Friday Sermon – Strive For Goodness & Peace For All

After tashahhud, ta’awwuz and recitation of Sura Al-Fatiha, Huzur Aqdas (may Allah strengthen him with His Mighty Help) said:

Allah, the Exalted, says in the Holy Quran: You are the best peopleraised for the good of mankind; (3:111)

Huzur Aqdas (ab) says you are those people who have been raised for the good of other people and for their beneficence. This is, from among the duties of Muslims, one of the biggest responsibilities that the world should be benefitted by them. The world should receive from them goodness and beneficence and not harm or evil. However, at this time, the situation in which the world finds itself, that we observe, that the Muslim governments, peoples and organizations have created so much disorder that a large part of the world is fearful of the name of Islam and the Muslims. And if such a fearful situation exists then who is it that would want to listen to what the Muslims want to convey or should think that we may receive some goodness or benefit from them.

The people who are cutting the throats of their own people and are killing innocents, women, children, and the aged without any regard, and without any reason, illegally and who are enslaving those who do not share their way of thinking; how can it be expected from them that they could be such as would wish for good for the non-Muslims.

Thus these acts that such people carry out, can, and in fact do, result inevitably in only this that the world is fearful of Muslims. For us Ahmadis there is, in this, a lot to feel ashamed and sad about that our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who is a Mercy for the Universe, is the one that such people ascribe themselves to while doing such misdeeds.

They have brought infamy upon the religion of Islam and they are also presenting the Holy Prophet to the world in a totally wrong way contrary to his real exemplary nature. Nevertheless, as an Ahmadi we are not at all dismayed nor do we lose hope seeing these misdeeds of their.

When I present these things, these misdeeds of the Muslims, to most non-Muslims as an argument in favor of the truth of the Holy Prophet of Islam because the Holy Prophet had said that a time will come when the condition of the Muslims will be precisely this – in fact he had also identified the age when this would happen. He had indicated that this downward trend would begin after such a length of time and had foretold for how long such a night of darkness would last and then the Promised Messiah (as) would appear and rejuvenate the true and beautiful teachings of Islam in the world again. That teaching which is still present in its true form in the Holy Quran and every word of which teaching we see reflected in the exemplary life of the Holy Prophet (sa). And we Ahmadis believe that in this era of misguidance, in accordance with the prophecies of the Holy Prophet, that Promised Messiah and Mahdi has indeed appeared. And he did not just make the claim of having come but in his person, and with his advent, were fulfilled all the signs that the Holy Quran and the Sayings of the Holy Prophet had mentioned.

And this Promised Messiah and Mahdi introduced us to the beautiful teachings of Islam and lit up our hearts with its illumination. Today it is this Jama’at -e-Ahmadiyya that is acting on these beautiful teachings of Islam. When the people are told these things, they become convinced that Islam is not false but rather the actions of these people are at fault who are spreading chaos and disorder in the world in the name of Islam.

So every Ahmadi must remember that to call the world to goodness and being desirous of good for everyone is the responsibility of every Ahmadi because Allah, through His Grace and Favor has bestowed upon us the bounty of having accepted the Promised Messiah (as).

It is not our duty to just live in peace. Our duty is not only to stay away from any misdeeds. We are not required to simply stay away from chaos and disorder. But it is our responsibility to work to the fullest extent possible to bring about and establish peace in the world. It is also our responsibility to try and stop the world from committing misdeeds and perpetrating evil. To keep the world away from chaos and disorder and to help them avoid these things is also our job because these works are part of the work of the Promised Messiah (as). He was sent to rejuvenate the tradition of doing good and spreading goodness in the light of the Islamic teachings. So doing good to the people and entering into a bai’at of the Promised Messiah (as), and the command of God Almighty, require from us that we come into the world of actions and do everything in our power to be a source of goodness and beneficence and for preventing evil and misdeeds for the people of the world.

We are the well-wishers of the Muslims also. We desire good for them. We are also the well-wishers of the non-Muslims and we desire good for them also. We are the well-wishers of the Christians also and the Jews and the Hindus and the followers of other religions. Indeed, we are the well-wishers even of the atheists. Because we have to show to all of them that path which can take them close to God Almighty. Indeed we have to desire and wish for good for all people involved in every kind of evil, thieves and robbers, and those guilty of committing every kind of excess simply because these are all the creatures of the Lord of all the Worlds and we are required to be the well wishers of all creatures of God Almighty. And we have to show them the paths that lead to goodness and that avoid misdeeds and evil.

