Knowledge of God in Our Souls

'On earth there are signs for those with sure faith- and in yourselves too, do you not see?' (51:21) Regardless of our social and cultural background, each of us as humans are programmed as it were with inbuilt faculties for an innate recognition of the existence of a Higher Being. Whereas idolatry defy reason and logic and has no leg to stand on the rational disposition of any human being, God's Oneness and Lordship is intuitively understood by every human soul. Embedded in human nature is an original consciousness of God's Oneness; a natural disposition to recognizing and worshipping God and toward accepting the Prophets and the messages that they bring as 'reminders' of what they already intuitively 'know' to be the Truth in their latent consciousness. Being true to our inner disposition as a  sincere and morally uncorrupted soul, one can only adapt one's choices in tune with His ordinances in this world. Indeed, knowledge of God's Lordship enable us to care for the higher values of life, rather than incline towards selfish desires and worldly things- the greed for which debases man, turning him away from the path of God's messengers, and lead him to the misfortune of being held accountable as a disbeliever, or a hypocrite (God forbid). 

Recently, a Lady from Canada raised a question: 'How can people with diverse backgrounds, societies and cultures, believe in the one true God'? Based on Qur'anic teachings and Prophetic traditions, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius provides a considered response to the question. 

Reproduced below is the Extracts from the Response: 

'...So for people to be held responsible for worshipping the one true God, they all need to have access to knowledge of Him. The final revelation teaches that all human beings have the recognition of the one true God imprinted on their souls as a part of their very nature with which they are created.  

The Criterion of True Faith

 

Is there a way to identify and understand a correct and straight path to God amidst all that different religions (and their denominational groups) claim to offer? How do we know and distinguish between true concept of God and false beliefs of people? Does Faith in God entail the duty to choose wisely and with equity, and to follow the Right Way at all times?  These  questions arise in many minds in our times. Especially so when we hear many people, professing different creeds, offering diverging views on the vital issue of spiritual guidance in the Divine Way. Recently, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius responded to a similar concern raised by a truth-seeker, Mr. Paul Robert Chaiya. His question was like this: 

'Mr. Munir Ahmad Azim, you have made your proclamation as the Prophet and Messiah of this era, so why there are so many religions which proclaim to be in the right way? I want your answer. Thank you very much.' 

Reproduced Below are the Extracts from the response of Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) on the occasion: 

'There are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only true path to God! How can one determine which one is correct or whether, in fact, all are correct? 

One method by which the answer can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in the teachings of the various claimants to the ultimate truth, and identify the central object of worship upon which they call directly or indirectly. False religions all have in common one basic concept with regard to God: They either claim that all men are gods, or that specific men were gods, or that nature is god, or that God is a figment of man’s imagination.

Kerala: A Charitable Trust

 

‘O My Lord, help me to be truly grateful for Your favours to me, and to my parents; help me to do good work that pleases You; make my offspring good. I  turn to You; I am one of those who devote themselves to You.’ (HQ, 46:16) 

As one grows older and wiser, one becomes even more conscious of one’s responsibility towards both the older and the younger generations. ‘Whosoever is unkind to our young and disrespectful of our old is not one of us’, declared the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). Indeed, being virtuous and showing gratitude to one’s parents is a Qur’anic duty on all believers- second in importance only to the duty to worship God: “Worship God; join nothing with Him. Be good to your parents, to relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to neighbours near and far, to travelers in need, and to your assistants.” (4:37)

Inspired by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Al Mahdi Munir Ahmad Azim (aba)’s spiritual discourses and illuminating guidance, Mukarram R. Jamaluddin Raother Saheb of Mathra recently established a charitable initiative in Kerala, India. With the sublime objective of rendering service to humanity, Jamaluddin Saheb has founded and legally-registered a Trust in fond memory of, and in the name of his beloved parents, Janab Rasavumeeran Raother (d. 1951) and Fatima Beevi Saheba (d.1986).   

'Hegira' Lessons in a New Era

 

Towards the Construction of a New Life 

Today the mantra on the lips of the authorities and a section of the population of the world is: “It is imperative to be vaccinated.” But, the question arises: Where to find the vaccines? 

Rich or influential countries like Israel, have already reached rates of over 60%, or are getting there quickly, because they obtained them before the others, particularly the vaccines which are, according to them, the most effective. Some are starting to inoculate [i.e. vaccinate] those who are less at risk, such as their teenagers and even their [small] children. At the same time, in Africa, where less than 2% of the vaccine doses produced against COVID-19 is administered, even medical personnel do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated.

