Text Box: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Friday Sermon Hazrat Amir’ul Momeneen Muhyi-Ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim 19 June 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: CHAPTER 17 BANI ISRAEL VERSE 32  Wa laa taqtuluuu awlaadakum khashayata ‘imlaaq: Nahnu narzuquhum wa ‘iyyaakum. Inna qatlahum kaana khit-‘ankabiiraa. “You shall not kill your children due to fear of poverty.  We provide for them, as well as for you. Killing them is a gross offense.” (17:32) In the light of this verse of the Holy Quran which I have put before you, I will hold my sermon today on abortion. Lots of people in Mauritius, the government and even the media are taking polls, counting on the public’s opinion to bring forward a law to “legalise abortion”. What is sad in this is that I have heard a lot on the opinions of the Muslims, be them ladies, young girls or men, and they are unanimous to say that they are for abortion. This gives you an idea how they have stooped in ignoring the commands and instructions of Allah and that of His Messenger (peace be upon him). It is sad to see that these so-called Muslims have trampled the teachings of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Nowadays there are lots of abortion cases being done in secret. Abortion in itself is a crime forbidden in Islam. Allah has made us understand this well from the verse which I have just cited before you. If you read the Holy Quran you will see more verses whereby Allah is giving severe warnings not to take away life which Allah has rendered sacred. In Chapter Bani Israel, Chapter 17 Verse 34, Allah says:  “You shall not kill any person - for Allah has made life sacred - except in the course of justice.” (17:34) And in the same Chapter, Verse 32 Allah says:  “You shall not kill your children due to fear of poverty.  We provide for them, as well as for you. Killing them is a gross offense.” (17:32) In the light of the verses, it is clear for each Muslim that abortion is forbidden in Islam. And if ever you turn your backs to these verses which Allah the Almighty has revealed through His beloved prophet (peace be upon him) and which is found in the Book of Light “Qitaboul-Muneer” – such a Book which is a source of light for you and which will remove you from darkness and show you the right path leading to Allah the Almighty. And it is from this Book (the Holy Quran) that you will obtain peace, tranquillity and a reward from your Creator. But if now also, after hearing these Quranic verses, you disregard these verses and follow the path of Satan, then reflect on your consequences and the account that you will have to render before Allah the Almighty. In my personal opinion, when talking about the legalisation of abortion in Mauritius, this means in other words legalising prostitution (and other ills). Each person has his own opinion on this subject matter and we respect each and every personal opinion. But as Muslims, we must put our opinion aside and see what Allah has instructed us from the Holy Quran. These divine instructions and commands must come even before our own opinion. We must execute only the instructions of Allah and that His Messenger, and it is through the examples of obedience to these commands that we shall be victorious. There are a lot of opinions concerning the legalisation of abortion, in the light of the fact that lots of women are going to perform abortion in secret, and there are lots of these cases being showed in hospital figures after dire complications. Thus, questions are being put forward, why not then legalise abortion, where there will be lesser risk for the lives of these women or girls. This type of reasoning is without any sense, and these types of people do not really know what they are talking. They talk without thinking on what they are saying and without consulting the sacred books on this subject. From whichever religion you may be, do not do these kinds of wrongs where this small island named Mauritius will attract on itself the wrath of Allah, where Allah the Almighty can send His punishment on us Mauritians, whereby you could be destroyed by a Divine Malediction, like you are witnessing in other countries, and when this will come to materialise, there is be no reparation, cure, and no government will be able to find the solution to protect it from this Divine punishment. Abortion is a wrong, which Allah the Almighty Himself has forbidden to put into practice. When our Creator has made us understand that such a thing (like abortion) is not good, then we must accept that command foremost, and must consider that wrong as a wrong be it when it is being done openly or in hiding. We must accept that this act is heinous in the sight of Allah. When I am saying openly, what I mean to say is that even if a country and its government are legalising abortion, but you must make it a must on your side to preserve the honour of Islam by putting into practice the instructions and commands of Allah and putting a stop to the motives of the government who wish to bring this subject matter (abortion) to be legalise in the Assembly. We, as Muslims and holding our belief in the unity of Allah and His prophets and in the greatest of His prophets, Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and also holding our belief in a perfect Book (the Quran) which is a guide for the whole of humanity – and especially for us Muslims – we must give preference to the law of Allah over the law of the country where a wrong is about to be commit. Of ever such a law is voting by the majority, we Muslims must hold the laws of Allah as more valuable than the mundane laws. The words