SUMMARY OF FRIDAY SERMON
by
the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
June 17th, 2005
(NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon by Sister Shermeen Butt)
Building Mosques
Huzuraba delivered the Friday Sermon from Calgary, Canada. As with last week Huzuraba once again spoke on the subject of building mosques. His discourse was with reference to yet another foundation stone for a mosque, this time in Calgary, scheduled to be laid the next day.
Huzuraba referred to the early mosque raised by the Holy Prophetsaw and his Companions in Medina, a structure of mud with a roof of date branches that leaked during rain and made the floor muddy, soiling the clothing of the worshippers. Yet, Huzuraba said, these very soiled clothing were a validation of the taqwa (righteousness) of these pious and holy people.
Huzuraba said we too ought to aspire to build and populate mosques akin to the blessed model of that early ‘Mosque of the Prophet’ (Masjid e Nabawi) that had the Unity of God as its axis and worshippers who had forsaken even the most latent of shirk (associating partners with Allah). Today we, who are fortunate to have accepted the Promised Messiahas and are thus given the surety of being joined to the ‘earlier ones’, can only be the recipients of the beneficence of being counted among the ‘latter-ones’ by attaining the love of the One God and by paying the dues of mankind.
Again referring to the example of the early Masid e Nabawi, Huzuraba said in the time of the Caliphate of Hadhrat Usmanra it was extended and renovated in adherence to the saying of the Holy Prophetsaw that whoever builds a mosque to seek the pleasure of Allah, Allah shall make a similar house for that person in Paradise.
Huzuraba said we deduce from this that the Holy Prophetsaw approved of mosques with sturdy and splendid structures, however the essence of building a mosque is to seek Allah’s pleasure.
With the grace of Allah, in our Community there are many sincere and earnest people who are ever eager and keen to contribute in the building of mosques. However, Huzuraba enjoined that the vying in making contributions should be purely to vie in good deeds and must never be intended as a negative contest. He said that only through paying the dues of Allah and paying the dues of mankind can we attain Allah’s pleasure.
Citing a hadith that likens mosques to ‘gardens of Paradise’ Huzuraba remarked that with the grace of Allah the people [of Calgary] were fortunate in that they were about to plant a garden of Paradise. He prayed that may this garden reach completion quickly, be of advantage to them and to the world. Huzuraba said while the Ahmadis need to raise the standards of their worship they also need to pay attention at fulfilling their civic duties towards the society they live in.
Reading extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiahas, Huzuraba stressed the significance of adopting taqwa as the primary means to avoid iniquities and to espouse good. Huzuraba said that the fact that we have accepted the Promised Messiahas in accordance to the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsaw places a huge responsibility on us to adhere to the his teachings and guard ourselves from the razzle-dazzle and materialism of this world. Huzuraba said many grand structures are raised in countries like Pakistan in the name of Allah, however, sadly they are devoid of taqwa and this is because they have defied the Imam of the time. Cautioning against such pitfalls Huzuraba took heart from the Divine promise that Allah shall continue to raise people in this Community who would pay the dues of Allah and those of mankind and would maintain an active link with Khilafat.
Huzuraba said this new mosque would be the source of attracting people to Ahmadiyyat. Therefore, addressing those present, he enjoined to reflect over the good fortune that Allah has granted them in the West and to be ever grateful to Him, to bring about pure changes in themselves and have no inconsistency in their word and action. This would draw the attention of the world to them in a positive light. Huzuraba urged each individual living around the new mosque to work towards introducing our Community to others.
Quoting the Promised Messiahas Huzuraba said that people of our Community ought to present themselves as exemplars to the world.
Huzuraba concluded on the prayer that may Allah enable us to adopt taqwa in accordance with the teachings of the Promised Messiahas, may we raise our standards of worship and virtue and may our objective be to seek Allah’s pleasure.