Qualities of believing men and women

Summary of Friday Sermon

delivered by the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

November 9^th, 2007

Huzur cited verse 71 of Surah Al Taubah (9:71) and gave a discourse on the qualities of believing men and women as enumerated in the verse. The translation reads:

“And the believers, men and women, are friends one of another. They enjoin good and forbid evil and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is these on whom Allah will have mercy. Surely, Allah is Mighty, Wise.”

Huzur said a body of people that truly personifies these qualities is one having true belief. Explaining the seven qualities described therein Huzur said the first distinction of these people is that they are friends with each other and share sincere mutual love and are ever ready to help each other. These people bid others to do good and disseminate what is virtuous. While they wish good for themselves they also have similar feelings for others with the objective that a community of sincere people is brought together. They also prevent others from doing what is wrong and anything that negates the commandments of Allah. They stop the persecutor and are ever ready to help the persecuted.

These people are those who establish their Salat, a pillar of Islam; they observe it regularly and understand that without its observance the claim to be a true believer is meaningless. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said Salat is essential and the zenith of a true believer, he said it is the best way to supplicate to God, it constitutes of Hamd (glorification of Allah), Istaghfar (seeking forgiveness) and Durood (invoking blessings on the Prophet), and that is the reason it is the most excellent incantation/invocation.

The fifth quality of these people is that they pay the Zakat and spend in the way of Allah. Huzur said he would elucidate this point later. They also obey God and His Messenger and in order to pay the dues of Allah and the dues of mankind they endeavour to put all the commandments of Allah in practice. It is such people on whom Allah has mercy and these people are deserving of His mercy. Huzur said this has been stated by the God Who is Wise so that by putting all these attributes in practice we too can inculcate wisdom and astuteness in ourselves which in turn generates communal strength, fairness and justice.

Huzur said Allah sent the true and ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), the Imam of the age to spread this message to every human being. It is our task to take this message to everyone so that we may witness the fulfilment of the Divine promise of triumph of Islam. By giving true believers these qualities Allah has made them the recipients of His promises. Each one of us needs to understand this objective with the perspective of the pledge of allegiance (bai’at) we have made to sacrifice our life, property, time etc.

Next Huzur recapped the quality of the true believers to spend in the way of Allah, to pay Zakat. Huzur said as we are aware the Tehrik e Jadid year ends in October each year and the new year starts on 1st of November. Announcing the start of the new Tehrik e Jadid year Huzur said he would mention those believing men and women who pay Zakat. Explaining Huzur said paying the Zakat signifies taking out a portion of one’s wealth to purify that wealth in obedience with the commandment of Allah so that that wealth is blessed, that it is used to help the brothers and sisters who are in need, is used in the propagation of faith. Huzur said it is making a ‘deal’ with Allah to further absorb His grace, he said this is an act in which there is no loss, where the output far out weighs the input. Huzur said in industry where raw material is used for production there is always some wastage of the raw material, however, Allah has given guarantee to those who spend in His way that their wealth would only increase and has thus brought it to the notice of the believers that although they earn this wealth through worldly means when they spend it in the way of Allah not only do they gain spiritually they also preserve their commercial ventures.

Huzur cited verse 273 of Surah Al Baqarah (2:273) and said that in one’s business one keeps accounts, plans and makes feasibility study, projects profit margins which can vary and can be 100% if one is inclined to indulge in black marketing. This way one makes a material profit, however the wealth generated is not pure. Whereas Allah says that when you spend in His way the ‘return’ is copious and limitless in addition to the spiritual benefits we reaps. People who practise this are those who do not exploit others and conduct their businesses in the correct manner.

Huzur remarked that our Community has people of all social standings and everyone wishes to spend in the way of Allah. Huzur said we have had, and still do, people in the Community who live on allowances, however, each time the Khalifa of the time initiates a monetary scheme they join most enthusiastically and thus seek Allah’s pleasure. Huzur related the account of an Ahmadi who has been making huge promises for Tehrik e Jadid with complete trust in Allah to provide for two years running and each year somehow Allah has been providing for him to fulfil his extraordinary promises. Huzur said no matter how much we glorify Allah in thankfulness for such blessings we can never thank Him enough that is why we should always glorify Him, indeed Allah increases the faith of one who glorifies Him and trusts Him.

Huzur said this trust in Allah and indeed the capacity has been granted to an Ahmadi because he/she has entered into the bai’at of the Promised Messiah and has been granted the perception and insight to have certainty of the Divine promise. He/she has compelling faith that Allah gives a tremendous reward for an act that is done purely for His sake and that He turns each fear into peace and each grief into happiness.

Citing verse 275 of Surah Al Baqarah (2:275) Huzur said the condition is that the wealth spent in the way of Allah is earned through pure means, is not earned by deception or exploitation of the underprivileged. Allah only wishes that wealth spent in His way that is earned through legitimate means and can be purified.

Speaking of Tehrik e Jadid Huzur said through the blessings of this scheme, indeed through the blessings of Allah and His Prophet, the blessing of Khilafat today our Community has spread in 189 countries around the world. As it is traditional Huzur then announced the worldwide contribution to the scheme of Tehrik e Jadid in the year 2006-2007, it stands at £ 3,612,000.00. Huzur said despite the US dollar and Pakistani Rupee having a low exchange rate with Pound Sterling through the year the contribution for this year is £110,000.00 more than last year. The situation in Pakistan is clear to all. The disturbances have affected businesses; the majority of people there are underprivileged, however, these people spend in the way of Allah. Therefore this year again Pakistan stands first in making the biggest contribution, second is USA, then the UK, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, India, Australia, Belgium and Mauritius. Among the African nations Nigeria made the biggest contribution. Huzur said sixteen thousand new contributors joined Tehrik e Jadid this year. Huzur gave a breakdown of the UK Jama’ats in terms of largest contributions; London Mosque stood first, followed by Worcester Park, Bradford, Scunthorpe and Glasgow among the top five. In USA the top five were Silicon Valley, Chicago West, North Virginia, L.A. East and Detroit. Huzur prayed for all those who made contributions to Tehrik e Jadid that may Allah bless them profusely.

Huzur drew the attention of the African Jama’ats and their missionaries to make efforts to introduce more people to Tehrik e Jadid and improve their contributions. In particular Huzur said the new converts should be involved and included in this blessed scheme and should not be deprived of its beneficence. Huzur prayed that may each individual in the Community be enabled to comprehend the blessings of Tehrik e Jadid.

Next Huzur announced the sad news of the passing away of Yusuf Khalid Sahib of the Sierra Leone Jama’at. Huzur said he had been trained at the Ja’mia in Rabwah . He fell ill on 28th Oct and results showed he suffered from hepatitis. He immediately went into a coma and passed away on 2nd Nov. Huzur paid tribute to his sincerity and fervour for the Community and prayed that may Allah grant us many missionaries who would follow in his footsteps as the future obligations in Africa are ever-increasing. May Allah grant steadfastness to the bereaved family and elevate his status in Paradise and bestow him a place among those dear to Him.