Text Box: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Friday Sermon HAZRAT AMIR’UL MUMINEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN Munir Ahmad Azim ~ In Rodrigues Island – Grande-Montagne ~ 24 May 2013 ~ (13 Rajab 1434 Hijri) (Summary of Friday Sermon on ‘Mother’s Day)) It is a pleasure for me today to address my Rodrigues brothers and sisters. Today is the salaam is extended from Rodrigues to all nearby islands – Mauritius, Reunion Island, Mayotte, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar – Kerala, Trinidad & Tobago, Japan and other countries in the world where we have our members, to all I extend my “Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuhu” (greeting peace, grace & blessings of Allah be upon you all). Since Monday 20 May 2013 I am here with you in Rodrigues, and much Jamaat work has been done – administrative, meeting members, Dawa, finding (and dealings for) the centre. I pray a lot for and I wish to thank our brother Aza who has been with us since the beginning, from my departure from Mauritius till my arrival in Rodrigues. He is someone who does his work with much dedication, and he has invested himself wholly in his work, night and day, he and others. May Allah bless him. Rodrigues is an island which is connected with Mauritius, which belongs to Mauritius as its district, and we have many Mauritians to come to Rodrigues also. And there are also many Rodrigues people who go to Mauritius and despite their birthplace being Rodrigues, but they hold Mauritian passport and identity cards as well as all the privileges which the Mauritians enjoy. And the Mauritians also when they come to Rodrigues, they also adapt to Rodrigues’ life. Compared to the work which we did at the beginning, the first time in Rodrigues, we came to propagate the mission of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), last era’s Messiah, and we made lots of Dawa – inviting people towards the unicity of Allah and also to inform them that the Promised Messiah awaited by all religions (e.g. Christianity which awaits the coming of Jesus) has already come in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). And like you all know, when an era was ending and we entered a new one (the 20th Century) – Year 2000, when for three months, my family and I were in Rodrigues, working very hard and as soon as we came back to Mauritius, ploys have already been devised in Mauritius itself, whereby negative reports were sent against me, and when I went back to Mauritius – You all recall the last sermon I made amongst you in the year 2000, how much you were distressed (tears in the eyes of brothers and sisters) – on the 1st January 2001 itself, Christian (solar) calendar, I was expelled from the Nizam-e-Jamaat. Why? Because I say that Allah gives me revelations. When a Messenger (of Allah) comes, he does not walks on red carpet (i.e. his mission is not easy). His words, works, messages and invitations towards one God (Allah) are not appreciated by all people. He gets many problems, persecutions, but despite all, he perseveres in his mission. He has full belief, sincerity and hope that when Allah the Almighty has chosen him as His Messenger, being the Messenger of Allah, then come what may, even all kinds of persecutions and tortures that he has to go through, despite the ill-thoughts about his message, despite the plans to expel and humiliate this humble servant of Allah, but today Allah the Almighty… (is with the Messenger of Allah, raised him with a Jamaat). You all will recall that I came to Rodrigues in 2009 along with my family, my delegation and I return yet again in 2011, and I am now present here with you (this year) in 2013, and now Insha-Allah, we shall open our centre. When back in year 2000, you were upset and in tears during the sermon, after the sermon you approach me to ask me why I spoke as if it was my last visit among you. Some even thought that I prefer to work in such country like Reunion Island and that is why I shall not come to Rodrigues again, and there are some who even thought that I was talking about death and that was why I would not be present among you. But by the grace of Allah, it is death encountered with evil plots, hatred and jealousy of others, who have persecuted me. Had Allah the Almighty not been with me, I would have been a finished man! But Allah the Almighty little by little raised me, and in 2009 I came back, this time with a Jamaat with which Allah raised me. My goal this time, is to propagate the unicity of Allah, to make you stay firm in your faith in Hazrat Massih Maud (as) and now also I have come with a tabligh, a Dawa to invite you all to believe in the advent of this humble servant whom Allah has sent in this era. Despite all kinds of falsehoods which these people uttered, despite all evil schemes, you who are here and who have witness, and who have related to me many things, among which you said what words these people said and they things they did and which prompted you to stop involving yourself in the Jamaat Ahmadiyya. Therefore, now I have come back among you, but