faithokar

Esteemed audience, in the verse of the Holy Qur’aan, which I recited to you, Allah Y says:

[if all these, or any one of them] are more loved by you than AllahY and His Messenger and striving (jihaad) in the path of Allah Y.

Allah Y says if these eight attachments and possessions, or any one of them becomes dearer to you than AllahY and His Holy Messenger, Prophet Muhammad e then you are worthy of punishment from AllahY, so await the punishment. You will be counted amongst the transgressors and AllahY will not guide you.

On the other hand, if AllahY, the Holy Prophet e and striving (jihaad) in the cause of AllahY are dearer to you than all these eight things then you are a true believer (mumin) who is worthy of Allah’s mercy and gifts.

Islam is a Natural Way Of Life (din al-fitrat) and naturally every human being loves his or her parents, children, brothers and sisters, wife, relatives, wealth, business and home. So AllahY has not forbade love for all these attachments but he has emphasized that the love for all these, in order to avoid Divine punishment and receive Divine grace should not surpass your love for AllahY and His Holy Messenger, Prophet Muhammade. Thus we learn that we can only become true believers when we love AllahY and His Messenger and jihaad above all these attachments.

No ‘Otherness’ (Ghairiyat) In The Love For Allah, His Messenger And Jihaad In The Path Of Allah.

I will explain an important point to you and proceed further with the topic. Remember that there is no ‘otherness’ (ghairiyat) in the love for AllahY, His Messenger and jihaad in the path of AllahY. Therefore Allah Y has used the word ahab’ba once in the statement. To love jihaad in the path of AllahY, is motivated by and is actually love for AllahY. Only he who loves AllahY will strive in the path of AllahY sacrificing his life and possessions. It is the love for AllahY that compels one to sacrifice everything in the path of AllahY. In the same manner the love for the Holy Prophet e is in reality the love for AllahY. Our love for him is because he is the Messenger of Allah (Rasulullah) and the Beloved of Allah (Habibullah). AllahY loves him and orders us to love him and AllahY above all else. So, love for the Holy Prophet e is in reality, love for AllahY. Therefore the Holy Prophet e has stated:

In the same manner, remember the obedience of the Holy Prophet e is in reality the obedience of AllahY. AllahY says in the Holy Qur’aan regarding obedience in the 4^th Sura, an-Nisaa, Verse 80:

Also to pledge allegiance to the Holy Prophet e is in actuality pledging allegiance to AllahY. Allah says in the Holy Qur’aan in 48^th Sura, al-Fath: Verse 10:

Further, the summoning of the Holy Prophet e is the calling of AllahY. I do not say this, AllahY says in the Holy Qur'aan in the 8^th Sura, al-Anfaal, Verse 24:

The callers mentioned in this verse are two beings; AllahY and His Holy Prophet Muhammad e but the pronoun and verb in the next clause are singular. The verb da’aa is in the singular form. Those who know Arabic grammar and its rules know that if two beings are calling then the dual verb should have been used. This is a sign, that the Holy Prophet e represents nothing but the will and intention of AllahY, so his calling is in reality the calling of AllahY.

Thus the remembrance (zikr) of the Holy Prophet e is the remembrance (zikr) of AllahY. One of the titles of the Holy Prophet e is The Remembrance Of AllahY (zikrullah). AllahY says in a Sacred Tradition (Hadith e Qudsi)[2] that is narrated in Shifa Shareef of Imam al-Qadi ‘Iyad:

So the remembrance of the Holy Prophet e is in actuality the remembrance of AllahY.

Furthermore, to see the Holy Prophet e is to see AllahY. The Holy Prophet e said:

So love for the Holy Prophet e is in reality, love for AllahY. Obedience to the Holy Prophet e is in reality obedience to AllahY. Allegiance to the Holy Prophet e is in reality, allegiance to AllahY. The calling of the Holy Prophet e is the calling of AllahY. The remembrance of the Holy Prophet e is in actuality the remembrance of AllahY. To see the Holy Prophet e is to see AllahY.

So I was saying love for the Holy Prophet e is in reality, love for AllahY. If you love the Holy Prophet e, you love AllahY for AllahY has commanded us to love him. To continue: of the eight things mentioned in the verse under discussion, ones life has not been mentioned. This may lead somebody to think that ones life should be held more precious than the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. So listen to another verse of the Holy Qur'aan. Once the Holy Prophet e went on jihaad and some citizens of Madinah, the illuminated and its surrounding villages remained in their homes and did not accompany the Holy Prophet e. On this occurrence AllahY revealed Verse 120 of the 9^th Sura, at-Tauba:

They should have preferred and loved the Holy Prophet e above their own lives. This verse proves that the Holy Prophet e should be loved more than one loves one owns life.

