By Maulana Imran Hosein
delivered at Maulana Ansaridhikr group gathering,
Abd-al-Aleem House, Cape Town, South Africa.

We begin with Allah\u2019s Blessed name; we praise Him and we glorify Him as He aught to be glorified and we pray for peace and blessings on all His noble messengers and in particular the last of them all, the blessed Prophet Muhammad. Nabi Muhammad warned; he warned of an age that is to come, which would be a terrible age, more terrible than any age that mankind would ever had experienced since Adam came on earth. Very few would survive that age. A terrible, evil, mastermind will attempt to take control of the world. And that terrible, evil, mastermind of whom Allah had hinted when He said:

That terrible, evil mastermind will attempt to impose his evil, oppressive dictatorship over the whole world and mislead mankind\u2019 and deceive mankind. That evil mastermind will have a PhD in deception. That in that age things will not be what they appear to be. That appearance and reality would be completely opposite to each other. That he would take the road to heaven and make it look like the road to hell; and he would take the road tojahannam and make it look like the road to heaven. Those who see with only external knowledge; that\u2019s all; the PhD from the University of Cape Town will be unable to penetrate his deception. Will form judgment on the basis of external knowledge; of external observation and would be deceived; would believe that they are on the road to heaven; when in fact they are on the road to hell and they don\u2019t know it. The purpose of the spiritual quest\u2019 the ultimate purpose, in this world, of thehalaqatul

this life of the spiritual quest is therefore spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge comes when external knowledge and internal knowledge are harmoniously integrated with each other. Allah speaks in the Holy Qur\u2019aan about a people who have no internal knowledge; who do not pursue the spiritual quest or who pursue the spiritual quest but are not conscious of what is the goal of the spiritual quest.

Who believe perhaps that the spiritual quest is ultimately for the purpose of being able to performkaramah; actions which look like what the Prophets performed as miracles; and who do not understand that the spiritual quest is ultimately, for the purpose of acquiring internal knowledge. And He says of such people who are spiritually blind. He says [in the Holy Qur\u2019aan in the 7thSura,al-Araaf [The Heights], Verse 179:]

[They are like cattle]
These people, who would be the multitudes in that last age, they have a status
equivalent to cattle. Even with a PhD from the University of Cape Town! Yes!
They have a status equivalent to cattle.

Rather they are more misguided than cattle. And so, this is the ultimate purpose and ultimate goal, in this life of this gathering that we have here tonight, this beautiful gathering. And; my purpose tonight is simply to remind; to redirect towards that ultimate goal \u2013 internal knowledge. Nabi Muhammad said and my teacher of blessed memory Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari was so fond of quoting this hadith. What did the Prophet say? He said:

Tonight, in this brief and blessed moment that Allah has given to this humble servant to be with you let us briefly examine the subject of thenur of Allah and how it enters into the heart. First of all it is not going to enter into the heart if we haveharaam in the pocket. If we have money in a fixed deposit and we are taking the interest. If we are ripping of our clients. If we are employing someone to work

in the kitchen and we are paying her slave wages. The purification of the heart comes first. The purification of the heart would come when our conduct is righteous; and sotazkiyyah comes beforeal-Ihsaan. Having said that; some companions of the Holy Prophet were on a journey and it was evening time; and they were tired; and they were hungry. They came upon a tribe who were not Muslims. They worshipped the idols; but still Arab hospitality is famous and they were expecting some hospitality but they got none because the tribe didn\u2019t like the new religion, Islam. All right! So they settled down and spent the night. During that night a snake bit the chief of that tribe and they had no means of curing it. He would die by morning time. So they humbled themselves and they came to the companions of the Prophet and said: \u2018Do you have anything to help us, this is our chief and he is going to die\u2019. So we said, \u2018Well! Since you treated us so badly; if we are to help you out you are going to have to pay for it\u2019. They said: \u2018How much!\u2019 So we said, \u2018A hundred sheep\u2019. They said; \u2018Deal\u2019. One of the companions went and he recited Suratul Fatiha; and he blew on the chief and the chief was cured. So they collected the 100 sheep and they came back to Madinah. They went to the Prophet and they said: \u2018O Messenger of Allah ! This is what happened; can we keep the sheep\u2019. He said: \u2018Yes! Keep the sheep because people are paying for services, much less than what you have done\u2019. He also said that in

So Suratul Fatiha is not only Fatihatul Kitaab- it is not only that which opens the book, it opens much more than the book. In fact it opens the door tonur from Allah . How does it open the door tonur from Allah ? Well if Suratul Fatiha has a cure for every illness; there is that which logically follows from it. That is; He Allah is theShafi. From Him comesshifa- only He can cure. Not the hospitals, not the doctor, only He Allah can cure. So it follows that ifSuratul Fatiha reaches Allah ; then Suratul Fatiha can open the door for thedua to be accepted. Then any and every illness can be cured. These are not my words; these are the words of he whom was sent to teach the Qur\u2019aan, . Well then how canSuratul