Friday Sermon – Khalifatul Masih V – Mirza Masroor Ahmad – Year 2015
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God and I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is His Servant and Messenger After this I seek refuge with Allah, from Satan, the accursed. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
The Gracious, the Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. Guide us in the right path; The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray.
God the Almighty has given us His commands in the Holy Qur’an. It is the duty of the community of Momins (believers) to remind themselves and invoke the Divine commandments. And those who are responsible for reminding others of the Commands of God should constantly do so.
Here where I said ‘those who are responsible’ it includes all who are either missionaries or office bearers. With the Grace of Allah the Almighty, the Jama’at administration consists of a central and also auxiliary structure. For both the central and auxiliary systems, each country appoints office bearers
All the way from a national to the local neighborhood level. All office bearers at every level are expected to act as helping hands of the Khilafah and strive to fulfil the responsibilities that are the over-arching and wide-scale mission of Khilafat. If all office bearers and missionaries properly understand this issue,
It can bring about a revolutionary transformation in the Jama’at. Those who have been enabled by God the Almighty to serve the Jama’at, either as Life Devotees, or voluntarily, should realise that when reminding others to follow the commands of God, they need to realise that they must assess their own state first.
To what extent are they becoming role models for others and fulfilling their duties in acting upon the Divine injunctions, so that they can then effectively counsel others to do so also? If they only remind others to follow God’s commands
But do not act upon them in their own lives nor practice what they preach, then they should be extremely worried and need to engage in Istighfaar (seeking forgiveness from God the Almighty). Istighfaar is something one should always engage in,
However in this context a person needs to exceptionally engage in it. I should clarify here that an office bearer must never think that it is not their duty to counsel others. They should not misapprehend that this is only the task
Of the Ameer of the Jama’at, of the Sadr , of missionaries, or of one or two secretaries or only of the Sadr Ansarullah, Sadr Lajna or Sadr Khuddam and their Tarbiyyat deaprtments. No, this is not the case! In fact, whoever it may be, whether it is the Secretary Ziafat
Or the Khidmat-e-Khalq secretary of an auxiliary organization or sports they are all required to become role models in whatever capacity they are serving in. If this happens – and this is something I have said several times before – then potentially over 50% of the Jama’at will follow God’s commands,
Through the Grace of God, whether relating to coming to the mosques for worship or relating to other sacrifices and fulfilling the rights of mankind. Thus, all those serving the Jama’at at every level [of the Jama’at system] should assess their own condition first;
That to what degree are they adhering to the commands of God? They should remind themselves of Divine commands, strive for personal improvement and then counsel others. And similarly it is the duty of all Ahmadis who claim to have taken Bai’at of the Promised Messiah (as
To undergo a pious improvement in their state; they must study the Divine Commands, constantly remind themselves of them and reflect on them repeatedly and frequently. If everyone does this – we can succeed in bringing about a magnificent revolution. We will not only undergo personal transformation
But rather we will also be able to demonstrate to the world the true standards of morality. We need to give special attention towards this. And we need to urgently search out the commands of God the Almighty and then act on them.
In my last Sermon I mentioned certain qualities that are characteristics of a true believer. Today I will continue to discourse on this. The month of Ramadan is an enormous opportunity for a person to reform themselves. While this is a month to hone our attention towards worship,
It is also a month to identify our weaknesses with greater focus and reform them. Thus we should use this month to pinpoint our shortcomings, constantly recite the commands of God the Almighty and try our level best to reform ourselves. If we do not strive to our utmost towards this
And only look forward to Sehri and Iftaar , then we will experience no practical impact [in our lives] and thus will fail to elevate our spiritual and moral standards. We would become like those about whom it is commonly joked about [in relation to Ramadan]:
When asked if he is observing the fast, he makes an excuse. When asked if he offers Nawaafil (voluntary prayer) and Taraweeh , he also gives excuses. Asked to offer prayer in congregation he makes further excuses.
But when asked to join in Iftaar [and eat food] he responds ‘of course, of course! ‘I must do Iftaar as I am not a Kaafir (disbeliever) completely!’ We should not become this type of a believer; such people who make a joke out of faith.
In fact, beyond a joke this actually illustrates the miserable and lamentable state of Muslims. May Allah the Almighty show mercy upon this condition. The standard of the followers of the Promised Messiah (as) should be extremely lofty and high. One should not miss their fast unless there is a valid justification to do so.
Endeavour to fulfil the purpose of Ramadan in a splendid fashion, which is to worship God. It is a practice of the Holy Prophet (sa) to increase recitation the Holy Qur’an in Ramadan. [The arch-angel] Gabriel would especially go over the entire Holy Qur’an with the Holy Prophet (sa) during this month.
Thus everyone should give particular heed to reciting the Holy Qur’an during Ramadan. Search for God’s commands in the Holy Qur’an and then make an effort to implement them in your lives. Taraweeh prayers may not be obligatory;
However it commenced in the era of Hazrat Umar (ra) for those who could not offer Tahajjud so they could offer voluntary worship and listen to the Qur’an being recited by a Qari . However those who can, should wake up to offer Tahajjud.
As there is little time these days, Tahajjud may be shortened but it should still be offered. Or when one wakes up a little while earlier so that they can keep the fast, they should offer Nawaafil (voluntary prayers) rather than wasting time chatting to others.
Taraweeh is not a mandatory condition attached t fasting, and nor is Tahajjud as such; however Nawaafil (voluntary prayers) should be offered nonetheless. A momin (believer) is told to offer Tahajjud i normal days also. I am clarifying this because someone asked me
Whether it is an obligatory condition of fasting to offer at least 8 Raka’at (units of prayer) of Taraweeh or Tahajjud . I want to clarify that neither Taraweeh nor Tahajjud are obligatory stipulations of the fast. Indeed worship is necessary, and one should offer Nawaafil when possible.
The essence is to recite the Holy Qur’an along with the fast, which is Masnoon . Thus everyone should give maximum attention to reciting as much of the Holy Qur’an as they can. As I mentioned, Salat and worship are obligatory upon a believer in normal circumstances as well.
However in Ramadan we should try to beautify our prayers and worship to a greater degree. We should also strive to engage in increased Zikr e-Ilaahi (remembrance of Allah). Thus, in the atmosphere of the month of Ramadan, we should give heed to rooting out any existing weaknesses in our prayers and worship.
We should do so with the intention of making this fundamental command of God a regular part of our lives. You should not only apply this Divine Commandment in Ramadan alone. Neither has this command been ordained to be implemented in only Ramadan;
Rather this command applies to a Momin (believer at all times. Thus all of us need to come to understand that prayer and worship are fundamental commands of God. Many of us have been drawn to enhance our worship because the month of Ramadan is one of manifold blessings and acceptance of prayers.
And thus we want to accumulate the blessings of God and benefit from this month. We should also remember that God Almighty sees to the depths of our hearts. He knows what our intention is and judges our every action according to the motivation behind it. Thus we should fill the mosques with the intention
Of making the enhanced worship in this month a part of our lives permanently, with Taqwah in mind (the fear of Allah). If [in Ramadan] you develop the habit of Tahajjud or of offering Nawaafil (voluntary prayers) during the day, you should endeavor to maintain these habits throughout your life.
In the Holy Qur’an Allah the Almighty says: [Holy Qur’an 2:22] “O ye men, worship your Lord Who created you and those who were before you, “that you may become righteous.” The Promised Messiah (as), explaining this in one place, says: “O people, worship the God Who has created you
“He alone is worthy of worship Who has created you, that is “He alone is Ever-Living, so it is Him you should love and devote yourself to. “Thus faithfulness is in having a special connection with God “and in considering everything else nothing compared to Him.”
We know at an intellectual level and we believe, that God alone created us. It is God alone Who is everlasting and eternal and He is the Living God. He listens to our prayers and it is our duty to devote ourselves entirely to Him. Yet despite this the majority of us do not strive
To develop the special relationship with God that we need to. A relationship in the face of which all other relationships are completely worthless in our view. In the [special] atmosphere of Ramadan, we begin to take steps towards establishing this [relationship] but after Ramadan the majority of us slowly but gradually recede altogether.
Further, through our actions we need to try and demonstrate that we consider all other relationships utterly valueless. To properly realise this we must instil Taqwah i our hearts (the fear of Allah). The aforementioned verse explains exactly this;
That if you worship God you will develop Taqwah (fear of him) in your heart. The purpose of worship is not only to recognise God; rather it is to develop Taqwah and attain the loftiest spiritual heights. It is to acquire perception and insight of the attributes of God.
Only when you have acquired true knowledge of the attributes of God will you be able to see everything other than God as completely worthless. For example here [in this verse] Allah says ‘worship your Lord [ Rabb ].’ Rabb is the attribute of Allah the Almighty whic creates, nourishes,
Sustains and gradually develops and progresses [what was created]. Thus, when God Almighty states that worship your Lord, in fact, He is saying that all kinds of future progress of man is associated with your Lord and are affiliated with Him. Whenever you are committed to wholly worshipping your Lord alone,
Then not only will the expansive grace of the attribute of Rabubiyyat (to create and nurture) provide your physical and worldly development but will also develop and nurture your spiritual faculties. Therefore, therein lies an important guidance that if our spiritual condition has not improved or is not further improving,
Then we are not fulfilling the due rights of our worship. Consequently, we will no longer become recipients of the grace of His spiritual beneficence. When we are fulfilling the rights of worshipping our Lord and also partake from the grace of His attribute, then we will excel in Taqwa [righteousness/fear of Allah].
When we excel in Taqwa , then our worship will no just be limited to Ramadan, but will last for the whole year and for the rest of our lives. Therefore, we need to pay focus on our prayers with this thought in mind. The Promised Messiah (as) states:
“The fact is that the true purpose of man’s creation is to worship (i.e. the objective of his existence), “just as it is states elsewhere, ‘And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.’ [51:57] “In other words, the true essence of worship is that
“man should be free of all kinds of laziness and hardheartedness. “He should clear the terrain of the heart just as a farmer clears the surface of his land.” He further states: “Therefore, it is extremely important for you to understand “that the purpose of God creating you is so that you worship Him.
“You should be devoted to Him and the world should not be the objective of your existence. “I repeatedly explain this fact because according to me, “this is the sole reason why mankind has come “and it is this very fact from which mankind has drifted so far away.”
Thus, much attention needs to be paid towards this for I am greatly embarrassed when I receive complaints that certain workers and office holders are slacking in prayers or do not come to the mosque. Some do not even offer their prayers at home and their wives complain.
I am extremely embarrassed when I learn of this. Therefore, we need to reflect upon our worship, without this we cannot attain Taqwa [righteousness]. Without Taqwa one cannot fulfil the rights of Go or the rights of mankind and neither can one be of any benefit for the Jama’at
Nor will he attain any blessing in his work. Therefore, we need to observe and protect our prayers whilst being vigilant at all times, so that we can constantly become the recipients of God Almighty’s blessings and progress in spirituality. Then, God Almighty commands us: [Holy Qur’an 8:28]
‘O ye who believe! Prove not false to Allah and the Messenger, nor betray your trusts knowingly.’ This commandment is of great importance and significance. Betrayal or unfaithfulness is not only perpetrated in major matters, it fact it exists in both small as well as major matters.
The Promised Messiah (as) – who came to establish a pious community has in the second condition of the Bai’at taken the special pledge from us to keep away from dishonesty. Every vice, whether big or small, is nonetheless a vice.
However, some ills give rise to other ills and dishonesty and unfaithfulness is among those. God Almighty states that the habit of dishonesty ultimately leads one to be dishonest in his trusts and duties. Thus, God Almighty states one who is dishonest
Can neither fulfil the rights of God and His Messenger and nor the rights of man. A dishonest person can assert a million times that he observes his prayers and worships but as mentioned earlier, the objective of worship is to instill righteousness
And Taqwa means fulfilling the rights of God Almighty and mankind out of the love and fear of God Almighty. Unfaithfulness in fulfilling one’s rights distances one from Taqwa . It is not possible for one to be dishonest and at the same time
Be treading upon Taqwa and also be fulfilling th rights of others. God Almighty does not accept the worship of such a person. Let alone being an Abid [true servant], one who is dishonest cannot even be considered as having faith. The Holy Prophet (sa) has stated that belief and disbelief,
Truth and falsehood cannot co-exist in a person’s heart and neither can trust and dishonesty [co-exist]. Honesty and fulfilling one’s trust is the hallmark of faith. That is why the Holy Prophet (sa) said: “Aside from falsehood and dishonesty, “a Momin [true believer] can have many bad habit
“but he cannot display both these habits within him.” One who speaks falsehood and is dishonest is not a true believer. The subject of fulfilling our trusts and keeping away from dishonesty is very vast and a Momin is expected to be aware of its significance and its scope.
In order to do this, there is a saying of the Holy Prophet (sa) which elucidates this. The Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “the heart of a believer cannot be dishonest in three things: “firstly, sincerity in doing work for the sake of God Almighty; “secondly, wishing well for all Muslims
“and thirdly, living in harmony with a Jama’at [community].” Thus, the rights of God Almighty, the rights of fellow man and being loyal towards the Jama’at are all included in this. With regards to fulfilling the rights of God, apart from worshipping,
It also entails all such responsibilities that are placed upon those who serve their faith. If all the office-holders who have been entrusted reflect upon whether they are paying the dues of their trusts with Taqwa (the fear of Allah) in view, they will then be able to determine themselves to what extent
They are fulfilling the trusts placed upon them. The Messenger of God Almighty has also stated that one who does not fulfil the rights of his brother is dishonest. If one’s tongue or hands are causing pain to others then he is not fulfilling his responsibility which is placed upon him as a Muslim,
And one who does not fulfil the rights of others is guilty of being dishonest. In fact, it is in a Hadith that it is incumbent for a Muslim that the whole of mankind should be protected from his hands and tongue. Therefore, fulfilling the rights of others is a duty of every Muslim
And if he does not fulfil that duty, he is being dishonest. Then, it is essential for every Ahmadi to abide by the administration and the conditions of Bai’at . Every member of the Jama’at makes a pledge in their respective Ijtemas [gatherings]
That he/she will adhere to the administration of the Jama’at. Therefore, this pledge is also a trust and it must be fulfilled to the best of our abilities. Attachment and showing obedience to Khilafat is necessary and this is repeated in the pledges. It should also be remembered with relation to trusts,
That in domestic matters after marriage, men and women have some rights over each other and fulfilling these rights is a trust. Among these trusts which are placed upon a husband is to pay the Haq Mehr (dowry), which he should give. Many cases are brought, where in instances of conflict
Efforts are made not to pay the Haq Mehr . The Holy Prophet (sa) went to the extent of saying that if a man fixes his Haq Mehr at marriage with the intention of not paying it, he is an adulterer
And a person who takes a loan with no intention of paying it back is a thief. Then, observe how the Holy Prophet (sa) has set such high standards for not breaching our trusts and has greatly emphasised this. He states, if a Muslim brother seeks advice and he advises him without thinking,
He has in fact breached his trust. In other words, if he has not imparted proper advice in view of all circumstances then he has been dishonest. There are some people whom others bring into a position of trust and seek advice from them but they do not give proper advice.
Truly discharging the trust is that if one does not have the full knowledge then one should apologize or give a reference of someone who can give a better advice. Sometimes I have seen certain lawyers who give the asylum seekers who come here wrong advice or do not give advice wholeheartedly,
Yet they bill them for the full fee. Such people are included among those who are guilty of dishonesty. There are other similar matters. Therefore, such people need to be careful that when someone places his trust and comes to you then you should give them proper guidance
Otherwise according to the commandment of God Almighty’s messenger, you are dishonest. Thus, great care needs to be taken in such matters. What standards did the Promised Messiah (as) want to see in us for discharging out trusts and keeping away from dishonesty?
He states: “One who does not repent from the trespass of the eye, dishonesty, “bribery and all other wrongful means, is not from my Jama’at.” He further states: “Every husband who betrays the trust of his wife “and every wife who betrays the trust of her husband is not from my Jama’at.”
The Promised Messiah (as) then states: “It is necessary for a person who believes in One God “to also not usurp the rights of His creation. “A person who usurps his brother and is dishonest towards him “is not an adherent of ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah’.”
The Promised Messiah (as) then states that God Almighty has referred to Taqwa in the Holy Quran as a garment. Libas ul Taqwa [garment of righteousness], therefore, is a Quranic idiom in the Holy Quran
And points out to the fact that spiritual beauty and charm is born out of Taqwa . Taqwa means that, as much as possible, one should be mindful of all of God Almighty’s trusts and religious pledges and similarly of all of mankind’s trusts and pledges.
In other words, one should adhere to even the most subtle aspects [ of Taqwa ]. Therefore, by searching for the most subtle and faintest aspects of Taqwa and then adhering to them will enable us to become those who fulfil their trusts, and we need to make an effort for this.
All of the rights which we are responsible for are a trust and so too are all the obligations that we have been made responsible for and it is incumbent upon us to fulfil them. If we desire to become the heirs of God Almighty’s grace,
Then it is necessary that we give heed to fulfilling these. Therefore, each one of us needs to pay special focus to this. Then, another commandment of God Almighty which I have selected to speak about today is one that enhances the beauty and pleasantness of the society. God Almighty states in the Holy Quran:
[Holy Qur’an 3:135] “Those, who spend in prosperity and adversity, and those who suppress anger, “and pardon men; and Allah loves those who do good.” As mentioned earlier, the fulfilment of rights is incumbent upon all Muslims. In this verse, God Almighty has outlined what should be the standard of fulfilling those rights.
In fact, it states that further to fulfilling the rights of others is the act of making sacrifices which creates a harmonious society. We are not only to fulfil the rights of others, in fact, at times we need to offer sacrifices in order to fulfil those rights.
In a society whereby everyone is not only fulfilling each other’s rights but strives to make sacrifices for fulfilling those rights then that society reaches such a standard which we can say is like paradise. An example of this we find in the companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) about which God Almighty has stated:
[Holy Qur’an 59:10] “but give preference to the refugees above themselves, even though poverty be their own lot Thus, it is such thought and such practices that give birth to the spirit of sacrifice. One suppresses his own desires, wishes for good for others and carries out acts of benevolence.
The most excellent example of this practice was indeed found in the Holy Prophet (sa). We find instances where he even forgave the murderer of his daughter and there are countless more examples like this. Then how did the Holy Prophet (sa) guide and train his companions in suppressing anger and showing high morals?
There is a well-known Hadith that once a person started hurling verbal abuse at Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) whilst he was in the presence of the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) remained quiet and the Holy Prophet (sa) sat listening to this man and was smiling.
When the person exceeded in his verbal abuse, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) responded strongly to some of his comments. At this, the Holy Prophet (sa) expressed displeasure and stood up and left. Later, when Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) came to the Holy Prophet (sa)
And submitted that while that person was hurling verbal abuse you remained seated but as soon as I responded you left in anger. The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “while he was verbally abusing you, “you remained quiet, and an angel of God Almighty was responding on your behalf.
“However, when you responded, the angel left and Satan came instead.” Of course, after this there was no reason for the Holy Prophet (sa) to remain seated there. Thus, in this manner the Holy Prophet (sa) trained his companions – not only did he transform their justified anger into forgiveness
And went further and he also taught them ways to be benevolent. Regarding the condition of the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Ayesha (ra) narrates “The Holy Prophet (sa) never, ever took revenge for his own sake “for any act of transgression committed against him personally.”
The Promised Messiah (as) says, “The Chosen Ones of God have been verbally abused profusely. They were persecuted severely. However, they were told to ‘stay away from the ignorant’. Our beloved Holy Prophet (sa), the perfect man, was himself persecuted severely and verbally abused, taunted and mocked.
But how did this perfect model of civility respond? He prayed for them. Since Allah the Almighty had promised that if the Holy Prophet (sa) stayed away from the ignorant, God would safeguard his honour and life and such vagabonds would not be able to attack him. So this exactly came to pass.
The opponents of the Holy Prophet (sa) were not able to harm his honour and fell to his feet or were destroyed in front of him disgraced and ruined. What is the example of this true servant of the Holy Prophet (sa)? I will now present an example of this.
Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalawi was presented as a witness representing Christians in the murder case of Dr. Martin Clark. At that time the Promised Messiah’s (as) lawyer, Maulvi Fazal Din Sahib, who was a non-Ahmadi [Muslim] but a good-natured human being, began cross questioning Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalawi in order to weaken his account.
These questions were a source of ridicule for Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalawi’s ancestry. Upon this, the Promised Messiah (as) immediately held back his lawyer and stated that “I do not allow you to ask such questions of Maulavi Sahib” and while saying this the Promised Messiah (as) covered the mouth
Of Maulavi Fazal Din Sahib, his lawyer, with his hand. So this is that great moral. The Promised Messiah (as) put himself in danger and guarded the honour and respect of his fierce enemy. Maulavi Fazal Din Sahib always discussed this incident that Mirza Sahib [the Promised Messiah (as)] is a man of astonishing morals;
There is a person who is attacking his honour and life and in response, some questions are asked to weaken the other’s testimony but he forbids cross-questioning saying that I cannot allow it in this manner. So this is the level which does not only set an example to suppress anger
And [inculcate] forgiveness, rather, also for kind behavior which can be witnessed in the character of the true servant of the Holy Prophet (sa) in this day and age. At one place the Promised Messiah (as) says: [Holy Qur’an 3:135] “A believer is such a person who suppresses his anger
“and forgives the transgressors and does not respond to indecency with indecency.” The Promised Messiah (as) admonished the Jama’at that the purpose of establishing this community is to permeate Taqwah through all parts of the body; tongue, ears and eyes. The lustre of righteousness should be on the inside and the outside.
One should be excellent example of good morals and should not display any unnecessary anger and wrath. The Promised Messiah (as) said, “I have noticed that most people of the Jama’at still display anger. “Rancour and grudge is developed over minor things “and they start quarrelling with each other.
“These people do not have any part in the Jama’at. “And I cannot understand what the difficulty is for one to stay quiet “and not reply is if a person uses abusive language against them. “Reformation of every community starts from morals. “In the beginning progress in moral and spiritual training with patience is required
“and the best method is to pray whole-heartedly for the one who verbally abuses “that Allah the Almighty reforms that person and do not keep a grudge against him. “Just like there are laws in the world, God the Almighty has His laws. “If the world does not abandon its laws
“then how can Allah the Almighty abandon His laws? “Therefore, unless there is a transformation, “God the Almighty will not have any regard for you. “God the Almighty does not approve the replacement of noble attributes “like tolerance, patience and forgiveness with ferocity and inhumanity.
“You will rapidly find God if you progress in these excellent attributes.” During this Ramadan, where Allah the Almighty enables us to elevate the standard of our worship and stay consistent in this regard, may He also enable us to establish the fulfilment of other morals and rights
And enable us to stay consistent in this regard. And as I stated earlier that anyone who works for the Jama’at in any capacity should present their example as a model first and foremost. They should do so both at home and outside the home.
I direct the attention of the Jama’at towards prayers once again. I mentioned in the first Friday Sermon of this Ramadan and will say it again briefly that pray a lot these days for the progress of the Jama’at and for protection against the dangerous schemes of enemies.
Pray for the victory of Islam while praying for yourselves. May Allah the Almighty enable all of us to do so. All praise is due to Allah. We laud Him, we beseech help from Him and ask His protection; we confide in Him, we trust Him alone
And we seek protection against the evils and mischief of our souls and from the bad results of our deeds. Whomsoever He guides on the right path, none can misguide him; and whosoever He declares misled, none can guide him onto the right path.
And we bear witness that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah. We bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is His servant and Messenger. O servants of Allah! May Allah be merciful to you. Verily, Allah commands you to act with justice, to confer benefits upon each other
And to do good to others as one does to one’s kindred and forbids evil which pertain to your own selves and evils which affect others and prohibits revolts against a lawful authority. He warns you against being unmindful. You remember Allah; He too will remember you;
Call Him and He will make a response to your call. And verily divine remembrance is the highest virtue.