On 21 March 2021, a group of Nasirat of Australia was fortunate to have a virtual class with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper.
After conveying salaam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa asked if there were any Covid-19 protocols or restrictions in Australia. In response, Sadr Sahiba said that there were very few restrictions and other than wearing masks on public transport and social distancing, there were no major restrictions.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then asked about the situation and condition of the rainfall and consequent floods in Sydney, and if precautionary food and accommodation arrangements were made for Nasirat if roads were to get blocked and they needed to stay. To this, Sadr Sahiba responded in the affirmative.
The class then commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by its Urdu and English translations. After this, a hadith was presented, which highlighted that truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. This was then followed by its Urdu and English translations.
After this, an extract from the Promised Messiah’sas book, Noah’s Ark, was read out, which was followed by the recitation of a nazm (poem) composed by the Promised Messiahas.
During the class, Nasirat had the opportunity to ask Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa various questions relating to Islam, the coronavirus vaccine, school studies etc. among an array of other matters.
Upon being asked about taking the coronavirus vaccine, Huzooraa said, “What is the harm in being vaccinated? You should get vaccinated if your government asks you to do so.”
The next question asked was with regard to the Friday Sermon. Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa was asked why the imam kneels down before the second khutba. In response, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“This is the sunnah and tradition of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, that after completing the khutba – the first khutba – he would sit down, pray for some time and then stand up again; and we just follow the tradition of the Holy Prophetsa. It gives you some rest and then, at the same time, you can say some prayers before you start the second khutba.”
A Nasirat member asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa if it was permissible for a woman to slaughter an animal. Huzooraa said:
“Yes, you can. If you have the courage to slaughter an animal, you can do it. No problem […] You should use a very sharp knife and then use your full force so that the animal does not suffer pain. Immediately, just slaughter it in one go.”
A Nasirat member then asked Huzooraa how one can balance school studies and Islamic studies such as tasks assigned to Nasirat. She added that sometimes, it proved to be difficult to do both tasks together whilst also maintaining the quality of work.
Answering this, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“You should give most of your time to your studies at school and just spend one hour; or even half an hour is enough for you to study the Nasirat course or any of the Islamic religious book […]
“When you come home [from school] then do your homework, spend two hours, or two and a half hours, or even three hours, whichever time is necessary for your homework to be completed. Then, spend at least half an hour to one hour to do your religious studies and that is enough, and you can easily do it; that can do justice to both – Islamic studies and your studies at school.”
Following this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa was asked what dish he usually eats for sahoor and iftar during Ramadan. Answering this, Huzooraa said:
“Whatever I usually have for breakfast, I eat that in sehri and what I usually have for dinner, I eat in iftar. As it is sunnah to eat dates, I [open my fast] with a date. In contrast to what many people do, I do not eat pakora, samosa, chaat etc. as these are counterproductive and cause people to feel lazy after iftari and to struggle waking up in the morning. Keep your routine the same. In this way, you will enjoy sehri […]
“Some people increase their spendings unnecessarily and also compromise the health of their stomach […] The money you save from avoiding these lavish types of iftari can be given to a charity.”
A member of Nasirat asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa for the meaning of the hadith in which it states that the world is a prison for a believer and Paradise for the disbeliever. She further asked whether it meant a person was not righteous if they fulfilled all the religious duties and still found pleasure in worldly affairs.
Answering this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa explained:
“[…] it means that [a religious person] does not like the worldly things more than the religious teachings and religious practices and [fulfilling] religious dues. If you are discharging your duties towards your religion; you are offering five daily prayers with full concentration; you are doing justice to your prayers; you are praying istighfar; remembering Allah Almighty during the day and you are not doing bad deeds; and then if, at the same time, you are doing your own job and working somewhere, and getting enough money and you are doing a lucrative job where you get enough money, then although you are earning money and you are enjoying the worldly things as well – you are using your car; you are wearing good clothes and living in a good house – these are things which are necessary for today’s life and they give you comfort and ease and you can enjoy them.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa added:
“You should not go after only these worldly things and forget Allah the Almighty. If you remember Allah and achieve all these things and use them for the betterment of your life, for your children, for your family, then you can do it. It only means that those people who think, ‘This world is the only place we have to live in and we should forget about our duties we owe to Allah Almighty’, then it becomes a hell for them. Although, in their eyes, it becomes a Paradise for them, but in the eyes of Allah Almighty, it is not good […]
“So you can enjoy all these worldly things, but at the same time, discharge your duties towards the Almighty Allah and follow all the commandments which Allah has given.”
Following this, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa was asked if such a person could still be considered an Ahmadi who says they believe in Ahmadiyyat but have not yet done bai‘at.
