Illnesses of the 'Ummah'- 3

 

In his Friday Sermon of 17 June 2022 ~16 Dhul Qaddah 1443 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius continues the larger reflections on the spiritual maladies that afflict the Muslim psyche today: the mental attitudes and emotional roadblocks that prevent them from engaging with energy, vigour, enthusiasm and enterprise in the larger goals of Dawah (preaching and propagating Islam).  In this discourse, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) points out how to think through the confusing maze of Muslim renewal in this complicated era.  

As Hazrat Saheb (aba) alludes in the discourse, based on Qur'anic principles and Prophetic practices, the Sahaba-e-Kiram, the pure Companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Tabi'un, the pious generations that followed them became living exemplars of the Faith in the early days of Islam, and wherever they went to preach the message of Tawheed, people en masse abandoned their pagan notions and embraced the Light of Islam in their midst. As time went by, and the original spirit of faith ebbed away; decadence and degradation have returned to the societies that were once 'Muslim'. And today, in the fifteenth century after the Holy Prophet (sa), the Muslims in general seem to be bereft of the true essence of Islamic teachings in their everyday lives. Even worse, far from upholding the spirit of Tawheed as Muslims, many among them have turned into tomb-worshippers; instead of praying God, they invoke the intercession of long-dead saints, just like the idol-worshippers performing rituals before the lords beside Allah (swt), [God forbid].   

Against this dismal contemporary scenario of gross misunderstandings and corrupt religious practices, reclaiming the true teachings along with its progressive potential and transformative spirit is the larger responsibility of the lovers of Allah (swt), including common followers of the Faith today. Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) notes that this task can only be achieved through sustained work involving every segment of the Muslim society, and not by the Ulama and others working in silos. Promoting goodness of every kind and forbidding the bad from spreading in society are the real tasks of everyone at their own levels- indeed, duties and responsibilities are attached to every 'Muslim'- the one who has surrendered his God-gifted free will and submitted his everything to the Divine commandments. Moreover, Tabligh, or striving in God's cause by communicating Divine message to people also entail the willingness to withstand hostilities and insults at the hands of unfair critics and enemies of the Faith, like the Prophets in the past has shown: with patience and fortitude, they preached and lived the message of God against all odds, and the strength of their conviction and the beauty of their character changed hearts and they became victorious in the battlefield of Dawah. It is by following in the footsteps of true lovers of the Faith and in adopting their strategies and steps of engagement with the people that we can make progress in the path of Dawah, indicates Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) in this discourse.  

'Dawa' and the Renewal of Islam

 

Islam stands for Tawheed, the uncompromising belief in the Lordship of a Unique God who is the controller of all affairs in all the worlds. True faith in the Lord Almighty is reflected in good deeds- actions that stand to benefit all of His creations in this world. Hence, Islam expects the Muslim to accomplish the worship of Allah by serving humanity; standing up for the truth; establishing justice by fighting against evil; promoting goodness in society by caring and sharing life's blessings with the less fortunate, and thereby help creating a social order of equity and balance.

 

In a world riven by competition, and conflicts over mundane resources and other material interests among different groups splintered on diverging identities; the Muslim Ummah everywhere also face these profound structural and existential conditions of societies today. Whereas Allah (swt) has willed the diversity of His creation as a grand Sign of His Unicity, and to test the true mettle of the humans who inhabit this world, the real challenge and larger task of the Muslims in every era is to become a beacon of divine light and spiritual hope. In a morally- darkened world of egoistic passions of jealousy, hatred and arrogance; creating an alternative social order is indeed a heavy responsibility: a world inspired by faith in God and the higher values of life and fostered by true piety and goodwill for everyone.  

