Saturday, November 29, 2014

Islamic Law as 'Divine Law'



Islamic Law is divine in origin and is based on divine revelation. Being divine in origin, Islamic Law is distinct from human law which is the outcome of customary rules and which can never, with perfect success, produce uniformity of conduct within the field of action to which they apply as do the divine laws with their specified norms of good and bad, virtue and vice.

Divine Laws are the standards of right conduct and provide guidance, not only in establishing a well-ordered society, but also in distinguishing between “good” and “evil”. As a well knit system of obligation they safeguard the rights of all, and as the product of divine wisdom which alone knows what is absolute good, they ensure the welfare of the entire humanity. The peculiarity of Divine Law is that it is eternal and immutable and yet contains principles broad enough to meet the growing needs of society. 

In contradistinction to this, human laws are based on human reason which is liable to err. Further, they are made according to the needs of society and to sub-serve its interest, hence they change with the change in society. They depend for their existence on the vagaries of public opinion or upon the whims and fancies of a ruling monarch and, as such, cannot represent that unity of divine law which results in the uniformity of society.

Divine Law is a declaration on all matters and provides for every possible eventuality and this is the claim advanced by the Quran itself: “And We have revealed to you a Book as an exposition of all things.” (16: 90)

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Remedies for the Diseases of the Heart

I don’t know how to thank My Creator, for He keeps increasing my knowledge on this subject and today, Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah I continue my Friday Sermon, on the remedies for the diseases of the heart, and I start first of all with how to guard one’s heart against the attack of the Satan (Shaytan)Shaytan creates doubts in the heart, therefore believing men should distant these doubts with the Zikr (remembrance) of Allah Ta’ala. They should not pay any attention to these doubts and distractions. Doubts and distractions are the talks of the Satan which he instills in the hearts of the believers.

It is reported in a Hadith that Shaytan will come to one of you and say to you: “Who created you?” 

The person will reply “Allah has created me”Shaytan will then ask:“Who has created Allah?” 

Thus if this question arises in anyone’s heart, he should say:“I have brought faith in Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). This thought will then go away”. (Musnad Ahmad)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is reported to have said: “Two causes take effect on the heart. One, the effect by the angels in the form of truth and virtue, this is from Allah Ta’ala. One should thank Allah Ta’ala for such effect. The other is from our enemy in the form of rejecting the truth and avoiding virtuous acts. One who experiences these effects should seek Allah’s protection from the accursed Satan.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) then recited the following verse in a way of supporting this Hadith: “Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (2: 269).” (Musnad Ahmad)

Monday, November 24, 2014

Faith and Fellowship in Rodrigues

All my Rodriguan brothers and sisters who are present here, Assalamoualaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuhu. I wish to first of all thank you for your presence, and today verily is a historical date: 07 November 2014. We are performing our Friday Sermon in Oyster Bay here in Rodrigues.

And like you all know, my stay here in Rodrigues is for the purpose of seeking a place and also for the construction of our Mosque. And by the grace of Allah, a place has been found, and the construction of the mosque is in progress, but there is also the fact that our opponents of the different religions and from the different sects in Islam are putting obstacles in our works, creating problems so that the construction work of our Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam mosque here in Rodrigues is stopped. It is unfortunate that after doing the necessities for the construction the authorities then reacted differently. It is unfortunate that despite our arrival in Rodrigues, with all the procedures done with the authorities so that we may go forward with the construction project of the mosque and our Mission House here, and to make our Jamaat function and also to have our centre, whereby our brothers and sisters can have a good place for them to perform their Jummah, their programmes and prayers in congregation regularly (therefore there are problems cropping up because of the plans of our opponents).

Another thing I have noticed. When I came here the last time, that is, some months back, I saw the enthusiasm, with the new members etc. But this time around, with this humble self’s presence in Rodrigues, I understood what evil strategies our opponents are using to stop us from propagating the unicity of Allah, to stop our progress. They are making their best in this direction. Therefore those new members who were still weak in faith, whose faith had not had an opportunity to be reinforced in the correct way – and that is why also we need a centre so that someone does this work, to give spiritual education to our members – therefore, the scheming people have seized these opportunities (to brainwash the new members) and unfortunately there are among them people who have left the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. We have to be frank (reveal the truth). By the reports that we received they have come to know what kind of bad works the opposition have made to influence those people who had left the Jamaat. I need to stress that I am not talking of only one group of people, but this is the work of many who have participated to remove these people from the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, and we can say also from Islam altogether.

Decadence in Rodrigues society

Therefore, when I analyse all that has transpired in Rodrigues (everything has changed). I used to know Rodrigues well, how its inhabitants were nice, and used to love listening to religious speeches. It was in 1993 that I came to Rodrigues for the first time, and this continued till the year 2000. Rodrigues was a very quiet place (island). There used to be no fear to stay here. You could leave the house peacefully, leave the door open and nobody would enter to steal. We did not also hear about crimes and violence.