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 27, 1923
Topics: Berlin Mosque, Ahmadi Women's Fundraising, God Elevates the Weak, Holy Prophet's Humble Beginnings, Hazrat Abu Bakr's Khilafat, Promised Messiah, Remembrance of God, Quranic Prophecy
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor (ra) said:
When the wisdom and power of Allah the Almighty wills, He causes even the lowest of the low and the weakest of the weak to accomplish feats that the mightiest and most powerful people of the world cannot achieve. Consider — great kings desired to unite the world under one hand. Alexander the Great set out with this very intention and purpose, but died without bringing his plan to completion. In this era too, great governments have desired — and continue to desire — to bring the entire world under one hand, but all their efforts have proven futile.
But see — when Allah the Almighty willed to unite the world under one hand, He accomplished this through an extremely weak and frail human being who possessed neither resources, nor wealth, nor power, nor strength.
The Holy Prophet (saw) held a rank before God Almighty, and he possessed a nearness to God, by virtue of which he was greater than all the beings of the world. But if one looks from a worldly perspective, it becomes apparent that before prophethood, he possessed no worldly distinction. Whatever rank he held was in the sight of God. Otherwise, in his city, he had neither wealth, nor property, nor material means, nor a following, nor power — to the point that when he married, he did not even have enough wealth for ordinary sustenance. Rather, his wife — who was honored with being the spouse of the Holy Prophet (saw) and was blessed with the distinction of being the first to believe — placed all her wealth at his disposal. Otherwise, the Holy Prophet (saw) would earn his livelihood through his own labor. Indeed, Hazrat Khadijah (ra), whom he married — he took her wealth and went for trade¹, and he sustained himself from its profit.
He was not a landowner — and indeed, agriculture was not possible in Makkah at all. Nor did he possess herds of horses or camels. True, people called him "the Truthful" — but being called truthful does not mean he also had wealth. True, people called him "the Trustworthy"² — but this means he safeguarded the wealth of others, not that he himself possessed wealth. True, people called him righteous — but this does not mean that people also obeyed him. Indeed, when God told him: "Arise and warn these people" (74:3), the very people who called him righteous turned against him.
So from a worldly standpoint, he possessed nothing. The outward means by which rank and status are attained in the world were absent. But when God Almighty willed to raise from this "valley without cultivation" (14:38) a human being who would draw the world toward One God and gather it upon one center — no one could prevent it. His being was like a seedling that grew and grew until it became a great tree. Not only did he become the king of the world, but his servants too became kings.
Regarding Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), it is recorded that when the Holy Prophet (saw) passed away and the news reached Hazrat Abu Bakr's (ra) father, he asked: "Now what arrangement will be made?" He was told: "Abu Bakr has become the Khalifa." Upon this he said: "Which Abu Bakr?" When told it was his own son, he said: "What — the son of Abu Quhafah?"³
It was as though it could not even enter his mind that his son could become a Khalifa. Even though when the name "Abu Bakr" was mentioned, he should naturally have thought of his own son — just as if there were a king named Abdullah and a person also had a son named Abdullah, when told "Abdullah has come," he would not think of the king but of his son. So naturally, the thought of his own son should have occurred to him — but he asked: "Which Abu Bakr?" He himself had accepted Islam very late.
When he was told it was his son, he said: "Today I have come to know that Muhammad (saw) has such influence that the Arabs have accepted the son of Abu Quhafah as their chief."³ The tribe to which Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) belonged had no political following and was politically weak. People did consider him righteous — he would mediate in people's disputes and bring about reconciliation. But since his tribe had no following, he was not considered worthy of leadership. Yet he attained this rank — and so, through the Holy Prophet (saw), even families that were very weak came to attain rule.
So when God Almighty wills, He raises the weak and accomplishes through them such magnificent feats that even those who hold great worldly rank cannot accomplish. And one of the purposes of the coming of prophets is to raise the weak and make them great. As it is stated regarding Hazrat Musa (as):
"And We desired to show favor unto those who were considered weak in the earth, and to make them leaders and to make them heirs" (28:6)
Pharaoh was proud of his greatness and his resources, and his desire was to become god. On the other hand, Our desire was that those people whom Pharaoh considered utterly contemptible and weak — We would make them rulers. Then what happened? Those who were weak and frail prevailed, and that Pharaoh who had been made mighty and great — he died humiliated and disgraced.
So when Allah the Almighty intends to elevate the weak and frail, no one can resist Him. And this is the way of Allah the Almighty — that He takes the poor and raises them up. And this serves as proof that the movement is from God.
Consider — if the prophets who established nations had been kings, people would say: "They made people their followers through the force of their rule." But all the prophets who established nations were such that their initial condition was very weak. Hazrat Musa (as) was raised eating the food of Pharaoh. Hazrat Isa (as) had no father — he was called the son of Yusuf the Carpenter. The Holy Prophet (saw) was left an orphan and had no property.
In this era, the Promised Messiah (as) appeared. He too possessed no worldly distinction. Some prophets were kings — like Hazrat Sulaiman (as) — but no new movement originated from them. They appeared during the era of the greatness of Hazrat Dawud's (as) movement, not at the time of its decline. At times of decline, it was always the weak and frail who appeared.
In this era, God Almighty has established a Jama'at through the Promised Messiah (as), and He is taking from it such work as even great kings have not been able to accomplish to this day.
A short while ago, standing in this very mosque, I expressed my wish that a mosque should be built in Berlin. And I also said that although our Jama'at is already weak and bears a heavy burden of expenses, the mosque should be built from the resources of its weakest segment — meaning the women (who are weak in the sense that they have no independent earnings, and also in the sense that they do not have as much education as men) — so that this would be a tremendous sign.
When I launched this appeal among the women, some people in our Jama'at also thought that so much money could not be collected. Initially, I had estimated thirty thousand, but at the time of launching the appeal, I set it at fifty thousand — which even the people of our Jama'at considered a very large sum.
And when approximately twenty thousand had been collected, non-Ahmadi newspapers mentioned it with astonishment and wonder, writing that Ahmadi women had collected this much money.
Then the prescribed period had not even elapsed when more than the required amount — sixty thousand — was collected. After this, I made another announcement stating that more funds were still needed. Now, if pledges and the like are included, the total contributions have reached approximately seventy thousand.
This is the achievement of the weakest segment of a Jama'at that is at this time the weakest in the world. What is the number of our Jama'at compared to the Muslims? Nothing at all. But if an announcement were made even among the general Muslims that their women should give this much in contributions within a period of three months — even though among them there are millionaires and those worth hundreds of thousands, nawabs and rajas — even then, this much could not have been collected with such ease. Their great leaders, Sardars, Khan Bahadurs and the like would have to go on tours across the country, traveling from city to city — and only then would the contributions be gathered. But here, neither did I go out, nor did any delegation of ours go to collect contributions. Only an announcement was made in the newspapers, and the women of our Jama'at collected the contributions within the prescribed period.
Through this, God Almighty has proven that when Allah the Almighty takes weak Jama'ats and extracts work from them, even the greatest of people cannot match it. Consider — here is India; then within it, Muslim Ahmadis; and then within them, their women — and a mosque in Berlin is to be built from their capital! This is a matter of admonition and a source of shame for kings. And it can be said to them: you had wealth, you had lands, you had resources — but you remained absorbed in luxury and pleasure and spent your wealth on your own selves. But the weakest segment of this weak Jama'at — which you call kafir — its women have begun building a mosque in the stronghold of disbelief.
I do not accept this, but it is said that the treasure of Qarun (Korah) is buried in the earth. This serves as a fine illustration. We can say to those who possess treasures: "Your treasures are either buried beneath the earth or spent on your own selves. But see how the women of a poor Jama'at have spent their wealth for the sake of God Almighty."
It is said: "Why should we not support Muslim kings?" I say: what benefit has Islam received from their kingship and their treasures? Their treasure has remained locked away like the treasure of Qarun. The real treasure is the treasure of the Ahmadiyya Jama'at, which is being spent for the religion of God. Those people who are wealthy are in reality poor — because their wealth is not being spent for Islam. And our Jama'at, which is poor, is in reality the wealthy one — because its wealth is being spent for the benefit of the world.
So how great a matter of gratitude it is that in a short period of time, a small number from a small Jama'at — its weakest segment — has collected even more than the required capital! And the work of building the mosque has begun.
Today I have mentioned this because I had written that when the work of laying the mosque's foundation begins, a telegram should be sent here so that the Jama'at may pray. Today the telegram has arrived, which states that the digging of the foundations will begin today at 9 o'clock. Since the sun rises later there than here, their 9 o'clock means that at the time of our Jumu'ah prayer, it will be 9 o'clock there — and so at this very time, the foundations are being dug there.
Since this is especially a time of the acceptance of prayer, I request the Jama'at to pray that God Almighty bless this work, and that just as Christianity spread in those lands, Islam may spread there even more, and that just as we have heard the glad tidings of a mosque being built there, we may also witness the progress and greatness of Islam in our own lifetimes. There is no doubt that this work will be accomplished — it will certainly happen — but whoever participates in a work naturally desires to see its completion. We have participated in this work, and it is our desire too that in our lifetimes we see the worship of Tawhid (the Unity of God) being established there, and all people worshipping One God.
Similarly, an announcement will also be made regarding the 5th of August, and on that day, the time when the foundation stone is laid will correspond to approximately the time of Isha prayer here. I shall stand and lead a prayer after the second Khutba, and the Jama'at should also join in the prayer.
After delivering the second Arabic Khutba, Huzoor (ra) said:
This last phrase — "Remember Allah, and Allah will remember you" (2:153) — also speaks of this very matter. Consider — what is honor and distinction? It is that the government should remember you, that a person should become a close associate of the king. God Almighty says: "Remember Allah, and He will remember you" — remember God, and you will become close to God. And the most exalted place for the remembrance of God is the mosque. So it is as though God Almighty is saying: provide the means for the remembrance of God — your remembrance too will become exalted.
So if the Oneness of God Almighty is established in the world, and people prostrate only before God — then understand that we too have succeeded, and we have achieved victory in this spiritual battle. Otherwise, many nations have fought and been destroyed — now not even a trace of them remains. So it is only through the remembrance of God Almighty that our memory can endure. True, the memory of evil people also endures — but does anyone take their name with honor and respect? Never. True remembrance is established only through the remembrance of God Almighty — and then no one can erase it. So it is only those who do righteous deeds whose memory endures.
Now I shall lead a prayer. The women should also join in the prayer.
(Al-Fazl, August 3, 1923)
References:
¹ The Holy Prophet (saw) taking the wealth of Hazrat Khadijah (ra) for trade — Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, Part 1, p. 111
² The Holy Prophet (saw) being known as "Al-Amin" (the Trustworthy) — Sirat Ibn Hisham, Part 1, p. 197
³ The incident of Abu Quhafah learning of Hazrat Abu Bakr's (ra) Khilafat — Tarikh al-Khulafa (Kanpuri edition), p. 53
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