Staying united

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

 

If a limb is cut off from your body it will decay; except if saved and treated, etc.  This is an important eye opener for us because Islam teaches us one brotherhood.  Allah says;

And verily this brotherhood of yours is a single brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: Therefore fear Me (and no other).  (23:52)

Islam came to remove the tribalism, racism and all other segregated mentalities.  There is no question of ‘I am better than you’ as was shown by Satan in the Garden.

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) has informed us of the consequences of trying to be superior or segregate ourselves from others.  For example he says that if there is a flock of sheep and a wolf is to attack them, he won’t go in the middle of the flock, he will take one that is on the outskirt or the one’s that separated from the flock.

These are eye openers to the message that Allah give us in the Holy Qur’an;

And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves.  (3:103)

Islam gives us the recipe, the prescription, the philosophy and the consequences of on one hand staying united and on the other hand the danger of separating.  A lot of people, because of their ego or because of their desire to do good, separate because they are not allowed to contribute, something of their talent to help others.  And later on that separation may grow into a separate entity.  We need to be mindful of at all times the we are  to stay united.

For example when Prophet Muhammad (pboh) and his Companions were constructing the mosque in Madinah, each Companion took one brick at a time.  One Companion took with him two bricks at a time and Prophet (pboh) reprehended him.

We have to be careful at all times.  Our intentions may be good but we must always ask the question: are we causing disunity by doing this or that?

Allah has given us institutions to unite the ummah such as salaat.  When the time for salaat comes we all join in.  That is an indication that we are a united people and an eye opener of what we can really achieve if we work like a unit.

Whenever we are going to do something ask yourself whether you are doing it for the sole sake of Allah and for the love of His Rasool (pboh).  And always try to bring together your Muslim brothers and sisters.  We will have personal difference as no two humans are alike, but these must not lead us to segregating ourselves or excluding others.  Whenever we are working as a group always remember what Allah says and be not divided among yourselves.

One way of staying united is the collective engagement in zikrullah.  This is common to all; remembering Allah and praising Him.

We all have to make a conscious effort to foster and maintain unity.  Don’t allow the ego to prevent you from achieving this.  And whatever little you may do on your own try your best not to create disunity. 

With love, compassion, wisdom and understanding; let us make an effort not to contribute to the division of the ummah.  It takes a real effort but we insha Allah we can all contribute to it.  Always be mindful of the bond that Allah wants us to create.

May Allah enable us to strive for unification in the ummah and may He allow us to always work together.


Transcript of discourse delivered by
Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at
http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan


 

Good and evil never mix

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah tells us in Surah Muzzammil; And whatever good ye send forth for your souls ye shall find it in Allah’s Presence, - yea, better and greater, in reward and seek ye the Grace of Allah for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  (73:20)

Good goes to Allah and evil goes down into a dungeon.  Allah says in Surah Infitaar; As for the righteous, they will be In Bliss; and the wicked - they will be in the fire.  (82:13-14)

What we need to understand is that good goes up to Allah and evil goes downwards.  Good and evil do not mix.  They are not even recorded in the same place.  As I’ve said in the past good is recorded in the skies and evil is recorded in a dungeon.

Allah has given us examples in the Holy Qur’an about the end of those who lived a life of wrong and those who lived a life of good.  I would like to reference just two examples.

Firstly, the story of Qarun.  Qarun was a person who lives at the time of Moses (as).  Once he overheard when Angel Jibril explaining to Moses (as) the process for making gold.  So in his past time he used to make gold.  And he became so wealthy that the keys for his treasures were a burden for men.  Allah records this in Surah Qashash;

Qarun was doubtless, of the people of Moses; but he acted insolently towards them: such were the treasures we had bestowed on Him that their very keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men.  (28:76)

When Moses told Qarun to pay his zakaat he schemed up a plan to accuse Moses of adultery in an effort to get rid of him.  And what was his end?

Then We caused the earth to swallow up him and his house; and he had not (the least little) party to help him against Allah, nor could he defend himself.  (28:81)

Allah caused the earth to swallow him along with his wealth.  Evil goes down into the earth!

Next reference; Prophet Jesus (as).  Jesus (as) was a righteous man.  He was brought into this world in an extra ordinary way.  He never depended on anyone for anything.  Jesus (as) lived in the hills and came down to preach to the people.  Allah records of him in the Qur’an;

And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous:  (6:85)

He never wanted anything from him yet they want to kill him.  What did Allah do?  Allah took him up in the skies and he is still there.

Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in power, Wise.  (4:158)

What is the importance of telling you this?  It is to show you the ends of those who did evil and those who did good.  Allah is Dhil-maarij.  Dhil-maarij literally means He is the Owner of the ascending stairways.

Our mission is to ascend and get closer to our Lord.  And those who do will get a greater reward.  On that Day they will have the fastest transport to reach their Lord.  Build your transport here.  The time is now and the preparation is now.

There is nothing wrong in striving for betterment in the world, but don’t make it your Lord and get arrogant of what you’ve achieved.

Understand what Allah has for you, you will get it.  Rumi wrote day and night there is movement of foam on the Sea.  You see the foam, but not the Sea. Amazing!  What he’s alluding to is to drown yourself in your Lord and not in the world.  Be careful of what you are fighting for.  We all have to leave one day.  What are you sending before you and where is it being kept?  Remember what you send in the dungeon won’t help you.  It’ll only lead you in the fire.  What you send upwards is safe and insha Allah the more you send the further and further away you will be from the abyss.

May Allah bless us and guide us and enable us to send plentiful upwards to Him for safekeeping insha Allah.

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at
http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan 

Refining your intention

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

If you go to a market you will see a lot of people and each one of them will concerned with his or her own business.  Each of them would have gone with a purpose that concerns their own affairs.  Like this is the human family.  We were all created by Allah and are placed on this earth for a purpose.  And that is to represent Allah and prepare ourselves to return to, and Him.

Throughout the history of man you will see tribes and nations that deviated.  And when they deviated, Allah sent Messengers to remind them and bring them back.  Bring them back to what?  This is what we need to understand.  To bring them back to the common thread that binds all human beings together.  This common thread has one important strand and that is to believe that Allah is the Creator of the Universe.

The Messengers came to remind the people of this and in spite of their efforts the people remained divided and disunited; each looking after his own material affairs and not thinking of the return to the Lord.  Islam came to remove that kind of thinking and Allah testifies to this is Surah Imran;

and ye were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from it.  (3:103)

Muslims are supposed to have one common denominator and that is La Ilaha Illallah; this unites all believers together.  There are, however unfortunately some who attest to this but their hearts have not yet joined that human family.  For example in our zikir sessions we are joined by one motive and one intention that makes us all part of this family.  But in society even amongst the believers you don’t have that common purpose and focus.

The reason is because Satan is able to get into the chest of us and is able to effectively whisper in a few to get them to have some sort of selfish motive.  And in spite of the fact that they are believers and they harbour love of the religion of Islam, some of them may have ulterior motives.

A perfect example is the story of Adam (as) and Satan in the Garden of Eden.  Satan, Adam (as), the Angels, the Jinns all lived together in the Garden. There Satan posed to be a good and trusted friend of Adam and look what he did.  He harboured an ulterior motive although he was in the Garden.

This is what Islam came to guard us against.  Be careful with your intention.  Some people profess to be Muslims and in so doing are supposed to submit in totality to Allah and His Rasool (pboh), but they have their own agendas.  Perhaps this is why today we have such turmoil in the Muslim world; because we are not living for the sake of Allah.

We have to try our best to live for the sake of Allah.  Sometimes we may think ‘if I do something like this I can get personal benefit’.  It’s a natural thinking but in so doing we are sacrificing some of the blessings Allah can shower upon us.  Then I am not truly living for the sake of Allah.  This is a little lower category than a truly righteous believer about whom Prophet Muhammad (pboh) said ‘a Muslim in the Hands of Allah is like a dead in the hands of those who wash him’.

True faith is to live for the sake of Allah and understand that whatever is happening to you is coming with Allah’s Permission and Knowledge and He knows why He is doing it.  That is why we recite in our duas;

‘We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys’.  (2:285)

This is applicable to us all, none of us are perfect.  We will at times think of ourselves, however let us all try to grow our Iman and try to think about Allah and His Rasool (pboh) and hope for the best from our Lord.

Moses (as) prayed to Allah: “Our Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on Pharaoh and His Chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of the present, and so, Our Lord, they mislead (men) from Thy path. Deface, Our Lord, the features of their wealth, and send hardness to their hearts, so they will not believe until they see the grievous penalty”.

On the other hand Allah says of Prophet Muhammad (pboh)

Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message.  (18:6)

He was so loving and compassionate that he felt sorrow for the nonbelievers who didn’t listen and were using their God giving gifts to destroy themselves and others.

