Muhammad Vanker – 2016-11-08 – Importance Of Islamic Upbringing
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Respected on its scholars, all our members,
beloved brothers, mothers and sisters, and those who
are listening
over the receivers
and the airwaves of Radio Islam International.
We begin by praising Allah
our creator, our sustainer, our cherisher.
We send countless blessings, salutations
upon our leader and master Nabi Muhammad
his honorable companions and his household.
Friends and elders, at the very outset, I
would like to place on record my appreciation
to our respected
principal,
Kari Musa Sadat,
who has requested me,
you know, to speak at this momentous occasion.
And of course, the Galaxy of Scholars and
Olama
that are seated behind me.
The topic that I've selected for discussion today,
it is a vital, it is a integral,
it is a important topic.
And I was reflecting on what to speak
about and Allah put these thoughts into my
heart.
And that is peaceful
coexistence.
They say on one occasion, one particular imam,
he enters the masjid
and after ascending the pulpit,
looking at the congregants, he said, brothers, today
I have 2 messages for you.
I have good news
and I have bad news.
The good news I have for you is
we now have sufficient
funds
to complete the Masjid project.
That is the good news.
Now comes the bad news.
The bad news is the money is still
in your pockets.
In that same breath, I say to you,
my brothers and sisters,
as
Muslims,
we have good news and we have bad
news.
The good news is
we have that formula
and we have the recipe
to rescue the broader world
from the turbulence and the turmoil it is
experiencing,
but the bad news is
the formula is in my pocket.
The formula is on my bookshelf.
The formula is on the tongues of orators
and speakers.
I swear by the almighty Allah,
if only you and I
can stand up
to the test of time
and revive and uplift
those impeccable
qualities of the prophet
and manifest
those outstanding
qualities of the nabi of Allah,
that I will show you in the light
of Quran and hadith,
what a positive
impact
this will have on the broader people across
the globe.
On such a momentous occasion,
I always say this, to find a obedient
child
who is upright in society,
it is the priceless gift of nature.
To find a obedient child
who is upright in society,
I swear by the almighty Allah,
it is the priceless gift of nature.
You know, I have traveled to some countries
of the world.
Well, alhamdulillah, we find in this country, during
the blessed month of Ramadan,
you know, in some towns where Tarawi performed
in 10 places,
20 different venues,
You travel to some countries of the world,
they don't even have one half year
to lead the entire jama' in tarawih salah.
This is a boon and a bounty from
the side of Allah.
You know when Abdul Rahmari ibn A'ouf radiAllahu
ta'ala Anhu had passed away,
Auf ibn Malik al Asjai
had seen him in a vision and a
dream.
Bearing in mind, this is a dream of
a Sahabi.
What does he see in this dream?
He says, in my dream I was seeing
I was walking in a certain place
and had seen a beautiful environment around me.
Beautiful scenery around me.
And there was a flock of goats and
sheep that was grazing in the nearby vicinity.
And in the dead center of this garden,
I had seen a,
a dome like structure.
He says, I was intrigued
and I began walking in this garden.
I asked those angels that were with me,
that
that tell me to who does this garden
belong,
Whose animals are grazing in this garden?
And who does that palace belong to?
He said, in my dream, I raise my
voice, I raise my sight.
And on one of the balconies, I had
seen
Abdulrahman bin Auf Abdrahman bin Auf looked at
me and he said,
Quran.
What you see in front of you,
this is what Allah has blessed me,
a lieu of my service that I've rendered
to Quran ekareem.
This is what Allah has favored me,
a lieu of my service I have rendered
to Quran ekareem.
Friends and elders,
institutions
like these,
may Allah take it from strength to strength.
These are floats
that insulate
our children,
that protect the iman of our children.
You know, in the book of Tisawuf Lajatul
Asrar,
there is a narration that is recorded
on the strength of Salman al Almawi.
He says, 1 night I went to sleep,
and in my vision
I had seen Sayyadina Ali bin Abi Talib
He says, I was reading Quran in my
dream, and I had seen Sayyadina Ali bin
Abi Talib.
Ali
told me,
it is because of people like you who
recite Quran in the early parts of the
morning
that protect that town and that city from
earthquakes and tremors
that potentially
could destroy that locality.
These young boys who have memorized the Quran,
Allah Allah knows.
Allahu Akbar.
You know the famous quotation of Ali bin
Abi Talib, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. What he used
to say
regarding a youngster who has memorized the Quran,
he said a young man who has memorized
the Quran, he quoted the hadith of Nabi
alaihis salaam. We heard one of our young
boys reciting that hadith,
Read and ascend the stages of Jannah. There
is one narration,
Nabi alaihis salam said, In nafiljannah
nahara.
