Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Delivered: 18 January 1924 Published: Al-Fazl, 25 January 1924
Topics: Tabligh, Speech and Writing, Jihad of the Pen, Community Action
After reciting the tashahud, ta'awwudh, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Huzur(ra) said:
When Allah the Almighty created this world, He established a law — that for every task He has appointed specific means. All endeavours are like a town or a house: they can only be reached by the roads laid out for that purpose. As long as one who wishes to reach a place does not take those roads, he cannot arrive there; he will simply wander about aimlessly. God has fixed certain laws for human development. For instance, food has been ordained for man, through which the body gains strength. If a man wishes his body to grow and thrive, he must eat appropriate food. But if, instead of food, he were to dress himself in clothing worth a hundred thousand rupees, his hunger would not be satisfied — whereas two paisa worth of chickpeas, if chewed, would drive hunger away. Similarly, if one were to eat the most nourishing and finest foods and suppose that they would clothe his body, that would be an error — costly and excellent food is not what is needed to cover one's modesty; even a piece of cloth worth two gaziya or less would suffice for that purpose.
Likewise, if a woman, instead of cooking bread, occupied herself with some other task or spent her time and money on something else, expecting that the bread would somehow be cooked — that would be her mistake. And no woman would ever make such a mistake. Similarly, if a farmer, instead of ploughing the field, spent the whole day doing push-ups or carrying baskets from one place to another, and then assumed that because he had worked so hard his field must be ready and the grain must have appeared — that would be foolish thinking.
To grow grain in a field, one must first plough it, then sow seed in the proper manner, and then water it at the appropriate time — only then will the field be ready. But if, instead of water, one were to pour barrel after barrel of the finest wine into that field, no benefit would ever come of it.
So for every task, nature has appointed certain means. Until a person acts according to those means, no results can emerge from his efforts. Yet in spite of this, people wish that without using the means God has appointed for a task, the task will somehow be accomplished. But let such people look: there is no woman who would wake up in the morning, fold her hands, sit down and say, "O God, may my bread be cooked." Women are called naqisaat ul-'aql — deficient in reason. This is a wise saying and contains great truth, though its meaning is often distorted. Be that as it may, even though women are called deficient in reason, such absurd behaviour is not found among them. Yet men, who consider themselves intelligent, wish that a mere desire for something will cause it to happen — whereas that is said of the people of Paradise: lahum ma yashaoon — that whatever they desire, they will receive it. In other words, they will only desire what is destined to be given to them. This principle does not apply to this world. In this world, things happen only through action.
Since people's circumstances, familial ties, or weakness of mind often produce certain desires within them, they neither carefully investigate the proper means for those desires, nor are they able to act upon them. But it is clear that no task is accomplished by mere desire alone. Until one strives earnestly through the correct means, nothing is achieved. Even if there is desire and effort, but that effort is not guided by correct means, the task not only remains incomplete — it yields no beneficial result whatsoever.
Therefore, for any task to be accomplished, the following are necessary: first, a genuine desire to do it — without a genuine desire, nothing can begin; second, effort and striving toward it — without effort, even genuine desire avails nothing; and third, that the effort be made through correct and proper means — without correct means, even desire and effort together will not succeed. Desire, effort, and the use of correct means are all essential.
Yet there are many people who pay no heed to these things, and I frequently encounter such individuals. For example, many people write to me saying: "Please pray that we may find God," or "Please pray that such-and-such matter of ours may be resolved." But after that they forget what they said and what they ought to do, and they make no effort toward finding God or accomplishing that matter.
There is a well-known story: a person came to a saint and requested, "Please pray for me that Allah may bless me with children." The saint said, "We will pray." After this, the man began walking in the opposite direction from which he had come. The saint asked, "Where are you going?" The man replied, "I am a soldier and I had come on leave; now I must return. I will be stationed there for two years." The saint said, "Then what benefit is my prayer? When you are not taking the path that leads to children?"
Similarly, people say: "May such-and-such matter be accomplished," but they make no effort. They are like a woman who makes no bread but wishes that phulkay (flatbreads) would appear — yet as I have said, no woman is found who entertains such a wish. But among you men — who call yourselves men — there are many who have desires but make no effort, and no effort through correct means.
Today I wish to draw attention to this: the people of our community desire that Islam should spread throughout the entire world. This desire of theirs is genuine. When they express it, there is a gleam of sincerity in their eyes, signs of truthfulness on their faces; their voices, their lips, the very expression on their faces show that this utterance comes from the heart. When I see them in this state, I understand that their desire is genuine. But when along with this desire I also see that there is no effort — then I am bewildered as to how this desire can ever be fulfilled.
