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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HADHRAT AMIR’UL MUMINEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN
Munir Ahmad Azim
(11 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)
Before coming on the subject-matter of last week’s sermon, I would like to talk yet again on the Sacred Islamic Month of Muharram. Allah mentions in the Holy Quran that there are four months which are sacred, and Hadiths have given a clear picture as to the mentioned months, namely: Muharram, Rajab, Zil-Qa’da and Zil-Hajj. It is also agreed that apart from these great sacred months, there is the holy month of Ramadan which sacredness is detailed in the Holy Quran.
Thus, Muharram marks the debut of the Islamic year, a month filled with blessings wherein is the Day of Ashura, a day which is remembered among others as the victory of Hazrat Musa (as) over his enemies; thus a day of victory for the true servants of Allah. The Jews at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not miss to fast on that day, and when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) enquired about the import of that day, the Jews told him about the significance of that day, and thus our beloved prophet (pbuh) told his companions that they had more right on Moses than the Jews and thus the Muslims also started to observe the fast on that day. (Bukhari & Muslim)
Later on, when Allah ordained fasting in the month of Ramadan, then the fast of Ashura became optional: those who wanted to fast could fast, but it was not obligatory upon them.
The day of Ashura (i.e. the tenth of Muharram) is also the sad reminder of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandchild of Nabi Kareem (pbuh) and son of Hazrat Ali and Fatima (ra). Yet, in the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (ra), we see the resolution of the true believers to never bow to dictators and evil-minded people who are ever inclined to harm Islam and all that it stands for. Imam Hussein was one of the two flowers of Nabi Kareem (pbuh) on earth, the other one being his elder brother Imam Hassan (ra). (Tirmidhi & Mishkat).
Filled with the near same nature of their beloved maternal grandfather (pbuh), both Imam Hassan and Hussein have defended Islam with their lives. They sacrificed their whole beings, their family members and companions and their possessions so that evils in all forms can be eradicated from the surface of the earth.
The lesson they gave is food for thought for the Muslims today. There are around the world many who proclaim their love for the two leaders of the youths of Paradise, the two loving remembrances of Nabi (pbuh). If they truly have love for Nabi Kareem (pbuh) and his two excellent grandsons, then they would have to submit to the commandments of Islam like the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his family members and their true companions did. These people did not only say that they are Muslims, but they proved it through their deeds, through the great sacrifices they did for Islam and at the end of the day, it is them truly the victorious for they have earned the eternal love of Allah for the bold/courageous way they defended Islam with their life. Islam was under their guardianship and like true guardians they fought to guard the sanctity of Islam till their last breath.
Saying that we believe in Allah and His elects and acting on our belief are two different things. Thus, we must pray to Allah a lot, with confidence that our prayer shall be heard. The times that we are all living is the times of the great divine blessing whereby in your lifetime Allah has sent a little representation of all His prophets to you in the form of this humble self the Khalifatullah of the age. Allah has chosen you all in this era and time period to witness the descent of His chosen messenger so that you act upon the directives which he gets from Allah (twa). Should you follow Allah and His Khalifatullah, you shall felicity in this world and the hereafter. The time of sacrifice has come for those who say that they are true lovers of God, and of His chosen and blessed people, like Nabi Kareem Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and his blessed family members and his blessed companions, and those who have love for all the prophets of Allah and their true believers since the dawn of time.
Have you ever wished that you turned back the hands of time and had lived in the times of these great prophets and elects of Allah to have fought along with them against the enemies of Allah, and given your all for the sake of Allah? Allah has given you this opportunity in this age to act upon the same love which you professed. Would you have the courage to come forward and brandish the sword of your faith as a testament of your true will to mete out justice and spread the unicity of Allah in the four corners of the world? Are you ready to become a little Imam Hussein who on the tenth of Muharram gave all, even his life for the sake of Allah and to safeguard the trust which his grandfather (pbuh) confided him ever since his birth on this temporal world?
Oh lovers of Hassen and Hussein, the opportunity has been given to you today to prove that love, not through any kind of self-inflicted pain (gunn) but the appeal here is to combat your own ego, establishing yourselves solidly on the unicity of Allah, confiding your sorrows in Him only, not through third parties like the saints and the man-made tombs (darga) which are established to seek the help of those “saints”. Allah demands from you true love and faith. You say that you have true love and faith, then won’t you come forward in this battle of life to re-establish the glory of Islam like Nabi Kareem (pbuh) and his grandsons have taught and shown with their life and honour?
Thus, this month my dear brothers and sisters, we should reflect deeply on the aim of our life and how we can be true Muslims and get access to Allah and the way to accede to Allah is through prayers.
Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah, Allah gives me the Tawfiq once again to continue on the same subject which I have started last Friday 08 November 2013. I mentioned in my last Friday Sermon that the one to have full faith that he will never be disappointed after praying to God Almighty and that Allah shall never turn him away empty-handed, then this person will not fail in his request to Allah. If someone prays but deep down his heart he believes that his prayer will never be granted then in fact his prayer will not be granted.
Therefore, everyone must pray with firm belief that God will surely listen to his supplication and grant them also. The next thing I want to mention is that if you love someone’s dear one, he will love you too. For instance, if someone saves a child from serious injury, the child’s parents will surely be grateful to him. They will never say that he saved the child and not the parents, therefore, why should they be grateful to him? Thus, love demands that if some benefactor renders help to one’s beloved or says a good word about him, he will have sentiments of love for him also.
One can employ the same method in his prayers too. Allah loves human beings far more than they have love for each other. Why? It is because love is based on mutual relations. Humans’ love is transitory from the point of view of beginning as well as the end. Even if their love is intense, it cannot be compared with the love of God Almighty. Allah’s love is everlasting and forever. It is related that once the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was on a battlefield with the unbelievers. The enemy had been routed and the Sahaba were rounding up the prisoners of war and gathering the spoils of the battle when he (pbuh) saw a woman frantically running and searching for her child. Whenever she saw a child, she got hold of him, hugged him, kissed him, and left him and moved ahead.
After a great search she found her child. She got hold of him and pressed him to her bosom and sat with him in a corner. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was looking the whole scene and said to his companions, “Did you see how this woman was agitated and upset for the love of her lost child. You should know that Allah loves His devotees far more than this woman”. (Bukhari)
So, Allah’s love is much more than the love of human beings. If someone loves another person, it generates love in the heart of that person’s lover also. Thus this is also one of the methods of granting of supplications that whenever you are facing a grim situation and want to pray for it, then remove someone’s trouble or misfortune.
Even if you think that you cannot remove his difficulty, at least try for it. When someone tries to help others in distress, Allah helps him and removes his misfortune due to his helping others. It was all because he had helped someone in his predicament, which is very effective method of getting the prayers granted. Try to search someone in distress who no matters, is in physical, financial, or of his honour or of any other kind, you must try to help him. It is not your responsibility that the calamity must be removed but you should do your best in rendering your help. With this method, your prayers will be granted to a large extent. The more you pay attention to removing somebody’s grief, more will Allah be eager to remove your distress. Can you think that God’s paying attention will remain without consequences?
No, it will never be. It is just possible that you are not successful in removing the pain of the person whom you are helping; it is not any man’s power to succeed in whatever he wants to do. But it is in God’s power that whatever He wants to do does come to pass. Therefore, never think that your efforts in removing others distress remain fruitless and due to this, Allah will not grant your prayers also.
Whenever God intends to do something, it surely comes to pass. He is the creator and He is the master. He can take work from anyone He pleases. Therefore, you act accordingly. Another thing I want to tell you, those who have not reached the heights whom Allah instructs or prohibits about certain prayers they should invoke Darood abundantly on the Holy Prophet (pbuh) before commencing their prayer.
One of the ways of giving an award is to give through His loved one. Allah has also used this method to make the holy prophet deserving of all the prizes and granting him the loftiest status so that those who will supplicate Allah after invoking Darood, their prayers will be granted more than others. Who is there among mankind, who does not need the mercy of God? Everyone needs it. Everyone will pray to God to remove his misfortune. If he is not in habit to invoke Darood, but to get his prayer granted, he will invoke Darood, which will be the cause of raising the status of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and due to this he will also get the prize (of getting his prayers granted).
Therefore, one of the things Allah has mentioned for granting of prayers is to pray after invoking Darood on the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and this is not something unjust also. This is like saying that he who treats well of one’s beloved, become the beloved of the lover. Insha-Allah, Ameen. |
