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 July 6, 1923
Topics: Sincerity Without Competence, Worldly Means for Religious Work, Trustworthiness, Responsibility of Workers, Honorary Service, Experience and Skill
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor(ra) said:
In a previous Friday sermon, I spoke about the fact that every religious matter has certain worldly aspects attached to it, and if a person wishes to succeed in any religious matter, it is necessary to keep in view those aspects which, although worldly, are connected to that religious matter.
For example, I explained that Salat is in reality a religious matter, and attaining a connection and nearness with God Almighty has no relation to a person sometimes standing and sometimes sitting. The connection of Salat is with a person's heart and soul. If there is love for God Almighty in the heart, then nearness to God will be attained. And if there is no love in the heart, then it will not be attained merely by standing with hands folded. However, I explained that despite the fact that nearness to God is connected to the heart, the love that is connected to the heart cannot be generated unless its outward signs are present — because human nature has been fashioned in such a way that in order to fix one's attention in one direction and to prevent the scattering of one's disposition, outward signs are necessary. Indeed, these are not the ultimate objective, but if these are absent, the ultimate objective also cannot be achieved — because these serve as a shell for it, and if the shell is absent, the kernel too cannot survive.
Consider: for thirst, water is needed — but water cannot remain unless there is a vessel. If a person tells a friend or servant to bring water, and the servant asks for a vessel, would one say to him: "I have no need of a vessel; I need water"? Indeed, the need is not for the vessel but for water — however, water cannot come without a vessel. In the same way, worship is of the heart, but for it, it is necessary that there be such outward arrangements that a person's scattered thoughts are removed, and a person stands for the worship of God Almighty in such a manner as is used for showing respect in worldly affairs, so that reverence may be produced in the heart.
Then I had advised the members of my Jama'at that for religious progress it is also necessary that the nation which stands up for the sake of religion should also spend its wealth. Giving chanda (financial contributions) is a worldly act, but without it the propagation of Islam cannot take place. Therefore, I had advised that the workers — both here and abroad — should make efforts to keep awakening the people so that they do not become lax in giving their contributions.
Today I draw attention to another aspect, in which the people of Qadian are especially addressed, and then the workers outside as well.
I have repeatedly stated that sincerity alone is of no use. Many people are caught in the delusion that "we have sincerity and love in our hearts — that is sufficient." They pass through this world in this very delusion and are unable to render any service to the faith. Sincerity cannot be of benefit until the outward means pertaining to the matter at hand are also employed.
For example, a mother has love for her child — but can the child be saved from illness by that love alone? No. Until medicine is administered, health will not be restored. Similarly, if the child develops a boil, will it be cured by the mother's love, or by the doctor's love? It will be cured neither by the mother's love nor by the doctor's love. If it is to be cured, it will only be through that love compelling them to employ the treatment that God has provided — but if they do not administer treatment, they will not be able to save the child.
I have related this incident several times: I set out from Lahore, and it so happened that in the train compartment I sat in, Pir Jama'at Ali Sahib Alipuri was also seated. I had come to know even before boarding the train who the other passenger was. There were three benches in the compartment — he was seated on one, the middle one was empty, and I sat on the third.
At the station, his murids (disciples) brought him various things to eat. He said: "I am not hungry at all. I will eat something only upon reaching Amritsar." But when the train departed, he stuck his head out toward the servants' compartment — which was right next to ours — and said to his servant: "Is there anything to eat? Bring it. I am extremely hungry." I was surprised — if he was so terribly hungry, what was the need to refuse in front of the murids? But there must have been some wisdom in it.
The servant said: "There is nothing to eat. Sir, let me get off and arrange for some tea or something." He said: "You had some dried fruit — where has it gone?" The servant said: "It is here." He said: "Then bring that and give it to me." The servant gave it to him and he came back to his seat with it.
Before this, he had already asked me where I was going. I said: "To Batala." He said: "To Batala itself, or to some village?" I said: "I am going to Qadian." He said: "Are you a resident of that place, or from outside?" I said: "I am a resident of that very place." He said: "Do you have a family connection with Mirza Sahib?" I said: "I am his son."
Hearing this, he expressed great delight and said: "I had a great desire to meet you." Later it became known that the reason for his desire was that he had a legal case with an Ahmadi, for which he wanted to have someone intercede.
