Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.
Delivered on 30 May 1924
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz, and Surah al-Fatihah, His Holiness(ra) said:
Human knowledge and human understanding are extremely limited, and because of this limitation, man sometimes considers a thing beneficial for himself, whereas it is actually harmful to him; and often he considers a thing harmful for himself, whereas it is actually beneficial to him. Consequently, he cannot decide with certainty whether a particular matter is beneficial or harmful for him. Because of his inability to decide, his condition becomes like that of a person in doubt, who, thinking something beneficial, can neither derive benefit from it, nor, thinking something harmful, can avoid it. At such a time, his condition is truly pitiable. It is about this very condition that Allah the Almighty says:
کُتِبَ عَلَیۡکُمُ الۡقِتَالُ وَہُوَ کُرۡہٌ لَّکُمۡ ۚ وَعَسٰۤی اَنۡ تَکۡرَہُوۡا شَیۡئًا وَّہُوَ خَیۡرٌ لَّکُمۡ ۚ وَعَسٰۤی اَنۡ تُحِبُّوۡا شَیۡئًا وَّہُوَ شَرٌّ لَّکُمۡ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ یَعۡلَمُ وَاَنۡتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ ﴿۲۱۷﴾٪Fighting is ordained for you, though it is repugnant to you; but it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you like a thing while it is bad for you. Allah knows all things, and you know not
That is, sometimes you dislike a thing, yet it is beneficial for you; and sometimes you consider a thing beneficial, whereas it is harmful to you. You yourselves sometimes make arrangements to achieve a good result from something, but despite this, the outcome is bad. The reason for this is simply that the means you arranged to produce a good result did not contain those hidden factors whose use could have offered hope of a good outcome. You could not provide those hidden factors because, being hidden, they remained out of sight, and your vision could not reach them. Hence, the result turned out bad and proved harmful to you.
Consider a person who, out of ignorance of local conditions, builds a house in London similar to those built in India, and then hopes to live comfortably in it, wishing from the bottom of his heart to spend his days there in ease—will this wish of his be fulfilled? Never. Even though he may have built the house with the utmost cleverness, his purpose of living comfortably in it will not be achieved. Due to his unfamiliarity, he will not have kept in view the conditions necessary for that environment, nor will he have arranged the provisions that bring comfort in that country. His house will not be safe from the snow, and he will be ruined by it, because there, only houses with pointed roofs can withstand snowstorms. When snow falls on them, it slides off the roofs and does not cause harm. However, snow cannot slide off flat roofs like the ones built here; thus, only houses with pointed roofs remain safe there. Hence, if someone builds a house there in the same style as it is built here, his house will certainly be destroyed by the snow, and the reason will be the builder's ignorance of the conditions. He assumed that just as a house built here remains safe, it would remain safe there too if built in the same way. The result will be that his house is destroyed by the snowstorm.
Similarly, in other matters, man assumes certain things, thinking that the result will be good, but the outcome does not align with his assumptions. Since man's condition is such that good results do not always follow from his assumptions—rather, bad results often follow—what then should he do?
There is only one way to address this, and it is what is taught in Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim [Guide us in the right path]—that man should fall before Allah and pray humbly: "O Allah, show me the right and straight path in every matter, whether religious or worldly, so that I may remain safe from mistakes." Thus, Allah the Almighty, out of perfect compassion, taught this prayer for protection from all kinds of mistakes. It is a general prayer, not one restricted solely to attaining nearness to Allah. To restrict it only to spiritual matters is a mistake, and it is a mistake that Muslims have made regarding several verses, suffering great loss as a result. A command that was specific was made general, and one that was general was made specific. The verse which demonstrates that the prayer Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim is general and can be offered regarding every matter is this: کُلًّا نُّمِدُّ ہٰۤؤُلَآءِ وَہٰۤؤُلَآءِ مِنۡ عَطَآءِ رَبِّکَ ؕ وَمَا کَانَ عَطَـآءُ رَبِّکَ مَحۡظُوۡرًا ﴿۲۱﴾ (To all We render aid — both to these and those — a gift from thy Lord. And the gift of thy Lord is not restricted.) [17:21] That is, whatever kind of life man desires, We grant him that kind of life, and whatever kind of help he seeks from Us, We provide that kind of help. If someone asks Us for worldly grandeur and honour, We bestow worldly grandeur and honour upon him; and if someone seeks Our nearness and communion with Us, We grant him a place in Our nearness. In short, whatever kind of prayer he makes to Us, and whatever kind of help he seeks from Us, We grant it to him.
This is the fundamental key to success: whatever the difficulty may be, one should pray to Allah for its removal. If this point is understood, man can remain safe from mistakes and attain success in every matter. It is regrettable, however, that even some people within our Jamaat have not properly understood this point. This is why, if someone is told today, "Pray, and Allah will resolve your difficulties," he responds, "What prayers do the Europeans offer? If they do not pray and yet their difficulties are resolved, then ours too will be resolved in the same way." Does he not know that a member of one's own household and an outsider are treated differently?
Consider a student who goes to school every day. When he arrives, the teacher does not come forward to greet him, take him around to show him every single thing in the school, nor is he introduced to the other teachers and the headmaster. But if a respected stranger visits the school, the headmaster personally takes him around, introduces him to the teachers, shows him the school's facilities—in short, entertains him in every way. Why is this done? It is because their statuses are different, and due to this difference in status, they are treated differently.
