Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Friday Sermon delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) Khalifatul Masih II June 8, 1923
Topics: Honoring Pledges, Truthfulness in Creation, Laws of Nature, Covenant of Bai'at, Sincerity, Hypocrisy, Sacrifice, Military Discipline, Battle of Uhud, Devotion of Life
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor (ra) said:
If we look at the craftsmanship and creation of Allah the Almighty, a remarkable principle becomes apparent. Reflecting on this principle yields many lessons. It is this: all of creation is habituated to speaking the truth. It follows the straight path. It does not lie.
By "creation," I do not mean the creation that speaks — that is, human beings — but rather non-human creation. Nor is the "truth" I refer to what we commonly call truth. Rather, by "creation" I mean inanimate creation, and by "truthfulness" I mean that it operates consistently, without deception.
For example, take fire: it burns. Bring a bundle of wood or any other combustible material, and it will burn it. Bring another and place it upon the fire — that too will burn. Bring a third bundle — it too will burn. And if water is poured on fire, it will extinguish it, and all water will perform this same function. All fires will do the same work. Heat performs one function, and cold performs its own. In short, every thing, once it reveals its reality, does not change that reality.
Cold causes freezing, and heat causes expansion. Bish is a type of poison. Bish Nar is an antidote — what is called jadwar in our country. Administering it in certain poisoning cases counteracts the harm of the poison. It is possible that we may be deceived in identifying these poisons, but it is not possible that their effect will not occur if applied correctly.
For example, if water is poured on a picture of fire, the fire will not be extinguished — though the picture will certainly be ruined. This proves that water's potency is present, but its application was misplaced. Similarly, if nar-bish does not prove beneficial, it does not mean it is ineffective; rather, it means we did not administer it for the poison in which its use would have been beneficial. Or, for instance, quinine is effective in certain types of fevers — not in every fever. Where it is effective, it is beneficial. If quinine does not show benefit in some fever, it does not mean quinine is useless; rather, it means that fever was not correctly diagnosed.
In short, truthfulness is visible in all of Allah the Almighty's creation. This benefits the world, because through it, the system operates correctly. If this were not the case, the system would break down.
If fire, instead of always burning, would sometimes also cool, it would cause great difficulty. For instance, bread is cooked by fire. If it sometimes happened that instead of cooking, the bread turned into water and flowed away — imagine the difficulty! Today, even the most ignorant person bakes bread with certainty; at that point, this certainty would be lost.
Similarly, water quenches thirst. If it sometimes increased thirst instead — or instead of providing coolness, set things ablaze — the entire functioning of the world would be thrown into chaos.
A woman kneads dough with the certainty that when water is added to flour, it will become dough. But if this certainty were removed, and she knew that flour mixed with water sometimes catches fire — would she ever attempt to knead it? Or if it were known that water sometimes, instead of quenching thirst, inflames it further and tears apart the intestines — who would dare to drink it?
Thus it becomes evident that there is a law in all of creation: everything remains within its bounds and does the very work that nature has entrusted to it.
But why does ruin come upon human beings? Because they abandon this principle.
For example, why do merchants go bankrupt? Because people take on credit and do not pay at the appointed time — so the trader goes bankrupt. Why does a government become weak? Because it cannot collect its taxes. Why do the subjects become weak? Because the government does not fulfill their needs. Why do other affairs go wrong? Because officers do not fulfill their responsibilities and subordinates are negligent in their work. The result is that governments are wiped out.
But as long as every person does not act upon this law — the law that is universally visible, that everything fulfills its duty — no affair can be set right. When every person fulfills his duty, the result is good.
The obedient servants of Allah never become heedless of their pledge. The person who stands firm upon his pledge of Bai'at is never destroyed. In the world, every true movement has been carried forward by one person. The person who makes a pledge with God and then honors it — he succeeds.
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (saw), made a pledge with God and then honored that pledge. The result was that an entire world was drawn toward him. If the Holy Prophet (saw) had not honored the pledge he made with God, how could he have drawn millions of people? But the Holy Prophet (saw) possessed the power of truthfulness to the highest degree, and his truthfulness drew millions.
Reflect: the weight that a single iron rod can bear — a thousand straws of a broom cannot bear that much. In the same way, those who are dyed in the color of Muhammad (saw) draw the world toward themselves. The difference is only that others are deficient in this quality.
In the Battle of Uhud, what was the result and why did it occur? The Holy Prophet (saw) suffered harm, and the Companions also faced severe hardship — because they had disobeyed the command of the Holy Prophet (saw). This was the bad consequence of that disobedience.
Our Jama'at too has stood up for a magnificent task. Remember: your lip service and your expressions of sincerity will not make you successful until you honor the true principles and the pledge of Bai'at. Just as quinine cannot be effective unless it is administered for the fever in which it can be effective, so too your expression of sincerity will be without effect if you are not truly committed to sincerity.
It is regrettable that many people do not understand this. People came forward to devote their lives. But now, when the department has called them, some have fallen silent. They did not even reply to the letter. And some offered excuses that they cannot go at this time.
Can any general go into the field with such an army? In a real army, no excuse is accepted. And Islam also says: "As though they were a solid structure" (Al-Saff 61:5). If complete replacements do not go in place of those returning from the field, then what benefit will three months of work yield?
Remember: no success is possible until we work under a military system. So it is regrettable that some people have adopted this wrong approach.
The time for sacrifice is precisely when it is needed and when something must be given up. Otherwise, what need is there for sacrifice? Does sacrifice ever happen by making useless excuses?
One person had devoted his life. When the officer called him and told him he should go, he said: "I have been ill for four years." It would have been a thousand times better for this person never to have put forward his name than to give such an answer. When we made the announcement, did we want the sick, the blind, the lame, and the crippled of the Jama'at to devote their lives so that we could send them out? Such people are enemies of the Jama'at, and in the presence of such people, success can never come.
Would those parents be friends or enemies of their children who give them counterfeit coins before sending them on a journey — so that wherever they go and try to buy something, they are arrested? Surely such parents are enemies of their children. Rather, those parents are friends of their child who honestly tell the child: "We have nothing to give you."
Can any general be pleased merely because he has a large army — when the reality of that army is that at the crucial moment it surrenders its weapons? Such people are enemies of the Jama'at. Such people deserve to be punished. These people give their names out of hypocrisy. Who compelled them to give their names for the sake of fame?
One person who has been sent there has written: "I have been put on office duty. I cannot do any work because my child is sick." If this person were employed in an army, could he speak this way? Even if all his relatives died, nothing would happen. Does this not mean that such people can work under the threat of the sword, but cannot work out of sincerity? The movement has no need of such hypocritical-natured people.
Until the passion for the service of faith is greater than the fear of the sword, no one can be worthy of reward.
I counsel that doing anything for show yields no result whatsoever. A poet has said:
"If they will not abandon their ways, why should we change our manner? Why should we lower ourselves and ask: 'Why are you displeased with us?'"
If the oppressor does not abandon his oppression, then why should I abandon my state of indifference and dignity and thus be humiliated before him? If he is firm in his oppression, I shall be firm in my indifference.
That person is not worthy of being called a Muslim, and cannot be called a believer, until he stands firm upon his pledge. Because a believer is one who stands up for God. It is his duty to step forward and not step back. If he steps forward and then retreats, it is a cause of shame for him.
So you should change your conduct — otherwise, such faith will be of no use before God on the Day of Judgment. You cannot deceive God with such things. Rather, you entangle your own souls in deception. God will only value the one who is pure. The person in whom there is the element of seeking personal fame — he cannot enter this arena.
So concern yourselves with the advancement of your faith. May Allah the Almighty bestow His grace upon you and remove your weaknesses. May He grant those who are strong the ability to work and the ability to fulfill their intentions. Ameen.
(Al-Fazl, June 18, 1923)
Related Resources