Covid-19: An Appeal & A Warning

In recent days, I invoked Allah (in Doas) and thinking about the pandemic Covid-19, a subject that made the news in Mauritius and also across the world. In all countries of the world, whether in big countries and even the islands, the Covid-19 has wreaked havoc. When I thought of this virus [Covid-19] and how many millions of people have lost their lives and how many millions and millions of people have been infected with the Covid-19 pandemic; immediately Allah (swt) revealed a Quranic verse to me. Listen to its contents carefully and you will understand why I have chosen as the subject of my Friday sermon today to elaborate around this verse from the Quran. 

Allah revealed to me this verse which is found in Surah Al-Baqara, where He says: “Surely Allah does not shy away from using the parable of a small beast [insect/ mosquito/ gnat] or what is even smaller. As for the believers, they know that it is the truth from their Lord. And as for the disbelievers, they argue, “What does Allah mean by such a parable?” Through this ˹test˺, He leaves many to stray, and guides many. And He leaves none to stray except the rebellious.” (Al-Baqara 2: 27) 

To fully understand the meaning of these verses, we must know under what circumstances they were revealed… After the emigration (Hijrat) of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) to Medina, a new group was formed among the population, alongside the Muslims and Jews: The Munafiqun (hypocrites). The latter were basically troublemakers, true disbelievers, dangerous and wicked; nevertheless, outwardly they showed their belongingness to Islam and this mainly with the aim of satisfying some of their material interests.

Revelations in Corona Times

'When the sentence of doom is given against them, We shall bring a creature out of the earth, which will speak to them: people had no faith in Our revelations'. (27:83)

'...It was not God who wronged them, they wronged themselves. Those who take protectors other than God can be compared to spiders building themselves houses- the spider's is the frailest of all houses- if only they could understand'. (29:41-2)

Novel Coronavirus. The global pandemic is an occasion to reflect on the dire state of our world: how precarious our calculations are, how deeply vulnerable we are. The hidden forces of nature can suddenly emerge to shatter our lives at any moment in time. Since the new virus was first identified in China last year, it has caused considerable international concern as it is spreading fast across regions, races and religions- Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, the United States, etc. The death-toll from the disease- that jumped from animals to humans- has crossed 7000 as of today, just as infection rates have surged in recent days. Now there are more reported cases outside of mainland China than inside, pointing to the evolving nature of this pandemic. [Inset: As part of a long-running effort to see what viruses bats harbor, researchers in China examine one temporarily captured in a cave in Guandong. (c) ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE].

Media reports show that countries around the world are rushing to implement emergency measures in an effort to contain the virus and enforce social distancing, including nationwide lock-downs, imposing border and travel restrictions, school closures and ordering restaurants, cafes and bars to close or reduce services. 'We have never lived through anything like this. And our society, which had grown used to changes that expand our possibilities of knowledge, health and life, now finds itself in a war to defend all we have taken for granted', Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told Parliament. "This is a once-in-a- hundred-year type event," said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, warning the crisis could last six months as his nation gears up for changes in life, as it is changing all around the world. The global pandemic is amongst the several disasters striking humanity today. As humanity stands humbled by the emergence of a microorganism, and the outbreak of a pandemic consuming thousands, we need to pause and it should also occasion an intense and thoroughgoing soul-searching amongst us on what is wrong with our world that is turning upside down on all fronts. The microorganism is literally 'speaking'/ asking us to reclaim the values of global inter-dependence and solidarity,  collective security, and shared progress. In a world riven by arrogant conceptions of 'national interest' and 'nation first' where 'leader' after 'leader' is speaking the language of racist intolerance and xenophobia, the reach of the epidemic is shaking the existing order to its core, bringing 'tall' icons down to their crumpling fate. 

