“Let Go of Corruption &
Embrace True Devotion!
“Corruption has spread on land and sea of what men’s hands have
wrought, that He may make them taste (the fruits) of some of their doings, so
that they may turn back (from evil).” (30:
42)
“The Hour has drawn nigh, and the moon
is rent asunder.”
(54: 2)
The centuries prior to the advent
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) witnessed a steady decline in human
affairs. Looking back, worsening political and social conditions are apparent
on an international scale in the histories of nations situated in Europe, America,
Asia, Africa and the Arabian countries. Such times witnessed also the advent of
prophets, reformers and Warners to give an alert to the situations prevailing
in religious, human and even political affairs. These days even the islands are
not spared from these degradations and sorrowful states. Mauritius, despite
being a Paradise Island has also been infected with these kinds of corruption,
in every field.
The Holy Quran as a valuable source
of information and guidance throws much light on the subject.
A true religious message comes at a
time when mankind is in a period of darkness. It guides man to mould his life
in a proper manner in relationship to God and mankind, and enables man to
achieve the purpose for which he has been created, which is to worship God. In
other words, the condition of the world at the advent of a true Prophet of God
is such that the moral and spiritual conditions of man have become deplorable,
and progress is arrested until such time that mankind is able to conduct his
day-to-day moral and spiritual affairs in a noble and beneficial manner. Such
conditions of man, when a dark age appears and when a new religious message
comes, are also apparent in the political history of nations.
Corruption around the World
The Holy Quran states: Zaharal Fasaadu,
that corruption had appeared, and that mankind in that age had become corrupt
due to their own doings. In a later place the Holy Quran also states that the hour
had come for man’s moral and spiritual reform. But what we must keep in mind is
that the Holy Quran addresses us today with the same vitality and urgency like
it addressed the people of yore, that is, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and
the first believers. The main theme of the foregoing verses (30: 9-41)
consisted in engendering and instilling in man belief in an Almighty and
All-Powerful God Who creates, regulates and guides all life from the beginning
till the end of time.
In the present verse (30: 42) we
are told that when darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and man consigns
God to oblivion and gives himself up to the worship of the gods of his own
conception and creation, God raises a prophet to “bring back the erring flock
into the Master’s fold”. The words "land and sea" may signify:
a) Nations whose cultures and
civilizations were based purely on reason and collective human experience, and
those whose cultures and civilizations were based on Divine revelations;
b) Peoples living in the islands.
The verse means that all the
nations of the world had become corrupt to the very core politically, socially
and morally.
The Rise, Decline & Fall of Nations
Secondly, the moon, in Shaqqal-Qamar,
in the second verse I mentioned (54: 2) could stand for the Arab political
power, or political power in general, which was about to end and that The Hour,
Al-Saa’ah,
had come for a spiritual revolution which was to affect all spheres of human
activity. The emergence and vigour of nations, and sometimes their growth into
empires, often begins with a basic message or philosophy around which a
political system is developed. However, these political systems cannot serve to
meet the needs of the nation indefinitely, and this is apparent in their downfall.
In the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, these political systems were in
their decline and were struggling to survive.
Although extraordinary rulers did
appear who re-organised and revitalised the nation, yet the downfall was
inevitable and the old philosophy could not save the nation. At such a time of
decline, at the beginning of the seventh century A.D, a prophet of God appeared
who had a universal message for mankind. The acceptance or rejection of this
new message upon which nations could replace their old message and begin a new
era in their history, had significant effects on the history of these nations.
We observe that man’s progress
through civilisation has been the product of well-defined social laws requiring
strict adherence to those laws. Obviously, a good religion would contain a
complete code of rules of moral conduct conducive to the spiritual uplift of
man. Good and bad morals would need to be spelt out and the means of attaining
good morals and avoiding bad morals clearly defined. Once again, a religion
which is loosely structured and does not require the attainment of good morals
would fall by the side. It would be of considerable benefit if religion could
also provide suitable solution for the social problems which confront mankind
today.
True Guidance as the Role of Religion
A good religion cannot ignore that
man is a social animal and leave this matter for politicians. It would
therefore need to lay down certain principles which govern man’s social conduct
(e.g. marriage, family life, good neighbourliness), whereby peace and order may
be established. The rights and privileges of all classes of men should be
adequately protected.
Although rules for the government
of society may be framed, such rules frequently suffer from bias by an
individual or a party of people with vested interest or out of political
loyalties. Only God alone can equitably frame such rules with an outlook not
inhibited by intrusion of personal interest. A religion which is true to its
identity should point to sound domestic relationship, the rights and duties of
citizens, the relationship between master-servant, rulers-ruled, rich-poor, the
followers of one religion and those of another, etc., and to how such rights
and duties may be discharged. A religion which fails in this respect can hardly
deserve to be called by that name when it can hardly control the community
adhering to it leave alone its relationship to the rest of mankind. It is in
this category that a number of well-established faiths of the world fail
because their religions lack adequate guidance on it or because of the nature
of their origin were not meant to fulfil a universal role but a limited role
restricted to a certain people at a certain time. This is one of the primary
causes of irreligion because when people turned towards it to provide the kind
of guidance it had hitherto provided, that guidance was lacking. But Islam, the
perfect way of life, the true religion regulates man’s internal and external
affairs, his soul and environment and his place in society and cater to the
core to his spiritual needs and attainments also.
Corruption has appeared, and this
outburst of evil seems to be more than ever dangerous and devilish for it eats
every nation, big or small from inside and out. People are no longer protected
from these evils because they have barred themselves from the needed
protection, in that which they needed to trust in Allah and keep attach to him.
They let go of the spiritual and the goodness within them to grip the material
and greed for money and power. Islam, even today is still alive, its teachings
are still alive and applies for all times, even for our times, and we need to
return to the Holy Quran. Such corruptions Insha-Allah
shall become only a flimsy nightmare if people with goodwill seek to come out
of the darkness of their existence to seek Allah.
I pray that Allah enables you all
to understand the aim of this sermon, especially in the context of this
corrupted world, which day by day is worsening. Mauritius, the very little
island in the Indian Ocean also is not spared by all those kinds of corruption.
Since more than one month, we are witnessing how the corruption of ministers of
the government has surfaced to the public eye. This state of corruption has
reached each nook and corner of the world, where there are corrupted
presidents, ministers and other big personalities.
Prayer against the Lure of Satan
So we must pray for all
people around the world, that may the veil of ignorance fall and God Almighty
protects them from all kinds of temptation from Satan and his army. May Allah
have mercy on them, on us all living in this temporary world.
May Allah either discard them from
this world or forgive them, so that only goodness spread and all satanic
effects disappear little by little. I end with this prayer of Hazrat Nuh (as):
Rabbi laa tazar ‘alal ‘ardi minal-kaafiriina
dayyaaraa! ‘Innaka ‘in-tazarhum yudilluu ‘ibaadaka wa laa yaliduuu ‘illaa
faajiran-kaffaaraa! Rabbighfir lii wa liwaalidayya wa liman dakhala baytiya
Mu’-minaww wa lil Mu’-miniina wal Mu’-minaat wa laa tazidizzalimina ‘illaa
tabaaraa!
“O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers,
a single one on earth! Indeed, if You leave them, they will mislead Your
servants, and they will breed none but wicked ungrateful ones. My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a
believer and the believing men and believing women. And do not increase the
wrongdoers except in destruction.” Ameen.
--- Friday
Sermon of 15 April 2016 ~(07 Rajab 1437
Hijri) delivered by Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al-Khalifatullah
Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius.