Annual Address of Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi 27th Jan 1991

Assalam o Alykum!

We have gathered here to commemorate annual death anniversary of His Divine Grace Qalandar Baba Auliya and to advance his mission. I am becoming forgetful nowadays. Someone told me it's Sunday today. Qalandar Baba Auliya passed away on 27th January. That was also Sunday. It's a great day. In twelve years, we have reached the same point from where this caravan had started its journey.

Friends of Allah come to this world and leave behind their lights. Fascinating is the grace of Friends of Allah. When the words are uttered by them, their voice does not dissolve in the air but stays and keeps on lingering and showering lights upon those who love the Friends of Allah. A Friend of Allah might get away from us but his voice, in the form of his words, continues to enlighten our thinking approach.

It's been over fourteen hundred years since the holy Prophet (PBUH) came to this world. Apparently, he is not with us physically but his entire life, his teachings, his thinking approach, his manners and his postures and gait, his awakening and sleeping are preserved in our memory, the way they were there in his lifetime. Despite the lapse of fourteen hundred years, no one can say there is any dearth of love for him in the hearts of Muslims. There seems no distance of fourteen centuries. When any of his followers searches his soul, finds him closer to his heart. Lights of the Beloved of Allah are filling the hearts. And, that is the light which has been displaying itself since fourteen centuries.

Even today we are witnessing something similar. Away from the town, in this wilderness and jungle where there are no roads, no transport and people are coming here from far and wide because their hearts are filled with the light of the Beloved of Allah, which compels us to be there wherever he is being mentioned. When he is mentioned, the lights of prophet-hood in our hearts brighten and the more this brightness increases, the closer we get to Allah.

This world is the realm of resources. No work can be done without means. Allah has evolved such a system. We cannot even be born without means. So how can our work be done without means. When we cannot be born without means then, how can we live our life without means? The way parents become a source of one's birth and one grow under their patronage and becomes young and then is a parent himself. This world cannot sustain without resources and means. Since Allah has made this law, it has become a compulsion. And, therefore, we cannot do anything without means. Thus, we cannot also have access to Allah without means. Allah has put prophets as the means between Him and His creatures.

We are told that from Adam to the holy Prophet (PBUH), one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets have been sent and, after the holy Prophet (PBUH), the chain of prophets has come to an end. In other words, it can be said, to reach Allah we are required to cross one hundred and twenty-four thousand steps. And, unless one doesn't cross all these one hundred and twenty-four steps, one cannot reach Allah. We are fortunate that we need not to cover all these steps as our holy prophet (PBUH) is the last step, so we need not cross these hundred and twenty-four thousand steps.

Being a human being, holy Prophet (PBUH) physically does not exist here in this world. If he physically existed here forever, people would have objected, he is not an ordinary human being so how can we follow him. Being a human being, one must grow young and old and then, pass away. If he had not passed away, he would not have been considered a human being. He would be considered a supernatural person and, obviously, to follow a supernatural person for a common man would have not been possible. So according to Allah's devised system, holy Prophet (PBUH) passed away. And, when he left the world, who would point out towards the last step? So, Allah established the chain of His Friends, All the Friends of Allah are the heirs of the legacy of the holy Prophet (PBUH). One hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets, who kept on predicting the coming of the holy Prophet (PBUH) and kept on announcing his coming into this world. Likewise, the same duty was assigned to the Friends of Allah to be a means of access to the holy Prophet (PBUH). All the friends of Allah said the same one thing that if you are desirous of success here and in the hereafter, love the Beloved of Allah. When you love the Beloved of Allah, Allah will love you.

(Arabic text)(Surah Baqara: 165)

All those who love the Beloved of Allah, Allah loves them. It can be seen from the example of a mother and her child. When anyone loves the child, the mother feels more than pleased. Similarly, when someone loves the Beloved of Allah, Allah, too, loves him.

Once an elder came to me and told me a delightful thing. He said, if you have a dear and close friend. And someone has a row with you and scolds you but you prefer to ignore him to avoid a fight with him. But, if the same person accuses your beloved and darling friend or buddy, you will certainly get offended and hold him by the neck. And, he said, likewise, you may say something to Allah he will ignore it but, if someone is disrespectful about His Beloved, He will not tolerate it and get hold of him. It is against Allah's grace to hear desecration of His Beloved (PBUH).

Present situation of Muslims in the world and, especially in those areas that are sacred for us, non-Muslim forces are crushing them only because they have become devoid of love of Allah's Beloved, which was there in the hearts of his companions and caliphs. Muslims had been progressing as long as they had love for him and, when the love for him decreased in their hearts, accordingly, they started losing their status and have degraded. How very disgraceful it is that the non-Muslim forces are stationed in the sacred places of Muslims. We are paying them and getting our people killed at their hands. This, in fact, is the punishment of desecration.

All the Friends of Allah and all the scholars of ummah are blessed with Inspired Knowledge. And they all preach and teach us to love the Beloved of Allah and, when you love him, his traits will become activated in you.

Traits of the Beloved of Allah (PBUH) are that when he entered Makkah, after its conquest, he announced general immunity and pardon for all. He announced that those who will stay in their homes will be pardoned and even those who will stay under any shelter will also be excused. History is evident that after such a big victory not even a single person was killed and not even a single drop of blood was dropped therein. Beloved of Allah and the Mercy for the worlds (PBUH) didn't approve any bloodshed in the sacred land of Makkah.

When we shall love the Beloved of Allah (PBUH), his traits will transfer to us and, when his traits transfer in us, we will also love the creatures of Allah like him. The message of all our great elders is to love the creatures of Allah. No one is small or big, black, or white. Only the Allah fearing is superior to others. If one is not divinely connected to Allah (muttaqi) then it makes no difference to Allah.

All men are the children of Adam. A man who has four sons, one of them is poor, one is black, one is white, but they will still be the sons of the same one father. Likewise, there are five billion children of Adam. All men are his sons, and all women are his daughters. But only those have the distinction who have adopted Adam's prophetic lights. And, amongst the children of Adam, only those enjoy the distinction who have accepted and adopted Adam's lights.

You might have read about Abel and Cain; the two sons of Adam. Cain had killed Abel after going against the teachings of his father and following the ways of Satan. Cain indeed is the son of Adam but a disobedient one. To be an obedient child of our parents we must adopt the mind of our parents and follow in their footsteps. These are the teachings of all the prophets of Allah and their fellow companions and, of the Last Prophet (PBUH) and of Auliya Allah; the friends of holy Prophet (PBUH).

There are so many people in today's session that we must resolve this that we shall uphold the bound of love and fraternity amongst us which has caused us to come here from far and wide today. We shall love one another and sacrifice for one another and, if we will befriend each other, we shall do it for the sake of Allah and, if will be against anyone that animosity will be for Allah and, will not let our individual interest get in. If we could decide that in today's session, it will not only please the soul of Qalandar Baba Auliya but, it will also please our holy Prophet (PBUH) and, to top it all, we shall also be delighted. Your participation in such a large number in today's session is very pleasing and, indeed it is the blessing of Allah. The plantation that was started twenty years ago has taken the form of a garden today. You all are the part of this garden. May Allah bless us with more strength to follow in the footsteps of Auliya Allah and, by acting upon the teachings of Qalandar Baba Auliya, we establish a family like system based upon fraternity, love, and sacrifice. We want that all the children of Qalandar Baba Auliya; all the workers of Silsila Azeemiya should prove that there are people in the world who meet someone for the sake of Allah, and they love for the sake of Allah and, if they differ, they differ for the sake of Allah. They do not allow their personal interests to be involved in. May Allah bless us all.

It's quite late now and you might be feeling hungry as well. After all the needs of the tummy are also required to be met.

Good night.