Khalifa of Islam on Essence of Ahmadiyya.
Posted on August 24th, 2013
by A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Sri Lanka.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (Given below is an excerpt of the Friday Sermons of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Supreme Head of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam, delivered on 16th August 2013, at ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Baithul FuthuhƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, London, U.K. gave a discourse on essence of Ahmadiyyath).
Ahmadiyya Khalifa said:
A few days ago I had a discussion with an officeholder and it became clear to me that there are some issues I need to address. These are especially needed for a certain class of our membership. Then there are also some issues that need to be addressed for the benefit of certain of our officeholders.
The things that I am about to say involve one aspect that has to do with knowledge of our beliefs and principles and has to do with knowing why we are established on a particular belief or principle. Similarly when we are told to do certain things we should know why we are required to do those things and why the doing of these things is necessary for an Ahmadi.
For example, financial sacrifices to which we are called, people want to know the details regarding these matters. Then there are certain aspects of the duties of officeholders that have to do with the proper execution of their duties and they need to know how they can carry out those requirements. They also need to know the extent of their authority. So I will draw your attention briefly to these two matters.
The first thing that needs to be mentioned relates to our beliefs and it is of utmost importance that an Ahmadi must know this and this is mentioned again and again but it is not mentioned with that required focus or it is not mentioned keeping in mind that our own membersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ training and education requires that this be mentioned and stated clearly.
It is normally assumed that a born Ahmadi knows these things and knows what is the purpose for which the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) was sent in to the world and why it is essential that he be accepted. Those who join the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at of course know these things because they enter having read and studied these matters.
Let me now turn to the first thing that every Ahmadi must know and that is: What is the purpose of the coming of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) and why is it necessary that we much accept him and attest to the truth of his claim? For this, I thought it best to express the answer in the words of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) himself.
Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I have been sent so that I may re-establish the lost glory of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and show to the world the truths contained in the Holy Quran and all this is being done but those whose eyes are covered in a veil cannot see this even though this Movement has become manifest and shines forth like the Sun and so many people are witness to the signs and miracles shown in support of this Movement that if they all be gathered in one place, their numbers would be so many as would outnumber the largest army of any king on the face of the Earth.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) goes on to say that, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-there are so many aspects that may be laid forth in support of the truth of this Movement that it is not easy to be able to mention all of them. Because Islam was defamed in such a brutal and callous way, so God Almighty has manifested the greatness and honor of this Movement in direct proportion to the extreme defamation that was perpetrated against Islam.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
Now this is not something that was confined to the time of the Promised Messiah (a.s). The way in which the Promised Messiah (as) laid out the greatness of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and clarified and laid bare the truths of the Holy Quran in his time in his writings and discourses – that is continuing to be done even today. I have recounted frequently how when people are told these truths they feel obliged to speak up and confirm that indeed these are great things and if indeed this is the Holy Example and Life of the Holy Prophet and his teachings then we were indeed in the wrong.
And they all also acknowledge that it is through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat that they learn all these true teachings of Islam. And all this is happening and possible because of the truths that the Promised Messiah (as) disclosed to us and laid out before us and it was for this purpose that Allah, the Exalted, had sent him into the world – so that he may make clear to the world the lofty status of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and disclose to everyone the truths laid out in the Holy Quran.
Let me again answer in the words of the Promised Messiah (a.s). This is a detailed exposition of the matter and the auxiliaries can take it and print it in various pieces or portions and get additional guidance from it. At one time some maulvis (Ulemas) asked the Promised Messiah (a.s) that we offer salat (daily five time prayers), we observe the fasts, we believe in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also, so why is there any need for us to believe in you or accept you?
The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) answered:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Look, just as a man who claims to have believed in Allah and His Messenger and His Book, but then fails to fulfill the requirements of the faith – salat, fasts, Hajj, Zakat, adopting righteousness and purity – and embrace those ordinances of the faith that relate to the attaining of purity of oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s self and abandoning and shunning of all evil and any tendency to commit sin and adopting all those ways that take one towards the doing of good – if such a one abandons all these directives and does not heed them such a one has no right to claim to be a Muslim…ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The Promised Messiah (as) says that a person who claims to have adopted Islam but does not follow its teachings and shun evil and adopt righteousness and do good, such a one does not have the right to call himself a Muslim.
The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) goes on to say:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-And it cannot be said that such a one is adorned with the pearls of true faith..similarly a person who does not accept or believe in the Promised Messiah (a.s) or does not see the need for believing in the Promised Messiah (a.s) such a one also fails to understand and is totally unaware of the truth of Islam or the need of prophethood and the purpose of the coming of the messengers of God. And such a one is not truly such as can be said to be a true Muslim or a true follower of God and His Messenger, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). Because just as Allah has sent His commandments through the Holy Prophet (sa) in the Holy Quran, in the same way He has, in the Last Days, very clearly prophesied the coming of a Last Khalifa and those who will not believe in him or will stay apart from him have been called the rebellious. There is no difference in the Holy Quran and the ahadees. The words of the ahadees are an explanation of what is contained in the Holy Quran. The word used in the Holy Quran is khalifa and this same last khalifa is referred to in the ahadees as the Promised Messiah. Thus the person with regard to whom a promise is made in the Holy Quran with such grandeur, what kind of a Muslim can he be who asks what is the need to accept this person when he appears?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says that, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Allah has extended the period of the coming of the Khulafa till the Day of Judgement. And this is a distinction of Islam that for its help and renewal and staying fresh reformers have been coming and shall continue to come at the head of every century. Look, Allah, the Exalted, has likened the Holy Prophet (sa) to Moses (as).ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
Here I want to clear up again one matter on which people sometimes make a mistake in connection with the reference to Mujadideen – the Reformers – and they ask that if they will keep coming, then who will they be etc.? The Khulafaa will be the ones who will be the Mujadideen – the Reformers. I have already delivered a detailed Khutba on this matter and notes can be taken from that Khutba and the Promised Messiah (as) has dealt with this subject very clearly and there is much literature in the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at on the topic.
Ahmadiyya Founder – The Promised Messiah (a.s) says, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Look, Allah, the Exalted, has likened the Holy Prophet (sa) to Moses (as) as is clear from the use of the word ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”kama.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Hazrat Isa (as) – Jesus, was the last khalifa of the Mosaic dispensation as he has himself said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I am the last brick.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
Similarly for the sake of protecting and maintaining the Muhammadi dispensation khulafa came and shall keep on coming till the Day of Judgement and in similar manner the last such Khalifa in the Muhammadi dispensation was named the Promised Messiah.
And not just this, that this was mentioned in an ordinary way, but rather the signs of his coming were made mention of in great detail in all the heavenly books. In the Bible and the Gospels and the ahadees and in the Holy Quran itself the signs of his coming have been laid out. And all the peoples, Christians, Jews and Muslims are awaiting his coming and believe in this.
Rejecting him can in no way be considered as being a part of Islam. And then when we consider that he is such a person in support of whom Allah has manifested signs in the heavens and in the earth – in support of his claim the plague was sent, and in his support the sign of the eclipses of the moon and the sun were shown at their appointed time. So can such a person in whose support the heavens and the earth have bore witness be considered an ordinary person accepting or rejecting whom may be considered equal or without consequence? And can people who reject him continue to be considered Muslims and the beloved of God? Certainly not!
The Promised Messiah (a.s) goes on to say:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Remember that all the signs that had been foretold concerning the Promised One have all been fulfilled and all sorts of disorder and evils have sullied the world. The saintly and scholarly people of Islam have indeed identified this very age – the 14th century – as the age in which the Promised Messiah was to have appeared.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The Promised Messiah (a.s) goes on to say:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-If even after such unanimous testimony of a large number of the scholarly and saintly people of Islam, someone has any doubts, such a one should turn to a careful study of the Holy Quran ponder over the contents of Sura Nur. Look, just as 1,400 years after Moses (as), Jesus (as) had come so in similar fashion 1,400 years after the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), the Promised Messiah has appeared and just as Jesus (as) was the Khatamul Khulafa of the Mosaic dispensation so the Promised Messiah (as) shall be the Kahatamul Khulafa of the Muhammadi dispensation.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
The Promised Messiah (as) has said I am the Khalifa of the last millennium – all who shall now come shall come under him. So the Promised Messiah (as) who was to appear in the 14th century in fulfillment of all the prophecies is indeed Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be on him) himself and it is highly essential that every Ahmadi should read the Promised Messiah (a.s)ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s books.
Those who cannot read Urdu – whether they can read English or any other language in the countries where they live – there is ample literature available in many languages in which the purpose of the advent of the Promised Messiah is covered in great detail and why it is necessary that we must accept him and attest to his truth.
Everyone needs to make his or her own beliefs and principles well understood and strong. Respond to those who make criticisms or raise objections. Answer them. If you make the needed preparations you will learn yourself and will be in a position to give the answers yourself also.
To further these objectives it is also necessary, apart from the efforts that individual Ahmadis must undertake, that the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at and the auxiliaries make their own programs to insure that this information, this education reaches every member of the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at so everyone becomes aware of the purpose of the coming of the Promised Messiah (as) and why it is necessary that we accept him and attest to his truth.
So this is the matter that has to do with our beliefs. Now I want to turn to the second item that has to do with our training. This has to do with the connection of the members of the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at with Khilafat. And in connection with this mention has to be made of Muslims Television Ahmadiyya which Allah has given us as a means to further this objective. Similarly we also have the Alislam.org website. So it must be our focus and work to try and insure that ever Ahmadi is connected to these tools as much as possible and the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at System, Nizam and that of the Auxiliaries must also work towards this end.
Try to develop a personal link of every Ahmadi with Khilafat. Try to arouse in the hearts of the Ahmadis love and sincerity and loyalty with Khilafat. It is there in their hearts but when members are reminded and encouraged it shines forth beautifully and if some dirt may have fallen upon this love and connection with Khilafat, upon being reminded, this dirt falls off. If the Tarbiyyat department continues to counsel members to strengthen their connection with Khilafat and keep drawing their attention to all the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at programs and Khutbat and activities then we will see that while their connection to Khilafat will get stronger there also will be automatically resolved many tarbiyyat (moral training) issues.
The next thing that I want to draw everyoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s attention towards is the need to make clear to every Ahmadi their obligations regarding financial contributions – chandas.
Remember that Chanda (financial contributions) is not a tax. In fact Chanda is one of those obligations that has been mentioned again and again in the Holy Quran. For example, Allah, the Exalted says in one place:
[64:17] So fear Allah as best you can, and listen, and obey, and spend in His cause; it will be good for yourselves. And whoso is rid of the covetousness of his own soul ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ it is such who shall be successful.
[64:18] If you lend to Allah a good loan, He will multiply it for you, and will forgive you; and Allah is Most Appreciating, Forbearing,
So it is clear from these verses that to spend in the way of Allah is most essential for a believer. Those people will attain to success only who spend in the way of Allah. And it is said that your spending in the way of Allah is as if you have lent to Allah a loan. And Allah is that Being Who returns that which is lent to Him multiplied many-fold. And people write to me many such incidents that we gave such and such chanda in the way of Allah and Allah returned it to us having multiplied it many-fold and I have mentioned many such accounts repeatedly.
Allah is Ghani – Self Sufficient, and in no need of our money. In reality this is to purify us, and to see our level of obedience, and to see us advancing on the ways of righteousness, and to see how far we will fulfill our pledges of being ready to spend in His way.
Allah calls upon us to spend in His way to cause the Religion of Allah to be made to spread everywhere. Every Ahmadi needs to understand this spirit of spending in the way of Allah which is why we give chanda.
Discussing the importance of chandas (financial sacrifice) at one place Ahmadiyya Founder – the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says:
In the world we see that man loves wealth very highly. This is why it is written in the books on interpretation of dreams that if one sees in a dream that he has taken out his liver to give to someone then by this is meant wealth. This is why it is said that for the acquisition of real righteousness and piety,
[3:93] Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love;
The fact is that sympathy for mankind involves the spending on them of oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wealth and till one spends to help humanity and makes sacrifices for this, oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s faith is not complete. How can one be of benefit to another without sacrificing. To be of benefit to another, sacrifice is essential. And in this verse this same sacrifice has been mentioned. So spending in the way of service to humanity is a measure of a personƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s level of righteousness and piety. This level was seen in the life of Abu Bakr when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) expressed the need for such sacrifice and he brought everything that was in his house and presented it to him.
So it is necessary that the finance secretaries of the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at train the members in this way and tell them that their righteousness and faith becomes strong through financial sacrifices. Similarly the murabbis also should so counsel the members of the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at whenever they get an opportunity to do so. This needs constant attention.
No one should think – and all who give chanda should remember this – that the JamaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢at System – Nizam – is running because of their financial contributions and this is why the Finance secretary comes to him again and again.
This is a promise of Allah that He made with the Promised Messiah (a.s) that there would never be any financial straitened circumstances and things will continue insha-Allah. If he was ever concerned it was that the monies should be spent properly.
The English and Tamil Translation of the Sermon ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the video link of which is:-