By saying ‘ukh-ray-jat lin-naas’ [for the whole of mankind] Allah has made our field of actions very vast. So for the good of humanity and for their benefit and improvement we have to show them the right paths that lead to God Almighty. We have to urge them to follow and act upon the commandments of God Almighty.

We have to tell them that this life will come to an end one day and then everyone will receive the reward or punishment of his or her actions on the Day of Judgement. So establish your connection with God Almighty so that you may have a better end. But we cannot make anyone understand these things till we ourselves do not become such as keep a watch on our end, our final outcome. This is a very great duty that we have to fulfill and carry out with great care, thought and regular assessments.

During the carrying out of this task we will have to, and indeed we do, face difficulties and the history of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at tells us that we have been confronting such difficulties and the oppositions of the world at every step of the way. But this is not just something that is peculiar to us alone. Indeed, all the Prophets of God who came, they and those who believed in them, had to face such opposition, but because those earlier Prophets had come for limited epochs and limited areas, so their oppositions were also of a limited nature.

However, the Holy Prophet (sa), when he was sent into the world, he was sent for the entire world. This is why we see that the whole world opposed him and indeed continues to do so. And this is the same work and scope of the work that applies to the Promised Messiah (as) in the servitude of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This is why when he made his claim he was opposed by people of every faith and nation and they are still opposing him even today. In some places this opposition is moderate and in some places it is severe. And this will go on and it has not come to an end nor will it.

There are no doubt such people in the world who praise the work the Ahmadiyya Jama’at does to promote peace but with reference to faith, when we will be blessed with extraordinary progress, then as a people, we will have to face opposition in the Western countries also. Or, at the least, those who are the practitioners of religion here, we will face oppositions from them. So it should never be thought that in these countries populated with educated people, our good deeds, good actions will always be replied to with goodness. Even now there such churches here where the pastors oppose us and their authorities do not desire to even sit with us.

In February, the religious conference that took place here, the people from Church of England were also invited but they did not deign even to respond and they did not come. There are many places where our outreach teams go, in other countries also, and one or two times they give them permission to use their facilities in small places to gather the people and to state our purpose and intentions and objectives, but when they see that we go to that area again and again, and the people are beginning to pay heed to our message, then they begin to come out in opposition to us.

The same is the attitude of authors who are atheists or who hold on to no religion when they see us writing in defence of Islam. They respond with great ferocity in opposition. And as the numbers of the Jama’at will increase, this opposition too will continue to rise. But the Prophets of God are also convinced that in the end they will be the ones who will prevail because God has implanted this certainty in them.

And the Promised Messiah (as) too had this certainty also as God Almighty had made this clear upon him that he will indeed prevail. And we too are certain on the basis of these same things that the Promised Messiah (as) will indeed prevail, insha-Allah – by the will of Allah – because Allah does not break His Promises. And then there are innumerable acts of God, practical signs of the support of God that bear testimony to the fact that God is with him [the Promised Messiah (as)]. So there is no reason whatsoever that we should look upon the claims of the Promised Messiah (as) in any negative or worrisome way nor should we harbor any doubt about God’s support.

The Jama’at has passed through such horrific things that had convinced its enemies that now this Jama’at was just about finished. But what was the result? Each time, the enemy, despite all its power and might, failed and the Jama’at, by the Grace of Allah, the Exalted, came out with its head held high, victorious.

So no matter what treatment the world meets out to us, this is their nature, their job, but because the help of God is with us, and because we are certain that we have to fulfill all His commandments that He has given, so we have, in every case, to continue to fulfill this command also and wish well for all and go on advancing our work. Our sentiments for the whole world must be of goodness and indeed our wishes are virtuous but if despite this the world causes us pain, inflicts pain upon us, even then we will not let the work we have to do to slow down because we have been bestowed the work of taking care of the world.

If Allah, the Exalted, has bestowed upon us the name of Khair-e-Ummat, the Best People, so we will never step back from distributing goodness and spreading beneficence. And this goodness is the conveying of the message of Islam. It is to call the world towards Allah, the Exalted. What can be greater goodness than this. The amount of evil and filth and philandery and the amount of mocking and derision of the commandments of Allah, the Exalted, that is happening in these days and in this age, and the manner in which governments and the media are also spreading this, the world has never seen the like of it before. Today, the power with which Satan is making his attacks, perhaps it has never happened before that, from one end of the earth to the other, within a matter of seconds, pictures full of indecencies, and such stories and sounds can be made to reach everywhere.

