Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen
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Friday Sermon of
20 AUGUST 2010 |
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After reciting the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter of Al Fatiha Imam Zafrullah Domun said: Today is the ninth day of fasting in Mauritius. As you may see time is going by very quickly. We had just begun fasting but already almost ten days are gone. As per the saying of the Holy Prophet saw we are moving from the ten days of the manifestation of Allah’s Mercy to the next days where He manifests His Forgiveness. All of us should see to it that we fill the coming days with all sorts of good deeds so that incha Allah we may all get forgiveness for the wrongs that we might have committed in our life and that Allah may make us strong enough to resist all satanic temptations in the future. When we speak about good deeds (aamaale swaleha), we are not speaking about some extraordinary actions that we need to accomplish. What is meant is simply to pray on time and with full concentration and fervor and devotion. In addition we should also devote more time to the study of the Holy Book so that we might know what is expected of us. Thirdly we should manifest kindness to all around us and to all those beggars who visit us during this month. Those on whom Zakaat is liable should pay their Zakaat and above everything we should devote some time to ask forgiveness and recite laa ilaha illallah. If you think about it carefully this is not a tall order at all. Those who can do more should most willingly do so because we do not know through which good action we might get our salvation. Anyhow let us hope and pray that Allah will forgive all of us all our sins. As we have said many times in the past, Hadith books are full with hadiths speaking about the merits of the month of Ramadan. Many times we have spoken about these hadiths. But there is one particularly which I like and I quote. It applies both to the young and to the old. Right now I am quoting from memory. It is reported that the Holy Prophet Mohammadsaw has said that “Quite unfortunate is that person who witnessed the month of Ramadan but yet he could not have his sins forgiven. Similarly quite unfortunate is that person who found both his parents in old age but did not have his sins forgiven just by serving them.” From this hadith we learn how vast the door of repentance has been opened during the month of Ramadan. This is the month in which Allah wants that all His servants should repent and be saved. That is why most probably the Holy Prophetsaw has asked all of us to seek forgiveness from Allah during this month. Now if we do not avail ourselves of this opportunity and we spend our time as we used to do in other months it means that we are not at all keen to get forgiveness from Allah. The consequence of such negligence on our part will be that we will distance ourselves from Allah and we will continue to follow in the footsteps of the great deceiver who is Satan. But in the Holy Quran many times Allah tells us “ Laa tattabe’ou khotowaatish Shaytaan innahou lakoum adouwoum mobin” which means “ do not follow in the footsteps of Satan because he is to you an open enemy”. Now it is well known and it makes sense that one would not follow one’s enemies because by doing so we will bring ruin on ourselves because our enemies would always try to ruin us. But really unfortunate is the man who follows his most open enemy who is Satan and thinks that whatever Satan asks him to do is good although many times he has been deceived by his advice and by following him. So during Ramadan the opportunity is there to undo everything that has been badly done in the past. We cannot persist doing an action that has harmed us in the past. We should learn to change for the better. By being alive and in good health in the month of Ramadan one has the opportunity to put one’s life on the right track (siratam moustaqim). Here he does not have to look for the occasion or the opportunity because it is being given to him. Allah gives the month of Ramadan and it is up to us to do the needful in it to be washed of all our sins and to be reborn. This is an expression that is in vogue mostly among the Christians but it can be most appropriately used by the Muslims because through the observance of the fast of month of Ramadan a Muslim can be reborn and be given a new life. But we should be careful not to revert to our prior-to-Ramadan habits after Eid. If that is the case and if we restart in doing things which do not please our Lord then we will be deceiving ourselves into thinking that we have been forgiven. We should learn enough self control to stay away from anything that is forbidden especially after Ramadan is gone. So we should remember that Ramadan is the golden opportunity that Allah has given us to get rid of all our sins. If we repent sincerely Allah will forgive all our sins provided we make the firm intention not to commit those sins again. It is true that a Muslim is not allowed to do whatever he likes. There are some dos and don’ts that he should observe. These are the limits that have been prescribed by Allah. If we go beyond these limits Allah will take us to account. The month of Ramadan is here to help us to stay within those limits. We become keener in the observance of prayers and we pray for a longer time because we engage ourselves in supplications. In the same way we are expected to control our tongue, ears and eyes, hands and feet in order to stay far away from sins. By the Grace of Allah I think that the majority of Muslims do succeed in restraining themselves during the month of Ramadan. But we should make additional efforts that the benefits of Ramadan endure in the other months of the year. This should be our aim and for this we will have to strive and struggle and expect success from Allah. In the ruku where Allah speaks about the month of Ramadan in the Holy Quran there is a verse as follows
"And
when My servants ask thee about
Me, say: ‘I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays
to Me. So they should hearken to Me and believe in Me, that they may
follow the right way."
