Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Reformation & The Da’ee Illallah


Serve the cause of Allah and the cause of mankind. Invite people around you to Allah. Follow Abraham’s example - how he gave life to the “dead/ those who are dying”. Be kind to people, help them with their needs and share their misfortunes; this is the best way to become a Da’ee Illallah. 


“And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead,’ He said, ‘Do you not believe, then?’ ‘Yes,’ said Abraham, ‘but just to put my heart at rest.’ So God said, ‘Take four birds and train them to come back to you. Then place them on separate hilltops, call them back, and they will come flying to you: know that God is all powerful and wise’.” (Al-Baqara 2: 261) 


The term “Dawat Illallah” or “Da’ee Illallah” means “The call of men to Allah.” I have chosen this theme once again as the subject of my sermon so that you can fully understand how people can be called “to life” and how as a SAHIH AL ISLAM who is aware of his responsibilities, you must put yourselves at the service of Allah, and at the same time of that of humanity by inviting men [people] to our Creator. 


Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “And as for those who strive for Our cause, We will guide them on Our paths.” (Al-Ankabut 29: 70) 


Just saying that you are Muslims and that you believe in the Khalifatullah of this century is not enough. I know many people who have proclaimed loud and clear that they believe, but when trials overwhelmed them from everywhere, they despaired of Allah’s mercy and help. They then fell into atrocious vices which are hardly worthy of a true Muslim, of a SAHIH AL ISLAM. Alcohol and other vices such as cigarettes and drugs my dear disciples, as well as all my other Muslim brothers, sisters and children, do not solve problems. It is reprehensible and harmful to health and to the faith. Anyone who wants to reform completely must not lose hope in God. This is the key to success in spirituality. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached how God and His Prophet (pbuh) hate alcoholic drink as well as gambling and other vices. So, do not hasten down this path where Satan leads you by the hand to destroy you. It will then be the death of your faith, and it will certainly be GRIEVOUS for you.  


Man is a strange being. His condition is surprising and his creation, in terms of body, soul and intellect, is very mysterious and disconcerting. In fact, each human being was created in a particular form and with special characteristics. He possesses such innate tendencies which lead him towards evil as well as good. Sometimes man becomes a slave to his passions, his egoism, his greed, his vanity, and sometimes he feels the need to assert his superiority over others, to amass fortunes and to seek glory in this world. 


There are people in different countries of the world who have contacted me and attested to my veracity and the veracity of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, but they took a step back and refused to adhere to the truth because of their vices. They tell me how can they integrate a pure Jamaat when it is they who are full of vices? When someone recognizes the truth, he has to come forward and accept that truth. Education and reform will follow. It is Allah Who will give them this ability, and forgiveness will follow. 


Allah is certainly the One Who helps those who falter and who make mistakes in their daily lives. Allah judges the sincerity of their intentions. To say that you are Muslim believers who have faith in Allah and the Khalifatullah (atba) of this century is not enough. You have to pinch your nose and drink the bitter medicine so that you can get well. Having faith is not easy. A Muslim must be a Muslim body and soul. His reform is paramount before he tries to reform others and direct them to God.

 

The search for God is something innate in man; so whoever wants to reach Him must begin by arousing this desire, otherwise God will remain deaf to his calls.  


Bringing back to life those who are spiritually dead is the most important thing that is mentioned in the verse I quoted at the beginning of my sermon. If anyone does not care about God and his attachment to Him, he is the one who is dead, who is lifeless, and like the dead, he is deaf and blind. How then will you be able to bring this dead person back to life? 


This is the question that Abraham put to God thousands of years ago. “How could I do it?” He asked God – him, a humble creature, who was rejected by the society of his time and who was charged with this mission to bring the dead back to life. He added, “O my Lord, how do you bring back the dead to life? I beg you, tell me. I truly know that Your promise will be fulfilled. I know that one day those who follow me will be as numerous as grains of sand and stars. I believe in all that, but I would ask you to show me how You are doing to bring the dead back to life.” 


Allah then gave him this answer: “Take four birds and begin to teach them to love you. When they love you [and are attached to you] and cannot live without you, then go to the four peaks of four mountains and place each bird on each of its ridges. Call them then and Lo! they will come back to you swiftly.”

 

This message to Abraham (as) is a profound teaching in the art of preaching, in the science of bringing the “dead” back to life. The first and most important lesson to be learned is that spiritually dead people have no interest in worrying about God, in being guided to Him - you will at least be considered alive in their eyes. If you make yourselves loved and project with sincerity and truthfulness the image of a godly being, of a person belonging to Allah, those spiritually dead will eventually allow themselves to be led to Him through you. Judging you by your kind character, they will come to love you.

 

So, between them and you will form strong friendships if you help them in their needs, if you share their joy and their pain. Present yourself to others as a source of beauty and charm - this image of you will trigger in them the long awaited trigger [to become true Muslims, Sahih al Islam] and with your support they will achieve the desired goal – THE UNIQUE GOD [ALLAH].

