Part I

 

1. Initial Supplication

 

I seek refuge with Allah from the Accursed Shaytan

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds

And peace be upon the greatest among the prophets and messengers

Our master and leader Muhammad…..

 

And upon his righteous and pure progeny. 

 

As-Salaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuho!

The Peace, Mercy of God and the Blessings of God be on you!

 

2. Starting with a verse from the Holy Qur’an (the Final Testament)

 

Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Raheem

In The Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

  

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لاَ يَبْعَثُ اللّهُ مَن يَمُوتُ بَلَى وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا وَلـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

[16:38] And they swear by Allah with the most energetic of their oaths: Allah will not raise up him who dies. Yea! it is a promise binding on Him, quite true, but most people do not know;

 

لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمُ الَّذِي يَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ كَاذِبِينَ

[16:39] So that He might make manifest to them that about which they differ, and that those who disbelieve might know that they were liars.

 

 

3. Calibrating our lives
   1. Driving down the freeway - need to watch your speed and stay in your lane, else there will be trouble and/or a ticket
   2. Take it one step back - need to know where you are going else you won't reach your destination
   3. Prophets provide the map - Imams provide the lane markers and the speed limit signs

 

4. Why do we need Prophets - map what should be calibrated
   1. Mankind cannot know the world and so cannot create a map themselves
      1. Sure you can stumble upon the map like putting a million monkeys in a room for a million years and you get the works of Shakespeare
      2. Story of 3 blind men feeling an elephant to figure out what it is
      3. This guidance from Allah s.w.t. is most efficient - and there is only one map for one world
   2. Not only that - Allah s.w.t. gives us bounties so that we may be grateful
      1. Cattle….from them ye derive warmth...of their (meat) ye eat...they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful
      2. horses, mules, and donkeys, …
      3. and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge
      4. ...sends down rain from the sky: from it ye drink, …
      5. He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; …
      6. It is He Who has made the sea subject, ...that ye may seek (thus) of the bounty of Allah and that ye may be grateful.

 

5. Why give us Bounties - to help us calibrate too!
   1. The bounties are for us and help us remember Allah s.w.t. like billboards
   2. But they can be a distraction because of Satan:

"Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah…" 63-9

 

6. Why do we need Imams - keep us calibrated!
   1. When you don't know - don't guess! Either learn or ask

 

فَاسْأَلُواْ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

 

16:43] ….if ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.

 

Dhikr refers to the Quran, and it is also one of the names of the Holy Prophet. Ahl ul dhikr (the people of dhikr) are the Ahl ul Bayt.

 

2. Some people say I will pray and Allah will reveal to me / guide me

 

42:51] It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise.

 

• Allah grows the food - but we have to get it and prepare it. There were some exceptions like Maryam (a.s.) - Zakaria would come in her presence and find food from other seasons and ask her about it

 

3. The rope is a constant guiding line - Allah s.w.t.

 

3:103] And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you),

 

 

7. Yet we find that mankind is going astray
   1. That is why Allah s.w.t. says: "So that He might make manifest to them that about which they differ, and that those who disbelieve might know that they were liars."
   2. Like getting the test answers back after an exam - mankind will see how far astray they were during their lives!

 

In conclusion,  Allah s.w.t. gives us numerous bounties and guidance through the Prophets and Imams but we must calibrate ourselves periodically so we are not surprised on the Day of Judgement

  

Glossary

s.w.t. = May He be Glorified and Exalted

a.s. = Upon him be Peace

p.u.b.h.&f = Peace be Upon him and his family

 

- Mujtaba Khambatti, Mar. 30, 2007