Islamabad, Tilford, UK, 10 April 2024: At approximately 11 am local time, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper, arrived in the Mubarak Mosque to lead the congregation in Eid-ul-Fitr prayer and deliver the Eid sermon.
Droves of Ahmadis – men, women, and children – gathered in Islamabad on the joyous occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr 2024 to perform the Eid prayer behind their beloved Imam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa and listen to his blessed sermon.
After the Eid prayer, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa recited tashahud, ta‘awuz, Surah al-Fatihah, and said:
“Today, we are celebrating Eid, and Allah the Almighty granted us this opportunity to witness another Eid in our lives.”
He said we can experience the true joy of Eid when we tread the path of God Almighty’s pleasure and seek his blessings. Many Ahmadis wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa during Ramadan to pray that they may attain true blessings of Allah the Almighty. Huzooraa said that a good tree bears persistent fruits, and so we must make our Ramadan an evergreen tree that bears fruits forever.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that during Ramadan, there is an ashra [10-day period] of rahmah (Allah’s mercy), an ashra of maghfirah (forgiveness from Allah), and ashra of protection from the Hellfire. Hence, we must continue the good deeds that we did during the month of Ramadan. We must ponder over ways to continue what we have achieved during this blessed month.
God Almighty didn’t open the doors of rahmah (mercy) for only 10 days. In fact, through this, Allah opened doorways to enter into the gates of forgiveness and saving oneself from hellfire. Rahmah is to show mercy and kindness. It is to forgive the mistakes of others.
May Allah forgive us and conceal our shortcomings. This can only happen if we fulfill the commandments of God and continue to do good deeds. We should fulfill the rights of others. We should abstain from every evil deed that Satan incites us to do. We should repent by means of istighfar and strengthen our faith. A momin (believer) should continue to strengthen their faith and always perform righteous deeds to attain the nearness of Allah the Almighty.
At present, every kind of fire has engulfed the world from all sides. Thus, in order to save oneself from this fire, we should seek to attain the pleasure and love of Allah the Almighty. This is the advice of the Imam of the Age, the Promised Messiahas.
While we are celebrating Eid, we should never forget the people who are under oppression by evildoers and satans of this age. We should pray for them that God may save and protect them. We should also donate and contribute to various charities to provide for the needs and necessities of the oppressed people.
Describing Rabb-ul-Alamin (Lord of all the Worlds) and taqwa (righteousness), Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira said:
“Just as Allah the Almighty showers His mercy upon the creation and looks on them with kindness and love, you too should show true affection and compassion towards them.”
Huzooraa said real happiness is achieved when a person becomes a true reflection of God’s attributes. Thus, as mercy and kindness are manifestly shown by Allah the Almighty in the very beginning of Ramadan, we should continue to prolong these blessings and seek to fulfill the rights of the Creation.
We should always remember that Eid is not just to eat and be merry, but it is in fact to tread the path of righteousness. Allah the Almighty says:
وَاَمَّا مَنۡ اٰمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَہٗ جَزَآءَ ۣالۡحُسۡنٰی ۚ وَسَنَقُوۡلُ لَہٗ مِنۡ اَمۡرِنَا یُسۡرًا
“He who believes and works righteousness will have a good reward in the Hereafter, and We shall also facilitate everything for him by Our command.” (Surah al-Kahf, Ch.18: V.89)
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that whoever attains such status of righteousness, what more do they need? When one fulfills the rights of Allah the Almighty and the right owed to His Creation, only then can we attain true righteousness and achieve real joy of Eid.
The Promised Messiahas said:
“Virtue is a ladder that lifts one towards Islam and God. But remember, what is virtue? On every route, Satan raids the people and leads them away from the path of truth. For example, let us presume that one night more bread is cooked than necessary and the following morning there is some leftover. Just before the first morsel, as one is about to begin their meal and many delicious foods are placed before them, a beggar comes to the door and calls out asking for bread. If the person says: ‘Give the leftover bread to the beggar,’ would this be deemed a good deed? The leftover bread was going to remain unused anyway. Why would an indulgent person eat such bread? Allah the Exalted states: ‘And they feed, for love of Him, the poor, the orphan, and the prisoner.’
“It should also be remembered that the Arabic word ta‘am used here refers to desirable food. Stale leftovers are not referred to as ta‘am. Therefore, if at the sound of a beggar, the person were to give away their desirable and delicious food freshly placed in their plate just before they began to eat it, this is what constitutes a good deed.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 1, p. 72)
Huzooraa said if people get true understanding of this commandment, only then they can attain true virtue. In afflicted countries, many are selling their clothes to get food. In Palestine, people are not getting the required colorise, and those who are starving and cannot find food are apart from them.
The Promised Messiahas said:
“No individual who spends that which is useless and worthless can claim to have done a good deed. The door of virtue is narrow, so bear well in mind that no one can enter it by spending things of no value. There is a clear statement in the Quran as follows:
لَنْ تنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتىّٰ تُنْفِقُوْا مِمَّا تُحِبُّوْنَ
“Meaning, until you spend those things which are most beloved to you and most dear, you cannot attain the rank of being loved and held dear by God. If you do not wish to bear hardship and do not seek to adopt true piety how can you succeed and triumph?” (Ibid., pp. 72-73)
At another place, the Promised Messiahas said:
“Two things are necessary for human beings: to refrain from evil and to hasten towards virtue. Now, there are two further aspects of virtue: to forsake evil and propagate goodness. A person cannot be complete by the mere eschewing of evil; this must be coupled with the propagation of virtue, which means to benefit others. This demonstrates the degree to which a person has reformed themselves. These ranks are attained when a person develops faith in the attributes of God Almighty and a knowledge of these attributes as well. Until this becomes the case, one cannot even save themselves from vice, let alone benefit others, which is a far greater quality. There are many people who are in awe of kings and even fear the Indian Penal Code to some extent. There are many people who do not break the law, yet they are fearless when it comes to disobeying the law of God, the Best of judges. Can there be any other reason except that people do not believe in Him? This is the sole reason.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 3, p. 132)
Huzooraa said there are some people who show great morals with others and spend in the way of Allah the Almighty. However, when it comes to their family and home, they don’t do the same. We must evaluate ourselves in this respect as well.
May Allah grant us power to strengthen our faith and do such good deeds as may bring the blessings and nearness of God Almighty. May Allah shower His mercy upon us. May God forgive us and protect us from Satan.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then conveyed ‘Eid Mubarak’ to Ahmadis across the world.
Huzooraa then urged everyone to pray for Ahmadis all over the world; to pray for all the oppressed people, and especially for the Ahmadis of Burkina Faso; to pray for all those Ahmadis who are in hardships because of Ahmadiyyat; to pray for the ummah of Islam that they may unify and help ensure the rights of Muslims of Palestine and the rest of Muslims too. May Allah grant them guidance and may they believe in the Imam of the Age, the Promised Messiah and Mahdias. May Allah bless this world with rightful and just leaders.
Huzooraa then led the congregation in silent prayer.