Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Serrmon 5th January 2007

After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz , the first chapter of the Holy Quran Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine Zafrullah Domun said :

Members will recall that since some time I have started speaking about the conditions of Bait for joining the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in Islam as they have been laid down by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and the Mahdi. As you may all recall the first condition is that a member of the Jamaat should avoid associating partners with Allah until he dies; in other words he should not deal in any kind of shirk until his death. Up till now I have already made five sermons on this subject and four of these have already been put on our website. We request all members to make a copy and to understand the points that have been developed in these sermons.

Today I will speak about "Laa ilaha illallah" which means, as you all know, "there is no God but Allah". Our limited knowledge cannot encompass the full meaning of this phrase. We are in constant need of Allah's help in order to get to a deeper and proper understanding of this most important brief phrase. Knowing our weaknesses and our lack of knowledge, our Lord, The Almighty and Wise, The Knower, has taught us the following prayers:

"O My Lord, teach me, in its life giving truth the power of the formula" Laa Ilaha Illallah". And with the truth underlying this call, strengthen my heart and drown my whole being in the essence of "Laa Ilaha Illallah"

"O our Lord, please remove from our heart all that is not You and fill it with Thy Beneficent and Merciful Light"

"O Allah anoint us with the perfume of Tauhid, and help us not to rely on others and on anyone besides Thee"

I hope that all our members would learn them and recite them everyday. It is our sincere hope and prayer that Allah opens the door of Tauhid to each and every member of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen incha Allah and to all other Muslims as well.

When we speak about "Laa Ilaha Ilallah" we cannot avoid speaking about "Tauhid". You should know that it is the contrary of Shirk. If on the one hand we have been asked to avoid Shirk, on the other hand it is incumbent upon us to adopt "Tauhid". Now what is the meaning of "Tauhid"? The doctors of religion speak about four aspects of "Tauhid".

The first is "Tauhid Al Rabubiyya" which means "Unity of Lordship". It means that there is only one Creator, Sustainer for the whole Universe. He is the only One, there is no other Creator besides Him and He is the One who brought the Universe into existence. The Universe is Unique as He is Unique. This is His work.

The second aspect of Tauhid is "Tauhid al uluhiya", that is Unity of worship. This means that a Muslim should believe that there is only One God and He is the Only One who is entitled to be worshipped. A Muslim should not worship anyone else besides Allah. All supplications, invocations and prayers are for Him Only. One should fear and trust only in Him. There are many verses of the Holy Quran which point to this.

The third aspect of Tauhid is "Tauhid al Asmaé was Sifaat" which means Unity in Name and Attributes. This means that the Name "Allah" is unique to Him and all His Attributes are unique to Him as He has qualified Himself in the Holy Quran or as has been explained by the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw). No other can be named by these attributes. For example we cannot say of someone that he is "Al Karim" or "Al Ghani". These attributes are to be exclusively used for Allah Only. But we can say of someone that he is "Abdul Karim" or "Abdul Ghani". This means "servant of the Generous or servant of the Self Sufficient".

The fourth aspect of Tauhid is that of "Tauhid Al Ittiba" that is to say: None has the right to be obeyed but Allah. Of course we should obey the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw) also because Allah has told us to obey him. There are many verses in the Holy Qu'ran which points to this. For example Allah says in chapter 3 verse 32:
"Say: If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Most Forgiving and Merciful"

Again in chapter 33 verse 22 Allah says: "Verily you have in the prophet of Allah an excellent model for him who hopes to meet Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much."

All these verses and many more point to the fact that obedience to Allah means obedience to the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw).

Now these are the four aspects of Tauhid as we have read about them in books.

In the light of what we have said about Tauhid and in the light of what Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third caliph of Jamaat Ahmadiyya (may Allah have mercy upon him) has said on this subject we understand that the word "Ilah" has the following meanings:

(1)No (Maqsood) objective, no destination but Allah
(2) No (Ma'bud) object of worship but Allah
(3) No (Matloob) object of desire but Allah
(4) No (Mu'tah) Being to obey but Allah

Many persons have tried to express their love and devotion for Allah in very eloquent words. But I would like to share with our members what Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has said about this subject. There exist many extracts from his writings but I would like to quote the following for the guidance of our members:
"Our paradise is our God. Our highest delight is in our God for we have seen Him and have found every beauty in Him. This wealth is worth procuring though one may have to lay down one's life to procure it . This ruby is worth purchasing though one may have to lose one's self to acquire it. O ye, who are bereft, run to this fountain and it will satiate your thirst. It is the fountain of life that will save you. What shall I do, and by what drum shall I make the announcement, that this is your God, so that people might hear? What remedy shall I apply to their ears so that they should listen? If you belong to Allah, rest assured that Allah will belong to you." (Noah's Ark P 21-22)

Therefore when we say that we should be firm on Tauhid, what do we mean? It simply means that we should make Allah our destination, the main object of our life. In all our thoughts and all our actions we should always wonder whether Allah will be pleased with us or not. Our aim should be to try to please Him in all our actions and thoughts. When we examine our thoughts and our actions and we see that they will not be pleasing to Allah, we should refrain from such thoughts or actions. If on the contrary we see that they will be in conformity with Allah's teachings we should act accordingly.

The next point is that we should worship only Allah and no one else. That is why Allah has enjoined upon us that we should make the following prayer in all rakaats of our daily prayers: "Iyyaka na'bodo wa iyyaka nasta'ine" which means "Thee alone do we worship and from Thee alone do we seek help". Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has taught us that we should meditate on these words in our prayers so that their real meanings could dawn upon us. This prayer will help us to concentrate in our prayers and eventually will lead to their acceptance. It is only then that our prayers would qualify to be wholly for Allah. Similarly all our acts of worship such as prayers, fasting, Hajj, Zakaat, reading and teaching of the Holy Quran should be directly aimed at pleasing Allah.

Another prayer that Allah taught us through revelation is: "O my Lord illumine my heart with the mystery of Your identity". This also is an excellent prayer that with time may help you to understand who Allah is in truth.

In the same way in order to get Allah's love we recommend that members learn and constantly read the following prayer:
Allahoumma inni as'aloka houbbaka wa houbba man yohibboka , wal amalal lazi yobal leghoni houbbaka . Allahoummaj'al houbbaka ahabba elaiyya minan nafsi wa mali wa ahli wa minal maa'il barade.
Our Beloved Prophet (saw) has said that this was the prayer of Hazrat Daoud (as). Its translation is as follows:
"O my Lord I ask you to grant us Thy Love and the love of those who love Thee. Grant us the opportunity to do such deeds that may help us to get Thy Love. O Our Lord make Thy Love dearer to us than our own selves, our wealth, our kith and kin and even cold water."

If Allah gets such an importance in your life, you would be definitely worshipping Him alone. You would obey Him alone. You would undergo all sorts of sacrifices in order to please Him. Your model will be Hazrat Mohammad (saw). May Allah help each one among us to follow his example, Incha Allah.

Ameen