Throughout history, Divine messengers brought sublime guidance on righteous living; they called their people to an exalted, heavenly destiny of inner peace, by recognizing the higher values of life and  respecting the restraints of Divine Law. Most people, however, are often dominated by a materialistic, 'earthly'-outlook on life, and they choose their fate by turning their backs to the pure messages on offer: the materialist outlook that these people embrace trigger evil impulses in its own way to destroy human soul, public health and the social order. We can reclaim our world only by reverting our preoccupations and lifestyles back to the path of moderation and balance as ordained by the Creator and Sustainer of the worlds, and by following the Divine Elects of our times who are there to lead us in the correct and straight path. In a Special Address delivered on 11 March 2020 ~ 16 Rajab 1441 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (atba) of Mauritius spoke about recent Divine revelations vouchsafed to him against the backdrop of the global pandemic: a message that contains perennial truths on the mission of the savants of Faith; good news for those who keep to the middle course in life; and for those drunk on pelf and power, severe warnings about the Days of God. 

Read the Special Address Below:

President Trump: 'The beginning of his end'

"Surely, Allah is All Knowing, All- Aware", declares the Holy Qur'an (31:34). In the words of a well known scholar of the Qur'an, it means that God is both "Self-Knowing and fully aware of everything besides Him. He Himself knows everything and also informs him whom He likes". Hence, one of the principal functions of a Divine Servant is to pass on the Messages being vouchsafed to him by Allah (swt) for the attention of all humans who wish to listen and profit by. Often these messages contain glad tidings for the truly humble who believe in God and do good deeds in service of His creatures. Likewise, in equal measure, the messages may also contain dire warnings for despots who remain arrogant on earth without any right, and exceed all limits, seeking to oppress the people. Thus, speaking truth to power is a function of the Prophets. Indeed, the Qur'an preserves in its pure pages of Holy revelation several accounts from history where the Divine Elects spoke the daring truth to the reigning Pharaohs of their times. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) famously said: "Indeed, the best 'Jihad' is a Just Word in the presence of an Unjust Ruler". 

Consider our own times, the Fifteenth Century of the Islamic Era. The world of Islam today faces enormous challenges, both internally and externally. Powerful adversaries have conquered and destroyed the Muslim lands and peoples in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. The bombings, senseless killings and the hardships of war and terror have afflicted the Muslim psyche with feelings of helplessness and agony. The events of the last two decades- Ariel Sharon laying siege on the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Bush-Blair combine unleashing the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, the civil wars in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Libya, etc.- powerfully underscore the tragic situation of the Muslim Ummah. Due  to the 'internal' conflicts in many Muslim nations, and also the oppression of the Muslim minorities in several nations- Bosnia, Central African Republic, Myanmar, China, etc.- millions of people had been forced to flee their home and hearths and seek refuge and dignity in exile. Finding Islam under siege in our times from both the enemies of the Faith and its misguided adherents, Allah (swt) has raised a humble man amongst us with His holy words to be a practical exemplar and defender of the Faith in the person of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius. 

A Warning to the Nizam-e-Jamaat

Located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeast Africa,  the Mayotte archipelago is geographically part of the Comoros Islands, while officially it is an overseas territory of France. It consists of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two, situated between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. While the region came under the French settlements in 1840s, the people of Mayotte voted to remain politically a part of France in 1974. Following a 2009 referendum with an overwhelming result in favour of the department status under France, Mayotte became an outermost region of the European Union in 2014. It was the Arabs who brought Islam into the region during the medieval times and a Sultanate was established as early as 1500. According to the 2017 census, the small Island region (with an area of 374 square kilometers---144 sq mi) has a population of a little over 2,50,000- a vast majority of whom are the descendants of the Muslims. Although located far way from the mainlands of Africa and Asia, the remote Indian Ocean islands also had the fortune of receiving the message of Islam as propagated by the Promised Massih of the Later Days, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian. In many ways, the deep penetration of the message of Tawheed as propagated by the Promised Massih (as) to the remotest regions of the world is an awesome testimonial to the astonishing truth of the words of Allah (swt) descended on that holy  Divine servant in the previous era: “I shall cause your message to reach the corners of the earth”.

In the late 1990’s, it was the pioneering efforts of Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb of Mauritius that planted the seeds of Ahmadiyyat in several Indian Ocean island communities, including the Mayotte Islands. As the missionary-ambassador of the Promised Massih (as) working in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya in collaboration with the then Khalifatul Massih IV, Hazrat Munir Azim Saheb took extraordinary  personal initiative and considerable pain to establish the message of Ahmadiyyat in these parts of the world. If ever the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya develops institutional memory and are truthful to their own records and testimonials; they would not, they should not and indeed they cannot avoid or evade the seminal spiritual work and rich legacy of Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb in the spread of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya in the region. 

