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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HADHRAT AMIR’UL MUMINEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN
Munir Ahmad Azim
(04 Muharram 1435 Hijri)
(Summary of Friday Sermon)
After having greeted all his followers (and all Muslims) round the world – mentioning the nearby islands, India, Kerala, Trinidad and Tobago etc. – with the Salutations of Peace, Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din (atba) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then said:
وَ اِذَا سَاَلَکَ عِبَادِیۡ عَنِّیۡ فَاِنِّیۡ قَرِیۡبٌ ؕ اُجِیۡبُ دَعۡوَۃَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ ۙ فَلۡیَسۡتَجِیۡبُوۡا لِیۡ وَ لۡیُؤۡمِنُوۡا بِیۡ لَعَلَّہُمۡ یَرۡشُدُوۡنَ
Wa ‘izaa sa-’alaka ‘ibaadii ‘ annii fa-’innii Qariib: ‘ujibu da’-watad-daa-‘i ‘izaa da ‘aani fal-yastajiibuu lii wal-yu’ minuu bii la-‘allahum yarshuduun.
“And when My servants ask thee about Me say: I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when He prays to Me. So they should hearken to Me. And believe in Me, that they may follow the right way.” (2: 187)
Today Friday is the 4th Muharram 1435 Hijri – the first Friday Sermon of the Islamic Calendar. It is unfortunate that the Muslims have forgotten their teachings and the important month of their calendar year. Just think how many Muslims have welcomed the sacred month, and new Islamic year, Muharram! Monday the 4th November 2013, the moon was visible and Allah graced us by His immense favour and made us witness the new Islamic year. But unfortunately, and I am sure of it, many Muslims did not take this into consideration, but on the other hand, in more than a month and a half, the New year 2014 shall come. Then just see how many of our Muslim brothers and sisters shall involve themselves to welcome the new year 2014 with festivities, and spending new year’s eve in lighting up firecrackers till midnight.
On the other hand, Allah (swt) has given us an Islamic new year where each of us (Muslims) can make a self-analysis from Muharram last till this Muharram to see which progress has been made in our everyday mundane and spiritual. Is it that when we saw these weaknesses in spirituality, be it for our obligatory prayers, Zikr, the reading of the Holy Quran and the other acts of worship, have we done those well? Have we read the Holy Quran with translation and commentary, and have all these practices had a spiritual effect on us during this past Islamic year or not? If not, do we think that with the start of Muharram 1435 Hijri can we take a resolution to ameliorate our lives, especially our spiritual lives?
The 1st Muharram has not asked of us to light up firecrackers, boxes after boxes or to stay awake on the eve of New Year with family till the next day. On the contrary, we wish our brothers, sisters and children a Naya Saal Mubarak (Muharram Mubarak) and give them the best wishes in form of duas and our new year eve is different from the new year eve of the other cultures and religions whereby we spend our night in prayer, Namaz Tahajjud with family and we make lots of duas, as for the lighting of firecrackers which the others do on 31st December at midnight, as for us, for Muharram, we read our Holy Quran with translation and pray a lot that: Allah (swt) during this new Islamic year 1435 Hijri removes the Ummah of Nabi (pbuh) from all darkness and open the heart of each of us so that His light may penetrate us and bring in its wake love, brotherhood and sincerity among us brothers of the same faith. Ameen.
Therefore, it is unfortunate to see that many Muslims prepare themselves months ahead (in November itself) to welcome the 1st and 2nd January and even till the 8th in parties, festivities, time in hotels with family, wasting money in firecrackers and spending the night in the preparation of barbecue. In doing so, they completely forget to pray Tahajjud and to make duas, zikr and to read the Holy Quran. The Muslims have forgotten their teachings and are putting in practice the teachings/innovations of other cultures and religions. Look how the true teachings of Islam have been trampled. Will Allah (swt) leave His religion which He has perfected, like this? As the Khalifatullah of this age, the greatest gift that I can give you my dear brothers, sisters and children today 4th of Muharram is that I wish you a Naya Saal Mubarak and that I pray for you and for you today in my sermon is an advice, which if not concluded today, I will Insha-Allah continue on the subject next week 15 November 2013.
Therefore, at the start of my sermon I read a verse of the Holy Quran found in Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 187 where Allah says:
“And when My servants ask thee about Me say: I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when He prays to Me. So they should hearken to Me. And believe in Me, that they may follow the right way.” (2: 187)
There are some things, which outwardly look, trivial and quite ordinary. Those who are to remain deprived of their benefits, pass by them like the blind considering them vain and futile while acting on them produces excellent results. Just see that all educated people write letters but everyone does not have attractive and delightful handwriting. All have similar paper, pen and ink. Apart from this, everyone has human hands with five fingers on each of them made of flesh and bones like those of a calligraphist. When the calligraphist writes, it delights the onlookers whereas the others’ handwriting produces no spectacular effect. There is vast difference between the handwriting of both of them. My experience is that a good handwriting has effect. My own handwriting is not so good, but from my mail, I like to read letters of good handwriting before others and it is because I may read them easily. But have you ever thought that from where this beauty in handwriting comes from?
If you think that it is done with the hand, then everyone has two hands. If you say that it is due to the pen, then everyone has similar pen. And so is with the ink and paper. All have these things. So what makes handwriting so beautiful?
There is nothing novel in them; it is mere twist of hand, which makes the handwriting so beautiful. The same is true of all the professions. Look at the carpenters. Every carpenter is a human being and has the same kind of saw. But the things made by one are so beautiful that you cannot lift your eyes from them. But the other makes the object so ugly that you do not want even to look at it. You may say that the wood has been ruined. Only that small twist of hand produced such vast difference. One will be surprised that such “masterpiece” was made with such a small thing.
Similar is the case with the cooks. One cooks so delicious food that even if you are not hungry, you would like to eat such nice food. But the other one cooks such unsavoury dish that even if you are hungry, you will loathe eating it. If you ask the cook how he cooked such a nice dish, it will not be that he will write two or three pages giving the details of its recipe. He will merely say that he cooked it like other cooks and does not know any novel way of cooking.
Same is true with architects and teachers. There may be a teacher who does not explain well and students do not follow him. But there is another, who teaches in a way that every student can understand him fully. He knows some small method with which he could explain so clearly. If he explained his method of teaching, people will think it something ordinary. Such is the case with many other things considered quite ordinary. But these petty things bring about big result. Why did I go so long in giving this detail as a prelude?
It is because what I want to relate today, may look trivial to you. It may be as insignificant as I have mentioned that it is a mere twist of hand of a calligraphist or makers of good products or excellent cooks. Commonly, it is believed that people, whose prayers are granted, know some special procedure. But others also know that formula but they don’t use it and their supplications are cast aside. Those who act upon them, their prayers are granted. Therefore, you should not take them trivial although they may look small. But their results are phenomenal. When you will listen to what I want to tell you today, you will think that they are something common and you already know them. But knowing and acting are two different things.
Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis say that in this era my claim to be Muhyiuddin, Khalifatullah does not make any sense, and that the world has experienced nothing but ruin and destruction. They say that my mere coming will not save them from ruin and destruction but the fact is: it is important to have belief in me, which will save you, them from ruin and devastation. There is ruin and destruction for a reason, and there is decrease or freeze in ruin and destruction for a reason. The Quran is clear about this. When you belief, you shall have your path facilitated and your salvation guarantee for as long as you maintain your faith in: Allah, His angels, His prophets, His books, Divine Decree, the Day of Judgement and the existence of Paradise and Hell. It is clear that the level of faith of a person is measured by none but Allah, and thus, the sending of His prophets or envoys, reinforced by the Holy Spirit and the other angels are essential to guard mankind against the ruin of their own souls if they continue in scoffing the ways of Allah and adopting the path of the malicious one, that is, Satan.
It is easy for one to say: “I believe in Allah and His Messenger”, but indeed very difficult to adapt to this saying and implement it. The excellence of Abdullah, known as Abu Bakr (ra) was that when he said something for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, he complied to it till his last breath, and his trust in Allah and His prophet was such that at the time of sacrifice, he gave all to Allah and His Messenger, and when he was questioned as to what he left for his family, what a wonderful answer he gave. He left for them none other than Allah and His Messenger! His trust in Allah was that he knew that when he will give all for Allah and His Messenger, then Allah would definitely uphold him and his family under His care. Indeed Allah accomplished his deepest wishes. His sincerity led his way to such a path that no other believer in the times of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has achieved to. His unique way of belief has set an example for others to follow. Then won’t you follow his righteous example my dear ones?
Therefore, now tell me how many of you have really believed in me. When you do not believe, then how can you remain immune from ruination?
Thus, to know something or pay mere lip service to something is vain unless it is converted into deeds. Today I want to make it clear to you about two things for getting the supplications granted. One of them is that one should develop piety in his actions and obey every commandment of Allah. Why?
It is because when one is pleased with someone, he gives the latter some reward also. The same is true with God as well. He also rewards whomsoever He is pleased with. Hearing this, some people may say that this is something very big and that they already know about it. But the question here is how to come close to God and open the path of the acceptation of prayers. We verily need prayers to mend our deeds. Prayers will be granted only when our actions will be good, devoid of any ostentation and done only for the sake of Allah, and they cannot be all these until and unless God helps us. This can be illustrated in a father-son relationship, where the infant son or daughter cannot do anything right, but just then the father comes behind his child and help him in his difficult task, and afterwards congratulates him and reward him with an emotional affectionate reward like a sweet kiss, or a material reward like a sweet, a lollypop or a toy. The infant child indeed, helpless as he is could not have done a great task, yet his father came and upheld his hand and enabled him to do it. The child may or may not have asked for his father’s help, but either way the father comes to the rescue. His deep love for that child is clearly evident from the help that he extends.
The father did all, yet he congratulates the child for this shall encourage him to make efforts to do good in life. Likewise, we are helpless without our Maker’s helping hand to guide us throughout this journey called life. In his capacity of “Rahman” (the Most Gracious), Allah gives us all that we need even without the need for us to ask Him. He gave us life and He made such a plan that our journey in life is comfortable and we are provided with the basic necessities. And in His capacity of “Rahim”, He loves when we supplicate Him for anything that we need.
Therefore, we should be told something by doing which, prayers of sinners like us may also be granted. We need them more than others do so that our deeds may also improve with prayers and we may be granted full faith.
I end here for now. Insha-Allah I shall continue on the same subject next Friday by the grace of Allah (swt). |
