On 30 September, at around 1 pm CDT, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered his Friday Sermon from the newly-inaugurated Fath-e-Azeem Mosque in Zion, Illinois, USA, which was broadcast live by MTA International.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa started the sermon by narrating how a journalist had asked him about the significance of constructing a mosque in this particular part of the world. Huzooraa said he explained to her that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community built mosques across the globe. They were all important to us. However, a unique significance of this mosque was that this city of Zion was built by a staunch opponent of Islam. Huzooraa said that those interested in history could learn more about it through an exhibition that Jamaat had set up at the mosque.
Huzooraa continued that the fulfilment of the Promised Messiah’sas prophecy regarding Dowie filled the hearts of every Ahmadi with gratitude and so it should. With regards to the construction of the mosque, Huzooraa said, we were also grateful to the current citizens of Zion, who had supported the mosque’s construction, despite some initial resistance from the city’s council. Above all, Huzooraa said, Ahmadis ought to be grateful to that Great Lord, Who gave us the opportunity to build this mosque. Hence, it was not only a day of great joy for Ahmadis but also a day of immense gratitude to Allah, Who had enabled us to not only build a mosque but also to “witness a living sign of the truthfulness of the Imamas of the Age who was the most ardent devotee of the Holy Prophetsa.”
Referring to the fulfilment of the prophecy regarding John Alexander Dowie, Huzooraa said, we would continue to witness the fulfilment of God’s promises as long as we continued to be grateful to Him and followed His commandments. Huzooraa said, if this was not a manifestation of the fulfilment of God’s promises, then what was it that today we were building a mosque in the city of that false claimant and opponent of Islam, regarding whose death the Promised Messiahas had made a prophecy after being informed by Allah the Exalted.
Huzooraa then asked, however, “Does our work end here? Is this sufficient for us that we have built a mosque in this small town of Zion and that the progress of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been realised?,” before saying, no, Allah had made the entire world a ground for us to make further efforts and achieve success in every village, town and city of the world.
Huzooraa then drew the attention of Ahmadis toward elevating the standards of worship, noble conduct and giving precedence to faith over all worldly matters. He said, it was the duty of every one of us to become those who offered their prayers assiduously. We had to inculcate the same in our children too. Consequently, we would see the promises made by Allah to the Promised Messiahas fulfilled for us sooner. However, if we did not pay attention to these matters. We would be causing a delay in their fulfilment.
Huzooraa said, even though the Holy Prophetsa had been guaranteed victory at the Battle of Badr, he prayed and begged Allah for success with utmost humility, after which he was granted the greatest victory of all times. The Promised Messiahas said that that triumph was made possible by the humble prayers of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa.
Huzooraa said that, the mosque had been named Masjid Fath-e-Azeem (Mosque of the Great Victory) based on the revelation and prophecy of the Promised Messiahas. It referred to the victory Allah granted to the Promised Messiahas over John Alexander Dowie. “Today, is the next step [of that fulfilment], as we inaugurate this mosque in his city. We saw one aspect of the revelation of the Promised Messiahas being fulfilled 115 years ago, and we are witnessing its next step today,” Huzooraa said.
Huzooraa then briefly narrated some of the history and the saga of John Alexander Dowie, how he incurred the wrath of Allah and how Allah fulfilled the prophecy and His promises to the Promised Messiahas, with reference to a report published in The Sunday Herald, Boston, which had run the headline “Great is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Messiah. Foretold Pathetic End of Dowie, and now He Predicts Plague, Floods and Earthquakes”.
Huzooraa then said that, certainly, it was a great victory which provided proof for the truthfulness of the Promised Messiahas, but, just as the Companions of the Holy Prophetsa did not rest after achieving the greatest victory that was the Victory of Mecca, we too must not rest. Rather, it was our duty to continue to win the hearts of people, to perform tabligh and to peacefully spread the message of Islam and the Holy Prophetsa to the entire world. With efforts and continuous prayers, that great victory would become permanent.
Alongside this, Huzooraa said, the opposition of God’s communities also continued and when some of weak faith departed, Allah granted thousands more. If we truly believed in the Promised Messiahas, we had to become his helpers with all our faculties and establish the examples of the Companionsra. We had to gather the Muslims upon the one true faith and eradicate bad practices from them and enlighten the non-Muslims with the beautiful teaching of Islam and also bring them under the banner of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa.
Huzooraa then shed light on the purpose of life in light of the Holy Quran and the writings of the Promised Messiahas. Huzooraa said, the inauguration of this mosque would become “great” for us only, if we understood the purpose of our creation and elevated the standards of our worship.
Huzooraa said, the Promised Messiahas did not merely issue a challenge for the death of an individual, rather its purpose was the establishment of the grandeur of Islam, and the rule of the One God and His Messengersa. It was our duty today to do the same in this era. However, for it to happen, there had to take place a major spiritual revolution within each of us and within our progenies.