A Letter to a Dear One — Page 82
82 Letter to a Dear One Islam has established a system whereby people of each neighborhood assemble in their neighborhood mosque five times a day to worship Allah. Each Friday, they gather in a large area for the Friday Prayers. Before the Prayer, the imam gives a sermon, in which he draws the attention of the worshippers to matters relating to Islamic teaching, whether that aspect is spiritual, moral or social. There are the two ‘ Ī ds during a year when all Muslims gather at a large place and observe the ‘ Ī d Prayers together and benefit from the sermon. During Hajj Muslims from all corners of the world gather in Mecca and perform the rites of Hajj and thus strengthen the bond of Muslim unity. While performing the ceremony of Hajj , the one thought that fills each pilgrim’s heart with ardor and moves him to tears is that it is the land where the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) spent the bulk of his blessed life. Each place brings to mind some event of the blessed life of the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam). It refreshes the memory of the supreme sacrifices made by the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) for the sake of Islam—how Islam was first introduced to the world and all the difficulties and problems it faced. How Allah the Almighty fulfilled all His promises and despite the powerful enemy and the very few Muslims and severe lack of apparent apparatus, Allah granted the Muslims victory. All these thoughts go through one’s mind and rejuvenate a Muslim’s faith; it also brings about a sense of pain and longing at the current state of the Muslims and makes one pray for the renaissance and victory of Islam. Morals Now I shall come to that part of Islamic teaching that deals with the human morals. I shall try and instill some of its points in you. In pre- Islamic days little attention was given to this aspect, therefore this is a most important part of the teachings of Islam. Other religions do not have directives pertaining to this aspect. Indeed everyone agrees that all religions have taught man to have good morals. In substance each religion has taught its followers to speak the truth, not to usurp others’ rights, not to kill, etc. However, no other religion has elucidated upon the philosophy of morality and has appointed ranks of morality and has taught ways and means to educate and train in morals and virtues. Only Islam has the distinction of drawing attention to these factors and has