Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen
Friday Sermon of
06 FEBRUARY 2009
At Bait-ul-Rahma Mosque |
|
|
After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine, Zafrullah Domun said:
Some time back I delivered a Friday Sermon in which I spoke about Abdaal and Aqtaab and I said that these words are well known in learned circles of spiritual people or of those people who strive to lead a spiritual life as explained by the Holy Prophet Mohammad saw and by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as, his true spiritual heir. Throughout Islamic history there have been many persons who have come and whose spirituality the ritualistic mullahs and those who blindly follow them could not understand because they did not have access to it. In addition it was also because they were more devoted to the form than to the substance. For example they were more concerned about the place where hands are folded ;whether they are below or above the navel rather than how much supplication one should do in the position of prostration in prayer. Hazrat Masih Maood as has laid greater emphasis on the state of our heart rather than how devoted we are in observing the outward aspects of worship. In fact all the spiritual luminaries who have illuminated the firmament of Islam at different periods of history have stressed the inner aspect of devotion rather than its outward aspects. By so doing they have all clashed with the bigoted Mullahs and their ignorant followers whose knowledge of Islam is found only in books but not in their heart.
Islam aims to inculcate in its followers a spirituality that purifies the heart. Most people are well aware of the hadith of the Holy Prophet Mohammadsaw where he said that in the human body there is a piece of flesh which if it were sound the whole body would be sound but if it were sick the whole body would be sick. Today we all know that these words are literally true. Those who suffer from heart diseases do not have a sound body. And all medical authorities are advising people who want to have a sound body to keep their heart in good shape. These days in order to educate the masses you will find plenty of programmes on the radio and television where great emphasis is being laid on the need to keep one’s heart free of diseases. The main reason is that the heart is a vital organ of the body and it is responsible for the circulation of blood to your body as a whole.
But the words of the Holy Prophet are indeed full of wisdom. We can take its meaning literally and we will profit by what he said. But if we take the heart to be the centre of emotions or the seat of the soul (as is the common belief although it may be disputed) it is then that we will appreciate the full meaning of what the Holy Prophet Mohammad saw said. He meant that we should keep our heart away from all sorts of evil and that we should embrace all that is good. Most of the evil that we should avoid as per the instructions of the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet Mohammadsaw are as follows: associating partners with Allah (shirk) adultery, robbery, murder, taking of the property of others, taking the wife or husband of others, avariciousness, arrogance, laziness, speaking ill of others, jealousy, hate and spite, desire to be great and to be rich, to name but a few.
On the other hand the
good moral qualities that we should try to inculcate in ourselves are
self
All those who have or are travelling along this path will tell you that this is not an easy path at all. By the time a person realizes that this is the most important task of his passage on earth and the time that in earnest he woks on his self to get rid of all its bad qualities by replacing them with good ones, there is a long way and it is strewn with lots of difficulties. At times someone would be having doubts on the purpose itself, at other times he would feel discouraged and he would be tempted to abandon. It is usually for such people that Allah sends someone from himself to facilitate their path. This person who has come from Allah acts as a guide and support and helps all sincere minded souls to embark upon this path and to stay the course despite all the difficulties. This person is a “mercy” for all those who want to be purified and who are ready to undergo all the troubles in order that they may achieve the purpose of their existence. This person is a “mercy” to others because Allah has sent him out of His Mercy for mankind. And one should not at all be surprised if at times such persons say, in order to establish their credentials and not out of ostentation that Allah has revealed to them “ Inni Jaaeloka linnaase immama” which means” I have sent you as an Imam to the people” or “ Wa maa arsalnaaka illa rahmatan lil aalameen” which means “ And We have not sent thee but as a mercy for mankind”. At times Allah even tells them “Qul in kountoum tohibbounallaha fattabeouni yuhbibkomoullah” which means “Tell them: if you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you”.
Now those Muslims who do not understand the essence of Islam but who content themselves with the form would have difficulty in understanding that Allah may say such words to someone other than the Holy Prophetsaw. Whereas the fact is that Allah says these words to some followers of the Holy Prophet Mohammadsaw whom He has purified with His own hands. Such followers of the Prophet die completely of their self and the personality of the Holy Prophetsaw is reflected through them. Such was the case with Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas and many other luminaries and saints who have appeared throughout the history of Islam.
There is a hadith that is often quoted to help us to reflect about what we do everyday. As such you will notice that most people will tell you that they practice good deeds. But really good people are those to whom Allah gives them the certificate of their goodness. Allah says in the Holy Quran “Falaa tazakkou anfosakoum howa a’lamon be manittaqa”(53:33) which is translated as “ So ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows best who is truly guided”. The hadith is a long one. If you reflect upon it , you will incha Allah be able to understand the essence of good deeds and not just their form. It is as follows:
“Ibn Al Mubarak related with a chain of authorities going back to a certain man that this man said to Mu’adh, “O Mu’adh tell me about a tradition you heard from the Messenger of God saw. The man continued: “Mu’adh wept until I thought he would never cease, but at length he ceased; then he said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying to me:“I am going to tell you of a tradition Mu’adh; if you remember it, it will benefit you before Allah; but if you forget it and do not remember it, your plea of defense before God on the day of resurrection will be removed.
