Tuesday, 18th Rabīʿ al-Ākhar
He (Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA) was an unparalleled scholar, who along with knowledge was adorned with piety and sagacity. He endeavoured to spread the light of faith and enjoined and called towards the greater jihad. He was a sage, whenever he spoke others were rendered speechless, an erudite intellect, whenever he wrote, he enhanced and surpassed all others. He enchanted and mesmerised with his eloquence and excellence and surpassed all laureates in his fluency. He was the solemn dāʿī, the unique standard, our sovereign and Maula, our support, our shelter and refuge Abu al-Qaidjohar Mohammed Burhanuddin. May Allah prolong the life of his eternal eloquence and everlasting fluency till the day of qiyāmah.
He was the one who took piety as his shield and armour and remained unconstricted despite the hardships he encountered from the adversaries of faith. With the water of his knowledge, he cultivated the plantations of the sacred Dawat. He embellished the faith of Mohammed Mustafa by raising its standards and adorned his shariat by strengthening its ordinances and reinforcing them.
He was a full moon which sufficed you, my companion, from seeking any validation and proof for its existence. Exalt him, praise him endlessly and incessantly. Has he not bequeathed you generously and open-handedly? Persist in his gratitude in the mornings and adhere to it in the evenings. And know that whatever gratitude you offer is nothing in comparison to the bounties he has bestowed upon you.
He was pious and a magnificent and glorious monarch of praiseworthy deeds whose words were but courteous and kind. He was a renowned standard of faith, a scripture inscribed by Haqq, a house that was inhabited by the remembrance of Allah and a forceful ocean of the knowledge of Allah’s beloved. A Maula whose praise was spread far and wide and whose adversary is but perished and destroyed; for indeed they are amongst the wretched. A Maula who was a sword wielded by the hands of the hidden Fatimi Imam. He was a virtuous, noble person, whose merits are recounted in the Quran. For Mumineen his walāya (love) is an invaluable and cherished treasure both in this world and the hereafter. Surely his departure is a tragedy that has caused faith to tremble and the foundations of conviction to quiver. For it is the absence of the one who was a resplendent sun in the firmament of the Fatimi Tayyibi Dawat. Verily he warmed hearts with radiance and comfort. Its rays flowed through bodies becoming the soul that gave them the sensation of life. His passing has deprived hearts of their comfort and souls of their senses. This dire catastrophe has struck all worlds like a pitch dark and gloomy night. Why should our affliction not be great? For the one who departed was the source of all life and the origin of salvation. Aah! Aah! Oh what grief! And Oh what agony! Undoubtedly this calamity is overwhelming; its distress unbearable. Is there a misfortune more tragic than the one that has befallen us upon his absence? Is there a torment more distressing than the one that has come upon us due to his departure? In the wake of his passing, we have met with nothing but intense pain and severe grief.
He was truly munificent with his possessions, continuously bestowing riches and fulfilling needs and desires. It was due to him that righteousness and guidance were distinguished from sin and transgression and existence was discerned from nothingness. May Allah exalt his sanctity in His sanctuary. Surely there is no Deity but He, the ever-living. He (Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin RA) guided the faithful: men, women and their children towards all that which brought about good fortune in both worlds and counseled them towards forbearance and patience in both ease and hardships and to express gratitude in both states. Legions of noble angels sacrificed themselves upon his noble smile. The everlasting blessings of his smile transformed everything to a state of felicity and happiness. His gracefulness and spirituality was such that it revealed the standards of Islam and peace and his foresight and prudence was such that it reinforced the harmony and orderliness of Allah’s faith. Whenever he spoke, words were grateful to him and whenever he recited salaam he showered the benedictions of dār al-salām (heaven) upon the faithful. Whenever he indicated with his hands, he ushered the obedient from darkness unto light. Which of his words should we remember? Or for which of his salaams should we be grateful? Which of his gestures should we recall? We are unable to ever forget them, for we continue to reap their divine benefits.
He was pure honey in which there is cure and healing for all people. By him our hearts were cleansed ‘from the evil of the lurking whisperer.’ It is he who quenched the thirst of believers through the remembrance of the parched throat of Imam Husain, the sovereign of martyrs. With this remembrance he healed them physically and spiritually for all time. Oh how eloquent were his words when he remembered the Maula who resembled Taha Nabī, the one of exalted stature:
‘Ah! How I grieve upon Ali Akbar,
who proclaimed emphatically,
I am, by Allah, Ali,
son of Husain, the son of Ali.
I will continue to weep upon you, my Maula Husain!
My tafādī (sacrifice) for you is eternal, my Maula Husain!
My Maula! My Maula Husain!’
‘Oh how heartwrenching was his call ‘thirst, thirst!’
When he yearned for his Maula,
he rejoiced when quenched by the tongue,
and (Imam Husain) revealed the secret of the ring.
I will continue to weep upon you, my Maula Husain!
My tafādī (sacrifice) for you is eternal, my Maula Husain!
My Maula! My Maula Husain!
May Allah increase his sacredness and may He shower upon us his intercessory blessings and benedictions.