He brought the dried fruit to me and said: "Please eat." My disposition was already averse, because once when Hazrat Sahib (the Promised Messiah(as)) had gone to Sialkot, this Pir Sahib had issued a fatwa that whoever attends his lecture will become a kafir (disbeliever), and his wife will be divorced from him. But God also created an excuse for me — I had a cold, and the items were sour things that I could not eat. I expressed my inability.
Upon this, he thought this was the moment to display his saintly authority. He said: "You also say such things! Whatever God wills, that is what happens. What is a cold?"
I thought this was not the occasion for a lengthy debate, nor would it serve any purpose — a brief answer would suffice. I said: "If you knew this principle earlier, you could have saved your money." He said: "How?" I said: "You would not have bought a ticket. If God had to get you to Amritsar and me to Batala, He would have delivered us Himself." He said: "But means are also necessary." I said: "These are the very means I too have in view."
So some people hold the notion that whatever God wills happens of its own accord, and human effort has no part in it — but this is wrong. No religious or worldly task can ever be accomplished unless a person acts upon the means that God has appointed. Divine decree is not that "such-and-such a thing will simply happen"; rather, it is: "If you act in this way, then this result will follow; and if you do not, then it will not."
They say a man went to a saint and said: "Pray that I may have children." The saint said: "Yes, I will pray." The man then set off — not in the direction from which he had come, but in the opposite direction. The saint asked: "Where are you going?" He said: "I had come after six years away from my employment; now I am going back." The saint said: "You are leaving your wife behind and going off to work — what will my prayers accomplish? As long as the relations between husband and wife are not established, how can offspring be produced merely through prayer?"
So this is a wrong notion — that whatever God wills shall simply happen and there is no need for us to do anything. This is wrong in religious matters as well as in worldly ones. It is another thing that the work will get done — but it is not necessary that it will be done through your hands while you sit idle. It is possible that because of your failure to act upon the means God has appointed for the accomplishment of that work, God may destroy you and raise up another people, and the work may be accomplished through them.
So remember well: there is no divine decree to the effect that a certain task will inevitably be accomplished regardless of whether anyone works toward it or not.
In our Jama'at, I observe that many people work with sincerity — but regrettably, several of them do not possess the experience needed for the work. And what is even more regrettable is that they do not make any effort to acquire that experience. They simply think that sincerity alone is sufficient.
For example, the officer of a department, or a head clerk, or the headmaster of a school, or a qadi, or a maulvi appointed to a task — he thinks: "My enthusiasm will get the work done." But enthusiasm alone can certainly cause loss; it cannot produce success.
They say a man had tamed a bear. His mother was ill. He went out on some errand and instructed the bear to keep fanning away the flies. The bear did this for a while, but when it saw that one fly kept landing repeatedly, it picked up a large stone and struck at it — killing the poor woman as well.
So sincerity alone sometimes proves fatal. When I went to Bombay due to illness, our young daughter who was unwell was taken by a woman to the seashore to feed her. There the child became thirsty, and the woman gave her seawater to drink, from which she passed away. The woman had acted out of sincerity from her own perspective, but it was not beneficial.
So many people consider sincerity alone to be sufficient and do not develop the ability to do the work properly. Because of this, many tasks remain incomplete and deficient — even though I believe that if those very tasks were entrusted to a Hindu or a person of another religion, they would be carried out well, because such a person would do it with experience, deliberation, and caution.
Therefore, if a person does not carry out his assigned work with excellence, and through his inexperience causes harm to the Movement, he cannot escape the consequences merely on the basis of his sincerity — because God Almighty will also ask him: "Did your sincerity not demand that you acquire experience and carry out the work in the best possible manner?" So whoever possesses true sincerity will also strive to learn the work and acquire experience, for this is precisely what sincerity demands.
It has been observed that uneducated people who get prescriptions written by hakims (physicians) have others read them and ask: "Is there anything harmful or damaging in this?" Why do they do this? Because they have a deep love for the person for whom the prescription is written, and it is this very love that demands that they exercise caution.
A person entrusted with any religious work bears a very great responsibility — and it is a greater responsibility than personal work. Therefore, it is his duty to exercise even greater caution in religious work than in personal work.
