The Petals of Ramadan

  

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, the holy month - Ramadan - is here among us since a few days. Today is the 11^th day of this blessed month. Ramadan is such a powerful name that when its name is evoked - remembered - the heart finds its tranquillity. This sacred month par excellence, by its very presence brings contentment in the life of every sincere believer. This month really becomes a moment of exceptional fervour for each of them.

 

The month of Ramadan, metaphorically speaking, is a flower whose petals evoke the Divine Beauty, His (Allah’s) wisdom as well as His mercy towards the believers.

Ramadan & Its Light

  

'Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction. So whoever is present this month, let him fast.' (Quran 2: 186)

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, We have received the Quran as a guide (guidance) for humanity and its first verses were revealed in the month of Ramadan. The first verses are: ‘Iqra bismi Rabbikallazii khalaq, Khalaqal-‘insaana min ‘alaq. Iqra’ wa Rabbukal-‘Akram, Allazii ‘allama bil-Qalam. ‘Allamal-‘insaana maa lam ya’-lam (Read, in the name of your Lord, the Creator, Who created man from something that sticks. Read. Your Lord, He is the Most Generous, Who teaches with the pen, teaches man what he did not know).

 

Allah has chosen to make His greatest law-bearing prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) remain an Ummi (illiterate) - whereby he did not know how to read or write - so that the world may know the true worth of the Quran that He has revealed through him. Allah has sent Hazrat Jibreel (as), the chief of the angels of revelations to teach him His pure words which would later serve as guidance for all humanity.

Bai’at with the Khalifatullah

 Bai'at:  In Covenant with God   

‘Whoever obeys the Messenger obeys God.’ (4:81)

 

‘Prophet, when believing women come and pledge to you that they will not ascribe any partner to God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor lie about who has fathered their children, nor disobey you in any righteous thing, then you should accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them: God is most forgiving and merciful.’ (60:13)

 

‘Those who pledge loyalty to you [Prophet] are actually pledging loyalty to God Himself– God’s hand is placed on theirs––and anyone who breaks his pledge does so to his own detriment: God will give a great reward to the one who fulfils his pledge to Him.’ (48:11)

Water: A Divine Sign

‘Did We not make the earth a home for the living and the dead? Did We not place firm, lofty mountains on it and provide you with sweet water?’ (77: 26-28)

 

‘Do they not see the sky above them––how We have built and adorned it, with no rifts in it; how We spread out the earth and put solid mountains on it, and caused every kind of joyous plant to grow in it, as a lesson and reminder for every servant who turns to God; and how We send blessed water down from the sky and grow with it gardens, the harvest grain, and tall palm trees laden with clusters of dates, as a provision for everyone; how with water We give [new] life to a land that is dead? This is how the dead will emerge [from their graves].’ (50: 7-12)

 

‘It is He who sends the winds as heralds of good news before His Mercy. We send down pure water from the sky, so that We can revive a dead land with it, and We give it as a drink to many animals and people We have created.’ [25: 49-50]

 

Say, ‘Just think: if all your water were to sink deep into the earth who could give you flowing water in its place?’ (67: 31)

States of the Human Soul: A Reply

 

Recently, a Muslim lady named Shameenaz (from Mauritius) sent an important question for spiritual guidance to Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Al Mahdi Munir Ahmad Azim (aba). Explaining the circumstances that led her to approaching Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) with this question, the lady observed that other religious leaders of the various Muslim Jamaats to whom she had sent the question did not provide a spiritually-convincing response to this vital issue. She writes: ‘Imam Sahib, I want to know the three stages of development of the human soul [according to the Holy Quran].’

Faith and the World

 

A believer needs to be mindful of God, and he should adopt righteousness and fear of God in all his pursuits in this world. Those who give preference to the Faith over their worldly concerns, they are never wasted; indeed they attract Divine grace and mercy in their life circumstances, Insha Allah. 

Several verses in the Holy Qur’an points out that Divine succour and help follow those believers who trust in God:   

‘Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should heed this: God will find a way out for those who are mindful of Him, and will provide for them from an unexpected source; God will be enough for those who put their trust in Him. God achieves His purpose; God has set a due measure for everything.’ (65: 3-4)

 ‘You who believe! If you help God, He will help you and make you stand firm’ (47:8) 

‘God is sure to help those who help His cause– God is strong and mighty– those who, when We establish them in the land, keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, command what is right, and forbid what is wrong: God controls the outcome of all events.’ (22:41-42)  

‘Salat-al-Kasuf’: Prayer of Eclipse

 

'…He created the sun, moon, and stars to be subservient to His command; all creation and command belong to Him. Exalted be God, Lord of all the worlds!’ (7:55)

‘It is He who created night and day, the sun and the moon, each floating in its orbit.’ (21:34)

The sun and the moon follow their calculated courses’. (55:6)

'The night, the day, the sun, the moon, are only a few of His signs. Do not bow down in worship to the sun or the moon, but bow down to God who created them, if it is truly Him that you worship.’—(41:38)

'The sun and the moon are two signs of the Almighty. Solar and lunar eclipses do not occur because of the life or death of someone; in fact, the Almighty warns His people through such phenomena. So, when you see them, beseech the Almighty, celebrate His sovereignty, offer the prayer and spend in His way’. 

---Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

Recently a Muslim brother from India contacted Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Al Siddique Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius requesting guidance on Islamic prayer to be offered in times of solar or lunar eclipses. We are reproducing below the clear guidance given by Hazrat Saheb (aba) on the occasion for the benefit of all truth seekers in relation to the religious prayer to be offered in times of solar or lunar eclipse: