Abdullah ibn Mughaffal relates:
A man said to the Holy
Prophet (pbuh): “Messenger of Allah, I love you”.
He said: “Watch
what you are saying!”
The man said: “Indeed, I love you”;
and repeated it three times.
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “If you do
love me prepare for poverty, for poverty advances more rapidly towards one who
loves me than does flood water towards its objective.” (Tirmidhi)
If there was such a love which existed in the times of the
Holy Prophet (pbuh), it was love which was bonded a believer to another
believer, only for the pleasure of Allah. And a greater love which existed is
the love which a believer has for the prophet of Allah (pbuh) and a yet greater
love is the love which the prophet had for the believers. Yet a greater love
existed more than this love, and that is the love which the Holy Prophet (pbuh)
had for Allah; but love, the true one is the one which Allah has for His
prophet; after that love, then comes the love which Allah has for His
creatures; especially His sincere servants. Therefore, it is such a great and beautiful love that the
prophet loses himself in Allah, and Allah bestows upon him His favours and
makes the hearts of the sincere people, and the seekers of truth to attach
themselves to it (Allah, Allah’s love).
Thus, this profession of love: “Inni Uhibbu fil-laahi” (I love you for the sake of
Allah) which manifests its importance, especially in the life of a believer and
for the prophet of Allah (pbuh) it is the love he has for Allah and humanity
which enabled him to sacrifice his life and time and to remain awake at night (in
worship) so that Allah save the people from calamities and forgive
them.
Like this Hadith explains, if a believer has love for the
prophet in him, then he must expect to go through all kinds of trials, because
it is through poverty and great painful trials that Allah shall test if all the
words he uttered (in the cause of Allah) was only on his lips or was he really
sincere in his sayings. That is why in the Hadith, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) told
the man to be careful in the words he was pronouncing (when he said he loved
the prophet). If he really did love him (pbuh), then he must expect and be
ready to go through poverty because this enables a believer to reach his goal
more quickly than any other person, and he gave a parable of how flood water
gush forward with force to reach its destination.
Therefore, we see how the Holy Prophet (pbuh) attached
himself to poverty, whereby he personally preferred to lead a humble life,
filled with difficulties and famine so that his soul becomes rich of divine
love, and so that Allah may open for him the door of salvation and that of His
infinite love. Thus, the one who follows the example of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh),
he shall definitely beneficiate of the nearness of Allah, whereby for the love
of Allah and His prophet (pbuh), he struggles with his own body and wealth and
he sacrifices himself for Allah and His prophet (pbuh). Then, Allah shall
definitely bestow upon him the spiritual good which his soul seeks. The
physical temporal body is very ephemeral. Allah shall continue to try His
servants till the true essence and intention become clear. When they engage
themselves to love Allah and His Messenger, then they must be ready to become
exalted soldiers of Islam when they accept to go through all kinds of
difficulties so that they may harvest the satisfaction ad love of Allah upon
them and also the pleasure and love of the prophet. This is the true wealth of
a believer whereby his faith feeds itself on that love which is promoted by
Allah so that the believer becomes for Allah Himself, through the love, a true
one which he has for Allah, His prophets, books, angels etc.
Afterwards the path of that believer opens up whereby the
believer shall easily perceives the path ahead, the path of his soul is
illumined when he shall proceeds towards Allah and then, all the difficulties
which he has gone through in this temporal world shall seem like nothing at
all.
Therefore, words and actions are two different things. When
you say something, especially something which concerns spirituality, then you
must expect that Allah tries you on the words you have uttered. For example, if
you say, do not implement boycott and you preach such teachings sermons after
sermons so that the others can stop boycotting, then you must be the first one
to show such example where you are against boycott, and you make sure that by
your own examples/actions, you show the true teachings of Islam.
Now, if you say that you love Allah and His prophets, be
him the noble prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and the messenger whom Allah sends
for your era, then you must expect that Allah tries you till it becomes clear
if you are sincere with Allah and His Messenger or if the words which you
pronounced were just empty words which you uttered to fool yourself at first
and then to fool your surroundings, that is, the believers.
Therefore, each Muslim believer, and especially in the
present Divine Manifestation of our era, must take great precaution come what may
to preserve His faith and love which he has for Allah and the prophet which he
affirms that he holds. Bear in mind that trials after trials shall befall you,
but if you remain firm and sincere like Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and his true
disciples were, then you shall find your path to Allah easily opened and when
the time shall come for Allah to take your soul back in His possession, then
you shall have a smile on your lips, you soul happy and you shall feel the
great need to return to your Creator, awaiting impatiently to receive that
divine love and light which shall envelop you. Do not forget, you are temporary
in this world. You true happiness is Allah.
May each of you realise this reality and dedicates his
everyday for Allah and to work for the cause of Allah, because come what may,
you like it or not, if you say that you believe, have faith in Allah and that
you love Allah and His messenger, then you must expect that you shall be made
to go through enormous trials, and bear in mind that if you succeed in the
examinations which Allah sets for you, then you shall be in eternal bliss, Insha-Allah.
May Allah make you all realise the truth. Become for Allah. Allah does not have
great expectations from you. You live in this world, but (on the
condition that) you do not forget Him. Each time man forgets Him, then
Allah sends His representative on earth to make these people remember Him,
worship Him and beseech and supplicate Him and not the false gods.
May Allah make all of us Mubarak in the path that we have
chosen to tread to gain Allah as our reward. Verily, our reward and our
happiness come from Allah alone; it is Him which reinforces us and makes us
march towards victory, with His light upon us, and it is Him which makes trials
transform into naught in the path which we have taken to accede to His
pleasure. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
- Friday Sermon of January 24, 2014-Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius