Jesus Christ the Son of Mary

and His Most Blessed Mother



8 3241 3002 01

Al-H. abb Al al-Jafr

Zayn al-bidn al-Yaman alH. ad. ram al-Tarm



Transl ati on Gi br l F ouad Hadda d Damasc us

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

1423 / 2003

Jesus Christ the Son of Mary and His Most Blessed Mother
Upon our Prophet Muh. ammad and his House and upon them the blessings and peace of God
Translation of a talk given in Arabic at Dr al-Fatw in Beirut, Lebanon on 10 January 2003 by the Shaykh

Al - Sayyid al - H. abb Al Jafr of Yemen

God the witness thatand hastonotgodWho God sentit downcrookedness(18:1). I G lory belongs is no assignedhas alone,any upon His servantbear Book unto bear there but without partner, and I witness that our liege-lord Muh. ammad is His servant and Messenger. Allh bless and greet and lavish His benediction upon him and upon his forefathers and brethren among the Prophets and Messengers our liegelords Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the intervening Prophets, and upon his

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r House and Companions and those that follow them faithfully until the Day of Judgment!

The Honor and Purpose of Religion

To proceed: God Most High, the Exalted, has granted us immense honor and chosen us for this magnificent Religion, the Religion of Islam which He was well-pleased to make the seal of all religions, the Religion that is right and true for all times and all places. One that belongs to such a Religion prepares himself for a most important task and tremendous mission: excellence in bringing forth to the people of the earth the manifest proofs for the discourses, the directives, and the manifold guidance of heaven. Thus, the greatness of this Religion is that it has come to prepare its adherents and followers for an immense task, the most important task in this existence: to warn the people of the earth against the errors in which they live and which signify, in this world, great destructive strife and dissension and all sorts of diseases and problems while they signify, in the next world, great hindrance from the convoy of the blessed whom God the Most Glorious chooses for His good pleasure. This is our mission.

Comprehension (Fiqh) of the Mission

When the Muslim and the Believer becomes fully aware and comprehends his mission, he is then able to understand others with that comprehension of his mission. And to the extent that the Muslim and the Believer only dimly understands the greatness of the mission with which God entrusted him exclusively of others, he is hardly able to understand well and widen the scope of his relationship with creatures in all their variety. When we say hardly able we do not only mean the wrong behavior that stems from inflexibility, prejudice, and extremism. We are saying that he is hardly able to understand in all the senses of being hardly able to understand, whether through inflexibility, or wronging others, or harming them without any justification, or, on the other hand, because of a debility he finds in himself which causes him to lose touch with his own mission. From this debility follows the dissolution of his personality into his connection to his surroundings in this world. He is liquefied just like a liquid. He takes the form and color of his container and cannot have the least influence on others. Both matters are wrong.

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The Vastness of Comprehension

However, when the Believer fears God and fully comprehends the gravity of his mission, he realizes that his Religion is the one vast Religion: vast vast! and comprehensive. If he comprehends how to inter-relate with it, he becomes vast enough for the folk of the earth and the folk of the heaven in his connection and his relationship. The meaning of becoming vast here is to give each and every thing its due right; excellence in conveying the message of God regarding the path of right; excellence in treading the path of right; excellence in dealing with the scale of the Sacred Law both toward those who act excellently and those who act wrong whether such be allies or enemies without the least part nor gain in all this for the ego.

Incomprehension Caused by the Ego

Every inability that any creature on the face of the earth experiences in fully comprehending [the Religion] in the sense of understanding how to interrelate with others around him mostly human beings but also jinn, inanimate forms, vegetation, and animals every such inability is caused only because such a person has contented himself with his egotism and his exclusive attachment to the demands of his ego. The stronger the ego becomes in making one do its will or fulfill its demands and its lusts, the weaker does one become in understanding his surroundings whether in perception (fahman) or ability (taahhulan). Thus, the weakening of comprehension is connected with perception; and the weakening of comprehension is connected with ability. Perception is the basis, after which it produces interaction (tamul).

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The Comprehensive Goodness of Islm

Also among the manifestations of the magnificence, vastness, preparedness (tahayyu), and suitability (s.alh. iyya) of this Religion for action in every context of time and place: the fact that this Religion has produced excellence in all of its past ages; guided us to connect us to everything right and good in what has passed; and assigned for us in this a golden rule by which we know how to produce everything right and good in all things to come. This is why our Religion is the only Religion that comprehends the totality of the Prophets and Messengers in belief, confirmation, loyalty, and love. You do not find any of the other religions believing in all the Prophets. You only find, here, an exception of this Prophet, there, an exception of that Prophet, and there, yet other exceptions. As for us, the Muslims, God has made it religion for us to have complete belief and faith in the message of all the Messengers and the Prophethood of all the Prophets. More than that: the belief of any given believer among us becomes invalid if he does not believe in the Prophethood of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Noah and other of the Prophets whom God Most High mentioned in His Book. The vastness of acceptance we just mentioned makes our Religion encompassing and comprehensive (jmi). It is the quintessence (khuls.a) of what the Prophets have conveyed and enjoined to their respective communities. Anyone of us that reads and recites the Qurn with contemplation of and affect from the magnificent greatness of that Book, will find news from our liege-lord Noah; before him, our liege-lord Adam; after them, Hd; after him, S. lih. ; after him, Abraham; after him, Moses; just as the news do come regarding our liege-lord the Christ upon our Prophet and upon him the best blessings and salutations of peace!

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Muh. ammad Prophets

the

Quintessence

of

What is the purpose of all this in the context of our receiving our guidance from our liege-lord Muh. ammad, upon him blessings and peace? Would it not be enough that the news come to us [only] regarding our liege-lord Muh. ammad? No, because the origin of the news concerning our liege-lord Muh. ammad is a vast capacity or recipiency (sia) into which was poured the quintessence of what all the Prophets brought so that it would be embodied in the person of our liege-lord Muh. ammad. The blessings of my Lord and His salutations of peace upon him and his House! On this basis we can know the high rank of our liege-lord the Christ, upon him peace. On this basis we can know the high rank of his mother Mary, upon her peace. Thus do we know that the two of them have received an exalted rank in the presence of God Most Glorious and Exalted. We also know that our liege-lord Jesus stands out from the rest of the Prophets, in our relationship with him, with a special characteristic.

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Our Special Prophets

Relationship

with

the

Our relationship with the entirety of our liege-lords the Prophets consists in belief, love, faith, and the learning of lessons and wisdoms from their stories, the reports that come from them, and their lives. We may hear, for example, that the father of Prophets, our liege-lord Abraham, upon him peace, stands out in his connection to us, in a way, because Primordial Monotheism (al-h. anfiyya) is ascribed to him; also, because he is one of the forefathers of our liege-lord Muh. ammad and because he actually ; supplicated for God to send Muh. ammad at the end of times. Moses, upon him peace, obtained a special characteristic in his connection to us in the fact that he is the one that advised our liege-lord Muh. ammad to ask God Most Glorious and Exalted for leniency when the prayer was made obligatory fifty daily prayers. However, our liege-lord the Christ, upon him peace, stands out in his connection to this Community of Islm (Umma). Together with the lessons we take from God Most High in the Qurn and from the words of the Beloved in the Sunna God bless and greet him and his House and Companions in the reports about our liege-lord Jesus, the jihad of our liege-lord Jesus, the high character of our liege-lord Jesus, the values of our liege-lord Jesus, the immense rank of our liege-lord Jesus before his Lord, the superlative knowledge of our liege-lord Jesus which he received from his Lord, in addition, we, the masses of the Muslims, have a special connection with a certain great mission of our liege-lord the Christ.

10

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Our Special Relationship with the Christ Jesus

This great mission is that, among the major signs of the final Hour and among the keys of the huge deliverance that will dawn upon this Community of Islm, there will come a time on this earth when the call to the pre-morning prayer will be raised in Damascus at the white minaret East of Damascus; the imm will want to step forward to lead the prayer when lo and behold! the people will watch in astonishment while our liege-lord Jesus descends from the heaven, his two hands resting on the wings of the angels, his head seemingly dripping with water, wearing clothes which our liege-lord Muh. ammad described in great detail. He said that the color of his clothes resembled saffron dye, as if his clothes had been dyed with saffron and wars.1 Our Prophet Muh. ammad described for us the very appearance of the clothes in which Jesus would descend! Such vestimentary description signifies nothing other than additional emphasis on reflection, perception, and discernment (dhawq) for the meaning of our connection with this great master who was thus honored by his Lord.

Narrated from al-Nawws ibn Samn al-Kilb by Muslim, al-Tirmidh, Ibn Mjah, Ab Dwd, and Ah. mad.

11

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The Descent of Jesus

He will descend. When the Imm Muh. ammad al-Mahd a scion of the Prophetic House sees him as he was readying himself to lead the prayer, he will move back and say to our liege-lord Jesus: Step forward, Spirit from God!2 It has been mentioned in the h. adth that the breath of our liege-lord Jesus, the day he descends, does not encounter a disbeliever whose belief is despaired of, except that disbeliever will die on the spot. This is due to the greatness of the spiritual state in which our liege-lord Jesus will descend: a heavenly state for one beloved of God among Gods servants whom He caused to perdure in the nearest heaven for more than two thousand years, after which he descends to this earth. Hence, as stated in the h. adth narrated by al-Tirmidh, he does not breathe one breath except every disbeliever this breath reaches will die on the spot, and his breath reaches the extent of his gaze. That is, when our liege-lord Jesus descends upon this earth, his breath will reach as far as his eyes can see.3

Jesus and the Mahd

When our liege-lord the Mahd sees him he will move back and say: Step forward, Spirit from God! Jesus will say: The call to prayer was raised but for you, therefore, step forward!4 Then our liege-lord Jesus will pray behind our liege-lord al-Mahd. Because of this, it was said that among the immense merits of this Community of Islm is that a Prophet beloved of God and brought near Him one of the Messengers of High Resolve (ull-azm) will pray behind an individual from this Community. After the dawn prayer, our liege-lord the Mahd will step back and hand over the leadership of the Community of Islm to our liege-lord Jesus. When our liege-lord Jesus receives the leadership of the Community he will take up the flag and prepare the army to march to Jerusalem so as to seize it back and return it to truth and guidance and light.

The Great Deceiver (Dajjl)

2

Narrated from Jbir by Ah. mad and from Uthmn ibn Ab al-s. by Ibn Ab Shayba, al-H. kim, and Ibn Askir. 3 Cf. previous notes. 4 Cf. Ibn Kathr, al-Bidya wal-Nihya (9:176).

12

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r In that time the Great Deceiver or Dajjl will have appeared. All the uproar and loud cries of the voices of money and materialism in the world today, in all their manifestations, are only preliminaries for the Dajjl. Everything that you see in this world producing weak souls and raising entire generations with the most tenuous of links to principles and values people made into worldly automatons, worshippers of the world, their sole concern the world, their thought the world, their religion the world, their consciences the world when the people are ripe in this sense, the Dajjl will emerge onto this world in the form of a missionary a reformist missionary. He will appear among the people then he will acquire fame and more fame. Many miracles will show at his hands. He will claim Prophethood. Then he will claim Divinity our refuge is Allh! We might very nearly have to envisage or imagine that a Muslim can actually follow some misshapen creature walking this earth and whom he will consider his Divine Lord! However, the Most Beloved God bless and greet him and his Family told us about the Dajjl. He said he might enter an all-Muslim town and then exit it, all its population now disbelievers! God is our refuge from such a thing! Someone asked, what is the reason? It was said that the reason is that he will go to people whose hearts have grown attached to love of the world and whose entire identities have thoroughly mixed with the world and its train. For such, whoever pays leads (man yadfa yutba)! This is what the people are being trained for today. They are being prepared for the Dajjl and his sovereignty. They are being educated today in their economy, their politics, their societies, their relationships, their commerce, their undertakings and derelictions all on the debilitated foundation that is the attachment of hearts to trivial worldly interests. Whoever pays leads. For this was it related that the Dajjl will roam the earth. God will permit that people be tried at his hands. He will have control of their sustenance agriculture, food, water to the point he will say, O heaven, rain! and rain will pour; O earth, sprout! and vegetation will grow; O plantations, bear fruit! and fruit will ripen; O living one, die! O dead one, rise! and the dead will rise. God will grant him these displays and watch those whose hearts have latched upon externalities (maz.hir) be seduced while those whose hearts have latched upon the Hidden and Manifest (al-bt.in al-z.hir) remain oblivious to all but Him. It was related that the Dajjl will roam the entire earth. It was related from the Beloved that he said: Let none of you ever wish to meet the ArchDeceiver! In addition to the extreme gravity of the warnings of the Beloved

13

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r against the Dajjl, he even said that there had never been any Prophet except he warned his people about the strife of the Dajjl.5 Indeed, in every prayer, after reciting the final witnessing of faith (tashahhud) and the benediction upon his pure self, he would seek refuge in his Lord from the trial (fitna) of life and the trial of death and the trial of the ArchDeceiver Maskh.6 May God save us and you from his trial! He insisted so much on the terrible gravity of the Dajjls strife before the Companions that some of them said, We believed he was already among the date-trees of Madna. They believed he had arrived and would appear any moment among the people because of the fear caused by the reports of the Prophet about him.

The Divine Protection

Despite these incessant warnings and the fear caused by this forthcoming strife, the Messenger of God said: Whoever recites Srat al-Kahf the night before Jumua and its day, God will protect him from the strife of Dajjl.7 O Messenger of God! You told us of a calamity that would shake the entire earth a man that would control the world from East to West, roaming the earth, in his hand many of the powers that cause these calamities. The people of faith will experience hunger, poverty, distress. Then you said, after warning us of this terrible disaster that would befall us so great that the Companions themselves thought the Dajjl had almost come out that the remedy is to recite Srat al-Kahf the night before Jumua and its day? One Sra of the Qurn containing one hundred and ten verses. Are you telling me that if I recite it, I will be safe from this huge disaster?

5 6

Narrated from Anas by al-Bukhr, Muslim, Ab Dwd, al-Tirmidh, and Ah. mad. Narrated from [1] isha and [2] Ab Hurayra by al-Bukhr, Muslim, al-Tirmidh, al-Nas, Ab Dwd, Ibn Mjah, and Ah. mad; [3] Ibn Abbs by Muslim, Mlik, al-Tirmidh, Ab Dwd, al-Nas, Ibn Mjah, and Ah. mad; [4] Anas by alTirmidh (h. asan s. ah. h. ); [5] Abd Allh ibnAmr ibn al-s. by Ah. mad; and [6] Zayd ibn Thbit by Ah. mad. One of the Imms of the Salaf considered the prayer invalid if this supplication were omitted. Maskh (Deformed)=Anti-Christ as Mash. (Anointed)=Christ. 7 The known versions of this h. adth all from Ab al-Dard mention the recitation or memorization of the first ten [Muslim, Ab Dwd, and Ah. mad], last ten [Ah. mad], or first three verses [al-Tirmidh] of Srat al-Kahf, rather than its entirety [Ih. y] while al-Drim narrates from Khlid ibn Madn ten verses unspecified and a version from al-Nawws ibn Samn [cf. n. 1] mentions the first verses. Allh knows best.

14

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r He says yes! So that you would understand that the greatness of this safety and salvation are linked to God Most High. We are a Community of Islm whose salvation and safety and preservation do not depend on shortsighted externalities and powers nor on their movers and shakers. We are a Community whose paths of salvation in the world and the hereafter consist in the attachment of our hearts to this most glorious Book, in the arousal of feelings in our hearts telling us of the greatness of the message that comes from God. There is no Muslim that regularly reads Srat al-Kahf every night before Jumua and every day of Jumua except he obtains a guarantee from the Beloved Elect regarding his salvation from the trial of the Dajjl. It was related from both Ibn Masd and al-H. asan al-Bas.r that they received the news or rather heard the rumor that the Dajjl had come out. Al-H. asan laughed. He was asked What makes you laugh? He replied: If he came out now, the boys of al-Bas.ra would play with him the way they play with a foot ball. Why? Because in the time in which al-H. asan and Ibn Masd were told of this rumor, the people had a firm foothold in certitude in their relationship with God. The sway of the Dajjl and his power cannot in the least affect hearts upon which the lights of certitude have dawned. The sway of the Dajjl holds only over hearts whose certitude has wilted and whose attachment to evanescent matters have grown strong.

The Invincibility of Madna

It was related that the Dajjl would roam the earth and that when he reaches Madna the Radiant upon its dweller the best blessings and greetings of peace! and desires to enter it, the angels will stand in front of him at the gates of Madna and bar his passage. They will stand in front of him at a place the Messenger of Allh has named for us al-Jurf8 a place known today in Madna al-Munawwara. He will stand on a mountain there and look toward the Mosque of the Beloved and his grave, saying: Look there, at that white building: that is the palace of Ah. mad.8 He will try to enter but will be unable. Some of his followers will bring some people. The Prophet said that when the Dajjl stands at the gates of Madna, Madna will shake three times; at that time, anyone in whose heart remain hypocrisy and dissemblance or other than firm attachment to God Most High shall be cor-

Narrated from Anas by Muslim and Ah. mad. Jurf is ~27 kms. north of Madna

15

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r rupted and follow the Dajjl.9 One of the narrations specifies they will reach eighty thousand.10 God is our refuge from that!

Narrated from Mih. jan ibn al-Adra by Ah. mad, his uncle H. anbal ibn Ish. q in alFitan, and al-H. kim in the Mustadrak (s. ah. h. by Muslims criterion, al-Dhahab concurring). The last sentence is also narrated from Anas in the S. ah. h. ayn and Ah. mad; as part of a very long h. adth from Ab Umma al-Bhil by Ibn Mjah; and from Jbir by Ah. mad. 10 Narrated from Ab Hurayra by Ibn Ab Shayba. 70,000 Jews as narrated from [1] Ab Hurayra and [2] Anas by Muslim; Anas by Ab Yal, Ibn H. ibbn, and Ab Nuaym; [3] Uthmn ibn Ab al-s. by Ibn Ab Shayba and al-T. abarn; Anas, [4] Jbir, and Uthmn ibn Ab al-s. by Ah. mad; and [5] Ab Sad al-Khudr by Mamar.

16

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The Righteous Witness

Some of the soldiers of the Dajjl will seize a man from among the righteous whom they think to be a common person. They will stand him before the Dajjl who will say to him: Do you believe that I am your Lord? He will reply: No! You are none other than the Arch-Deceiver. He will say: I am your Lord! No! You are the Dajjl! He will say: I am your Lord! No! You are the Dajjl! He will then order for a saw to be brought. The saw will be placed in the middle of the righteous mans head and he will be sawed in half until he becomes two separate pieces and the horses will pass between the two. Then the Dajjl will give an order. He will be brought back together again and the Dajjl will pass his hand over him, after which he will live a second time, by the power of God. When he comes alive the Dajjl will look at him, thinking that he has definitely gained control over him, and say: I have caused you to die and caused you to come alive again. Do you now believe that I am your Lord? The man will reply: My certitude has only increased that you are the Dajjl of whom the Messenger of Allh told us! He will order him to be killed but will be unable to do so anymore.11

The Killing of the Dajjl

Just as the Dajjl orders the righteous man to be killed he will hear a voice crying out: The Spirit from God, Jesus, has descended! When the Dajjl hears the name of our liege-lord s he will shake and tremble in fear. He will rush to Palestine. There, the army of our liege-lord Jesus and our liegelord al-Mahd will meet the army of the Dajjl at the gate of Ludd.12 When the Dajjl looks and sees our liege-lord Jesus, upon him peace, surrounded with a halo of light, the Dajjl will melt as mentioned in the h. adth just as salt melts in water.13 Our liege-lord Jesus will approach him and so will our liege-lord al-Mahd. They will strike him with their two swords and kill him.

11 12

Narrated from Ab Sad al-Khudr by Muslim cf. h. adth in n. 1 for the cleaving. Narrated from al-Nawws and Ab Umma by Ab Dwd and Ibn Mjah and from isha by Ah. mad as part of longer h. adths. 13 Narrated from Ab Hurayra by Muslim. Another version mentions he will melt like lead, narrated from Uthmn ibn Ab al-s. by Ah. mad and al-H. kim and from an unnamed Companion by Abd al-Razzq.

17

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r O nations of the Believers, this matter is not just a story we hear for our hearts to be moved a little. This is about living, this is a method one follows, a path one takes, this is a transaction that is going to take place and in which we are going to be involved. At this very moment the armies of the Christ are getting ready and so are the armies of the Dajjl. The meaning of this preparation is that certain attributes in the hearts are rising and taking firm root in the army of truth and right while certain attributes are also forming in the army of falsehood.

Christ, Anti-Christ, and the Jews

It is also said that the wisdom for which God has the killing of the Dajjl take place at the hands of our liege-lord the Christ is that the Dajjl is the manifestation of the oppression of materialism while our liege-lord the Christ is the manifestation of the supremacy of the spirit in this existence. The Dajjl is also named anointed (mash. ), but the anointed arch-liar and deceiver (al-mash. al-kadhdhb al-dajjl). He was named mash. because at some point in his career he will claim that he is our liege-lord the Christ. This is because when the Jews fought the Christ the spirit from God and refused to believe in him and submit to his mission, they then denied that the Christ had appeared even as it was written in their books that the Christ would appear. Therefore, they claimed that our liege-lord Jesus was a great liar and he is far exalted beyond their claim! and they opposed him and tried to kill him. But God saved him, They did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them (4:157). Then our liege-lord the Christ was raised up to the near heaven upon him peace and the Jews remained as they were, in their belief that the Christ had not yet come out. They are now waiting for a christ to come, and their christ is the Dajjl. About ten years ago or more a manifestation took place in Tel-Aviv in which a large placard was hoisted, saying: Welcome to the impending appearance of the Prince of Peace. This is the one they claim to be the Christ, but he is the Arch-Deceiver.

The Secret of the Creation of Jesus and Mary

The entire matter is connected to the days in which God caused our liegelord Jesus to exist.

18

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The time in which our lady Mary was born the purest and most blessed, upon her peace! was a time in which the tyranny of materiality held full sway over the Jews. The interests of the world dominated them completely. They even altered the word of God for the purpose of their buying and selling the rulings of the sacred Law. God forbade usury in all the dispensations, so they altered the rulings and made usury permitted to themselves. They made permitted to themselves much of what God had forbidden them. They made up clouds to obscure the order of the heavenly call which had been directed to them for the purpose of running after material concerns. They became slaves of materialism. Among the Jews there remained some righteous souls such as the Prophets and their entourage and those that affiliated themselves to them. Among these righteous souls was our lady H. anna the mother of our lady Mary, upon both of them peace. H. anna was one of the righteous women, one of the Godwary, worshipful, devoted to prayer and good works. She had great love for Prophets, saints, and the devotees that were in Jerusalem. When she became pregnant from her husband, she felt that she might give birth to a boy and so she vowed that what she carried in her womb would be dedicated to the service of God. Lord, I have vowed to You, in dedication, what is in my womb (3:35). She vowed that the newborn would serve the temple of Jerusalem so as to become prepared for the service of the Religion.

H. annas Vow
Look at the effect of intention. What is our goal when we want to have children, what is our intention? The very deliverance which the Community awaits, at the hands of our liege-lord Jesus, upon him peace! there will be for H. anna an ample portion of its reward and benefit. For she possessed an intention with God! Look at this fortunate woman who, when she intended that in her offspring there would be someone who serves God, someone who would serve this Religion, when she was truthful in such an intention, God honored her because of her intention, but not in the way she thought. For she gave birth to a female child.

And when she gave birth to her she said, Lord, I have given birth to

her, a female. And God knows very well what she had given birth to; the male is not as the female. And I have named her Mary, and commend her to You with her seed, to protect them from the accursed Satan (3:36). What was the reply? Her Lord received the child with

19

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r gracious favor. The sum total of what the hearts of the truthful seek is that their Lord receive them with gracious favor! Her Lord received the child with gracious favor, and by His goodness she grew up comely. Zachariah taking charge of her (3:37). The intention of H. anna made the one she bore to be accepted, even though it was other than what she had envisaged and wished for, since she had wished for a boy and she got a girl. Righteous and truthful intentions are not in vain in the presence of God regardless of the judicial calculations of humankind and even if human hope and human plans did not materialize. A girl came, but intentions are never lost in the presence of God and thousands upon thousands of men are not worth Marys foot!

Seclusions and Miracles of Mary

She gave birth to our lady Mary. Our Lady Mary grew up, fed with purity, light, Godwariness, and righteousness. Those of the Prophets, saints, and hermits that were in Jerusalem drew lots to see who would take charge of her. The lot fell to Zachariah. He was a relative of Mary. Zachariah placed her in a mihrab. The mihrab back then was not the prayer-niche we know today but consisted in an isolated cell or tower that had no door nor opening except from the top. It could be entered only with a ladder from the outside and another ladder down into it. Zachariah placed her in it. He would bring her food and go. She practiced her devotions and worship in absolute dedication and chastity, orienting herself wholly to her Lord in her cell. God showed our liege-lord Zachariah certain wonders. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence comes unto you this (food)? She answered: It is from God. God gives without stint to whom He will. There Zachariah prayed unto his Lord (3:37-38). Consider the saying of God, There. Zachariah is a Prophet and therefore better than our lady Mary who is a truthful saint (S. iddqa). However, because of the high rank which our lady Mary gained, upon her peace, she became in a position to teach one of the Prophets! At that point, one of the Prophets actually became her pupil in the Religion. They said that our liege-lord Zachariah wondered from where the fruits he found there came. They said he would find with her the fruits of winter in the summer season and the fruits of summer in the winter season. He knew full well that no one other than he entered that place which was shut tight and inaccessible but, more importantly, such fruits were not to be found in the land since they were out of season! She said, It is from God.

20

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Yes, O Prophet of God, the fact of the matter is the certitude that sustenance is from my Lord and not from any created cause. We do know that we are commanded to deal with created causes and effects however, if created causes and effects have been suppressed, then the sustenance of God Almighty can never be suppressed!

There Zachariah prayed unto his Lord. He asked for a pious

offspring. God gave him our liege-lord John, upon him peace. Then came the tremendous event in which God manifested Himself and for which He had prepared our lady Mary. And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East (19:16). The Ulema said that East was an allusion to the Orient from where the sun rose that is, to the East from her perspective. The people are accustomed to praise the East because it is the place from the direction of which the light comes. When she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East and had chosen seclusion (h. ijb) from them (19:16-17). They said that the h. ijb meant she hid herself from mankind to dedicated herself to the Divine worship. After she tasted the sweetness of worship in her cell she wished to taste the sweetness of worship in her travelling on the earth.

Annunciation
Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man (19:17). When she saw our liege-lord Gabriel, he assumed for her an excellent likeness, the likeness of a human being. She
said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from you, if you are God fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord (19:18-19). She realized the secret behind his presence the receiving of the manifestation (tajall) that dawned upon her from God. That I may bestow on you a faultless son (19:19). What is behind such a gift? She said: How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me, neither have I been unchaste! He said: So your Lord said (19:20-21).

