In the name of Allah

The All Compassionate, the All Merciful

29 Dhul-Hajja 1443 (29 July 2022)

Islamic Universal Association

20 Penzance Place, Holland Park

London, W11 4 PG

www.arafeh.co.uk

 

Jihad An-Nafs – Part 92

Purification of the heart-Part 34

No matter how pleased we are with this world, we should remind ourselves that at some point we have to part ways with it and face death. In doing so, we distance ourselves from this temporal existence and turn towards the hereafter. Moreover, it helps us to be content with very little and it suppresses inordinate desires and temptations. It also makes worldly hardships seem insignificant, prevents greed and extravagance and encourages us to repent and indulge in acts of worship. Conversely, ignoring the reality of death causes us to immerse ourselves in the pleasures of this life. The Quran reminds us in Ayah 35 of Surah Al-Anbiya: “Every soul shall have the taste of death: We try you with evil and with good by way of test; and to Us shall you all be returned.” Imam Ali (a.s) has also stressed about the numerous benefits to be gained by reflecting and pondering about our mortality and preparing ourselves for death. I quote below some extracts from his sermons which have been produced in the Nahjul Balalgha:

 

• “By Allah, surely the remembrance of death has kept me away from fun and play while being oblivious about the next world has prevented him from speaking the truth.” (Sermon 84)
• “Beware! At the time of committing evil deeds, remember the destroyer of joys, the spoiler of pleasures, and the killer of desires (namely death). Seek assistance of Allah for fulfilment of His obligatory rights, and thank Him for His countless bounties and obligations.” (Sermon 99)
• “Make your ears hear the call of death before you are called by death. Surely the hearts of the abstemious weep in this world even though they may apparently laugh, and their grief increases even though they may appear happy. Their hatred for themselves is much; even though they may be envied for the subsistence they are allowed.” (Sermon 113)
• “I advise you to remember death and to lessen your heedlessness towards it. Why should you be heedless of Him Who is not heedless of you? What should you expect from him (angel of death) who will not give you time? The dead whom you have been watching suffice as preachers. They were carried to their graves and were placed in them but not on their own accord. It seems as if they never lived in this world and that the next world had always been their abode.” (Sermon 188)

 

An extract from Imam Ali (a.s)’s letter 31 is produced as follows wherein he advised his son, Hasan:“O my child, remember death very much and the place where you have to go suddenly and reach after death, so that when it comes you are already on your guard against it and have prepared yourself for it and it does not come to you all of a sudden and surprises you.” (Nahjul Balagha)

 

 

 

Second sermon

Divine movement of Imam Hussain (a.s) – Part 1

 

The month of Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar; it is the month of sorrow and bereavement and I offer my condolences to Imam Mahdi (a.t.f) and to the followers of the Ahlul Bait. I earnestly hope and pray that during this month we will familiarize ourselves once again with the movement of Karbala and the life of our dear Imam.  Imam Reza (as) said:

 

• “Before Islam the month of Muharram was respected by people; warfare was forbidden during the month, but that did deter Yazid and his cruel governors from carrying out the most horrendous brutality to our family, They captured our children and women, burnt our tents and plundered our belongings. They did not have any regard or respect for the Holy Prophet.”
• “Indeed the day of Ashura brings tears to our eyes for our dear family was humiliated in land of Karbala and it remains for us the day of great sadness and grief.”
• “Those who weep should weep over the likes of Husain for surely, weeping over him does away with one’s great sins.”
• “With the advent of the month of Muharram, my father Imam Kazim, would never be seen laughing; gloom and sadness would overcome him for the first ten days of the month; and when the tenth day of the month would dawn, it would be a day of tragedy, grief and weeping for him.”
• “One who refrains from seeking his worldly desires on the day of Ashura, Allah shall grant him his desires of this world and the hereafter.”
• “The one for whom the day of Ashura is a day of tragedy, grief and weeping, Allah The Mighty, shall make the Day of Judgment, a day of joy and happiness for him.”
• “One who considers the day of Ashura as a day of blessings and procures something for his house, it shall not be a blessing for him, but on the contrary Allah will unite him in hell with Yazid, Obaidullah and Sa’ad on the day of resurrection.”

Imam Reza (a.s) has also advised: “He who sits in a gathering wherein our affairs, and our path and aims are discussed and revived, his heart shall not die on the day of judgment, when hearts shall die of fear.”

 

The Imam also requested De’bil, a poet sincerely devoted to the Ahlul Bait, to recite as follows: “I desire that you recite for me a poetry on the tragedy of Karbala, for surely, these days, of the month of Muharram, are the days of grief and sorrow for us, the Ahlul Bait.”