Elects of God appear to call people to the Right Path- providing them with true and clear guidance to discriminate between good and the bad; reforming their communities through Divinely-gifted teachings; laying solid foundations for great nations by unifying hearts in Divine worship and urging adherence to the higher values of life. It is those sublime teachings established by the Prophets through their noble personal examples that constitute the Rope of Allah for their nations to cherish and act upon in all their lives. Hence, Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) left behind a treasure-trove of eminently-sensible, behavioural principles and practical guidance in the form of the Holy Qur’an and the sacred traditions of Holy Practices for the Muslims to hold on for all times. If only people follow the teachings of God in the way in which they are expected to be followed: it would benefit the believers in their individual and social lives, and would also profit them in the world to come, Insha Allah.
When Prophets leave this world, their spiritual successors are elected by the assembly of the Pious to carry on and establish the heavy tasks of Faith in all its divine sanctity and purity. And then comes a time in the life of the community- especially when error and deviance impact people’s lives in profoundly negative ways- when Allah (swt) in His infinite wisdom raises His Elect in the community to repeat the cycle of spiritual renewal once again. Islamic history bear witness to this grand Divine principle and established practice. After the death of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Muslim Ummah witnessed the presence of righteous Caliphs in the early days, and also, in later centuries, the advent of a series of Mujaddidin who appeared to guide and rejuvenate Islam at times of difficult fortunes for the Ummah. In our own times, to renew the original teachings of the Prophet (sa), Allah (swt) has raised a Muhyiuddin, a Khalifatullah, a Mujaddid, a Mahdi, a Dhul Qarnayn in our midst. Indeed, with all the aforesaid spiritual titles and more, the Divine Manifestation in the person of Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) of Mauritius is here to revive and restore sublime Faith in the Prophetic Path as an enduring, living, thriving Highway to God. It is by recognizing and following such pure servants of God that believers can cling to the Rope of Allah in this era, and access felicity and progress in both the worlds.
Islam's Message of Unity for Progress
A believer has the primary duty of rejecting all false deities- both internally and externally. For, purification of the self or personal reform is critical for making progress in the Divine Path. Indeed, evil in all its manifestations need to be challenged and chained- both in our inner life, and also in our surroundings. To secure our footsteps in a complex, deeply-challenging and hostile world of Satan and his armies everywhere; Islam counsels us -the Muslims- to forge unity in brotherhood and find strength in the collective will to make progress by clinging to the Rope of Allah at all times.
Whereas unity and brotherhood provides the will to confront difficult tasks and prosper as a community from strength to strength by taking one step at a time, factionalism and grouping will be an open invitation for decline and fall- an act of destroying the same tree on which one is sitting. In religious communities, when factionalism emerges, Satan and his armies can easily do their deviant works to destroy the cause of Deen.
In his own lifetime, The Holy Prophet (sa) warned the Ummah of a time when there will be great factionalism among the Muslims-urging them to remain united, avoiding all jealousy and hatred: ‘There has come to you the disease of the nations before you, jealousy and hatred. This is the 'shaver' (destroyer); I do not say that it shaves hair, but that it shaves (destroys) Faith’. [Tirmidhi, 2434]
Countless traditions point in multiple ways to the need for unity within the Ummah. For Progress, remain as a Jamaat of Allah under an Imam- especially under Divinely-raised and guided souls. For such a Divine Elect speaks with the help of Roohul Quddus and renew the days of the Prophet (sa) among the Ummah. Indeed, it is the Divine Commandments, prescriptions and prohibitions found in the Holy Qur’an along with the noble example of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Sunnah as it emerges from a study of the Ahadith, and also the living example of a Khalifatullah that together constitute the Rope of Allah in our times. That is why the Holy Prophet (sa) made it explicitly clear for all Muslims: ‘He who dies without following the Imam meets the death of Jahiliyat.’----Page 96, vol. 4 Musnad Ahmad.
“My Ummah will divide into 73 sects, all of them will be in the Fire except for one, and that is Al-Jamā’at.” [Tirmidhī, no. 2641].
'The heart of a true believer doesn't deceive in three things: 1) Performing righteous deeds for the pleasure of Allah alone, 2) Obeying the Amir, 3) And sticking to Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen...’ [Mustadrak Hakim, 1/87, Sanad: Sahih]
Qur'an on Unity and Progress
The Holy Qur’an alludes to the life and times of nations and communities that had gone before, pointing to the lessons and principles that the lived- experiences of those peoples can teach us as we also journey through the sands of time in this world. Imam-
Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) has
made a profound commentary on the Qur’anic concept of the ‘Rope of Allah’ as it emerges in Surah Al-'Imran. Read
the Text of the exposition given by Hazrat Saheb (aba) below:
And hold fast, all together, to the
rope of Allah and be not disunited; and remember the favour of Allah upon you
when you were enemies and He united your hearts so that by His bounty you
became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire and He saved you
from it; thus does Allah make clear His communications that you may be (rightly)
guided.
