Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Sermon 18th January 2008

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 :

When we read the history of ancient peoples as has been explained to us in the Holy Quran, we notice that these people had two main characteristics in common. Firstly, whenever someone from among them claimed that he had been appointed as a messenger and a prophet to them, in the beginning they rejected him. Secondly, if it happenned that after sometime they accepted that prophet-messenger, after his death they said that Allah would no longer send any other prophet or messenger. In other words they said that the door to apostleship and messengership had been closed forever. But the whole history of humanity has continuously disproved their claim with the arrival of new prophets one after the other. Each time history repeated itself with at first denial and then closure of the door for future prophets or messengers. In the Holy Quran in chapter 7, Al Araaf, Allah has given us in detail how a series of prophets from Hazrat Nuh (as) to Hazrat Moosa (as) and those in between were rejected by their people and what were the consequences of that rejection.

Similarly we read in the Holy Qur’an in chapter 40, verse 35:
“And Joseph indeed came to you with clear proofs but you ceased not to be in doubt concerning that with which he came to you till, when he died, you said: ‘Allah will never raise a messenger after him. Thus Allah adjudges as having gone astray every transgressor, doubter.”

This verse helps us to understand that it is not recently that the Muslims have been saying that there will no longer be any type of prophets after the Holy Prophet Mohammad saw. Even in the time of Hazrat Yusufas people entertained such beliefs. But each time Allah has proved to them that they should not entertain such beliefs. The fact is that prophets or messengers or anyone else who come with a mandate from Allah is a blessing for the people and not something to which they should object to or remain aloof from, or even oppose. Allah sends His Chosen Ones whenever He desires to send extra favours on the common man. Unfortunately very often all the people reject them and want to fight them. Consequently, in the end it is those who have been sent by Allah who are triumphant and the people are forced to accept the beliefs that they fought before. This is so because Allah has decreed that “I and My Messengers who will be triumphant”. Holy Quran Ch. 58 verse 21

Before the arrival of Islam we see that the Jews were the chosen people of Allah. In the Holy Quran Allah says:
“O children of Israel! Remember My Favours which I bestowed upon you and I exalted you above all the people” Ch. 2 verse 48

But unfortunately with the passage of time they forgot the teachings that Allah had given them in the Torah through Hazrat Moosa (as), although they had been told to hold fast to those teachings. Allah says:
“And remember the time when we took a covenant from you and raised above you the Mount saying ‘ hold fast that which we have given you and bear in mind what is therein that you may be of the righteous” Ch.2 verse 64

Therefore we see that at some point in history the Jews were the favoured ones of Allah. But unfortunately, with the passage of time they started deviating from the teachings that they were given. Consequently these same people who were favored above all others of their time incurred the wrath of Allah through their misdeeds and they lost the favour that they enjoyed in the sight of Allah. Eventually prophets stopped coming among them and this great favour of Allah was transferred to their brothers in Arabia and in due course of time the greatest prophet appeared there in the person of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw).

Any student of Islamic history is well aware how difficult was the birth of Islam. The Holy Prophet (saw) and his followers had to suffer a lot before eventually Islam became triumphant and spread around the world and became the force behind a new civilization. Again, unfortunately with the passing of centuries Muslims also started forgetting the message of the Holy Quran and their influence waned in the world. As a result of this forgetfulness on their part many Muslims countries were colonized by European powers by the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century. At that time many Muslims were being converted to Christianity and the Muslims had difficulty to stem the tide and they went on losing ground and countries as well.

By the end of the 19th Century Allah sent Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as the Promised Messiah to revive Islam. Unfortunately the majority of the Muslim divines of his time rejected him because they could not understand what he was telling them. Despite opposition he pressed on with his small group of followers and his message was delivered to the four corners of the world. At the time of his death there were about 400,000 of his followers spread around the world.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has told us in very eloquent and unequivocal terms that Allah will continue to send some persons within this Jamaat who would be commissioned by Him to call others towards Him. I have given some of his writings on this subject in my Friday Sermon of 19th October 2007 (read here) But the Jamaat’s Establishment under the present and previous caliphs do not agree that such a thing may happen. The Jamaat’s Establishment believes and defends the claim that since a system of caliphate has been established in the Jamaat as from 1908, the door to the coming of people from Allah has been closed on everyone in the Jamaat or outside it except on the reigning caliph. In other words only the reigning caliph can make a claim that Allah has appointed him for a certain purpose for example as a Mojaddid or a reformer. The Jamaat has gone so far as to say that since caliphs have a greater status than a Mojaddid , therefore no such person can appear in the presence of a caliph. The argument of the Jamaat’s Establishment is as follows. The elected caliph has been appointed by Allah through the Electoral College, therefore he is divinely appointed. Since he is divinely appointed there cannot be any other divine appointment. For this argument to be valid, the premise should be true, namely that Allah acts through the Electoral College. If that is not true therefore the whole argument crumbles down. If in the presence of a caliph, an Ahmadi claims that Allah has appointed him to do something within the Jamaat, then a serious question needs to be asked about how the appointment through the electoral college is a divine appointment?

During the week I received the following revelation: “Yaqoulouna hal lana minal amré min shay’in ; qoul innal amra koullohou lillahé”. This is a part of verse 156 of chapter 3 of the Holy Quran. Its translation is “they say: ‘have we no part in this affair?’ Say: ‘verily the affair wholly belongs to Allah.”. Now I will tell you what I have been given to understand by this revelation. Allah helps me to understand that the Establishment of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Worldwide has as their leader the present caliph, namely Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib. He thinks that his office has been given to him by Allah. Hence no one else within this Jamaat can make any claim to be appointed by Allah according to him. In other words he seems to say that they(the Jamaat) have a say in this matter of the appointment of a representative of Allah. But Allah says to me say to them “Verily this affair wholly belongs to Allah” and no one shares in His decision. I think that Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib as the administrative and spiritual head of the Jamaat should defend the concept of khilafat as explained and expounded by the Holy Quran and Hazrat Masih Maood (as) and not his own khilafat. And as the Jamaat has always defended the idea that it is Allah who makes caliphs through His Amr(decision), the Jamaat has to accept that He has done so by telling a follower of Hazrat Masih Maood (as) that He has appointed him as a Leader for the people. The revelations to this effect are as follows: “Inni Jaaéloka linnaasé immaama” and “ Boushra la koum ya imamoul Muttaqeen” and also “Yaa qutub uddin unzur ela jamaa’ati” which means “I will make you a leader of men” and “ Good news to you O you the Imam of those who are righteous” and “O you who are the Pole of this Religion, look after My Jamaat.” The righteous are from the Jamaat of Hazrat Masih Maood (as). It is their right to get the help that Allah has sent to them through this humble one. Their choice in this matter is either to accept or to reject Allah’s appointee and they will be dealt with accordingly.

As from October last year I have posted a declaration on our website (read declaration here) where I have said among other things that the Jamaat’s Establishment is wrong in saying that because of the system of caliphate within the Jamaat , Allah will not commission any one else. I also said that Allah has commissioned this humble one for this task. I quoted several of the revelations that Allah gave me about this matter and I was waiting to see what would be the response of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Jamaat. The response has been much mitigated. I received only four mails on this matter. I have learnt from an announcement that the Amir Jamaat of Mauritius made in his sermon of 7th December 2007 that members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in Mauritius should ignore my message thoroughly because “the whole thing is a total deception” to paraphrase his words. But that is the limit of his understanding. You may ignore me but I cannot ignore you because I am here to help you.

Remember what I told you in the beginning about the attitude of the people throughout the ages vis à vis prophets and messengers that are sent to them from Allah. Once they have recognized a prophet they shut the door of apostleship on him. No one else would come after him. The Jews lost their privileged position of favour with Allah because they rejected the prophets and even tried to kill some. Eventually they rejected Hazrat Isa (as) and they also rejected the Holy Prophet Mohammad (saw). The Jamaat Ahmadiyya worldwide has been enjoying a special favour with Allah until recently. Let us pray and hope that they know how to be grateful for Allah’s favours before it is too late.

Through this sermon I am again informing all members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya worldwide that Allah has sent me to you as a bringer of glad tidings (Bashir)and as a Warner (Nazir). Last Sunday (13th January 2008) Allah said to me repeatedly: “Bal ajebou an jaa’a houm munzeroum minhoum. Wa qalal kaaferouna hazaa shay’oune ajib. Qul innallaha ajib”. The learned ones within the Jamaat would easily recognize that part of this revelation is a verse of the Holy Quran and that the whole revelation was revealed to Hazrat Masih Maood (as) several times. The translation is as follows: “But they wonder that there has come to them a Warner from among themselves. And the disbelievers say ‘this is a strange thing.’ Say ‘Allah is ajeeb’. The word ajeeb has the following meanings: miraculous, marvellous, surprising, extraordinary.

The meaning of this revelation the way I understand it is that the members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Worldwide are astonished to hear that one among them is saying that he is a Warner from Allah to the members of the Jamaat. They find this to be really strange because they think that they are privileged to have recognized the Promised Messiah and therefore they are the beloved of Allah and so Allah’s Favour will stay with them forever because they have put in place a system of caliphate. But the pages of history belie this completely. When Allah sends somebody to a group or to the world , it is because He wants to manifest His Mercy to the world and that is why at times He reveals to those sent “ And We have not sent you but as a Mercy for Mankind.” The ‘sent ones’ are imbued with divine love and divine light and through Allah’s Grace they will bring many ‘out of darkness into light’. The fact is that it should not have been difficult for those who once recognized someone who came from Allah to recognize another one in due course. But unfortunately that is not the case because vested interests prevent people from recognizing the Truth when it comes to them. The revelation “Say ‘Allah is surprising’ ” simply means that He does things that the majority of the people and even the leaders expect not, and He knows full well what He does. He knows but humans know not all the wisdom of His actions.

But for those who read the Holy Quran with an open mind and who meditate deeply on the writings and sayings of Hazrat Masih Maood (as), they are guided to the truth that Allah has sent to them. They do not find any contradiction with the words and actions of Allah. When they see what has been going on in the Jamaat , every thing falls in its place. They understand that Jamaat Ahmadiyya will receive persons appointed directly by Allah whenever there is a need for it. “Allah knows best where to place His Message” Holy Quran, Ch. 6 verse 125. The time for such needs is known only by Allah. And no Establishment can come in His Way to prevent His will from taking place.

I think that Jamaat Ahmadiyya is to be careful not to react like those who wronged their own selves by rejecting a message from Allah in the past. They should follow what Hazrat Masih Maood (as) has taught them to do in such circumstances. The Promised Messiah (as) said:

English Rendering:
“The truth is that as long as man does not think about something open-mindedly and does not concentrate on all aspects and does not listen with attention he cannot free himself from his old ways of thinking. This is why as soon as a man hears something new he should not start opposing it. It is his duty to think about all its aspects with due reflection; then with justice and honesty and above all with Allah’s fear in his heart he should think about this matter in solitude” [Malfoozaat Vol. 4 P 1-2].

If Jamaat Ahmadiyya adopts the attitude that Hazrat Massih Maood (as) has taught them, incha Allah they will never go astray. May Allah open the heart of all the members so that they all may be saved through Allah’s Grace. Those who are really learned within the Jamaat should come forward and express themselves about what I am saying. Hasn’t Allah told us in the Holy Quran: “Only those of His servants who are endowed with knowledge fear Allah” Ch. 35 verse 29.

In the coming sermons incha Allah, I will speak more on some other revelations that are relevant to this matter.

Ameen.