“And they give food in spite of love for it
to the needy, the orphan, and the captive,
(Saying),
'We feed you only for the countenance of Allah.
We wish not from you
reward or gratitude’.” (76: 9-10)
After the worship (Ibaadat) of Allah, the Quran has put much
emphasis also on ‘Khidmat Khalq’,
that is, Service to Humanity. Verily, these two (that is to say, the worship of
Allah and love for humanity) form part of religion. Bear in mind that it’s not
two different subjects, but they are actually two branches of the same tree.
The more you understand the meaning of Ibaadat
and the more you worship Allah, then automatically the more your relationship
with humans also shall continue to strengthen. Therefore, these two branches
grow together, side by side. It is not possible that a branch of worship (Ibaadat) of Allah grows and blooms,
while the branch of relationship with humans becomes dry and leaves room for thorns,
etc.
If ever it is like
that, then your Ibaadat shall prove
to be in vain. It also means that you have not even understood the true meaning
of Ibaadat. It shall be therefore a deception
on your part if you think you are trying to accomplish the Ibaadat of Allah, because the one who accomplishes Ibaadat of Allah, he has no other option
than to establish good relationships with humans. So in this context Ibaadat help you a lot to develop and
strengthen your relationships with humans. And this is a way to recognize a
sincere Ibaadat. At least on the
human level you can recognize it because you will certainly not perceive it at
Allah’s level, from the standpoint of Allah. But certainly at the human level,
you can easily recognize the sincere Ibaadat,
and that recognition shall be possible through the exercise of excellent moral
qualities. Moreover, the right treatment you do to Allah’s creatures, with the
poor, with those who are in need are indeed signs to show that your Ibaadat are similarly being accepted by
Allah.
So in this context I
chose some Hadiths of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) – which I shall mention in my next
sermons on the subject – in connection with the subject of mutual relationship
between humans and also the teaching concerning the morality of the excellent manners
of humans.
There are many Hadiths on this subject, but I can only mention some because
establishing your character (morality) begins in your own home and then it
begins to have an effect on your neighbours too, and it continues its
trajectory outside where it continues to spread. Stage by stage, the journey
begins with your near and dear ones and intensifies till it reaches the
foreigners too, so much so that as a result of this journey, you receive new
knowledge of Insaaniyat (humanity)
and your taste for human relations increases until those who yesterday were
non-believers, form now part of your family, and you feel this (feeling of belonging)
very strongly in your heart.
If after your connection with Allah, despite this,
your circles of relationship with humans do not increase; if instead these
people turn away from you because of your strong relationship with Allah, and
if a few only understand the connection you have with Allah and who also want
to follow your example to strengthen their relationship also with Allah, then at
that moment, the latter become your real family, who form an integral part of
yourself/yourselves, of your house/ home. So it all depends on
what kind of people who form part of this relationship that grows continuously.
There are unbelievers who, despite all means/ solutions/ attitudes that you use
with them, they still do not reform themselves, and thus they will not become yours.
But there are other types of non-believers who conserve within themselves the
seed of Insaaniyat (humanity) and thus
Allah then enables this to germinate and bloom in them and where finally the
veil of ignorance falls and they retain no more resentment/ grudge in their
heart for their brothers (people like themselves), and they willingly accept come
what may the commandments of Allah. So these kinds of people who stand by your
side, whether in good and bad times, and whatever may happen they do not break
their relationship with you for fear of breaking their relationship with Allah,
then it is those people who will become for you (that is to say, for the Messengers
of Allah and the believers) and Allah too. Therefore, those whom you consider
yours, will remain yours and come what may, you need to make it a duty for you to
protect their interest in such a way that they overcome all others.
As for me, the journey
to which I call you is the journey that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) had adopted
throughout his life and he used to invite all people to it. But that is another
subject that is different from the normal relations between humans. When you
straighten your relationship with the people of your house, then this is
actually a practice that is similar to the Sunnah
(practice/ example) of the Prophet (pbuh).
And at that moment, the
effect of this journey does not stop here, for then there is also a turnaround
in the relationship with the neighbours and this continues until the people of
the region, the city, the country also reform, so much so that it continues to
spread and exceeds the country’s internal limits and take an international
twist. And then you will witness how the world will become like a part of your
own family. And as a result, true justice is born.
This is why the Quran
emphasizes this until you get to “Itta-e-zil
Qurba”. This is not to say that you behave in a particular way with someone
and you act differently with another one. No.
The term “Zil Qurba” means that the relationship of each Momin (believer) with others begins with
justice and it accesses to Ihsaan (in
this context: favour/ kindness) and after covering all stages of Ihsaan, he enters the limit “Zil Qurba”. And then, when he reaches
this state, he considers everyone as his close ones/relatives. To better understand
this, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has described people as “descendants” of Allah.
“Descendants” means
families. Similarly “Zil Qurba”
encompasses all that. If all creatures are descendants of Allah, then at that
moment your relationship with others will be similar to your relationship with
your own family. I explain this same subject to you (the Jamaat) with reference
to the example of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh); this has a deep connection with the
great universal spiritual revolution. Without it, you will not be worthy to do
this work.
But when I look at the
situation of the homes of some Muslims, the Ahmadis, and even some homes in the
Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in some countries, my heart trembles when I see the
situation of those homes, especially those found in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al
Islam! I see that in some places they have not even begun to do this journey!
All my disciples must
always bear in mind that to accept the Divine Manifestation and to recognize
the Khalifatullah of this era does not mean that you have already become true
Muslims (Mumineen, Sahih al Islam).
No. Rather, it is only now that you are entering the vehicle which shall enable
you to do this journey. A journey that will be very difficult to accomplish,
but if you manage to do it, then Allah will be very pleased with you.
All those
who enter the Jamaat and say they are now believers, yes certainly, Alhamdulillah, this is a first step but
Allah will put them to the test after they have delivered their statement of
belief, upon saying that they have faith in Allah and His Caliph (the
Khalifatullah) and Divine Manifestation, and the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. Your
belonging to the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is like you get into this vehicle
that will allow you to make this trip/journey, to make this internal and
external reform of your own being, to strengthen your bonds with people and
therefore, also with Allah.
If you ignore people, and you do not make the required
effort to consolidate the bond of brotherhood, of Insaaniyat, then you will fail (to reach your destination) in this
journey you have undertaken.
It is now actually that you get into the bath to
cleanse you. This does not mean that as soon as you enter the Jamaat of Allah
you have already received a visa to paradise, and this does not mean also that you
have become an expert in the reforms of others. No. Instead, it is your own
reform which begins.
If you manage to undertake and accomplish this journey and
this proves to be beneficial for your home, your soul and your morality too, so
it will have a good effect also in your entourage, which Insha-Allah, with perseverance, patience and trust in Allah, Allah shall
Himself discard the veils of ignorance from the people’s eyes and they will
recognize that you are truthful and that you are in the truth. But before that,
you need to be successful in this training you did intend to do when you have
recognized a messenger of Allah, and especially when you took the Bai’at (oath of allegiance, obedience)
in his hands (and like Allah says in
Surah Al-Fath, this is indeed Allah’s Hand). It is now that you will make
this journey and it is Allah who will make known if you have succeeded or not in
this spiritual training you have undertaken.
So like I was telling
you, there are many homes where relationships (among people) are ugly and
deplorable. This is not good at all, and this is far from the teachings of
Islam, and especially in our time in the presence of a Khalifatullah. In some
homes, there are fathers who do not fulfil the rights of their children. There
are wives who do not fulfil the rights of their spouses. There are even those
who raise their voices against their husbands and do not respect their
decisions and words. In some cases, there are also husbands who do not fulfil
the right of their wives. In some homes, the children do not fulfil the rights
of their parents. Today, they do not even have the required good manners to
speak to them (the parents). There are even children who address their parent
address with “Eh!” They do not even
say dad or mom and they address their parents like they do with their circles
of friends.
