Thursday, December 7, 2023

'Tawheed' & 'Shirk'

 

'And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you - by His grace - became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be (rightly) guided.' (Al-e-Imran, 3: 104)

 

Allah has put a responsibility on us - the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam - to make the world come under the Millat-e-Wahida, or Ummat-e-Wahida – as one nation, people or community of believers, and that time is fast approach. We are already seeing its realisation and effect through a clear and illuminating light. The project to bring the world as a Millat-e-Wahida also forms a part of Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah), and has a great link with Tawheed.


From all over the world, despite the Islamophobia that has crept into the world, we are finding that after more than twenty years, the world has opened itself to Islam. Allah is inspiring hearts to become Muslims. Now, with the same fervour, Allah has trusted to this humble servant - His Khalifa [Khalifatullah] – the mission to spread the message of His Oneness throughout the world. Apart from me, there are many Muslims around the world who are doing excellent work in the field of Dawa/ Tabligh. They are giving their time and efforts in this endeavour. Now, with the Divine Manifestation, slowly but surely you will find how Allah will open many hearts to recognize the Manifestation of this era with the advent of His Khalifatullah. Victory does not come at once. It comes step by step, and when you find the dawn of that victory, it will have a different effect on your hearts.


By the grace of Allah, this spiritual revolution has already begun, and there will come a time when it will reach its peak. With the arrival of this humble servant as the Khalifatullah, the world has acquired the good news of a new hope. And that hope is the detachment from all satanic works and to attach them [i.e. the believers] together with the Tawheed. It is a great favour that with modern technology, Allah has given Islam the means to pass its message to the whole world in a few seconds. Today, in the circle of the Divine Manifestation of this century, Allah has given me and my sincere disciples the means to use this technology in the best way in order to spread His message more easily. Be it through Friday Sermons, Speeches, Explanations of the Holy Qur'an (especially the Al-Azim Tafsir’ul Qur'an] and through important messages to the world, Allah has honoured the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam one degree beyond all the Muslims because He has chosen us for this work, and placed us above the other Muslims so that, through the Ruh’il Quddus - the Divine Revelation, a new world be created where Islam will triumph, Insha-Allah.


Many people around the world are already connecting and attaching themselves with the Tawheed and they appreciate the work that Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is doing. With the coming of a Messenger of Allah, there are not just trials, but also good news. And the good news for a Messenger of Allah is that his message gets across well and people accept it. This message is not about connecting with the Khalifatullah, but this message is indeed the Tawheed: Connect with Allah!

 

So, I mention the good work that my sincere disciples in the world are doing to connect and bring the world to Allah. Through our Websites, Blog, YouTube Channel, we find the glow of this spiritual revolution. It is beginning to flower and shall Insha-Allah reach its peak – and bear its fruits.

 

The Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is like a tree that has its branches spread throughout the world. Birds from different countries will alight on those branches. Insha-Allah.

 

Today, like we know, there is technology. It is such a tool which needs to be used in the right way. There is the good side and the bad side of it. For our era, Allah has eased the propagation of His Message through that system which is called the Internet - Website, Blog, etc. and that system is like an international tree that continues to spread its branches even further. And by the grace of Allah we are getting many fruits in this field. I receive a lot of messages on my phone and emails from faraway places and they inform me that they read and listen to my sermons, and that those words make their Islam revive in their hearts; they awaken their consciousness and strengthen their connection with Allah in their Salat (prayers). There are some who say that they used to be unjust to their wives, but that now they are very repentant and asked their wives for forgiveness.

 

So, we see how those Tarbiyyat (spiritual education) are having an effect – a positive effect, Alhamdulillah. Many fruits of different colours, different scents and different qualities that make our hearts filled with praise of Allah are being reaped.

 

In the realm of Website works with translations in the different languages, I would like to mention some members who are helping the Jamaat in great ways.  Among them, there is Mukarram Faisal Sahib, Mukarram Saleem Sahib, Mukarram Fazil Jamal Sahib, Mukarram Jamaluddin Sahib, Janab Jafarullah Sahib and Janab Ansari Sahib. There are many others who dedicate themselves, body and soul to the field of propagating the Message of Allah through Videos, Translations, Dawa, etc. – and I do not forget the contribution of the Ladies’ Wing as well.


The Jamaat is very happy and contented, and the enemy is very disconcerted. Now we get news from places where the people were opposed to the Jamaat and used to boast. So now, with the help of Allah through Website, Blog, etc., people can establish a direct bond with the Khalifatullah. You are yourselves witness to the fact that people from different countries are sending their questions and thus I am preparing their answers to be included also in our Questions and Answers Sessions; so with this spiritual revolution, change has come. The might of the enemy has weakened and many of them are inclined to the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Alhamdulillah.