Consider now the presence of food for our lady Mary as she was in her cell, dedicated to her worship, without means nor sensory cause. This was a preamble so that our lady Mary would understand that for the existence of the newborn, also, there was no pre-condition of means. The matter was not, for our lady Mary, merely a mental apprehension. Rather, it was a discernment of certitude and of the heart (dhawq yaqn qalb). For

21

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r she witnessed and saw with her very eyes the Divine gift with which human custom and cause-and-effect were breached right in front of her! After that, she did not consider it strange that a customary cause be breached in the occurrence of a newborn child for her.

Birth of Jesus and Further Tests of Mary

Then came the time for giving birth. It was said that the spirit [of the child] was breathed into her, the pregnancy took place, and the time of birth came all at one and the same time. Do not think this strange. The matter, from beginning to end, violates custom. The matter is one of the manifestations of the power of God Almighty! When she felt the time of birth had come, And the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten! (19:23). When she reached this stage, the Ulema pondered why she had asked for death while she was in the very midst of Divine generosity. One of them said: Because she knows that the Israelites had reached such a lowly state of vile attachment to the world and its overwhelming lusts and materialism that they would never accept the sight of Gods favor and the breach of customary laws that took place with Mary. Someone else said, No, she wished that she had not lived to see that day only because God had shown her that her son might one day be worshipped together with God Almighty. She gave birth to our liege-lord Jesus upon our Prophet and upon him the best blessings and salutations of peace! The lights of Jesus dawned upon this earth. When he saw the [distraught] state of his mother he addressed her even as he was in her womb or from below her [after birth]. He caused her to apprehend another meaning that reminded her of the magnificence of God Who is with her High and Exalted! And shake the trunk of the palm tree toward you, you will cause ripe dates to fall upon thee (19:25). Here we tend to recite this verse without pausing. The palm tree is solid. It is difficult for a human being to shake it. A strong and mighty man would hardly budge a palm tree, even a number of men! The palm tree trunk at the bottom is very large while its top is thin so that the wind can move it. Try to move a fully grown palm tree at the bottom of its trunk, you will not be able. How then can a woman in the weakness of giving birth be able to shake it? Yet this act is demanded of her and it is not sufficient for her to merely see the Divine bounty.

22

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

In the first two phases, she saw the Divine gift before her. The first time was for her schooling. Lo and behold, fruits and sustenance descended from the heaven and were laid before her without her asking. The second time she was told that she would give birth without outward nor sensory cause and without connection to any man, again, without her asking. Now, it is asked of her that she herself move the palm tree. Some of the Ulema said that this was an allusion to the world of cause and effect and to the fact that mankind is not to leave aside material means even though they rely on their Causator. This is a fine explanation. However, there is another meaning. The certitude that had built up in our most blessed lady Mary upon her peace the Virgin, had taken root in her conscience with such strength that it was now asked of her to do what no mind would accept to do whatsoever.

Lessons from Marys Certitude

The mind says that in such a state there is no way for her to move the trunk of the palm tree. However, the order or directive came to her from her own child a breach of custom in its own right, a newborn infant speaking and with this same breach of custom she was ordered to stretch her hand to do what she knew she was unable to do of her own power howsoever! And this is a meaning from certitude to which our lady Mary ascended. We own a share of this certitude which we ought to grasp and follow. When God Most Glorious and Exalted asks us to do something from which we find our strength falling short, we ought not to procrastinate obeying the Divine order with the excuse that we are too weak or that others are stronger. The day the Umma reaches the certitude that when they are true in helping God, God will help them [47:7] at that time the palm trees of existence shall shake for this Community!

Jealousy of the Israelites

Our pure lady the Virgin rose with her newborn child and returned to the Israelites. The Jews received her and saw her whom they knew to be chosen. Some of them might well have harbored jealousy in their souls against her because of her special station. Those whose hearts have muddied or become diseased find it difficult to watch those that are hale respected and honored in the society.

23

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r This is what is called jealousy (h. asad). The mark of jealousy is recognized in the heart of the jealous person by the fact that when he sees markers of distinction before him whether in Religion or anything else something takes hold in his heart; after this he bides his time patiently, patiently, until, when he hears the smallest suspicion or accusation, he shouts Yes! loud and clear in its confirmation and is overjoyed at its news. Why? Because in his heart there is filth and turbidity. When such filth and turbidity had taken root in the hearts of those people, they felt that in the special distinction of our liege-lord Mary upon her peace lay an implicit address to themselves. They seemed to hear the message: You ought to return to purity, O those who have polluted yourselves with the world and its lucre and its show to which you should never have attached yourselves! Here, before your eyes, is a weak woman that has been honored with this high station of purity while you, who lead your society, how far behind you have left purity!

The Great Admonition to Mary and Jesus Nation

Thus, the state of purity of the Virgin Mary was a state of admonition that had been overturning the beds of those possessed of insight among the worshippers of money and materiality. Now, as soon as they saw the nursing infant in her arms, they became overjoyed. They said: O Mary! You have come with an amazing thing! (19:27). Why did they not ask when they had a chance to learn something? But their muddied hearts could not bear to see the purity of the Virgin before their eyes. This is the wont of those who have polluted themselves with the worship of Mammon. It is too much for them to see purity revered and followed among the people.

Then she pointed to him. They said, How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, an infant? (19:29). God did not give them pause for her to

answer them. Lo and behold! our liege-lord the Christ replied to them and spoke although he was a nursing infant: He spoke: Lo! I am the slave of God. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet (19:30). He listed the meanings which God Most High had especially bestowed upon him and the ranks with which He had honored him. He made the key to that list the affirmation that he was the slave of God, his servanthood to God Most High. Then, proceeding from the secret of his servanthood to God Most High, came the ranks: He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet.

24

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r Then he described himself as blessed, then he described himself as dutiful so we would know that the secret of dutiful piety is not binding merely upon those who possess it but also applies to others. The societies that recognize the degrees of piety among its people of merit are the societies that rise up in the ranks of merit. God had said to her before she went back out to her people: And if you meet any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal (19:26). Ponder this meaning. The rule would have been that He tell her: Get ready to answer them. Say to them, God is able over all things. Give them the proof and the evidences: I carried and gave birth in a very brief time, you saw me just before and I was not pregnant, if this had been a falsehood or a sin, this should have taken the normal span of time, nine months.... But He did not give her permission to speak nor to prove her innocence. Say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal. Meaning, in facing this [trial] I have turned entirely to my Lord Almighty and Glorious.

Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O

Mary! You have come with an amazing thing. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother a harlot (19:27). Ponder this here. It was said that O sister of Aaron implied parentage. It was also said that Aaron was proverbially known for integrity and purity. That is: You who have reached, because of your purity, a proverbial level. Your father was not a wicked man nor was your mother a harlot. This is a preamble for the charge that is coming up. After falsehood settles firmly in the heart of the dishonest person, he becomes refined in the art of bringing out that falsehood. We know so well that you are righteous and goodly, but this this terrible thing you have done!! They seem happy to see evil.

