Faith: 'Don't Judge Others'

 

There is no greater misfortune than choosing ‘spiritual death’ after attaining faith. Indeed, sacrificing one's firmly held convictions and principles while one is still physically alive amounts to the death of an honorable man. True believers would never agree to let go of the life-giving Divine commandments and prohibitions. Coming under the sway of the evil-prone self and bargaining with the Satan for a temporary ecstasy is nothing short of ruining one’s spiritual future. It needs to be noted, however, that Allah (swt) has linked each man’s deeds to his neck, and while all deeds fly away like birds once the 'moment' is over, the light and shadows of his deeds remain imprinted in his soul even beyond- to give its account in the court of Allah in the life to come: for the rewards of the good, and the punishment of the wrongdoers.  Hence, all judgement of human deeds is, ultimately, in the court of Allah, the Best of Judges. And striving untiringly for achieving purification of the heart is the life-long obligation, and prayer of all believers: ‘Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us. Grant us Your mercy: You are the Ever Giving’. (3:9) 

Recently, attributing certain contemporary deeds of a man who once associated himself with the ranks of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam (and later disassociated himself with it for reasons best known to him); some bigoted and ignorant Ahmadi Mullahs have sought to insinuate and sully the image of the Jamaat of Allah. Due to their inbuilt biases and prejudices against the Elect of Allah of this era and His mission in their midst, these Mullahs from other Muslim denominations speak as if they are willfully “dumb, deaf, and blind”- unable or unwilling to distinguish between right and wrong. In a recent Jamaat communication, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) of Mauritius explains the true perspective on belief and disbelief in Islamic precepts.  

Shaik Malukar Sahib

'To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.' (2:156) Shaik Malukar Sahib of Kottar, one of the respected members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in Tamil Nadu passed away this week, Innaa Lillaahi Wa Innaa Ilayhi Raajioon. 

In a communication to the Jamaat in India, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius remembers this sincere and righteous disciple who lived a fruitful life in remembrance of God before that final journey to Allah (swt) destined for all living persons.  Janaza Namaz Ghaib -funeral prayers in absentia- were performed by brothers and sisters of the Jamaat in India: may Allah (swt) forgive him, accept his good deeds, and welcome him to the happiness and fragrance of Paradise, Aameen.   

Reproduced below are the extracts from the special message from Hazrat Saheb (aba):   

'On 06 December 2021, one of my dear disciples in Tamil Nadu, Shaik Malukar Sahib died due to a heart-attack at the age of 46 years old. He was the President of the Kottar Branch of our Jamaat. On that day, he performed his Salat-ul-Tahajjud & Fajr and participated in the Al-Azim Tafsir’ul Quran Dars, and it was afterwards that he felt pain in his chest. He was then taken to the hospital and according to the information received, on the way to the hospital he told his wife to look after his two children and then he recited the Kalima. The doctors tried to revive him but in vain. When they were still in the hospital, I received the sad news of his demise from the Mukarram State Amir of Tamil Nadu and I phoned his wife and son and talked to them in the hospital. 

I am saddened today, as a Spiritual Father, I lost one of my dear and sincere disciples. 

Understanding 'Shahada'

 

'Shahada': First Pillar of Islam

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله

Laa-Ilaaha Illallah Muhammadur Rassoolullah

“There is no other God but God [Allah] and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger.” 

It is by accepting this confession that one becomes a Muslim. This is the first pillar of Islam. It is the profession of faith of every Muslim. It proclaims the oneness of God and totally refutes the idea that He could have been begotten (like human beings) or created. 

The Shahada therefore leads us to submit to God and become His servants. By reciting it, we affirm to our Creator that we will follow His recommendations and refrain from His prohibitions. Our goal is to try to correct ourselves, by leading our life according to the commands of our Master. 

To this end, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “He who recites the Shahada with sincerity will enter paradise”. He was then asked: “What is the sign of sincerity?” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) replied, “It prevents him from doing things forbidden by Allah.” 

We must therefore strive to obey Allah in all circumstances, whether in the way we eat, drink, dress or behave with others. It is not appropriate to be satisfied with what suits us, by conforming ourselves, for example, to the customs and behaviours of other people, foreign to Islam, by abandoning the Sunnah and all that Allah has prescribed to us in His Holy Book.

Kerala: Gifts for Kids

 

“Do good to others. Allah loves those who do good.” (2:196) 

Islam instils a culture of caring and sharing, and a sense of responsibility within individuals for fostering a just society. Rather than being content to live with one’s wealth and family, the Qur’an expects you to be virtuous and do good to others as an obligation of faith and commitment. Being a trustee of God on earth, it is your duty to deploy all that Allah (swt) has gifted you in this life so as to work for the well being of all of God’s creations. 

This is especially so in times when glaring inequality and  deep fractures and fault-lines in our communities call for robust initiatives for a just and caring social order. Indeed, our broken times call for the creation of 'a new world' that foregrounds the protection and benefit of the poor and the indigent, the orphans and the widows, the homeless and the landless, the elderly and the sick; that facilitates education, skills training and other beneficial capabilities among the young for a better future.  

   

Inspired by the illuminating guidance and leadership of Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius, the humble and devoted brothers of the Jamaat are increasingly engaging themselves in beneficial social engagement programmes at their own local communities, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah. 

'Grow Up with Family Bond'

  

The Family & The Youth 

What is the family? This is the set of people with blood ties or ties of kinship [through marriage as well] living almost under the same roof. The extended family generally includes grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, cousins ​​and others, including, of course, children of different parents. 

A question that is generally asked at the level of all generations and even among the young people of today: What good can a family bring? Of course, there will be different ways of thinking, of reasoning, of answering this question which torments the minds of many parents within the Ummah itself. And we can cite so many other cases where the parent-child relationship does not seem to be cordial. Why? 

Yet according to a Hadith from Bukhari, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) explains that the family brings stability and ensures security. The family is the first place where we socialize, where we learn the rules of life in society. It allows you not to live alone, to become a parent, and to live with those whom you love, to strengthen community bonds through alliances [marriages]. 

But the most important thing about the family - for believers of the Ummah - is that it is the first place to learn about the existence of Allah (twt) as the Unique Creator, and the value of Islam.

On ‘Sufism’ and ‘Shirk’

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) came into this world with illuminating spiritual guidance to bring everyone closer to their Lord. The very purpose and pure essence of his spiritual mission was to enable people to maintain a special friendship or relationship with Allah. It was by following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (sa) that the companions of the Prophet (sa) and those who were taught by them and those who came after them reached the stage of genuine submission of one’s soul to Allah and His commandments. 

By earnestly striving to establish a direct relationship with one’s Creator, the savants of faith reach spiritual heights of Divine love- the special nearness and communion with their Lord in this very world, and became recipients of Divine inspirations and revelations. A Hadith-e-Qudsi reveals the mystical quest of every sincere seeker in the Way: “My servant keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And once I love him, I become his hearing, with which he hears, his sight, with which he sees, his hand, with which he seizes, and his foot, with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him” [Fath-ul-Bari by Hazrat Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani ]. 

Models of God-consciousness in inner life and performing service to humanity in every conceivable way in their social settings, the true Sufis were recipients of Divine love and revelations, enabling them to perform miracles of faith in service of the Islamic Way- rejuvenating the exemplary model of the Holy Prophet (sa) in their own times.  History bears testimony to the fact that true Sufis - or great savants of faith imbued with divine qualities following in the Muhammadan Way- emerged among the ranks of the devout Muslims in every land. 

Today, however, Sufism has come to mean different things to different people- far from its original spirit of Islamic devotional piety. Moving away from its Qur’anic foundations and Prophetic moorings, many self-proclaimed sufis and their simpleminded followers have turned graves into places of worship, and make supplications to dead objects. Dance, music and other innovations are found at Sufi shrines these days- representing the very anti-thesis of what the true spirit of Sufism entailed in its pristine phases - abandonment of the mundane enjoyments in favour of living in seclusion behind the curtain of Divine intimacy.  

Recently, Mr. Muhammad Zubair from the Maldive Islands asked a series of questions to Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius on Sufism, Urs Sharief, and Dargah worship, seeking guidance on what is lawful in Islam and what is reprehensible for the believers to be wary of in this era of syncretic rituals and confused spirituality among common folks. Reproduced Below is the extracts from the Reply given by Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) to this gentleman, along with his questions:   

Preaching ‘Anti-Qadianism’

   

The advent of the Promised Messiah and Al Imam Al Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908) was a ground-breaking episode in the preaching of Islam in modern times. For, no one has introduced or presented Islamic perspectives on foundational questions of spiritual humanity in a more persuasive or intellectually- appealing way than what Hazrat Ahmad (as) accomplished through his writings and sublime discourses over a span of three decades at the head of the Fourteenth century of Islamic calendar. More than what the ideological partisans within the community would ever be willing to admit publicly, the rich and sparkling legacy of Hazrat Mirza (as) is in accord with the spiritual and intellectual consciousness of the Ummah. Moreover, powerful worldly events and material conditions in subsequent decades in the Islamic and wider world after his death have forced the religious orthodoxy to revisit and even abandon many of their previously held, wild theories which Hazrat Mirza Saheb opposed in his times (including on the improper application of “Jihad” as indiscriminate violence and killing of all those who disagree with the Muslims), and these circumstances have also allowed them to follow, as it were in the footsteps of this revered figure of Islam and his disciples- the Ahmadis (or the Qadianis) when it comes to peaceful preaching of Islam in the West.  

While Islamic tradition, history and contemporary events bear out the essential truthfulness and veracity of the claims of Hazrat Massih Maoud (as), as well as the spiritual and intellectual appeal of his arguments and perspectives on Islam, the religious orthodoxy continues with their preaching of hatred and violence against this trailblazer in the service of Islam in the modern world. Recently, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) of Mauritius- the spiritual son and disciple of Hazrat Massih Maoud (as) in this era- addressed the critics in the West, and spelt-out the choices available to those who unfairly reject the message of Ahmadiyyat in this era. 

Read the Extracts from the Response Below: