CULTURE OF ISLAM

070 The TWO Paths!

Imtiaz Muhsin 16-Mar-12

The main objective of these talks (and therefore the scripts of these talks), is to stimulate thinking. Sensible, rational and logical thinking. So, my message, think, think & think! Be sensible, be rational and be logical.

070 The TWO Paths!

Please Note
1. I have had the great privilege, (since Aug 2010), of presenting talks on the weekly Radio Program Culture of Islam [Every Friday 8 to 8.30 pm, Radio Sri Lanka - FM 97.4] 2. Since these are Radio Talks, I refer to, or address the audience as listeners 3. I am well aware that the audience to these talks would consist of people belonging to a variety of faiths. So as to make people of all faiths feel included, I very often use words and names that are common to all religions. 4. For these reasons, I use the name GOD, as well as Abraham, Moses, Jesus etc as well as the names Allah, Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam), Moosa (Alaihis Salaam), Easa (Alaihis Salaam) etc 5. Muslims by habit usually say Sallallahu Alaihiwasallam, when the name of Prophet Muhammad is mentioned, and Alaihis Salaam' when the name of a Prophet is mentioned. However, in these series of talks I have reduced the use of these prayers & sayings to the bare minimum. 6. Muslims, also by habit, use a number of Arabic prayers or sayings, such as Alhamdulillah, Insha Allah and so on. Again, I have reduced the use of these prayers or sayings to the bare minimum. 7. Sometimes I have to write Arabic words in the English script. I have devised my own way of writing Arabic in English, as follows;

th TH

s Ss SW

DHL DHZ

H h

Gh GH

Information on these talks along with all download links can be found on my on my Blog (http://imtiazm.wordpress.com/) The dates or the schedules of these talks can be viewed on the Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/ImtiazMuhsin786) The Scripts of these talks can be downloaded from www.ScribD.com (www.ScribD.com Author Imtiaz Muhsin) The audio files of these talks can be downloaded from YouTube (YouTube Channel Imtiaz Muhsin) The YouTube Link to this talk is at

All Praise and Thanks is due to Allah and Allah alone Alhamdulillah! P.S. The picture on the cover is a Mosque at Madhavakulam in the Puttlam District in Sri Lanka

070 The TWO Paths!

070 The TWO Paths!

Dear Friends, I greet you all with Assalamu Alaikum! Alhamdulillah, my topic for todays talk is The two paths or the two ways. This is a very very very interesting topic, and there is soooooo much to learn! Maasha Allah! What are these two paths? Simply put, we could say that there are two ways in which we could live. One would give us eternal success and the other, ensures eternal perdition. Now, what are those ways or those paths? To add credence, I must mention that this is the theme of every great religion; If you live a life of good then you will enjoy eternal success, and if you lead a life of evil, then you are doomed to eternal punishment Now, again, what do we mean by good and what do we mean by evil? What do we mean by the path to good and what do we mean by the path to evil? To get an introduction to this concept of the two paths, the Surah Fathiha or the 1st Surah or Chapter of the Holy Quran, which is a very meaningful prayer, gives us this description. The whole Surah consists of just 7 Aayaths Aayaths means Signs and refers to the Signs of Allah. Since the Holy Quran is in poetry form Some English translators have referred to these Aayaths as Verses. The correct translation of the word Aayath would be signs and refers to the Signs of Allah. So returning to the Surah Faathiha, the whole Surah consists of just 7 Aayaths. The 1st 3 Aayaths describe God or Allah Taaalah The next Aayath (the 4th) describe our relationship with Him. The last 3 Aayaths are our fervent prayer to Him, actually the 5th is the specific prayer, the 6th and 7th Aayaths describe or elaborate the parameters of the prayer - what we want and what we do not want. Let us see the Aayaths 2 to 4, and how God or Allah Taaalah is described. (1:2) All praise is due to Allah the Rabb of all the Worlds. (1:3) (He is) The Most Benevolent The Most Merciful (1:4) the Master of the Day of Requital.

070 The TWO Paths!

Let me read it Aayath by Aayath; AlhamdhuliLLaaHi Rabbil Aalameen All praise is due to Allah the Rabb of all the Worlds. So He is the planner, the designer, the creator, the manager, the sustainer etc of all the Worlds the physical World we know about, the many worlds we do not know about, the worlds in the past and the worlds in the future He is the Rabb of all of them. ArRahmaan nir Raheem (He is) The Most Benevolent The Most Merciful Maaliki Yauwmidhdheen His dominant attribute on the Day of Judgment would be that of being Maalik The Sovereign or the King Now, our relationship with Him which is beautifully described in the 4th Aayath (1:5) You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help.

Eeyaaka Naghbudhu wa Eeyaaka nastagheen Thee do we worship and thy aid do we seek Now, we get on to what I call our most fervent prayer, our biggest need

(1:6) Guide us on the straight path.

IHdhinaSWiraathal Mustaqeem Guide us on the straight path Now, what is this path? Details of this path are elaborated in the last two Aayaths; (1:7) the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray. SWiraaTHallazeena anghamtha ghalaiHim The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, GHaiyril MaghDHLoobi ghalaiHim walaDHzaaleen not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray. Now a huge pointer is provided for us in this beautiful prayer, where we pray; The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, not of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray

070 The TWO Paths!

So we have to follow this path. But then how do we distinguish or how do we judge as to who are the anghamtha ghalaiHim or those on whom He has bestowed His grace, and the MaghDHLoobi ghalaiHim walaDHzaaleen or those who have incurred His wrath, and those who have gone astray? The best way or the most sensible way to do this would be to look at the lives of the Prophets those who have been rightly guided. The example is not just in the life of Prophet Muhammad (Sal) but even the lives of Prophet Noah or NuH (AS), Prophet Abraham or Ibrahim (AS), or Prophet Moses or Moosa (AS) or Jesus Christ whom we Muslims reverently refer to as Easa (AS). We may even consider the life of Lord Buddha. That has been the objective of this series of 8 talks culminating with todays topic The Two Paths Now, when we go through the material that I have spoken on in the last 7 talks and then study the lives of these righteous personages, a sort of a theme or we may even call it a life style emerges. What is that message? God has placed us in a well equipped Earth, with miraculous systems and processes catering to our every need. God has given us a very special position on this Earth. God has equipped us with special tools, the noblest of them being our brains or our minds the tools that processes our seeing; our hearing our thinking, and then God has sent us Prophets and a Holy Book through which we must seek guidance. So there are two types of lives we can lead. The first would be like the lives of the Prophets, they submitted to the will of God or the will of Allah. The second would be life where we are busy where we are engrossed trying to fulfill our desires. The first path is where we try to see how we could submit to the will of God or the will of Allah Taaalah. For this to happen we should become aware of what we refer to the will of God or the will of Allah. A good start would be to just submit to the condition that God has brought upon us how? Just surrender! What could we mean by just surrender? The best illustration of what I mean by just surrendering would be the case of a Prisoner Of War (POW). Imagine two armies at war. Eventually the survivors of one side surrender. We know what that means. A soldier who had been planning, scheming, giving commands, obeying commands, fighting vigorously, running around and using all means and resources within his ambit, to fight his enemy, the other army he is very active. And then he surrenders.

070 The TWO Paths!

He becomes very meek; he has to completely submit to the dictates of his captors. His whole lifestyle and schedules change. He has to wear the clothes they give him. He has to carry the identity they give him. He has to only eat meals that they give at the time they give. He is unable to do anything as he pleases. Even his rest, accommodation and all activity are subject to the conditions meted out to him by his captors. He is a prisoner. He has to submit. So, The First Path would be that of submitting to the will of Allah, and to learn the instructions or the commands of Allah Taaalah, we would have to read the Holy Quran and spend time meditating on these instructions on these Signs of Allah, trying to work out what Allah Taaalah is pointing out to us. We can be sure that Allah Taaalah will guide such a person. These are the first instructions that Allah Taaalah points out to us in the first few Aayaths of Surah Baqarah, the Surah immediately after Surah Fathiha or the opening Surah.

