Islam is a gift that Allah has given to humanity at its birth; and it is a more honourable gift for anyone who is born Muslim and who grows up in the Islamic environment. A child’s upbringing in this honourable environment means that the parents also have a very great responsibility to guide them and maintain them in this Islamic, pure environment until these children become sufficiently mature, especially after the age of puberty, to know the difference between good and evil and to choose with full awareness to follow the path of truth, the path of Islam; and to make effort themselves to remain attached to the straight path, and to do everything possible to gain the pleasure of Allah, and to become a true Muslim, not by birth or by the Islamic environment in which they grew up, but by choice; a choice that is personal, that is pure, where a child, an adolescent, or even an adult – whether a young adult or even one in middle age – all have a choice to make. After the parental education they have received, where their parents guided them towards Allah, towards His Deen, towards good practice that will lead them to Paradise, will they follow this path or follow a path led astray by the influence of bad companions, bad guides who exist in the world and whose primary work is to divert them from the straight path?
If a young person or anyone has
some doubt gnawing at them inside, they should reflect that this life here on
earth is very temporary. Islam has come, not to complicate a person’s life, but
to make it easier; to give them the necessary provisions for their journey
towards the Hereafter.
Islam is the perfect guidance that
all the prophets, even before Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), preached. Islam is that
choice which a person makes when they accept to submit themselves to their
Creator, recognising that one day, sooner or later, they will have to return to
that Creator and give account. And so, they accomplish everything that Allah –
their Creator – has commanded them to do, and they remain far from everything
that their Lord has forbidden for them.
Islam is to admit that we are all
connected with a powerful Creator and that without His will, nothing good can
reach us. Islam is also to recognise that this same Creator has given us “free
will” and that the decision to do good or to do evil lies in our hands, decided
in our own conscience. Therefore, all the evil that we do, we cannot blame
Allah for it. He has given us a choice, and our life takes the direction of
that choice we have made.
Thus, Islam and “free will” are a
gift from Allah because only mankind and the jinns have received it. A choice
that other creatures, such as the angels, have not received. Angels – created
from the light of Allah – are by their very nature obedient, and they are not
comparable to mankind, who have been given superiority among all creatures of
Allah, and even superiority over the jinn; because it is only in the world of
mankind that messengers appear to teach the human race and the race of jinns
how to direct themselves towards Allah and worship Him exclusively.
This is the beauty of Islam that
Allah has given to mankind and the jinns when He sends among humanity
messengers to teach them the straight path, and to teach the jinns that
following a messenger in flesh and blood is not a fatality. On the contrary, it
is an honour, which Iblis refused to recognise; and therefore, now and until
the Day of Judgement, since the creation of the intelligent man, the creation
of man formed with the divine breath, both mankind and the jinns have been
given a choice: either to do and follow good, or to do evil and follow evil.
That choice is always there. At any
moment, a soul can falter. Therefore, it is very important that mankind and
jinns alike reflect twice before committing evil, before they lose the presence
and divine guidance that Allah has generously given them when He sent
messengers among them to guide them and to make them perform good deeds, with
good intentions, so that they may attain Paradise. This is very important.
In Islam there are specific
practices that true believers, whether among mankind or the jinn, must observe
if they wish Allah to count them among the creatures who attain Paradise. There
are five pillars of Islam: Shahada, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj.
Shahada means that you recognise
that Allah alone is worthy of worship, and that there is no person, nor any
other creature or creation, living or non-living, that is worthy of worship
apart from Him. Allah alone possesses all power. His complete power belongs to
Him and none is comparable to Him. Allah is therefore Unique, and it is only He
Who must be prayed to, not the angels, nor even His human messengers whom He
sent upon the earth. And so, also, no other lifeless things are worthy of
worship. Only Allah, the Absolute Creator, is worthy of worship.
And when you have recognised that
Allah alone is worthy of worship, then you establish Salat (the prayer)
for Him exclusively, where you demonstrate that submission in an exemplary
manner.
And when you have established
yourselves upon prayer, you recognise the instructions, the commandments that
Allah has sent through His messengers, especially the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh), where – to purify your possessions, your wealth – you take a portion of
that wealth and give it in the path of Allah. Thus, Zakat is what we call: a
Compulsory Purification Tax, where it is not necessarily charity, but a tax
that Allah has imposed upon those who possess the Nisaab so that He may
keep their wealth pure and lawful.
Allah has also established a month
of intense blessing where He has given either 29 or 30 days of fasting (Roza/
Sawm). It is a month of abstinence from dawn until sunset, whether in terms
of food or in terms of practices not recommended by Islam; and this month comes
as a blessing to allow a believer to distance themselves from all their faults
and sins and to abandon them completely.
And then there is the Hajj.
As you know, we are at present in the first ten days and nights of Dhul-Hijjah,
that is, the month of Hajj. These days contain extraordinary blessing. These
ten days are a season of blessings, a sacred moment where every good deed’s
reward is multiplied.
Allah says in the Qur’an: “By the dawn, and by ten nights” (Al-Fajr 89: 2-3).
The significance of these ten nights in blessings is immense because it refers
not only to the last ten nights of Ramadan, when a person attains Laylat-ul-Qadr
(the Night of Destiny), but also to the first ten days and nights of
Dhul-Hijjah, the sacred days and nights of Hajj until the completion of the
sacrifice. And so, these days may extend until the 12th of
Dhul-Hijjah.
Therefore, every simple action,
every gentle word, every sincere prayer, its reward is multiplied. Whoever
wastes these ten days will bear a heavy regret; whoever makes proper use of
them will gain an eternal treasure.
When the day rises, each person has
the opportunity to purify their heart; when the night arrives, every Duah
and Salah performed gains extraordinary value. In these ten days, even a
sincere smile, a word spoken with gentleness, or an additional Salat
(Namaz), its reward is multiplied. It is a moment to restore meaning to
spiritual life, to seek closeness to Allah, and to gain an eternal treasure.
Whoever understands this acquires a light in their heart and walks towards
Allah with sincerity. Whoever wastes this time remains in regret. These ten
days are a divine gift, a unique opportunity, and a call towards spiritual
greatness.
Among the recommended actions,
there is the preservation of family ties. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever
wishes that his provision be increased and his life prolonged, then let him
maintain family ties.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
This means that a simple visit, a
call, a sincere help, has both spiritual and material consequences. In these
ten days, every action towards family has multiplied reward. It is like a seed
that grows in a spiritual garden, and every action, every gesture of love
towards parents, towards members of one’s family, becomes like a tree that
bears fruits, blessings of all kinds.
And for those who have the means,
there is also the accomplishment of prayer in the two Harams (Ka’aba Shareef
and Masjid An-Nabawi). The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “The prayer in my
mosque (in Madina) is superior to a thousand prayers elsewhere, except Masjid
al-Haram (Ka’aba Shareef); and the prayer in Masjid al-Haram is superior to one
hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.” (Ahmad, Ibn Majah).
These prayers are an inestimable
treasure. Even if not everyone has the chance to go there, these Hadiths show
the extraordinary value of these two sacred places and mosques. Whoever has the
opportunity to go there, whether for Umrah or Hajj or both, and especially not
to show off before people or to gain the title of Hajji – whoever does
so with sincerity of heart, then he gets a reward that cannot be measured;
whoever does not succeed in gaining this blessing is a loser – especially one
who manages to go there but whose Umrah or Hajj is not accepted by Allah. That
is a true calamity. But for those who have the good intention to go, but do not
succeed in going, Allah in His mercy may grant them the reward of Umrah or Hajj
or both without them realising.
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Whoever
goes to the mosque only to learn or to teach what is good, gains the reward of
a pilgrim who has accomplished his Hajj.” (At-Tabarani).
In these ten days, every moment in
the mosque, every sincere act of worship, its reward is multiplied. It is like
a spiritual journey, a walk towards the light of Allah, towards His pleasure
and serenity.
Thus, Islam has come as perfect
guidance for humanity, and Allah has not forgotten the jinns in this blessing,
where He has made it clear in the Qur’an that those among the jinns who do good
will also be able to attain Paradise. And this priceless attainment will come
when a jinn admits that Iblis, a jinn like him, was wrong, and when he follows
the path of Allah, accepting the guidance that Allah sent through mankind,
through prophets, through the Khalifatullahs of their times. This is the
greatest test for a jinn, when he recognises that man is superior to him,
because man has the divine essence within him; and so, when he realises the
truth that Allah has spoken the truth and that Iblis, who let himself be
influenced by the spirit of evil, was led astray by arrogance and ignorance, by
a thirst for superiority, then that jinn will become Muslim. The fact that we
do not see the jinns does not mean that they do not exist. No, they are indeed
real, and they learn from us. Those who associate themselves with Iblis – and
the party of Iblis – as well as the
spirit of evil go astray, but those who follow the straight path and become
Muslims, they will be in divine mercy and Allah’s pleasure on the Day of
Judgement.
Therefore, whether mankind or the jinns,
all must remember that their stay on earth is very temporary. Make use of your
life on earth by doing good works with good intentions. Follow the example of
the spiritual guides that Allah has sent to you since the dawn of time and do
not forget your allegiance to the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and, in
our present century, the Khalifatullah (this humble servant who is present
among you today).
Understand well that your birth or
existence on earth has a purpose: the worship of Allah and to do good, maximise
good, spread good and avoid evil, and also prevent evil from reaching you and
your family. To the youth of today, I advise you not to let yourselves be
influenced by false freedoms that you find in the outside world, which
represent a danger not only to your spirituality but also to your physical
health. Do not harm the trust that Allah has given you: your soul and your
body. These two are gifts that Allah has granted you so that you may use them
to attain Him.
Therefore, do not let the Deceiver
(Shaytan) deceive you about Allah; do not let that spirit of evil touch you as
it touched Iblis and made Iblis become what he became. Do not let evil
manifest. Whenever evil tries to take over you, remember Allah, remember His
love for you and your love for Him. Do not let temporary bad temptations block
your path to Paradise and to Allah’s pleasure. Insha-Allah, I make Duah
that you hear my call and follow my advice for your own good, in this world and
in the Hereafter. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
I advise you according to a Hadith
of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) where he (pbuh) said: “Two
words which are light upon the tongue, heavy in the balance, and which
Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful – Allah) loves: Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,
SubhanAllah al-‘Azim.” (Bukhari, Muslim).
Therefore, multiply your
remembrance of Allah, and do not forget at the same time to accomplish all the
things that Allah has made obligatory for you, for all of us Muslims, and which
will allow you – all of us – to draw closer to Him, both here on earth and in
the Hereafter. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 22 May 2026~ 04 Dhu'l Hijjah 1447 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.