Jesus Attributes
Then she pointed to him. They said, How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, an infant?. The answer came. He spoke: Lo! I am the

slave of God. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet and has made me blessed wheresoever I may be (19:29-31). So then blessing is with our liege-lord Jesus wherever he is. When he walked upon the earth blessing was with him wherever he walked, and after he ascended to the heaven blessing ascended wherever he ascended.

25

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

And He has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I

remain alive and has made me dutiful toward her who bore me, and has not made me arrogant, unblessed (19:31-32). And now the fruit of what preceded: Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary: a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt (19:33). When this meaning came into broad daylight they were crestfallen and remained unable to say anything.

Jesus Mission
Our liege-lord Jesus grew up, fed with purity. When God willed to send him forth, his mission among his people was the mission of the spirit: to link the hearts back with their Lord and revive values and morals. This is the reason we do not find, in the Evangel, much talk about rulings and laws but instead find that the Evangel focuses on morals, parables, and spirituality. For our liege-lord Jesus said, as is mentioned in the Evangel: I was sent for the lost sheep of the Sons of Israel. That is, God sent me to those whom the world has so overwhelmed that they have become as dumb beasts, unconcerned by other than food, drink, and lusts, without the least heed to rising to any Divine connection. When they did not accept that magnificent mission, denying its truth, plotting against it, denigrating it and defaming our liege-lord Jesus while some of them believed in him, God desired to cleanse him and raise him up to the second heaven. He raised him up upon him peace and the days passed while they remained in their disbelief, defacing the creed, far from spirituality and connection, and so until the time came when our liege-lord Muh. ammad appeared upon him and his House blessings and peace! Our liege-lord Jesus had given the glad tidings about him in the Evangel.

The Prophet Inheritors

Muh. ammad

and

His

Our liege-lord Muh. ammad appeared! God gave him a Book and He gave him rulings. He guaranteed that they would not be altered nor changed. The people then remained, on this earth, in the fold of true submission (islm) and belief (mn). The spirituality of our liege-lord Muh. ammads proofs pointing to God rose and became disseminated in his Companions and the people of his House as well as all those that followed. The entire Community rose up in the levels of their connection to God and showed

26

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r such wonders that the onlooker can hardly believe that such deeds took place at the hands of human beings other than the sinless Prophets. These wonders appeared in many of the individuals of this Community and in their human transactions. Their spirits are intimately connected with the One True God, Most High and Exalted monks by night and knights by day. And so the centuries passed. The world began to enter many of the hearts of the followers of this religious Community. The Prophet had predicted upon him blessings and peace that every Community had its [golden] calf. That is: a calf that is worshipped apart from God Most High. He said: And the calf of my Community is the dinar and the dirham. 14 He also said, upon him blessings and peace, as narrated in al-Bukhr: I do not fear that you will commit idolatry after me because the creed is wellpreserved but I fear for you the lure of the world. One day, the zakt funds came from al-Bah. rayn, the poor among the Companions came from the outer limits of the city, hoping for the generosity of the Prophet with something from that zakt. The Beloved Prophet turned around after the dawn prayer and saw that the mosque was full. He said: Have the news reached you that the zakt of al-Bah. rayn has arrived? They said, Yes, O Messenger of God! He said, Receive the good tidings and be glad, then! By God! I do not fear poverty for you. However, I fear that the world will be laid wide open before you just as it was laid open for those before you, and you will compete in it just as they competed in it, and it will destroy you just as it destroyed them.15 He also said to some of his Companions one day: What will you do when a dish is brought to you in the morning and another dish in the evening? 16 That is: what will you do when you start eating twice in the same day? For some of our liege-lords the Companions might have spent three days without eating, yet they took up their swords and fought in the way of God. Yet they prayed at night and fasted by day, learned and taught and called people to God! They owned hearts that had become completely disconnected from material concerns in the sense of followership. They remained connected to
14

Narrated from H. udhayfa by al-Daylam in al-Firdaws cf. Kanz al-Umml (#6259). This is established by the h. adth in al-Tirmidh (h. asan s. ah. h. ): For every Community there is a seduction (fitna) and the seduction of my Community is money (al-ml). 15 Narrated from Amr ibn Awf al-Ans. r by al-Bukhr, Muslim, and Ah. mad. Something similar is narrated from Awf ibn Mlik al-Ashja and Abd Allh ibn H. awla. 16 Narrated from al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwm by al-H. kim and al-Bayhaq; Muh. ammad ibn Kab al-Quraz. by Ibn Ab s. im, Ibn Qni, and al-Bayhaq; and T. alh. a ibn Amr al-Nad. r he was from the Ahl al-S. uffa by Ah. mad, al-Bazzr, al-T. abarn, Hannd in al-Zuhd, Ibn H. ibbn, Ab Nuaym, al-H. kim, and others.

27

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r material concerns only in the sense of worshipping their Lord. They treated such concerns purely as ways and means, without any attachment to them. As a result, one of them saw no harm in facing an entire army alone. It should come as no surprise that Jafar ibn Ab T. lib took up the flag in his right hand, then his right hand was cut off, but his soul did not allow him to let the flag go down because his heart had lifted up the flag well before his hand! The flag was in his heart. So the left hand took it up, then the left hand was cut off, then he carried it up with his two limbs, then he fell on the ground but the flag never fell from him. In his body there were over eighty cuts from sword-blows, spears, and arrows.17 All these cuts were in the front of his body for he had been facing the enemy at all times and never thought of fleeing. Stranger yet is that when water was presented to him so that he could relieve his thirst in the throes of death, lips parched, completely exhausted, he said: I am fasting. These are the attributes with which God granted them victory. I am fasting. They said: In such a time, on such a day? Break your fast today and you will fast again tomorrow! He replied: I long to break my fast in Paradise. Such was his state. Then he gave up the spirit [in Muta, Jordan], and the Beloved Elect was sitting in the presence of his Companions [in Madna] when he described the entire battle in detail.18 After this, he rose his head and said: Wa-alayk as-Salm, wa-rah. matullh, wa-baraktuh, O Jafar! The Companions expressed surprise, whereupon he said: That was Jafar, the angels carried his spirit to Paradise and he refused to enter it until he first greeted me!19 Such were those who owned spirits attached to the highest realities love and its heartfelt discernment. Their spirits were not dedicated to pleasures nor motivated by them. Rather, they reveled in and tasted the love of God and His Messenger. Since these were their states, God exalted their lights. Umar ibn al-Khat.t.b, God be well-pleased with him, who used to nap or sleep under a tree on the dirt, then would get up and dust himself off, is the one at whose hand the two greatest empires of corruption at the time were conquered the Romans and the Persians.
17

Narrated in full and in brief from Ibn Abbs by al-T. abarn, and al-H. kim. Narrated in brief form from Ab Hurayra by al-Tirmidh (h. asan gharb), Ibn H. ibbn, and al-H. kim; from al-Bar ibn zib by al-H. kim; from Al by Ibn Sad; and from al-Zubayr by Ibn Abd al-Barr in al-Istb. 18 Narrated from Ab Qatda al-H. rith ibn Rib al-Salam al-Ans. r by Ah. mad, Ibn Sad, al-Nas in al-Kubr and Fad. il al-S. ah. ba, Ibn Ab Shayba, al-T. abar in the Trkh, Ibn H. ibbn, and al-Bayhaq. Also narrated mursal from Abd Allh ibn Ab Bakr by al-Wqid in al-Maghz and Ab Nuaym in the Dalil. 19 Narrated by al-Draqut. n in Gharib Mlik cf. Ibn H. ajar, al-Is. ba (1:487), and al-Muh. ibb al-T. abar in Dhakhir al-Uqb.

