Holy Qur'an at Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School, one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in the world, has recently posted a verse of the Holy Qur’an at the entrance of its Faculty Library, describing the verse as one of the greatest expressions of justice in history. Verse 135 of Surah Al Nisa (The Women) has been posted at a wall facing the faculty’s main entrance, dedicated to the best phrases articulating justice: 

“O you who believe!

Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses 

To Allah, even as against 

Yourselves or your parents, 

Or your kin, and whether

It be (against) rich or poor; 

For Allah can best protect both". 

Established in 1817, Harvard is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. Among its alumni is US President Barack Hussein Obama and a host of influential journalists, writers, media and business leaders and even professional athletes. According to its official website, The Words of Justice exhibition is a testimony of the endurance of humanity’s yearning for fairness and dignity through law. “The words on these walls affirm the power and irrepressibility of the idea of justice.”

We reproduce below an insightful explanation of this particular verse provided by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius as part of his forthcoming Commentary on the Holy Qur’an:

‘Humanity at the Brink of Disaster!’

Through recurring revelations of unmistakable intensity and clarity, Allah the Almighty has charged Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius with a heavy responsibility as a Warner sent unto mankind: to alert and warn the world about the impending Disasters. Thus, in his Friday Sermon of  01 March 2013 (17 Rabi’ul Aakhir ; 1434 Hijri ) Hadhrat Sahib has had to convey to the world the spine-chilling news about the Disasters waiting to unfold in a striking way all over the world. The world appears to be condemned to witness the consequences of its evil ways : for the chronicle of earth-shattering events foretold include wars, calamities, ethnic conflicts, communal violence/racial riots, the destruction of despots and the desecration of cities.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:  

Allah (swt) chose me as His Khalifatullah in this era and my Creator has informed me through revelation several times since Friday, 08 February 2013 and continually so, till now that a third world calamity is to come. Despite the fact that these days all these calamities are hitting the world, yet people do not learn from these happenings, and these do them nothing that these calamities come from the Creator of the universe. They continue to persist in their sin and continue in the practice of Shirk on several levels. They have all forgotten the divine teaching; they trampled the teachings of God and give man’s words the greatest value. The majority of people in the world have turned their backs to the divine messages and rejected the Messenger of God in this present age.

Pakistan and the cult of Militancy

[According to the Holy Qur’an, peace, amity and brotherhood among the people are among the blessings of Allah, Correspondingly, the Divine wrath and punishments take different forms, including civil strife and “violence of one another”. In the last decade, Pakistan’s descent into chaos has been observed with deep anguish and profound sadness by the Messenger of Allah of our times, Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius. Time and again, he has warned the Muslim country and its religious and political leadership against the egregious violations of freedom of conscience, of basic human rights and the norms of Islamic propriety and decency in the country. Recent events from there confirm that country is in the grips of Divine wrath: the deer prophecies and warnings made by the Divine Messenger have been proved to be presciently true and correct.    

For the benefit of our readers, we reproduce below an essay on the cult of militancy in Pakistan from one of the leading writers from contemporary Pakistan, the Award-winning novelist Mohsin Hamid who is the author of the novels 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' and the forthcoming 'How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia'. The essay was originally written for, and published in, the New York Times. India’s leading newspaper, The Hindu also carried it on February 24, 2013].

At the heart of Pakistan’s troubles is the celebration of the militant

On Monday, my mother’s and sister’s eye doctor was assassinated. He was a Shia. He was shot six times while driving to drop his son off at school. His son, age 12, was executed with a single shot to the head.

Tuesday, I attended a protest in front of the Governor’s House in Lahore demanding that more be done to protect Pakistan’s Shias from sectarian extremists. These extremists are responsible for increasingly frequent attacks, including bombings this year that killed more than 200 people, most of them Hazara Shias, in the city of Quetta.

As I stood in the anguished crowd in Lahore, similar protests were being held throughout Pakistan. Roads were shut. Demonstrators blocked access to airports. My father was trapped in one for the evening, yet he said most of his fellow travellers bore the delay without anger. They sympathised with the protesters’ objectives.

Abolition of Slavery: Islamic Ethics

In the dark chapters of human history, social relations were characterized by exploitation, oppression, subjugation, domination and hegemony. Perhaps slavery represents the worst example of this social order. On the other hand, Islam seeks to create an egalitarian social order where traditional practices that unjustly discriminate against fellow beings will be contained and eventually abolished. Islamic teachings are, thus, designed to reduce and abolish the class differences and the institutional vestiges of inequality in society. Islam imagines a social space where diversities lead to creative ensemble and the flowering of the human spirit and not to oppression and injustice and the unjust enrichment for a few over the many. [Inset: Watercolor by unidentified artist, depicting plantation slaves dancing and playing musical instruments; banjo player and a percussion player (possibily playing a gourd) at right.  Image courtesy of The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record  ]

In his Friday Sermon of 01 February 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius explained the Islamic attitude towards the ancient problem of slavery. Drawing upon the express verses of the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Messenger of Allah of our times demonstrates the spirit of human equality and empathy for the victims of slavery apparent in the teachings of Islam. In a world characterized by neo-slavery mind-set of modern men who consider women as chattels and sexual trafficking of women and girl children are everyday occurrences, the Islamic teachings are a reminder to the oft-blaming conscience of man.  

