Friday Sermon
14 May 2021
Ahmadiyyat: The healing of enmity
After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:
A few days ago, a Maulvi Sahib [Muslim cleric] was saying on social media that all the unrest and disorder that is witnessed in the world today is due to the “Qadianis” [Ahmadis]. In fact, he said that even the unrest in Palestine was due to the Qadianis. And then, as they always do, he stated that whatever injustices, killings and violence is carried out against Ahmadis is therefore justified.
Thus, this is their level of conduct and these are the kind of things they utter. Ever since the establishment of Ahmadiyyat, these people, who are the a‘imatul-kufr [i.e. leaders of the disbelievers], have been saying such things. However, we express infinite gratitude to Allah the Almighty for we have accepted the Messiah and Mahdi, who taught us that despite listening to their hurtful comments and enduring their physical efforts against us, we ought to display patience and pray.
It is the leaders of the disbelievers, who have incited the innocent Muslims [against Ahmadis] by spreading false information. The general [Muslim] population, perhaps owing to their lack of knowledge, believe that Ahmadis, God-forbid, dishonour the Holy Prophetsa and therefore hold the view that such treatment should be meted out against Ahmadis because whatever the maulvi has said must be true.
This is the condition of the general Muslims; however, those maulvis who actually possess knowledge, know full well whatever they say has no basis whatsoever and they simply wish to create disorder, so that they may remain in service at their pulpits and no one may remove them.
Allah the Almighty knows best as to how He will deal with them. However, as I mentioned earlier that our duty is to pray. I mentioned in the Eid Sermon [earlier today] as well that the Promised Messiahas stated that one ought to pray even for their enemies. (Malfuzat, Vol. 3, p. 96)
We are those who pray and will continue to go on praying because this opposition is nothing new for us. In fact, this has been there since the advent of the Promised Messiahas and such attacks were levelled against the Promised Messiahas; those who came to listen to him were also attacked.
Some people simply attend the gatherings in order to just listen to what is being said. It is not necessary that they will accept what is being said; however, the maulvis [at the time] would be scared that if these people listen to the Promised Messiahas, they will do his bai‘at because they knew that the truth was on his side. Therefore, they would stop them, but not just that, they would attack them as well. Despite this, the Promised Messiahas prayed for such people who would stop others and carry out injustices.
And it is owing to these very prayers that despite their opposition [of the Jamaat], some of them accepted Ahmadiyyat, and continue to do so even now.
Thus, despite the statement of this maulvi, we do not utter anything negative or use similar language as they do; rather, we will continue to pray for them. And just as we have witnessed in the past as well that it is from among these very people who have then become ardent devotees, and this will, insha-Allah, continue to happen.
Despite listening to their harsh statements, we continue to pray for the Muslims in general. We are pained by their suffering and this indeed is due to the teachings of the Promised Messiahas and this was the very instruction given to him by Allah the Almighty as well. The cruelties which they perpetrate are owing to their misunderstanding and due to their love for the Holy Prophetsa, which they claim to have, irrespective of whether they actually demonstrate it or not, but nonetheless, this is what their claim is. Therefore, we are not to pray against them.
In relation to this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has narrated an incident. He states:
“I was only a child at the time and the Promised Messiahas was returning after having been invited somewhere. As he was walking through the marketplace, people would be stood on the rooftops and would hurl verbal abuse at him and say, ‘Mirza has fled! Mirza has fled!’”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“I couldn’t understand [what they were saying]. I thought perhaps there was some unrest at a gathering and therefore the Promised Messiahas was returning from there. In any case, in that very instance, I saw an old man whose hand had been cut and who had applied some turmeric mixture upon it; it seemed as if the wound was very fresh, yet even he was tapping his healthy hand upon his injured hand and was saying in Punjabi, ‘Mirza has fled! Mirza has fled!’ I was astonished, owing to my young age, as to why this man would say that ‘Mirza has fled!’ What exactly had happened as I just could not understand? However, this was simply due to their opposition or perhaps the maulvis had incited the people and so they uttered whatever came into their hearts, irrespective of whether or not they knew anything, but all they wanted to do was simply say something and so they did.”
