‘Knowledge cannot guarantee Guidance’

It is a great spiritual irony that knowledge and divine guidance may not always intersect. In fact, they may diverge on most occasions if we go by the distilled wisdom of spiritual history. 

Whenever a Messenger of Allah appears, it is the priestly class of apparently-learned- men who opposes and rejects him. On the one hand, the Islamic tradition venerates and privileges knowledge and wisdom. Yet, on the other hand, it warns believers to be wary of scholars and the priestly class when they deviate from the Divine Path despite the knowledge they otherwise seem to possess. 

In his Friday Sermon of September 30, 2011 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius reflected on this profound theme. Read from the Extracts of the Sermon:      

“The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey that carries volumes (of books). Wretched is the example of the people who deny the revelations of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.” (62: 6)

Knowledge cannot guarantee guidance. It implies that guidance does not depend on knowledge but it is in the power of Allah Almighty. The Quranic verse above condemns those Mullahs who have gone astray.

“And had We willed We could have raised him with Our signs; but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he sticks out his tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) sticks out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who reject Our signs; So relate the story; perhaps they may reflect.” (7: 177)

There are many other verses and sayings of the Holy Prophet (sa) on this theme. The subject is so crucial that according to one Hadith, the angels of hell will get hold of these insolent Mullahs even before the idolaters. These so-called Mullahs will protest, wondering why they are being dealt with before the worshippers of the idols. The divine answer shall be:

“Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.” (39: 10)

ABORTION: Crime against Humanity

On September 27, 2011 LE MAURICIEN Newspaper of Mauritius, carried an article by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib on the issue of Abortion. In the article, Hadhrat Sahib reflects upon the sanctity of human life- recognized and affirmed by the scriptures of all religions. He describes the practice of abortion (unless under exceptional contingencies) as the very taking away of a   precious human life and as such, a crime against humanity. We are reproducing the article below for the benefit of all].

The Holy Quran says: “Take not life which God has made sacred.” (6:151)

Abortion is essentially the extermination of an unborn innocent life. Almighty God condemns such a heinous practice and His abhorrence for such an act is found not only in the Holy Quran but also in the various other sacred books, like the Gospel, Puranas, and Vedas, etc. In the Quran, God says:

“We ordained… that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation for murder or for spreading mischief on earth, it would be as if he killed all mankind. And who so saved a life, it would be as if he saved all mankind.” (5:33)

Nowadays there are lots of cases of abortion being practised in secret. Abortion in itself is a crime against humanity. Indeed it is a crime which governments of the world are trying to legalise. Some countries have already legalised this crime, while others, like Mauritius are trying to legalise it – which means: making a crime become legal and open! Does making a crime become legal going to resolve the major issues which the human society has to tackle or is it going to definitely aggravate the situation, by encouraging liberal sex and thereafter an increase in unwanted pregnancies which result in abortion?

In the Bible, we can read:  “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28).

“If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follows: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (Exodus 21: 22-25)

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” (Psalms 127:3)

A “Severe Warning” to an Ahmadi Maulana

How to prevent common Ahmadis from recognizing the Messenger of Allah of our times? That is the ‘concern’ troubling the minds of the Ahmadiyya leadership in Kerala today!

That Allah the Most High has sent a Messenger of His in order to revive Islam and to revitalise the faith of the Muslims (including Ahmadis) in this Era has come as a shocker to the mundane plans of the contemporary establishment in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. The leadership in Kerala is thus deploying all plausible methods and means available at their disposal for the execution of this nefarious objective- to keep people away from the sublime message of Allah’s Messenger.

In the true Orwellian fashion, with the objective of discrediting the Divine Plan in the eyes of its common members, the Ahmadi leadership arrogantly and contemptuously describes the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius as the “Fitna” (Allah forbid) of our times! Had it not been for the tragic irony and grave doctrinal mistakes of the so-said inheritors of the teachings of Hadhrat Ahmad (as), these ludicrous pronouncements of the leadership could have been dismissed as the venality and survival tactics of a decadent elite trembling at the bleak prospect of its spiritual irrelevance.

