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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
Hazrat Amir’ul Momeneen Muhyi-Ud-Din Al Khalifatullah
Munir Ahmad Azim
03 July 2009
(Summary of Friday Sermon)
After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Khalifatullah read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he read the following verse of the Holy Quran:
Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Book differed only after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the messages of Allah -- Allah indeed is Quick at reckoning. (Ch.3 V.20)
The fundamental and foremost reason why we must elaborate on the relation between man and Allah (God) is that we must primarily seek the reason why Allah created man. According to His sacred words, Allah has created man for His worship and so that man may be able to devote himself completely to Allah. It is a fact also that man can never target a goal for himself (and by himself) for only Allah can do that (can enable him to do that). Man has not come in this world by himself and he will not leave this world by himself. It is religion which gives us our true explanations on Allah and which moreover prescribes the best way for us to pray Allah; and that religion is Islam, like the above-mentioned verse of the Holy Quran has stipulated. Islam is an integral part of the human nature and Allah has created man in harmony with Islam. Islam is an eternal faith.
The Promised Messiah has said that the most effective means by which man can reach his goal, is that first of all he must recognise Allah. The second means is that we must recognise the perfect beauty of Allah, for the heart is naturally inclined towards beauty and it is observation of beauty (by the heart) which can generate Love in our heart. The third means to get closest to Allah, is through the knowledge of the blessing of Allah. And this constitutes in itself a second encouragement leading us to Love. The fourth means to get closer to Allah is prayer (supplication) like the Holy Quran has made us understand. The fifth means is fighting in the path of Allah. The sixth means is loyalty towards Allah. The seventh means is by staying in the company of the believers (those on the right path). The eighth means to attain the peak of the relationship with Allah is by means of visions and dreams.
The foremost question is whether we have an example of such a perfect success of such a relation (that is, the relation between man and Allah) – meaning such an example which is in connection with the various conditions of the human nature and even if the example is of human type, can we say that he is extremely close to Allah The Exalted?
We can think of the relation between two entities in terms of degree of proximity. The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has said that there are three types or three means for us to get closer to Allah. And these three means can be illustrated through three resemblances by taking into consideration the way by which we can interpret these three grades of proximity in reality.
We can illustrate the first type of proximity by its resemblance with the relation that exists between a servant and his master. Allah the Almighty says in Chapter 2, Verse 166:
“Those who believe love Allah the most.”
This means that the believers (as obedient servants) love Allah more than everything. And as a loyal and sincere servant, as he witnesses the goodness and the personal qualities of his master, we will be able to see that the love and sincerity which this servant has for his master will be great in magnitude; in such a way that the servant in question will acquire the same temperament of his master and will behave like him.
Here we can refer ourselves to the Hadith: “Qualify yourselves with the qualities of Allah.” because the servant has adopted the qualities of his Master (Allah).
And because of that, the servant will fulfil the wishes of his Master just like his Master wants them to be accomplished. That is, the servant will perform all works which his Master expects of him. And as the servant is progressing in his sincerity and fidelity, he will reach such stage where he will lose himself completely and thus he will acquire in a sense the “colours” of his Master.
The second grade of proximity to Allah; we can compare it with the relation between a father and son. Allah says in the Holy Quran (Chapter 2 Verse 201):
“Laud Allah as you lauded your fathers, rather a heartier lauding.”
This means that we must praise and remember Allah much more – with much enthusiasm and love – than when we remember our fathers. We must remember that a Master starts resembling a father only when love for the Master becomes extremely intense and when there is no trace of egoism in this love; thus this love enters the heart as if it was always present there.
Like a son feels a spiritual relation between himself and his father when he thinks of him (his father), in the same way a believer must feel that same feeling – the same spiritual relation – (even more) when he thinks of Allah. And like a son resembles his father in manners and other ways, likewise a believer must resemble his Lord (Allah).
The third type of proximity resembles the own reflection of a person. Like when a person looks at his own reflection in a mirror, it is through his reflection that he will come to know how he looks like; in the same way, all attributes of Allah must be reflected on a believer and this reflection of the attributes of Allah is all the more complete and perfect than the other resembles which have been mentioned previously. It is also true that the reflection of a person in a mirror will be in harmony with the person standing before the mirror. And no other person can acquire such a perfect resemblance in another thing other than this mirror; and we will not find such a perfect resemblance in a son. That degree of proximity is for those who place themselves in harmony between the arc of divinity and servitude. And the person who reach such a stage in life, he depends himself completely on the divinity and the servitude and becomes both. And if we remove the being of that person from the middle, then that person can act as a mirror. And that mirror faces two directions: in a direction we obtain the reflection of divinity and in the other direction, the person emits grace according to the capacity of temperaments which have been adjusted with the mirror. And this is mentioned in the words of Allah depicting the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) where He says:
“Then he drew near, drew nearer yet, So he was the measure of two bows or closer still.” (Chapter 53 Verses 9-10)
The Promised Messiah has explained this verse as thus: This means that the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has reached an exalted status, this has enabled him (the Prophet) to become extremely close to Allah in such a way that there was no veil between him and Allah. And as he was complete and perfect in his “ascension” to Allah, this has given him the place of a rope between two arcs. This rope is between the Benefactor (Allah) and the one who is benefitting from this beneficence (of Allah) and the rope resembles the centre of a circle. The point (at the centre) is the heart of the perfect man (example: The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)) and this relating to the arcs of divinity and of servitude. And the name of that central point is the reality of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). As all lives obtain grace from the “Life” of Allah, and that all determinations are the results of His (Allah’s) determination; in the same way the point of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through the command of Allah, is affected in degree depending on the varying capacities and temperaments… The reality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a complete and perfect manifestation of all the attributes of Allah. And that is why Holy Books have compared the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the reflection of God.
