Financial Sacrifice- 3

 

'Say, My Lord extends provision for whomever He wills of His servants and He restrains (it). And anything you spend (in His Cause) He replaces it, and He is the Best of providers.' (Surah Saba, 34: 40)

Today, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, I am continuing my sermon – series of sermons – on Financial Sacrifice.

 

Like I read before you, Allah is [initially] addressing Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) in Surah Saba, Chapter 34, Verse 40, and telling him: Qul! (Say!) – Tell them that your Lord, your Rab increases provisions for whomsoever He wants and He decreases provisions for whomsoever He wants. And Allah puts emphasis on spending in His path, for His Cause, and He says that each spending that His servants do for Him, for His Cause, then He takes upon Himself to replace this by a better reward for His servants, because it is Allah Who is the Best Provider – and it is to Him alone that people must turn to and put forward their requests.

 

That is why in connection with this, Allah has established for His servants patience – they should have patience.

The remembrance of God- 7

 

Allah states in the Holy Qur'an: 'In houses which Allah has allowed to be raised up, and His name to be remembered therein, in the morning and evening are men who glorify him therein, whom neither trade nor sale can divert from the remembrance of Allah, and (they) establish the prayers, and pay the Zakaat; fearing a day when hearts and eyes shall be turned about, that Allah will recompense them for the finest deeds they did and increase them from His bounty. Allah provides without measure to whom He will.' (24:37-39)

 

The above verses stipulates that there are such houses in which there reside true servants of Allah who day and night they glory Allah and they have made their house become a Masjid (Mosque), a pure sanctuary for the remembrance of Allah. They are so close to Allah and have recognised the eternal essence and truthfulness of Allah that they are ever ready to offer their submission to Allah in every way. They are those people who do not let their houses become cemeteries! They do not let Satan enter their houses. They do their best to inculcate in themselves the right examples for people, and they first start with their house, with their family members, educating them, giving them the right lessons to submit to One God (Allah Tabarak Wa Ta’ala) and follow the path of His prophets and if it happens that they are living in an era of a prophet of Allah, they encourage their children to “Obey Allah and Obey His prophet”. They are ever conscious of their duties to Allah, and they opt to correct their way of living to fit the commandments of Allah (found in the Holy Qur'an).

 

These believers are such ones whom Allah loves for they sacrifice their time in His worship, attaching themselves to Him and making every possible effort to please Allah. Nothing of the attractions of this world distracts these believers from the remembrance of Allah. They have made their houses, their homes become a haven of peace, a haven where only the words of Allah are recited. Such houses are blessed by Allah, for in such houses where the name of Allah is glorified, thousands of angels descend to bless the occupants of the house for their devotion to Allah.

Financial Sacrifice- 2

  

In his Friday Sermon of 15 September 2023~29 Safar 1445 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius gives an exposition on the larger theme of financial sacrifice in the Divine Way. Continuing on the theme from previous week, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) underscores that true believers only seek God’s approval and pleasure in obeying His prescriptions and prohibitions and it is they who inherit Paradise as a reward for their goodness in this world. Just as the rich are on trial on how they conduct with the possessions they have been entrusted with, the needy also have obligations of patience and goodness in the Divine Law of life.

Elaborating on the theme of a Qur’anic verse identified at the beginning of the sermon (13:23), Hazrat Saheb (aba) notes that the true believers perform their social obligations and do all the services that they render only for the sake of God’s countenance: they do not do charity or other good deeds for selfish reasons, or out of pride or religious ostentation. Needy believers endure hardships caused by restricted means of livelihood, or other emotional deprivations, and yet they do not incline to evil and bad deeds, remaining steadfast in faith, in goodness and in fact, they also race to do good in their own way. Diligent in the performance of devotional prayer at prescribed times; disciplining the self and its inclinations in this temporary world; being mindful of the reckoning before the Lord on the Day of Judgement, true believers are hopeful of the enduring rewards of God’s pleasure and blessings in the Hereafter.  

'The world is not our Home'

 

'Everyone on earth perishes; all that remains is the Face of your Lord, full of majesty, bestowing honour'. (55: 27-28) 

'Do not call out to any other god beside God, for there is no god but Him. Everything will perish except His face. His is the judgement and to Him you shall all be brought back.' (28:89)

People love the fleeting life: family and children, wealth and riches, power and authority, fame and grandeur, etc. They forget God and ignore His commandments when they chase transient pleasures here at the cost of enduring blessings in the Hereafter. Hence, elects of God appear with a mission- to call our individual and collective attention to the true purpose and correct values of life; inviting us to choose wisely in our time in this transient world; urging us in the strongest terms to do good and resist evil, and recognize the impermanence of earthly life, so as to benefit us in the world to come. 

 

As the Divine Manifestation of our times in the person of Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius completes 23 years this month, the Divinely-inspired messages shared with the world by the Mujaddid of the 15th Century of Islam renews the enduring Highway to God, providing spiritual guidance and enlightenment to seekers of higher wisdom and true values of life.  Reproduced Below is such a Divinely-inspired message received by Hazrat Munir A. Azim (aba) on 14 May 2002 at 8.45 pm (Zikr Time):  

 

This universe is unstable and perishable. It is continually changing. It will not be tomorrow as it is today. There is no stability in this world and in Jamaat-Ahmadiyya worldwide. It is the land of death, and like a house of sand it can be destroyed at any time.

