Hujjatul Islam Ustad Syed Jawad Naqvi
(Principal Jamia Orwatul Wuthqa – Lahore)
Delivered at: Masjid Baitul ul Ateeq
Lahore – Pakistan
Friday Sermon – 30th December, 2022
Sermon 1: Rabetu–An order for establishing social relationships
Allah has established Taqwa for protection of human life as a divine plan and is expressed for every segment of life and amongst those dimensions of life one segment is social life which is the actual and major part of life. The other segments and affairs of human life are nurtured in the laps of social life. The individual, social, family life are children of social life. Taqwa is required by every segment of human life and the way the human body gets nurtured in the laps of mother after which the mother changes to family and then to society. Every mother delivers its relevant role. Once mother completes the body of man in womb, feeds milk and this is the stage of infancy and personality of child is not yet made. The moment the time for personality development comes the child gets transferred to society and that makes the personality of child.
Guidance is also established as per the stages of life. The first stage of guidance is of creation which gets done in womb, then infancy, family and society. Since within few years man gets into the laps of society hence major portion of guidance is related to society. Even though we have forgotten this part in education and are more attentive on individual guidance but Quran has made the most part of guidance for society since major part of life of man is spent in society. Since the important and major part is spent in society the guidance is also more and hence the law of protection is also the same. From the time of beginning there is need for protection and Quran has presented most protection for social life which is Taqwa. It is for individual, family and social life. The way Allah has made laws for development of body same way there is law for nurturing of human being there is protection. Hence a major part of Taqwa is related to social life. But the elements on which this social life is established Allah (s) in verse 200 mentions in Surah Ale Imran which is the last verse.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {200}
O you who believe! be patient and support others for patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful
The address is to believers and those believers who are testified by Quran and not those self-proclaimed that we are believers. When they are not believers by heart and just for the sake of deception term themselves as believers they will not acquire Taqwa. The first order is Isbaru, that is show to perseverance , then second order is Saberu that this perseverance and patience should be social whereby everyone should remove weakness from any segment where it is seen and we should make it stable. We demonstrate patience in individual lives but when we see others into such issues we do not consider this as our duty. When your needs are fulfilled and the relatives of yours are in need then it is duty of everyone to provide it to those. Like it is in winter and provisions for this weather is not there with some member’s family then it is duty of other family members to provide the basic necessities. Every mature person of a family has an obligation to provide the basic needs of others in the family along with his own and not just the responsibility of father. Similarly in society if some need is not fulfilled then every member of society has the duty to fulfill those needs. We have to see if someone’s life in society is victim of instability, weakness due to which this person has remained behind in the journey of development. Like in education, ethics, security, ideology, upbringing some group has remained behind then it is responsibility of society to take care of these. The order given by Allah is Saberu, which means the stability and perseverance of everyone. The translation is done to summon each other for patience which means to remain silent, do not show any reaction, wait. Like when someone dies in some family, we admonish them to remain silent and not cry. Patience is not this. It is stability. When some difficulty’s come on someone they leave the path. Like many say that we cannot educate our children since we don’t have means to provide them education, they remove from school. If this is true, like some are not needy they have mobiles, bikes but don’t have money for education they are deceivers. But there are some who are really needy and they have children who cannot get education. These are downtrodden families who are left behind and the society should not allow them to remain behind. Those who have the means of life with them, they should get them along and provide them the necessary means same as what is needed by you. Musabera does not mean to remain silent; it means to strengthen each other. The group that has remained behind, you should get them along and this is Musabara. It is a general order to the society of believers.
Today we consider ourselves religious but we are tribal in practice. For religious dues it is the responsibility of Hakim e Shara to distribute to the needy. You should not distribute like this to anyone. The Hakmi e Shari knows where to use them. There are many who have made themselves approved for taking Khums. The one who is the guardian, custodian of society can only collect or should be spent as per his orders. If such Hakim is not there, then just believers should become custodian of society and you cannot leave the society on its own. There is no concept of orphan society anywhere whereby there is no custodian of the society. If there is a guardian, Hakim appointed by Allah and this Hakim has to provide the needs of everyone in society. People would tell Ali (a) why you eat such staple simple food, when you have everything, and even Baitul maal is available. Ali (a) would not say I am poor, and was taking stipend from Baitul Maal. He says I am the Hakim, but if someone in Yemen is hungry then as a Hakim I cannot afford that. If Hakim is sleeping on warm bedding and from his pupils someone is shivering; this is not acceptable. A hakim is keeping all means of life completely but someone from his pupils are not having basic life needs should not be acceptable to the Hakim. The Hakim is the father of the nation. The Prophet says that I and Ali are the father of the nation. Our duties for Ummah is same as father has for children. Hence in some tradition the Ummah is also referred to Aal (progeny) like Aale Firaun.
