His Holiness gives guidance on a range of contemporary issues affecting young people in society

On 28 March 2021, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad held a virtual online meeting with members of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya from the United States aged between 10 and 15.

His Holiness presided the meeting from his office in Islamabad, Tilford, whilst the members of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya were gathered at the Baitur Rahman Mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland, which serves as the national headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA.

Following a formal session starting with recitation of the Holy Quran, members of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya had the opportunity to ask His Holiness a series of questions regarding their faith and contemporary issues.

His Holiness was asked how a person can supplicate to God Almighty in a way that their prayers are accepted by Allah the Almighty.

In response, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has himself taught us how to supplicate that when you are praying you should first send Durood upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)… In one of the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) it is said that, ‘Your supplications will remain suspended in the air if you do not recite Durood [salutations upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)] with your prayer. So the best way for your supplication to be accepted by Allah the Almighty is that you recite Durood and then pray for whatever else you want to seek guidance on or Allah’s help.”

One boy, who mentioned he was memorising the Holy Quran, asked how he could better serve the cause of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as a Waqf-e-Nau and eventually as a someone who had committed the memorisation of the Holy Quran to heart.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“The Holy Quran is the Word of Allah the Almighty and so, by memorising it your mental capabilities will improve and you will gain wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, you should continue to memorise the Holy Quran and when you memorise it, you should also learn its translation and seek to understand its meanings.” 

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further said:

“As I said, when you memorise the Holy Quran it increases your wisdom, provided you are memorising it for the sake of gaining the pleasure of Allah and for the sake of attaining the knowledge of Allah’s Book. So, on the one hand Allah the Almighty will be pleased with you and, on the other, your intellect and understanding will become broader. And when your knowledge and wisdom increases, you will naturally become a useful asset for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. So in whichever capacity you will serve and whatever education you have, you will be a very good asset for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community if you memorise the Holy Quran.”

Another attendee asked what the reason is that the Caliphs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) wear a dress of turban and sherwani (traditional long coat-like garment).

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“A turban was a tradition in the time when the Promised Messiah (peace be upon) was alive. So the Caliphs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community wear the turban to continue that tradition. There is no special significance of the turban itself; only that the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) used to wear one. This is why the Caliphs also wear the turban.”

Speaking about wearing the sherwani, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“One thing you should also remember is that the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and the first and second Caliphs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community never wore a sherwani. Rather, they used to wear a long coat. Only the third Caliph, the fourth Caliph and then I have worn sherwani. Sherwani is not a tradition but it is a good and appropriate dress which matches shalwar and kameez and this is why we wear it.”

Another child asked what practical steps should be taken to inculcate the love of Allah the Almighty and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in one’s hearts above all else.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“As I have already said, if you want to have your prayers accepted, you should invoke Durood upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Further, to gain the love of Allah the Almighty and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), you should practice all the commandments given by Allah the Almighty in the Holy Quran.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further stated:

“There are many commandments and injunctions in the Holy Quran, almost 700 or more. If you are practicing all of them, you will gain the love of Allah the Almighty. That is one thing. The other very important thing is that you must offer the five times daily prayers regularly and concentrate your attention fully towards Allah the Almighty. Your prayers should be very much filled with a deep love for Allah the Almighty… So try to make your life according to the teachings of the Holy Quran. This is how you can gain the love of Allah the Almighty and the love of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).”

One of the Atfal asked His Holiness how he is able to answer so many questions in great detail during the various meetings and question and answer sessions His Holiness holds.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“I learn quite a lot of things from you people. When you ask a question, then it comes into my mind that what should be the answer. Further, if you are reciting the Holy Quran regularly, there are quite a number of points which immediately come to mind that have been explained in the Holy Quran. Or if you read the Hadith then sometimes you will remember a Hadith in respect of the particular subject and sometimes the books of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) have also explained some of the subject matters which are under question during the questions and answers.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad continued:

“Sometimes when I feel that I cannot answer the question fully and appropriately then I try to learn more about that subject. I don’t feel shy if a question is asked by a small child and I cannot answer it fully. Then I would go home and read relevant books and find out the answer and if possible, I will write back to the person with the correct answer.”

Someone asked where heaven is, to which Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad replied:

“Allah the Almighty has said in the Holy Quran that there is heaven in this world and in the Hereafter. What is heaven? When you do good actions and please Allah the Almighty, then Allah the Almighty gives you its due  reward and so when you do a good deed, it becomes a heaven for you…”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further stated:

“Allah the Almighty has mentioned that heaven spans the skies and the earth. When the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) asked that ‘If heaven is spanning across the skies and the earth, then where is hell?’ The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) replied that just as there is a day and night, so too is there heaven and hell.”

One boy asked His Holiness what he could do to become a good Waqf-e-Nau.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“You should offer the five daily prayers, read the Holy Quran daily and understand and memorise as much as you can. Do good deeds. Be polite and gentle to your siblings and to your fellow classmates and schoolmates.”

One of the Atfal members asked His Holiness about an incident from the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when he went to preach in a town called Tai’f. The town’s chiefs rejected him and cruelly pelted him with stones. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) took some rest in a garden, an angel appeared and asked if he should destroy the town because its people had tormented the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

The boy asked His Holiness why the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prevented the angel from destroying the people of Ta’if.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad replied:

“This was the mercy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), because Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Quran that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a mercy for the whole of mankind. Those people who are against Islam say that Islam is a cruel religion, but this incident shows that even those who brutally treated him and injured him, even then he did not try to take revenge. It shows how vast his mercy was and how merciful he was.”

Highlighting another aspect of the incident, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

“Further, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the angels, ‘You wait, if these people do not accept me, their progeny will accept me.’ And this was a prophecy also and it came true. After the Victory of Mecca, those people accepted Islam. Now you can see the progenies of those people are Muslim. So that was the purpose of not destroying those people.”

As the meeting concluded, His Holiness said that those who could not get the chance to ask questions could write to him and he would respond to their questions in writing.