Divine Guidance and Free Will

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah (twt) has given me this opportunity to continue the subject matter of last week’s Sermon on the need of the advent of a prophet of God, and the reality of the miracles and faith which are joined together for the realization of the designs of Allah.

Indeed God Almighty talked in the past, is talking even today to His humble servants and messengers. It is unbelievable that a Merciful and Loving God would remain unmoved at the sight of mankind floundering in error and worldliness and yet He would take no measures for their guidance and direction. So my dear brothers and sisters, if there is a God, He cannot permit this!

If He feels for His servants in their trials and yet makes no provision, we must conclude either that He has no power to guide mankind to the truth, or that to attain communion with God is not the object of man’s existence, and that man was created merely to eat, drink, and to lead a purely worldly and animal existence. But each of the alternatives previously mentioned is insupportable.

To imagine that He who created the universe has no power to provide means for the spiritual guidance of mankind is absurd. The Creator of the whole must have power to create a part. If we admit the existence of a Creator, we must admit that He has absolute power and that nothing is impossible unto him, and He can accomplish everything except whatever is incompatible with His holiness and perfection, nor can we imagine that man has been created merely for the purpose of a worldly existence for, in that case, we would be compelled to admit that an All-Wise and All-Knowing Creator has brought this huge universe into being to no purpose.

Miracles and the Light of Faith

In continuation to last Friday’s sermon, the condition of the world itself demands the advent of a prophet. For, where can be find today the light and the faith of which we read in connection with the prophets? Who can show the signs and miracles which men were wont to witness at the hands of the prophets and their companions? We find a great deal written in the books of each religion, but where can be find the practical proof of it? Where is the gift of prophecy which the companions of Moses possessed? Where are the signs which the disciples of Jesus were wont to show? The books of every religion talk of a living God, but is that living God living today also? Does He still maintain with His servants the relation which Jehovah was wont to maintain with the followers of Moses or the Heavenly Father with the disciples of Jesus, or Allah with the Muslims?

If not, what reason can be assigned for this change? And, has this change occurred in God, or in man? We find that, in order to avoid having to face this question and to admit that this change has occurred, the contents of the revealed books of different religions are sought to be explained away, and meanings are assigned to passages which the words are incapable of bearing.

It may be permissible to us to say that God spoke to His servants in this or that manner, or spoke to His servants in this or that way, or that His relations with His servants were of this or that kind, but it is not open to us to assert that God has never talked to man in a manner which should exclude all possibility of doubt or misgiving nor is it open to us to say that God never showed any miracles to demonstrate conclusively the truth of a particular religion or of a particular prophet. We may be permitted to assert that the relationship which existed between God and His servants in the past was of a nature different from that ordinarily understood or accepted, but after a perusal of the scriptures of different religions we cannot honestly assert that God has never dealt with His servants in manner from which the world could judge that a Living God exists who displays his Might and Mercy for those He loves.

On Children in Conflict with Law

In a speech in the West of Mauritius on August 27, 2014, the Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (atba) said it is time to question why we refer to children as being beyond control. This is a stigma towards them. 

Our young people are branded as violent and out of control most of the time. The recent incident at the Rehabilitation Youth Centre (RYC) raises many questions on this type of attitude. Many parents, when their children commit a small offence, just lodge a case against them and the children are sent to the Rehabilitation Youth Centre (RYC). Reaching a certain age, many young people face behavioural problems. Just imagine the situation where we are putting all the children with problems in one place; this will surely deteriorate. That is what happens at the RYC. 

He believes that if the situation has worsened, this is because the two main institutions in our society, school and family, have failed. The family is the first institution where we should inculcate values but with growing tensions, the children do not blossom well if they experience a difficult childhood. Now, when the child reaches school, he faces a different kind of situation. If he is a brilliant student then he gets all the attention, if academically poor, he/she is set aside. These kinds of dysfunction provoke the child even more. At school more attention is given to academic education. There is no class on values.

He moreover said: "Our young are undergoing great difficulty. Today’s young are our future and we need to protect them. Personally I have been working with youngsters having behavioural problems since long, and I have never encountered any kind of problem in dealing with them. If we put them behind closed doors, they will surely become frustrated and violent. Many times, they tend to think that because their parents do not love them, they are sent to Rehabilitation Youth Centre. So this creates a kind of negativity in them.”