After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’wwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) recited verses 56 and 57 of Surah an-Noor and then stated: The translation of these verses is as follows: “Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious. And observe Prayer and give the Zakat and obey the Messenger, that you may be shown mercy.” (24:56-57)
The promise of peace and security in this verse is not unconditional. Allah the Exalted will most certainly grant this promised to those, who would fulfil certain conditions. What are those conditions? God Almighty states that, they will worship Me and they will completely refrain from shirk [associating partners with God]. If they do not worship, if they do not absolutely abstain from and protect themselves from shirk, as God Almighty desires, then they will not be able to fully benefit from this promise. God Almighty has, in those verses, also made it clear to the Muslims that in order to benefit from the promise of Khilafat and to receive a share of the favours attached to it, you will have to bring about a change in your conditions. To be merely called “Muslim” or to just verbally proclaim one’s faith, will not make you deserving of the favour of Khilafat. Thus, God Almighty admonishes the Muslims that in order to fulfil the due rights of worship and to be protected from shirk, observe prayers, give the Zakat and obey the Messenger (sa). Only then can you receive the Mercy of God Almighty.
With regards to obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa) we should also remember the guidance the Holy Prophet (sa) gave us by saying that whoever obeyed an appointed leader by me, has in fact obeyed me and whoever disobeyed an appointed leader by me, has in fact disobeyed me. Furthermore, in the institution of Khilafat, the Khalifa serves as the highest authority of being the appointed leader by the Holy Prophet (sa). Thus, it becomes evident from this fact that showing obedience to Khilafat is just as important as showing obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa). Similarly, another objective of obedience towards the Holy prophet (sa) is to become united, which cannot be achieved without Khilafat.
If a community is making sacrifices and carrying out these blessed tasks, then it is the Ahmadiyya Jama’at. This can only be carried out with the establishment of the system of Khilafat. Some scholars and sincere people express this fact that the system of Khilafat should be established. However, when you ask them to believe in the institution, which Allah the Exalted has established, they are unwilling to do so. As a matter of fact, they are fierce in their opposition. The latest incident of this opposition occurred in our mosque in Sialkot two days ago. The mosque and the building adjacent to it was raided and attacked by the police and the authorities. As a matter of fact, one should say that this was done by the Maulavis [clerics] and their followers under the supervision of the police. They are now making announcements that they will damage and destroy even more mosques. One of the persons is a Hafiz [a person who has committed the entire Qur’an to memory] and a Qari [a person who is able to read the Qur’an according to its proper rules of recitation] and belongs to a political party. They claim to be a Hafiz and yet they are completely devoid of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. And, they were most certainly going to be devoid [of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an] as they have opposed the appointed Khatam-ul-Khulafa of God Almighty and the arbiter of this time and age. They may have memorised the literal words, however, their minds are locked in order to comprehend the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. This in fact is also a punishment from God Almighty in that they are unable to comprehend these teachings. Until they do not accept the Khilafat, which was to be established in accordance with the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (sa), they will continue to act in this manner. Nothing good can be expected from them. There are certainly a number of decent people. Yesterday, a lady from the senate very courageously expressed her concern regarding this issue and also condemned it. Now observe how [cruelly] the Maulvis [religious clerics], those people who are of the same nature as Maulvis [religious clerics] and materialistic politicians will treat this poor lady. As far as our emotions are concerned, as they have damaged a historical place from the time of the Promised Messiah (as), our response is as usual, and should always be, that: “I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah”. Even though we have a sentimental attachment to that place, however our great bond of attachment to the Promised Messiah (as) cannot be limited to the protection of buildings. Rather, it is demonstrated by acting in accordance with his teachings, to be firmly attached to the institution of Khilafat which has been established after him, by acquiring the blessings and deriving benefit from them, which Allah the Exalted has mentioned in relation to the reward of Khilafat, by improving the standard of our worship, by acting in accordance with the commandments of Allah the Exalted and by elevating the standard of our obedience.
Someone asked the Promised Messiah (as), “What is the objective of the advent of a Khalifah?” We should always keep the Promised Messiah (as)’s response in our mind. He stated: “Reformation. This is the objective.” So the sole purpose of the advent of the Promised Messiah (as) was “Reformation”; so if after accepting him, if we are not making pious changes within ourselves, then it is a point of great worry.
We should always evaluate ourselves that are we fashioning our lives according to what God Almighty has instructed us to do in order to attain the favors associated with Khilafat.
What are the standards of requirements?
We have to assess our worship, the condition of our prayers, is our every word and action pure from associating partners with God, what are the standards of our financial sacrifices and what is the level of our obedience?
Are we meeting the standards set by God Almighty and His messenger?
Are we trying to achieve the standards which the Promised Messiah (as) desired from the members of his community?
We must always keep this point in mind that we can identify the nearness of God through the improvement of the standard of our worship, our behaviour and our habits. If they have improved, then it means that our prayers are beneficial to us and we are coming closer to God Almighty. If our outer state is not changing, then we have not attained nearness to God and our prayers are of no benefit to us.
God Almighty then states that you should abstain from committing shirk (associating partners with God). There is a narration with reference to this that the Holy Prophet (sa) feared the spread of shirk in his Ummah [followers]. The Holy Prophet (sa) has said, “ although my people will not worship the sun and the moon, the idol and the stone, they will suffer from ostentations in their actions and they will fall prey to their hidden desires.” Hence, this is a very fearful situation. If we examine ourselves in depth we will find several types of hidden shirk. At times our prayers are wasted due to following our inner desires and our fasts are squandered out of some worldly justifications
Then it has been deemed necessary for those who have attained the blessing of Khilafat to give Zakat and make financial sacrifices. It has been related in the Hadith [traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa)] by Hazrat Ibn Masood (ra) that the Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “one should not envy anyone but only in case of two person: One, whom God Almighty has endowed with wealth and he spends it in the cause of faith. The second person is whom God Almighty has granted wisdom, knowledge and sagacity through which he settles the matters of people and teaches it to others.”
Hazrat Hassan (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “secure your wealth by paying the Zakat and cure those suffering from ailments among you through offering Sadqa [charity].” Thus, this draws our attention towards all kinds of financial sacrifices, including Zakat and Sadqa.
God Almighty has also reminds those who have been rewarded with the institution of Khilafat that they should raise their standards of obedience. The Holy Prophet (sa) said, “It is incumbent on you to listen to and obey the directives of the ruler of the time in austerity or prosperity, happiness or grief, inequity or favouritism—in any and all situations.”
In relation to demonstrating obedience, the Promised Messiah (as) states: “Show obedience to God, His Prophet and to the rulers. If one shows true obedience from the heart it causes the heart to illumine and the soul to experience a certain delight and receive light.” One’s desires can become idols and then it is impossible to display obedience. The Promised Messiah (as) further states: “The companions (ra) were greatly blessed and they were completely imbued with the obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa).”
Thus, this is standard one must achieve in order to gain the blessings of God Almighty. e must elevate the standards of our worship; we must safeguard our salat; ensure that our every word and action are devoid of any sort of shirk [associating partners with God]; spend in the way of Allah and safeguard our levels of obedience and loyalty to Khilafat. Only then can we derive benefit from the blessing that is Khilafat and also attain those blessings attached to this institution. Only then can we remain attached to this everlasting Khilafat and ensure that our progenies remain attached to it also.
Giving glad tidings of this eternal Khilafat, the Promised Messiah (as) says, “For it is essential for you to witness the second Manifestation also, and its Coming is better for you because it is everlasting the continuity of which will not end till the Day of Judgement. And that second Manifestation cannot come unless I depart. … Thus it is inevitable that you see the day of my departure, so that after that day the day comes which is the day of ever-lasting promise. Our God is He Who keeps His promise and is Faithful and is the Truthful God. He shall show you all that He has promised. Though these days are the last days of this world and there are many a disaster waiting to happen, yet it is necessary that this world continues to exist until all those things about which God has prophesied come to pass. I came from God as a Manifestation of Divine Providence and I am a personification of His Power. And after I am gone there will be some other persons who will be the manifestation of the second Power [of God]”
May Allah enable every single person who enters into the Bai’at of the Promised Messiah (as) to reap the blessings of Khilafat, in light of the commandments of God Almighty. Last week I urged everyone to pray for those in Pakistan and I am reiterating especially again for all Pakistanis [Ahmadis] to pay attention towards this prayer and that they should increase in their salat, nawafil [voluntary prayers] and remembrance of God, even more than before. May Allah the Almighty enable all of us to do so.