Tarbiyyat Lessons- 18

 

‘Salah’: Five Times A Day

 

‘Why have prayers been prescribed for Muslims five times a day? It may be asked: would not once or twice, or whenever one happens to feel like it, be sufficient?’ 

 

 

In response to this set of questions from Mr. Louis Babel Christopher from Algeria, Hazrat Imam Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Al Mahdi Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius states:

        

In answering these questions, it must first be pointed out that the Islamic prayers (salat) are somewhat different from "prayer" as used in the Christian sense, although personal supplication and glorification of God (known as Duah) are also a very important part of the Muslim's worship.

 

Basically, Islamic prayers consist of recitations from the Holy Quran and glorification of God accompanied by various bodily postures. The five times of worship correspond to the five periods of the day: daybreak, noon, afternoon, the close of day and night, corresponding to the organization of Man's time around various activities.

The End of Israeli Excesses

 

In his Friday Sermon of 19 April 2024, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius reflects profoundly on the state of the world from a spiritual perspective. No people have a permanent monopoly over divine favours by virtue of their special claims of pious ancestry from God's prophets and messengers. Divine blessings and favours on particular communities are crucially depend upon their good conduct and sincerity of purpose vis-a-vis Divine commands, including prohibitions. When a people deviate from the right path by ignoring ethical standards and moral considerations in their affairs, and thereby commit excesses in the land in pursuit of dominance without any limits, the rejection of God of these sinful ones will reflect in their great fall, and the rise of another people in their place in the new cycle of history.  Hazrat Saheb (aba) illustrates these vital spiritual themes with reference to the delusions and excesses of the extremist Zionist-entities in the ancient land of Palestine/Israel today. 

Read the Extracts from the Sermon Below:       

'Today, the Muslim world is suffering terribly. Muslims around the world are no longer united like before during the lifetime of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). Today everyone prefers to protect their own skin and enrich themselves from the deaths of innocent people. So-called Muslim countries are “Muslim countries” in name only and each strives to please the International Islamophobic Community to exclude thousands of innocent people from their action plans. These plans which were to be for the construction and propagation of Islam throughout the world, are today reduced to a competition to enrich themselves and arm themselves with bombs and other weapons of attack in order to blackmail other countries in the race for power and wealth.

The call of Allah and His prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has no effect on them. Hearts are closed to mercy and compassion. For example, it has been almost 77 years since Israel was declared an independent state following a UN vote on the partition of Palestine. And since then, it has become a major power in the Middle East.

 

Israel has fought around fifteen wars against the Palestinians, including the so-called “Six Days” War in June 1967, which resulted in the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai. Israel then unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem, then the Golan, decisions denounced by the international community. Today Israel is seeking by all means to monopolize a country, a state that is ultimately not its own. The Jews who came to Palestine seeking refuge for the first time decades ago aimed to take Palestine and exterminate the Muslims of Palestine. After receiving socio-political and military aid from the United States of America, as well as the UN, extremist Jews who dream of an “Aliyah” (emigration to the Promised Land) renounced their own humanity to ransack the lands and houses and other properties of Muslims and take them into their possession. But this Promised Land is promised to the true believers of Abraham and all the prophets of his [biological and spiritual] lineage. If Jews deviate from the divine teachings, then no promise is attached with them. On the contrary, this promise is for those who truly submit to the will of God, the Most High. From the line of Abraham was born Ishmael (as), his eldest son, and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

 

It is clear that the true religion of all the prophets of God [Allah], the One, is Islam [Complete and peaceful submission and obedience to Allah the One]. All the prophets of Allah since the creation of the Universe have been monotheists. It is the only religion or way of life that is acceptable to God. Those who turn away from this truth find themselves deprived of these blessings. Unfortunately, the followers of the Israelite prophets (derived from Israel – the prophet Jacob [Yaqub]) had let go of the Rope of Allah, namely, His commandments including His prohibitions, and they only followed their own imagination and neglected the recommendations of prophets like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. They were an ungrateful people as Allah describes them to us in the Holy Quran.

 

So, with the delusion that this Promised Land was still theirs, extremist Jews sought by all means to gain access to Palestine to claim this Land as their own. But Allah has another plan. The religious sites where His memory is celebrated, He will certainly protect, and all those who protect these sites with courage, faith and hope in His mercy will be greatly rewarded in the afterlife. The trials accumulate but this does not mean that Allah has abandoned His followers. He certainly tests them and uses them as models – models of patience and virtue – to the world.

