The Death of a Scheming Enemy

Every soul shall taste death. (Al-Imran 3 : 186).

Today is a public Holiday as it is All Saints Day; in other words such a day in the life of a Christian where he commemorates the Saints and also the dead in general. And it is not a coincidence that Allah has guided me to deliver this sermon today (a sermon which I prepared beforehand and which applies exactly for today).

The world we live in is only ephemeral. One day or another, death will overtake us. We must then leave behind all our wealth, families, and friends. The only luggage we will bring with us is our actions and the intentions behind these actions.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said that there are three things that accompany a deceased to his grave: his family, his riches, and his actions. Of these three things, two come back, his family and his wealth. Only his actions accompany him. (Bukhari, Muslim).

On 02 July 2000, I received from Allah this revelation in poetic form (in French) on the subject of death: “Death is your Last Journey/ Travel”.

“Death is a journey,

So get ready,

No need for luggage,

Or yes, take with you:

Your pious actions, the love of Allah

Destination: the afterlife

Death is your last journey.”

In this extract, Allah mainly mentions the spiritual baggage of the believer, where he shall arm himself with his good deeds, his pious actions and his love for Allah. The pious will be very lucky. His obedience to Allah and His Messenger, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and to the Messenger of His epoch - if his epoch was the time when Allah sent a Messenger and Reformer to revive Islam, like in this present era - will be like a fiery light for him, which shall illuminate his way. His path to the afterlife will be easy compared with the unbeliever or the hypocrite who had during his stay on earth ignored Allah and His commandments.

Why Follow A Mujaddid-II

"He who dies without having a pledge of allegiance (to the Imam/Khalifah) on his neck, dies the death of Jahilliyah."-- Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

'Allah’s Messenger (sa) said three times: ‘May Allah’s mercy be upon my Caliphs.’  The Companions said: ‘And who are your Caliphs, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Those who revive my Sunna and teach it to the people!’" (According to al-Hasan bin ‘Ali (ra): Ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq al-Kabir, 51/61)

"The obligation of appointing an Imam (Khalifah) is from the necessities of the Shari'ah that simply cannot be left." - Imam Al-Ghazzali

It is regrettable that most Muslims today are simply unaware of the deep verities of the Faith they otherwise claim to profess and even practice. People in their ignorance and stupidity usually remain satisfied with what they are habitually familiar with- inherited family traditions, ritual practices and the tales of dead and gone Divine savants in their communities. So much so that by their sheer negligence of profound teachings - especially those pertaining to the advent of Divinely-imbued souls to guide the Ummah in every era of Islam-, the folks do not recognize what they are missing out in experiential spirituality or the rich inner life that the Islamic Way promises to the Divine-seekers.  

Against this indifference of contemporary peoples stand the rich record of the past. Indeed through the millennium and more of Islamic history, the Divinely-raised Mujaddidin had left their imprints on Islamic spirituality in every era. As Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (ra) noted in one of his books: "A Mujadid appears at the end of every century, the Mujadid of the 1st century was Umar bin Abdul Aziz for establishing justice. The Mujadid of the 2nd century was Imam Shafi for explaining the Aqa’id and Fiqh. The Mujadid of the 3rd century was Abu Hasan al Ashari for formulating the sciences of Ahl us Sunnah and refuting the innovators. The Mujadid of the 4th century was Imam al Hakim and Al Baihaqi for laying the foundations in Hadith sciences and Abu Hamid Isfara’ini for spreading Ilm of Fiqh. In the 5th century was Imam Ghazzali for opening new paths in Fiqh, Kalaam and Tasawwuf. In the 6th century was Fakhr ud-Din Razi for spreading knowledge of Kalaam while Nawawi spread knowledge of Fiqh.” [Shah Walliullah in his Izalat al-Khafa]

Like many saints of Islam in the past, in the previous century, the Promised Massih and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian also offered layers of spiritual and logical explanations to ‘normalize’ the phenomenon of Divine Manifestations among the Muslim believers. Through his comprehensive and all pervading engagement with the spiritual doctrine in all its settings, the Promised Massih (as) has left behind an extraordinary range of explanations emphasizing the need for recognizing an Elect of God whenever such a person announces his spiritual mission of renewal of the Faith. The Promised Massih (as) noted that Allah (swt) maintained the institution of Reformers (Mujaddidin) after the Seal of the Prophets, because along with their own practical example, these personages command a spiritual attraction and influence, and virtue of the highest degree could be observed in their persons-  a path of spirituality that any thoughtful person would inherently find appealing. 

Du'ah: Role in Spiritual Life- II

Du'ah: The Instrumental Role

Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the opportunity to continue the second part of my sermon on Duahs which I started on Friday 07 September 2018.

The duah (i.e. in this context, Invocation to Allah) is a way to obtain from Allah the Exalted One the prerogative (exclusive right, i.e. in a most humble way) that He hears and satisfies our needs in the broadest sense of the word. It is therefore a factor that can affect even our fate and change our destiny. Surely, Allah the Exalted is always “closer to man than the vein of his neck (jugular vein)” as He explains in a Qur’anic verse (Qaf 50: 17).

Shi‘a Islam: Beliefs and Practices

The Shi'a belief on 'Imamat'

The Shiites believe that after the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and this till the end of the world, Allah has nominated twelve Imams. According to them, those twelve Imams had been nominated by Allah through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The first Imam according to them is Ali (ra), the second one, his son, Imam Hassan, the third one Imam Hussein and the rest of the nine Imams being found in their bloodline.

 

From the first Imam (i.e. Ali) till the eleventh Imam (Hassan Askari), all died a natural death like the rest of mankind. As for the twelfth Imam, the son of Hassan Askari, he mysteriously disappeared in this youth and went into hiding in a cave. Now till the end of the world, according to the Shiites, he alone has the exclusive right to reign upon the world. The belief in Imamat is obligatory (Farz) for a Shiite and the one who does not believe in it shall see himself being rewarded hell as resting place. In one of their books, Al-Kafila there is the mention that if the earth (i.e. the world) remain without an Imam, it shall sink. Still according to this book, the (Shiites) Imams are selected by Allah just like Allah chose the prophets.

Peace and Unity among Ahmadis

The world of Islam today is splintered on denominational and sectarian lines. The lineages of the great divide among the Muslims go far back into history, originating in the disputes over obedience to authority and the sharing of power in the times after the Holy Prophet (sa) and his rightly-guided successors, the pious Caliphs. It’s a searing fact of history that after that first century of Islam, the Muslims had never been united as a single spiritual and political order. With the great schism among the believers leading to the formation of sectarian identity among them; the lofty identity of Islam receded to the backdrop and the Muslims were reduced to be either Sunnis or Shiites and in course of time, with the entrenchment of deep divisions over questions of Islamic law, new groups emerged among them on sectarian lines.

Indeed, there is no monolithic/single/unified ‘Islam’ in our times; there are many ‘Islams’ as the proliferation of religious groupings among the nearly two billion Muslims around the world so clearly demonstrate. This is unfortunately true as well, even in the relatively humble and small world of Ahmadiyya Islam- the community of Muslims assembled originally by the Promised Massih Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian in the previous century. Today, despite all that the Promised Massih (as) had taught about the unity of all religions in Islam, the Ahmadis or the people who claim themselves to be the followers of that great saint of Islam, themselves are splintered into numerous sects and groupings. For instance, the different Ahmadi sects include the following: Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Qadian, Anjuman Ahmadiyya Lahore, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Al Muslemun, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Islah Pasand, Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam and the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Haquiqui.

No one can deny that the Holy Qur’an had indeed warned the Muslims about the lessons of human history. Whereas unity and cohesion leads to progress and blessings, disagreement and splintering leads to decline and fall. The Divine Book says, “This community of yours is one single community, and I am your Lord. So fear Me. But they are divided into sects, each sect rejoicing in its belief.” (23: 53-54). “And if your Lord had willed, He could have made mankind one community. Yet they continue to disagree (among them) except those upon whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy. This is why He created them ...” (11: 119-120). 

It is possible to look at the diversity of situations and the plurality of opinions among Ahmadis as the existential condition of the times we are living in. In dealing with questions where we differ among ourselves, however, it is important to keep the big picture in mind all the time- including the obligations of brotherhood left behind by the Holy Prophet (sa) when he stated: “A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. Do not hate each other and do not be jealous of each other and do not desert each other, O worshipers of Allah! Be brothers! And whoever meets the needs of his brother, Allah will meet his needs”. Indeed, the Ahmadi believers have a duty to respect the integrity and religious choices of our fellow humans found in different sects of Islam. Rather than seeking to project narrow interests, group-based prejudices and sectarian mindsets; engage with the brethren in faith in a spirit of solidarity and kindness in furthering the shared ideals of Islam. 

An Appeal to All 

In October 2008, in the seventh year of the present Divine Manifestation, Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius made a fervent, Divinely-inspired Appeal to all mankind, especially to his Ahmadi brothers found in various sects of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to improve the quality of their spiritual engagements and public debates and to rise above their sectarian perspectives so as to truly embrace the purpose of a spiritual life. 

Read the Document Below:

Hijri Era: Islamic Calendar

THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR

I shall now address you some explanations on the Islamic Calendar. The Islamic Calendar has a story and origin and we should know about it.

All nations used to keep count of years as from a specific epoch. Whenever there was a highly important event that is known to the whole world, then people took it as a starting point of an epoch, to start a calendar. The best way to start a calendar would have been to date it back to the advent of Hazrat Adam (as) on earth or even start the calendar as from the deluge in the times of Hazrat Nuh (as), for these are highly important events in history. But unfortunately, we do not have exact information on the times when these events occurred. Therefore, each nation took as starting point a main event/ situation which they witnessed in their own times.

It has been reported that the descendants of Hazrat Ibrahim (as) began to count the days/ years as from the day that he was thrown into the fire. As for the Arabs, they based their calendar on the Year of the Elephant, and here is its story:

A Poem on ‘Taubah’

On Repentance and Returning to Allah

The time has come for me to see after the darkness of ignorance

My old age is a morning that calls me to its dawning rays

The night of youth is short, so proceed deliberately

The morning is the end of the road for the night traveler.

How have I been deceived by the world and its adornment,

Building my home on the crumbling ground, at the edge of a precipice?

A home whose transgressions remain, but whose delights perish:

How wretched is such a home!

The happy one is not one who is delighted by his worldly trinkets;

Rather, the happy one is the one saved from the torment of Hell.

I have awakened from wickedness, fearful and trembling,

For Allah knows my deeds, open and secret.

If I hold my sins to be grave and they fill me with despair,

I can only hope that they will be eradicated,

By the One who alone can do so…

The All Forgiving.

---(Written by Hadhrat Abul Hasan Abdul Aziz al-Jurjani (ra). Translated from the Arabic by Zaid Shakir)

Death and the Purpose of Life

"Exalted is He who holds all control in His hands; who has power over all things; who created death and life to test you and reveal which of you does best- He is the Mighty, the Forgiving"-- (Surah Mulk, 67: 2-3).

"God has humbled the son of Adam with death, and has made the world an abode of life, then an abode of death, and made the Hereafter an abode of recompense, then an abode of eternal abiding" --- Prophet Muhammad (sa)  

As a religion, Islam is an appeal to the conscience of the humans to deploy their God-given Free Will to lead a clear and pure life in the path of God. It is an open invitation to everyone to recognize the true purpose of life- the Worship of the Divine to the exclusion of all other so called 'deities'- by purifying their souls, by getting rid of the spiritual and moral diseases that otherwise come in the way of such higher realization. And 'Muslims' are those who subordinate and surrender their personal needs and desires to conform to the Will and commandments of Allah and His Messenger and strive in His cause. The trade-off they have to make is between the chance gains of this life and the enduring rewards of the Hereafter. Hence, to live in obedience to the dictates of religion and to die in that state of submission to the Will of Allah, is a conscious choice that every true believer makes through her belief and practice in every day life. 

In his Friday Sermon of 20 July 2018 (06 Dhul Qaddah 1439 AH), Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius speaks about the transient nature of our worldly life to remind us about the inevitability of our accountability in the world to come. 

In this eloquent discourse steeped in Qur'anic wisdom and illuminating insights, Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba) provides a series of practical guidelines that followers of the Divine Path can keep in mind in their everyday life. For, everyone has to be prepared to face the record of their deeds on the Day of Resurrection. As Hadhrat Saheb (atba) notes, a believer can prepare herself for that ultimate reality of Facing God on the Day of Judgement in the following way: by recognizing the truthfulness of the Divine Messages and prophecies chronicled in the Qur'an and the Ahadith; by learning from the exemplary lives of the Divine servants of the past; by recognizing the value of invoking fervent prayers directed to the court of the Almighty for steadfastness and courage to remain in the spiritual path, and also by recalling the fleeting nature of life and the unavoidable journey to the grave after death. It is also instructive to note that embracing the True Path/Faith is a favour that one does to one's own self and nobody else, and it is certainly not a favour to God. Our extolling God cannot add to His glory, nor does our disobedience to His Elects can take away of His grandeur and dignity. On the other hand, when you earnestly strive in the path of glorification and sublime obedience, God bestows purification and radiance to your soul in this very world- indeed happy endings are for the truly devout. Whether to remain in obedience to God and receive the benefits of enduring blessings, or to disobey the Divine commands in search of fleeting pleasures that will only bring ultimate loss- that is the choice that every human has to make in life, reminds Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba).  

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

Recall Death

For all of us, our journey on earth is limited. Sooner or later we will have to return to our Creator and present ourselves before Him. Those who fear Allah the most have only one wish, which is, to stay in His obedience - the obedience of Allah - throughout their lives. This, in order to prevent them from dying while they were in disobedience of Allah because the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Every slave will be resurrected in the state upon which he died” (Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) here speaks of our state when we die either as a disbeliever or as a believer. Each individual must therefore seek by all means to hold firm to his faith, the true faith (i.e. Islam), throughout his life on earth so that when he dies, despite that his family may be crying over losing a loved one, but the person (now dead), will be happy to join his Creator. For this, he must:

(1) Believe in the word of Allah and Muhammad (pbuh).

It is so easy for us to believe in the words of people like us. If we are told that tomorrow there will be an increase in the price of fuel, how many of us will rush today itself to the gas stations to refuel?

In the fourth chapter of the Holy Quran, Allah says: “Allah! There is no god but He: He will surely gather you together on the Day of Judgment, about which there is no doubt. And whose word can be truer than Allah’s?” (An-Nisa, 4: 88)

Qur'an: On Relations with War Captives

Retrieving the humane and egalitarian voice of the Qur’an is an important task of our times, especially in contexts where politico-militant groups seek to co-opt certain interpretations of the Islamic Shari’ah to promote their dubious projects that subjugate women’s dignity, rights and moral agency. 

Consider the treatment of captured women in war/ “female slaves” by the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ (ISIS) under ‘Caliph’ Abu Baker Al Baghdadi. During 2014-’17, when the ISIS under the Caliph ruled over an ‘Islamic State’ after his band of fighters and followers held control over parts of Iraq and Syria; it captured hundreds of females belonging to the minority Yazidi community as prisoners of war. Claiming that Islamic theology permits both the enslavement and the establishment of sexual relations with women captives, the ISIS established “slave markets” in the areas under its control to “trade” in the ‘female slaves’ so as to distribute them among the fighters of the Islamic State. When some of those young women and teenage girls escaped from the clutches of these marauders operating in the name of 'Islam', their harrowing experiences sent shock-waves across the global community. 

The beliefs and actions of the Islamic State and its Maulawis who issued the edicts in favour of establishing slave markets to trade in war captives scandalize the fair name of Islam- the pristine faith of  devout Muslims around the world. The Promised Massih Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian spoke presciently on this dire state of affairs in the previous era, when he wrote: 

"Islam today is in a very precarious state, and its light has been almost completely eclipsed. The Muslims have erred not only in their beliefs but also in their practices. They have fabricated some Traditions which have not only adversely affected their character, but are also contrary to the Divine law of nature. For example, Divine law has established three basic human rights: One must not kill an innocent person, one must not injure someone’s honour, and one must not unjustly appropriate another person’s property. And yet there are Muslims who break all three of these commandments. They murder innocent people and do not fear God, and their foolish Maulawis have even issued edicts declaring it lawful to lure away or capture women of other religions—whom they consider infidels—and to take them as wives. Similarly, they consider it lawful to usurp the property of any disbeliever through embezzlement or theft. Just consider the perilous state of the religion whose Maulawis issue such edicts! All this is the work of egotistic people who falsely attribute such teachings to God and His Messenger." (How to be Free from Sin, pp-15-16, UK: 2008 edn).

Oppressive interpretations of the Divine Speech is often a legacy of flawed Scriptural exegesis and cannot stand the critical scrutiny of Qur’an’s liberatory hermaneutics. Since the ‘Islamic State’ sought to justify the enslavement and sexual assault on female captives in terms of the Shariah, it is important to debunk these fraudulent claims by placing before the world the proper context and interpretation of the verses of the Holy Qur’an pertaining to the subject. In his Friday Sermon of 13 July 2018 (28 Shawwal 1439 AH), Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius makes an important intervention on this larger debate. 

Explaining the Qur’anic expression “Maa Malakat ‘Aymaanuhum” (What your Right Hands Possess”, Hadhrat Saheb (atba) draws attention to the need for engaging with the overall framework of the Qur’an in teasing out the meaning of the Divine Discourse. There is no verse in the Qur’an that sanctions concubines and the Holy Book affirms that married women are not lawful for other men before the dissolution of the previous marriage. To protect the dignity of unclaimed female war captives- separated from their relatives socially and morally- who would not be in a position to dissolve any previous marriage; the Qur’an, however, makes an exception in the case of such female prisoners of war and permits that relations with such women (“What your Right Hands Possess”) can be established through wedlock even if the former marriage is not formally dissolved. Any assumption that (sexual) relations with female captives is permitted without marriage is rejected by the Qur’an (24:33, 4:4, 26), points out Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba).  

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

The Expression: What your Right Hands Possess”

“And those who guard their chastity; Except from their wives or what their right hands possess, for then surely they are not to be blamed.” (Al-Mu'minun, 23: 6-7).

Much misunderstanding prevails as to what the expression “their right hands possess” means, and what are the rights and status of the persons to whom it applies.

A Divine Message for the 'Jamaat'

The Divine Messages of 18-19 June 2018

Today’s sermon was to be on the believers who had maximized completely the benefits and blessings of the month of Ramadan, and I deeply wish and pray that Allah (swt) accept all their efforts on the day that they shall present themselves before Him. Insha-Allah. Alhamdulillah many among our brothers and sisters, after Eid-ul-Fitr have observed the six supererogatory (Nafl) fasting. Alhamdulillah, may Allah (swt) reward them for all the love which they have for Him alone. Ameen. 

I need to tell all my dear disciples in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam throughout the world that what I shall deliver to them today was not initially the subject of the Friday Sermon which I wanted to present before you today. But as it is a message which comes directly from Allah (swt), it is my duty to inform you about it as the Khalifatullah of the age. 

On Monday 18 June after the Esha prayers, and after reading the Holy Quran – I was reading the Chapter 3 Al-Imran – and the Attributes of Allah, Rabbanas and other duahs, I went to bed to sleep around 11.00 pm and I was not feeling well at all. All the members of my household were profoundly asleep and as for me, I was awake and not feeling well at all. I was sweating greatly, shaking and having heart palpitation and anxiety. And in that same condition, I felt a heavy weight on my head and I heard a very fine and beautiful voice talking and I at once understood that revelation was coming. I heard:

Auzubillahi minash Shaytaan-ir-Rajeem, Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim. 

Yaaa ‘ayyuhan-naasu ‘inna wa’ dallaahi haqqun - falaa taghurran-nakumul-hayaatud-dunyaa: wa laa yaghurrannakum billaahil Gharuur. (This verse is found in Surah Fatir, Chapter 35).

Translation: O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and do not let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.

After the revelation of this verse , Allah (swt) then informed me about various matters (Revelation in Creole Language).

O Munir Ahmad Azim, I have bestowed a great favour upon you when I gave you the title of Amir-ul-Mumineen and afterwards I gave you the title of Muhyi-ud-Din (Reviver of Faith of this era) whereby many [people] put their hands in your hand – indeed it was not your hand but the Hand of Allah – to unite them all on the unity of Allah. In other words, all of them took the oath of allegiance (Bai’at) in your hand and believed in you as the Muhyi-ud-Din of this era.

“O Munir Ahmad Azim, look how your Rab (Lord) does His work, without man understanding [i.e., any of it]. They all expect another proclamation, whereas Allah (swt) in His Majesty (Grandeur) has already manifested Himself as from the start itself with the title of Amir-ul-Mu'mineen and afterwards Muhyi-ud-Din and then I gave and revealed you many other titles such as Muslih-ud-din, Muslih Ma’ud till I elevated you as Khalifatullah and after Khalifatullah, as Massih Maud, Mujaddid, Nabiullah, and Rasulullah.

Man is making his plans and Allah also is planning and the plans of Allah are the best. These people are in torment, and they do not know what is falling upon them and [on the other hand] Allah is elevating His [Chosen] Servant and all those who follows him [i.e., his followers] to a high peak [i.e. station/ rank/ honour]. What your Rab has decreed, nobody can ever restrict (prevent) it. Your Lord shall cause the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam and the Divine Manifestation to be known throughout the whole world without human intervention (effort), Insha-Allah. Do not despair, for Allah is with those who are steadfast (patient).”