Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Delivered on 23 May 1924
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz, and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II(ra) said:
Recently, I sought counsel regarding a certain matter, and I have now taken separate counsel on the same matter again. Because of these consultations, I feel the matter has become so widely known that it is no longer proper to keep it concealed. Therefore, I see no harm in disclosing it in this sermon. The matter concerns my journey to Europe. I have sought the Jamaat's counsel as to whether this is a suitable time for me to go, and opinions have been solicited from the members so that a decision can be made regarding the journey. Accordingly, opinions and counsel are arriving from the Jamaats outside.
In the course of these consultations, and amid this very discussion, a friend has written a letter in which he says that although he is a ghair-mubayyi‘ [one who has not taken the pledge of allegiance], he has more love for me than even some of the mubayyi‘in [those who have taken the pledge]. Therefore, on the occasion of this discussion, he too offers his counsel and expresses his opinion. In his letter, he has given advice concerning my journey. But before I state his advice, I wish to say something about the statement in which he wrote that he loves me more than some of the mubayyi‘in.
This is something we must accept, because if a person makes a claim, and no one opposes that claim, and we possess no arguments contrary to it by which the claim could be refuted, then in such a case we shall accept his claim. This is as opposed to a case where someone stands up against his claim and refutes it, or where we find sufficient arguments to invalidate his claim, or where, even without such arguments being found, the person himself abandons his claim. In such cases, we would not accept the claim. Since this gentleman writes that he loves me more than some of the mubayyi‘in, as long as we have no argument against this claim that would refute or invalidate it, we accept the claim, and regard his giving of counsel as a sincere act. Although the treatment we have received from the ghair-mubayyi‘in has been such ill-treatment as we have not received even from Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, or the followers of other religions—and the abusive language and injury inflicted upon us by these people has no parallel among other peoples—yet, despite this injury, to think that there might be someone among them who is sincere is a strange thing. But since the writer of this letter affirms that his attachment to us is even greater than that of some mubayyi‘in, and since we possess no argument against his statement that would refute this claim, I accept his sincerity and consider his advice to be sincere advice.
However, since I have not yet formed an opinion regarding the journey to Europe, and have asked forty individuals to perform Istikhara to determine whether this is a suitable time to go, and I too am performing Istikhara myself, I think that once the opinions of the whole Jamaat have come in and the Istikharas have also been completed, a decision will then be made regarding the journey.
Therefore, setting aside the matter of the journey to Europe for now, I wish to say something about another point raised in the letter. Although I do not think that this fault exists in our Jamaat to such an extent, I still wish to draw attention to it, because regarding this very matter mentioned in his letter, I have also received complaints from several other people from outside.
He writes in his letter that in Qadian, people generally do not say Assalamu ‘Alaikum to one another—especially those who hold high positions. In my view, this perception of his is not correct. In the present age, the matter of greeting (salaam) has become complicated for several reasons. For instance, some people by temperament feel a kind of shyness or reserve, because of which they cannot greet one another loudly. When they meet someone, they say the greeting softly, or respond to it softly. The one greeting thinks he has greeted the other, or the one responding thinks he has given the response, but the other person, because the response was spoken softly, does not hear it, and thinks the first is arrogant, that he did not even answer the greeting. The real reason is that the one responding gives such a soft answer that the one who greeted cannot hear it, because his ears are expecting to hear a loud voice. When a soft response comes, he cannot hear it, and so he assumes that no response was given—though in reality a response was given, he simply did not hear it. This, then, is a kind of veil (hijab).
I myself had this same veil in the beginning. People used to greet me, and I used to respond to their greeting, but since, according to my habit, I would respond softly, they could not hear it, and thought that I had not responded to the greeting—though I had indeed responded. Because they could not hear the response, some called me arrogant. Thus those who became ghair-mubayyi‘ said of me, because of this very reason, that I was arrogant and did not even respond to greetings—and they were excused in saying so, because it was indeed my habit that I could not give a loud response to a greeting. Since people, having greeted me, expected to hear a loud response, and their ears were prepared to hear a loud response, whereas, contrary to their expectations, I would respond softly. Hence they could not hear it, and thought that their greeting had not been answered.