In the same way, believers and disbelievers are treated differently. The disbeliever who denies Allah and His Messenger, and rejects the Day of Judgment, is granted respite. He is given leeway in his mischief to the point that the measure of his wickedness overflows, and finally, he becomes deserving of punishment and receives it. In contrast, the person who fears Allah, loves His Messenger, and believes in the Day of Judgment is granted progress in this world as well, and in the Hereafter, he is admitted into Paradise. In short, different treatment is meted out to the believer and the disbeliever according to their respective conditions. The disbeliever is not seized at once for his disobedience, nor is he deprived of the divine favours that Allah has provided for mankind under the general law of nature. He is given leeway and his faults are overlooked, much like a master overlooks the mistakes of a servant he has hired only a few days ago, who does not yet have full knowledge of the household affairs.
If such a servant does something against the master's wishes, the master will be less angry with him than with a servant who has been in the house for years and has full knowledge of everything. The latter spent years in the master's service yet remained oblivious to his wishes. However, the master will not be angry with the new servant, because he has only recently arrived at the house and has not yet had the opportunity to become fully acquainted with it. Thus, in the very same matter, the two will be treated differently.
The condition of the believer and the disbeliever is similar. If the disbeliever does not pray to Allah, he is not held accountable, and there is no harm in his not praying, because he has been given leeway to commit sins and advance in transgression. If, during this period of respite, he does not remember Allah and does not pray to Him, he is not to be blamed. But the believer, who knows Allah to be the Master of everything and is certain that He hears every kind of prayer and removes the difficulties of His servants—if he does not pray, he is guilty of insolence, and his failure to pray will be an insolence for which he will be held accountable.
Prayer is the means of success, the key to the treasures, and the spiritual ascent (mi‘raj) of the believer. The Holy Quran has taught such perfect prayers as are not found in the Vedas, the Psalms, or the Gospels. Moreover, the Holy Quran has not confined itself merely to teaching prayers, but has explained their true reality as well. Yet how regrettable it is that Muslims are lax in prayer, while those nations whose religious books neither teach such perfect prayers nor explain their reality remain devoted to prayer. Thus, among Christians, the outward form of prayer is maintained to this day, and they have fixed times for their prayers—for instance, they pray after meals, and at night they do not let their children go to sleep without saying their prayers. In this way, the greatness of prayer remains established in the hearts of their children, who, even after growing up, pray regarding important matters. This is why members of the great families of Europe, even though they have no connection with religion, still pray. During the war, prayers for victory were offered in churches continuously for a long period. But the condition of Muslims is such that, having abandoned other commandments of the Shariah, they have become careless about prayer as well; whether a matter is small or great, they do not turn their attention towards prayer.
Allah the Almighty sent the Promised Messiah(as) so that he might explain to them the reality of prayer. Accordingly, the emphasis he laid on prayer and the attention he drew towards its acceptance are evident from every single moment of his life. He explained it in full detail and demonstrated through his own practice that prayer is indeed the essential thing and the true means of success. Furthermore, just as he urged Muslims to pray, he also informed other nations that their books do not contain perfect prayers—this distinction is found only in the Holy Quran—and that the methods Islam has taught for the acceptance of prayer have not been taught by any other religion.
Now, if we do not employ those methods for the acceptance of prayer which the Promised Messiah(as) has taught, our example will be like that of a person who sits on the edge of a field and assumes that the field will become green by itself; or like a person who builds a house but does not use it to protect himself from the cold and heat. If the members of our Jamaat do not make use of these methods of success which the Promised Messiah(as) has expounded, then what is the benefit of merely entering Ahmadiyyat?
By his advent, the Promised Messiah(as) revealed the true reality of prayer; otherwise, prior to his coming, people were unaware of it. They did pray, but their example was like that of a child who takes a reed stalk or a stick, declares it a horse, and runs about here and there with it. Just as such a child's condition is both laughable and pitiable, so was the condition of those who prayed before the advent of the Promised Messiah(as) but were unaware of the reality of prayer. Indeed, like that child who becomes overjoyed thinking the stick to be a horse, they too were overjoyed with their prayers, although their prayers held no more worth than that stick-horse. However, the prayers which the Promised Messiah(as) has taught, and the methods he has explained, are like an Arabian thoroughbred, which runs with great speed and quickly brings the rider to the desired destination. Therefore, do not think that we still pray in the same manner as we used to before.
What did the Promised Messiah(as) do upon his advent? He unveiled the reality of prayer and demonstrated its acceptance. Thus, today, only that prayer is acceptable and serves as a means of success which is offered in accordance with the reality explained by the Promised Messiah(as) and the methods he has prescribed.
I especially urge the members of my Jamaat to pay attention to the subject matter of Surah al-Fatihah and to pray in accordance with it, asking that Allah may show you the straight path in every matter and every affair. Pray according to the methods which the Promised Messiah(as) has explained regarding the acceptance of prayer. Otherwise, your entering Ahmadiyyat or not entering it will amount to the same thing. May Allah open the doors of His mercy for all of us and grant us a place in His nearness. Amin.
(Al Fazl, 17 June 1924)
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