Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 3/174
Newsletter for May 2016
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The Holy
Prophet(s) told one of his
companions, Jaber Ibne Abdullah
Ansari, “Sura Al-Hamd is the
foundation of Qur’an and it is
shifaa (cure) for every disease
except death.
This sura
encircles the three stages of
faith:
Firm
conviction of faith
Affirmation
by tongue
Performance
by body limbs
The summary
of Qur’an is faith and deeds and
both of them are in Sura
al-Hamd.
In one of the
tradition, the Holy Prophet(s)
said that reciting of sura
Al-Hamd is equivalent to the
recitation of two-third of Holy
Qur’an. Allah has exalted the
Holy Prophet in Sura Al-Hijr
verse 87 which says” (Muhammad),
we have given you the seven most
repeated (verses) and the Great
Qur’an”. It is reported that
this sura was revealed twice.
The Commander
of the faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.)
narrated from Holy Prophet(s)
“Allah has shown special favor
to me by giving this Sura and
making it equivalent to Holy
Qur’an and it is one of the
noblest treasures of “Arsh”.
Imam Jaffer
al-Sadiq (a.s.) said “Shaitan
had cried four times. First when
he was thrown out on refusing to
prostrate (respectable) to Adam,
second time when he was sent
down to earth, third time when
the Holy Prophet(s) was assigned
prophet hood and last time when
Sura Al-Hamd was revealed.
Sura al-Hamd
can be divided in to two parts;
one part relates to the praise
of Allah and the other part
relates to the needs and prayers
of His servants.
This Sura is
also called Sura-e-Fateha.
Fateha means “beginning”. This
also confirms that the Holy
Qur’an was already collected and
put in the present form during
the life time of the Holy
Prophet(s). Moreover, it is
otherwise confirmed by the
famous tradition of “Thaaqalain”
which means two heavy things
i.e. the Holy Qur’an and his
Pure Progeny.
Sura al-Hamd
reads as follows:
Bismillah hir
Rahmaan nir Raheem
AlHamdo
lillahe Rabbil Aalameen.
Ar-Rahmaan nir Raheem. Malike
Youmeddin
Iyyaka nabudo
wa Iyyaka Nastaeen. Ehdinas
Siraatal Mustaqeema, Siraatal
Lazeena
Anamta
Alaihim Ghairil Maghzoobe
Alaihim Walazzalleen.
All praise
belongs to Allah, Lord of the
Universe, the Beneficent, the
Merciful and
Master of the
Day of Judgment. (Lord), you
alone do we worship and from You
Alone do we
seek assistance. (Lord), guide
us to the right path, the path
of those to
Whom You have
granted blessings, who are
neither subject to (Your) anger
nor
Have gone
astray.
When anyone
praises any creatures of Allah,
whether a living thing or
non-living, every praise is
directly or indirectly refers to
Allah. Nothing is praise-worthy
except Allah.
It is
customary to start any important
work with a respectable person
hence it is better to start the
mission with the Everlasting
being which is Allah. There is a
tradition that any work started
without Allah’s name is doomed
to be a failure. That is the
reason that when the first
Revelation started, Allah says
in Sura al-Alaq verse 1
“(Muhammad), read in the name of
your Lord who created (all
things). Sura al-Hud verse 41
“(Noah) said, Embark in it. It
will sail in the name of Allah,
in His name it will sail and in
His name it will cast anchor….”
Sura al-Namal verse 30 “It
reads, ‘From Soloman: In the
name of Allah, the Beneficent
and the Merciful”. Hence every
sura of Holy Qur’an starts with
Bismillah so that the Divine
mission of guidance of humanity
is accomplished without any
loss. Only Sura al-Tauba does
not start with Bismillah because
it starts with a declaration of
war with the criminals of Mecca
hence Allah’s names of Rahmaan
and Raheem is improper.
The name
Allah includes his other
attributes.
The attribute
of al-Rahman is available to the
humanity at large whether Muslim
or non-Muslim but the attribute
of al-Raheem is especially for
pious and obedient faithful.
Allah repeatedly reminds His
servants that if they repent
sincerely for their sins then He
will forgive them as it is
mentioned in Sura al-Zumr verse
53 “(Muhammad), tell my servants
who have committed injustice to
themselves, do not despair of
the mercy of Allah. Allah
certainly forgives all sins. He
is All-forgiving and
All-merciful”
Rabb means
the master or owner, responsible
for the sustenance of His
creation. Aalameen means the
universe. Hence “Rabb ul
Aalameen” means the Master who
manages the affairs of the
universe. It includes all of His
creation whether having life or
otherwise.
Malik is
derived from al-milk which means
possession, sovereign or king.
In any meaning it shows the
total control of affairs. “Youmeddin”
means the Day of Judgement. So
Allah is the controller of the
Day of Judgment. Day of Judgment
is the pivoting factor for all
individual and social deeds for
the betterment of human society.
It is said that on the Day of
Judgment the servants will be
questioned first about namaaz,
if namaaz is accepted then other
deeds will also be accepted.
That is why we should pray
namaaz punctually which in turn
will remind us of the Day of
Judgment preventing us from
committing sins. The literal
meaning of “Deen” is reward or
compensation and the purpose of
Day of Judgment is the reward
for good deeds and punishment
for the sins.
“Iyyaka
Nabudo Wa Iyyaka Nastaeen” means
we only worship You and seek
assistance from You only. When
we ask for help, Allah will
cause to arrange for our help as
He is “Musabebul Asbaab”
When we
completely and thoroughly
understand the foregoing verses
that Allah is Beneficent and
Merciful, He is the sustainer
and the absolute controller of
the Day of Judgment, then we
become pure servant of Allah
released from the clutches of
wordly distractions and solicit
His help and guidance.
“Ehdinas
Siraatal Mustaqeem”: We are
praying Allah to guide us to the
Straight Path.
Straight Path
is the path of piety, justice
and faith. It is recommended to
pray for the continued guidance
from Allah at least ten times a
day. Our connection with Allah
is like a light bulb which gives
light as long as it is connected
with the power station. The
moment this connection is
severed, we are in the darkness.
Every person
is at different level of faith.
Even the Holy Prophet (s) used
to pray “Rabbe Zidni Ilma”
meaning “O Allah, increase my
knowledge”. Allah says in Holy
Qur’an Sura al-Mariyam verse 76
“Allah further enlightens those
who seek guidance…..”. Imam Ali
(a.s.) says “ O Allah, continue
the favors You bestowed on us in
the past by which we submitted
to You so that we may continue
to pray”. Put it differently,
Straight Path is the path of
worship of Allah and following
His commandments.
Sura al-Anaam
verse 161 “(Muhammad), tell them
‘My Lord has guided me to the
right path, a well-established
religion and the upright
tradition of Abraham, who was
not a pagan”. Sura al-Yaseen
verse 60, 61 “Children of Adam,
Did We not command you not to
worship Satan? He was your sworn
enemy. Did We not command you to
worship Me and tell you that
this is the Straight Path”. Imam
Jaffer al-Sadiq said “By God, we
are the Straight Path”
“Anamta
Alaihim Ghairil Maghzoobe
Alaihim Wallazzalleen”:
Sura al-Nisa
verse 69 “ One who obeys Allah
and the Messenger is a friend of
the Prophets, saints, martyrs,
and the righteous ones to whom
Allah has granted His favors.”
Sura al-Nahal
verse 106 “No one verbally
denounces his faith in
Allah-unless he is forced-while
his heart is confident about his
faith. But those whose breasts
have become open to disbelief
will be subject to the wrath of
Allah and will suffer a great
torment” Sura al-Fath verse 6 “He will punish the hypocrites and the pagans who have evil suspicions about Allah. It is they who are surrounded by evil and have become subject to the wrath and condemnation of Allah. He has prepared for them Hell, a terrible place to live”Sura al-Aale Imran verse 112 “…..They have incurred the wrath of Allah unto themselves and have been struck with destitution for their rejection of the revelations of Allah and for unjustly murdering the prophets. It is all because of their transgressions and rebellion”. |
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