When we raise our voices in support of goodness, the majority of the people are not at all moved to the least degree but the sounds of evil make their impact felt instantly. And even if someone does pay attention to what we have to say, then among them a lot are such, in fact the majority are such, as treat us as children are treated – they say, “well done, you are doing very good work” – and then these people lose contact with us and become involved in those things that take them away from goodness.

So we need to understand that this is not the height of achieving our objectives, that we should become satisfied upon hearing some small praise, like children, and then sit down and having conveyed our message to a few people imagine that we have accomplished some great feat. In fact, in order to render goodness to the world, to deliver goodness to the world, we have to take our efforts to remove evil and misdeeds to the very extreme.

Any worldly opposition, any worldly obstacle, whether it is from the Muslims or the non-Muslims, or from whomsoever it may come, even if it is from atheists – we have to try to remove it from our path in the way in which a strong wind blows away a piece of straw. From this we should be able to estimate how comprehensive, solid and passionate effort is needed on our part. And together with this, it is necessary that every Ahmadi, in accord with his or her abilities and capabilities, needs to contribute his or her part.

The task of the Promised Messiah (as) was to convey to the entire world the message of Islam and to distribute this goodness and beneficence to them all. So this is our task also. We should not be worried that the world does not pay attention to our calling them, does not hear us. We call them to goodness and they become even more engrossed in evil; and these misdeeds are directed at us from every quarter.

At this time especially, the opposition from among the Muslims to us is so much that it has exceeded all limits. No doubt there are such people also who have started to raise their voice somewhat in our favor. There are also some who, recognizing truth for being truth, and despite all the oppositions, they accept Ahmadiyyat, the True Islam. But it is also clear that the numbers of those devoted to creating discord and spreading mischief is very large or at least the decent people do not come out due to the fear of such mischief-makers – and these mischiefmakers come out and do as they please.

But can we stop doing our work because of this opposition? Due to fear of the worldly oppositions, can we go back from carrying out this order of God Almighty that we should spread goodness? As I have said there are people in the world who confront all oppositions and overcome all satanic obstacles and accept Ahmadiyyat. There are among them those who say, while telling us about how they accepted Ahmadiyyat, that it was the very opposition to Ahmadiyyat that led them on to the path that led them to Ahmadiyyat.

In my previous sermon I had made mention of a poet with reference to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) that that person, in order to find some reason to object to the Promised Messiah (as), had read some books of the Promised Messiah (as) – especially the Persian Durr-e-Sameen [collection of his poetry] and as a result accepted Ahmadiyya. He says that it had become manifest to him, as clearly as a bright sunshiny day, that there was no greater lover of the Holy Prophet (sa) to be seen than Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as).

So we are established on this certainty that when we will respond to evil with goodness, then from these very people themselves, droplets of love will begin to fall upon us and such people will embrace the servitude of the Messiah of Muhammad (sa). We have been taught by the Promised Messiah (as) that we should even pray for our enemies and desire good for them and deliver goodness to them, be of benefit to them.

This incident is also known to you all. It is a picture of the pain he felt for the faith in his heart. I had mentioned it in my previous Khutba also that despite the fact that Allah, the Exalted, had sent the plague as a sign in support of his claims, yet, when people began to die from it, he became concerned that if all the people died who would be left to worship God Almighty and who would be there to believe. So he started praying for the removal of this torment with such anguish and pain that those who heard him said that his cries were like those of a woman at the time of giving birth. So this is the example and standard that has been set before us by the true servant of the Holy Prophet (sa) in this age as to how to be the well wisher of the people of the world.

Instead of desiring the destruction of the world, he desired good for the world. That God Almighty is Possessor of All Powers and He can change the hearts of the people without resorting to destruction. So our efforts also need to be, following in the footsteps of the Promised Messiah (as) and his Lord and Master the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the people may be saved from destruction so that they may become our brethren. We need to pray for this also with pain in our hearts. And we need also to make every effort. We have to set right the material and spiritual lives of the people by guiding the world to the right spiritual paths.