In Jannah, there is one river.
Ismuhurrayaan.
The name of the river is Rayyan,
alayhim adeenatumimarjan.
Allah has built one palace on the river,
laha sabaona Abuwa alfa Abu Abab.
Leading to this palace
will be 70,000
doors, lihamililil
Quran,
for the one who has memorized the Quran
ekareem,
for the one who has memorized the Quran
ekareem.
I always say this, one of the greatest
challenges
in this day and age
is the raising of children. You know when
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam had died,
Anas radhiallahu ta'ala anhu had said that we
had barely dusted our hands from the grave
of Nabi alaihis salaam
and already we found that the conditions around
us had changed.
In other words,
the burial of Nabi alaihis salaam
which marked the termination of the golden era,
was felt so instantly,
so immediately
that we had barely dusted our hands from
the grave of Nabi alaihis salaam, and already
we found that the conditions around us had
changed. What about you and I who find
ourselves
14 centuries down the line, like one Sahabi
addressing his companions?
In Bukhari, it is recorded
that
He says, today I find many sins
prevalent and common amongst you which you have
trivialized,
which you have regarded to be insignificant.
He says, I remember very well if that
very sin had to be committed
in the era of Muhammad
that sin would have been regarded as one
of the most destructive crimes.
You know when we look within Quran Kareem,
Allah Talha records the duas of various prophets,
and Allah Talha records the dua of Ibrahim
alaihi salaam.
What dua did Ibrahim alaihis salam make? What
did he say?
That, O Allah, save me, save my son,
save my progeny from worshiping idols.
He was sent to destroy idol worship, yet
Ibrahim alaihis salah makes dua to the almighty
Allah. That, Omay Allah, save my generation from
worshiping idols.
Why the environment he was exposed to was
an environment of idol worship. We know how
vulnerable our youth are becoming today.
A boy of tender age
is vulnerable to such crimes,
such sins which were unheard of in the
past. Like one person said it so beautifully
in the Arabic language,
he says there is no pleasure in life
with the exception of 3.
There are 3 things in life
that add flavor to human life.
1 is being in the presence of children.
I always say this, 1 is the fatigue
of the day, the tiredness of the day.
As you walk home, you're fatigued, you're tired,
you're exhausted.
As you walk home, one is your beautiful
wife who has adorned herself for you, and
one is that sumptuous meal that she has
prepared for you. But in the middle of
all this, I always say it is that
innocent child with that innocent smile.
It is that innocent child with that innocent
smile. I swear by the almighty Allah,
I don't think you can attach any price
to the smile of that child.
The
smile of that young innocent child, it is
so unique that as those who do not
have children,
they are going to the extremes and the
extents
of adopting children to get that smile.
So really appreciate this bounty that Allah has
given us, this bounty of children. The prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam. You know when we look
at his life, Allahu Akbar.
Just to digress for a few minutes. The
rabi of Allah is sitting on the pulpit
and delivering the Friday khutbah,
wajeeb
khutbah.
The 2 grandsons of Nabi'alai salam,
Hassan and
Hussain
Just try and appreciate the veracity of this
incident.
They come crawling to Masjidun Nabawi. Nabi alaihis
salam, if he wanted, he could have told
Sahaba to bring his 2 grandchildren.
He stops the.
He
stops the.
He descends from the pulpit.
He picks up his 2 grandchildren
and he carries them on his shoulders.
Abu Huraira
looking at this, looking at these 2 grandchildren.
And he said that
how fortunate,
how fortunate
are these 2 grandchildren
who are riding upon the back of the
greatest of Allah's creation.
Nabi'alai Salam said,
O my Sahaba,
O my Sahaba,
Allah alone knows the status of Hassan and
Hussain.
When we look
at the love that Bibi alaihis salam
had for his children Brothers, why I speak
about this?
Today we praise everybody else's child.
I always say this,
that many of us
outside the house, we are ever smiling.
Inside the house, we're never smiling.
Another man's wife impresses me. My own wife
depresses me.
I mean, that's the reality of the situation
today. Like they say on a light note,
when you will you find the husband,
you know, closing the car door for his
wife. They say either the car is new
or either the wife is new.
Either the car is new or either the
wife is new. So we need to appreciate
what Allah has given us. There are many
of us that are sitting here and there
are many that are listening. Allah has blessed
us with children.
How much do we appreciate our children? I
mean how many children I personally have spoken
to? Walla Allah, whatever I do is never
enough.
