Friday Sermon
6 June 2025
Mastering restraint: Turning to prayers amid social media provocation
After reciting tashahhud, ta‘awwuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
Nowadays, on the one hand, there are benefits of social media and indeed, people derive benefits from it; on the other hand, there are also some aspects of social media which are harmful. Taking advantage of social media, opponents of today use extremely foul language against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. They spew lies and filth against the Promised Messiahas, which injure the sentiments of Ahmadis when they hear them.
Then, in retaliation, some Ahmadis respond to them in a wrongful manner. Though they may be well-intentioned, they end up using such language that can be taken in the wrong sense. This is not our practice. An Ahmadi should abstain from this. It is not our job to use inappropriate language or to respond in a manner where we inadvertently use language that can become the means of degrading anyone in any way, which the opponents can then take advantage of and go on to say that – God forbid – we dishonour the Holy Prophetsa or his Companions. When in actual fact, the rank in which we hold the Holy Prophetsa and his Companions cannot be comprehended by these people even to the millionth degree.
Everything that we possess is sacrificed for the Holy Prophetsa. He is the Seal of All Prophets, who is God’s beloved and final [law-bearing] Prophet. With regard to his Companions, there are countless instances in which the Promised Messiahas has spoken in such a manner which are far beyond the comprehension of these opponents who speak against us.
Thus, not only do our hearts revere the lofty rank of the Holy Prophetsa – indeed, we do and it is matchless – but we also hold dear the esteemed rank of his Companions.
Hence, every Ahmadi should bear this in mind, and every Ahmadi should avoid saying anything that creates a wrong impression or has the potential to leave a wrong impression in any way. Some Ahmadis think they have exhibited great honour by giving a particular response – this is their response upon asking them. However, this so-called honour is, in fact, ignorance. If an Ahmadi says such things that can be taken to mean the wrong thing in any way, then they are actually becoming a means for defaming the Promised Messiahas and the Jamaat.
The Promised Messiahas states, “You must remain patient and always exhibit patience.”
On one occasion, the Promised Messiahas said:
“People use foul language against me, but I have no concern for their obscene language, nor do I feel sorry for them because they are helpless. The only way they can hide their helplessness and depravity is by cursing.”
They employ vulgarities and absurd ploys because they have no arguments or any answers, and so hurling abuse is all they can do.
The Promised Messiahas says:
“They can issue edicts of disbelief, file false cases, and concoct different types of false accusations and slander; they can exert all their efforts against me, and they will witness who the ultimate decision will be in favour of.”
They may try whatever they please, but Allah the Almighty is with the Promised Messiahas, and so they shall witness who will ultimately prevail. The Promised Messiahas states:
“If I were to start caring about their cursing, then it would take away from the task which God has entrusted to me. Therefore, while I do not care for their abusive language, I advise my Community that it would behove them to hear their curses and endure them, and under no circumstances should they respond to cursing with cursing, because that eliminates blessings. They should exhibit examples of patience and forbearance and demonstrate their high morals. Certainly, remember that there is a dangerous divide between intellect and passion. Intellect cannot prevail in the presence of passion and anger. However, a person who exhibits examples of patience and forbearance is given a light which brings about a new lustre to their abilities of intellect and understanding. Then this light begets light. Since anger and passion darken the heart and mind, darkness begets darkness.” (Malfuzat, 1984, Vol. 3, p. 180)
Hence, this is a lesson which we must always remember. Those who become self-proclaimed scholars and start responding on social media to non-Ahmadis and so-called clerics who raise allegations against us should abstain from doing so. If they want to search for answers, then they should consult the scholars of the Jamaat, those who possess an in-depth knowledge of the literature of the Jamaat, and the responses given should be powerful, and they should emphatically refute the allegations being raised.
You must act according to the teachings of the Promised Messiahas, which in reality are the true teachings of Islam. Otherwise, whilst being a part of the Jamaat, you will be defaming it. May Allah the Almighty save us from the evil of the mischievous and also grant sense to those who display their false “honour” and at times become the means of spreading disorder and restlessness because of the language they use. Instead of responding on social media, if we were to prostrate before Allah the Almighty, offer our prayers with absolute devotion and sincerity, and develop such pain in our prostrations that swiftly stirs the honour of Allah the Almighty, then we will quickly attain much better results than what these people seek to attain by giving responses. Hence, every Ahmadi should abstain from using any sort of language which needlessly gives the opponents an opportunity to say that an Ahmadi said such and such.
Our morals must be of the highest and loftiest standards. Those who do not have lofty morals do not honour their pledge of allegiance to the Promised Messiahas. Therefore, we must analyse ourselves; everyone should assess themselves and ponder and instead of giving inappropriate responses, focus on prayers. May Allah the Almighty enable all of us to do so and turn the opponents’ evil back onto them and protect us against them.
(Official Urdu transcript published in the Daily Al Fazl International, 27 June 2025, pp. 2-3. Translated by The Review of Religions.)