Huzur based his Friday Sermon today on the Divine attribute of Al Hadi (The Guide) and explained that according to the lexicon the word signifies that Being that teaches His people ways of spiritual knowledge until such time that they begin to acknowledge His Rububiyyat (Divine grace of forming, nurturing and sustaining all creation, by virtue of which God is ‘Rabb’ – Lord – of all the worlds). These ways and means are taught by God at a time when people have rejected Rububiyyat. This manifests in different ways. Man assumes to be all-powerful, some claim divinity, others prostrate before graves, worldly powers consider themselves invincible. In short there is immense and apparently never-ending disorder in the world. This is when God manifests His Power and shows the world that He is the Lord of all the worlds.

Huzur cited several extracts from the noble writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to expound the subject. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that there are times when people forget the status of man and have no concept of the station of God. It is as if darkness falls all over. This is when the Gracious God sends an Imam to this world so that he may identify the satanic forces to people. The Imam is triumphant over those who oppose him and remains an Imam of those who are rightly guided.

Allah, Who is The Guide, brings His attribute of Rububiyyat into action and makes these signs of triumph evident to the enemy by helping those who are rightly guided and diminishing the rising power of those who create disorder. Indeed, at the time of the advent of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) Christianity was successful in its onslaught so much so that the Muslims of India were influenced by it. The Christian missionaries had dreams of being triumphant in India but with the advent of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) they were forced into a retreat. The Christians were also making headway in the continent of Africa but after the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) they admitted that Ahmadiyyat had slowed them down and had disrupted them.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had tremendous power of beneficence and in following it one may be rewarded with the blessing of the love of God. When this obedience and compliance attains supreme excellence, a stage where no deficiency remains, then Allah speaks to individuals and openly grants them knowledge of the unseen. This may, in other words be called prophethood and all Prophets are agreed upon this. How could it be that the Ummah (people) about which it is said in the Holy Qur’an that they are ‘…the best people raised for the good of mankind;’ (3:111) and who are taught the prayer of ‘guide us in the right path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings’ (1:6-7) remained deprived of this lofty station and from among them not a single person could attain this blessing? What the Muslim world needs is to look outwardly, they need to focus their thoughts externally and come out of the sheaths they are encased in. They need to free their hearts of the enmity for the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and then say this prayer, it will gain acceptance and they should then pray for guidance.

Citing verse 40 of Surah Al Mu’min ‘And your Lord says: ‘Pray unto Me; I will answer your prayer…’ (40:61)Huzur said we daily experience acceptance of prayers made for all sorts of reasons, how could it be that a prayer (1:6) made for spiritual development is not accepted by God. Huzur said when this prayer is made earnestly and keeping in mind Allah’s promise then indeed He listens and sends a guide. If a prayer made in this way was not accepted, such a situation would be tantamount to making an allegation against Allah. The state of the religion of Islam is terrible, how could it be that despite the dire-straits and the prayers and supplications of the Muslims Allah would not send down a guide? Indeed the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) declared many times that generations upon generations of Muslims will pass away praying but there will be no guide, no Mahdi, no Messiah except him.

Huzur said the Muslims need to reflect on their condition and rather than persecute Ahmadis they should seek guidance with sincerity. The persecution of Ahmadis continues in all sorts of ways but they cannot eliminate Ahmadiyyat no matter how hard they try. Their new persecution ploy involves children. They have - God forbid – alleged that Ahmadi children [in Pakistan] have written the name of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) on toilet walls and have thus caused offence. Huzur said these people are deprived of any spiritual insight. Maybe it is them who can stoop to such an action for they have no knowledge of the station of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) but let alone the fourteen to fifteen year old Ahmadis on whom the allegation is made, even young Ahmadi children cannot ever do such a thing for they have been given teachings about the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) by the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) of the level that they cannot even imagine.

Next Huzur said that he wished to clarify a matter that was raised in a question at the Lajna UK Refresher Course [at the weekend]. It was said that the non-Ahmadis agree on everything with us but stop short of accepting the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) status as a Prophet of God. Huzur said Ahmadis are simple that they accept what others say. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has stated that he was a prophet of God in the same way as the early prophets of God. Huzur said if one was to dismiss this it would lead on to doubts about whether he was the recipient of Divine revelations or not and so on and so forth. Ahmadis should not falter from their stance. Huzur said could we present a Mahdi contrary to the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) just to increase our numbers? If the claim of the Promised Messiah to prophethood ends so does his claim of being the Messiah. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had said that there was to be no prophet between him and Isa, son of Maryam, meaning the Mahdi and the Messiah. If it is accepted that Hadhrat Isa (on whom be peace) has passed away and the Messiah is to be from the Ummah then he is a Prophet of God. The Ahmadis who do not have full knowledge of this matter should be clear that once they deny one aspect they will also have to give up other standpoints. Therefore we should make our beliefs be known about what the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had prophesied without any fear or any inferiority complex. Ahmadis have been given the glad-tiding that they will illuminate the world with truth. If these people do not wish to accept then we cannot deny the truth just to make them happy.

Huzur read out two extracts from the august writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) – from the ‘Revealed Sermon’ (Khutba Ilhamiya) and from ‘Our Teaching’ (Kishti Nuh). In these he explains the decisive message of the Holy Qur’an regarding the Messiah to be from the Ummah and throws light on the prayer of ‘guide us in the right path’ (1:6) and establishes the excellence of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and Islam over the earlier prophets and religions. As the Shariah (religious law) of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as well as his spiritual beneficence is to continue till the end of time, the Mahdi too had to come from his Ummah. Therefore there is no option but to accept the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

Reading from the Promised Messiah’s book ‘Zaruratul Imam’ Huzur said that just as in worldly civilization one is governed by one ruler, similarly the prayer of ‘guide us in the right path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings’ (1:6-7) has been taught for spiritual betterment seeking to be blessed with the paths of those on whom the most excellent spiritual blessings have been showered by God. The verses signify that one should follow the Imam of the age. The words Imam of the age are applicable on Prophets and reformers but those who are not commissioned by God to guide people – no matter how pious they are – cannot be called Imam of the age. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) then declares, ‘I am that Imam of the age’.

Huzur said it is not that he simply made a claim and people believed, indeed there were heavenly signs to support his claim. Huzur said the prayer of ‘guide us in the right path,’ (1:6) gains acceptance when made with complete sincerity of heart regardless of the religious beliefs of a person. If God can guide non-Muslims through this prayer why would He not guide Muslims? Huzur said this is because their intentions are not good, whereas purity of heart is essential in order to be guided. Allah states: ‘And as for those who strive in Our path — We will surely guide them in Our ways…’ (29:70).

Huzur said recently a Muslim scholar phoned in regarding a MTA programme in which Imam sahib and Momim sahib had participated and said that some ahadith had been misquoted in the programme and he had something to say to us. Our person went to see him and recorded his views. Much was said against us and will be responded to in a future programme on MTA. Huzur said Muslim scholars interpret the [Arabic word and Quranic term] ‘Raffa’ (to raise/exalt) as being raised bodily/physically whereas we consider the word to have spiritual meanings. From among what this person said one point that was new for Huzur was that he maintained that we wish to establish the death of Hadhrat Isa (on whom be peace) because in it lies the ‘life’ of Ahmadiyyat. Huzur said the fact is that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that it is the life of Islam that is inherent in this fact. Huzur said Ahmadiyyat’s life is the life of Islam, we assert that we do whatever we do in the name of Islam for Ahmadiyyat is nothing else but the true Islam. The death of Hadhrat Isa (on whom be peace) is the pivotal point for the Christians who come into Ahmadiyyat. Once they accept that, the rest is evident to them. Huzur said if this sahib also prays with sincerity it is possible that Allah will guide him.

Citing verse 29 of Surah Al Fath ‘He is it Who has sent His Messenger, with guidance and the Religion of truth; that He may make it prevail over all other religions…’ (48:29) Huzur said Allah revealed this to the Promised Messiah as a revelation and Allah explained it to him that it was through him that Islam would be triumphant. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said Allah sent him with two aspects; one was the ability to guide people. He was granted spiritual insight as well as such knowledge which is given without any effort on part of the recipient. His heart was illumined with visions and revelations and he was thus given the title of Mahdi. The second aspect was to grant healing to the spiritually ailing through the ‘Religion of truth’ and thus he was given the title Isa. Both these aspects are cited in the verse.

Such is the station of the one commissioned by Allah who is the Mahdi and Messiah who was sent for the revival of Islam. May Allah enable the world to accept the Messiah and may He enable us to continue to put his teachings in practice, may we never stumble from the path that we tread and may we continue to walk towards the destination which leads to the pleasure of God.

Next Huzur announced that he would be leading a few funeral Prayers in absentia. The deceased included Khatam un Nisa sahiba who passed away at the age of 78. She was dedicated to Lajna work, was a simple lady who led a content life. She leaves behind two daughters and two sons. Her sons are both Waaqfeen e Zindagi.

Saleema Begum sahiba passed away at the age of eighty eight. She was the mother of Abdul Manan shaheed. She had borne the passing away of her son with great fortitude. She was the daughter of Dr. Hashmat Ullah sahib, the physician of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

Afifa sahiba who was from Indonesia passed away at the age of 65. She suffered from a disease of the lungs. She was a Moosia, was a very prayerful person. She leaves behind two daughters and two sons, may Allah keep them firm on piety.

Mirza Akram sahib from Pakistan who had just joined Ansarullah passed away during a robbery at his shop. He was shot several times and in this sense was a martyr. He was a fearless Tabligh worker, was at the forefront of financial sacrifices and generally served the Community a lot. He leaves behind a young family with children from the ages of 15 to 7, may Allah grant them steadfastness. Huzur prayed for the elevated station in Paradise for all the deceased.