The Duahs of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) & The Promise of Allah- Part 1
That great personality
who is the most perfect of all law-bearing and non-law-bearing prophets is none
but Muhammad (pbuh). He was born in Arabia at a time when Arabia and the rest
of the world were plunged into the darkness of infidelity to Allah. Idolatry
was rampant and caused havoc everywhere. It was him, a very humble and weak
human who was moreover an orphan – of both mother and father – from his early
childhood, who enabled a great spiritual revolution in the world, not just in
Arabia.
Bear in mind that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did not let himself be attracted by gold and silver, by the superficial riches of this world. He preferred sacrificing for His Ummah so that they [i.e. all of us, his followers] may harvest the good of the hereafter as well as the pleasure of Allah when they [we, Muslims] follow in his footsteps.
During his lifetime, he
made lots of prayers (Salat), and supplications (Duahs), to
Allah. Each aspect of his life was consolidated by a Duah (i.e. for each
deed which he did, there was a prayer which he recited). Whenever he woke up,
he used to recite a Duah. He used to invoke Allah also before eating,
drinking, before starting any work, before starting any journey. He used to
seek the protection of Allah against Satan, and he used to supplicate Allah to
receive His pleasure, peace, as well as tranquillity, etc. In every moment and
aspect of his life, with each of his breath, he used to recite a Duah
[invoke Allah]. This means that with every breath he took, with every Duah
he made, he remembered Allah. His life was filled with Duahs (Invocations
to Allah) and Zikrullah (Remembrance of Allah).
When Allah saw his
gratefulness to Him [Allah] (he was a very grateful and thankful servant of
Allah), He thus fulfilled His promises on him. And those promises did not only
benefit him (pbuh) but his whole Ummah and all humankind as well! His
invocations brought so many blessings for the whole universe.
But before the great
victory promised to him by Allah unfolded, there were lots of upheavals in both
his life and the lives of the believers – some great trials – as well as good
news. When he was all alone at the start of his mission and even before that,
he was a very quiet person who used to seclude himself from all [so that he may
connect with His Creator]. Nobody knew him well [i.e. his inner self, his longing
to seek His Creator – and not the idols]. He had a sweet nature, and was honest
and when growing up, he was known as “Al-Amin” (the Trustworthy). All
the people (especially the Quraish) trusted him as he was honest, good and
polite towards one and all. He did not fear to stand up for justice. They all
took him as their reference, as a mediator and judge in matters which required
just judgement. He was young and dynamic at that time. He used to spread
goodness everywhere. He was not arrogant and he was honest in trade matters for
he used to help his paternal uncle Abu Talib in his business. All the people
appreciated and liked him. But what happened afterwards?
As soon as he said that
he was receiving divine revelations, (as soon as he said) that Allah was
speaking to him, so the people began to label him a liar. The same truthful
person (As-Sadiq) became a liar in their eyes. He was quickly abandoned
by those people. Only a handful of people kept his company and believed in him.
They were Hazrat Khadtija (ra), Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra) and
Hazrat Zaid (ra). And it is through the five of them (including the Prophet)
that Dawa (the Call to Allah) for the cause of Allah, to spread Tawheed
(the unicity of Allah) began.
At that particular
moment, it was quite impossible to imagine that the Divine Cause through the
mission of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) would culminate into a great victory. At that
humble start, it was quite impossible to conceive that victory. He received so
much persecution and ill-treatments and the people took him then as a very
inferior creature. After all the honour they bestowed upon him, they then
trampled his honour, seeking to humiliate and even to kill him.
The enemies were in
great numbers. They had good ties from many years with several tribes. This is
one of the reasons they thought that they could attack the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). But they planned and Allah planned and He saved His Prophet
from their traps and plans and removed him from their circles. Allah undid all
their evil plans. And before their hands could reach Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh),
Allah caused their hands to become like invalids - their hands became powerless
and useless.
The “Cave of Thaur” anecdote
will always remain a great miracle in the history of the world. Nobody could
ever have conceived how this happened. And if that didn’t happen and if it didn’t
become a part of history, no one would ever believe that such a thing could ever
have happened. In such a remote place in the desert where there was no place to
hide; a place where if there were traces of footsteps or horse tracks, those traces
or tracks would remain there forever. It’s only a storm that could erase those
traces.