No work gets done merely by toiling away ceaselessly, unless the work is done in the proper manner. If work could be accomplished by blindly laboring away, then appointing a peon would suffice. But when an educated and intelligent person is placed upon a task, it is expected that he will understand the work and carry it out with sincerity. However, if a person does not understand his work and merely sits in the office day and night, he cannot be absolved of his duty — rather, God will ask him: "What work did you actually accomplish?"
Just as a person who hangs upside down, or stands facing the sun, or stands in water during the cold season will absolutely not be forgiven on the grounds that he endured great hardship — in the same way, a person who endures great hardship but accomplishes nothing will also not escape accountability.
So if a person thinks he is working with sincerity and honesty, but his definition of sincerity and honesty is merely spending more time — he cannot be absolved before God. One will only be absolved who strives to employ all the means and methods that God Almighty has appointed for that work.
If an English employee or a Hindu employee carries out that work with greater excellence, then this simply means that what could have been attained through reason was not attained for the sake of Islam — and thereby not only was Islam not benefited, but rather harm was caused.
Honesty does not mean merely that one does not embezzle money. Many people understand only this to be honesty. If someone is expected to work seven or eight hours but works only three or four, people will not call it dishonesty — they will consider it negligence. Even though such a person is just as much a traitor as one who steals ten rupees out of a hundred. But if a hundred rupees are entrusted to someone and he consumes ten, he will be called a traitor. Yet if someone is supposed to work seven hours and works only six, he will not be considered a traitor — and if he is good in other respects, he will even be regarded as a wali-Allah (friend of God)! — even though both are equally guilty. In fact, the one who betrays in the matter of time is worse, because the loss of money is limited to the amount of money, but the loss of time has consequences that extend into the future.
Furthermore, if it is said that "such-and-such person does not arrive on time or leaves before time," people will criticize him. But those from whom it is expected that they will learn the work and then perform it — if they do not do so, they will still consider themselves honest. They will call the person who works six and a half hours instead of seven a traitor — even though, if that person understands his work and performs it well, he is also a traitor, but the one who works all seven hours without understanding the work is an even greater traitor — because the first one consumed only half an hour, while the latter consumed all seven hours.
The matter is that until the true meaning of trustworthiness is understood, this deficiency cannot be removed — and it is regrettable that many people here do not understand this.
Similarly, it is also a deficiency that those who do honorary work do not understand the responsibility of the work. When someone has committed that "yes, I will do such-and-such work," and then does not do it, he is just as much a guilty and treacherous person as one who takes a salary and does not work — because his failure to work causes the same harm to the Movement as is caused by one who takes a salary and does not work.
This is like the case of a sick person who has one servant. If the servant does not bring the medicine on time, the patient will suffer harm. But if someone out of love undertakes to nurse the patient, and then does not bring the medicine — will it not have the same effect? It will.
So when an honorary worker, by taking on the work, prevents others from doing it, it is his duty to do the work himself — not to cause harm. If he had not committed to doing the work, someone else would have done it. But he committed and then ruined the work. Therefore, those who do not take salaries have the same duty as those who take salaries. If they do not carry out the work with excellence and full effort, they too are traitors.
In the same way, a person who does not spend money with care is also a traitor. One who does not give full time is also a traitor. And the one who is expected to learn the work through effort and then manage it, but does not do so — who does not familiarize himself with the ins and outs of the work — he too is a traitor.
And remember: treachery and faith cannot coexist in one place. Only he is a mu'min (believer) who is amin (trustworthy), and he who is not trustworthy is not a believer.
So I especially draw the attention of the people here, and of the secretaries and amirs (leaders) outside, that taking on the responsibility of any work on an honorary basis does not mean that carrying out that work is not obligatory. If honorary workers are negligent in their work, they are just as much traitors as those who take salaries and commit treachery in their work.
May God Almighty make our Jama'at understand the true meaning of treachery and trustworthiness, and may our Jama'at excel over all people not only in religious matters but also in worldly matters — so that whatever tasks are entrusted to it, it carries them out with excellence.
After the Friday prayer, a funeral prayer in absentia will be offered. I have announced the standing instruction that if any Ahmadi passes away in a place where there are no other Ahmadis, or if a person who by virtue of his service to the faith deserves to have the entire Jama'at offer his funeral prayer, then such a funeral prayer will be offered. The father of Nek Muhammad Khan Afghan Ghaznavi has passed away in Kabul, at a place where there were no other Ahmadis. Therefore, I shall lead his funeral prayer.
(Al-Fazl, July 13, 1923)
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