Of late, the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, in Mayotte and beyond, is behaving like the sectarian thugs the Promised Massih (as) used to oppose all his life. In their vain desires for cheap personal glory, they ‘invent’ the history of the Ahmadi peoples and they erase the collective memory inconvenient for their current temperaments! In their concern for constructing a new identity, they are behaving like a prodigal son in denial of his father!! Instead of gratefully co-opting and quietly celebrating the trailblazing spiritual work of Hazrat Munir Azim Saheb in the Indian Ocean island communities in the 1990s as part of the wider and global history of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya and its peoples, the Nizam-e-Jamaat is in denial today. Do they think the politics of denial and social boycott has a chance against the tide of history and the destiny of a Man of God? Allah says in the Qur’an: “We will soon show them Our signs all around the world and in their own selves, until it dawns on them that indeed this is the truth. Is your Lord not Sufficient (to confirm your veracity), for He alone is (also) witness to everything?”. (41:53)

In the final part of his Friday Sermon of 25 May 2018 (09 Ramadan 1439 AH),  Imam Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius spoke on the situation in Mayotte, where natural calamities are unfolding against the backdrop of spiritual calamities. In their quest for cheap victory, sectarian prejudices are being unleashed by the chiefs of the Nizam-e-Jamaat against the Jamaat-Ul Sahih Al Islam in Mayotte so much so that Hadhrat Saheb (atba) has been constrained to issue a Divine warning against the culprits involved in the episode. 

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:   

'The Days of Noah are Coming...!'

A Difficult Time in Mauritius

We never punish (a people) until we have sent a messenger. (Al-Isra, 17: 16).

My brothers and sisters, reflect well. 

From the beginning of this year 2018, Mauritius is going through a difficult situation. When you think that from the first day of the New Year (01 January 2018) a great accident happened where two brothers died, and then the next day an ex-husband killed his ex-wife with a revolver (when she came to visit her child in the home of the ex-husband) and then killed himself.

Since the 1^st of January, the rain has not stopped falling; heavy downpours except on Sunday 07 January 2018. At the beginning of the school activities for the new year, on 08 January 2018, heavy rainfall continued to flood, destroying the agricultural fields (fruits and vegetables) and amenities of thousands of houses and cars. Then a dangerous cyclone, named Berguita, came to make matters worse since Tuesday 16 January until 18 January 2018 and for the first time in Mauritius (after many years) more than five thousand people, men, women and children have gone to seek refuge in the shelter centers, leaving their homes and all their furniture, food and other amenities, taking only their own persons and their family members to shelter from the cyclone. Social workers and even the government only distributed biscuits and bottled water to support all those people.

After the passage of Berguita, vegetables and fruits have almost disappeared from the shelves of the markets and for the fruits and vegetables remaining, prices have skyrocketed and it has become very difficult for the Mauritian nation given the rise in prices at all levels. These torrential rains, lightning and cyclone Berguita caused quite a lot of damage nationwide, blocking drains/ canals, flooding the streets and destroying cars too. Afterwards we saw a lull in the density of the rains in some parts of the country, but in other regions the rain did not cease to cause misfortunes.

The situation became alarming when on Wednesday and Thursday, 24 & 25 January respectively, the notice/ warning of heavy rain forces the government and the organizations concerned to close schools, universities and even some workplaces. The panic was felt here in Mauritius with the rising waters and the continual torrential rain. Given the situation, the Ministry of Health advised people to boil water before drinking to stay healthy and avoid diseases such as gastroenteritis and other health problems. Despite the precautions many have also caught conjunctivitis.

It is impossible for me to list all the problems that Mauritius is facing because our little island is consecutively going through trials.

On the "Charlie Hebdo" Attack in Paris

The European religious history in the last millennium is stained with despicable attacks on Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). The culprits, in their ignorance and hostility, seek to insult and defame the faith of the Muslims, parading and projecting a most hateful image of the religion of Allah (twa) and slandering and caricaturing  the fair name of its Holy Founder so as to destroy his reputation in the eyes of the general public in their societies. Contemporary caricaturing of the Holy Prophet (sa) in the Western media essentially inherits this imbecility from that unfortunate legacy of hate speech and blasphemy, and all of this is indulged in the sacred name of liberty of expression and press freedom.   

