Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Miracles of 'Tawheed'

 The Duahs of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) & The Promise of Allah- Part 1

 

If today we are Muslims, and we have received the names and titles of Muslims, it is only through Allah and His greatest, most honourable and most perfect prophet [from among all Messengers and Prophets] Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He was someone who preferred to sacrifice worldly pleasures for the greatest pleasure, i.e. the spiritual pleasure which is eternal. And the meaning of this spiritual pleasure is to acquire the love of Allah and His approval and mercy. So, through his sacrifices, obedience, goodness, and following the divine instructions he received, he (pbuh) has secured a reserved and most honourable place for him in the “heart” and “sight” of Allah.

 

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).

 

And today, from among this Ummah, Allah has raised His Khalifatullah in obedience to Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). As for us, we are much simpler, weaker than the Holy Prophet (pbuh), and the Muslims today, and above all, my disciples, you are even weaker than the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The strength of the Sahaba of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was different. This is because they received Tarbiyyat (education or the way of good living) directly from Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) himself - the perfect example. And I, the Khalifatullah of this century, and you, my disciples, all of us together must take [i.e. follow] the example of this perfect model – 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).

 

Today, you are fortunate that it is you who have received the blessings to be the Aakhireen to perceive the other manifestations of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) on earth. There is no such thing as reincarnation as non-Muslims think and perceive [like they believe in], but here it is about another aspect of the spiritual beauty of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). This spiritual beauty [that of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)] came for the first time upon Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and today in our century, it has come upon this humble servant of Allah, the Khalifatullah.

 

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.