In a similar Hadith that is not in the collection of Bukhari, but in other collections wherein the word wa nafsihi is included gives the added meaning that:

In the light of these Qur’aanic verses and Ahadith a poet Hafeez Jalanderi has presented these two verses of poetry:

The prayers (salaah), fasting and apparent virtuous deeds are all worthless if one does not possess perfect love for the Holy Prophet e in ones heart. He goes on to say:

If one does not love the Holy Prophet e above every created thing or being in the universe including ones life one cannot be a ‘possessor of true faith’ (mumin). At this juncture, I will mention something and I beg the indulgence of the learned for it will fill you with awe (lutf). The Holy Prophet says, ‘None of you can be a mumin’ [La yu’minu ahadukum]! To be in the category of Friend Of Allah (awliya); a Spiritual Pivot (qutb)[3], ‘The Supreme Helper ’ (Ghaws)’[4] is a progression from a True Believer (mumin). Here the Holy Prophet is saying you cannot be a True Believer (mumin) unless and until you love him more than all created entities. Love does not take root falsely. Neither can love be forced upon someone or imposed. E.g. If you instruct someone to love you and force one too, then you will be asked, ‘For what reason must I love you?’ The person may say, ‘I don’t like you and see no beauty in you so that I may love you.’ No threat in the world can force true love. So love cannot be forced upon someone or imposed. Yet, the Holy Prophet e has instructed us to love him above everything else, including the eight categories mentioned, and also, ones life.

The requirement of love is beauty (husn-o-jamaal). Hunger demands food. Thirst requires a drink. Fatigue requires rest. Everything has a requirement. Love (muhabbah) requires beauty (husn-o-jamaal). Love is naturally transmitted where there is beauty. There are different styles and types of beauty (husn-o-jamaal). Similarly there are different types of lovers. E.g. some regard beauty as a firm skin, beautiful face and healthy body. These are the standards of judging in modern day beauty pageants. Some may possess these external beautiful traits yet they may be prone to speaking lies, so they lack the beauty of truthfulness. That person that loves truthfulness will not love such a person despite the external beauty. Similarly a physically beautiful person who is stingy lacks in the beauty of generosity. The lover of generosity will never love a stingy person despite the external possession of beauty. Similarly one that loves bravery will not love a coward; one that loves beautiful character will not love an immoral, uncouth person and a lover of virtue will never love one who performs shameless deeds. So you may have gauged that there are different styles and types of beauty (husn-o-jamaal) and lovers with different demands. Now ponder! The Holy Prophet e instructs mankind to love him, whether they are kings, ministers, judges, doctors, lawyers or laymen or else they don’t fulfill the condition of attaining true belief. In a sense he is saying that in this universe, he is the unique creation that possesses all the different styles and types of beauty (husn-o-jamaal). No other has this unique status. The Holy Prophet is externally and internally beautiful. He has every aspect of beauty in excess. Those that don’t love him, from their actions concede that they love no aspect of beauty and have no taste or awe (zauq).

Let us examine the life of the Holy Prophet e. Externally he possessed such beauty that the Companions (sahaaba) report that whosoever saw him said, “such beauty had not been seen before, nor would it be seen in future” and that “no mother has given birth to such beauty.” Hazrath Hassan ibn Thabit t says:

Wa ahsana min kalamtara qattu ainie

Wa ajmala min kalamtali din nisau

[O Messenger of Allah!] My eyes have not seen anyone as beautiful as you

How could it when, none like you has been born

Khuliqta mubarra am min kulle aibin

AllahY has preserved you from every defect

Ka annaqa tadkuliqtaka ma ta shaau

AllahY has created you as if your creation was directed by you

The Sahaaba state that we used to look towards the Holy Prophet but could not, look at him in the face. How imposing was his dignity, countenance and beauty that it is mentioned in the hadith compilation of Mishkaat:

‘It was the fourteenth night of the lunar month [the night of the full moon] and the moon shone in all its brilliance. Its light spread, penetrating the darkness, lighting up the earth. The Holy Prophet appeared wearing a red robe or cloak (jubba) with interspersed white threads, looking so handsome that I was compelled to compare whether the Moon Of The Sky looked more beautiful or the Moon Of Madinah. Repeatedly I looked at the moon in the sky and looked at the Holy Prophet e. I reached conviction that the Holy Prophet e was more beautiful than the moon in the sky [fa izza huwa ahsanu indi minal qamere]’

But listen to what Ala-Hazrath, The Imam of the ahle sunnat, Ahmad Rida Khant had to say:

In external, apparent beauty the Holy Prophet e is unique and matchless. There has been none like him, nor will there ever be.

Hazrath Aisha Sidduiqay, the pure wife of the Holy Prophet, the mother of the believers was reading the Holy Qur'aan, whilst the Holy Prophet e sat near to her. She read that incident in which it is mentioned that the ladies of Egypt, on seeing the beauty of Hazrath Yusufu, cut their fingers instead of the fruit. AllahY says in the Holy Qur’aan, in the 12^th Sura, Yusuf: Verse 31:

