Saturday, November 2, 2024

'Struggle against Self'

 

The Advent of the Seal of all Prophets, Muhammad (pbuh)


'O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, calling people to Allah by His grace, and as a light-giving lamp.' (Al-Ahzab 33: 46-47).

 


Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah
, today, I continue to speak on our beloved Master, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and his status as the greatest prophet among all prophets. As I mentioned last week, while Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is the greatest prophet and the last law-bearing prophet, it does not mean there will be no prophets after him. Prophets and Messengers of Allah will continue to come, but only from his own Ummah (community), and not from the communities that have rejected him (pbuh). This forms a chain of belief, where one Messenger confirms the other, and the new Messenger is born from the community and faith of the previous Messenger of Allah who has passed away.

 

In the case of the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), the world witnessed the advent of the Promised Messiah Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in the 14th century Hijri. After Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), it is only natural that any subsequent Messenger, who is present among you, must come from the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and also from the spiritual family of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). Hence, Insha-Allah, the new Messenger who is to appear in this world will come from me, from my own spiritual essence, from the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad, within the Sahih al Islam.


When a believer fully understands this concept, this clear truth, they will see that everything is connected to Allah and Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh): Laa-Ilaaha Illallah Muhammadur Rasullullah (There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh) is His Messenger). The greatest honour Allah has granted to Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is that all the prophets in the past foretold his coming, and after him (pbuh), all prophets that will come will confirm his message: The Quran and Sunnah.

 

The Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is such a divine mercy for the entire universe that Allah has Himself declared that he (pbuh) is Rahmatul-lil-Aalameen (a mercy to the all the worlds). That means Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), in his very being, is a blessing and a perfect example for all people, for all times—whether it be his own era, or all the eras that follow until the Day of Judgement.


Allah has perfected humanity in him. When we speak of the perfect man, every reference points to him. No one before or after him will reach the degree of perfection that he (pbuh) has reached. Yes, there will be some who will come close to this honourable grade or status—there is no doubt about it—but they will not surpass his degree of perfection—there is no doubt about that as well. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is the example par excellence of a true human being. His qualities as a human are such that the qualities of prophet have reached perfection physically, morally, and spiritually only through him.

 

Allah sent Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) as the perfect example that all people, especially sincere believers, should follow. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) represents the human and prophetic reference that all people, and especially Messengers who come after him, must follow. He is the “guideline” as we say. If one wishes to attain perfection,, then they must follow Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) to reach his stage. This is a blessed stage, a Maqaam (station/status) that Allah has reserved for Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), but there will also be some of His chosen ones who will succeed, Insha-Allah, to come close to this Maqaam, and imbibe the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and not just his Prophethood, but also his perfect human characteristics.


We must keep in mind that INSAN (humankind) by the nature that Allah has created him, is never completely perfect to a hundred percent – even Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) – in the present context we are discussing. There is an inherent weakness in humans that cannot be separated from them, and even if Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has reached the highest level of the scale of human perfection, but he (pbuh) did not reach that level to a hundred percent. It is true that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is pure from all major sins, and even the minor sins that other people often fall victim to. Here, I am not speaking of sins, but of human weaknesses, which even Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) could not separate from himself. If he had reached the top level of perfection, then he would not be known as a human; for humans, Allah created them weak, and Allah has placed this weakness in humans so that they often turn to Him in repentance.

 

If all people were absolutely perfect, they would gradually become arrogant in their perfection, except for the chosen servants of Allah, whom Allah protects from the impurities of Satan. Thus, all people without exception have weaknesses in them, just as Allah says in the Quran: “Allah wants to lighten your burden, for mankind is created weak.” (An-Nisa 4:28)

 

Here, the word used to describe human weakness is “dua-eee-fa.” This weakness is in human nature. Humans have this weakness in them. And even the greatest prophet and the most perfect man, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) had this weakness in him, but he (pbuh), compared to the rest of humanity, from the creation of humans until the Day of Judgement, has succeeded in gradually overcoming his weaknesses to the point where only a small degree of weakness remained in him, and it is this human weakness that allowed him to remain attached to his Lord, to ask Allah for forgiveness time and again despite Allah promising him paradise and granting him a rank that no other human or prophet could reach.

 

When his wife Hazrat Aisha (ra) asked him why he needed to pray so much and ask for forgiveness when Allah had already forgiven his past and future sins, what was the answer our master (pbuh) gave her? He said to her: “Should I not be a thankful servant?” (Bukhari)

 

So we find that the weakness of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was in fact a shield for him so that he did not fall into the trap of Satan. This human weakness in him caused him a lot of concern, making him cautious in doing anything that might anger Allah. As an example, I present to you the anecdote of the blind man who came to him for explanations about religion. This anecdote was so important that Allah found it necessary to mention it in the Quran, where you will find it in Chapter 80, Abasa, at the very beginning.

 

When Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) frowned at the blind believer, Allah found it necessary to reprimand him, because Allah alone knows the worth of all people, and while Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was giving priority to others, Allah made him understand through this reprimand that this blind man was more valuable in the eyes of Allah than the others whom Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was giving much more consideration. However, here, it was not a sin that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) committed, because he did not know the worth or heart of people. For him, in looking at the appearance of people, he thought that certain individuals were more interested in the affairs of Islam than this blind man.

 

But Allah kept His greatest Prophet on the straight path (Siratwal Mustaqeem) when He reprimanded him, and this reprimand was beneficial for him (pbuh) and the entire Ummah. That is why Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was always asking for forgiveness from Allah, because he did not know in which action he might do something that would anger Allah. Allah would not remove him from paradise which He had promised him, but Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was so thirsty for divine love that he did not even want to make his Lord angry with him. He (pbuh) was doing everything so that Allah would be completely pleased with him as a servant and prophet. Therefore, if the Messengers of Allah thirst for divine love, they will certainly attain it by following the example of His greatest human and prophetic model that He sent for the entire universe.

 

Notice the term used by Allah: Rahmatul-lil-Aalameen. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is not only a mercy, a blessing for this temporal world, but for the entire universe. Here, Allah has given the highest status a human can achieve to His beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Allah knows that humans are weak, but if people follow the perfect example of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), they too will achieve a degree of perfection that is close to what Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) attained.

 

This is why, among all the Ummahs since the creation of the universe, only the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) can reach the highest level if – of course – they follow his perfect example and they fight all their satans concealed within, and they make these satans become Muslims.

 

The greatest Jihad that man can do is with himself. When man (Insan) succeeds in appeasing his ego or passion (Nafs) and achieving inner peace (Nafs-e-Mutmaina), then this is the state that Allah and His Messenger (Rasul) Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) desires that all people, all the sincere servants of Allah achieve. It is such a state where a person is in complete harmony with his Creator, and where Allah is amply pleased with him.

 

May Allah enable all of us Muslims to work nights and days to attain human perfection, to attain the state of the peaceful soul (Nafs-e-Mutmaina) which guarantees for all of us the pleasure of Allah upon us. And may Allah perfect all the prophets whom He sends as His representatives on this earth so that they deserve to approach the perfection of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) just as Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has shown us through his own example and his Taqwa. Insha-Allah, Ameen.


---Friday Sermon of 04 October 2024~ 30 Rabi'ul Awwal 1446 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.