Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Hazrat Mirza Bashirud Din Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II(ra) on December 27th, 1935
Topics: Brevity in Sermons, Understanding from Hints, Taqwa, Obedience to Khilafat
After the customary recitation of tashshud, taw-wuz and Sura Fatiha, Hudhur(ra) said:
Jumma and Jalsa have coalesced today; and because I will be delivering an address after the prayer also which will have the same purpose as that of the khutba, and because it was the practice, the sunnat, of the Holy Prophet(sa) to deliver a short sermon but offer a long salat, and furthermore because my throat is totally in a bad state, so I will just make some very brief statements and finish my sermon.
The real purpose of these sermons and addresses is to offer advice and in reality, sincere advice is that which rises from the heart and is intended to explain things to the people so that they may understand. And the people who really wish to understand things they understand things even if they are simply given hints and they are in no need of being given advice in the form of long speeches. And then, on the other hand, there are those people who have no intention or desire to understand and they end up understanding all kinds of things which were not meant at all, even when things are stated in great clarity and depth.
There was a Muslim King who has been much maligned; people have made pretty much the same types of allegations against him as are leveled against me. His name also is the same as mine; I am referring to King Mahmud Ghaznavi. People allege about me that I have caused division and created strife and about him also they say that he won over many countries and territories by picking fights with them.
Among the staff of Mahmud Ghaznavi there was one Ayaz. Once Mahmud was returning from Hindustan to his homeland of Ghazni and Ayaz was among the Generals who were travelling with him. At some stage of the journey, Ayaz took his group of soldiers and went off in some direction all of a sudden without any notice whatsoever and in great haste.
It is said that many from the Court of the King were very jealous of Ayaz and upon seeing his hasty sudden departure came to the King and complained to him that look how audacious and careless Ayaz is and how disrespectful of your Royal Highness, the more you honor him the more audacious he becomes daily. He has left you all alone in the country of your enemy and taken off to some place himself.
Mahmud was a wise and knowledgeable King. He knew that Ayaz is a totally loyal General, so he told the people complaining that, ok, very well, let him return and I will inquire from him.
Soon, Ayaz and his troops returned and they had with them a prisoner. The King asked, where did you suddenly take off to? Ayaz answered that when he observed he King look three or four times towards that mountain I concluded that the King Mahmud has not done this three or four times without any reason…I realized that there must be something troubling the King about that place, so I took my soldiers and went there and I found that there this man was sitting with his bow and arrows hiding behind a rock overlooking the road that goes through that place with the intention of shooting at you when you pass by. I had seen the King looking there repeatedly and so I went there and found this man there with these intentions and arrested him.
So the fact is that those who wish to understand things really they understand even if they are given only hints and those who have no such intention fail to understand even after great efforts are expended to make everything crystal clear. I want to give another example of those who do not wish to understand.
In the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I(ra) the question of the sale of a house which had been given to the Anjuman came under consideration. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I(ra) desired that it should be given at a low price to a man in dire circumstances. The value of the house when it was given over to the Anjuman in a Will was approximately two thousand rupees and the Anjuman wanted some four, five thousand.
Some members of the Anjuman opposed this desire and wish of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) and made up all sorts of excuses. Finally, after some time when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) was asked about the matter again he responded that look, now I will not enter into the details of the matter and you can do whatever you want.
Everyone knows that these words conveyed his displeasure. These words of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) were presented in a meeting of the Anjuman and it was conveyed that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) has given his permission to the Anjuman to do as it pleases. When I read these words I said to everyone that this is not the giving of permission but rather expression of displeasure and the decision that the Anjuman has made to sell the property, I will vote against it.
Upon hearing this, Dr. Muhammad Hussain Shah Sahib in particular and some other members in general repeatedly told me that Mian Sahib! Employ taqwa, this is the money that belongs to the people but I said that I would definitively oppose the proposed sale because in my opinion this was closer to the requirements of taqwa. So I opposed the proposed sale but the majority was against my decision. So the decision was made to accept the higher price and not the lower price.
When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) learnt of this he showed great displeasure. At the time of hearing the news Hazrat Khalifatul Masih(ra) was in the upper story room above Masjid Mubarak where Maulvi Abdul Kareem Sahib used to live and after him he had started living.
Hudhur(ra) called all members and asked them about this matter and they said that this decision was a unanimous decision. I was also called and upon seeing me Hudhur said: Mian! They did not obey my order and decided against my decision. Did you also not understand what was my wish and desire? At that time I said that these people were repeatedly instructing me on adopting taqwa, but regardless, I voted against their proposal and said that I understand this is the requirement of taqwa and I told Hudhur(ra) that till the very last moment I kept opposing them. Then Hudhur(ra) asked them and they replied that he did not make a vigorous enough opposition to the matter.
So the thing is that when someone does not wish to accept anything it is not difficult to invent an excuse to justify the matter but those who wish to understand and accept do so even upon just getting a hint.
The Holy Prophet(sa) always used to deliver a short Khutba, a short sermon, and used to prolong the salat. From the ahadith it is clear that he would spend twice as much time on the salat as he did on the khutba.
Because these days people are not able to understand hints, so long discourses have to be given. So I advise friends that do try and understand things by just looking at the hints. As soon as you get the hint, start acting on it and develop such a change in yourself that whenever anyone says something pertaining to goodness, immediately accept it and adopt it. Do not wait for long speeches and schemes to be explained. Long addresses are needed also but those are devoted to providing knowledge not to providing advice and preaching.
So I end this khutba, sermon, with this simple advice and say to friends that they should try and get their cues to act from the hints alone.
[Alfazl, January 4, 1936]
Footnotes
1 Bukhari, Kitanul Jumma, Baab Takhfeef us Salat wal Khutba
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