The above verses stipulates
that there are such houses in which there reside true servants of Allah who day
and night they glory Allah and they have made their house become a Masjid (Mosque),
a pure sanctuary for the remembrance of Allah. They are so close to Allah and
have recognised the eternal essence and truthfulness of Allah that they are
ever ready to offer their submission to Allah in every way. They are those
people who do not let their houses become cemeteries! They do not let Satan
enter their houses. They do their best to inculcate in themselves the right
examples for people, and they first start with their house, with their family
members, educating them, giving them the right lessons to submit to One
God (Allah Tabarak Wa Ta’ala) and follow the path of His
prophets and if it happens that they are living in an era of a prophet of
Allah, they encourage their children to “Obey Allah and Obey His
prophet”. They are ever conscious of their duties to Allah, and they opt to
correct their way of living to fit the commandments of Allah (found in the Holy
Qur'an).
These believers are such ones whom Allah loves for they sacrifice their time in His worship, attaching themselves to Him and making every possible effort to please Allah. Nothing of the attractions of this world distracts these believers from the remembrance of Allah. They have made their houses, their homes become a haven of peace, a haven where only the words of Allah are recited. Such houses are blessed by Allah, for in such houses where the name of Allah is glorified, thousands of angels descend to bless the occupants of the house for their devotion to Allah.
These words of mine are
backed by the following Hadith:
It has been reported
and confirmed by both Abu Huraira and Abu Saïd, that the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) has said: “Angels surround that assembly where people are
remembering Allah; the Grace of Allah surrounds them, tranquillity descends
upon them and Allah proudly mentions them to those creatures which is around
Him; that is in the assembly of the Angels.”
Hazrat Abu Huraira (May
Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he
makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of
him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of
him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length,
I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to
him at speed.” (Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
Now imagine, if the
sincere believer makes his house become a real place of worship, where day and
night he does good deeds and attaches himself to remembering Allah (doing Zikr-e-Ilaahi),
worshiping Him in the five daily prayers and also performing the Tahajjud prayers
and reading the Holy Qur'an! Such a believer will be greatly rewarded by Allah,
not only in this world but also in the next world!
Abu Zar (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah has said: “I advise you
to inculcate in you the fear of Allah, because it is the very root of all good
actions; remain engage in the recitation of the Quran and in the Remembrance of
Allah. Through this means, your name will be mentioned in the sky, and it will
become a light for you in this world itself. Remain most of the time quiet so
that you may be able to say only good words, and this will make Satan remain
far away from you, and it will enable you to accomplish your religious duties.
Do not laugh a lot because this weakens the heart and remove light from the
face. Always participate in Jihad for this is a sign of piety for my Ummah.
Love the poor and remain in their company. Always look at the lower class people,
and do not look at those who are above you, for (if so) you will then not be
grateful towards Him (Allah). Always establish good relations with your close
ones, even if they try to break it. Do not hesitate to speak the truth even if
it is bitter for the people. Do not be afraid if others criticize you when you
are obeying Allah. Always look for your own faults and never look for the
faults of others. Do not criticize others for the faults which are found in
you. O Abu Zar, there is no greater wisdom than clairvoyance, there is no
greater piety than to remain away from the forbidden, and there is no greater
noblesse than good manners.”
The Remembrance of
Allah is a means to keep the soul and heart spiritually clean, and through this
means, you will remain ever close to Allah and be under His protection, be it
physically or spiritually.
Allah the Almighty furthermore says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 31 (Luqman) Verse 34: “Therefore, let not worldly life beguile you, nor let the Deceiver deceive you concerning Allah.”
Thus, this means that
do not let Satan deceive you, and do not let him incite you to commit sins
whereby the wrath of Allah can befall you. Why? Because Satan is the greatest
enemy of man! The real believers do not miss an opportunity to repel Satan by
not indulging in shameful acts which are the ways and means of Satan to deviate
man from the right path.
Now another explanation
of this verse also; when true and sincere believers transform their houses and
make them become real Masjids (Mosques) to enable other people to come and
perform prayers in congregation, performing sessions of works for the
propagation of Deen-e-Islam. Such houses are blessed above all common
households for they are true Masjids where the believers regularly meet to
extol (praise) their Lord and submit to His command.
There is a Hadith which
is found in Ibn Majah where Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said: “Building
of Mosques is only for the remembrance of Allah (Zikr’ullah) and for prayers
(Salaat).”
