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Requirements of being a True Believer and Jihad-e-Nafs

Summary of Friday Sermon

delivered by the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

September 9th, 2005

(NOTE: Alislam Team takes full responsibility for any errors or miscommunication in this Synopsis of the Friday Sermon by Sister Shermeen Butt)

With his European tour in progress, Huzuraba delivered this Friday Sermon from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Huzuraba cited verses 11 and 12 of Surah Al Saff (61:11,12) and gave a discourse on strengthening and invigorating one's faith; to endeavour and bring one's level of faith worthy of the title, mu'min (true believer).

Huzuraba began by directly addressing the congregation and said most of them belonged to families whose elders had the blessing of coming into Ahmadiyyat. These elders were thus enabled to have the honour to be in the blessed company of the Promised Messiahas. It was their piety, their angst to seek nearness to God that was rewarded by being granted the capacity to believe in the Promised Messiahas. Huzuraba said undoubtedly they must have also prayed for their generations to partake of this beneficence as well. Today, having emigrated to the West, those families have improved their economic status and it is their obligation to ensure that they do not let their monetary gains and the associated conveniences make them negligent from remembrance of God and be ensnared by satanic inclinations.

It so happens, Huzuraba said, when one gives preference to worldly matters over one’s faith that one comes to one’s senses when it is too late. Hence the numerous ways and means elucidated in the Holy Qur’an (like the verses Huzuraba opened his sermon with) to rectify one’s state of faith and belief. Huzuraba said the Holy Qur’an also gives us the glad-tiding of ‘joining’ in rank with the ‘earlier ones’, that is to say, the Companions of the Holy Prophetsaw. The spiritual standards and models of these blessed Companions were extremely lofty and in order to aspire to them we need to seriously reflect over our state of faith.

Huzuraba mentioned the pastimes, amusements that distract one from remembrance of Allah, citing compulsion to spend all hours in front of the computer or the TV as such deviations, as well as one’s obsession with one’s employment or business. Huzuraba related the significance of observing the Jummah (Friday) prayer in sustaining one’s faith and cited Ahadith to further elucidate. Huzuraba explained that the Friday sermon was indeed a part of the Jummah prayer and should be given the same consideration.

Huzuraba said today the Jihad of the nafs (self) entails to be mindful that the worldly gains are temporary and that one must not care for these fleeting gains as well as one must give up all ills for the Jihad of the nafs. Today, to sacrifice one’s life entails to sacrifice one’s nafs; for one’s Community and to eliminate egotism, while worldly desires remain incessant; one must commit 1/16th of one’s income for the Community contribution (chanda).

Huzuraba remarked that the younger generation appeared to be most devoted to the Community; however some might be misguided by certain elders. Therefore, Huzuraba enjoined the elders to take their role within the Community seriously and to maintain excellent models of sacrifice of one’s nafs as well as of monetary sacrifice. Huzuraba counselled the younger generation to continue to strengthen their ties with the Community and set their own examples, to maintain a strong, living link with Allah which will enable them to avoid the depravity that surrounds the Western society.

Huzuraba said one should not be self-satisfied merely because one has believed the Imam of the age; indeed the holy and spiritual prowess of the Holy Prophetsaw had an amazing influence on the Bedouins but as verse 15 of Surah Al Hujurat (49:15) states there remained room for improvement, today, Huzuraba said, the room for improvement is vast.

Reading extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiahas Huzuraba explained that the first steps towards a state of Iman (faith) are that one adopts humility and avoids idle and useless matters, that one gives Zakat out of one’s wholesome earnings, one controls one’s lustful inclinations, and indeed tries to honour all the pledges one makes during the pledge of allegiance (Bai’at). Huzuraba said then there is the pledge an office-holder makes, to safeguard the trust that has been given to him/her, this pledge should be a source of strengthening their faith. Huzuraba said one is commanded to be mindful of all aspects to strengthen one’s faith and then not to suffice; to continue to honour one promise after the other and to attain further capacities, for this is a process that goes on all of one’s life.

Huzuraba said once this process gathers regularity and momentum, each action one makes is instinctively to seek the pleasure of God; an Ahmadi should aspire to this. Huzuraba prayed that may we focus on this for our spiritual development as well as to take the message of Islam to the world.

Huzuraba urged to continue to self-assess and self-reflect while maintaining taqwa (righteousness), this would bring our weaknesses to the fore and give us an opportunity for reformation. He prayed that may we all be among those who seek Allah’s pleasure and during this quest be enabled to move onwards in good deeds.