This trend that has become that Khums can be given to anyone who is ready to take. To give Khums to Mujtahid is not proven anywhere in Sharia, it is to Hakim Sharia. If the Hakim e Sharia for Pakistan is Iran, and the Hakim also accepts them, then they can give to him, and Hakim cannot take Khums and spend in Iran. The way the rights of Iranian is on Hakim e Shari, the same rights are ther from hakim on people in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. If the Hakim is not taking responsibility then the turn comes from mujtahid and that too not on every mujtahid, but only those who meet the criteria as per narration on what that Faqeeh should be. If some society is not having Wali e Faqeeh then Adil believers should rise and become guardians of society. The society cannot be left on their own which is not permitted. It is in fact to this extent that if there is a society in which there is no just believer as well. It is possible that a day comes when there is no just believer in Pakistan. Then also you cannot leave the society on their own, then amongst the Faasik one can become their guardian. Ali (says) it is essential for a society to have leader to take care of social affairs and manage them. Musabera is part of that plan and it means to provide help and stability to every weak group, entity of society and not just say good words to keep patience. Musabera means if the head of family passes away, then don’t just recite fateha, but instead see if there is any education or any need for them or not. If he has left some inheritance then you can see if some just person in family is available to spend righteously and if not then believers should become custodian. Musabera means to remove the weak side of each other and support each other.
Then after this is Rabetu. The best and correct Tafsir of this verse is done in Meezan by Allama Tabatabai. It would have been good to present the full discourse which Allama has done on this verse. Here we are looking into Taqwa. Allama has presented the entire social system of religion but others have taken only surficial things. There is one more verse in Quran which has become the basis of confusion amongst scholars and Fuqaha. They have made that other verse as base to do the tafsir of this verse.
That is Surah Anfal , Verse 60 which has very important order for society
وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ {60}
And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier, to frighten thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them, whom you do not know (but) Allah knows them; and whatever thing you will spend in Allah’s way, it will be paid back to you fully and you shall not be dealt with unjustly.
Quran says to prepare and strengthen as much possible for you against enemies. You should possess that much strength to dominate the enemies. This is an order. First list what all areas you need strength like weapons, education, technology, training as per your era. Then it says رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ Rabatul Khail are the patrolling horses on the border security posts. There are soldiers today who move in armed vehicles between these bases on the border. The Fuqaha have taken this verse into the chapter of Jihad on providing security posts on borders. Since here Rabatul Khail means the horses patrolling the border posts. They have taken this Rabatul Khail to do the Tafsir of Surah Ale Imran verse 200 whereby Fuqaha says that the order in this verse is to protect the borders
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {200}
O you who believe! be patient and support others for patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful
First they have not translated the verse of Surah Anfal correctly and then they took away the meaning of the verse in Surah Ale Imran. The meaning in both places is same but Misdaq differs. The Rabeta at times can be for borders, social or other fields which are the objective references but not the meaning. These elderly persons have done the meaning in Fiqh as protection on borders and applied to the verse in Surah Ale Imran. One Misdaq of Rabeta is border protection which we will discuss later.
Rabetu is essential. Allama has presented which type of Rabeta Allah wants amongst believers and then there are traditions from Ahlulbayt (a) regarding this. The Imams have said this Rabeta is between Imam and Ummah, then relationship of Ummah amongst themselves. This is the order of Rabetu.
SECOND SERMON
Sermon 2: Those who love Ali, their outward dress is of destitute
Amirul Momineen in saying no 112
112. مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ فَلْيَسْتَعِدَّ لِلْفَقْرِ جِلْبَاباً.
Whoever loves us, members of the Household (of the Prophet), should be prepared to face destitution
Anyone who loves Ahlulbayt (a) should prepare themselves for the attire of Fakr. The way in last saying Ali (a) said that anyone who loves us crumbles to piece. Syed Razi has associated this saying with the last one and in some editions both these sayings have been numbered as one.
This saying is also in the same context about loving Ahlulbayt (a). The one who loves us should get prepared for destitution, hardship, poverty. There are certain scholars who have written that this sentence is not having generality whereby everyone who loves Ahlulbayt (a) would be beggars. All the categories of lovers of Ahlulbayt (a) fall into different categories. The way in Khilafat as well there are different categories of people. There also there are lovers of Ahlulbayt (a) as well, even though they don’t believe in Khilafat. Wilayat means love is the religion of Ahle Sunnah. For Shias Wilayat means governance and political leadership. If we see in Ahle Sunnah as well there are rich and poor people both. If you see in other religions as well they are same as poor and rich. In Hindus, Sikhs also you can see the same. The relationship of rich and poor is not related to religion. There are some tricksters who teach Zikr to become rich and wealthy. First we should check their wealth, who take few rupees to teach these hymns to recite to become rich. This is deception. The causes and laws of becoming rich and poor are their own irrespective of religion. Since practically if the distribution of wealth is not related to religion. The laws for this are different. It is possible that all followers of some religion become poor or all are rich. It is true that hardships come on certain followers of religion and specifically for Shia. It is there in narrations that when a person adopts faith the hardships turn towards him. Since the society is not having values and he presents values he faces difficulties. The Prophets when they came to any society they could not harmonize and that society could not accept them. There was no match between Lot and his society , then other prophets who were martyred, tortured. It happens when you go against the tide in some society, people create problems for you. The way Prophet had to leave his own city of mecca because his family, tribe were idol worshippers which the prophet objected and they became enemies to the extent of killing him. This problem remains when every righteous persons come under the siege of evils then the calamities will come. Either you will become part of them or they will torture you.