The Second Path is what I call the path of desires. It is the path where we want to do good, we want to be the source of good, the embodiment of good. We do realize that God or Allah is Rabb, He is Benevolent and He is the provider of everything, even the conditions, so our every effort is to manipulate God, to get Him to submit to our will. Yes, all our efforts are to get God to submit to our will.

070 The TWO Paths!

We look around and see conditions, we see the signs of God, we recognize the signs of God, We have desires, we build hopes on these desires, and we spend our whole lives learning about the signs of God, the systems and the processes that He has installed, and then the biggest tragedy, we try to exploit these Signs of God so that we can achieve our selfish, egocentric objectives. In the Holy Quran Allah Taaalah refers to these processes of exploiting His signs as rejecting and / or falsifying His signs.

What are our objectives? We want to do good. We want more than to be just good We want to be the source of good, the embodiment of good So we think that to do good all conditions must be in our favor, we must create, own and build wealth, we must use our God given talents to become rich and powerful. In this way we can do good, we can be the source of all good. In this blind rush, we fool ourselves. As our schemes grow we also find that we have to compromise on morals and ethics. But then we tell ourselves that we have to work in what we call grey areas so that greater good can be done to the greater number. And what do we mean by greater good and greater number we mean me and my family! We slowly but surely get ourselves sucked into a world where we have to consistently find growing sums of money just to service our growing empire.

070 The TWO Paths!

Our morals, our ethics, our values, our sense of honesty and fairplay have to undergo vast transformation and we employ dubious double standards one strict disciplinarian type set of rule for others and a favorable immoral self enriching one for myself and my family. And we really think that we are doing good, that God is pleased with us, that we are improving the World, and the massive developments that we leave behind as evidence of our lives as achievers, should get us the favor of Allah Taaalah and he will reward us with the choicest of rewards that my dear friends is the second path. The path of delusion! Our whole lives is spent on serving this artificial world, not just serving this artificial world, if we were to observe the dedication and the intensity with which we are committed to this artificial world we would rightly describe our involvement as devoted worship It is this world to which we turn to fulfill all our needs, wants, ambitions and desires. Our houses, our vehicles, our status, our childrens education, our health, our influence, our power, the way the world praises and appreciates us is all credited to this false virtual world that we have built. We have dual emotions, on one hand we rejoice in our achievements, but then on the other hand, deep inside we know that we are leading a false life. We know it, we feel it, we hate it, but we just do not know how to get out of it, we just do not have the courage to honestly face our telling conscience, and seek refuge and to surrender to the safe, peaceful zones of submitting ourselves to the will of God, to the will of Allah Taaalah. To get an idea of this life of submission to the will of God, we can look at the examples of the lives of all the Prophets as well as the leaders of all great religions. All Prophets, all leaders of great religions have lived a life of abstinence and meditation even before they were appointed as Prophets. Jesus Christ, whom we Muslims reverently refer to as Easa (AS) lived a life of abstinence from his birth, and his Mother, The Virgin Mary, whom we Muslims most reverently refer to as Mariyam (AS) led her life in seclusion, meditation and in the worship of God. As Muslims we rejoice in the fact that to assist and to guide us in our contemplation and meditation we have with us the Holy Book viz. the Holy Quran. We know that the Holy Quran was revealed to our Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sal) contains the words of Allah Taaalah. 1. Objectives Now let us see how the Holy Quran describes some of the objectives of creation; 01 - (S Al Muminoon)

01 Afahasibthum Annamaa Khalaqnaa kum ghabaSsaa Wa Annakum Ilainaa Laa thurjaghoon

So did you think that We created you for nothing, and that you will not be brought back to Us?

070 The TWO Paths!

02 - (Ad Dhaariyaath)

02 Wa Maa Khalaqthul Jinna Wa Insa

I did not create the Jinns and the human beings Illaa Li yaghbudhoon except for (the purpose) that they should worship Me. An objective of the Holy Quran Surah Saad, Allah Taaalah advises us as follows;

Li Yadhdhabbaru Aayaathihi Wa Li Yathazakkara Ulul Albaab

They meditate on its Aayath And men of understanding would do Zikr

So to become the Oolul albaab or the men of understanding or wise men, we should do zikr of the Aayaths in the Holy Quran. What is Zikr? It is commonly translated as remembrance, advice, admonition etc What it actually conveys is a fascinating process. The process of using our senses, the eyes, the ears and our mind, seeing the world, seeing all the creatures in the world especially observing the behavior of man, reasoning out our behavior in this backdrop and then reading the Aayaths of the Holy Quran and try to work out what we see, with what the Aayaths point out to us. Insha Allah we would be amazed at the wisdom in the Holy Quran. That process of observing the world, thinking about it, observing people, thinking about them, reading the Holy Quran and trying to reconcile what we observe with the Aayaths in the Holy Quran is only the process which we refer to as Zikr. This reconciliation process requires seeking, reading, discussing, advising, meditating it is a huge thought enhancing process. 2. Zikr & Aayaths Let us see how Allah Taaalah advises us about these different processes that constitute the Zikr 2 - 1. Firstly observing the World, the creation and thinking about them [002:022] It is He Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up parallels unto Allah when ye know (the truth). The parallels would indicate the artificial world we are building, constantly attending to it and constantly turning to it for all our needs. [003:190] Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding,-

070 The TWO Paths!

[003:191] these are the Men who do Zikr, whilst standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

(S Al Anaam)

2 - 2. Zikr as in Reading the Aayaths or the Signs in the Holy Quran (S al Insaan)

(S Qaf)

(003:103)

2- 3. (Al Ala) Zikr as an advice and an admonition

10

070 The TWO Paths!

2 - 4.(S Al Ahzaab) Encouragement to do Zikr profusely

Abc (S Al Muzammil)

2 - 5. Virtues of doing Zikr (S Al ahzaab)

(S Saad)

2 - 6. About those who falsify or reject the Aayaths of Allah thus do not engage in the process of Zikr (S Al Anaam)

Now we look at a few of the Aayaath of the Holy Quran that describe those who led a life trying to fulfill their desires. 3. The World of Desires Vs The World of Sabr 3 1 Competition for wealth S TakkaSsur

11

070 The TWO Paths!

3 -2 (S al Muminoon) Is wealth & children good? S 23

3 3 (S Al Muminoon) The affluent are guilty Their response to Aayath and to the Quran

3 4 (S Kahf) Wealth and children

3 5 (S Al Araaf) Let us see what the Chiefs (wealthy & influential) told Prophet Shuaib (AS)

12

070 The TWO Paths!

3 6 (S Tauba)

3-7

38 Now those who are building this false world, and turning to it for all their needs and desires, they say, this is the means, Allah gives us through some means this is the means, this is the asbaab, this is the subub!

13

070 The TWO Paths!

Is this not what all of us do? Now an Aayath where Allah Taaalah is advising is motivating those who keep away from the activities of this delusive false world, Allah Taaalah tells us;

4. What People told the Prophets Now when the Prophets worked on their mission of explaining to people that they should turn their attention to recognizing the attributes of Allah Taaalah, and to refrain from being engrossed in attending to their artificial world from which they expected to fulfill all their needs and desires, some people accepted their teachings many others rejected them. I have collected a few of these Aayaths that describe how the rejecters and the falsifiers of the Signs of Allah Taaalah responded to the Prophets; Let us listen to what Allah tells us about what people told the Prophets. (Surah Al Hijr)

And they say Oh you to whom the Zikr has been revealed, you are surely insane 26:185 (S Ash Shuara)

Wa Qaaloo, Yaa AiyyuHallazee Nuzzila ghalaiHizz Zikru, Inaaka la Majnoon

They said, You are but one of the bewitched men. 27:68 (S An Naml)

Qaala Innamaa Antha Minal Musahhareen

This is nothing but tales of the ancients

Haazaa illaa AsaaTHeerul Awwaleen

What they could mean is that if they followed this advice they would have to live like the primitive people the people of the Stone Ages, the Veddhas, the Aboriginies.

