Friday Sermon of
Hazrat Amirul Momeneen
Zafrullah Domun

26 SEPTEMBER 2008

› Manifestation of Allah's mercy through revelation.

› Jummatul Widah

› The night of decree

After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta'uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine, Zafrullah Domun recited Sura Al Qadr (chapter 97) of the Holy Quran and then he said:

I had already prepared my sermon for today since Monday last. But I am changing it in order to share with my brothers and sisters some of the revelations that I have received from Allah during the past days specially last night. In the time that will be left I will read to you from what I had already written. But we will post the sermon in its entirety on our website where you may read it incha Allah.

I was woken up around half past midnight with the following words:

Oballeghokoum risaalaaté Rabbi

which means: I deliver to you the message of my Lord.

This message is quite clear and it reinforces what I have been saying since almost one year now.

Then I received the first eleven verses of surah Al Mo'minoon in Arabic, after the Bismillah . Their translation is as follows:

Successful indeed are the believers,

Who are humble in their Prayers,

And who shun all that which is vain,

And who are prompt and regular in paying the Zakat,

And who guard their chastity –

Except from their wives or what their right hands possess, for then they are not to be blamed;

But those, who seek anything beyond that are the transgressors –

And who are watchful of their trusts and their covenants,

And who are strict in the observance of their Prayers. These are the heirs,

Who will inherit Paradise . They will abide therein for ever.

These are very important verses of the Holy Quran where Allah speaks about the qualities of the believers who inherit paradise. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has made an excellent commentary of these verses in his book Braheen Ahmadiyya part five. He has said that in these verses Allah explain the six steps of the path that lead to Him. Incha Allah when I have some time I will explain this in greater detail.

The next revelation that I received was:

Al hamdo lillahil lazi ahallana daral moqamate min fazlehi

which means: All praise belong to Allah who has out of His bounty settled us in the Abode of Eternity.

There followed immediately after that a sentence in Arabic of which I have forgotten the real words but whose meaning is as follows: “He has adorned us there in with the garment of righteousness.” This is something for which you should rejoice my friends.

Then when I was in ruku of the 7th rakaat of Tahajjud, I started praying for all of you in our Jamaat. I decided to mention all your individual names. I had barely mentioned a few names when Allah revealed to me:

Wa Kollan wa'dalalhoul husna

which means: to all of them Allah has promised al husna

The word “husna” has many meanings and here are some of them: a happy end, victory, keenness and attentiveness. Why is Allah promising this to you? It is because you have responded to Allah's call. HE says in a verse of the Holy Quran:

For those who respond to their Lord is eternal good; and as for those who respond not to Him, if they had all that is in the earth and the like of it added thereto, they would readily ransom themselves therewith. It is these that shall have an evil reckoning and their abode is Hell. What a wretched place of rest! (13:19)

The word that has been translated as “eternal good” is “al-husna” in Arabic.

These are some of the revelations that I have wished to share with you. Incha Allah at some other times I will tell you some more. By the Grace of Allah, Allah is looking at us with mercy. Let us make a decision that all of us together we will do our best to deserve this mercy incha Allah.

Today is the last Friday of this month of Ramadan. In this sermon I will speak a few words about Jummatul Widah and I will read to you the comments of the Promised Messiah regarding the “night of decree” together with my comments.

As you all know for a muslim, Friday has a special significance. It is obligatory for all muslim men to leave their work and to attend the Friday prayer and that also on time. For the ladies it is not obligatory but if they do it they will be well requited for their efforts.

In the hadith we read about the many virtues of this day. It is not my intention to enumerate the hadith that have spoken about this subject. Most of these hadith are quite well known. We may talk about them in another sermon when we will talk about the importance of the Friday Prayer in Islam incha Allah. My intention is to say a few words about the myth and folklore that surrounds the last Friday of the month of Ramadan commonly known as Jummatul Widah. There is a common misconception among some muslims that if they attend the Friday Prayer of the last day of Ramadan, they will have all their sins forgiven irrespective of the fact that they have been fasting or not or even if they have been observing the rules of the month of Ramadan as prescribed by Islam or not. In fact in many muslim countries especially in South Asia, namely India, Pakistan and Bangladesh people flock to the mosque on this day thinking that their attendance will give them a passport to paradise and they will have all their sins forgiven. Such a belief is not at all supported by the Holy Quran or by even any authentic hadith to the best of my knowledge.

There is no denying the fact that Allah, being All-Powerful and being the Sole Judge may even forgive inveterate sinners out of His Mercy. But from what He has told us in His Book and from what the Holy Prophet (saw) has explained to us, man has to strive to win the pleasure of Allah and he should pray to Allah to attract His Mercy. Life in this world is a constant struggle. Praying only one day is not sufficient. Allah has made prayer obligatory for us everyday. Therefore we would be completely mistaken if we believe that attending the mosque for forty five minutes or even less on the last Friday of Ramadan will be enough to have all our sins forgiven.

In the Middle East since some time now, some muslim countries observe the day of Qods - Jerusalem - on the last Friday of Ramadan. This was a practice initiated by the late imam Khomeini of Iran. They make rallies and they remind the new generation about the tragedy of Jerusalem which has been taken over from the Muslims by the Jews with the backing of the English, the French and the American governments in 1948. Therefore this day is being used as a reminder of those events which led to the loss of the third Holy place of Islam. This is just a small piece of information that I wanted to share with you.

Nonetheless I should say that all of us should do our best to engage ourselves in special prayers today because it is a Friday and it is also the last one in this month of Ramadan. We should strive to derive the maximum benefits that are associated with it. Even after the Jummah prayers it would be of immense benefit to us if we engage ourselves in supplications or reading of the Holy Quran or reciting darood and asking for forgiveness. So we should do our best to be thoroughly engaged in devotions for the rest of the day with the hope that Allah will accept them from us incha Allah.

Now, the translation of the verses of chapter Qadr (97) of the Holy Quran which I have just read to you are as follows:

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.

Surely, We sent it down during the Night of Decree.

And what shall make thee know what the Night of Decree is?

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.

Therein descend angels and the Spirit by the command of their Lord

with Divine decree concerning every matter.

It is all peace till the rising of the dawn.

In the first verse after Bismillah, Allah says that “We” have sent it down. The word “Quran” is not mentioned but it is understood. In fact the whole chapter is speaking about the descent of the Holy Quran and the merit of the night when it was revealed. The word aylatun which has been used here has a different connotation than the word layl which is more commonly used to denote the “night” in Arabic. According to the famous lexicographer Marzuqi the word laylatun” is used in opposition to nawm (day) and layl is used in opposition to nahar (day). However the word laylatun expresses exaggeration and it expresses a wider and more extensive meaning than the word layl. Some commentators say that the word laylatun has been used eight times in the Holy Quran including the three times that it has been used in the chapter under discussion. Every time the word has been used in connection with the revelation of the Holy Quran and with related subjects.

The word qadr on the other hand has the following meanings: measure, limit or number; value, worth, greatness; dignity, majesty, power; decree or destiny; ordinance (Lane and Aqrab) [ Holy Quran with English Translation and commentary Vol 3page 2858].

Hence if we read these verses taking the meanings of the words as I have just explained we will have an idea of how the night when the Holy Quran was revealed was really great, dignified, and majestic and one that would spell out the destiny of mankind till the end of time because there will be no other revealed book that will come for the guidance of mankind. This is the final Book.

Now the night of qadr started in one of the last odd nights during the last ten days of Ramazan in the year 610. There is difference of opinion as to which date it was. Therefore we will not go into that discussion. We leave it for the time being. Here Allah speaks about the majesty of the night when the Holy Quran was revealed. We all know that when the Holy Prophet died there was no more revelation of the Holy Quran. Therefore the blessings of that great night would have been gone for ever. But in the hadith we see that the Holy Prophet used to look for the night of destiny in the last ten nights of each Ramadan and he asked his companions to do the same. I think this is a great favour of Allah on the umma of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) that He has kept these blessings there for the taking for each succeeding generations of muslims till the end of time. This shows the greatness of our Holy Prophet (saw) and it illustrates also how great a blessing he was for mankind especially for those who want to walk in his footsteps.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Mahdi of latter days and the Promised Messiah has given us an additional insight into this verse. He says:

“In this chapter God Almighty gives glad tidings to believers that His Revelation, His Prophet, have been sent during a night - a night of Power. Every reformer, every restorer of faith, who comes from God descends as it were form above during such a night of power. Do you know what a night of power is? Night of Power is a time when terrible darkness envelopes the world. That time - so dark it is - demands light, light to dispel darkness. It is a metaphorical expression. It is a dark time, called a dark night. It is not a night literally so. It is a time, which because of its darkness is described as a night. It begins to settle down 1,000 months after a prophet or his spiritual successor has come and gone. One thousand months is equal to an individual life span. At the end of this period human sense also come to an end. When so much time has elapsed, heaven sows the seed for the birth of one or more reformers to appear at the head of the new century. We have a further hint in the words of God "The night of power is better than one thousands months" (Holy Quran 97:4). It means that those who are able to see the heavenly light descend during the night of power are better than the 80 year old who were not present at the time of the descent of this light. One moment of light received during this night is better than a thousand months before the night. And why? Because during this night angels of God and the Holy Spirit descend with the permission of the God of Majesty along with the reformer of the time. Not for anything, but in order that they may move willing hearts and shows them the many paths to spiritual security. They - the angels and the Holy Spirit - open the new paths and draw the curtains. Then the darkness of indifference and ignorance disappears. And instead appears the dawn of spiritual life and light.

Now O Mussalmans, read and ponder over these verses. How precious in the eyes of God is the time in which - to fit into the need - God sends a reformer into the world. Will you not be grateful for finding yourselves in such a time? Will you treat with ridicule the promises of God?”

(Victory of Islam, page 20)

( http://www.alislam.org/books/victoryofislam/VICTORY%20OF%20ISLAM.pdf)

The last paragraph of this quotation was addressed at that time to the muslims. But today it fits as well for the Ahmadis who are turning a deaf ear to what I have been telling them since last year. This quotation speaks clearly about how corruption starts making its way in a spiritual organization. “It is a time, which because of its darkness is described as a night. It begins to settle down 1,000 months after a prophet or his spiritual successor has come and gone.” he says. So to him this darkness would come also to Jamaat Ahmadiyya. Now that 100 (hundred) years have elapsed since the death of the Promised Messiah, the Ahmadis have a new belief for which they have to sacrifice their lives. Whereas from the Promised Messiah's writings we do not see any such things as khilafat the way the Jamaat wants to present it . Therefore we are in that period of “the night of destiny or decree” these days. Allah has raised this humble one as an Imam to teach the Ahmadis the real teachings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad which they are abandoning and replacing by an all pervading faith in an institution named “Khilafat”.

In the same book “Victory of Islam” Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) says:

“He who is blind himself cannot show the way to the blind and he who is a leper cannot take away the disease from other people's bodies. Tajdid (passion for true reform) springs from a holy state which first descends on the heart of some one blessed with the gift of divine revelation. From him it passes on to others. Those who receive this reforming zeal from God do not trade in dead bones. On the contrary, they play the part of deputies to the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace) and spiritually speaking are his successors or Khalifas . They inherit the blessings with which God favors His prophets and apostles. What they say comes effortlessly and spontaneously from their hearts. They do not teach only word of mouth but both by word and deed. The revelation of God illumines their hearts. In times of difficulty they receive guidance from the Holy Spirit. Their speech and conduct are not mixed with the love or fear of this world. They are made transparently clean inside and out. They are drawn wholly to God.”(page 5)

This is what Hazrat Massih has taught us. But the Establishment of the Jamaat wants Ahmadis to believe that the institution of khilafat is here for this purpose. I hope that those who are endowed with some understanding would reflect and wonder whether the Jamaat with its institution is what has been promised by Allah. Or is it the coming of some people from Allah in time of need that has been promised and been fulfilled.

Talking about the coming down of angels in the night of destiny Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) says:

“Maybe the ignorant will ask, what does it mean - this descent of angels from heaven? Let them know it is the custom of God that when a prophet or apostle or saint descends from heaven to reform and restore a people to faith, then angels also descend with him, in his company. These angels enter human hearts willing and ready. They draw them to virtue and keep drawing them, until unbelief and misguidance disappear and the dawn of belief and righteousness shows its face. As indeed God Almighty Himself says in the Holy Quran:

"In it - the Night of Power - descend angels and a New Spirit, all by the command of their Lord and charged with every kind of affair. Peace it is, peace - till the rising of the dawn". (Holy Quran Chapter 97:5-6).

The descent from Heaven, that is to say, angels and the Holy Spirit takes place only when a great human - an elect - draped in vicegerency and blessed with divine revelation, descends upon this earth. The Holy Spirit is specially charged to work for this man. And the angels, they descend upon willing hearts all over the world. Then wherever there are men of good will and ability the light emitted by this man descends. The whole world is then under the influence of a pervasive light. Angels enter men's hearts and set them in the right direction. Love of the One God begins to attract. Simple and Straight hearts become charged with the love and search of truth. The weak are endowed with strength. Everywhere a wind of wholesome change begins to blow. The cause of the reformer begins to prosper. A hidden hand moves men to righteousness. Whole nations begin to feel the push. So much indeed, that the ignorant among men begin to think the world has taken a turn towards the right, all on its own. In reality the change is the work of angels who descend from Heaven along with the vicegerent of God, and lend special strength for the acceptance and understanding of truth. They awaken those who were asleep and alert those who were lost. They give hearing to the deaf, quicken those who were dead, and raise the entombed out of their graves. Then do men suddenly open their eyes and begin to perceive and understand what was hidden from them before. The angels who help the Vicegerent are not beings apart from the Vicegerent. They are the light that shines on his face. They are the many signs and symptoms of his courage and will. This light, that is, these signs and symptoms draw towards themselves men suited to the change, by their magnetic quality. Physical distance may or may not separate them, the men drawn may be friends or complete strangers.

In short the stir towards a new conscience, a new enthusiasm for truth that mark the change, come of the influence emanating from the angels, who descend along with the Vicegerent. It may be the people of Asia or Europe or America . It is angels who move them. This is the law of God. You will find no change in it and it is so easy and simple to grasp. It will be your misfortune if you heed it not.” (page 7-8)

The reason why I have quoted from this book is to help people to reflect. I hope they may profit by the teachings of the Promised Messiah and that they may be able to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Unfortunately we cannot continue because of time constraints. Incha Allah we will speak about this subject next week and I will also tell you about some more revelations that Allah has given me recently.