Tawheed in the Light of Covid-19

Dr al-Dubayan on Covid-19 and Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) Dr. Mozammel Haque

Islam have been in this world from the very beginning of this universe which Allah Subhanahu wa Taala created and sent prophets with Revealed Books for the Guidance of Mankind. The Message throughout history and centuries is Tawheed, i.e. There is no god but Allah; HE is the ONLY One to be worshipped. This is known as Tawheed, which is the heart and soul of all revealed religions. It started from the beginning down to the last and final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

In order to understand Tawheed, we have to understand the different meanings of Tawheed. We must remember that Tawheed is the Message of all the Prophets (peace and blessings upon them all). Tawheed is the word of Liberation. It is the word of liberation of heart and soul. Prophet, the deliverer of the Message, liberates man from anybody and establishes connection with Allah Subhanahu wa Taala directly. Tawheed is the word of liberating anybody from any belonging. As part of the Tawheed you know nothing is happening without the Will of Allah; nothing is happening without HIS Control and HIS Domination on everything in our life and our destiny. Tawheed and this crisis: Coronavirus. There is wisdom behind this Covid-19. The other meaning which must be remembered during this time of crisis Allah is the ONLY One who can lift this crisis and Who can save us. We worship ONE God – Allah as ONE God. Only Allah can solve our problem. Allah accepts only pure, clear thing just for HIM with that intention. Another meaning of Tawheed is: there is no mediator between Allah and you. obody. Allah also said life has all the difficulties and sufferings.

Lecture on Covid-19 and Tawheed by Dr. Ahmad al-Dubayan Via Zoom London Central Mosque Trusts & The Islamic Cultural Centre, London organised a Lecture on Tawheed in the Light of Covid-19 via Zoom Session on Saturday, 25 July, 2020. Speaking on Covid-19 and Tawheed , Dr. Ahmad al-Dubayan, Director General of the London Central Mosque Trust & the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, said, “The message of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala, the Prophet, the deliverer of the Message liberates from all other connections or any other source as god as Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala and only with Allah directly. It liberates you from anybody which is standing between you and Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala and the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Wa Sallam is the deliverer of the message. He delivers the message to establish our connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. This meaning we should always have in everything in our life, in our ritual and in our Ibadah and in our Iman.” Tawheed is the word of Liberation “For example, when we go to pray we remember that we pray for Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. This comes from the Tawheed. Because we believe Allah is One and He is the Only One to be worshipped and He deserves that. And we remember this meaning when we pray; Tawheed is there. When Ramadan comes then we fast; we fast only for Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. That means Tawheed is there. When we give Zakat, when we go to Makkah for Hajj, Insha Allah all of us who are listening, when you go there, you go there just for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala,” mentioned Dr al-Dubayan. Oneness of Allah is the Dominant meaning in the whole of Islam The ICC Chief also said, “Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) itself believing in Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala is the dominant meaning in the whole of Islam. Without it, Islam lost the basis of the belief and it’s the thing that Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala accepts from everybody on the Day of Judgement. When somebody does not have the Tawheed then everything he is doing actually useless. Tawheed is not there. That’s why this meaning is very important. Tawheed is the word of liberation – of your heart and soul. When you have a problem you go to Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala; you only rely in your life on Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. As a part of Tawheed you know that nothing is going to happen or nothing is happening without the Will of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. Nothing is happening without His Control and His Domination on everything in your life and your destiny again.” There is wisdom behind this Covid-19 Dr. al-Dubayan mentioned, “Of course, what is happening now, that is Covid-19 or coronavirus.

This thing, of course, as Muslims, we believe with the Will of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. What Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala wants from this, remember them in the light of Tawheed. May be Allah want us to wake up about something that we are doing in our life; they are wrong; we are practising. May be Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala want to have flashback to His Path. May be Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala want to punish some people, may be Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala want to re-write some people’s life again from the beginning. I know many of us lost some friends or some members of their families - May Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala have mercy on them.” Tawheed and this crisis – Allah is the Only One Who can lift this crisis – who can save us Dr. al-Dubayan also maintained, “There is wisdom behind this. This is how we see this relation between Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala in the light of Tawheed. The real Mumin – the one who believes and understands Islam in the right way - he/she will do his/her best to protect himself/herself and the society and at the same time he/she will never lose hope of Allah; he/she will believe Allah is doing the best. Allah is sending us in a way that he/she HE wants us to go there for a reason; may be the reason is clear; may be the reason arises later on but the trust that we have on Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala will never – whatever happens – we will never lose; that is one of the meaning of Tawheed and this crisis – that is Allah is the Only One who can lift this crisis, who can save us. And we go back to HIM, we try to increase and make our relation with HIM better through practising, through good deeds, through worship and try to do our best and may be this is one of the reasons that good people will try to be better and bad people will try to be good and this is one of the reasons we see Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala how much He has power works in the world and how much He is powerful Himself that He shows us and that we see around us through this crisis, through this pandemic, through this disease everywhere in the world.” We Worship One God – Allah as ONE GOD Dr. Al-Dubayan also said, “At the same time this is also one of the meanings of Tawheed.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala wants us not to be seen individually – separate from each other – we try to help each other, again for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala because we believe we worship ONE God – Allah as ONE God. Then all the world is one society, we try to help everybody, as a Message of Tawheed you are spreading to everybody; you try to help everybody – Muslims or non-Muslims – we try to convey the message peacefully to the people; we try to show the kindness of Islam; the kindness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala wants to represent to do. You do it every day many times through these difficult days then people like and people will realize how much you are connected with them; how much you are trying to help and Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala sees that in your intentions. Secondly, He sees in your actions, in your deeds and that will help to be more clear and even to be more accepted and even to be more forgiven by Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala.” Tawheed is the Message of All the Prophets Speaking about the continuity of the Message of Tawheed throughout the centuries and throughout all the Prophets, Dr al-Dubayan mentioned, “Tawheed (ONENESS of Allah) is also the message of all the prophets – all Prophets Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala sent them to mankind to deliver this message. Tawheed is also the basic. All of them came with one word – There is no god except Allah and HE is the Only One Who deserves to be worshipped – God – Allah –worship HIM Alone. All the Prophets – Noah, Abraham, Issac, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad – peace be upon all of them. They came to deliver the same message but in every time we will find messenger who is coming for people and may be we will find sometimes some differences among or between some religions or among religions, in rituals, even some instructions, some teachings – but the Tawheed is the same, never been changed; because it is the basic.” “You will find this Tawheed in the message of Noah; you will find this in the message of Abraham; you will find this with all of them. All the prophets and messengers down from the beginning, down till you reach the last one who is Prophet Muhammad peace be upon all of them. They delivered the same message but sometimes with some teachings, relative may be food, what to eat, marriage, how to worship but the basic, the Tawheed, actually remains the same, permanent, unchangeable,” explained Dr. al-Dubayan. Tawheed is the word of liberating anyone person from any belonging Explaining another meaning of Tawheed, Dr. al-Dubayan said, “One of the meanings of Tawheed - and this is really very important – Tawheed is the word of liberating any person from any belonging except Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala in the world, in his life, and looking at his life till the end of Akhirah; that means practically how we can implement this in our life; that means when we face a problem we go first to Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala; no problem, if other people can help me, if anybody if my friends some people, my family can help me; that’s why with this help that I got from other people I still have in my heart it is with Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala.” Only Allah Can solve our problem “When I have a problem, that is Only Allah can solve it for me; nobody can do anything; then any other practice or ritual or like some people; some people sometimes they go to certain areas in the world; they think if you go there, you will be closer, you will be accepted. No.

Go directly to Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala and as we know Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala does not consider how much money we have; how many people we have; from which country or race - we came. No. Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala looks at our hearts; Allah sees the hearts, Rasullullah Sallullahu Alaiye Wa Sallam said in the Hadith Allah sees the hearts, the actions; that’s why, based on this one if you do anything with the intention, not purely for Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala; because of the Tawheed, it will not be accepted,” mentioned the ICC chief. Allah Accepts Only Pure thing Just for HIM with intention Dr. al-Dubayan mentioned, “Sadaqa or giving to any people; or if you are doing something like show or propaganda for himself or advertisement for his company, not for Allah, it will not be accepted. Allah accepts only the pure thing, that is clear thing, just for Him with the intention and when you do this, you will see His blessings; you will see how His investment you are doing in your life with Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. How that will be reflected in your work - you will see His grace and blessings. Sometimes you will see blessings in your health; sometimes you will see His blessings in money; sometimes you will see His blessings in your children; sometimes you will see His blessings in your wealth. There are some blessings in your life, you don’t know; don’t pay attention. Nobody. Nobody can say to you, you will never be forgiven because the forgiveness is in His hands.

Nobody can say to you, well, this will not be accepted.” Nobody No mediator between you and Allah Speaking about mediator between you and Allah and nobody can say you will not be forgiven, Dr al-Dubayan said, “If people do something in social media, in the TV, No. If they did this for themselves, Alhamdo lillah another blessing. Allah wants to be seen. My intention from the beginning is for the sake of Allah and not for anybody. This is the message of Tawheed. This is the message of Liberation of your mind from mediator between you and Allah and nobody can play the role of mediator; nobody can hold his hand the key of forgiveness from Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. Nobody. Nobody can say to you that you will never be forgiven, because forgiven is in His hands. Nobody can say to you, well, this will not be accepted, this person will go to paradise and the other person will go to Hell. Nobody. Nobody can decide. This is only in the hands of Allah. This is only in the Hands of Allah. All you need to do in your life is to do your best to follow the teachings and at the same time to have real intentions, pure intentions in your heart and doing this for the sake of Allah and not for anybody else, not for any award from anybody and not to be thanked by other people.” “Those people who have this real meaning of Tawheed in their hearts you will see that during the difficult days like these days and those people who have this meaning very weak in their hearts they will collapse. That’s why we read, for example, some biographies of some old scholars and the compatriots of the prophet peace be upon him or/and with the Prophet Sallallahu wa Sallam peace be upon him himself; we see in their biographies how much they were tested in their life; how many difficulties they faced in their life, a lot. And they passed through these occasions, they were so patient, they never lose their iman, they never be weak actually; why? How come this thing happened? because the meaning of Tawheed is very dear, bright as a sun in their hearts; they don’t lose it. And when this meaning is very weak in their hearts you can understand all the difficulties in your life,” explained Dr. al-Dubayan. Life has all the difficulties and sufferings The ICC Director General said, “Life has all the difficulties and if you have everything, and everything is available for you, you still have some difficulties in life. Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala said we have created mankind in caved, caved means sufferings; there is a kind of sufferings in life. Very few are healthy, may be, you have a problem of your health; you are wealthy, may be whatever; There will be problems in your life in a way or another; sufferings is always there.” “That means you have to have the meanings of Tawheed always alive and very clear in your hearts. Those who have it you will find them firm and really stable during the difficult days.

Those who have this very weak in their hearts they will collapse. We heard now, for example, some people committed suicide during these days of corona; why these people did this? Because they are actually at home; doing nothing, many of them lost their jobs, may be I know it is difficult for everybody. But our hope must always be there. May Allah forgive everybody and help everybody during this crisis time,” mentioned Dr. al-Dubayan. Dr. al-Dubayan also mentioned, “This meaning of this will prevent us from such a thing to ourselves because there must be a benefit; there must be a meaning from Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala. We just wait and if you wait and if you are patient, Allah will reward you for your patience. Patience would be rewarded for that. At the same time one day Sun will rise, of course, to this world again without this problem we are having today and we still have a great meaning of the Tawheed; strong meaning of Tawheed – firm and stable and so deep in our hearts controlling everything in our life. This is the meaning of Tawheed and also it is established or it established a direct connection with Allah. You do not need anybody in the middle. This is very important, “May be, you ask somebody who is a good person to make dua for you; but dua does not mean this person is between you and Allah. Nobody is between you and Allah. Even the Prophet peace be upon him who delivered the message passed away, we read the Sunnah, we read the Qur’an but when we come to pray and when we make dua; we go directly to Allah, we do not go to the Prophet Sallallahu Wa Sallama with all the respect and the privilege and darood and salam going to Makkah,” said ICC Chief. Our Direction Goes to Allah, Not to anything else Speaking about Makkah and the Ka’abah itself, Dr al-Dubayan said, “Makkah is the House. Makkah itself – That Ka’abah itself; may be some non-Muslims with the hearing Muslim saying that Ka’abah is the House of Allah – they think that the Muslim believes Allah is there physically. This is not the meaning of Tawheed. If anybody who is not Muslim, who is with us now and who is following this lecture must correct this. We believe this House is honoured by Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala but the Ka’abah itself throughout the history was rebuilt and our directions go to Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala, not to anybody else. HE is the Creator; HE is the One Who has control of our Destiny; HE is the One Who has Plan us; HE is the One Who can forgive our sins; HE is the One Who controls this life and Hereafter. And this is the meaning of Tawheed, which has taken from the first pillar of Islam.”

The Month of Muharram: Its Importance and Significance Dr. Mozammel Haque

The Islamic Calendar is based on the Lunar Calendar consisting of 354-355 days annually and is 10-11 days shorter than the Solar Calendar. The Lunar month is based on the time it takes the moon to complete a single orbit around the earth and it is just over 29 and half days. There are many advantages to the Lunar Calendar. For example, the various dates in the Islamic Calendar such as Ramadan and Hajj rotate every year and are not fixed like the Solar year. People, therefore, will perform acts of worship in various climatic conditions and in different length of hours in submission to the Will of Allah where human imagination plays no part. Origin of the Hijri Calendar The Islamic Calendar was first introduced by the close companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the second Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) in 16 AH/637 AD. During his leadership of the Muslim community in approximately, 637 AD, he consulted with his advisors in order to come to a decision regarding the various dating systems used at that time. It was agreed that the appropriate reference point for the Islamic Calendar was the Hijrah, since it was an important turning point for the Muslim community. The event of Hijrah, the migration of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) from Makkah to Madinah in 622 AD was chosen to begin the Islamic Calendar because it was the first major sacrifice made by the whole Muslim Ummah for the preservation of Islam in its formative period. After the emigration to Madinah (formerly known as Yathrib), the Muslims were able to organise and establish the first real Muslim community, the real Islamic state with social, political, and economic independence. Muharram the First Month of the Islamic Calendar Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar. There are twelve months in the Islamic Calendar. As the Qur'an says: Lo! The number of the months with Allāh is twelve months by Allāh’s Ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred: that is the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them...(Al-Qur'an - 9:36) "It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory, and the moon to be a light of beauty, and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count of time. Allah did not create this except in truth and righteousness. And He explains His signs in detail, for those who understand" (10:5). In his final sermon before his death, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, among other things, "With Allah the months are twelve; four of them are holy; three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumaada and Sha'ban." The four sacred months (al-Asshhur al-Hurum) are Rajab, Dhul Qa‘dah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram. Out of the four sacred months, Muharram has been blessed with certain specific virtues. The companions were also consulted on which month should mark the beginning of the year, Caliph Umar al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affaan (May Allah be pleased with them), chose Al-Muharram due to it being a sacred month and because it follows the month of Dhul Hijjah, which is when the Muslims perform Hajj – or the pilgrimage, which was the last pillar of Islam that Allah enjoined upon the Muslims. Al-Muharram also follows the month in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pledged allegiance to the Ansar (his Madinain supporters) to emigrate to Madinah and this pledge of Allegiance was one of the introductory acts of emigration. Due to all these reasons, Al-Muharram was deemed the most suitable month to begin the Islamic Calendar. Muharram the first month of the Islamic Calendar, were considered sacred. Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word “haram” meaning forbidden. The month of Muharram is also of great religious significance to Muslims the world over. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan. The word “Muharram” is often considered synonymous with “Ashura”, the tenth day of the month of Muharram. Fasting in the month of Muharram Fasting is advocated in the month of Muharram. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best fasts after the fasts of Ramadan are those of the month of Muharram.” Although the fasts of the month of Muharram are not obligatory, yet one who fasts in these days out of his own will is entitled to a great reward by Allah the Almighty. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of fasts besides the month of Ramadhan is the fasting of Allah's month of Muharram." (Muslim) In another Hadeeth, Ibn Abbas reports: "that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) said: "The one that keeps a fast in the month of Muharram will receive the reward of thirty fasts for each fast (in this sacred month)." (Tabraani) Although the fasts of the month of Muharram are not obligatory, the one who fasts in these days out of his own will and choice is entitled to a great reward by Almighty Allah. The Hadith citied above signifies that the fasts of the month of Muharram are the most rewardable among the Nafl fasts i.e. the fasts one observes out of his own choice without being obligatory on him. 10th day of Muharram (Aashora) Although the month of Muharram is a sacred month as a whole, the 10th of Muharram is the most sacred among all its days. The day is named “Ashurah”. It is one of the most important and blessed days of Allah in the Islamic Calendar. Some ulama (Scholars) are of the opinion that before the fasts of Ramadan, the fast of the day of Ashura was compulsory upon the Ummah. This is stated in a Hadith reported by A'ishah that the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the observance of the fast of Ashura. However, when the fast of Ramadan became compulsory, then whosoever wished, kept this fast and whosoever desired did not observe the fast. (Bukhari) Ibn Abbas reported, “I did not see Rasulullah sallallahu 'alayhi wassallam anxiously await the fast of any day, which he gave preference to over other days, but this day, the day of Ashura.” (Bukhari) It is also said by scholars that since the beginning of this world, Ashura day has been a very important day. On this day great signs of Allah’s power and glory have appeared in the world. On this day many Prophets were born and they were instituted to the office of prophecy. On this day, Prophets, Saints and Sincere servants of Allah were blessed with miracles and spiritual powers.

On Ashura Day the following have taken place: 1. Repentance of Prophet Adam (Allah’s blessing be upon him) was accepted by Allah 2. The ship of Prophet Nuh (Noah) (Allah’s blessing be upon him) came to rest on a mountain called Al-Judi. 3. Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) was born on this day. 4. He got the title Khalil-ullah (friend of Allah) on this day. 5. The fire in which Prophet Ibrahim (Allah’s blessings be upon him) was thrown by the king Namrud become cool and means of safety for Prophet Ibrahim, by the order of Allah. 6. Allah delivered Prophet Ayub (Job) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) from distress and he was restored to prosperity. 7. By the Grace of Allah, Prophet Yunas (Jonah) (Allah’s blessings be upon him), after being swallowed by a huge fish (whale) for forty days, was casted out on the shore. 8. Prophet Mussa (Moses) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) got victory over Pharaoh. 9. Prophet Suleman (Solomon) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) was made a king to rule over mankind, Jins, Animals and the air. 10. Prophet Idris (Enoch) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) and Prophet Issa (Jesus) (Allah’s blessings be upon him) were lifted up alive. 11. Imam Hussain (Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of our beloved Prophet, got martyred at Karbala in Iraq. 12. The day of resurrection and judgement will take place on this day (Ashura) (Ghunia-Al-Talibeen & Tafseer-e-Sawi)

The practice of fasting on Ashura was known even in the days of Jajiliyyah, before the Prophet's mission. It was reported that A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: “The people of Jahiliyyah used to fast on that day.” It is also reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast on Ashura in Makkah, before he migrated to Madinah. Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'The best of fasting after Ramadan is fasting Allah's month of Muharram.'” (Reported by Muslim, 1982) Fasting on the day of Ashura (10th Muharram) According to the Holy companion, Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), when the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam) migrated to Madinah, he found that the Jews of Madinah used to fast on the 10th day of Muharram. They said that it was the day on which the Holy Prophet Musa Alayhis Salaam and his followers crossed the Red Sea miraculously, and the Pharaoh was drowned in its water. On hearing this from the Jews, the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam said, “We are more closely related to Musa than you.” So the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam directed the Muslims to fast on the day of Ashura. (Abu Dawood) According to another Hadith, it is more advisable that the fast of Ashura should be either preceded or succeeded by an additional fast. It means that one should fast two days: the 9th and 10th of Muharram or the 10th and 11th . The reason of this additional fast as mentioned by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam was that the Jews used to fast on the day of Ashura alone, and the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam wanted to distinguish the Islamic-way of fasting from that of the Jews. Therefore, he advised Muslims to add another fast to the day of Ashura. Let us observe this great day according to the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and refrain from all innovations which deprive us of the blessings from Allāh the Almighty. May Allāh guide us all upon the Straight Path and save us from every act which brings His Displeasure. Āmeen. Published First in November 2013 The Muslim Weekly, London & EuroBangla, London And The Muslim World, Pakistan, in January 2014