Plot 94 MASJID Oduduwa Crescent, Phase 2 Site 2,

Kubwa, AbujaARTICLE ON ‘’No Mediators Between Man and the Lord’’

Compiled by Abba AbanaKubwa, Abuja, Nigeria

gonidamgamiri@yahoo.comM-Tel +2348023746371 (Only

SMS),Dated 30th April 2014

1

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam

Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no God but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (SAW) is His slave and Messenger.

2

No Mediators Between No Mediators Between Man and the LordMan and the Lord

Oh mankind! A similitude has been coined, so listen to it (carefully): Verily those on whom you call besides the Lord, cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose.

3

4

And if the fly snatches away a thing from them, they will have no power to release it from the fly. So weak are (both) the seeker and the sought. (22:73)

In this modern age, as in ages past, people call upon sages, mystics and saints for help. They grasp a lucky rabbit’s foot or other talisman, investing it with the power to intercede for them to achieve a desired result. They wear angel pins and four-leaf clovers, covering their bets with a nod to religion and nature.

5

When some ill befalls, they damn their luck. When some good comes to them, they thank their lucky stars or light a candle for a favorite saint. They give credit to everyone and everything save the One who created them.

Their pleas are unheard by those they invoke, and the One Who is the All-Hearing, the One who knows their needs better than they themselves, is rarely called upon.

6

The believer, however, feels in his heart only revulsion at the idea of invoking someone besides the Lord. He knows that the Lord, though separate from His creation, knows him more intimately than any created being can:

It was We who created man and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein. (50:16)

7

He takes comfort in this knowledge and also in knowing that the Lord loves for His slaves to invoke him and ask for their needs.

He knows that the Lord does not grow weary from granting provision for His believers, and that all of humankind could not exhaust the patience of the Infinite.

8

Five times a day during the compulsory prayers, and at anytime with informal supplication, the believer has a direct open channel between him and his Lord.

9

He pours out his soul, praising the Lord and acknowledging His sovereignty, and then asks for what he needs. He asks for guidance, for a pious spouse, for a better job, for food to feed his children.

10

He knows that if he is patient, his Lord will answer his prayer, by granting him what he asked for, or by substituting something better, or by wiping away a sin or storing up goodness for him in the world to come.

11

He knows that such a bounty comes only from the Lord, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and not from any angel or guru or earthly ruler. This knowledge brings about a deep contentment and calmness in the face of adversity.

12

With a direct line to the Most Merciful, who needs a rabbit’s foot, an icon or a statue? These tokens pale to insignificance, and the believer can only look upon those superstitious souls who use such items with wonder and pity.

13

Who would submit to that and thereby separate oneself from communion with the Almighty?

Therefore belief and act now

that there is ‘’No Mediators Between Man and the Lord’’

How to repentHow to repentAnd O ye believers! Turn ye all together

towards Allah that ye may attain bliss. Qur’an 24:31

1. The Essence of RepentanceRepentance means turning to Allah, which

can not be done except by knowing Allah Almighty and realizing His Favours and graces that he grants to mankind.

You should also know that repentance requires great effort and complete attentiveness in order to get rid of the obstacles in your way and to return to Allah.

14

15

On the ways of repentanceWhen you intend to repent, you should know that the first step on the way of repentance is to stop and call yourself to account several times.

Then it is necessary to discipline yourself through the following:

16

Admonish and remind yourselfSet your heart on disciplining yourself

regularly and insist on admonishing and reminding yourself about the straight way to Allah.

You should remember the dangers that may overtake you if you remain without repenting say to yourself, “Repent before you die.” You should also bear in mind the noble verse “On the day when every soul will find itself confused will all that it hath done of evil” Qur’an 3:30

17

Isolate yourself from sinAllah’s messenger (PBUH) said, “The

example of a good companion in comparison with bad one is like the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows. The musk seller may either offer you(good smell) or you buy may from him, while the bellows would either burn your clothes, or you get a bad nasty thereof.’’

18

Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may peace be pleased) with him) said, ‘’Do not befriend the wicked person, for he makes his practice seem fair to you and wishes that you be like him.’’

Thus the first thing you should do is to change your bad companions, and then change the place where you used to commit sins.

That is because evil companions will not have you to obey Allah, for Satan always pushes them. Allah Almighty says,’’Seest thou not that we set the Devils on the disbelievers to confound them with confusion. Qur’an 19: 83

19

Keep admonishing and criticizing yourself.

The human soul inclines to worldly pleasures, so instruct yourself to be far above trivial matters. The souls, by nature, dislikes to be demeaned, so teach it to be honorably, to hate disgrace, and to know Allah well. Your soul is like a mount that carries you to Allah, Almighty. Let it know that way and it will obey; blame it for the sins it commits and it will feel ashamed before Allah.

20

Tell yourself; Do not waste time, for breathes are not so many, if a breathes goes out, apart of you has gone away.

Advise yourself to avail of your breathe before falling ill, free time before being so busy richness before poor, youth before growing old, and life before death. Say to yourself ‘’be prepared for the Hereafter and give up the pleasures of the voluntarily before you give them up be force.

21

Cure yourself with fasting and observing pleasures be that have Ibrahim and Isma`il: Model for Sacrifice By Dr. Munir El-Kassem* Dec. 26, 2005 Hajj and `Eid Al-Adha take us back in history to the time of a 97-year-old man being asked to take the life of a 13–year-old boy. Who is that man? And who is that boy? And who is the one who is making this request? If we know who the three points in this equation are, we would have a better perspective on life and on what life is all about.The man who was asked at 97 years of age to take the life of a 13-year-old boy is none other than the close friend of Allah, the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), the father of the prophets and messengers.

22

And the 13-year-old boy whose life Ibrahim was asked to take is none other than his own son.

Ibrahim had waited for 83 years to see him walk around him, touch him, and give him the pleasure of being a father. All of us know what that means; all of us know what it really means for your son or daughter to come and show his or her love that he or she possesses for you.But when the boy reached the age when he was able to run and play around his father, Ibrahim went to him and said, “My darling son, I saw in my dream that I was sacrificing you.” We all know that the dreams of prophets and messengers are forms of revelation from Allah Almighty.

23

So it was the truth.Now, who was the one who made that request? It was none other than Allah. The One Who created life had asked Ibrahim to take the life of his son away. And we know that His decree was that Isma`il’s life would not be taken away, but it was a lesson for humanity to understand what life is all about.Allah wanted Ibrahim to teach humanity a lesson. Thus, brothers and sisters, we have to understand this lesson and reflect upon it. There are two things in life that Allah Almighty made beautiful in this life.

24

These two things are mentioned in the Qur’an more than once:(Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of the world.) (Al-Kahf 18:46)That is it! Wealth and children make life beautiful. Look what happened! Allah Almighty chose one individual to sacrifice one of these two things, and He did not ask any other human being to do the same. One individual was enough to sacrifice one of these two things, and that is his child, and He asked all of us to sacrifice the second one, wealth, so that by seeing how one man was able to do something which we cannot, we are able to sacrifice the second of the ornaments of life.

25

Because Ibrahim passed the test, Allah Almighty called him an ummah (one man equal to a whole nation, a whole ummah).One individual became an ummah. Why? Because Ibrahim passed the test of a whole ummah. He was asked to sacrifice one of the two things that are ornaments of life, and all of us have been asked to sacrifice the second. So because of that, he indeed, is an ummah in the same way that we are an ummah. He truly deserves that title:(Lo! Abraham was an ummah, obedient to Allah.) (An-Nahl 16:120)

26

This is the spirit of `Eid Al-Adha. We have to sacrifice, brothers and sisters, when we are called upon to sacrifice what we really like to keep:(Ye will not attain unto Birr (piety and perfect goodness) until ye spend of that which ye love.) (Aal `Imran 3:92)If you have a lot of money and you take a thousand dollars and give it, this would not be birr. Birr is to have two dollars and to give one of the dollars away although you need the two dollars and would like to keep them for essentials. This is a sacrifice. Sacrifice is to do something that is difficult to do. This is sacrifice. It is not a sacrifice to do an easy thing and then to appear at the surface as if you did a lot. No, only Allah Almighty knows what sacrifice is all about.

27

So, brothers and sisters, after we finish every salah, let’s go and consider what we really need to sacrifice.

Each one of us has an Isma`il (SAS) in his or her life that needs to be sacrificed—each one of us!*