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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD
Munir Ahmad Azim
(28 Rajab 1432 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 he said:
رَّبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَل لِّي مِن لَّدُنكَ سُلْطَانًا نَّصِيرًا Rabbi 'adkhilnii Mukhala Sidqiww-wa akhij-nii Mukharaja Sidqiww-waj-'al-lii milladunka Sultaanan-Na-siiraa.
“My Lord, admit me an entrance of truth and let me exit an exit of truth, and grant me from Yourself lasting authority, to help me.” (17:81)
All commentators agree that this prayer was revealed before the emigration of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to Medina (that is, Hijra). And this verse also was revealed before Hijra. In fact, this prayer is holder of the prophecy of Hijra and others also. After his appointment as prophet of Allah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, patiently undergoing all sorts of persecutions before he finally left Mecca for Medina. Allah wanted to tell Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “O Muhammad! Your exit from this place shall be an exit of truth and you shall come back here again and your entrance shall be an entrance of truth.”
Here we see that entrance is mentioned first and afterwards exit. Why is it so, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to leave Mecca first? The wisdom behind it is that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to convey to Allah that it matters not to him if he were to stay in Mecca (despite the persecutions) or if he had to depart from Mecca, then he has full confidence in Allah that Allah shall help him. Moreover, the night before (the descent of that revelation), Allah already conveyed to him the revelation that he shall come back to that place (that is, Mecca) again.
The second wisdom is in the way that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) had to leave Mecca. He was facing the severest of persecutions and all people considered him a liar. Thus, the entrance refers to his entrance in Medina whereby people were waiting to welcome him. And the testimonial of his truth and his exit from Medina also was to become a truth and when he shall enter Mecca with clear victory, at that moment his entrance shall be an entrance of truth. That prophecy therefore became a reality. As for the last part of this prayer, that is, “lasting authority”, this also was accomplished by the Helpers of Medina (Ansars) who extended great help to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). But (it is to be reminded that) this help only came through guidance from Allah. That is why the words “milladunka Sultanan-Nasiira”, that is, “from Yourself lasting authority, to help me” is mentioned (that is, help from Allah). Moreover, this prayer can be used in our everyday lives. The verses of the Quran are unlimited; it is applicable in various circumstances also.
Therefore, it is a prayer which can be used in our daily lives. Another aspect of this prayer; it is concerned with the change in the states of humans. Verily, people change states often, sometimes from good to bad and vice-versa. Allah Himself showed this prayer “O Allah, when we have to change state, make that change a change of truth.” Before mentioning this verse, the Holy Quran talks on the elevated status of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Verily, Allah told the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to “recite the Quran in the Night prayer (Tahajjud) and in return Allah shall elevate you to a praiseworthy rank.” Therefore the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) at once made this prayer: “O Allah, make my elevation in rank be in truth, and continue to elevate me in rank of truth; do not let me go among the losers.”
Sometimes it happens also that a human after being elevated to a high rank be degraded also. Allah has shown to the Holy prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that in this prayer there shall be progress in each stage. When we shall do this prayer, we say: “O Allah, in our desire to make progress, remove our evil thoughts from us.”
This invocation is complete and applicable anywhere – be it in the spiritual domain or mundane affairs. Those who want to progress in their workplace should also recite this invocation. There is a prayer of Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) and which is found in Chapter 21 Verse 84. He supplicated Allah as thus: “Harm has afflicted me, and You are the most Merciful of the merciful.”
As I am citing Prophet Ayub (on him be peace), it is as good an opportunity to talk to you about him, which you may not be aware. Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) was born some 1550 years before Prophet Isa (on him be peace) and 200 years before Prophet Musa (on him be peace). Some scholars disagree on this point; some say that he was a prophet for the Children of Israel while some say that he came for another people.
The Bible did not quote his birth place, while some Muslim scholars mention his birth somewhere in Syria. In brief, that which the Bible mentions in Prophet Ayub (on him be peace), it mentions that he was a good person who possessed riches be it in form of jewels, money or animals. He had a wife and children, and he used to do a lot of work for religion. Satan was extremely jealous of him and therefore he (Satan) told Allah: “Allah, You have so much trust on Ayub; You say that he is so much involved in prayers despite him being rich. Just try him and You shall see that he is not sincere.” Satan told Allah: “Let me try him through his riches and You shall see (that he is not sincere).” Allah agreed to let Satan test him. And therefore, the riches of Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) was soon depleted. Afterwards Satan asked Allah to try Ayub (on him be peace) through his children. And verily he tested him through them and among these children there were some who got separated and others who abandoned him. Despite all these trials, Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) remained firm with Allah.
After this Satan asked the permission to try him through his own body, and therefore Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) was afflicted with a skin disease which invaded his entire body (with microbes). Upon seeing his condition, many people was disgusted and repelled by him and made plots to put him in exile. Despite all these persecutions, Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) remained firm and loyal to Allah. As for his wife, Satan deviated her like he once deviated Hawa. He made Shirk (association to God Almighty) to be attractive in the eyes of the wife of Ayub (on him be peace); and therefore she used to sacrifice animals in the name of Satan.
Thereafter his wife told him: “For how long will you continue to be steadfast with Allah? It would be preferable if you wish for your death.” Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) became red with anger and told her: “Even if I am restored to good health, you shall receive 100 flogs because of that Shirk.” His wife also left him and went away. But despite it all Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) remained firm in his faith. It was only after these trials that Allah removed all his afflictions from him and returned to him his family and bestowed upon him much more divine mercy.
There are some scholars who say that Satan penetrated the ranks of the angels to know exactly on the true status of Prophet Ayub (on him be peace), but many commentators do not agree upon this idea. They rather think that Satan intercepted the conversation between Allah and His Prophet. After they (the Satans) got to know how much esteem Allah had for Ayub (on him be peace), thereafter they hatched this plan to try Prophet Ayub (on him be peace).
Concerning the pleading of Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) to Allah in these terms: “Harm has afflicted me, and You are the most Merciful of the merciful”, why did it end by “most Merciful of the merciful”? Verily, despite the fact that the Quran does not mention the life of Prophet Ayub (on him be peace) in details, but with the little information it has given us, we can conclude that these anecdotes are somewhat true. He suffered to excess, thus his ultimate invocation to Allah: “O Allah, all people turn their backs to me; even my wife and children. Those in town do not want me (in their midst). Those who believed in me turned their backs to me, but despite the fact that all these trials befell me, I know that You are the most Merciful of the merciful, and thus You shall never leave me.”
In the aftermath of his invocation, Allah answered his prayer and said: “Therefore We responded to him and took off what harm he had, and We gave him his family and the like of them with them: a mercy from Us and a reminder to the worshipers.” (21:85)
This indeed is a great lesson for the worshipers of Allah that they must never despair, because along with patience and prayer, all problems will accordingly be resolved.
As for Prophet Yunus (on him be peace), he cried for Allah’s help in the profoundness of obscurity by saying: “There is no god but You, glory be to You; surely I am of those who make themselves to suffer loss.” (21:88)
Allah (heard his invocation and) said: “So We responded to him and delivered him from the grief and thus do We deliver the believers.” His appellation in the Bible is Jonah and there is even a chapter bearing his name. The Bible says that Allah told Prophet Yunus (on him be peace) to go and warn the people of Nineveh – “If they do not listen, I shall destroy them.” But instead of going to Nineveh, Yunus (on him be peace) went to Jaffa. It was there that he (was supposed to) embarked on a ship and thereafter the incident of the fish took place etc.
For me personally, I find this version strange because if anyone reads the Quran and understand the status of a prophet, he shall find out that it is impossible for a prophet to go westward when Allah told him to go eastward. It is completely against the qualities of a prophet to do the opposite of Allah’s command, to disobey Allah. Moreover, that was the time when the Assyrians dominated the Children of Israel and removed from them all their rights. Therefore, it is impossible that Allah asks someone from Palestine to “walk the distance” of more than 500 miles to reach Nineveh.
The Biblical version is not acceptable and it mentions also that Prophet Yunus (on him be peace) took a ship to Jaffa to reach another destination. At sea, there came a tempest, and when the ship was near to be engulfed by the storm, the people on the ship said that “Surely there must be someone who is a bad omen amongst you, and it is because of him that all this is happening.” On hearing that comment, Jonah (is believed to have) said that it was that person and he told them to push him overboard. They threw him overboard and a whale swallowed him and let him remain alive in his stomach for three days and three nights. Afterwards it rejected him and therefore he went to Nineveh to accomplish the command of Allah.
The Quran gives another version and does not mention neither Nineveh nor the three days and three nights. What the Quran mentions is that the fish swallowed him and it also mentions the invocation of Yunus (on him be peace) in these times of despair. The Quran also mentions that the fish rejected him, but it does not mention the three days and three nights. It is most probable that he remained in the stomach of the fish (whale) for only a little moment before it rejected him.
If we go by the Quran, the story unfolds like this: Prophet Yunus (on him be peace) went to Nineveh or any other place to preach the divine message and the people rejected him. Thereupon, Allah told him to warn them; “If they do not ask for forgiveness and do not repent, therefore, after some days I shall destroy them.”
After warning them, Prophet Yunus (on him be peace) emigrated to another place and the people came to where he was located and therefore he asked from them the news of the people he left behind. In fact, he did not realize that after he left them, these people decided to repent, and their repentance was of an extraordinary nature. They reunited in a plain and mothers stopped breastfeeding their babies and she-goats stopped milking their little ones. Everywhere there were cries (of despair), as if like an image of the Last Hour. In that situation they asked Allah to forgive them and Allah forgave them.
In the Quran, Allah mentions that if the peoples of the other prophets had done like the people of Prophet Yunus (on him be peace), therefore “I – Allah – would have forgiven them also.”
In Chapter 21, there is also the mention of the invocation of Prophet Zachariah (on him be peace). He supplicated his Lord saying: “O my Lord leave me not alone; and You are the best of inheritors.” In another verse of the Quran, he told Allah that he has reached old age and his wife was barren and he had no (direct) inheritor.
There are some people who think that Prophet Zachariah was asking Allah for a mundane successor, such a one who shall look after his wife etc, but this prayer comes to dissipate all doubt and shows that he in fact was more interested in obtaining such a one who shall be his biological progeny but to be also his spiritual inheritor.
This shows clearly that he was interested in fathering a child who shall perpetuate his good deeds (and mission). Afterwards Allah says: “So We responded to him and gave him Yahya and made his wife fit for him; surely they used to hasten, one with another In deeds of goodness and to call upon Us, hoping and fearing and they were humble before Us.”
Therein is the key to the secrets of acceptation of prayers. Firstly, they used to do good deeds, and secondly, they remembered Allah in each and every situation and they were humble. We should also copy their examples so that Allah enables us to become like these people and that He may enable us to pray Him in every situation (be it in ease or in difficult moments).
“O Allah, be it in times of blessings or difficulty, we are satisfied with only the things wherein there is Your satisfaction.” Ameen. |