Whatever I do is never enough.
The first lap, first madrassa is the lap
of the mother.
The first madrassa,
these are indeed
these institutions,
these are the well wishers
who join a hands with you in fulfilling
your responsibility
as a parent.
If your child dies without understanding Quran,
if your child dies without understanding Allah,
without recognizing
Allah, Allah will hold no responsible.
These are indeed the well wishers
who join a hands with you in fulfilling
your responsibility
as a parent.
Has recorded an incident in Tamirul Ghafireen.
One day, one father comes to an alim,
and his father complains to the alim
that my son is very abusive towards me.
He's very arrogant towards me.
So this alim admonished this young boy.
And
this young boy looks at the alim,
and he says that I acknowledge
that my father has certain rights over me.
My question to you is,
do I have any rights over my father?
I acknowledge my father has certain rights over
me.
My question to you is, do I have
any rights over my father?
The salim tells this young boy, you have
three rights.
When you were when you your father got
married,
it was the duty of your father
to select a noble spouse who will give
birth to his children.
Number 2,
when you were born to give you a
good Islamic name.
And number 3, when you matured and attained
puberty,
it was the responsibility
of your father to teach you the knowledge
of Quran.
This young boy, he stands up and he
said, I want to negate all 3.
When my father got married,
he got married to a slave girl who
has no lineage. What did Nabi alaihi salam
say?
Get married in a pious family?
Because not only that woman,
but the traits of that family will be
transmitted into your generation.
He says, number 1, my father when he
got married,
he got married to a slave girl who
has no lineage.
When I was born,
he had given me such a name.
Up to this day, I don't understand what
it means.
And number 3, when I matured and attained
puberty,
my father did not teach me the knowledge
of Quran.
This alim then tells the father,
you have beguiled
your son
before he has beguiled you.
You have been disloyal to your son
before he has been disloyal to you.
So friends and elders,
these children that Allah has given us, for
every one of us that has gathered here
and those of us that are listening,
this should inspire us. In fact, under the
commentary of this verse of Quran.
Where Allah speaks about virtuous deeds,
this is what will ultimately
rescue a person on the day of qiyamah.
According to one narration,
on the strength of Sayyidina Aisha
on the day of qiyamah,
Allah will order that one father be brought
towards jahannam.
As this father is brought towards jahannam,
his young children will come running before Allah,
and they will say, oh, Allah,
it is our father
who instilled morals and values in us.
Perhaps he faulted in his relation with you
for which you are justified
in throwing him into the fire of Jahannam,
but they will intercede before Allah. The ulama
have written, there will be those who will
enter jannah at the hands of the master
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. There will be those
who will enter jannah at the hands of
ulama.
There will be those who will enter jannah
at the hands of their own children.
Allah will tell those young children,
go and hold the hands of your father
and all of you enjoy jannahat wherever you
desire.
Allah alone knows, today we are sitting here,
my friends and elders, perhaps 2, 300 of
us, on that day Allah will call this
young boy.
Allah will call this young boy. So like
I'd mentioned
that it is the responsibility
of each and every one of us
to disseminate this knowledge of deen. Many of
us feel
that, you know what? I send my child
to the madrasa.
It is the responsibility
of the ra'pa, the maulana
to teach my son Quran. What did Nabi
alaihis salam say?
Four qualities form the good fortune of a
man.
Four qualities
form the good fortune of every man.
Number 1,
Number 1 is you have a pious wife.
If you look at it from a material
perspective,
then the good fortune of a man will
be that you have a beautiful wife. What
did Nabiyali salam say? You have a pious
wife.
Number 2,
You have obedient children.
Who are obedient children? In the words of
Abdullah ibn Abbas
under the commentary of this verse
of
Quran
Kareem,
Oh, Allah bless us with such wives and
such children who become the coolness of the
eyes of the parents.
He writes under the commentary of this verse.
Who are those children
when you walk into your home? You find
your son you find your son making the
tilawat of uraan,
your daughter sitting on that musalla,
your wife making the tisbee of Allah. May
Allah make that a reality in our homes.
So he says number 2,
you have a obedient
you have a pious wife. You have obedient
children.
You have good friends, good companions.
And number 4,
your sustenance and your livelihood
is in close proximity
to where you live
so you don't have to travel far and
wide.
So that person that enjoys these four privileges,
a pious wife, obedient children,
good friends, and your sustenance is in close
proximity
to where you live,
consider yourself to be the king of the
worlds.
Consider yourself to be the king of the
worlds.
One other aspect that I want to speak
about,
like I said in the beginning, one is
to show love to our children,
to show love to our children.
That's number 1. Number 2, Nabi'aris Salam said,
keep the rod hanging
and warn your children regarding the disobedience
of Allah.
Psychologists today will tell you
what you instill in the child
up to the age of 7
that will remain in the child for the
rest of his life. You know the example
of that I always give, it's like someone
who's driving on a road at high speed.
You know, many a times you speak to
the children, I don't see you in the
masjid.
No. My father said you're still small. When
you grow up, then you will start reading
salah.
You know, many a times we find children,
mothers bringing the children to the madrasah and
and the mother says, you know what? Make
sure you put a scarf on before Mawlana
sees you.
What we have adopted this attitude
that do what I tell you, don't do
what I do.
Do what I tell you, don't do what
I do. It doesn't work that way. Mabi
alayhi salaam said,
If someone had to tell you that a
mountain has moved from its place,
tell the man, I believe you. But if
he tells you that so and so youngster
has abandoned
an evil practice,
tell the man, I don't believe you.
Tell the man, I don't believe you. Nabi
alaihis salam said the moving of a mountain
is easier.
What you will instill in this child
at that young age
that will remain with that child for the
rest of his or her life. So what
did Abi alaihis salam say? Keep the road
hanging
and warn your children regarding the disobedience of
Allah. You know the example of that I
always give. It's like a person who's driving
on road at high speed
and the camera flashes.
Natural instinct
is for you to jam the brake.
But if you jam the brake, no matter
how much you jam the brake, inevitably,
the ticket will come.
Similarly, what you instill in your children,
that will catch up with you in the
latter part of your life.
What do the ulema write?
Allah will make your children obedient to you.
I mean the love of the huffas, the
love of the olamah.
Hassan Basri used to say,
Had it Had it not been because of
the scholars and the ulama,
the general masses would have become like animals.
What did Nabi
say? Close to the end of time,
due to the lack of competent scholars and
ulama,
people will be compelled
to appoint ignorant people as the leaders.
The ignorant people will take up
leadership positions
and they will lead the masses astray.
You know, Zulfiqar
Naqshbandi some years ago, I recall he was
in Durban, and Hazrat Wallanah was saying that
I was sitting in one of the parks
in America,
and,
you know, with his murideen, and one person
was jogging in the park, you know, short
pants, no top on. So he comes and
introduces himself.
So Mawlana asked him that, you know, what's
your occupation?
So he says that I'm writing a tafsir
of Quran.
I recall some years ago I was in
America, you know, one of the universities had
invited me
and,
in one of huge university.
So the person who's the head of Islamic
studies,
who's the head of Islamic studies is a
Jewish rabbi.
He speaks fluent classical Arabic.
And this is something, brothers, that unfortunately,
we have not studied the language of Quran.
We have barred ourselves from volumes of Islamic
knowledge.
We have barred ourselves from volumes of Islamic
knowledge.
Appreciate
the olamah.
Appreciate
the olamah.
Like I'd mentioned,
institutions
like these
are forts that insulate our children,
that protect the iman of our children.
Umar
He writes a letter
to the Quran of Quran,
to those who had memorized the Quran.
And what does he write in this letter?
He said,
Quran.
Oh, those who have imbibed the word of
Allah.
Recite the Quran.
Recite the Quran.
And then he said,
close to Qayama,
a nation will make their presence on this
earth.
Quran.
They will recite the Quran,
and they will have absolutely
no knowledge
with regards to the message of Quran.
Umar
said, close to the end of time, don't
we find it today? Brothers, I know in
Durban,
I'm not too sure whether it happens here,
there are certain people, they call themselves Ahlul
Quran.
They say that we sufficed on the Quran.
We don't need the ahadith of the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Umar radiAllahu ta'ala annu said,
a time will come people will read the
Quran
and they will make their own interpretations
and they will lead the masses astray.
They will lead the masses astray.
So we need to appreciate the olamah.
I don't want to indulge you much further,
respected elders.
I had much to mention,
but my message to you is
is that let us this should be an
inspiration, number 1. I see there are many
elderly people here. You know, I recall some
years ago, I was traveling and there was
a brother that was sitting next to me
on the plane
and I was going to perform taraweeh.
So we got speaking and, you know, many
at times, you know, we find people say,
Moladhi is this person in my business. He's
not a Muslim.
He's asking me something about Islam. I don't
know what to tell him. We don't know
where to start, where to end. When it
comes to sports and politics, we can continue
speaking
but we cannot speak about Allah. So I
started speaking to this man about Quran.
