The Houses of Allah: Part 2
In a Hadith, it is
reported that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Verily, the Houses of Allah on
earth are the Mosques (Masaajid/ Masjids).”
The honour of a
property (i.e. an extent of land), a building or a place depends on the honour
of the person to whom the property, building or place belongs. What a Muslim
needs to understand or that he needs to try to understand is the degree of honour
he owes to Allah. No building or place on earth will be able to equal the
Masjid that Allah has proclaimed as “His House” in honour and sanctity.
Therefore, when you visit a Masjid, you are visiting Allah. When you honour a Masjid, you are honouring Allah. And how will you honour the House of Allah? The Islamic Law (Shariah) teaches us how we can honour the Masjids of Allah.
The first and most important act to
honour a Masjid is that you need to perform Farz
Salat/ Namaz (mandatory prayer) therein because this is the purpose of
building Masjids. The
purpose of the Masjid is that you need to perform the acts of
worship (Ibaadat), the prayers (Salat) therein, as
well as doing the Spiritual Retreat (Itikaf), and reading the Holy
Quran (Tilawat-i-Quran), remember Allah (Zikr) and
supplicating or invocating Him (Duahs). For you to benefit from the
highest level of Ibaadat, then, there is no other place that can
compete with the Masjid of Allah.
So, you need to always
keep in mind this important fact that no place in the world has the same
blessings, the same level of reward for the fulfilment of Ibaadat that a
Masjid that has been built for the worship of Allah has, and it should not be
used for any other (vain) reason [as the hypocrites did in the times of the
Holy Prophet (pbuh) where they built a Masjid, not for Allah, but to make
people gossip and plot against the Prophet of Allah and Islam].
So, you need to keep in mind that the Masjid is a sacred place, and thus you need to keep it, hygienically speaking, clean and you also need to perform your Ibaadat in the proper way therein, in the sense that this place should never become a centre of gossip and conspiracies to create animosity among believers.
Therefore, every
believer, whether in the presence or absence of the Messenger of Allah who
comes with the Holy Spirit (Ruh’il Quddus) to revive Islam and the
teachings of Allah, must always keep in mind that the Mosque of Allah must
always be respected. You must perform acts of kindness and perform Ibaadat therein
to earn the approval of Allah.
When a Mussalli
(worshipper) comes to perform the prayer (Salat) in the Masjid, from the
moment he hears the Azaan (the call to prayer), and he prepares himself to
come to the Masjid, then if he does it a good practice to come to the Masjid
every time, and has respect for the divine call that invites him to worship His
Lord, the Unique Creator of the heavens and the earth, then, Allah reserves for
him enormous benefits, great rewards. But if someone turns a deaf ear to the
call to prayer (Azaan) – when he hears it – and keeps busy with his
daily business and ignores the appointment he has with Allah, then if he abandons
the Masjid and Salat (i.e. keeping them far away from him), even in his
own house, where he forgets Allah, then he needs to think that Allah will also turn
His back to him (and forget him).
And if despite the fact
that the Masjid is close to him, or he has all the facilities to go to the
Masjid by an easily accessible transport, or despite the fact that he is able
to walk and perform his Salat in the Masjid - due to the fact that he is
in good health - but he does not go to the Mosque and he performs his
obligatory Salat in another place other than a Masjid of Allah, then it
will not bring him as much reward as the effort he would have made to go to the
Masjid of Allah and honour that rendezvous that he has with Allah, in one of
His Houses on earth.
They need to keep in
mind that Allah has blessed His Houses. That is why He gives great rewards to
believers who build Masjids so that people come and worship Allah in them.
In a Hadith, the Holy
Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “He who builds a Masjid where the name
of Allah is invoked, Allah will build a House for him in Paradise (Jannat).”
(Ibn Majah)
We find through this
Hadith that Allah is pleased with people who build Masjids for Him, to gain His
pleasure - and not for “show”, but with the true intention to please Allah;
then Allah says that such kinds of people do a great work, and a great Dawa
also whereby they build a House in the name of Allah, for Allah, so that His
servants come to worship Him, where they invite people to worship Allah all, to
honour their appointment with Him in one of the Houses blessed by Him (Allah),
then Allah says that those who do such great deeds only to gain His pleasure
and whereby His worshipers get a place where they can perform their prayers,
where they can perform the Ibaadat of Allah, then Allah promises that He
will build a bigger House, with a bigger blessing for them in the Hereafter
that will be eternal for them.
Keep in mind that a
Masjid of Allah has the Nur (Light) of Allah in it. As I told you, Allah and
His angels are present therein and send blessings and duahs on the Mussalli
(worshippers). This Nur of Allah is directed towards the Mussalli and
enriches their Ruh with the Muhabbat (love) of Allah. The one who
is sincere in his Ibaadat will win this divine love. The one who
performs his Salat as is required of him, and respects this rendezvous
with Allah in the best way, with Taqwa (Fear of Allah), humility and
hope in Allah, then he will earn his reward with Allah. That is the Nur of
Allah which will touch him, where Allah forgives his sins and weaknesses and
gives him new hope for a better tomorrow. It is for this reason that Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh) said that Salat keeps a believer clean from sins like a
person who has a river near his house and goes to take a bath in it five times
a day whereby he removes all filth (or dirt) from him – thus, keeping himself
clean. The reference of this Hadith, which is more detailed, is found in
Bukhari and Muslim.
In the Mustadrak of
Haakim, according to a Hadith narrated by Hazrat Hurairah (ra), Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) said: “The Mustadrak are markets among the markets of Aakhirah.
Whoever enters therein [whereby it is a Masjid of Allah], then he becomes a
guest of Allah. The hospitality of Allah (to His Guest) is that he earns
forgiveness for his sins, and the gift of Allah (for this Musalli) is honour
and respect.”
