A Bright Bulb

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

It is the custom of a lot of people that when they are decorating a home they usually put up a lot of bright bulbs.  If the bulbs of those lights aren’t bright and shinning it will not serve its purpose.

Every human being is like a bulb.  And the mission of life is to keep that bulb bright and shinning, so that it will be part of the decoration of the Garden on the Day of Resurrection.  In that Garden the perquisite of being there is to have a bright and shinning personality.  In this connection Allah tells us in the Qur’an;

O ye who believe!  Turn to Allah with sincere repentance:  In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, - the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him.  Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things".  (66:8)

There are two ways of keeping our bulbs bright and shinning.  One is to do good.  When we do good we add to the brightness of the bulb.  Another way is to wipe out the dust and smut that prevents our blub from shinning brightly.  The way of doing this is to constantly ask for forgiveness for your Lord.

A lot of people don’t keep this in mind at all.  When you reach a point in life concentrate on two things that Allah makes mention of in Surah Nashr;

Celebrate the praises of Thy Lord, and pray for His forgiveness: (110:3)

Keep your light bright and shinning by glorifying Allah, by seeking forgiveness for your shortcomings, by doing good to others and by connecting your lamp to the source of the light; i.e. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) because he is Sirajum Munirah – the lamp that gives light.

Our aspiration is to get into the Garden and the beginning of entry into the Garden is when you will rise with brightening countenances.

In this earth there are limitations.  For example Prophet Muhammad (pboh) could not have seen the true personality of Jibreal in this world.  It was only when he was outside the dimension of space and time he saw his true personality.  So we cannot understand what are the implication and the beauty of having a bright light.  It is only when we are resurrected we can understand fully.

Pray to Allah to perfect your light and try your best to avoid those things that soil your light or your soul.  The soul is the source of our light and we must never forget that our nafs is impacting upon it.

Our personality comprises of both the body and soul so we need to take care of both.  Because man cannot see the soul much attention isn’t given to it.  We must understand that the soul is the source of our light and we must polish it in order for it to shine brightly.

May Allah forgive us all and bless us with the ability and understanding to remove the spots we would have put on our light and polish it at the same time.

The Rehearsal

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Brother and sisters, firstly I would like to wish all our brothers and sisters, and in particular those from the Markaz al Ihsaan, who will be performing the Umrah in the next coming weeks, insha Allah.  They have been invited by Allah to His Holy House and we beg Allah to give them all a safe journey to and from and let it be rewarding, insha Allah.

Visiting the Holy House and the blessed city of Madinah is enjoined on all believers who can afford it; and the benefits and blessings that are derived from it are many.  Insha Allah I wish to highlight a few good reasons why Muslims must avail themselves of this opportunity as it will definitely help them in this life and the next.

Firstly, we all understand that we are not here forever and we all have a fixed life span.  We will have to leave everything we’ve accumulated behind.  Leaving and going to the Holy Land therefore is like a practice session in a way; because one day we will have to leave and begin the journey back to our Lord.  And it’s reflected in the Talbiyah that is recited;

“Here I come at Thy service O Lord, here I come.  Here I come at Thy service and Thou hast no partners.  Thine alone is All Praise and All Bounty, and Thine alone is The Sovereignty. Thou hast no partners”.

This is a good practice that believes inculcate to remind themselves that one day we have to leave everything and go back to our Lord and stand before Him.  And look at the humble manner in which we are commanded to observe the Hajj/Umrah.   You adorn yourself in simple humble clothing.  And at that point in time you can’t think of material things.  All you’re preoccupied with it glorifying and begging the Merciful Lord.  It is a rehearsal for what will happen on that inevitable Day.

Secondly, we all love our family, our friends and that which Allah has blessed us with.  When we go to the Holy Land we get the discipline that none of these things really matter as it cannot help you; it is only you and your Lord.  Your family and assets cannot help with being bombarded with the millions of people.  It is actually you and your Lord.  This too is a rehearsal for the Day of Accountability as Allah says in Surah Abasa;

That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children.  Each one of them, that Day, will have enough concern (of his own) to make him indifferent to the others.  (80:34-37)

Those who visit Allah’s sacred House; they will get the experience and blessings of that kind of feeling and the good that goes along with it.  In Makkah especially it’s a question of survival.  Everything is so fast paced and everyone is always on the go.  In contrast Madinah is so different.  It reflects the verse from Surah Yaseen that we recite so often;

"Peace!" - A word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!  (36:58)

If Allah has created in paradise in peace and tranquillity and Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “between my house and the pulpit there is a garden of the gardens of Paradise” can you imagine the feeling you will get?  Firstly you will get the feeling of amazement; ‘look where I am’.  I am blessed to stand in the same city that my Prophet (pboh) lived in.  It’s quite different from Makkah.

