The enemy

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Allah has given Satan the capacity and capability to enter the human body just as an x-ray light can pass through the body without you being able to see or feel it.  So too Satan can enter because he is a kind of light. 

He has the capacity either to play on our emotions, desires, egos and our passions because they all come from the heart.  He doesn’t work on the mind because our control mechanism is the heart and these characteristics come from your heart.  He therefore uses these to divert your focus from the straight path. 

So he will work on these qualities just as how he played on the emotions of Adam and Eve in the Garden.  He never whispered in Adam’s ear because as the tradition goes when Allah created the body of Adam He left him in the Garden; Satan entered into Adam’s shell to scrutinized and found that inside Adam’s chest was hollow and could therefore be a weak spot. 

He will create intense passion for us because Allah says Satan looks at you from places you cannot see.  He has his men well trained to work on your weaknesses such as passion, anger, etc.  Allah allows them to do this.  It is us who have to resist.  This is why when Satan made the vow to attack the children of Adam Allah told him except those who are on the straight path.

That is why when tempted we are encouraged to say auzubillah minashaitan nirajeem.  Another way of protecting ourselves is by making wudu  properly.  It is recommended whilst performing your wudu you recite the following dua during the performance;

1.       While washing the hands before performing Wudhu, one should say:

Alla hummaj alni minat tawwabina waj alni minal mutatah hireen.

O Lord! Make me of those who repent and purify themselves.

2.       While rinsing the mouth one should say:

Alla Humma laq qini hujjati yawma alqaka wa atliq lisani bizikrika.

O Lord! Dictate to me the principles of faith on the Day I meet You, and make my tongue fluent with Your remembrance.

3.       While washing the nose one should say:

Alla humma la tuharrim 'alaya rihal jannati waj 'alni mim man yashummu riha ha wa rawha ha wa tiba ha.

O Lord! Do not deprive me of the fragrance of Paradise, and make me of those who smell its fragrance and per fume.

4.       While washing the face, one should say:

Alla humma bayyiz wajhi yawma taswaddufihil wujuh wala tusawwid waj hi yawma tabyazzul wujuh.

O Lord! Make my face bright on the Day when the faces will turn dark. Do not darken my face on the Day when the faces are bright.

5.       While pouring water over the right elbow, one should say:

Alla humma a'tini kitabi bi yamini wal khulda fil jinani bi yasari wa hasibni hisaban yasira.

O Lord! Give my book of deeds in my right hand, and a permanent stay in Paradise on my left, and make my reckoning an easy one.

6.       While pouring water over the left elbow, one should say:

Alla humma la tutini kitabi bishimali wala min wara'i zahri wala taj alha maghlu latan ila unuqi wa a'uzu bika min muqat ta'atin niran.

O Lord! Do not give my book of deeds in my left hand, nor from behind my back, nor chain it to my neck. I seek refuge in You from the Hell-fire.

7.       While performing the wiping of the head, one should say:

Alla humma ghashshini bi rahmatika wa barakatika wa 'afwika.

O Lord! Cover me with Your Mercy, Blessings and Forgiveness.

8.       While performing the wiping of the feet, one should say:

Alla humma thabbitni ala sirati yawma tazillu fihil aqdam. Waj'al sa'yi fi ma yurzika 'anni ya zal jalali wal ikram.

O Lord! Keep me firm on the Bridge (to Paradise) on the Day when the feet will slip, and help me in my efforts to do things which will please You, O' Glorious and Mighty!

Satan is indeed very clever and we should at all times be on guard and protect ourselves from his whispering.  If the wudu is made properly, he will be unable to interfere with the person who is standing before his Lord in worship; otherwise he can come and cause our minds to waver by indulging in all types of thoughts instead of thinking only about Allah.

May Allah make it easy for us and protect us.  May He enable us to ward off the temptations of the because of the weaknesses of our personalities.

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

Vicegerency: A divine gift

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

After Allah created the entire universe and He had perfected the earth, then He created man, with the capability and capacity of becoming His representative on earth.  Because of the fact that man was a new species in creation, the angels and jinn were unable to assess his capacity and capability.  When it was announced to them that Adam was to be Allah’s representative on earth, they were shocked and surprised.

Adam was specially blessed by Allah in many ways.  On one hand, he was to manifest the Divine Attributes in the dealing with the rest of the creatures; and on the other hand, he was given some knowledge which was unknown to the others.

In addition to all these blessings, it was made possible for him and his progeny to meet his Lord as a human being with both body and soul.  This was made evident by Prophet Muhammad (pboh) on the night of Miraj.

Although the names of all created things were impressed in the knowledge of Adam it is left for his progeny to discover and use them as they see fit.  Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why it is believed that science discovers names of things as each name gives a concept of something that is existence.

New discoveries of things in nature confirm the Message of the Qur’anic verse in which Allah says that every day He is manifesting Himself in some form of Glory (55:29).

At the beginning Adam was not fully aware of the effect that prohibited things were to have on a person.  It was only when he tasted the tree that he realized the reason for remembering the Commands to uphold the do’s and avoid the don’ts.

With the coming of Prophet Muhammad (pboh) Allah gave clear and complete guidance regarding believers’ indulgence in permissible and avoidance of prohibited.  Allah re-enforced the message with examples of events, etc. of bygone times to help us comprehend the message in a more meaningful way.

Satan does not like the status of man in the universe and his capability of ascent back to the Creator.  As a result, he vowed to prevent this from happening by making man forget the commands, and by decorating the evil in order to divert him from the Right Way.

