English translation of the address delivered by Khalifatul Masih V, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^(aba), Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

After reciting Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz and Bismillah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^(aba) said:

“First of all, I extend the gift of salutations of peace to all our respected guests. May Allah confer peace and security upon you all. This is the essence of our message.

I have been informed that guests were requested to arrive for the event at 6pm, whereas I arrived much later. You have perhaps waited for an hour, for which I apologise. The organisers should have taken my journey time into account for this event. I only set off from London this morning. I came by car and there was the inevitable traffic en route and then there was the train journey thereafter and so forth. The long distance meant that I was unable to reach here on time and so I begin by apologising for the delay.

Now I turn to the subject of the inauguration of this mosque today. The verses of the Holy Qur’an that were just recited before you guide us to eat and drink but not to over-indulge and to act with equity and justice. God has established a connection between this teaching and mosques. Man has not been created by God to merely eat and drink. In the Holy Qur’an God explains that, even animals eat and drink and so humankind should distinguish itself from animals. The reality is that whilst man should certainly avail of the worldly resources, bounties and blessings conferred by God including various types of food and drink, he should always do so in moderation. It is necessary for a true human to adopt a balance in all things. God explains that when this balance is established, man will give heed to worship and to populating the mosques.

This is the beautiful teaching given to us by God in the Holy Qur’an. God states that man may indeed benefit from worldly resources, but he should indeed remember his higher purpose, which is to worship the One God and to fulfil the rights of mankind. Spending excessively and inappropriately deprives one of the opportunity of the true worship of God Almighty, as well as fulfilling the rights of mankind.

We find countless people mired in poverty throughout the world. There are numerous impoverished nations. There are innumerable people who suffer from illnesses and poverty. Across the world, so many people yearn to attain education but cannot access it because they are destitute. Man needs to realise that rather than spending extravagantly, he should moderate the use of the resources given by God, that where he should fulfil his personal needs as man should also have a right to his own individual requirements and the needs of his family – there he should also fulfil the rights of humanity. God says that if man heeds Him and realises that there is One God who created the world, it will lead him to becoming grateful to Him. This gratitude constitutes worship. God says that He manifests His support to His servants as a result of their gratitude. This is a fundamental point God explains at one place in relation to mosques. Observe how beautiful this teaching is, which on the one hand connects us with mosques, and on the other, draws our attention to fulfilling the rights of all peoples.

The National President of the Ahmadiyya Community, Germany, mentioned that the history of the city of Aachen is very old and many kings appeared here. Worldly kingdoms came and went. Many empires rose and fell and the example of Napoleon has been cited. Some past kings carried out many virtuous deeds and this has been preserved throughout the history here. Other past kings committed numerous excesses and cruelties, also recorded by history. Hence, kings appear and then disappear and their kith and kin also pass on. To an extent their feats are preserved or history maintains some record of their life. However the real truth that should be kept in view and the real King that should be remembered, is God, who created this universe. He says, I am the Lord; I am the One Who Nourishes all; and I created this world and possess all rights of being the Master of it. However despite being the Master, I am not cruel or oppressive. I bestow love and compassion upon mankind. I am also the One who is worthy of worship and so you should worship Me.

And so He is the eternal King; He has no beginning and no end. He is the Rabb (Lord) as well as the Master. He is God and He is worshipped. No worldly king compares to this King, which is why we should always beseech Him alone. This is one of the purposes of the building of mosques by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It is so that the God Who created the universe can be invoked. All world religions draw attention to this. When God the Almighty states He is the Rabb (Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher), then His Rabubiyyat (Providence) requires that where man provides for his own sustenance, there he should also provide for others. This is because where in the very first chapter of the Holy Qur’an, God has declared He is Rabb (the Lord), He states that He is in fact, Rabbul Aalameen (Lord of all the worlds). Thus, He declares that He is the Lord of the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus and followers of all religions. In fact, He declares that He provides for and nourishes even those who deny His existence. Thus, He is the Lord of all the Worlds and sustains and nourishes everything. God states that this fact requires man to worship Him. This is the purpose of building houses of God [mosques] or indeed the places of worship of any religion, such as churches and synagogues.

