A Vision for A Just World

In his Friday Sermon of 16 December 2022 ~21 Jamadi’ul Awwal 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius speaks movingly about the struggles of persecuted minorities; stateless refugees and other peoples caught up in climate change-induced migration; the deep connections between ecological disasters and armed conflicts, and also the problem of modern slavery: human trafficking across borders amidst deepening misery and despair at home in several lands.  

Speaking against the backdrop of the material conditions in Mauritius, Imam Azim (aba) urges fellow citizens to be deeply grateful to God for the available social blessings of peace, relative prosperity and global standing of the nation, and at the same time, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) gently reminds people to be conscious of long-term societal trends, and also be aware of the moral and ethical obligations the people owe to fellow beings in their midst- especially those in suffering and are vulnerable due to their difficult circumstances.  In this eloquent discourse, Hazrat Azim (aba) invites our attention to the obligations of our common humanity towards the refugees and the vulnerable migrants. Warning against the pitfalls of indifference, silence and negligence, Hazrat Saheb (aba) urges one and all to stand up for the less privileged and try to make a difference in our surroundings for our collective welfare and shared progress. Muslims especially have a duty to be the forces of good; fighting evil within and outside; standing up for justice and equity. Indeed, true faith and allegiance to Divine worship requires us to be mindful of the needs of our fellow beings and ease up their travails, and engage ourselves in the larger causes of humanity, reminds Hazrat Saheb (aba).

Divine Manifestation: 23 Years

 

‘It is He who made the sun a shining radiance and the moon a light, determining phases for it so that you might know the number of years and how to calculate time. God did not create all these without a true purpose; He explains His signs to those who understand.’----The Holy Qur’an, (10: 6)

‘By the passage of time!  man is [deep] in loss, except for those who believe, do good deeds, urge one another to the truth, and urge one another to steadfastness.’ (103: 2-4)

 

For a man without Faith, the flight of time and all happenings are merely accidental and without any consequences in this world, nor in the world to come! On the other hand, for a believer, there is a meaning and purpose attached to all the events in the ebb and flow of time. He/she lives with a wider consciousness about Divine commands and the Day of Judgement when one’s deed shall make or break one’s fortunes, eternally, as it were. Hence, every New Year is a great reminder- of the years passing by, and the times coming ahead by the Will of Allah, and more importantly, about our duties to choose wisely and act prudently as time goes by.

Kerala Jalsa 2022: A Report

 

Alhamdulillah, with the approval and blessed permission of Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius, the Thirteenth Jalsa Salana (Annual Meeting) of the Kerala Jamaat took place at the historic Noor’ul Islam Masjid, Mathra, on 23-25 December 2022, Summa Alhamdulillah. 

In addition to the members in Mathra; brothers and families from Pappankulam, Karunagappally and Alappuzha, and Delhi also could reach the Masjid venue ahead of the commencement of the three-day Programme.

On the first day, all brothers and sisters collectively offered the Tahajjud prayers at 4.45 am, and it was followed later, at 5:10 am, by the Namaz-e-Fajr. Mukarram Amir Jamaludin Raother Saheb conducted a Dars-ul-Qur’an, immediately after the Fajr Namaz. After morning works and breakfast, there was a round of Waqar-e-Amal around the Masjid premises and surroundings. Later, Mukarram Amir Saheb led the Jumuah prayers, and for the Friday sermon, the Amir Saheb chose to speak on “the exemplary life of the Holy Prophet (sa)”- explaining a classic Qutubah of Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) on the theme for the benefit of all members present. 

Jesus’ Travels Post Crucifixion

  

All the Messengers of Allah, especially the law-bearing prophets were made in some way or another to leave their initial place of residence for another place through the will of Allah. Sometimes, places within their own homelands or they switched altogether countries where their missions went on to be successful.

Today I would like to put before you the heart-touching story and the lesson which Jesus – Hazrat Isa (as) has given us in his emigration from Jerusalem to Kashmir in India. [Inset: Jesus in western art, symbolic- not historically accurate, representation]. 

In his post-crucifixion period, Jesus was helped by his well-wishers and disciples in secret. His disciples on record may have been official twelve men, out of which one (i.e. Judas) became a hypocrite and “sold” him to his enemies, but he may have had many secret disciples not recorded in history who became sincere help when he had to flee Jerusalem. From a study of his life, and the research of various authors including the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Jesus (as) may have stayed in Palestine, as well as Afghanistan and Northern India before he finally met his lost sheep, i.e. the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Power and the Doing of Good

In his Friday Sermon of 09 December 2022 ~14 Jamadi’ul Awwal 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius continues his series of reflections on the state of international politics, and relations. In the previous sermons in the series, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) noted the war strategies and economic rivalry of major nations in their quest for global dominance- illustrating these earthly struggles for supremacy with reference to the policies of the United States and  China, in Africa and elsewhere. In the present Sermon, Hazrat Saheb (aba) continues to expand on the broader theme by referencing China's growing global footprint in the world through developing trade and transportation linkages, maritime connectivity projects and other transnational banking and commercial linkages collectively known as 'One Belt, One Road'.  

As against the crass materialism and cut-throat quest for profit over people that is at the heart of these transnational economic initiatives,  Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) advocates that true politics of imperium should promote just dealings and benefit common people and the society at large by encouraging charitable giving and developing shared facilities. In this context, Hazrat Saheb (aba) points to some outstanding episodes from global history: the critical role played by exemplary Muslim women such as Hazrat Khadtija (ra), and also a lady of the Ottoman household in leaving an enduring legacy of beneficial giving through Waqf endowments. Both affluence and power are opportunities for doing good, especially for the indigent and other less privileged of the society. May Allah (swt) enable everyone of us to live with a wider consciousness about the state of our world, and seek to improve its situation through doing good, individually and collectively at our own levels, Insha Allah, Aameen.    

Read the Friday Sermon Below:

The US-China Rivalry in Africa

 

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the Tawfeeq to put before you the strategies of the countries which take themselves as superpowers and whose actions and plans are made to drift people away from the right path and to cause bloodshed to spread throughout this temporal world.

 

Today I will talk more precisely on the rivalry which exists between the USA and China, especially in Africa.

 

Africa is a critical component of China’s strategic objectives for economic growth and hegemony. China’s expansion across the continents has been dramatic, from trade to extraction to manufacturing. Chinese companies are responsible for more than 12 percent of the continent’s industry. During the last one decade, China has become the largest trading partner of Africa. China has significantly expanded African railways, investing in various projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Angola and Nigeria; it has invested in the construction and setting-up of a massive hydroelectric dam in Angola and has built Africa’s longest railway connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti; it has built the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa and the West African regional bloc, i.e. the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja.

The Plans of Modern Pharaohs

 

The rise of authoritarian strongmen- 'modern Pharaohs' as it were- in numerous countries in recent times through either military takeovers, or by deeply-flawed but populist ('democratic') processes threaten true freedom every where. Countries with dangerous imperial delusions and territorial expansion plans include Russia under Vladimir Putin; China under Xi Jinping; India under Narendra Modi, and Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu. While each of these nations know that international law does not legitimate military conquest and foreign occupation, they plan that 'stealth' and 'subterfuge' can carry their secret plots to fruition: the acquisition and control of territories through any means, including war. Likewise, the return to power in Kabul by the Taliban; by other equally vicious military oligarchs in North Korea, Myanmar, Mali, Sudan, Tunisia, Nicaragua and Egypt mean an era of political repression and glaring injustice for the people of these unfortunate countries. It is also instructive to note that many other nations are also arming themselves to the teeth; preparing themselves for the  'Wars of the future'. 

Against this grim backdrop of international political and strategic developments with the rise of modern pharaohs, in his Friday Sermon of 25 November 2022 ~30 Rabi’ul Aakhir 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius continues his series of reflections on the challenges confronting international freedom, peace and tranquillity.    

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

The Modern Pharaohs of this World & Their War Strategies

The pharaonic dynasty was about horrible tyrants who claimed to be all-powerful gods, and they made their people worship them. They amassed unfathomable wealth and power, while the masses, as always, laboured to survive. They built huge monuments to their own praise, big slabs to flatter their ego, to impress their followers and foreign powers with their stature and might. They abused their authority at every turn, killed off the opposition, tortured, maimed, plotted, connived, and clung to power by every means imaginable. And their legacy [i.e. their evil, their thirst for power, grandeur and wealth] has persisted until today.

 

It is well established among the people of all religions, especially, the three main monotheistic ones, i.e. Muslims, Jews and Christians, that Pharaoh was one of the worst disbelievers in God; in fact, in the Quran, Allah does not tell the story of any disbeliever by name more than the story of Pharaoh, and He does not tell us more detail of the disbelief, transgression and arrogance of any disbeliever more than He tells us about Pharaoh.