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 22, 1923
Topics: Financial Sacrifice, Materiality and Spirituality, Prophets' Human Needs, Worship and Physical Acts, Propagation of Islam, Apostasy Crisis, Persistent Effort, Awakening the Negligent
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor (ra) said:
A human being, broadly speaking, has two parts: one is materiality and the other is spirituality. Both of these parts, within their respective spheres, are in need of sacrifice. And until the sacrifice is proportionate to the need, there can be no success.
For example, consider the people of the community of prophets. They are so beloved to God that, according to the statements of the Sufis, it is said in their honor: "Were it not for you, I would not have created the heavens"1— meaning, had they not existed, the world would not have been created. They are at such a station of closeness to Allah that the world exists for their sake. And we see with our own eyes that for the sake of a prophet, one nation is destroyed and another advances — as though the rise and fall of nations is connected to their existence.
Yet despite such closeness, we also see that they too have worldly needs. Where Allah the Almighty destroys some nations for their sake and grants advancement to others, it is also the case that they feel hunger, they feel thirst, they have the need to sleep. Prophets fall ill as well. They need medicine. They need clothing. In short, when it comes to human needs, there is no difference between a prophet and a non-prophet. And the spirituality of prophets cannot save them from the needs of materiality.
So there is no spirituality that is not accompanied by materiality — to the extent that even in worship, physical movements must be performed. In fasting, the body too must endure hardship. In prayer, a person folds his hands, sits in the sitting posture — just as the soul bows before God, the body also bows; and just as the soul kneels before God, the body too kneels before God.
Similarly, Zakat in its essence refers to the rectification of morals, but in it wealth must also be given. In Hajj, there is the soul's devotion (tabattul) to Allah, but alongside it the body must also endure hardship.
In short, in all forms of worship, the outward accompanies the inward, and the inward accompanies the outward. Therefore, in the spiritual chain, the outward also accompanies it, and outward sacrifices must also be made. And among these sacrifices, the greatest is the sacrifice of wealth.
In our time, the occasion for the sacrifice of life has seldom arisen. However, the wave of apostasy has provided our Jama'at with an opportunity for instruction and training. This evil that has been raised is a warning whip for the Muslims. But our Jama'at will learn from it to make further sacrifices and endure further hardship. And it is my intention to make this method of propagation permanent.
It is the duty of our friends to make every kind of sacrifice on this occasion. We cannot abandon propagation when this trial ends. Rather, our chain of propagation will continue until the Day of Judgment. From now on, we — and after us, whoever has charge of the administration of the movement — will continue propagating. And as long as disbelievers exist in the world, the chain of propagation will also continue.
Now, the sacrifices our Jama'at makes, and which it is accustomed to making, are financial sacrifices. And in proportion, they have reached such a level that no other nation in the world makes sacrifices to that extent. And the sacrifices of some friends are truly extraordinary. There have even been occasions when our friends, in times of religious need, sold even the beds from their homes.
But a few people bearing the entire burden cannot sustain the work. Therefore, it is necessary that the entire Jama'at collectively make sacrifices. And those people who are lazy or negligent — the time has come for them to abandon their laziness and negligence.
I advise the entire Jama'at: all must come together and make sacrifices, so that the burden does not fall on a few friends of the Jama'at alone; rather, the entire Jama'at should bear this burden.
Now is a special time in which the need for financial sacrifice on the part of the Jama'at has also increased — because when hundreds of members of the Jama'at take leave and abandon their businesses to make the sacrifice of life and go out for propagation, there will inevitably be a reduction in their contributions as well. On the other side, expenses are increasing, and the rough estimate at present is twenty-five to thirty thousand. At such a time, if all the members of the Jama'at do not make sacrifices, there is a grave risk of serious damage to the work.
If there is weakness in any person — laziness or negligence — it is our duty to alert him and remove his laziness and negligence. A new burden of approximately thirty-five thousand in expenses has fallen upon the Bait-ul-Mal. The incomes of some people have decreased. At such a time, for any member of the Jama'at to hold back from making sacrifice is to show enmity toward the Jama'at.
If those people who have until now remained idle step forward at this time of need for the service of the movement, Allah the Almighty will forgive their previous shortcomings as well. So this opportunity should not be allowed to go to waste.
At this time, it is also the duty of the workers to especially awaken all people. If there are some people who have not given any contribution for years, they too should be roused. Do not become silent out of despair regarding them — because it is possible that the influence may take hold on them at the very moment when you were about to fall silent in despair. Therefore, one should not be afraid to speak.
Many people accept after ten years. Many accept after twenty years. Many accept after thirty years. If our own people are told for a few years and then left alone, how can there be any hope for their reformation?
There are many people who did not accept the Promised Messiah (as) at the time he made his claim. In 1890, they remained opposed. In 1900, they remained opposed. In 1908, when the Promised Messiah (as) passed away, they remained opposed. Indeed, there are some who remained opposed until 1914, and then they were granted the ability to accept.
One person took the Bai'at in 1922. He wrote: "I am ninety years old. I was a dangerous enemy of Ahmadiyyat. But now I have come to understand that Hazrat Mirza Sahib — the Promised Messiah (as) — is true."
So when even dangerous opponents can become supporters, why should those who already call themselves ours not do so?
Workers should continue doing their work. They should themselves abandon laziness and carelessness, and they should also motivate others and tell them that this is a special time for sacrifice. Whoever makes a sacrifice at this time will receive a special reward.
May Allah the Almighty grant all people the ability to feel the needs of God's religion. Ameen.
(Al-Fazl, July 3, 1923)
References: 1- Mawdu'at Kabir, p. 59; Nuzhat al-Nawadir Tarfi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikr, p. 13
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