Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Sermon 11th January 2008

(Enhanced Version)

After reading the Tashahhud, Ta’ouz and the chapter Al Fateha of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amiroul Mo’meneen Zafrullah Domun read the following verses of the Holy Quran :

Inna iddatashhohouré indallahisna Ashara shahra fi kitabillahé yawma khalaqassamaawaaté wal arza minha arba’atoun horomoun ; Zalikad dinoul qayyim, falaa touzlemou fihinna anfosakoum wa qateloul moushrékina kaaffatan kamaa yoqatalounakoum kaaffa , wa’lamou annallaha ma’al mouttaqine. Holy Quran Ch 9 :36
Howallazi ja’alashamsa zia’an wal qamara nouran wa qaddarahou manazela léta’lamou adadass’enina wal hisaaab , maa khalaqallaho zalikla illa bilhaq ; yofasséloul aayaaté lé qawmin ya’lamoune Holy Quran Ch 10 :6
Then he said:
These are two verses from the Holy Quran where Allah speaks about the months of the year and also about the phases of the sun and the moon. In the Holy Quran there are many other verses where Allah speaks about these two celestial bodies. But for the subject matter of today’s sermon, I have chosen only these two verses. Their translation is as follows:

“The number of months with Allah is twelve months by Allah’s ordinance since the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of thèse four are sacred . That is the right religion. So wrong not yourself therein. And fight the idolaters all together as they fight you all together; and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.” Ch 9:36
“He it is who made the sun radiate a brilliant light and the moon reflect a luster, and ordained for it proper stages, that you might know the count of years and the reckoning of time. Allah has not created this system but in accordance with the requirements of truth. He details the Signs for a people who possess knowledge.” Ch 10:6

What we understand from these two verses, among other things, is that Allah has decreed since the creation of the heavens and earth several millions years ago that there would be twelve months in the year.. You should know that there are several calendars that predate the Islamic Calendar. The Jews have a calendar of their own. The Hindus have a calendar of their and so do the Chinese and the many other old civilizations. For your information the names of the month in the Islamic calendar is as follows:

And among these twelve, four of these months are sacred. And Muslims are exhorted not to harm one another in these sacred months and to observe their sanctity. The name of the sacred months are Rajab,Zoul Qada, Zoul Hajj,and Moharram. The Arabs had a longstanding custom and they used to manipulate the calendar in order to avoid the sanctity of the three successive sacred months, namely, Zoul Qada, Zoul Hajj and Moharram. In order to free themselves from the restrictions of the sacred months they would treat a sacred month as a normal moth and a normal one as a sacred one. Allah has here condemned this practice bad has told them that they should not have any type of predatory expeditions during the sacred months. Furthermore Allah tells them that they should band together to fight the idolaters who were fighting them. And they should always bear it in mind that Allah is with those who develops His fear in their heart and they are conscious of Him throughout their lives. In other words this means that real success cannot be achieved without having the fear and consciousness of Allah in the heart. All other definitions of success are irrelevant.

In the second verse Allah tells us that He it is who has made the sun radiate a light and has made the moon to reflect this light. The moon does not possess any light of its own. It only reflects the sun’s light. People can ask a very legitimate question which is what is the purpose of these two celestial bodies? Allah replies and says that He has put these two in service so that humans may know the passage of time and also they may compute the years. And this whole system has been created with a wise purpose in mind (in truth). And Allah says that He explains things so that those who have knowledge may understand.

The reason why I have chosen to speak about this today is because the new moon of the month of Moharram was visible on Wednesday 9th January and hence the new Islamic year 1429 started as from yesterday. The Islamic calendar was introduced in the year 639 A.D, in the time of Hazrat Umar (ra), the second caliph after the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw).

In the times of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw), with the beginning of the calendar there were no special event or festivities associated. Whatever we see today is what has been introduced in Islam as a consequence of intermingling with other cultures. The Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw) told us categorically that Allah has given the Muslims only two Festivals (Eids). One is Eid ul Fitr and the other is Eid ul Adha. Although during the time of the Holy prophet, the Muslims were well aware of the beginning and end of the months, yet no records of dates were being kept as we know it today. However, when the Holy Prophet arrived in Medina he noticed that the Jews were fasting on the 10th day of the month of Moharram. He enquired about this matter. He was told that the Jews fasted on that day because they were following in the footsteps of Hazrat Moosa (as). The fact is that Hazrat Moosa (as) used to fast on that day as a token of gratitude to Allah because it was on that date that Allah delivered Hazrat Moosaas and his people and destroyed Pharaoh and his people. When the prophet heard about the background of fasting on the occasion of the 10th of Moharram he said to the Jews: “We have more right, and we have closer connection with Musa ('Alaihis-Salaam) than you have”. And so the Holy prophet Mohammad (saw) observed an optional fast on that day. Apart from that fast we do not know of any other thing he did apart from some other optional good deeds.

After the death of the Holy Prophet, there has been the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet. He was martyred on 10th Moharram 58 A.H which corresponds to 20th October 680 A.D. Since that tragic event, the Shias celebrate that event every year. They organize several events during the first ten days of Moharram. On the 10th day, there are several events that take place to recount the tragic events which took place on the 20th October 680 A.D. There is no denying the fact that the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein was one of the most tragic events that has darkened the history of Islam. This great event is significant because it showed the courage of one man together with his followers who refused to bow to those in authority because he considered that they were not worthy of exercising that authority. Imam Hussein (ra) refused to take the oath of allegiance with Yazid because he knew that Yazid was not worthy of fulfilling the office of caliph. He preferred to let his head be severed from his body than bow that same head to those who were oppressing others. But before he died he fought courageously and he did not show any sign of the fear of death. His example will live on till the end of time as a person who preferred religion to the worldly prestige or honor. His memory will live as someone who confronted a tyrant head on knowing that his enemy was more powerful than he was. He will live on as a personification of virtue, courage, endurance and devotion for all Muslims to come. Unfortunately, out of genuine and sincere love for him many Muslims have invented several traditions to commemorate his death. And since his martyrdom occurred on the 10th of Moharram , with the passage of time Muslims specially the Shias have started to associate the beginning of the new Islamic year with his death. We consider these to be unislamic practices and we remain away from these.

With the beginning of the Islamic New Year there are no prescribed practices according to the traditions of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw). As Muslims there is no need for us to imitate others. Allah has put us here and He has said: “You are the best people raised for the guidance of mankind. You enjoin good and forbid evil and believe in Allah” Holy Quran Ch. 3: verse 111. It is the duty of a true Muslim to avoid all sorts of vulgar customs as Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has asked us in the 6th condition of our oath of allegiance. I do not say that there are some harmless practices that we may not do on an optional basis. But we should all strive to preserve the essence of the Islamic teachings whatever the circumstances.

You may have noticed that on the occasion of the New Year there is an enormous exchange of greeting cards. I remember that I once read in Reuters News that China had banned the use of these cards on that occasion. The reasons that the authorities put forward were that these cards are a great waste of money and also a great waste of trees. Untold amount of trees had to be felled in order to manufacture those cards. I wonder how many Ahmadis are aware that Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad (as) had also banned the sending of Eid cards on the occasion of the Muslim Festivals. Within Jamaat Ahmadiyya he had introduced the Tehrik Jadid Programme and he encouraged all Ahmadis to lead a simple life and to spare their money and to spend it to spread Islam. Hence to him the sending of Eid cards was a waste of money and he forbad it. Now just ask yourself what would have been his reaction if he came to know that one amir in his Jamaat has been sending “Naya Saal Mobarak” cards to Ahmadis in Mauritius?

With such a tendency, one should not be surprised if tomorrow Ahmadis are told that they can indulge in New Year’s Eve celebrations, they can prepare their barbecues in imitation of other communities, and that it is quite harmless if they light up fire crackers like the others at midnight. And to diminish the impact of these non Islamic practices they may pray two rakaat optional prayers to greet the New Year and then they may go to sleep and miss the Fajr Prayer altogether. Or they may be asked to join a special Tahajjud Prayer to greet the New Year. Of course Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has told us that we should to our best to read Tahajjud Prayer. But a special Tahajjud prayer to greet the Christian Calendar New Year is an innovation that is being added to the list.

That is the reason why I have said in the past that the Jamaat is slipping from the right path. Allah has wished to put things right and He will not allow anyone to dilute His teachings because these teachings are best for mankind though they understand it or not. Hence you may understand the raison d’être for the creation of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen. We are here to preserve the Teachings of Hazrat Ahmad (as). We seek Allah’s help for this noble task

To end I will quote an extract from the Malfoozaat of Hazrat Masih Maood (as). The original is from Urdu and I have rendered it as follows:
“You should take this as a fact that in the sight of Allah, it is not those persons who wear costly clothes, those who have plenty of money or those who eat well that have any worth. The truth is that in the sight of Allah only they have any worth who give preference to religion over worldly matters, and who are wholly devoted to Allah and who become thoroughly His. Therefore you should strive to be among the latter group and not the former one. When I look upon the actual condition of my Jamaat I feel really sad because I see that there are many weaknesses and there are still many stages that the members have to reach. But when I consider the Promises of Allah, my sadness is transformed into hope…. A point that you should meditate upon is that not all those who have taken the oath of allegiance on my hand have entered into my Jamaat. A follower will not be considered as such until he creates the qualities of a follower within himself. As long as he does not follow in my footsteps and loses himself in my obedience the term follower will not apply to him. This means that Allah has decreed that I will have a Jamaat which will be thoroughly devoted to follow into my footsteps. In such circumstances, my pain is changed into hope. Therefore it is very important that in such circumstances where the Jamaat needs a lot of upbringing that the members should cultivate a real relationship with Allah and that you follow the example of the Jamaat of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw).” [ Malfoozaat Vol 8 p 298]

Just imagine if that was the case in the time of Hazrat Masih Maood (as), what is the situation today? Let us pray and hope that Allah helps us to preserve the teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as) in our lives. May Allah also put us among the group of those persons who were a hope for the Messiah and that we always give more importance to the religion than to worldly matters incha Allah.

Ameen.