Similarly, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra relates another incident:
“On one occasion, the Promised Messiahas was walking in the city of Lahore and someone attacked him from behind and the Promised Messiahas fell down.”
According to other narrations, it is mentioned that the Promised Messiahas stumbled but did not actually fall to the ground.” (Sirat Messiah Maudas, Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira, p. 442)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further states:
“Similarly, we saw people throw stones [at the Promised Messiahas]. In short, in those days, the opposition was at its peak and naturally, at times, certain members of the Jamaat would become angry as to why these people would do this for no reason whatsoever. At that time, the Promised Messiahas received a revelation.” Even though this revelation has not been found in any narration as yet; however, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has stated that this was a revelation. In any case, it is mentioned in the form of a couplet of the Promised Messiahas:
اے دل تو نیز خاطرِ ایناں نگاہ دار
كآخر كنند دعوئے حُبِّ پیمبرمؐ
(Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, p. 182)
“In other words, ‘O Our appointed one!’” If this is a revelation then Allah the Almighty is the one who is instructing him. “‘Even if the Muslims hurl abuse at you, you should still have consideration for them because, after all, why is it that they hurl abuse at you and try to attack you? They attack you and hurl abuse at you because of the Holy Prophetsa. Thus, it is important you still have consideration for them.’
“The reason why they were acting in such a violent manner was due to their love for the Holy Prophetsa, who is the beloved of Allah the Almighty. Therefore, whether it was owing to this misunderstanding of theirs or for any other reason, the Promised Messiahas [was instructed] to have consideration for them and not pray against them. Therefore, we ought to ponder as to why these people oppose us. They hurl abuse against us and say that [drinking] our tea is even worse than [drinking] alcohol and to drink alcohol would be considered lawful as opposed to drinking the tea of an Ahmadi.”
After mentioning this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“If such people were to realise that the flame of the love for Holy Prophetsa which is in my heart is not even present in millions of their people, they would immediately fall at the feet of Ahmadis. These people oppose us because they think that we oppose the Holy Prophetsa, but this opposition is owing to the misunderstandings on their part.”
After mentioning this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further stated:
“If people oppose us and say wrongful things against me, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community or you, the members of the Jamaat should know that these are your fellow brothers and embroiled in a misunderstanding. Therefore, instead of being angry, you should pray for them and try to inform those who oppose you of the true reality. Once you inform them of the true reality, then they will come to know that we are not the enemies of the Holy Prophetsa; rather, we are his true lovers and those very people who are bent upon killing us would be ready to sacrifice their lives for our sake.” (Bhera ki Sar Zameen Mein Eik Nihayat Iman Afroz Taqreer, Anwar-ul-Aloom, Vol. 22, pp. 84-86)
Therefore, we ought to pray for our opponents. As I mentioned earlier, this is what the Promised Messiahas has taught us that we ought to pray for them and it is from among these people that such ardent devotees will emerge and accept [the message].
Whilst narrating an incident of Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahibra, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahibra would relate, ‘I used to live in the upper storey of a house and the Promised Messiahas would live in its lower storey. One night, I heard crying from below which was as if a woman was experiencing the pains from labour. I was intrigued and so I tried to listen carefully in order to hear the sound. I realised that the Promised Messiahas was praying and was saying, “O Allah, the plague is widespread and people are dying as result of it. O Allah, if all these people were to die, then who shall be left to believe in You.”’”
Then with reference to the same incident, but from a different source, it is stated that the sound was coming from the house adjacent [to the Promised Messiah’sas house], but nonetheless, the incident is the same and it states:
“The Promised Messiahas was praying that if these people were to die, then who would accept God. Now, one ought to reflect upon this because the plague was a sign that had been foretold by the Holy Prophetsa and the plague was also prophesied by Promised Messiahas as a sign. However, when the plague emerged, the very person for whom it came as a sign of his truthfulness was supplicating with utmost fervency before God Almighty and prayed, ‘O Allah! If these people die as a result of it, then who shall believe in You.’