We, mortals, are in need of a perfect model to follow who can bring us nearest to Allah. The Holy Quran (Chapter 53 Verses 9-10) has showed us that.
All the attributes of Allah were reflected in the person of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and at the same time, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) used to always turn to humanity with love and seek their well-being. He used to train the people to follow the right path. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was a perfect example and ideal of the relation between man and Allah. From the beginning, that is, from Prophet Adam to Prophet Issa, all Prophets and Messengers who came all agreed on the greatness and majesty of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) because Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the perfect model of the relation between the Creator and His creatures. When Prophet Moussa announced to the people that Allah came from Sinaï and that Allah had elevated him from “Seir” and has gone to Mount Paran, this clearly indicate that the manifestation of the majesty of Allah has reached its summit at Paran. The Torah tells us that Paran is a Mountain in Mecca where Prophet Ismail – the ancestor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) – established himself. And no other prophet came from Mecca.
The second question is how to address Allah in the relation which exists between Allah and man?
The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has made a distinction between the word “Lord” (Rab) and the word “father”. We must not perceive Allah as a father but on the contrary we must perceive Him as our Lord. We find this word in the Holy Quran in the second verse of the first Chapter:
“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds”
“Lisanul Arab” and “Tajul Urus” have mentioned that the word “Lord” (Rab) has seven connotations:
1. The Master 2. “Sayyad” (The Master or The Chief) 3. “Mudabbir” (The One who establishes rules or laws.) 4. “Murabbi” (The One who provides Food) 5. “Qayyum” (The Sustainer of all things). 6. “Munim” (The Giver of all things). 7. “Mutammin” (The Perfect One).
The word “Lord” constitutes of all these various connotations. Going deep down their true meanings, we will find that we cannot use these connotations to describe another being except Allah the Almighty. The relation which exists between the Lord and His servants is completely different with the relation which exists between a father and his children.
On the other hand, a human relation which is based on the word “father” does not have the same meaning. The word “father” is applicable when a person has been born from another person, and except the bond of birth there is no other connection which exists. Why? This is so because the father, after having conceived the child does not have any other thing in connection with the birth of the child in question. And this is the state of things in the realm of animals also.
The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has expounded on the fact that the religion which governs the relation between man and Allah has been established by Allah the Almighty – the Lord – Himself. Allah did not call the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) back to Him neither too early nor too late but Allah has called his soul back to Him only when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has accomplished his mission. Even the Holy Quran (Chapter 5 Verse 4) comments upon this:
This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour to you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.
By this revelation of the Holy Quran and by the reform that there has been among the people, we can understand that Allah has perfected our religion and that He (Allah) has completed His favour upon us and chosen Islam as our religion. And this is a sign of the divine origin of the relation between Allah and man in Islam. The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) says also: Before the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), no other true prophet has showed that great example of perfection, and on the other hand we see that the Book of Allah has been completed in peace and moreover, we see the reform of the people towards perfection and the disbelievers obtaining defeat and Islam will be victorious from all directions.
The relation between Allah and man like showed by the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) forms parts of the perfected code of teachings of the Muslims and concerning this relation between Allah and man, we can see that Allah has already revealed the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) the commands which would enable humanity to make progress in this relation.
Moreover, the Holy Quran announces that the support of Allah has already been perfected and that people in large numbers have accepted Islam.
The relation between the Creator and man has not only been revealed in its completeness but the revealed text has been preserved for the rest of humanity and there is no possibility of a change in this text, not even a point, for Allah has promised in the Holy Quran:
Surely We have revealed the Reminder, and surely We are its Guardian.
Not only have a small number of followers have accepted Islam, but great nations and large number of people have accepted Islam. Moreover, by the personal example of a lifetime, Allah has filled the hearts of Muslims with faith and righteousness and Allah has made them avoid disobedience and vices.
The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has said that there is not only one way to witness the accomplishment of the teachings through the demonstrations of the relation between Allah and men. During his last pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) had made a long speech where he has exhorted the people to witness that he (the Prophet) had brought them all the commandments like it should have been announced. All people have confirmed this in a united voice that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had given them the message which he had to give. When all of them had witnessed to the mission of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the latter lift up his hands towards the sky and said: “Be Witness to this, O Allah!” Afterwards, he talked to them for a long while, gave them some advices and told them that there is a possibility that he will not be among them next year. After this emotional moment in history, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) returned to Medina and he died in the wake of the next year. O Allah! Send Your blessings and Your Peace upon the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
Now let us return to the main subject (of this sermon): How can we establish a relation between Allah and man? The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), who was the second coming of Prophet Issa and the Envoy of Allah has said:
“The way that the Holy Quran has taught us to establish a perfect spiritual relation with Allah is Islam and also through the prayer which is contained in the Surah Fatiha:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, The Beneficent, the Merciful, Master of the day of Requital. Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help. Guide us on the right path, The path of those upon whom Thou has bestowed favours, Not those upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray.”
About this, the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has said that a person must firstly devote his life in the cause of Allah and then the person must perform prayer taught to the Muslims and which is found in the Surah Fatiha. This is the very essence of Islam. It is the only way to approach ourselves towards Allah and to drink the water of true salvation. It is the only way that the law of nature has chosen for man to enable our progress and for us to be able to meet Allah. It is only the people who have seen Allah who will enter the spiritual fire, that is, the essence of Islam. Islam is like a scorching fire which burns our wrong behaviours and burns our wrong perceptions of God, and by burning all these, Islam offers us the ability to sacrifice our life, belongings and honour before our Allah. like a lightning, a fire comes out from within us and another fire enters therein and through this collision of the two fires, our passion and love for anything else except Allah disappears and we see our ancient live dead (that is, the life which was concerned with materialistic things). And this condition where we are dying from a materialistic life and coming back to life towards spirituality, we call it Islam. (This is so) because it is through Islam that all our passions die.
But here, another question is brought forward: “Which is the most common and best way for us to develop a relation between Allah and man in Islam in our everyday life?”
On this question, the Promised Messiah has said:
“The Holy Quran has mentioned two gardens: We obtain one of these two gardens in our life and that garden is Prayer (Salaat). The Salaat is the Islamic prayer which we perform five times a day. The Salaat is not a tax which we are paying, but it is a permanent relation between the servitude of man and the providence of the Lord (Allah). Allah the Almighty has prescribed for us the Salaat for the establishment of this relationship and Allah has put into the Salaat much pleasure so that we can maintain this relation. For example, if a married couple do not obtain any pleasure in their relationship, thus the relationship which the couple have will be ruined. In the same way, if there is no pleasure in Salaat, then the relation between the servant and the Master will be destroyed. The relation between servitude of man and the providence of the Lord (Allah) is filled with pleasure and this relationship is very profound. And as long as man does not feel this (spiritual) pleasure, then in this case man will live in an animal state.”
The Promised Messiah who came as the second coming of Prophet Issa has said that the Salaat is an “instrument” which will deliver us from sins. One of the characteristics of Salaat is that it protects a person against vices and sins. And through Salaat, we obtain the grace of Allah the Almighty. The Salaat is the submission of the humility of a person and the submission of a person’s weaknesses before Allah. And Salaat is a means for us to seek our needs with Allah. During the Salaat, we can see that the one who prays stands up with arms folded before Allah. This gesture is deep in meaning for it demonstrates that the one who is praying is conscious of the glory of Allah and is conscious that he must be ready to follow the commandments of Allah.
Sometimes the one who prays present himself as a beggar before Allah and he implores Allah by invoking Allah by His greatness and glory so that Allah may show Himself Merciful towards him. And it is in this way that some people pray Allah. Faith is empty if there is no notion of Salaat. The Salaat represents love and fear of Allah and Salaat is also a means for our heart to remember Allah. It is that which faith is. A person who desires to get closer to Allah and who is anxious of coming nearest to Him, then the Salaat is an opportunity for him to access to his goal more quickly and more easily. Here the goal is to know Allah and come closer to Him (Allah).
True Salaat is when a pious and sincere relation has been established between Allah and His servant and the true Salaat is also when this servant devotes himself so much in the pleasure of Allah and in (His) obedience that he is ever ready to sacrifice his life in the path of Allah. And as long as this condition is not established and as long as the one who prays does not become a model of sincerity and belief, then all his actions and prayers will be in vain.
To conclude this sermon, the Promised Messiah has said:
“O people of the earth, and all human beings from the East and West, I announce you (all) that true reality of this world is Islam only, and the true God is the God Who has been described in the Holy Quran, and the Prophet who has an eternal spiritual life and who sits on the throne of glory and sanctity, is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Chosen One of Allah. The proof of his spiritual life and his majesty is that when we follow him and live in him, we will become recipients of the Holy Spirit and we will be able to obtain the favour to converse with Allah and we will be able to witness the signs of divinity.”
The Promised Messiah has also said:
“The light of great (divine) intensity which Allah has placed in a perfect man is not found even in the angels, is not found in the stars, is not found in the moon, is not found in the sun, is not found in the ocean or rivers, is not found in rubies or emeralds or sapphires or pearls; in brief, it is not found in any object from this world or divine source. This light was in the perfect man, our Master, the Chief of the Prophets, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Chosen One of Allah. This light descended on that person and depending on ranks, this light came down upon those who followed this perfect example… This dignity was present in the greatness and perfection of our master and guide, the Prophet who has never erred, the righteous, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Chosen One of Allah.”
Subhanallahi amma yushrikuun
Glory be to Allah, above what they describe! |