this time not as a missionary of the Jamaat Ahmadiyya. Now I have come as a Dai-Illallah, a servant of Allah, a Messenger of Allah, a Prophet of Allah and I am here before you. Thus, my stay among you is coming to an end, but the work shall continue, and before going back, I need to make you understand on the subject of today’s sermon. Be it in Mauritius, and I see it also in Rodrigues, there are great shopping going on for Mother’s Day… With the animation in Port-Mathurin, there are a lot of Sales and people are buying gifts for this event – Mother’s Day. (Huzur then gave a longue apercu on Mother’s Day in Rodrigues and he explains how children for this sole day makes competition to buying more expensive gifts for their parents, on instalments, and finally, it very often happens that due to non-respecting of payment, the shops come to seize the gift and it is the parents themselves who have to pay for these gifts!...) وَ وَصَّیۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ بِوَالِدَیۡہِ ۚ حَمَلَتۡہُ اُمُّہٗ وَہۡنًا عَلٰی وَہۡنٍ Wa was-saynal ‘insaana bi-waalidayh: hamalat-hu ‘ummuhuu wahnan ‘alaa wahnin… “We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him.” (31:15) The verse which I recited before you is long, but I have recited only the part which concerns the subject which I shall develop today, on parents, especially the mother. The fact that Allah has mentioned parents in the same verse as Himself – whereby Allah says: “Be grateful to Me and to your parents…” – shows the extent to which we should strive in our efforts to serve our parents – mother and father – who sacrificed so much for us. Doing so will help us to become better people and attract the pleasure of Allah upon us. The importance of a mother in the life of a human being is unquestionable. Indeed, both the Quran and Hadiths have elaborated on this subject in details. Unfortunately today, the contemporary Muslims and the modern society in general have given importance to a single Mother’s Day, so much so that this has taken quite a commercial twist. For Muslims to begin to adopt a single day out of the whole year to express gratitude and show a materialistic form of affection is a selfish endeavour. Islam has no need of things that are innovated by others, be it Mother’s Day or anything else. Its teachings on the honouring of mothers mean that it has no need for an innovated Mother’s Day. On the contrary, it encourages that children honour their parents, and be especially more tender and considerate to their mother because of the hardships she bore through: (1) pregnancy, (2) giving birth and (3) breastfeeding. The Hadith reported by Abu Huraira and which is found in both the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim give a clear idea of the importance of a mother. A man came and asked the Holy Prophet of Allah (pbuh), as to whom is more deserving of his fine treatment, and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gave him thrice the same answer to his questions, that his mother comes first, and the fourth time told him that his father comes afterwards. Therefore, we see that a mother is three times deserving of fine treatment from a believer. Children in general should strive to honour their mother and, father also but unfortunately modern children nowadays so very willingly forget the value of their parents, especially their mother who has sacrificed a lot to give birth to them. Motherhood is a career, and those who take it up must try and excel at it. It is the duty of every mother to look into better techniques and strategies of parenting. A wide variety of material is available, both Islamic and secular, but the sources of the information which are of utmost importance is the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A good mother has outstanding qualities. No one can replace her in the life of her children if she is pious, considerate, selflessness and full of love for her Maker, Almighty Allah. It is these qualities which assure that she will become the best university for the construction of her child. These qualities act as cement, sand and water which assures the good construction of a mosque in her house, such a mosque which is devoted to the cause of Allah, and that mosque is none other than her child or children. She needs to find in herself these qualities in order to carve with her love, discipline and Islamic instructions the future of next generations of Muslims. Such a mother thus assures the continuation of the Islamic traditions, but if she lacks these qualities or has let herself be immersed in the westernised lifestyle and ignored her Muslim duties towards her home and children, therefore, nothing good shall be derived from her and her children shall be at a lost, losing the essence of the spiritual inheritance they were entitled to when Allah made them born in a Muslim family. A mother’s love is unequalled, humanly speaking. Whether young or old, healthy or handicapped, obedient or troublesome, the child is still cherished by the mother. This love may be displayed in various forms. Sometimes