‘He who knows his self knows his Lord’

In his Friday Sermon of September 16, 2011 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib profoundly reflected on the spiritual significance of attaining true self knowledge. The human self is capable of transcending its earthly moorings by contemplating the Spirit of God. Through a deeper awareness about the human condition in an ultimately transient world, true believers find the “face” of Allah in every situation they encounter in life.  

Read from the extracts:

The “people of the truth” fall into two categories. Those of the first get married, have children, houses, crops, but their hearts are not attached to these duties, which are not veils for them (which can hinder them from the contemplation of God) ... They no longer see themselves, but only God, Sublime and Exalted, because for the “people of the truth”, the being of the world is the Being of God; in reality, everything comes from Him.

The second category of “people of the truth” always love God, and are consumed by the love of God and the knowledge of God in His essential unity, and they know their self and they destroy it (their ego) and affirm the unity of their self and God, they retain their self, and they are destroyed in their self, and they remain in their self and they hate what occurs outside their self, and love the hidden interiority of their self, and they despise their self because the Messenger of Allah (sa) said:   “He who knows his self knows his Lord” ["Ma’n ara’ a nafsahu faqad ara’fa rab’bahu"].

This is also one of the revelations which I received at the beginning of the Divine Manifestation, whereby God taught me His wonders, that I may become even closer to Him, and that I trust Him, by knowing myself profoundly…

Moreover, when they attach their vision “outside” of their ego, whatever the thing they see, it is their self which they see, and what they contemplate is their self, because for the “people of the truth” the world and their self are one and the same thing; what they see, it's verily their self which they see. Like the Messenger of Allah (sa) said:  “I saw my Lord through the (merciful) eye of my Lord.”

This is also one of the revelations which I received from Allah at the beginning of the Divine manifestation along with the revelation: He who knows his self knows his Lord.

Are We Really Muslims?

“We have heard of part-time job, part-time teachers, etc. Now, there is a new trend called part-time Muslim. As the name itself suggests, the part-time Muslim is one who practices Islam only at specific times or at certain places and this is increasing extensively. Some examples are the Mussalli who prays five times a day but in his daily business dealings, he cheats his customers by giving them defect articles. Or there is the sister who wears Hijab (veil) only when going to a Mayyat (funeral) but dresses exactly like the Bollywood actresses during a wedding. 

Where are we going O Muslims? Is this the true notion of Islam – complete submission to Allah’s commands whatever the circumstance as Allah (swt) says in the following verses:

“O you who believe! Enter perfectly in Islam and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Verily! He is to you a plain enemy.” (2:209)

The above verse calls to people to enter Islam fully but just saying Shahada or being born and raise in a Muslim family do not make us a Muslim. Entering Islam fully means that we have to follow the teachings of Islam without any exceptions, without any reservations or without just focusing on one part and leaving the other on Allah (swt) to forgive. But let’s ask ourselves what Islam teaches us, how the life of our beloved Prophet (saws) was and his companions. Islam is a whole way of life and our Prophet Muhammad (saws) showed us practically how to live Islam in our daily life.

We must act like Muslims also. Islam does not only include some rituals, customs and forms of worship but something more comprehensive, one that includes everything that governs our way of life, how we spend our life and what to do and what not to do, whether it’s our social events, our personal matters, the social and economic system, our relations to warfare. So everything is a part of Deen and since Islam is our Deen all those areas need to be governed as per Islam.

ZAKAT: A Pillar of Islam

In his Friday sermon of August 26, 2011 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius reflected on the spiritual significance of Zakat.

Read from the Extracts:

“Zakat is an obligatory act of charity enjoined on every eligible Muslim individual. It is an act of worship and an effective form of achieving social justice. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and is prescribed in the Quran and Hadith.

The root of the word Zakat in Arabic means blessing, growth, cleanliness or betterment. In Shariah, the word Zakat refers to the determined share of wealth prescribed by Allah to be distributed among the categories of those entitled to receive it. It is also used to mean the action of paying this share. Growth and cleanliness are not restricted to the assets from which Zakat has been taken, but affect the person who pays Zakat, in accordance with verse 104 of Surah 9 (At-Tauba).

“Take Sadaqa (Zakat) from their wealth to purify and cleanse them.”

Zakat, as known in the Shariah, is sometimes called Sadaqa. In fact, Sadaqa covers both Zakat and voluntary charity for any righteous purpose. In the later history of Islam, Sadaqa was used to mean voluntary charitable donations given to the destitute.

Zakat is an act of worship that purifies a Muslim’s wealth and soul. Wealth purification denotes the Mobilisation of assets for the purpose of financial growth and justified distribution. Purification of the soul implies the freedom from hatred, jealousy, selfishness and greed.

Technically, Zakat is a yearly fixed proportion taken from the surplus wealth and earnings of a Muslim. It is then distributed to prescribed beneficiaries for the welfare of the Muslim society. It is paid on the net balance after a Muslim has deducted his expenses on personal, family and other necessities. At the end of the year, if he or she is in possession of the equivalent of 85 grams of gold or more in cash or articles of trade, he or she must pay Zakat at the rate of 2.5%. It also applies to agricultural products and to livestock.

In the Holy Quran, the term Zakat is mentioned in several verses. It occurs thirty times in the Quran; in twenty-seven of them it is associated with Salat, prayer, in the same sequence, namely, those who are steadfast in their prayer … and those who actively pay Zakat.