By the immense grace of Allah, we have reached the month of Shawwal after 29 or 30 days of fasting and sacrifices in the month of Ramadan.
If Ramadan was a training for all believers to
control and devote themselves more and more in the acts of worship to seek the
forgiveness of our Lord and the opportunities to please Him, then Shawwal is
that month during which the believers are to maintain that promise they made to
Allah in that which they will remain steadfast in His path and walk the way of
humility, simplicity and hold high the place of sacrifice in their lives for
the sake of Allah.
We, Muslims have the foremost duty to be true
to our Islam and Ramadan taught this to us and granted us the time and
opportunity to do so. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
Allah has promised those who
believe and do deeds of righteousness, that for them there is forgiveness and a
great reward. [Al-Maida,
5: 10]
If the Eid was a reward for you, unfortunately not all Muslims around the world get the opportunity to receive the Eid that you receive. So you should be thankful to Allah and strive with your selves and all means that you have to help change the world into a better one.
Sacrifice in the path of Allah is one of the
greatest good deeds which a Muslim or any human can strive to, to change this
world. Sacrifice of one’s time in the accomplishment of those good deeds is
greatly required so that those good deeds may shape in the best ways.
Today, the Muslim world is suffering. Muslim
countries touched by wars, strife, famine, drought, and other calamities need
our help. Sacrifice is what makes the reward possible; a reward which is not
just yours, but for the people whom you are sacrificing for, to better their
lives and to bring a smile on their face.
This is what Muslim brotherhood calls for. That
your one sacrifice reaches the hearts and hands of other Muslims and humans
like you, such sacrifice which enables a change in their lives, which brings
hope for a better day. The tortures they have undergone cannot be erased, but
can be taken care of in a way that makes them trust in Allah alone. Those who
trust in Allah alone suffer no decline. It may be that you suffer for a short
time, but your reward with Allah shall be eternal and exquisite.
Be it at large in the world or at your
individual level, each Muslim must strive to sacrifice in Allah’s way to enable
a good repartition of your wealth with others. That is the great wisdom behind
the Zakat distribution as ordained and made compulsory to all Muslims who
possess the minimum level of wealth [i.e. Nisaab] to give away Zakat,
and Alhamdulillah, I have explained this to you in my sermon last
Friday.
So, sacrifice takes many forms. Sacrifice of
your time for Dawa/ Tabligh, sacrifice of your money to help the
helpless, poor and needy, and even the travellers in difficulty, sacrifice of
your time to do the Deen works allocated to you. For this, it is
recommended that those who truly desire to help the cause of Allah volunteer
themselves to do these works and not feel a pressure that they are forced into
doing such works. It should come from the heart.
There is also sacrifice of one’s food to give
to others. And what a beautiful example Hazrat Aisha (ra) had given us when she
related about how a hungry mother and her two daughters came to her door to
request some food, but there was nothing in the house except a date which she
gave to the mother. And Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, that mother
sacrificed her own hunger and divided the date into two parts and gave them to
her daughters. [Muslim]
You have such examples also in the animals
which Allah created. There is the manifestation of mercy even among them. The
birds will build their nests and seek food for their little ones, and will
strive to protect them from any predator.
So, we say that we are Muslims, but we need to
foster and nourish that Islam in us. We have to give to our hearts and souls
the scope to grow spiritually and seek to please Allah in whatever way we can.
Sometimes serving others can be an insurmountable struggle, but the reward for
it is immense.
There are many people who sacrifice their time
for others. Many Islamic institutions have opened many other separate
foundations to strive to help the poor and the orphans, and also academies
[like the Dawa Academy] to grant spiritual [Islamic] education and
especially the art of teaching Islam to others.
Even there are billions of Muslims around the
world but unfortunately many have become Muslims in name only. Nothing remains
of their Islam except their name, and even that also is disappearing little by
little. These kinds of people declare themselves as Muslims but they follow
custom by custom, style by style and fashion by fashion the custom, style and
fashion of the non-Muslims who have strayed from the right path of Allah. Now,
it is quite easy for a Muslim to mingle with a non-Muslim, and he or she will
feel welcomed as they now share the same values which are against the divine
commandments which they were warned to stick to but which they disobeyed.
With the downfall of humans and especially the
Muslims into the abyss of disbelief and disobedience to the divine
commandments, Allah, the Ever Merciful has sent a Reviver of Faith among you to
show you all the true path of Islam.
Today the world is demanding its return to
Islam because it cannot stand the sins of people. That is why Allah has sent
this humble self as a Reviver of all faith and a Warner and consolidated me
with such disciples who are the light-bearers of this truth coming from Allah
to the ends of the world.
If sacrifice there should be, then sacrifice it
be for the reward thereof shall be manifold, not just in this life but in the
hereafter. To enable the victory of Islam in yourselves, in the Muslim Ummah
and the world at large, the largeness of your heart [i.e. your generosity] is
required, your smile is required, your time in teaching others and inviting
others to Allah is required, your ability to spread the message of Islam, Sahih
al Islam to the world is required.
Blessed are those of my disciples and the rest
of the Muslim world who strive to bring Islam to their own hearts, their own
homes and the Community of the Muslims and all humans. In your way of being,
talking, dressing, thinking, everything can change a world for a better one,
but you should be the dot with which Allah shall draw the line till infinity
whereby you will get your promised rewards. Insha-Allah.
I therefore pray: O Allah, let my disciples
[and all my followers after me] be sincere and true to their faith and Bai’at
(i.e. the oath of allegiance to Allah and Your Khalifatullah) and grant them
access to Your mercies which would suffice to act as barriers of protection for
them against all harm. Ameen.
O Allah, the world is at a standstill. Let Your
Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam with your mighty help ARISE
AND CREATE A NEW WORLD and grant Your excellent help which
would suffice for us in this world and the next. Ameen.
----Friday Sermon of 06 May 2022~ 04 Shawwal 1443 AH Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.