Mawlana Abdol-Hamid Isma’eelzahi counted Taqwa, piety, one of the most important elements of the mankind’s prosperity and salvation in his latest Friday sermon, Nov. 1, 2013.
Khateeb of Ahl-us-Sunnah in Zahedan began his speech by the noble Qur’anic verse: «يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْءَاتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىَ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ», [7: 26]; (O children of ’Adam, We have sent down to you the dress that covers your shame and provides adornment. As for the dress of Taqwa (piety), that is the best. That is one of the signs of Allah, so that they may learn a lesson.)
He said, “The Sublime Lord has granted humankind two sorts of the dress; one is outward that covers and embellishes the body of people. It is also the mercy of Allah Almighty on His servants. While the second kind of the dress is more beautiful than the first one; it is the dress of Taqwa, piety, according to the term of the noble Qur’an. Some great sayings of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, suggest if someone witnesses ‘dress’ in a dream, its meaning is that s/he would be pious. As Omar bin al-Khattab came in the dream of the beloved prophet, peace be upon him, with a long dress. The companions asked, what was the meaning of that? He replied: “The religion”. In other term, it means piety and purity.”
The prominent Islamic scholar added more saying the Noble Qur’an has introduced the dress of piety the best and the most beautiful. There is no any dress more beautiful that the dress of spirituality and piety. All of the people like and respect pious men and women. People who practice on the commands of Islam and avoid neglecting the rights of Allah and His servants, they will be loved by others. Also, the Almighty and His angels love such pious men and women.
“When a person enjoys piety, s/he never violates the rights of others. Such people never betray and they are trustful. Taqwa, purity in deeds, makes the man prosperous. The human society suffers from various sorts of crises; it is just because of neglecting piety. In the future, the root cause of all crises will be the same case too. When a person leaves the path of piety, s/he violates the rights of others, shows laziness in the commands of Shari’ah and neglects the important order of establishing prayers five times a day,” Shaikh underlined.
The rector of Darululoom Zahedan termed ‘suicide’ one of the fruits of impiety and said, “We witness the awkward phenomenon of suicide in the society now and then; it is illegal and Haram in Islam. If somebody commits suicide, his place is in the Fire and Hell. According to some narrations from the beloved prophet, peace be upon him, suicides would be killing themselves in the Hell repeatedly in the method they had finished their lives in the mortal world. Mankind should withstand not losing trust in God. In fact, suicides have not recognized Allah correctly. It is regrettable that a person who enjoys the blessings of sagacity and revelation (Wahy) ends his life by his own hands.”
At the end of this part of his sermon, Khateeb of Sunni Muslims urged on the purification of the society. He said there were different kinds of sins, decays and misdeeds in the society; immodesty and addiction have been spread everywhere. The only solution, to get rid of impiety, is piety and enhancing the faith.
Concrete Walls, Police State Can’t Bring Peace
In the second part of the Friday speech, the outstanding Sunni scholar, talked on the issue of insecurity saying “concrete walls and police state” cannot ensure peace and stability. He urged on the Iranian authorities to get the trust of people to bring peace in Sistan-Baluchistan instead.
He was talking to tens of thousands worshippers in Zahedan, southeast Iran, on Friday, 1st Nov. 2013.
Khateeb of Sunni Muslims in Zahedan, provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan, alluded to the recent wave of violence in the province and said, “All residents of the province, Sistan-Baluchistan, including Shia and Sunni communities do not want to see violence and insecurity in their province. The news of killing 14 border guards was shocking for everyone as people from different backgrounds condemned it.”
He added more, “Ethnic and sectarian clashes are the worst fights. Such blind fights are very disastrous and odious. There is no any rationality behind of sectarian clashes between Shia and Sunni Muslims; no one can justify such contentions. Nations would face serious damages of such disputes; people had disliked them during the entire history.”
In his Friday speech to the Sunni worshippers in Zahedan, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said the people of Iran elected Dr. Hassan Rouhani in order to witness positive changes in their lives and country. In fact, people cast their vote in favor of discretion and hope. They want the rule of moderation and sobriety; freedom of speech and religious rituals is their demands. The president has promised to implement the Constitution indiscriminately. He urged to stop illegal acts of some official entities and offices. It can ensure the rights of all Iranian sects and ethnic groups.
The chairman of the Coordination Council of the Sunni Seminaries in Sistan-Baluchistan further said, “The majority in our province, Sistan-Baluchistan elected Dr. Rouhani as the president; it indicates to the fact that our people believe in dialogue and constructive negotiations. They are against violence; unfortunately some extremists do not want to see this province peaceful and calm. These domestic and foreign elements do not wish good for the new president and pleasant of the Sunni community in Iran; the new circumstances were going to slack the extremists inside and outside of the province.”
“If the people get their due rights, they (extremists) would not have any point to justify their acts. There are some Shia fanatic groups who want to deprive others of their due rights; they want only their fellows in power, he pointed.”
The eminent Sunni leader underlined, however, the residents of Sistan-Baluchistan did not support violence; thus they elected a modern president to get their rights by dialogue.
Khateeb of Sunnis added more, “The president should be given more time to bring his plans into action. He had pointed in the introductory ceremony for the Foreign Minister that if his cabinet refused the demands of the nation, it would lose; it is good idea from a president.”
He warned some extremists who seek a restive atmosphere to get its advantages for their interests; they want to see Mr. Rouhani neglecting his motto. There must not be any disturbances for the legal government; the nation refuses such acts.
The rector of Darululoom Zahedan indicated to the issue of security in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, saying there is no difference between local dignified men and rulers. “We think this issue should be resolved by consultation and negotiations. Taking the matter of security by mere feelings and anger does not work. Durable security is the fruit of cooperation and consultation with religious scholars, tribal elders, social activists and officials. The authorities must avoid senseless behaviors; after killing of soldiers common masses should not have angst.”
Pointing out to building of long and huge concrete walls across the border in the poor province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the Sunni scholar stated, “I am against building concrete walls across the border; instead the authorities should build the wall of trust. They should give priority to attaining the trust of the nation. Then the frontier regions will be secured durably automatically. People around the world struggle to collapse dividing walls nowadays, we must not try to build such walls after their experience.”
He asked, at the end of his speech, the president to remove the police state as he had promised to do so before. The atmosphere must not be restive. The people in our province are unhappy with the police state they feel in the region. The Minister of Intelligence has also promised to finish the police state by the help of scholars and intellectuals and make people to feel discretion, peace and dialogue rule on them.