Sunday, July 28, 2019

Calling people to God- III

The Qualities of A Dai-i-Allah  

A Dai-i-Allah’s (the one who does the Dawat-i-Allah – i.e. invite people to Allah) mission is to give the message of Allah to the people, calling them to Allah alone. He should never call people to mundane attractions or to take advantage of all things which do not have any relation/ link with the messages of Allah. In other words, [what I am trying to say] he should not use the name of Allah to seek any mundane favour, to fulfill personal worldly desires.

In the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, there should be people – we should be people – who call the world to Allah and this is indeed the true goal of Dawat-i-Allah : to increase the number of people by making them know the message of Allah and to bring them in that very path which shall lead them to Allah (swt), not the path of make-believe and deception, because there are such types of people who instead of doing the Dawat-i-Allah, they try to fool the people [ensnaring them], asking them to listen to them to make them integrate their Jamaat/ communities by promising them worldly riches. This kind of invitation is not a real invitation to Allah. On the contrary, your call should all the time be one which provides the people spiritual riches, providing them the means to increase the level of their spirituality and that of others.

So, our call, our invitation is to Allah only. That is why, each member of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam should not put any other goal in the invitation to Allah (except Allah of course – our sole aim) so as not to spoil this spiritual invite. Your good deed shall prove that you are indeed calling people to Allah. If you accept the true religion, you should call people only to Allah, and you do not have the permission to hide the true [teachings of this] religion, for if you do this, you would not have accomplished your duty as a Dai-i-Allah (one who calls people to Allah). If you hide the truth coming from Allah and you establish yourselves on lies, this would definitely not be good words before the eyes of Allah. It would be a sin in God’s estimation. So, bear in mind that the Dawat-i-Allah is a great responsibility, a great engagement that you have undertaken.

Dawat-i-Allah requires Lots of Patience

DAWAT-I-ALLAH, is a work which demands lots of patience. Not just patience, but you have to keep yourselves calm, and speak softly [politely, with good manners] because you will meet all types of people to give them the [divine] message. Among those people, there are some who shall be very headstrong, stubborn and you shall need to understand their negative attitude vis-à-vis you and there shall even be menaces with foul words also. Disregard all this. Bear in mind, that you only have to give the message and make them understand, but if they do not understand, then it is between them and Allah.  

You are different from them; all that you do should be only for the cause of Allah. Bear in mind that you are doing the work that a Messenger of Allah does. Remember that a Messenger of Allah [all Messengers of Allah] undergoes all kinds of persecutions, trials, problems, and blames. People ridicule him, mock at him, take him as a madman, as a sorcerer and accuse him of indoctrinating the believers and all other people and their families. But what does the Messenger of Allah and the believers do? They continue to be steadfast. They bear it all with patience till the help of Allah comes and enables them to be victorious by His immense grace.

There are people who try hard to give the true message of the true religion – ISLAM – to others because of their love and friendship for them, but then these people become enemies of the callers to Allah, and they bar others from taking the right path leading to Allah (swt). So, bear it all with patience, for the reward for and fruits of all this patience shall be great and very sweet.

When you start calling people to good deeds, there are many who shall not listen to you, and they won’t show any interest in what you calling them to and as a result, this can discourage you and you can even develop a disgust that your efforts are to no avail at all. You feel weak and depressed. You should not be disgusted or discouraged. Be firm and steadfast on your words and deeds and as a result of your patience, you shall get a great reward. When the time shall come where you shall receive the fruits of your labour, when you shall be rewarded for the patience that you displayed, it shall certainly be a great and unexpected (pleasant) result which you shall receive for your Dawat-i-Allah.

So, patience is a great virtue, a great display of courage. Patience is found in two things: in words and deeds. The [good] words that you say [in Dawat-i-Allah], continue to say it, even if you have to repeat it countless time. Even Allah in the Holy Quran repeats His commandments and advices. This is what is called patience in words and what is good in all this is that your deeds shall not take a back step with it all. Despite the hurdles of trials which come your way, becoming more and more difficult, do not let the beauty of your deeds change into evil. Stop your deeds from becoming ugly. These two kinds of patience is what you should adopt.

