In his Friday Sermon of September 18, 2015 (04 Dhul-Hijjah 1436 Hijri) the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius shared his thoughts on the recent tragic event in Mecca where a crane crash caused the death and injuries for hundreds of pilgrims who flocked to the City of God for the annual pilgrimage of Hajj. Based on his fervent prayers for the victims of this tragedy and the subsequent Divine revelations in this context, the Khalifatullah (atba) ruminates on the meaning of life and death for believers in the complex conditions of our times.
Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon Below:
...And as I’ve said, here in Mauritius we received on Friday night, 11
September 2015 the sad news of the tragedy that occurred at the Grand Mosque of
Mecca where 107 people died after a huge crane collapsed and in which more than
230 people were also injured. It happened a few days before the great
pilgrimage that drew hundreds of thousands of faithful around the world.
A
crane on the Great Mosque in Mecca collapsed in a storm. Its presence there was
because of the expansion work in the area around the Grand Mosque in order to
further accommodate 2.2 million people for the forthcoming Hajj. And so, this
is the worst tragedy that has overcome the holy sites in Saudi Arabia for
years. But Insha-Allah, it will not
affect the beginning of the Hajj, on 21st September.
According to
news received, all Muslims from the different nations who were there, they all
mobilized to give a helping hand to the wounded and make all arrangements for
our brothers and sisters who have died. At that very moment, there was the
image of united Muslims, where everyone volunteered to donate blood to save the
lives of their Muslim brothers and sisters.
On hearing this news, my heart became heavy with grief, and by the grace of
Allah, I turned to Allah in prayer for our brothers and sisters afflicted in
Mecca and who were injured. I never fail to recall them in my Namaz (Salat), and especially the Tahajjud
where I begged Allah as follows:
“As’alul laahal
Azeem, Rabbal Arshil Azeem, an yashfi-yaka”
- I beg Allah, The Great, the Lord of the Great
Throne, to grant them cure.
For those who died in the holy land, and especially when they went there to
accomplish the fifth pillar of Islam, then this Hadith came immediately to mind
where the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said that whoever recites this
supplication (duah) with sincerity,
then he will have the chance to die as a martyr in the cause of Allah:
“Allahummar
zuqnee shahaadatan fee sabeelika wajal mautee bibaaladi rasoolika.”
- O Allah grant me martyrdom in Your way and cause me
to die in the city of your Messenger (pbuh).
By the immense grace of Allah, while I was doing these duahs for our brothers and sisters who died in Mecca with the
intention of performing Hajj – but who failed to do so because of the tragedy –
Allah revealed to me two verses of the Quran that have much comforted my heart
and reassured me that this misfortune was actually a blessing for them.
The
first verse (the first revelation) is as thus:
“Do not
speak of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Indeed, they are
alive, but you do not perceive.” (2: 155)
After some time, after the Tahajjud, Allah (swt) revealed this second
verse:
“Do not
consider those who are killed in the Way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive
and have with their Lord all that they desire.” (3: 170)
May Allah accept their intention for Hajj and give them a better place in
the Jannat-ul-Firdaus. Although they
failed to perform the Hajj but their intention was accepted before Allah
according to the two verses which I received as divine revelations and hence
also the fact that they became martyrs in the cause of Allah. Alhamdulillah. Death is for us all. We
shall all die one day, but certainly what better death there is than to die in
the path of Allah, for the cause of Allah?
So I make an appeal to all the families of the victims and to all the
Muslim brothers and sisters, do not be sad, do not worry and cry, and even do
not say bad words about them as they are in a much better place and they are
alive and they will receive their provisions with Allah. Insha-Allah, Ameen, Allahumma Ameen.