God further states that man should strive to be a reflection of His attribute of Rabb (Lord, Sustainer, One Who Nourishes) and similarly fulfil the rights of others. Just as God nourishes the world, man too should help people in this regard. Just as God gives to the world, so too man should also provide to those in need, serve the poor and demonstrate love and compassion to all. This is the true teaching of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community strives to act upon this teaching and endeavours to promote it globally. It is only the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that does justice to the true teachings of Islam and draws attention of others to them. Hence, today our Community reaches out to areas afflicted by disasters and extends aid and help, irrespective of religion, caste and creed. We provide long-term support through the schools we open, in order to quench the thirst for education in communities. It was mentioned earlier [by one of the speakers], that there is a university in Aachen. In truth, it is the right of every individual to attain an education. It is a great quality of this city that it hosts a university. Certainly, the level of knowledge and education of the people here must be very high as a result.

Nonetheless, I was mentioning that the Ahmadiyya Community establishes schools to serve humanity and we also open hospitals to provide medical facilities. Our schools and hospitals are in operation in far-off and remote areas of Africa. There are many other similar projects run by the Ahmadiyya Community. In short, our passion to serve humanity is the consequence of the teachings of our religion, which we have been taught by the God Whom we worship. God has told us that we will not fulfil the right of building and filling the mosques simply by worship alone; rather we will truly fulfil the right of our mosques when we also serve humanity and fulfil the rights of others. The respected Mayor spoke earlier of the construction of buildings to reside in. However, we have built this mosque not only to inhabit it, but actually to worship God and to inform others of the true nature of Islam. Some candid people openly state that according to the common perceptions of Islam, all Muslims are extremists. Others do not say this openly, but undoubtedly harbour reservations in their hearts and also believe Islam to be a religion of extremism. The reality is, Islam is not an extremist religion. What I briefly explained earlier, is based on the real teachings of Islam, and our Rabb – the One Who sustains and nourishes us – has taught us this. He states that where one fulfils the rights of worship, one must also fulfil the right of all peoples. The Holy Qur’an tells us that those who enter the mosque for worship but neglect the rights of others, will have their prayers thrown back in their faces. Their superficial prayers will become the means of their ruin. Hence, prayer alone is not enough. One must also display the highest morals and discharge all due rights to one’s fellow mankind. Thus, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes in this true form of worship, whereby the rights of man are fulfilled alongside the rights of God Almighty.

The respected Mayor also said that we should live together in harmony. Indeed, this is the outstanding feature of a good society. Certainly, this is an excellent point. The reason why it is so important to live together peacefully is because the essence of religion is based upon a respect and honour for human values. Upholding human values is a fundamental of religion.

The respected Mayor made another very good remark when he said that he hoped the Ahmadiyya Community would make positive efforts towards integration and would try their utmost to live in society in mutual harmony. I firmly believe that Ahmadis here will make even greater efforts than before to achieve this. InshaAllah (God Willing), we will strive to fulfil all the rights that are expected of a good citizen of this country.

The representative of the Integration Minister also delivered some brief remarks on behalf of his Ministry. He said that the German nation is very tolerant and integration is widespread. I could not agree more; it is very true that the German people are extremely tolerant. They have absorbed various nationalities into their country. So long as this tolerance continues, the German nation will continue to be renowned throughout the world for its high moral standing. However, immigrants who arrive here also have a duty to replicate this tolerance. I do not at all advocate the notion that we should enter these countries and say and do whatever we please. People of Asian origin in this country are now a part of the German nation. Children of Pakistani or Indian ethnicity, who were born here and speak German, are now citizens of this country. They must extend their tolerance beyond just speaking the native language and also make an effort to integrate. If they fail to do so, they have no right to say that the German nation does not integrate them. Those originally from abroad have to show the same levels of open-mindedness and tolerance as displayed by local Germans. So far as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is concerned, we will respond to the tolerance of the Germans with even greater tolerance and open-mindedness. We will constantly prove that every Ahmadi living here is loyal to this nation and will remain ever-active to help further the progress of the country.

