Hujjatul Islam Ustad Syed Jawad Naqvi
(Principal Jamia Orwatul Wuthqa – Lahore)
Delivered at: Masjid Baitul ul Ateeq
Lahore – Pakistan
Friday Sermon – 31st May, 2024
Sermon 1: What is Falah and how Taqwa, Tawassul and Jihad leads towards Falah.
Sermon 2: Worse cruelty in history of humanity being done in Rafah
Taqwa has been ordered in various ways in context to various fields of life. Amongst this one order is in verse no 35 of Surah Maida.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {35}
O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful.
In this verse the believers are given three orders; one is to acquire Taqwa , second is to seek Raghbat in proximity of Allah and third is struggle (Jihad) in the way of Allah and then the outcome of these three is mentioned as prosperity (Falah). In various verses Falah has been mentioned as the outcome of human life. Falah does not mean success instead success is an essential perquisite of Falah.
Falah in Arabic means farming that too because the actual Falh means to tear the earth. The farmer tears the earth to place seed inside it. This is known as Falahat which means to tear for the purpose of cultivation and harvesting. This is general and applies to both materialistic and spiritual affairs. This means it happens on earth as well as in the soul of person. The seed can be placed in earth as well as in the mind, heart, soul and personality. The third field where seed is placed which is the biggest field selected for guidance and ignored by us is society. We are attentive towards earth and at times even towards our souls but an important ground which Allah has selected for sowing the most important seed is society. In religious understanding and teaching the society is completely ignored whereas in non-religious teachings society is given utmost importance. Religion has been confined to self only which means we want to plant the seed in our self and not society. Multiple verses show us that individuals are considered as trees of a garden and they should get nurtured in the garden of society and not separately. The entire direction of religion is towards this only and not that religion wants to grow the seed in a pot which can give some beautification. No vegetation or fruits come on plants in pots. Our ethical scholars take the plants out from society to plant it in pots at home. The Sufis and ethical scholars have allergy from society. If you handover society to them, they will pick a few plants from the society and take them to homes.
Prophet Moosa, Prophet Ibrahim, Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s) were sent for the salvation of Ummah. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s) would have only focused on his progeny and fostered them by closing the doors of his house. But Allah did not send them for this. The Holy Prophet (s) says that this world is the farm of hereafter and this tradition is present in all Shia Sunni books. When we look for Hadith, we should look for Hadith outside the books of our sect as well. Certain sects are highly concerned when it comes to accepting Hadith from Ahlulbayt (a) which is a sickness. They do not even take the Hadith from four Caliphs and you won’t find many Hadith from these four in their books. Why? They were governing the Ummah and everyday they used to give reference about the sayings of Holy Prophet (s). This was also a planning of Banu Umayyah from whom they should take Hadith and from whom not, just like media what to take and what to show. At that time media was under control of Banu Umayyah and they were controlling it. This Hadith is present in all books that this world is the farm of hereafter.
This hadith presents the reality, identity of religion and presents the relationship between world and hereafter; that is life before death and after death. The life which we are living now before death we should be aware that we are living in a farm field and part of the crops cultivated in the farm. What should be planted by you as farmer? You have to plant the seed of hereafter which will grow in this world only which you will carry forward in the world after.
In Surah Shura (42) verse 20
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ نَصِيبٍ {20}
Whoever desires the gain from this farm of the hereafter, We will give him more of that gain; and whoever desires the gain from the farms of this world, We give him of it, and in the hereafter he has no portion
Hars means farm. Allah says this world is the farm of world or hereafter. One who desires the results in this world we give him that but has no gains in hereafter. Our beliefs about the world and hereafter is that whatever we do the angels are recording and no wages would be paid in this world but when you die then you will get all the rewards in hereafter. This is our concept of world and hereafter, life and religion. All of us have heard this from parents, schools, scholars but when we read the Quran something else is written in it. Quran says you are the forming your personality, world and whatever you are making here is your hereafter as well. All actions, reactions, thinking is the construction of hereafter and not that the hereafter is made in advance and Houries are sitting, waiting for you in Jannah for Maulana. Everything that is being ordered by Allah for you to do and things that you do on your own are both hereafter. Quran terms this as Falah. Muflehoon is that farmer who has toiled hard to establish is world by sowing the seed, cultivating it, protecting it and harvested it. The Mufleh is not the farmer only but one who has done all this to harvest the crops bringing it home. This is a beautiful interpretation which Quran has done. And against the Muflehoon are losers. Those who have not cultivated anything or wild poisonous herbage.
In this verse 35, Quran says acquire Taqwa, seek Raghbat in nearness and do Jihad that is spend all your abilities in the way of Allah. When we teach all these things , like students and other believers who are continuously listening to us but still no change comes because the old meanings, concepts present in our minds are still not removed. We have been presenting Taqwa since years but still the meaning of Taqwa practically present in our lives is fear and abstinence. What have we done about Taqwa as protection. How much protection have we done for ourselves? Falah has changed the entire structure of your life which means you have to select a field, prepare it, sow seed , cultivate, grow and then harvest. This field is your own self, existence but not inside pot but in society. Cultivate your plan in society and also do the farming of society. Sow the seeds of guidance one by one in your own self and society. When you water the farm, it reaches the plants only. When society develops sense then the plant also gets it. If you just water a specific plant and then the farm will remain dry. The gardens, fields are watered and every plant sucks their own share. In the season of mango, the entire farms are full of mango.
When you sow , cultivate something then only you will harvest. If you want the religion and paradise of Allah then that would be acquired through farming, harvesting in this world. This world will become your hereafter.
Quran says one who is blind in this world will remain blind in hereafter as well. The one who is lazy, unsuccessful, deprived in this world the same will be in the hereafter. The curses which Quran mentions for certain people means deprivation which is against mercy (Rahmat). The accursed ones are not whose who are sworn upon instead they are deprived of things which Allah has kept for them. We are deprived from religion, privileges, faith, actions, society, divine systems, Imamat, Quran and they are ones who are accursed.
Muflehoon those who acquire Taqwa means live a protected life and protect their farms of harvesting. Those who seek proximity of Allah with Raghbat and not proximity of Houries. Even if you get Houries, fruits, honey in paradise but do not get proximity of Allah then what? Then you are unsuccessful. Imam Hussain (a) says one who found you what has he lost and one who has lost you what has he found? Perfection means acquiring proximity of Allah. The verse of Raja, We are from Allah and going towards Allah. You have not come from Jannah, you have come from Allah, so you have to return to Allah. To reach Allah is hereafter, Falah, privilege then seek proximity toward Allah. Your entire Raghbat is towards Pepsi and Sprite, you had to reach Allah but you have reached the bounties of Allah. The most virtuous paradise is Liqaullah, which is the paradise of Saints of Allah. If you do not reach Allah then you are amongst losers.
SERMON 2
There is beastliness seen everywhere if life is without Taqwa. Today everyone can witness that human beings are living their lives in the forest of wild beasts. We are pretending to be human but we can’t see humanity anywhere in this forest. Every country is like this only but the most clearly manifested beastliness is see in Palestine and Gaza where everyday a new step of cruelty and tyranny has taken place. In this week the most strenuous beastliness has been done. Rafah the last city of Palestine where Israel invaded after announcement and even after dialogues of Islamic world and even international court of justice prohibited the attacks on Rafah and to stop all attacks still the attack was done on Rafah. The beastliness was to the extent that Netanyahu also felt ashamed and said this was done in mistake.
Rafah is the refugee camp on the border of Egypt and Palestine. It is a limited place which is hosting the wounded, orphans, women and left out people from Palestine have taken refuge in these camps. These were temporary tents of fabric and they were set on fire and children, women were burnt alive. The film actresses, actors of Pakistan, India and America are condemning these attacks. It was such a beastly act that this category of actors who live in a different world where honored people do not even go near them. But still they felt the pain of Rafah and against them see the religious world, scholars in Pakistan, Arab world. The treacherous Erdogan complained to the Islamic world’s failure to stop the war. You yourself have been supplying weapons for seven months to Israel so you don’t belong to Islamic world. The last week attack was the worse attack of history and the cruelest ones in these camps. The bodies of small children charred to ashes were removed. It came in news that many bodies of children that came out were beheaded. Our Prime Minister has appreciated that Spain has accepted Palestine. If Spain has done a good thing then why you have not done this. If you have reached this solution of two state than at least accept Palestine. No Arab nations have accepted Palestine and only three non-Muslim states have accepted and rest all are praising. The American media has presented that the bombs, weapons used to attack Rafah was made in Colorado factory in America. America is getting these attacks done, they have defended this attack and across the world the American schools are running, American banks and businesses are going on.
Allah will listen to the pleading of these oppressed. The people, scholars, religious people of Pakistan can play a decisive role. The entire worlds people can take a decisive step but they don’t do it. Today on Friday even if those attending Friday prayers decide they can stop the war today. This is a tough situation for us to live in this kind of world. Who are silent and who are speaking? One courtesan was scolded by Maulana that you sell your body. She replied that I sell my body but I don’t sell religion and Quran. This has been proven. The actresses of Showbiz are raising voices but others are not doing anything. I remember in 1980’s an armed group invaded Kaaba and did some attack there. People started to say that this has been done by America. Islamabad was very small town at that time, but people without even investigating attacked the American Embassy and set fire to it. Later it was found that it was not America who did it but still people reacted this way. But today we can see everything has been done by America but everyone is silent , and going for Hajj to deceive Allah. They will now bring expensive sheep, cows and feel happy that we are acting on the Sunnah of Ibrahim. This cow might develop sense but you don’t have sense to stop this oppression in Gaza. They are dying, getting burnt and with their body parts burnt out lying separately. Imam Khomeini (r.a) would say if Muslims just throw one bucket of water on Israel they will get drowned. This intention is not there in Muslims which is a big tragedy.
Israel , America were beasts and they are acting with cruelty. But these Muslim scholars, what they claim and what they are? Here it is the stage for believers to die of grief and we should be ashamed of this kind of life. O Allah if we don’t have Taufeeq to stop this, then grant us death and not to see these corpses. The duty is not to die but to stop this oppression which we have forgotten. There are voices being raised in universities of West and these burnt out bodies will arouse people. When the people of film industry have developed sense then others will also but those who were on Hajj but not go to Karbala will never wake up. We should break this silence and whatever we can do should do. We should express our hatred at least on social media. Allah will not ignore these bodies of innocent children and Allah will take revenge. If we have this behavior then we will also get trapped under that revenge. Allah gives time to oppressors and one day winds them up completely. That day is near. Hamas last week attacked Tel Aviv in a big away. Despite of this much destruction they are in a position to attack. This is the army of Allah who are secure and Allah will destroy them by the hands of these persons only. May Allah forgive us, grant us repentance and deliver our duties