 

Intruders and oppressors will certainly be punished. There is a set time for everything. The decree of Allah is like this.

 

Today we see people, peoples who never stop fighting among themselves - Two brother nations. Here we have the image of good and evil, of God and Satan. Those who want to grab land and wealth just to enrich themselves, and use the “Aliyah” as an excuse to trash Muslims and storm the world, well, let me tell you, their time is now counted. Soon Allah will swallow them up in the earth like the rebellious people of old who disobeyed the prophets.

 

The Muslim countries – so-called Muslim countries – but which help the oppressors of Muslims to win wars for their own profits; well these are traitors in the eyes of Allah. Let us remember the peace treaties that were signed with Arab countries neighbouring Israel: Egypt in 1979, under the terms of which this country recovered the Sinai in 1982, and Jordan in 1994. Israel is considered the first military power in the Middle East and the only one in the region to possess nuclear weapons. Since its illegal establishment in Palestine, Israel has received nearly US$300 billion from the United States.

 

Israel continued to occupy the West Bank but unilaterally evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005, controlled since 2007 by the Islamist movement Hamas. Around 450,000 Israeli settlers live in civilian settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Israel faced two uprisings (intifada) by Palestinians in the occupied territories in 1987 and then in 2000. The first concluded with the signing in 1993 in Washington of the Oslo Accords with the PLO on autonomy in the territories.

 

From the start of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel was careful not to be drawn into the conflict, but it campaigned against the presence of Hezbollah and Iran, which intervened alongside the Bashar al-Assad regime, and had accused Tehran of wanting to establish itself militarily in Syria with a view to threatening its security.

 

It had struck, especially from January 2017, “thousands of Iranian and Hezbollah targets,” according to a former Israeli chief of staff. Former American President Donald Trump had then adopted a policy of unwavering support for Israel since taking office, breaking with decades of American diplomacy in the Middle East.

 

In December 2017, he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, provoking the anger of the Palestinians and the disapproval of the international community. On 25^th of March 2019, he signed the decree officially recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

 

The country is governed by fundamental laws which act as a constitution and are voted on in parliament. In 2018, parliament adopted a law defining the country as “the nation-state of the Jewish people”. The law, which gives Jews the “unique” right to self-determination in Israel, was denounced as “discrimination” in particular by the opposition and the large Israeli Arab community.

 

We see here that despite the disapproval of the international community, nothing is concretely done to restore their rights to the Palestinians, to Palestine. Muslims are consciously crushed, mutilated and killed so that the Muslim generation dies out in Palestine, where they are forced to leave their land and thus the Jewish, Israeli oppressors will take over Palestine as a whole.

 

But fortunately the Israeli Arabs who are the descendants of the Palestinians who remained on their land after the creation of Israel support the Palestinian cause.

 

May Allah come to the aid of Muslims and protect their sacred places and destroy the power-hungry thieves and tyrants who steal land solely because of their thirst for power and money. Jews believe that they are still the beloved servants of Allah, but they lost this status when they let go of Allah’s rope and associated others with Allah. They broke pure monotheism and Christians also followed suit. Today, Muslims, true Muslims who are monotheists and who have not yet fallen into the trap of the West, it is they, it is we who are the true heirs of the prophets of old, and the day will most certainly come when Allah will give us our rights. The truth must prevail, Insha-Allah. Just as the world witnessed the end of Ariel Sharon and the dictators and oppressors of Muslims, the world will witness the end of Israel, and of the leaders who govern that state, and of all those who aid and support it. Insha-Allah, Ameen.

Revelations of 19 July 2023

  

In a special message to members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International today, Hazrat Imam Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius shared recently received Divine revelations, and issued special guidelines for the social conduct of members; behaviour with proper respect towards Jamaat system; behaviour with mutual respect and trust towards each other, reassuring harmony and amity within the spiritual order. Extracts from the divine message is reproduced below:

Innaaa arsalnaaka bil-haqqi bashiiranw-wa naziiraa.

We have sent you with the Truth, 

as a bearer of glad tidings and as a Warner.

I am a Warner from Allah; 

I have been sent in this Era.

The blind and the seeing are not alike.

The believers have been called "the living" because by accepting the truth they receive a new life and the disbelievers are called "the dead" because by rejecting the prophet of Allah, the Divine manifestation and the truth which is the elixir of life eternal they bring spiritual death upon themselves.

It is not possible for the Khalifatullah of this Era to make those who have deliberately shut their hearts and ears listen to and accept the Divine Message.

