Ata-ul-Haye Nasir, Al Hakam
On 24 October 1959, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, addressed the annual ijtema of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya.
At the beginning of his address, Huzoorra said that it is a practice of this world that people are born and then pass away after living for a certain time, however, the life of a nation could certainly be prolonged through the efforts and sacrifices of its members:
“Therefore, you need to make continuous efforts to establish and consolidate your national life, and to strive for spreading Islam and Ahmadiyyat generation after generation. If the followers of the Mosaic Messiah [Jesusas] have spread the world over, then nothing can halt the jamaat of the Muhammadan Messiah [Promised Messiahas] from spreading throughout the world […]. For this purpose, the Promised Messiahas has prayed to Allah the Almighty as well, and stated:
پھیر دے میرى طرف اے سارباں جگ كى مہار
“[‘Do turn the tide in my favour, O Driving Force of the universe.’ (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part V [English], p. 162)]
“It is your duty to strive to fulfil this prayer and desire of the Promised Messiahas, and you should continue the efforts till the Day of Judgement. […] It is your responsibility which has been made incumbent upon you by Allah the Almighty to aloft the flag of Islam and Ahmadiyyat till the Day of Judgement.” (Al Fazl, 28 October 1959, p. 2)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra continued:
“The Promised Messiahas has stated, ‘I saw in a blessed dream a group of sincere believers and just and righteous kings, some of whom belonged to this country [British India], some to Arabia, some to Iran, some to Syria, some to Turkey, and some to other regions of which I am not aware. Thereafter, I was told by Allah the Almighty:
اِنَّ ھٰٓؤُلَٓاءِ یُصَدِّقُوْنَکَ وَیُوْمِنُوْنَ بِکَ وَیُصَلُّوْنَ عَلَیْکَ وَیَدْعُوْنَ لَکَ۔ واُعْطِیْ لَکَ بَرَکَاتٍ حَتّٰی یَتَبَرَّکَ الْمُلُوْکُ بِثِیَانِکَ وَاُدْخِلُھُمْ فِی الْمُخْلِصِیْنَ
“‘These people will affirm your righteousness and will believe in you and will call down blessings upon you and will pray for you. I shall bestow great blessings upon you, so much so that kings will seek blessings from your garments and I will join them amongst your sincere followers.’ (Tadhkirah [English], p. 14) […]
“In order to witness its fulfilment, it is necessary for us to continue our endeavours and to never halt the tabligh [preaching] of Islam.” (Al Fazl, 28 October 1959, p. 2)
Huzoorra then quoted the following verse of the Holy Quran:
اَلَمۡ تَرَ کَیۡفَ ضَرَبَ اللّٰہُ مَثَلًا کَلِمَۃً طَیِّبَۃً کَشَجَرَۃٍ طَیِّبَۃٍ اَصۡلُہَا ثَابِتٌ وَّفَرۡعُہَا فِی السَّمَآءِ
“Dost thou not see how Allah sets forth the similitude of a good word? [It is] like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches [reach] into heaven.” (Surah Ibrahim, Ch. 14: V. 25)
Commenting on this, Huzoorra said:
“Meaning, on the one hand, the followers of the true religion would spread throughout the world in great numbers, and on the other hand, God Almighty would grant them so many blessings that their prayers would be accepted abundantly and the Heavenly nur [divine light] would descend upon them. This is what وَّفَرۡعُہَا فِى السَّمَآء means. […]
“Therefore, it is necessary for the whole Jamaat to instil in themselves such sincerity that God Almighty accepts their prayers, their roots may establish everywhere, and the Ahmadiyya Jamaat may establish firmly in all parts of the world. […] Thus, carry out the task of tabligh, and also pray to God Almighty that He may grant you unprecedented progress.” (Al Fazl, 28 October 1959, p. 3)
Huzoorra then quoted the following couplet of the Promised Messiahas:
اِك شجر ہوں جس كو داؤدى صفت كے پھل لگے
مَیں ہوا داؤد اور جالوت ہے میرا شكار
“I am the tree that bore fruits resembling Dawud [David]; I became Dawud and Jalut [Goliath] is my prey.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part V [English], p. 171)
Commenting on this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said:
“Jalut [Goliath] implies the one who creates disorder and shatters the peace of society. Therefore, it means that Allah the Almighty will establish peace in the world through the Promised Messiahas, and eradicate all kinds of mischief and troubles.
“Thus, continue to propagate Islam and hold fast to the institution of Khilafat with complete sincerity. The Promised Messiahas has stated in The Will:
“‘I came from God as a Manifestation of Divine Providence and I am a personification of His Power. And after I am gone there will be some other persons who will be the manifestation of the second Power [of God].’ (The Will, p. 8)
“The Promised Messiahas has also stated:
“‘It is essential for you to witness the second Manifestation also, and its Coming is better for you because it is everlasting, the continuity of which will not end till the Day of Judgement.’ (Ibid., p. 7)
“Therefore, you should hold fast to Khilafat till the Day of Judgement, so that God Almighty showers upon you great blessings till the Day of Judgement.” (Al Fazl, 28 October 1959, p. 3)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further said:
“Now, I wish to take a pledge from all khuddam, in regards to the propagation of Islam. All khuddam should stand and repeat the following pledge:
اَشْھَدُ اَنْ لّا اِلٰہَ اِلاّ اللّٰہُ وَحْدَہٗ لَاشَرِیْكَــ لَہٗ وَاَشْھَدُ اَنّ مُحَمّدًا عَبْدُہٗ وَرَسُوْلُہٗ
“‘[I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, Who is One and has no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammadsa is His Servant and Messenger.]
“‘We make a solemn pledge, in the name of Allah the Exalted, that we shall continue to strive until the last moments of our lives for the propagation of Islam and Ahmadiyyat and shall convey the name of Muhammad Rasulullahsa to the ends of the world. For the accomplishment of this sacred obligation, we shall always keep our lives dedicated to God and His Messengersa and shall keep the flag of Islam aloft in every country of the world by offering the greatest sacrifices.
“‘We also pledge that for the safeguarding of the system of Khilafat and for its consolidation, we shall continue to strive, till our last breath, and exhort our children and their progenies, to always remain attached to Khilafat and benefit from its blessings, so that Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya continues safely till the end of time and the propagation of Islam continues till the Day of Judgment through the Ahmadiyya Jamaat and the flag of Muhammad Rasulullahsa flies higher than all other flags of the world. O God, enable us to fulfil this pledge. Allah-humma Amin, Allah-humma Amin, Allah-humma Amin.’” (Ibid, p. 4)
At that time, this pledge was simultaneously repeated by the attendees of the ijtema and later on, the Ahmadis around the world affirmed this pledge upon reading it in the Jamaat’s periodicals of the time. However, the blessings of Khilafat manifested in such an amazing way that many of us were blessed to witness a historic moment on 27 May 2008, when the words of this pledge echoed to the corners of the world and millions of Ahmadis repeated it simultaneously after their beloved Imam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa.
After mentioning this pledge, during his address at the Khilafat Centenary Jalsa on 27 May 2008, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“With a minor amendment, with reference to the Khilafat Centenary, I take this pledge from you, so that despite the passage of time, our actions should not take us away from the teachings and example of the Promised Messiahas and the commandments of Allah the Almighty. But each day should make us [hold in high] value the promise of Allah the Almighty.” (“Ahmadiyya Muslim Khilafat Centenary Jalsa held at the Excel Centre on 27th May, 2008”, www.reviewofreligions.org)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra continued his address to the Ijtema by saying:
“The pledge which you have made just now, should be taken from the youth of the Jamaat regularly up to four centuries, or rather 4,000 years, and you should advise your next generation to keep in mind this pledge and to repeat it forever, and then they should pass on this pledge to the third generation, and in this way, every generation should continue to make this advice to their coming generation.” (Al Fazl, 28 October, p. 4)
After narrating one of his visions, Huzoorra said:
“Therefore, put your trust in Allah the Almighty and continue to offer sacrifices for the propagation of the Faith. […] It is your duty to always trust in Allah, He will help you from the unseen, and will alleviate your problems. […] Thus, you are required to serve the Faith with sincerity. […]
“While mentioning the prophecy about the Musleh-e-Maud, the Promised Messiahas stated:
بشارت دى كہ اِك بیٹا ہے تیرا
جو ہوگا ایك دن محبوب میرا
كروں گا دُور اُس مَہ سے اندھیرا
دكھاؤں گا كہ اِك عالَم كو پھیرا
بشارت كیا ہے اِك دل كى غذا دى
فَسُبْحَانَ الَّذِىْ اَخْزَى الْاَعَادِىْ
“[‘Thou gave glad tidings that, ‘There is a son of yours who shall one day become a beloved of Mine. I shall remove all darkness from that moon, and I shall show that he transformed the world.’ Not just a tiding, thou gave nourishment for the heart, Holy is He Who has confounded my foes.’ (Durr-e-Sameen, p. 58)]
“It indicates that Allah the Almighty will create extraordinary revolutions in the world, as a result of which, our Jamaat will attain so much progress that people will begin to join it from all over the world. This prophecy also suggests that Allah the Almighty will grant us success and progress, and our opponents will face failure and humiliation.
“May Allah the Almighty be with you and enable you all to continuously strive for the victory of Islam and the progress of Ahmadiyyat, so much so that Ahmadiyyat spreads the world over, and Christians, Jews and followers of all other religions accept Ahmadiyyat. […] We do not have any [worldly] power, however, our God is All-Powerful; thus, you should seek prayers from Him alone and always strive to keep the flag of Islam higher than the flags of all other religions in the world.” (Al Fazl, 28 October 1959, pp. 4-5)
May Allah the Almighty enable us all to act upon these golden principles. Amin.
