After reciting, Tashahhud , Ta'ouz and the first chapter Al Fatiha of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine Zafrullah Domun said:
My sermon today will not be about a specific subject. I want to make some comments about several topics.
I will start with last week's Friday Sermon. I wanted to tell our members about the day on which Hazrat Masih Maood (as) died. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts and the amount of time that was available to me, I was unable to find out this small detail about the life of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Messiah and Mahdi (as). I even tried to find out from Microsoft Excel Program if there were a function which could easily give that information. Unfortunately I did not find it. Then while I was surfing the net this week, I came across a Friday sermon of Hazrat Molvi Nuruddin (ra) which he delivered on 5th June 1908. Therefore, the previous Friday was 29th of May. Since Hazrat Masih died on 26th May, therefore it was a Tuesday and he was buried on a Wednesday. This may appear to be a minor detail, but it is a historical precision which I wanted to share with you all.
My next topic is the two articles that appeared in the local press in Mauritius . One is from “Le Week End” of 31st May 2008 and the other is from the daily newspaper “Le Mauricien” of 3 rd June 2008. Both these articles are about the Ahmadiyya khilafat Centenary celebrations. The way these articles are written show that these journalists were fed with the information that they have published. In the publication of “Le Mauricien” particularly, we note there are many quotations and they make it quite clear that they have received what they were saying from the “Ahmadiyya Community in Mauritius ”.
But before I make these comments, I will ask you to reflect on the following verse of the Holy Quran and on these two hadith of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw). In the Holy Quran Allah says:
“And among men is he who disputes concerning Allah without knowledge and without guidance and without an illuminating book.”(22:9)
One of the signs of the Hour is the disappearance of knowledge and the prevalence of ignorance". ( Bukhari )
"God Almighty does not take away the knowledge of Islamic Law and Faith by removing its books from His servants, but He takes it away through the death of scholars. When all scholars pass away, the public will make ignorant people their leaders; when they are asked about something, they answer without knowledge; they are misguided and they misguide others." ( Bukhari )
Now coming back to the articles, many things have been stated in them which are far from the truth. The most blatant of these lies that khilafat has been reintroduced through Jamaat Ahmadiyya in 1908 after it vanished after only thirty years after the death of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw). If I say that it is untrue to say that khilafat disappeared after only thirty years after the death of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw), many will say that I am inventing something new. Therefore I invite you to hear what the Founder of Jamaat Ahmadiyya, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi said about those who utter this statement. In his book “ Shahadatoul Quran ” he says:
…It is a pity that those who hold this view do not reflect upon the word caliph which is related to istikhlaf , for caliph is applied to a successor, and only such people can be a successor to the Prophet in the true sense who possesses within them the Apostle's qualities by way of being a reflection. For this reason, the Holy Prophet did not want the word caliph to be applied to tyrannical monarchs, because the caliph is in reality the image of the Apostle. And since no human being lives forever, God willed that the prophets, who are the best and most superior of all the beings of the world, should continue to exist permanently , by way of reflection, till the Day of Judgment. So for this purpose God instituted the khilafat in order that the world should not be deprived of the b less ings of apostleship in any age whatever.
These are the writings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as). As the one who knew Allah most within Jamaat Ahmadiyya and elsewhere, this is what he is saying. Khilafat was a permanent gift so “that the world should not be deprived of the blessings of apostleship in any age whatever.” That is why I say that those who are at the head leading this Jamaat are more concerned with their self-concocted idea of khilafat that they have brushed under the carpet the real teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as) within hundred years of his death. They are in the words of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw) “misguided and they misguide others”.
Hazrat Masih continues and says:
Therefore, the person who accepts the caliphate of only thirty years ignores its real purpose through his folly . He does not know that it was most certainly not Allah's purpose that it is only essential to continue the blessings of apostleship after the Holy Prophet's death through the caliphs for a mere thirty years, and after that He would not care a whit even if the world was facing destruction. In fact, in the early days the caliphs were needed for not much more than spreading the power of Islam, because the lights and blessings of prophethood were still being disseminated newly and freshly, and thousands of miracles had just then poured down like rain.
Had God so willed, it was not beyond His law to extend the life of the Holy Prophet by thirty years, instead of having four caliphs. At the end of this thirty year period the Holy Prophet would have reached 93 years of age, and this is not much more than the ages attained in those times, nor is it in excess of the law of nature regarding human life span which we observe before us.
Can sound sense propose the despicable idea about the Merciful, Kind God, that He cared about this Muslim people for only thirty years and then left them wandering permanently, and the light which from ancient days He had been showing within the followers of previous prophets in the mirror of khilafat, He did not approve of showing for this people? Most certainly not...
