SERMON 108
It is one of the sermons about the
vicissitudes of time
Praise be to Allah Who is
Manifest before His creation because of themselves. Who is apparent to
their hearts because of clear proof; Who created without meditating, since
meditating does not befit except one who has thinking organs while He has
no thinking organ in Himself.
His knowledge has split
forth the inside of unknown secrets and covered the bottom of deep
beliefs.
A part of the same sermon about the Holy Prophet
Allah chose him from the
lineal tree of prophets, from the flame of light, from the forehead of
greatness, from the best part of the valley of al-Bat'ha', from the lamps
for darkness, and from the sources of wisdom.
A part of the same sermon
The Prophet was like a
roaming physician who has set ready his ointments and heated his
instruments.
He uses them wherever the need arises for
curing blind hearts, deaf ears, and dumb tongues. He followed with his
medicines the spots of negligence and places of perplexity.
Blaming Muslims
They (people) did not take
light from the lights of his wisdom nor did they produce flame from the
flint of sparkling knowledge . So in this matter they are like grazing
cattle and hard stones. Nevertheless, hidden things have appeared for
those who perceive, the face of right has become clear for the wanderer,
the approaching moment has raised the veil from its face and signs have
appeared for those who search for them.
What is the matter with me!
I see you just bodies without spirits and spirits without bodies, devotees
without good, traders without profits, wakeful but sleeping, present but
unseen, seeing but blind, hearing but deaf and speaking but dumb.
I notice that misguidance
has stood on its centre and spread (all round) through its off-shoots. It
weighs you with its weights and confuses you with its measures. Its leader
is an out-cast from the community. He persists on misguidance.
So on that day none from
among you would remain except as the sediment in a cooking pot or the dust
left after dusting a bundle. It would scrape you as leather is scraped,
and trample you as harvest is trampled, and pick out the believer as a
bird picks out a big grain from the thin grain.
Where are these ways taking
you, gloom misleading you, and falsehoods deceiving you? Whence are you
brought and where are you driven? For every period there is a written
document and everyone who is absent has to return. So listen to your godly
leader and keep your hearts present.
If he speaks to you be
wakeful. The forerunner must speak truth to his people, should keep his
wits together and maintain presence of mind. He has clarified to you the
matter as the stitch-hole is cleared, and scraped it as the gum is scraped
(from the twigs).
Nevertheless, now the wrong
has set itself on its places and ignorance has ridden on its riding
beasts. Unruliness has increased while the call for virtue is suppressed.
Time has pounced upon like a devouring carnivore, and wrong is shouting
like a camel after remaining silent.
People have become brothers
over ill-doings, have forsaken religion, are united in speaking lie but
bear mutual hatred in the matter of truth.
When such is the case, the
son would be a source of anger (instead of coolness of the eye to parents)
and rain the cause of heat, the wicked would abound and the virtuous would
diminish. The people of this time would be wolves, its rulers beasts, the
middle class men gluttons and the poor (almost) dead.
Truth would go down,
falsehood would overflow, affection would be claimed with tongues but
people would be quarrelsome at heart. Adultery would be the key to lineage
while chastity would be rare and Islam would be worn overturned like the
skin.
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