Less effective vaccines are for the poor because the powerful pharmaceutical companies do not want to share their patents and allow countries, like India or South Africa, to manufacture them en masse at a lower cost for their neighbours and for themselves. Forbes magazine has several hundred new billionaires, especially more than 40 enriched thanks to COVID-19, including those at the head of vaccine production, such as Moderna and BioNTech. Now imagine if tomorrow there is the requirement of other additional doses or even new vaccines every year!

Jesus and the 'Sign of Jonah'

In a recent series of Online interactions with Truth-seekers from around the world, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius chose to respond to several questions, explaining the teachings and practice of Deen-e-Islam as well as certain momentous episodes from spiritual history for the benefit of those who were asking. In this context, reproduced below is one of the responses given by Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) to a sister in religion, Ms. Meryl Philips from United Kingdom, explaining the crucifixion of Jesus Christ from an Islamic perspective. 

Contrary to the irrational exaggerations and mythical Divinity claims preferred by people who claim to be his followers, the historical Jesus was a human being like any other human who lived and preached Gospel among his people, a reformer-servant of God among the people of Israel in historical Palestine. While much of his life is shrouded in the distance and unknowns of history, the essence of his truthfulness as well as the shadow of Divine Protection that helped him survive the scheming machinations and plots of his wily opponents is preserved to the benefit of all times, including through the Holy Qur’an which speaks about the trial of crucifixion: 

“And they (the persecutors of Jesus) planned (to crucify him) and Allah planned (to save him) and Allah is the best of planners.” (3:55) 

“They killed him not, nor did they cause his death by crucifixion, but he was made to them to resemble (one crucified to death. Verily, those who differ therein are certainly in (a state of) confusion about it. They have no definite knowledge of the matter but are only following a conjecture. They did not kill him. This much is certain (and thus could not prove the Christ as accursed). Rather Allah exalted him with all honour to His presence”. (4: 158-59)   

While Jewish tradition viewed death on the cross as an accursed imposter’s fate, Jesus himself predicted his escape from death on the cross saying, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whales’ belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of death”.  (Matt. 12: 40) The prophecy meant that like Jonah, Jesus would also survive the ‘grave’ trial and survive the attempt on his life. In this brief exposition on the crucifixion of Christ, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) marshals evidence from human mortality, and the sign of Jonah mentioned in the Bible to dispel mythical notions about Jesus prevailing among people in our times. 

Read the Extracts from the Response Below:  

Coping with Grief and Loss

 

The Good Manners/ Deeds When Hearing About the Death of Someone 

Hearing the news of the death of a loved one is certainly not easy for anyone with its share of sadness and grief, in addition to the preparations for the funeral. Having the right reflexes is not always easy in such a situation. I put before you today eight good things to do in these difficult times when someone dies.

Speak Well of the Dead Person

When learning of someone’s death, it is recommended to speak well of that person about the actions he did for the pleasure of Allah. At the same time, one must avoid speaking “good” [so-called good things] about his actions which were not done for the pleasure of Allah [in other words, there are those types of people who speak badly of the actions of a deceased, and they pretend not to know that what they said was not correct. They will say that on the contrary they were saying “good” for the deceased]. 

For example, avoid saying, “What a good card player he was!” Or “This person sang well”. The actions of playing cards and singing [songs that have nothing to do with Islam] are both in themselves Haram (prohibited) actions. So, pretending to flatter the deceased that he was a good card player or a good singer, it is certainly not a good thing or an honour for the deceased. So we must avoid all of this. 

It is reported by Hazrat Anas (ra): “When passing near a funeral procession and hearing the men praising the deceased, the prophet (pbuh) said three times: ‘It is assured [for him]’ [That is to say, the praise on the good deeds of the deceased will have all their importance and honour before the eyes of Allah in his favour]. 

The Signs of 'Qiyamah'- 7

The Signs of the End of Times 

The signs of Qiyamat, both predicted by the founder of Islam Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and also by way of divine revelations when I was preparing this sermon, are such words and happenings which, as per the revelations of Allah, despite already existed and known from before, yet their intensity will be much more grievous, much worse in this era than in the previous eras. People will take the Maal-e-Ghaneemat [spoils of war] and Amanat [trust] which are not theirs [i.e. they will take the wealth and properties of others] as their own. Some will consider the Zakaat as tax; others will learn religion only for this temporal world [only for grandeur and to benefit from the contributions of people who are contributing for religion] and they will take religion as a marketplace, as business for their own gain and to fill in their pockets. Now, we all know that this is what is exactly happening in the case of most politicians, those who make politics to garner grandeur, honour, to fill in their pockets – to spend away [waste] the money of the people – and all this is also happening in the realm of religion as well.