The long term sustainability
of the economic development models being pursued by various nations is under a
shadow these days with multiple crises-economic, political, social and
financial- afflicting even the affluent among the peoples and societies.
Instead of addressing the glaring inequalities in income and wealth and the
insane disparities in the resource distribution structures that under grid the
modern economies, the priority of our finest minds seems to have been diverted
to no less a thing than ‘playing’ God. How else would you explain the global focus
on ‘birth control’ as the panacea for gross mismanagement of economies/
resource distribution patterns?! Alas, for a world that has lost its sense of
proportionality and is out of ‘balance’, flawed logic, warped thinking and
anti- natural policies seem to appeal more than ethical concerns.
To contain the many issues
emerging out of the inequitable economic and social policies followed thus far,
nations seem to have found a magical solution in population control/ birth
control. Abortion and Birth Control as a conscious state policy to reduce
population figures is antithetical to the spirit of life and natural growth and
as such, against the Islamic values. In his Friday
Sermon of June 15, 2012 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of
Mauritius (atba) explained at length the ethical teachings of Islam with special
reference to marital life- the ways in which Islamic ethics seek to inject personal
happiness, the joy of togetherness, emotional bonding and the bliss of progeny
into the very special relationship between a man and his wife. Drawing on the
fine metaphor of beautiful flowers, the Messenger of Allah of our times points
out that children are the Roses in the garden of life and calls our attention
to the traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa) who wanted to see hundreds of
flowers to bloom in the garden of Muslim Ummah.
Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon:
Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah,
today again Allah the Almighty has given me the opportunity to continue my
sermon of last Friday 08 June 2012 on
the subject of the abortion, and now it is a fact that the authorities have
already voted for the legalisation of abortion, and thus at the same time
encouraging Birth Control.
This is the kind of society in which we are now
living, and this concerns all people of all religions, in all countries around
the world. Allah the Almighty in His wisdom
has put man’s every need at his disposal. Sexual relations between husband and wife is something which has
already been established in the nature of these two creatures. Now if we
restrict or control the desire (especially the one for procreation) which is
present in both sexes then automatically (if the restriction is established)
there shall be hatred and disgust which shall crop up in the relation of the
couple. (Such feelings like) anger comes to the surface. Life starts becoming
bitter. Where there should have been love, hatred has taken place. The social
relation between man and wife becomes fragile.
The teachings of Islam
on this subject is clear, and there is even a divine commandment established
whereby a man has got the legal authority from Allah to marry more than one
wife (that is, two, three or four) like it has been mentioned in the fourth
chapter of the Holy Quran. There is not only the question of the equal taking
care of these women in respect to food, drink, clothing, relaxation (out of the
house) etc. but also in respect to sexual desire which Allah the Almighty has
perfected so that the man can satisfy his wife. In the religion of Islam
whenever there is the legal marriage (and in legal marriages whereby the man
marries several the wives shall earn great rewards from Allah the Almighty in
that which they respected the prescribed divine commandments) and whenever a
man and his wives (or even one wife) share their lives together (by living together),
therein also is reward for them.
If the same thing (that
is co-habitation and sexual relations) is done illegally there is punishment
for them. Therefore the couple must act
according to the divine commandments and keep away from that which will bring
the wrath of Allah upon them. In other words, they must keep away from
Birth Control and abortion. One of the reasons behind this act (sexual
relations) is to produce children. Therefore, for this purpose, the sexual act
is not an animalistic behaviour or just physical, No! This act, this meeting
between man and wife must be a spiritual one also. There must be a purpose
which shall please Allah by continuing the system of procreation.
If man and wife meet in
a sexual relation filed with tension, and by all means try to restrict that
which must happen (for procreation) therefore, where is the pleasure in that
act? How can you seek pleasure in a tensed moment? This is not possible! And it
is a fact that the Creator has already cater for the needs of each of His
creature on earth. Birth is found only in the Hand of Allah. It is also a fact
that contraceptives do not totally work. Whether there is (birth) control or
not, if Allah has decided (that a baby be born), there is no restricting Allah
from doing so. If you want to destroy your inner system without valid reasons,
therefore you must take full responsibility for your act. Allah the Almighty
has said in the Holy Quran (Chapter 17,
Verse 32): “Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We shall give
them their provision like We give you. To kill them is a great sin.”
A child is definitely a
great help for a parent. The more the children, the more we shall see that
beauty later on. The joy he brings in the house is something which cannot be
explained. When someone plants a Rose plant, one takes great precaution and
devotes time to care for it, and when one sees it grow and blossom, having got
many blooms, one is happy with the result. And when later on these blooms open
(with the flower exposed for full view) then how happy is that person
(gardener) when he sees those Rose flowers. Despite being pricked with thorns
of the plant when you were watering it, but afterwards when you look at the
Rose flowers, you forget the pain you went through before when you were caring
for it when it was just a small plant. And the more there are Roses the more
you are happy. Likewise we shall see the value of our children (Insha-Allah).
Hazrat Muhammad (sa)
wished to see the people in His Ummah in great number. In a Hadith found in
Sunan An-Nasai, in the Chapter of Marriage, Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (sa)
advised his Ummah to marry women who shall give them lots of children and he
expressed his wish to see his Ummah in great number and surpass the number of
the people of other faiths. Therefore it is clear that we belong the Ummah of
Hazrat Muhammad (sa). We must follow the advice of the Holy Prophet Hazrat
Muhammad (sa). When we say that we love the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (sa),
we must follow all his teachings. How can we say that we have to heart the
teachings of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (sa) and at the same time we are
following the path of abortion and Birth Control? Where is that spirit to
expand our numbers, the numbers of this Ummah? For we know very well that there
is no question that abortion or Birth Control can increase our number. On the
contrary we are destroying ourselves (the Ummah) and the consequences for this
shall be very serious.
In the era we are now
living, there are all sorts of campaign to restrict birth of children. How
happy shall Allah be with us and love us when we put into practice that which
Allah and His Messenger (sa) has taught us. If we want to live only for this
temporary world, therefore we shall follow our wishes (and desires) which shall
only please us (not Allah). The love of
a believer must firstly be in harmony with his Creator, and afterwards his love
must be for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) before loving himself. If we must
love the Holy Prophet (sa) that much, then we must obey him when he said that
he wished to see (on the day of Judgement) his Ummah in great number.
And O people of the
Ummah of the noble prophet (sa), follow the teachings which this prophet had
taught you. Do not let go of his teachings to only please your own ego, your
own desires. Do not abandon the divine teachings to follow to the letter the
teachings of man or that of the unbelievers.
There is an important
factor which we Muslims of Mauritius must not forget. We are a minority group
in this country, but I have to point out the fact that despite that we are in
minority but we are in majority in faith in Allah and in His Prophet (sa) for
Islam is the only true religion which exist. Our percentage is minimal, about
some 16 to 17 percent. According to the last census which the government
conducted, the number remained the same as in the past. Let us analyse the
truth which is staring at us in our face. The only community which is suffering
the most due to drugs is that of the Muslims. It is an absolute truth that if
drugs were affecting the youths of the majority, then since long they would
have found a solution to the problem. Drugs are destroying the youths of our
country. Many of them are dying with drugs. Now you see that many young Muslim
girls also are leaving Islam to marry men from other religious faiths, or they leave
Islam on the pretext that they do not find suitable husbands for them to marry.
Is this a plan against the Muslim community? If this continues like this, in
the next census that number, 16 or 17 percent shall visibly decrease. And
especially this shall be so if the Muslims women let themselves be trapped by
abortion or Birth Control. This shall be a complete mess. To outdo the plan
which there is against the Muslim Community, therefore the Muslim Ummah must
encourage its members to increase their number (by procreation) and not to
decrease (its number).
Nowadays there is a
notion which is circulating among the young couples. They think that when they
beget only one or two children they shall be able to have more control over
them and therefore they can plan their future in the proper manner, but this is
not completely true. Let us analyse the dangers when parents have only one or
two children. The future (of children)
is in the Hand of Allah, not in the hands of men. Nobody knows what shall happen in a blink of an eye, in less than a
second. Only Allah knows the invisible. If through Birth Control one beget
only one child and after some years this child becomes ill and dies or he dies
through an accident or any other cause which Allah determine, you shall return
back to zero and now you have health complications for you have been
conditioning your body with an anti-reproduction system.
When there is only one
child, you shall have the tendency to spoil him. You shall think that as you
have only one child, therefore whatever he asks you, you must give him. And
later on, the child becomes so much spoil that he himself is at a lost, and it
is them that you shall regret, you shall suffer. You shall wish that you had
more than one child (so that this situation would not have occurred). But when
the time was ripe for Allah the Almighty to give you children, you let go of
that opportunity. For you, you preferred to enjoy life first. You wanted to
appear young. And now the consequences of bearing only one child (through Birth
Control etc.) are before you. If we do not know possess any knowledge of the
future, then why take such useless risk?
Once we die and leave
this world, it is only our deeds which we shall bring with us. All that which
we possess on earth shall be left behind: wives, children and wealth. They
shall be left behind. As long as man does good deeds on earth, he shall earn
rewards for these. Upon his death he stops receiving those rewards. There are
such deeds which a Muslim does on earth and the rewards of which he continues
to receive after death. This is what we call Sawaab Jaariya. For example
the building of a Mosque or a pious child who prays for you after your death.
A child who prays for his mother and father, Allah the
Almighty accepts his prayers. When this child asks Allah to forgive his
parents, then the value of this prayer is inestimable, especially when we (the
parents) are in our tombs. Therefore the more we have children the more there is
the probability that they pray a lot for us. We are but travellers for a short
period of time in this world, therefore we more have the capacity to do so, and
thus we must promote good, and do good deeds. The more children we leave behind
on earth, children who have good Islamic education, the more it shall be to our
advantage.
I pray to Allah the
Almighty that He enables each of you to ponder over what has been said in the
two Friday Sermons (on abortion and Birth Control) and let us pray also that we
always take the path of morality. Insha-Allah, I shall talk more on this
subject in my speech tonight. And to end this sermon, let man learn to say A
BIG NO TO BIRTH CONTROL and a BIG NO TO ABORTION before it is too late for him.
Insha-Allah, Ameen.