We do have to set people on the right path spiritually, of course, but I want to tell you also that we have been made responsible for delivering goodness and taking care of their material welfare too. And there are commandments in the Holy Quran about this also. We are not told to just take care of goodness for our own people only. We are not commanded just to end the hunger, and provide shelter and take care of the illnesses of our own people alone. We are commanded to take care of others also and indeed of every person in need.

Although the topic at the moment is mostly about the spiritual goodness, I have come to learn of one thing and so I wish to make mention of it here also. During the last few days an Ahmadi went from here to the Turkey Lebanon area to make an assessment of the needs of the refugees living in those areas. The condition of the people there is very bad. They need food and clothings and the education of their children is being affected negatively and there are different entities that are trying to proved them help. But their needs are very great.

In any case there, someone, an Ahmadi, made the criticism that why is the Ahmadiyya Jama’at helping Europeans, they should only be helping us. Perhaps the reference of this person was towards the monies that we give to charities in Europe. So it needs to be said that here too, in accordance with this Quranic commandment, the service, provision of spiritual and material help, must be provided without distinction to everyone.

Allah, the Exalted, has said that you must feed the hungry one. It has not been said that an Ahmadi who is hungry, or a Muslim who is hungry must be fed, but rather it is said that every hungry person should be given food.

Allah has commanded that we fulfill the needs of a poor or needy person. So this too is our obligation, that we try to fulfill the need of every poor and needy person. We have to fulfill all these obligations. Such talk is unbecoming of a momin – a believer, that he should go around questioning why such a person was given and why another was not – in fact it is among the responsibilities of a momin – a believer – that, without distinction, he should serve everyone.

Secondly, the charity walks that we do here, many others join in these and these are the monies that are given to the charities. The others who join us, also contribute to our charities when they come. So from this point of view also it becomes the right of the local charities also that the work that they are doing for the service of humanity we too join with them in doing that work. We see in the example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) that even after he had been bestowed the station of Prophethood, he said that even if today I am called to help people not from among the Muslims, I would readily go to their help. He was referring to the compact that he had entered into in his youth, in Mecca, together with some others, to respond to the call for help by anyone being wronged.

So, as I have said, we have to continue to expand our circle of doing good to others, wider and wider rather than limiting it. We do not look to the world for any compensation in return for the material help we provide them, nor do we want something in return for spreading the spiritual goodness among them. If we have a pain, and a longing, it is only that the world should recognize its Creator – the One who brought them into being. And by sharing this goodness and distributing it among the people, as is the practice of the Prophets of God, this is the reply that the Prophets have been giving and this is what we have been taught, that my reward is with Allah, the Exalted, I do not ask any reward from you.

So this is the answer that the Jama’at must give and also we must keep in mind that when the Prophets of God say this after having distributed goodness among the people, that my recompense is with Allah, the Exalted, yet a very large number of people continue still to oppose the Prophets of God, and their number goes on increasing still.

So we should remember that as a result of our goodness, we may well receive as recompense from our ill natured opponents, loss and suffering and this does happen too. Indeed, some look at us as a lion looks at a goat thinking how did this prey come in our reach. Our situation is very much like that of the person who should have reared a lion or a cheetah and it manages somehow to escape. So the owner will be try to capture it in such a way that that animal suffers no harm but the cheetah will be trying to attack the owner and kill it.

So, in Pakistan, and in some other countries, there are such people, indeed all mullahs and the people under their influence are such people, who attributing lies to us, wish to tear us apart. But our effort is all directed towards trying to somehow save them so they do not come under the curse and seizing of God Almighty.

The opposition demonstrated by these people to us is not by virtue of any personal reasons. Various Ahmadis in various areas continue to receive threats, day in and day out that we will do this to you or that, so it is best if you repent of Ahmadiyyat and join hands with us. So their enmities are not because of our persons, but rather because of our adherence to Ahmadiyyat and their enmity to Ahmadiyyat is due to the fact that they can see clearly that the progress of Ahmadiyyat runs counter to their personal interests and the likely diminution in the attention that people pay to them at the moment.

As Ahmadiyyat continues to progress these people will continue to suffer decline. These people can see clearly that the way and the manner in which the Jama’at is making progress they will likely have control over us tomorrow. And as I have said before, that in these Western countries, or in those countries that are under their influence, the progress of the Jama’at will take them towards planning to oppose the Jama’at. In their thoughts perhaps there is the idea that Jama’at Ahmadiyya wishes to take control of governments and countries whereas the spreading of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at is not in the direction of taking possession of countries. Indeed the spread of Ahmadiyyat in these countries will be the means of the establishment and spread of peace and law and order.