Perhaps it is not easy to understand how, because of expecting a loud sound, a soft sound cannot be heard. But this is quite simple. Its example is exactly like this: if a pencil is lying on a table and a person wants to pick it up, then just enough strength will be generated in his hand to lift the pencil, and he will expend only a small amount of strength from his hand in lifting it. But if that same pencil has been stuck to the table with glue, without his knowledge, then with the same amount of strength he used the first time to lift the pencil, he will not be able to lift it off the table. Instead, he will then generate more strength in his hand and lift the pencil off the table. Why did he fail the first time in lifting the pencil? Because he expended only as much strength in lifting it as he had used the first time, when the pencil was not stuck with glue, and because his hand had not come prepared to expend as much strength as was needed, the pencil could not be lifted. But when he found out that the pencil was stuck, he exerted more strength and lifted it. The same is the condition of a person's organs—that when performing any task, they estimate how much strength will be needed to perform it, and then they generate that much strength within themselves to perform the task. The same condition applies to the ears exactly. Since they are accustomed to hearing loud sounds, they wait to hear a loud sound, and they keep just enough strength ready within themselves to hear a loud sound. But when, contrary to their expectation, they hear a soft sound, they cannot hear it, and it seems to the listener as though he heard nothing at all, and because he did not hear it, the one who greeted thinks that his greeting was not answered and that his greeting was not given any regard. But in reality, both are excused, because the real reason is the same as I explained earlier.
We had a fellow member in the Jamaat who was deaf, and unlike other deaf people, he spoke very softly. People would speak to him loudly, but because he was deaf, he heard very softly himself, and so he also spoke softly, and at times, while speaking, it seemed as though he was mumbling to himself. If someone expected a loud response to a greeting from such a person and then did not hear it, both would be excused in their own place. So some people give the response to a greeting softly, according to their habit, and the one who greeted cannot properly hear their response. Therefore he thinks that his greeting was not answered, and, harbouring ill thoughts, he complains.
So, just as I had the habit of giving a soft response, similarly some people in our Jamaat have this habit, and my example serves as an excuse for them. But even so, I say: does the intent of the Shariah's prescribed greeting mean merely that a person utter the word of greeting with his mouth, whether the other hears it or not? If merely uttering it were sufficient, and it were not necessary for the other to hear it and give a response, then the Shariah would have simply commanded that the greeting be said softly, just as we recite Tasbih and Tahmid softly in prayer—we would likewise have said the greeting softly, and the Shariah would not have prescribed that upon hearing the greeting, the response Wa ‘alaikumus-salam must be given. Since the Shariah has established Wa ‘alaikumus-salam as the response to Assalamu ‘Alaikum, this shows that Assalamu ‘Alaikum should be said in a loud voice, so that the other person may hear it and respond to the greeting. Hence, since saying the greeting softly defeats the very purpose for which the Shariah instituted the greeting, and saying it softly not only fails to fulfil the purpose of the Shariah but is equivalent to not saying it at all, you should therefore say the greeting loudly, so that the purpose of the Shariah may be fulfilled, and this complaint—which can easily be removed—may be removed. For just as this complaint is made about you, likewise, when I repeatedly received complaints that I did not respond to people's greetings, I began trying to give my response to the greeting in such a loud voice that the one greeting could hear Wa ‘alaikumus-salam and not complain that his greeting was not answered. I made my voice louder, and now I respond in a loud voice. Since I made this change quickly and abandoned the habit of responding softly, I say, on the basis of this experience, that those who have the habit of responding to greetings softly can quickly abandon this habit, and can quickly become accustomed to responding to greetings in a loud voice. So you should respond to greetings in a loud voice and abandon the habit of responding softly.
For the Holy Prophet(sa) declared the saying of the greeting to be one of the signs of a believer, as he said:
سَلِّمْ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ Greet whomever you know and whomever you do not know.
Greet whomever you know and whomever you do not know.