As a Divinely-raised Warner and the Mujaddid (Reviver of Faith among the Muslims) of our times, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius has, on several occasions in the last decade, spoken up against this caricaturing of the Holy Prophet of all Muslims in the western press, warning that such offences are punishable in this very world and the repercussions shall be worst for the culprits and their societies. In the aftermath of the recent incidents involving Charlie Hebdo, political analysts confirm that the attacks indeed constitute an "earthquake" for the French society, parading the inadequacies of the French Republic to come to terms with the societal transitions in its backyard and the collective failures in imagining a shared future that accommodates the diversities and integrate the people on the basis of its professed, foundational principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. The astonishing prophecy issued by Hadhrat Sahib (atba),  warning the Charlie Hebdo and the likes in 2011,  had been documented at that time in the Blog and can be read here. 

Presented below are brief remarks on the Chalie Hebdo attack in Paris made by the Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba) in his Friday Sermon of January 16, 2015: 

Before coming to the heart of my Khutba Jummah (Friday Sermon) on the duties and obligations of parents towards their children, I would like to say few words concerning the Paris “Charlie Hebdo” attack.

As you all know by now, on Wednesday 7^th January 2015 some people opened fire on the newspaper staffs (among others) of “Charlie Hebdo” in France (12 victims), in one of the abominable bloodshed on the soil of France, as the news channel and other media do not hesitate to state. And as usual, Islam is being blamed for such atrocity and not the people behind it.

And as you all know, years ago, around 2006 and 2011, in the backdrop of the first cartoon calumniation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), I issued a prophecy, a clear warning that those who shall play with the purity of the person of the Holy Prophet of Islam shall be punished by Allah, the Most High. Indeed liberty of expression is one thing and calumniating the heart of a religion on the basis of a so-called liberty of expression is another. Indeed the Messenger of Allah cannot tolerate that a single calumniation be brought on the person on the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) and I shall continue to defend his honour till my last breath.

A Warning to an Ahmadi Amir in Kerala

As the 2013 Jalsa Salana of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, Kerala was taking place at the Noor’ul Islam Masjid in Mathra on December 22-23, members of the Jamaat from outside the place were also present there. Some of them had a Tabligh encounter with Mr. Abdul Saleem, President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Mathra, Kerala. 

Mr. Saleem had so much confidence in his own theological positions that he invited our brothers to his house for a discussion on the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius. Once the discussion started and he realized that his blind faith in the Ahmadiyya Khilafat cannot withstand the critical scrutiny of Qur’anic guidance, he lost his original plot of “guiding the brothers”. As his nefarious plan to deviate the brothers collapsed like a pack of cards, the host came under satanic impulses and sobriety and civility vanished into thin air. He fumed with rage, started a virulent, verbal attack on the guests, abusing and vilifying the Divine Manifestation, the Divine Messenger and his humble disciples. Starkly reflecting the path travelled by one Muhammad Hussein of Batala, who infamously predicted the end of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya with the death of the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as) in the previous era, the fatally unfortunate Mr. Saleem expressed the same curses on the new Divine Manifestation of our times.

In his Friday Sermon of December 27, 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius took serious note of this development and warned this Amir and those like him who wishes to see a bad end for the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in very profound words of advice:

Syria and the Looming World Crisis

The extremely delicate situation in Syria, where the on-going civil war has consumed over 1,00,000 people and rendered millions into refugees and internally displaced persons, has created a mounting fear psychosis in the entire Middle East that a humongous war is in the offing, especially in the aftermath of the US declaration of intent at military intervention. While the regime of President Bashar Al Assad has come under a cloud of accusation of gassing its own people, the “humanitarian imperialists” who are proactive to ‘teach a lesson’ to the regime also face a credibility-deficit/crisis. As the US seek to use military force in Syria, its dreadful and despicable record of duplicitous dealings in matters of war and state terrorism in the past remind us of the devastating consequences the new war will entail for all people who are going to be caught up in it. A western war in Syria will only be putting a match to the tinterbox, engulfing the whole region and the wider Islamic world and beyond into a quagmire of unimaginable proportions.

