بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Friday Sermon
HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD
Munir Ahmad Azim
14 January 2011 ~
(09 Safar 1432 Hijri)
(Summary of Sermon)
After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said:
Today, by the grace of Allah I will elaborate on five keys to our success through the prophetic model. This life, every Muslim should be to consider it as a test: This is what we teach our references.
Allah says:
تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
Tabaarakallazii bi-Yadihil-Mulk; wa Huwa ‘alaa kulli shay-‘in Qadiir: ‘Allazii khalaqal- Mawta wal-Hayaata li-Yabluwakum ‘ayyukum ‘ahsanu ‘amalaa: wa Huwal-‘Aziizul-Ghafuur.
“Blessed be he in whose hand is the kingdom, He is powerful over all things; He who created death and life that He might examine whom of you is best in deeds, and He is The Almighty, The Forgiving.” (67: 2-3)
And this Ibtila (trial) is constant: Whether in our relationship with Allah, in our relationship with ourselves or with people and things around us, every action we do, we express each reaction, every attitude we take, every moment that we live forms an integral part of it.
What we all want most is of course to be successful, to taste success... To help us achieve this and to find the right path in all areas of our lives, God in His infinite mercy, gave us four great favours, deeply linked.
1. He blessed each one of us with the ability to reason and analyze the information we perceive through our senses, and therefore, act wisely and not just by instinct, like animals.
2. We also have a conscience (thanks to Him), so that we can provide an ethical and a moral dimension to our actions.
3. To enable us to feed this reason and this consciousness, He made us perceive light from Him, that of Revelation (the light of Divine Revelation).
4. And so we can fully understand the message and meaning of this revelation, He sent it along with a human model, an illustrious person (peace be upon him) whose attitude, following the description made by his beloved wife, was the personification and the living expression of the teachings of this revelation, the Quran...
It is when considering this reality that it is possible to measure a little more how important the study of the blessed life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is for every Muslim brother and sister: In addition to being the best way to develop in us love and regard for him (peace be upon him), it is in this perfect example, this 'Uswah Hasana' as the Quran qualifies it that we find the keys to our personal success, a success which, like the ibtila we undergo, does not concern just our work in the purely religious and spiritual sphere, but in all spheres of our life (namely family life, professional life etc.).
We shall focus, Insha-Allah, only on the five positive and constructive principles - among dozens of them, in light of several events of the Sirah (life) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
1. The attachment to the intelligence of the context and realism.
In his action, the Muslim must make a habit of comparing the means he has set and through which he wants to achieve its objectives to the reality of his environment, and from there, he must constantly question himself to find out whether the way he has chosen in a given context, should he try to see if there is no other way for him to bring into existence his idea (or action)...
a) This is the great lesson that we can take from the attitude that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) adopted as from the tenth year of his prophethood until his Hijra (emigration), three years later. After more than a decade of tireless efforts and sacrifices in the continuing conduct of his Dawa (invitation to God) with his family, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) finds out that most of the Meccans are not only not ready to accept the salving reform which he is offering them but in addition to that, they try by every means to silence him and stop him, and they start looking if there is no possibility for him to continue with his efforts somewhere else.
He then goes, during the tenth year of his mission to Taif. Then he tries to establish contacts with representatives of the different tribes of the Arabian Peninsula who are present on the occasion of Hajj until he find an attentive ear and a positive response from some people of Yathrib (later on, renamed Medina), you know the rest: He will make alliances with them, and some time later, he shall leave his hometown to Medina, where his mission is going to experience a turning point where, less than ten years later, most people of the Arabian Peninsula have accepted Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) fulfils therefore his mission very successfully and it is this testimonial that he takes from all of his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who are present during the farewell pilgrimage, and as narrated by many authentic Hadiths.
b) The vision and the realism of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also occur during the drafting of the Treaty of Hudaybiya in year 6 AH: At this time, he knows that the signature of this Sulh (non-aggression treaty) with the Meccans is crucial for the positive pursuit of his mission and for the general interest of the Muslims...
For this essential goal to be achieved, he agreed to make concessions on matters of secondary importance which were the subject of tensions:
- He accepts, for example, the formula used to initiate the covenant conforms to the will of the special envoy of the Meccans.
- He also accepts that the title of Messenger of Allah be removed from the text (of the treaty).
- He agrees to return to Medina even without performing the Umrah the same year, and to come and perform it the following year.
c) The attitude of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), after the liberation of Makkah in 8 AH is another intelligent expression of understanding the context: as it is furthermore reported by Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), he does not realise his desire to destroy the Ka’aba, and to rebuild it following the foundations laid by Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and with two doors - to facilitate the visit of the Interior of the Ka'aba, only because he feared that this might lead to unrest among the Meccans who recently convert to Islam. (Bukhari and Muslim)
2. The preference of profound analysis to the simplistic approach, to the limit of Manichaeism.
In how he apprehends the events taking place around him, the Muslim must avoid any oversimplification and judgments to the punch: the experience of life teaches us that, in fact, rare are the situations where it is easy to decide categorically and definitively, distinguishing the purely positive from that which is exclusively negative. We all had the opportunity, I think, to see how reality is often full of shades ... The Muslim should just take enough time to make a reasonable analyse of the prevailing situation and identify all these nuances. Concretely, this means that for example, when he judge the actions of others rather than focusing on aspects which seem negative, he must try to see if these do not hide in fact other advantages and benefits far more important (than the previous one): thus, just as he allows himself in his personal choices and decisions to favour the dominant interest, that is to say, which is the lesser evil in his eyes, he must also recognise his brothers and sisters the opportunity to do the same ... This is the kind of approach that avoids falling into the trap of critics, equally free and easy ... which is counter-productive.
That is what we can learn from the attitude of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he welcomes back home Khalid bin Walid (May Allah be pleased with him) from the battle of Mu'tah. This battle was the bloodiest which was fought by Muslims. The expedition had left Medina during the month of Jumada al-Ula of year 8 AH, to go and avenge the murder of the envoy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sent to the Byzantine emperor. Three thousand soldiers were thus sent. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had appointed as their head Zaid ibn Harith (May Allah be pleased with him) but said also that if ever he was killed, Jafar (May Allah be pleased with him) would take his place, and if he was killed in turn, then the commandment of the army will fall in the hands of Abdullah ibn Rawaha (May Allah be pleased with him).
When the Muslims arrived in the region of Syria, they learned they would have to face nearly 200,000 soldiers from the enemy (the Byzantines, with their Arab allies, from the tribes of Lakhm and Judham). Some suggested then to halt, to inform the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) about the situation and ask for reinforcements or new instructions. But Abdullah ibn Rawaha (May Allah be pleased with him) urged Muslims to continue the mission for which they came, without hesitation. This they did and the battle began and all those whom the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) appointed to lead the troops were made martyrs one by one.
Finally, the commandment of the troop was given to Khalid bin Walid (May Allah be pleased with him). He was a true master of war and had long experience of military strategy. Even if the reports are not very explicit about this, it seems, however, he thought then that the Muslims could not fight their enemies under their present conditions. He found a clever tactic to root out the Muslim troops of the delicate situation in which they found themselves, while giving the impression to the enemy that they had received reinforcements: The Byzantines, rather than continue the battle, retreated.
And Khalid (May Allah be pleased with him) took advantage of their reaction to order in his turn the withdrawal of his troops and to return to the blessed city. A section of the population reproached them for their attitude and called them names such as losers (who took fright of the enemy. But the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) rejected the criticism and said: "These are not losers, they ended the war (to prepare for better attack), Insha-Allah."
Faced with the simplistic attitude of some who could just conceive only two issues to a battle, victory or defeat, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took another approach, more thoughtful and taking into account on one hand, the reality of the difficult context in which Khalid bin Walid was (May Allah be pleased with him) and Muslims, and on the other hand, the avenues which the confrontation with the enemy (who was considered as the superpowers of the time) has opened : indeed, the battle did not end in a great victory as some wanted, but it did not also ended in defeat for the number of the emenies amounting to 200,000 must be taken into consideration and this is already in itself a success.
3. The commitment to fairness and justice in all circumstances, and the constant adoption of an honest conduct: These are requirements that a Muslim should never neglect, either in his conduct towards his opponents or in his decisions concerning his relatives.
His feelings should not influence his decision at a point where it happens that he becomes unfair. The Quran says "O you who believe! Be maintainers of justice and witnesses for Allah, even though it is against yourselves, your parents, or your kinsmen, whether he is rich or poor, Allah has more rights over both of them. so do not follow desires, so that you are just. if you twist or turn, Allah is aware of what you do. "" (4: 136)
"O you who believe! Be dutiful to Allah and bearers of just witness. Do not allow your hatred for other people to turn you away from justice. deal justly; it is nearer to piety. Have fear of Allah; Allah is aware of what you do. Be dutiful to Allah and bearers of just witness. do not allow your hatred for other people to turn you away from justice. Deal justly; it is nearer to piety. Have fear of Allah; Allah is aware of what you do.” (5: 9)
It is the honest and upright behaviour of the Muslim who commands the respect of those around him and shall facilitate his deed. The terms of fairness and integrity are of course many in the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). For example, one can consider the following two stories, one emphasizing the fairness of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the other, his integrity:
a) It is reported that in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the occasion of the liberation of the Holy City still in year 8, a woman of Bani Makhzum (a respected family), was convicted of theft. The Quraysh were worried about her: they feared for her that the penalty which is applicable in Islam is applied to her and that her hand is cut off. They then asked Osama ibn Zayd (May Allah be pleased with him) a very close companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to go see him to intercede in favour of this woman.
Where he saw him, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was very angry and gave a sermon in which he expressed the clear obligation and the duty of justice: "O people! Those who came before you went astray (particularly) because when the nobleman among them had committed a robbery, they do not do anything against him, and when that person was poor and or from the middle-class, they implement the penalty. By Allah! If Fatima (my daughter) was guilty of theft, I would cut off her hand.” (Bukhari)
4. The preference of action based on mutual consultation compared with one resulting from an individual decision: It is suitable for human beings to always take advice and consult with competent and experienced persons are before making a decision, and this whatever the field.
Whoever makes it a habit to consult with others before acting rarely regret his decision: in effect, consultation with the confrontation of ideas, exchanging of views and the multiplicity of analysis which it brings in its wake often allow the putting into perspective (and value) whatever important aspects a single person, however competent and knowledgeable he may be, do not ponder upon. It may happen that the enthusiasm and zeal of someone drives him to act in a way, and that the action it intends to accomplish is, in itself, quite correct and justified. But on another part, the context in which it is, is not at all suitable for what he wants to undertake. Indeed, it is not because an act is good in itself that its realisation is necessarily laudable and sensible anytime or anywhere.
The injunction addressed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Quran to consult with his companions (May Allah be pleased with them) is the best testimony to the importance of this duty for indeed, who better than the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) may consider himself wiser, more experienced, more reasonable and having better vision?
Yet, to His Messenger (peace be upon him), Allah says: "... Forgive them, and ask for their forgiveness (from Allah). And consult them in affairs, and then once you have decided, put thy trust in Allah, Allah loves, verily, those who trust Him. " (3: 159)
5. The preference of forgiveness to the spirit of revenge and belligerence, and to a broader measure, the effort of self-control rather than violent reaction:
The Quran states: "Good and evil are not alike. Repel (Evil) with what is best, and now the one with whom you had enmity would be like a bosom friend." (41: 35)
The attitude and behaviour that we adopt from copying from others may have more effect on the nature of our relationship with him that the remarks and speeches that we want him.
When we return again to the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we see that it is precisely the choice of forgiveness that he took in year 8 AH, on entering Mecca: it proclaimed an amnesty for virtually all of the Meccan population, from among whom are found those who had so persecuted him.
What happens next? Even those who had refused Islam and fought the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) tirelessly over the years drastically change in attitude: before the noble reaction of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), they finally agree to open their heart and mind to him, and the result did not take long to materialise. People came to convert en masse to Islam in a very short period of time. And this self-control, that was an integral part of teaching of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the best of Mouallim (teacher) that the earth has increased.
May Allah grant us the opportunity and the Tawfiq to adopt these qualities of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which we consider as key for our success which the prophetic model brings to us. Ameen.
The Khalifatullah also elaborated on the tragic accident (in Mauritius at Saint-Julien) which took the lives of 11 Bangladeshi and 1 Mauritian (the driver). All of them were Muslims, and the immigrant workers just came to Mauritius to work in a factory. They were on their way for a medical check before beginning work. The tragic event took place exactly one year after the killer earthquake which took the lives of 230,000 people in Haiti on the 12 January 2010. The Khalifatullah expressed his sincere sympathy for our Muslims brothers who were killed in that accident and send his sincere condolences to the family of the victims. On the day of the accident, 10 of the immigrant workers were killed on the spot along with the driver of the company. They were 15 in all, 11 died on the spot and 4 were hospitalised. The Khalifatullah then informed us about the death of one of the 4 who were hospitalised. All workers were young ones, barely out of adolescence. The Khalifatullah prayed to Allah to give them a good place in paradise and to forgive them.
Afterwards, Huzur talked about the murder (by strangulation) of an international figure, Michaela Hart (on 10 January 2011) in one of the Hotels of Mauritius. She was 27 years old and on honeymoon in Mauritius. She was the daughter of Tyrone Gaelic football boss Mickey Harte, one of Ireland's best-known sporting figures and the wife of a footballer (John McAreavey). Her death created a ruckus in the tourism industry in Mauritius, attracting the international press in the case of this particular murder.
Furthermore, there were other cases of murder since the beginning of the year. In all 5 murders but there is another one which is a suspected case of murder (a married woman) but which was officially termed as suicide by family and friends.
The Khalifatullah presented his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and condemned such atrocious acts, of barbarism. Mauritius which is known as the Paradise island in the Indian Ocean is becoming more and more a hellish place where all sorts of crimes are committed following the footsteps of “developed countries” except for the blessing it got when Allah raised His Elect for the reform of mankind.
On the international level, more deaths and missing were registered in the states of Australia (from the great floods of more than 5 meters deep), from Queensland to Brisbane, making about 12 deaths and more than 70 people missing. Moreover, there were floods in Sri Lanka (from 05 January to 13 January) making 23 deaths. In Brazil (taking from 01 January 2011 – 13 January), floods made more than 335 deaths. Floods in South Africa made about 50 deaths from 01 January to 10 January 2011. In Philippines floods made about 42 deaths (as from 01 January). Germany also had floods as from 07 January 2011 to 10 January 2011.
There was also a shooting in Tucson, Arizona (USA – on 08 January 2011) where nineteen or twenty people were shot, out of which 6 were fatal. Many of them were high-profiled figures. A little girl (9 years old) named Christina Green was killed. And many more happenings since 1st January 2011 worldwide (only to name a few)…