This was the verse she was reciting. She said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! those Egyptian women on seeing Hazrath Yusuf, were rendered senseless, cutting their fingers instead of the fruit, so this means Hazrath Yusuf was very handsome.’ There is something in love called ghayrate muhabbat, which is not understood by all and sundry. If a wife extols the beauty of another, in her husband’s presence, then the husband does not feel comfortable. This is called ghayrate muhabbat. Although Hazrath Yusuf u was also a prophet, and in reality his beauty was the beauty of the Holy Prophet Muhammad e, the Holy Prophet didn’t take kindly to this statement. The Holy Prophet e smiled slightly and laughed and said, ‘Yes, Aisha! Most definitely Hazrath Yusuf u was handsome.’ In the course of this smile, laugh and statement, we don’t know what the Holy Prophete revealed to Hazrath Aishay, that she fell unconscious. On regaining consciousness she exclaimed, ‘O Ladies of Egypt! You saw Hazrath Yusuf’s beauty, the beloved of Hazrath Yacub u and you cut your fingers. I swear, if you see my Yusuf, the Yusuf of Madinah, the beloved of Allah, you will tear out your hearts.’ The fact is that AllahY has veiled the full beauty of the Holy Prophet e from our eyes. If the full beauty of the Holy Prophet was to be revealed, then none has the power to behold this beauty. Therefore Maulana Hassan Rida Khan t says:

So also in possessing external, apparent beauty, the Holy Prophet is unique and matchless. Imam Abu Nuaim of Isfahan t a great Imam of Hadith Literature, whose narrations are included in the collection of Mishkaat, writes that Hazrath Yusuf u is but a radiation of the Beauty of Muhammad (husne Muhammadi). None knows the full beauty of the Holy Prophet e except AllahY. AllahY has kept his full beauty concealed.

I mention one more point before I continue with the topic. If one is very beautiful and many people are fascinated by one’s beauty then enmity and competition arises amongst the lovers, but the Holy Prophet has millions of lovers, yet they love each other also. This is also a unique occurrence amidst lovers of a single being. The Imam of the ahle sunnat, Ahmad Rida Khan t has beautifully written:

Those who have a sound command of the Urdu language and are knowledgeable on the art of poetry will appreciate the beauty possessed in this verse. The first verse contains husn (beauty) and the second contains naam (name). The first verse speaks of the ladies of Egypt and the second speaks of the brave men of Arabia. The ladies saw beauty and cut their fingers whereas without seeing him but only hearing his name, the Holy Prophets lovers sacrifice their lives.

The Holy Prophet e once met Abu Jahl on the road. Abu Jahl said, ‘O Muhammad! I have not seen anyone more ugly than you.’ The sahaaba were infuriated on hearing this statement. Hazrath Umar t sought the Holy Prophet’s permission to cut off the head of Abu Jahl. The Holy Prophet forbade him saying, ‘leave him alone for he has spoken the truth.’ This statement confused the sahaaba.

The Holy Prophet walked on and he met Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddique t. Maulana Rumi t says in his anthology of Sufi poetry, the Mathnavi:

The Holy Prophet e replied, ‘You also have spoken the truth, O Abu Bakr.’ The sahaaba asked ‘O Prophet! You said both have spoken truthfully, but their statements are conflicting?’ The Holy Prophete said, ‘ I am a mirror, shaped by the Hand of AllahY so both of them saw themselves in me.’ In reality Abu Jahl saw himself and Abu Bakrt saw himself so both their statements were true. The Holy Prophet e said, ‘none knows my reality except, AllahY.’ Here there is an interesting point. Those that say the Holy Prophete is a human like them are seeing themselves in the mirror. If they see the Holy Prophete they will never equate themselves to him. They don’t even possess the eyesight or insight to behold him. Remember, I am not saying this, AllahY says in Holy Qur'aan in the 7^th Sura, al-Araaf: Verse198:

‘My Beloved! These unbelievers and hypocrites, they look towards you but they don’t see you [i.e. your reality]’. I ask, when they looked towards the Prophet did they not see his body and human status? Yes, they saw. For, if they did not, then whom did they stone? Whom did they accuse of being a poet and sorcerer? Upon whom did they throw filth? So we have to accept that they saw his body and human status, but AllahY says, ‘they see not.’ So we learn that that vision that only sees his human status (bashariat) has in actuality not seen him. They who saw the light status (nuraaniat) see him with the vision of iman. For even Abu Jahl saw and accepted the human being, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah but did not accept the Holy Prophet, as Messenger of Allah (Rasulullah) and the Light of Allah (Nurullah). So those who say he is a human being like them are ignorant of his reality for they see with eyesight not with insight (basirah)[5]. So as long as the love of the Holy Prophet e does not exceed all other love, one cannot be considered a mumin.

