Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Sermon 16th May 2008

After reciting the Tashahud , the Ta'uz, and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Al fatiha, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine Zafrullah Domun said:

Last week I spoke about how dark and medieval-like forces were at work in Indonesia to make life difficult for those who have accepted Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Promised Messiah, and the Mahdi who was prophesized to come in the latter days by our beloved prophet Mohammad (peace and b less ings of Allah be upon him). From newspapers reports it appears that life is not easy for Ahmadis living in Indonesia . According to these reports it is said that since 2005 more than 25 Ahmadiyah mosques have been razed or ransacked by radicals. Dozens of Ahmadiyah homes were also burnt or destroyed on the eastern island of Lombok . Many Ahmadis now live in fear for their safety. It appears that moderate Muslims are coming forward and condemning these acts of violence and also the moves that are being made to ban the Ahmadis. The only senior government person who has spoken against these attacks on Ahmadiyah has been Vice-President Jusuf Kalla. But the radicals are having their own way and they are inciting others to kill the Ahmadis.

All of us should remember the Ahmadis of Indonesia in our prayers. May Allah help them to stay firm under trials and may He help them to weather through these storms of opposition smoothly. May Allah send His angels to protect their persons and their belongings and may He strengthen them with His Mighty Help. Those who wrong others cannot succeed however strong they may appear to be. Those who want to frustrate Allah's plans will always land their own selves into trouble. History is witness to this. Those who are aware know it quite well. More over did not Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad tell us in his verses:

Gharaz rukté nahin hargiz khoda ke kaam bandon seh

Bhala khaliq keh aageh khalq ki kouch pesh jati hai

The translation of these verses is as follows:

Man cannot frustrate Allah's work

What can creatures do in front of The Creator?

Jamaat Ahmadiyya was originally created by Allah for a purpose. At many places in his writings Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has spoken lengthily about this subject. Today I will give you two extracts which will help you to appreciate how lofty was his divine mission. He says:

“I have been sent to strengthen people's faith and to prove to the people that Allah really exists. The reason is that in all peoples the state of faith is very weak and people think that the world of the hereafter is merely a tale. So I have been sent so that the time of Truth and Faith may come back and people's heart may be filled again with fear of Allah ( taqwa ).Therefore these actions are the first cause of my being. It has been shown to me that heavens will be brought back to the earth again after it had gone very far from it. Therefore I have to revive these deeds and it is for this work that I have been sent.”(Kitabul Bariah).

In the light of this extract if somebody says that he is an Ahmadi and he does not engage himself in the task of trying to know Allah, then we may say that he is not trying to fulfill the purpose for which Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as),the Promised Messiah and Mahdi was sent in this world. He tells us that he was sent to increase people's faith and to prove to them that Allah really exists. It appears from his writings that when faith decreases, truth is its first victim. Once this happens people no longer have the fear of Allah in their heart. It is unfortunate that within Jamaat Ahmadiyya itself, at times Truth has been a victim. We have spoken about this before and there is no need to speak again about it here. The sentence where he says“It has been shown to me that heavens will be brought back to the earth again after it had gone very far from it” only means that people will do what Allah has bidden them to do instead of obeying their ego and going away from their Creator.

In a speech which the Promised Messiah delivered in Lahore on 3rd September 1904 he said:

“Thus, this is my claim which I have just stated, but the task for which I have been appointed is that the unpleasant distance which has occurred between the Creator and His creation may be bridged by love and sincerity and I may stop the religious wars and lay the foundation of peace and unveil the religious truths that are hidden from human eyes and manifest that spirituality which has got buried under worldly dark debris so that God's powers which enter the human heart and manifest themselves through repentance, prayer and Divine grace may become a reality and not a mere narration, and explain their nature and of all the rest. The prime aim of my mission is to clear the supreme and sublime monotheistic creed from additional associations in the nation of Islam. All this would not happen with my power but would get established with the power of God Who is Lord of heaven and earth.”(Lecture Lahore)

Again here we see that Hazrat Masih Maood (as) speaks about how his mission is to show the Muslims the real monotheism ( Tauhid ). So anyone who calls himself an Ahmadi today should work towards the fulfillment of these objectives. But if we ask how many Ahmadis around the world are doing what is asked of them as an Ahmadi, such persons can be easily counted compared to those who are not doing what should be done.

Again in a speech once Hazrat Masih Maood(as)   said:

“Allah who has wished to create this Jamaat has fixed its objective as follows: true knowledge which has disappeared from the world and true fear of Allah and purification which we cannot find in this epoch should be established again. Allah wishes that the lost knowledge should be brought back through this Jamaat.”

All these extracts make it very clear to us what are the sublime objectives that have been fixed for the members of this Jamaat. In brief an Ahmadi should strive to make himself a better Muslim day in and day out. Once he has been able to cleanse himself of the dross of sins, he then tries to transmit his light to others. That is his preaching (tabligh). It is quite unfortunate that most Ahmadis are not well aware of even the basic teachings of Ahmadiyat and hence their only source of knowledge about the Jamaat is what they are told and not what they can learn with an open mind.

Therefore we understand from the writings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as) that Allah's aim in creating this Jamaat is to preserve monotheism (tauhid). That is most probably why the first condition for initiation in Jamaat Ahmadiyah, one should accept not to indulge into association (shirk) at all. Therefore the one who is responsible for the preservation of the Jamaat's aim is no other one but Allah Himself who knows better than anyone else why He has raised one of His humble servants to look after His Jamaat that is Jamaat Ahmadiyya.

When I continue to read the book of Hazrat Masih Maood (as) Zarouratoul Imam, that is “The Need for the Imam”, I cannot but appreciate the wisdom and knowledge of the Messiah. In the book he declares that he does not have any problem to enter into an oath of allegiance with his friend who was claiming that he was a recipient of revelations. But he asked him first of all to give him proofs that he could help him to increase his knowledge of the Holy Quran and of Allah. But with his broadmindedness and confidence in Allah,he showed that he was ready to have a dialogue with his friend. Unfortunately today the leadership of the Jamaat cannot display such boldness or such broadmindedness. They prefer to say that it is better to ignore those who have another view. When we tell them that we have received revelations from Allah, “they turn away as if there is wax in their ears”. They say that such revelations should go to the caliph as if “they are the distributors of Allah's Mercy” And of course this is not at all the teachings of the Promised Messiah. Here is what he says:

“A religion can only survive as living knowledge as long as God Almighty's attributes continue to manifest themselves afresh; otherwise it becomes mere tales and soon dies out. Can human conscience accept such failure? How can God Almighty's grace shut the door of revelation upon us, when we find ourselves in need of such absolute knowledge as is not possible without converse with God and without great heavenly signs?”{Need of the Imam p45)

What I am trying to say is that mainstream Jamaat Ahmadiyya has strayed from the original teachings of the Promised Messiah. There is a need for a rethink. In addition the Jamaat has to re-examine the way it has been dealing with its dissenters throughout its history. We should learn to disagree without being disagreeable. Under all circumstances we should give others the benefit of doubt instead of questioning their motives. I stand corrected if someone can point out to me that what I am saying is not correct in the light of the Holy Quran and the teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as). May Allah have mercy on all of us.