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 29, 1923
Topics: Divine Revelation Fulfilled, Propagation to Ends of Earth, Promised Messiah's Prophecy, Sacrifice Required, Gandhi Critique, American Ambitions, Companions' Sacrifices, Keys of Caesar and Chosroes, Global Mission
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor (ra) said:
Today I wish to speak in the Friday sermon about a matter that coincidentally came before my eyes today. A short while before the time of Jumu'ah, when I entered the room to bathe, while closing the door, a torn piece of "Al-Fazl" came before my eyes — it was its front page, pasted above the door. On it was a passage that came before my eyes spontaneously, and it was this: **"I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth"**¹ (Revelation of the Promised Messiah (as)).
This revelation had been printed on "Al-Fazl" for a long time. And "Al-Fazl" comes before me twice a week. Since it is considered the organ of the movement, and since its articles are understood to be from us and are attributed to us, I read the entire "Al-Fazl" — and always read it — to check whether there is any error, for errors do occur from human beings, but if there is any error that would reflect poorly on the movement, it should be corrected. But that torn piece upon which my gaze fell produced a remarkable state within me. I stood beside it and read that sentence again: "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth."
What a small sentence it is! But what a magnificent matter has been expressed in it! A person whose name was not known even to the people of the surrounding villages — and when they did come to know of him, it was in such a manner that they considered even touching him to be forbidden. So as long as that person had not appeared before the world, he was unknown; and when he did appear, he was infamous.
But in that state of obscurity, he says: God has told me, "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth." He did not say: "I shall spread thy message." Nor did He say: "I shall convey it to the people of thy country." Nor did He say: "Thy co-religionists will accept thee." Rather, He said: "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth" — meaning no particular region, no particular nation, and no particular religion is specified.
It was not said that those who call themselves Muslims will accept you — because if that were said, someone could argue: since the Muslims at present are in need of a leader, since division and disorder prevail among them, since they are in a state of poverty and destitution, since a blanket of humiliation and wretchedness covers them — at such a time, they are looking for someone to come and set right their worldly condition while also bringing them close to God; therefore, it is possible that his nation would accept him. But this was not said.
Similarly, it was not said: "I shall convey thy message to such-and-such a nation" — because there are many nations which, being caught in humiliation and decline, are ready for anyone to stand up claiming to improve their condition, and they would follow him.
Nor was it said: "I shall spread thy name in thy country" — because many countries are ready for anyone to stand up in the name of granting them advancement, and the people would rally behind him.
Take this very India. If someone stands up here saying "I will free it," people are ready to follow him — because they believe, and it has been instilled in their hearts, that the English are oppressing them. Whether the English actually oppress them or not — but since this is their belief and they think so, they are ready to follow, without thought or reason, any person who says: "I shall soon get you self-rule."
As Mr. Gandhi said — it was entirely contrary to reason that anyone could achieve self-rule within a few months — but Mr. Gandhi used to say: "I will free India from the English by December, but the condition is that you do whatever I say." Upon this, Hindus and Muslims followed behind him like slaves. But what happened after a few months? He who said "I will free India" — even his own freedom was snatched away. He himself went to prison, and according to his own claims, the 330 million inhabitants of India remained slaves as before.
Why did people accept such an unreasonable claim? Because their hearts were prepared to accept such a thing, and they accepted it without thought or deliberation. So if it had been said: "Thy country will accept thy message" — it could be argued that political sentiments of this kind had already developed among these people; they were waiting for someone to come and raise the call of freeing them. Since Mirza Sahib (the Promised Messiah (as)) stood up at such a time, the people of his country followed him.
Similarly, if it had been said: "I shall spread thy message among the lower nations" — people would say: since education is spreading and people who were considered lowly have become conscious of their degradation, it was necessary for them to make someone their guide for their advancement, and they did so. They previously thought it was their right to serve others, and that God had created them for this purpose. But now the time has come that their eyes too have opened and their veils have been removed. Now they have seen that slavery is only for the one who chooses to remain a slave, and freedom is not far from the one who reaches out for it. At such a time, if someone stands up and tells these people "I have come to free you," their joining him is not surprising.