(2:187)
Allah
tells the Holy Prophet to tell the people who might be looking for Allah
because they do not see it with their physical eyes that He is near. He
listens to the supplicant who supplicates Him. But people should listen to
him, that is follow His instructions so that they might be properly
guided. Hence during the night or even during the day we should make it a
habit to supplicate to Allah for our needs and He will respond to our
requests unless He knows what is best for us and at times He may respond
to us in a way best known to Him. The Muslim should always ask for his
needs from Allah alone. The Holy Prophetsaw has said
that even if we need only a shoe lace we should ask it from Allah. To many
people this might appear to be insignificant. But the wise men of the past
have observed that this is so in order to help man to understand that
Allah is his real provider although He has a system of cause and effect
working in this world. He is the one who has put this system in place and
so we should recognize Him as the First Cause for
everything. So
we should make special doas in this month because there are great
opportunities for acceptance. When we supplicate Allah we should consider
Him to be so powerful that he can grant each one of our all our requests
and nothing will diminish in His treasures. In view of the fact that
Allah, the Great Bestower says that He is quite near to His servants
especially during the month of Ramadan so we should spend a lot of time in
making our requests to Allah with the hope that He will grant them
all. In
the beginning of the week in the middle of the night I received the
following revelation from Allah. It was in Arabic but I do not recall all
the words. Anyhow the substance is that I should ask forgiveness for all
those who take a pledge of allegiance (bai’at) with me. In fact
many times I do pray for all of you but here specifically I have been
asked to ask forgiveness for you all. However it would be foolish on the
part of anyone to think that he or she will continue sinning because I
will ask his forgiveness from Allah. No this is not at all what this
instruction might mean. As far as I can understand it only means that I
should add my prayers to all the prayers that all of you are making for
your own selves. The fact that you have joined me through a bai’at
means that you have responded to a call and you all desire to purify
yourselves from sinning. You are here because you are convinced that the
light which Hazrat Masih Maood as brought to the world
is to be found here. And responding to Allah’s call you believe in what
Allah said to this humble one “those who make bai’at with you are
making bai’at with Allah. Allah’s hand is over theirs”. You are the
people who do not take bai’at to be a mere formality that is
repeated every year. For you bai’at is a sincere desire on your
part to get rid of the bondage of sin. You have not come here with me
because you just needed a Jamaat. You are here because in your heart you
sincerely think that here we have a group of people who are sincerely
desirous to improve their selves as dictated by Hazrat Masih Maood
as in order to win the pleasure of Allah. You have understood
that definitely Allah makes whomsoever He likes a khalifa. Those
who think that their man-made systems can appoint khalifas should also
know that under no circumstance they can take away from Allah His Right to
make His own appointments.
You are the people who have come here to practice real Islam where
the rights of each one are protected. You are those who do not harm
anyone, neither with your hands nor with your tongue, as you have been
advised in the ten conditions. You strive to do good around you. You do
not practice the Islam that some propound that you can cause harm by using
its name. You are here to learn more about Islam and life with Allah and
not to injure the feelings of anyone especially if he is a close relative.
In brief you are here to make a difference from those who have given the
instructions of their leaders more importance than what Allah and his
Prophet has commanded. So incha Allah in the coming days I will
pray even more for all of you and I ask you all to do the same for me. May
Allah bless all of us and accept our repentance and help us to stay firm
on the right path where He has put us. So let us all make the firm determination that during the next twenty days we will increase our efforts to try to win Allah’s Pleasure. We should not allow fatigue, lack of sleep or physical discomforts deter us from what is demanded of us. Let us constantly remind ourselves of all the requirements of fasting and be very careful lest we fall short of the standard that Allah has fixed for us as Muslims. Let us continue to remember our brothers and sisters in Pakistan who have not yet finished bearing the brunt of the catastrophic floods that have hit them. May Allah have mercy on all those suffering. Let us use the occasions that we have been given to pray to bring about a real change in the suffering of others incha Allah. |