'Struggle against Self'

 

The Advent of the Seal of all Prophets, Muhammad (pbuh)

'O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, calling people to Allah by His grace, and as a light-giving lamp.' (Al-Ahzab 33: 46-47).

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, today, I continue to speak on our beloved Master, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and his status as the greatest prophet among all prophets. As I mentioned last week, while Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is the greatest prophet and the last law-bearing prophet, it does not mean there will be no prophets after him. Prophets and Messengers of Allah will continue to come, but only from his own Ummah (community), and not from the communities that have rejected him (pbuh). This forms a chain of belief, where one Messenger confirms the other, and the new Messenger is born from the community and faith of the previous Messenger of Allah who has passed away.

'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.

Al Ahzab, 42- 49: A Commentary- 2

 

The Duahs of the Holy Prophet ^(sa) & The Promise of Allah- Part 3

 

'O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening. It is He Who blesses you, as do His angels, to get you out of darkness into light, and He has always been Merciful to the believers. Their greeting on the Day they meet Him will be, “Peace!” And He has prepared for them an honourable reward. O Prophet, We have sent you as a Witness and a Bearer of glad tidings and a Warner, as one who calls people to Allah by His leave, and as a light-giving lamp. Give good news to the believers that they will have a great bounty from Allah. Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Overlook their annoyances, and put your trust in Allah. For Allah is sufficient to take care of all matters.'  (Surah Al-Ahzab 33: 42-49)

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, I am continuing my Friday sermon today on the spiritual beauty of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and how his status, prayers, and the promises made by Allah to him have been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled. I had also highlighted how he was the greatest Caller to Allah (Dai-Illallah), and how we too, starting with myself as the Khalifatullah of this era, must strive to become excellent callers to Allah in the image of our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).

 

Like I was saying, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) is not the biological father who produced any surviving male child who came directly from him – he is not the father of any of you in this aspect, but he is certainly a prophet of Allah and a father who produces prophets, such [special] people and prophets who deserve Allah’s blessings.

Allah: The Veils of Light & Darkness

 

‘Allah has Seventy Thousand Veils of Light and  Darkness; if He were to remove them, the radiant splendours of His Face would burn up whoever (or ‘whatever creature’) was reached by His Gaze.’- Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), the tradition is cited from Imam Al Ghazzali's Mishkat Al Anwar, p. 157]. 

‘My Lord, grant me complete severance of my relations with everything else and total submission to You. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts with the light of their looking at You to the extent that they penetrate the Veils of Light and reach the Source of Grandeur, and let our souls get suspended by the glory of Your sanctity.’ [Duah of Hazrat Ali (ra)]

A Muslim brother [Mr. Abdul Nazir Qureshi Sahib from Pakistan] recently sought an exposition on the larger meaning of 'Veils of Light and Darkness' as mentioned in Islamic spiritual literature: ‘God has Seventy Thousand Veils of Light and Darkness’. Responding to this question, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius shared the following statement:

'Inna lillahi la-sabina alfa hijabin min nurin wa zulmatin'

The Message of 19 May 2024

 

In a message to disciples and followers in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in India, on the occasion of a special Tarbiyyat meeting organized by the Delhi Jamaat in association with the Tamil Nadu and Kerala Jamaats on Sunday, 19 May 2024;  Hazrat Imam Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius reflects profoundly on his spiritual mission of the last two decades and more, emphasizing the need for all believers to rise up to their individual duties and collective responsibilities, and to meet the inevitable and unavoidable trials of Faith and related challenges in everyday life- with Taqwah, refined appreciation of Islamic teachings on what is right and wrong, absolute trust and reliance on Allah (swt) while striving hard to implement and establish Tawheed in their own settings so as to attract Divine mercy and pleasure, both in this world and in the world to come, Insha Allah, Aameen.   

Read the special message Below:

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

My dear disciples,

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuhu.

 

After 16 blessed years of His Divine Caliphate, Allah has given each of you the opportunity to accede to His nearness through your hard works in His cause.

The times of a Messenger of Allah is a unique one, and you are most fortunate that you are witnessing such times. These times are not just a time of divine blessings but also of great trials. As we are all witnessing, the world has been seized by a deep convulsion, where disasters of all kinds, divinely-sent ones as well as man-made ones are destroying the world cubit by cubit. The lives of the Muslim believers are endangered.