“Thus, a believer ought not to pray against the general population because the very objective of a believer is to help save humanity. If one were to pray against them, then how can they save them if the prayer is answered and they all perish as a result of it?
“Ahmadiyyat was established for the very purpose of safeguarding Islam; Ahmadiyyat was established to safeguard the Muslims and to restore their dignity. Therefore, how can we pray against those for whom we have been tasked to help them attain such lofty ranks?”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“God Almighty is far more Honourable than any of you. God Almighty addressed the Promised Messiahas in a revelation saying:
اے دل تو نیز خاطرِ ایناں نگاہ دار
كآخر كنند دعوئے حُبِّ پیمبرمؐ
“In this [revelation], God Almighty addresses the heart of the Promised Messiahas and makes him profess these words.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra perhaps delivered this speech in Bhera. He mentioned this same couplet in another instance as well. The first incident was different to this and [that incident] took place in Lahore, whereas this incident took place in Bhera.
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“In this [revelation], God Almighty addresses the heart of the Promised Messiahas and makes the Promised Messiahas say: ‘O my heart! Look out for the feelings and sentiments of the people, lest their hearts become estranged. It should not be the case that you become frustrated and pray against them as they love your Messengersa and it is owing to this love for the Messengersa that they hurl abuse at you.’
“This is the real essence of the matter. We know that amongst those who oppose us, one group is opposing us unjustly, but the other group is opposing us because they have become caught up in the trap of the former.” Most of the people have fallen victim to their ploy in Pakistan or in other countries around the world and for this reason, they oppose us.
“As such, their opposition is due to the love of our Master [the Holy Prophetsa]. When they understand that we love the Holy Prophetsa, they will then realise that we strive to establish the honour of the Holy Prophetsa and that they ought to help us. We will certainly see this day, insha-Allah, for how long will this misconception last?”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states:
“A Western author has written, ‘One can deceive the entire world for a few days or you can deceive a few people continuously’” – this indeed is correct – “‘but you can never deceive the entire world forever.’ This means that it is possible to deceive all the people for a few days, or 10 people forever, but it cannot be the case that one deceives the entire world forever.”
And this indeed is true because the truth eventually comes to light and we see that those people who are deceived by others [into opposing Ahmadiyyat], eventually it is they who are accepting Ahmadiyyat. From where are the numbers of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat increasing? It is increasing from those very people who were once with the opponents. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 33, pp. 221-221, Friday Sermon, 18 July 1952)
Thus, one day, this opposition will finish, insha-Allah, and these very people will pledge allegiance to the Promised Messiahas.
Many people have written to me and write these days as well that after opposing Ahmadiyyat, they were told to read literature and pray; when they prayed and read the literature, the truth became apparent for them and they now wish to pledge allegiance and they eventually join the Jamaat. This practice has existed from before; Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has mentioned this as well as the other Khulafa that many people would write letters stating this and they do so today as well.
Thus, when the maulvis issue verdicts against us, the message of Ahmadiyyat spreads as a result and especially to those factions of society to whom it was difficult for us to preach. So they are doing our work and it will be beneficial to us. We ought to also pray for them, that if there is anyone among them who has an ounce of decency in them, then may Allah the Almighty enable them to see reason and understand [the truth]; however, we ought to pray especially for the general public and the Muslim ummah at large that Allah the Almighty may save them from their ploys [i.e of the Maulvis].
Nonetheless, when these people oppose us, it is beneficial for us; through this [opposition], the message of Ahmadiyyat is reaching those places it had never reached before, or we did not have the means to spread the message there. Subsequently, some people from among them make contact with the Jamaat. Therefore, it is our responsibility to pray and remain patient and this is the best way which will grant us success, insha-Allah. It is our task to ensure our thoughts and sentiments are free from any malice against our fellow Muslims.
Continue to pray for them – may Allah the Almighty quickly open their eyes and may they recognise and accept the Imam of the age.
(Original Urdu transcript published in Al Fazl International, 4 June 2021, pp. 5-7. Translated by The Review of Religions)