Let us try to do our little bit for ourselves and for others and let Allah take care of the rest.  This earth belongs to Him, not us.  We can do a little and if you do He will take care of you and whatever you are doing. 

Try to make your intentions more and more refined because we are all humans and it is very possible to get carried away and tempted at times.  However when times like these occur hasten to ask your Lord for forgiveness and turn back to Him in the hope for His blessings and forgiveness.  May Allah always bless us and take care of our affairs.


Transcript of discourse delivered by
Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan 

 

The Divine Countenance

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah says in the Ayatul Kursi; His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth; (2:255)

If Allah’s Throne is outside our realm of understanding it also means that His Divine Personality is incomprehensible.  We cannot really figure out or conceive how vast Allah is.

Our mission in life is to try and realise we are always in front of our Lord and He is facing us He is knowledgeable of our thoughts and actions.  Take for example; He says in Surah Baqarah;

To Allah belong the East and the West: Whithersoever ye turn, there is the presence of Allah.  For Allah is all-Pervading, All-Knowing.  (2:115)

Allah, at all time, has His attention on us, therefore we should be conscious that we are in His Divine presence.

What we want in life is to realise that we are standing and facing our Lord and He is facing us; and He is pleased with us as well.  We need to strive to be conscious of this.  To this effect Allah says;

And keep yourself (O Muhammad) patiently with those who call on their Lord in the morning and afternoon, seeking His Face.  (18:28)

The mission is life is not to get as much of the world as you can.  The true success in life is to get the attention of our Lord.  Everything is in His knowledge; He is seeing everything; He is assisting, sustaining, etc. 

But He also says if you remember me I will remember you.  We can assume that it also means ‘if you don’t remember me I won’t have time for you’.  He will allow out of His mercy, those who are disobedient, to go on just as He granted Satan respite.  However the wise creature will try to get His Attention by aspiring to know that they are always in the presence of their Lord.

We want Allah to look at us, to be pleased with us and to love us.  If we are ungrateful and disobedient do you think He would want to look at you? 

At this point one may ask “why do we need to attach ourselves to the Divine Countenance of our Lord?”  Everything is existing in His Divine Knowledge.  But why get close to His Countenance?  He gives us the answer in Surah Qashash;

Everything (that exists) will perish except His Own Face.  (28:88)

If everything in the heaven and earth will be destroyed except His Own Face do you think if you are attach to Him you will be destroyed?  We want to be saved and live on, therefore try to get close to the Divine Countenance of our Lord.  And how do we achieve this?  Allah gives us the answer in Surah Ar Ruum;

So give what is due to kindred, the needy, and the wayfarer.  That is best for those who seek the Countenance, of Allah, and it is they who will prosper.  (30:38)

If you want to be in the presence of the Divine and have Him look at you and consequently take care of you; one way is to be generous to what Allah has given you.

The true believer will give in the way of Allah; without thanks or fame.  They give for the pleasure of Allah with the intention that Allah would be pleased with them as they carry on in His Presence.  And in so doing their personalities would get brighter and brighter.

This isn’t achieved overnight.  You have to work hard for it.  And you have to also preserve with patience because one mistake can be like a black cloud that comes and blocks out the light of the sun.  We don’t want to soil the brightness we are striving to attain, thus we must constantly preserve with patience.  And rest assured that Satan would try to divert you from your mission.

Aspire to get close to the Divine Countenance of your Lord.  We are taught the way of getting close because when we stand for salaat the first thing we say is 'Inni Wajjahtu Wajhiya Lilladhī Faţara As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđa Ĥanīfāan Wa Mā 'Anā Mina Al-Mushrikeen - For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.

We are not supposed to give attention to anything else but Allah at that moment.  And we speak to Him and glorify Him and beg of Him.  That is realisation which we aspire night and day to experience.  Some may experience it in this world like Prophet Muhammad (pboh) did on the night of the Mir’aj.  He ascended in the Divine presence of the Lord.  And Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said ‘salaat is the mir’aj of the believer’. 

Our mission in life is to aspire with our health, our wealth, our knowledge, with our everything to try to get close to your Lord and to feel yourself in His Divine Presence and He is looking on at you with Love and Compassion.  If this is achieved you would have succeeded in life.

We beg Allah to help us and guide us to control our nafs so it’ll help us to realise we are in the presence of our Lord and to subsequently engage in those actions and thoughts that would lead to Him being well pleased with us insha Allah.

 

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

Audio File: The Divine Countenance.mp3

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Click to listen/download Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed's discourse
The Divine Countenance.mp3