...Then the following point should also be considered. Given that God had explained by use of an analogy that He would raise caliphs among the Muslim people in the same manner as He raised successors after Moses, one should see what course did God follow after the death of Moses: did He send successors for only thirty years, or did He extend this series for fourteen hundred years? Then again, as the grace of God upon our Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, was far greater than that which was upon Moses, as He Himself said, "The grace of God upon thee is very great" (4:113), and He also said regarding this nation, "You are the best nation raised for mankind" (3:109), how could it be that the series of successors of Moses should be continued for fourteen hundred years, but here the khilafat terminate after a mere thirty years? If the Muslim people are devoid forever of the spiritual lights of khilafat, let anyone explain the meaning of the verse: "You are the best nation raised for mankind".
If it is desired to keep this nation blind forever, and if the object is to keep this faith dead, what is the meaning of saying that it is the best and that it has been raised for the welfare and guidance of mankind? Can the blind lead the blind? So, O people who are called Muslims, ponder for God's sake: this verse means just that spiritual life and inner vision shall remain in you always, till the Day of Judgment, and followers of other religions shall receive light from you. And this spiritual life and inner vision which has the capability to invite people of other faiths towards the truth -- this is just the thing which in other words is known as khilafat. How can you then assert that the khilafat, after having continued for only thirty years, vanished into nothing? Fear God, fear God, and fear God!
Now it should be remembered that although there are many verses of this kind in the Holy Quran, giving the glad tidings of a perpetual khilafat among the Muslim people, and Hadith is full of reports about this as well, for the moment this much will suffice for those who accept proven facts like a great treasure. There could be no worse misgiving about Islam than to consider it to be a dead religion and to believe its blessings to be limited to only the first generation. Does the Book which opens the door to perpetual blessings teach the disheartening less on that there is no blessing or khilafat to look forward to, but that all has been left behind? Prophets certainly cannot arise among the Muslims, but if caliphs of the Holy Prophet do not come either, showing the marvels of spiritual life from time to time, then the spirituality of Islam comes to an end. In that case, such a faith can bear no comparison to the spiritual power and glory of the Mosaic religion in which thousands of spiritual caliphs continued to arise over a period of fourteen centuries.
It is lamentable that our critics do not give the least thought to the point that in such a case Islam proves to be very inferior as regards its spirituality, and the Master-Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, is shown to be no great prophet, God forbid, and the Quran does not prove to be a book whose light is very effective. It would then turn out to be an absurd, meaning less and base less claim to say that this nation is the best of nations and is to give spiritual benefit to other nations for all time, that the Quran is the most perfect and complete of all Divine books in its accomplishments and effect, and that this Apostle is the most excellent of all the messengers of God in his power of purification and of perfecting the moral character of others. It would also give rise to the great trouble that that part of the teachings of the Quran which aims to make man resemble prophets in terms of spiritual light and attainments, will be considered to be abrogated forever, because if this people do not possess the capability to produce the spiritual accomplishments of khilafat within themselves, then any teaching which enjoins the attainment of this status would be just use less . In fact, even asking the question, Is Islam now a dead religion forever in which there do not arise persons whose Divine signs and inspiration are substitutes for the miracles and revelation of the prophets, makes one tremble, let alone that some Muslims should entertain such a belief, God forbid. May God guide those people who are prisoners to such heretic ideas .”[“ Shahadatoul Quran” English Translation by Dr Zahid Aziz p56-61 ]
Furthermore in another extract Hazrat Masih Maood as says:
To argue that it is said in the Hadith that khilafat shall be for thirty years is strange logic. When the Holy Quran says: "A multitude from among the earlier ones, and a multitude from among the later ones", what kind of sense is it to adduce a hadith against it and take its meaning as contradicting the Quran?”[Shahadatoul Quran p41]
In the light of only this one quotation of the Promised Messiah, one can see how tough he has been with those who entertain the idea that “the caliphate lasted only thirty years after the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw)” Now just imagine what he would have said if he were here today to learn that his own followers are entertaining such stupid and despicable ideas. And to add insult to injury they are saying that “this caliphate has been introduced after his death.” In his own words I say to you “Fear Allah, fear Allah, fear Allah!” To Hazrat Masih, these are “heretic ideas”. Entertaining such ideas you still think that you are safe with your idea of khilafat and abandoning that of the Promised Messiah's. By entertaining such anti-Ahmadiyya ideas you are working against the teachings of Hazrat Ahmad (as). You are letting yourself be guided by the blind.
Did not the Messiah say in his book “The Triumph of Islam” that after the death of the founder of a divine movement, after about eighty years Allah sows the seed of one or several reformers because the teachings have already been perverted? They have to appear to correct the wrong ideas that are taking root in the divine Jamaat. We have been saying this since some time now, but there is no one who dares to take up the challenge. I ask them to assemble the editors of their different publications (men and women) and to refute what I have said. If they do not do so, at least if they still have any regard for the teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as), they should acknowledge that they lack knowledge and they are open to new learning and tell these newspapers that out of ignorance they have misguided them and has abetted with them to publish what is false.
Due to lack of time I am unable to continue with this sermon. But I had so many things to say. Incha Allah, more next time. |