship) but he forgives what is less than that to whomsover He wills"^[3]

If a person met Allāh without repenting, he is under the will (of Allāh), if Allāh wills He will forgive him and if He wills He will punish him and if He punishes him He will not leave him in the Fire forever. Hence, the muwahhid (monotheist) who met Allāh upon Tawheed his final destination is Paradise.

He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "Whoever met Allāh not associating any partners with him in anything will enter Paradise and whoever met Allāh associating partners with him in anything, he will enter the Fire."

The second issue is related to amn (security) and hidāyah (guidance).

Amn (security) is the opposite of khawf (fear). Know O gathering of Muslim men and women (present here) that security is of two types:

—a) security that is complete and
—b) security that is deficient.

The complete security is for the one who meets Allāh free of shirk and free of sins [due to repentance] and these are people who are secured from entering the Fire because they combined two matters, Tawḥīd and freedom of sins and they met Allah with these two matters.

The incomplete (deficient) security, this is for the one who met Allāh with Tawḥīd but did not repent from the major sins, he fell into major sins in the world and died with out repentance so his security (from punishment) is deficient. How is this? It means that he will be secure from remaining in the Fire foreever, but not secure from entering it to begin with.

And know also that that hidāyah (guidance) is of two types (the complete guidance and the deficient guidance):

The complete guidance has as its fruit complete security, because this person was pleased with Allāh as his Lord and with Islām as his religion and with the Muḥammad as his Messenger, and venerated Allāh as he should be venerated and he met Him with Tawḥīd and was safe and secure from (committing) major sins.

As for the deficient guidance, its fruit is a deficient security. He was upon Tawḥīd but he did not abandon major sins. He fell into something of them and so such a one, in the life of this world, is a believer due to his faith and a sinner due to his major sin and in the Hereafter he will be subject to the will of Allāh and will receive a deficient security. He will be secure form abiding in the Fire forever but will not be secure from having to enter it.

We ask Allāh to bestow us with complete guidance and to make us firm with a firm saying in this life in the next and may the salāt and salām be upon the Messenger of Allāh, his family and all his companions.