O Mu’adh, God (may He be
b
He continued:‘ then the guardians bring one of man’s good works and increase and multiply it, until they reach the second heaven with it. The angel responsible for it says, ‘ stand and with this work strike the face of the worker for it, for in his work he sought worldly honour; my Lord has commanded me not to allow his work to pass beyond me; he boasted in men’s society of his superiority; I am the angel dealing with boastfulness.’
He continued: ‘ the guardian ascends with a man’s work so bright with light and alms and worship and fasting that the guardians were astonished. They passed with it to the third heaven, and there the angel in charge says to them, ‘stand and with this work strike the face of the worker of it; I am the angel dealing with arrogance; my Lord has commanded me not to let his work pass beyond me for he had treated people arrogantly in society.’
He continued: ‘the guardians ascend
with a man’s work shining brightly as a star and ringing from the acts of
adoration and worship, from fasting
and from greater and
He continued: ‘the guardians ascend with a man’s work and pass with it to the fifth heaven; and it is like a bride being conducted to her husband. The angels responsible for it says to the guardians ‘stand and with this work strike the face and back and front of the doer of this work and carry him away and place it on his shoulder; I am in charge of envy; this man used to envy whoever studied and performed a work like his and all who were superior to men in some way; he used to envy them and slander them; my Lord has commanded me not to let this act pass beyond me.’
He continued: ‘ the
guardians ascend with a man’s work, radiant as the moon from worship and
almsgiving and the greater and
He continued: ‘the guardians ascend with a man’s work consisting of worship and fasting and the spending of money in good causes and the holy war and continence; it had the sound like that of bees and a radiance like that of the sun; along with it were three thousands angels and they passed with it to the seventh heaven. The angel responsible for that said to them ‘stand and with that work strike the face of the doer of it and with it strike his limbs and lock up his heart; I veil from my Lord every work that is not done for the sake of my Lord; this work was done for the sake of something other than God most high; he did it for the sake of honour among the religious scholars and fame among the intellectuals and renown among the cities; my Lord has commanded me not to allow his work to pass beyond me; every work not done purely for Allah is hypocrisy and Allah does not receive the work of the hypocrite.’
He continued: ‘the
guardians ascend with a man’s work consisting of worship, almsgiving,
fasting , the greater and
Then the angels all say
‘Thy Curse and our curse be upon him” and the seven heavens and all in
them curse him.” At that Mu’adh wept and then continued; “I said: O
Messenger of Allah, you are the Messenger of God and I am Mu’adh; how
shall I have purity of intention and salvation?” The Holy Prophet said:
‘Imitate me even if you fall short somewhat in what you do. O Mu’adh guard
your tongue from slandering your brothers who know the Quran by heart;
attribute your sins to yourself and not to them; do not justify yourself
and blame them; do not mingle the work of this world with the work of the
world to come; do not act arrogantly in society so that men avoid you
because of your bad character; do not whisper to one man while another is
present; do not magnify your importance over other men so that you lose
the good things of both this world and the world to come; do not tear to
pieces people’s character so that on the day of resurrection the dogs of
hell tear you to pieces in Hell. Allah Most High says: “By those who draw
forth”(79:2); do you know what these are , O Mu’adh?’ I said: “what are
they, O messenger of Allah?’ He said “The dogs of hell drawing the flesh
from the bones”. I said “O Messenger of Allah who is capable to acquire
those qualities, and who will escape from these dogs? He said: “O Mu’adh
it is indeed easy for him whom Allah makes it easy.’ ” (The faith and
practice of Al Ghazzali by
So as you may notice this hadith is most important for all of us if we want to create a really Islamic society. This is a hadith that one should read very often because it helps us to understand that our salvation is in the Hands of Allah. Although we should practice good deeds yet we cannot rely on them. This is a very subtle point and it is not easily understood. You will be convinced of its truthfulness only through your own experience. So you should practice good works but at the same time you should pray that Allah accepts what you do. If your intention is not exclusively directed towards Allah you may do a mountain of good deeds but yet be deprived of its benefits. But if you work solely to please your Lord, you may do some good deeds but yet you may be rewarded as if you have accomplished mountains of good deeds. Understand that in the end it is in the Hands of Allah although your efforts and intentions cannot be ignored. May Allah make it easy for all of us to act solely to please Him in anything that we do. Ameen.
I will continue on this
subject incha Allah next week. To end I will share with you three
revelations that Allah has given me during the past week. They are as
follows: - innallazi faraza
alaikal qur’ana la raaddoka ila ma’aad. This is part of verse 86 of
chapter 28, Al Qasas. This is not the first time that Allah has revealed
this to me. Read the commentary of the verse and you may better appreciate
what Allah wants to say. -Wallazina Jaahadou
fina lanahdeyannahoum sobolana. The translation is “those who strive
to meet us; we will surely guide them in our ways.” Again this is part of
verse 70 of chapter 29, Al Ankaboot. Both these revelations
have been repeated several times to me during the night of Tuesday and
Wednesday last. - Maa indakoum
yanfado wa maa indallahe baaqin which is translated as “that which is
with you will pass away and that which is with Allah is eternal.” This is
part of verse 97 of chapter 16. Unfortunately I do not
have enough time to comment on these words. But remember that these
revelations were given to Hazrat Masih Maood as several times.
|