Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
March 23, 1923
Topics: Trust in Allah's Help, Abandon Internal Disputes, Berlin Mosque Women's Bai'at, Malkana Region Challenge, Historical Context of Forced Hindu Customs, Aurangzeb Misconception, Divine Help for the Weak
After recitation of Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor-e-Anwar addressed the community:
First, I wish to announce that the enthusiasm created among women regarding the campaign for the Berlin mosque—wherein women have been taking Bai'at and entering the Jama'at—continues by the grace of Allah the Almighty. So far, approximately forty women have taken Bai'at. There is still one more month remaining in this donation campaign. We hope from Allah the Almighty that this number will increase.
The way Allah the Almighty deals with us and the way He deals with others are worlds apart. A friend informed me that when the mullas intended to attack Qadian, the people in Amritsar held a gathering and then the mullas went around collecting donations door to door. When some people refused to give, the mullas said: "What has happened to your honor? Your mullas come to collect donations and you refuse. Meanwhile, Ahmadi women come and collect donations from you, saying: 'If you don't give, we will become Ahmadi.' Some of them replied: 'The reason is that your mullas collect for one purpose and these women collect for another. They collect for spreading Islam, while you collect for creating discord.'"
Following this, I wish to draw the Jama'at's attention to this tremendous struggle that has begun in India among the Malkana people. To work among those we are opposed to, to remove their misconceptions, to purify their hearts, and then to bring them to Islam is a great task. Because our numbers do not equal theirs. They are twenty-five crores; we are just a few lakhs. We do not even amount to one person for every hundred of theirs. How can such a small community confront such a vast population?
Beyond their numerical superiority, there is another factor in their favor: it is their homeland. Our missionaries who are going there go from distant lands. Whatever sympathy the local authorities might show would be toward them, not us. They will give preference to their own people. Thus, in such circumstances, to confront people who are thousands of times more powerful than us is no ordinary matter.
Furthermore, those among whom we are working already had Hindu customs. They were, in a sense, half-Hindu already, and they had already traveled half the path toward Hinduism. Now they just need to take a few more steps. These people have gradually moved away from Islam. Hindu kings' tyranny drove them away from Islam.
These are the people who initially entered Islam at the time of the early conquests. When Muslims first spread individually in those areas and propagated Islam, Hindus from the Mewat region accepted Islam due to this influence. Later, bigoted Hindu kings oppressed them and forcibly made them accustomed to Hindu customs like Prithvi Raj. But no force can overpower the heart. These people were Muslim in their hearts, and they suffered tyranny and oppression from Hindu kings. Under this influence, they adopted some Hindu practices in their outward form.
Initially, this was purely a result of oppression and coercion. Later, through habituation, these practices became established among them. Meanwhile, Muslims were negligent. Although these people were Muslim at heart and possessed Islamic knowledge, there was no effort or concern to remove and erase the Hindu customs that had been forcibly imposed upon them. Rather, the opposite occurred: because of their lack of knowledge, Hindus began spreading the false claim that these people had been forcibly converted to Islam.
This deception has caused thousands to become Hindu, and more are preparing to do so. In short, in their confrontation with us, the Hindus have several advantages:
Aurangzeb is blamed for forcibly spreading Islam, but the fact is that these peoples embraced Islam three hundred years ago, as historical accounts testify. Could Aurangzeb have had such divine power that he forcibly converted these peoples to Islam three hundred years before his own birth? These peoples became Muslim in 1465, and Aurangzeb lived in the seventeenth century. The Hindus also have the support of their Hindu governments.
Beyond this, we face another difficulty: Muslims themselves have not understood the importance of this work. Instead of uniting, they are occupied with deciding whom to exclude. Indeed, in Lahore, an organization was founded, and one member proposed that people who call others disbelievers cannot be members of this organization. It is astonishing that even at this critical time, they are still preoccupied with excluding people! This is a time when we should be thinking about how to unite, not how to divide.
Such proposals only increase discord and create obstacles in the path of work, squandering both effort and resources to no purpose. Against us, cunning, deception, and trickery are also being employed. We know that truth prevails, but sometimes truth can be hidden for a period. In short, we face many apparent difficulties. Yet against all these difficulties, we have Allah with us, and by absorbing His grace, we can eliminate the discord.
But Allah's grace is absorbed through internal reformation. When a decision has been made about a work, when intention and resolve have been corrected, and when a firm covenant of sacrifice has been undertaken, then—despite our lack of resources and wealth—by Allah's grace, we will be victorious and successful.
Do not think about what we are. If we were to contemplate this, we would go mad within an hour! Rather, we must realize and understand that we are nothing. What matters is what Allah is and what He can do. Our Allah is the Master, the Vast, the Overturner of Hearts, the Mighty. Not a single atom exists that is not in His control. He is the Lord, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Guardian, the Helper.
When we are servants of such a Master, how can we be anxious? If all the governments of the world were to desire our destruction, they could not destroy us, because we have Allah's help. If the kingdoms of the world were to conspire against us, we would not perish because Allah's succor is with us.
