Sunday, February 9, 2025

Follow 'Sunnah', Avoid 'Shirk'

 

Ashhadu alla ilaha illallahu wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluh.


I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is His servant and Messenger. 


In our proclamation of faith, as Allah says in Surah Al-Baqara, Chapter 2, Verse 286: “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. All of them have faith in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. [And they say] ‘We make no distinction between any of His Messengers.’ And they also say: ‘We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord, for to You is the final return.’”

 

When a Messenger of Allah comes, especially a Messenger and Prophet who comes after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his role is to hold firmly to the Quran and ensures that he guides people to the commandments of this best Book. The Quran is special because it represents the total sum of laws that Allah has ordained for humanity. It is not applicable only to a particular era but applies at all times, as long as there are people on earth. People have been given a perfect guide in the person of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), whom Allah made a representation of the Quran on earth.

 

Thus, the Holy Quran and the example of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) provide the necessary guidance for humanity, both in the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and in all times after him. He came as the seal of the prophets, the perfect model for all other prophets who will be born from his Ummah and who are given the mission by Allah to straighten the path that leads to Allah.

 

When the Quran is disregarded, meaning when people no longer take the Quran and its teachings into account, or interpret it in erroneous ways without a guide from Allah to help them understand the true meaning of Allah’s verses, people lose their direction in life. For example, as one of my disciples in India brought to my attention, there is now a new product in the Arab market where they have manufactured a Quran that can completely dissolve in water, and people can drink these Quranic verses. As the Khalifatullah, as I have already said in my previous sermons, I am against this type of commerce and practice regarding the Quran. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) never wrote down Quranic verses, put them in water, and drank them. This was never practiced during his lifetime. What he did was recite the Quranic verses himself, without selling the Quran, and seek Allah’s protection against satanic effects by reciting Surah Al-Fatiha, the Surah of healing par excellence, and the three “Qul” Surahs. He would blow into his hands and pass them over his entire body as an invocation for protection so that Allah would protect him from satanic effects. Moreover, due to the satanic works against the Prophet (pbuh), when he was affected by sorcery, Allah informed him about who had performed these satanic works on him and where he could find and destroy them. This is how Surahs Al-Falaq and An-Nas were revealed!

 

Remember, O people, that the Quran is not something to be taken lightly. I agree that with technology, Muslims have developed electronic versions of the Quran. Alhamdulillah, because this has made the Quran accessible everywhere. It’s true that we shouldn’t commercialize the Quran for profit, but it is also a reality that publishing books today, including the Quran, involves costs for production, publication, and distribution. So, personally, I don’t find it offensive to enter an Islamic bookstore and purchase a Quran. However, what Allah condemns is making a profit from the sale of the Quran and using that profit in vain pursuits. If the profit is used for the propagation of Islam, that in itself is a blessing, because everything is expensive nowadays. The cost of living is high. But what is absolutely wrong is the Arabs in Saudi Arabia encouraging the practice of writing Quranic verses on a piece of paper, dissolving it in water, and then drinking that water. They are creating an innovation that is entirely incorrect. Think carefully, keep this in mind, that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never preached this, and even if you present to me that some companions of the Prophet (pbuh) did this after his death, remember that there are different versions of this. What is permissible from my perspective, in what Allah has made me understand, is that it is not at all Shirk if you recite Quranic verses, especially for the healing of a person or protection against satans, you recite it by heart or read it directly from the Quran, and then blow into a glass of water and give it to the sick person. That is completely permissible. Even Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did this, whether in water or food, where he would invoke Allah in supplication, dip a bit of his saliva in a food container so that Allah would place His blessing in that food, and everyone could benefit from it, and it would be sufficient for all. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) would also invoke Allah and use his saliva to heal people, as in the case of Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu Talib (ra), who suffered from eye pain one day.

 

Looking at the time of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) as well as the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), both practiced this. They would recite duahs or Quranic verses, especially Surah Al-Fatiha, the greatest Surah, and either blow into food or water or use their saliva. This is completely permissible, and I myself, the Khalifatullah of this century, have done this, and many miracles in food and the healing of people have testified to it. This is one of the blessings of supplications, which has nothing to do with modern Ruqya (healing) practices that so-called Muslims are trying to invent. When a person is not sure of a Hadith, and they fully know what Allah has said in the Quran about not commercializing His verses for a small profit, then that is enough to demonstrate that these practices of writing Quranic verses in water and drinking it are not correct at all.

 

Remember well, it is not without reason that Allah sent me as a prophet and reviver of faith, to help humanity, and especially Muslims, on how to practice their religion correctly. And it is not right at all. I tell you, it is not a sin to recite the Quran, blow into a glass of water and drink it, but it is a form of Shirk to use written pages of the Quran, put them in water and drink it, whether it is toxic or not. Allah looks at the intention of a person. Allah judges the heart with what intention a person performs an action. Thus, the mass production of Quranic verses, whether dissolved in water and drunk, and making a profit from it while normalizing this practice, is not good at all. Otherwise, people will abandon Salat, reading the Quran, and doing Zikr, and will focus only on putting the Quran in water to get healing. But it doesn’t work like that! A person will get true healing from Allah when they are regular in their Salat, when they fulfil their duties and give Zakat, when they read the Quran and seek to understand what Allah is saying to them, and they apply the Quranic verses to improve their daily life, regulating their life according to what Allah has ordained for them.

 

Therefore, we find that neither the Quran nor any of the sacred books revealed by Allah are meant to be used for doubtful commercial purposes, to enrich companies seeking profit. Engage in actions that will enrich your souls and Islam, to honestly fill the Bait-ul-Maal (the Treasury) of Islam – Sahih al Islam. Do not attract Allah’s wrath upon yourselves.

 

Allah has established Salat so that you may draw closer to Him. When you make an effort towards Allah in prayer, Allah will draw closer to you. And if you have an illness, seek refuge with Allah alone from the harm that has afflicted you. Remember the patience of Hazrat Ayub (as), who was afflicted with a painful illness. After his suffering, patience, and trust in Allah, and his steadfastness in staying connected to Allah without losing hope, Allah did not abandon him. Allah healed him – teaching him what he needed to do to recover – and then granted him even more blessings than what he had lost before.

 

So, here we find that belief in Allah, His angels, His books, and His decrees brings many benefits to the life of a true believer, whether an ordinary believer or one of the chosen prophets of Allah. What is needed is certainty and trust in Allah, and when a prophet turns to Allah, Allah shows him many things that consolidate His Quranic commandments so that it can serve as guidance for the people of his time.

 

I pray that my disciples and sincere followers after me do not fall into Shirk, because Shirk is a most detestable matter; not just detestable but unforgivable as well (if a person dies in that condition). A person who commits Shirk is not a true Muslim. Therefore, I pray that Allah protects you from Shirk, and that you maintain your firm adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and my teachings that have come to confirm the Quran and Sunnah. Insha-Allah, Ameen.


---Friday Sermon of  07 February 2025~ 07 Shabaan 1446 AH delivered by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.