A Pious Progeny

In Prayer & with Good Manners (Part 1) 

The importance of Salat (especially the Obligatory Prayers) and the richness of good conduct, and remaining in the state of good conduct, are among the greatest responsibilities that parents must instill and implement in the lives of their children. They must keep in mind that this is a non‑negotiable subject which encompasses the entire life of a Muslim. Prayer (Salat) is not merely a formal obligation; it is a spiritual discipline which shapes character, purifies the heart, and brings man closer to his Creator.

 

Allah says in the Qur’an:

 

“Wa aqimis‑salata li Zikri”

And establish the prayer for My remembrance. (Taha 20: 15)

 

This verse shows that Salat is a constant reminder of Allah, a protection against forgetfulness, and a light for life. In the Qur’an, Allah says:

 

“Innas‑Salata tanha ‘anil fahshaa’i wal munkar”

Surely prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds. (Al‑‘Ankabut 29: 46)

 

This proves that Salat (Prayer) is a means of disciplining behaviour and keeping man away from sin.

'Nasihah': Good Counsel in Islam

 

In the life of a Muslim, there is a very noble duty called “giving good advice.” In Arabic, this is called (giving) Nasihah. The Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Ad-Deenu an-Nasihah” (Muslim), which means, religion is based upon sincere advice.

 

But this advice must come with gentleness, with respect, with wisdom, and above all without arrogance or judgement. Giving advice in Islam is not merely words that come out of the mouth; it is a responsibility that comes from the heart, with the intention of helping a brother or sister towards goodness, towards the straight path that Allah has shown.

The Next Life

  

In the Islamic view of life, nothing is more important than success in the eternal life; the life after death. This success isn’t measured by wealth or comfort, but by entering Paradise after receiving Allah’s forgiveness. That is the true triumph: when a person rises above the limits of this worldly life and reaches an everlasting life filled with endless joy. In His infinite wisdom, Allah has set clear signs to guide us towards this noble destination. 

A Muslim is invited to seek Allah’s pleasure and stay away from anything that brings His anger. This doesn’t just mean avoiding sins; it means living a life that reflects divine values and principles, with the hope that Allah will welcome us with His mercy – not only when we leave this world, but also on the Day of Judgement. Allah says in Surah Al-Imran (3: 32): “Say: If you truly love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

 

This verse reminds us that Allah’s love comes through obedience to the Prophet – whether it’s the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), or any prophet sent in different times to revive Islam in the hearts of those who had forgotten it. We must remember that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the perfect example for all humanity, even for the prophets who came and who will continue to come after him. These prophets are called to uphold his honour, the honour of Allah –our Creator, and to restore the true value of the Qur’an. The life of the Prophet is a model of virtue for all of us. Whoever follows his path will receive Allah’s forgiveness and love – two essential gifts for entering Paradise.

'Al-Hayaa' : Modesty in Islam

  

In Islam, Al-Hayaa is a noble quality that represents modesty, humility, and shame in a positive sense of the term. Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) emphasized its importance, saying: “Faith (Iman) has over seventy branches, and modesty is an essential part of it.” (Bukhari). This virtue is deeply connected to faith, as Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) also stated: “Modesty and faith are inseparable. If one disappears, the other will also vanish.” (Baihaqi)

 

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was himself a model of modesty. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (ra) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) never looked at people in an inappropriate way, even during a time when nudity was present, such as during pagan rituals around the Ka’aba. He (pbuh) also taught: “Modesty brings only good.” (Bukhari)

 

In the Holy Quran, Allah commands believers to protect their chastity and lower their gaze: “Tell the believers to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is fully aware of what they do.” (An-Nur, 24: 31). This verse puts emphasis on the importance of modesty as a way to purify the soul and strengthen faith.

 

In today’s world, society faces a decline in moral values, worsened by the influence of the media and Western culture. Pornography, which was once marginal, has become widespread due to the internet and modern technology.

'Follow the Prophetic Model'

 

The Duahs of the Holy Prophet ^(sa) & The Promise of Allah- Part 6

'The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. (They proclaim) “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You (alone) is the final return.” (Al-Baqara 2: 286)

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, I am continuing with the sixth part of my Friday sermon, explaining the verse I have just read to you, which has a close connection with the promise Allah made to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Muslims. It serves as a guide on how we can achieve this promise.

Tarbiyyat Lessons- 20

 

 

Nothing lasts forever,

So be patient.

Darkness is only temporary,

and you will find the light again.

**************

 

‘Heart is not a basket

for keeping tension and sadness.

It is a golden box

for keeping roses of happiness

and sweet memories.’

*********

 

Life is too short for constant stress.

The only person you can control is you.

So, count your blessings,

value the people who love you,

make the most of each day,

and let go of the stress.

************

Tarbiyyat Lessons- 12

 

Stars are many,

But the Moon is only the one;

Peoples are many,

But you are only the one

Who believed

in the Divine Manifestation:

The Khalifatullah of this era,

Alhamdulillah.

************

 

This Dunyaa,

in which:

 Yusuf was sold for a cheap price,

 Ibrahim was thrown into the fire,

 Musa was accused of sorcery,

And Muhammad was pelted with stones;

Are you waiting for this Dunyaa

To give you a pat on the shoulder;

It didn't even spare the righteous.

************** 

‘Tarbiyyat’ Lessons- 6

  

A God-centric approach can enable and empower us to deal with shifting fortunes in personal and social life. As humans, our hearts experience a range of emotions in the varied settings of life. Hence, we encounter both moments of ecstasy and agony; of fortune and misfortune; of happiness and sadness; of hope and despair. Islam prescribes temperamental moderation and a well-balanced approach to issues that affect the individual at the deepest level; teachings that are essential for personal mental health and emotional stability, and for collective well-being of the community at large. It envisages that in times of ease and comfort, we should remain grateful to God for all the blessings of life, and remain within the bounds of Shari’ah, and not commit excesses while taking our fill of pleasure. Likewise, we should turn to our Creator and invoke His sublime attributes in our low moments: times when we experience misfortune and sorrow; feel a huge void at the loss of a dear one, or feel sad and depressed after a sincere relationship falls apart. Indeed, at such emotionally-vulnerable points, to find the inner strength to cope with the vagaries in our fortunes; we could and should rely entirely on God’s mercy and hope for His grace through spiritual invocations and Duahs.  

In a recent series of messages with his spiritual disciples and followers, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius provides fascinating insights on human emotions and related Islamic teachings on Divine remembrance to empower people struggling with emotional burdens in vulnerable situations.

 

Read the Messages Below:

On Life Lessons- 5

On Marriage:

To every man, the Day you marry your wife, is the day Allah places a trust and responsibility on you to give her the rights as a wife, and she becomes your family, your comforter, the mother of your children, so fear Allah as in regards to your duties as husband.

To every woman, when you marry your husband you leave your birth home and you become a real woman. Your husband becomes your family, your maintainer and protector, the father of your children, your friend and lover so treat him well and follow him to the ends of the earth, fear Allah in regards to how you treat him.

Marriage in Islam completes half of your Deen. Do not be swayed by good looks, or money as these will come and go; marry a man who truly fears and loves Allah, who puts Islam first before anything. 

The Sheikh on Life Lessons- 2

'Allah it hurts; it hurts a lot. 

I know You see me struggle day in and day out.

No love is greater than Your love. 

I shall be patient for Your sake. 

Fix my heart, comfort my soul, Ya Rab...! 

‘O my Rab,

from the bottom of my heart,

I want to thank You for loving me,

forgiving me, healing me,

and never leaving me’.

 

When Allah likes a person, then the condition of His liking is that He puts a lot of trials on that person. Allah tests that person again and again, because Allah wants to be close to him; Allah just wants to see how much patience and faith His servant has in his Rab.   

God's plan is always the best. Sometimes the Process is painful and hard. But don't forget that when God is silent, He's doing something for you.

When someone speaks against you, speak well of them. When you are mistreated, treat them well. Repay Evil with Good, and God will fight your battles, Insha Allah.

A Mosque for Allah

 

The Houses of Allah: Part 5

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, I continue today my sermon on Mosques. Today I will talk about the donation of mosques and some important mosque rules which we should all bear in mind.

 

Donation of a Mosque

 

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “When a man dies, his actions come to an end except for three things: ‘Continuous Charity (Sadaqah Jariyah), knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him’.” (Muslim)

 

The greatest example of Sadaqah Jariyah is the construction of a Mosque in the name of the deceased, the reward of which he or she will get in the Hereafter.