Such people spiritually are dead and defunct as those buried in the grave.

Red Drops in Ramadan

 

‘He is the All Knowing Creator: when He wills something to be, His way is to say, “Be”- and it is!’ (36: 82-83).

 

‘The colouring of Allah and who is better than Allah in the matter of colouring?’ (2:139)

Most Ahmadis brought up in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya would be familiar with special events and mystical signs from the times of the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908). For instance, on one occasion, while the Promised Messiah (as) was apparently taking rest and lying down with a devoted disciple massaging his feet, Red Drops appeared from nowhere- without any human intervention, or active agency vis-a-vis spreading the Red Ink- on the clothes of that man of God- the Khalifatullah of the era. Believers, especially those who have had the fortune of witnessing the Divine Manifestation in the person of the Promised Messiah (as) at that point of time in history viewed the incident as a special Divine Sign. Indeed, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote about this mystical experience where spiritual vision blended and merged with a physical sign as well: 

“I remember that on one occasion, in a state of vision, I saw that I had written certain divine decrees with my own hand setting out events in the future and then presented the paper to Allah the All-Powerful, Gloried be His name, for His signature. […] To the same Peerless and Self-Sufficient Being – Who manifested His attribute of Beauty to my mind in the state of vision and appeared to be God, the All-Powerful – I presented the document containing divine decrees for attestation. And He, Who was manifesting Himself in the form of a Ruler, dipped His pen in red ink and first flicked it in my direction and with the rest of the red ink which remained at the point of the pen He put His signature to the document. 

Coping with Disasters

  

In his Friday Sermon of 03 March 2023~10 Shabaan 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius continues his profound reflections on the larger meaning of the recent, devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.  

Every disaster is a grim reminder of the mighty forces of nature at work: be it floods, earthquakes, land slides, forest fires. Man needs to learn his lessons from experiences and observations, and act wisely. With prudence and responsible behaviour, much of the disaster-related damage and destruction can be contained, if not prevented altogether. Collective choices of a society in terms of development model pursued can make a difference. Consider for instance, ecological sensitivity and fragility of certain regions. Public consciousness around environmental protection and wider issues of sustainability need to be foregrounded in rules and regulations for common welfare. Moreover, we owe a duty to care for our neighbours, to help them in times of distress and disaster, to mitigate their suffering through selfless service, reminds Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) in this discourse.  

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

Calamities and Divine Commands

The devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria earlier this month has resulted in a great humanitarian catastrophe in the region, with thousands of lives being lost enmass, and millions facing acute crisis of existence with displacement-induced shortage of access to basic resources and services. Looking at the sheer scale of the human and material loss at the earthquake, the media and the experts agree that Turkiye is reeling under ‘the disaster of a century’. 

 

And yet looking further around our small world, it appears as though destructive calamities are now a recurring phenomena, with different nations witnessing a range of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, droughts, land-sliding and earthquakes, etc. The outbreak of viruses and related public health emergencies are a major concern, long before Covid-19 struck the world with horrific consequences. All these are in addition to the several man-made disasters destroying societies around the world: consider the human cost and material devastation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and other violent ethnic/racist campaigns creating havoc in many lands.

Disasters striking the world make one ponder over the role and function of the Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all the worlds. Amidst all that is happening in the world, a spiritual view will be helpful in making sense of our moment here. God is never unjust to humanity. Through His chosen messengers raised and appointed in every era, God provides clear guidance on fundamental values of healthy and balanced living for the benefit of people. Divine teachings prescribe radical moderation and fair-dealings; equity and justice; compassion and empathy for fellow beings. It is by following the ethical code of conduct prescribed by God- the Divine commandments- on diverse aspects of individual and collective life that one can safeguard against the temptations of Evil: the empty promises of all false deities.

Indeed, humans can truly worship God, and make real progress in social life by relying on the Divine principle of compassion and benevolence. Instead of abusing God-gifted resources and faculties of the ‘self’, we ought to use the opportunities to serve the interests of our common humanity and thereby privilege the collective benefit in a spirit of solidarity and compassion for all. Indeed, nations inherit Divine mercy and blessings when they follow the correct and straight path of pure wisdom as taught by the Prophets and the Elects.

 

A believer does not agree with the materialist view that God is indifferent to human destiny and social fortunes. On the other hand, to a believer, Allah (swt) is not only aware of even the whisperings of the human soul, but He also comes to the aid of the one who seeks and prays for His help and assistance in times of need. For a believer, God’s grace and blessings are available to everyone. At the same time, His punishment is also very severe, especially to those ignore Divine commands and promote disorder in society. All that is happening around us is a reflection of the Divine Signs and manifestations involving both Divine Grace and Divine Wrath.   

