After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) recited verses 52-58 of Surah An-Noor and translation of these verses is as follows:
The response of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger in order that he may judge between them, is only that they say: ‘We hear and we obey.’ And it is they who will prosper. And whoso obeys Allah and His Messenger, and fears Allah, and takes Him as a shield for protection, it is they who will be successful. And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that, if thou command them, they will surely go forth. Say, ‘Swear not; what is required is actual obedience in what is right. Surely, Allah is well aware of what you do.’ Say, ‘Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger.’ But if you turn away, then upon him is his burden, and upon you is your burden. And if you obey him, you will be rightly guided. And the messenger is not responsible but for the plain delivery of the Message. 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. Think not that those who disbelieve can frustrate Our plan in the earth; their abode is Hell; and it is indeed an evil resort.
[An-Noor, 24:52-58]
Thus, in these verses God almighty has clearly elaborated everything. Strong assertions and claims of belief should be backed up by true obedience and absolute commitment through every test and trial. The true success will be attained, if the commandments of God are followed with purity of intent and God-fearing righteousness. We need to adopt every act of virtue and practice every aspect of morality only because this is the commandment of Allah the Exalted. If these conditions are fulfilled, then one will also attain successes and security from Allah.
When we reflect upon this, we will find that our standard of obedience is lacking; at times, we show half-hearted obedience because the matters are against our wishes. Obedience is the pre-condition of Khilafat, obedience is the lifeline of the moral and spiritual existence of the believers and striving to excel in the standard of obedience is extremely important for a believer. The Holy Prophet (sa) even said that, ‘One who obeys the Ameer, appointed by me, in fact, obeys me and one who obeys me, in fact, obeys God the Exalted and one who disobeys the Ameer, appointed by me, in fact, disobeys me and my disobedience equates to the disobedience of God the Exalted.” Hence, the obedience of the Khalifa of the time is much more important than the obedience of a general Ameer.
We see incidents of complete and wholehearted obedience in the lives of the companions of the Holy Prophet (sa). I will present one such example. During one of the battles, the command of the battle was initially given to Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (ra). However, Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) replaced him for some reason right amidst the battle. Anyway, the instruction of the Khalifa of the time that came at that occasion was that Hazrat Abu ‘Ubaidah (ra) will take the command and that he should be handed over the command. However, Hazrat Abu ‘Ubaidah (ra) initially did not take the charge from Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (ra) thinking that he was already commanding in an excellent manner. However, Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (ra) said that “you must immediately take the charge from me because that is the instruction of the Khalifa of the time. I will serve under you with full obedience as you require of me without complaining or any thought of an ill will.” Thus, this is the standard of obedience, required of a believer instead of complaining about a decision which may be against one’s wishes.
It should not be the case that if an office bearer is replaced by another individual, they stop doing their work. Whoever acts in this manner, neither do they show any obedience and the fear of God Almighty and nor Taqwa (God-fearing righteousness). It has now been brought to my attention that there are some presidents [of local Jama’ats], who have stopped performing their duties before their actual term ends in June. This is a deplorable practice. Firstly, such a thought is a dishonesty of one’s religious obligations. Secondly, it is a rebellious way of thinking and it is a matter, which will remove one from the sphere of the obedience towards Khilafat. Hence, such people should act with righteousness and fear God.
On one occasion, the Holy Prophet (sa) states, “the person who dies in a state of not having pledged initiation to the Imam of the time, will die a death of ignorance and misguidance”. After verbally pledging the oath of allegiance, if we disobey the Imam, then we are practically denouncing that pledge. Hence, after having pledged initiation, it is extremely important to remain focused to show examples of complete obedience.
On one occasion, the Promised Messiah (as) explained that a person who verbally takes the oath of allegiance but does not act in accordance with the teachings, cannot be counted as a member of his community. The Promised Messiah (as) further states, “therefore, you should try your utmost to fashion your deeds in accordance with the teaching that is given to you. The teaching is the following that you should not cause any disorder, not commit any evil, bear verbal abuse with patience and not confront anyone.”
So absolute obedience is the crux of the matter. No ifs, no buts, no questions asked, just like obedience shown by Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (ra), who understood that all the blessings are in obedience. Therefore, he displayed perfect obedience to Abu ‘Ubaidah (ra) and considered it a blessing to serve as an ordinary soldier under his leadership.
Hence, if we wish to truly benefit from the promise of the blessings of Khilafat, we must not only safeguard our prayers and stay away from shirk, but it is also incumbent that we obey the Khalifa of the time, otherwise we shall be counted among the disobedient, just as the Promised Messiah (as) stated that they will not truly be deemed among his followers. God Almighty states that Jamaat of believers, who remain firmly attached to Khilafat, also pay attention to observing prayer, populate the mosques, give Zakat, make financial sacrifices for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (sa) and who follow the commands of God Almighty and the practice of the Holy Prophet (sa) to the best of their ability. When this condition is developed, God Almighty will have mercy on such servants.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) read from an extract about the establishment of Ahmadiyya Muslim Khilafat. In any case, one’s deep bond and love for Khilafat is purely due to God Almighty. As long as this attachment and love for Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya remains, the condition of peace will prevail over fear and God Almighty will continue to grant them the means of attaining peace and tranquillity – InshAllah. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) narrated some faith-inspiring incidences about people who accepted Ahmadiyya Khilafat and said, those who remain attached with the institution of Khilafat, adhere to the commandments of God Almighty and His Prophet (sa), continue to safeguard their prayers, and continue purifying their souls and their wealth, they shall inshAllah continue to become the recipients of God Almighty’s grace. Therefore, in order to achieve this and to garner the blessings of God Almighty, members of the Jama’at should continue to pray that God Almighty continue to bestow us with this blessing of Khilafat. Through prayers and the grace of God Almighty, may we become the means of the whole world becoming Muslim and forming into one community who stand united under the flag of the Holy Prophet (sa). May God Almighty grant us all the ability to do so.
In the previous sermon, which marked the inauguration of this mosque, I forgot to mention something. When the foundation was laid for this mosque, I was on tour of Canada at the time. The date which had been set for the laying of the foundation coincided with my tour, therefore I prayed on the brick which was going to be placed as the foundation stone and gave it to the committee. With prayers and supplications, on 10 October 2016, the late respected Usman Chini Sahib laid the foundation stone of this mosque. Thus, in one respect we can say that by the grace of God Almighty, the people of China have also contributed towards this through his representation. Therefore, we must also pray that may God Almighty enable the message of Islam to spread swiftly in China. Respected Usman Chini Sahib was extremely passionate about the spread of Islam in China and would always be concerned about this. Whilst we pray that may God Almighty elevate his status, we should also especially pray for the spread of Ahmadiyyat, the true Islam, in china as well as the world over. May God Almighty grant us the ability to do so.