Answering this, Huzooraa said:
“If one says that they believe in Ahmadiyyat but do not do bai‘at, it means they are trying to avoid the actual condition of joining the Jamaat. The Promised Messiahas has asked that a person who believes in him should do bai‘at so that they become a part and parcel of the Jamaat and come into the fold of the Jamaat.”
Huzooraa added:
“Bai‘at is necessary because it is written in the Quran that the Holy Prophetsa used to take bai‘at. And then, after that, the Promised Messiahas also started taking bai‘at […] I have given a series of sermons, discourses and addresses with regard to the conditions of bai‘at. You should read my book on the conditions of bai‘at.”
Upon being asked what the best argument is to prove the existence of God, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said, “You can tell them about the acceptance of your prayers. Have any of your prayers been accepted by Allah the Almighty?”
The girl who asked the question replied in the affirmative. Huzooraa then said:
“Tell them, ‘I prayed to Allah Almighty and He accepted my prayer. That shows that Allah does exist.’ You should also read the book, Our God […] you can find so many proofs in it about the existence of God. And then, you should also read Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’sra book, Ten Proofs for the Existence of God; that will also help you.
“So, there are so many points. But the main thing is that you show your own example, that ‘I am a believer, I believe in God and when I prayed to Allah, Allah accepted my prayers and that strengthened my faith in Him.’”
Following this, a Nasirat member asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa if wearing a scarf was compulsory in an all-girls school. Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa replied by saying:
“When you are in school, it is not necessary to wear a scarf. But when you are outside the school, when you are going to and coming from school, then, on the way, you should wear a scarf. If all of your teachers are ladies, then there is no need to wear a scarf […] if they ask you why you wear a scarf, you can tell them that the basis of our teaching is modesty.”
Following this, Huzooraa was asked how one should deal with high school stress and what effective ways of studying should be adopted by students. Providing an answer, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“If you have the habit of doing your homework and studying in advance for your coming lecture, then it should not give you much stress. And then, also pray to Allah the Almighty. During your prayers, you should also pray to Allah Almighty that Allah makes this easy for you:
رَبِّ زِدۡنِیْ عِلۡمًا
“[O my Lord, increase me in knowledge] and:
رَبِّ اشۡرَحۡ لِیْ صَدۡرِیْ۔ وَ يَسِّرۡ لِیْٓ اَمۡرِیْ
“[My Lord, open out for me my bosom, And ease for me my task]; so you can say these prayers. Even if you don’t remember these, then in your five daily prayers you can pray to Allah the Almighty. Then Allah will make it easy for you and alleviate any stress and you will be able to learn and do your studies.”
A young girl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa why Allah did not forbid the consumption of alcohol before the advent of Islam as it is known to be harmful.
Responding to the questioner, Huzooraa said that even at that time, when drinking was common, there were some people who refrained from consuming alcohol. Huzooraa said:
“Islam is the perfect religion and even before Islam – even in Mecca where people used to drink alcohol without any restriction and whenever they liked; even when they would get drunk to the extent that they would always fight with each other – even then, there were people who did not like alcohol. So that means people used to think, at the time, even before Islam that alcohol is not good. This is why they never used it.
“It was not only the Holy Prophetsa who never tasted alcohol. There were quite a number of people, even in Mecca, where there were no restrictions on drinking alcohol or doing all these bad things, and they didn’t comsume it. So it means there was a concept, before Islam even, of alcohol as not a good thing and [as something that] could harm you.”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa was asked how one could explain to a non-Muslim that burying a dead body was more respectful than cremation.
Huzooraa said:
“There are traditions in each and every religion; Hindus cremate their dead bodies and even Christians now do the same thing. But the best way of giving respect to the dead body is that you cover it in a cloth and put it in a coffin and then bury it under the ground and then put a gravestone on it so that you remember it. This is the best way, instead of destroying the body or burning it.”
Explaining this further, Huzooraa said:
“This is why we have adopted this tradition, and this is the best way which, from the very early ages, people used to follow […] There are some other religions, like Hindus, who, for centuries, have been cremating their bodies. Every religion has their own way of giving respect to their dead bodies and this is the way Islam says that we should adopt.”
Upon being asked about Allah’s attributes of Al-Rahim (the Merciful) and Al-Adl (the Just) Huzooraa said:
“Allah the Almighty is Ever Merciful and His mercy encompasses everything […] You must remember that the attribute of Rahmaniyat encompasses every other attribute.”
Huzooraa further expounded:
“Adl, for Allah Almighty, does not mean that He will do justice. He will see what best thing He can do for the people and when He feels that He should have mercy on people, then He will cover them with His mercy. And then if He feels a person should be punished as he has done so many wrong things, then He will decide to send him to Hell.”
As the class drew to a close, Sadr Sahiba gave an update with regard to the flood and rainfall in Australia. Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then conveyed his salaam and the class came to a close.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)