Saturday, June 18, 2016

Devotion and Reconciliation in Ramadan

Reconcile with the Estranged 

I advice the Jamaat (Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam), wherever my voice reaches, and wherever the Jamaat is hearing this message, to keep watch over the progress of unity, harmony and strong brotherhood. And in this context, the first step to be taken is that from this present Friday to the next Friday, you need to reconcile with the people with whom you had a grudge against because of things relating to this world (mundane matters), egoistical reasons, or personal reasons. 

*** Huzur (atba) made an appeal to all spiritual chiefs and Jamaats in Islam, including the fifth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Movement and encourage them to drop all form of arrogance and egoistic nature and to reunite together for the sake of Islam and unity as one body of Islam to march forward towards victory (Victory of Islam) ***  You need to make peace with these kinds of person. And neither of you should think on these lines: “Oh, I am the victim in this matter; therefore the other one should be the first to come forward to make peace!”

On the contrary, it becomes more incumbent/ necessary on the victim to make that reconciliation happen first because there is a promise of great rewards for the one who comes forward first for reconciliation. And it shall be a real mischance for the one who is in the right (the victim) to miss the opportunity of this great reward and to let his oppressor obtain the grand reward when the latter approaches the victim first for reconciliation. This is an advice and message which needs to reach the ears of each member of the Jamaat worldwide. It is not easy to make this advice reach everywhere and it is possible that this advice needs to be repeated several times. 

Ramadan's Blessed Moments

Another advice I would like to give you is that you need to maximize the blessings of this Holy Month called Ramadan, for it is Allah the Almighty who has given you this month and opportunity to reach such blessings.

During the course of this (blessed) month, there are special moments wherein prayers/ supplications to Allah are accepted (and fulfilled). Allah the Almighty listens to the supplications of the fasters especially during the days (and nights) of Ramadan. If we say that Allah the Almighty has only a special relation with these blessed days of Ramadan, it would be an affront, but nevertheless there is no doubt that He has carved such paths for His creatures (servants) whereupon He has poured His favours. Through this, He has wake up those who were in slumber so that if ever they did nothing (of good deeds) during entire year, then at least they would be able to reap some spiritual benefit during that blessed month (i.e. Ramadan).

Get your Priorities Right

If we take small children as examples, we shall see that even little kids (before puberty) often insist in observing the fast (like the adults) despite the fact that fasting is not obligatory for them. They may be kids who once or twice pray (Salat/ Namaz) in a year but when the time of fasting comes (i.e. during Ramadan) they become exited to be able to fast as well. In a way, this is also a beneficial way during the course of which those children may get training to bear hunger. 

But fasting (Sawm/ Roza) has not been instituted to make a person remain without food. It is in fact a way devised to make him have upperhand/ control over his soul. Thus, worship of Allah (Ibaadat) is important so as to attract the attention of the people towards Allah. But the one who wakes up, have his Sehri (predawn meal before the fast) and he goes back to sleep, then what fasting is there for such kinds of people? I have observed that such maladies exist in women nowadays. During the days of fasting, they give more priority to preparing food and drink than to make Ibaadat (worship Allah). 

"Iftar Party" and Women's travails

I have observed that there is since some years the sprout of a new innovation called: “Iftar Party”. Where does that come from? Nobody knows! (The Khalifatullah (atba) used this expression to disapprove such arrangements/ innovations).

Without doubt, one of the duties of the wife is to make the necessary to prepare food for her household, for her family. Most of the time women themselves need to get to the kitchen to prepare everything, except those who have servants to help. But (during Ramadan more specifically) they need not spend too much time in the preparation of the Sehri and neglect prayers. Men also should not give too much importance to food etc., for when this happens, they are in a way preventing their wives from receiving the favour of Ibaadat (worship of Allah). It is possible that those women would have loved to spend more time in worship of Allah but the fear of their husbands through their demands and wrong treatment force them to remain engage in food preparation, to make food more succulent.

'Ibaadat' through Different Ways

I thus make an appeal to the womenfolk and also to the men that they should engage themselves a lot in the worship of Allah during these (blessed) days (of Ramadan), and those who are sick or are on a journey or those who cannot observe the fast for another reason, they need to maximize the blessed month of Ramadan. They cannot observe the fast, but they can wake up for their Tahajjud prayers, read the Holy Quran, give a lot of Sadqua (charity) and make lots of supplications (duahs) and voluntary prayers as well. On the contrary, if these people have real, sincere regret in their hearts that they are not able to observe the fasts (of Ramadan), then they shall be considered among the fasters of Ramadan also!

Once, the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was on an expedition (the battle of Tabuk) and he told those among his companions who were accompanying him that there were also some of the people of Medina also who participated along with them in that Jihad. 

The companions were sceptical as how was that possible and asked: “How would they share in the rewards while they were in Medina?” 

Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) replied: “They did not come with us due to any laziness or negligence or any other weakness. A valid excuse which was beyond their control prevented them from coming. Let this not affect you for verily there was not a valley through which you walked that they were not with you.”

Therefore, someone who has a valid reason not to participate in Ibaadat and he feels remorse in the heart shall verily receive the same blessings as the one who accomplishes Ibaadat. These kinds of people need not fear because if for a valid reason he cannot observe the fast and feels sad not to be able to accomplish it, Allah shall not let him lose any of these good deeds because his intention and heart are pure. He wants to accomplish it but cannot, and thus Allah bestows upon such a person the same reward as the one who accomplish this kind of good deed and from whom Allah accepts that good deed.

Therefore, let us pray that there be good intention in all our deeds and Ibaadat and we need also have love to put into practice these good deeds and worship, for it is in that love that you shall receive the rewards of Allah if ever you have not been able to accomplish it. Allah loves those among His servants whom love Him and who make efforts to please Him. May Allah counts us always among those of His chosen servants and make us accede to His presence through His love and in peace and harmony with ourselves, our own conscience. Ameen.

--- Friday Sermon of 17 June 2016 ~(11 Ramadan 1437 AH) delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.