In the name of Allah
The All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
16th Rabial-Awwal 1446 (20th September 2024)
Islamic Universal Association
20 Penzance Place, Holland Park
London, W11 4 PG
Imam Ali (a.s.)’s advice in the Nahjal-Balagha – Part 45
Injustice and oppression are the most heinous crimes in Islam as they plague human societies. The misuse of power in the form of money, authority, weapons and media have led to oppression and the misplacement of rights, resulting in the suffering of innocent people. They disrupt society and destroy the unity of Muslims by causing divisions. They are the worst provision for the Day of Resurrection. There are three types of injustice; injustice by associating anything with Allah (s.w.t.), injustice against oneself and injustice to others. In many Ayahs of the Holy Quran, Allah (s.w.t) reproaches the unjust and introduces the oppressor as a wrong doer. Some relevant Ayahs are:
Ayah 229 of Surah Al- Baqarah: “…Those who exceed the limits ordained by God are the unjust ones.”
Ayah 40 of Surah An- Nisa: “Verily, God does not do injustice even the weight of an atom, and if there is any good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Him a great reward.”
Ayahs 13 and 44 of Surah Younus: “Indeed We did destroy generations before you upon committing wrong (injustice)and after the Messengers had come to them with clear signs, but they did not believe. Thus do we recompense the guilty people.
God does not do injustice to people, but people do injustice to their own selves.”
Ayah 42 of Surah Ibrahim: “Do not think that God is heedless of what the unjust ones do. He only gives them a respite to a Day when eyes will be fixed open in terror.”
Ayahs 33 and 118 of Surah An-Nahl: “… and God was never unjust to them; they were unjust to their own souls.
To those who were Jews we had forbidden from before what We have already related to you, and We did not do them any injustice, but they were unjust to themselves.”
Ayah 40 of Surah Al- Ankabut: “So, each We seized them for his sins …. It was not God Who did them any injustice; they were themselves committing injustice.”
Ayah 13 of Surah Luqman: “Luqman exhorting his son said:”O son! Do not associate aught with God, for verily associating with God is the greatest iniquity.”
Ayah 45 of Surah Ash-Shura: “…Those who believe will say: “Verily, the losers are they who lost their people on the Day of Resurrection. Beware!The unjust shall surely be in a lasting torment.”
Second Sermon
Birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (s.a.)
The 17th of Rabial-Awwal marks the birth anniversaries of the Holy Prophet (s.a.) and our sixth Imam, Jafar al-Sadeq (a.s.) and I congratulate Imam Mahdi (a.j.f.) and the Muslim Ummah. Allah (s.w.t) sent messengers to every nation and community, calling its people to worship Him alone. These messengers were truthful, virtuous, trustworthy and rightly guided servants who strove hard to guide their people to the right path and conveyed Allah (s.w.t)’s message to them in full, without concealing, omitting or adding anything to it. Each of them promoted the Shariah of the previous prophet. Some of them brought scriptures while others did not bring any books. Sometimes there was more than one prophet in a single town or city, who fulfilled the duties of prophethood. However, the Holy Prophet (s.a) was undoubtedly the leader of all the prophets as he brought the final revelation and completed the religion of Allah (s.w.t). The flow of his divine message which continued for twenty-three years proclaimed the Unity of God and demolished the edifice of superstition, ignorance and disbelief and set up a noble conception of life and devotion to one God. More than 1400 years have passed since the time of his appointment, yet his core message of salvation, his motto of the oneness of God, his weapon of nobility, his path of light, his program of guidance and his invitation to unity are still valid.
He was born on the 17th of Rabial-Awwal in the year 570 of the Gregorian calendar on Friday at dawn in the holy city of Mecca. His emergence has been mentioned in the Torah and the Evangel. Although, the ‘first to be created was his light’, the Holy Quran does not deny the revelations that came before it; rather it testifies to their truthfulness and completes them. When speaking about the prophets that came before him, the Holy Prophet (s.a.) has said: “I am the prayer of my ancestor, Abraham and the glad tidings of Jesus. My position and that of the other prophets is like the following parable: A man builds a perfect and beautiful house but leaves one brick missing from a corner of the house. People come and gaze at the house. Noticing the missing brick they say: “Will a brick not be put in this niche?” Now, I am that brick and the last of the prophets.”
There are several Ayahs in the Holy Quran and in the Islamic traditions that highlight the following:
- Characteristics of Allah (s.w.t.)’s messengers.
- Aim of the prophets’ mission.
- Reflection of people’s attitude; those who deny or accept the invitation of the messengers.
- Following the messengers is beneficial in this world and in the hereafter.
- Allah (s.w.t.) promises a reward to those who accept His invitation and cautions those who deny His revelation.
- Messengers have been duly supported by Allah (s.w.t.).
- Those who decline to accept the messengers will face dire consequences.
- The core message is the same but the mission may differ due to time and circumstances.
- Islam is a perfect and comprehensive religion which was revealed by Allah (s.w.t.) to the Holy Prophet (s.a.).
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