Divine Message and Our Choices- 2

Guidance & Misguidance: Rewards & Punishments: Part 2

 

“Those who reject Allah and hinder from the Path of Allah, for them will We add penalty to penalty, for that they used to spread mischief.” (An-Nahl 16: 89)

 

Allah has established the system of reward and punishment as the result of the deeds and intentions of mankind on earth. The rewards are doubled and multiplied much more - to a larger extent, more than one can imagine - for the true believers who recognise, accept and follow His Messenger whenever He sends one to this world.

 

As for those who harbour hatred and hinder people from the way of Allah, by restricting them from listening to the prophet of Allah and to believe in the Divine Message he has come equipped with, therefore such people invite upon themselves penalty upon penalty because not only have they disbelieved but they have also contributed to a larger extent to the ruin of the faith of others, lying as barriers in their path to forbid them from the way of Allah.

 

Hell is a place made by Allah to punish the evildoers in the hereafter. Paradise and Hell each has seven levels. The concept of stages or levels in Hell is based on the extent and weight of the sins committed by the sinner and those levels are associated with different kinds of punishments that are both physical and spiritual in nature.

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: 'When the Ocean Calls'

 

When the Ocean calls me in its deep waters,

In it I find the Arms of my Lord inviting me 

To the unknown places of the Known Kingdom,

He is the King and I am His Subject,

Yet He raised me up high to the Pleiades of His pleasure,

And made me a Prince of peace,

Though I am not His Son,

But He is etched in me like a fiery essence of Love and Light,

Guiding my every step to fulfilment,

He is my Port of Call, my Haven and Heaven,

The Realm of Divine Revelations- II

 

The Mysterious & Wonderful Realm of Divine Revelations and the Advent of a Messenger of Allah

'It is not granted to any mortal that Allah should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He wills: He is Exalted and Wise.'  (Ash-Shuraa 42: 52)

 

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, I will continue today’s Friday Sermon on the subject of Divine Revelations and the Advent of a Messenger of Allah.

 

As I told you last week, the Messenger of Allah is such a recipient which is empty of himself and filled instead with Allah’s Will. He submits himself to the Will of Allah and makes the divine essence control him, in his actions so that he is able to properly transmit the divine messages that he has been commissioned to distribute to his people and to all humanity (especially for the Islamic Prophets and Messengers of Allah - who come after the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saws) and who follow in his footsteps in order to revive the teachings and commandments of the Quran and his own Sunnan (practices) – i.e., the Sunnan of our Beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).