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 August 3, 1923
Topics: Stages of Human Development, Spiritual Growth as a Process, Nations Are Like Individuals, Obedience to Rules, Jama'at Discipline, Training and Maturity, Malkana Region, Freedom vs. Discipline
After reciting Tashahhud, Ta'awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzoor (ra) said:
Every single thing that exists in the world carries with it certain specific characteristics. And unless those characteristics are kept in mind and attended to, that thing perishes. And every thing possesses different characteristics at different times. If those characteristics are not attended to, it is destroyed at that very point.
Take the example of the human being. He passes through various states. At one time he is in one condition — and at that time his characteristics are particular. At another time he is in a different condition — and at that time his characteristics become different as well.
When offspring is in the father's body, its nourishment is of a certain kind, and its care requires certain things. Then when the child passes into the mother's womb, its earlier condition changes entirely. There are some people in whom, due to certain foods or certain unhealthy habits, the germs from which offspring are produced die. But when the child enters the mother's womb, those same foods and habits cannot harm the child in the womb — rather, at that point, other precautions and restraints become necessary. If those are not observed, the child is lost.
No matter how much the father jumps about — the reproductive material in his body will not be lost due to jumping. But when the child enters the mother's womb, such caution is required for the mother that she must not take a single misstep. Now, since the child's condition has changed, the precautions have also changed. The foods have changed. The medicines that men take to gain strength — if the woman takes them, the child will be lost.
Then when the child is born, the condition changes yet again. Just a few minutes earlier, if by some means a gust of air had reached the child's nose, it would have died. But after birth, if air does not immediately enter its lungs, it dies. Before, it lived in a dark chamber — if it had been removed from there, it would have died. But now, if it is kept in a dark place, it dies. Before, if the place where it lived had been dried out, it would have died. But now, if it is kept soaked, it develops pneumonia and dies.
So the conditions have changed entirely. When the child is in the mother's womb, if food were somehow introduced into its stomach, it would die. But once it is born, if food is not given, it will die. It takes the child only a few seconds to emerge from the mother's womb — but in those very moments, the conditions change completely.
Then there is the state of infancy. In the milk-drinking stage, if someone feeds the child bread or pieces of meat, it will die. The child itself does not have the strength to chew — but if some foolish mother or relative chews food and puts it in the child's mouth, the child will become ill and die. Yet when it grows up, if it is kept only on milk, it will die — because when it was a baby, its food was milk, but when its teeth have come in, its food has changed. At that point it cannot sustain itself on milk alone, whereas in infancy it could not sustain itself on other foods.
After this, another change occurs — and that is: if the child is not given freedom, it cannot develop mentally. At that time, it is necessary that the child be left free to play and run about. But some time later, another period arrives — at that time, if the child's mind is not directed toward some particular pursuit, it becomes completely dull and slow-witted. That very same child whose mind would have been damaged had it been put to mental work five or six years earlier — if that same child is not put to mental work at the age of eight or ten, its mind becomes damaged. What a complete reversal!
Then the child progresses further and reaches full maturity. Between this period and the earlier ones, there is a tremendous difference. In the earlier period, the precaution was to let the child grow and strengthen internally. Parents, teachers, and guardians strive for its inner development. And if, out of ignorance, error, or misguided affection, the child expends its energies prematurely, its health is ruined. But when it reaches maturity, if those energies are not expended but kept suppressed, its health is ruined. What an immense transformation!
After this, another period comes — that is, after youth comes middle age. In youth, if one restrains oneself excessively in the expenditure of energies, one's health becomes weak and one cannot develop the capacity to bear various burdens. But now, in middle age, if one does not exercise restraint in eating and drinking, one's health suffers — just as it would have been harmed by restraint during youth. Those who practice excessive abstinence in youth become very weak in middle age.
Then the human being becomes old. In this state, another change comes — whereas before there was need for restraint, now nature itself creates such conditions that even if a person wishes to be unrestrained, he cannot be. Teeth fall out, delicate faculties and working powers are lost. And not only physically, but in terms of mental and spiritual condition too, a person reaches a point where only through the support and help of God Almighty can he be sustained.
This is why there is a difference between physical and spiritual human beings. The more physical people age, the more their powers weaken and their abilities diminish. But spiritual human beings — their powers continue to grow. Physical people forget even their knowledge in old age and are no longer scholars. They cannot benefit others. But spiritual human beings — the older they grow, the more their knowledge increases, and thus they become even more beneficial to the world.
In Europe, when scientists grow old, they no longer command the same respect they had in their youth, and it is said of them: "These are people of the old school." But the older prophets grow, the more they bestow spiritual blessings upon the world.
The Promised Messiah (as) passed away at the age of 74. Though his earliest books are also unparalleled, the relationship between his first and last books appears to be that which stars bear to the sun. I have read opinions about the books of the greatest authors — and from the beginning I have had a keen interest in reading about the lives of authors. I have observed that the greatest and most famous books of the greatest authors were written during their youth. But the condition of prophets is such that each successive book is more magnificent than the one before it.
These are the broad aspects of the changes I have described. Otherwise, change occurs at every moment and every instant — and if the precautions necessary at any given time are not kept in mind, a person cannot progress.
God Almighty has given the analogy of a perfect human being from the nutfah (sperm-drop), as stated in Surah Al-Mu'minun¹, and the Promised Messiah (as) has explained this in detail in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part Five².
Just as these changes occur in human beings, they occur in nations as well. The condition of nations too is at one time like that of the nutfah. Nations too are like a child in the mother's womb. Nations too reach maturity. They reach middle age. They grow old. And they too reach the condition described when we say that so-and-so has died — in the same way, nations also die.
And just as human beings are treated differently in different conditions, the same is necessary for nations — otherwise, if the guardians do not keep this in mind, nations too do not progress; rather, they die.
Our Jama'at is a Jama'at established by God Almighty, and God Almighty's law operates upon us just as it operates upon others. What I have described earlier is God Almighty's law — it is not made by any human being. If it were man-made, then since people do not understand the subtleties that God Almighty has placed in this law, they would propose: "What need is there for a child to be born from a mother's womb? Let it just be born fully formed!" Then: "What need is there for childhood? Let a complete human being be born at once." Then they would say: "What need is there for death? Let the human being live forever." But all of a person's progress depends upon these very changes. If these changes were removed, all progress would be uprooted entirely.
So God Almighty has established this law, and just as this law applies to human beings, it applies to nations as well — and we cannot free ourselves from it. We can free ourselves from the laws of men — but not from the law of God. If the government of Afghanistan makes a law, we are free from its binding, because we live under British rule. And if the British make a law whose binding we do not wish to accept, we can leave this country and go to Arabia, Afghanistan, or other lands. In some places, the law itself can be changed if it is impractical — and this can happen where the citizenry has freedom. But this is God's law — no one can change it. And until one brings one's life under its governance, one cannot make any kind of progress.
Our Jama'at's condition is that it is passing through these stages. And given that it is a new Jama'at and has not yet passed through the stages that are necessary for reaching perfection, its condition is like that of a child.
But because they do not understand this point, many people who accept the faith — or certain Jama'ats that accept the faith — say: "The day we took Bai'at, we became perfect." This is exactly like saying: "The day the child was born and took its first breath, it became a complete human being." But can a child born today and one who has spent years in the training of parents and teachers be equal?
I have just explained that different conditions involve different circumstances, and until one passes through those conditions, one cannot progress. Consider — at one stage it is said: "There is no need to tell the child anything — he eats and earns on his own." But at another stage, the mother is told: "Never leave the child alone for a moment." At one point, it is not even preferred that the mother leave the child to go to another room. But then a time comes when it is not merely preferred but considered necessary that the son take his wife and live separately.
This is exactly the condition of spirituality. In it too, until a person passes through the various stages of change, he cannot become perfect. In terms of worldly learning, one may become a B.A. or an M.A. — but one cannot progress in spirituality until one begins striving for it. And one will become perfect in it only after a long period. Just as worldly knowledge is learned over a long period, through hard work, and under the supervision of teachers — in the same way, spirituality too can only be attained over a long period, through hard work, and under the supervision of spiritual persons. And no one can succeed by abandoning this law.
If someone on the first day picks up M.A. textbooks and tries to learn from them, he will spend his entire life and learn nothing. First he will learn the alphabet. Then he will learn words. Then he will construct sentences. And in this way, step by step, he will progress — and by joining piece to piece, he will construct the edifice and will be called an M.A. or a Maulvi. But if he says he wants to become an M.A. without following this process, he will fail.