Riches: Greed and Regret

Our riches and resources come from God Who bestows on us all earthly blessings for a period of time. It is our duty to be grateful and thankful for the Divine grace of mercy; be generous and charitable with the less fortunate in society. Sharing provisions with the needy is recognition of this social mutuality: producers paying a part of the crops on the day of harvest with the poor are only fulfilling the dictates of public conscience, or the Divine command on social responsibility. In his Friday Sermon of 13 November 2009, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius provides an illuminating exposition on the parable of the owners of the garden in the Holy Qur’an. (68: 18-34) 

Whereas equity and charity attracts the Divine grace of mercy and the flourishing of possessions; greed and miserliness remove the protective shield from riches, and expose it to decline, loss and destruction- inviting feelings of ultimate regret on those who displayed arrogance and open ingratitude to the Supreme Lord. 

'It is He who produces both trellised and untrellised gardens, date palms, crops of diverse flavours, the olive, the pomegranate, alike yet different. So when they bear fruit, eat some of it, paying what is due on the day of harvest…' (6:142)     

‘Consider the seeds you sow in the ground– is it you who make them grow or We? If We wished, We could turn your harvest into chaff and leave you to wail, ‘We are burdened with debt; we are bereft.’ (56: 64-68) 

Read the Friday Sermon Below:

Financial Sacrifice

  

In his Friday Sermon of 08 September 2023~22 Safar 1445 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius gives a deep exposition on giving in the way of God.  

Sincerity of intention and action is the mark of true faith. A true believer remembers Allah (swt) with her heart; is in awe of God’s commandments and prescriptions all the time. One’s mind, body and wealth- all will testify to devotional religious practices in everyday life: recitation of the Holy Qur’an; regular performance of the prayer; spending one’s wealth and resources secretly and openly in service of God’s cause. A public act of giving can encourage others to do the same. A person should not to be boastful; Qur’an condemns hypocrisy and show off- ‘someone who spends his wealth only to be seen by people’ (2:265; 4:39). Indeed, the true spirit of giving in religion- whether publicly or privately, is seeking only the Face of God, the approval and pleasure of God in sheer gratefulness for all that He has entrusted one with in terms of wealth and resources in this world.  ‘Those who give, out of their own possessions, by night and by day, in private and in public, will have their reward with their Lord: no fear for them, nor will they grieve’ (2:274)

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

'Those who recite the Book of Allah, keep up the prayer, give secretly and openly from what We have provided for them, may hope for a trade that will never decline.' (Surah Al-Fatir, 35: 30)

 

Here “from what We have provided” does not just mean wealth, but also includes abilities, skills and means. So Allah is talking about those who spend from what He has provided them. They spend in secret too and openly too. Allah says that those are people who have made a transaction which shall never perish; a business or trade that will never fail. And its advantages will continue all the time. We know that in the world there are many businesses that prosper and flourish and develop but after a while, if not in the lifetime of a person, but in the lifetime of his children, the business ends and is destroyed.

 

But here Allah mentions such a business which never ends, never fails, i.e. a never-ending prosperous business. In that subject too, like I explained before, I told you that [like in this verse] spending in the path of Allah has been linked to other subjects. Otherwise, the act to just spend in itself is without any importance. There are people who sometimes give importance to people who have money and who can spend and they don’t give any importance to a person who does not have any money and who cannot spend.

 

In the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, we do not make any difference between the rich and the poor. The difference is in Taqwa only. If a poor person who is Muttaqi gives a little something [to the Jamaat – in the way of Allah], then we honour him for this financial sacrifice, even if it be little. There should not also manifest the feeling and thought that if the rich are spending, then we should not give them any importance. Importance should be given to both the rich and the poor. They both are making efforts according to their means to give in the path of Allah.

'Tawheed' & 'Shirk'

 

'And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you - by His grace - became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be (rightly) guided.' (Al-e-Imran, 3: 104)

 

Allah has put a responsibility on us - the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam - to make the world come under the Millat-e-Wahida, or Ummat-e-Wahida – as one nation, people or community of believers, and that time is fast approach. We are already seeing its realisation and effect through a clear and illuminating light. The project to bring the world as a Millat-e-Wahida also forms a part of Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah), and has a great link with Tawheed.

From all over the world, despite the Islamophobia that has crept into the world, we are finding that after more than twenty years, the world has opened itself to Islam. Allah is inspiring hearts to become Muslims. Now, with the same fervour, Allah has trusted to this humble servant - His Khalifa [Khalifatullah] – the mission to spread the message of His Oneness throughout the world. Apart from me, there are many Muslims around the world who are doing excellent work in the field of Dawa/ Tabligh. They are giving their time and efforts in this endeavour. Now, with the Divine Manifestation, slowly but surely you will find how Allah will open many hearts to recognize the Manifestation of this era with the advent of His Khalifatullah. Victory does not come at once. It comes step by step, and when you find the dawn of that victory, it will have a different effect on your hearts.