When people celebrate Eid Milad al Nabi (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad), they create a festive atmosphere, they decorate the mosques; they put up lights. But this occasion should be associated with happiness of the heart; happiness of the arrival of the Prophet Mohammad into this world. But happiness is related to emotions so how can one celebrate happiness?
Prophet Mohammad said, addressing his Ummah, ‘none of
you shall become Momin until I [Prophet Mohammad] am dearer to you than your
parents, children, all of humanity and even your own Self.’
Now many Ulema
say this Prophetic Tradition says you should love Prophet Mohammad more than
anyone or anything else! How? All these Muslims seemingly love Prophet Mohammad,
but what kind of love is this where they write the holy name of Prophet
Mohammad inside the sketch of his sandals? The sandals of Prophet Mohammad are
sacred for us but to write the Prophet’s name inside his own sandals is blasphemous
to the Prophet. This is absurdity and nobody raises their voice on such issues!
On Eid Milad al Nabi
people wear new clothes, make food, they decorate their homes and mosques, yet
their hearts are darkened and void of Emaan. It is said: Learn to love Prophet
Mohammad and sacrifice your life for the love of the Prophet. Where is the love
of Prophet Mohammad and how is it learned?
Tahir ul Qadri
has been teaching his followers for 32 years, but not one follower has become
an Aashiq-e-Rasool (Lover of Prophet Mohammad). Thirty-two years and not one
has been connected to the Prophet and Prophet Mohammad established the entire
Sultanate of Islam in 23 years and left this world. In this short time, people
like Abu Bakar and Hazrat Ali came and Prophet Mohammad connected Hazrat Ali to
God. The Quran and Hadith have given the formula for obtaining the love of
Prophet Mohammad.
Quran:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ
فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ
غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
(Surah Aal Imran [3:31])
The Quran says, ‘Say
unto them: If you want to love God, follow me [Prophet Mohammad] and God will
love you and forgive your sins for you.’
There are two
things as a result of this Itteba (Imitation) of Prophet Mohammad. God will
begin to love you and because of this love he shall forgive all your past and
future sins. His Divine Eminence Ra Gohar Shahi said the same.
HDE says, ‘If one has Divine Love in his heart yet does not belong to any religion, it is okay. If you practise a religion but your heart is void of God’s love then the dogs are better than you because a dog loves his master and because of this love he acquires nearness of his master. Otherwise, a dog cannot be compared to a divinely ordained human being.’
Worship and
austerities are good things but God’s love cannot be acquired through them
alone. Only those obtained Divine Love who’s inner and outer became dyed in the
colours of Prophet Mohammad’s love. These are the teachings of the Quran and the
teachings of HDE Gohar Shahi but those who have enmity for the Friends of God
and Imam Mehdi, Gohar Shahi shall speak ill of them.
What is Itteba of
Prophet Mohammad? People have misunderstood Itteba (Imitation) and Ita’at (Obedience)
to have the same meaning. To obey the teachings of Prophet Mohammad such as
offering Salat, fasting, refraining from sins, etc. all fall under Ita’at. But
Itteba is something else. Anything that the religion allows one to do but
wasn’t the custom of your Spiritual Guide and your Nafs disapproves such an
allowance, that is Itteba. Ita’at is doable, whereas Itteba is adopted. In
Itteba, one dyes his souls with the colour of love. It is the same system as
guidance through Noor (Divine Light). The main ingredient of Itteba is love.
Going back to
the Prophetic Tradition, ‘none of you shall become Momin until I [Prophet
Mohammad] am dearer to you than your parents, children, all of humanity and
even your own Self.’ The Prophet is not saying to love him, rather, he is
saying to keep him dearer than all else and the philosophy of the Quran says
that Itteba of Prophet Mohammad is the way to acquire God’s love. But have you
ever heard Ulema lay emphasis on Itteba of Prophet Mohammad? All of their
emphasis is on physical Salat. The Quran says offer Salat, so offer it. But why
do you disregard the way to obtaining God’s love mentioned in the Quran? When
the Ulema do not emphasis Itteba of Prophet Mohammad, how would they explain
what Itteba is?
In the Muslim
society of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh people speak of the Sunnah (Customs of
the Prophet) related to Prophet Mohammad such as eating Halwa (sweet), keeping
a beard, etc. But did Prophet Mohammad not love God also? How did he become the
Beloved, through offering Salat? Being the Beloved means that the Prophet had
the expertise in love, he had reached a stage that nobody else had. But can you
see this act of loving God, that you can do the same?
Prophet Mohammad, ‘My eyes sleep but my heart does not
sleep.’
Is this not a
Sunnah? How would you act upon this Sunnah? There are hundreds of Customs of
Prophet Mohammad that a lot of clerics talk about however HDE Gohar Shahi spoke
about a few only and those few Customs of the Prophet take one to the
culmination of Spirituality.
Islam revolves
around Prophet Mohammad and a true Muslim revolves around Prophet Mohammad.
Imam Mehdi is giving the gist of Islam. If somebody wants the gist of Islam and
the Quran then this one ayah is enough for them (‘Say unto them: If you want to
love God, follow me [Prophet Mohammad] and God will love you and forgive your sins
for you’).
On behalf of Mehdi
Foundation International®
23 January 2013
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