What an immense task it is to bring the entire world to Islam — it is a war against the whole world. When we consider how much strength and power is required to conquer even one country, we can appreciate how much effort and toil this task demands. The Transvaal is such a tiny state, yet against it stood so great a power as the British. The people of the Transvaal did not wish to live under British rule, so they rose up in resistance. To subdue that little state, the British had to wage war for four years. Great sacrifices were made; army after army was sent, and general after general was replaced. Only then did the British finally attain victory — and even that victory was such that after a short while they had to grant those people their freedom.
This was not British generosity or compassion — if they were so inclined toward freedom, why did they not free India? The freeing of the Transvaal meant it was a morsel that could not be swallowed; it was not charity or kindness — it was the consequence of having attempted an impossible task. For when a people are not prepared to live under subjugation, no power can keep them subjugated.
That was the story of one small people. But those with whom we are contending do not wish to retreat in any arena, and you are but a handful against them. Nor are they the kind who will simply withdraw from the field. Do you think the Christians will readily accept your arguments? They will contest you over every grain of ground. They will not abandon their false beliefs so easily — they will fight for them, and will continue fighting until their capacity for religious warfare is broken. Changing beliefs is no easy matter, and it is not confined to Christians alone; the same will be true of followers of other religions. Do you think Hindus will joyfully join your creed and present themselves to you saying, "Teach us Islam"? They will spend their last penny and shed their last drop of blood in defence of their beliefs. Only then will they become Muslims. The same will be true of Sikhs, Chinese, and Japanese. No nation will come to you of its own accord saying, "Make us Muslim." A contest will have to be waged with every one of them.
But if you make no effort for this, and do not adopt the means which have been appointed to succeed in this purpose, then how can you say that prayer alone will accomplish this work? Prayer comes after effort. God first looks to see whether what you had, you have spent in His cause — even if it be a single paisa. After that, whatever resources are still needed, God provides. So God gives to those who first spend whatever they have. Observe: God does not grow grain in fields without seed being sown. Rather, He grows grain in the field of that farmer who first takes grain from his own home and scatters it in the earth. Is it reasonable for someone to say: "Why is there any need to scatter grain in the earth? Let God simply produce slightly less grain — as much as would have been used as seed — and give us the rest directly"? No, this will never be accepted. For it is the way of God that He first causes spending, and then returns many times more. A farmer who sows one grain receives in exchange a hundred grains or even more. But if he sows nothing, he will receive not one in return for a hundred, but nothing at all. So God makes up the deficiency — but He first draws out what the person already possesses.
I fully acknowledge — and I acknowledge it more than anyone — that prayer accomplishes things. But for prayer to be accepted, it is essential that the person first exert himself. After that, through prayer, whatever is lacking is made up by Allah the Almighty. Until this happens, no task can be accomplished.
We wish that Islam should spread throughout the world and that people should gather upon truth. But if we do not equip ourselves with the weapons that this battle requires, how can we succeed? In any case, we must provide those weapons and provisions — however few they may be compared to the enemy's — and we must devote all our strength and energy to this end. When we do this, the help and succour of God will descend upon us, and we shall be victorious in every arena.
An incident comes to my mind that provokes both amazement and laughter along with grief. When Russia launched a military campaign against Bukhara, the Emir of Bukhara gathered scholars and dignitaries and asked what should be done. The Emir himself counselled: "The terms Russia has presented are such-and-such and they are favourable. We should make peace with them, because the Russians are more numerous and better equipped for war — we cannot match them." The scholars, who were no different from the mullahs of today, opposed this and declared their willingness to fight. The peace proposal was therefore rejected and preparations began. The scholars and their followers gathered; they took up swords, spears, and lances, and chanting Quranic verses as incantations, marched out to face the Russians. But when in response the Russian forces opened artillery fire, the scholars ran backwards crying, "It is sorcery! It is sorcery!" Thereafter Russia dealt with Bukhara as a victorious enemy does. What was the reason for this? It was that they had paid no attention to equipping themselves for war.
Likewise today, if any fool supposes that things will somehow happen on their own, that would be his mistake. This age has been designated by God as the age of spreading guidance, and it is the age of arguments and proofs — not the sword. The jihad of today is waged through speech and writing. In the time of the Holy Prophet(sa), one who did not learn to wield the sword was a criminal against his community, because that was the age of physical jihad. Today, one who does not acquire proficiency in speech and writing is likewise a criminal. One who today does not sharpen his tongue and his pen is, in the warfare of this age, as one who neither sharpens his sword nor learns to use it. Therefore, if he claims to have a desire for the spread of Islam, that desire is not genuine — it is false. For one who goes to overcome an enemy does not go unarmed; rather, he takes as much equipment for battle as he can. Similarly, in this war, it is necessary that whoever desires success in it should equip himself with what is essential for victory, and thereafter await God's succour.