Who can be a more
honourable guest than a Musalli who becomes the guest of Allah when he
enters the House of Allah? Is there a more wonderful gift than earning the gift
of honour from Allah and thus receiving the respect of Allah when he (this Mussalli)
enters His House? Is there a greater hospitality that can be shown towards a
guest than the hospitality of Allah towards His servant, where He grants him
His forgiveness?
In other words, a Mussalli
receives forgiveness for his sins by the simple action of entering the House of
Allah with Taqwa and with the hope that Allah, the Lord of this House
and of his own life will forgive him.
Now, keep these facts and truths in mind the next time you
try to distance yourselves from the Masjids, where you use useless excuses for
not coming to the Mosque when Allah is calling you to Him, in the House that He
has purified to receive you. Never forget that when Allah calls you to come to
His House, so you must do everything you can to answer His call! Is it not true
that within the framework of this world, if one day a judge summons you in
front of the court where you have to present a case before the judge, are you
going to hide yourselves, or will you prepare yourselves to go and answer for
your case? Here, there is fear for creatures, where the creature calls you
before the court, but don’t you have the fear of the greatest Judge? Do you
ignore His Call? Remember that the repercussions of not being present in court
mean you are liable to get into trouble and have fines to pay, but don’t you have
the fear of undergoing the chastisement of Allah if you don’t make an effort to
go to Him when He calls you? Those who refuse to listen to the call of Allah
and come to Him, then this disobedience will create darkness in their hearts
where the heart will remain deprived of the Nur of Allah. So, I advise you not
to become an ignorant and a Munaafiq (hypocrite) towards Allah. Obey
Him, follow His Commandments and Instructions, and come and purify yourselves in
His Ibaadat, such Ibaadat that He invites you to do in His Houses
(Masjids).
Therefore, it is
mandatory for a good believer, the one who is sincere in His Ibaadat and
love for Allah to answer the call of Allah and go to Him in His Masjid. And
remember, as this Hadith in Haakim makes us understand that the best trade, the
best transaction that can be done is the one who comes to the mosques of Allah
to worship Him. The markets in the Hereafter are the Masjids. Every place in
the Hereafter is the abode of Allah, because that place is a pure place that is
filled with the Nur of Allah, a Light that has no end, because Allah will
always enrich its inhabitants (Inhabitants of Paradise) with that special Nur,
the Nur of His pleasure.
When the Messenger of
Allah has described the Masjid as a market among the markets of the Aakhirah
(in Jannah), then how is it that a believer is able to divert himself
from this Divine Market where Allah invites him to gain His Light and an
never-ending forgiveness? What better transaction can there be for one than to
frequent the market of Allah, the Masjid of Allah?
In a long Hadith,
Hazrat Abu Umaaman (ra) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “The
worst places (on earth) are the markets. And the best places are the Mosques.”
Here, we find that in
this temporal world, the markets are a detestable place where there are many
rude words that are used, and there are many merchants who indulge in giving
false measurements in order to collect more profits. There are even those who sell
products that have expired or are damaged, and they pass this on as fresh
products. But in the markets of Allah in Jannah, as explained to us by
the Prophet (pbuh) are not like the markets of this world. In fact, the markets
of Aakhirah are mosques, the purest of all places. And in this world,
the best place for a true believer is the House of Allah.
And verily, the one who
frequents the Masjid of Allah, he assures himself of great happiness, because
Allah will always be with him, as long as he remains sincere with Him in His Ibaadat.
So, when you hear the
call to prayer and despite all the facilities that are available for you in
this modern world to go to the Masjid, you don’t go, then you are turning your
back on Allah (twt). You are causing harm to your own souls. Those who ignore
the call of Allah and give the impression that they are people who are working
for Allah but who in fact are working against Allah and refuse to come and
purify themselves in His Houses, then they need to think about what the Quranic
verse says for it will not be applicable to them where Allah says that those
are they (i.e. the ones who recite the Book of Allah, and keep themselves firm
in the prayer, and spend secretly and openly from the wealth that Allah has
provided for them, so those are they who can) hope to gain a great profit in
the transaction that they have made with Allah. It is such commerce and such a
benefit that shall never fall or be lost. (Surah Al-Fatir 35: 30)
In a Hadith reported by
Hazrat Abu Huraira (ra), he narrated that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “When
you pass by the Orchards of Jannat,
consume its fruits!” Then the Sahaba queried “O Messenger of
Allah! What are the Orchards of Jannat?” Rasullullah (pbuh) said: “They are the
Mosques”. The Sahaba asked: “O Messenger
of Allah!
What is the meaning of consuming its fruits?” Then Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Recite:
Subhan-Allah Walhamdulillah
Wala Ilaaha Illallah Wallahu Akbar” (Glory to Allah, all praise be to Allah, there is no
other deity except Allah and Allah is Great). (Tirmidhi)
So imagine how unfortunate it is for the believer - who
says that he believes, that he is a Muslim, but who turns his back on this
orchard of Allah, an orchard of rewards that Allah has reserved – Divine Gifts
– for him but which he refuses to accept. Woe to all those who give preference
to this world and do everything to provoke dissension among the believers and
to break the Jamaat of the prayer of Allah.
So imagine the two enormous consequences that will weigh on you when you ignore Allah, when you ignore His call and do not come to His mosques to purify yourselves and receive His grace. Allah is infinitely Generous. He gives you a chance to purify yourselves. So don’t turn your backs to His Call and come join the group of those who will win His Nur, Rahmah and Maghfirat, be it in this world and the hereafter. Insha-Allah. May Allah awaken your consciences and may you not lose the divine treasure that Allah has reserved for you. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
----Friday Sermon of 07 July 2023 ~17 Dhul-Hijjah 1444 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.