Text Box: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Friday Sermon HAZRAT AMIR’UL MOMENEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN AL KHALIFATULLAH Munir Ahmad Azim 07 May 2010 (22 Jamadal Awwal 1431 Hijri) (Summary of Friday Sermon) After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Khalifatullah read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said: The basis of Islamic ruling concerning the administration of the community consists of having a good leader at its head, one who is either elected directly by Allah or one who is elected by the people or by the nomination of the Chosen Messenger of Allah through divine revelation. We have such an example in the nomination of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq as the first Caliph after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Several references and sayings of the Prophet indicated that Sayyidina Abu Bakr was to succeed him, and thus the Ummah keeping in mind these sayings and the excellent qualities of the closest companion of the Prophet took him as their righteous leader. A similar happening occurred in the times of the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be peace) when death was nearing and he kept praying to Allah for an indication of whom was to continue his work at the head of the community of believers, Allah gave this indication to his own daughter Hazrat Mubareka Begum who dreamt that Maulvi Nooruddin, the close companion of the Promised Messiah was sitting in a corner of the Mubarak Mosque and had in his hand a book and reference was made in the dream that he was Abu Bakr Siddiq in person. Thus, by qualifying Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin as Abu Bakr Siddiq in the dream, Allah indicated to His Messiah when his daughter related to him the dream that it is Maulvi Nooruddin who was to succeed him at the head of the Jamaat. Now if we take the case of common leaders chosen by people, be it in Muslim states or over the world in general, there are some specifications which these leaders have to possess or develop if they really want to lead their states or countries to success and prosperity. Islam teaches that leaders should be just, fair, open minded, have a good grip on the management of the state in areas ranging from social to economic welfare, but at the heart of it all, leaders should be God-fearing, hold firm belief in the unity of Allah and know deep down in their hearts that only Allah is the All-Powerful and if Allah wants to honour them and make them honourable, He shall do so and if they are arrogant and go against the prescriptions of the Divine Laws, they shall suffer humiliation and defeat. This is where Muslims are concerned, but if we live in a non-Islamic country and the head of the state is a non-Muslim, these leaders also require such good qualities which would make them fit to govern their respective countries. Islam as the last and perfect religion has brought in its stride outstanding teachings in the form of the Holy Quran and the practices and excellent character of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as guidelines for one and all to follow. Therein lies the future of the world and all states for if all leaders were to follow to the letter these teachings, economies are bound to flourish and the poverty gap is bound to close, the riches of the countries being appropriately distributed between the concerned parties, like I explained to you all in a recent Sermon. Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them” (Chapter 24 Verse 56) “Verily, Allah commands you to make over the trusts to those entitled to them, and that, when you judge between men, you judge with justice.” (Chapter 4 Verse 59) The political system of Islam like explained above is based on the Unity of Allah, Prophethood and Caliphate (that is, vicegerency wherein either Allah appoints directly His representative or people choose one among themselves to represent them at the head of the Islamic Government). Usually every person in an Islamic society enjoys the rights and powers of the caliphate of Allah and in this respect all individuals are equal. No one can deprive anyone of his rights and powers. The agency for running the affairs of the state will be established in accordance with the will of these persons, and the authority of the state will only be an extension of the powers of the individual delegated to it. Their opinion will be decisive in the formation of the Administration of the country or state, which will be run with their advice and in accordance with their wishes. Whoever gains their confidence will carry out the duties of the caliphate on their behalf; and when he loses this confidence he will have to quit his office. In this respect the political system in Islam is as perfect a democracy as ever can be. But no matter what happens they must act come what may on the laws of Allah which regulates their lives throughout. And one must bear in mind that so long that Allah does not establish His direct Caliphate through the advent of His Caliph; then ordinary caliphate is to be implemented in accordance with the laws of the Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet of Allah Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the reformers of Islam. The Holy Quran clearly states that the aim and purpose of this state (the Islamic one), built on the foundation of the Unity of Allah, Prophethood and Caliphate is the establishment, maintenance and development of those virtues which Allah wishes human beings to be enriched by, and the prevention and eradication of those evils which are detestable to Allah. The state in Islam is not intended for political administration only and is not for the fulfilment through it of the collective will of any particular group of people. Rather, Islam emphases that the state is to put to use all the means at its disposal so that equity is implemented in every field of the economy. The aim is to encourage such qualities as purity, goodness, virtue, success and prosperity which Allah wants to see flourish in the life of His servants and to hold back, if not to eliminate, all kinds of exploitation and injustice. One of the great functions of a State is to establish and sustain good relations with other nations. Islam teaches that all treaties, engagements and agreements which two or more states enter in are to be fully observed without any breaches in them. Moreover, even in a Muslim state, non-Muslims also have rights and these rights are given to them by the Holy Quran in respect to their agreement in respecting the pact of peace awaited from them. Although an Islamic state may be set up anywhere around the world, Islam does not seek to restrict human rights or privileges to the geographical boundaries of its own state. Islam has laid down universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed and respected in all situations irrespective of whether a person lives on the zone of the Islamic state or outside it and whether he is in agreement with it or not. For example, human blood is sacred and may not be spilled without justification; it is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the wounded – woman’s honour and chastity must be respected in all circumstances; and the hungry must be fed, the naked clothed, and the wounded or diseased be given appropriate medical treatment as their rights demand. These, and a few other provisions, have been prescribed by Islam as the fundamental rights of every human, to be enjoyed under the constitution of an Islamic state. The rights of citizenship in Islam, however, are not confined to persons born within the limits of its state but are granted to every Muslim irrespective of his place of birth. If we take Mauritius as example, we see that Muslims and other people of different creeds and religions live on its territory but Mauritius in itself is not an Islamic State. This does not mean that Muslims are to be deprived of their rights established for them and humanity as a whole by Allah in the Holy Quran, but in this case it is a matter of choice or being force to abide by the laws of the country. About choice, meaning that individuals irrespective of their religions have the right to choose if they want that the Islamic teachings are to be implemented or not, depending on the clear advantages they are to derived from it. But not all governments are eager to follow the perfect principles of Islam for they view Islam as rigid and farfetched. They are not prepared to admit that Islam offers all the necessary solutions to the establishment of a perfect worldwide economic model, but they take from it what suits them and reject what they consider as barbarous and ancient. Although Muslims are encouraged to do politics, but they must do so in compliance with the divine laws which teaches clean politics with real objectives and real interest in implementing them for the benefit of the whole society or country. Unfortunately in Mauritius we find Muslims forming their own political parties with the goal of spreading false notions about Islam, depicting it as a religion pro-war and pro-terrorism when it is not the case. In such a country where politics is not free and fair, is not to the Islamic standard and which is rather low and dirty in the depth of it all, we find Muslim politicians raising high the flag of unity of Allah, battering drums repeatedly and masking as terrorists and demonstrating a liking for warfare and proclaiming on the lips that they are posing in the General Election as peaceful people wanting the good of people, especially the Muslims! But Islam is not what these types of people picture it as, and Islam’s system of politics is cleaner and most perfect if only people had the courage to implement it completely and with enthusiasm! I think that my message hereby mentioned touches all people irrespective of their religions and especially Muslim Mauritians who have deviated from the true teachings of Islam. Islam has not forbidden politics but one must do it with a pure heart and according to the teachings of Islam. May Allah enable all of us to understand this message and comply with it all for the benefit of one and all in fulfilment of the commandments of Allah. Insha-Allah. Ameen.