Huzur delivered today’s Friday Sermon from Bradford, England at the occasion of the inauguration of a new Al Mahdi Mosque. Huzur cited verses 29 to 32 of Surah Ibrahim (14:29) at the beginning of the sermon.
Huzur praised the beautiful mosque and its beautiful elevated location that gives a panoramic view of the city of Bradford. Huzur said this was but with the grace of God.
Huzur said that he would be inaugurating another mosque in the city of Sheffield tomorrow. In addition two new centres have been purchased in the region Huzur is currently visiting.
Huzur gave some facts and figures about the new Bradford mosque and remarked at the hard work people had put in its completion.
Huzur specifically mentioned the contribution of UK Lajna towards the building of this mosque. He said the UK Jama’at is also waking up to the need to have purpose-built mosques, may Allah enable them to achieve their target of twenty five soon.
Huzur said recently there has been an inclination among young people specifically in Europe to turn to Islam. It is our responsibility to take care of this leaning and draw people to the true Islam that Ahmadiyyat represents.
Huzur said merely the construction of a beautiful mosque is not sufficient. It is imperative to fulfil the objectives of a mosque. That is, turn to Allah with pure intent with a heart that is replete with the desire to seek His pleasure as well as fulfil the rights of fellow mankind.
Huzur said he expected each member of the Community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to have this fervour, otherwise Allah commanded a certain type of mosque to be razed to the ground. Huzur cited verses 107 to 109 of Surah Tauba to expound this point.
Huzur said it cannot be expected from the Community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who was sent in the latter-days so that people may recognise Allah, so that creation may honour creation, that their mosques will be a cause of pain, or God forgive us, be a source of spreading disbelief or that they will give refuge to hypocrites. Therefore we have to spread the message of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in our surroundings and let the world know that the Mahdi who was to come in subservience of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to remove the troubles of the world has indeed come.
He had come to lay the foundation of peace and conciliation and the mosques of his Community shall lay the foundation of love, peace and forbearance.
Today the Ahmadiyya Community is at the forefront of the communities who work towards alleviating the pain and suffering of others. Our services all over the world are self-less, unique and of numerous in scope.
In the Surah Tauba verses that cite the mosque that was not built for Allah, one of the evils mentioned about it is that it spread disbelief. Huzur said our mosques are built to fulfil the rights of the One and Only God and to fulfil the objective of our creation. The Bradford area has a lot of Muslim population and one of its sections was not pleased with the building of our mosque. They tried to make difficulties during the construction. However, with Allah’s grace our mosque is complete; therefore we should try and fulfil the right of worship of Allah with greater sincerity.
We should do so in light of the pronouncement of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that his advent was to sow the eternal sapling of pure and luminous Unity of God among people once again.
We are the people who claim to belong to his Community; therefore we are the branches of this plant. As long as we are lush we will fulfil our rights, otherwise we will be separated like dry and rotten branches. We have to prove with our word and our deed that we build mosques for the worship of God.
Allah states that mosques are not built by those who cause division among believers, therefore each Ahmadi should herald love and peace from their word and deed and be a quintessence of ‘tender among themselves’ (48:30) Then alone will our Tabligh efforts be fruitful. It is the obligation of the Community of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that their practises are those of true believers. They have to implement the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in their lives and thus establish this mosque on the model about which Allah states its foundation is laid on taqwa and to seek Divine pleasure.
We are free from hypocrisy and work purely for the sake of Allah. By giving the example of the design of the hypocrites to injure Islam in the days of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) Allah has consoled us that just as this ploy failed in the early days in future if believers continue to abide by sincere belief Allah will save them from every evil.
The fundamental aspect for one who builds a mosque is pure intention; they should be free from any subversive thoughts and should have a sense of sacrifice.
The fact that this mosque can be seen from the city and appears prominent should not alone be a source of joy for us. The real beauty of the mosque will be apparent when we tread the path of taqwa and fulfil our objectives. Each Ahmadi should try that along with the building of mosque they focus on worship of God with sincerity and create an ambiance of brotherhood, be forgiving, free from malice and rancour, fulfil the rights of own and others and be humble. Only then would one be rightful recipients of the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that God makes a home in Paradise for one who builds a mosque on earth.
The aforementioned verse (14:32) cites two commandments which are constantly repeated in the Holy Qur’an. The first commandment is that of observing Prayer.
With the construction of this mosque our responsibility will increase because construction of new mosques generally widens exposure. Therefore it is important to raise the standards of worship of God. Enhanced worship would lead to our reformation and we will have better opportunities to take the message of Ahmadiyyat to others and reap betters results.
The second commandment is to give in the cause of God. The foundations of the Hartlepool mosque and this mosque in Bradford were laid on the same day. However, the Hartlepool mosque, being smaller, was completed two years ago. What Huzur wished to mention was that at the inauguration of the Hartlepool mosque Huzur had announced the commencement of the new Tehrik e Jadid year. It was the first time Huzur had announced the new Tehrik e Jadid year outside London. By chance, today once again it was the occasion to announce the new year for Tehrik e Jadid.
The scheme of Tehrik e Jadid was initiated by Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) when the enmity of the opponents was at its peak. However, with the launch of this scheme the Tabligh of Ahmadiyyat increased dramatically and today the mosques and the centres that we are making are in fact the fruits of this Tehrik. Giving in the way of Allah facilitates publication of literature, construction of mosques, training of missionaries.
Previously we had just two Jamias. Now, with the growing need for missionaries many Jamias have been opened in the world. Britain is among the fortunate countries to have a Jamia.
Just as regular Salat is needed, similarly constant giving is required. A one-off giving does not fulfil one’s obligations. Now Allah has opened new ways and means of Tabligh, like MTA. Today the world is listening to this Friday Sermon live through MTA. We now have to take our message to each city, each town, each street of the world and for this financial giving is needed. Indeed, we also affirm giving in our pledge.
It is the blessing of Allah that He Himself puts the passion of giving in the members of the Community. In these times of global economic crisis Allah assures believers that their worship and their giving will protect them from the bad effects of this crisis. This is because a believer has his/her sight on the final objective for which, i.e. for seeking the pleasure of Allah worship and financial giving is of avail. It is Allah’s grace that Ahmadis comprehend this matter. At times one feels that maybe the financial commitments are a lot but Ahmadis continue to spend in the way of Allah.
Many await the announcement of the commencement of the Tehrik e Jadid year with their saved up contributions. They do not keep their account with Allah in debit. Some have to be reminded by Huzur that their families also have a right, to which they respond that this is why they are ‘making a deal with Allah.’
The giving of Ahmadi women is greater than those of men. UK Lajna has participated in the construction of this mosque as well as the Berlin mosque. A wave of giving seems to have taken course in Britain and UK Lajna has a part in it.
At the end of the 74th financial year for Tehrik e Jadid the contributions made stand at £ 4,102,792.00. This amount, despite the global economic crisis, is £500,000 more than last year.
This year once again Pakistan stands first in making the biggest contribution, second is USA, then the UK, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, India, Belgium and Australia in joint eight position, Switzerland, and the joint tenth position goes to Nigeria and Mauritius. Huzur said USA has secured the second position but their total contribution is less than last year’s while the exchange rate of US dollar has been better this year. The contribution of UK is £74,000.00 more than last year.
Nigeria has made a significant improvement and has joined the first ten Jama’ats thus being the first Africa country to join the rank of the first ten.
The total number of contributors to Tehrik e Jadid is 500,000 which Huzur deems is still insufficient.
Huzur said the registers/accounts of those belonging to Dafter Awwal of Tehrik Jadid (the original contributors of the first 19 years) have been restored, some by their families, others by the Central Jama’at.
In Pakistan the first three big contributors are the Jama’ats of Lahore, Rabwah and Karachi.
In the UK, among the large majalis the positions are as follows: London Mosque, Worcester Park, West Hill, Tooting, Sutton, Bradford, Manchester, Gillingham and Inner Park. The smaller majalis stand as follows: Scunthorpe, Wolverhampton, Bristol, Spen Valley, Leamington Spa, Bournemouth, North Wales, Woking, Keighley and Devon & Cornwell.
In USA the first four Jama’ats are; Silicon Valley, Chicago West, North Virginia and Detroit.
In Canada the first three positions go to Calgary North East, Calgary North West and Peace Village.
Huzur prayed that may Allah reward all those who participated in Tehrik e Jadid this year – may He bless their wealth immeasurably and may they continue to make financial sacrifices and may they enhance their standards of worship of Allah.