بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HADHRAT AMIR’UL MUMINEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN
Munir Ahmad Azim
20 December 2013 ~
(16 Safar 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:
Indeed, the evolution of man starts with animality and progresses towards humanity. This principle applies both to the individual and to society. Man, at the beginning of his existence, is a material body, and with the evolutionary movement specific to his essence, he transforms into spirit or spiritual essence. “The human spirit” appears in his material body and becomes independent by evolving and becoming perfect. The animality of man is like a nest, a cradle in which his humanity develops and perfects.
We must also add to the positive evolution of human culture, which becomes possible a priori development of production tools and mastery that man acquired himself, and thus this makes him advance in the waiting for spiritual freedom where it finally leads the way to his ideology and commitment to his beliefs. According to this view therefore, man is an achievement in himself, independent and constantly evolving, he is no longer dominated by material changes, but he helps and influences the flow of material and production, as he determines the course of his destiny.
After having addressed the problem of humanism and the plan wherein man plays ; and after justifying the ambivalence of the cultural human animal and finally giving him his deserving value, we will return more deeply this time on the basis of humanity itself, so we return on the topic of science which I mentioned earlier in my Friday Sermon, 06 December 2013.
Unfortunately, in the world of Christianity, because of some alteration or falsification of certain passages of the Old Testament (the Bible), an opinion was lodged in the minds, which affects both science as well as faith. This is about the contradiction or incompatibility between science and faith. The origin of this opinion is found in the second chapter of Genesis, verses 16 and 17 concerning the prohibition Adam to eat the forbidden fruit:
“God gave this commandment, saying: “Eat all the fruit of the trees of paradise, but do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you shall very certainly die.”
It is also stated in the third chapter, verses 1-8:
“Now the serpent was more intelligent than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be deified, distinguishing good from evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
From these passages of the Bible, man does not distinguish good from evil, the forbidden fruit being the fruit of knowledge. So man by disobeying God’s command comes to acquire knowledge and that is why he is expelled from the paradise of God.
So according to this view, the temptation of reason and knowledge would be diabolical. As for us Muslims, the Quran gives us a different version of the event. God first taught Adam all the truths, then He asked the angels to prostrate before Adam (showing respect and paying obeisance), His creature. As Satan refused to do so he was driven out from the divine world.
It is said that God said (in chapter Genesis of the Bible): “Here is Adam who has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
According to the Bible and its conception of man, of God, of knowledge and of the revolt, the commandment of God (religion) prevents man to distinguish right from wrong and to learn. The forbidden fruit is the fruit of knowledge. Thus man, by revolting against the order of God and by being disobedient, (turning away from religious codes and the teachings of the prophets), can achieve awareness, knowledge, but it is for this reason that he is expelled from the paradise of God.
According to this biblical view all temptations are attempts to come to be knowledgeable (acquire knowledge) and the tempter, the devil, or Satan, is no other than reason.
But indeed the forbidden fruit is greed or lust, that is to say, it refers to the animality of man, not his humanity, and Satan, the devil and tempter conspire to create these vile desires of man and these are not as was described in the Bible, knowledge, reason and wisdom.
Let us now approach with more depth the analysis of science and faith and their place in humanity, and especially that of man in front of them. Would man still be condemned to live unhappy if he does not have both, i.e. being unhappy in ignorance or unhappy in unbelief?
However we will see later that belief is based on a particular view of life and the universe without that coordinating with the principles of scientific logic itself; the existence of a system of thinking about the universe would be supported by science or philosophy and logic would also serve to build faith, ensure the happiness and blessedness of man. And if we can demonstrate that this system of thought can exist, we can then demonstrate that man is not undoubtedly predestined to misfortune; quite the contrary ... If we consider the relationship between science and faith we observe two points.
1. Are there conceptions engendered by faith which can be approved by logic? Or even, the thoughts and conclusions of science and philosophy are they opposed to any belief and hope of happiness?
2. What are exerted influences of (1) science and (2) faith on man? Does science directs us to a path and faith to another? What is the contribution of science and that of faith?
Science gives us a light and power; faith, hope and warmth (whereby we feel good, be it physically, morally and spiritually); science prepares for us the means and faith, the purpose; science gives us impulse, force and faith, guidance (shows us the right direction); and science is the power and faith the will to do good; science shows what exists (existence) and faith suggests what to do; science is the external revolution and faith, the internal revolution; science transforms the universe into “the universe of man” and faith transforms the “human soul”; science gives the existence of man a horizontal extension and faith enhances/raises it vertically; science shapes nature and faith is a (continuous joint) force.
Science and faith both have a beauty: science is the beauty of reason and faith, the beauty of the soul; science is the beauty of thought and faith, that of sentiment/feeling/that which touches the heart. Science and faith give man a sense of trust: science provides external confidence and faith, inner confidence. Science reassures us before the attacks, diseases, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and faith saves us from anxiety, loneliness and meaninglessness. Science makes the universe compatible with man and faith tries man himself. The human need made by adding science and faith has strongly attracted the attention of thinkers whether religious or atheistic. Today, humanity needs three things:
1. A spiritual interpretation of the world;
2. Spiritual freedom of the individual;
3. Fundamental principles of universal scope that justify the social evolution of humanity on spiritual foundations.
Undoubtedly, modern Europe and the United States of America have founded very thorough research and thoughts institutions, but experience has shown that the truth obtained purely by reason, cannot have the warmth of the living faith which comes from personal and divine inspiration. It is for this reason that pure intelligence and wisdom have acted only partially on humanity while religion has always been its main source and the means of his (spiritual) ascension and has contributed largely to the promotion of individuals and transformations of human societies.
The European and American idealism has never taken the form of a factor affecting life and had resulted in only a wayward “me/self” who is seeking itself through inconsistent and heterogeneous democracies whose efforts unfold exclusively to exploit the poor to benefit the rich. Believe me, the so-called super-powerful countries today and their ideologies are the biggest obstacles to the moral progress of humanity.
On the other hand, Muslims are in possession of absolute thoughts and ideals, based on Divine Revelation. And as they are exposed by the uncharted depths of life, they give to their appearance the colour of deep and secret awareness. For a Muslim, the spiritual basis of life is the realm of faith, and to defend this belief, he would easily sacrifice his life.
The purely scientific education can produce only a partial man. The product of this instruction is not a completed man, but only the raw material or the raw material needed to build the man of energy, vigour, and not a man of quality, virtue. It produces the one-dimensional man and not the multidimensional man. Today, everyone has understood that the time of pure science is outdated and that an ideological vacuum threatens our society. Some try to fill this gap by refuging themselves in pure philosophy, while others take refuge in art, literature and social sciences.
Education can only produce tools; it makes the individual a stranger to beauty and cut him from wisdom. There is a vacuum, and that vacuum is that of a certain reflection/thought and meditation that leads to the belief in the human goals and objectives. Entertainment of history, art, beauty, poetry or music that man took refuge has the power to temporarily fill such a void that has its origins in the depths of the idealistic and perfectionist nature of man, but as I have said, this is temporary!
As the Quran says, in the attractions of this world, there are certainly some benefits in the evil deeds also, such as games of chance and others, but verily their benefits are small compared to their evils. Indeed a very small profit!
The essence of faith is in order for man to live his life fully and satisfactorily. This peace of the soul (peace of mind) will only be granted to him when he connects with his Lord, when he enriches his soul with foods (spiritual ones) that God wanted him to acquire.
Men who are cultural, without being religious seek this peace and serenity in literature, art and music, but as for the true believer, he seeks them (peace and serenity) in his Lord, taking the different paths that lead to his Lord and nothing but the Lord (Allah). It is this wisdom and science and faith that is sought after by true seekers of truth and humans in general, without them truly knowing how to go about to acquire this so much needed peace!
May Allah help the people of the world to acquire that true peace, that faith and science that will lead them to their true purpose: God, the One, without partner, and the exclusive worship of that Unique and Generous God. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
In the course of his sermon, Huzur (atba) also highlighted:
1. In Rodrigues Island, there is presently a warning class 3 for Cyclone “Amara”. Huzur (atba) says that this is no coincidence because the present subject of his Friday Sermon is on the animality of man, Nafs-e-Amara; the self, the passion of man, the self instigator of evil.
2. The animality of man which is manifested through the intake of cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and other intoxicants which can prove fatal to peace of mind. Instead of being human, people who take this path become worst than animals.
3. Huzur (atba) warns the Muslims not to become prey to the false encouragement of their colleagues and friends from other religions who think that amusement and peace of mind is found in alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, especially in End of Year parties. A true believer does not fall prey to this and stays clear from these kinds of false “peace of mind”.
4. Huzur (atba) also advices not to waste money on vain things such as firecrackers and all kinds of amusements. Our New Year was Muharram, but it is not forbidden to have good food for the New Year, because it is a day like any other day when one can have good food also, but instead of celebrating New Year in unislamic fashion, a true Muslim seeks refuge in prayer and meditation and gets his tranquillity in his Lord, Allah.