The Courage to Pray as a Result of Patience

Along with patience, you acquire another strength through the force of supplications to Allah [duahs]. With prayer/ supplications to Allah, you shall be able to open the hearts of people [by the leave/ permission of Allah] with whom you are doing Dawa/ tabligh [Dawat-i-Allah]. Through duahs, you want that they have faith in the divine message and believe in the Unique God and His Messengers and abandon all false deities. These duahs, buried deep inside you come from time to time to your lips [because you want that they have faith in the true God]. In the work of Dawat-i-Allah, duahs come out with such force and duahs have indeed a great relation with patience. And patience is that quality which shall bring you to duah, indeed duahs which come from the profoundness of your hearts.

The Dai-i-Allah needs to Speak gently

A good quality which each Dai-i-Allah must have in him is that he should talk softly [with good manners], and not be hot-tempered. Even if someone hurt you in your conversations, you should not replicate same feelings but instead act in a goodly way. If someone is impolite, rude and has a bad character, all his knowledge is to no avail. He would not be able to be useful to the world. To become a Dai-i-Allah, you should set an example [be a model for others], especially when you are talking with strangers. You should then be much more gentle, polite and you must control yourselves. You should listen with courage to your adversaries and then explain to them [the true message] with love and politeness, and you reply to their question/s in the same way [with good manners]. This is the main quality of a Dawat-i-Allah/ Dai-i-Allah and if someone succeeds in getting it, he would be able to fight the great theologians/ savants, the people who are supposedly more knowledgeable in religious matters whereas in fact they do not really know religion in its profoundness, and they are those kinds of people who then deviate other people through their ignorance.

Those who do the Dawat-i-Allah must have the Fear of Allah.

In the realm of mundane works, many people talk a lot without the fear of Allah to make their career and work progress. All talks are for them and they are Mr. Know-it-all. In life, you need to learn to listen to others also, and you must inculcate this in you, i.e. the quality of listening to others. And you must ponder well over your words before you speak, lest you say a word which can cause Allah to be angry with you, and lest that word hurt the feelings of the person with whom you are talking also.

By the grace of Allah, Allah (swt) has taught us that we should do all our works with the fear of Allah (Taqwa). The more a person has the fear of Allah, the more his words shall carry more weight. Plans are to no avail – to enable Dawat-i-Allah – that is why the members [of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam] should increase their level & quality of Taqwa so that their words carry weight.

Thus, your words shall have the desired effect in the ears [and heart] of each person who is listening to you when you have Taqwa, and this can bring about a great change in him. Insha-Allah.

The Dai-i-Allah should not rest until people receive and understand the Message.

A great responsibility rests on the shoulders of those who do the Dawat-i-Allah to make the whole world know the true religion of Allah and enter its fold. It is not a petty deed. It is a great and noble work which Allah (swt) has entrusted upon our shoulders. Not everyone, not every Jamaat has gotten this responsibility along with its guideline. To be successful in this work, we need to prepare ourselves seriously. And there is no other way besides this way. It should be that everyone of you does the Dawat-i-Allah and so long that his efforts – by the grace of Allah – does not yet yield results, he should not remain idle and quiet. He should do everything in his power, deploy maximum efforts along with duah to persevere in this work/ path and Allah shall indeed give him his reward. Insha-Allah.

Those who do the Dawat-i-Allah should be Steadfast.

“Surely those who say, “Our Lord is Allah,” and then remain steadfast, the angels descend upon them, (saying), ‘Do not fear, nor grieve. Rather, rejoice in the good news of Paradise, which you have been promised. We are your supporters in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. There you will have whatever your souls desire, and there you will have whatever you ask for: an accommodation from the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’” (Ha Mim Al-Sajdah, 41 : 31-33).

This verse shows us that the one who affirms that Allah is His Lord, then he shall be made to go through all kinds of difficulties. As a result of these difficulties, you need to show lots of steadfastness and patience also.

There shall be some internal as well as external difficulties/ trials also. Concerning the internal ones, when that person [the Dai-i-Allah] makes the formation of (i.e. train) the masses, he goes through many trials. With each step he takes, those who are against him shall try to hinder him in his work, saying: “When you follow that Master of yours, your provisions shall decrease and you shall fall in many difficulties and problems.”

These are internal trials through which these callers to Allah go through and it is through steadfastness that they show the truth of their claim and they come out of all difficulties. They face trials with courage; they do not have any fear [except for the fear of Allah] and they are fully convinced that it is Allah Who shall provide for their sustenance and that it is through Him that they shall accede to all kinds of blessings. It is this kind of Dai-i-Allah that we should become.

So, O members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, come forward and remove all these kinds of fears and convert darkness into light. And change sadness into tranquillity and peace for it is these [qualities]  which have been written in your destiny.

Nurture a strong connection with Allah.

Dawat-i-Allah also has a profound connection with Allah. To enable these advices to become efficacious, firstly it is very important that you have a deep connection with Allah. When those doing the Dawat-i-Allah keep a deep connection with Allah, therefore their advices create a revolution of good deeds. That is why you should establish a solid relation with Allah so that the people may receive this light.

Secondly, if you have to call people to Allah, you should call them by having the intrinsic desire [personal internal desire/ wish] to attain to Allah completely, as if you have already reached and acquired Him, and having this feeling in you – that you have been successful in bonding with Allah – then you can call people to Him. When this happens, then in the voice that you use to call others to Allah, there is the manifestation of another kind of honour. When you call people to Allah as an obligation, this voice has a certain sense [of accomplishment], and when you have got Allah [with you] – attaining to Him – this voice takes another meaning [becoming much more perfect]. Its determination and courage becomes more refined.


TO ENABLE SUCCESS IN DAWAT-I-ALLAH, THE REAL TOOL/WEAPON IS DUAH.

To do the Dawat-i-Allah, what is highly required is the actual desire to accomplish it. Next, this should be accompanied with duah. Knowledge, proofs and all other things come afterwards. I have witnessed how many unlettered people who did not have many knowledge on the Deen, but despite this, in their words there were [the accomplishment of] good deeds and Taqwa. They were attached to prayer/ duah and they became accomplished Dai-i-Allah. That is why the true weapon which each member of the Jamaat Ul Sahih al Islam needs to acquire and cultivate as a good habit within him is duah because without duah, he shall cease to exist, just like a fish which has been brought out of water, dies.

So, if you enter the field of Dawat-i-Allah, then it is Allah Who shall little by little do your training. He shall awakened your memory and put blessings in your knowledge. So, the greatest weapon in Dawat-i-Allah is the help of Allah, and duah. If, through duah a person accepts the true religion, he enters therefore the field of battle, and thus no force in this world can ever fight and defeat him. That is why, by this announcement, I appeal to you, if in the past you were not Dai-i-Allah, then as from today become a Dai-i-Allah. With each step we take in the field of Dawat-i-Allah, we should always pray to Allah. When we are doing the Dawat-i-Allah, we pray (do duah). When we are returning home, we pray. We need to tell our children to do duah/ to pray. If you concentrate in Dawat-i-Allah with much devotion and you accomplish it with all your heart, you shall see how Allah (swt) shall mix the prayers of these innocent children with your prayers. In your [as well as the children’s] words, there shall then be a great, noble and honorable courage.

Each Sahih al Islam member should therefore start their work of Dawat-i-Allah with duah with all the importance it deserves. And this should be a daily routine, transforming it into an obligation. You supplicate Allah (swt) in this way: “O Allah, give us the courage to fulfill our duty and acquire the full right to become a Dai-i-Allah and fulfill this duty, and O Allah give the world the courage to listen to us, to listen to what we have to say.” Ameen.

----Friday Sermon of 26 July 2019¬23 Dhul-Qaddah 1440 AH delivered by Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.