The Imaam

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

The Imaam

Documented by Jibril Abdul-Hafeez (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, October 24, 2008 / Yaum-ul-Jumu’ah, Shawaal 24, 1429

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this devout invocation.

In the Qur’an, 21:73, the constitution of our Imaam, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِمْ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَﺍتِ وَإِقَامَ الصَّلوة وَإِيتَآءَ الزَّكَـوةِ وَكَانُواْ لَنَا عَـبِدِينَ -

According to the regiment of prayer in Al-Islam and the logic that follows the scriptures that came with the Prophets (ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢﭐﻠﺴﱠﻼﻢ) in pre-Islamic history, everybody is responsible to follow the guidance and inspiration given to them. In order to do so we must learn the teachings of the Imaams, in public, and in the privacy of our own souls. These are the good acts (فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَﺍتِ) that have been established in open devotion which is meant to guide all people to the original source of their inspiration (أَوْحَيْنَآ).

Unfortunately, just like everything else, sacred devotion have been claimed as exclusive property of the brazen commercialists who have found a way to render faith-based practices as a proprietary product just like all the rest of the commodities that we know of that is bought and sold in the marketplace of life. It is up to you and me as followers of the practices of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) to take back; reclaim our rightful heritance by giving our minds, time and energies to learn the constitution of the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed.

رَّبِّ زِدْنِى عِلْماً

An instructive Qur’anic prayer, 20:114 teaches us to seek Allah’s blessing for education.

Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) speaks the truth; the truth is the soul of His servants that He revealed to guide us in public life and private life. What is right and doable for one of us is the same for all of us. The teachings of the Imam is not something spoken only as a prayer by him; formal established prayer in Al-Islam is one and the same for all of us, the teachings of the Imam is a body of knowledge to be replicated in the life of every man, woman and child who stand in prayer. The teaching of the Imam is the same body of knowledge that leads us in public life and in the depth of our souls in private life. This is the way that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) empowers every, man, woman and child in Al-Islam.

وَلاَ تَعْجَلْ بِالْقُرْءانِ مِن قَبْلِ إَن يُقْضَى إِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهُ This is the command (وَلاَ تَعْجَلْ), which means; do not rush (with the Qur’an)! مِن قَبْلِ إَن يُقْضَى إِلَيْكَ (before its revelation to you is completed). Listen to it and gain the right understanding of the teaching of this sacred body of knowledge and then replicate it in your life as it your Imaam in the same way that Allah’s servant (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) did through obedience; this is an obligation for all of Allah’s servants in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed.

According to the 9^th narration in Hadith Qudsi, the Messenger of Allah (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

"إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلَاتُهُ. فَإِنْ صَلُحَتْ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ، وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ، فَإِنْ انْتَقَصَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ شَيْءٌ قَالَ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَيُكَمَّلَ بِهَا مَا انْتَقَصَ مِنْ الْفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ سَائِرُ عَمَلِهِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ".

The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the day of standing is his prayers. If they are in order then he has prospered and succeeded; and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (mighty and sublime is He) will say: 'See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers.' Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.’

Muslims hosted an outing at a local Park, after the Adhaan and prayer; one of our Imaams informed me that someone had the audacity to caution us against the use of the term Imaam amongst native Muslims in America insinuating that we are not competent to qualify for what constitutes an Imaam. Thanks to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) we all have access to the constitution of the Imaam in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ).

We are reminded what constitutes an Imaam in the Qur’an, 17:71, as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

يَوْمَ نَدْعُواْ كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَـمِهِمْ فَمَنْ أُوتِىَ كِتَـبَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ يَقْرَءُونَ كِتَـبَهُمْ وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلاً -

Our book (the Qur’an), is what constitutes an Imaam, it is the revealed knowledge body for leadership in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ), it is our duty to know what constitutes the Imaam in our life. We are obligated by the very first word to remake our world word by word with this truth that has been in effect since its birth in man over 1,429 years ago.

In the Qur’an, 25:74, the knowledge based constitution of the Imaam in our life, we pray as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماً

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُم