19 Ahmadi khuddam living in Singapore had the honour of meeting with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa in a virtual mulaqat on 19 December 2021.
As the live stream started, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa conveyed his salaam and asked Sadr Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Singapore, Rafiq Sahib, if all khuddam seated were Singaporean. Sadr Sahib replied that all were Singaporean except for two members, who were from abroad – England and Germany.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa invited Hibatullah Sahib to recite a portion from the Holy Quran followed by its English translation, after which Zulfiqar Sahib presented a hadith of the Holy Prophetsa. Kanza Sahib then read out an extract of the Promised Messiahas.
Following this, Ayyaz Sahib recited a nazm. After hearing his voice, Huzooraa said, “Jazakallah! You have recited the nazm very well.” In response, Ayyaz Sahib said, “Jazakallah”. Huzooraa then added, “I was not aware that you can recite [poems] this well.”
Thereafter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa turned to Sadr Sahib and asked what was next on the agenda, to which the sadr replied that some members had a few questions they wished to ask. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa graciously accepted this request.
The first questioner, Faiz Sahib, proceeded to the microphone to ask his question. He said that he always prayed that Huzooraa was in good health and then asked Huzooraa what advice he had for young khuddam in Singapore in terms of faith and spirituality.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said:
“Once, somebody asked the Promised Messiahas, ‘Could you please give me some advice in one sentence.’ He replied, ‘Fear Allah and do everything.’ If you have the fear of Allah, then you will not go astray, you cannot do bad things, you will always obey His commandments and you will always discharge your rights towards Allah Almighty and the rights you owe to your fellow beings. So, if you have fear of Allah, then you can do all the good deeds and always remember that Allah is watching over us, wherever we are.”
Aamir Sahib, prior to asking his question, said to Huzooraa, “I hope you are well and happy.” Hearing this, Huzooraa smiled and replied, “If you are happy, I am happy.”
He said that during a mulaqat with Canadian khuddam, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa referred to those who did not get vaccinated as ignorant. Aamir Sahib said that when he heard Huzoor’saa message, he immediately went to get vaccinated. He asked why Huzooraa said that those who did not get vaccinated were ignorant.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“The thing is that there is a hadith of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that ‘whatever you like for yourself, you should like for others.’ So, because I got vaccinated, I asked other people that ‘it is more beneficial for you to have the vaccine than not to have it, right?’ This is why I asked [members to get vaccinated]. […] Those who are not getting vaccinated think they are doing this according to their own wish, and it is not something which is wrong; but, in my view, if you don’t take the vaccine, you are not only exposing yourself to this disease, but are also a source of spreading the disease to others. So, this is why, for the sake of others, we should get ourselves vaccinated with this Covid vaccine.
“And as far as my knowledge is concerned, I discussed it with so many scientists and doctors, and most of them are of the view – although there are some of them who are against it, and they say that there is nothing beneficial in having the vaccine – but most of them say, and they prove it, that the results are quite promising. We cannot say that 100% of the people will be cured and will be saved from the disease, no. But quite a good percentage of them [those vaccinated] have better results; even if they had this disease, it was not that fatal. So, this is why, in my view, it is better that Ahmadis should take this vaccine; but even I cannot force you.
Next, Hibatullah Sahib stated that with the Covid-19 restrictions, his mother and himself were working from home and had office meetings at different times of the day. In this circumstance, he asked if he should give precedence to praying on time or praying in congregation.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa replied:
“If that be the case, for women it is not necessary to offer their prayers in congregation. So, here [in such a situation], because of these Covid restrictions, you don’t have any other choice but to offer your prayers individually; and whenever you get the chance, you can offer your prayer in congregation.”
Atta Sahib stated that his wife was in the midst of opening an eco-friendly sustainable business. He asked what advice Huzooraa had for her or for any other Jamaat members who were thinking of exploring the possibility of setting up their own business.
Huzooraa, whilst giving advice, said:
“Masha-Allah, if she is setting up her own eco-friendly and sustainable business, then it is good.” Huzooraa asked what type of things she would do in this business, to which Atta Sahib replied that she was planning to sell organic clothing for children. Huzooraa asked where she would acquire organic yarn from, to which he replied that he was not sure. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“If you are using some synthetic fibre, then it is not organic. If you are using cotton, that can be organic, but how can you be sure it is organic cotton [and] no insecticide, inorganic fertiliser, synthetic fertiliser, or spray has been used on the cotton crop? Nowadays, no farmer can afford to grow their cotton without using this type of chemical on their crops. So, if she gets it, it will be very expensive, and if it is very expensive, then it will not be affordable for the people.”
Huzooraa further offered guidance and said, “She should also try to find out and see the complete feasibility of it, whether this business will be profitable or not, feasible or not.”
Salman Sahib asked how a Muslim could free their heart of hate.
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa answered:
“We are the followers of the Prophet who is the last [law-bearing] of the prophets and whose heart was free of all such types of evil and bad things and hatred. Even the Promised Messiah, upon whom be peace, has come in this age as a subordinate prophet of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And he said, ‘I have come in this age to bring mankind closer to their Creator, and secondly, to make them realise their duties towards their fellow beings.’ So, he says that you cannot discharge these duties until and unless our hearts are pure, and there should not be any enmity, animosity, jealousy in our hearts. If that be the case, [that our hearts are pure] then we can discharge our duties towards each other […]
“This target, we cannot achieve on our own. We have to seek Allah’s help for this; and for that, you pray to Allah the Almighty, in your five-time daily prayers, that Allah the Almighty purifies your heart, and removes all the hatred from your heart for any person. […] This is why the Promised Messiah, upon whom be peace, says that ‘try to achieve this habit of forgiveness’ and there should not be any hatred in your heart for any person. We [should] say istighfar for it; always say istighfar, لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ and then pray in your five daily prayers that Allah the Almighty removes all types of evil things and hatred from your heart for any other person.”
Luthfiansyah Sahib asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa if, to be a good Muslim, it was sufficient to offer Salat and offer financial sacrifice.
Huzooraa said:
“This is not the only thing; yes, of course, you should have a firm belief in Allah the Almighty, and then you [should] offer your five daily prayers. A good Muslim should follow all the commandments given in the Holy Quran, all the dos and don’ts given in the Holy Quran, follow them; then, you will be a good Muslim. And chanda is also one of those things […] [We must] pay chanda for spreading the message of Islam and Ahmadiyyat […] for literature, for MTA, and other things. And that is an obligatory chanda for a person prescribed by and fixed by even the Promised Messiah, upon whom be peace.
“So, it is obligatory that you sacrifice some percentage of your income for that purpose. But apart from that, there are some other chandas, there are some other sacrifices, there are some other goods, some charities, that you give some amount for some charities, for poor people, for needy people, for hungry people. You see, a true Muslim should realise all their duties they owe – as I have already said – to their Creator and to their fellow beings. If you are doing that, then you are a good Muslim.”
Huzooraa further said, with regard to discharging one’s duties towards fellow human beings and the Creator, “Take this fatwa from your own heart.”
Following this, Yasser Sahib stated that the fatwa against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was still present online by the Muslim authority of Singapore’s website. He asked Huzooraa what the best course of action should be on this matter.
“You can tell your fellow friends that we [Ahmadis] are true Muslims because we believe in the one and Omnipotent God, we believe in the finality of the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; he is the final [law-bearing] of the prophets, he is the last of the prophets, we believe in Khatm-e-Nabuwwat […]but our definition is different [namely] that according to the prophecy of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, a person was to come in the Latter Days. And we believe that that person has come in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, who is the Promised Messiah and the Promised Mahdi. He is a subordinate prophet to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him”.
Huzooraa added that it was foretold by the Holy Prophetsa that a subordinate prophet from among the followers of the Holy Prophetsa – Muslims – could come and it was prophesied that he would come.
“So, we believe that that person has come and his status is of the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, and he has been named a prophet by the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in one of his traditions, one of his ahadith, four times. So, it [the coming of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas] does not break the seal of the prophets because he is a true follower of the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings Allah be upon him. So those who are your close friends, you can tell them that this fatwa is totally wrong and they [those who issued this fatwa against Ahmadis] do not understand our belief; they do not argue with us and they are misconstruing our interpretation, or even they are misconstruing the hadith of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.”
Huzooraa said that if Hazrat Jesusas was to come physically, then even in that case – as some Muslims interpreted it – his physical appearance would break the belief of the Holy Prophet being the Seal of the Prophets as he, Prophet Jesusas, was a prophet and that status could not be taken away from him. But the way we interpreted “Seal of the Prophets”, Huzooraa said, was the correct interpretation because Hazrat Jesus’ name was used as a metaphor in the sayings of the Holy Prophetsa.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“It is not that Jesusas himself will come, but a person will come on the footsteps of Jesusas who will be the follower of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and will be given the status of prophethood as a subordinate prophet of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. So, in this way, in your discussion with your friends, you can remove this doubt from the minds of the people.”
Huzooraa further added, “As far as fatwas are concerned, they are always there. Non-Ahmadis are always speaking against us and they are doing it [issuing fatwas] everywhere. So, we cannot fight with them. The only thing is that we [should] behave like Muslims [and] we [should] show our example. Each and every one of our actions should be according to the teaching of Islam and then, when people see that we are behaving like Muslims, they themselves will know that these fatwas are all wrong.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa then conveyed his salaam to all the khuddam and the meeting came to a close.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)