بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’UD
Munir Ahmad Azim
22 October 2010
(13 Dhul Qaddah 1431 Hijri)
(Summary of Friday Sermon)
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:
Today I shall continue my sermon based on the same subject as the two previous sermons: 08 and 15 October 2010.
Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an:
“But nay, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you the judge of what is in dispute between them, then they shall find in themselves no dislike of that which you have decreed, and submit in full submission (to your decisions).” (4:66)
He also said: “Your Lord creates and choose what He wills; they have no choice whatsoever (in this matter). Exalted be He above what they associate with Him!” (28:69)
And He said: “Would man get what he expects, when to God belong this world and the other (world)?” (53:25-26)
Last week I mentioned the first five reasons that push the servant to endure and accept the destiny that God has chosen for him. Today I will continue to list the other reasons.
The sixth reason for the servant to bear the (effects of the) acts of God, is the manifestation of His beauty by which God reveals Himself to him. When in fact He reveals Himself to one of His servants, during the meeting that He gives him, He soothes the bitterness of the trial by making him taste the sweetness of his epiphanies. You just need to read this verse of Surah Yusuf (to convince you of this): “When they saw him, they were so amazed that they cut their hands.”
The seventh reason to enduring fate is that the servant knows that his patience shall earn him divine satisfaction. For it goes without saying that he who endures the decisions of God wins in return His pleasure. So much so that the servant endures the bite (of time) in the hope of receiving the satisfaction of God the same way that one gulps down a bitter medicine in the hope of healing.
The eighth reason of the servant is the waiting for the unveiling. When God wants to lighten the burden which He makes him bear, He takes away from him the veil that blinds the intuition of the heart, showing him how close He is (to him); the sweetness of divine proximity driving the servant into such a state of rapture that he forgets his pain. If God showed His Beauty or Majesty to the people of the Fire, they would forget the punishment they were being subjected to for this punishment is indeed nothing but the veil of (which blinds them from) God!
Similarly, if He was to hide Himself from the people of paradise they would find bland the delights of Paradise; and it is true that there is no real delight except in the Manifestation of God and in the pleasure that the various forms of this Manifestation assumes.
The ninth reason in which the servant draws the strength to endure the religious requirements is that the secrets of the implementation – of the divine plan – be revealed to him. These legal requirements being conformity to the divine order, abstention of the unlawful, resignation upon calamities (and trials) and gratitude for the benefits granted, (all these) are painful to the servant. They relate to four areas, not one more: Obedience, transgression, favour, and trial. It is in the exercise of these four points that God requires of His servants a total servitude under the sovereignty He exercises over them. He is entitled to it, if He gives you (the right) to obey Him, to require that His blessings appear on your person. He has the right, if you transgress (His law) to order your repentance for all that you have wasted (during the time of separation from Him). He is still entitled to expect from you that you endure the trial, since you are with Him, and finally it is His right, when He does you a favour, to expect your thanks. It is sound understanding of these divine requirements that will make you endure the hardships associated with your duties. If you understand that you are the only beneficiary of your obedience, this will give you the necessary patience to obey Him. If you understand that persevering in your irregularities will worth you future divine punishments and for the time being an immediate decrease in the light of faith, that will push you to abstain (from what is unlawful), and if you realise the fruits of your patience, and the blessings that result, that will only benefit you, and then you will rush to show yourself steadfast (in adversity) and resign yourself (in times of trial), and if you understand that your gratitude will worth you an overflow of divine favours in accordance with the Word of God: “If you show gratitude, I shall grant you more,” this shall encourage you to thank Him without interruption, and make you rush to serve Him! Insha-Allah, I will elaborate on these four points later.
Finally, the tenth reason which gives incentive to the servant to endure the destiny which Allah has chosen for him is to discern the Benevolence and Goodness which are hidden therein. God surrounds us with His discreet kindness at the heart of the trial, as He taught us: “It may be that you hate a thing which is good for you.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us the same thing, saying: “Paradise is surrounded by painful events, while Hell is surrounded by passions.”
Also there is in afflictions, diseases and calamities secrets caused by solicitude which only people gifted with intuition perceive. Do you not see that trials tame the soul, humbling and subjugating it to the point of making it forget its whims? Trials are often generator of degradation and debasement and it is from this debasement itself that victory emerges: “Allah has given you the victory at Badr when you were small (in number).” But this is not the place to elaborate on this point for we would leave our present subject.
Let us analyse the whole verse: “But nay, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you the judge of what is in dispute between them, then they shall find in themselves no dislike of that which you have decreed, and submit in full submission.” (4:66)
Know that this word tells us to observe three distinct attitudes: before, during and after the verdict. ‘Before the verdict’ consists not to feel resentment (against the decision of the Prophet, but rather to comply with it) for the conduct of his affairs. If however objection is raised that the proposal “until they make you the judge” implicitly contains acceptance to the verdict that will be issued; we would note that those who seek justice often keep a sense of resentment (against the decision taken). It is therefore not sufficient to submit to the decision of the Prophet: the servant must additionally accept, and rely totally on his decision. One could also object that not feeling any resentment is already evidence of total submission, then why in this case the verse says, and submit in full submission (to you decisions).”
The answer is simple: It is in all circumstances that one must rely wholly on the Prophet (submitting to his decisions). And if you now observe that this fact was already implied in the proposal “until they make you the judge”, we would reply that the generality of this command is still conditioned by the end of the verse: ‘(Judge, O Muhammad, but only) of the disputes between them.’ The verse therefore has thus three separate commands, appealing to the decision (of the Prophet) to settle disputes that occurred between Muslims and not to feel resentment upon the verdict of the Prophet and finally total deference to the arbitration of the prophet, both for public policy disputes and for problems of a private and personal purport. The latter injunction gives a general purport to a command initially restricted. So understand this O my brothers and sisters! It is in obedience to Allah and His Chosen Prophet that there is the salvation of people, especially those endowed with knowledge, people who even if they have no education, but they use their reasoning to sort fact from fiction, and would conform to divine truth no matter what. May Allah give us a deeper understanding and knowledge, guide us and allow us to putting into practice His injunctions. Ameen!