Spiritual history tells us that God’s Messengers have generally been constrained to confront such forces whenever they appear and seek to point attention to Divine message and correct doctrinal mistakes of people. It is no accident, then, that the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius has repeatedly counselled Ahmadi leaders to desist from their campaign of slander and vilification that they seem to relish against the Divine Manifestation. At a time when the Ahmadi leaders in Kerala deluded themselves of being capable of putting out the light of Allah shining forth in Mauritius, there came the stunning challenge of Mubahala from the Massih of Allah against no less a leader in stature than Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Sahib [ Inset: the Maulana with the Fifth Khalifa (c): Al Islam website]. 

For the Mubahala Challenge, see:   
         
http://sahih-al-islam.blogspot.com/2011/04/mubahala-challenge-to-ahmadi-maulana.html

In the aftermath of the Mubahala challenge declared by the Elect of Allah, the Ahmadi leadership strategically withdrew the impugned Maulana from the battle-front. As the Maulana was cooling his heels at home with those who sit at home, they advanced another pawn, Maulvi Mahmud Ahmad Sahib. The Maulana, in a desperate attempt to influence and deviate Ahmadis who are carefully studying the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius, is travelling around the State.

In his Friday Sermon of September 16, 2011 Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib has taken serious note of the activities of Maulvi Mahmud Ahmad Sahib of Kerala and has issued a “clear warning” to desist from playing with fire- waging war against the Light of Allah- or be ready to face a “great humiliation” coming his way. Read the Extracts from the sermon:

‘He who knows his self knows his Lord’

In his Friday Sermon of September 16, 2011 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib profoundly reflected on the spiritual significance of attaining true self knowledge. The human self is capable of transcending its earthly moorings by contemplating the Spirit of God. Through a deeper awareness about the human condition in an ultimately transient world, true believers find the “face” of Allah in every situation they encounter in life.  

Read from the extracts:

The “people of the truth” fall into two categories. Those of the first get married, have children, houses, crops, but their hearts are not attached to these duties, which are not veils for them (which can hinder them from the contemplation of God) ... They no longer see themselves, but only God, Sublime and Exalted, because for the “people of the truth”, the being of the world is the Being of God; in reality, everything comes from Him.

The second category of “people of the truth” always love God, and are consumed by the love of God and the knowledge of God in His essential unity, and they know their self and they destroy it (their ego) and affirm the unity of their self and God, they retain their self, and they are destroyed in their self, and they remain in their self and they hate what occurs outside their self, and love the hidden interiority of their self, and they despise their self because the Messenger of Allah (sa) said:   “He who knows his self knows his Lord” ["Ma’n ara’ a nafsahu faqad ara’fa rab’bahu"].

This is also one of the revelations which I received at the beginning of the Divine Manifestation, whereby God taught me His wonders, that I may become even closer to Him, and that I trust Him, by knowing myself profoundly…

Moreover, when they attach their vision “outside” of their ego, whatever the thing they see, it is their self which they see, and what they contemplate is their self, because for the “people of the truth” the world and their self are one and the same thing; what they see, it's verily their self which they see. Like the Messenger of Allah (sa) said:  “I saw my Lord through the (merciful) eye of my Lord.”

This is also one of the revelations which I received from Allah at the beginning of the Divine manifestation along with the revelation: He who knows his self knows his Lord.

Are We Really Muslims?

“We have heard of part-time job, part-time teachers, etc. Now, there is a new trend called part-time Muslim. As the name itself suggests, the part-time Muslim is one who practices Islam only at specific times or at certain places and this is increasing extensively. Some examples are the Mussalli who prays five times a day but in his daily business dealings, he cheats his customers by giving them defect articles. Or there is the sister who wears Hijab (veil) only when going to a Mayyat (funeral) but dresses exactly like the Bollywood actresses during a wedding. 

Where are we going O Muslims? Is this the true notion of Islam – complete submission to Allah’s commands whatever the circumstance as Allah (swt) says in the following verses:

“O you who believe! Enter perfectly in Islam and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Verily! He is to you a plain enemy.” (2:209)

The above verse calls to people to enter Islam fully but just saying Shahada or being born and raise in a Muslim family do not make us a Muslim. Entering Islam fully means that we have to follow the teachings of Islam without any exceptions, without any reservations or without just focusing on one part and leaving the other on Allah (swt) to forgive. But let’s ask ourselves what Islam teaches us, how the life of our beloved Prophet (saws) was and his companions. Islam is a whole way of life and our Prophet Muhammad (saws) showed us practically how to live Islam in our daily life.

We must act like Muslims also. Islam does not only include some rituals, customs and forms of worship but something more comprehensive, one that includes everything that governs our way of life, how we spend our life and what to do and what not to do, whether it’s our social events, our personal matters, the social and economic system, our relations to warfare. So everything is a part of Deen and since Islam is our Deen all those areas need to be governed as per Islam.

ZAKAT: A Pillar of Islam

In his Friday sermon of August 26, 2011 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius reflected on the spiritual significance of Zakat.

Read from the Extracts:

“Zakat is an obligatory act of charity enjoined on every eligible Muslim individual. It is an act of worship and an effective form of achieving social justice. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and is prescribed in the Quran and Hadith.

The root of the word Zakat in Arabic means blessing, growth, cleanliness or betterment. In Shariah, the word Zakat refers to the determined share of wealth prescribed by Allah to be distributed among the categories of those entitled to receive it. It is also used to mean the action of paying this share. Growth and cleanliness are not restricted to the assets from which Zakat has been taken, but affect the person who pays Zakat, in accordance with verse 104 of Surah 9 (At-Tauba).

“Take Sadaqa (Zakat) from their wealth to purify and cleanse them.”

Zakat, as known in the Shariah, is sometimes called Sadaqa. In fact, Sadaqa covers both Zakat and voluntary charity for any righteous purpose. In the later history of Islam, Sadaqa was used to mean voluntary charitable donations given to the destitute.

Zakat is an act of worship that purifies a Muslim’s wealth and soul. Wealth purification denotes the Mobilisation of assets for the purpose of financial growth and justified distribution. Purification of the soul implies the freedom from hatred, jealousy, selfishness and greed.

Technically, Zakat is a yearly fixed proportion taken from the surplus wealth and earnings of a Muslim. It is then distributed to prescribed beneficiaries for the welfare of the Muslim society. It is paid on the net balance after a Muslim has deducted his expenses on personal, family and other necessities. At the end of the year, if he or she is in possession of the equivalent of 85 grams of gold or more in cash or articles of trade, he or she must pay Zakat at the rate of 2.5%. It also applies to agricultural products and to livestock.

In the Holy Quran, the term Zakat is mentioned in several verses. It occurs thirty times in the Quran; in twenty-seven of them it is associated with Salat, prayer, in the same sequence, namely, those who are steadfast in their prayer … and those who actively pay Zakat.

Blessings of 'Lailat-ul-Qadr'

On August 25, 2011 LE MAURICIEN Newspaper, which is published from the Mauritius, carried an article by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib on the extraordinary spiritual phenomenon known as Lailat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree). In the article, Hadhrat Sahib reflects upon the Divine Grace and Mercy in the last 10 days of the Holy Month of Ramadan available to the believers who engage in fasting and other acts of worship only for the sake of Allah, the Most High. We are reproducing below the article here for the benefit of all].

The Holy Quran describes one of the greatest and most beautiful night as thus:“Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” (Al-Qadr 97: 2-6)

After having completed twenty days of fasting during this blessed month, the believer feels the deep connection between him and his Lord. He is altogether satisfied that he succeeded in fulfilling the commands of his Lord, of sacrificing many aspects of his life, all for the pleasure of his Creator. This sense of achievement is a boost for him to strive further to make the best of these remaining days when Ramadan will go away, leaving a big vacuum in his life. Like I have so many times said, Ramadan is a month of training; such a month in which he prefers to indulge in seeking the pleasure of God through numerous forms of acts of worship, to seek God’s forgiveness and His protection against Hell-fire.

The Mother of the Believers, Lady Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), the noble wife of the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) narrated: “Allah’s Apostle used to practice  Itikaf (spiritual retreat) in the last ten nights of Ramadan and used to say, “Look for the Night of Qadr (Decree) in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan.” The last ten days of Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam is also time for repentance of an exquisite aura.