Faith: 'Muslims under Trial'

 

In his Friday Sermon of 04 November 2022 ~09 Rabi’ul Aakhir 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius calls attention to a very sobering lesson for all true believers in every era: the future and good fortune of a people is linked to their piety and righteousness in life. Likewise, according to sacred spiritual wisdom preserved in the Holy Qur'an, when a people become lawbreakers and deviates from Divine teachings, the quagmire of misguidance, misfortune and enslavement would engulf them in a cycle of never-ending despair and disaster. 

According to the profound wisdom and prescient assessment of the Holy Prophet (sa), fatal flaws can encircle a people under trial when they let go of the true spirit of Faith, embrace materialism and splinter into different sects and political groupings. When they drown in immorality and injustice; worship money and ease; neglect the poor, and oppress the defenceless; become enamoured of other cultures even at the price of one's Faith and corrode the strength of its values through frequent disputes, schism and factional feuds; they themselves will be complicit in external intervention in internal affairs, perpetuating the vicious cycle of degradation of faith and moral fibre and consequent national decadence. Pointing to a sacred tradition of the Holy Prophet (sa) on the aforesaid theme, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) observes in this discourse that each one of the signs of decadence is discernible in the dire state of our world today, especially in the predicament of the Arab nation.        

 

Reflecting on the continuing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories- including East Jerusalem [the land of the holiest Masjid Al Aqsa]- without any fair deal for the people under subjugation for over half a century, and the recent events involving Arab leaders facilitating Israel's integration into the regional rivalry against Iran, in the backdrop of US- scheming in the region; Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) notes the searing reality that despite their public statements, the Arab leaders in the ring show no real commitment to the cause of the Oppressed, as they are more concerned about their own narrow interests of power and pelf. The agony and misfortune of foreign occupation and the humiliation of subjugation today is a grim reminder of the ways in which Divine vengeance engulfs a people under trial, observes Hazrat Saheb (aba) in the discourse.

Illnesses of the 'Ummah'- 1

 

In his Friday Sermon of 03 June 2022~ 02 Dhul Qaddah 1443 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius profoundly examines the spiritual health of the Muslim Ummah today. Whereas early Islam produced men and women of outstanding ability, extraordinary drive and exemplary personal initiative, willing to sacrifice their all for the progress of their deeply held convictions, in the service of their Faith and thereby brought victory, grandeur and power which lasted for many centuries altogether; the Ummah today faces pitiable fortunes and grim conditions. It appears as though  the original spirit and dynamism of the Faith is missing from the conscience and character of the Muslims that made them the world-beaters. Contrasting the Muslim grandeur of the past with its dismal fortunes in our times, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) notes in the discourse: ‘A people who had brought strength and stability, prosperity, peace and honour to the whole world, now you find them demoralized, completely asleep, empty and helpless. People who once taught moral lessons and good conduct to the whole world are themselves lacking these qualities today.’

Islam preserved and perfected in itself the true purpose of all religions which preceded it. By destroying the impurity of idolatry and restoring the sublime faith in the Lord of mankind, Islam helped to mould purified and refined humans who strived hard to reflect Divine attributes in their way of being, doing and living through the centuries. Indeed, like the communities who were bestowed Divine Law in the past, leading the world on spiritual purification was the heavy responsibility cast on the shoulders of the Muslim Ummah by the Creator of the Universe through His best Prophet, the Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (sa). Muslims who walked in the path of God became beneficiaries of Divine bounties as they were helped and assisted by God and His angels in their strivings. Indeed, the preservation of the true Faith and real spirituality is a Divine Promise engraved upon the Holy Qur’an by Allah the Almighty Himself.

 

At a time when severe misfortunes have engulfed the Ummah, and sectarian disputes and violence destroy social peace in several lands, Muslims ought to recognize the extraordinary magnitude of the task in front of them in the service of their noble Faith: of preserving the good legacy and fair names of the pious ancestors- by repossessing and displaying the solid Imaan (faith of the early Muslims)- in their everyday lives; by being a force for good- enjoining good and forbidding evil in their own communities wherever they are, Insha Allah, Aameen.   

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

Khalifatullah: A Message for Jamaat

 

‘Consider the flight of time!

Man is bound to lose himself,

Except those who believe,

Do good deeds,

Urge one another to truth,

And urge one another to steadfastness’

   -----[Holy Qur’an, Surah Al Asr, (103:1-3)]. 

In a moving, special message to the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam members in India, Sheikh-ul-Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (aba) of Mauritius recently spoke of the critical situation in the world- of the extremely dangerous challenges facing our precarious world, and of the need for everyone to return to the path of prudence and piety; of invocations and charitable giving; of obedience to Allah (swt), and His messenger (sa), and His chosen Elect of this era; of remaining united in forgiveness and solidarity, without any arrogance or ill feeling; of embracing one another in a spirit of brotherhood. As someone who receives Messages like no else all around us does, and as people generally and mostly fail to appreciate the enormous burden that he carries in this heavenly responsibility of conveying Divine communications to all the world, Hazrat Saheb (aba)’s personal, spiritual message to members in the Jamaat assumes vital importance for the disciples' individual conduct and social engagements, and larger spiritual outlook and hope in God’s mercy and grace, Blessings and Favours amidst the turbulence all around.  

Read an interpretative Text of the recent special Messages sent by our beloved Imam (aba) through our humble brother Hazrat Mukarram Shahul Hameed Faizal Saheb of Saudi Arabia:  

Kaja Mydeen Sahib (1937-2020)

Janab Kaja Mydeen Sahib (1937-2020), one of the senior-most members of the Jamaat-Ul-Sahih Al Islam in India and the patriarch of a large family of Jamaat members in Tamil Nadu, passed away at the age of 83 years at his home-town, Meleppalayam-Tirunelveli, this week, Innallilaahi wa inna ilayhi raajeeoun. 

The death of Janab Kaja Mydeen Sahib occurred against the backdrop of his age-related ailments getting aggravated at a time when India is facing multiple challenges of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic- including adequate facilities for accurate medical testing and other timely-intervention procedures. At a time when the pandemic has exacerbated the 'social virus' of fear and loathing; dehumanizing stereotyping and collective prejudices based on faith/group-based identities among myopic people, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius, in his remarks at the Friday Sermon of 08 May 2020 ~14 Ramadan 1441 AH provides healing words for the bruised souls. May Allah (swt) forgive and elevate the status of the departed soul in Jannat-ul-Firdaus, and grant his family and dear ones all the strength to hold patience, to remain steadfast amidst the trials of faith, Aameen, Summa Aameen Ya Rabbi'l Aalameen. 

Read the Announcement Below: 

'...I announce the sad news of the death of the father of my dear disciple K.M. Saleem Sahib, yesterday 07 May 2020. His name was Kaja Mydeen [Khawja Mohyuddin] (like his son). He was 8 [3] years old. During my visit to India in the year 2018, I had met him, and after this meeting he made the decision to integrate the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam just like his sons, his wife and his entire family [except for one of his daughters]. Exactly one year ago, he fell seriously ill and his family informed me of his critical condition and saw a miracle when he recovered. Alhamdulillah. Admittedly, this was only a reprieve from Allah, and after exactly one year (May 07, 2019-2020), his time arrived and Allah took him with Him (same decreed date – 07 May). Innallilaahi wa inna ilayhi raajeeoune. 

The Attributes of Allah- V

By the grace of Allah I continue the 5th part of my Friday Sermon on the subject of the attributes of Allah. So Allah tells us that He is Supreme over His servants. He has all the control and has absolute power. He has the power to destroy everything, He has the power to punish. It is He Who gives death and it is He Who gives life. And it’s Him Who made all of the arrangements for your protections so that you don’t destroy yourselves by His decree. And this is the subject that the Quran mentions in other places, that you have committed so many sins; so many sins that it would have then been completely appropriate that Allah eliminates you completely. It will be within His right to do so, not only you, but all forms of life.

In another place in the Quran, it is mentioned as a result that for every person, even if he is visible or hidden, even if he goes out in the evening or in broad daylight, Allah has placed watchers [guardians] upon him to protect him. To protect him from what? To protect him from the decrees of Allah.

So here we are dealing with what subject? In fact it is the very divine decree which gives life and it is the very divine decree which gives death. No one has the capacity to die without the divine decree. So if Allah’s decree calls you to your death, then Allah tells us that it’s His very Taqdir (decree) that protects us for a time and protects us from His other decree as well. Otherwise Allah is completely Supreme. He has so much power and ability that He can eliminate and destroy everything, but in fact it is His very decree that protects you from His other Taqdirs.