As indulgence in evil creates a weight on the doer of the act, he or she will not be able to rise up on the way to the Lord. Such actions will also restrict the penetration of the light of the soul in the cells of the body, so that the person will be resurrected without any light in the body and will ultimately be confined to hell.

 

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

Can we see the Prophet (pboh)?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

We often say Ash-hadu anla ilaha illallaah Wa Ash-hasu anna Muhammadar Rasuulullaah; I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad (pboh) is Allah's Messenger.

In order to testify definitely that there is no God but Allah we rely upon the testimony of Prophet Muhammad (pboh), because he was taken up in the Divine Presence of Allah.  And Allah says in His Holy Words; 

There is no god but He: that is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, (3:18)

So whether we can conceptualised this fact or not we accept it because Prophet Muhammad (pboh); that one who never spoke a lie and who is the most trusted said so.  So we accept it wholeheartedly.

The next part of the declaration of faith is the testimony that Muhammad (pboh) is Allah’s last Messenger.  How can we verify this statement? 

Firstly, Allah tells us this; so we accept it.  It is also necessary for us to experience and to gain knowledge about whatever Allah tells us.  That is why He says; 

Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.  3:191

What then about the finality of the Messenger?  Every Messenger who came before brought something about the messenger, but they never brought the comprehensive message.  How then can we say with certainty that Muhammad (pboh) is the last Messenger?

Allah says in Qur’an ‘take note that amongst you is the Messenger of Allah’.  And the Qur’an contains the message for all times, not just during the life of Prophet (pboh).  Some scholars interpret this ayat to mean that it is his sunnah that is with us.  They also say the recitation of Al Qur’an is another way that he is with us because he taught us its recitation.

Whilst these are all true the ayat reflects more than that.  For example he is reported to have said: “Whoever sees me in a dream actually sees me”.  What does that mean? 

In other narrations we see that when a person is being questioned in the grave he visits them while the angels are questioning the person.  Physically he is not with us but he still maintains a connection with us.

This is possible why Allah says ‘amongst you is the Messenger of Allah’ 

Understand that you don’t have to wait until the time of death comes in order for you to have vision of the Beloved Prophet (pboh).  If you purify yourself and connect to him, insha Allah you can achieve it in this realm.

May Allah bless us and enable us to connect and attach ourselves to His Beloved (pboh) in this world and the next.

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

Our Wasila

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

If you have to meet any important dignitary’s it is necessary that you get all the knowledge of the protocol.  That is just for ordinary human beings; what about the meeting with the Lord?

Allah wants us to approach Him in a particular way.  In order to get this done properly He gives us a command which He says in Surah Maa-idah; 

O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto him, and strive with might and main in His cause: that ye may prosper.  (5:35)

Scholars discuss this particular principle in many ways but one thing they all agree on is that if you want to get to Allah you have to follow Prophet Muhammad (pboh).  Why, because he already met Allah and he is already aware of the etiquettes of getting to Allah.

So in essence what Allah is really telling us is; O you who believe; follow the Prophet (pboh).  Make him your wasila.  A wasila is like a middle person; therefore make Prophet (pboh) your means of getting closer to Allah.

We worship only Allah and do not ascribe any partners with Him.  This is something that is very clear to all Muslims.  We can go directly to Allah because He says ‘if you call on Me, I will respond’.  But there are many things which require some bit of information or example in order that we may maximise our capacity and capability in the short period of time.  That is why we need to tread that path that will not waste our time and resources.  That is called Siratal Mustaqeem.

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is the best model and vehicle to take us to Allah.  Because Allah says 

And As one who invites to Allah’s (grace) by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading light.  (33:46)

He invites you to go to Allah and to take you along and to show you the path.  The path to Allah is Siratal Mustaqeem; that is the straight path; for which we always pray.  Allah says about the Prophet (pboh); 

So hold thou fast to the Revelation sent down to thee; Verily thou art on a straight way.  (43:43)

If the Prophet (pboh) is on the straight path and we want to get on the straight path; what then do we have to do?  We have to follow him (pboh).  As a result Allah says to us; 

Say: If you love Allah, then follow me.  (3:31)

That is why Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is our wasila.  He is that one who connects us with our Lord.  Why do we need to follow him if Allah gave us a Book of which is guidance?  You will see for example even in the time of the Companions they always looked towards the Prophet (pboh) for help and guidance; even though they were taught the Qur’an directly from him.  One simple example is that he taught us the times for salaat.  Allah commands us to establish our salaat, however nowhere in the Qur’an is the specific period of  timings mentioned.

He taught us how to follow the straight path to get to Allah.  So when Allah says seek the means of approach unto him we can take it to possibly mean; follow the Prophet (pboh) and make him your model and guide.  He is Siratal Mustaqeem.

The next very important point is that Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is very concerned for the believers.  Can you imagine how he will feel if we are deliberately going on the wrong path?  And he is connected to us, as Allah says; 

And know that among you is Allah’s Messenger.  (49:7)

And the Qur’an is a message for all times.  Allah didn’t say it was only relevant when he was alive.

Has his mission come to an end or does it still continue?  My dear friends, there are those who keep in constant contact with the Holy Prophet (pboh).  In other places in the Qur’an Allah says he and the angels pray for us; 

And the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, (4:64)

If you want to get close to Allah then get as close to His Beloved (pboh) as much as possible.  Any form of disrespect to him will render your deeds null and void.  Get closer to Allah by showing love and honour for Prophet Muhammad (pboh) and following his way.  Connect to Allah through him and insha Allah you will have no regrets.

May Allah increase our love and attachment to His Beloved (pboh) and through him as our wasila may we attain closeness to Him, insha Allah.

Transcript of discourse delivered by

Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed