Friday Sermon 6 February 1998

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• published: 24 Apr 2016
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He said 'Grant me respite till the day when they will be raised up.' He replied 'Thou shalt be of those who are given respite.' He said 'Now since Thou hast brought about my ruin I will assuredly lie in wait for them on Thy straight path.' 'Then will I surely come upon them from fore and aft and from their right and from their left, and Thou wilt not find them to be grateful.' He replied 'Get out hence despised and banished. Whosoever of them shall follow thee I will surely fill Hell with you all.' 'And O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and eat therefrom wherever you will but approach not this tree lest you be among the wrongdoers.' But Satan whispered to them so that he might reveal to them their shortcomings which had remained concealed in them of their shame saying 'Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you should become angels or immortals.' And he swore to them 'Surely I give you sincere advice.' So he brought about their fall by deceit. And when they tasted of the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to stick the leaves of the garden over themselves. And their Lord called them saying 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily Satan is to you an open foe?' They said 'Our Lord we have wronged ourselves; and if Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us we shall surely be of the lost.' ('The Holy Quran'. al-Araf: 15 - 24). Although I have elaborated upon the themes of these verses numerous times in the past but have recited them again today with a specific purpose in mind. Also I wish to explain certain things to you. The conversation of Satan with Allah the Almighty and when Allah the Almighty adjudges Satan as lost he retorted 'I would sit upon the straight path and divert your people.' Satan always sits upon the straight path. Why would Satan need to divert one who trod the crooked paths and was already astray? Satan comes upon the straight path in every guise, he attacks from every position. Thus Satan said 'I would come from before them and from behind them and from their right and from their left and you would not find most of them to be grateful.' These verses openly admonished that Satan is your avowed enemy so encounter him as an enemy. This clear and open admonishment could not be found in any other book of the world, with such clarity and consistency and consonance. Satan tricks you and is your enemy. This is the first admonishment made to mankind but all have been tricked except whom Allah wills. The secret to be safeguarded from Satan has been revealed in these verses in رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا ['Our Lord we have wronged ourselves;'] and this same prayer can come of use to us today to guard against Satan or to be released from his [inflicted] wounds. I have explained in detail again and again as to how you need to analyse your life's occupations. The example of the world is like an old lady who only a madman could love. How can a person who tells lies day and night be a man of the True God? It is not that the tricks of Satan cannot be recognised. If one is firm upon the truth one can recognise the deceit. Satan lies in wait so that he may differentiate between people. All hurdles come from the bad things. So Allah the Almighty teaches His people that they should always speak what is good and best. The Promised Messiah states 'Think before everything you say what its result would be. It is better not to speak than to utter speech that would result in mischief and discord'. Here the Promised Messiah is speaking of the states in which a person is engulfed by the base self. The Promised Messiah's blessed statement also stresses the importance of the kind act and the eradication of evil in that it is important to call to good things. One cannot ignore it. But the style of speech should be one that cannot possibly be bettered. Thus he states that 'It is also far from the dignity of a believer to desist in expressing the truth'. When Muhammad the Holy Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared his Prophethood all his kinsfolk and others became his enemies but he did not care for any of them. Sojourn diligently in the path of preaching with this endevour but being cautious not to hurt anyone's feelings by your words. Make every possible effort to say what is beautiful and lucid. Then have no care if the enemy opposes. When the enemy disregards what you say it is important for you to be grieved at his rejection so that the grief turns to fortitude and prayers. If you undertake the journey in this manner then it is a tool to win the hearts. I hope that friends would take these words to heart. May Allah the Almighty enable us to do so [too]. The text http://www.alislam.org/urdu/sermon/FST19980206-UR.pdf © The Tahir Archive / MTA International 2016.