Anyone who has the means and can find the time to make this sacred journey it is highly recommended to go and experience these things.  Go with the right intention.  Nothing can be compared to being able to stand in the Holy House and glorify Him and praise our Loving Lord.  And Allah is so merciful that anyone who worships there the blessings are multiplied many times over.

So today, we wish all our brothers and sisters, who are indeed blessed to go, all best and request that they especially offer salaams to the best of all creations (pboh) on our behalf and remember us in their duas.

We beg Allah to enable all believers to visit His Holy House and the mosque of His Beloved (pboh).  May He bless and enable us to successfully meet Him on that Promised Day and may the meeting be special, blessed and highly rewarding insha Allah.


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

Submitting to Allah in all conditions

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Last week we spoke of the importance of cultivating faith in our hearts.  We remind ourselves of what Allah tells us in Surah Hujuraat;

 

The desert Arabs say, “We believe”.  Say, “Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah, for not yet has faith entered your hearts.  But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  (49:14)

 

If you have true faith in your heart it will manifest throughout your entire personality and when that happens, you will submit to Allah willingly.  There are some who profess to have faith but as Allah says ‘in their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease’ (2:10); meaning that they don’t really have faith.  And Allah expounds about such people in the very beginning of Surah Baqarah;

 

Of the people there are some who say: "We believe In Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe.  (2:8)

 

In reality they are professing to be something they are really not.  There is something else in their hearts.  We need to culture our hearts to ensure that faith enters and remains there, because the heart is the centre or nucleus of the personality.  And if the heart has true faith it will manifest itself throughout the entire personality.

 

Understand that we, on one hand, want our entire personality to meet the expression made by Hazrat Abraham (as): Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds:  He understood so well the importance of his complete personality being in total submission to Allah.  And that is what we should all strive for.

 

If we want to get close to our Lord we need to aspire for it.  We cannot put anything between us and Him.  If we love the world more it will ultimately come between us.  The true believer, in all conditions, learns to submit to Allah no matter what the circumstance may be.  We are living for His sake and He will not let us down.  He will give us all sorts of trials and always remember that the higher you go the more the trials you will get.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “when Allah loves a servant, He tests him” (Tirmidh)

 

Look how He tried His Beloved (pboh).  He was an orphan born  in the most aristocratic family but they were so humble.  His mother could not even afford a wet nurse.  And look at how he was able to draw all the people close to him.  He never forced them.  On one hand they knew if they were associated with him they would get blessings from Allah and on the other they knew they will learn to culture and cultivate their personalities.

 

The test of faith of the believers is the trials from Allah.  When the trials come will you run to someone else other than Allah?  When everything is good and peaceful your faith isn’t truly tested.  As Allah says in Surah Hajj;

 

There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see!  (22:11)

 

Some people sit on the fence.  When everything is nice and rosy there aren’t any complaints; but when they are afflicted with some hardship they lose faith and trust in Allah.  This is what we have to be careful about.  Any of us can display levels if hypocrisy at anytime if we give something priority over Allah.

 

Everyday Hazrat Umar (ra) would visit a Companion who Prophet Muhammad (pboh) made a special dua for.  This particular companion thereafter possessed the ability of identifying a hypocrite.  So gifted was he that whenever there was a Janaza of a hypocrite he would not attend and this led Hazrat Umar (ra) to scan the crowd to see if this particular Companion was present.  If he was not present Umar (ra) would refrain from leading the Janaza because he knew the deceased was a hypocrite.  And Everyday Umar (ra) would visit this blessed companion and ask “am I a hypocrite?”

 

It is quite easy to fall into complacency.  For example when salaat time enters and we don’t pray our salaat because of some worldly preoccupation; what happens?  These are the things what we need to be careful about.

 

A true believer is a humble person because on one hand they know their Lord is close to them and on the other they know they can make mistakes at anytime.  Your heart is like the pearl inside an oyster.  Try your best to keep it bright and shinning.

 

Ask you Lord for forgiveness for the wrong we would have all committed.  Yes we make mistakes but if our intention is Allah He will help us.  Strengthen your heart through His remembrance and through this insha Allah, Satan will not get the better of you.

 

We all have one life to live and everyday that passes is a day gone.  May Allah always protect us, guide us and bless us insha Allah.

 

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Sincerity in the heart

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah tells us in Surah Hujuraat;

 

The desert Arabs say, “We believe”.  Say, “Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah, for not yet has faith entered your hearts.  But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  (49:14)

It is easy to say something with the tongue, whether it is meant or not.  Islam doesn’t want that from us.  Instead our total personality must be in complete submission to Allah and only then will you be a true believer. 

Allah says about some people; In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease:  (2:10)

Why is this?  Because they say they believe but do so for some ulterior motive.  Those are not from amongst the true believers.  Instead we must concentrate on true submission to Allah from our heart.  As Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported “there is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoiled, the whole body gets spoiled – and that is the heart” (Bukhari).

Sometimes we hear people say ‘that person doesn’t have heart’.  It means that the person being described doesn’t have love and compassion etc.  These qualities don’t come from the tongue.  True love comes from the heart.  This is why Islam emphasises that we bring the faith into our hearts. 

Look at what Allah did when He wanted Prophet Muhammad (pboh) to begin preaching the Deen.  He caused Jibrael to impress the Qur’an in the heart of Prophet Muhammad (pboh) on the night of the first revelation.  So when he spoke to the people it was not only coming from his mouth but his heart as well. 

Culture and cultivate your heart to have true submission and God consciousness and only then you would have really achieved something.  If you have Allah in your heart and you are submitting to Him only then will you find peace and tranquillity.  This is possibly why He says

 

“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah; for, without doubt; in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”  (13:28)

You can have everything of this world but have no peace of mind.  When you culture and nurture your heart to have true submission to Allah you will find peace and contentment.  And you will also get closer and closer to your Lord.  If you have no peace and contentment then something is wrong. 

Understand also that when you think of, or do evil, it will impact upon your heart.  Even if no one is aware of it you are putting stains on your heart.  We need to all the time keep looking at our hearts and work upon it to ensure that we have sincerity and purity. 

And this is where our zikir and meditation can help.  By engaging in spiritual mediation you will know if you are engaging in something wrong; if so, you will feel a ‘heavy heart’.  And if you are engaged in good or surrounded with good you will feel a difference in your heart.  Insha Allah your heart will aid in guiding you. 

Our mission is to make our heart bright and shinning and full of sincerity and purity; else we are just like the Bedouins who Allah spoke of.

Keep your heart clean and pure and strong in Allah’s remembrance and let Him take care of our affairs insha Allah.

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Be prepared for your resurrection

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

 

Part of our beliefs is that one day we will be resurrected, after we’ve gone from this world and our bodies have been decayed.  All human beings, since the time of Prophet Adam (as) and the billions that followed will all be resurrected.  Some people have a problem in comprehending the resurrection and its possibility.  To this Allah says beautifully in the Qur’an;

 

O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest (Our power) to you; and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term, then do We bring you out as babes, then (foster you) that ye may reach your age of full strength; and some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known (much), and (further), thou seest the earth barren and lifeless, but when we pour down rain on it, it is stirred (to life), it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs).  (22:5)

 

Allah has given many eye openers in nature that demonstrates resurrection.  In the ayat quoted above Allah draws reference to the dry parched earth.  It looks lifeless with the plants and tress withering away.  However when Allah causes the rain to fall the greenery comes back.  This is easy for Allah and so too is the resurrection of human beings.

 

Allah was very descriptive in the ayat mentioned above regarding the process of human existence.  Each and every one of us started life as a microscopic grain of sand.  Do you think a grain of sand would decay?  No it would not as is would form part of the earth.  We were all created from this microscopic grain of sand and then Allah caused it to grow into a sperm and further caused the sperm to fertilise an egg and thereafter caused it to grow into a human being.  How great is Allah?

 

What is the wisdom in Allah telling us this?  In order to understand about this a little more,  we see what Prophet Muhammad (pboh) said:

 

Abu Huraira narrated, that the Prophet said: “There is nothing of the human body that does not decay except one bone; that is the little bone at the end of the coccyx of which the human body will be recreated on the Day of Resurrection”.

 

That tiny grain of sand which we all began life from does not decay.  It goes back into the earth.  Then upon the command of Allah it will grow back into the person it once was.

 

Understand that this is not difficult for Allah.  The difference the second time round is that we would come out with a bag around our neck that contains all our deeds.  The lighter our bag the more likely our chances are of meeting Allah.