Another Hadith narrated
by Hazrat Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet of Allah
(peace be upon him) has said:
“The
one who builds a Masjid for Allah, to seek His grace, Allah will build a house
for him in paradise.” (Sahih Bukhari &
Muslim)
Ibn Abbas (May Allah be
pleased with him) narrated that the Holy Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)
has said:
“The
one who builds a Mosque for Allah, even if it be small like the nest of a bird,
Allah will build a house for him in paradise.” (Ahmad,
ibn Hibban, al-Bazzar -Sahih)
Through
these Hadiths which I mentioned, we get to know the value of the existence of
Mosque for the remembrance of Allah, and thus, the foremost place we have to
build a Mosque in is our own heart! By making our heart become a Mosque, we
invite the presence of Allah with us always, and keep Satan forever at a
distance.
If
Allah has put emphasis so much in the blessings in building Mosques, now
imagine how blessed also are such houses whom sincere believers of Allah devote
in Allah’s path. In the eras of prophets of
God, their followers are casted aside by the majority of their people. Such was
the case of past prophets, and even was so in the times of Hazrat Muhammad
(peace be upon him) when the Quraish made him leave Mecca and forbid him access
to the Ka’aba! But yet, Allah did not abandon His prophet, and has even
revealed in the Holy Qur'an that everywhere on the earth is a Mosque (Hadith:
except for toilets and cemeteries!).
Thus, the verse: “In
houses which Allah has allowed to be raised up, and His name to be remembered
therein, in the morning and evening” means that in every way and with good
intentions, if houses of believers are kept as Mosques for the service of
Deen-e-Islam, therefore such houses will be greatly blessed and those who take
the initiative to transform their houses into paradise for the worship of
Allah, it is those houses which Allah shall protect against the invasion of
Satan and his armies.
In the times of
prophets of Allah, followers of the prophet of Allah are compelled to set up
their own individual houses for the worship of Allah because they do not have a
proper Mosque (Masjid) on their own (as a Jamaat) to go and do collective
prayer. Likewise in this present era, my followers also will encounter such
problems, but blessed is the person who first comes forward to propose taking
his house as meeting place for prayers and Deen (religious matters such as
Jummah, programs etc. for the education of the members and to hold their
meeting for the propagation of Deen-e-Islam).
O People, O Muslims, O
my brothers, sisters and children, nothing comes free in this world if you are
a true believer. You will have to pay in terms of your time, honour, property,
spouses and children for therein if there is any lost, if you are true to your
faith, Allah shall compensate all the lost with eternal blessings and love. It
is to be noted that none of these are actually yours or mine. My life, honour,
property, and everything else is from Allah and for Allah. The disciples of a
Messenger of Allah are bound to go through the hardest of trials so that they
may not get attached to the temporal pleasures but instead concentrate on their
love for their Lord.
Abu Yahya Suhaib bin
Sinan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace
be upon him) said, “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for
him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity comes to
him he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity
befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is good for him” (Muslim).
Enduring trials for the
sake of Allah by expressing gratitude is a million times better than receiving
trials and blaming Allah for these. The ones who do this are no real believers
because they do not have the insight of the wise. The truly intelligent are
those who recognise the greatness of Allah even in times of adversity and who
submit to the will of Allah….
Peace be upon those who
follow the guidance from Allah, who remain connected to Allah night and day in
prayer and whenever they face trials of all sorts, they remain ever firm in
their stand, especially if they have as their Leader the Messenger of Allah to
lead them towards what is best for them: The love of Allah (Most High), be it
in this world and the Hereafter. I do not say that I am the last Khalifatullah,
Muhyi-ud-Din and Mujaddid. Far from this, I say that others will come after me,
who shall be light bearers of truth from Allah, who shall preach to the world
(of their era) the message of Islam and re-establish the glory of Islam when
the teachings of Islam will be trampled under the feet of so-called Mullahs and
mundane elected caliphs who are deprived of guidance of Allah like we are
witnessing in this era.
The garden of ISLAM
shall flourish O people, and you personally or your children or your children’s
children shall see the attainment of this divine promise for “La-Ghaliba
Illallah” (No Victor but Allah)! Insha-Allah, Ameen.
----Extracts from Friday Sermon of 03 December 2010 delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.