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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD
Munir Ahmad Azim
(08 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:
اللّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاء وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
‘Allaahu laa ‘ilaaha ‘illaa Huu. ‘Al-Hayyul-Qayyuum. Laa ta’-khuzuhuu sinatuww-wa laa nawm. Lahuu maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil-‘arz. Man-zallazii yashfa-‘u ‘indahuuu ‘illaa bi-‘iznih ? Ya’-lamu maa bayna ‘aydiihim wa maa khalfahum. Wa laa yu-hiituuna bi-shay-‘im-min ‘ilmihiii ‘illaa bimaa shaaa’. Wa-si-‘a Kursiyyu-hus-Samaawaa-ti wal ‘arz ; wa laa ya-‘uudu-huu hifzuhumaa wa Huwal ‘Aliyyul-‘Aziim.
“Allah is He besides Whom there is no god, the Ever-living, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist; slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep; whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases, His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great.” (2 : 256)
… and then he said:
Ayat-ul-Qursi, is among the greatest verses which Allah has revealed to His prophet (peace be upon him), and it is found in the second chapter of the Holy Quran (Surah Al-Baqara), Verse 256. This verse has been revealed during the night and the Messenger of Allah gave instructions to Zayd bin Thabit to write it down.
In a Hadith, Hadhrat Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked one of his companions: “Oh, so and so are you married?" He replied: "No, I do not have enough wealth that I may marry.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Do you know Surah Qul Huwallaahu Ahad (Al-Ikhlaas)?" The Sahabi replied, “Yes”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “It is equal to a quarter of the Quran.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked: “Do you not know ‘Qul Yaa Ayyuhal Kaafiroon’ (Surah Al-Kaafiroon)?" The Sahabi replied, “Yes”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “It is equal to a quarter of the Quran.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked, “Do you not know Surah “Iza Zul Zilzilaat” (Al-Zilzaal)?” The Sahabi replied, “Yes”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “It is a quarter of the Quran”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked: “Do you not know Surah ‘Iza Jaa a Nasrullaahi Wal Fath’ (An-Nasr)” The Sahabi replied, “Yes”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “It is a quarter of the Quran.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked: “Do you know the Ayat-ul-Qursi (The Verse of the Throne)?” The Sahabi replied “Yes”. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,” It is equal to a quarter of the Quran. Get married, get married, get married.” (Ahmad)
In another Hadith narrated by Hassan bin Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said: “One who recites Ayat-ul-Qursi after each obligatory prayer, shall remain under the protection of Allah till the next (obligatory) prayer.”
Hadhrat Ibn Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): “The one who recites Ayat-ul-Qursi after every Obligatory prayer, Allah (Glory be to Him) will grant him a gratifying heart, actions of the truthful and reward like the prophets. Special mercies will descend upon him, and death is the only barrier from his entrance into Jannat. On dying he will enter Jannat”.
Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said that there is nothing neither in the heavens and earth nor plain nor mountain which is greater than the Ayat-ul-Qursi and Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) also narrated that a person said to Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), teach me something through which Allah will give me benefit.” He said: “Continue reciting Ayat-ul-Qursi. This will be a means of protection for you, your children and even those houses which are near your house.”
And in another Hadith, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said that: “One who recites Ayat-ul-Qursi and the ending of Surah Al-Baqarah (its 2 last verses) when he is touched with a misfortune Allah shall come to his help.” There are other Hadiths also which extol the importance of Ayat-ul-Qursi.
Now, I shall give you some explanations on its verses:
“Allah is He besides Whom there is no god”
Allah, is a name which belongs only to Allah, the Unique Lord, without any partners, and in Whose hand is our life and death and He alone is Our Creator and the Creator of the heavens and earth and all of creation like we know it and also that which we have no knowledge thereof, which is hidden in His secret. Thus, there is nobody else is to use this name. Even in the days of ignorance, the Arabs used to call the Almighty God by that name (Allah). Like I said, Allah is the Creator, the One who created everything. We all depend on Him without Him (Allah) being dependent upon anyone. Allah is Unique – there is no associate along with Him. Nobody resembles Him, neither in His quality nor in His deed. Allah created man and He sent messengers and books to guide people in the right path and towards success.