Some have translated this in this sense, that anyone who loves Ahlulbayt (a) should get prepared to face destitution. It is not that love of Ahlulbayt (a) makes you destitute. Fakr is not something liked by Allah, religion, Prophet and Ahlulbayt (a). You have nothing and remain deprived is not the path of religion. When you acquire the path of religion, then people will torture you and make you destitute. You can see in history the Banu Umayyah has done this. Any hakim who would come , would start the oppression on Ahlulbayt (a) in a new manner. The hakim would make new police, and give rewards to recognize, punish, kill the followers of Ahlulbayt (a). The way today Nasibis and Takfiris who take rewards from other countries to trouble the followers of Ahlulbayt (a).
This saying is from Ali at the time when Ali was the ruler of the Ummah. He is not saying that anyone who loves me in my governance should be prepared for destitution. If we pay attention to the words. In this saying, there is Isteda, Fakr, Hubb, Jilbab. The Jilbab is the coat that is generally worn by woman. Lady fatema put on Jilbab , it is that shawl which covers from head to waist and covers the dresses under it. The first eyesight falls on this Jilbab and hides the curvatures of body.
This tradition should be recited at home with your families. When Lady Fatema (s) realized that she is passing away and time has come; she called lady Fiza and said that I dislike the way the funeral of women are done. Fiza asked what you dislike. The way the body is placed on a cot and then a blanket is placed on it. When the coffin is moved, the body moves and the curvature of body is seen and I dislike this. Then Fiza asked what should be done. Lady Fatema (s) said when funeral is done, you make this arrangement that my coffin should be made closed and the blanket should be kept so high that my body is not seen at all. The followers of Lady Fatema (s) should see this carefully that after death also she does not like that her body is disclosed, and you are moving like this with tight clothe. The way Imam Hussain (a) said I don’t like that my body remains exposed after death, and you become naked in the name of Imam Hussain (a). You can read history that if anyone has seen the body of any Imams? Imam Hussain (a) put-on worn-out dress so that my body does not become naked. We have to learn the etiquettes.
Jilbab is that loose veil which conceals the dress as well. It has specialty that it is open, long and hanging down. Since Jilbab is the outermost dress hence people put on a quality Jilbab. Even if vest torn it does not matter. Our personality is seen by the outermost attire. Ali says, that the lovers of Ahlulbayt (a) should not do this. If you love Ahlulbayt (a) then even if you are rich, then your Jilbab should be of poor. This is because this would be seen by others. When poor, orphans see such dresses they develop a desire in their hearts. The children desire when they see something good. We can see suicides by father whose children keep on demanding from them after seeing in society. The parents are in trouble, some try to divert their child and some take their own lives. This is an ethic which is being taught to his lovers to not arouse the desires of others. Ali would buy two dresses sometimes, one good and one low , he would give good one to Kambar. Even if you are rich then also your attire should be of poor person. You should do Infaq of your wealth , but if you are not doing Infaq then do not dress up in a way that poor people’s desires gets aroused. Ali has said Jilbab.
That meaning is also correct, that if you love Ahlulbayt (a) and leaving in the country of enemies, they will give you hardships and deprive. But generally it does not happen. Today also if you see Saudi which is the biggest enemy of Shias, there also Shias are in good numbers and they are not poor. Some might be but mostly they are good financially. In Medina we have seen the Shais and could not find them as beggars. It is possible that Banu Umayyah type rulers can make beggars as poor. Ali Says Jilbab should be such that you should not arouse the desire of others.
Irrespective of any of the meanings, Ahlulbayt (a) is teaching us etiquettes to put on dresses at a low level. When the situation of Pakistan was very bad, I know a rich person who sold everything in Pakistan and went to Qom and got looted that believer completed. He made Husseini, madrassa and got looted completed. He was being mentioned by every student but I had not seen. One day I was going along with the friend, and this believer was passing by on the other side of the road. My friend told me he is that rich person. When I saw him, that rich person had a worn out trouser, a very tight old coat and shoes. His dress till his last day was the same and was always seen in the same dress. When I read this tradition I remembered that person. He was a rich person and those who looted him were scholars who took from him and became rich. We would taunt that he does not wear due to miserliness. It is possible that he has read this tradition that despite of wealth wear a poor outfit. If you love Ahlulbayt (a) then this should be the way. If you Banu Umayyah then you can make a prestigious outfit.
