Text Box: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Friday Sermon HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD Munir Ahmad Azim 21 October 2011 ~ (23 Dhul-Qaddah 1432 Hijri) (Summary of Friday Sermon) After having greeted the members (and all Muslims round the world) with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and he said: Alhamdulillah, Almighty Allah gives me the Tawfiq to continue the Friday Sermon which I have started last Friday 14 October 2011. Let us see the psychological benefits of Salat (prayer). From the foregoing it is evident that the psychological benefits of prayer play the greatest role, a fact which is supported by the Hadith. A good doctor will utilise the three aspects of therapy to effect a cure. (1) Drugs, to actually combat the illness or relieve pain. (2) Food to strengthen the defences of the body and, (3) Fear, hope, joy or grief are emotions which the doctor should evoke by counselling the patient to conquer his illness. However, of these, the best is prayer. If a man is engaged in worship, he will feel apprehension, fear and hope, nervousness and love. And when he takes thought of the next life, he will strengthen the faculties, delight the heart and drive away disease by this very means. The latest trends in psychiatry, both in causation and therapy, postulate a biochemical basis for mental illness. Salat and indeed Zakat can produce mental changes and even psychotic behaviour has been determined most positively. The converse would also apply. The latest trends in psychiatry regarding the causation of depressions and even Neuroses as well as psychoses reveal that anti-Sunna behaviour is implicated. This anti-Sunna activity ranges from error in diet to faulty nutrition (Example, lack of Nicotinic Acid Vitamins etc. causes dementia) and to anti-social activity like isolation, lack of social companionship and lack of orientation. All these factors which represent in the various aspects of Salat, (whereby Salat in congregation leads to a fostering of brotherly feelings and companionship) can prevent mental illness. The other forms of mental illness, the neuroses, which stems from fear and insecurity can be alleviated and indeed prevented by the recitation of the various Surahs (chapters) of the Quran. In this respect, the Muwazathian, that is the Surah Al-Falaq and An-Nas have been recommended by the Hadith. Ibn Walid once complained of nightmares and was prescribed certain ayats (verses of the Quran). The Salat engenders a state of homeostasis in the body. During periods of worry, aggression and the activities of daily life, stress hormones are secreted by the body. These hormones, of which cortisone is the main type, cause a rise in blood pressure and increased secretion of insulin which mobilises sugar from the stores. All these reactions if not curbed, create programmed responses in the body which could lead to disease like hypertension, strokes and heart attacks. The interruption prescribed by the performance of the five prayers causes a break in these stress reactions, and enables the body to recover. Even problems can be solved during the Salat; that right guidance will enter when a person is engaged in Salat. In the mental sphere, Salat and a reliance on one’s Creator will prevent and cure most, if not all, of the neuroses, depressions and major psychoses. The foetal position of the Sajda, e.g. is used by some psychiatrists to instil security and freedom from fear. Starting from the Wudu, which requires the washing out of the mouth and nostrils, we can postulate a lowered incidence of diseases which are caused by oro-nasal pathogens like streptococcal throat infection, rheumatic fever, with its valvular complications with a lowered incidence of Endocarditis (SBE) Nephritis. Washing of the skin, the largest organ of the body, can also lead to a lessening of pathogens resident here. The brushing of teeth described by Ibn Abbas; something that no modern dentist could excel. The benefits of the prayer itself assist and hasten digestion and evacuation, a lowered incidence of constipation. A better digestion will lead to better utilisation of food. The physical acts exercise every joint and muscles in the body, and physiotherapy has proven that exercise is of benefit even to those suffering from arthritis, and muscular ache and pains. The Sajda prevents sinus headaches and even head-colds. The diseases due to circulation like vertigo and dizziness can be benefited and thinking can also derive assistance from one’s Creator. It has been shown that cardiac output increase, improves the heart. The anti-stress factor leads to homeostasis which can prevent hypertension and associated diseases like strokes and heart attacks. Besides the benefits in the hereafter, a Hadith Qudsi deserves mention in full because it has so many implications for the individual and society as well. Allah has said: “Whoever shows enmity to a friend (servant) of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religions duties. I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near me with Nawafil so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears: his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask something of Me, I would surely give it to him. And were he to ask refuge, I would surely grant it to him.” (Bukhari) What is implicit in this Hadith is that man can transcend the space time barrier and acquire the attributes of divinity, to control his entire environment. This means that he can, by following the Sunna, insures both physical and mental health not only for himself but will also effect changes in his environment. This is the meaning of the successes of all Muslims and the source of their dynamism. Prayer said with utmost humility and tenderness of heart becomes special prayers, just like a suckling who cannot speak can attain utmost kindness of the mother by weeping, in the same manner the duah with tears and utmost humility is the most effective way to communicate with God. There has been sent down an extremely effective, healing and beneficial medicine, from the heaven of mercy. It is easily available in one sense, but rare in another. It appears to be common, but is the most special. It is beyond our description and praise, because it is universal remedy for thousands of diseases. Such a miraculous medicine is Salat, and duah. Prayer is the yearning of the heart to be one with the Creator and an invocation for His blessings. The study and reflection on the Quranic prayers shows that the most common element is the use of words of praise, the praise of God is a prescription for man, which brings him nearer to God. Deeper understanding of the Quranic concept of man and God shows that there is one single straight line, which we may call aim. The line represents the line of life of any being, the upper end is God and the lower end is man. Though the line is one, yet it is unlimited at the upper end, and limited at the other. The innermost yearning of life is to see the end brought together. When man invokes the name of God, man forgets his limitation and sublimates his self with the thought of the unlimited. In the Quran Almighty Allah announces: “When My servant questions you, concerning Me, then surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when He calls Me.” (2:187). According to the Holy Quran, the purpose of the creation of jinn and mankind is the worship of God, and according to an authentic Hadith, the essence of worship is prayer. Prayer is understood as human communication with God. Prayer is a practical worship, in which, the believer presents his needs in the presence of God, the Blessed and Exalted, with utmost humility to attain Allah’s mercies and blessings. While the Lord of the world is All-sufficient, man is extremely needy. The fruit of “Iyyaka Nabudu” (1: 5) – You (alone) we worship – is attained in “Iyyaka Nasta’iin” (1: 5) – You (alone) we ask for help. This is an example through which we can be sure that a special reward of worship is received in the form of acceptance of prayer and divine help. Here a question may be asked: How many times should the name of God be recited? The answer to this question is given in the Holy Quran: “those who remember God standing and sitting and lying on their side” (3: 192) it means that the prayer and remembrance of Allah should be at all times, so the heart of the true believer be illuminated with that light of heart, through which he can realise the purpose of creation and at last his faith becomes pure and complete and with that complete faith, he says God is truth. Another advice of the Quran is that prayer and remembrance of God should be done with the tongue of soul, with humility and fear, in a low voice (7: 206), only that can it enter the heart and become effective. There are many signs of the efficacy of this luminous medicine. The best signs are the shedding of tears with sincerity and prostration are most liked by God. I hope that you have well understood this sermon. Along with the previous one, it gives us an idea how important prayer is in our life, as a cure for our soul, mind and body. May Allah give us the best of Salat. Insha-Allah, Ameen.