Many of us have wished that we were born in the time of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammadsa Mustafa. Others who see that time as too far in the distant past wish at least to have found the time of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian.
There is no harm in wishing and one can wish for as many fanciful things as one pleases, but then we have to be realistic; the reality is we were not born then, nor can we go back in time to be born in those blessed times.
Another reality is that we are born in the time of the Promised Messiah’sas Khilafat – an institution that succeeds the Promised Messiahas in everything that he stood for. And reality again pushes us to ask ourselves whether we are doing enough to make the best of the time that we are actually born and living in. Living a life that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa asks us to live is one way of not only being grateful to be born in the time of this blessed successorship of the Promised Messiahas, but also to feel closer to the holy persona of not only the Promised Messiahas but his holy master, our holy master, Hazrat Muhammadsa.
The next question, naturally, is: What kind of a life does Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa call us to?
For the last two decades, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has called us to maintain and increase our belief in the One and only God. He has called us to obey the commandments of the One and only God. He has told us about the golden principles of life taught by the Holy Prophetsa and, in his subservience, rejuvenated by the Promised Messiahas. Huzooraa has reminded us of establishing our worship and turning to no one else but Allah the Almighty. He has taught us how to remain steadfast in our faith and how to pass on the same to our younger generations. He has called us to read the Holy Quran and understand it so we may be saved from the world that is fast degenerating in morality.
Huzooraa has reminded us, in line with the Quranic teachings, to spend as much as we possibly can in the way of Allah. He has told us how our marriages can be successful and how domestic bliss can be acquired through this sacred bond. He has taught us how to bring up our children as good Muslims.
The other question is: Having given us so much of his time and energy to guide us, what has Huzooraa ever asked for in return?
Nothing at all.
He has never even asked how much we have done to follow his advice and guidance, not to speak of admonishing us for lagging behind and not being able to keep up. Following confessions before him for not being able to live up to his expectation in one area or the other, all we have had in return is a loving reminder to try harder and pray to Allah the Almighty for help.
Although Huzooraa has never asked for anything in return, does that mean we sit back and do nothing? To put in no effort would be an act of extreme ingratitude and thanklessness; not only to Huzooraa but to Allah the Almighty who blessed us with this unique form of guidance in the shape of Khilafat and we chose to remain in our fantasies of being born in some point in the past.
Millions around the world have generally frowned upon lockdowns, but in the Ahmadiyya world, these restrictions came as a blessing in that they brought with them virtual mulaqats of Ahmadi Muslims from all parts of the world with Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa. And thanks to MTA, we all got to be part of these blessed meetings.
Readers will agree that whenever the youth have asked Huzooraa about any issue, he has guided them to the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and to the guidance given by the Promised Messiahas in his writings, while presenting the answer in an easily understandable way.
Everyone has their own take-home message from these mulaqats with Huzooraa, but let us see if there is more we could actually “take home”.
If Huzooraa is constantly referring to the sayings and the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and those of his ardent lover and servant, the Promised Messiahas, should we not strive to learn more about these blessed sources of guidance?
For a Muslim, Ramadan is the start of a new spiritual year, or rather a new or renewed life. So channelising this desire of being born in the blessed times of the Holy Prophetsa or the Promised Messiahas, let us take it upon us to acquaint ourselves with the Holy Quran, with the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa and with the writings of the Promised Messiahas, the latter being an interpretation of the former two.
We invest so much money in enabling our children to learn secular subjects where they need help, so why not invest our time and energy into reading the material that laid the foundation of the revolution that we all feel proud to be part of. Let us all commit ourselves to try as much as we can to not deprive ourselves of such blessings.
Al Hakam is here to help. We understand that certain passages from the aforementioned material can require assistance in understanding. While we all remain humble students of this invaluable material, we at Al Hakam will try and answers any questions that you may have through our column Islam Today, or individually if you so wish. (You can contact us via our email: ask@alhakam.org)
So, let’s live in the moment and thank Allah for the blessed time that we are born in – the era of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. While we ponder on how we can be thankful to Allah for this blessing, let us make it a point to never forget to pray for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa. Let us not forget to pray that the institution of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya always remains and flourishes, as it always has, and continues to call the world to the only way of salvation: Islam.
May we all follow every single word uttered by Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa and may the people of the world hearken too.