There is no God but Allah – This is the formula of the Tauhid (unity of Allah), and all prophets used to call people towards that same belief, that Allah is unique, one, without associates. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
And your God is one God! There is no god but He; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful. (2:164)
Allah has no partners. All acts of worship which we do, we do it only to please Allah. Allah is One, Unique and He alone deserves all our adoration. Besides Allah, nobody else deserves adoration, like the trees, stars, sun, moon, king or anybody or anything else. Allah says in the Quran:
“Surely whoever associates (others) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden to him the garden, and his abode is the fire.” (5:73)
Therefore, one who associates anything to Allah, he commits Shirk and his place is the hellfire, because only deserves that we worship Him. Shirk is the greatest of sins in the eyes of Allah. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
“Verily, to associate others with Allah is a tremendous wrong.” (31:14)
“the Ever-living, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist”
Allah is the Ever-Living, Who shall never die. Allah shall exist for all times and (therefore) is Eternal. He is Self-Subsisting and He is the One to help and give His creatures all their needs, without being Himself in need of any subsistence or help. He is the one who organise everything for His creatures. He has all knowledge on everything and nothing can be hidden from Him. Allah says:
“Is He then Who watches every soul as to what it earns?” (13:34)
“And rely on the Ever-living Who never dies” (25:59)
“slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep”
Slumber or sleep does not overtake Allah. It is when someone is tired that he feels slumber overtakes him. But tiredness does not overtake Allah, and thus He is no victim to slumber and He does not do anything like His creatures. There is no one equal to Him, even in deed. Thus slumber or sleep does not touch Allah in the least. Allah is Perfect. He created sleep for His creatures so that they may rest. Allah says: “And We made your sleep to be rest (to you)” (78:10)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said: “Verily, Allah does not sleep and it does not befit Him to sleep.” (Muslim)
“whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His”
Allah is the Master (Lord) of all existed things, be it in the heavens and earth. He has the entire control over all things He created in the seven heavens and earth. Allah created all these (found in the heavens and earth) to worship Him alone. Even our soul, found in our body belongs to Allah. Actually nothing belongs to us in this world. It is man who declares with arrogance that such and such thing belongs to him, saying: “I have lots of properties, wealth, and lots of children etc.”
When death comes, what do you see? All things possessed must be left on earth itself, because all these belonged not for you. They were things which Allah gave under your care for some time. Upon your death, even the clothes which is on you must be left behind and a white cloth is wrapped around you before burying you 6 feet in the soil.
“who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission?”
In this sentence, Allah is challenging anyone to come forward to show his power and authority, by saying who can come forward to intercede with Him on the Day of Judgement? Thereafter He says: “but by His permission”. When Allah says this, He means to say that He shall give permission to intercede on the Day of Judgement, otherwise He would not have said “but by His permission”. Allah says in the Holy Quran:
“and they do not intercede except for him whom He approves” (21:29)
On the Day of Judgement, nobody shall have such a station except the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His station (and status) shall be loftier that all other creatures for he is the best of all the creations of Allah. His intercession shall come before all prophets. Allah has the complete power (and authority) to choose the one He likes (loves) to accept his intercession, and this has been confirmed by several Hadiths, that it is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who shall intercede before them all, even before all prophets and his intercession shall be accepted.
Narrated Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him):
“Some (cooked) meat was brought to God Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it. He ate a morsel of it and said, "I will be the chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? God will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand. Then the people will say, 'Don't you see to what state you have reached? Won't you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord?’ Some people will say to some others, 'Go to Adam.' So they will go to Adam and say to him. 'You are the father of mankind; God created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are? Don't you see what condition we have reached?' Adam will say, 'Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him. Myself! Myself! Myself! (has more need for intercession). Go to someone else; go to Noah.' So they will go to Noah and say (to him), 'O Noah! You are the first (of God's Messengers) to the people of the earth, and God has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say.' Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.' They will go to Abraham and say, 'O Abraham! You are God's Apostle and His Khalil (Friend) from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' He will say to them, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.' The people will then go to Moses and say, 'O Moses! You art God's Apostle and God gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' Moses will say, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus.' So they will go to Jesus and say, 'O Jesus! You are God's Apostle and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' Jesus will say. 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.' So they will come to me and say, 'O Muhammad! You are God's Apostle and the last of the prophets, and God forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?" The Prophet added, "Then I will go beneath God's Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then God will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me. Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede It (your intercession) will be accepted.' So I will raise my head and Say, ‘My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord!’ – It will be said, 'O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people." The Prophet further said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham).” (Bukhari)
In another Hadith Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) has narrated: I heard the Prophet saying, “On the Day of Resurrection I will intercede and say, “O my Lord! Admit into Paradise (even) those who have faith equal to a mustard seed in their hearts." Such people will enter Paradise, and then I will say, ‘O Lord! Admit into Paradise (even) those who have the least amount of faith in their hearts.” Anas then said: As if I were just now looking at the fingers of Allah’s Apostle. (Bukhari)
“He knows what is before them and what is behind them”
That which is before them is this temporal world and that which is behind them is the Hereafter. Allah has knowledge of all things, be it: the past, present and future (in the Hereafter).
“and they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases”
The creatures of Allah cannot get any knowledge except that which Allah gives (and allows), that which He wants His creatures to know, He makes them obtain the necessary knowledge. Allah has allowed us to know the past and the future through His prophet (peace be upon him) and He made us aware of all these in the measure He wants (decides). Allah informed us about the Sidratul Muntaha, His Throne, the angels and the things of the Unseen. Allah informs us that which He wants and conceals that which He wants (or does not reveal complete information about it).
“His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth”
The heavens and earth is contained in the Throne of Allah. Al-Qursi refers to either the Knowledge of Allah or His power or His Throne. Allah existed even when there was no space. Therefore He created Al-Arsh and Al-Qursi and He needs nothing as space (of His own). And afterwards He created space. He exists (without having any specific place) like He used to exist before creation. Allah is of neither need of space nor Arsh or Qursi as space.
“and the preservation of them both tires Him not”
It is not a burden on Allah to preserve the earth and the heavens. Allah is the Creator and He does not tire to control all His creatures. He is the Overpowering Lord.
“and He is the Most High, the Great.”
Allah is Most High means that Allah has a rank and station which is exceedingly lofty to show His superiority over all things and Allah is the Great. “Al-Aliyyu” means elevated in greatness and rank. When this attributes is used for Allah, it does not mean that Allah is found up in the heavens, because Allah is exempted from all localisation. Thus, Allah is of no need of a specific place or direction. What we learn is that Allah is not found in the same place as that of His creatures. Allah is lofty by His attribute. Allah says:
“and Allah’s is the loftiest attribute” (16:61)
No space contains Allah and time does not affect Him. Allah along with His attributes, exists for all times and shall be ever existent. He has neither beginning nor end.
Besides Allah, everything has a beginning and an end, a quantity, a limit, a weight, a measure, a dimension, a direction, a thickness, a width and height etc.
Allah is absolutely perfect, unlike these things. Allah remains the same, like He was even before creation. He is unchangeable and without any evolution and He shall stay as He is for always. Allah has no specific place also, but yet, it is not permitted also to say that Allah is everywhere. Yes, we invoke Him in any place we may find ourselves and He listens to us and is aware of our call to Him.
In conclusion, I have tried by the grace of Allah to explain on the importance and value of Ayat-ul-Qursi according to the Quran and Hadiths, and these explanations are not found in my Al-Azim Tafsir-ul-Quran and the Ayat-ul-Qursi is among the best verses of the Holy Quran wherein Allah expounds on His greatness, authority and His other attributes. It is verily a verse of many virtues for those who understand and recite it. Insha-Allah, may each one of you recite the Ayat-ul-Qursi often, in your daily life. Ameen.
Announcement: 1. There has been a surprising explosion from the sun this week (Tuesday 07 June). According to the scientists, the explosion emitted such radiation never witnessed before, even more than the one witnessed in 2006. Thus this can have a devastating effect on the earth, in form of calamities (destruction).
2. In addition to the massive earthquake which seized it on 12 January 2010 causing thousands of deaths and without shelter, and the Cholera outbreaks which took some 800 lives and caused more than 10,000 to be hospitalised, Haiti is once again the target of floods since Monday (06 June 2011). This caused more than 20 deaths and thousands of people had to be evacuated.
3. Floods also touched the Dominican Republic; moreover, this past week, there have been many earthquakes in different countries. Even they were of lower magnitude (3-4), but nevertheless they have happened, but is man taking note of all these calamities. Won’t his conscience awaken and when shall the time come when he shall realise that there is one sole God and that his salvation and survival is found in His hand only? May Allah help humanity be conscious of their duty to Him (Allah), and that they turn to Him alone in worship and reform their conduct in such a way that Allah is satisfied with them and vice-versa. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
Moreover, the Khalifatullah (atba) prayed fervently for the Kerala Jamaat who shall tomorrow Insha-Allah hold their first public meeting (the success of the meeting and the heeding of the message by the ones who shall be present there). |
