Monday, 3rd Rabīʿ al-Ākhar 1435H
His (Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA) countenance was like the sun and his beauty and majesty were like the full moon. In his strength and sharpness, he was a sword and an entire era and epoch in his resolve and determination. He was the earth in his expanse and abundance and like the sky in his loftiness and stature. When it came to knowledge, he was singularly distinguished and as for preeminence, he was an unassailable mount of virtue. He was an exemplar for the Duʿat and a paragon for the Hudaat. He was the seal of all virtues and a ruby ring in the hands of the rightly-guiding Dawat Fatemiyah. He never ceased clarifying doubts, elucidating obscurities, guiding against deviance and giving voice to the voiceless. This Dawat has been transformed into a flowering and verdant meadow by his tireless efforts, and these various disciplines of knowledge have been substantiated and validated by virtue of his restorative, healing elaboration.
The one who left us was truly without equal. With his loss, the radiance of the luminous moon is now veiled from our eyes. He is our Dai, our guide, our benefactor and our originator. He is munificent, and we too are among his many bounties and blessings, and all that we possess — by the grace of Allah — is by virtue of his blessings and benedictions. He is the prominent and radiant Dai, the one whose glories are evident and whose proofs are overwhelming. He is the victorious sultan, the glorious crown, the one of luminous stature and of lucent countenance – our leader and beloved Maula, al-Dai al-Ajal al-Fatimi Syedna Abu al-Qaidjohar Mohammed Burhanuddin. May Allah prolong the life of his merciful intercession’s far-reaching shadow upon us until the day of Qiyamat.
Aah after Aah upon him! A torrent of tears stream down from eyes when remembering his seclusion. Like wax, the heart melts away in burning agony when recalling the memory of one who will forever be remembered. His preeminence and munificence are forever held in gratitude. How can we forget the one who when praying, did so with eloquence, and when providing guidance did so with the utmost clarity. He who forgave and then absolved, who acquired and then bestowed and who protected and then counselled. When he spoke, he spoke the truth and when he redressed issues his analysis and deconstruction were thorough. When he set out he left everyone in his wake, when he offered refuge he comforted and when he built a fire many sought its flame. How great was he! Indeed he slaked the parched, reached the summit and instructed and guided. Like the sun, his light shone in every Mumin’s home as well as his heart.
Time has truly afflicted us with his loss: the one who was the essence of creation, the ocean of munificence, the place of prostration, the beloved of the Creator and the deputy and vicegerent of the ever-present Imam. There is no purity like his purity, no loyalty like his loyalty, no generosity like his generosity, no charity like his charity, no assuagement like his assuagement and no benevolence like his benevolence. How magnificent was he: a Dai who Allah brought into perfect existence from his very own light. He made him a majestic ʿAql (Intellect), distinct without equal and eternal without evanescence. He was an ocean of knowledge and its banner and towering minaret as well. He was the pivot of good manners and grace as well as their abode and their source of origin. He was the sword of resolve the edge of which never dulls. As for forbearance, he was its lush, blossoming meadow. He was the bright star of determination whose brilliance was dazzling. He was the beauty of nobility: the elegant bracelet adorning its hands.
How many masjids did he make! And how many madrasas imparting the knowledge of Aale Mohammed did he bestow with honour and prestige! He formed a great many neighbourhoods for Mumineen, and countless Mumineen’s homes he fortified with the protection of Allah and his beloved Wali. He illuminated numerous mausoleums of the noble Duat and the lofty Hudaat, established a great deal of philanthropic institutions for the betterment of Mumineen and laid out scores of paths towards acts of charity and good deeds.
Do you know of anyone who resembles him in his guidance? Are you aware of anyone who comes close to him in his generosity? Do you see anyone like him in his piety? Have you seen anyone who has even remotely reached his loftiness? Who can ever compete with him in his efforts and endeavours? Who can equal him in his devotion and prayer? Who can emulate him in his guardianship? Who can match him in his understanding and comprehension? Who will ever articulate like he did? Who will show tenderness and kindness like he did? Who will lend beauty [to others] like he did? Will there ever be anyone like him? Alas! Woe unto those souls who he had long nurtured and raised. Such remorse for those hearts which he had enlivened, disciplined and cultured. O the burning agony of those innards which had long been accustomed to his satiating, heavenly drink. O what sorrow for those bodies which he had protected and shielded from worldly difficulties and distress.
He was so enamoured by the zikr of Imam Husain, the Martyred and the Oppressed, that there was no passing hour in which he did not remember and express incessant gratitude to him. The tears he shed on Imam Husain AS were pearls of intercession. This deed [of shedding tears] was in accordance with and a testament to Rasul Allah’s SAW hadīth “He who sheds tears upon my son Husain, or causes another to shed tears, or if unable to cry, reveals his grief through his facial expressions is assured of Jannat (heaven)”. How can we forget the heart-rending manner in which he beseeched the Fatimi Imams and entreated their gaze upon him, as he implored:
We weep upon your father, Imam Husain, who was martyred at Karbala. Therefore, O my masters, do bestow our sorrowful tears with your gaze.
May Allah increase his sacredness and may he shower upon us his intercessory blessings and benedictions.