Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Miracles of 'Tawheed'

 The Duahs of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) & The Promise of Allah- Part 1

 

If today we are Muslims, and we have received the names and titles of Muslims, it is only through Allah and His greatest, most honourable and most perfect prophet [from among all Messengers and Prophets] Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He was someone who preferred to sacrifice worldly pleasures for the greatest pleasure, i.e. the spiritual pleasure which is eternal. And the meaning of this spiritual pleasure is to acquire the love of Allah and His approval and mercy. So, through his sacrifices, obedience, goodness, and following the divine instructions he received, he (pbuh) has secured a reserved and most honourable place for him in the “heart” and “sight” of Allah.

 

That great personality who is the most perfect of all law-bearing and non-law-bearing prophets is none but Muhammad (pbuh). He was born in Arabia at a time when Arabia and the rest of the world were plunged into the darkness of infidelity to Allah. Idolatry was rampant and caused havoc everywhere. It was him, a very humble and weak human who was moreover an orphan – of both mother and father – from his early childhood, who enabled a great spiritual revolution in the world, not just in Arabia.

 

Bear in mind that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did not let himself be attracted by gold and silver, by the superficial riches of this world. He preferred sacrificing for His Ummah so that they [i.e. all of us, his followers] may harvest the good of the hereafter as well as the pleasure of Allah when they [we, Muslims] follow in his footsteps.

Monday, September 2, 2024

Lessons from Hazrat Ibrahim- 2

 

The Messengers of Allah


'The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. (They proclaim) “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You (alone) is the final return.” (Al-Baqara 2: 286)


Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah [Praise be to Allah, again (I repeat) Praise be to Allah], the life of Hazrat Ibrahim (as) [Abraham], as I explained last week, was far from easy. He faced numerous trials, starting with his own parents, and also encountered Namrud [Nimrod] and his people who sought to burn him alive in a great fire simply because he made them question the false gods they were worshipping.

Sunday, September 1, 2024

Mystical Visions in Islam

 

In a recent Question and Answer session with the Sahih Al Islam YouTube Channel, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius explains the nature of Visions, Dreams & Revelations as spiritual phenomena. In this conversation with Hazrat Tayyiba Nasrine Aliah, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) describes the Islamic perspective with copious references to Qur’anic teachings as well as the Holy Prophet’s mystical experiences, especially focussing on the Miraj (Ascension) of the Holy Prophet (sa). Furthermore, drawing on his own personal, mystical experiences, Hazrat Saheb (aba) gives a fascinating glimpse into the world of spiritual visions and revelations in this era, SubhaanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allah-u-Akbar!  


 


For the Text of the Interview, click here

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Bedtime Ethics in Islam


Qur'an on Night Prayer

 

 

‘Remember the name of your Lord at dawn and in the evening; bow down before Him, and glorify Him at length by night’. (76: 26-27)



‘Proclaim His praise in the night’ (50:41)


 

‘Glorify Him at night and at the fading of the stars.’ (52: 50) 


 

‘Keep up the prayer at both ends of the day, and during parts of the night, for good things drive bad away– this is a reminder for those who are aware.’ (11: 115)

 

‘Celebrate the praise of your Lord, before the rising and setting of the sun, celebrate His praise during the night, and at the beginning and end of the day, so that you may find contentment.’ (20:131)


 

‘Night prayer makes a deeper impression and sharpens words–– you are kept busy for long periods of the day–– so celebrate the name of your Lord and devote yourself wholeheartedly to Him.’ (73:7-9)


 

‘And during the night wake up and pray, as an extra offering of your own, so that your Lord may raise you to a [highly] praised status.’ (17:80)

Friday, August 30, 2024

‘You Are Not A Muslim’

  

Sufyan Bin Abdullah related, “I said to the Messenger of Allah, ‘Tell me a statement on Islam such that I need ask no one else but you about it’. He told me, ‘Say, ‘I believe in God,’ and be upright.’ ”  



‘One who observes the same prayer as we do, faces the same direction in prayer as we do, and partakes from the animal slaughtered by us, then such a one is a Muslim concerning whom there is a Covenant of Allah and His Messenger: so you must not seek to hoodwink Allah in the matter of this Covenant.’  



'A believer is still within the scope of his religion as long as he does not shed forbidden blood....If anyone curses a believer, that is like murdering him; and if anyone accuses a believer of disbelief, that is like murdering him...A slanderer will not enter the Garden of Paradise’. 


 

‘People, We created you all from male and female, and made you into races and tribes so that you should get to know one another [like relatives from the same origin]. In God’s eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him: God is all knowing, all aware’. (Holy Qur'an, 49: 14)

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Lessons from Hazrat Ibrahim (as)

 

'The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. (They proclaim) “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You (alone) is the final return.” (Al-Baqara 2: 286)

 

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah [Praise be to Allah, Praise be to Allah again], I continue on the subject of my Friday sermon from past weeks on the Messengers of Allah. Today, I come on the life story of Hazrat Ibrahim (as) – Abraham.

 

After Hazrat Nuh (as), there were several prophets who came in the footsteps of Hazrat Nuh (as), who consolidated and fulfilled the Book of Law that he received. Then, after a lapse of time when those teachings were falsified and lost, Allah raised Hazrat Ibrahim (as) as a prophet and messenger. Allah blessed him with His revelations and sent down His commandments upon him. And Allah mentions this in the Holy Quran where He says: “Indeed, this is found in the former scriptures, the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Al-A’la 87:19-20)

Monday, August 26, 2024

Adam's Sons: Habil and Qabil

 

God's messengers and Man's free-will

 
'The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. (They proclaim) “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You (alone) is the final return.”
(Al-Baqara 2: 286)

 

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, I continue my sermon on the Messengers of Allah and the struggle between good and evil.

 

From the Islamic perspective, all prophets and messengers of Allah deserve the respect and love of believers. When Allah established Adam (as) on earth, He granted him a wife from his own being, of his own quality and essence, to bring forth a new generation of humans. These humans have free will, with the choice to choose their path: either they choose the right path and gain divine love, or they become companions of the Satan and burn with him in Hell.