The Reward of Obedience to Allah and His Messenger: The Company of Those Blessed by Allah

Discourse of His Eminence Pir Sahib, may Allah have mercy on him,

delivered on 24th January 1987

Discourse # 75

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

فَنِعۡمَ الۡمَوۡلٰی وَ نِعۡمَ النَّصِیۡرُ

رَبِِّ اشۡرَحۡ لِیۡ صَدۡرِیۡ وَیَسِّرۡ لِیۡۤ اَمۡرِیۡ وَ احۡلُلۡ عُقۡدَۃً مِّنۡ لِّسَانِیۡ یَفۡقَہُوۡاقَوۡلِیۡ

اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِ عَلٰی سَیّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍوَّعَلٰی اٰلِ سَیِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍوَّعَلٰی اَصْحَابِہٖ وَعَلٰی اَذْوَاجِہٖ اَجْمَعِیْنَ وَبَارِکْ وَسَلِمْ وَصَلِ عَلَیْہٖ

اَ لْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ

The Almighty Allah be praised that the Master of All Sovereignty once again granted us today the opportunity to gather in His remembrance and pleasure. Millions and billions of blessings and salutations upon the Leader of the Prophets, the Beloved of Allah, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, peace and blessings be upon him, through whom this grace has been granted.

Respected listeners! Allah Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an:

وَمَنْ يُّطِعِ اللّٰهَ وَالرَّسُوْلَ فَاُولٰۗىِٕكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ اَنْعَمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنَ النَّبِيّٖنَ وَالصِّدِّيْقِيْنَ وَالشُّهَدَاۗءِ وَالصّٰلِحِيْنَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ اُولٰۗىِٕكَ رَفِيْقًا ۝ذٰلِكَ الْفَضْلُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ ۭ وَكَفٰى بِاللّٰهِ عَلِــيْمًا۝

Translation:

“Whoever obeys Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, will be with those upon whom Allah Almighty has bestowed His favour: the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are they as companions.

This is a favour from Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty is sufficient as the All-Knowing.”

Surah An-Nisa 69–70

By bestowing this verse, the Sovereign of all sovereignty has, on the one hand, given mankind great hope and encouragement, and on the other, shown the way to attain deliverance from the sorrows of both worlds and success in both worlds.

A person may think, “I am so weak, incapable of worship, heedless of Allah, and because of my inadequacy, deprived of salvation. Above all, I have certainly been deprived of the opportunity to be in the presence of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. In such a case, how can my destiny be like that of those who were blessed with all these treasures?”

Such people have been instructed never to think in this way. All these stages can be traversed, and all these treasures can be attained, if they sincerely obey Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. If they attain this obedience, they should be certain that they too will be included among those who have been blessed with these divine favours.

Now, the matter to reflect upon is: what does obedience to Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, mean?

Obedience to Allah Almighty is the obedience that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, demonstrated through his words and actions, and by following which the devoted followers of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, attained exalted ranks.

And servitude and obedience to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is that which Allah Almighty has prescribed, which the devoted followers of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, practised and through which they were blessed with this spiritual treasure.

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has said that Allah Almighty is our Lord and Creator, the One without any partner. Illuminate your hearts through His worship and remembrance, live for His pleasure and die for His pleasure, and firmly believe that these blessings have been bestowed by Him and that a time will come when you will have to give an account of them. By acting upon this guidance, the devoted followers of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, fulfilled the true demands of their servitude. Neither wealth, nor children, nor parents, nor anything of this world could distance them from Allah. They associated their fear, their hope, and everything with Allah. They sacrificed their parents, children, homes, and homeland for the sake of Allah. Even while lying on burning sands, being put on the gallows, and enduring every kind of torment, the devoted followers of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, never abandoned the truth. Hazrat Bilal, Hazrat Suhaib Rumi, Hazrat Ammar bin Yasir, may Allah be pleased with them, and other noble companions are shining examples in the history of Islam. And obedience to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is itself obedience to Allah, because Allah Almighty has declared that whoever obeys the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, has obeyed Allah. The heart rejoices upon seeing the obedience of the noble companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and how every fibre of their being was devoted to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. In the Makkan and Madinan periods of the life of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, there are thousands of such examples in which his devoted followers gladly sacrificed their parents, children, wealth, possessions, and homes out of their love for the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Those who acted upon this command attained lofty ranks. However, Allah’s mercy and grace have not come to an end. Rather, until the Day of Resurrection, whoever acts upon these commands can attain those ranks. It is narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about the status of a person who loves or is connected to a group of people but has not reached their level in deeds. He replied: “Al-mar’u ma‘a man ahabb”— meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, every person will be with the one they love.

Those who acted upon this command attained exalted ranks. However, the mercy and grace of Allah have not come to an end. Rather, until the Day of Resurrection, whoever acts upon these commands can attain those ranks.

It is narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about the status of a person who loves or is associated with a group of people but has not reached their level in deeds. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied:

“Al-mar’u ma‘a man ahabb” — meaning, “On the Day of Resurrection, every person will be with the one whom he loves.”

Hazrat Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, relates that nothing in this world brought greater joy to the noble Companions than this Hadith, because it gave them the glad tidings that those who love the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, will be with him on the Day of Resurrection and in Paradise.

An Abyssinian man came into the presence of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and submitted, “O Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon you, you are distinguished from us in beauty of appearance and complexion, as well as in Prophethood and Messengership. If I too believe in what you believe and perform the same deeds, can I also enter Paradise with you?”

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not be troubled by your Abyssinian appearance. By the One in Whose Hand is my life, in Paradise, the dark-complexioned Abyssinians will become fair and beautiful and will shine from a distance of a thousand years’ journey. Whoever affirms La ilaha illallah—‘There is no deity except Allah’—Allah Almighty takes responsibility for his salvation; and whoever recites Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi, one hundred and twenty-four thousand good deeds are recorded in his book of deeds.”

On hearing this, a person in the gathering submitted, “O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! When good deeds are bestowed so generously in the Court of Allah, how then can we perish or become subject to punishment?”

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, “It is not so. The reality is that some people will come on the Day of Resurrection with so many deeds and good deeds that if they were placed upon a mountain, even the mountain would be unable to bear their weight. But when the blessings bestowed upon them by Allah Almighty are brought forth and weighed against those deeds, a person’s deeds become insignificant in comparison, unless Allah Almighty bestows His mercy upon them.”

The Abyssinian asked, “O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! Will my eyes behold those blessings which your blessed eyes will behold?”

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, “Yes, certainly!”

On hearing this, the newly converted Abyssinian began to weep, and he continued weeping until he passed away. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, personally attended to his funeral preparations and shrouding with his blessed hands.

It is thus established that love for the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is the means to salvation and success. How can we attain this love?

It is for this very purpose that this gathering has been held: that by reciting these blessed Aurad and seeking the intercession of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we may supplicate in the Court of the Lord Almighty:

“O Allah! Forgive us, overlook our weaknesses, and grant us true servitude and love for You and Your Beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Illuminate our hearts and lead us upon the path of those whom You have blessed, and protect us from Your displeasure and wrath.”

With this aspiration in our hearts, let us begin these blessed Aurad.

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

The blessed Aurad-e-Naziriyah were recited, and supplication was made.