Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (sa), the holy founder of Islam and the greatest Prophet of all times, left behind enduring teachings for the benefit of humankind for all times. The Qur’an, and the sacred Prophetic Sunnah remain amongst us, to guide us from the darkness of selfish pleasures to the illumination of souls in remembrance of God. It is by striving to follow in the footsteps of the holy Prophet (sa) that true believers can lead a life that attracts the approval and pleasure of Allah (swt); a balanced life that recognizes our duties to Allah (swt) and the responsibilities we owe to fellow human beings in society, pursuing goodness in this world and the world to come, Insha Allah.
The Holy Prophet (sa) had penetrating insights into the future conditions of the world, especially of the events that will unfold among his people, the Muslims of the Later Days. A close reading of sacred Ahadith would leave no one in doubt about the fulfilment of those Prophetic words in the stark realities being obtained in our own times-in many different ways. While warning the Ummah about the times in which knowledge of Deen will be taken away from the society of the Muslims, it was also reassured that to renew the spiritual path of Islam, true heirs of the Holy Prophet (sa) would be raised by Allah (twt) Himself. Among the believers, it was foretold, there would be one or more savants of Faith- the pole stars of the Faith in morally-darkened times, and that these individuals and their followers would seek to revive and renew the values of Islam and Prophetic Aqidah in turbulent times.
The spiritual literature of Islam calls Awliah-Allah (the Holy Friends of Allah) with different lofty titles of Divinely-gifted honours: Muhyi-ud-Din, Mujaddid, Khalifatullah, Al Mahdi, Al Massih, etc. Following a Divinely-raised Reformer or the Reviver of the Faith in one's own times is an obligation of Faith for the common believers in Islam. A sacred Prophetic tradition preserves a wise saying of a Qur'anic wise-man: 'O my dear son, associate with the Learned and sit respectfully in their presence. For, Allah gives life to hearts by the light of His wisdom, as He revives the dead-earth by life-giving rain from the heavens'---Luqman, the Wise. [Muwatta by Imam Malik, p. 439, Delhi: Kitab Bhawan, 2015 edn.]
Thanks to the sheer Grace of Allah (swt), a high representative of God is present amongst us to teach Islam and to renew the Days of the Holy Prophet (sa) in this era in the person of Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius; by following the Imam, a believer can hope to comprehend and recognize God’s exalted station, and become a true ‘Muslim’ (abiding by His will and plan as a matter of conscious self-surrender to the Shari’ah), Insha Allah, Aameen.