A Historical Example

royal colony in the name of Az-Zahra and built grand palaces in it. During their construction, the Sultan was so preoccupied that for three Fridays in succession he was not able to reach the mosque for the Friday prayer. On the fourth Friday, when the Sultan reached the Jama Masjid, Qazi Munzir (d. 966) preached the sermon in his presence and, without naming him, he strongly criticized the King. Qazi Munzir recited those verses of the Quran in which there were warnings about worldly constructions and about being oblivious of the Hereafter. For example, “Do you build monuments on every high place in vanity, and erect castles hoping that you will live forever? When you lay hands upon anyone, you do so as tyrants. So fear God, and obey me.” (26:128-131) “Who is better, he who founds his building on the fear of God and His good pleasure, or he who builds on the brink of a crumbling precipice, so that his house is ready to fall with him in to the Fire of Hell? God does not guide the wrongdoers: the buildings which they have built will never cease to be a source of deep disquiet in their hearts, until their hearts are cut to pieces. God is All- knowing and Wise.” (9:109-110) Moreover, Qazi Munzir recited a number of traditions to the same effect and explained them. In his sermon, although he did not name the King, everyone who was saying his prayers in the mosque knew who was targeted by such strong criticism. Everyone finds it difficult to take criticism but when criticism is voiced in a public gathering, it becomes intolerable. Furthermore, this criticism was done by an