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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’UD
Munir Ahmad Azim
19 November 2010
(12 Dhul Hijjah 1431 Hijri)
(Summary of Friday Sermon of more than 2hrs 45 mins)
After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said:
Alhamdulillah today is both an Eid-ul-Jummah and the last Eid day in the context of the greater Eid “Eid-ul-Adha”. The month of Dhul Hijjah is the last month of the Islamic Calendar. Literally, this month means “The Month of Hajj”. It is in this month itself that the Muslims who have enough means go to accomplish the pilgrimage in Mecca and perform the Qurbani. The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are among the most important days in Islam, like understood in a Hadith, where the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is quoted to have said: “There is no better days in the world where Allah (the Almighty) loves best for the accomplishment of worship than these ten days (of Dhul Hijjah).”
Each Muslim must make an effort to profit to the maximum these days to perform Ibaadat (worship) of Allah according to his capacity. The 9th Dhul Hijjah is called “Yaum’ul-Arafat” (the Day of Arafat). Arafat is a place which is located approximately six kilometres from Mecca.
It is on this day that the pilgrims (the Hajjis) reunite in this place (Arafat) to accomplish the essential part in the rites of Hajj. It is recommended for the people not participating in Hajj to observe a fast according to the Islamic date of the country they are located. For example, if in Arabia the ninth Dhul Hijjah falls on a Friday and in Mauritius the ninth Dhul Hijjah is on Saturday, thus, the Muslims in Mauritius are advised to observe this day in fasting if they want to benefit from the blessings associated with the blessings of ‘Yaum’ul-Arafat’.
It is in this time of Hajj that the Qurbani is executed, like we did last Wednesday Alhamdulillah, precisely on Eid-ul-Adha (the 10th of Dhul Hijjah and Qurbani (Arabic: “Udhiya” – can be done up till the 12th of the month). Qurbani is an Urdu word derived from the Arabic word ‘Qurban’ which literally means, each action which is a means to make us come closer to Almighty Allah. And according to the Shariah, it is the Zabah (throat cutting) of an animal for the cause of Allah. In the Islamic practice of our beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Qurbani is considered as an Ibaadah only for three days (that is, the 10-12 Dhul Hijjah).
And this deed is a commemoration of the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (on him be peace) who received the divine command (from a vision or dream) to sacrifice his son Ismail (on him be peace). Without questioning the purpose of Allah behind such a command, Ibrahim (on him be peace) was ever ready to obey his Creator, and thus to sacrifice his son, and the latter also, without any hesitation accepted the command which his father received from their Lord and submitted. But after having clearly gone to fulfil his vision, Allah stopped his prophet and commanded him to sacrifice in lieu of his child, a sheep and thus Ismail was saved from the human sacrifice.
Allah (Glory be to Him) was so happy and satisfied with the actions of both father and son that He made Qurbani (Udhiya) become obligatory for all Muslims around the world, to be performed each year till the Day of Judgement.
The Qurbani is such an action which enables us to understand that each Muslim must be completely submitted to Allah the Almighty. Whenever Allah gives us a command to accomplish, we must do so without the least hesitation, and we must do our best to carry out the divine instructions, even though we may not fully understand the wisdom behind such a command, for it is Allah the All-Knowing (Al-Alim) – Our knowledge is minimal compared to His. This is the excellent lesson which both father and son (Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail) left for us.
Hazrat Zaid ibn Arqam (May Allah be satisfied with him) relates that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked, “O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), what is Qurbani?” He replied: “It is the Sunnah of your father Ibrahim.” They asked again, “What benefit do we get from it?” He answered, “A reward for every hair of the sacrificed animal.” They said, “For wool, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “There is one reward for every strand of wool!” (Ibn Majah)
To obtain the rewards of Qurbani, like in other good deeds, one must have a good intention. One must perform the Qurbani only for the pleasure of Allah, and not for the eyes of people or to obtain meat.
In Chapter 22 Verse 38, Allah says: “Neither their meat nor their blood reach Allah, but it is your piety which reaches Him.”
Abu Huraira reported the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) to have said about the one who neglects performing the Qurbani: “The one who has the means and does not perform the Qurbani, he must not approach the Muswallah (that is, the Eid Gah).” (Ibn Majah)
Like we can note from this Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used a harsh tone of voice for these types of people. How grievous it is that a person, who has the means, yet does not perform the Qurbani. The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade this kind of person to approach the place of worship (where the Eid prayer and sermon is held).
We must bear in mind that all that we possess comes from Allah Himself. If despite having the means, yet we do not perform the ordained sacrifice, this is a show of ingratitude towards Allah the Almighty.
Deeds which are Sunnah for those taking part in Qurbani:
Umm Salama (May Allah be satisfied with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah has said: “If anyone has in his possession a sacrificial animal to offer as a sacrifice (on Eid al-Adha), he should not get his hair cut and nails trimmed after he has entered the first days of Dhul Hijjah.”