28

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

The End of the Tyranny of Materialism

Such was the state which the Messenger of God left behind when he left us. Then the Community began to go backward. Love of the world crept forward. The calf held sway over the hearts. The people hanged back from true guidance. Materialism captured their hearts. The people stood in need of those that would return them to their spiritual realities. Since the faith was preserved from corruption through the Divine guarantee that it would never be altered exclusively of other faiths, the rulings of the Law remained intact in the books. These rulings still have to be transformed into rules of living practiced by the hearts. The Umma needs, in this age in which merciless materialism rules, the appearance of massive spirituality connected to the Almighty God with an unbroken link to the heaven. Through it God will return the Community to its spirituality, and that event is linked to the descent of Jesus, upon him peace. At that time, the manifestation of spirituality will descend, in this age of utter materialism, and will link back the individuals of this Community to their Book, their Religion, and the guidance of our liege-lord Muh. ammad . He will walk the earth, not with the dispensations of previous times that were in use before him since they have been corrupted but he will orient the people and spread goodness, peace, faith, and Islm in the earth through rules and rulings taken from the noble Qurn and from the guidance of our liege-lord Muh. ammad because these were not corrupted. The rulings remain the rulings but our liege-lord Jesus will come in order to transform them into living rules that will reach to the hearts of all people. After the manifestation of absolute spirituality appears in this existence in the face of absolute materiality, the latter will crack and cave in before the former, because materiality comes second to the spirit. Materiality was created only as a servant to the spirit, were it not for the foolishness of the people and their covetousness that caused them to make of themselves servants of materialism! When the manifestation of the tyranny of materialism looks at the manifestation of the supremacy of the spirit it shall melt and be powerless to resist. At that time the Divine victory will appear in plain sight, at the hand of our liege-lord Jesus, upon him peace.

29

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Conversion of the Followers of Jesus

Jesus will kill the Dajjl and the earth will be filled, from east to West, with the lights of Islm and faith. There will not remain a single house in existence except the lights of belief and guidance will enter it. Those truthful and sincere followers of Jesus that love him and are connected to him will enter Islm at his hands at that time. It is among the great wonders that Jesus will descend at the site of the white minaret East of Damascus20 while at the very side of this minaret there is a Christian church, as if, upon his descent, he will be greeted both by the Muslims and the Christians. The Muslims will welcome him in their S. alt so that he will pray among them. Then he will receive his followers that lived their lives believing in him and loving him so that he will join them into his Godly troops. After this, they will march one and all to fight the oppression and the enmity of the Jews at that time. Then God will raise up His light-tower over this world.

Final Recommendations
We must remember that what we just heard is not merely a story for our souls to be moved a little or for our thoughts to perk up temporarily or become joyful or shed tears. The discourse about our liege-lord the Christ is a method to be followed. Those that possess this guidance and this discernment and taste for the spirit and for their connection to spirituality will be the ones at whose hands God will open the gates of deliverance for this Umma. We must know that even if the greatest manifestation of the deliverance we await will take place at the descent of our liege-lord the Christ, nevertheless, it is not part of our Religion that we should wait until our liege-lord the Christ descend and be content with the evil which we are experiencing. The story of the Christ was assigned, and news of it came from the mouth of our liege-lord Muh. ammad, only so that we would know that this is the path of right guidance. Namely, that the linkage of hearts must be to their Almighty and Glorious Lord and that materiliality belongs underhand and underfoot. Putting God first, before anything else, is the way of safety and success. It would have been possible for the Messenger of God never to tell us anything about this. He could have said, You will be victorious, end of the
20

See note 1.

30

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r matter. But why, O Messenger of God, did you teach us and remind us of all this, that salvation and victory will be at the hands of our liege-lord the Christ? So that we would live this right here and now and be prepared for this victory. Let each of you rise in the morning and reach the night as he is preparing the Umma of the Prophet for this final victory. Let each rise in the morning and reach the night with his heart bound to his Lord with hoops of steel, preferring God to everything else. When the world comes to him with its pomp, trying to delay him from his connection to his Lord, he prefers his Lord to everything else. He does not accept for the world to enroll him. He refuses to cheat or deceive in his buying and selling, in his trading, in his property. He is not a slave to the dinar and the dirham. The Messenger of God said: Perish the worshipper of gold and silver and silk, who agrees when given and, if he does not get anything, becomes angry. He has perished and failed! [Or: Perish, and failure to him!] If adversity come to him, may it not go away.21 That is, his state is a state of affliction. Consider the words of the Prophet, If adversity come to him [literally: If he gets pricked by a thorn], may it not go away [literally: he does not remove it]. That is: when a thorn pricks him, he can very well remove it with pincers, but no! It is not the case. What is the meaning of these words? Worldly people, when disease afflicts them, go to the physician and undergo an operation in the best hospital, end of story. The meaning is that the thorn, as trivial as it may be, spoils ones serenity. It embitters him and troubles his peace. A thorn! Ouch! What! But! He feels disturbed, afflicted. The Messenger of God says, in this context, that the one who is a worshipper of gold and silver, living for appearances a silk shirt when a problem happens to him, he sips its sequels and treats it as a disaster, so that even when the disaster is gone, its agony lingers in himself. But the one who is connected to God, God honors him. Even in the worst affliction, God causes to descend upon his heart the coolness of contentment so that he is at peace with God Most Glorious and Exalted and accepts His Decree that came to pass. Reflect and nourish your feelings with such high meanings. Ask for your connection and your portion of the meaning of your affiliation to the army of truth and the rallying-place (fust.t.) of belief22 so as to come out of the
21

Narrated as part of a longer h. adth from Ab Hurayra by al-Bukhr and Ibn Mjah and, first half only, al-Tirmidh (h. asan). 22 The Prophet said: The rallying-place (fust.t.) of the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection is in a land called al-Ght.a, in a city called Damascus. Narrated with sound chains from [1] Ab al-Dard by Ab Dwd, Ah. mad in the Musnad and Fad. il al-S. ah. ba, al-Bazzr, al-T. abarn, Ibn Askir, al-H. kim and others; [2]

31

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r predicament in which we are. Whoever neglects the purification of his heart and the correction of his character, his heart will be overcome by hypocrisy our refuge is God! little by little until he leans to the rallying-place of disbelief which is devoid of all faith. The battle of disbelief and belief is coming whether we like it or not. However, preparation for that battle is not merely with weapons or swords or strategy! Rather, preparation for that battle is by getting ready hearts whose fill is God hearts that do not become full except with the magnification of the Almighty. This is the real preparation for what is coming upon this Community.