So you have to have good manners to speak to people. I cannot quote
the exact words that children use to address their parents. These children are
victims of arrogance, objections and bad manners etc. And thus, the house
usually becomes a living hell for the parents. Moreover, children depart so far
from Islamic values, good manners and a good way of living that if you ponder
over this, you’ll be amazed. Rather, “amazed” is too weak a word to describe
that; I use this term because I have no other words to describe their actions.
So in these kinds of homes, the spiritual revolution have no effect whatsoever and
there is no spirituality that is manifested in them as they are Muslims in name
only or they belong to the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in name only; they are like
dried-up branches.
The Jamaat Ul Sahih Al
Islam is the Jamaat of Allah. It is Allah (swt) who has elevated this humble servant
who is present before you today with a Jamaat, which is Sahih al Islam. So this is a
Jamaat which Allah (swt) has given to me and that Jamaat is now flourishing.
And I can also say that it is a Jamaat filled with greenery (like a healthy
growing tree), but however like it has also happened in the past, in the
history of all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah, there are to be few
branches that become dry, and verily these are branches that shall be in fact
cut from me. You like it or not, this tree will certainly grow and it will keep
growing and will have branches in the different places in the world. These
branches will reach the most remote places and flourish. Allah has destined that
its branches will spread, Insha-Allah
around the world and spiritual birds shall make their nests on these branches
and they will find their tranquillities therein and they will enjoy its flowers
and fruits. But as is expected, together with the green branches, there will
also be those that will be dry, (and which have already become dry) and then
these dry branches cannot stay connected with the tree in question. Allah (swt)
will cut them from me and their situation will become very serious before Allah
(swt). To better understand what I am saying, the example of dry wood intended
to fire makes us think, and when seen from this angle, this makes my heart
really tremble (because of their consequences).
By the grace of Allah,
in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam the great majority of my disciples are far
removed from these bad manners. But there are only a small number of people who
upon entering the fold of the Jamaat bring these evil ways with them, despite
the Tarbiyyat and advices in
abundance which are given to them, and unfortunately they do not reform. I do
not want that we become like other Jamaats because otherwise there will be no
difference between us and them (the other Jamaats). So we must do many duahs (prayers) so that they do not
become these types of dry branches. We need to make a lot of effort and pray
that Allah do not let His Jamaat be contaminated with the bad smell (of those
few people) and that our enemies do not grasp the excuse of this smell (bad but
minimal) to blame the Jamaat as a whole.
So these people too (those who are, or are about to
become dry) are worthy of our sympathy.
How can we say to let them burn like dry wood that burns
in the fire? If this had been a good reaction to have, if Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) also had the same tendency (the same line of thoughts), so today the
world would have been completely burnt! Rather, our noble Prophet (pbuh) was
deeply sorrowful for each of these types of people/ dry branches. His heart was
soft towards everyone. He poured his grace on everyone like rain. And wherever he
was, he used to extinguish the fire of bitterness. It is thanks to him, to the
the benefit of his blessings that the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam has emerged today
by the grace of Allah. And the rains of his grace and even that of his prayers are
falling on the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam to wash and cleanse us.
So in this context it
is very necessary to pay attention to the reform of these people. We should not
reject them, or put them away. No! It is not our main goal. Our goal is to save
them. We must not show ourselves selfish after we have received plenty of favours
(from Allah); On the contrary, we must do all that we can to attract them to
us, so that we all live like one very close family, in peace, harmony and in peace,
Insha-Allah. Ameen. If it happens
that they do not reform at all, then Allah Himself shall cut them off and
prevent them from harming the tree of Allah in any way.
May Allah have mercy on
all my followers and my Muslim brothers and sisters and humanity in general and
hand in hand, with honesty in the heart we all stand up for the cause of Allah,
and for His sake alone, not by selfishness or ostentation, but to enable the reform
of our own selves as well as that of our home, our biological and also
spiritual family. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 09
October 2015 ~(25
Dhul-Hijjah 1436 Hijri) delivered by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.