by A. Abdul Aziz

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Supreme Head of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam, delivered Eid-Ul-Fitr Sermon on 20^th March 2026  at ‘Masjid Mubarak’, Islamabad, Tilford, U.K. at 10.30 GMT (Sri Lankan Time 4 P.M.). It aired LIVE via MTA (Muslim TV Ahmadiyya International), having simultaneous translation in various languages including English, Arabic, Bengali, French and Tamil. The gist of the Sermon as follows

Following the Eid prayer, Hazrat Amirul Momineen (may Allah be his Helper) recited first part of the Arabic Sermon and Surah al-Fatihah, and said:

Today, upon completing the month of Ramadan, we are celebrating Eid. This Eid should be an opportunity to express gratitude to Allah the Almighty for enabling us to fast during this month. Many people were blessed to partake in the Tahajjud and Tarawih prayers. Likewise, to read the Quran on a daily basis and to complete. Additionally, to listen to dars of the Holy Quran, to remember Allah and some were also able to sit i‘tikaf.”

i’tikaaf or e’tikaaf is an Islamic practice in which a person secludes himself or herself in a mosque for a period of time, devoting the days to worship and staying away from worldly affairs.   The practice is especially associated with the last ten days of Ramadan, during which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have regularly withdrawn into the mosque seeking Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree).^[2]

To sit i‘tikaf is possible, Huzoor^aa said, in countries where we have freedom; however, in countries like Pakistan, Ahmadis are not allowed to openly worship and express their faith. On the contrary, they are prosecuted for doing so. We should pray that such restrictions are lifted and Ahmadis are able to practice their faith openly.

If, during Ramadan, there was no real attention towards these spiritual elements, then for such people, Eid is just a festival where people merely gather together, wearing new clothes, to have a laugh and a good time. However, Eid is not just for this purpose. It is a means of expressing gratitude to Allah the Almighty for enabling us to worship Him and make all these sacrifices.

Ahmadiyya Head said that he hopes most Ahmadis strove to reap the benefits of Ramadan, so that they may have increased in their taqwa (righteousness)  worship of Allah the Almighty, and doing good deeds. He said to continue to always pray to Allah the Almighty and ask Him for His help – that just as He allowed us to do good in this month, He may make such deeds a consistent and permanent feature of our lives. In this way, the benefits and blessings will not just be limited to Ramadan but extend to our daily lives. 

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: We recite first chapter of Holy Quran (Surah al-Fatihah) multiple times every single day – in it, we are reminded to strive to worship Him in the best way possible and to fulfil his commandments. In this chapter (surah), the foundational attributes of Allah the Almighty are mentioned. We are taught to be grateful to Him in relation to these attributes. Also, to pray to become a part of those people who attained Allah’s pleasure, and not be like those who incurred His wrath and anger.

In the verse Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help”, Allah the Almighty emphasises that the first step should be from us. We should strive in the way of Allah and try our best to worship Him in the best way possible, but the true power and ability to do so comes from Allah alone. 

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that the one who takes a step towards Allah, Allah takes two steps towards him, and the one who walks to Allah, Allah runs to him. But we must remember that the first step should always come from us, and we should pray that Allah blesses our efforts. If we want to continue to benefit from the blessings of Ramadan, we must strive to continue our good deeds and pray for Allah’s help.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said he will present some enlightening points of the Promised Messiah on the verse Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help.”

The Promised Messiah, peace be on him, writes:

In the verse: We worship Thee alone and we implore only Thy help; We worship Thee; takes precedence over: We implore only Thy help; for, man approaches God, the Supreme, in prayer, after having involved all his faculties in the subject matter of the prayer. It would be impertinent and insolent on his part to come to Him without using his faculties and without observing the requirements of the Law of nature. For instance, if a cultivator were to pray to God to bless his field with a plentiful harvest without preparing it and sowing any seed in it, he would be guilty of insolence and mockery. This is what has been called testing and trying God and that is forbidden.

It is, therefore, necessary to employ all one’s faculties before submitting one’s petition and this is the real significance of this prayer. It is necessary that one should first take stock of one’s beliefs and effort. It is the way of God to bring about a desired change through change in the means. He creates some factor which becomes the means of the desired improvement.”

Ahmadiyya Khalifa mentioned that some people question: if prayer exists, what is the point of using means? Addressing this, the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be on him,  wrote:

Those who consider that if prayer is available then means become irrelevant should ponder this seriously. They should realise that prayer is in itself a means which activates other means. The precedence of: We worship Thee alone; over: We implore only Thy help; which is a supplication, emphasises this.”

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said that the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, emphasised that man’s effort should never decrease. We should not aim to do good deeds in Ramadan only and think that now it is incumbent upon Allah the Almighty to give us all we want – if not for the rest of our lives, then at least until the next Ramadan. This is an erroneous thought. A true believer must always strive to carry out these good deeds, and only then will they attain the true grace of Allah the Almighty.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa quoted several writings of Promised Messiah on this and explained in depth.

While concluding the sermon Ahmadiyya Supreme Head said that we should all aim to widen the scope of our prayers in this manner, and when this happens, it will create a beautiful atmosphere and society.

It is the desire of opponents and enemies of Islam that Muslims continue to fight with each other – we must unite to escape this. His Holiness said he mentioned this two weeks ago, and that when Muslims do unite, this will be our true Eid.

Now we must strive to protect our good deeds even more, instead of becoming complacent and thinking we have done enough. We must ask Allah for help so that Satan never attacks us in such a way, and that no robber may ever take this treasure away from us. If we pray for this and strive to implement this habit of constantly protecting our good deeds, then this will be a successful Eid for us.

In the end, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa said, while we celebrate Eid, we must remember those Muslims who are doing Eid in circumstances where their houses have been destroyed, children have lost parents, parents have lost children, and they are living in constant fear for their lives.

His Holiness prayed that may Allah improve their circumstances and enable them to turn solely to Allah and rely on Him alone, rather than on worldly powers. What is happening in Arab countries today is a result of this reliance on worldly powers. May Allah protect everyone, including the Ahmadis suffering for their faith, from oppression.

His Holiness said we must remember the prayer Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help”. Our true Eid will be when we see the world turning towards monotheism, and towards the message of the Holy Prophet and his servant, the Promised Messiah, peace be on him.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa prayed, May Allah make this Eid blessed, in both a worldly and spiritual sense, and make this Eid truly mubarak (blessed) for us. Amin.

Full Text, visit:  https://www.alhakam.org/eid-ul-fitr-sermon-2026