Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Friday Sermon Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad(ra) 23 November 1923 Published in Al-Fazl, 30 November 1923
Topics: Divine chastisement, angelic armies, prophethood, vision of epidemic, tabligh
It is the established practice of Allah the Exalted that whenever He sends a divinely commissioned and appointed messenger into the world, He dispatches alongside him armies of angels befitting his station and rank. For a prophet is a spiritual sovereign, and no sovereign can exist without an army. Foolish unbelievers and ignorant objectors have always said that such a prophet has no army — but since a prophet is not a temporal king but a spiritual one, his throne is spiritual, his crown is spiritual, and his armies, too, are spiritual. Just as worldly sovereigns seek to establish their rule by the force of the sword, compel submission through coercion and violence, and press upon their enemies with cannons and rifles — so do the prophets overcome their adversaries through the cannonballs of their prayers, and aid their friends through those same means. Outward governments recruit brave young men from valiant nations to fill their armies; but the armies of the prophets are filled with angels. Again, whereas worldly kings destroy their enemies with material means, the enemies of the prophets are destroyed by heavenly means. The prophets possess everything that earthly kings possess — indeed, they possess more. They are masters of crown, throne, and dominion — but all of this is spiritual in nature, and all of their provisions are furnished by Allah the Exalted. Just as rebels against earthly governments are destroyed, so too are the enemies of the prophets given a spiritual execution by inner means. Just as the enemies of governments are put to the sword, so too does Allah deal with the enemies of the prophets — He who is fully aware of their circumstances — according to what they deserve. A prisoner of an earthly government can remain content in his cell and often does, for he may console himself by thinking that he sought the liberation of his people and considers his imprisonment an honour. Likewise, a soldier who dies for the dignity of his country dies contentedly. But one whom God has struck down finds no contentment — neither in this world nor the next. Whoever is overtaken by the wrath of God and cast into God's prison cannot be at peace. God's manner of imprisonment is this: He destroys one's honour, afflicts the body with such illness that rest and comfort become impossible, and strips one of all joy.
In our own age, Allah has sent His commissioned messenger — this was His favour, for although people had gone astray, and had chosen wickedness and forgotten God, He did not wish to close the door of blessings that He had opened through Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (saw). Despite people's ingratitude toward so great a messenger as the Holy Prophet(sa), Allah sent forth His commissioned envoy. With this envoy also, the same treatment was meted out as had been visited upon the commissioned ones before him. People sought to erase him and to destroy his movement — yet Allah fulfilled His promise and made it manifest.
At the time the Promised Messiah(as) made his claim, his own condition and that of his followers appeared outwardly very weak. I was born before his claim, and though I did not witness the very beginning, I did witness the period close to it. That was an era of great weakness. Scholars of all kinds would stir up passions against the people and cause harm and suffering by every possible means. I recall that Hazrat Sahib(as) once went to Multan in connection with a legal testimony, and I was with him — I must have been around eight years old at the time. When he returned from there, there was some invitation in Lahore, or some other matter — I do not recall exactly. He entered through the Delhi Gate, and near the Sonehri Masjid or Wazir Khan Mosque, I saw a very large gathering, the people holding stones in their hands and making a great clamour and commotion. Among all the scenes in that crowd, one in particular remains fixed in my memory from that childhood age: a man with one arm cut off, who was striking his stump against his other hand, shouting and making a tremendous noise. At that age, his condition did not appear pitiable — it appeared comical. He imagined he was performing some great and noble deed. But today, when I reflect on those circumstances, I ask myself: what harm did his few pebbles or his insults do to Hazrat Sahib(as) or to his movement? For the declaration of truth, swords had been placed upon necks — and even that had accomplished nothing. It was altogether a state of helplessness that those people found themselves in; they imagined that perhaps they could achieve something this way. I recall that I was sitting in the back seat of the carriage facing the horse, leaning nearly halfway out from the rear of the carriage, watching from a distance the spectacle of why these people were making such noise.
So there was a time when people would clap and jeer at the sight of Allah's commissioned messenger, thinking they had accomplished something great. But today, when his servants — who are nothing in comparison to his rank — go anywhere, people honour them and seat them with reverence. Hundreds come and meet them with respect. Even those who oppose us acknowledge that this is a dignified and capable community that deserves respect. How different that was — when stones were thrown at Hazrat Sahib(as) and people clapped at him — from this — when even his servants are treated with honour. How did this state come about? How did this reality enter into the hearts of the world? By what means did this transformation occur? Did we abandon the teachings that Hazrat Sahib(as) had presented? No — we proclaim the very same things. People still disagree with us today. But the difference between that time and now is simply this: at that time, the army of angels had just begun its work, and now it has, to a degree, completed a portion of it.