A peculiarity of the people of the Book is that they were never really
united. There was much dissension among them. The present verse is an appeal to
the Muslims that they must never follow the ways of the past people who found
ease in being divided. Division is the first step to hatred and enmity. United,
a people is whole and alive, while divided it is dead! The Muslims were to keep
being united under the banner of their faith, that is, the unity of God, and
belief in His Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) among others.
Unfortunately, with the passing of time, and like prophesised by the Noble
Prophet of Islam himself, the Muslims let Satan paved a way among them, causing
division which caused them to be enemies of one another, each one sect taking
pride in its self-proclaimed authenticity.
Instead of remembering the favour of Allah upon them, and instead of
being united for the sake of Islam, the Muslims have let go of the rope of
Allah for their own vain temporal purposes. “The
rope of Allah” as mentioned in this verse is actually the commandments of
Allah, the communications He sent through His messengers. The Quran is a vivid
example of rope of Allah, and so are the messengers and reformers whom Allah
sends from time to time for the reform of Islam and humanity as a whole. Thus,
united the believers are to make progress, especially under the leadership of
the Chosen messenger of Allah and disunited and rebelled, they are to incur not
only the loss of their own lives, but also the loss of their God-gifted faith
(that is, belief in and submission to Allah).
The favours of Allah are everywhere. Whenever Allah sends His messenger,
like in the case when He sent the Holy Prophet of Islam, he is liable to be
confronted by enemies, eager to see the end of him. But later on, it is some of
the early enemies of the prophet who become his followers after having
witnessed the veracity of his sayings and divine manifestations upon him.
Therefore in this way, enemies become brethren and this indeed is one of the
greatest favours of God, when He enables the enemies of true faith to come into
the midst of faith and revel in it. They thus cast aside unbelief to embrace
true faith in Allah and His Prophet. When such occurrence happens, faith blossoms,
repentance accepted (by Allah) and past sins forgiven. Beautiful examples of
such a happening are the conversion of Hamza and Umar ibn Al-Khataab in the
times of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Now, no man in human power can give faith to others. Only Allah can
provide his servant with faith, and keep him firmly rooted on the right path.
Indeed when Allah rescues an unbeliever and gives him faith, it is tantamount
as to save him from Hell-fire. Paths opposed to the straight path are paths
leading to pits of fire, and if people do not pay attention, they can stumble
into these pits. Likewise, whenever a prophet of Allah or Divine reformer comes
for the revival of the teachings of God, therefore, those who oppose him are
definitely equal to them leading themselves on their own accord into the fire
of Hell. As for those who repent and reform themselves and accept with a true
heart the blessings of the manifestations of God in their era, they are made to
be saved from doom and embrace the felicity of Allah’s mercy and bore the
fruits of the prayers of the Man of God.
And do not become like those who became
divided and differed (with one another) after clear proofs had come to them,
and for them there shall be a grievous chastisement.
The Muslims have the examples of the past people to direct them towards
what is best for them. And the best is invariably the strict implementation of
the commandments of God, and following His messenger. They are to act in
conformance with the divine instructions, so that unity may be implemented and
maintained throughout their existence on earth. Whenever a Man of God comes to them,
reciting to them Allah’s signs and communications, the Muslims are to follow
the guide of Allah and obey him so that they may prosper and their faith
strengthened. Islam as the final religion does not mean that it will be devoid
of guides, reformers and messengers of Allah. On the contrary, to promote the
truthfulness of Islam and unity among the Muslims and humanity as a whole, Men
of God shall appear from time to time to consolidate faith in Allah and His
Noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Every time clear proofs come to the Muslims, they are to welcome them, thus not repeating the mistakes of the past people who let go of the thread of unity and became divided and estranged on the commandments of Allah. But alas, even though Allah warned them to keep firm to unity and His commands, yet the Muslims disobeyed like the past people, forgetting the warning of Allah, except a party of them who remained firm. This occurrence is on-going, for Satan drives away the majority of people to disbelieve in the signs of Allah once they become manifest. Therefore, those who purposefully turn their backs to the clear signs of Allah after they have gotten the divine message and after a messenger of Allah came to them to confirm the veracity of Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), they shall incur the wrath of Allah and be casted in the fire of Hell. Hell will be torment for them both in this world and the hereafter.
----[Extracted from Al Azim Tafsirul Qur'an: English Commentary of the Holy Qur'an, Volume I, pp. 158-163]. To buy the Book Online, Click Here.]