Monday, November 2, 2020

'Duah': Invocations to Allah- XVII

Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah I continue my sermon today on the “revealed duahs”. May Allah make our life better by giving us His proximity. May He show us the way to Him and the way to approach Him. Ameen, Summa Ameen.


Here are the duahs revealed from 01-04 April 2004 during the Safar Zikrullah:


O Allah! Make me love the faith and magnify it in my heart; Make me hate impiety, debauchery and disobedience. Make me one of Your enlightened servants. 


O Allah! Spare me Your punishment on the day You resurrect Your servants. 


O Allah! May my body, my life and my heart be offered in sacrifice only to You. As far as I know, there is no Beloved [but You]! May every part of my being be sacrificed to You. 


O my Master! Grant me all the excellent blessings of this time. 


O Allah! Deign to hear [Litt. Deign enquire about] this voice calling You. If You don’t become like a Friend to me, my head will be pulverized into dust. With the hand of Your grace, help me so that I can lead people to know You.

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Poem: ‘The Light of Muhammad’


In the cultural memory of the Muslims, Rabi’ul Awwal 12 marks the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). As the messenger of God and embodiment of Qur’anic ethics, the Prophet of Islam spiritually-liberated humankind for all times from the clutches of devilish ideologies and pagan practices in the name of deities and divinity. His exemplary personal qualities of head and heart inspired generations of people to value faith above the world, and yet, earthly dominance did not elude them either. Despite a millennium of hostile propaganda by anti-Muslim elements, independent historians today openly admit and recognize that the Prophet of Islam stands tall amidst the rise and fall of nations in the shifting sands of time. If Hazrat Ibrahim (as) was once given a Divine-promise of an Ummah as numerous as the stars on the night-sky, at one level, its literal fulfilment is found in the dominance and global spread of Islam through the centuries. It is also instructive to note that by all accounts, Islam is the religion of the future as well. Indeed, the light of Muhammad continues to illumine the spiritual horizons of the world- with more and more people finding solace in the shade of the Prophetic Teachings, as time goes by.

Reproduced below is the translation of a Persian poem by the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (originally appeared in the Review of Religions of February 1991):

 

What a marvellous light

And radiance is to be found

In the life and person

Of Muhammad! Indeed this is a mine

Wonderfully rich in rubies

Of priceless worth.

 

Look wheresoever, I may,

In the two worlds

I can absolutely find no one

With the greatness and grandeur

Of this the greatest benefactor

Of the human race.

 

If you long to obtain

Deliverance from the lust

Of your mind, then come

To include yourself

Among his devotees.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

'Duah': Invocations to Allah- XVI

Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, all praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds Who gave me the Tawfiq to continue on the subject of today’s sermon on the “revealed duah” upon this humble servant. 


Before I get to the heart of these uplifting invocations, I share with you a very interesting sign that a Muntaqa from Tamil Nadu, Ata’us Salaam saw during his prayer this week. He saw in a vision a young man standing next to him during his Esha prayer and this person said to him, “I am the prophet Nuh (as).” Allahu Akbar. Allah manifested Hazrat Nuh (as) as a young person. May Allah protect this Muntaqa and his family and the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam as a whole from all adversities, and grant us victory over enemies in an extraordinary way. May Allah continue to bless His Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, His Khalifatullah and sincere disciples in His Jamaat and grant us the light of His grace, forgiveness and infinite honour, both in this world and the hereafter. Ameen.


Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful


Rabbana atina fid-dunya hassanataww-wa fil-aakhirati hasanataww-waqina ‘adhaaban-naar, wa adkhilnal jannataa ma’al abrar, Ya Azizu Ya Ghaffaru Ya Rabbal-Aalamin.


Our Lord! Grant us good (or success) in this world as well as good (or success) in the other world, and protect us from the fire (of hell). Admit us to Paradise among the virtuous; (O Allah) Almighty, Forgiving, Lord of the worlds!

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Remembering Hamza Saheb


Hamza Ibrahim Saheb,
one of the senior-most members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam-India, passed away in Kerala this week. He was 74 years old and has had certain age-related health concerns for some time now. Possibly, he was waiting for the ongoing Covid-related public health emergency in the State to subside so as to go for a thorough medical check-up, when the death came of heart failure on the evening of 18 October 2020, around 5.30 pm, Innallillahi wa inna ilayhi raajeeoune.


Hamza Ibrahim Saheb worked with the judicial department of the Kerala government, in the administrative/clerical side of the subordinate courts system, until retirement from service almost two decades ago. After retirement from job, he continued to be active in striving to be a good Muslim in life, as he understood it. It was this life-long commitment to the Prophetic Way that induced him to keep his mind and intellect open to spiritual perceptions until his last breath in this world. He did not hesitate to follow his heart in recognizing the Truth as he perceived it- even when such spiritual explorations and interests took him away from conventional wisdom and the prevailing orthodoxies of his social environment. Born and brought up in a traditional Muslim household in Alappuzha, Hamza Saheb displayed spiritual conviction and courage in embracing the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya in 1979. Subsequently, he got married among the Ahmadis of Karunagappally, and came to live in the region. While remaining an Ahmadi Muslim, he came to hear, learn about and went on to recognize the spiritual station and Divine mission of Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius in 2010- indeed, he was one among the first group of believers in Kerala. In his death, he leaves behind his biological family (wife and two grown-up sons and relatives), and the spiritual commune (Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam-Kerala) of the last 10 years of his life.