So there are countries whose people are being oppressed, or who believe they are being oppressed, and who wish to gain freedom. Then there are also nations that have fallen — or that others are pushing down — and they are waiting for someone to come and free them. So if it had been said that such-and-such a country or such-and-such a nation would accept, then people would say: he saw that this country or nation was in such a condition that it was waiting for a guide, so he said it would happen.
But it was not said: "I shall cause thy message to reach India." Nor was it said: "I shall cause thy message to reach the lower nations." Rather, it was said: "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth" — meaning thy message will go to the Muslims and, having made its impact, will move onward. Then it will go to the Christians and, having made its impact, will move onward. Then it will go to the Jews and move onward. Then it will go to the Hindus and move onward — until there will be no corner and no edge of the earth where the message will not reach. So it was not said that thy message will reach India; rather, it was said: to the ends of the earth. India, Afghanistan, Arabia, Egypt, China, Japan, Europe, America — in short, there will be no place where it will not reach.
Now, whether you take the ends of the earth in terms of religion or in terms of geographical spread, different peoples of different religions dwell there. Among them are those who say: "There is no need for any guide." And there are also nations that say: "There is no need for any savior — we ourselves are the saviors of the world." To think and imagine that one could persuade such people to accept one's message is beyond the power of any human being.
Those oppressed nations stretching out their hands for freedom, those subjugated countries striving for independence — they can accept the word of anyone who stands up to liberate them and advance them, because their condition is like that of a patient whose physicians have given up after exhausting all treatment, and yet he does not recover. In such a situation, they say: "Come, let us even try folk remedies." At that moment, some old woman who does not even know that the word "medicine" is written with specific letters, who does not even know where the heart is and where the liver is — when she says regarding tuberculosis or some equally dangerous disease (the diagnosis of which is extremely difficult even for doctors): "Give this remedy" — they give it, because they think: "The patient is dying anyway; if this medicine does not work, what worse can happen? Let us try it — perhaps he will recover through it. Otherwise, this medicine will do nothing worse than death, and death is already staring us in the face."
In the same way, a nation that has fallen into a pit of humiliation and disgrace — or believes itself to have fallen — when someone comes to it claiming to raise it up, no matter how foolish his words may be, that nation says: "We were dying anyway — come, let us accept his word too." Likewise, a country engulfed in ruin and destruction also thinks: "We were already being ruined — come, let us accept what this person says and see."
In such circumstances, people do not examine whether what someone says is reasonable or not, and whether acting upon it could bring benefit or not. Rather, like the patient who has no hope of his own survival, whatever anyone says, they accept for the sake of their freedom. But what was said to the Promised Messiah (as) could not enter any human intellect as to how it could be said.
Because in terms of religion, there are religions in the world that say: "We have found the true reality of religion" — like the new religions of Europe. Their claim is: "We will save the world, and the true purpose of religion can only be fulfilled through us."
And if one looks in terms of countries, such nations are emerging that have reached the pinnacle of advancement — like the Americans. They say: "Not only have we reached the ultimate point of progress, but we will also take the world to the highest level" — to the point where they say: "A new type of human being will be born from America." And they have even designated the region — which is California. They say the minds of the people of that region are of the highest order, and their descendants will be even greater, and their descendants greater still, until a new type of human being will emerge who will be different from present humans and extremely perfect.
So they think they have achieved such heights that no power can destroy them. And they do not say: "We do not know the way to remove human suffering." Rather, they say: "We will remove the world's suffering." Yet see — God tells the Promised Messiah (as) that they too will accept you.
What a small sentence this revelation is — and at what time it was spoken! At the time when, let alone the ends of the earth, even the people of his own district did not know him. Then when he made his claim — what a claim it was that the entire world turned against him! Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims — those with new education or those expert in old learning — all turned against him. There is no nation against whom something is not found in his claim. In short, there is no religion, no nation, and no group of any persuasion upon whom his claim does not strike. This is why the entire world turned against him.
At that time, who could have said this revelation would be fulfilled? At that time, if anyone could say anything, it would be: "Good — the moment he made his claim, the punishment began to rain down upon him. And this is the punishment for his lie — that opposition has begun from every direction. Since it was a grand claim, punishment was swiftly meted out."
