Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid termed ‘Iman’, faith, the biggest and most important wealth of Muslims and shed light on some features of the real believers.
Talking to tens of thousands in the Friday gathering of Sunni Muslims in Zahedan on 28 March, 2014, he began his sermon by two noble Qur’anic verses: «إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ*الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ*أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَّهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ» [انفال: 2-4], (Certainly, the believers are those whose hearts are filled with awe when (the name of) Allah is mentioned; and when His verses are recited to them, it makes them more developed in faith; and in their Lord they place their trust. They are) those who establish Salah, and give away from what We have given to them. Those are the believers in reality. For them there are high ranks with their Lord, and forgiveness, and dignified provision.)
He said, “There is no any wealth and capital more important and valuable than Iman. Iman (faith) means to believe in Tawhid (theism) with certitude, prophet hood of the Last Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Resurrection Day. Iman wants the believers to accept all tenets brought by the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. A true believer never compromises over the issue of his or her faith.”
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid further said, “The greatest worship of Allah takes place by heart as it is the place of faith (Iman). A true faith makes the believers close to Allah and forbids them from sins and misdeeds. A true Iman enjoins the believers to establish prayers; they know well the Almighty has asked them to offer prayers, so they never miss five time prayers due to laziness and vain excuses.”
“When you see that you cannot carry out the divine commands of the Almighty, you must know that your faith is weak. A true and strong Iman makes the person loyal who has commitment in every work. Thus the prophet, peace be upon him, has stated that disloyal people had no faith and Deen. Deen (Islam) is a trust at the believers and we should take care of it,” the rector of Darululoom Zahedan added more.
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid went on to highlight more features of the true believers, saying a faithful Muslim should not be lovesick of the worldly tools; rather true Muslims love their real Lord, the Sublime. Such people receive enunciation of Jannah (paradise) when their souls pull out. The angels enunciate true believers of the Paradise; so we witness many of them with smiling faces. But others endure difficulties when their souls leave the body hardly.
The eminent Iranian Islamic scholar counted ‘assiduity on the path of Islam’ one of the other qualities of true believers and said, “Faithful Muslims withstand difficulties and obstacles on the path of Islam and Allah. They never lose their Iman and religion, Islam. Late Mawlana Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, was not a disloyal believer to sell out his faith and tenets. He never kept silent before the wrong and did not prefer his personal interests comparing with the right.”
At the end of this part of his speech, Khateeb of Sunnis called on parents to bring up their children well as they are the valuable wealth of parents. Parents should not be much worried over the aliment of their children; the Lord granted them aliment, He will grant their children too. Instead, parents should meditate how to strengthen the faith and edification of children.
Implementation of the National Constitution ensures survival of the regime
Alluding to the Islamic Republic Day in Iran, the Iranian Sunni leader said, “Following the victory of revolution in 1979, the Iranian nation widely took part in referendum next year; the majority said “yes” to the Islamic republic system on 31 March 1980. People wanted to take part in their fate by elections directly.”
“The republic system which was approved by the nation is not a Western type; rather it is an Islamic republic. It means the Islamic commands and regulations are important for the Iranian nation.”
He added more, “Now, the most important point is the comprehensive and correct execution of the constitution; it is a national convention which needs to be implemented properly and justly.”
The member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars pointed out to some examples of the forgotten articles of the Iranian constitution and stated, “All kinds of liberties affirmed in the constitution should be accessible for people; freedom of speech, forming parties and organizations are among the basic rights of people. None of individuals and groups can ban on such liberties or impose any limitation. So the just execution of the constitution can be one of the most important priorities of the cabinet of president Rouhani and the rest officials in the regime.”
He said, “Iran is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. So, all societies and communities should get their due rights impartially. None of state-run and non-state entities should have the right of creating obstacles in this regard; the law must have respect for the entire nation, especially for the executors of it. By correct implementation of the constitution the nation will be satisfied and it is the factor that ensures the survival of the regime and revolution.”
Do not worry on the population of Sunnis in Iran
In another part of his speech, Khateeb of Ahl-us-Sunnah indicated to statements of some influential Shia clerics over the ‘growing population’ of the Sunni community in Iran. He said, “Recently, media sources quoted some influential Shia scholars who expressed their concerns over the growth of Sunnis’ population in Iran. If any common person speaks out to show concerns on such baseless news, it can be due to his ignorance, but when learned scholars talk about such issues, we can complain.”
“First, if such statements are true that Sunnis are growing in number in their country, there must not be any concern as both Shias and Sunnis belong to the Iranian nation; they belong to this land. Secondly, such claims and statements are wrong which are based on baseless and false reports sent to officials and Shia clerics. For example, a Shia scholar claimed recently that Sunnis had occupied the seat of majority in one of the provinces where Shias were in majority before. While according to researches, since the beginning Sunnis have been in majority in that province,” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid underlined.
He further said, “We know some religious leaders want to encourage Shia masses in Iran to avoid birth control; but it is not a correct way of encouragement and propagation for growing population. If the population of Shias grows up, we will be happy as they are our brothers. When we are brothers, we must not be afraid of each other. The fact is that the population growth has been equal for the both communities in Iran.”
He concluded his points by saying unfortunately telling lie has dominated in the country on a high stage. Some weeks ago, a cleric claimed 100 students get education in each Sunni masjid! While masjids are for establishing prayers not students; they get education in schools and seminaries. However, all should be happy and proud if the number of true and practicing Muslims grows up in any community.