 

 

Recently, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius launched a very important initiative for the religious education and spiritual training of the Jamaat members in Kerala, India, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah. While announcing the establishment of the Dawa Academy in the region, and also entrusting the coordination of administrative responsibilities among members, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) urged the believers to arise and diligently and patiently strive to create a just world under Islam. In this context, Hazrat Saheb (aba) shared with everyone some of the Divine revelations and visions he received as early as April 2004 during the early days of the Divine Manifestation, in the times of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Al Muslemeen.  The revelations and spiritual visions, between them, contain a deep and profound message of wisdom for the resurgence of the true spirit of Islam among the Muslim peoples in this era. May Allah (swt) grant everyone the blessing of comprehending the ways of attracting Divine pleasure and the benefits of harmony and unity, true faith and patient striving in spiritual and temporal life, Insha Allah, Aameen. 

Civility in Religious Debates

Be it writing on social media, or appearing on television channels on public debates; the persons exercising their free speech rights have a duty to observe civility and courtesy, and not to fan hatred between different classes of people, nor spread bigotry among religious communities, especially so when they are leading politicians and spokespersons of a party ruling a country. When political elites fail to observe restraint and cross the red-lines in public discourse on people’s beliefs, or faith-related controversies; it invariably generates public resistance and political backlash, muddying the social relations- nationally and internationally.

Recently, two leaders of the ruling BJP in India, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, indulged in wanton anti-Muslim tirade, in public television and on social media. In their visceral hatred of the Muslim community in the country, these ruling politicians went to the extreme extend of attacking and vilifying the religion of Islam, and insulting the sacred memory of the Holy Prophet (sa) and his family. Making hurtful comments about the Holy Prophet’s life with his young wife Hazrat Ayesha (ra), these thugs from the majority community in the land sought to humiliate the minority community by insulting their religious beliefs. With the Muslims in India holding angry public demonstrations against the culprits, and many Muslim majority-nations in unison calling out the Islamophobia on full display in India, the episode involving the gross misconduct of its spokespersons embarrassed not only the governing party but also caused deep humiliation for the country’s image and standing internationally. [Inset: People hold posters during a protest demanding the arrest of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and expelled BJP leader Naveen Jindal. Credit: Reuters photo/ Deccan Herald/ PTI, June 10, 2022]. 

Poem: 'Bon Voyage, O Hajjis'

 

The Beautiful Days are approaching,

When you will be in the Holy Land, O Muslims,

In the garb of pilgrims,

You will get to taste the elixir of life,

Which purifies one from all sins

And brings one to the pinnacle of submission,

To the Lord’s Will;

This fortune has been opened for you,

O you travellers to Arabia,

Let the sight of the Holy Ka’aba bedazzle you

Into submission to the Almighty;

Khalifatullah's Dream

 

Reproduced below is a very important dream made by Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius on 16 June 2022 ~15 Dhul Qaddah 1443 AH, before the Tahajjud prayers. The pious dream has several layers of information contained within it. The Khalifatullah's dream, in its own way, to begin with, calls attention to a world gone upside down: where escalating prices of essential fuels is forcing people to value the traditional modes of transportation and living. Likewise, the spiritually-infused dream throws profound light on several other matters of special importance in this era, especially the decline of spiritual values in society and the revival of Faith and its rulings through a grand Divine Manifestation which is linked to the pure ancestry of ancient prophets and their holy teachings. Two points are especially noteworthy in this context:

Hindustan, the ancient land of India, was the historical abode of many prophets and saints and other Avtaars from time immemorial. Despite the tumultuous torrents of time and the inevitable corruption of the original mores of religion as taught by the pious ancestors, the core of Divine teachings left behind by those holy men and women remain in the sacred memory of the people. Thoughtful Indians, however, now acknowledge that the value systems are all in disarray in the country. Indeed, the tentacles of power and pelf, or the prevalence of injustice and unfair takings, viciously threaten the very moral fabric of the social order. Moreover, India's ancient scriptures testify that when Dharma ( righteousness) disappears from society in the Last Days, a Divine Elect or an Avtaar will appear among the people to remind and restore the higher and truer values of life.    

Secondly, despite belonging to different races and tribes, all humans are from one another, the children of Adam;  like one family, as it were.  Indeed,  prophets and messengers of God are linked to one another, across generations, through their absolute faith in, and preaching about, the Uniqueness and Lordship of Allah (swt). To guide human communities around the world, Allah (swt) raised many prophets in the line of Hazrat Nuh (as) and Hazrat Ibrahim (as), including our beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, the present dream contains glad tidings relating to the holy ancestry of the Elect of God in our times, the Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah of this era Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius, and the dream as well foretells the brilliant future that awaits the Divine Manifestation in the days to come, Insha Allah, Aameen.  

Illnesses of the 'Ummah'- 2

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to continue my Friday Sermon on the illnesses which are affecting Islam nowadays, on their causes and the solutions which can be brought forward to trigger a change in the present situation. Insha-Allah, I will come on this subject, step by step.

 

Like I cited before you last Friday; Allah says in the Quran: “Those of the Children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress. They used not to forbid one another any malfeasance that they performed. Miserable indeed was whatever they were performing!” (Al-Maida 5: 79-80)

 

The Hadiths of our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) give more details about these Quranic verses and shed more light [i.e. understanding] on them:

 

Hazrat ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The first defect (in religion) which affected the Children of Israel in the way that man would meet another and say to him: ‘Fear Allah and abstain from what you are doing, for this is not lawful for you.’ Then he would meet him the next day and find no change in him, but this would not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting in his assemblies. When it came to this, Allah led their hearts into evil ways on account of their association with others.”

Ahmadis: Boycotting Family

 

The Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya (Qadian) today faces a deep crisis of faith. There is a yawning gap between their preaching of Islam and the practices within. Even as they seek to ‘institutionalize’ a separate and distinct community identity under the exalted office of a Khalifatul Massih, the Nizam-e-Jamaat misrepresents and compromises Islamic teachings on a number of searing issues, including on the sanctity of family relations. While the Nizam-e-Jamaat preaches ‘Love for All’ as its ‘brand’ logo, yet it virtually practices hatred against fellow Ahmadis: it applies social boycott against the brothers in faith whose only ‘crime’ is that they believe in Divine revelations being vouchsafed through a pious Ahmadi among them- Hazrat Imam Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim of Mauritius!  

To protect their assembly-elected or institutional ‘Khalifa’ as against the Divinely-raised and inspired Khalifatullah, the Nizam-e-Jamaat feels the need to extinguish the Light of Allah among them, God Forbid! What an irony of faith!! The Holy Qur’an says: ‘O Children of Adam! Whenever there come to you Messengers from amongst yourselves relating to you My Messages, then whosoever (by accepting them) becomes secure against evil and amends, there shall remain no fear on them nor shall they grieve’ (7:36). Instead of helping and assisting an Elect of God who is sent among them to reform and purify them and to remove the filth of institutional excesses and doctrinal exaggerations from among them, today’s Ahmadi chiefs are following the worst enemies of the prophets and the saints in history! They seek to isolate and boycott the Messenger and his humble disciples and devoted followers!

 

Indeed, the Nizam-e-Jamaat follows a policy of socially boycotting the Elect of Allah and his disciples in Mauritius, India and elsewhere. Indeed, stupidity has no limits, apparently, within the Nizam-e-Jamaat when it comes to boycott policies. Consider, for instance, the following: to satisfy the prejudice and arrogance of the Jamaat chiefs and the priests, these small men go to the extent of separating and preventing a mother from being with her daughter on the occasion and place of her Nikaah. With such men at the helms of leadership in the Nizam-e-Jamaat, it is only natural that Allah (swt) in His infinite wisdom raised someone among the people- someone who speaks with the Holy Spirit; someone who explains Divine teachings among Ahmadis who are under the spell of Jahaalat in these turbulent times.