Friday Sermon – Khalifatul Masih V – Mirza Masroor Ahmad – Year 2014
Today I shall present some writings and statements of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) with relation to the love of the divine. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has explained the meaning and the reality of the love of God in these extracts.
He further explained the secret and the means of acquiring the love of Allah the Almighty including the in-depth meanings and philosophy thereof. Further, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has outlined the expectations he had for us, those who have come to believe in him and are part of his community.
He has expounded what efforts should be made to acquire the love of Allah the Almighty and the standard that is required to do so. In this regard, each extract deserves our attention and serves as a beacon of guidance. We therefore need to listen to them attentively so that we can understand
The true spirit of the subject of the love of Allah the Almighty. Thus we can become those who increase, progress and strengthen in this respect and thus reform ourselves. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “Love of God does not require artificiality, formality or pretentiousness,
In fact this is a faculty from amongst the faculties of man.” Its reality is that the heart becomes inclined or likes something and becomes drawn towards it, just as the real properties or qualities of something become manifest when it reaches its state of excellence, that is becomes evident extremely clearly and openly.
This is the case of love. Its treasures, its essence, manifest very clearly at such a time when it reaches its perfection, sublimity and completion. That is when it reaches its pinnacle, its best level or highest point. Allah the Almighty has said: That their hearts were permeated with the love of the calf, that it to say that they love the calf so greatly that it was as if they were given the calf as a sherbet to drink. So thus, when one loves somebody completely,
It is as if he is permeated or consumed by him entirely. His morals and his characteristic reflect all the attributes of the one he loves. The greater degree to which man loves the beloved, correspondingly he is naturally drawn towards the attributes of his beloved
To the extent that he becomes the image of the one he loves. This is the secret, that one who loves Allah the Almighty reflects in his capacities by procuring the light that is found in the being of God. Those who love Satan assimilate the darkness of Satan.
So thus the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said that this is the secret of love, to adopt the attributes of Allah the Exalted. I explain with relation to ‘marfat’, understanding of God the Almighty, that unless one has full perception of the attributes of God,
He could not acquire true divine knowledge and understanding. Progressing beyond the stage of ‘marfat’, divine knowledge and understanding, is love. Love becomes complete and perfect at that point, when one adopts the attributes of Allah the Almighty.
It is not just necessary to acquire knowledge of the attributes of God, but also to adopt them. One must reflect in his own being the attributes of God and that is when the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says ‘noor’ or spiritual light is acquired.
Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said: “The reality of love necessitates that a person sincerely adores all the attributes, morals and acts of worship of his beloved and endeavours with all his heart and soul to be completely devoted to them
So that having been absolved in him, he can acquire his beloved’s life.” One who loves truly becomes totally enamoured and captivated by the beloved. This conjures up such an image in his heart as if the beloved permeates and consumes him.
It is said that by reflecting all the attributes of the beloved and being devoted to him, it makes it evident to the people that he is entirely absorbed and lost in the beloveds love. Then elucidating the standard of divine love, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says in one extract:
This was actually an objection by the priest Fateh Masih. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has responded to this by a way of a letter. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said that the objection is raised that Muslims do not love God the Almighty unconditionally.
It is alleged that they have not been taught that Allah the Almighty is worthy of being loved due to His excellences. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said in response: “Let it be absolutely clear that in reality, “this objection is applicable to the Gospels rather than the Holy Qur’an,
“because the Gospels certainly do not teach to have personal love with the Divine “and that out of personal love Allah the Almighty should be worshipped.“ “However the Holy Qur’an is replete with such teachings. “The Holy Qur’an has stated clearly: ARABIC The Holy Qur’an states further: “Remember Allah in the way that you remember your fathers, in fact, even more so. “It is a distinction of the believers that they love God the most “in a manner which they do not even love their fathers, their mothers “or their other dear ones and nor themselves.” Then Allah the Almighty states: “Allah has endeared the faith to you and has made it look beautiful to your hearts.” Then Allah the Almighty states: This verse constitutes the rights of Allah and the rights of mankind and its supreme eloquence is that Allah the Exalted explained both aspects within it. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “The aspect of ‘haqooqul ibad’, the rights of mankind, has already been explained.”
In essence the extracts from the book that is being quoted, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has explained this in depth. Nonetheless, with regards to the rights of mankind, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has elucidated that a ‘momin’, a believer, should even show compassion and kindness to disbelievers.
This is the rights of mankind. Going in depth, it requires deep love and sympathy, if required. He should try to remove both his physical and spiritual ailments and pains and sufferings. That is, even if he is a disbeliever of God, but has any spiritual or physical illness,
One should strive to remove those illnesses and be sympathetic towards him. These are the rights due to people. Here the rebuttal is also provided of how a ‘kafir’, a disbeliever, can be loved. For, some people object, how we can say ‘love for all’ in our motto
So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has explained this. Sympathy, compassion to reform, to fulfil the needs of a ‘kafir’ is to love him. Love of a disbeliever does not mean that out of one’s love, one should adopt disbelieving ways and faith of the disbeliever.
A love for a true ‘momin’, a true believer, entails the following: That one should adopt his good virtues and pieties and practices and if there are any vices within him, he should be explained with reference to the faith. The general human compassion and sympathy is extended to all and that is love.
‘Love for all’ does not mean that everyone’s personal characteristics and habits are adopted for the reason that we love them. Within ‘haqooqul ibad’, the rights due to man, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: that entails feeding the hungry, freeing those who are enslaved,
Alleviating the debts of people and helping those who are burdened. ‘Adl’, fairness, is also mentioned here in ‘haqooqul ibad’. Beyond this one should also do ‘ehsan’, doing good and being kind to others. This means that irrespective of one’s faith and creed, one should extend goodness to others.
This entails the rights due to others and these are the rights due to all people. A believer fulfils these rights out of love for all mankind. however he only does so in order to attain the pleasure of God. The first and foremost love is that due to God.
This is a reference from ‘Chasmaye Masih’, the ‘Fountain of Christianity’. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says, “We have already explained the rights due to God. “As regards to ‘haqullah’, the rights due to Allah, this verse: “signifies that to obey God Almighty, abide by justice “because He has created you, has nurtured you and continues to do so at all times. “Thus it is His right that you too should obey Him and if you have greater perception and insight
“then do not merely obey Him owing to His rights to be obeyed “but also due to ‘ehsan’, the doing of good, it should also be done “because God is the benefactor whose favours cannot be counted. “It is evident that the stage where ‘ehsan’, the doing of good, is kept in view
“is a higher stage than ‘adl’, or fairness. “Constant reflection and deliberation over the concept of ‘ehsan’ “keeps the countenance and qualities of the benefactor ever in view. “Therefore the definition of ‘ehsan’ includes to worship God Almighty as if God can be seen.
That is to say that when the image of the Benefactor can be seen, then His favours are also remembered. Or when one remembers the favours of the Benefactor, His countenance comes in view and thus a person becomes more indebted to His favours.
So Allah the Almighty’s ‘ehsan’ is that you worship Him in a way as if you are seeing God right before you. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says “In fact people who obey God Almighty consist of three types.
“The first entails such people who do not reflect or observe the divine favours properly “because God is unseen whereas material things can be seen.” That is, Allah the Almighty is concealed, He cannot be seen in a human shape whereas material objects are tangible.
One also has direct knowledge of them and a person can observe and experience and feel them. As the material objects are seen right before one’s eyes, the realisation is lost that there is also a Being who created these material means
And that Being is God the Almighty and as a result of not realising this, a person begins to love these material objects to a greater degree. So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said, “People who are obedient to God consist of three types.
“Firstly are those who do not observe God’s favours properly, “the reason for this is because God is unseen, “He is concealed whereas material objects are obvious and tangible. “Neither is that passion instilled within them “that is instilled by reflecting on the greatness of God’s favours.
“Neither is that love stirred within them that is stirred “by reflecting over the great favours and kindness of God the Almighty, the Benefactor. “They accept God Almighty as a creator in a cursory and formal way “and do not at all deliberate over the details of divine benefactions.”
They do not accept ‘ehsan’ of Allah the Almighty but collectively because they have faith because they claim to be Muslims, it is for this reason that the rights of Allah the Almighty or the rights of being the God’s creation are accepted by them because they realise that God has created them.
So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said: “They do not at all reflect over the subtleties of divine benefactions, “a close scrutiny of which brings the true Benefactor before our very eyes.” So they generally say that we accept God and we love Allah the Almighty,
However every benefit that they derive and acquire, whilst deriving that benefit, they do not keep God’s benefaction and favours in view. Rather they give preference to material means and objects. So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “What is the reason for this? “Corrupted material and insignificant objects prevent a person from
“clearly seeing the countenance of the Divine.” Because the tangible objects and means from which a person is deriving benefit, covers everything to such an extent that Allah the Almighty, who has created all these means and all these objects, is not visible to a person
Because a person is practically worshipping the worldly means and materialistic things, these prevent a person from clearly seeing the countenance of the Divine. They do not have the clear sight needed to behold the true Bestower. So He who has provided all, truly it is He who has provided everything,
His beauty and His excellence does not conjure up before us. So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said: “Their flawed understanding and knowledge of God “is adulterated with materialism and worldliness “and due to this they cannot properly understand and observe God’s favours.”
“They are not heedful as one should be when reflecting and observing divine favours “which brings the countenance of the Benefactor before one’s eyes. “In fact, their understanding and knowledge of God is as if blurred. “The reason for this is that partly they rely on their own efforts and their own means
“and partly because they, as a formality, accept the divine qualities of ‘khaliqiyat’ , to create, “and ‘razakiyat’, to provide, only as a concept. “Because Allah the Exalted does not burden anyone more than His knowledge and perception, “therefore as long as these people are at this condition and stage,
“He only wills them to be grateful of His rights, and in the verse: “‘Adl’, the significance of justice or fairness, is that they obey Him out of fairness.” They do not have full knowledge and only know of Him as being the Creator and the Provider, even if they are only just verbally professing this. Allah the Almighty, in accordance with the condition that they are in,
However grateful a person may be, His justice requires that this much be deemed sufficient for them. They also believe that we have done a sufficient amount for God. However the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) states that “Man has a greater stage of knowledge and understanding of God
“whereas mentioned earlier he is completely free from the apparent ways and means “and he appreciates God’s grace, blessings and favours “and comes out of the obscurities of ways and means. “He sees the hand of God’s fairness and blessings. “Phrases such as ‘my crop flourished only because I irrigated it with my own efforts’
“or that ‘I was successful because of my own endeavours’ “or ‘my such and such objective was fulfilled because of Zaid’s kindness’ “or, ‘I was saved from destruction and ruin because of Bakr’s vigilance’ “all of these things appear insignificant, false and trivial. “One only sees one Being, one Power, one Benefactor and one Hand.
“It is then that man sees the favours of God Almighty with absolute clarity “where there is no hint of murkiness of associating partners with God “and of relying on ways and materialistic means. “This manifestation is so clear and so certain
“that man does not consider the Benefactor, God, as not present whilst worshipping Him “rather he most certainly considers God to be present before him when he worships Him. “The Holy Qur’an has called such worship as ‘ehsan’ “and in ‘Sahih Bukhari’ and ‘Sahih Muslim’,
“the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) has himself given the same definition of ‘ehsan’. “The next stage is of ‘itaaizil qurbaa’, giving like kindred. “Its details are that when a person appreciates divine favours free from ways and means “and worships God, understanding Him to be present,
“and as the direct Benefactor right before him. “This concept and perception ultimately results in a personal love of God being generated in him. “For lasting appreciation of constant favours certainly creates this effect “in the heart of a grateful person.
“That is, the effect on the heart of a person who has been bestowed benefaction “means that gradually he begins to be filled with personal love for that Beloved “who is impressed by the unlimitless favours upon him.
“In this instance, he does not worship out of a feeling of ‘ehsanaat’, of favours upon him, “rather God’s personal love is embedded within his heart “just as a child has personal love for his mother. “In such a state, he not only sees God at a time of worship
“but he also derives pleasure like one who truly adores and loves. “All selfish desires and egotistical thoughts are exterminated “and are instead consumed by personal love of Allah the Almighty within him. “This is a stage that God Almighty has likened to ‘itaaizil qurbaa’, giving like kindred “and has pointed to in this verse:
‘Celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrate the praises of your father’. “In short, this is the explanation of the verse “In it, Allah the Almighty has cited all three stages of human understanding “and knowledge of God, and has called the third stage as the stage of personal love. “This is the status and stage “where all selfish motives and thoughts are completely exterminated and the heart
“is filled with love, like a bottle made of glass is filled with fragrance and perfume. “It is this stage alone that the verse indicates: “That: ‘And of the men there are those who would sell themselves to seek the pleasure of Allah “and Allah is compassionate to His servants.’ “Then Allah the Almighty states: “That is: ’Those will attain salvation, who submit themselves to Allah the Almighty “and worship Allah the Almighty with the concept of God’s favours and kindness in view “as if they are seeing God with their eyes; such people will receive reward from God.’ “They will neither face fear nor grief.
“That is, God and God’s love becomes their objective desire “and God’s blessings is their reward. “God states elsewhere: “That is: ‘Those who out of love of God feed the poor, the orphans and the prisoners “and they say we feed you for Allah’s pleasure only, “we desire no reward and nor thanks from you. “Our only object is God’s being before us.’
“It is worth reflecting how clearly all these verses demonstrate that the Holy Qur’an “has deemed the excellent station of worship of God and good deeds “amaale saleha” “as the stage when the heart sincerely seeks love of God and the pleasure of the divine. “God Almighty has named this religion Islam
“with the objective of man worshipping God Almighty “owing to his inherit passion and not selfish motives. “Worship of God should not be done due to any selfish motives or desires “but rather it should be done with an inherit passion because
“Islam is a name of abandoning all motives and willingly submitting to the will of God. “There is no other religion in the world except for Islam which has these objectives. “Undoubtedly as a sign of His grace, “God Almighty has promised the ‘momins’, the believers, all types of blessings.
“However, the believers who aspire to the higher station and status “have been taught to worship God out of a personal love for Him.” True worship is that which is done out of a personal love of God and not out of any selfish desires. Elsewhere, expounding the signs of true love,
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has said: “Love is a strange thing. “Its fire consumes the fire of sin and extinguishes the flame of disobedience.” “There can be no question of punishment where there is perfect and true love. “One of the signs of the true love
“is that the lover dreads the very thought of being estranged from his beloved. “He thinks himself doomed at his smallest fault “and sees the beloved’s displeasure as a deadly poison. “He remains anxious with a great longing to meet his beloved. “An absence and separation takes the very life out of him.
“That is why he does not only regard as sinful actions “which are regarded as such by the common man “such as murder, adultery, theft and bearing false witness, “rather he considers even the slightest estrangement from God “and the slightest inclination towards anything other than Him, as a grave sin.
“He therefore constantly seeks forgiveness, that is, carries out ‘istighfar’, “from his eternal Beloved “since he can never bring himself to accept separation from Him at any time, “the slightest negligence, which he commits due to his human weakness, “appears to him like a mountain of sin.
“It is for this reason that those who enjoy a holy and perfect relationship with God “always occupy themselves with ‘istighfar’, seeking forgiveness from God. “A true lover is always apprehensive lest his Beloved should become annoyed with him. “His heart is filled with the thirst to please Him perfectly.
“He is not content even when God himself informs him that He is pleased with him. “Just as a drunkard is not satisfied with drinking once and is constantly asking for more, “in the same way when the spring of Divine love gushes forth in a man’s heart
“he naturally wants to win God’s pleasure as far as possible.” Even if Allah the Almighty says that He is pleased with a person, he should not be satisfied. Rather this pleasure of Allah the Almighty, once one is notified of it, should incline him towards further ‘istighfar’ and worship.
So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) continues: “Thus greater love leads to even greater ‘istighfar’, seeking forgiveness from God. “This is why those who are perfect in their love for God “are constantly seeking Allah’s forgiveness “and the surest sign of a sinless person
“is that he occupies himself in ‘istighfar’ far more than other people. “The true meaning of ‘istighfar’ is to pray to God that He may remove the possibility of any “transgression or error which a person might commit due to the weakness of human nature.
“And that He may cover his faults and not allow them to be exposed. “That their weaknesses should remain covered and should not become manifest. “The meaning of ‘istighfar’ also extends to the common people “and in their case it means to pray to God that He may protect the supplicant
“from evil consequences and poisonous influences of his transgressions and misdeeds. “both in this world and the hereafter, “so thus the source of true salvation is personal love for God “which in turn draws His love through a man’s humility, supplication and constant ‘istighfar’. “When a person carries his love to perfection
“and the fire of love consumes his carnal passions, “then all at once a flame of God’s love which He has for His servant, “falls upon his heart and cleanses him of the dirt of his mundane existence. “He then acquires the complexion of holiness of God who is ‘hayyal qayyoom’
“and partakes of all divine attributes by way of reflection. “Then he becomes a manifestation of divine glory. “All that is hidden in God’s eternal treasure is disclosed to the world through him, “since God, who created this world, is not a miser
“and His blessings are everlasting and His names and attributes are never suspended.” Then explaining further, with regards to the removal of sin and performing ‘amale saleha’, righteous deeds, are impossible without the love of God. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says:
“Sin in fact is a poison that is born when man does not obey God, “does not love him fervently and does not remember him with love.” “A person whose heart has become estranged from God’s love is like a tree, “which having become rooted from the soil and therefore being unable to absorb water,
“withers with each passing day and soon loses all its virtue. “That is what happens to a person whose heart is void of God’s love. “Thus, sin devastates man just as dryness kills a tree. “Divine law has prescribed three remedies for this condition. “Firstly, love.
“Secondly, ‘istighfar’, that is the desire not to expose something or to conceal something “because as long as the trees roots remain covered in the earth, it has a chance of remaining green. “Thirdly is ‘taubah’ or repentance, “that is turning to God in all humility to observe the water of life,
“to attain nearness to Him and to be released from the darkness of sin “through ‘amale saleha’, righteous or pious deeds.” That is to say, in order to remove the covering of sin one has to perform righteous deeds ‘amale saleha’ and in order to perform ‘amale saleha’, righteous deeds, which can eliminate this covering,
As I have elucidated previously, a few months before or a few weeks previously in my Friday sermons, that willpower and knowledge needs to be generated and there is a need for strength in actions, it is only then that such coverings are eliminated.
Instead one is enabled and has the capacity to perform righteous deeds and he removes himself from vices. So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) continues: “Verbal repentance is not enough, in fact true repentance must be accompanied by good deeds.” In other words, verbal utterances alone are insufficient,
True repentance will become complete and will be really understood when righteous deeds are performed in parallel. “True repentance must be accompanied by good deeds which bring one nearer to God. “Prayer too is a form of repentance because through it we seek nearness to God.
“This is why when God breathed life into man He called it ‘ruh’, the spirit, “for its true happiness and peace lies in acknowledging, loving and submitting to God. “He also called it ‘nafs’, the self, for it seeks union with God the Almighty.”
It has been called ‘ruh’, the spirit, because one obtains satisfaction in love of God and it has been called ‘nafs’, the self, because it contains the capacity to form a union with God. This is what the Promised Messiah has explained, “God breathed life into man and He called it ‘ruh’, the spirit,
“for its true happiness and peace lies in acknowledging, loving and submitting to God.” The satisfaction and happiness of the spirit lies in following God’s commands, obeying them and loving Him. It has been called ‘nafs’, the self, because it is capable of establishing a bond with Allah the Almighty.
That is, it contains the capacity and capability of forming a relationship with God. So the Promised Messiah (upon whom be peace) continues: “He who loves God is like a tree firmly rooted in the soil, this is man’s ultimate bliss. “Just as a tree sucks and absorbs water from the earth
“and expels harmful substances going through it, “when a person’s heart is nourished by the water of divine love, “it is easily able to get rid of all poisonous influences. “Having immersed itself in God, it continues to receive pure nourishment “that causes it to grow and flourish and bear good fruit.
“But those who do not have their roots in God cannot absorb this nourishing water. “Thus they become drier with every passing moment “and all their leaves fall off leaving behind bare and unsightly branches. “Thus, since the aridity of sin results from estrangement,
“the obvious remedy is the establishment of a firm relationship with God.” That is to say that when you form this strong relationship with Allah the Almighty, only then will this dryness be removed otherwise like a dry tree, a person becomes completely dead. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) continues:
“As the law of nature itself testifies and Allah the Almighty, the Glorious, “refers to this in the following words:” ‘And thou oh soul, let peace return to thy Lord well pleased with Him and ‘He is well pleased with thee so enter thou among my chosen servants and enter thou my garden.’ So the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says:
“In short, the only effective remedy for getting rid of sin is ardent and passionate love for God.’ “Acts of piety that result from this love help to extinguish the fire of sin “because when man performs good deeds for the sake of God, “he thereby testifies to his love for Him.
“The first stage of love, which can be likened to a tree that has been planted in the earth, “is to have such faith in God “that one values Him above everything else, even above one’s own life.
“The second stage, which can be compared to a tree that has firmly taken root in the soil, “is ‘istighfar’, seeking forgiveness from God, “whereby man is afraid that separation from God will expose his human failings. “And the third stage, is that of ‘taubah’, repentance.
“which resembles a tree which brings its roots close to water and sucks it like an infant, “So in short the philosophy of sin is that it results from one’s estrangement from God “and therefore can only be avoided by establishing a relationship with him.
“Ignorant indeed are those who declare another man’s suicide to be the remedy for their sins.” Mentioning the means of attaining nearness to God, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says, “In the Holy Qur’an, God has given us the perfect teaching,
“which if truly followed enables us to behold Him in this very life.” “As Allah the Almighty says: “That whoever desires to seek God, the true Creator in this life, should act righteously. “His actions should be free from mischief. “In other words he should not act in ostentation, conceit and arrogance, that I am such and such. “Neither should they be defective nor deficient nor contrary to one’s personal love.
“Instead they should be imbued with sincerity and faithfulness. “Alongside this he should also abstain from every form of ‘shirk’, associating partners with God. “He could neither worship the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the air, the fire, the water “nor anything else.
“He should also not put his faith in the physical means as though they were God’s partners. “Nor should he depend upon his own prowess, “for this also is ‘shirk’, associating partners with God. “Having done everything in his capacity and power, “he should consider that he has not done anything of his own consequence
“and should not pride himself on his knowledge or his personal efforts. “He should instead think himself as ignorant and worthless. “His soul should always lie prostrate at the threshold of the Almighty, “seeking His grace through prayer and supplication. “Therefore he should become like a thirsty and invalid person
“who finds a fountain of clear fresh water and tries to reach it stumbling and falling, “and when he finally puts his lips to it, he does not let go until he is fully satiated. Then, elucidating the standard of the divine love, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says:
“If you discover that you have the capacity to love like a true and ardent devotee “who endures hunger and thirst when separated from the Beloved “and has no care or realisation for food or drink or his own health or body.
“Thus you should become absorbed in the love of God in the same manner, “that your own being is lost somewhere along the way.” “If in such a condition man dies, he is very fortunate and blessed. “We are interested in personal love, not revelations and visions.”
People say we have received revelation and vision. If you have personal love for God, that is the real thing, not how many revelations or visions or true dreams you have seen. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “One who drinks alcohol drinks glass after glass “and experiences delight and pleasure,
“similarly you should drink cups full of personal love of God. “Just as the drunkard is never quenched, you too should never be satiated of the divine love. “Man should never retreat until such a time “that he realises he has reached such a stage in love
“where he can be called an ardent devotee or lover. “He should march onwards and upwards, never letting go of that glass or cup. “Make yourselves desperate, restless and anxious for it. “If you have not reached this stage, then you are worthless and of no use.
“Love of God should be such that nothing else should matter by comparison. “Do not succumb to any temptation and have no fear or any fear.” Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “When man is completely at peace with Allah the Exalted and does not have any complaints,
“it is at such a time that he develops a personal love of God. “Unless personal love of Allah the Exalted is developed, faith is in grave danger. “And when personal love of God is generated, “man comes in peace and protection from Satan’s attacks.
“This personal love should be acquired and generated through prayer and supplication. “Until this love is generated, man lives under ‘nafse ammara’, the self that incites to evil, “and is captivated and ensnared by it. “People who are under the influence of ‘nafse ammara’, “they love this world and find the hereafter remote.
“They find this life sweet and delicious “and say we do not know if the next world will come or not. “They are in a very perilous condition. “Those who are under the influence of ‘nafse lavama’, self that reproves, “are friends of God one moment and satanic the other moment.
“That is to say at one time they are ‘walis’ and at another time they become Satan’s, “this is their condition. “They do not remain the same as they are struggling with the self “and during the struggle, sometimes they overcome the self “and at other times they are vanquished by it.
“These people are anyhow at a good station “because they do virtuous acts and they have the fear of God. “However those under the influence of ‘nafse mutmainna’, the soul at rest, are triumphant. “They leave all their injuries and fear behind them and reach a place of peace
“and are in that abode of peace and protection where Satan cannot touch. Then about the standard of divine love, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “A believer has a reflection of one who loves ardently and he is true in his ardent love.
“His passion for his Beloved, that is God, is of utter devotion, love and sincerity “and he submits to God with humility, supplication, steadfastness and resolve. “No worldly delight and pleasure is truly pleasure or delight for him “and his soul is nurtured by the ardent love of God.
“He is not perturbed that his Beloved is above care “and does not lose courage when he experiences silence and a lack of response from Him. “In fact, he is always marching onwards and upwards “and instils greater and greater kindness and tenderness of the heart.
“It is important and vital to have both these qualities, “that an ardent devotee who is a ‘momin’, a believer, is completely enraptured in divine love. “That is, a person should completely drown himself in divine love “and his ardent devotion should be of a level of excellence.
“True passion of love and sense of resolve and his pledge of love “should be so instilled and embedded in him that no setback should fall to him. “When at times there is silence and lack of attention from the beloved,
“he should have two kinds of tenderness and anguish. One, the tenderness of love of God “and the other which is generated in the heart at the pain or suffering of another person “and anxiety is experienced for their well-being. Restlessness is felt in order to help them.
“The sincerity and tenderness for love of God in conjunction with resolve “separates man from humanness “and places him in the shade of Allah the Almighty, the shade of the Divine. “Man is in danger unless his love of God reaches the stage “where he is independent of all else except Allah.
“It is difficult to overcome this danger without terminating all ties “except that with Allah the Almighty. “It is also difficult to enter this fear of his pleasure, “one needs to have tenderness for God’s creation, “like the true passionate love a caring mother has for her dear, delicate child.”
In other words, one should completely cut off all ties for all else except God. Secondly, compassion and sympathy for all of God’s creation should be in one’s heart. This is the true feelings that are placed in the real devotees of God. Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says:
“A strong connection and pure love with Allah the Exalted is generated “when one discovers his being & the nature of it. There are many people who are filled with doubts. “Many have openly become atheist “while there are others who have not become atheists but are influenced by them
“and reflect them and due to this, are indolent as regards to this faith. “The remedy for them is that they continuously and constantly pray to Allah the Exalted “so that they understanding and knowledge of God increases. “They should keep the company of the truthful
“so that they can experience fresh signs of power and dominion of Allah the Exalted. “He will then increase their understanding and knowledge of God as He will please. “And He will grant them perception and insight. “It is absolutely true the greater the faith in the existence and greatness of Allah the Exalted,
“the more one fears and is in awe of Allah the Exalted, “otherwise one becomes brazen and negligent regarding sins. “Love of Allah the Exalted and awe and fear of His greatness “are the two sentiments which burn sin. “It is a matter of principle that man avoids what he fears,
“for example one knows that fire burns so thus he does not place his hand in the fire. “Or for example if he knows that a certain place is infested with snakes, he will not go that way. “Similarly, if he is convinced that poisons of sin will ruin him and destroy him
“and he fears the greatness of Allah the Exalted instead “and he is convinced that God dislikes sin and severely punishes for it, “he would never have the courageousness or boldness to commit sin. “He would walk on the earth like he has no life in him.
“His soul is ever submitted to God the Almighty.” Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “When man negates his entire being by falling in the fire of the love of God Almighty, “the very death by love grants him a new life.
“Can you not understand that love is also like a fire and sin is also like a fire? “The fire of the love of God extinguishes the fire of sin. “This is the root of salvation.” The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says, especially counselling the Jama’at:
“God saves one who is completely righteous from calamities “not in an ordinary way but as a sign. “Every other cunning or foolish person claims to be righteous “but only he is a ‘muttaqee’, or righteous, who has proved to be righteous thought God’s signs. “Everyone can say they love God,
“but only he truly loves God whose love is proven by heavenly testimony. “Everyone says that my religion is true but only that person’s religion is really true “who is granted ‘noor’, light, in this very world. “Every person says that I will attain salvation
“but only that person is true in this claim who sees the light of salvation in this very world. “So you too should try and become the beloved of God so you are also safe from every calamity.” Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has made a heartfelt appeal
About how to generate the love of God in one’s heart. An example of this is that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “That how wretched and unfortunate is a person who still does not know “that he has one God who has the power over everything.
“Our paradise lies in our God, our highest delight is in our God, “for we have seen him and found every beauty and excellence in Him. “This wealth is worth procuring even though one might have to lay down one’s life to procure it.
“This ruby is worth purchasing even though one may have to lose oneself to acquire it. “Oh ye who are bereft, run to this fountain and it will satisfy you. “It is the fountain of life that will save you. “What shall I do and how shall I impress the hearts with this good news?
“And by beating what drum shall I make the announcement that this is our of God “so that people might hear? “What remedy shall I apply to the ears of the people so that they should listen? “If you become God’s be assured that God is yours.
“He will awake for you when you are asleep. “You will be unaware of the enemy and he will watch over him and will destroy his ploys. “You do not yet know of the powers of your God. “Had you known, you would have been extremely saddened every day for this world.
“A person who has a treasure trove with him does not scream and cry over losing a penny. “So thus if you had the knowledge of this treasure trove that your God fulfils every need, “why would you have been so entranced by the world? “God is a precious treasure.
“Value him, for he is your helper each step of the way. “You are nothing without him and your plans and ways and means are also nothing. “Do not imitate and mimic other people “who have submitted and rely entirely upon materialistic means.
“They have consumed the dust of base ways and means like snakes eat dust “and just as vultures and dogs eat carrion, they have gnawed on carrion. “They have become very distant from God. “They indulged in human worship, ate flesh of swine and drank alcohol like water.
“They were destroyed and ruined by being over- reliant on materialism “and not of seeking the strength from God. “Spirituality vanquished from them like a pigeon flies from its nest. “They have the melody of worldliness in them which has ruined their entire inner selves. “You should fear this melody.”
Then the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says: “You should make huge efforts to recognise that God, “in finding whom lies real salvation and real deliverance, “that God also manifests to those who look for Him with sincerity of heart and love. “He manifests himself to one who becomes His and submits to Him.
“Pure hearts are His realm “and tongues which are free from lies and vulgarity represent His revelation “and each person who is utterly absorbed and enraptured and devoted to the pleasure of God “becomes a manifestation of His miraculous powers.” May Allah the Almighty enable us to attain those standards
Which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) desired us to attain. May Allah the Almighty grant us the capacity and enable us to turn to Him purely and with sincerity and to achieve His love. May we attain the love of Allah the Almighty
And make Him a part from our lives and also be able to enter the gardens of His pleasure.