Kerala Jalsa 2019: A Report

JAMAAT UL SAHIH AL ISLAM-Kerala (South) organized its Ninth Jalsa Salana at the historic Noorul Islam Masjid, Mathra, 22-23 December 2019. Alhamdulillah, in addition to the members in Mathra; brothers from Alappuzha and Karunagappally, also could reach the Mosque venue ahead of the commencement of the two-day programme. As a community of people with shared interests and concerns, common goals under the banner of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam and the Imamat of the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius, the members of the Jamaat listened to speeches and engaged with one another in extended conversations, discussing the finer points of being a believer in Tawheed in these times. 

The brothers and sisters who participated in it viewed the get-together as an opportunity for soul-searching and critical self-reflection on our collective faith in the Islamic Way and all that it entails in our private lives and public conduct. They recognize that these are challenging times, a time when the world around is dangerously indulgent in a destructive trajectory of life, whereas the ethical and spiritual outlook is beckoning to a radically-moderate transformation in our whole outlook on all spheres of life. All of us also agree that even when the society around is largely indifferent, and in certain cases, actively hostile to all that we stand for; it is our duty as the party of believers to stand up with spiritual courage and sublime patience, perseverance and steadfastness on our truths, against all odds and at all costs. 

'Be Helpers in the Cause of God'

Become the Helpers of Allah!

“O you who believe! Become helpers of Allah: As said Jesus, son of Mary, to the Disciples, ‘Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?’ The disciples answered, ‘We are Allah’s helpers!’ then a portion of the Children of Israel believed, and a portion disbelieved: But We gave power to those who believed, against their enemies, and they became the ones that prevailed.” (As-Saff, 61: 15)

In the history of nations, on occasion they are obliged to take certain basic decisions. This had equal application to worldly as well as divine communities. When confronted with such situation, using a well-known phrase, they have to decide: “to be or not to be?” This is the question. Today the question is whether you will advance or you will perish.

In the religious world, since the origin of faith is divine, this option is not applicable. It is already decreed that the divine communities will advance. There is never a question of retreat. For the achievement of the goal set for them, they are always prepared to sacrifice all. Such an occasion has now arisen in the history of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. The verse that I have just recited is most appropriate for our times also.

Even if Jesus (as), the Messiah and the Prophet of Allah is dead, but his image has come yet again in this era through the will of Allah to give you all a new lease of life. Had the Christians and Muslims understood the real scope of this truth, they would have stopped waiting for the physical descent of Jesus, son of Mary, Prophet of Allah to the Israelites.

Now, a new era has dawned. This era is that of Islam and perpetually so, till the end of times. Even though the origin of all religions or faiths is divine, but through the course of all these centuries, people have lost their original essence, i.e. the unity of God. Thus, with time, association with God became widespread in religions which were basically monotheists and true. Their teachings were falsified to quench the thirst for power of the modern divines [i.e. the high priests, pundits, etc.]

But now, with the rise of a Man of God who has come in the mantle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to revive the true teachings of all previous faiths, the time is crucial, and help is needed to break all false doctrines which have crept in the pure faith.

The Holy Quran instructs those who believe to enlist themselves as: Helpers in the cause of Allah, in the same manner as Jesus (as), the son of Mary who asked his disciples: ‘Who amongst you will help me for the sake of Allah?’ So Allah enabled a party of the Children of Israel to believe while another party disbelieved.

Furthermore, Allah says: “We gave power to those who believed, against their enemies, and they became the ones that prevailed.”

The Larger Meaning of 'Kalima'

On the occasion of the 9th Jalsa Salana of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in Kerala (India) at the historic Noor'ul Islam Masjid, Mathra (South Kerala) on 22-23 December 2019, Imam-e-Jamaat Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius addressed the gathering of spiritual seekers, elucidating on the purpose of faith. True faith in, and worship of, the Lord Almighty, the Unique creator and sustainer of the universe, requires more than mere verbal declarations. When the heart truly recognizes the Majesty and All-encompassing Power of the Lord over all affairs, it becomes capable of ignoring all selfish desires  and worldly diversions. Such a heart  inspires righteous action, carrying out tasks in service of our common humanity. Hence, true belief in 'Tawheed' is a great blessing: it removes inner vices and transforms our negative emotions, sorrows and worries; thereby creating a veritable state of paradise on earth for the believer, notes Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba) in the special message. 

Read the Text of the Sermon Below:        

'My dearest disciples,

Assalamoualaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuhu.

It gives me great pleasure to know that the Kerala Jamaat is holding its Jalsa Salana on the 22^nd & 23^rd December 2019. Masha-Allah. May Allah (swt) bless your efforts and reward you immensely in this life and the hereafter for all your sacrifices and works for the cause of Allah. I pray to Allah (swt) that this Jalsa Salana may prove to be a step forward towards realizing the aims and objects for which the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam has been founded. Like I keep saying, the banner of Islam has to be raised high; higher than all other banners, and the message of the Holy Quran has to be conveyed to every human being, of every colour, race and culture, etc. We are witnessing a dark era wherein there is a sense of frustration all round. Despite all worldly comforts there is unrest and uneasiness in every heart. This is because people have abandoned the worship of the One True God.

Alhamdulillah, in this darkened era, Allah has manifested His light of guidance through the advent of His Chosen One, i.e. this humble self, the Khalifatullah (Caliph of Allah). I have often made it clear that you should not be happy just with the fact that you are called Muslims and that you believe in the Shahada – Laa Ilaaha Illallah, i.e. There is no god but Allah. Those who read the Holy Quran know well that God Almighty is not pleased with mere verbal statements nor does mere talk develop any inner goodness in a person. Unless the nature of one’s deeds and actions undergoes correction, nothing can be achieved. 

Good Manners: Prophetic Insights

Ghibbat… Some Hadiths: Part- IV

By the grace of Allah, I continue the subject of my Friday sermon on “Ghibbat” - backbiting, thinking badly of a person, being jealous of him, and seeking to harm him only for the purpose of having the satisfaction of seeing others spit on him and dishonour him.

This is a subject that must be developed again and again for the education of all people in general and especially for our members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. If you analyze this subject in depth, you will also find that in our society that we are living today, there are problems between brothers where you see a brother humiliating his own brother, whereby he takes him as an inferior person. If someone knows his own person well, then he would never consider others to be inferior. Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) explained this in this way, that you need to implant in your thoughts the idea that you are worse than others, and thus you will see how, Insha-Allah this remedy will actually work.

On top of that, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said that a person should not consider someone else as inferior, because when you analyze your own being, you will find that it is you who are inferior, and if you have some honour it is just because Allah is doing Pardah Poshi with you. If you have any status, any rank, any knowledge, any intelligence, or you have money, beauty, lots of children etc., then, it’s just by the grace and blessing of Allah.

When someone understands this well, then when he sees someone who is inferior to him, he will be ashamed and shall not consider him as a lowly person, and this is a reality whereby when you sees the other person, and you think that despite his difficult situation he is more advanced than you in the field of sacrifice, sincerity and striving to spread the Deen-e-Islam, etc. So, you are ashamed, and you seek divine forgiveness and you never again dare to consider him as an inferior being [of low status].

'Kitab-ul-Adab': On Envy and Enmity

Ghibbat- Part IX

Last week I told you about my own experience, and I also gave you the example of those who are sincere in their joy and desire to do similar work as that of their brother and this is not jealousy. And I have also explained to you about those who are jealous by citing a Hadith of Nabi Kareem (pbuh) which is found in the compilations of Hadiths of Muslim and Bukhari, in chapter Kitab-ul-Adab and reported by Hazrat Abu Huraira (ra).

So if a person has [If you have] this contentment [pleasure for others’ success & joy] in him [in you], then while thanking Allah (swt) you should benefit from this joy, and the advantage that is mentioned here is that you have to compete with others in good deeds, in good works. And it is as a result of this desire which has been created that it has been said that if you find some good in someone, then try to surpass him in this good action. This is not forbidden, but jealousy means that you seek to change one’s beauties into evil, into bad deeds. It is nowhere mentioned that human nature is bad. No! Because it is the creation of Allah. If man (human) uses his nature correctly according to the situations that arise, this is what we call high and excellent qualities, admirable qualities, and good actions.

So, there is the desire to exceed a person, but it should be done only in the accomplishment of good deeds [Fastabikul Khairaat], but you should not do this by changing his good qualities into bad qualities [by portraying his good deeds as bad deeds], or you seek such defects in him that he does not even have, or you seek his weaknesses [such weaknesses that he indeed has] and you spread this news everywhere. So when you do all this, you do it because of jealousy and the Quran does not give you permission to do this at all.

Then it has been said not to develop enmity, and like I just openly said that it is because of certain animosity that jealousy is created. 

'Taqwa': 'Shun the Roots of Evil'

'Ghibbat'- VIII

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, today also I continue my series of sermons on Surah Al-Hujurat, and [more specifically] the Hadiths on the subjects of “Ghibbat” (backbiting, gossips - spreading misinformation), thinking badly of others and spying on people, etc.

I now quote a second Hadith that is very long and found in [the book of] Muslim and also in [that of] Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Adab.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying: “Avoid suspicion, for suspicion is the gravest lie in talk and do not be inquisitive about one another and do not spy upon one another and do not feel envy with the other, and nurse no malice, and nurse no aversion and hostility against one another. And be fellow-brothers and servants of Allah.” (Muslim)

In another version of this Hadith, reported in Muslim, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) tells us to stay away from badzani, to think badly of a person, because badzani is a bad kind of lie. Do not stay engaged in looking for the faults of others. Do not spy on your brothers, do not be greedy for good things, do not be jealous, have no enmity for your brothers, do not be insolent. Do not break relations with your brothers. Become servants of Allah and live like real brothers. A Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. And do not commit injustice among you. A Muslim does not diminish his brother and does not humiliate him either.

And Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) also pointed to [in the direction of] his heart and said that: Taqwa is here.

‘Jihad’: The Views of Imam Al-Mahdi

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian, the man who claimed under Divine revelations that he is the long- awaited Messiah of the Latter Days and the Mujaddid and ‘Imam Mahdi’ of the 14th century of Islam, lived his life at a very significant period in world history (1835-1908 AD; 1250-1326 AH). The times witnessed a great political transition in India and elsewhere, with the decline and fall of the mighty Mughal Empire (1526-1857) and the simultaneous rise and rise of the British colonial suzerainty over the whole subcontinent (1857-1947) as well as other regions/nations around the world. As it happened, the Christian-missionary activities among the Muslim peoples became yet another front in the larger battle of the European imperial powers in Asia and Africa for land, riches and souls. Hence, the world of religious debates also became a battle field, with Islam coming under relentless attack at the hands of an ascendant Christianity. Hence, along with the political flux, also came profound questions of spiritual doctrine and of practical significance for the Muslims of the day. 

The debate around the doctrine of Jihad in Islam is fairly representative of the kind of issues and concerns that characterized the Muslim-Christian encounter in the colonial era in India. Against the backdrop of the anti-Muslim rhetoric by the Christian missionaries in India, there were incidents of violence involving such preachers, and those who attacked them were apparently motivated by religious hate. There are searing ironies in the whole episode: the Christian missionaries, in their zeal for tarnishing the fair name and image of Islam, propagated a false doctrine of Jihad among the ignorant masses, whereby they claimed that it is obligatory for Muslims to kill disbelievers/enemies. Certain Muslim divines, without a deeper examination of all issues, also agreed with this false notion of Jihad that legitimated extreme intolerance and indiscriminate violence against all non-Muslims. The expressions of bigotry and senseless acts of violence against innocent victims is often directly linked to the myth-making around Jihad.

Several learned Muslim scholars during the period wrote treatises against the widespread distortions and grave misunderstandings that characterized the popular concept of ‘Jihad’. For instance, Maulvi Chiragh Ali of Hyderabad (1844-1895) wrote the classic ‘A Critical Exposition of the Popular Jihad’, setting forth the historic/persecuted circumstances of the early Muslim community forming the actual context of the Qur’anic verses concerning Jihad. He wrote: 

‘...A cruel or revengeful tyrant may not be justified in taking up arms in his own defence, or in seeking to redress his personal wrongs and private injuries; but the whole Muslim community at Makkah was outraged, persecuted and expelled- and the entire Muhammadan commonwealth at Madina was attacked, injured and wronged- their natural rights and privileges were disregarded- after such miseries the Muslims took up arms to protect themselves from the hostilities of their enemies and to repel force by force; and were justified by every law and justice’. (A Critical Exposition of the Popular Jihad, p. xxiv-xxv, Delhi: Idarah-i-Adabiyati Dilli, written in 1885; reprint 1984)

Likewise, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898), the illustrious founder of the Aligarh Muslim University and a towering Muslim personality of the age, also wrote extensively to elucidate the true concept of Jihad in Islam. He emphatically asserted that ‘as long as the Muslims can affirm their faith in One God and preach it in peace, the religion does not permit them to rise against the rulers irrespective of their faith or race’. 

Further, he avers that ‘Islam admits no scope for mischief, treachery, mutiny or rebellion. In fact, whosoever guarantees peace and security, he be a believer or disbeliever, is entitled to Muslim gratitude and obedience’.