This transformation has also involved God's wrathful signs: here in the form of earthquakes, there in the form of storms and plague, here as influenza, there as famine and pestilence, and in yet other forms elsewhere. These signs were the battles fought from God's side in support of His commissioned messenger. Through them, the enmities of many were destroyed; those in whom goodness lay hidden came to accept; some abandoned their opposition. But this work is not yet finished. And as is known from the revelations of Hazrat Sahib(as), this chain of onslaughts will not cease until Islam becomes the dominant religion in the world. Yes, God sometimes grants respite and pauses, so that during this interval people may reflect and turn toward their own reformation. As is indicated by the revelation of Hazrat Sahib(as):
إِنِّي مَعَ الرَّسُولِ أَقُومُ أُفْطِرُ وَأَصُومُ1
Foolish people mock at this revelation and ask: does God also fast and break the fast? But the meaning of this revelation is: I stand with the Messenger. Sometimes I bring chastisement upon the world, and sometimes such is the condition that I grant respite and listen to people's entreaties. The time of chastisement is likened to breaking the fast, and the time of restraining chastisement is likened to keeping the fast. It never happens that chastisement comes continuously — rather, God grants an interval, and then sends down chastisement again. At one time the sword is drawn, and at another it is returned to its scabbard. The chain shall continue until the divine promise is fulfilled.
I have delivered this sermon today on the basis of a vision I saw the night before last, from which it appears that some further chastisement is about to descend upon the world, and that it is coming in the near future. I saw two scenes. First, I saw a sick person, about whom I was informed that he was a plague patient. Then it appeared as though a group of us were passing through a lane, when a man said to us: "Stand back — buffaloes are about to pass through here." It appeared as if next to the lane there was an open field, enclosed on all sides by a wall with a gate on one side that had no doors. My companions and I entered through this gate. We saw the buffaloes that were to pass through the lane — they came charging forward with raised necks, in the manner of buffaloes that charge to gore. I waited for them to pass, but then we were informed that they had gone by way of another lane, not this one.
In the interpretation of dreams, a buffalo signifies epidemic or disease, and plague may refer to a general disease or epidemic — though it could be plague itself. This indicates that in the near future, some further sign of this nature shall appear. From God, signs of different kinds come: sometimes political, sometimes financial, sometimes of some other nature — so that people do not grow accustomed to any one type of chastisement.
For this reason, I wish to draw the attention of my community toward two matters.
First: Repentance and Supplication. In these days, abundant seeking of forgiveness and repentance is necessary. Our friends should devote themselves especially to imploring Allah that He protect them and their dear ones from such a death. Death comes to all — even the prophets were not spared, and beyond the prophets, even the Chief of Prophets, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw), and his reflection, the Promised Messiah(as) — through whom we came to recognise the greatness of the Holy Prophet(sa) — even he was not spared. So if even those whose need was so great to the world could not be saved, who is there to escape death? But deaths are of different kinds. Some deaths are a form of martyrdom; yet some become a cause of stumbling for others and a matter of doubt regarding the truth. If an epidemic that has come for the adversaries should afflict any among you or your dear ones, people will object and say: what kind of chastisement is this that also strikes the believers? Though their objection will be false, who can stop people from speaking? As for God — He is self-sufficient; if a person does not seek pardon, God has no need to concern Himself with that person. If any among the believers is caught in some affliction or disease, he is deserving of it because of his own misdeeds. Such a person finds himself crushed between two stones: one, that the affliction meant for the enemies of the faith has befallen him; and two, that he has become a cause of stumbling for the enemies. And one whose head is caught between two stones is unlikely to survive.
Second: Tabligh. Those for whom the chastisement is destined are our brothers — and brothers of several kinds. First, they are the followers of that Messenger whose acceptance and whose propagation is our duty — so they are our brothers through that Messenger. Then they are our countrymen — and so they are our brothers as fellow inhabitants of India. Then they are human beings — we and they are children of one humanity — and so they are our brothers. And among them are some of our relatives and close ones, our neighbours — so they are our brothers in those respects too. When all these relationships are borne in mind, it becomes clear that if harm befalls them, it must necessarily grieve us. We cannot rejoice in their destruction. We can only truly rejoice if they are spared from the chastisement.
Therefore, I also urge my community to make every possible effort so that these people may be saved from being overtaken by the chastisement. And the only way to save them is through tabligh — to preach to them, so that they may come to believe in the divinely commissioned messenger of this age. When God is afflicting someone with chastisement, that person cannot be saved except by changing the circumstances that brought it about and by bringing about genuine reform within them. Any other means of trying to save one whom God has seized in His chastisement is sheer folly. So if anyone's salvation is possible, it is only through tabligh. And if tabligh is not performed, it means that in their destruction we are in some measure also complicit.
We thus have two duties: First, to engage abundantly in prayer and seeking of forgiveness, and to adopt humility and lowliness. Second, to strive earnestly in the path of tabligh so that people, by entering the true movement, may be saved from the chastisement of God. May Allah have mercy upon us and upon those who are still deprived of accepting the truth, and may He grant them the ability to accept the truth.
After delivering the second sermon, he said: After the Friday prayer, I shall lead a funeral prayer. During my days in Lahore, the mother of my younger wife passed away. Since I had not been able to lead her funeral prayer at the time, and since Dr. Syed Abdul Sattar Shah Sahib has requested it — and I myself am indebted to the deceased as she was my mother-in-law — I will lead her funeral prayer after the prayer. Friends should join me in this prayer.
Footnotes
¹ إِنِّي مَعَ الرَّسُولِ أَقُومُ أُفْطِرُ وَأَصُومُ — "I stand with the Messenger; sometimes I open the fast and sometimes I keep the fast." This is a divine revelation received by the Promised Messiah(as). Source: Tadhkirah, p. 570. See: https://new.alislam.org/library/books/tadhkirah?ppage=570
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