After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta'uz, Tasmia and Sura Fatiah Hazrat Ameer-ul-Mu'mineen (aba) recited verse 21 of Sura Al-Hadid. The translation is as follows:
"Know that the life of this world is only a sport and a pastime, and an adornment, and a source of boasting among yourselves, and of rivalry in multiplying riches and children. This life is like the rain, the vegetation produced whereby rejoices the tillers. Then it dries up and thou seest it turn yellow; then it becomes broken pieces of straw. And in the Hereafter there is severe punishment, and also forgiveness from Allah, and His pleasure. And the life of this world is nothing but temporary enjoyment of deceitful things." (57:21)
Huzoor-e-Anwar (aba) said that Allah the Almighty has drawn our attention in various places in the Holy Quran, in fact He has warned us, that our life of this world and all its comforts, amenities and provisions are all temporary, and they are nothing more than a sport and a pastime. Those who are heedless of God Almighty and disregardful of the primary objective of one's life may incline to the lure of such worldly things. However, a Momin [believer], who has very lofty objectives (and certainly should have), is free of such things and likewise thinks well beyond these. Rather, [a Momin] seeks for the acquisition of these lofty objectives, the nearness of Allah the Almighty and His love.
Huzoor (aba) then stated: "The mercy of Allah the Almighty is immensely vast and owing to that some people are able to acquire His mercy through certain virtuous deeds. However, Allah the Almighty states that you must remember that the life of this world is not everything as the real life is the one in the hereafter. Therefore, it is necessary for one to forge a relationship with Allah the Almighty and to adhere to His commandments in order to seek His pleasure and a prosperous end."
Huzoor (aba) then mentioned a quote of the Promised Messiah (as) in which he stated: "'Those who come from God, abandon the world.' However, this means that they do not deem this world to be their primary and ultimate objective. They do not just focus on their life in this world. When this becomes their condition then the world becomes subservient to them."
The Promised Messiah (as) further stated:
But those who make the life of this world as their ultimate objective, then even if they acquire this world, however eventually they will face ruination.'
Huzoor-e-Anwar (aba) stated: "The words of the Promised Messiah were not just for that time. In fact, even today when it is claimed that the world's financial system has firmly established and there are very strong banks present and yet the businesses and trades which rely on the banks are crippled and go bankrupt and we find that even the banks begin to incur loss"
Huzoor (aba) further stated: "It is unfortunate that despite the fact that Allah the Almighty has blessed the Muslim countries with so much wealth but its rulers, leaders and political leaders, have, and continue to spend it on luxuries instead of spending it by adhering to the commandments of Allah the Almighty and to make it a means of gaining His pleasure. They should have used the wealth from their oil to save mankind and help the poorer Muslim countries and other countries in general to stand on their own feet, and also to feed and clothe the poor and destitute of their own countries. However, they have not paid any attention to this and instead are occupied in filling their own pockets and such state of affairs are continuously occurring. Consequently, they are being humiliated before the world but they fail to realise this and are also failing to realise the punishment of the hereafter which Allah the Almighty has warned them of and which indeed is a humiliating punishment."
Huzoor (aba) then said: "People often say that they observe their prayers, offer worship and keep the fasts, therefore what harm is there if they also acquire the provisions that Allah the Almighty has provided.
Firstly, one should adopt sincerity and devotion in their worship as Allah the Almighty has stated that one's prayers should be filled with sincerity and devotion.
Secondly, one should use these provisions in order to fulfil the rights of others.
However, in our countries the situation is such that when the rulers of the country go on tours, they take a whole of fleet of aeroplanes and carry all kinds of provision and amenities along with them, and on top of that, they have an expenditure of millions of dollars. All the while, there some poor citizens of their countries who struggle to get a single meal in the day. They are in fact distancing themselves from the commandments of Allah the Almighty."
Huzoor-e-Anwar (aba) then stated: "The Companions of the Holy Prophet (sa), may Allah be pleased with all of them, were constantly in search of how they could learn and understand the means to performing good deeds and attaining the pleasure of Allah the Almighty. They would regularly ask the Holy Prophet (sa) about this. Thus once a person approached the Holy Prophet (sa) regarding exactly this and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about a deed which if I perform, will grant me the love of God and will make others appreciate me.' He wished that Allah would be pleased would him and that others would admire him. The Holy Prophet (sa) said: 'Detach yourself from this world and remove your dependence on it. Allah the Almighty will then love you."
Huzoor (aba) stated that the Holy Prophet (sa) has explained what detaching one self from the world means, in the following way: He said that separating one self and abstinence from the world does not mean that one should forbid for him or her self those things which Allah the Almighty has permitted (detaching one self from the world does not mean prohibiting yourself from doing those things which God the Almighty has allowed us, and to destroy all our wealth and possessions). It also does not mean to ruin the wealth you have been granted by Allah the Almighty. In fact abstinence and righteousness means that you should have greater trust and reliance in Allah the Almighty's reward and forgiveness over personal wealth (do not rely solely on your wealth and possessions).
Huzoor (aba) then said: "We observe that in Pakistan and other places, opponents cause losses of hundreds of thousands and millions to the businesses and trade of our Ahmadis by destroying and burning them. In fact one of the Prime Ministers of Pakistan once said that that he would hand Ahmadis a begging bowl and they will have to go around begging. However those Ahmadis had trust in God the Almighty and neither asked from the government and nor went around with a begging bowl asking from anyone else.
In fact, owing to their trust in Allah the Almighty, their loss of thousands was transformed into a profit of millions. Where these examples should increase Ahmadis in their faith, at the same time they should make those Ahmadis realise that this is purely due to the blessings of Allah the Almighty that they are now experiencing improved financial circumstances after leaving Pakistan and coming to the more developed countries"
Huzoor (aba) stated that on one occasion, the Promised Messiah (as) states:
'One should not entertain the idea that he is to cut all ties from this world.'
The Promised Messiah further states:
'This is not what I meant and nor does Allah the Almighty forbid anyone from seeking worldly material. In fact, Islam forbids monasticism. This is a practise of the cowardly because it is cowardice to abstain from the world. The extensive relations a believer has with the people of the world in fact become a means of elevating his status. (Though one has a link with the world but at the same time it is not the ultimate objective) because the primary goal is faith, and the world with all its wealth and riches is subservient to faith. Therefore, the main point is that the acquisition of the world should not be the ultimate objective of one's life. In fact, the real objective should be faith and the worldly material should be sought in a manner that it is subservient to faith. For example, when a person takes provisions and selects a mode of transport in order to get to one place from another. The actual objective is to reach the other point and not the mode of transport or the provisions. In the same way, one should seek the worldly material but consider it only as a means of serving faith.'
Whilst commenting on the chastisement of the hereafter, the Promised Messiah (as) stated: "One should comprehend what is hell? There is one hell about which God Almighty has forewarned. Secondly, if one does not spend this world searching for God Almighty, then this is also hell. God Almighty is not responsible for the protection and safety of such an individual. Do not assume that any wealth, government, honour and dignity or ones offspring will be a source of serenity, tranquillity and harmony that will lead one to paradise."
The Promised Messiah (as) continues by saying: "Prophets such as Abraham (as) and especially Jacob (as) instructed in their will that [Arabic] "let not death overtake you except when you are in a state of submission". Since man is oblivious to the fact when he is brought into this world and when he will depart, this statement means that one should always be mindful of the commandments of God Almighty and ponder about the hereafter. The delights of the world infuses a person with a poisoned greed which greatly increases their desires and cravings. What are the delights of the world? They are all those things that increase ones [carnal] desires and yearnings, just like the excessive thirst of one suffering from polydipsia.
Huzoor (aba) then stated: "Thus, the luxuries and the comforts of this world should not make us heedless of our worship to God Almighty, nor should it deprive us from fulfilling the rights [of God Almighty]. Our affluence should deprive us from fulfilling the rights of our less fortunate brothers. Furthermore, we should fulfil our role in spreading Islam and propagating its message rather than overlooking this goal. The reason for entering into the Bai'at [oath of initiation] with the Promised Messiah (as) is so that one not only fulfils the rights of God Almighty, but also the rights owed to mankind and also fulfilling the rights of propagating the message of Islam. Only then can we accomplish our goal of giving precedence to our faith over all worldly pursuits."
May Allah the Almighty enable us to always seek His pleasure and may we never succumb to this illusive world. May we save ourselves from the hell of this world as well as the hell in the hereafter. May the grace of God Almighty and His pleasure make this world a paradise for us and also enable us to enter into paradise in the hereafter.
Huzoor (aba) then stated that "After the prayers I will lead the funeral prayers in absentia of two people. The first is of Mr Basharat Ahmad Sahib, son of Muhammad Abdullah Sahib. He belonged to the district of Rahim Yar Khan but was martyred on May 3rd [2017]. To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. According to the details, the deceased Mr Basharat Ahmad Sahib lived in Green Town and ran a petrol station which was situation approximately four or five kilometres away. On 3rd May he left the petrol station at 8 o clock in the evening and as per his routine he left from his home on his motorcycle. After approximately one kilometre a few unknown assailants stopped him and fired from close range, which hit him on the right side of his temple and protruded from the other side, killing him instantly.
Ahmadiyyat entered the family of the deceased through his father Mr Muhammad Abdullah Sahib who performed the Bai'at at the hands of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) prior to the creation of Pakistan. In 1947 the deceased's family migrated from Qadian to Mianwali in Pakistan. He was born in 1955 in Bikhar. He received his early schooling in his village and after that he attended school in Ahmad Nagar of Chiniot, Rabwah. After this he worked for a while at the Tarbela Dam and subsequently went to Dubai. Upon returning from there he gained employment in Karachi and had a business to do with cars. In 1985 due to the precarious situation of Karachi he moved to Khanpur and opened a Petrol station
By the grace of Allah the deceased was a Moosi [part of the institution of Al-Wasiyyat] and was 62 years old at the time of his martyrdom. He had the opportunity to work in different capacities. He served as Sadr of Khanpur Jamaat for three years. He served for a lengthy period of time as Secretary Ummur-e-Aama [Internal Affairs]. He possessed many qualities. He was extremely sincere, always had a smile on his face and would always make others happy. Whichever responsibility was was assigned to him, he fulfilled it with great passion and effort. He would work in the supervision of the mosque in Khanpur.
He would look after the cleanliness of the mosque, especially the grounds and the plants and he did so out of his own pocket. He was very regular in paying his Chanda [obligatory contribution] and out of his family he was the most regular. His financial contributions were always transparent. He was always regular in observing his five daily prayers. He had a strong connection with Khilafat and would always advise his children to stay attached with Khilafat. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. May Allah the Almighty elevate the status of the martyr and enable his progeny to remain attached with Khilafat.
The second funeral is of Professor Tahira Parveen Malik who is the daughter of the late Malik Muhammad Abdullah Sahib. She was a professor at Punjab University. She was martyred on 17th April after she was stabbed by an employee of the university. Although he came with the intent to commit robbery, but when he realised that he had been discovered he carried this out, however, in Pakistan being an Ahmadi grants anyone a licence to harm them as there will be no action taken against them. This is the reason why this employee had the courage that when he found out that he had been caught, he stabbed her and killed her, [since he knew] she lived alone. Her husband and her husband's family moved away from Ahmadiyyat and since that time she separated from her husband and lived alone. She was very educated. Despite seeking retirement last year, the university re-employed her due to her competence.
Ahmadiyyat was established in her family through her paternal grandfather Hazrat Malik Hasan Muhammad Sahib, who was a comparison of the Promised Messiah (as). Her father was also a devotee of life and served in various offices. He also had the opportunity to teach Religious studies in Taleem-ul-Islam College. He had the opportunity to serve in a number of capacities. During the creation of Pakistan her father he served in the department of safety. In 1953 her father was imprisoned.
She was an intelligent women. She received her initial schooling from Rabwah and after that she gained her BSc from Lahore College for Women. She then gained her MSc from the agriculture sector of Punjab University after which she completed her MPhil from the University of California in Botany and Plant Science.
May Allah the Almighty shower His mercy on the deceased and elevate her statuse. One anguish she had was that her daughter left the Jamaat with her father. May Allah grant her the opportunity to join the Jamaat again and receive her [mother's] prayers. As I mentioned previously, I will also lead her funeral prayer after the Friday prayers.