Awf ibn Mlik by Ah. mad, al-Bazzr, al-T. abarn, and others; and [3] mursal from Makh. l by Ab Dwd. Cf. Muh. ammad ibn Abd al-Hd in Fad. il al-Shm.

32

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Closing Supplications
May God make us and you qualified for this preparation. May He bless us and you with it. May He awaken us to its full meanings. May He make sweet for us its wellsprings. May He cause us to stop at its contents and secrets. May He cause us to attain realization with it outwardly and inwardly. Allhumma! Thank and reward on our behalf our liege-lord Muh. ammad with the best reward. Thank and reward on our behalf all the Prophets and Messengers with the best reward. Allhumma! Refresh our eyes with a victory for the army of our liege-lord the Christ Jesus when he comes. Make us of those You choose so that they will be on the side of truth and belief. Allhumma! Purify and deliver our hearts from the darkness of hypocrisy. Purify and deliver our hearts from the darkness of hypocrisy. Purify and deliver our hearts from the darkness of hypocrisy so that no trace of hypocrisy remain in our inward selves nor its outward sign until, when You separate the people and set apart falsehood from truth and hypocrisy from belief, we beg You to place us in the ranks of the people of belief. We seek refuge in the light of Your countenance which has dispelled all darkness from being placed in the ranks of the people of hypocrisy and falsehood. Our God and Lord! You see all that lies hidden in our hearts. If You see in them anything that makes us deserving of a bad end, we ask You to purify us of evil and to cleanse us of faults and to make our records bright again and free from sins and to enlighten our hearts and dispel all darkness in them until You bring us out of the darkness and into light and give us life again after we were dead. Allhumma! Make us of those You raised unto life and about whom You said, Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? (6:122). Allhumma! Make us of the people of light by which we walk among the people. O Living One Who never dies! O Most Generous of the generous! Allhumma! Grant us love of You and love of those who love You and those whom You love and that which You love. Purify our hearts from attachments other than to You. Make us of those folk whom You love and who love You.

33

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r Allhumma! The strifes and trials have become too much for the people. Violence has overcome them. Evil and mischief have descended upon them. But You are Allh. What a fine reserve we have in You! What a fine refuge! There is no refuge nor rescue from You except in You. We ask You for a glance from You toward us. We ask You for tenderness on Your part for us. We ask You for Your mercy for us by which we may tread the paths of light and purity and by which we will stand firm when creation is shaken with tribulations. Allhumma! Protect us from the evil of tribulations those that have already appeared and those that are still waiting to appear. Make us of the people of wisdom. Raise us to the high stations with those whom You love. Take us to the ways of those You have granted success. Place us among their elect ones. Allhumma! Bring us to life in faith. Cause us to die doing our best. Resurrect us in the throng of the liege-lord of the worlds, Muh. ammad, upon him and his House and Companions Your blessings and peace! Allhumma! If You have decreed for us to live until the time our liege-lord the Christ, upon him peace, we ask You, O God, the character of those who are in his train, and excellence in serving and aiding him and his army. We ask You for perfection in standing firm in obedience to You and preferring the Everlasting to the mortal. And if we are not of those that will live to see that time, we call upon You to witness, and upon Your Throne-bearing angels, and all Your creation, that we believe You are Allh, the One God besides Whom there is no god, without partner, and that our liege-lord Muh. ammad is Your servant and Messenger, and that our liege-lord Jesus is Your servant and Messenger, Your word which You cast upon Mary, and that we love those that are beloved to You and we repudiate Your enemies. Therefore, preserve this pronoucement of ours. Correct our intentions in serving You. Make us of the righteous of this Community. Grant us mercy in Your generosity. Allhumma! Look kindly upon the Community of our liege-lord Muh. ammad with a glance from you. Indeed, we complain to You of what has befallen us unbearable harms, the oppression of our enemies, our hankering after the fleeting things of this world, putting them first rather than You. We complain to You of losing the manners of our liege-lord Muh. ammad in the houses of his Community and losing his Sunna in the houses of his Community. We ask You to return the Muslims to You in a beautiful return.

34

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r

Allhumma! Relent upon us and the Muslims a most complete relenting. Purify us with it heart, body, and soul. Allhumma! Forgive us our past sins and guard us in what remains. Allhumma! Whoever You cause to live among us, cause them to live according to Islm and Sunna. Whoever You cause to die among us, cause them to die upon belief and the witnessing of faith. Prepare for us an excellent abode, and more. Hasten for this Community the time of their reform and guidance in which the obedient will be honored, the disobedient changed through Your relenting, and those who were not overtaken by Your relenting will be brought low. Allhumma! Bless this place. Bless this school. Bless this institution. Bless his eminence the Mufti [of Lebanon], his deputy and workers, our Shaykhs that are present, and the people of learning in these regions. Help them in the duties and the trust with which You have entrusted them. Allhumma! Cause them to attain, through excellence in their service, what will prepare them to keep company with the most excellent Beloved, upon him and his House Your blessings and peace, and so all the Ulema of the Muslims. Bring the hearts together. Unify the ranks. Chase out love of the world from the minds. Make us firm upon what You love and what satisfies You. Thank and reward on our behalf his eminence the Mufti with the best reward. Bless him all his life, in his mission and service, and so all the Ulema of the Muslims. Bless us in this gathering and grant us Your acceptance in it. Allhumma! Truly we ask You for acceptance from Your side. If You accept us, there no little with such acceptance just as plenty is nothing with rejection. We ask You for Your acceptance of our good deeds which You have granted us success to carry out. We ask You to purify them of any dubious aspects and to raise us by them to the levels of Your good pleasure. We ask You forgiveness; protection; forbearance; pardon; and Your clement disregard of the wrong we have done, O Living One Who never dies, Whose subtle kindness never stops! Make us and all Muslims safe, safe....

35

The Son of Mary and Hi s Most Bl e sse d Mothe r We ask You a vast expanse of guidance in these regions and in all the regions East and West and that You be well-pleased in using us to serve You in that with Your Attributes of kindness, munificence, and lovingness, O Most Tender, O Most Giving. And let our last words in this words be L ILHA ILL ALLH MUH. AMMADUN RASLULLH in full realization of its realities in our minds and senses outwardly and inwardly, O Most Merciful. The Blessings of God upon our liege-lord Muh. ammad and his House and Companions. Our last word is, Praise to God the Lord of the worlds. Al-Ftih. a.

36