Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Inner Voice

Author: Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizivi

WWW.ALHASSANAIN.ORG/ENGLISH

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Preface4

Preface of the First Edition 4

Preface of the Second Edition 5

Chapter 2: Introduction 6

Chapter 3: Know The Soul7

Chapter 4: Is God Dead? 8

Chapter 5: Unity of God 9

Chapter 6: Can ‘Nature’ Replace God?10

Chapter 7: Love and Fear of Allah 11

Chapter 8: Sinlessness of Prophets12

Chapter 9: Unique Achievement13

Chapter 10: Aim of Life14

Chapter 11: Purpose of Creation 15

Chapter 12: God - Mindedness16

Chapter 13: Trust in God 17

Chapter 14: Thankfulness to Allah 18

Chapter 15: Be With God 19

Chapter 16: Live & Die for Allah 20

Chapter 17: Allahu Akbar21

Chapter 18: Real Fast22

Chapter 19: Fruit of Fasting 23

Chapter 20: Spirit of Fast24

Chapter 21: Purpose of Fasting 25

Chapter 22: Sincere Repentance26

Chapter 23: On Pilgrimage27

Chapter 24: Philosophy of Pilgrimage28

Chapter 25: Eternal Life29

Chapter 26: Miracle of Qur’an 30

Chapter 27: Achievements of Islam 31

Chapter 28: How Islam was Spread ?32

Chapter 29: Mercy For All Worlds33

Chapter 30: Equality of Man 34

Thought for the Week:34

Chapter 31: On Akhlaq 35

Chapter 32: Code of Conduct36

Chapter 33: Self - Criticism 37

Chapter 34: On Righteousness38

Chapter 35: Justice & Generosity 39

Chapter 36: Essence of Ethics40

Chapter 37: On Pride41

Chapter 38: On Greed 42

Chapter 39: On Envy 43

Chapter 40: Most Dangerous Disease44

Chapter 41: On Extravagancy 45

Chapter 42: Generosity and Miserliness46

Chapter 43: Islamic Generosity 47

Chapter 44: True Charity 48

Chapter 45: Both Worlds49

Chapter 46: Love of This World 50

Chapter 47: Humility 51

Chapter 48: Amr-Bil-Maaroof52

Chapter 49: The Best ‘Jihad’53

Chapter 50: Chaos in World 54

Chapter 51: Decaying Society 55

Chapter 52: On Modestry 56

Chapter 53: On Polygamy 57

Chapter 54: Dignity of Labour58

Chapter 55: Lawful Earning 59

Chapter 56: On Obligations60

Chapter 57: Be Kind to Parents61

Chapter 58: Duty Towards Parents62

Chapter 59: Duty Towards Neighbors63

Chapter 60: Change of Heart64

Chapter 61: To Acquire Knowledge65

Chapter 62: The Great Fellowship 66

Chapter 63: Obligations of a Believer67

Chapter 64: On ‘Trust’68

Chapter 65: On Liquor69

Chapter 66: Liquor and ‘Nation-Building’70

Chapter 67: On Gambling 71

Chapter 68: On Future - Reading 72

Chapter 69: On Witchcraft73

Chapter 70: On Backbiting 74

Chapter 71: Purity of Intentions75

Chapter 1: Preface

Preface of the First Edition

Character building is as vital and essential in our present day society as it has been in the past. It is of even greater importance today to ac-quire more content with the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and His Ahlul-Bayt in view of our decadent society with its ever increasing temptations all around us; since Islam is not a dogmatic religion, but a complete code of life and a guide in all aspects of our day to day activit-ies and behavior.

Maulana Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, the Chief Missonary of the Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania, has been publishing small thought provok-ing articles in the “Sunday News”, Dar-es-salaam, on general Islamic Teachings and its role in our character building. This column has proved very popular among Muslims and Non-Muslims alike; and, now, its Swahili translation appears in the weekly “Baraza” (Nairobi). Also, the “East African Standard” (Nairobi) has published many of these articles in its Muslim Column.

I am, indeed grateful to Maulana for compiling these articles in this booklet and I hope they will serve the useful purpose as they were meant for.

