Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

Friday Sermon 21st March 2008

After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine Zafrullah Domun recited the following verse of the Holy Quran:

“Laqad kaana lakoum fi rasoulillahé ouswatoun hasnatoun le man kaana yarjoulllaha wal yawmil aakheraté wa zakarallaha kasiran”

As you may all know, the holy Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) was born on the 12th day of the third month of the Islamic calendar in the year 570 A.D. Since the Islamic Calendar was started by Hazrat Omar (ra) as from the year of the Hijra, that is the Emigration in 622 A.D, so we do not give the year for the prophet’s birth in the Islamic calendar. Many Muslims around the world celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet on this day. However we should bear in mind that not all Muslims celebrate this day. In the Arab world few Muslims celebrate this day. But in the indo-pak Muslim world this birthday is celebrated with great joy and pomp. Even in Mauritius you would notice that this day is celebrated and there are even ceremonies where even the members of the government take part. Most Muslim Mauritians are participating in these ceremonies today.

But the Ahmadiyya Jamaat does not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (s.a.w.) because Ahmadis believe celebrating birthdays is an innovation and it leads to perdition. Instead the mainstream Jamaat Ahmadiyya holds meetings/conferences to speak about the qualities of the Prophet (s.a.w.). The aim is to inform the whole world about the excellent example of the Holy prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) in all walks of life.

There are many well known non-Muslims intellectuals who have spoken in praise of the Holy prophet Mohammad (s.a.w). The most prominent among them are George Bernard Shaw, Alphonse de Lamartine, Carlyle and there are many others. However there is one person whose name is Michael Hart and he wrote a book in 1978 entitled “The 100 - A ranking of the most influential persons in History”. He was a professor of History from one of the universities in America. As a professor you can imagine the breadth of his knowledge. He must have studied widely and in depth. He chose a list of the most influential persons in history and he picked 100 out from them. His list included many prophets including Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, many statesmen, many artists also etc. But he chose our beloved prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) to top the list. I will give some extracts from this book so that you may come to realize that how truth-loving people can reach a conclusion that we Muslims take for granted. He says:

“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Mohammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.

The majority of the persons in this book had the ad¬vantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning Orphaned at age six, he was reared in modest surroundings. Islamic tra¬dition tells us that he was illiterate. His economic position improved when, at age twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow. Nevertheless, as he approached forty, there was little outward indication that he was a remarkable person….
When Muhammad died, in 632, he was the effective ruler of all southern
Arabia…….”

He then goes on to give an overview of Islamic history, after which he says:

“How, then, is one to assess the overall impact of Muhammad on human history? Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book. Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are two principal reasons for that decis¬ion. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology its principal proselytizer and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.

Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theo¬logy of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam. Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem Holy Scriptures, the Koran, a collection of certain of Muhammad’s insights that he believed had been directly revealed to him by Allah, Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his death. The Koran, therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived. Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the influence of Muhammad through the medium of the Koran has been enormous. It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Chris¬tianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.

Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time.

Of many important historical events, one might say that they were inevitable and would have occurred even without the particular political leader, who guided them. For example, the South American colonies would probably have won their independence from Spain even if Simon Bolivar had never lived. But this cannot be said of the, Arab conquests. Nothing similar had occurred before Muhammad, and there is no reason to believe that the conquests would have been achieved without him. The only comparable conquests in human history are those of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, which were primarily due to the influence of Genghis Khan. These conqu¬ests, however, though more extensive than those of the Arabs, did not prove permanent, and today the only areas occupied by the Mongols are those that they held prior to the time of Genghis Khan.

It is far different with the conquests of the Arabs. From Iraq to Morocco, there extends a whole chain of Arab nations united not merely by their faith in Islam, but also by their Arabic language, history, and culture. The centrality of the Koran in the Moslem religion and the fact that it is written in Arabic have probably prevented the Arab language from breaking up into mutually unintelligible dialects, which might otherwise have occurred in the intervening thirteen centuries. We see, then, that the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination at secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history”

This is how a non-Muslim has assessed the significance of the role of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) in the history of mankind. Now I will give you one or two extracts from that Muslim who I think knew the status of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w) more than any other Muslim who has ever lived. That person is Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. In his writings or his speeches he never tired of explaining the greatness of his Beloved Master Mohammad (s.a.w). In one of his earliest revelations, he received “Koullo Barakatin mim mohammadin sallallaho alayhé wassal lam , fatabaarakallaho man allama wa ta’allam”. It means “Every blessing is from Mohammad on whom be peace and blessings of Allah; blessed is he who taught and he who was taught”. Most probably it was such a revelation that made him turn his back to the world and seek the blessings of Allah through the Holy Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w). That was what he did throughout his life. In one of his poems he says:

“Ba’d az khoda béishqé Mohammad Mokhammaram
Gar kufr iin boud ba khoda sakht kafiram”
It means: “After God I am inebriated with the love of Mohammad
If this is infidelity, then I am a great infidel”

The opponents of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) say that he did not believe in the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.). But only these two verses are sufficient to show that what they say is totally false. Now let us see how much spiritual insight he had in the personality of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). I will give you some quotations:

(1) Exalted Status of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.)
“That light of high degree that was bestowed on perfect man was not in angels, was not in stars, was not in the moon, was not in the sun, was not in the oceans and the rivers, was not in rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or pearls; in short, it was not in any earthly or heavenly object. It was only in perfect man whose highest and loftiest and most perfect example was our lord and master, the Chief of the Prophets, the Chief of all living ones, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. That light was bestowed on this man and, according to their ranks, upon all those who bore the same color to some degree.... This dignity was found in its highest and most perfect form in our lord and master and our guide, the immaculate Prophet, the righteous one, testified to by the righteous, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 5, pp. 160-162]”

(2) "I always wonder how high was the status of this Arabian Prophet, whose name was Muhammad, (thousands ofblessings and peace be upon him). One cannot reach the limit of his high status and it is not given to man to estimate correctly his spiritual effectiveness. It is a pity that his rank has not been recognized, as it should have been. He was the champion who restored to the world the Unity of God which had disappeared from the world; he loved God in the extreme and his soul melted out of sympathy for mankind. Therefore, God, Who knew the secret of his heart, exalted him above all the Prophets and all the first ones and the last ones and bestowed upon him in his lifetime all that he desired. He is the fountainhead of every grace and a person who claims any superiority without acknowledging his grace is not a man but is the spawn of Satan, because the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) has been bestowed the key to every exaltation and he has been given the treasury of every understanding. He who does not receive through him is deprived forever. I am nothing and possess nothing. I would be most ungrateful if I were not to confess that I have learnt of the true Unity of God through this Prophet. The recognition of the Living God we have achieved through this perfect Prophet and through his light. The honour of converse with God, through which we behold His countenance, has been bestowed upon me through this great Prophet. The ray of this sun of guidance falls like sunshine upon me and I continue to be illumined only so long as I am adjusted towards it.[Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 118-119]

(3) O all ye who dwell upon the earth, and O all human souls that are in the east or in the west, I announce to you emphatically that the true reality in the earth is Islam alone, and the True God is the God Who is described in the Qur’an, and the Prophet who has everlasting spiritual life and who is seated on the throne of glory and holiness, is Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. The proof of his spiritual life and holy majesty is that by following him and loving him we become recipients of the Holy Spirit and are favoured with the bounty of converse with God and witness heavenly signs.

There are many very interesting quotes that I wished to share with you but unfortunately because of lack of time I will not be able to read them to you today. We, in Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen, should strive to live our lives one the example of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w). In the verse which I read at the beginning of the sermon Allah says:
“Surely you have in the prophet of Allah an excellent model for him who hopes to meet Allah and the last day and who remembers Allah much”(Ch.33:V.22)

Therefore each one amongst us and indeed every Muslim should make it a duty to become more aware of the life of the Holy prophet (s.a.w) and then we should strive to imitate him in our everyday life. If we want to fulfill the objective of our life we should make it a duty to send Darood on the prophet everyday of the week and particularly on Fridays. If we do not do this, but we content ourselves to participate in an event organized in his honor once in a year, we would be deluding ourselves if we think that we would be profiting by his example. The excellent exemplar that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was should have a meaning in our daily life and not once a year. Make it a duty to send darood on the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) regularly, then , incha Allah , you will witness some very particular blessings of Allah.

To end I will tell you some of the revelations that I have received during the week without any comments. They are as follows:

(1) “Laa yastati’ ouna nasrahoum, wa houm lahoum joundoum mouhrazouna.” This is verse 76 of chapter 36, Yasin. Its translation is: “But they are not able to help them. They will be brought before Allah as a group.”

(2) “Ja’alani rabbi imamal mouttaqeen”. It means “My Lord has made me an Imam for those who are Allah –fearing”. I have been given to understand that those who are not Allah-fearing will not take me as their Imam because I am not for them.

(3) “Inna wa’dona wa’dal haq , falaa takoum minal moumtareen”. It means “our promise is true. Be not of those who doubt”.

Ameen.