14

070 The TWO Paths!

7:28 (S Al Araaf)

They say We have found our Fathers doing it!

Qaaloo wajadhna ghalaiHaa Aabaaanaa

5. The AAA (Anghamtha ghalaiHim) and the MAWDHL (Maghdhloobi ghalaiHim wa DHLallalleen) Now we saw on Surah Fathiha how Allah Taaalah describes the 2 paths he describes on as the path of the Anghamtha ghalaiHim and the other as the path of the Maghdhloobi ghalaiHim. Who are these AAA? (Anghamtha ghalaiHim) In the Holy Quran Allah Taaalah describes them with many names and then in many instances defines these names as well as gives us clues to the quality of these names. What are the names that describe the AAA? (Anghamtha ghalaiHim) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Anghamtha AlaiHim MutthaQeen MuHthadhoon (Hudhan minRabbiHim) Muflihoon Mu'minoon / Mu'mineen / Mu'minaath Muhsineen SidhdheeQeen Shuhadhaa SWaaliheen SWaabireen Munzareen Muslim Qaanitheen SWaabireen Khaashi'een Saa'imeen Zaakireen Mukhbitheen Faaizoon Mukhlaseen Oolul Albaab The God-Fearing Those who are rightly guided The Successful The Believers Those who do good deeds The truthful The martyrs The Righteous The Patient / Steadfast Those who warn Those who submit to the will of Allah The devoted The patient The humble Those who fast Those who do Zikr The humble minded The Victorious Those who are sincere Men of Understanding

15

070 The TWO Paths!

Then we have the Maghdhloobi ghalaiHim what are their names? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ghaiyr Maghdhloob wa DHLallaalleen Dhlaalimoon Kaafir FaasiQoon Mufsidhhoon Munafiq Khaasiroon Kaazib Jaahileen Mughthadheen Mujrimeen

The Transgressors The Kaafir The Rebels The mischief makers The Hypocrites The losers The Liars or the falsifiers The ignorant The sinners Those who associate partners with God

12 Mushrikeen 6. The 2 Paths So the two paths now become clearer.

The first is the path where we read the Aayaths of Allah in the Holy Quran, think about them, process them in our minds, discuss these signs with learned people, take advice and give advice this process is called Zikr. The second path is where we look around, see the favors in this world and then exploit these favors to build our artificial world, creating wealth, creating power creating a wicked world trying to fulfill all our desires. These people falsify or reject the Aayaths or the Signs of Allah. Allah Taaalah calls this world the THaaghooth and those that follow it the Hizbus Shaithaan or the Party of Shaithaan (58:19) The ShaiTn (Satan) has prevailed upon them; so he has made them neglect the Zikr of Allah. They are the Hizhus Shaithaan (party of ShaiTn). Be assured that it is the Hizbus Shaithaan that are the losers. (2:257) Allah is the Protector of those who believe. He brings them out of the depths of darkness into the light. As for those who disbelieve, their friends are the THaghooth. They bring them out from the light into the depths of darkness. Those are people of the Fire. There they will remain forever. (39:17) And those who abstain from worshipping the Tght and turn fervently to Allah, for them there is good news. So, give the good news to My servants So dear friends, it is very clear which path we should follow; it appears difficult even unthinkable, but then Allah Taaalah ensures us that He would guide us, He would look after us, and He would reward us most handsomely! I end todays talk by quoting to you this very expressive Aayath in the Holy Quran, from the Surah Al Ahqaaf.

16

070 The TWO Paths!

It is up to us to take on courage and change our lives so that we would belong to the Anghamtha ghalaiHim! May Allah Taaalah guide us all and accept us all! I sincerely pray and hope that all of you benefit from these talks as much as I have benefitted from doing research from the Quran and then preparing and presenting these talks to you. May Allah Taaalah guide us all and accept us all. Jazza Kalla Khairan. Assalamu Alaikum

Imtiaz Muhsin Colombo Sri Lanka [email protected]

You Tube Channel - HaneefanMusliman

17

070 The TWO Paths!

The Aayaths for Reference; The Chapters No The Sections 1 Objectives 2 Zikr & Aayaths (+32:22) 2 - 1 Firstly observing the World, the creation and thinking about them 2 - 2 Zikr as in Reading the Aayaths or the Signs in the Holy Quran 2 - 3 Zikr as an advice and an admonition 2 - 4 Encouragement to do Zikr profusely 2 - 5 Virtues of doing Zikr About those who falsify or reject the Aayaths of Allah thus do not 2-6 engage in the process of Zikr 3 Sabr Vs Desires 4 What People told the Prophets 5 AAA & GMAWDHL 6 The 2 Paths Aayaths 3 18 5 3 4 3 2 1 13 4

18

070 The TWO Paths!

Series 2
The Talks numbered 054 to 071 is under a series titled Knowing Allah Taaalah or Knowing GOD The details of the scripts of these 16 Episodes (Talks) are as follows;
Talk No Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Talk Number & Title 054 Ilm Knowing Allah 055 Rationality - The Foundation of Islam 056 Is Man Special? 057 Ar Rahmaan - The Beneficent 058 Nature or GOD? 059 Our Relationship with GOD! Sub Series: 060 Is this what we are created for? (Is this what we are created for? Part 1) Sub Series: 061 What do we see on Earth (Is this what we are created for? Part 2) Sub Series: 062 Who are WE? Where do we fit in? (Is this what we are created for? Part 3) Sub Series: 063 Our benefits on Earth (Is this what we are created for? Part 4) Sub Series: 066 What makes us 'Stand Out'? What makes us 'Special'? (Is this what we are created for? Part 5) Sub Series: 067 Who is in charge? (Is this what we are created for? Part 6) Sub Series: 068 What ALLAH Teaches Us, About Himself (Is this what we are created for? Part 7) Sub Series: 069 Our Special Faculties How they should be used, How they should not be used! (Is this what we are created for? Part 8) Sub Series: 070 The TWO Paths 071 Is this what we are created for? A review of Parts 1 to 8 from the Sub Series Is this what we are created for? Date Broadcast Dec 9th 2011 Dec 16h 2011 Dec 23th 2011 Dec 30th 2011 Jan 6th 2012 Jan 13th 2012 Jan 20th 2012 Jan 27th 2012 Feb 3rd 2012 Feb 10th 2012 Feb 17th 2012 Feb 24th 2012 Mar 2nd 2012 Details of Picture on Cover Wellawatte Jummah Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka Parasangaswewa Mosque (a remote village) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Mutwal Jummah Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka The Akbar Mosque in Slave Island, Colombo, Sri Lanka Mosque in Matara, from the Southern Province of Sri Lanka Beach Mosque at Kalmunaikudi in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka A Mosque in the Kurnegala District, Sri Lanka Maradana Jummah Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka Colpetty Jummah Mosque, in Colombo, Sri Lanka The Jummah Mosque at Natpidimunnai, in the Ampara District, Sri Lanka The Devatagaha Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka A Mosque in a rural village in the Ampara District, in Sri Lanka The Jummah Mosque in Oluvil a village in the Ampara District, Sri Lanka The Dhanakawewa Jummah Mosque in a remote village in the Anuradhapura District in Sri Lanka Mosque at Madhavakulam in the Puttlam District, Sri Lanka A Mosque by a river in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Mar 9th 2012 Mar 16th 2012 Mar 23rd 2012

Episode 15 Episode 16

19

070 The TWO Paths!