The Mission commends the elders to give this booklet its widest pos-sible circulation.

Ahmed H. Shariff

President

Bilal Muslim Misson,

P.O.Box 313

MOSHI (Tanzania)

Preface of the Second Edition

This book was published in March 1969. Some time later, the column “Thought For the Week” of the “Sunday News” was discontinued. By that time, more articles were published, which has been added in this edition.

12th April 1975

Ahmed H. Shariff

Chairman Bilal Muslim Mission, Dar-es-Salaam

Chapter 2: Introduction

Man has been created with an aim; he has been blessed with the power to act freely; and he has also been shown the way which leads to eternal prosperity and bliss, and the way which ends in eternal wrath and fire. Life on this earth is the period in which man, whether he likes or not, has to follow one of these two paths.

A Muslim is required to follow the right path and to be very careful from being misled to a wrong direction. For this, he has to be aware of the pitfalls, dangers and misleading elements which lie in his way. One of the effective methods to get this awareness is by studying the socio-ethical problems from Islamic point of view. In studying these problems he will come to know that pride, envy, jealousy, greed extravagance, be-ing indifferent to others’ behaviors, forgetting Allah, idleness, alcohol, gambling, lying and back-biting are the factors which can change the dir-ection of his path and lead him to the eternal fire of Hell. Whereas love and remembrance of Allah, hard-working with trust in God, self-criti-cism, righteousness, justice, generosity, modesty, being kind to others, acquiring knowledge, trustworthiness and sincerity are the deeds which will help him in keeping on the right way. Only then will he be able to follow this path successfully and live a prosperous and happy life.

'Inner Voice' is a collection of small articles mostly on socio-ethical problems from the Islamic point of view. These articles were written by the renowned Muslim scholar, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, the Chief Mis-sionary of Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. Maulana Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi had written the articles for a column “Thought for the Week” in the ‘Sunday News’ of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). As we found these articles interesting in which the writer has been able to explain the Islamic socio-aspects in a short, attractive and simple manner, we de-cided to reprint it for wider circulation.

Dar Rah-e-Huq

Qum-Iran Sha’ban 1400 A.H.

June 1980 A.D.

Chapter 3: Know The Soul

“Soon will We show them our signs in the (furthest) regions and in their own souls....” (Qur’an,41:53).

There is one tested method of knowing Allah; and that is “through His creation” - the Worlds and the Man. Let us begin with our self.

We do not know the nature of soul. Still we have to admit that there is something which is the source of “life” In the same way, though we can-not ‘know’ the Creator, we have to admit that there is a God who has created the universe.

We know that the soul is the ruler of our body. If any limb of ours re-fuses to obey the commands of the soul, it is not a reflection on the strength of the soul. It is considered the defect of the limb itself. Like-wise, the God is the master and ruler of the universe; and if anybody re-fuses to obey the commandments of Allah, the authority of Allah can never be doubted. It will be a sign that the disobedient person is sick spiritually.

We know that soul is connected with our body; but we do not know where it is. The life is everywhere in our body; but if a limb of a man is amputated, we cannot say that so much portion of the soul also has been cut off. Thus, we see, the life everywhere and still we cannot say that it is here or is there. In the same manner, we know that Allah is everywhere; but we cannot say. “He is here” or “He is there”. We cannot point to-wards Him; we cannot correlate Him with any place.

Whenever we want to do any work, our limbs simply obey the un-spoken command of the soul, without any need to tell them in so many words. In the same way whenever God wants anything to happen it just happens, without any need on the part of God to say “Be this” of “Be that” Therefore, we understand that the words used in scriptures that “God says and the thing happens” is just a way of expressing the idea that as soon as Allah wishes something, it happens immediately.

We do not see the soul; still we believe in it. Man believes in such cre-ation which are beyond his senses. Strangely enough, there are some people who do not believe in the Creator, just because He is beyond their senses!

God has shown His signs in our self. Perhaps these points were in the mind of Amir-ul-mumeneen Ali when he said: “Whoever knew his soul, knew his Lord”.

Chapter 4: Is God Dead?

