بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HADHRAT AMIR’UL MUMINEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN
Munir Ahmad Azim
22 November 2013 ~
(18 Muharram 1435 Hijri)
(In Madagascar)
(Summary of Friday Sermon)
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Hazrat Khalifatullah (atba) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then said:
اِنَّمَا الۡمُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ اِخۡوَۃٌ فَاَصۡلِحُوۡا بَیۡنَ اَخَوَیۡکُمۡ وَ اتَّقُوا اللّٰہَ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تُرۡحَمُوۡنَ ٪
‘Innalmal-Mu’-minuuna ‘Ikhwatuun fa-’aslihuu bayna ‘akhawaykum wattaqullaaha la-’allakum turhamuun.
“The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that you may receive Mercy.” (49: 11).
My dear brothers and sisters and children who are here today Assalam-u-Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakaatuhu. It gives me great pleasure today Friday, 22 November 2013, and 18 Muharram 1435 Hijri to be with you my brothers, sisters and children of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in Madagascar. And today we are gathered in Tana in the “Al-Aziz” Mosque for Friday Sermon before my departure for Mauritius after Salat’ul Maghrib.
We had a great time by the grace of Allah, despite the great conspiracies of our enemies, despite all this, but by the grace of Allah, Allah (twa) is with us. God is present with us in all our activities, all our travels, and (Allah) is present with His chosen servant.
This Friday Sermon will also be translated into several languages for our brothers and sisters from other islands and countries, as well Creole for my brothers and sisters of Mauritius. Insha-Allah.
Allah-O-Akbar, Allah guides His servant in his decisions, and sometimes a servant does not expect how Allah opens his path for any work of religion and pious sermons.
Today as I am in Antananarivo I wish the Salaam to all members of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam who is in Mauritius, in the various branches, and our brothers and sisters of Comoros, Mayotte, Seychelles, Maldives, India – Kerala, Delhi, Bihar (where our brother Abdur Rahman is doing a great job, and I talked to him on the phone during the week), and our brothers and sisters in Trinidad and Tobago and other countries.
I wish to inform you of the Nikah (marriage) of our brother Sadiq Ali Sahib in India last week, a Nikah which was very well done and I sent them a message to wish them congratulations on their marriage and advice and duas for their future.
And Alhamdulillah, showers of blessing rained and you testified to this manifestation Wednesday evening and where the press (newspapers and radio) also spoke of this. And you listen to my press conferences on private radios, and all this is a grace which you brothers and sisters of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in Madagascar received. Just as you are happy today to have me here with you, likewise in other countries, there are our brothers and sisters and truth seekers who wish to receive this grace also. Insha-Allah, everything is done with the divine instruction. Allah knows when I will be travelling to visit you and spread His message to you all personally. Insha-Allah, I pray that Allah opens my way even more so that all my dear brothers and sisters receive this blessing.
Our members around the world humbly want to receive the visit of the Khalifatullah at their place, just like you here in Madagascar where you had the blessing of the visit, not once but twice in a year. You have received this blessing despite all kinds of dirty looks that are thrown at you, considering you low, but in truth it is Allah who knows the contents of hearts and He enriches with His grace and His blessings whom He wants. It is not man who decides but it is the Creator, whose decision is final. So what pious deed, what sacrifice could you have done to receive this blessing today? Alhamdulillah Summa Alhamdulillah. May Allah continue to bless you and reinforce you in your faith, and I thank my brother Said Ahmad who is doing a great job at the translation of my speech in French, Arabic and Malagasy.
By the grace of Allah, Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam is beginning to make great strides despite the great conspiracies of our enemies. In truth, nothing and nobody can stop this march to victory promised by our beloved Allah (twa).
To return to the subject of my sermon today, in light of this verse of the Quran that I recited to you, the Khutba Jummah today focuses on brotherhood in Islam. The translation of the verse, found in Chapter 49, Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 11 is as follows:
“The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that you may receive Mercy.” (49: 11).
In the light of this verse which I just recited before you, the Khutba Jummah today focuses on brotherhood in Islam. In his deep human intuition, Rassulullah (pbuh) on his arrival in Medina decided to establish fraternal bonds between the Meccans (Muhajireen) and the people of Medina (Ansar). He decided to create an atmosphere of brotherhood, integrity and cooperation between these Muhajireen who had abandoned all – home, family, wealth – for the cause of Islam and on their side, the Ansar were joyfully willing to offer safe asylum and generous hospitality to them without expecting in return. Every Muslim in Medina was fraternally bonded with a Muslim brother from Mecca. All these hearts united by love of Allah became one and the same heart beating in different breasts. Each (Ansar) had brought home with joy and pride a Muhajir (emigrant) designated by lot. According to Abu Musa (ra) the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) said: ‘The believer is to the believer like a building stone, which reinforces each other’, and he (demonstrated this by) intertwining his fingers. (Bukhari).
Each brother loved his brother more than his own self and when one of them died, the other inherited his property, excluding the natural heirs. (The law was later abrogated). Some of the Ansar to such an extent opted for divorce so that their brothers (Muhajireen) can take as wives one of their divorced prettiest women.
“Verily, those who believed, and emigrated and strove hard and fought with their property and their lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help – they are allies of one another.” (8: 73).
This brotherhood based on solid and unwavering faith (Iman) brought the establishment of a healthy and harmonious society and a new era began for the progress and development of Islam. The basis of this fraternity is not in the colour of the skin, in family-feelings, spoken language or bond of blood etc. But rather it comes from a genuine belief, a pure and sincere belief.
“The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that you may receive Mercy.” (49: 11).
So in this verse Allah has ordered the believers to be humane and to always seek the salvation of their brother. Numan Ibn Bashir (ra) reported that Rassulullah (pbuh) said: “Muslims are like one body. When the eye suffers, the whole body suffers and when the head suffers the whole body suffers!” (Muslim).
An example of this golden thinking is in the battle of Yarmuk: a wounded soldier of Islam asked for some water when someone (his cousin) passed by him with water. The latter was about to offer it to him when they heard another voice asking for water. The wounded man then asked his companion to go and serve his brother because he might be suffering (and needed the water) the most. The man thus went to the second soldier and as he was about to serve him the water, another voice asked for water. The (second) wounded man then asked his companion to go and serve his brother because he might be suffering the most.
When he came to the third man, he was already dead. He returned to the second one, who was also dead like the first (his cousin). This shows how the taste of love, friendship and brotherhood which was anchored to the bottom of the hearts of these companions, to such an extent that they had agreed to sacrifice even their lives because of this fraternity.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh), our beloved prophet, considered the Islamic brotherhood as one of the obvious signs of perfect Imaan (faith). It even represents the indispensability of perfect Imaan. That is to say, without this love for one’s brother (in faith), Iman itself is not complete.
“You will not enter Paradise (Jannah) until you believe and you will not believe as long as you do not love each other.” (Bukhari & Muslim).
In another tradition narrated by Abdullah bin Amr, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “A true Muslim is one who does not harm Muslims neither with his tongue nor his hands.” (Bukhari)
Is it not time for a Muslim to seek to do good to his brother, to help him as much as possible and to consolidate their brotherhood?
“He is not a (perfect) Muslim one who eats his fill while his neighbour is hungry.” (Baihaqi)
Allah in His limitless mercy loves His creatures more than a mother loves her children. By the small percentage (1%) of affection which He manifests on earth, even the most ferocious of beasts comes to love its children. But despite that He is filled with goodness, mercy, clemency and grace, He (Allah) does not forgive a person who nourishes resentment and hatred in his heart. Loving one’s brother for the sake of Allah is a very noble character and is a quality which is much appreciated by Allah, through which, His favours and protection are assured in this world and in the Hereafter.
“There are seven kinds of people that Allah will protect under His shade on the day of Qiyamah (Resurrection) where there will be no other shade but His. One of them is: Two people, who love Allah in a mutual affection, unite because of Him and separate because of Him.” (Bukhari)
In the absence of such a friendship there occurs hatred and resentment and these two are considered as two destructive elements of our (Imaan) faith, and good deeds.
Hazrat Abu Huraira (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Every Monday and Thursday the actions of all men are exposed before Allah and He forgives all except the Mushrikeen and the person who harbour hatred between him and his brother until they reconcile.” (Muslim).
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) exhorted us to seek reconciliation as soon as possible so as not to give the advantage to Satan to tie all the more the knot of bitterness and hatred. We in the Jamaat-Ul-Sahih Al-Islam, we are ready to reconcile with all the brothers and sisters in Islam, whatever your belief and your differences, we are not the enemy of anyone whatsoever. We are brothers of the same Ummah who believe in one God, the greatest prophet (pbuh), the Kitabum-Munir (the book to enlighten us) the Holy Quran. Then let us come together as one body, let us unite for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) to escape with the wrath of Allah and propagate all the oneness of Allah, Insha Allah.
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said about this: “It is not permitted for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three (days); whoever does this and dies, he will enter Hell.” (Abu Dawud).
So my brothers and sisters, as the Khalifatullah this century I am even ready to forgive – I am not God to forgive, in fact it is Allah the All-Forgiving , but as a human only, I am ready to forgive and reconcile with our brothers of different Muslim sects. Forget our differences, we are all under the banner of the Oneness of Allah, we are all under the banner of “Laa-Ilaaha Illallah Muhammadur Rassullullah”, we all read the Holy Quran. Why must we fight among ourselves? Why are there so many differences? Why are there so many quarrels between us where we shed the blood of our brothers? And I as the Khalifatullah of this century I am even ready to forgive and reconcile with my brother Abdul Ghaffar Janbah Sahib , despite the great battles, prayer duel (Mubaahila), what he says about Hazrat Musleh Ma’ud (ra) and even brothers from the Lahori Party, but on the condition that they stop saying and writing nonsense against Hazrat Musleh Ma’ud (ra). And this (condition) applies to other Muslim sects, we must reconcile but do not say bad words and nonsense against Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) and do not say about our brothers and sisters who have recognized and accepted Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as ) that they are not Muslims. Forget it all together and reconcile and unite ourselves.
If you accept this condition, I am willing to reconcile with you, forget our differences and unite together and even the Jamaat Ahmadiyya International. Well I’m ready to reconcile but the Jamaat Ahmadiyya International also, there are specific conditions to be met. There is the word “but”! What is this “but”? It is that they acknowledge that I still maintain that Allah (twa) chose me as Khalifatullah, the Muhyiuddin of this era, and Allah (twa) keeps conversing with me, fills me with His revelations and is with me; and also that the Divine Manifestation continues to exist, as well as divine revelation.
So if our brethren believe in these words, despite our differences and respect it and make no criticism and will not speak displaced words and ridicule this Divine Manifestation – because when they ridicule, verily they are not ridiculing me but they are ridiculing the signs and manifestations of Allah and His words.
That’s what I said to you my brothers of Madagascar, this sermon will be made in Creole also, not only in French , and we will have our brothers and sisters translate this sermon in other languages as well (audio), so that others can understand this sermon. Insha-Allah.
So I ‘m ready – because I’m in the Jamaat of the Promised Messiah and I worked for my Jamaat, the Jamaat of Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as), the Jamaat Ahmadiyya. I am willing to reconcile with the Jamaat Ahmadiyya International and even have a very friendly and cordial dialogue with the 5th Khalifa-tul-Massih Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib and also with the brothers and sisters who have left the Divine Manifestation, despite their faith in me being very weak, (so as) not to say that their faith in me is zero. I’m ready!
So ways to acquire the fear of Allah (taqwa) is to spread the Salam – which will bring brotherhood. Abu Huraira (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “You will not enter paradise until you believe and you love each other. Shall I teach you a way, which if you do shall enable you to love one another? Spread Peace (Salam) among you.” (Bukhari).
Verily Assalam-u-Alaikum is a formula that opens the door to reconciliation, strengthens the fraternal bond and at the same time it closes the door of enmity, hatred and resentment.
When you pass by the people inclined to evil, greet them, their malice and hatred towards you shall disappear. Insha-Allah.