of Allah must have precedence over all these blasphemies. I think that each Muslim must understand this well, and especially he must know in profound his religion (that is, Islam). He must make it a must also to cultivate the good habits and make it an obligation for him to read the Holy Quran with its translation every day. This will help him not to fall in such satanic traps. If not he will be committing a grievous sin and its punishment will be great. One must well understand that abortion is a crime. A crime committed openly or secretly remains a crime! Do not think that when you are committing such a crime in hiding, nobody is seeing you. No! The Creator of this Universe is witnessing to all that which you have done. Nothing can be hidden from Him. He is the One Who has created you and instilled in you, life. Both life and death are found in His hands. Moreover, He is the One who gives you honour and in His hand also is found punishment. If He sends down a punishment, nobody can save you from therewith. So, do not commit such a crime; do not make this crime legal. We do not usually tell a person who is about to commit a crime, to come and do it openly. If this happen, it will be like voting in favour of a law which permits open crimes. What kind of law is this then? Where is the logic behind such reasoning? There was nonetheless a fear when, a woman or girl used to go to make herself abort the child she is carrying. Now if you invite freely such persons without any law condemning it, then this will become a real danger to our society. We must show our disapproval on this subject “legalising abortion”. From a personal point of view, I do not see any religion whatsoever being for abortion and this has been mentioned in the various sacred books besides the Holy Quran. I think that all the other religions have at their depth the same teachings which the Holy Quran has taught. If ever a person comes forward with a certain holy book revealed by Allah the Almighty besides the Holy Quran, and which has taught that it has taught to legalise abortion, or even say that abortion is not a crime, and thus abortion can be practiced, thus I invite such a person to come forward and challenge me on this subject or even to show me in which sacred book has this subject (being for abortion) been mentioned, and in which page, chapter, commentary and reference it has been mentioned. O people! If abortion is legalised, it is as if inviting prostitution all the more. It is like opening the door of prostitution and free sex. If you read the newspapers or listen to the news on private radios, then you will come to know how many college girls, or even working women (factory workers) are aiming in that direction in secret. I do not mean to blame all school girls or all working women, but there are somewhat a percentage of them committing these heinous acts. Legalising abortion is tantamount to the degradation of women. Do you call this liberty? Abortion is explained above leads to prostitution where a woman sells her body and honour. When that kind of woman prostitutes herself, is that a honour for her? Abortion leads towards sexual freedom. And in this present society we know how this question on sex is becoming the foremost subject being discussed and put into practice. And we also know how many sexually transmissible diseases there are, including the AIDS Virus. The society which has at heart the well-being of its fellow citizens, that kind of society cannot legalise abortion. No intelligent government with a sense of morality can legalise abortion. It must not be because of a portion of people committing such a crime that abortion will have to be legalised. By this strategy of legalising abortion, it is an opportunity to attract more people to it. And at that moment, this ill of society will become an incurable evil and will keep on increasing. Where is good reasoning in this matter? Is inviting towards that kind of evil, and encouraging it a means to control birth? CRIME! Will the legalisation of abortion give the woman in society her dignity? Sometimes in wanting to have all the more liberty (which Islam has already given women), women end up being an object in the hands of this society; completely at its mercy. When I see the various movement pro the liberty of women, I ask myself, they are fighting for which liberty? Is it a liberty attracting women towards evil? Is it to free women so that they may be exploited by others? Is it to free them in such a way that they become an object in the hand of such exploiters? Giving liberty to women so that they may leave the conjugal home? What to liberate and for what purpose? Another thing which is happening in this world and also in our small island (Mauritius); people are letting themselves get operated to render them sterile. This is definitely forbidden in Islam. This act is forbidden because it prevents procreation. This act is justified only if a wife’s life is in danger, in case she is about to give birth to a baby. She can die if she becomes pregnant and if there are really no means at all to save her life, then one can think in this direction. There are exceptions, even in the case of abortion. If the exception concerns the saving of the life of the mother; even Islam has given clear indications in that direction – to fight for the life of the mother. I stop my sermon here for today. Insha-Allah, May Allah give me the courage and opportunity to continue my sermon on the same subject in the next sermon, basing it on the teachings of Islam concerning the saving of the life of a mother. May Allah help each of us to better understand this subject. Insha-Allah. Ameen…