In the name of Allah

The All compassionate, the All-Merciful

   22^nd Shabaan 1446 (21^st February 2025)

Islamic Universal Association

20 Penzance Place, Holland Park

London, W11 4 PG

www.arafeh.co.uk

 

Imam Ali (a.s.)’s advice in the Nahjal-Balagha – Part 68

I quote below another paragraph from Imam Ali (a.s)’s Sermon 176:

 

“Action! Action! Then look towards the end and remain steadfast. Thereafter exercise endurance and piety. You have an objective. Proceed towards your objective. You have a sign. Take guidance from your sign. Islam has an objective. Proceed towards its objective. Proceed towards Allah by fulfilling His rights which He has enjoined upon you. He has clearly stated His demands on you. I am a witness for you and shall plead excuses on your behalf on the Day of Judgement.   

 

Faith (Emaan) in Islam is considered as a component of an inseparable part; the other part being amaal-us-salihaat (good deeds). They are so often conjoined in the Holy Quran that it has been reported that the Holy Prophet (s.a.) has said;

“Faith and good action are partners. One is considered incomplete without the other.” 

As indicated by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, faith consists of both words and deeds, and it may increase and decrease; there is no faith unless it is accompanied by actions, just as there is no faith unless it is accompanied by the following declaration:

 

“I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that the holy prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

 

Hence physical action is an essential part of faith, without which faith is not valid, and a lack of physical action is indicative of a lack of faith in the heart because they are strongly interconnected.

 

Faith provides the ideological foundation for human existence and the criterion through which we categories good from bad, right from wrong and righteousness from impropriety. Through faith we bind ourselves to a system of belief that impacts our personal, social, economic, religious and spiritual dimensions of our lives. It offers a moral framework and an ethical standard for our behavior in this world. Good deeds, on the other hand, are of such great significance in Islam that salvation is dependent on actions that emanate from true faith. Having belief in the one and only God, Allah (s.w.t), also requires us to recognize His orders, staying away from His prohibitions which are both considered as actions. In his short saying 227, Imam Ali (a.s.) has explained thus:

“Belief means appreciation with the heart, acknowledgement with the tongue and action with the limbs.”

 

 

Second Sermon

Virtues of the holy month of Ramadan – Part 1

With the forthcoming holy month of Ramadan, the month of forgiveness, blessings and clemency, I take this opportunity to congratulate you and also to beseech Allah (s.w.t.) to grace us with the benefits and blessings of this month.

 

It is highly important to appreciate the significance and blessings of Ramadan (provided below) so that we are motivated to furnish our utmost effort and time to worship Allah (s.w.t.) and to abstain from temptations and wrongdoings. In many ways, this month serves as an enhancement of the soul.

• Ramadan is indeed a month of guidance and purification. According to Ayah 183 of Surah Al-Baqarah,
• “O who believe? Fasting has been ordained to you as it was ordained to those before you, so that you may guide yourselves (against evil).”
• Fasting has been prescribed, during this month, so as to bring the soul into harmony with Islamic belief and virtue and to get closer to Allah (s.w.t.).
• Allah (s.w.t.) has sent down the Holy Quran during this month to bring man out of darkness and oppression into light and guidance. Ayah 185 of Surah Al-Baqarah provides:
• “The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind; a clear evidence of guidance and the criterion of right and wrong…”
• It has been reported in Amali Sadooq on page 62 that when Haifs ibne Qaiyth asked Imam Sadeq (a.s.) how was it possible for the Holy Quran to be revealed in Ramadan as it was revealed to the Holy Prophet (s.a.) in 23 years, the Imam explained: “The entire Quran was revealed during the month of Ramadan to the sky in Baitul Mamoor and thereafter from Baitul Mamoor it was revealed to the Holy Prophet over a period of 23 years.”
• Another special characteristic of this month is that the night of Qadr falls during the month of Ramadan. It is the night of power or the night of destiny. Surah Al-Qadr reads:
• “Verily we have revealed the Quran in the Night of Qadr (Power). And what will make you know what the Night of Qadr is? The Night of Qadr is better than a thousand months.Therein descends the angels and the spirit by the permission of their Lord with decrees of all affairs. Peace is the entire night until dawn-break.”
• The Holy Quran was therefore revealed in the Night of Power during the blessed month of Ramadan as a guide to man.