Prophet Jesus (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) delivered an extremely inspirational sermon on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee in Palestine. The authors of the Holy Bible have included this sermon in it. Quran has described this sermon as “Al-Hikmah” which means the Divine Wisdom. If we compare this sermon with the teachings of Quran, we do not find any difference. The reason is that the Source of both forms of this divine wisdom is one. The message of all Prophets of Allah was the same. Here we are quoting some passages of this sermon:

زندگی کی ناکامیاں، رشتوں کی تلخیاں، انسانوں کے رویے ہمیں مایوس کر دیتے ہیں۔ بسا اوقات یہ مایوسی انسان کے ذہن پر اس حد تک دباؤ پیدا کر دیتی ہے کہ انسان دنیا کی جدوجہد کے مقابلے میں اس دنیا سے فرار حاصل کرنا چاہتا ہے۔ اس حد تک پہنچنے سے پہلے اس تحریر کا مطالعہ کر لیجیے۔ ہوسکتا ہے کہ یہ تحریر آپ کے کام آ جائے۔ یہاں کلک کیجیے۔

· Blessed are the poor in spirit [soft-heartened people]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

· Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons [i.e. beloved] of God. Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [In the Gospels, the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” is used to describe the Paradise].

· Blessed are you when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.

· You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.

· You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shines unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Lord who is in heaven. [You should present the message of God to other human beings.]

· For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees [i.e. groups of religious scholars of Israelites], you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

· You have heard that it was said to them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [i.e. abusing him], shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, ‘you fool’, shall be in danger of the hell of fire.

· You have heard that it was said, “You should not commit adultery”: but I say unto you, that every one that looks at a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

· Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else you have no reward with your Lord who is in heaven. When therefore you doest alms, sound not a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.

· But when you doest alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand doeth: that your alms may be in secret: and your Father who sees in secret shall recompense you.

· And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your Lord who is in secret, and your Lord who sees in secret shall recompense you.

· And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles [i.e. Non-Israelites living in Israelite land] do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Lord knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.

You should always think of Me (your God), and at the same time you should continue your prescribed duty and struggle. With your mind and activities always fixed on Me and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without any doubt. Bhagavad Gita

· For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Lord will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will the Lord forgive your trespasses.

· Moreover when you fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; that you be not seen of men to fast, but of your Lord who is in secret: and your Lord, who sees in secret, shall recompense you.

· Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

· The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is the darkness!

· No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

· Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?

· Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured unto you. [Instead of judging others, one must analyze his / her personality to remove the weaknesses in it.]

· And why behold you the mote that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how wilt you say to your brother, Let me cast out the mote out of your eye; and lo, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye.

· Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you. [Do not give your good things to the people who do not know the value of these things. They will start misusing it.]

· Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. [During the period of Prophethood, it was a problem to identify false prophets. After the end of Prophethood at Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ واٰلہ وسلم), now it is very easy to recognize a false prophet. Any person, who claims to have a direct connection with God, whether he calls himself a prophet or not, is a liar because the Prophethood has been ended at Prophet Muhammad. We can recognize our insincere leaders from their fruits in the light of this verse.]

(Author: Muhammad Mubashir Nazir, Review: Muhammad Umar Khan)

If you have found this article useful, print it and give it to your wife and children to read. Send an email at mubashirnazir100@gmail.com for your questions and comments.

Think about it!

· Prepare a list of ethics taught by Prophet Jesus (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) in this sermon.

· What is the method taught by Prophet Jesus (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) to identify the false prophets and insincere religious leaders?

Please send your answers through email to post your comments on this web page.

Readers’ Questions & Comments

You often include quotations from the books of different religions and also from Non-Muslim thinkers. What is the reason behind it? Does Quran and Hadith not enough for us? Shahid Hameed, Islamabad, Pakistan

Many thanks for sending your question. I include such quotations based on a Quranic verse:

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَلا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئاً وَلا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَاباً مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ۔

Say: "O people of the Book! Let us get together on what is common between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah; that we shall not associate any partners with Him; that we shall not take from (persons) among ourselves any lords beside Allah." If they reject your invitation then tell them: "Bear witness that we are Muslims (who have surrendered to the Almighty God).” (Aal Imran 3:64)

From this verse, it is clear that we should invite people of other religions based on the common beliefs between Islam and their religion. I am presenting only the common things between Islam and their religions. The scholars of the Quran and the Hadith are invited to critically evaluate these quotations from the perspective of their compliance with the Quran and the Hadith.

The objective of presenting these quotations is to open the door of a positive dialogue with the people of other religions. When a positive dialogue will be conducted with the Non-Muslims, we will be able to tell them that Islam and their original religions provide the same message. It is corruption and manipulation of religious texts by some of their religious leaders that caused the difference. If they return to their original religion, they will not find any significant difference between Islam and their original religion because the source of both is the Almighty Allah.

Another benefit of identifying these quotations is that provided in a Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ واٰلہ وسلم):

حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن عبد الوهاب ثنا عبد الله بن نمير عن إبراهيم بن الفضل عن سعيد المقبري عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : الكلمة الحكمة ضالة المؤمن حيثما وجدها فهو أحق به.

The Prophet said, “The word of wisdom is a lost item of believer. Whereever (s)he finds it, (s)he has a priority over others to take it. (Reported by Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Miskhat, Jama’ Sagheer)

Some Hadith experts e.g. Nasir-ud-Din Albani have considered the chain of narrators of this hadith as “Dhaeef (Weak)” due to Ibrahim Bin Fadl. But its other chains are available to us from various other sources. Hadith experts e.g. Tirmidhi have declared the narrators of this Hadith as “Hassan (Nice & Acceptable)”. In Kanz-ul-Ammal, this hadith has been reported by different narrators from A’bdullah Bin A’bbas, Jabir and Anas (رضی اللہ عنہم). The author of “Taiseer Be-Sharh Jama’ Sagheer”, Imam Zain-ud-Din Abdul Rauf Manawi (d. 1063H) writes:

( الكلمة الحكمة ضالة المؤمن ) أي مطلوبه فلا يزال بطلبها كما يتطلب الرجل ضالته ( فحيث وجدها فهو أحق بها ) أي بالعمل بها واتباعها كما أن صاحب الضالة لا ينظر إلى خسة من وجدها عنده ( ت ه عن أبي هريرة وابن عساكر عن علي ) بإسناد حسن

“The word of wisdom is a lost item of believer” means that a person should seek wisdom as (s)he seeks any lost item. “Wherever (s)he finds it, (s)he has a priority over others to take it.” means that (s)he should practice it as the person who find his lost items takes it back without looking at the place where(s)he finds it. (This hadith is reported by Tirmidhi from Abu Huraira and by Ibn Asakar from Ali (رضی اللہ عنہما). Its narrators are good (hassan).

From this detail, it is evident that a Muslim should start a positive dialogue with the people of other religions and (s)he is also required to get the words of wisdom from everywhere without any bias. I hope it will help. Mubashir Nazir

Download Printable Version

Unit 1: Relation with God & His Prophets

Unit 2: Elimination of our Negative Personality

Unit 3: Development of our Positive Personality

Unit 4: Relationship with Human Beings

Backbiting | Suspicion | Defamation | Examining Others with Suspicion | Are you killing your family?

Unit 5: Our Responsibility, Vision & Mission

The Love of Prophet Muhammad with Knowledge | Traditional Mentality | Strange Similarities between Christian & Muslim Histories | The Relationship of Revelation & Intellect (Part I) | The Relationship of Revelation & Intellect (Part II) | The Problem of Aurengzeb Alamgir