In this address, Huzoor-e-Anwar explained to the members of Lajna Ima’illah the signs of the Ibad-ur-Rahman (Men of Gracious God) and advised them to avoid all that is vain. He said:

“Allah the Almighty also says, that a believer abstains from frivolity. This is another sign that instead of pursuing frivolous pursuits, you should maintain your dignity with the thought that as an Ahmadi it is not your job to indulge in useless worldly trivialities. Just move forward while refraining from them. For instance, nowadays there are various television channels, which air extremely vulgar and profane programs. At times some decent programs are also being aired, but during these some extremely vulgar and obscene advertisements are shown. Hence, it is the responsibility of every Ahmadi, be it a child, a young girl, boy, woman or man, that when such programs are aired, even if an inappropriate image is aired, they should turn them off. As I mentioned, even if such advertisements are aired, they should not be viewed. An Ahmadi should completely abstain from such vulgar programs.

There are certain websites on the Internet which show extremely obscene programs. It is the sign of a true believer to protect himself from it. Refrain from these vulgarities and profanities. It is absolutely essential to do so in order to seek Allah the Almighty’s reward and blessings.

Allah the Almighty has called upon us to pray. It is a sign of such people who pray:

رَبَّنَا ہَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ اَزۡوَاجِنَا وَ ذُرِّیّٰتِنَا قُرَّۃَ اَعۡیُنٍ وَّ اجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِیۡنَ اِمَامًا

‘Our Lord, grant us of our wives and children the delight of our eyes, and make us a model for the righteous.” (Holy Quran 25:75).

This prayer will not only keep you steadfast on the path of righteousness, but will also safeguard your progeny from the evils of this world and guide them towards righteousness. This prayer will also be in favor of those women who complain that their husbands do not maintain an affiliation with the faith and are irregular in the daily prayers. Allah will indeed listen to the prayers generated from the depts of our heart. Do not think that only men are the leaders of the righteous people. Every woman who prays for her child and tries to inculcate in her future generations the spirit of bonding with Allah, [encourages] the act of prostrating before Him and [encourages] remaining steadfast on the path of righteousness will endeavor to be the leader of the righteous ones. As a caretaker of her house, she is an Imam [leader].”

(Address at Lajna Ima’illah Annual Ijtema 04 November 2007 UK at Baitul Futuh Mosque, London. Published AlFazl International 09 December 2016)

In regards to the responsibility of the mothers, Huzoor-e-Anwar^(aba) instructed members of the National Majlis-e-Amila Ireland:

“There is nothing wrong with getting an education [at an institution] where boys and girls are being schooled together; as long as boys are not befriending the girls and they talk to each other only as needed. They should avoid [communication through] SMS, Facebook, online chat and phone calls. Instruct the parents to keep an eye on children. It is not right to always have a computer or mobile phone in hand. Mothers who don’t know how to work with computers should learn in order to keep an eye on [their] children.”

(National Majlise Amila Lajna Imaillah Meeting Ireland 18 September 2010. Published AlFazl International 22 October 2010)

Similarly, Huzoor-e-Anwar has instructed Ahmadi women to safeguard their homes from the influence of social frivolities and absurdities:

“In the same way, vain things also include obscene and vulgar movies, books [and] magazines. These are spread in the market under the excuse that sexual relations should become known in this day and age, so one can safeguard against ills. It is uncertain whether they save anyone, but the morally depraved advertisements of this type that are visible on each street and street corner do indeed embroil society in sin. A thing that is natural will become apparent on its own at the time when there is a need to know about it. One should safeguard oneself from this immoral mental indulgence in the name of knowledge. This is why the Promised Messiah^(as) has said, ‘safeguard every part of your body from fornication.’ Thus, every woman should talk to her children about this with a certain concern. And every girl who has reached puberty, whose mind has matured, should have the awareness that these evils will keep pushing one further and further into filth, and so one must safeguard against them.

Anything which is wrongfully used is considered vain. For instance, I have mentioned the Internet several times before. It is an invention of this age and Allah the Exalted had destined these inventions for the age of the Promised Messiah^(as). [God Almighty] has alluded to various inventions in the Holy Qur’an; the Internet is one of them; the current telephone system is one of them; the television system is also one of them. These are to be used for propagation [of faith] in this age. But if these inventions are used for the wrong reason, then they are considered vain and God has forbidden such vain things. God has also commanded to safeguard against them.

He says that the description of a true believer [‘momin’] is that:

عَنِ اللَّغۡوِ مُعۡرِضُوۡنَ

They “…shun all that which is vain…” (Holy Quran, 23:4)

[That is,] they safeguard against that which is vain. When you use the Internet to chat with friends, make fun of others, use lewd language, use it against each other, use it to cause rifts in people’s relationships, [use it to] ruin another woman’s life by talking to her husband on the Internet, or [where you] backbite against each other, then the same useful object becomes vain and will also become a sin. These days, text messages are sent using mobile phones. This is another practice that has started these days. It offers a very inexpensive way to waste time in frivolities and talking with those who are not mehrum [‘non-marriageable relatives according to Islam’]. Very casually it is said that, ‘it was only a text message, it’s not like we were talking.’ Contacts are developed with others when a girl’s female friend gives the phone number of a [male] friend of hers, or [contact] numbers are exchanged in some other way, and text messages start getting exchanged over the phone. Girls and boys — 12, 13, 14 years old — are walking around [with cell phones] sending messages. They are at an age where they are at risk of going astray and eventually, this leads to sins developing from these vain [pursuits]. And this is why Ahmadi girls, for the sake of their honor, for the sake of their dignity, for the sake of their family’s honor, [and] keeping in mind the sanctity of their Jama’at with which they are thought to be affiliated, they should stay away from these things. And likewise, the Ahmadi men listening to this, should also safeguard themselves against this.”

(Address at Annual Ijtema Lajna Ima’illah Germany 11 June 2006. Published AlFazl International 19 June 2015)