Such divine remembrance has many beneficial consequences for those who engage in such special supplications: the heart becomes sensitive, and the sensory organs become receptive to true values of life. When the God-gifted 'free will' is channelled to focus on abiding by holy prescriptions; when divine commands become the guiding code of conduct, such a believer triumphs over satanic temptations; peace and tranquillity of heart permeates the person and his surroundings; angels descent to witness and appreciate his spiritual practices in pursuit of Divine countenance, and the believer may gain a rank even above that of angels along with the approval and pleasure of God, notes Hazrat Saheb (aba).
Read the Friday Sermon Below:
“O you who believe, do not be distracted by your money and your children from remembering Allah.” (Al-Munaafiqun, 63:10)
Those people as
describes in the above-mentioned verse are the losers! We understand in the
light of this verse that mundane possessions will end whereas the Remembrance
of Allah will both benefit people, in this world and in the Next. Allah is
warning those who have believed in Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him),
that they should be careful lest their riches and children would distract them
from the Remembrance of Allah. If they act in this way, without guarding their
faith from unbelief, and they indulge themselves more and more in their riches
and the pleasure of their children, then these would make their attention
deviate from the Remembrance of Allah. Thus, these mundane attractions will
lead them towards their own perdition, whereby they would lose their faith, and
be detached from the Remembrance of Allah.
Remembrance of Allah
makes the heart of a believer (who has faith in Allah) becomes sensitive and
humane. On the other hand, the person who says that he believes in Allah and
His Prophet (peace be upon him), but has his heart attached to his riches and
children more than Allah, whereby he gives preference to these things over
Allah, and he neglects the Remembrance of Allah, then this person’s heart
becomes dry and hard because of the intense heat of his passions and mundane
desires. The consequence is that all members of his body become hard and they
refuse to submit before Allah.
Allah said in the same
verse of the Qur'an: “Those who do this are the losers.” –Even
if force is exerted to make these members of the body comply with the will of
Allah, even then it would be in vain, as the following sentence of the verse
says. In other words, the body of that person has become so dry like wood
because of the lack of Remembrance of Allah, that it would just be fit to cut
this wood into pieces and burn them.
Fortunate are those who
have faith in Allah! They are those who take into consideration the warnings in
this verse and they have also the fear of Allah in their heart; they do not let
their riches and children make them neglect the Remembrance of Allah. On the
contrary, they spend of their riches to please Allah, and moreover, they engage
themselves in His Remembrance. They do not let their children also become an
obstacle between them and the Remembrance of Allah, and they do not want to
become losers in this world and in the Next world also.
It is a reality that
each person is busy with his own preoccupations, be it in his workplace, which
is also an obligation for him to do, so as to bring in food and other
necessities for him and his family. But, if people spare some time everyday for
the Remembrance of Allah, they will obtain great rewards for the every little
sacrifice which they do. Verily it is not difficult to spare one hour in the
twenty-four hours of our everyday life for the practice of this extraordinary
act of worship. If we reflect on our life, then we would realize how much time
has been wasted in things of no great importance.
What will it cost us if
we sacrifice some time for the practice of this most profitable act of worship?
In a 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.
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 Qur'an 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
noblenesse than good manners.”
In the first Hadith,
there is the word “Sakina” which has been mentioned – This means, tranquillity,
peace and a special grace bestowed by Allah. Also, the word “Sakina” refers to
the special state which includes tranquillity, divine favours, and grace which
descends along with the angels under the command of Allah upon the heart of the
servant of Allah. There is the mention (in other Hadiths) of the descent of
Angels for the specific tasks of visiting the places and assemblies where the
Remembrance of Allah is practiced. There is also the mention of angels coming
down to such groups engaging in the Remembrance of Allah, and when the
Remembrance of Allah is stopped, they go away, and when one of them find again
another group of people performing the Remembrance of Allah, he calls to the
other angels and tell them: “Come here! We have found that which we were
looking for (that is, places where people were remembering Allah)”.
Thus, they will
surround that place and fill every single space left between the earth and the
sky, like mentioned in other Hadiths.
I seize the opportunity
to elaborate on Angels. The latter have no inclination whatsoever towards the
practice of evils. They are ever constantly engaged in acts of worship,
submission and obedience to Allah. Unfortunately, on the other hand, man in his
very nature has an inclination towards goodness as well as evil.
When we analyze the
life of the human species, we will find that man in surrounded with all sorts
of attractions which makes him neglect and disobey the commands of Allah. At
the same time, desires and passions always circulate in him.
So, when man worships
Allah, submits to His will and remains away from sins despite all difficulties,
he deserves a greater honour and appreciation, even more than the angels.
When all these satanic
temptations surrounds man, but then he fights an inner battle with his
passions, in such an extraordinary way to ward off Satan, and then he remains
firm in his faith and performs all acts of worship including the Remembrance of
Allah, then definitely, he has superiority over the angels. This is because the
angels are not surrounded by satanic forces and are not influenced by them.
They remain always in the obedience of Allah, and they remember Allah wherever
they are, and they look for places where people practice the remembrance of Allah,
and they fill up every space that there is between the Heavens and the earth.
That is why man if he
is sincere in his faith, will obtain paradise as reward. Such a person is
always surrounded with difficulties and obstacles. When man then submits completely
to Allah and His commands, shows a complete obedience towards Allah, remain far
away from satanic temptations, and remain engaged in Remembrance of Allah (in
addition to the other acts of worship), then Allah makes him deserves such
recompenses; their degree of superiority over the angels are greater.
And that is why the
sincere believer deserves a greater honour and appreciation than that of
angels, whereby Allah Himself shows His pride for the accomplishments of such
people, who remain engage in His Remembrance and other acts of worship. To
understand this well, I will cite a Hadith, where Allah showed His pride for
the Remembrance of Allah that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace
be upon him) did.
The Holy Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked his companions to take an oath so that he
may be sure that it is nothing besides the Remembrance of Allah which his
companions did that made Allah pride with their actions. He got the
confirmation, whereby Allah was very happy with his companions when they
reunited only to Remember Allah. Allah was so happy that He accepted their acts
of worship, and their Remembrance of Him, and they received the good news from
Allah (through the Prophet of Allah) that their Remembrance of Allah has become
a means of “pride for Allah the Almighty”.
Here, by the word
“pride”, means that Allah the Almighty addresses His angels in this way: “Look
at these people! Despite their ego, despite the fact that Satan is constantly
tempting them, despite their passions, despite the necessities of life is
always behind them, despite all that, they remain engage in My glorification.
All these obstacles do not hinder them from remembering Me. On the other hand,
you, the angels, My remembrance and worship do not become a hindrance for you,
compared to man, because man is surrounded by all sorts of satanic temptations
(whereas you are not!)”.
I end this part of the sermon of Remembrance of Allah here today. May Allah give us the strength and ability to remain absorbed in His worship and especially all the more His Remembrance. Ameen.