In one's initial spiritual condition, one must impose upon one's self the kind of rules that are imposed upon a small child. Then as one progresses, and as conditions change, the restrictions also change. For someone in the initial state to say: "So-and-so has such freedom — why should I not do the same?" — this would be foolishness. Consider — when a father tells his child: "Go out only with my permission," can the child respond: "Whose permission do you take when you go out?" The reality is that the father has already passed through the stage when permission was needed — and now he no longer needs permission. But for the child, it is now that stage.
Similarly, it is necessary for nations — as long as their condition is like that of childhood — to seek guidance from their guardian even in their small matters before taking any action. Until a nation's traditions are established, it must strictly adhere to instructions. The child who, instead of following his guardian's instructions, begins imitating an adult — will perish. Similarly, a nation that does not yet have its own traditions and precedents — if it imitates a mature nation, it will be ruined.
But regrettably, many people do not understand this and do not know that no nation can become a nation until it reaches the age of maturity through rigorous struggle. When a nation reaches the state of maturity, its laws will be formed, its traditions will be established — and then there will no longer be the need for such strict restrictions and such close supervision.
Consider — if you seat two adults somewhere, they will not fight. But if two children are seated, they will immediately start fighting. The reason is that their training has not been completed, and they are in need of supervision. And when a person has passed through training, he does not even realize he is following any rule — because it has become habit.
For example, when a small child peers over a parapet wall and the parents pull him back, the child cries and thinks he is being oppressed. But when adults lean over, no one stops them — and no one is giving orders saying "Don't lean." Yet that very same childhood instruction is before their eyes, and they are bound by its unspoken voice.
If our Jama'at wishes to progress, then it is necessary that through rigorous struggle it bring itself to the stage of maturity. But I see that people are not prepared to follow even small restrictions. They have heard the word "freedom" (hurriyat). They think: "If we don't use it now, when will we?" But their freedom is like the case of someone who wrote from the Malkana region: "There are no Ahmadis in this area at all — only non-Ahmadis and Hindus. I am staying here under orders, but the thought keeps coming to me: for what time is the Quranic command 'Do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands' (2:196)?" That verse appeared to him to apply at precisely that moment.
At this time, our Jama'at is passing through a state in which it has a dire need for strict adherence to rules. So I will advise my Jama'at of this: if you wish to achieve progress and success, you can only do so by remaining under training. Until you are prepared for restrictions, and until you place your necks under the yoke of commands, you will not be able to progress at all.
Indeed, a shoe feels heavy at first. But when one becomes accustomed to it, one no longer even feels it. Consider — shoes are put on children with great difficulty. At home, when shoes are put on children, they fling them off and run away barefoot. And when insistence is made, their faces show that they consider it a great imposition. But tell an adult not to wear shoes, and he will say: "That is uncivilized." In the same way, when a person becomes accustomed to righteous deeds, the adherence to them no longer feels burdensome.
Hazrat Masih (Jesus) says: "The spirit is willing for death, but the flesh is not ready."³ Why? Because the flesh was not accustomed to it.
The members of our Jama'at — whether they live in Qadian or elsewhere — should make themselves bound to instructions and rules in every matter, and should develop such a habit that the rules become imperceptible to them.
Consider — children walk barefoot, but when they grow up, they do not wish to go without shoes. Children do not study, but when they grow up, they study — because they understand the benefit in it. Let this be your condition too. If you develop the habit of adhering to instructions now, then later there will be no hardship in following them. If even bad habits, once formed, keep a person doing them — then if you develop the habit of goodness, why would it not become pleasing?
So become fully obedient to the rules, and develop the habit of obedience. Otherwise, remember: absolutely no progress will be achieved. No nation has ever progressed by abandoning adherence to rules — nor can one now. It was by keeping in mind the restrictions appropriate to their respective eras that the people of the past progressed. In the same way, you too can progress.
May Allah the Almighty guide our Jama'at upon those paths that are the paths of success — and may He grant the ability to understand and act upon those things that are necessary for success.
(Al-Fazl, August 10, 1923)
References:
¹ The stages of human creation from the nutfah are described in Surah Al-Mu'minun — see 23:13–23:15
² The Promised Messiah's (as) detailed explanation of human spiritual development in the analogy of the nutfah is found in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part V
³ This is a saying of Hazrat Isa (as) (Jesus), recorded in the Gospels (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38): "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
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