The member of the Provincial Assembly is in attendance and he mentioned the flower shop owned by an Ahmadi, which was also referred to previously. Flowers were cited by him as an example to illustrate that Ahmadis will not spread extremism, nor will they throw stones and wield the sword; rather we Ahmadis are those who give flowers to others. We will forever present flowers to all. However those flowers which people wish to purchase are short-lived. The fragrance of flowers eventually fades. The best flowers that can be presented by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are displaying the highest moral standards, which penetrate the hearts of nations far, far away. The high morals of the Ahmadiyya Community are appreciated and praised by people across the world. So these are the real flowers that we, the Ahmadiyya Community, present.

One of the messages read out spoke of [the Ahmadiyya Community as] neighbours. Islam admonishes us to fulfil the right of neighbours to such an extent that many verses of the Holy Qur’an remind us to do so. The Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(sa), so emphatically counselled Muslims to discharge the rights of neighbours, that his Companions^(ra) said that they began to think that neigbours would be given inheritance rights alongside their real heirs. This is the extent to which the rights of neighbours have been considered. Furthermore, the definition of a neighbour [in Islam] is not only those living directly adjacent to one’s house or those who live in a block of flats in the same building. One who travels with an individual is also counted as a neighbour, residents of one’s town or city are also one’s neighbours and even one’s office colleagues are among one’s neighbours. It is the duty of an Ahmadi – a true Muslim – to fulfil the rights of all of these people. These are the rights of neighbours established by Islam. It is the responsibility of an Ahmadi – a true Muslim, to fulfil these dues.

Lord Mayor of Aachen, Marcel Philipp, addresses the gathering.

Ahmadis should constantly give heed to these responsibilities. I say to them; give greater attention to these duties than before. Focus on worship more than you previously did. Show your high morals more than ever before; to your neighbours and fellow citizens in your city and country. Do not give anyone an opportunity to raise the allegation that Islam is a religion of extremism; rather make them obliged to acknowledge that Islam provides excellent teachings. It is the acts of certain Muslims which has distorted the true image and the truth of Islam can only be seen demonstrated by Ahmadi Muslims. Thus, Ahmadis need to demonstrate these qualities to an even greater degree. I say to Ahmadis that you must try even harder to become ambassadors of the beautiful teachings of Islam and to fulfil its rights. To achieve this you should increase the love between one another. The right of the mosque cannot be fulfilled unless mutual love and compassion is established. When you come here for worship and stand in a line together and pray, your supplications during prayer and then when you end the prayer with Salaam (peace), should apply to all those around you in every direction within the mosque. If your prayers are merely external verbal supplications, although you hold grudges and spite in your hearts towards one another, you will fail to fulfil the dues of prayer. Such people may be counted among those, who as I mentioned previously, whose prayers become the means for their ruin, in accordance with God’s Teaching. And so you must increase your love and compassion for Ahmadis, and you must also increase your love and compassion for non-Ahmadis, and increase your friendship and brotherhood with them all. You must inform the world of the true teachings of Islam. May God the Almighty enable you to fulfil the rights of this mosque. Where you become of those who fulfil the right of true worship, may you also fulfil the rights of all people.

I would like to once again thank all the respected guests who have attended this function and illuminated it with their presence. Thank you.”

Quick Facts:

• The Ahmadiyya Community has a rich tradition of inviting all segments of the local area to any mosque it opens.
• It believes it is a religious duty to integrate and show loyalty to one’s country of residence.
• The event was attended by over 210 guests and dignitaries
• Marcel Phillip, Lord Mayor of Aachen & Karl Schultheis, MP of State Parliament North Rhine Westphalia also spoke at the function.
• The mosque is open to all and will establish strong links with the local community, regardless of faith.