So I said, this is where I'm off
to. So he says, what you mean? Do
you know the Quran by memory? I said,
of course. I said, not only me. There
are thousands,
thousands of youngsters globally.
When one of the aimah of the harem,
when he visited South Africa some years ago,
he says that
He mentioned this. He said there are more
hafas of Quran
in the non Arab world than the Arab
world itself.
In the non Arab world than the Arab
world itself.
So this brother explained to him about the
beauty of Quran.
He was blown away. Nonetheless, I gave him
my email address and we kept in touch
and I I sent a copy of Quran,
the copy of the Quran, the translation, and
I linked him with a scholar in America.
And alhamdulillah,
within 6 months he accepted
Islam. Become the ambassadors of Quran, my brothers.
Some years ago, I was in America. I
see there are many elderly people that are
sitting here and here again, what did Nabi
alaihis salam teach us? Nabi alaihis salam taught
us that one is when you do wrong,
it's between you and that person.
Nabi alaihis salam, hadi sequdsi, Allah Tallah says,
when a person has white hair on his
head and you don't show respect to that
person and a person who has the Quran
al Kareem in his heart and you don't
revere that young man,
Allah says, I have declared war with you.
It's not between you and him, it's me
and you.
So this elderly person, I was there for
the month of Ramadan
and he had this desire, you know, to
memorize the Quran.
It's never too old. You know, person will
say, I'm 60 years old. I always say
age is just a number my brother. It's
never too old.
The Quran ekareem is unique. SubhanAllah.
Like we heard today, youngsters
who could not recite the Quran,
who cannot speak the Arabic language,
in 13 months, 15 months have memorized
6,236
verses of quradikareem.
So this brother, after fajar salah, I used
to recite 1 verse
and he used to learn the verse. The
next day he used to read it to
me. After Ramadan, I told him that, you
know what? You know, continue. Continue on your
own.
3 years down the line, one day he
calls me. Out of the blue, he said,
Mawlana, do you remember me? I said, your
5 your voice is very familiar. He said,
I just phoned to give you the glad
tidings that today I will be making khatam
of Quran.
So it's never too old. Those of us
that are sitting
and we are not reading Quran,
make a start, my brother.
Make a start.
Read 1 verse of Quran but on a
daily basis. Let us all say, Insha'Allah,
on a daily basis, we will read Quran.
Those of us that are reading Quran,
let us make a concerted effort to memorize
the Quran al kareem. Allah grant us and
the ability. There's so much more we could
have made mention.
Like I said, I'll be failing in my
duty if I don't place on record my
appreciation to Hazrat Ali Musa
Sadat for inviting me to this jalsa.
Really, I'm truly humbled
to sit in front of you, great scholars
and all amah.
Many of them have been an inspiration to
me personally, alhamdulillah.
Allah take this institution from strength to strength.
Allah reward those, all those, the trustees,
the musallis,
and all those who have contributed, you know,
to this institution.
And may you contribute to contribute insha'allah.
Allah make us amongst those servants, those who
are after listening. Whatever little was mentioned, we
bring it physically into practice.
These are the ones whom Allah has guided.
And let me leave you with the words
of Ali binabi Talib
What he used to say? He said recite
Quran.
Recite Quran. Honor the Quran.
Keep the Quran in front. Don't subject the
Quran to to follow you.
Honor the Quran.
The Quran will stand up on your behalf
on Qiyamat's day. According to one narration,
when a person passes away, let me leave
you with this. You'll be lying in your
grave.
An angel will come to you, and he
will say,
do you recognize me? You'll say, I don't
know you. The angel will say,
I am the Quran that you recited in
the world.
I have taken the form of an angel.
Listen what I have to offer you today.
I will stand by your side. I will
illuminate your grave. When the angels come and
question you, I will answer on your behalf
and I will not leave you until I've
not seen you entered into the gardens of
Jannah.
Inspire us with the reality.
Accept the effort of these young lads who
have memorized Quran.
Allah, protect the Quran within the bosoms,
accept the effort of the asatiza of the
institution
and
reward their parents who have sacrificed.
You know, generally, when we attend jalsas,
it's a momentous occasion, you know, for parents.
Family members get together. For many of these
boys, their parents are sitting in some other
part of the world. What a moment it
must be. Today, they are not present but
on Qiyamid's day when the entire creation from
Adam alaihis salaam till the last baby that
will be born will be alive. Jinkind and
mankind,
collectively, they will stand up before Allah and
Allah will honor these youngsters.
Grant us the and the ability that we
imbibe the advices of Quran and sunnah.