That is, one should greet everyone, whether acquainted or not. When the Companions(ra) heard this, they began to greet Christians, Jews, and followers of other religions as well. Someone objected to a Companion, asking why he greeted non-Muslims. He replied that the Holy Prophet(sa) had said, 'Greet whomever you know and whomever you do not know'—that whomever you meet, whether acquainted or not, greet them. That is why we greet even those we do not know and whose religion we do not know. After this instruction of the Holy Prophet(sa), the practice of greeting became so prevalent among the Companions that it is recorded in a hadith that a certain Companion used to go to the marketplace at the time of ‘Asr merely to give greetings—not to buy or sell anything—his purpose was solely to give the greeting.
From this it is clear that saying the greeting is not some small virtue to be abandoned lightly and left unattended. It is a great means of establishing Islamic brotherhood, and through it Islamic brotherhood can be created. But our Jamaat is lax in this matter, and among them there is the ailment of saying the greeting softly or responding to it softly. They give a soft response and think they have answered the greeting, whereas the one who greeted has not even heard their response, and because he did not hear it, the purpose which the Shariah placed in the saying of the greeting—the establishment of Islamic brotherhood, for the sake of which it was instituted—is defeated. I know that this habit has taken root in our Jamaat because of past association.
For nowadays, among Muslims generally, saying the greeting or responding to it has remained merely a habit, and its real purpose has been lost. Since some traits come into a person through association, and some traits and habits come to a person as it were by inheritance, this ailment in our Jamaat is the result of past association, whereby the true purpose of Assalamu ‘Alaikum has been lost, and only a custom and habit remains—because of which people merely move their lips in response and do not say the greeting in a loud voice, nor have they ever paid attention to its real purpose. An example of a habit being present 'by inheritance' is that a child is afraid of the sound 'hoo-hoo' but is not afraid of the beating of a drum. A physiologist writes that children generally are not afraid of drums, but they are frightened by the sound 'hoo-hoo'. The reason is that in earlier times, when people lived in forests and heard the roar of lions, they were terrified by it, and this effect has persisted to this day. So when 'hoo-hoo' is made in front of a child, he becomes frightened because of this residual fear, even though there is no lion in front of him, nor has he ever heard the roar of a lion. So the lion has vanished, but the effect of its sound remains. It is the same with the greeting—the purpose has vanished, but the custom remains, for the expression of which people merely move their lips. This ailment of merely moving the lips has come to Ahmadis because of past association with non-Ahmadis; it is not that these people are arrogant and do not wish to say the greeting loudly—rather, in reality, it is simply a veil, nothing more. We should abandon this veil and observe the command of the greeting properly, because the Holy Prophet(sa) declared the greeting to be a necessary sign of Islamic brotherhood, just as he declared the straightening of the rows in prayer to be necessary for it.
From the time Muslims stopped caring about these commandments and, considering them trivial, abandoned them, their decline began. Muslims regarded the greeting and the straightening of rows as minor commandments and did not care for them as they deserved. The result was that brotherhood vanished from among them, and the very commandments they had considered trivial and abandoned became the cause of their decline—for even small matters produce great consequences.
So do not abandon the greeting, considering it a small and trivial matter; rather, attend to it carefully, for it is not a trivial matter or a minor command, but a necessary and indispensable matter for the establishment of Islamic brotherhood. The Shariah has made it a distinguishing mark (sha‘ar). So let the young and old, elders and children, all attend to it. Those who hold high positions should greet those of lower position; it should not be that they remain silent, thinking, 'We are elders; the young should greet us,' while the young remain silent, thinking, 'The elders should greet us'—with the result that neither greets the other, and both pass by in silence, and the very purpose of creating brotherhood, for which the Shariah instituted the greeting, is lost. So whenever those who hold higher positions meet people of lower position, they should greet first, and should not think, 'We are elders; we need not greet; the young should greet us.' Rather, in my view, they should take the initiative in greeting. Likewise, when two believers of equal rank see one another, they should greet immediately upon seeing each other—that is, whoever's eyes fall first should give the greeting. Giving the greeting is one of the great virtues of Islamic morals, and this virtue should be found in every member of our Jamaat, for it is such a communal distinguishing mark that by strengthening it, Islamic brotherhood can be maintained among us. So I hope that our friends will not be remiss in giving the greeting, and will observe this Islamic mark just as it was observed in the time of the Companions.
The second matter he mentions in his letter is that the money which would be spent on my journey to Europe, if it were instead spent on the orphanage, would be very good. First of all, I have already explained that no decision has yet been made regarding the journey. The Jamaat's counsel has been sought, and friends have been asked to perform Istikhara and inform whether this is a suitable time for the journey or not. So after the Jamaat's counsel and Istikharas, a decision will be made as to whether this is a suitable time to go or not. But for now, I wish to refute the mistaken idea expressed regarding the expenses, because it is possible that this idea may also arise in someone else's mind, and other people too may fall into this misconception.
All the pillars of Islam are defined and fixed, and have their limits. Take Zakat, for instance—it has a limit: that one should have forty rupees, and when a year passes over it, one rupee should be given. It was not said to give away all one's wealth. Then take fasting—it was not said to fast continually forever, but rather the command is to fast specifically in the month of Ramadan. On the contrary, regarding a person who violates this command of the Shariah and fasts throughout the year, the Holy Prophet(sa) says that his abode will be the lowest level of Hell. See, then, what punishment he has prescribed for a person who fasts continually. Then, just as there are limits for Zakat and fasting, similarly regarding Hajj, it is obligatory to perform it only once in one's lifetime. It was not said to perform it every year. And conditions have been set for its performance—those in whom these conditions are found should perform Hajj, and those in whom they are not found should not. Similarly, take prayer—prayer too has been fixed at five times. It was not said to keep praying all day long. Rather, there are certain times when prayer is forbidden—for instance, at sunrise, at sunset, or at midday. Similarly, charity and almsgiving also have their limits. Allah says that one should neither open one's hands completely nor keep them entirely closed, but rather adopt a middle course. وَلَا تَجۡعَلۡ یَدَکَ مَغۡلُوۡلَۃً اِلٰی عُنُقِکَ وَلَا تَبۡسُطۡہَا کُلَّ الۡبَسۡطِ فَتَقۡعُدَ مَلُوۡمًا مَّحۡسُوۡرًا ﴿۳۰﴾ (And keep not thy hand chained to thy neck, nor stretch it out an entire stretching, lest thou sit down blamed or exhausted.) [17:30]
So the Shariah has set limits for all the pillars, and has fixed some limit for each, so that a person, by exceeding that limit, does not suffer loss. Thus the Shariah has set limits for spending wealth on those pillars in which wealth is to be spent, and has forbidden spending all of one's wealth; and it has set limits for spending time on those pillars in which time is sacrificed. It has not said to spend the whole day only in the worship of Allah and do nothing else; rather, the Shariah has also fixed a right for one's own self, a right for one's wife, and other rights as well. This verse points to the right of one's own self:
And the bounty of thy Lord, proclaim وَاَمَّا بِنِعۡمَۃِ رَبِّکَ فَحَدِّثۡ ﴿٪۱۲﴾
And the bounty of thy Lord, proclaim
وَاَمَّا بِنِعۡمَۃِ رَبِّکَ فَحَدِّثۡ ﴿٪۱۲﴾
That is, O man, whatever favours and blessings Allah has given you, be grateful for them and make them manifest among people, saying that my Lord has given me this blessing. So one should make manifest the blessing of Allah among people.
It does not mean that whatever money comes should be spent entirely on one branch while other branches are neglected. For instance, if whatever money comes in is spent entirely on orphans, and no attention is paid to the other branches, then ruin would quickly come upon the Community. Although caring for orphans is necessary, and for this reason nearly forty thousand rupees annually is still spent on them, and in addition to this there is also the money spent through separate committees—if that too is added, it would amount to nearly half of the total contributions. In the present circumstances, we take as much care of the orphans as we can. But if we were to decide that whatever money comes in from contributions should be spent entirely on orphans, and other departments of the work should be halted—for instance, if the langar khana [community kitchen] were closed, if spending on propagation [tabligh] were stopped, and if spending on writing and publication were also stopped—then the result would be that the Community would be ruined within a few days.