Listen to what is being said with your heart. Where there hypocrites during the human tenure of the Holy Prophet e? Yes, there were. Did they read salaah, observe fasts, pay zakah, grow beards and wear Islamic attire? Yes, they did perform these apparent actions of Muslims. Despite all this, AllahY says in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqarah, Verse 8:

They testified the faith (Kalimah), prayed salaah, fasted and performed apparent actions of Muslims, yet AllahY says they have no faith (iman) and are liars. O AllahY! Why don’t these people possess iman despite all their apparent actions? AllahY says in the 2^nd Sura, al-Baqarah, Verse 10:

Ponder as to what was this sickness in their hearts? The sickness was that their iman was not sound. Their thoughts regarding AllahY and the Holy Prophet e, was not sound. They did not have true love and respect and reverence regarding the Holy Prophet e. So AllahY did not look at their external appearances or seemingly virtuous deeds but took an oath that they are liars and have corrupt belief for their hearts are devoid of respect and love for His beloved. This teaches us that, those whose hearts are devoid of honour and awe (azmat); love (muhabbah) and reverence (tazeem) for the Holy Prophet Muhammad e irrespective of their Testification of the faith (Kalimah), prayers (salaah), fasting, external appearance and clothing cannot be true believers. Iman is to love the Holy Prophet above all else.

Initially the mumin and munaafiq intermingled. Lived among each other, read salaah together and fasted together. They joined the Holy Prophet e in salaah and attended his discourses. Then AllahY revealed Verse 179, of the 3^rd Sura, Al-i-Imraan:

AllahY says to the Muslims that he will not keep them intermingled with the munaafiqun for he will separate the evil (khabees) from the good (tayyib). Here mu’mins are called pure (tayyib) and munaafiqs are called dirty or impure (khabees). They are called dirty by AllahY, for their hearts have dirt in them. So AllahY looks at the condition of their hearts and not their external appearance or supposedly virtuous actions. AllahY wants them separated from the believers. It is not immoral to refer as dirty or impure (khabees) to those that have no honour and awe (azmat); love (muhabbah) and reverence (tazeem) for the Holy Prophet Muhammad e. AllahY has called them khabees.

Some Muslims say that we should not even call an unbeliever (kaafir) a kaafir. Somebody presented the argument to me that one day the kaafir can embrace Islam, so therefore he should not be called kaafir. I replied that in such a case we should not even call a mumin a mumin for he can become a disbeliever. This silenced him. We refer to things as they are. If they change their condition we change our reference. E.g. this is my coat (jubba). When I purchased the material, nobody referred to it as jubba but as material, but when the material was sown unto a jubba the term of reference changed from material to jubba. When milk sours, since its condition changed we refer to it as yogurt. The change of condition changes the name. So a kaafir must be called a kaafir. Read the Holy Qur'aan and see how AllahY refers to kaafirs.

Wherever there are verses of the Holy Qur'aan referring to they are called kaafir. AllahY says in the Holy Qur'aan in the 109^th Sura, al-Kaafiruun, Verse 1:

So AllahY told the Holy Prophet e to call the unbelievers, ‘kaafir’. To use the word kaafir is not abusive language. The word kaafir means, ‘one who does not accept’ or munkir. So one who makes inkaar (does not accept) is called kaafir in Arabic. So those who utter the statement, ‘I don’t accept’, on the basis of this statement we call the munkir or kaafir. So those who say that we should not even call an unbeliever (kaafir) a kaafir seem to realise that they utter blasphemous statements and display disrespect, so they make calling one a kaafir taboo. So why do they call the, the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Qadiani, who accept him as a prophet a kaafir. The Islamic law is that, one who does not refer to a kaafir, as kaafir has himself performed kufr. An unbeliever must be called an unbeliever; a hypocrite must be called a hypocrite; whilst a believer must be called a believer. Calling a person by a title unbefitting of his condition is a lie. Muslims should refrain from lies.

Anyway, AllahY says to the Muslims that he will not keep them intermingled with the munaafiqun for he will separate the evil (khabees) from the good (tayyib). On the receipt of this order, that the hypocrites should be removed from the Masjid, where they pray mingled among the believers, the following incident occurred:

The Masjid was full with a mixed gathering of mumins and munaafiqs. The Holy Prophet e announced that the hypocrites should vacate the Masjid. The hypocrites remained seated for they believed that the Holy Prophet e does not know who is a hypocrite in the gathering. Also they feared if they got up, their condition would be exposed to the congregation. The Holy Prophet e said, ‘O Hypocrites! Vacate the Masjid on your own or I will name each one of you and ask you to leave.’ They still remained seated. The Holy Prophet began naming them. He e said:

So the Holy Prophet e took their names and asked them to leave the Masjid. So if you believe in the Holy Qur'aan, You will have to accept, that AllahY, in His wisdom does not want the people of sound aqidah to mix with the people of wrong aqidah. The Holy Prophet named the people of wrong aqidah and removed them from his Masjid. This teaches us that their removal from the Masjid is a Sunnah[6]. [Translators Note: read the footnote and ponder]. The day following their removal the munaafiqun returned to the Masjid and sat in a circle. The sahaaba enquired as to why they returned despite their removal and they replied, ‘This is the House of AllahY, and none can prevent us from attendance.’ The sahaaba replied, ‘those should attend the House of AllahY who are pure (tayyib), for the House of AllahY is pure and the filthy (khabees) should not pollute it.’ The sahaaba then asked them as to how they could return, after the Holy Prophete had removed them? On being asked to leave, they put up resistance. Read the book of history, Tarikh ibn Hasham on how the sahaaba removed them from the Masjid. They caught their hands and feet, beat them and dragged them out of the Masjid. They warned them not to return or they will face worse consequences. The hypocrites decided to build their own Masjid for they never missed their salaah. On completion of their Masjid, AllahY revealed Verse 107, of the 9^th Sura, at-Tauba:

Their mischief is to extinguish the correct system and methodology of belief as followed by our pious ancestors and predecessors (salaf saliheen). Their aim is to harm the true believers (Muminuun) and general body of Muslims (Muslimeen) by propagating (Tabligh) wrong blasphemous belief that leads to kufr. This is to destroy the Muslims by creating divisions. (Translators Note: Many apologists will say that the majority of their followers are innocent. So, the innocent need to be informed that the propaganda machinery of the west, has misrepresented Islam on a global level. That Wahabbis, the modern day hypocrites and Capitalists are roommates. The worldwide spread of ostrich Islam i.e. bury your head and pretend all is well, as done by Tabligh jamaat is the cancer that has to be cured or severed)

AllahY instructs his Beloved Holy Prophet e in the next verse, Verse 108, of the 9^th Sura, at-Tauba:

At this point I ask you if it is virtuous to build a Masjid? The answer is yes. The Hadith says, ‘he who builds a Masjid, AllahY will build a house for him in Paradise.’ The reason AllahY instructed the Holy Prophete not to go to their Mosque, is because their intention is not pure. Their intention is to extinguish the correct system and methodology of belief as followed by our pious ancestors and predecessors (salaf saliheen) by propagating (Tabligh) wrong blasphemous belief that leads to kufr. So even an apparent good action is not good if the intention behind it is not good. The Holy Prophete has stated, ‘every act is judged by the intention.’

These members of Tabligh Jamaat apparently say they are propagating Islam but remember their inner motive is not the spread of Islam, but to change the system and methodology of belief as followed by the Sunnis. Stop the recitation of durood –o-salaam or salawaat, niaz, visitation of the Maqam (mazaar) of Aulia and to stop the love and honour we have for the Aulia. Their intention is to spread Wahabbi Doctrine and their erroneous belief. [Translators Note: Don’t be fooled by their calling themselves Ahl as- Sunna wa’l Jamaa’a; following Sufi Orders, reciting naat etc. This is the bait being used to dupe innocent Sunnis] There action is not good because the intention behind it is not good. That mosque that had been built by the Munaafiqun was burnt and demolished by the sahaaba as per the instruction of the Holy Prophet e. Yet, if you go to modern day Madinah, you will see that these members of Tabligh Jamaat have built a mosque in that very area where the hypocrites had built their mosque. They have named the mosque Masjid-e- Nur. They approach people reading Holy Qur'aan or tasbih in the mosque of the Holy Prophet e and sweetly call them to their mosque saying that we preach about AllahY and the Holy Prophet e. Once they get their victims there, they recruit them to go out for their form of Tabligh, motivating the victim by explaining how rewarding this act is. Imagine, the one who goes to Masjid-un-Nabawi should be motivated to read salaah therein and send salutations at the Holy Burial Chamber, but on the contrary they are being taken away. I was seated in Masjid-un-Nabawi, after the fajr salaah, reading the Holy Qur'aan, intending to read ishraaq salaah, after sunrise. A member of the Tabligh Jamaat, who didn’t know me, came and sat by me for I was dressed in ordinary clothing. I was distracted, so I closed the Holy Qur'aan and enquired as to what he wanted. On his persistent enquiry I told him that I was from Karachi in Pakistan and when he went on to find out if it was my first visit to the Holy City, I interjected and asked him to get to the point. He told me that there is a Masjid in the city, where discourses are given about AllahY and the Holy Prophete and he is inviting me to attend. So I, angrily, asked him as to what he thinks is spoken of in this Holy Masjid? Does not the remembrance of Allah Y and the Holy Prophete take place in this Masjid? I asked him to be ashamed of his behaviour, targeting innocent pilgrims who visit Madinah, the Radiant, for a short stay and asking them to leave the Mosque of the Holy Prophete and come to another Masjid. He eventually left and his two comrades who were standing nearby, recognized me and knowing my reputation, told him he picked on the wrong person. I ask you to think clearly and realise how grave this action of taking people out of Masjid-un-Nabawi is. Do you know the status of Masjid-un-Nabawi? The Holy Prophete has stated[7]:

In effect, the Holy Prophete has stated that in twenty-four hours two groups of angels, comprising 70 000 in a group will visit the Holy Grave and each individual angel will be blessed with that single visit, never to return again. This occurs daily, so ponder as to how many angels there are? How generous AllahY and the Holy Prophete are to us, since we go time and again to the Holy Court, whilst angels get one opportunity in a lifetime. So these people take people away from these Holy Precincts.

Remember, they deliberately come to Sunni mosques and encounter innocent worshipers and make them recite the Testification Of Faith (Kalimah) for they regard the people, who proclaim Ya Rasulallahe; celebrate Meelad; stand and send salutations on the Holy Prophete; accept Holy Prophete as light and as present and seeing (haazir naazir); who visit the graves of Aulia, as being non-Muslims. They say we are polytheists (mushrik) and innovators (bidati). In Islam a mushrik is regarded as unclean and one who will never attain salvation. Also after shirk the biggest sin is bidah. The Holy Prophete has stated that, ‘The innovator (bidati) is the dog of hell.’ So they think of us in these derogatory terms and we maintain relations with them and feel sorry for them. They make us recite the Testification Of Faith (Kalimah) with the conviction that they have converted polytheists (mushrik) and innovators (bidati) into Muslims. If their true aim is to spread Islam, then why don’t they go to places of vice and reform Muslims or go to non-Muslims and give the message. They don’t go to Qadiani or Shia Mosques and preach what is true Islam or go to idol-worshipers and preach Allah’s Unity (tauhid). They deliberately come to Sunni mosques and encounter innocent worshipers and make them recite the Testification Of Faith (Kalimah) and slowly stop the practice of celebrating Meelad; standing and send salutations on the Holy Prophete and revering and remembering Aulia. This is proof that their aim is not the spread of Islam but the spread of the Wahabbi doctrine.

I have not even started my topic, have not completed the commentary of the recited verse but I think it is necessary to explain these aspects. It is reported in Sahih Bukhari[8]: One day the booty from a war was being distributed by the Holy Prophet e to the people according to their needs. The Holy Prophet e was conducting adal or (distribution according to need). A man, Harkuus bin Zuhair, called Zul Khawaisira, stood up. His forehead had a distinct black mark on it. He said to the Holy Prophet e"O Muhammad! Fear Allah (ittakillah) and ‘be just’ (ehdil). " The Holy Prophete facial expression changed and he replied, ‘you are deluded since you are telling me to be just! I swear by Allah no one is more just than me on the face of this earth.’ Hazrath Umar Faruqt stood up and sought permission from the Holy Prophete to behead this man. The Holy Prophete replied, "Do not kill him for his time of death is not now. A time will come when he and his compatriots will be slain. He and his compatriots, who will be slain, will be the worst creatures of creation and the best of creation will slay them. When the Holy Prophete said this Zul Khawaisira left. The Holy Prophete then said that from his lineage there would be people who will be recognized by shaved heads, not keeping long hair to the earlobes. This does not mean that every shaved head belongs to their group, but it will be a recognizing feature particular to them. They will wear their trousers high above their ankles. They will prolong their prostration (sajda) and bowing (ruku) in salaah to the extent that a true Muslim will deem his salaah to be inferior in comparison to their salaah. Their tongues will be sweet but their hearts will be hard. They will recite the Holy Qur'aan and hadith but it will not go down their throats. Meaning, it will be recited by their tongues having no effect on their heart. The Holy Prophete said they will continue to appear in groups and although they will be called Muslims, their iman will leave them like an arrow leaves the bow. Their last group will emerge with Dajjal. The Holy Prophet e has detailed their description and recognizing features; therefore they deny the Holy Prophete has knowledge of the unseen. In the era of Hazrath Alit this very person Zul Khawaisira broke away from Hazrath Alit with a following of 6000. He was their leader (Amir) and they broke away chanting the slogan that ‘judgment is from none but Allah'. So on these grounds they said Hazrath Ali t has no authority. They recited only verses praising AllahY and deliberately avoided verses praising the Holy Prophete and Aulia-Allah, as is the practice of their present day followers. This school of thought has its origins from this period. Hazrath Ali t sent Hazrath Abdullah ibn Abbas t to reason with this breakaway group and explain to them that they are quoting Holy Qur'aan but the meaning they are inferring from the verse is wrong, for actual (haqiqi) judgment is from AllahY but he who is entrusted with judgment by AllahY should be obeyed as long as his judgment does not conflict with the judgment of AllahY and the Holy Prophete. AllahY says in the Holy Qur'aan, in the 95^th Sura, at-Teen, Verse 8:

Hazrath Abdullah ibn Abbas t asked them that if besides AllahY there is no judge, then how does He refer to Himself as, ‘the wisest of Judges’? So this proves that there are others who judge, but Allah is the Mightiest Judge. He also quoted the 4^th Sura, an-Nisaa, Verse 58:

He asked them if besides AllahY, none could judge then why did AllahY ask us to judge with justice?

Hazrath Abdullah ibn Abbas t then quoted from the 4^th Sura, an-Nisaa, Verse 65:

So, actual (haqiqi) judgment is from AllahY but he who is entrusted with judgment by AllahY should be obeyed as long as his judgment does not conflict with the judgment of AllahY and the Holy Prophete.

On presentation of this argument by Hazrath Abdullah ibn Abbas t, two thousand of the six thousand repented and returned to mainstream Islam. The four thousand that resisted where now named as the breakaways (Khariji), those that broke away from Ahl as- Sunna wa’l Jamaa’a. Hazrath Ali t issued the order that these who are still stubborn after explanation should be dealt with. On that day Zul Khawaisira and his followers were killed. However, many of them escaped. The Holy Prophete had said that, Zul Khawaisira and his compatriots, who will be slain, would be the worst creatures of creation and the best of creation will slay them.

So, the founder of Wahabbism, ibn Abdul Wahab of Najd, is from the lineage of Zul Khawaisira both from his paternal and maternal side. When ibn Abdul Wahab of Najd, used to lecture with a stick in his hand, he used to say, ‘this stick can give benefit, but Muhammade cannot.’ This was the level of his blasphemy and disrespect. He once gathered the Muslims and said that it was impermissible to utilize the intercession of the Holy Prophete. To illustrate his point he approached a seated camel and said, ‘Get up with the intercession of the Messenger of Allah.’ The animal did not stand, so he hit it with his stick and it got up. He said to the audience, ‘you see my stick has greater effect than the Holy Prophete.’ One person from the gathering asked another seated camel to get up in the name of AllahY and when the camel did not get up he asked ibn Abdul Wahab to now deny Allah’s power. Ironically, those opposed to our belief and sympathetic to Wahabbism relate both these incidents. Molvi Hussain Ahmad Thanvi, whom they call Madani and Shaykhul Islam wal Muslimeen, relates the first incident, of the stick, in his book as-Shahabus saaqib and Molvi Ashraf Ali Thanvi relates the second, of the camel, in his book al-ifaazatus yaumia. If anyone proves my reference wrong I will give him whatever he asks for. I have these books in my possession.

So the followers of ibn Abdul Wahab are called Wahabbi. He was backed by the British to destroy true Islam. The Muslim Kings of the Mughal Empire, had ruled India for a long time, and the British snatched the rule from the Muslims. The last Muslim King was Bahadur Shah Zafar. When the British took over India after many years of Muslim rule, they faced opposition from the Muslims. The Muslims declared a Holy Resistance or Jihaad against the British. The British are expert in dirty politics and they utilized their strategy of divide and rule by making Muslims fight each other. They employed some Muslim ulama and divided the Muslims by making them fight on religious issues and diverting their attention from Jihaad. Molvi Shabir Ahmad Uthmani has written in makalimatus sadrain that Molvi Ashraf Ali Thanvi was paid 600 rupees a month. That was a substantial amount in that era. Other ulama also received payment. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was manipulated to proclaim himself a prophet and the promised Imam Mahdi. Sunnis were encouraged to observe their ritual celebrations like Meelad etc. Debates and quarrels occurred amongst the Muslims and the flame of jihaad was extinguished.

One Molvi Ismail of Delhi, whom they refer to as a martyr (shaheed) has written that in salaah if one thinks of the Holy Prophete then it is worse than thinking of adultery and donkeys. He also stated that holding the belief that the Holy Prophete is an intercessor and the making of niaz on the Holy Prophete name renders one a mushrik like Abu Jahl. Molvi Ismail went for Hajj, met ibn Abdul Wahab and was influenced by him. This was the origin of this movement in India. Initially they were called Wahabbi. The ulama of ahle sunnat through a nationwide campaign informed the public of the Wahabbi deviation from mainstream Islam and their lack of adab. The Wahabbi’s were now despised by the ahle sunnat Muslims to the extent that prior to the creation of Pakistan they were considered more reprehensive than a pig. When Wahabbi was considered to be deviant Muslims they changed the name to Tablighi etc. but all of them are birds of a feather, following the deviant ibn Abdul Wahab holding the same beliefs. Their Molvi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, ironically has admitted and has written in Fatawa Rashidia that ibn Abdul Wahab held corrupt beliefs. The Holy Prophete has stated that groups will emerge from the lineage of Zul Khawaisira and their last group will emerge with Dajjal. In another hadith which is in the collection of Mishkaat, The Holy Prophet e stated that Dajjal will come near the city of Madinah, the Radiant and will stand at Mount Uhad saying, ‘This is the City of Ahmad e’. His feet will not move to allow him to get near the city and angels will stop his attempts to advance. The Holy Prophete stated, ‘Dajjal will not be able to enter Madinah.’ The Holy Prophete had stated on that day, ‘People who call themselves members of my community (ummah), 70 000 hypocrites, who externally will be pictures of piety, will come out of Madinah and join Dajjal.’ I ask of you, who will come out of Madinah, for members of other religious groups are not allowed in Madinah? These Wahabbis have been referred to here, go and see in Madinah, how they are gaining momentum. They also are paid to follow this doctrine and they will join Dajjal as per the prophecy of the Holy Prophete. All this was prophesized for Allahy gifted the Holy Prophete with the knowledge of all that is to occur till Judgment Day. So we have no personal grudge or dispute over land or family with these deviant groups, but we are outraged over their blasphemous beliefs regarding the Holy Prophete. They have committed great disrespect, which has resulted in us opposing them. If they repent today we are prepared to embrace them. Why do we, my audience, have love for each other? Are we relatives? I live in another country and we don’t even know each other personally. Yet we love each other and pray for each other. Haji Qaasim Sahib loves his son, because of the father-son relationship like you do your families. The only relationship we have is a bond due to the Holy Prophete. I preach on the excellence of the Holy Prophete and praise him, so you love him also and love me for this reason. The Holy Prophete is the bond between us. This is the greatest love of all. It is a greater relationship than a blood relationship. Our love and our opposition goes back a long way. The Holy Prophete has stated as mentioned in Sahih Bukhari:

So our love is from the World of Souls not from my first visit in 1976. Those that are separated from us were separated from us in the World of Souls. The Holy Prophet e said:

So I was saying that Allah has said the hypocrites are not believers because they had no love for the Holy Prophet e. Iman is love for the Holy Prophet e. Let me conclude! He who loves the Holy Prophet e will love the children, companions, wives, Shariah, sunnah, city, grave of the Holy Prophet e and everything that has a connection with him. To love that which is connected to the Holy Prophet e is to love him. If we do love the Holy Prophet e then we must follow in his footsteps. There are those that follow his methodology but have no love for him. Those that imitate (itteba) him with love become Aulia-Allah. We must enhance our love for the Holy Prophet e, true belief (aqidah) with actions (amal) and we will become Allah’s beloveds. Iman is love for the Holy Prophet e. Will a true lover of Iman is love for the Holy Prophet e brand salutations (durood-o-salaam) and niaz on his name as a waste of time? Somebody has printed and expressed this blasphemous statement in a Cape Town newspaper. A lover will never brand going to Madinah with the intention of visiting the Holy Prophet e at his grave as impermissible. A lover will proclaim that even if we proceed to that sacred ground using our eyes as feet we will not be able to fulfill our duty. A lover will always speak about his beloved. A lover will never brand as shirk the touching of the sacred enclosure (jaali) around the sacred grave. A lover will use the sand of Madinah as colyrium (surma) for his eyes. Someone saw the legendry lover Majnu kissing the feet of a dog. When asked the reason for his strange behaviour he replied, ‘this dog walks in the streets of my beloved Laila.’ This is love. All the opposition branding of acts of love as shirk is proof of their hearts being devoid of love. We kiss our fingernails, following the act of love for the Holy Prophet e as done initially by Hazrath Adam u and re instituted by Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddique t, the act that the Holy Prophet e said guarantees his intercession. They. Who oppose us; brand this act of love as bidah. They run out of our Meelad celebrations when we rise to send salutations, bur reappear when it is time to eat. They are shameless. Allah Y save true Muslims from them! Save yourselves from being influenced by their deviant beliefs by keeping yourselves firm on the path of the salaf saliheen. If we believe them then we are accepting that all our forefathers were bidati and mushrik. Did not your forefathers celebrate Meelad; Gyarahwin; go to Mazaars etc. Yes they did! So this is the path of Ahl as- Sunna wa’l Jamaa’a and the true path. Strive to keep the aqaaid of Ahl as- Sunna wa’l Jamaa’a alive.

[1] mahabbah: Love. Mahabbah is the lofty, pure and unconditional love of

Allah. The attainment of such love transforms the murid from "the one who desires Allah" into the murad, "the one whom Allah desires". Nothing is greater than this. The spiritual intoxication arising from the wine of mahabbah comes from regarding only the Beloved. The truth of mahabbah is that every atom of the lover (muhibb) bears witness to the intensity of his Love for Allah. Out of such mahabbah develops {ishq, which is the passionate and ceaseless yearning for Allah.

[2] Hadith Qudsi : These are the Sacred Words of Allah Almighty speaking through the Holy Prophet. They are a separate type of revelation to that of al-Qur’aan.

[3] qutb: Pole or pivot or axis. Amongst the friends of Allah (awliya) there are many poles around whom various spiritual realities revolve. Every qutb is named by two names; firstly, through his essential Perfection in manifesting the Name Allah, he is the "slave of Allah" (Abdullah); and secondly, through his accidental perfection of being in a particular place in a particular era to fulfill a particular function, he is the slave of one specific Divine Name, e.g. "slave of the Generous" (Abd aI-Karim) or "slave of the Merciful" (Abd aI-Rahman). Even though the poles come together under the All Comprehensive Name Allah, they are nonetheless ranked in degrees of excellence according to the Divine Name that has taken charge of them

[4] Ghaws: The Supreme Helper, Aider, Reliever, Deliverer from Adversity with The Leave Of Allah

[5] Basirah: Insight. Basirah is the inner eye that perceives the World Of The Unseen. Man’s basirah is veiled and covered with rust (rayn) that can only be removed through the sincere practicing of the Remembrance Of Allah (zikrullah). Insight is one of the forms of the inward knowledge of reality.

[6] Sunnah: The profound Science Of Beautiful Moral Behaviour based upon the ‘beautiful model’ (uswa hassana) of the Holy Prophet e. Following the form of, and contemplating the meaning within, the Sunnah are the most profound ways in which man can prepare himself to receive Divine Knowledge.

[7] Reported by Kab al-Ahbart. Ibn Asakir, Mukhtasar tarikh Dimashq 2:407; Suyuti from ibn Mubarak in al Khasais al-Kubra; al-Baihaqi, Shuab al-Iman

[8] Sahih Bukhari 8.184, Sahih Muslim and Tirmidhi by Abu Said Al Khudrt

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