In the last decade of the Divine Manifestation, Allah (twa) has informed His Khalifa (the Khalifatullah) Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius several times about the internal and external threats the Muslim Ummah will face and taught him special prayers for the believers to recite in these troubled times. In a Speech on September 09, 2013 the Khalifatullah (atba) spoke on the escalating Syrian situation and the ominous signs of a World War staring at mankind, in the backdrop of the prophecies of the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as).

Read the Extracts from the Speech:

Why God Allow Suffering?

The human condition seems to be riddled with the mystery of unconscionable suffering. For, disasters are striking the world and the people are being caught up in the maelstrom everywhere - in the land, on the air or even at the sea! Almost on a daily basis, innumerable events are taking place- earthquakes, devastating floods, hurricanes, horrifying forest fires, building collapses, accidents of colossal magnitude, terror bombings, deliberate (racial, ethnic or genocidal) killings on a horrendous scale, fresh outbreak of long-forgotten/contained epidemics, etc. How does one look at and begin to explain the occurrence of these incidents that inflict much pain and loss on the humanity of our times? Are they mere natural disasters or do they belong to the grave category of divine punishments when occurred after clear warnings and exhortations from the Divine Messenger of the times? In his Friday Sermon of 19 April 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius discussed profoundly and provided illuminating insights on the subtle subject of ‘natural’ disasters in the times of a Divine Messenger.   

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

وَ لَوۡ اَنَّ  اَہۡلَ الۡقُرٰۤی اٰمَنُوۡا  وَ اتَّقَوۡا لَفَتَحۡنَا عَلَیۡہِمۡ بَرَکٰتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَ الۡاَرۡضِ وَ لٰکِنۡ  کَذَّبُوۡا فَاَخَذۡنٰہُمۡ بِمَا  
کَانُوۡا  یَکۡسِبُوۡنَ ۝

“And if people of the towns had believed and feared Allah, then certainly, We would have opened for them the blessings of the heaven and the earth, but they disbelieved. So We seized them for what they used to earn.” (Al-Araf 7: 97)

A Warning to Nasir Ahmad Sultani

Nasir Ahmad Sultani, the founder of Jama’at Ahmadiyya (Haqiqi) claims that Allah Almighty has appointed him as Mujaddid for 15th century of Islamic calendar on March 31st 2011. His group and he himself had been claiming as their “speciality” that he “has live contact with Allah Almighty” and that no other religious leader of this age can compete with him in this. 

In recent comments published at the official Blog of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement on October 19, 2011, Sultani Sahib made sweeping statements: 

“Live contact with Allah Almighty is the main objective of a religion. Every religion and nowadays Islam must provide opportunity to connect people to their Creator. But there was none. I have searched and challenged all over the world. There is none of the followers of Islam who has his own presentable live connection with Allah Almighty.

There are some people who are claiming. But if you see minutely, you will know easily that they are not on the right path. Like Munir A. Azim sb., A. Ghaffar Janba sb. and Zafarullah D. sb. These claimants are not believers of Khatm-e-Nabuwat. They think that Khalifas of Mirza Mahmood sb. are true Khlifas although Janba sb. has some disagreement. Munir sb. thinks that Mirza Mahmood sb. was Musleh Maud. Munir sb. is claimant of Ummati Nabi as well…”

In his Friday Sermon of October 28, 2011 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius has taken serious note of these statements of a claimant to an august office who has no qualms about judging the faith of others. Hadhrat Sahib noted:

“You are labelling this humble self as false, that I am not a Muslim. Have you got the patent to judge the faith of others? Nabi Kareem (sa) himself did not possess the patent to judge the faith of others, so then who do you think you are?

You are trying to extinguish the Light of Allah with your mouth, but let me tell you that Allah Almighty shall persist to perfect His Light, even if this is not to your liking (despite your recriminations). It is Allah alone who has sent His Caliph (Khalifatullah) with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it shine over all other religions and even over your Jamaat, even if it this does not please you at all.