 

It’s important that we understand this because it is an eye opener for us.  What am I doing for the resurrection?  Will I be happy with a bright and beautiful countenance or will I be like a withered rose.  You are responsible for your own future.  What are you doing to ensure that the meeting with your Lord would be a beautiful one?  We all want to meet Him and would like that He is pleased to meet us.

 

Take care of your life and don’t waste it because one day it will be the only asset you have of value for the next phase of life.

 

May Allah enable us to engage in much good throughout our lives so on that Day when all of mankind are brought back to life we will be from amongst those who will be most pleased to meet our Lord and insha Allah He would be pleased to meet us.

 

 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at

http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan

Sincere Repentance

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “Whoever says: La ilaha illa Allah (there is no god but Allah) will enter Paradise”.

 

We need to understand that this is the ‘passport’ for entry into Paradise.  We need to also understand that going to paradise is one thing; but when will we actually enter paradise is another matter.  There would be some who would have to go through the Hell fire before they enter Paradise.  Because of their deeds and actions they will have to go to hell first and then through Allah’s Mercy, He will take them out and enter them into Paradise.  However they will be referred to as the Dwellers of Hell.

 

We don’t want to go to hell, no matter how short the stay.  As a result Allah tells us in many places in the Holy Qur’an that we should constantly beg Him for forgiveness.  For example Allah says in Surah Tahriim;

 

O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, - the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with Him. Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things”.  (66:8)

 

Allah is addressing the believers in the ayat.  Allah also tells us in another ayat ‘if Allah were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature’.

 

No matter how much we try at the end of the day we are all humans and we may still commit mistakes knowingly or unknowingly.  And no matter how much faith we may have today we all have past records and it maynot be as we would want it to be.  As result Allah advises us to constantly repent.

 

Repentance is not just a mechanical exercise or lip service as some say.  It demands sincerity.  Sincerity means that I am truly sorry for the wrong I would have committed and for soiling my soul with black spots.  And if you repent sincerely Allah says in the ayat mentioned above; in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow.

 

Even if you did something wrong don’t let it hinder you from humbling yourself and begging Allah to forgive you.  It’s very easy to make a mistake and Satan has real capacity and power and knows our weak spots and how to work on them.  However one simple thing can nullify all his power and this it ‘I seek refuge in Allah’.

 

Don’t think for example that you can recite plenty Darood or give lots of charity to balance off your wrong deeds.  Try your best to stay away from evil in totality.  We can’t foster good and evil in our hearts at one and the same time.  Keep struggling and working on your nafs and Allah says that He will make our light bright and shinning. 

 

What we do here every Thursday is to firstly seek repentance for our shortcomings and to also strengthen the other dimension of our personality which is to culture our qalb to resonate Allahu.  If you have Allah in your heart, Satan cannot divert you.  It’s a barrier between you and him.  He is always looking to catch you and will use every method possible as Allah has given him permission.

 

The only thing that will pull us through is belief in our Lord.  Today sadly we are seeing that for some people life has no value.  Keep in mind however that those on the straight path, Allah will help and protect them insha Allah.

 

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said ‘seek forgiveness and repent more than 70 times a day’.  And He is the Messenger of Allah; therefore if he did it we should try our best to do the same.  And we should always pray for those who have gone before us.  Be generous in this matter and you would have done a service to not only your beloved ones but also ourselves as Allah is Most Merciful and would bless us in the process.

 

We need to always be mindful that life is an onward journey and part of our mission is to send goodness before us.  Begin from now and remove any black sports we’ve stained our souls with by sincerely repenting to our Most Compassionate Lord.

 

May Allah enable us with the capacity to always repent to him daily and may He guide us and protect us from the ills facing society insha Allah.

 

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

 

Double Blessings

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah tells us in the Qur’an about the status of Prophet Muhammad (pboh) regarding his relationship with us.  He says in Surah Imran;

Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves.  (3:164)

Allah says that Prophet (pboh), especially for the believers, is a great favour.  You will understand that before his coming no Messenger taught their followers La Ilaha Illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah.  Only with Prophet Muhammad (pboh) coming was the declaration of faith completed.

When we look at the mission he was designated to perform it was indeed something special.  On one hand he is the one whom all the previous Messengers preached of his coming.  Besides that it was only with his coming that the direct connection between the creature and The Creator was established, on the night of the Mir’aj.  So his total personality is a favour.

Because his status is special and he is highly favoured, anyone who follows his will naturally be in a higher status than those who just believe in the oneness of Allah.  Possibly because of this Allah is Surah Hadid;

O ye that believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger, and He will bestow on you a double portion of His mercy: He will provide for you a light by which ye shall walk (straight In your Path), and He will forgive you (your past): for Allah is Oft- forgiving, Most Merciful.  (57:28)

Anyone of who tries their best to believe in Allah with full faith and conviction and adheres to the Sunnah of Prophet (pboh) Allah has given the assurance of a twofold amount of blessings and in addition to that Allah will provide us with a light for guidance.

And we can see this in our own lives at times.  In some situations we are saved from accidents etc.  How is this possible?  Your Lord has not left your affairs up to you alone.  Allah will not make your effort go in vain.

Understand and feel confident that we belong to the ummah of Prophet Muhammad (pboh).  The Companionship is a plus to us and in addition if we take path in good Allah will make it easy for us and bless us.

Always be thankful to your lord for joining us in the ummah of His Beloved (pboh), because Allah conferred a great favour on him and if we join in his companionship we too would benefit from that favour.

Continue the struggle to get closer to Allah and His Habeeb (pboh) and insha Allah we will get more blessings from our Lord and a brighter light to aid in guiding us.  May Allah bless us and take care of our affairs.

Success through Salaat

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

In the adhan we say Hayyaa alal falaah.  Translated, it means come to success.  What does success this imply?  And how can observing the salaat lead to success?

 

We know salaat to be an institution and one of the pillars of Islam.  Salaat is very important to a believer because Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said ‘the difference between us and them (the hypocrites) is prayer’.

 

Allah says in surah Ankabuut;

 

and establish regular prayer: for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt.  (29:45)

 

If you pray your salaat properly, you will get that internal guidance to become a better person.  For example when the first prohibition alcohol was revealed Allah said;

 

O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say.  (4:43)

 

If a person is intoxicated it will take some time for him to get sober.  Thus at the time when this ayat was revealed if the believers wanted to pray salaat they would have had to stay away from alcohol.  And this is just one impact which salaat had in moulding and culturing the lives of believers.

 

And because the institution of salaat has this impact on us Satan would always try to take the people away from salaat.  For example in once it was brought to Prophet Muhammad’s (pboh)  attention that a man had slept the night till morning (after sunrise).  Prophet (pboh) said, “He is a man in whose ears (or ear) Satan had urinated”.

 

Allah says about the successful ones;

 

By the soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and its Enlightenment As to its wrong and its right; - truly he succeeds that purifies it; (91:7-9)

 

In order to attain success we must strive for Tazkiyah nafs; purification our nafs.  Culture it to the point where our thoughts and action would not bring about any black sports on our soul.  And salaat helps in keeping away black spots and at the same time polishes the soul to keep it bright and shinning.

 

The successful ones are those who strive to keep the light of the ruh shining and bright so that it can permeate throughout the entire personality.  If you stay firm on your daily salaat you will definitely see a change on your life.

 

If you want to beautify your faith make sure you have the fundamentals down.  And everyone can perform salaat.  You don’t need to be a scholar and there are no restrictions in terms of place.  The whole earth is a musala, baring the unclean place.

 

Give importance to and be steadfast in performing it.  Allah made it convenient for us.  A lot of people can’t understand why they have problems in their lives.  Salaat is an institution where we can meet out Lord and talk to Him and beg of Him.

 

And we must understand how fortunate we truly are because we are the only ummah to uphold salaat even though all the Messengers use to pray.  Make use of it and do not treat it as a burden.  You think if you set aside time during the day and night to praise and beg you Lord He would forsake you and let you down?

 

Resolve to yourself that you won’t miss any of the fard salaat.  Some people criticize other who just concentrate and pray the fard rakaats alone.  The important thing is that at least they are praying.

 

Humble yourself and do not be like Satan who refused to submit to Allah’s command. May Allah bless us and guide us and always enable us to uphold this blessed institution of salaat, insha Allah.

The Lamp

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Brothers and sisters, we are in the blessed month of Rabbi-ul-Awwal; a month that represents a truly great blessing from Allah in that He sent Prophet Muhammad (pboh) to mankind.  Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (pboh) after He sent 124,000 Messengers to every nation and tribe.  The previous Messengers delivered the message in their own language in order for their people to understand.  With Prophet Muhammad (pboh) however, Allah sent the message in His own language.  Imam Ghazali (ra) writes ‘Fifty thousand years before creation, Allah use to recite Surah Thaahaa and Surah Yaasiin’.

