In the name of Allah

   The All Compassionate, the All Merciful

1 Safar 1445 (18 August 2023)

Islamic Universal Association

20 Penzance Place, Holland Park

London, W11 4 PG

www.arafeh.co.uk

 

Jihad An-Nafs – Part 145

Purification of the heart-Part 87

I hereby reiterate the salient features of the Ayahs which I had quoted last week:

 

1. The disbelievers spend their wealth to hinder people from the path of truth. However, the money that they spend will become a source of grief and anguish for them, availing them nothing in this life and moreover they will face eternal disgrace and damnation in the hereafter. (Ayah 36 Surah Al-Anfaal)
2. They seek to extinguish the Light of Allah (s.w.t) and the truth. However, Allah (s.w.t) will complete His Light, make His Word dominant, and His religion will prevail above all other religions.
3. Whether the disbelievers donate willingly or unwillingly it will not be accepted by Allah (s.w.t) as they do not have good intentions or eagerness to perform the acts of faith (Ayah 54, Surah At-Tauba)
4. Allah (s.w.t) bestows His favors on man until he desists from performing good deeds. He only accepts offerings that are pure and that are why He does not accept charity or the so-called good deeds of disbelievers.
5. Among the Bedouins there are some who look upon what they spend in Allah (s.w.t)’s cause as a loss and burden, and they hope for calamities and afflictions to fall on the Holy Prophet (s.a) and his followers, but the calamity of evil will strike them instead. (Ayah 98, Surah At-Tauba)
6. The nature of man is such that even if he had the authority over the treasures of Allah (s.w.t), he would refrain from spending it for fear of poverty, although the treasures of Allah (s.w.t) can never be exhausted. (Ayah 100, Surah Bani Isra’il)
7. When they were told to spend on the poor and needy, from what Allah (s.w.t) had provided them, those who disbelieve said to those who believe that should they feed those whom if Allah (s.w.t) willed He would have made them independent and fed them from His provision. They are therefore, acting in accordance with the will of Allah (s.w.t) regarding them. (Ayah 47, Surah Yasin)
8. The hypocrites fail to comprehend that to Allah (s.w.t) belongs the treasures of the heavens and the earth, and they say to those who spend on the poor refugees not to help them until they desert the Holy Prophet (s.a).(Ayah 7, Surah Al-Munafiqun)

 

Second sermon

Divine movement of Imam Hussain (a.s) – Part-3

The people of Kufa sent numerous letters to Imam Hussain (a.s), inviting him to be their Imam as they did not have a divine leader to guide them to the path of Allah (s.w.t). It has been reported in the book of Irshad Mufid on page 203 that within two days they had sent about 150 letters. Imam Hussain (a.s) therefore asked his cousin Muslim ibne Aqeel to proceed to Kufa to ascertain the veracity of the hundreds of letters written by them.

 

When Muslim reached Kufa with some difficulty, he stayed in the house of the great warrior, Al-Mukhtar ibne Abu Ubaydath-Thaqafi, where he was warmly received by the people of Kufa, who had gathered in great numbers. Within a few days, over 18,000 of them took the oath of allegiance whereby they accepted Imam Hussain (a.s.) as their Imam. Muslim wrote to Imam Hussain (a.s.) about the warm welcome and the oath of allegiance he had received from most of the residents of Kufa and confirmed the need for him to come to Kufa for religious guidance of the Ummah. Based on the favorable findings, Imam Hussain (a.s) left for Kufa on the 8th of Zil-Hajj, 60 Hijri and reached Karbala on the 2nd of Muharram, 61 Hijri.

 

The tragedy and heartache began as soon as Muslim’s letter was dispatched, as the situation in Kufa took a drastic turn for the worse. At the incitement, bribery and force of Ubaidullah ibne Ziyad, the Governor of Kufa, the Kufians deserted Muslim and showed their support for Ibne Ziyad. Later when Imam Hussain (a.s) saw this turn of event of the Kufian and their support of the Umayyads, he reminded them in many of his talks and sermons about how they had invited him to be their Imam and guide and yet they have failed to honor their oath of allegiance to him. He said he was not surprised because they had done the same to his father, Ali (a.s) and his brother, Hassan (a.s) and they would bear dire consequences in this world and in the hereafter for breaking their covenant.

 

According to Ayahs 10 and 18 of Surah Al-Fath that whosoever obeys the Holy Prophet (s.a), obeys Allah (s.w.t) and to pledge allegiance to the Holy Prophet is to pledge allegiance to Allah (s.w.t). Likewise whosoever reneges his pledge of allegiance reneges only to his detriment as he prevents himself from earning Allah (s.w.t)’s reward and makes himself liable for punishment. The Ayahs refer to the pledge at Ḥudaybiyah, in 6 Hijri, when the pagans were preventing the Muslims from entering Mecca to perform the pilgrimage. The Holy Prophet (s.a) summoned his people to take a pledge with him under an acacia tree, while they were waiting for permission to enter Mecca. They pledged that they would not flee the battlefield, though some say that the pledge was that they would fight with the Holy Prophet (s.a) until death. Ayah 10 and 18 of Surah Al-Fath read as follows:

“Verily, those who swear fealty to you do but swear it to God; the hand of God is above their hands; so whosoever violates his oath does so only to harm his own soul, and whosoever fulfils what he has covenanted with God, soon will God grant him a great reward.

Indeed, God was well pleased with the believers when they pledged their fealty to you under the tree, as He did know what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them, and rewarded them with a victory soon to come.”