 

I advise my sincere disciples to always remain on the right path, to be ever courageous in times of difficulties, to be strong to fight all injustices on earth through valid arguments from the Holy Quran and Sunnah of our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).

'Tawheed' & 'Shirk'

 

'And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you - by His grace - became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be (rightly) guided.' (Al-e-Imran, 3: 104)

 

Allah has put a responsibility on us - the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam - to make the world come under the Millat-e-Wahida, or Ummat-e-Wahida – as one nation, people or community of believers, and that time is fast approach. We are already seeing its realisation and effect through a clear and illuminating light. The project to bring the world as a Millat-e-Wahida also forms a part of Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah), and has a great link with Tawheed.

From all over the world, despite the Islamophobia that has crept into the world, we are finding that after more than twenty years, the world has opened itself to Islam. Allah is inspiring hearts to become Muslims. Now, with the same fervour, Allah has trusted to this humble servant - His Khalifa [Khalifatullah] – the mission to spread the message of His Oneness throughout the world. Apart from me, there are many Muslims around the world who are doing excellent work in the field of Dawa/ Tabligh. They are giving their time and efforts in this endeavour. Now, with the Divine Manifestation, slowly but surely you will find how Allah will open many hearts to recognize the Manifestation of this era with the advent of His Khalifatullah. Victory does not come at once. It comes step by step, and when you find the dawn of that victory, it will have a different effect on your hearts.

Divine Message and Our Choices

 

Guidance & Misguidance: Rewards & Punishments

 

'And Allah’s is the direction of the way, and some (paths) go not straight. And had He willed He would have led you all aright.' (An-Nahl, 16: 10) 

The existence of man revolves around his Creator and he does not even perceive it except for the truly intelligent. When Allah sends His Messages or Revelations upon His Elect, He guides him to guide the people through them. These Divine Messages come in the form of good news as well as warnings. The good news is imparted to all the people without distinction, giving them the blessed opportunity for reform. Those who submit to the will of Allah and reach out their hands to receive the divine boons are those who will go to become lights in their own rights through the light of Allah and His Messenger. They are those who will light up new lights through their efforts to invite others to Allah, and to accept the gift of Divine Revelations and the advent of a Messenger in their era.

As for those who turn their back to the Divine Messages and Messenger, they are those who fall prey to the mirages which the Satan make them see – of a world filled with success and power which are but flimsy and fake.

Had Allah wanted, He could have guided all people on the Straight Path. He has the power to do so. Apart from His Chosen Path, the Path of Righteousness, there are other paths which are crooked and misleading and which do not lead to Allah. This is the trial which He has set upon man, to seek the true path, tread on it and keep walking and striving, despite the great hurdles on the way so that they may accede to none but Allah.

Poem: ‘A Hymn to God’

 

 Lo! How manifest is the Light of God,

Who is the Ultimate source of all Light

The whole universe is turning into a reflective mirror

For the eyes to perceive Him.

 

                               Last night while watching the Moon

I became so agitated

In the beauty of the Moon

Were the traces of the beauty of my Beloved.

 

Under the influence of that consummate beauty

My heart is in a state of turmoil

Mention not to me

the comeliness of the Turk or the Tartar.

 

O my Beloved,

How wonderfully is Your

Creative power manifested everywhere

Whichever way I look I find

Every road leading to Your presence.

A Good ‘Muslim’: 10 Signs

  

Say, ‘Follow me if you love Allâh’ (3:32)

 

A ‘Muslim’ is, literally, one who submits to the Will of God; someone who follows in the footsteps of holy prophet Muhammad ^(sa) in quest of Divine forgiveness and approval and salvation. Between the lines of its pure message, the Holy Qur’an gives us an intimate portrait of true believers. Indeed, the character-sketch of a sincere devotee of God is clearly discernible  in the Book of God. A Muslim is one who loudly proclaims ‘Laa Ilaaaha Illallah, Muhammad Rasulullah’ [There is no diety except Allah; Muhammad is His messenger’]. A true Muslim is the one who backs his/her verbal declaration or profession of commitment to Faith with actual good deeds in everyday life as evidence in support of his claims of belief.    