“Creation of God, the pattern on which He has made mankind; there is no change in the work of God. That is the standard religion, but most among mankind do not understand”.(Qur’an, 30:30)

They claim that ‘God’ is dead. They should have said that ‘gods’ are dead. The confusion arises when false ‘gods’ are identified as ‘God’.

An atheist astronaut once glee fully joked that he went high above in the space but could not see the god. So, here is the confusion: the poor soul did not know that God is not ‘body’ to be seen or found in a ‘place’. His joke just confirmed the belief of those who had emphasized from the very beginning that God could not be seen.

Belief in a God is as much natural as any natural instinct can be. This eternal truth has been explained in the verse of the Holy Qur’an men-tioned above. An atheist asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq how could be con-vince him about the existence of God. Coming to know that the man had gone several times on sea voyages, Imam asked him: “Have you ever been caught in a fierce storm in middle of nowhere, your rudder gone, your sails torn away, trying desperately to keep your boat afloat”. The answer was ‘Yes’. Then Imam asked: “And sometimes, perhaps, even that leaking boat went down leaving you exhausted and helpless on the mercy of raging waves?” The answer was again ‘Yes’. Then Imam asked:

“Was not there, in all that black despair, a faint glimmer of hope in your heart that some unnamed and unknown power could still save you” When he agreed, Imam said: “That power is God”.

That atheist was intelligent. He knew the truth when he saw it. Today’s atheists give that place to ‘Nature’. The only snag is that poor ‘Nature’ is senseless and lifeless. How a senseless and lifeless ‘idea’ (because nature is no more than an abstract idea) could create a universe of such magnitude with such a systematic perfection, uniting millions and millions of galaxies in a well-knit system? How could nature give life and sense to creatures when itself it has none?

Chapter 5: Unity of God

“Say. He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal. Absolute; He be-getteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him”. (Qur’an. Sura 112)

This short Sura of the Holy Qur’an is the most significant of all writ-ings dealing with the one-ness of God. As Allamah Abdullah Yousuf Ali has commented in his translation of the Holy Book, the nature of God has been indicated here in a few words, such as we can understand.

He writes: “Here we are specially taught to avoid the pitfalls into which man and nations have fallen at various times in trying to under-stand God.

“The first thing we have to note is that His nature is so sublime, so far beyond our limited conceptions, that the best way in which we can real-ize him is to feel that He is a personality. ‘He’, and not a mere abstract conception of philosophy.

“Secondly, He is the One and Only God, the only one to Whom wor-ship is due, al other things or beings that we can think of are His creatures and in no way comparable to Him.

“Thirdly, He is Eternal, without beginning or end: Absolute, not lim-ited by time or place or circumstance, the reality before which all other things or places are mere shadows or reflections.

“Fourthly, we must not think of Him as having a son or a father, for that would be to import animal qualities into our conception of Him.

“Fifthly, He is not like any other person or thing that we know or can imagine: His qualities and nature are unique”.

In fact this short Sura is a declaration of war against all ideas of pagan-ism, and anthropomorphism. Men from the beginning have had a tend-ency to imagine God in their own image. Some thought of Him as having body, like animals or human-beings. Others thought that He was incarn-ated in the forces of nature, like rain, lightning, mountain and river. Still others thought that He was a father and had child or children. But this Sura warns us against this tendency to conceive God after our own pattern.

Chapter 6: Can ‘Nature’ Replace God?

“Nature designed this’; Nature adapted that’. These are the phrases fre-quently seen nowadays in the text-books and articles.

What is this ‘Nature’, anyway? It is nothing but an abstract idea formed in human brain after careful study of the behavior of the things. It may be found (if it is ‘found’ at all) within the things; it has no inde-pendent existence. And, in any case, there is no record of any conference of the ‘natures’ of various things, held to decide how to co-ordinate their functions. Flowers never conferred with the bees to seek the bees’ co-op-eration in their pollination, offering them, in exchange, their nectar. But we know that bees could not live a single day without flowers; and thou-sands of flowers would long have been extinct but for the bees.

More puzzling are those phenomena which can not be explained by ‘nature’s planning’. When Moses fled from Pharaoh, theRed Sea parted, allowing him and his followers to cross to the promised land. Scientists nowadays try to explain it by natural causes; an earthquake must have made the water shift at that time. All right. But why did that supposed earthquake occur at a time when Moses and his followers desperately wanted to cross the Sea, and why it remained parted till Pharaoh entered into it? And why the movement of water was reversed at that very mo-ment when the enemy of God with his people was in midst of the Sea? Was it all a coincidence?

And was it a coincidence which prompted a spider to weave its cob-web at the mouth of the cave in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad was hiding from the pagans of Mecca who wanted to murder him? And more than that, was it also a coincidence which brought a pair of pigeons to build their nest at the mouth of that very cave at thick of night and lay the eggs before morning? It was that cobweb and nest with eggs which led the blood-thirsty enemies to believe that Muhammad could not be in that cave, otherwise the cobweb would have been destroyed and the nest and the eggs broken!

Can that speed and timing of the pigeons and spider be explained by ‘natural causes’?

Chapter 7: Love and Fear of Allah

“All praise is only for God, the Lord of Universe, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment” (Qur’an, Chapter 1; Verses 2-4)

These are the very first verses of the Qur’an. They present in clear terms the concept of God in Islam: God is Merciful and Just. According to Islam, the Divine Justice is no separate from His Mercy.

The Divine Justice cannot be compared with the justice meted out by the judges in the courts. These judges are only the executors of the law, given to them by others, with little or no authority to condone the cul-prits. They are bound by the law. They are helpless against the strict im-plications of law when it demands punishment. They cannot dispense mercy even if the culprit is repenting, even if the circumstances demand mercy. Petitions for mercy are addressed to the head of state, who is the supreme promulgator of law.

But God is not a mere judge. He is the Law-giver and the supreme Authority. Hence an offender can be sure of His merciful pardon if his repentance be genuine.

Islam puts the Mercy of God before His Justice. The very first verse of the Qur’an is “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”. Islam believes that “His Mercy is before His wrath”.

Thus the Muslims have a finely balanced faith, which is inclined neither to this side nor to that. It does not teach us that God is a high handed avenger who does not forgive a single sin or mistake; but it does not present God in the shape of a feeble person who will not punish even the tyrannies and brutalities of head-hunters. The essence of Islamic faith is in the above-mentioned verses, where the Mercy of God has been mentioned side by side with His Justice.

Here we find a real divine religion which encourages man to go nearer to Allah, attracted by His Mercy and Grace; and warns him against tres-passing the limits of moral and religious laws, by reminding him that God is just, the Master of the Day of Judgment.

Thus, the two most important instincts of man, i.e., love and fear, are simultaneously utilized to make man a perfect being, a whole being, not wanting in any respect.

Chapter 8: Sinlessness of Prophets

“And We sent not an apostle but to be obeyed according to the will of God”. (Qur’an, 4:64)

God sent so many prophets and apostles to lead their people on right path. Some of them were sent to a small group; others to large com-munities or countries. In the end the Prophet of Islam was sent to the whole mankind.

The prophets were to be obeyed; their examples were to be followed. It required a very high degree of respect and prestige in the eyes of the would be followers. But could a prophet command a genuine respect if his own character was not without blemish? How could his community believe that his claim of prophethood was based on truth? After all, a man who had committed sins in past, could again commit another sin - that of false pretension. So, to carry on the work of God, the prophets must have been sinless, and free from mistakes.

This capability to refrain from sins is called ‘Ismat’ in Islam. And the Muslims accept that all the prophets were sinless.

Of course, some stories are told about some of the prophets which are not edifying, to say the least. But we know how the passage of time starts legends about historical personalities; and how human mind works out the details; and how every generation wants to justify its own morality (perverted or otherwise) by pretending that it is what was done by more wise men (in this case, the prophets). As a result of this mental exercise, the followers succeed in creating a not-very-lovely picture of their prophets - just to satisfy their own troubled conscience.

For example, this week a certain ‘man of religion’ (who lives in a coun-try which has just now legalized a perverted sexual act) did suggest that his prophet also might have indulged in that kind of perversion. He did not mind tarnishing the name of his prophet if this could ease the burden of shame and guilt from his conscience!

So, be careful when you are told stories of sins of other prophets. Hu-man nature does not change. People, even the followers, nave been at-tributing nasty behaviors to the prophets of God since a very very long time.

Chapter 9: Unique Achievement

One of the unique achievements of Islam is the fact that Muslims never upgraded the Holy Prophet of Islam to godhood. It speaks eloquently of the humility and selflessness of Muhammad (s.a.w.), who easily could have been acknowledged (had he only wished so) as a deity in those days when people were used to worship human beings; and especially so when people were so much impressed by his matchless character and unparalleled conduct that a mere hint would have been enough to make him a god.

He did not want the people to take him as other than a man. He never gave any room in any of his utterances which would in the least mislead the people to raise him to godhood.

We know how easily a ‘son of man’ can be construed to be a god if he is metaphorically spoken of as a ‘son of God’. Muhammad avoided all such metaphorical references about himself. He always proclaimed all power, knowledge and glory for the true God. He always presented him-self as a servant of Allah who did nothing but the will of his Lord. The frankness with which he always presented himself to the world entitled him to the title ‘The Plain Preacher’. As he has been addressed by Allah in the Holy Qur’an. He presented the truth in its pristine purity and ori-ginality without any misleading ambiguity.

Chapter 10: Aim of Life

“And did you think that We created you aimlessly?” (Qur’an 23:15).

No man likes to be accused of working aimlessly. Acting without pur-pose is against the accepted norms of sanity. Therefore, we are confident that God never does any work without aim and purpose.

And what is the purpose of our creation, our life?

A group thinks that material well-being is the sole purpose of the hu-man life. Their creed: “Every man should work according to his ability; and he should get according to his need”. It is the ultimate goal of their life. They see no other purpose beyond it. Alas! These people do not know the difference between means of life and aim of life.

Let me explain it. A farmer grows maize. He cultivates the land; mixes fertilizer in the earth; sows the seed; irrigates the shamba when neces-sary. Go and ask him: What is the purpose of cultivation? He will never say: The purpose of the cultivation is to sprinkle fertilizer and irrigate the land. He has sense enough to know that these are the means of cultiva-tion, not its aim. Its aim is to produce maize for human consumption.

A dairy-man keeps cows. He feeds them, looks after them and protects them from harm. Ask him and he will explain that these are the means of keeping the cows alive. But is it the purpose of keeping the cows in the farm? No.! The purpose is something else - milk.

So we see that even in the worlds of maize and cows the difference between he means of life and purpose of life is fully recognized. Is it not strange to forget it when it comes to the human life? When a philosophy teaches us that bread and butter are the aim of life it ceases to be a philo-sophy. It becomes a fallacy.

In fact, we are alive for a higher purpose and nobler aim. The Creator himself has made it clear:

“And I did not create Jin and human beings, but so that they may know and obey me”. (Qur’an, 51:56).

Forget this basic purpose of your creation and you have degraded yourself to a level far below than that of cow a maize.

Chapter 11: Purpose of Creation

“And I did not create Jin and human beings but so that they may wor-ship Me”. - (Qur’an, 51:56)

God created us and sent us in this world just to obtain spiritual perfec-tion and piety, as explained in the above-mentioned Ayat of the Holy Qur’an. Most of the commentators take the world ‘worship’ to mean worship with faith in Him’.

A child is sent to school to study and acquire knowledge. Likewise, we are sent here to acquire spiritual qualities which could not be obtained otherwise you see, unless you are faced with such a situation which puts some strain upon your integrity, your integrity has no real strength. Un-less you are facing a situation in which the majority of people lose their temper, your forbearance has no meaning. Therefore, to bring out the full qualities which are spiritual, it was necessary for the man to come in-to this world and prove his worth by behaving nobly in adverse atmo-sphere and surroundings.

After spending some time here and showing the strength or weakness of his spirit he goes back - i.e., dies - just as a child returns to his home from the school. In this background, hardships, turmoil, difficulties and disasters seem essential to complete the picture. These are the methods which help in bringing out our spiritual perfection. Fire melts gold and makes it pure; Tragedy and distress soften the heart and brightens the spirit.

Chapter 12: God - Mindedness

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”. (Holy Qur’an)

This phrase occurs at the beginning of every Chapter of the Qur’an, ex-cept one. It is used by Muslims before starting every work - before read-ing, before eating, before starting their work, before sleeping. Islam teaches man to start every good effort with the Holy name of God Who is beneficent and merciful, invoking His mercy to bless his efforts with success.

The goal of Islam is to make a man “God -minded”; it wants him to realize that he, himself, is nothing, that all his efforts are fruitless unless rewarded by God with success. And that realization is combined with the satisfaction that God is beneficent and merciful, who will not disap-point him in his hope and belief.

It is very amusing to note that the common image of Islam, in the eyes of non-Muslims, is that of a religion whose god is wrathful one, like the god of the Old Testament, inflicting punishment on the spur of the mo-ment. Do a mistake and you get a jolly good bang on your head!

They fail to realize that the very first sentence of the Qur’an describes God as beneficent and merciful. And that formula is used by every Muslim hundreds of times every day. And the Muslims believe that by invoking the mercy of God they get limitless blessings of God, in this world as in the world here-after.

Once, the Holy Prophet, (S.A) while passing a graveyard, ordered his companions to get out of it in haste. On the return journey, he asked them to walk slowly. On being asked the reason of his first order and then of its change next time, the Prophet informed them that there was a man being chastised in one of those graves, on account of his wicked-ness. “I did not like to remain in a place where a human-being was being punished, though he was a wrongdoer” Fortunately, at the mo-ment the child of that dead person was taken to a teacher to start his education. The teacher told him to recite “In the name of Allah, the bene-ficent, the merciful” As soon as the innocent child invoked the Mercy of Allah, the command came to the angels to change the punish-ment into the blessing of God. Reason: “It is not becoming to my mercy to punish the parent while his son calls me the beneficent and merciful”. So in the return journey the Prophet walked in that grave-yard with comfort, glorifying the mercy and benevolence of the Almighty God.

Let us turn towards God every time we begin a work. The word “Bismillah” (“In the name of God”) may mean also “For the sake of God” and “To the service of God”. Thus this formula, if comprehended fully, will serve also to save us from wrong action and misdeed. Cer-tainly, it will be illogical to commit a mischief “for the sake of god” and “to His service”. Let us remember God; and we will become free of sins and errors.

Chapter 13: Trust in God

“And put thy trust in God; and enough is God as a disposer of affairs”. (Qur’an; 4 :81)

The word used in Qur’an is “Tawakkal”, which is derived from “Tawakkul”. This is not an excuse for idleness. “Tawakkul means that you should bind the camel with its rope, then say that you have trust in God that He will protect your camel. You should not have confidence in the rope only, because many a camel has been stolen together with its rope; and, likewise, you should not neglect the rope, because binding with the rope is a part of Tawakkul”.

So this is the spirit of Tawakkul. We are to try our best; and then we should have trust in the God that He will make our work succeed.

It is a sheer nonsense to sit idle and say that Allah will do all our work for us. He says in Qur’an: “And that man can have nothing but what he strives for” (Qur’an, 80 : 39).

A high standard of Tawakkul was set when Amir-ul-mumeneen Ali (A.S.) asked some idle persons who they were. “We are those who have confidence in Allah”, came the answer. Ali asked: “How is your confid-ence in Allah?” They said; “We eat when we get food; and we have pa-tience when we do not get it”. Ali retorted: “Yes! That was the very nature of a dog”. Stunned they asked him to explain the true meaning of Tawakkul in contrast to their own belief. Ali said; “When we get, we give to others; when we do not get, we thank Allah.”

It means that you are to try your best to improve your condition; but you should not trust your own power and wisdom. Have confidence in Allah that he will make your efforts fruitful. Then, if you succeed, try to help your fellow brethren with the fruits of your labor; and if you fail, then also be thankful to Allah.

But why should you thank Allah even when you do not succeed? Be-cause success or failure is not your responsibility. You were expected to do your best - and you did it. Be thankful to Allah that you were able to perform what was expected from you. It is your efforts which matter. Success or failure is not your province.

Chapter 14: Thankfulness to Allah

“And be thankful to Me; and do not be ungrateful”. (Qur’an: 2:152)

Thankfulness to God is one of the highest virtues which a man could aspire for. It is easy to be thankful when one has got an easy life, a prospering business, a respectful job and a happy family. It is a different story when things are not going as desired. Most of us, in such situ-ations, remain obsessed with sorrow, forgetting countless bounties of God which we are bestowed with, even at the time of that tragedy. Per-haps it is this tendency which is mentioned in the Qur’an in these words: “And few amongst my servants are grateful”.

It is even more difficult to be grateful in such heart-breaking situations which a man of God has to face in his struggle to lead his people on right path (like the condition which our Holy Prophet, Muhammad, had to contend with). He faced abuse of the community, wrath of big tribal heads. Children used to throw stones on hi, women scattered thorny bushes in his path. And he remained cheerful and thankful to God.

When a man asked him why did he pray whole nights and fasted al-most continuously, when he had so much work to do every day, the Prophet simply asked: “should I not be a thankful servant to Allah?” Many examples can be found of men of God bearing the burdens of al-most inevitable persecutions with great patience; Muhammad faced them with cheerfulness and thankfulness. The difference between two at-titudes is clear enough.

Not only this. His closest people also thought of these hardships as a sign of the grace of God. Had not God chosen them to bear such heavy burden in His cause? Was it not a sign of His pleasure with them? It was this thought which made them face cheerfully all this kind of persecu-tions inflicted by the enemies of God. It was this feeling which made Hazrat Ali not only “patient” but “thankful” when he was asked by the Holy Prophet to sleep in this (Prophet’s) bed, so that the Prophet could leave Mecca while his would-be killers (who ringed his house) thought that he was sleeping in his bed. His only question was: “Will your life be saved if I sleep in his bed?” When assured that it was the promise of God, he prostrated to God, thanking Him that He made his (Ali’s) life a ransom for the life of the Holy Prophet (S.A.)

Chapter 15: Be With God

“And God is with you wheresoever you may be:” (Qur’an: Chapter 57: Verse 4)

God is everywhere. No space or time is without Him; yet He is inde-pendent of time and space. He is Omnipresent; and His love protects us from harm in this world as in the life hereafter.

But this relationship with God should not be one-sided. No doubt, God is with us. The vital question is: “Are we with God?” If a grown up son misbehaves and still demands the same parental affection which is enjoyed by his courteous and obedient brother, he is just deceiving him-self. Likewise, some people fail to realize that there is no such thing as “one-sided companionship”. And if we want to be sure that God is with us, we must be sure that we are with God. It means that we have to prove our love towards God, if we want to be worthy of love of God. In other words, we must know also our responsibilities towards God and His creatures, and try to fulfill them.

As a first step to reach this goal, we must realize that we are too much entangled in our worldly affairs to spare a moment to remember God. We are not preparing ourselves to meet God at all. Sheikh Saduq, on of the greatest Muslim scholars, has given a very good parable to throw light on this facet of our life.

A man slipped down from the brink of a deep well. Fortunately, a plant had grown in the wall of the well, and while falling down his hands clutched a branch of that plant. After the initial shock, he began looking up and down. What he saw, was enough to make him scared. A huge serpent, in the depth of well, was waiting for him to fall down, Desperately, he decided to remain where he was; and then saw, to his horror, that two mice - one black, another white - were busy cutting the root of that plant. He lost his hope. Then he looked up, and his heart was full of hope. He was not very far from the rim of the well and, by a little judicious effort could reach the safety very easily. Then he saw a beehive in that plant. And forgetting his tragic position, he began eating the honey. Of course, the bees did not like it and began stinging him, but he remained oblivious of all the troubles. A short time after, the mice suc-ceeded in cutting the plant down and he fell in the mouth of the serpent.

We are that man; this world is that well; the plant in midway is our life; which is being eroded away by every passing night and day - the black and white mice; death is the serpent waiting for us. The honey rep-resents the pleasantries of this world, for which we quarrel with other people - the bees - and are bitten by them. What makes our plight more tragic is the fact that rescue is never very far. It just requires a little effort on our part to reach the safety and security provided by the loving care of Allah.

