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In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
FRIDAY SERMON
HAZRAT AMIR’UL MOMENEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN AL KHALIFATULLAH
MUNIR AHMAD AZIM
20 February 2009
(Summary of Friday Sermon on Remembrance of Allah)
After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Khalifatullah read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and afterwards he read the following verse from the Holy Quran and said:
“O you who believe, do not be distracted by your money and your children from remembering Allah.” (Ch. 63 Al-Munaafiqun V. 10)
Those people as describes in the above-mentioned verse are the losers! We understand in the light of this verse that mundane possessions will end whereas the Remembrance of Allah will both benefit people, in this world and in the Next. Allah is warning those who have believed in Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), that they should be careful lest their riches and children would distract them from the Remembrance of Allah. If they act in this way, without guarding their faith from unbelief, and they indulge themselves more and more in their riches and the pleasure of their children, then these would make their attention deviate from the Remembrance of Allah. Thus, these mundane attractions will lead them towards their own perdition, whereby they would lose their faith, and be detached from the Remembrance of Allah.
Remembrance of Allah makes the heart of a believer (who has faith in Allah) becomes sensitive and humane. On the other hand, the person who says that he believes in Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), but has his heart attached to his riches and children more than Allah, whereby he gives preference to these things over Allah, and he neglects the Remembrance of Allah, then this person’s heart becomes dry and hard because of the intense heat of his passions and mundane desires. The consequence is that all members of his body become hard and they refuse to submit before Allah.
Allah said in the same verse of the Quran: “Those who do this are the losers.” – Even if force is exerted to make these members of the body comply with the will of Allah, even then it would be in vain, as the following sentence of the verse says. In other words, the body of that person has become so dry like wood because of the lack of Remembrance of Allah, that it would just be fit to cut this wood into pieces and burn them.
Fortunate are those who have faith in Allah! They are those who take into consideration the warnings in this verse and they have also the fear of Allah in their heart; they do not let their riches and children make them neglect the Remembrance of Allah. On the contrary, they spend of their riches to please Allah, and moreover, they engage themselves in His Remembrance. They do not let their children also become an obstacle between them and the Remembrance of Allah, and they do not want to become losers in this world and in the Next world also.
It is a reality that each person is busy with his own preoccupations, be it in his workplace, which is also an obligation for him to do, so as to bring in food and other necessities for him and his family. But, if people spare some time everyday for the Remembrance of Allah, they will obtain great rewards for the every little sacrifice which they do. Verily it is not difficult to spare one hour in the twenty-four hours of our everyday life for the practice of this extraordinary act of worship. If we reflect on our life, then we would realize how much time has been wasted in things of no great importance.
What will it cost us if we sacrifice some time for the practice of this most profitable act of worship?
In a Hadith, it has been reported and confirmed by both Abu Huraira and Abu Saïd, that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said: “Angels surround that assembly where people are remembering Allah; the Grace of Allah surrounds them, tranquillity descends upon them and Allah proudly mentions them to those creatures which is around Him; that is in the assembly of the Angels.
Abu Zar (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah has said: “I advise you to inculcate in you the fear of Allah, because it is the very root of all good actions; remain engage in the recitation of the Quran and in the Remembrance of Allah. Through this means, your name will be mentioned in the sky, and it will become a light for you in this world itself. Remain most of the time quiet so that you may be able to say only good words, and this will make Satan remain far away from you, and it will enable you to accomplish your religious duties. Do not laugh a lot because this weakens the heart and remove light from the face. Always participate in Jihad for this is a sign of piety for my Ummah. Love the poor and remain in their company. Always look at the lower class people, and do not look at those who are above you, for (if so) you will then not be grateful towards Him (Allah). Always establish good relations with your close ones, even if they try to break it. Do not hesitate to speak the truth even if it is bitter for the people. Do not be afraid if others criticize you when you are obeying Allah. Always look for your own faults and never look for the faults of others. Do not criticize others for the faults which are found in you. O Abu Zar, there is no greater wisdom than clairvoyance, there is no greater piety than to remain away from the forbidden, and there is no greater noblesse than good manners.”
In the first Hadith, there is the word “Sakina” which has been mentioned – This means, tranquillity, peace and a special grace bestowed by Allah. Also, the word “Sakina” refers to the special state which includes tranquillity, divine favours, and grace which descends along with the angels under the command of Allah upon the heart of the servant of Allah. There is the mention (in other Hadiths) of the descent of Angels for the specific tasks of visiting the places and assemblies where the Remembrance of Allah is practiced. There is also the mention of angels coming down to such groups engaging in the Remembrance of Allah, and when the Remembrance of Allah is stopped, they go away, and when one of them find again another group of people performing the Remembrance of Allah, he calls to the other angels and tell them: “Come here! We have found that which we were looking for (that is, places where people were remembering Allah)”.
Thus, they will surround that place and fill every single space left between the earth and the sky, like mentioned in other Hadiths.
I seize the opportunity to elaborate on Angels. The latter have no inclination whatsoever towards the practice of evils. They are ever constantly engaged in acts of worship, submission and obedience to Allah. Unfortunately, on the other hand, man in his very nature has an inclination towards goodness as well as evil.
When we analyze the life of the human species, we will find that man in surrounded with all sorts of attractions which makes him neglect and disobey the commands of Allah. At the same time, desires and passions always circulate in him.
So, when man worships Allah, submits to His will and remains away from sins despite all difficulties, he deserves a greater honour and appreciation, even more than the angels. When all these satanic temptations surrounds man, but then he fights an inner battle with his passions, in such an extraordinary way to ward off Satan, and then he remains firm in his faith and performs all acts of worship including the Remembrance of Allah, then definitely, he has superiority over the angels. This is because the angels are not surrounded by satanic forces and are not influenced by them. They remain always in the obedience of Allah, and they remember Allah wherever they are, and they look for places where people practice the remembrance of Allah, and they fill up every space that there is between the Heavens and the earth.
That is why man if he is sincere in his faith, will obtain paradise as reward. Such a person is always surrounded with difficulties and obstacles. When man then submits completely to Allah and His commands, shows a complete obedience towards Allah, remain far away from satanic temptations, and remain engaged in Remembrance of Allah (in addition to the other acts of worship), then Allah makes him deserves such recompenses; their degree of superiority over the angels are greater.
And that is why the sincere believer deserves a greater honour and appreciation than that of angels, whereby Allah Himself shows His pride for the accomplishments of such people, who remain engage in His Remembrance and other acts of worship. To understand this well, I will cite a Hadith, where Allah showed His pride for the Remembrance of Allah that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked his companions to take an oath so that he may be sure that it is nothing besides the Remembrance of Allah which his companions did that made Allah pride with their actions. He got the confirmation, whereby Allah was very happy with his companions when they reunited only to Remember Allah. Allah was so happy that He accepted their acts of worship, and their Remembrance of Him, and they received the good news from Allah (through the Prophet of Allah) that their Remembrance of Allah has become a means of “pride for Allah the Almighty”.
Here, by the word “pride”, means that Allah the Almighty addresses His angels in this way: “Look at these people! Despite their ego, despite the fact that Satan is constantly tempting them, despite their passions, despite the necessities of life is always behind them, despite all that, they remain engage in My glorification. All these obstacles do not hinder them from remembering Me. On the other hand, you, the angels, My remembrance and worship do not become a hindrance for you, compared to man, because man is surrounded by all sorts of satanic temptations (whereas you are not!)”.
I end this part of the sermon of Remembrance of Allah here today. May Allah give us the strength and ability to remain absorbed in His worship and especially all the more His Remembrance. Ameen |