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

The year 2013 marks the 178^th year since the abolition of slavery in Mauritius. Thus, every 1^st February is a public holiday in Mauritius. A section of the Mauritian population is made of African originated slaves, thus the appellation of these types of people, Creoles. But as a generality, every Mauritian is known as Creole despite his or her religious or cultural background and beliefs, and our mother tongue is Creole.

Prophet Muhammad (sa) and His Marriages

Both anti-Islam elements and mindlessly ignorant critics have long called attention to the multiple marriages of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa), in an effort to tarnish the sublime spiritual life of the father of Muslims and to decry that Islam has no space for women’s dignity and rights. Nothing can be further from the truth. For history and traditions of the Muslims testify that the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) elevated the status of women in society through his precepts and practices. If one cares to examine the historical record in its entirety and the material circumstances of the events of the Prophet’s marriages and the times in which such marriages happened, one could come to an intelligent conclusion-that Islam and the Holy Prophet (sa) upheld the dignity and rights and status of women in society. 

In his Friday Sermon of 25 January 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius continued his exposition on some important aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa), a theme he began in the previous week. The Sermon especially provides profound insights on the attitude of the Holy Prophet (sa) towards women and the circumstances of his many marriages. In a fractured and divided tribal society, where women’s lives were considered cheap and disposable, the Prophet’s marriages brought dignity to vulnerable, widowed women and protection to their young children, mend the faultiness of tribal discord, raised the status of slave women, provided unique opportunities for the training of the Ummah on religious values and norms, points out the Messenger of Allah of our times.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Islam has over the centuries been both commended and criticised concerning the rights of women in society. The modern westerners flaunt the so-called liberty of their women folk before the world, and in their ignorance falsely allege that Islam reserves an inferior place to woman and that she is more of a slave than a person of equal status to man. Whilst the world before Islam casted women as a lowly thing, with the advent of Islam the woman regain her true identity as excellent servant of God, and man’s great treasure, help and equal. 

Remembering the Holy Prophet (sa)

In his Friday Sermon of 18 January 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius (atba) gave a discourse on the early life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) whose endearing personality was “the epitome of purity, morality, spirituality and human perfection.” The Sermon presents a graphic portrait of the early years of the man whom Allah the Most High had destined to raise to a lofty spiritual station in this very life. Reflecting on the very many trials and tribulations faced by the young Muhammad, who went on to become the Holy Prophet of Islam, the Khalifatullah (atba) observes: “It was the will of God that the Prophet to-be should undergo all sorts of sufferings, pains and privations incidental to human life in order that he might learn to bear them with becoming fortitude and raise his stature in human perfection.”

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:  

Born on the soil of Arabia on a Monday 12 Rabi’ul Awwal (in the year of the Elephant), the Seal of all prophets, Muhammad (pbuh) came as Warner and Preacher of the Unity of God, not only to the People of the land upon which he was born, but he came also as the Universal Prophet, that is, for all nations of the world, a blessing indeed for the world. He was commissioned to Prophethood on a Monday also, and very often he used to fast on this day in remembrance of the immense favour which Allah made upon him when He chose him as the best of mankind.

Attributes of a Divine Seeker

How does one traverse the narrow path of spiritual proximity in a mundane world? How does one attain nearness to Allah, the Most High? What are the qualities that transformed common human beings into Divine Messengers and raised them to the elevated status of friends of Allah?

The precepts of faith are to be practiced in an everyday life, beset with troubling choices and complex questions. In the solitude of man, he is often troubled by perceptions of his own capability and material circumstances in shaping the outcomes. Islam theorises that without the command and permission of Allah the Most High, not even a leaf moves where it does. Thus, Islam offers the empowering idea of Divine Help and succour to the believer who offers fervent prayers to Allah, the Most High and does her best. Yet, a linear understanding of this idea, which does not take account of the Divine Will, would be a mistake. In his Friday Sermon of 11 January 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius (atba) provides illuminating insights onto the difficult and complex questions of Divine proximity.

In the service of religion and humanity, a Divine seeker has purity of heart, sincerity of intention, and selflessness in practical action. Regardless of mundane circumstances, they move ahead with their noble responsibilities, with only faith as their armour. They have the courage to walk alone amidst the storms of life and the grace to grow over individual sufferings and afflictions. They have the capability to stare down the prejudices of the self and display unpretentious humility and lack of arrogance defines them in personal life. These are amongst the qualities of real Divine seekers who attains spiritual proximity and becomes the friends of Allah, says the Khalifatullah (atba). Those who adopt these attributes come under the shadow of Divine Help and communion in the varied circumstances of this present life itself, points out the Messenger of Allah of our times.  

Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.” (7: 24)