In the Muslim countries, even when we say to the Muslims to join with the true servant of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), we say it to remove their worldly pains and sufferings and for their better final outcome. Similarly we say to the followers of the other religions of the world that we want to save you from the wrath of God Almighty. The Promised Messiah (as) did not desire to see the world under his control, he did not mention his prevailing to mean this, nor did he pray for such domination. Nor, by uniting under Khilafat does the Jama’at talk about taking over worldly governments and have them under their control. Our purpose is to establish the government of God in the world and to spread the pure and holy teachings of the Holy Prophet all over the world.

We must always keep our eyes on the life of the Holy Prophet (sa) and the history of Islam. That despite the messages of goodness and beneficence from him, oppositions rose up against him and against his Companions and they were forced into battles. Despite all this, the Holy Prophet always only sought guidance and Mercy for the people. And he tried as far as possible that the world should receive only goodness from him and if the wars were forced upon him he undertook them only as a last resort and always avoiding every excess and always for the sake of defence and for reformation. And this too, in fact, was a means of bestowing goodness for them.

Despite the fact that, as we see in the Torah, the mention of the opposition of the people of Hazrat Ishaq against the children of Hazrat Ishmael. And the Jews and Christians undertook opposition of the Holy Prophet also for this same reason. Despite the fact that the Jews and Christians were in extreme opposition against each other. But against the Holy Prophet (sa) they would both come together and even now they do the same. It was due to this same thinking and reasoning that the Jews caused a lot of pain to the Holy Prophet in Medina but the Holy Prophet always wished good for them except where it was required by the governance of affairs and punishment was required and that too was for the sake of goodness for the others.

We should remember that in this age, when the Promised Messiah (as) has been sent as the representative of the Holy Prophet, this connection with difficulties and oppositions had also to be established. So we, those who have come into the bai’at with the Promised Messiah (as), we have to face oppositions and we are doing this. But, despite all this, we have to follow the example of the Holy Prophet (sa) and wish only good for the world.

Listening to these things some minds may well think that we will always just be facing oppositions. This is not the case either. I have said before also that the promises of prevalence are with the Promised Messiah (as) and we will insha Allah be given this domination, this prevalence, but not by relying on worldly powers; and we cannot fulfill any of our tasks by relying on the world. Indeed, how can we rely on the worldly inclined, because we are the ones who have been called the Best of People. We are the ones who have to distribute goodness not the ones who are going to be receiving it from others.

So, as I have said we are to receive this domination, this prevalence; but to receive this Grace we have to make efforts and for this the work that Allah, the Exalted, has allotted to us we will have to take that to the highest level. All that we have to do, we have to do relying on our efforts and by gaining the Graces of Allah, the Exalted. Relying on others, or having any kind of thought of reliance on worldly powers will be the cause of our downfall and we must remember this. Divine communities do not seek or get help from worldly powers.

What are the efforts through which we can gain success? These are those messages of goodness which I have already mentioned before. And this needs to be spread to every person in the world and by every Ahmadi, no matter what section of society he belongs to, and this is what is needed. We have to put ourselves into the work of outreach – of tabligh, of conveying the message. Labourer, trader, doctor, lawyer, scientists, teacher, farmer …everyone, making use of wisdom has to take this message of goodness to the people of his or her own section of society so that the world may get to know of Ahmadiyyat, the True Islam. And this needs to be done before the time that the seeds of opposition start to be planted or start to grow in places where they have not yet arrived – so that we should have our roots already strongly established in such places. Before the hordes of Satan realize what is happening, the beautiful Islamic teachings of goodness and beneficence should already be prevalent in such places.

So this, today, is the work of the servants of the Messiah of Muhammad (sa) that by making use of wisdom and strenuous efforts and gaining the graces of Allah, the Almighty, they go and plant the Islamic teachings of goodness and beneficence in the hearts of everyone. Do your level best for this. It is necessary, in order to achieve this, that we increase the numbers of Daeen-ila-lah [callers to Allah] everywhere and make every one of them active in their work.

May Allah enable the members of the Jama’at and also the Nizam [organization/system] of the Jama’at to pay full attention towards this.

Aameen!

Taken from Ahmadiyya International; http://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2014-10-31.html