 

Uthman ibn Affan (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a house like it in Paradise.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Revelations of 17 October 2022

 

‘O you who believe! When you hold secret counsels do not confer to promote sin, transgression and disobedience to the Messenger. Rather confer (to promote) piety, and righteousness and restraint from evil. And take Allâh as a shield, (Allâh) before Whom you shall be gathered together. Holding secret counsels (with evil intentions) is (the work) of satan (who does it) to cause unrest and distress to those who believe. Yet he can do them no harm at all except by the leave of Allâh. Therefore let the believers repose their trust in Allâh.’ (58:10-11)

On Monday, 17 October 2022 at 11.45 am, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius received Divine revelations during Duah and Zikr. These revelations, along with a brief commentary provided by Hazrat Saheb (aba) while announcing the same, contain pure guidance that can benefit all true devotees of God in this era- an era of stealth and subterfuge, of secret plots and dark deeds. 

Indeed, true believers need to be aware of the secret, black deeds of the Hypocrites who seek to deviate people who joins the Divine Elect of their times, by sowing the seeds of doubt and suspicion in their minds by spreading false accusations. The Holy Qur'an emphatically states that the good and the bad are not alike, and that the believers have to be vigilant against Satanic impulses that lead to secret plots, sin and transgression at all times, and in all contexts, they should be ready to fight along with the Elects of God for establishing equity and justice on earth by promoting good and righteous causes. 

Illnesses of the 'Ummah'- 2

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to continue my Friday Sermon on the illnesses which are affecting Islam nowadays, on their causes and the solutions which can be brought forward to trigger a change in the present situation. Insha-Allah, I will come on this subject, step by step.

 

Like I cited before you last Friday; Allah says in the Quran: “Those of the Children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress. They used not to forbid one another any malfeasance that they performed. Miserable indeed was whatever they were performing!” (Al-Maida 5: 79-80)

 

The Hadiths of our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) give more details about these Quranic verses and shed more light [i.e. understanding] on them:

 

Hazrat ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The first defect (in religion) which affected the Children of Israel in the way that man would meet another and say to him: ‘Fear Allah and abstain from what you are doing, for this is not lawful for you.’ Then he would meet him the next day and find no change in him, but this would not prevent him from eating with him, drinking with him and sitting in his assemblies. When it came to this, Allah led their hearts into evil ways on account of their association with others.”

Self- Reform & 'Dawa'- III

 

 '...Like I was telling you, the Promised Messiah (as) had great love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)… Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) gave testimonies about the spiritual power or force of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He says that he also was alive because of the spiritual power of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). And it is a fact that in respect to time, he had come 1300 years after Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). And geographically speaking, he came in such a place which was far away from Arabia, but despite it all, it is through the spiritual force of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that he was alive. That is indeed an extraordinary force.

You were amazed how someone could have reformed himself just by approaching the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). But here, someone who came 1300 years after him, he swore in the name of Allah that if he was alive, it was surely due to the sheer spiritual force of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He claimed that he received this life – directly [in a way of speaking] from the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Become 'Khayrah Ummah'

 

The duty to enjoin virtue, and to forbid evil is among the Qur'anic characteristics and qualities of a true believer in society. Indeed, true devotees of God remain a dynamic force for promoting good among the public. In his Friday Sermon of 18 June 2021~06 Dhul-Qaddah 1442 AH, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius spoke about this vital duty on all: both the common man as well as on the social elites: the intellectual class, and the community leaders. Drawing on Qur'anic teachings, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) underlines that lasting Divine Blessings and Favours on a community are conditional upon their righteous living through sincere obedience to His commandments, and that when a people spoil their chances in leadership and eminence by wrongdoing and negligence, they lose out on Divine mercy, and the quagmire of schisms and strife engulf them as a reflection of their misdeeds, a manifestation of Divine Anger and Wrath. It is by transforming oneself by obedience and submission to Divine commandments and by recognizing the guidance on offer through His chosen messenger- the Khalifatullah (aba) of this era- that individual believers can collectively aspire to become the 'Khayrah Ummah' of the Qur'an.  