In the Holy Quran, those who make no preparation for the contest have been declared hypocrites: "Had they intended to go forth, they would certainly have made some preparation for it" (At-Tawbah: 46). Because they make no preparation, it becomes evident that they have no true intention — and what they say is merely talk on their lips. A community that has not prepared in advance can never succeed when the moment comes.
As I have stated, this is the age of spreading Islam through arguments and proofs. If our community does not practise speaking and writing, it cannot succeed in the field of the propagation of Islam.
But I observe that our community has not turned its attention to this. Though I have drawn attention to it repeatedly on various occasions, no result has come of it. Members of the community are diligent in giving financial contributions — though some are lax in that too — but in general they are not slow with contributions. Yet I observe that the community has little focus on this: that those who know how to write, or who could write, should put pen to work; and those who can speak, or could learn to speak, should employ their tongues. The Holy Prophet(sa) has said that the scholar who does not speak the truth when the occasion demands is a shaytan aakhras — a dumb devil. That he should be called "Satan" was bad enough — but by adding aakhras it is shown that he is the most contemptible of devils, because even Satan spreads his satanic words, but this one does not even have the courage to declare the truth. In my view, there is no greater reproach than what the Holy Prophet(sa) has said about those who, despite having the power to speak the truth, remain silent.
Yet there are many who are not ready to speak the truth, nor are they inclined to develop the ability to declare it. I counsel the friends to abandon this settlement of silence. God has given every person a tongue — let them use it to spread the truth. And those who know how to write should work with both tongue and pen. Those who do not know how to use the pen can learn — what is there that cannot be acquired through effort? But I see that even those who could use the pen do not do so.
I have drawn attention to this before and I do so again now. Though the first time yielded no result, I hope this time my words will not go to waste, and the writers of our community will turn their attention to this. I regularly read the periodicals of the Movement, and I am astonished to see that in the newspapers and journals of such a large community, there are only two or three writers of articles. The rest consider writing articles to be the editors' duty alone, and exempt themselves from it. This is a most regrettable state of affairs.
I draw the attention of our community's scholars as well — and our community's scholars are not only in Qadian; there are those outside it too. Those in Qadian are also slow in writing; they especially must rid themselves of this lethargy. By scholars I do not mean only those who possess formal learning; I also mean those who have religious knowledge and the fear of God.
I address all of them and say: abandon the habit of silence and practise working with the pen. Those members of our community who have a passion for the propagation of religion are present in Gujranwala, Gujarat, Lahore, Amritsar, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Ludhiana, Patiala, Shimla, Delhi, Ambala — in short, everywhere. There is no district where educated members of our community are absent. There are those who know Arabic, and even where Arabic is not known, there are those who know Persian, Urdu, and English. Through these languages they can serve the faith. But they pay no attention to this. At present, either the editors write articles, or a few students who are polishing their pens and practising — while those who already have the habit of writing, or who with a little practice could become good writers and speakers, remain silent.
I counsel: turn your attention to speaking and writing. But do not let this be misunderstood to mean that whatever anyone writes must necessarily be published. Many people complain to me that they sent an article but the editor did not publish it. I say: an editor is appointed precisely to decide whether to publish an article or not, and to judge which piece merits publication. That is his duty — let him do it, and do not usurp his role. If everything that anyone wrote had to be published, what would be the point of having an editor? A post box would suffice — whatever anyone dropped in it, the typesetter would take it out, write it up, and publish the paper.
So it is not necessary that every article written must appear in the newspaper. The editor will publish what he finds suitable. But everyone must certainly practise writing, and strive until their piece becomes worthy of publication. When it is worthy, why would the editor not publish it?
However, for the purpose of practice, publication in the newspaper is not necessary. You can write letters to your friends and acquaintances to practise writing. If the editor consigns your piece to the wastepaper basket, your friends will not — they will read your writings with interest. But I say: not all are such that their writings are unfit for publication. In our community there are hundreds who are, or can become, writers whose articles editors will proudly publish in their newspapers or journals.
Similarly, with regard to public addresses, practise speaking. Apart from formal lectures, one can also sit in gatherings and engage in religious conversation. But I observe that those who could serve the faith in such gatherings through conversation instead spend their time discussing general worldly affairs. Whereas if they made the effort to engage in tabligh in those gatherings, it could be of great benefit.
So I say to all the friends of the community: those who can speak should speak more, and those who can write should write more, and devote themselves to serving the faith.
I hope that today's counsel will be effective. Our community is in great need of advancing in the fields of writing and speech. Every Ahmadi must practise wielding the tongue and the pen. Whoever practises and employs tongue and pen in the service of the faith will bring victory closer. Our community must make use of effective means of propagation, so that the majesty and glory of God may be manifest, the truth of the true faith may shine forth, and falsehood may turn its back and flee.
Allahumma Ameen.
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