It’s such a place through
which he travelled when he was migrating from Mecca to Medina. Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) took refuge in a small cave found on a hill. And among the enemies who
were following him, there were also great experts of traces/ tracks. In such a
situation where there was no other place to go, he (pbuh) had to climb that small
hill/ mountain. And there was only one cave. And when the enemies were discussing
about whether he (and Abu Bakr) went to the cave or not, they could not find
any foot or horse traces. And to further confuse them, spiders came to build
their web at the opening of the cave and thus the enemies said that it was
impossible that someone – much less two people – could have entered that cave,
where even a bird had also laid a small egg. For them, it was impossible that
they could have passed through the cobwebs and bird’s nest to hide in there.
That was a little
anecdote [but great miracle]. And the Quran says that of all the homes, it is
the spider’s web that is the weakest and most fragile. But at that particular
moment, it became the most solid house and thus the enemy could not conceive
that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) were both in the
cave behind those webs and nest. So, this was indeed an extraordinary anecdote.
In such situations, and
with a person who was physically weak, Allah made extraordinary promises to
him, including promises concerning the future. There was a time when Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh) was engaged in digging trenches. It was a situation where they (i.e.
the believers) thought that if the enemies arrived before the trenches were
dug, there would be no way for them to defend Madina. A large enemy army was
approaching. All the Sahaba (companions) were making efforts day and
night to dig the trenches. However, they encountered a significant difficulty:
they struck a large rock, and at that moment, if they couldn’t break it, it
would be impossible to dig the trenches. Despite all their efforts, they couldn’t
break the rock. They thus said to the Prophet (pbuh), “O Prophet of Allah,
strike this rock.”
And the situation of
physical weakness of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was such that: While the Sahaba
had each tied a rock to their stomach to face the hunger, and someone even said
– “O Prophet! See the situation where we have to tie a rock to our stomach
to bear hunger!”, but at that moment Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) lifted his
shirt and showed that he had two rocks tied to his stomach!
This meant that it was
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) who had to deal more severely with hunger. So when he
hit a rock for the first time there was a spark and Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said
“Allahu Akbar”. He hit a second time and there was also a spark and then
he said “Allahu Akbar”. He ended up hitting a third time when another
spark rose up and he again said “Allahu Akbar” and the rock finally
broke. The Sahaba asked him why every time he said “Allahu Akbar”?
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said that with every spark, Allah showed him their
victory upon some of the empires of the time. Allah gave him the key of Syria
and he could see its palace. The second time he was given the key to Persia and
he could see its palace too. For the third time, he was given the keys to Yemen,
and he could see the gates of Sana.
So, in a moment of such
physical weakness, Allah was showing him victories over all these empires. If,
in such a situation, someone speaks of such victories, it is natural for the
enemies to call him a madman, because only either a madman or someone with
complete certainty in Allah could say such things. Therefore, they [the
enemies] did not recognize the true status of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). But the
judgement (fatwa) they gave was only applicable to those two types of
people. When, in such a situation, someone says: “I see the keys to the
Kingdom of Yemen,” or “I am given the victory over Syria,” so common
people [among the unbelievers] will say he is mad. Or they [those who prefer to
choose to believe in him] will say he is the Chosen One of Allah, and what he
is saying will one day come true.
[They will say] He is a
prophet who has a great love for Allah and receives messages from the heavens.
There is nothing else that can be said about such a person. Therefore, by their
reaction, the enemies have shown that this is something impossible. But the
very fact that they found it impossible only further proves its truth; it gives
it even more weight. Because right before their eyes, one by one, those things
they called the dreams of a madman have come true. And there were certain
promises that were tied to the era of the Aakhireen [the people of the
last days]. It has deep connexion to [i.e. It concerns] us because it is us
whom Allah has chosen to become the servants of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
Between them and us
there is a time distance of about 1445 years/15 centuries and in spite of that, it is a
very great favour of Allah that despite our weakness, despite our shortcomings,
Allah has chosen us in this century for the reform of Islam throughout the
world. Through our love for Allah and Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), Allah has
enlightened us all, and Allah has sent to you His Khalifatullah, and has
bestowed upon this humble servant His mercy and has given me this mission for
the reform of Islam, following in the footsteps of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and
also that of the Promised Messiah of the past century, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad (as).