Read the Friday Sermon Below:

'Good Life': Prophetic Teachings

‘Bear in mind that the present life is just a game, a diversion, an attraction, a cause of boasting among you, of rivalry in wealth and children. It is like plants that spring up after the rain: their growth at first delights the sowers, but then you see them wither away, turn yellow, and  become stubble. There is terrible punishment in the next life as well as forgiveness and approval from God; the life of this world is only an illusory pleasure. So race for your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for those who believe in God and His messengers: that is God’s bounty, which He bestows on whoever He pleases. God’s bounty is infinite.’ (57:22) 

Leading a good life is an all-embracing aspiration for every human person in this world. And yet, what it means to lead a good life? In life’s varied settings, values professed by a person would guide the decision on what is ‘good’ for him/her under the conditions of individual and social life. Perhaps in shaping one’s frame of reference in such critical junctures, an ethical and spiritual outlook intuitively appeals to the human mind. Certainly, the teachings of religion -rooted as it is in the wisdom of the ages- offer fascinating ideas to reflect on, especially for those who are at the crossroads of life journeys. 

Those who struggle with life’s contingent circumstances could find profound insights, generative of amazing hope of Divine mercy in the rich legacy of Islamic teachings. The Islamic Way, or the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (sa), offers us glimpses of a good life for anyone hoping to embark on a journey in the highway to God. Muslim saints of the past have preserved in their books some of these appealing pieces of advice on leading a good life left behind by that great prophet of human kind. For the benefit of our readers, we reproduce below the gist of certain vital advices in the words of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) describing what it takes to lead a good life:

I. Ibn Abbas (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age; your health before your illness; your riches before your poverty; your free time before your work; and your life before your death.” (Attributed to Shu’ab al-Imān).

II. Abu Dharr reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, instruct me.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “I advise you to be mindful of Allah Almighty, for it will beautify all of your affairs.” I said, “Tell me more.” The Prophet said, “You must recite the Quran and remember Allah Almighty, for you will be mentioned in heaven and you will have light upon earth.” 

I said, “Tell me more.” The Prophet said, “You must observe long periods of silence, for it will drive away Satan and help you in the matter of your religion.” I said, “Tell me more.” The Prophet said, “Beware of too much laughter, for it will deaden the heart and take away the light on your face.”

I said, “Tell me more.” The Prophet said, “Speak the truth, even if it is bitter.” I said, “Tell me more.” The Prophet said, “Do not fear the blame of any critic in the matter of Allah.” ----[Attributed to Shu’ab al-Imān]

Teachings for A Blissful Life

The Book of God, the Holy Qur’an, contains enduring teachings, useful for our every day life. The wisdom underlying those ethical principles are so profound and so true that it is by following those teachings that humans can hope for remaining on the correct and straight path of spiritual quest- the Way of seeking God. In his writings, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian used to provide fascinating interpretative expositions on Qur’anic verses in order to substantiate and illuminate his spiritual themes. While not a literal translation of Qur’anic verses, these explanations of the Promised Messiah (as) often tease out the subtle points of wisdom contained within those verses in a succinct and accessible language for everyone. 

Reproduced below is a collection of Qur’anic verses, as explained by the Promised Messiah (as), revealing the ethical and moral universe in which God expects and invites man to abide by, so as to enable him to attain a blissful and heavenly life in this very world.

1. ‘God commands you to abide by justice and fairness. But if you wish to attain greater perfection, then treat people with compassion and do good even to those who have done you no good. And if you aspire to even higher perfection, then be of service to others out of personal sympathy and natural impulse, without any desire to win gratitude or to put anyone under obligation, and be kind to them just as a mother is kind to her children out of a natural urge. God also forbids you to commit excesses, to remind people of the good you have done them, or to be ungrateful to those who have been kind to you’. (Al-Nahl, 16:91).

2. This theme is further elaborated in the following verse: ‘when the truly righteous feed the poor, the orphan and the captive, they do so selflessly, only out of love for God, and say to them: ‘We only serve you for the sake of God, from you we require neither gratitude nor reward.’’ (Al-Dahr, 76:9-10)

3. With regard to retribution or forgiveness, the Holy Quran teaches us: 

The retribution for an injury is an injury to the same extent. Tooth for a tooth, eye for an eye, and abuse for an abuse, but whosoever forgives — and the forgiveness results in reformation rather than mischief, and he who has been forgiven rectifies his behaviour and desists from evil — his forgiveness is better than retribution, and the forgiver shall have his reward [with God]. It does not teach us that, having been struck on one cheek, we should in all circumstances turn the other cheek also, for this goes against true wisdom. Doing good to an evil-doer can be as unjust as doing evil to a good man. (Al-Shura, 42:41)

4. The Holy Quran further says:  

i.e., if someone is kind to you, show him even greater kindness. All rancour between you will thus turn into a friendship so close that it borders upon kinship. (Ha-Mim al-Sajdah, 41:35)