But what was the result? Storm after storm came against him, and with such ferocity that the onlookers closed their eyes, thinking everything would be swept away. But when they opened their eyes, they saw that the sapling of Ahmadiyyat had become even stronger and greener than before.
Although the time has not yet come for the full reality of this revelation to manifest and for it to be fulfilled in its complete glory, everyone has seen that the seeds of Ahmadiyyat have been sown in every country, and Ahmadiyyat has reached the ends of the earth. Look — this sapling set out from India, and those who watched with eyes saw and recognized that it has reached as far as America.
The enemy may say: "I do not accept Ahmadiyyat." But who can deny that "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth" has not been fulfilled? For the truth and light that emerged from Qadian has spread to different countries and continues to spread. This is such a grand and magnificent sign that however much delight and joy one derives from reflecting upon it, it is not enough.
This small sentence produced a remarkable state before my eyes, and the entire picture appeared before me — in what condition this was said, and then how it was fulfilled.
But I say to my Jama'at: the revelation that descends from God — its burden is also placed upon the servants. The Holy Prophet (saw) saw a dream regarding Musaylimah the Liar and Aswad Ansi² — and it was the Companions who fulfilled it. Similarly, the Holy Prophet (saw) saw that the keys to the treasures of Caesar and Chosroes were given to him.³ Did those kings send them themselves? Or did some angel come and bring them? Nothing of the sort happened. Then did they simply come into the hands of the Holy Prophet's (saw) followers — Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra) — on their own? No — rather, thousands of Muslims, exiled from their homes, dyed several battlefields with their blood. Only then did those keys come into their hands.
So indeed, that was a word from God, and it was certainly destined to be fulfilled. But the means of its fulfillment were made to be human beings.
In the same way, this revelation of the Promised Messiah (as) — "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth" — this message too will reach the ends of the earth through human beings. And until our Jama'at employs the same selflessness and sacrifice that the Companions displayed, and in the same way devotes its lives and wealth in the path of God, this prophecy will not be fulfilled in its complete glory. This prophecy will only be completely fulfilled when complete sacrifices are made.
So I say to my Jama'at: since you have seen the signs of this prophecy's fulfillment, and you have become certain that it will surely be fulfilled, you can also understand how much sacrifice must be made for it. As long as there is doubt about whether the sacrifice will bear fruit or not, if a person hesitates to make sacrifice, that is one thing. But you have seen that your sacrifice will surely bear fruit. In such a situation, if you show laziness, a very great charge will fall upon you.
So our Jama'at should work with full effort to fulfill this prophecy completely. God has fulfilled it to some extent and has thereby shown that it will certainly be fulfilled. Therefore, if you lag behind in making effort, you will come under a very great charge.
So let every small and great, man and woman, rich and poor of our Jama'at stand up for the purpose of fulfilling this prophecy — so that they may see its fulfillment with their own eyes, and they may take pride — and rightfully take pride — that Allah the Almighty has fulfilled this revelation through our hands.
(Al-Fazl, July 6, 1923)
References:
¹ Revelation of the Promised Messiah (as): "I shall cause thy message to reach the ends of the earth" — Tadhkirah, p. 407 (2009 English edition, under the year 1898). Tadhkirah is the compiled collection of the dreams, visions, and revelations of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as).
² The Holy Prophet's (saw) dream regarding Musaylimah the Liar and Aswad Ansi: He (saw) said: "When I was sleeping, I saw in a dream that two gold bangles were put in my hands, and that frightened me and made me dislike them. Then I was allowed to blow on them, and when I blew at them, both of them flew. I interpreted them as the two great liars who would appear after me." Both were defeated by the Companions (ra) after the Holy Prophet's (saw) passing. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4378)
³ The Holy Prophet (saw) said: "I have been given the keys of eloquent speech and given victory with awe, and while I was sleeping last night, the keys of the treasures of the earth were brought to me and placed in my hand." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6998). Also: "When Khosrau perishes, there will be no more Khosrau after him; and when Caesar perishes, there will be no more Caesar after him. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, you will spend their treasures in the cause of Allah." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3618)
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