children misinterpret scolding and rebukes to be a sign of lack of love. It is important to assure the child that he is always loved, even when his behaviour deserves that disciplinary measures be taken. Such a child becomes confident and happy, and will never seek solace elsewhere. If a mother’s love is that pure and selfless, then let it be known that Allah’s love for His servants exceeds the love that a mother has for her children. Narrated by Umar Ibn al-Khattab (ra) that some prisoners were brought before the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and amongst them was a woman who was frantically searching for someone in the crowd. When she found a baby amongst the prisoners, she took it in her arms, cradled it next to her chest and suckled it. So the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Do you think that this woman would ever throw her child into the fire?” We said: “By Allah, Never!” So he said: “Allah is more merciful to His believing servants than that mother could ever be to her child.” (Bukhari & Muslim) The value of Allah’s love cannot be estimated as His love encompasses His own Being. Allah is Love and He is the distributor of love. He endowed a mother with such feelings which shall act as a protective shield for her children, and thus assures that the latter are preserved from any danger. Unfortunately, with the rise of industrialization and now technology and so-called modern and more developed world, mothers have to a large extent break the bond with their children when they opted for a freedom promoted by the insistence of the West. This is especially true when they encouraged their own women, the western women and girls and also the Muslim women to come out of their four walls to interact in society through the working environment. This has to a large extent contributed in the neglecting of the growth and moral and spiritual education of their children. A natural way of life established by Allah has been deformed through the years to accommodate the western point of view of freedom of women and giving them their rights. Therefore the perspective of the mother has somewhat changed, especially in the western-cultured countries, and nowadays even the Muslim women are falling prey to it. Of course, there exists exception to the rules when a woman has no option but to work for a living, to rear her child or children, but what about the case of a woman, who feels “suffocated” in the house, and feels the need to go out and meet people? Islam is a precious religion and its teachings are to be preserved. There is always a wisdom why Allah has established the place of the woman as being her home, because therein she is the mistress and highly important teacher and lecturer for the future generations. She is priceless if she is pious, and feels the needs to teach her children in religion, with religious values and grooming them as true and well-behaved citizens of the country and brothers or sisters in religion (Islam). She has the task to form a human being so that he is mentally, physically, morally and spiritually prepared to face the world. Therefore her importance is unquestioned. And a sole day to celebrate her continuous achievements is not enough and Islam thus does not encourage that such innovations as Mother’s Day tarnish the true value of a Mother or even that of a Father. Mothers and Fathers’ Day must be celebrated on a daily basis, first of all, when true believers and concerned children recognise their worth and pray for them, asking for their salvation from the Almighty. Like the Holy Quran encourages, praying in this way: “My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up (when I was) small.” (17: 25) And this consideration and love for their parents bring them to shower them with their attention, love and obedience whenever they call their children to discharge of a duty on their behalf. The children must bear in mind that they can never ever repay their parents for the selfless sacrifice they made for their overall welfare, and that the time shall come when their parents shall become old and vulnerable and in a helpless state, and that it shall be their turn to return back the good deeds (to a certain extent) to their parents. This is the cycle of life. Man is born a baby, then an infant, then an adolescent, then marries and become a husband, then becomes a father and grows old enough (generally speaking) to return back to the state of their prime innocence (babyhood), forgetting quite easily their lifetime spent on earth. Mercy and love therefore is required from the children, that they get connected with the true essence of life and good way of living, so that tomorrow, when they in turn get old also their children shall be ready to treat them in a good way. But all in all, the first duty of a true believer remains to Allah, then to his parents, his family and society in general. Obedience to Allah must come first, especially concerning the matters of faith. (Quran 29: 9) May Allah bless you all and enable you to comply with His teachings to the fullest. Insha-Allah, Ameen.