The Death of a Scheming Enemy

Every soul shall taste death. (Al-Imran 3 : 186).

Today is a public Holiday as it is All Saints Day; in other words such a day in the life of a Christian where he commemorates the Saints and also the dead in general. And it is not a coincidence that Allah has guided me to deliver this sermon today (a sermon which I prepared beforehand and which applies exactly for today).

The world we live in is only ephemeral. One day or another, death will overtake us. We must then leave behind all our wealth, families, and friends. The only luggage we will bring with us is our actions and the intentions behind these actions.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said that there are three things that accompany a deceased to his grave: his family, his riches, and his actions. Of these three things, two come back, his family and his wealth. Only his actions accompany him. (Bukhari, Muslim).

On 02 July 2000, I received from Allah this revelation in poetic form (in French) on the subject of death: “Death is your Last Journey/ Travel”.

“Death is a journey,

So get ready,

No need for luggage,

Or yes, take with you:

Your pious actions, the love of Allah

Destination: the afterlife

Death is your last journey.”

In this extract, Allah mainly mentions the spiritual baggage of the believer, where he shall arm himself with his good deeds, his pious actions and his love for Allah. The pious will be very lucky. His obedience to Allah and His Messenger, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and to the Messenger of His epoch - if his epoch was the time when Allah sent a Messenger and Reformer to revive Islam, like in this present era - will be like a fiery light for him, which shall illuminate his way. His path to the afterlife will be easy compared with the unbeliever or the hypocrite who had during his stay on earth ignored Allah and His commandments.

'Haqiqatul-Wahi' in Malayalam

Last month, the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International announced the publication of the first part of ‘Haqiqatul-‘Wahi’ (The Philosophy of Divine Revelations) in Malayalam. This classic of Ahmadiyya spiritual literature, written by the Promised Massih (as) in the last century was long available only in its original Urdu and Arabic editions, and the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya has finally unveiled an English edition of the work last week, almost 110 years after the Book was originally published. The Malayalam translation of the Book from the Arabic was accomplished by Mukarram Amir Jamaluddin Raother Saheb of the South Kerala Jamaat, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah.

Reproduced below is the text of the Introduction to the Malayalam Translation:

“Haqiqat-ul-Wahi” is one of the most remarkable works of the Promised Massih and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908 CE). Written in May 1907 in Urdu and Arabic; the Book in many ways consolidates the saintly author’s life time of engagement with, and profound study of, the spiritual phenomenon of Divine revelations. In the social and religious context (of India and elsewhere) where dreams and other psychic phenomenon that the humans experience often confuse common people about the true nature of spiritual illumination and mislead them into giving credence to psychic illusions and there is a crying need for clear guidance on how to distinguish between false claimants and the Divinely-imbued souls in the path of the Exalted Being; the Promised Massih (as) makes this important contribution to our collective understanding on mystical realities surrounding dreams, visions and revelations.

Belief in the Judgement Day

'Qiyamah' is coming 

Islam teaches us that every soul shall taste death. After a person’s death, his soul will reside in a world different from ours, called “Barzakh” until the Day of Judgement (Qiyamah). On that day, everyone will be gathered by Allah for the final account. The good believer will go to heaven while the bad servant will go to hell. To believe in this is a pillar of our faith (Iman). Therefore, a believer must learn about this subject and have conviction in it.

But to be precise, you must understand that each person shall witness his own Day of Judgement, and he will be among the group of his time, at the moment of his death. For example, in everyday life, we often learn of a calamity or other that has arisen and has made hundreds or millions of deaths. So, for these people, it’s their last hour on earth and they will face their Last Judgement after going through the “Barzakh” and from there on they will know their final destination.

“But those who disbelieve say, ‘The Hour will not come to us.’ Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you’.” (Saba, 34 : 4).

Non-believers in general, apart from religions which were originally monotheistic, such as Judaism and Christianity, do not believe in life after death, in the Last Judgement because most of them believe that their life on earth is their only life and death will mean a definite end to their life, while others believe in reincarnation, i.e., they will be resurrected in different bodies, be it in human or animal form, and that they will return to earth again and again, instantly, or centuries after their present death. These conceptions about life and death that they hold are really wrong.

The Six Pillars of Islam

As Muslims we need to know and understand that our faith (Iman) rests on six pillars; Our faith in: Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers / Prophets, the Last Day of Judgement and Fate/ Predestination/ Destiny – and the fact that good and evil come through the knowledge, law and the creation of Allah, and the firm belief in life after death (the Resurrection) which are each an indisputable truth.

Why Follow A Mujaddid-II

"He who dies without having a pledge of allegiance (to the Imam/Khalifah) on his neck, dies the death of Jahilliyah."-- Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

'Allah’s Messenger (sa) said three times: ‘May Allah’s mercy be upon my Caliphs.’  The Companions said: ‘And who are your Caliphs, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Those who revive my Sunna and teach it to the people!’" (According to al-Hasan bin ‘Ali (ra): Ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq al-Kabir, 51/61)

"The obligation of appointing an Imam (Khalifah) is from the necessities of the Shari'ah that simply cannot be left." - Imam Al-Ghazzali

It is regrettable that most Muslims today are simply unaware of the deep verities of the Faith they otherwise claim to profess and even practice. People in their ignorance and stupidity usually remain satisfied with what they are habitually familiar with- inherited family traditions, ritual practices and the tales of dead and gone Divine savants in their communities. So much so that by their sheer negligence of profound teachings - especially those pertaining to the advent of Divinely-imbued souls to guide the Ummah in every era of Islam-, the folks do not recognize what they are missing out in experiential spirituality or the rich inner life that the Islamic Way promises to the Divine-seekers.  

Against this indifference of contemporary peoples stand the rich record of the past. Indeed through the millennium and more of Islamic history, the Divinely-raised Mujaddidin had left their imprints on Islamic spirituality in every era. As Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (ra) noted in one of his books: "A Mujadid appears at the end of every century, the Mujadid of the 1st century was Umar bin Abdul Aziz for establishing justice. The Mujadid of the 2nd century was Imam Shafi for explaining the Aqa’id and Fiqh. The Mujadid of the 3rd century was Abu Hasan al Ashari for formulating the sciences of Ahl us Sunnah and refuting the innovators. The Mujadid of the 4th century was Imam al Hakim and Al Baihaqi for laying the foundations in Hadith sciences and Abu Hamid Isfara’ini for spreading Ilm of Fiqh. In the 5th century was Imam Ghazzali for opening new paths in Fiqh, Kalaam and Tasawwuf. In the 6th century was Fakhr ud-Din Razi for spreading knowledge of Kalaam while Nawawi spread knowledge of Fiqh.” [Shah Walliullah in his Izalat al-Khafa]

Like many saints of Islam in the past, in the previous century, the Promised Massih and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian also offered layers of spiritual and logical explanations to ‘normalize’ the phenomenon of Divine Manifestations among the Muslim believers. Through his comprehensive and all pervading engagement with the spiritual doctrine in all its settings, the Promised Massih (as) has left behind an extraordinary range of explanations emphasizing the need for recognizing an Elect of God whenever such a person announces his spiritual mission of renewal of the Faith. The Promised Massih (as) noted that Allah (swt) maintained the institution of Reformers (Mujaddidin) after the Seal of the Prophets, because along with their own practical example, these personages command a spiritual attraction and influence, and virtue of the highest degree could be observed in their persons-  a path of spirituality that any thoughtful person would inherently find appealing.