This beauty means that
Allah, by His immense favour, has poured out His Grace on us [Hazrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad (as) and me] and has chosen us, in our respective centuries, to become
the representations of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to the Aakhireen.
The time of the Awwaleen
(i.e. the first believers of Islam at the time of the Holy Prophet Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh)) was verily a very great era and this has been repeated - by
the grace of Allah - in our era too. Not only are we seeing the fulfilment of
these divine promises before us today, but it is also marking history, becoming
part and parcel of history. It is not the fruits of history but the formation
of history. Through this, our history is being made. And concerning us
personally, we are indeed the fruits of the history that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh)
made - the prophecy that is mentioned in the Holy Quran.
So history is being
made through us, and it remains always the history made by Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh). This is the truth to which I am referring. So, keep this truth in mind
when you take pleasure in the affairs of the Deen of Allah, because this
is the real pleasure - not pleasure felt in mundane things which are very limited.
If you keep this in mind all the time, no matter how successful you are, you
will find that you in fact do not deserve such success. You will perceive that
it is the blessings of those who came before us who made us attain such successes
- they planted that tree, and it is us who are reaping the fruits today. In
truth, we do not have the right to get such successes. This is such a truth
that I felt all the time concerning me personally. And there is hardly any
exaggeration in what I am saying. I know that truth very well and there is no
doubt that it is the blessings and the fruits of the Awwaleen who are
making the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam get such successes. Alhamdulillah.
And these are the
successes that were destined for Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) and also for this
humble servant [i.e. the Khalifatullah]. Bear in mind that we –Muslims –
are only means [way and means, i.e. instruments] to achieve this success. And
that’s all! So we need to exceed all limits in gratefulness (to Allah), i.e. we
need to cross our own limits in gratefulness [such gratefulness which we would
not have imagined that we could display], for as humans, our limit for showing
such high level of gratefulness is usually rather weak.
So all of you (all of
us) need to be so thankful that you break all your boundaries! The thanks that
we owe to Allah is for the favours that He has given us when He has put us on
the right path, and made us Muslims and guided us and granted us the divine
revelation as a great grace that comes from Him, to keep the honour of Islam
and that of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) very high. So it is our duty to show the
true value of Islam through ourselves and through our own efforts, our own
thoughts, actions and we march forward towards the victory of Islam in this
century with the blessings of the prayers of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). All his duahs
are present in the books of Duahs, Hadiths, and Sunnat. It’s up to us to
memorize them and make those prayers or invocations pervade our lives so that
it benefits not just us, but the body of Islam as a whole. Insha-Allah.
I end by reciting this duah;
it is such a duah that includes all the duahs that Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh) made during his life, and that he (pbuh) taught his wife Hazrat
Aisha (ra) and which is reported in Hadiths by Ibn Majah:
Allahumma
inni as’aluka minal-khayri kullihi, a’jilihi wa aajilih, ma ‘alimtu minhu wa ma
lam a’lam. Wa a’udhu bika minash-sharri kullihi, a’jilihi wa aajilih, ma ‘alimtu
minhu wa ma lam a’lam. Allahumma inni as’aluka min khayri ma sa-alaka ‘abduka
wa nabiyyuka, wa a’udhu bika min sharri maa ‘adha bihi ‘abduka wa nabiyyuka.
Allahumma inni as’alukal-jannata wa ma qarrab ilayha min qawlin aw ‘amalin, wa
a’udhu bika minan-nari wa ma qarraba ilayha min qawlin aw ‘amalin, wa as’aluka
an taj’ala kulla qada’in qadaytahuli khayran.
“O Allah, I ask You for
all goodness in the present and the future, what I know and what I do not know.
O Allah, I seek refuge with You from all evil, in the present and the future,
what I know and what I do not know. O Allah, I ask You for the good that Your
slave and Prophet has asked You for, and I seek refuge with You from the evil
from which Your slave and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, I ask You for
Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and I
seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in
word and deed. And I ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning me
good.” Ameen.
----Friday Sermon of 06 October 2023~ 20 Rabi’ul Awwal 1445 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.