 

In the places where the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is spreading, the imams of mosques also are beginning to listen little by little. All this shows that its root is well-rooted in the depths of the earth, and has grown in such a way that it amazes seekers of truth, and Insha-Allah, we altogether, with our united efforts, we can build that Ummat-e-Wahida. And if we leave this path, or accept defeat in the Tawheed, then all the efforts being done shall be in vain.

 

So when we praise Allah, we need to make our intention and conviction more firm and solid. You need to have respect for the Deen of Allah, and thank Allah Who has chosen you to enter the Ark of His blessed servants who help His Khalifatullah to distribute this Message in the four corners of the world. And through this propagation, new generations can also realize that all those efforts are for the cause of Tawheed.

 

We take an oath in the name of Allah, the One, that we shall remain attached to the Tawheed in such a way, that even if the enemy cut our throats, or cut our hands with which we grab fast the Tawheed, but they can never cut off the relationship which our souls have with the Tawheed. If we thank Allah for His favours with such vigour, then I have the certainty that no force of opposition can interfere in the path of our Jamaat in the acquisition of this reward. People on earth cannot stop the reward which comes from the heavens. By the grace of Allah, the reward which is coming down from heavens also has the same characteristic.

 

To continue explaining the subject of Tawheed, I need to talk about Shirk as well. What is Shirk? Why does Allah not forgive Shirk?

 

These are short questions, but I think of the few questions that can be raised from this. So I think about what is important for explaining the Jamaat and analyzing what Shirk really is, and how relationships are different and distinct from Shirk. Everyone has love for their spouse, their child, their comrade and at the same time they declare their love for Allah too. Is all this love a sign of Shirk? Does Tawheed mean that someone deprives himself of all this love? If it had been so, then the world would have been filled with idolaters. You would not have found any worshiper of Allah anywhere in the world. The prophets also have love for other people, like their wives, their children, their families and the believers. They did not only have love for their family and loved ones, but for strangers as well.

 

So, which love is Shirk and which love is not Shirk and which is on the contrary a sign of the grace of Tawheed? The subject should be very clear to everyone. And this has a deep connection with the survival and unity of the Jamaat. The question is: Why does Allah say that He will not forgive Shirk? In Christianity and other religions as well, there is Shirk. Can we say, with certainty, that all of them will go to hell?

 

In fact, it is Allah Who decides who goes to hell. Shirk has infiltrated into several religions of Tawheed [i.e. monotheistic religions]. But there are also many worshipers of God (Allah) in the religion of idolaters. That is why people do not have the ability to decide which followers of this and that religion will go to hell and which followers of this and that religion will go to paradise!

 

Moreover, whether it is for Shirk or for Tawheed there are stages and grades thereof which are found in the different depths of the heart. Sometimes if you search the heart of a worshiper of the Unique God, you will find therein a little Shirk, as if he is constructing the building of Tawheed upon the foundation of Shirk. Sometimes it is Tawheed which is dominant in him. This is a very sensitive question that we leave on the One Who knows the invisible and the visible. Only Allah knows who are those who are idolaters (masked as believers) and who are those who truly worship Him [Allah]. We should seek knowledge from the Sunnat [practices] of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and understand what Shirk is and what Tawheed is, and we should also understand the difference between the two, so that no doubt remains in our hearts. And together we should pray [invoke Allah in prayers], because it is Allah Who has power over everything. He can punish whoever He wants and forgives whoever He wants. We should read: Ghufranaka, Rabbana wa ilaykal massir, i.e.: (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord [Allah], and to You is the end of all journeys.

 

In other words: 'O Allah! We turn to You for forgiveness; we should always turn towards You, we don’t have any other way. The truth is that we have to return to you; thus, who else can ever grant us forgiveness like You do? No one! The others are not You; they are not the Creator. They are themselves Your creatures, and they don’t have the power to grant me [us] complete forgiveness.'

 

If we understand this in this way and make duah, then I am sure that, Insha-Allah, Allah will keep us all firm upon the Tawheed.

 

I stop my sermon here for today. Insha-Allah, I will delve deeper into this subject, especially concerning the love for the Holy Prophet (pbuh), whether it agrees with the Tawheed, or is it against the Tawheed? Insha-Allah, I will expound on this next time.

 

May Allah give us all the ability to remain firm upon Tawheed, and may He remove the slightest trace of Shirk which may have infiltrated our hearts. May Allah keep us all firmly upon the True Islam, Sahih al Islam. Insha-Allah, Ameen.


---Friday Sermon of 01 December 2023 ~17 Jamadi’ul Awwal 1445 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.