After reciting, Tashahhud , Ta'ouz and the first chapter Al Fatiha of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine Zafrullah Domun said:
In one of my previous sermons I told you that I would be talking about how khilafat was established within Jamaat Ahmadiyya. So today I will speak about the first caliph Hazrat Hakim Molvi Nuruddin (ra). He was an exceptional person. A physician by profession, he was very learned and his love for the promised Messiah (as) knew no bounds once he was convinced of his truthfulness. It was in answer to the Messiah's prayer that he came to join him in Qadian from his hometown Bhera where he lived and had a good practice. While speaking about this episode in his life he says:
What was my purpose in coming here? I have a well-built house in Bhera, and every convenience and comfort was available to me there. Here I live modestly in a sun-baked brick house, and have dispensed with all comfort, Why? Because I found that I was sick, very sick, that I was indigent, very indigent; that I was afflicted, severely afflicted. So I came here seeking a remedy for all my ills. If any one comes here to watch me and learn from my example, or to find fault with those of us who have settled here, he is greatly mistaken. He deceives himself in that deeming the sick ones as whole, he passes judgment on them. All friendships and relationships here, all coming here, and departing from here, and settling here and living here should be subordinated to and become illustrative of: “There is no God except Allah.” If that is not the purpose in coming here, why come here? You have better food and more comfort at home than you will find here. Your coming here will be justified only if in all that you do your purpose is to win the pleasure of Allah. (Al Badr 1st February 1904)
This extract shows his sincerity and what he was looking for when he migrated to Qadian leaving behind a world of comfort and well being. He was so sincere in trying to achieve this purpose that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) did not tire of singing his praise. Yet as he said in the speech prior to his acceptance of being the caliph, his main objective in life was to win the pleasure of Allah. That is why Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad said that he was an example for all Ahmadis and the early Ahmadis did recognize this fact and that is why they made him unanimously their leader.
Once he was settled in Qadian he was trying to find ways and means of how to develop the Jamaat. Therefore on 19th March 1908, with the permission of his master, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) he published a document entitled “Request Submitted to Friends and Brothers”. Its translation as given in the book of Sir Zafrullah Khan “Molvi Nuruddin” is as follows:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful. We praise Him and call down His blessings on His Noble Messenger. Peace be on you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. One night I fell into reflecting on my own age and the much longer expanse of the Muslim era and was greatly disturbed by contemplating that which needs to be done before life comes to its end. The current of my thoughts leaned towards the significance of the supplications that are made in the sitting posture in the Salat , and arrived at the story of the parrot set out by Maulana Jalal-ud-DinRumi in his Mathnawi , the point of which is that a parrot owned by a merchant charged its master to convey its greetings to its fellow parrots in India when he should happen to pass by them. Its purpose was to seek their guidance on how it could obtain its freedom. They sent back word that the road to freedom ran through the valley of death...
Here I would like to tell you the whole of this mystic story so that you may remember it well and that the young Ahmadis may also understand and try to understand the message of this story well.
The story is that there was a parrot that was living in a cage. When the merchant decided to go to India, he asked the parrot if it wanted a gift. “I only request that when you see other parrots in India, tell them: a parrot who longs for you is in my prison by the destiny of Heaven”, replied the parrot.
In India , the merchant gave the message to a group of parrots, one of whom trembled and fell dead on hearing the news. The merchant felt sorry for the bird and presumed that it was somehow related to his bird.
On returning home, he reported the incident to his parrot. On hearing the news, his parrot trembled and fell down in a corner of the cage. After lamenting the loss of his bird, the merchant threw her out of the cage.
The parrot immediately flew off to a bough and the surprised merchant inquired what sort of communication had taken place between the two birds. The parrot said: “The other parrot by its act conveyed the message: die yourself and stop singing so that you may be released and gain freedom.”(Mathnavi of Maulana Rumi)
So we continue from Hazrat Molvi Nuruddin's document. It says:
This line of thinking led me to the parrots of Allah, that is to say, to the souls of the martyrs in the cause of Allah, and I reflected on the supplications made in the sitting posture of the prayer: Peace be upon thee, Great Prophet(sa), and the mercy of Allah and His blessings; and: Peace be upon us and upon all righteous servants of Allah: and in my mood of eagerness I made a bargain with Allah, as He has said: Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their belongings in return for the promise that He will admit them to the Garden of His pleasure (9:111). In this verse Allah describes Himself as a purchaser, a merchant. A believer having committed himself wholly to Allah, he must take care that he should not spend his life or his belongings without a license from Allah. In pursuance of this purpose, I became diligent in calling down peace and blessings of Allah upon the Holy Prophet (sa). Then it occurred to me that I should make a large number of friends, for whom I should appoint a distinctive emblem, so that we might glorify Allah much and remember Him much. So Allah be praised that in accord with my limited intelligence and dealings I made friends from among the members of the Ahmadiyya Community—which is a community that abhors association of partners with Allah and making innovations in the faith and believes sincerely in: There is no God except Allah and Muhammad(saw ) is His Messenger; and by conforming to the practice of the Holy Prophet(saw) qualifies as Sunni and owing allegiance to an Imam(as ) must be deemed to be a Jama'at —those who are men of good will, steadfast, tolerant and have faith in prayer. In all this my purpose was:
1. That they should be my witnesses on earth for the sake of Allah, testifying to my faith; for the Holy Prophet (saw) has said that one who is supported by the good testimony of a body of the righteous would be deemed worthy of admission to the Garden of Allah's pleasure; he who is accounted unworthy by them will be condemned to hell. By the testimony of these witnesses on earth for the sake of Allah, I would receive from Allah that which He pleases.
2. That through our association together we may be able to cooperate in promoting virtue and righteousness, and become friends and helpers.
3. There are certain special bounties of God that follow only upon group accord and unity. In view of this a group of friends may be organized so that God's special grace may be attracted whereby Allah may be pleased with us, and may make us true servants of Islam and the Muslims.
4. The Holy Prophet ( saw ) is reported to have said: On the Day of Judgment seven types of people will be given shelter by Allah, when no other shelter will be available. One of these types will be two friends who love each other for the sake of Allah, meet for His sake and part for His sake. So I desired that we should be such a group and as such, should find prosperity under the shelter of the Great Throne of God, which shelter can be experienced both here and hereafter.
5. Some means may be found of spreading proficiency in Arabic generally among all Muslims and particularly among members of the Ahmadiyya Movement, for this is the only means whereby Muslims in all regions of the earth can promote unity and accord between themselves. Besides, understanding of the Holy Quran and Hadith depends upon proficiency in Arabic. We should make a special effort in this behalf and discover a means of achieving this purpose, as, for instance, a means of traversing the earth has been found through the railway.
6. Wherever there should be disagreement or ill will between members of the Ahmadiyya Movement, these friends should become a means of restoring accord and goodwill, as Allah has said: Bring about accord between yourselves (8:2); make peace between your brethren (49:11); and: Peace is best (4:129).
7. They should have recourse to prayer in all circumstances, whether of ease or of hardship. But it is a measure of the apathy of Muslims that even those in Qadian have been somewhat indifferent. I had prepared answers to queries concerning this project and had sent out copies of them, but I have received comments on them only from Sialkot and Peshawar . There has been no response from Lahore . In addition I have written to the Muslim intelligentsia of distant lands for advice on the means of promoting the learning of Arabic and stimulating interest in the propagation of Islamic values. I have also suggested the publishing of small tracts in support of the teachings of Islam, and in refutation of the criticism advanced by non-Muslims, whereby we might discharge to some degree the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, and our friends may be warned of the grave harm resulting from ill-thinking."
(Al Badr March 19, 1908)
This document was published in the Jamaat's publications of the time namely, Al-Hakam, Badr and Tash-hi-dhul Adhhan. In addition Molvi Nuruddin (ra) had 1400 cards printed in which its purpose was briefly set out. He had intended that once he had procured the adherence of 1400 friends to the project, the Promised Messiah (as) would be approached with the request to pray specially for the achievement of the purposes of the project, but events moved forward too rapidly to permit this. The Messiah went to Lahore and from there Molvi Nuruddin would return to lead the Jamaat.
From this document of Hazrat Molvi Nuruddin we have an idea what was going on in his mind and in his heart for Jamaat Ahmadiyya and its members. When we ponder over this document we can have a glimpse of his wisdom. Take note especially of point 6 where he speaks about keeping peace among members of the Jamaat. Compare that with what we have experienced and witnessed and make the difference.
Since it is some time that I have not been telling you about some of my revelations, before ending I will tell you about some of them that I received recently.
As I have just told you, Molvi Nuruddin has spoken about the verse in chapter 9:111, commonly known as Sura Al Tawba. Many times Allah, by His Grace, has revealed this verse partly or even wholely to me. And the last time was in the month of April when I received “Innallaahash tara minal mo'menine anfosahoum wa amwaalahoum be anna lahomoul jannah; Its translation is as follows: Allah has purchased from the believers their own selves and their belongings in return for the garden; he who fulfills what he has promised to Allah will be given a great reward.
Then immediately after, I received: “wa man awfa bema aahada alaihoullaho fa sa you'tihé ajran azima”. This means “and whoever fulfills the covenant that he has made with Allah, He will surely give him a great reward”. These were words of consolation for me and for all those who are with me.
As soon as Hazrat Mirza Masroor sahib was elected caliph, there was an article in Al Fazl Rabwah by Molvi Dost about the revelation of Hazrat Masih Maood (as): “Inni maa'aka ya Masroor” which means “I am with you, O happy one”. This was addressed particularly to Hazrat Masih Maood (as). Although I have not read or heard that Hazrat Mirza Masroor sahib has ever acquiesced or denied that this revelation applies to him, yet in the Jamaat, in many publications this revelation has been attributed to him. As I have been repeatedly saying during the past year, many revelations of Hazrat Masih Maood have been revealed to me, by the Grace of Allah. In fact on 18th May 2008 after the fajr prayer I received: “Inni maa'aka ya Masroor”. Immediately after, I also received: “Inna ma'iya rabbi sa yahdeen” which means “I am with my Lord; He will guide me”. In the same way one day before I received:
Hajatein pouri kareingeh kia teri aajiz basher
Kar bayan sab haajatein hajat rawa keh saamneh
This is a verse from a poem of Hazrat Masih (as) and it means:
He will fulfill all your needs O simple man
Make all your requests to the One who fulfills requests.
Moreover yesterday I received: “Hasbekallaho” twice. It means Allah is sufficient for you. Then I received “Hasbekallaho wa manit taba'aka minal mo'menine”, that is, Allah is sufficient for you and for whoever follows you among the believers.
We will continue incha Allah next week. |