So Prophet Muhammad (pboh) was selected to give the original message in its entirety.  And in addition to giving the da’wah, Allah gave Prophet Muhammad (pboh) a special mission.  Allah says;

O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and warner, - and as one who invites to Allah’s (grace) by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading light.  (33:45-46)

The previous Messengers did not have the permission or the knowledge to give glad tidings.  They warned the people and invited them to Allah.  But Prophet Muhammad (pboh) was given the special mission that is Sirajum Munirah – the lamp that gives light.  What exactly does this mean?

Allah says about Himself that He is the light of the heavens of the earth.  And He has given Prophet Muhammad (pboh) the mission of spreading light to others.  He says; 

Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. the parable of His light is As if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed In Glass: the glass As it were a brilliant star: Lit from a Blessed tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though Fire scarce touched it: light upon Light!  (24:35)

There are many implications to this but today we will look at just one.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is described by Allah in the Qur’an as the lamp that gives light.  For a lamp to give light it must have the capability to stay lit.  How is it possible for Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is give light all throughout the ages? 

Allah didn’t say Prophet (pboh) gave light only when he was alive.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) continues to give light to all human beings all over the world and will continue to do so up until the Day of Judgement.  How is it possible? 

Firstly we need to understand one thing.  Prophet Muhammad’s (pboh) complete personality was light.  There are many traditions where his Companions reported that there were times where his body was brighter than a full moon.  In the dark of the night Hazrat Aisha (ra) reported that light emanated from him.  You can’t begin to imagine what type of personality he is when you read all these narrations. 

Understand that if you want a light from a lamp to shine brightly you have to keep the shade clean.  And Prophet Muhammad (pboh) was very clean.  Allah says;

nor does he say (aught) of (his own) desire.  (53:3)

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) never put himself before in any matters.  Therefore his nafs never came between him and his Lord.  He never clothed his soul with the black spots of selfish desires etc.  And even then when he was going on the blessed Mir’aj his heart was firstly washed with zam zam water.  So supposing that there were any blemishes, it was properly washed and cleaned before he went up to His Lord.

What I’m going to say now is probably the first time you would hear this.   Allah describes Himself as light and further says that Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is also light.  Look at what happened in the Mir’aj.  Allah took Prophet Muhammad (pboh) above all created things, the cosmos, the angels.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) was taken in the Divine presence of Allah.  Allah says;

and (he) was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer.  (53:9)

Now this is a highly technical and philosophical ayat. What is, and how close is two bows-length?  And at that sacred moment Allah revealed what He wanted to.  Possibly one of the things revealed was that special light.  Light upon Light!  (24:35). 

Because of this Prophet Muhammad (pboh) has the capacity to disperse light to mankind.  And it can be accessed via 3 methods.  Through recitation of the Glorious Qur’an, through following his sunnah and through connecting your light (qalb) with his.

And this has been happening throughout the ages.  How is it possible?  Allah and His angels are constantly and continuously sending light to Prophet Muhammad (pboh). 

Verily Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet:  (33:56)

This is being done continuously.  And we can benefit from this by connecting to Prophet Muhammad (pboh) through the institution of darood.  We all have a special mission and that is to brighten our personalities with the light that is coming from Prophet Muhammad  (pboh) and share in the legacy. 

So when the month of Rabbi ul Awwal comes it’s nice to sit and reflect on our connection with our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pboh).   How close am I with him?  How can we get closer to him?  Try to love him; more and more.  Not just through his sunnah but by also reciting darood abundantly.  And through this practice, insha Allah, your life would be much different.

If you connect yourself to him here what do you think would happen on the Day of Judgement, when only his intersession would be accepted?  Allah says in Qur’an ‘take note that amongst you is the Messenger of Allah’. 

The highest stage of spirituality is called realization.  When you understand that we are nothing and how close we are to Allah and His Messenger  (pboh).   We are all striving to achieve this.  It’s not easy.  Adam and Eve were in the Garden and Satan came between them and their Lord.  Getting closer to Allah and His Messenger (pboh) means climbing and climbing is not easy.  And rest assured that Satan would be patiently waiting to divert you.

Take caution because we all have one life to live and whatever is done here reflects in the hereafter.  Analyse your own self; what sort of relationship do I have with Prophet  (pboh)?  Would I have to look for him on that inevitable Day or would he look for me? 

We beg Allah to guide us and to increase us all in knowledge.  May He make us understand and realize the greatness of His Habeeb (pboh) and enable is to attain nearness to him in this world and the next.