In the name of Allah
The All Compassionate, the All Merciful
11th Rabial-Thani 1445 (27th October 2023)
Islamic Universal Association
20 Penzance Place, Holland Park
London, W11 4 PG
Jihad An-Nafs – Part 155
Purification of the heart-Part 97
Imam Hussain (a.s) has advised that one should seek help from a God-fearing individual, an honourable person and one who is generous. The God-fearing will help him because of his faith, the honourable man will help him because of his integrity and the generous will help him because of his compassion and altruism. Similarly the Imam has also explicitly advised us to avoid the company of the sinful and the wrongdoers. In this context, I quote below the following Ayahs
Ayahs 38-48 of Surah Al-Muddathir:
“Every soul is pawned to what it earned,
Save the people of the right,
In gardens they will be asking each other
About the guilty ones:
“What has brought you to Hell?”
They shall say: “We were not amongst those who offered regular prayers,
And we did not feed the poor,
And we used to talk vanities with vain talkers,
And we used to falsify the Day of Judgement;
Until death, a certainty, came upon us.”
So the intercession of intercessors shall not avail them now.”
Ayah 68 of Surah Al-An’am: “When you see those engaged in vain talk about Our signs, get away from them until they enter into some other discourse, and if the devil causes you to forget this, then after recollection, do not keep company with the unjust people,”
Valuable points
- In the hereafter, the people of the left hand will be seized due to their misdeeds, but the people of the right hand will have their debts settled.
- The sinful are those who refrain from performing the foremost duty imposed by Allah (s.w.t), that is, regular salat (prayer).
- He does not feed the hungry or the needy whilst having the ability to do so.
- He indulges in vain activities and sits in futile gatherings.
- He falsifies the Day of Judgement.
- Such people will die with regret and no intercession can help them in the hereafter.
We should therefore avoid the company of disbelievers who engage in vain discussions about the signs of Allah (s.w.t.), seeking to deny and deride them nor should we waste our time by entering into useless disputes and discussions with them. Instead, we should spend our time and energy in educating and reforming those who are the sincere seekers of the Truth. We should bear in mind that the company with righteous people brings about prosperity. According to Majma Al-Bayan, the immaculate believers are the household of the Holy Prophet (Ahlul Bait) and hence we should follow in their footsteps as far as possible.
Second Sermon
Death anniversary of Fatima Masoomeh (a.s.)
The 10th of Rabiul-Thani was the death anniversary of Fatima Masoomeh (a.s.), the honourable daughter of Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) and the sister of Imam Reza (a.s.). Whilst expressing my condolence to Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.) and the followers of the Ahlul Bait, I invoke Allah (s.w.t) to protect us from the clutches of Satan.
There are three different ways one can understand the personality of a person; firstly, by studying his or her life, secondly by understanding his or her thoughts, sayings, deeds and manners, and finally by examining the analysis of scholars. Today I will try to analyse why Fatima Masoomeh (a.s.) had attained such a high position in her short life.
She was born in Medina in 173 Hijri and she was greatly revered by the holy Imams, and among the children of Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) she had a special position after Imam Reza (a.s.). She was trained and brought up in the best environment where she gained immense knowledge under the guidance of her father, pious mother and brother. She lived during the era of the three Imams of the Ahlul Bait, namely, her father Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.), her brother Imam Reza (a.s.) and her nephew Imam Jawad (a.s.) which helped to shape her honourable character. Due to her piety, modesty, faith, virtuousness and training she was given the title of ‘Masoomeh’ meaning ‘infallible’ by her brother, Imam Reza (a.s.), and because of her worship and abstemiousness she acquired the status of intercession. She reached the highest level of faith due to her obedience and servitude to Allah (s.w.t.) and by stringently following the teachings of the Holy Quran. She was a complete role model and her life shows how one should submit to Allah (s.w.t.)’s will and to obey the Imam of the time.
In 200 Hijri Imam Reza (a.s.) was forced by Mamoon, the Abbasid ruler, to go to Marv (Khorasan, Iran) from Medina. Subsequently, in 201 Hijri, Fatima Masoomeh (a.s.) left Medina to meet Imam Reza (a.s.) in Marv with 23 family members and friends. On the way they were welcomed and greeted by people of different cities and villages until they reached Saveh, where they were attacked by the enemies of the Shiites; some fled, but many were wounded, imprisoned, or killed. Although Fatima Masoomeh (a.s.) survived, she became ill and was unable to continue on her journey and she asked to be taken to Qom instead, which is 60 kilometres from Saveh. She remembered that her father had told her that the city of Qom was the stronghold of the Shiites. When she arrived there, its inhabitants gave her a grand reception and she stayed at Musa Ibne Khazraj’s house. Despite her infirmity, she spent most of her time in worshipping Allah (s.w.t.) and she finally succumbed to her illness within 16 days of her arrival there.
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