 

The Qur’an notes: ‘The desert Arabs say, ‘We have faith.’ [Prophet], tell them, ‘You do not have faith. What you should say instead is, “We have submitted,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts.’ If you obey God and His Messenger, He will not diminish any of your deeds: He is most forgiving and most merciful. The true believers are the ones who have faith in God and His Messenger and leave all doubt behind, the ones who have struggled with their possessions and their persons in God’s way: they are the ones who are true.’ (49: 15-16)

According to the Qur’an, most people know only the outer aspects of life in this present world and have no concern for the life to come in the Hereafter. On the other hand, believers are acutely conscious of the hidden realities of life in this universe. Even when they cannot see God, the believer understands that all journeys’ end in our Sustainer, the Great Fashioner of all destinies; and that 'free-will' entails the choice to abide by Law in exchange for Divine pleasure in Heavenly abode, or to earn the punishment of Hellfire for choosing to be a lawbreaker in this world, and that everyone will face their own records on the Day of Judgement before our Just Lord.

Indeed, what distinguishes true believers from the rest of the people is their sense of gratitude towards the Lord who makes it possible for us all to experience the blessings of life in this world. The human faculty of discernment is illumined when the clear guidance of Divine wisdom- taught by the Prophets- is followed and implemented in everyday life. A believer recognizes that through the creation of humans with free will, God wishes that we use our ‘brains’ and follow His revelations (the Scripture and the Balance), and thereby become perfect believers- the resplendent and illuminated women and men of Faith in this world- the real ‘trustees’ of God on earth: those who attain the true purpose of life and gain the high destiny He promises for the truly good in the Garden of Bliss, Insha Allah, Aameen.

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.”

'Grow Up with Family Bond'

  

The Family & The Youth 

What is the family? This is the set of people with blood ties or ties of kinship [through marriage as well] living almost under the same roof. The extended family generally includes grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, cousins ​​and others, including, of course, children of different parents. 

A question that is generally asked at the level of all generations and even among the young people of today: What good can a family bring? Of course, there will be different ways of thinking, of reasoning, of answering this question which torments the minds of many parents within the Ummah itself. And we can cite so many other cases where the parent-child relationship does not seem to be cordial. Why? 

Yet according to a Hadith from Bukhari, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) explains that the family brings stability and ensures security. The family is the first place where we socialize, where we learn the rules of life in society. It allows you not to live alone, to become a parent, and to live with those whom you love, to strengthen community bonds through alliances [marriages]. 

But the most important thing about the family - for believers of the Ummah - is that it is the first place to learn about the existence of Allah (twt) as the Unique Creator, and the value of Islam.

Poem: 'Beautiful Tomorrow'

 

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

  

Beautiful is the mind which comprehends 

The essence of a beautiful environment

Our heart and soul is deeply attached 

To the essence of Beauty, 

For, we were created Beautiful.

Light became light,

When Beauty was made apparent

In the heart of mankind.

One and all are from the world of creation,

The world which a Creator created 

Out of His own majestic and intrinsic Beauty.

Covid-19 and Civic Duties

On Illnesses & Prevention

Does protecting oneself from such viruses and diseases such as Covid-19, Chikungunya, H1N1, and avian flu etc., fit into the logic of prevention in Islam? 

Prevention does exist in the Shariah, and it seems even more: it is a religious principle. Imam Bukhari (ra) tells a story from the time of Caliph Umar (ra), perfectly illustrating the prophet’s (pbuh) guidelines for the prevention of pandemics and diseases in general. 

Hazrat Umar (ra) was heading towards the land of Sham with a group of Muslims to inspect the situation in the country: arriving near Sargh, Hazrat Abu Ubaydah Aamir Ibn Al-Jarrah (ra) informed him that the plague was raging in these lands. Hazrat Umar (ra) consulted with the Muhajireen, and subsequently the Ansar, who were torn between the desire to continue the journey, and to avoid entering an infected region. Other companions, of the tribe of Quraish, who had made the Hijrat after the conquest of Mecca, unanimously said: “We think it is better to turn around, and that you do not expose the Muslims to this disease.”

Poem: ‘A Transient Life’

  

Beware! O ye who are so watchful and by nature pure

In your greed for this world, do not ruin your faith. 

 
Do not tie your heart to this transitory abode,

For underneath its pleasure lie hidden hundreds of woes.

 

If only you had the ears to hear;

You would catch the voice from the grave singing:

 

 'O my would-be prey;

Do not agonize over the sordid affairs of this world'.

Du'ah: Invocations to Allah- III

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt) gives me the Tawfiq to continue my sermons on the subject of duahs.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful

O Allah, You Who are the Remedy of my wounds, help my ailing heart.

O my Allah, without You my life means absolutely nothing. With such a life, it is better to die than to remain in this world without You.

O Allah, give me the will and the courage so that You will be pleased with me for the great work and responsibility that You have placed on my shoulders. If You are happy with me and the work that I am doing, even though people say that I am a madman, an impostor, and ridicule me, blame me and abase my honour and my dignity, all this does not affect me because it is You Who give honour, dignity to whomever You want. My life, my honour, my food, everything comes from You, and not from these fools.

O Allah! Set on fire, put the flame that comes from the heavens in my heart to allow me to bring back “thousands of lost souls in the fold of Sahih al Islam”, Insha-Allah.

O Allah, all my parts are sacrificed for You. I don’t know anything about Your religion; I am an Ummi (illiterate person). So as not to say that I am very weak in matters of Your Deen (Your religion), I am rather a zero. Give me knowledge, put the light of knowledge in my mind and my heart and give me the strength, courage, energy to distribute this knowledge to humanity in general and especially with the brothers and sisters of the Islamic faith.

O Allah! Work a miracle and send people to the Quran, Your book in which there is no doubt and which is a guide for those who want to take the right path. Remove this veil from their eyes and make them understand Your Sacred Book which You have revealed to Your beloved prophet (pbuh).

O Allah! The garden (of Islam) is dried up; all the fruits harvested in the past century by the Messiah whom You sent have fallen in this century. You raised me to clean this garden and to give life again to this dry garden by Your grace so that new fruits are harvested and where everything becomes green again and not dry, and where each eye will be attracted to the beauties that are found therein [i.e., in the garden of Islam].

O Allah! Give me medicine to distribute to all countries so that they can be delivered from evil.

The Attributes of Allah- VIII

“He is God: there is no god other than Him, the Sovereign, the Supreme-In-Holiness, Source of Peace, Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Majestic (Al-Mutakabbir) …” (Al-Hashar 59 : 24).

Al-Mutakabbir is The Majestic, Conscious of His greatness. Allah alone has the right to know and to proclaim His greatness and omnipotence over everything and everyone. He magnifies Himself and sees grandeur and superbness only for Him. All greatness belongs to Him. This attitude is completely justified because it is true.

Allah is distinguished by an exclusive greatness just for Him and by an absolute Royalty. He controls everything. He is the one who shows His greatness in all things and by all means.

Know well [what will follow], O my brothers and sisters! Do not be fooled by the simple verbal intention that you give to the meaning of your life, because God hopes to see a radical transformation [in you which] change this.

He demands that you inflict a kind of death on yourselves, after which He will breathe new life into you. Make haste to promote peace among yourselves, to forgive your brothers and sisters their weaknesses, because the one who is not inclined to make peace with his brother is mean, and he risks being excluded [from the proximity of Allah] because he is a source of dissension.

Give up your base desires and don’t cultivate resentment. Even if you are right, behave humbly as if you were wrong, so that forgiveness is reserved for you. Eliminate obesity from your ego, because narrow is the door you have to go through. So eliminate your ego and pride so that you can go through that door.

'Surah Al-Kafirun': A Commentary

Chapter 109 of the Holy Quran

‘In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say, “O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.’

 

Despite the fact that before Islam the Arabs did not deny God, but they did not know Him by His true identity of One and Eternal. They did not devalue Him either, but associated Him with other partners, idols who were supposed to represent godly ancestors or angels who they believed were the daughters of God. In addition, they implied that there was a relationship between Him and the jinns. They forgot His attributes and worshiped other idols. But in any case, as the Quran says, they said:

 

“We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position.” (Az-Zumar, 39: 4).

 

Moreover, the Quran says: “If you were to ask them: “Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?” They will surely reply: ‘Allah.’” (Al-Ankabut, 29 : 62).

 

“If you were to ask them: ‘Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death?’ They will surely reply: ‘Allah.’” » (Al-Ankabut 29: 64).

 

Despite their belief in God, polytheism distorted their concept as well as their traditions and rites to such an extent that they allotted part of their property to these gods, and even their children.

Divine Signs on a Dawah Journey

Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) visits Madagascar

By the grace of Allah, I have returned from Madagascar after a week there and I need to say that it was through pure divine grace that Allah manifested such success. La Ghaliba Illallah. When I landed in Madagascar my disciples received me in an emotional way for my last visit there was in 2015. They expressed themselves openly, how they were sad that the Khalifatullah [i.e. this humble self] did not come to visit them [since then]. There was so much emotions on their faces and tears were in their eyes, tears of joys, such extraordinary joy. And when I left them to return to Mauritius, they were very sad and did not want to let me go back. They wanted me to remain with them for a long time.

So, I do not have words poignant enough to describe that one week [which I spent with them]. I do not know where to begin and how to end as there were many extraordinary events.

There were signs which Allah (swt) manifested and which was witnessed by my disciples in Madagascar. One of these is that when we were going to a faraway village, and night was about to come, one of my disciples by the name of Nasir – who is a university student – told me before all those present in [our] transport: “O Caliph of Allah, we are in a place in which it rarely rains, and the people and animals, as well as the plants suffer a lot due to lack of rain water. Please pray that Allah (swt) bless this village and rain falls.” So, when said this, I told him: “OK, let’s pray!”, and it was not yet night and yet it was so hot and the sun was still bright [despite that it was nearing sunset]. Like there is a saying in Creole, “the sun was burning us to such a point that our brain was melting”.

I raised my hands and prayed in that village. When I have finished my supplications [duahs], after ten minutes, the sky became dark and there was the manifestation of lightning, such lightning which emitted an extraordinary light. Everybody was frightened by the sound of thunder. We all know that when lightning manifest, its manifestation is for few seconds only with great noise, i.e. thunder. But concerning this particular manifestation of lightning, it gave such a great light that all people kept on looking up in the sky. And the miracle in it is that the light formed the name of Allah in the sky. So, I was not the only one to witness such manifestation, but the people there. I remained silent [when I saw this] and it was the others who were crying out to others to look up in the sky to see that great divine manifestation [miracle]. Then, after five minutes, there was heavy rainfall. That rain kept on falling for five days and the people benefited from it.

So, Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah (by the grace Allah), it was such a week spent in Madagascar where the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam made spiritual progress which cannot be described in few words. Allah manifested His countless grace and favours. Allah is Great and His favours also are great.

'Dawa': Care People, Speak Wisely

Dawat-i-Allah– Invitation to Allah: Part IV 

Who is a Dai-i-Allah ?

A Dai-i-Allah is a person who has made the promise to invite people to Allah, and as long as he makes that promise, as long as he takes that determination, then he does it faithfully all the time, all lifelong. And until his last breath he remains a Dai-i-Allah. It is this type of Dai-i-Allah that the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam must have/ produce. And we must also do the work of Dawat-i-Allah with great intelligence.

The Types of Intelligence Needed

By the quality of intelligence, we understand that, firstly we must take a look at history and through historical narratives, we must come to the conclusion that the remedy against all adversity in this area lies in giving and increasing our friendship towards others. It is at this time that people will accept our words [our message in the Dawat-i-Allah]. If not, they will not accept it.

A second type of intelligence, its second quality, which most of the time we put aside, is that we have to talk about the time [the appropriate time] and the situation [we are] because every word is better in its current situation and context. If someone is worried about his work or his mind is busy with other things – he’s lost in thought - and you get to the task of giving him the [divine] messages, then that will not have any effect on him because it is not the moment to give him this message. This person’s situation does not allow him to receive this message. You also need to know that if a person develops disgust for this message, even though what you are presenting to him is a good thing, then he will not be happy. Everyone to whom you are presenting the message in this situation will not appreciate the message. So, think that if the way of presenting [the message] does not take over this disgust, then the Dawat-i-Allah will yield nothing. The work we have to do is a very fragile work. By adopting the model of the Prophet (sa), we must become a blessing for others; and to reach this end, we must speak with wisdom; we must use wise words.