Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
(Delivered on 21 December 1923)
Published in Al-Fazl, 11 January 1924
Topics: Jalsa Salana, hospitality, community duty, spiritual accountability
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzur(ra) addressed the congregation as follows. In accordance with the directives of the divinely commissioned and appointed servant of Allah (The Promised Messiah(as)), the annual Jalsa of the Ahmadiyya Movement will be held this very week. Over the course of three days — or at most four — the great majority of those attending the Jalsa will have arrived and gathered in Qadian. Indeed, some have already begun arriving, driven either by an abundance of love or by the luxury of having ample time, as has been observed at previous Jalsas.
It has been Allah's established way that each passing year brings a greater number of attendees than the year before. This year too, we hope that the number of participants will exceed that of previous Jalsas. This places a greater burden upon our organisers, who must exercise increased vigilance, for as the numbers grow, so too does their responsibility. The management of even ordinary gatherings is a difficult undertaking — how much more demanding, then, is the task of catering to the needs of seven to eight thousand people in every respect.
When gatherings of this sort are held in large cities, organisers benefit from a certain degree of ease: accommodation and meals can be arranged through hotels and the like, and the local population far exceeds the number of visitors. It is unheard of, in any other setting, that the number of those attending a gathering should surpass the number of the actual residents and organisers. The sessions of the Congress and similar bodies are held in cities such as Lahore, Calcutta, Delhi, and Bombay. Even in those sessions, the number of outside attendees does not exceed ten to twelve thousand — yet the populations of those cities run into the hundreds of thousands, the vast majority of whom are engaged in serving their guests. In such great cities, many households receive only a single guest at a time.
With us, however, the situation is quite the opposite: the number of guests exceeds the number of hosts. Even if one were to count every inhabitant of Qadian — Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis alike, Hindus, Chuhras, Sahnsis, and Sikhs — the number of guests would still surpass the number of hosts. For the total population of Qadian is approximately forty thousand, yet the number of incoming visitors reaches nearly eight thousand. That so many guests should come to so small a village is, in its own way, a remarkable and singular example.
At certain Hindu festivals, large numbers of people gather, but the residents of those places do not act as hosts — the visitors make all their own arrangements. Similarly, the number of pilgrims to Makkah exceeds the number of its inhabitants, yet the people of Makkah are not their hosts. Those who go for Hajj manage their own accommodation, food, and other necessities entirely by themselves — they rent houses, buy or cook their own food — and the people of Makkah have no concern in the matter, except perhaps how to extract a year's worth of income from those visitors.
It is thus our Jalsa alone that holds the distinction of having guests whose numbers exceed those of the hosts, and where all the needs of the guests are fully met by the hosts. In this distinction, no gathering — whether of Muslims, Christians, Hindus, or any other community — can offer a parallel to our Jalsa. And this sets our Jalsa apart from all the gatherings of the world in the same way that the religious work and initiatives of our community set it apart from all other communities.
Yet we cannot rest content merely with this distinction, for distinction comes through deeds, not through names. Honour is earned through action, not through reputation alone. We can truly claim this distinction only when we demonstrate it through our own conduct and work. A person whose home receives no guests and who plays no role in hospitality bears no blame — but those whose homes do receive guests cannot escape censure if they fail to discharge their duty.
I therefore urge my friends who reside in Qadian to direct themselves toward their duty with even greater commitment than before. Just as the number of guests increases year upon year, so this year too — by the grace of Allah — we hope the numbers will grow. These people come from far and wide: from Bengal, from Madras, from Bombay, from the United Provinces. There is no spectacle or entertainment here for which they come. They come in response to the movement of God and in accordance with His will — and it is God's will that He brings ever-increasing numbers each year. This means that He expects from us each year a greater degree of faith and a greater spirit of service. The fact that He brings more people is a sign that He demands more sincerity and devotion from us. If we do not fulfil the will of Allah, we cannot hope for His help and assistance.
It is evident that we are not able to host our guests in the manner that would truly be befitting, for we have neither the manpower nor the material resources for proper hospitality. The customary practice in the world is that when a guest arrives, a special meal is prepared for him — but this we cannot do. We are also unable to provide excellent accommodation. Due to the sheer number of visitors, mats are spread on the floor in place of cots for sleeping. In other aspects of hospitality too, we fall short. Visiting friends from outside can, however, endure these shortcomings — provided that the workers and volunteers make up for them through warm and cheerful conduct toward the guests.
Warm conduct is something that removes all manner of hardship. You may feed someone every day, yet if you do not treat them with kindness and warmth, they will not feel that they have been honoured, and the food will stick in their throat. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I(ra) would recount an occasion when there was a discussion on the eternality of Hell. He said: "I explained that the teaching of Islam is that Hell is not eternal — rather, after a period of time, people will be released from it and sent to Paradise." A nobleman who was present remarked: "That sounds rather pleasant! One can do as one pleases here, and in the end there is comfort here and comfort there — just a few days of difficulty in between." Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I(ra) replied: "Go into the market and let someone strike you twice with a shoe — and in return I shall give you some money." The nobleman said: "Maulvi Sahib, what manner of talk is this?" He replied: "When your own sense of honour cannot bear even that, how will you endure the disgrace that will befall you in the presence of your forebears and all those gathered there?"
If a person is humiliated but served the finest of foods, those morsels will lodge in his throat. But if he is honoured, treated with warmth, and shown sincere affection, then even a dry piece of bread will seem delectable. Allah, in His wisdom, taking into account human frailties, has endowed man with certain faculties through which all those frailties may be concealed. One of these is good character and wholesome conduct.
Consider: if a king or queen were to take a child into the royal palace and say, "We shall keep you here," providing the finest foods and assigning servants for his care — even then the child would prefer his mother's lap to all of that. Even if the mother were too poor to clothe him in anything but rags, no child of even the most destitute parents would be content to be separated from his mother, no matter what blessings he were offered. He would weep; he would cry out — for no worldly comfort can equal a mother's love and her gaze full of affection.
God has therefore created love as the means by which the poor may conceal their meagre circumstances. When a person meets another with love, his weakness is hidden. The sweetness found in a dry morsel offered with love cannot be found in the finest food presented with a sour face and ill temper. You should therefore meet your guests with warmth and cheerfulness, and serve them wholeheartedly.
As my health is not well, I am unable to speak at greater length. I hope that the guidelines issued at previous Jalsas — which have already been published — will be acted upon. Remember: the one who does not honour his guest will himself not receive honour. May Allah grant you all the ability to fulfil your duty, so that you may prepare worthy provisions for the life to come and perform those deeds that bring pleasure to God.
(Al-Fazl, 11 January 1924)
Related Resources