Work is being carried out in various forms to sustain the Community, and it is being strengthened through various methods, and it is necessary that all branches be kept in view for the establishment of the Community. There is no doubt that the matter of orphans is extremely important, and taking care of it is an indispensable matter, and bearing this in mind, we spend nearly half of the contributions on orphans. Although our spending on them is not apparent to the general public, because we have not built any orphanages nor put up boards on them showing how many orphans are here and how many widows reside here—yet, despite not having built visible orphanages, I still spend nearly fifty-six thousand rupees on them, and the remaining half is spent on other departments. From this it is clear that as much money is spent on orphans as is not spent on others, because the total contribution is nearly one hundred and forty thousand rupees, of which fifty-six thousand is spent on orphans and widows, and the remaining half is spent on all other departments together. It is necessary that a unified view be kept over all departments, and that all be cared for and spent upon, because if we do not do so, and do not spend equally on all, the Community will be ruined and the work will come to a halt.
Sometimes we have to spend money so that the honour and glory of Islam may be manifested in the world, and so that any stain being cast upon its name may be removed. If we were always to consider only other departments and spend nothing for the honour and glory of Islam, this too would cause harm to Islam. So, to manifest the honour and glory of Islam, it is also necessary that money be spent for it. For instance, in the propagation we began in Malkana, one purpose was also to check the movement of Shuddhi [a reconversion campaign] which the Arya Samaj had started in order to diminish the awe and glory of Islam, and to prevent the glory of Islam from being cast into doubt. For this purpose, our Jamaat had to spend its wealth, life, and time, and bore great hardships—one result of which was that the Community's name gained fame with a certain distinction, and those who previously paid no attention to it began to take notice. Proof of this is that since the Malkana movement, many people have begun to enter the Community.
So, sometimes money has to be spent for the fame of Islam as well, and hardships have to be borne. One reason for my journey to Europe is also this. But what needs to be seen is whether it is proper to go at this time or not; the question of money does not arise here. And if I were to postpone the journey to Europe merely so that this money could be spent on orphans, then I say that in doing so, that aspect of the Community's progress connected with fame—which could be a source of tremendous progress—would be lost. Moreover, although it cannot be said that everyone will become Muslim because of my going, at the very least, it will certainly happen that the true teaching of Islam will be presented before them.
Then, if we accept the suggestion of the writer of this letter and decide to spend this money on the upbringing of orphans, several other people would stand up and suggest that this money should be spent on propagation, since the orphans' sustenance is already being taken care of. And when we accept their suggestion and decide to spend it on propagation, several other people who are devoted to education would stand up and say that the money should be spent on education. In this way, no decision regarding spending could ever be reached. So we must keep a unified view over all departments and must not place emphasis on any one particular aspect; otherwise ruin will come upon the Community. And in that case, considering the Community to be sound would be like saying of someone that he is handsome, but his eye is blind, or his nose is cut off. So the Community can be saved from ruin only as long as it takes care of all its departments.
And we have gone so far that for the care of orphans we spend half of the money, and the remaining half of the contributions is spent on other departments. So we have taken the greatest care of the orphans, although this care is not apparent—the reason being that here, we have not built orphanages the way other organisations have built them, with boards displayed on them. We have not done this because we do not seek fame—we bring them up purely for the sake of Allah, and for their upbringing we spend fifty-six thousand rupees. If today this spending on them were stopped, everyone would find out how many orphans there are here. And if today the aid to widows and their stipends were stopped, three or four hundred people would be seen wandering hungry in Qadian, and it would become known how many widows and orphan children live in Qadian.
So we take the greatest care of orphans and widows, and along with this, we also take care of other departments, and this is indeed the way to success. Otherwise, if the practice of keeping a unified view over all departments were abandoned, ruin would come upon the Community at once. And whenever you abandon this principle, that moment will certainly be the first step of your ruin, and from that very moment your ruin will begin. So take care of all departments for the establishment of the Community, and spend on them according to their needs.
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