 

So, my dear disciples, I recommend that you follow my advice because it is for your benefit and the glory of Islam. Be those rays of light that people converge on - like the candles that attract moths. Be love personified. Love everyone around you; share their joys and sorrows and improve their conditions and ways of life. This is the only way to attract people to you and as soon as the contacts are made, your piety will do the rest. This advice does not apply only to other people [non-Muslims or non-Sahih-al-Islam], but also Muslims themselves and especially members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. To believe and to have faith are two different things. We need to educate our members and the entire Ummah. So, perfect yourselves in Islam in order to guide people well, otherwise your efforts will be in vain.

 

Remember that many members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam entered the Jamaat of Allah because of the friendship and piety of those who preached to them the Islamic teachings and the advent of the Khalifatullah, as well as the foundation of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam to do this noble work of reform. Others have directly received signs from God informing them of the truthfulness of this humble servant of Allah and the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam. So, you cannot dream of being a good “Da’ee Illallah” unless you take care of your personality and this can only be achieved by living with God, by obeying Him and His Caliph [divinely-elected in this century of Divine Manifestation]. You must become humble and obedient servants of Allah. It is essential for the reform of Muslims and humanity and for us to move towards the victory of Islam. Insha-Allah.

 

If you ask a Hindu, Christian or Buddhist to embrace the Islamic faith, their immediate reaction will be to oppose you. He will tell you: Why should I do it because in my religion too there are good things. The discussion will drag on like this and nothing good will come of it. Then start teaching people good qualities, start making them understand that they must be good for their own good. Your efforts to invite people unto the way of God would become acceptable to everyone because even the wicked know deep down what is good. So people know what it is to be good. You just have to make them understand, that is the art of conversion. You can do this by showing them your feelings, not just sermonizing them. It is only a matter of the heart and it can be emotional. We must not give up. First you need to develop yourselves as true Muslims, in action and intention.

 

So, my dear disciples and all Muslims, become true “Da’ee Illallah”, but first, aim for intrinsic and extrinsic reform that will make you a true Muslim. Believing and having faith are different. I have repeated this [so many times] so that there is no confusion on the subject and that you understand it. The first step is to believe, and then with your spiritual education and sincere prayers to God, faith - true faith - will come because only Allah has the power to bestow it on you. Do not make empty excuses that you recognize the truth but find it difficult to comply with it or else your words will be in vain. The effort made will be reinforced by God. Allah loves those who strive to reform themselves to please Him, to submit completely to Him. He forgives the sins of His servants because He is the Most Forgiving. Whoever integrates ISLAM with a pure and sincere heart will see all past sins forgiven.

 

But when man’s temporal desires cause him to lose his ability to distinguish good from evil in judgment, each of us, whether we admit it or not, becomes the victim of his stupidity, and only those whom Allah (swt) have decreed to be pious and infallible [i.e. pure and rightly-guided] manage to get the better of their emotions and temptations.

 

Become such people that God protects against the pangs of Satan and the temptations of this world. This world and everything in it will not make you happy. True happiness is found in Allah, in strengthening your bond with Him.

 

On the one hand there is divine strength and on the other there is satanic strength. The conflict remains between these two opposing forces [divine and satanic] within the human soul. He whose reason prevails over passion is found among the highest in their position, the best directed in their humanity, and the most perfect in their spirituality; while the one whose passion gets the better of him descends among those who are in the lowest position and who are degraded, from the human level, to the animal level [despite that they are humans]. So the result of a man’s submission to his passions is going astray and abandoning the straight path of guidance.

 

Fortunately, Allah (swt) does not abandon mankind. The earth is perpetually provided with a minority to exhort those who have been fooled [by the satanic allures etc.] and tell them, “Beware - stop blindly following your own passions. Stop imitating the people of hell so that you don’t fall into hell!” The reform for a natural and genuine faith must be put into practice without further delay. Only ISLAM can heal the wounds of humanity. The purpose of ISLAM, Sahih al Islam must be vividly explained. Everyone has their responsibilities in front of them. The happy or unhappy consequences in this world and in the next are up to us. We must act, and quickly!

 

Become little Abraham (s), who no matter what had never given up his trust in God. He was ready to do anything to attract Allah’s pleasure on him and not His wrath. And he had succeeded! So become reformed Muslims imbued with the pleasure and love of Allah before dedicating yourselves to the work of “Dawat Illallah”. Certainly, one whose heart and soul is sincere despite his minor faults will make tremendous progress, and Allah will bless him and take it upon Himself to forgive him his weaknesses and encourage him to forsake them for the benefit of eternal well-being in divine love. The more you attach yourselves to Allah, the more vices and deceptions of this world will have no effect on you. You will be free to practice your ISLAM in peace. This is my prayer for you, O my dear disciples, as well as all the Ummah of my beloved master Hadhrat Muhammad (pbuh) and all mankind as a whole. Insha-Allah, Ameen.

 

 ---Friday Sermon of 26 February 2021~14 Rajab 1442 AH delivered by Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.