It is said that a great saint in Delhi once angered a king. But the saint was traveling. The king said, "I will return and punish him." When the time came for the king's return, his disciples urged the saint: "The king is coming. You should leave here." The saint said, "Delhi is still far." As they traveled on, when the day came for the king to enter the city, the disciples again urged him. Again he said, "Delhi is still far." When the king began to enter the city, a wall collapsed upon him, and he perished there. The saint was a dervish, and before him was a king, yet the dervish had Allah's help.
Similarly, there is an incident of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) recorded that once, during the afternoon, the Prophet (saw) was sleeping in the forest. The Companions also rested here and there. An enemy came, recognized the Prophet (saw), drew His sword that was hanging from a tree, unsheathed it, and said: "Now who can save you from me?" From the Prophet's (saw) lips came the Name of Allah, as if it were a lightning bolt that penetrated every fiber of the enemy's being. The sword fell from his hand, and the Prophet (saw) picked it up and said: "Now who can save you from me?" The Prophet's (saw) intention was to teach him a lesson, thinking he would respond similarly. But he said: "Show mercy." The Prophet (saw) released him. What saved the Prophet (saw) at that moment? It was Allah, in whose control is every atom.
Similarly, regarding Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (as), there was a case before a Hindu magistrate. Pressure was exerted from the Hindu side that some punishment must be given. The magistrate had even made a promise to this effect. By chance, a non-Ahmadi learned of this intention. Although he was opposed to the Jama'at, his Islamic patriotism prompted him to inform the Ahmadis. When Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah (as), learned of this, He was lying down. He rose and sat up, saying: "Is it easy to lay hands on Allah's lion?"
Consequently, the magistrate could not harm Him. It was Allah's power that prevented His enemies from prevailing over Him. And whoever has Allah's succor and support can never fail.
However, when a person undertakes a work, they make an intention, and every intention has a sign. Even the smallest task requires intention and has its outward manifestation. If a child is drowning and a person stands by the well, saying: "My intention was to save him, but I didn't remove my clothes," if the intention were genuine, that person would immediately find some means to prevent the child from drowning. Thus, when a person truly intends to do something, they prepare the means to do it.
The greater the task, the greater the sacrifice required. If the task is small, the sacrifice is small. When confronting a great enemy, we do not worry about small enemies. The disputes between Zaid and Bakr are forgotten. If someone says they are ready to confront a great enemy yet continue to engage in small personal quarrels, how can we believe they are ready for the great confrontation? It is regrettable that a portion of our Jama'at, despite seeing the grave conflict before them, refuses to abandon trivial matters.
There are some who sacrifice their wealth and abandon their comfort to serve the faith. But how can we consider those ready for service who are engaged in quarrels among themselves? Those who call themselves Ahmadi—how can we expect them to make great sacrifices when they cannot even sacrifice a few rupees due to petty disputes? Why is the faith in such danger while they do not abandon their personal feuds?
These are the people who are a disgrace on the Jama'at's forehead. They should be reformed as soon as possible. It is possible they claim to be defenders of Islam. They say they love Islam, but how great a sacrifice can they make when they quarrel with their own brothers? If the danger to Islam cannot make them forget the danger of a few rupees, what concern do they have for Islam's state?
If a father sees his child drowning, he will throw millions of rupees into the water to save him. But when a father's love for his child is so great and he is willing to sacrifice so much to save him, how can those who claim to love Islam ignore Islam's perilous condition? If these people truly love Islam, they must surely forget these personal disputes, and for them, there should be only one enemy.
Whoever does not have this condition—it is clear their claim to love Islam is false. Those afflicted with this disease should be disciplined by showing practical disdain. They must either abandon this conduct or separate from us. The remedy for their reformation is that the remaining brothers express disdain for their deeds. As long as they claim to be with us, we will compel them to abandon this path. When they cease to be part of us, we will have nothing to say to them.
These people bring disrepute to the Jama'at. They should either be punished, abandon this path and remain with us, or separate. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) did not forbid speaking with Abu Jahl, but He forbade speaking with those Muslims who, despite calling themselves Muslim, were connected to the Prophet (saw) yet engaged in such deeds. Similarly, these people who are bringing disrepute to the Jama'at through their disputes should either separate from us or reform themselves and work with the Jama'at to fulfill the mission that confronts it.
Let them prove it through their actions. Abandon your quarrels. Then it will be proven that you are ready to help Allah's faith. They must become one against the common enemy. We are contending against subjugated peoples and subjugated states. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) confronted those who were free and held power. What harm did they inflict on the Prophet (saw)? Rather, those who sought to destroy Him were themselves destroyed. The stone that the builders rejected became the topmost stone of the building—it fell and shattered, and what it fell upon also shattered.
Therefore, put your trust in Allah's help. Abandon the disputes among you. Seek Allah's succor against the formidable enemy. You exert your effort; the help will come from Allah. May Allah the Almighty purify our hearts and fill them with His love. May we have love and sincerity for His faith, and may we sacrifice all things for His love and sincerity.
Published in Al-Fazl, April 9, 1923
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