'Observe Ramadan Properly'

 

In his Friday Sermon of 31 March 2023~ 08 Ramadan 1444 AH, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius spoke about the significance of fasting in devotional life. True observance of the spirit of fasting is God-consciousness. Great rewards of Divine approval and pleasure is attached to fasting performed with correct etiquettes of being. Believers ought to be keeping away from all impurities and evil impulses promoted by Satanic temptations. If fasting is not accompanied by refinement in personal conduct and behaviour, it has no value in the eyes of God. Hence, each of us needs to be aware of the ways and means deployed by Satan to deviate people from the path of purity, cautions Hazrat Saheb (aba).

 

With the ubiquitous reach of digital gadgets facilitating free flow of all content- good and bad; social morals and ethical values are increasingly under threat in our times. When immorality is allowed free reign in a society, it directly affects the vulnerable young population, corrupting their sense of judgement, and propriety, decency and related behavioural standards. Comprehensive action against the spread of immorality is required by all right-thinking people belonging to all communities and religions coming together for the common good, exhorts Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) in this discourse. Moreover, Hazrat Saheb (aba) also speaks about the vital role of water, illustrating the ways in which this precious resource can help us in leading a healthy life.  

Read the Friday Sermon Below:

Ramadan: A Gift

 

A Gift in Bliss and Misfortune

Whether a Muslim is happy or sad, in trials or bliss, God Almighty, lovingly called by His personal name: ALLAH (The One without any partner) in Islam, is sure to bring him out of this state, on and off to make him realise that without Him, he is powerless, without Him no true happiness can be reached.

Allah says twice in Chapter Ash-Sharh of the Holy Quran: “So truly where there is hardship there is also ease; truly where there is hardship there is also ease.”

The blessed month of Ramadan is one such gift, one such ease, one such month when the true believer gets to live peace in both his spiritual and worldly lives. This month comes once a year, but the sincere one yearns it so much, that is, that opportunity to have his sins forgiven, to get the pleasure and approbation of Allah, and finally to accede to Allah Himself through his selfless sacrifice. Such a believer is a model among the believers. Such a believer follows in the footsteps of his beloved prophet and mentor, the Honourable Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh).

Khalifatullah at Sirajum Munir Masjid 2023

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam official YouTube Channel has just unveiled a photo and video report on the recent India visit of Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius, and the International Sadr of the Siraj Makin Djawaharatul Kamal Hazrat Ummul Mu’mineen Fazli Amena Varsally Saheba in January- February 2023. The photos and videos taken since the blessed arrival of the holy servants of Allah (swt) in India, especially in Tamil Nadu and North Kerala are blended together to form not just a journey report but also an excellent introduction to the inner world of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in the country, Masha Allah, Allah-u-Akbar! 

The spiritual sons of the Khalifatullah (aba) and leaders of the Jamaat in India, Hazrat Mukarram Amir Saleem Saheb and Hazrat Mukarram Naib Amir Shahul Hameed Faisal Saheb received Hazrat Saheb (aba) and the Hazrat Saheba on their arrival  at the Mumbai Airport, in the second week of January 2023, Alhamdulillah. Later, for the first time, we have had a historic Jumuah Namaz and Qutubah led by Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) at Mumbai, Summa Alhamdulillah.

23 March: Bia'at Day

     

March 23 is an important day in the annals of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. For it was on this historic day in the beginning of the 14th century of Islam that the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian formally began to initiate his disciples through the system of Bia’at into the spiritual Order of Silsila Ahmadiyya, a community of true believers who will be sincere helpers and supporters of the larger causes of Islam in the modern world. The first Bia’at into the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya took place in Ludhiana on Rajab 20, 1306 AH ~23 March 1889.

        Historically speaking, the idea of Bia’at in the then, newly-established Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, in many ways, resembled the practice in Sufi Orders of the medieval Islamic world where disciples formed a chain of spiritual relationship with their spiritual preceptor and Imam through Bia’at, the rite of initiation of a disciple into the Sufi spiritual path or Tariqah. In the Sufi traditions, Bia’at denotes ‘Wilayah’ or the transmission of the spiritual power, from the Prophet to certain of his Companions and through them to one generation after another of those seeking to follow the spiritual path.     

       

As a spiritual concept and practice, Bia’at has strong and deep antecedents in the faith traditions of Islam. Indeed, the Holy Qur’an speaks of the original covenant of humanity with God through the Prophets: ‘[Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ (7:173)

“And remember God’s blessing upon you, and His covenant by which He bound you, when you said, ‘We hear and we obey.’ And reverence God. Truly God knows what lies within breasts” (5:8).

“Fulfill My covenant, and I shall fulfill your covenant, and be in awe of Me.” (2:41)

Poem: ‘A Hymn to God’

 

 Lo! How manifest is the Light of God,

Who is the Ultimate source of all Light

The whole universe is turning into a reflective mirror

For the eyes to perceive Him.

 

                               Last night while watching the Moon

I became so agitated

In the beauty of the Moon

Were the traces of the beauty of my Beloved.

 

Under the influence of that consummate beauty

My heart is in a state of turmoil

Mention not to me

the comeliness of the Turk or the Tartar.

 

O my Beloved,

How wonderfully is Your

Creative power manifested everywhere

Whichever way I look I find

Every road leading to Your presence.

A Kashf on ‘Divine Hug’

 

True devotees are a sign of Living Faith. Love of God drives them to respect and act upon Divine commands and prohibitions as they should be. For instance, they offer regular prayers at specified times of the day; they recite the Holy Qur’an at dawn. Moreover, they sincerely engage in remembrance of God all the time. In the pure quest for the grand favour and blessings of Divine nearness, they even wake up at night and pray as an extra offering of their own: in the long hours of the night prostrating before God and weeping in supplication, nurturing their souls even in a state of exhaustion. Like the Holy Qur’an notes, Allah Himself indicates the standards of readiness and rewards of sincerity: 

‘O you who are bearing a heavy responsibility, stand up in Prayer at night except a small portion thereof—Half of it, or make it a little less than that, or make it a little more than that—and recite the Qur’an slowly and thoughtfully.’ [73: 2-5]. 

‘O Ye who believe! Offer Tahajjud prayer in the latter part of the night. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a highly praised status.’ (17: 80) 

True devotion to God, or Divine Love, has beneficial consequences for the believer when God gazes at the heart of the sincere soul with forgiveness, mercy, kindness and indulgence. A famous Hadith-e-Qudsi reads as follows:  

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said: “Allah the Almighty says … ‘My servant can be close to Me through the things that I love and that I made obligatory upon him. By offering Nawafil, My servant gets so close to Me that I start loving him. When I make him a friend of Mine, I become the ears with which he hears, the eyes with which he sees, the hands with which he holds and the feet with which he walks. Thus, I fulfil all that he desires. If he begs of Me, I provide for him; if he seeks My protection, I grant him protection. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitabul Riqaq, Bab-ul-Tawazu)

Indeed, the pious men and women who are steeped in Divine waters and absorb themselves in Divine remembrance and sublime invocations- the special servants and friends of God; it is they who are blessed to partake in the subtle mysteries of this universe, and special signs of Divine nearness appear in and among their circle. Indeed, at the highest levels of this mystical journey, the believer will become alone with the Alone, almost 'lose' himself in God. With such depths of Faith in a Divinely-imbued servant, the blessings of the Islamic Way will be demonstrated- it is  as if the heaven and the earth are renewed through his presence and work for the sake of Allah (swt) as the new ‘Adam’, the ‘Khalifatullah’ of the era.

 

Today, Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International with a Divinely-appointed ‘Khalifatullah’ [who speaks with the help of ‘Roohul Qudus’ at the head of the Jamaat] strives for the creation of a new heaven and earth; in its own humble and sincere way of pure devotion and submission to the Will and Decision of Allah (swt), it is a stunning example of the kind of Divine Manifestations that have had been witnessed through the centuries in different lands, with the advent of prophets and messengers and saints of God who strove to uphold the pristine truth about God through a correct appreciation of the eternal teachings of Faith, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah.   

 

Reproduced Below is a mystical experience of special Divine Nearness reported by none other than our Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian [1835-1908] in the previous era- at a time when Allah (swt) raised him as the commissioned one of the age to demonstrate the blessings and favours of the living religion of Islam:

Interview: Jamaat @ 15

The Muslims of our times, especially the new generation of spiritually-inquisitive minds, search for pure role models in Faith. As against the self-serving leaders and myopic scholars of traditional religion who merely trade in the external symbols and rituals of their specific community, the changing times and dismal fortunes of the wider Ummah requires a renewal of the Divine Way of Islam: yes, what we need is an exemplary reflection of the original spirit of the Faith as taught and practiced by the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa); someone who can teach and preach the holy principles of the lofty Book of revelations in this era. Most certainly, the appearance of spiritual savants in every era of Islam is a deeply-held, sanctified belief among the Muslims around the world as the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) famously foretold this perpetual path of purified guidance as a great Divine favour on the Ummah. That is why devout Muslims eagerly await the advent of a Mujaddid [Divinely-appointed spiritual reformer and exemplar of the Faith] in every century of Islam to revive and renew the days of the Prophet (sa) among the believers.

  

A special Divine Manifestation takes place in an era when a servant of God who follow in the enlightened footsteps of the Holy Prophet (sa), experience pure Divine communion in the depths of his heart and soul, and share the Divine communications that he receives on matters of faith and practice for the benefit of the community at large. Over the centuries, devout Muslims have welcomed the appearance of ‘Muhyiuddin’ among them with much spiritual fervour- indeed it is as though they are witnessing the very return of the Holy Prophet (sa) in the new era of Islam! Hence, the appearance of a Khalifatullah- a Divinely-imbued soul who speaks with the help of Roohul Qudus- is the greatest spiritual gift for a community of believers in any era.