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Summary of Friday Sermon Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V(aba)

After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated that the name of the companion whose accounts I will narrate today is Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair. Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair belonged to the Banu ‘Abd ad-Daar clan of the Quraish tribe. The title of Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was Abu Abdullah, and Abu Muhammad. Hazrat Mus‘ab’s father’s name was ‘Umair bin Hashim and his mother’s name was Khannas or Hannas bint Malik who was an affluent lady from Mecca. Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair’s parents loved him dearly, they were affluent and he was brought up in the lap of luxury and comfort. His parents provided him with imported excellent quality shoes, the best fragrance and expensive clothes.

Hazrat Mus‘ab’s wife’s name was Hamnah bint Jahsh who was the sister of Ummul Mu’ineem Hazrat Zainab bint Jahsh, the wife of the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was among the most prominent companions and was also among the first people who accepted Islam. He accepted Islam at the time when the Holy Prophet (sa) used to preach in Dar-e-Arqam. However, he kept it secret for fear of the opposition from his mother and his people. Hazrat Mus‘ab used to meet the Holy Prophet (sa) in secret. Once he was spotted praying and after that his parents imprisoned him. When he saw an opportunity, he escaped and migrated to Abyssinia. After some time, when some of the migrants returned from Abyssinia to Mecca, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair was also among them. When his mother saw his poor state, she decided to give up the opposition and let her son be. Later, Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair migrated to Medina.

Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair faced extreme destitution and hardship after accepting Islam. His skin was all dried and used to scale and shed; for the sake of his faith, his sacrifice was astonishing. Once Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair came to the Holy Prophet (sa), his clothes were patched with leather and his state of destitution was obvious. The Holy Prophet (sa) praised him and said that I have seen Mus’ab at a time when there was no one more affluent and wealthier in the city of Mecca than him. However, he left all of that behind for the sake of God and His pleasure. Following this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said that a day will come when Muslims will be highly affluent and would have immense prosperity. The companions said: “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! Will we be much better off at that time in comparison to today as will we have time for worship?” Upon this, the Holy Prophet (sa) replied that your worship and your standards are much loftier than of those affluent Muslims who will come after you.

On the occasion of the First Pledge at Aqabah, 12 individuals came from Medina to take the oath of allegiance at the hand of the Holy Prophet (sa). When they were preparing to return to Medina, the Holy Prophet (sa) also sent Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair with them to teach them the Holy Qur’an and about Islam. He was known in Medina by the titles of Qari [Reciter] and Muqri, i.e. he became known as ‘The Teacher’.

Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair was very handsome and nice person. He was excellent in his preaching efforts and was the first missionary in Medina. Many people accepted Islam as a result of the preaching of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair, among whom are some of the prominent Companions such as Hazrat Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra), Hazrat Ibaad bin Bishr (ra), Hazrat Muhammad bin Maslamah (ra), Hazrat Usaid bin Huzair (ra) etc. Since the Muslims of Medina lived a collective life, and Medina was comparatively more peaceful, the Holy Prophet (sa) instructed Mus‘ab bin Umair (ra) to begin offering the Jumu‘ah Prayer, and in this way the Muslims began their life as a unified community. The blessings of Allah were such that many tribes accepted Islam in a very short space of time. His approach was to be respectful and kind to the tribal chiefs and explain to them the beauty of the teachings of Islam. Therefore, in this manner, Islam spread throughout the tribes of Aus and the Khazraj very rapidly. On the occasion of Hajj, 13 AH, he brought a delegation of 70 Ansaris to Mecca. Muṣ‘ab’s (ra) mother was alive, and although she was an idolatress, loved him very much. When she was informed of his coming, she sent word that, ‘First come and meet me, then go elsewhere.’ Mus‘ab (ra) responded, ‘I have not yet met the Holy Prophet (sa), I shall come to you once I have met him.’ Therefore, he presented himself before the Holy Prophet (sa) first, and briefed him on key issues, then visited his mother. There are still some accounts of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair which remain to be narrated but since there are two funerals in absentia, therefore I will end the accounts of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) here and will - God Willing - continue to relate them in the next sermon.

The first funeral is of respected Malik Munawar Ahmad Javed Sahib, son of respected Malik Muzaffar Ahmad Sahib, who passed away on 22nd February at the age of 84: “Surely to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return” He was a Musi and is survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters. He belonged to a respected Ahmadi family and both his grandfathers were companions of the Promised Messiah (as) by the grace of Allah the Almighty. He devoted his life to the services of the community as he was inspired to serve the community till his last breath. He was devout, kind, caring, hospitable, philanthropist, and had a great love for Khilafat and to serve the faith. When he retired, he planned to reduce his Chanda (Financial) contributions in accordance with the reduction in his income. Hence, he drafted a list of all his promises and then fell asleep. He states that in the night, he saw in a dream that Allah the Almighty came to him and said, “I am the Lord of this world, I have heard that you have halved your Chanda contributions? Come with Me, let Me show you the universe.” And so, in his dream, Allah the Almighty showed him His mountains, jungles, valleys, rivers and His gardens. God Almighty then stated, “When I possess sovereignty over all of these, then why do you need to worry?” Malik Sahib states that upon this, he awoke from his dream and abandoned his decision to halve his contributions and continued to offer his Chandas as normal. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) said that when I was serving as Nazir-e-A’la, I witnessed that he would take great care of Jamaat property and never refrained from saying what he thought was correct. He had a strong bond with Khilafat which was evident from every letter of his, and from the two times he came to meet me. May Allah Almighty shower His mercy and forgiveness upon him and elevate his status.

The second funeral is of Professor Munawar Shameem Khalid Sahib, son of Sheikh Mahboob Aalam Khalid Sahib, who passed away in Rabwah on 16th February 2020 at the age of approximately 81 years old. Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. He served the community in many high-level and executive capacities and did an excellent job. He possessed many great qualities among which the foremost was his love, devotion and reverence to the Khalifa, and showing complete obedience to him. He would listen to the Sermons regularly; he would offer the tahajjud prayer and prayed the five daily prayers in congregation. Serving the faith with full sincerity, devotion and loyalty were among his prominent qualities. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) said that I was a student of his for a short while when he taught in college, but even after when I was Ameer Muqami and Nazir-e-Aala, Shameem Sahib always maintained a relationship of respect with me. He never gave the impression that I was once his student. He would always show obedience to Khilafat and the Nizam of the Jamaat and even after becoming Khalifa, his expression was extraordinary. May Allah the Almighty shower His mercy and forgives on him. May Allah grant him a place amongst His loved ones and may he enable his family members to continue his good deeds. God willing, after the Friday prayers I will lead the funeral prayers in absentia of both deceased members.


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