We may easily reach to God and be safe forever. Or, on the other hand, we may be destroyed by death. The choice is ours.

Chapter 16: Live & Die for Allah

“Say: Truly my prayer, and my actions, and my life, and my death are all for God, the Cherisher of the Universe”. (Qur’an, Chapter 6; Verse 162)

This is the ideal Islam. A true Muslim surrenders to the love of Allah. All his actions are motivated by one thought only: God would be pleased by this work, so it must be done. Not only the external rituals and rites, but also his emotions and thoughts are submerged by love of God. He lives for Allah, and he dies for Allah.

This week, Muslims all over the world are commemorating the great martyrdom of Imam Husain and his companions. That tragedy is the perfect example of the way a Muslim should keep the love of Allah and His religion above all things.

To begin with, Imam Husain had not refused to submit to Yazid for any worldly reason. He made it perfectly clear in his will which he wrote at the time of departure from Medina. He writes:

“I am not leaving Medina for any worldly motive: I am leaving it so that I may establish the way of my grandfather (the Prophet) and my father (Ali); and so that I may exhort people to become righteous; and may dissuade hem from evil”.

This will explain in prose what Imam said in poem while he was pro-ceeding to Iraq. He was frequently heard reciting these lines: “If the reli-gion of Muhammad cannot be saved except by the sacrifice of my head, Then, O swords, come and take it”.

And to save the religion of Islam, Imam Husain sacrificed not one, but 72 heads. These sacrifices were made without any remorse, without any sorrow. On 10th Muharram, when every passing moment brought a new hardship for this small caravan, Imam’s face was radiating more and more content and pleasure. He was happy that his offerings were accep-ted by Allah.

It was this unblemished love of Allah which prompted Imam to say in the last moments of his earthy life: “I left and forgot everything in Thy Love: Allah! And I made my children orphan, so that I may see Thee, They have minced my body by their swords. But my heart is oblivious of these tortures; it is not inclined but towards thee. O Allah”

Thus Imam Husain showed how can a man live for Allah; how can he die for Allah. This death is not death; it is eternal life, as God has said: “And do not think those who are martyred in the path of Allah are dead. Nay! They are alive in the presence of God.”

Chapter 17: Allahu Akbar

“Allahu Akbar” (Allah is great).

Five times in 24 hours the call comes from the minarets of the mosques: Allahu Akbar. It is Azan, meant to announce the time of pray-ers. Right at the call of Azan, Muslims are expected to gather in the mosque.

It is a matter of pride that we are called by God to his audience. It shows his love towards His creatures that He has provided us with an opportunity to communicate with Him. He has opened His house for us, let us not be late or absent from His presence.

Azan begins with the phrase - Allahu Akbar - (Allah is great);

It ends with the phrase - La Illaha Illallah - (None is to be worshipped but Allah). It begins with the name of Allah; it ends on the name of Al-lah. We are reminded that Allah is the beginning; Allah is the end. Between these two phrases the Muazzin bears witness to the unity of God; and to the apostleship of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet. Then he exhorts the believers: Come for prayer; Come for the prosperity (in this world and in life hereafter); and thus it goes on till the end.

Azan is not just a symbol. It is a sermon in clear words. It not only calls a man for prayer; it also explains why should he pray, and to whom should he pray. It reminds the hearers about God; and about man’s ob-ligation towards Him. And after these explanations, it exhorts the believ-ers to offer their humble prayers, with full knowledge and understand-ing, in the presence of God.

Allah is great! Nothing else matters. Allah is calling you. Leave aside your worldly affairs. Forget your business arrangements. Do not miss this golden opportunity. Go and pray in the presence of God. He is great! Our problems, our worries, our difficulties - all will be solved in the best way, if we ask our loving Allah to solve them for us. Not only that. Our joy, our achievement, our success - nothing actually matters. Allah only is great. Let us communicate with him. Only his benevolent love and care can bring us to prosperity in this world and in life-hereafter.