Several people when taking part in the sacrifice of animals during this period (3 days for Qurbani), they must see to it that they weigh and distribute equally the sacrificed meat. It is never good to distribute the sacrificed meat on estimation (of its weight etc.) It is recommended that the meat be divided in three parts: one part destined for the poor, one part for the family members and one for oneself. A person can use the skin of the sacrificed animal for himself but he must clean it well (and process it for use) and afterwards use it either to perform prayer on it, as a tapestry and so on.
The skin of the sacrificed animal can either be given in donation or sold also. But when one sells it, he does not have the right to use the money on himself (or family under his roof) and he has no right to give the money for the construction of Mosques or Madrassa. The money must be given in Sadaqua.
May Allah the Almighty accept each one of us, Muslim brothers and sisters, our Qurbani. Today is the last day to do Qurbani. Therefore those who have the means and have not yet done the Qurbani, it is not too late to rectify this weakness (on your part). You have till before Asr prayer to do it. May Allah accept our sacrifice and give us plentiful measure of reward for it, and may our Qurbani (Udhiya) become a means to make us become closest to Allah, Insha-Allah, Ameen.
Before I end my sermon, I want to reassure all my disciples in India who are undergoing all sorts of persecutions, never to despair come what may, of the help of Allah. Nowadays, the Ahmadiyya Association are victimising themselves due to the fact that they are undergoing all sorts of persecutions (at the hands of the other Muslims) but the irony of the situation is that they themselves are being the tormentors and persecutors of the disciples of the Messiah of this era. In his Friday Sermon itself (made on 12 November 2010), the fifth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Movement has clearly stated that:
(I cite a part of the summary of his sermon): it is “through patience and prayer a Momin will achieve success and blessings of Allah. This is what all the previous Prophets of Allah taught their followers and this is what the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us. There are different verses in the Holy Quran that have covered this topic and through which we get the real meaning of patience. Patience means that we remain steadfast through any sort of trial and tribulation that comes our way without objecting.
We have seen in the history of religion that all the Prophets and their followers have gone through hardships. No Prophet is dearer to Allah than the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and he and his followers also went through these trials and tribulations, but they did not complain and remained steadfast in their faith. It is human nature that if we go through a prolong period of trials that we get tired and we say that when will that time come when we will be victorious and our enemies will be defeated. Allah reassures His believers that I am with those that remain patient and steadfast. To achieve this closeness to Allah, we must be vigilant in our prayers and remain steadfast.”
Afterwards, he cited also a Hadith about how the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) advised his disciples to remain ever firm even if they had to undergo the worst of persecutions like the like of the past prophets and their disciples.
So now I ask the fifth Caliph who is flowery in his speech, words which are filled with sense, but yet unfortunately he himself is being senseless in practice. Unfortunately he does not listen; he does not hear what he is saying. It is in his presence that Allah raised His prophet, His Messiah and Messenger and despite this, he (the fifth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Movement) makes believes that he is deaf and dumb, and in his turn he is encouraging his officials to persecute my disciples. Do not worry, Insha-Allah, this is only the trial of the era whereby my disciples will have to show themselves firm like my master and his companions in the past, and also like le Messiah of the past era and his disciples and also like all the past prophets and their followers who marked the history of humanity and of religion in the past. The Jihad of this present era will be very difficult to wage, but only (a sure fact) Allah will always be with me and my sincere disciples, Insha-Allah. This is the complete trust which I place in the One who has raised as His beloved prophet and messenger, and come what may Insha-Allah, the moment will come (like I said in my Eid sermon last Wednesday), when we will bring about this victory (with the help of Allah). The victory of Islam (and Ahmadiyya) will be made through the Sahih Al Islam for I had never rejected my beloved master Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on him be peace). On the contrary, I have come to confirm their veracity.
Like I said in my Eid sermon, do and say are two different things. The fifth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Movement is saying one thing, but he himself is not putting what he is saying into practice. He is advising his followers to be patient and steadfast in the face of all kinds of persecutions, but on one hand, he himself is encouraging his officials and other of his followers to persecute and boycott the Messenger of this era and my disciples. Shame on him! Does he not realise how lowly he has fallen? One day Allah revealed to me (in English): “Diamond will cut diamond”. This revelation is realising, where although beautiful words are being preached, but only the one who is putting into practice what he says (of the teachings of Islam) for the pleasure of Allah, it is him who shall be successful, for Allah shall always be and help His Elected Servant and not the ones who have turned their backs to him and went astray.
O my brothers, sisters and children, you can now be few in number compared to the large numbers of people of other sects and communities, but the time will come when Allah will make you become lights bearers of truth which shall pervade this universe, where people in thousands will come to embrace ISLAM in all its splendour, and they shall recognise this humble self as the Messenger of my era. This day is not far, and thus, all those who have rejected the message of Allah and had turned their backs to Allah and His chosen Messenger and Caliph, they shall shed not ordinary tears, but indeed tears of blood!
(Insha-Allah, the Sermons will be posted on the web in integrality) |
