Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (May Allah strengthen his hands) delivered this Friday's sermon at the Jalsa Salana Canada. After Tashahud and Surah Fatiha Huzoor said:

By the grace of Allah, Jalsa Salana of Jama'at Ahmadiyya, Canada is starting today. With Allah's blessing, all the world's Jama'ats hold their annual conventions every year. Why? It is because after being told by God, the Promised Messiah (may peace be on him) started it. He asked to gather in Qadian for three days every year. Not to hold a fair, to engage in material pursuits, to play games, or to attain worldly objectives. Rather we should get together to increase religious knowledge and to broaden information. Gather to progress in sublimity. What is sublimity? It is to know something in depth. What kind of sublimity he wants us to progress in? He wants that we should not just state superficially that we are Muslims or we are the ones who say the creed, "There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His messenger". We have to raise our spiritual status after accepting Islam. He said that if you say the creed, then strive to find what is Allah and what does He demand from us. What are Allah's rights and how we need to fulfill them. How shall we understand Allah's decrees and how shall we act upon them? If we have accepted Muhammad (peace be upon him) as His messenger and accepted him as the seal of the prophets, then we need to know his Sunnah and the ways to act upon it. What was his life and how to understand it in depth? For that purpose, Hazrat Ayesha's (may God be pleased with her) response that she gave to a questioner, when he inquired about the life and virtues of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him), supersedes all kinds of details. She said, "Have you not read the Holy Quran? So, what Quran says, is the detail of his life and virtues".

This is the depth of knowledge about Muhammad (peace be upon him) that a believer should strive to achieve! The recitation and understanding of the Holy Quran is necessary for that. Then the promised Messiah (peace be on him) said that the purpose of Jalsa is to improve spirituality. When sublimity is achieved, it should not be limited to just knowledge or deep knowledge, but it should also be a means to advancement in spirituality and action. Then he said that if there is no spiritual progress, the attending of the convention is useless.

He said that another advantage of attending the Jalsa is that all attendees should try to get acquainted with one another. It should not be a temporary introduction like world mongers. Every Ahmadi should make progress in the relationship of love and fraternity among them. This relationship should be so strong and long-lasting that nothing should be able to impede or break it. He also said that we should improve in righteousness. This is one of the very important objectives of the convention. A believer can't be a true one without it. Righteousness means that the knowledge that was gained, the spiritual standard that was obtained, the relationship of love created with God and His messenger, and the beauty attained in mutual affinity…now give them permanence and make it a part of your lives. These were the matters that the Promised Messiah (peace may be on him) instituted the Jalsa for. This is the purpose for which, he said that the people should come to Qadian every year.

How blessed were those conventions that the Promised Messiah (peace may be on him) used to participate himself and gave the pieces of advice to the Jama'at? Used to train the members of the Jama'at and quench their spiritual thirst. After him it cannot be the same because the prophet's status belongs only to him. The one who came according to the prophecies of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the one who came according to God's promise, and who was sent to revive the guidance in the following of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be on him), he definitely had a status of his own. This is also a blessing of Allah that informed by Him, he said that a system of the second manifestation will be established, which is the system of Khilafat. So, it was established and through it, the work to accomplish his mission continues. The holding of conventions is a part of it.

After the demise of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), in Qadian, in the presence and the guidance of the established system of Khilafat, the conventions were held for about forty years. Then after the migration of the Khilafat to Pakistan, the conventions were held in Rabwah and alongside, the Jama'at expanded in many countries. Though the establishment of foreign missions had started even before the flight from Qadian, especially very strong Jama'ats were established in Africa, but further consolidation and expansion of the Jama'ats continued out of Pakistan, every day, every month and every year. So much so that the enemies, seeing the progress of the Ahmadis, got a very repressive law passed by the government. For that reason, the Khalifa and a large number of Ahmadis had to migrate from there.

After the migration of Khalifatul Masih IV (Rahmullah), where the London conventions took a new turn and expanded, at the same time, other countries also got a new complexion in their conventions and kept on their progress. Now every place has its own convention characteristics. Now it's not possible that a large number of Ahmadis travel to Qadian for Jalsa, nor Ahmadis can participate in the Jalsa at a large scale at the place where the Khalifa is present. The way the Jama'ats are expanding and progressing, it was necessary to hold the conventions on the lines they were held at the time of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) asked us to gather at least once for training purposes to bring about a change in our conditions.

You are also gathered here only to fulfill the purpose that was told by the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). Every year you gather here for that purpose and particularly so because it is fifty years that the Jama'at was established here. Some people may differ but some criterion has to be established. Fifty years have passed since the Jama'at was registered here and that is the criterion used here. The Amir sahib requested me to come particularly so because the Jama'at is celebrating the fifty years of establishment and holding many functions in that context. This will be a big Jalsa too. As I said, when the Khalifa is present, many more people come. This year due to my participation, many people may have come and still be arriving. The resident Ahmadis here are giving special importance to it, this year.

Every Ahmadi should remember that the real importance will be given only when every Ahmadi who lives in Canada tries to this effect that after accepting Ahmadiyyat, the covenant of the Bai'at that we have bound ourselves with, has to be fulfilled by us. We have to come up to the expectations of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), otherwise, what difference does it make if it is fifty years or more.

As I said that due to the situation in Pakistan, many Ahmadis also migrated to other countries and a majority among you came here as a result thereof. You have migrated to get religious freedom and the government here gave you citizenship so that you can act upon your religious doctrines. In addition to the promise to give precedence to faith over worldly matters, every Ahmadi has additional responsibility to try to achieve the purpose for which he has migrated. Tell your generations that the circumstances in which we migrated from Pakistan and the better change in our conditions here demand that we should try to become grateful people of God and act upon His commandments. Also fulfill the promise that we made at the time of Bai'at of the Promised Messiah and one part of that is that we will thoroughly apply the Quranic rules on ourselves.

We need to examine the comprehensive way, in which, in this age, the Promised Messiah has presented these matters, that are the commandments, because no one other than him (peace be on him) can better understand the words and the message of God and His Messenger (peace be on him). We can enlighten our minds and strengthen our faith by following the guidance provided on the lines by the Promised Messiah Peace be on him), and by further pondering over them. In this regard, the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) has given us innumerable pieces of advice that are necessary to consolidate the knowledge and practice. He wants to see us at a certain standard after the Bai'at. The purpose of the conventions is to try to reach that standard. So this matter must always be kept in sight by every Ahmadi.

At this time, some Ahmadis, came to the convention, but may not be listening attentively, some may be tired due to the journey undertaken, may perhaps be dozing. I tell all of them that the matters that I am about to relate, they should listen to them attentively and keep their wits as they sit. Half an hour or forty minutes is not something that a man cannot bear. The purpose of coming to the convention will be served only when you listen to those things seriously along with all those that will be said in the speeches to be delivered by the rest of the speakers. Many matters are meant to enhance the faith and increase the spirituality. Don't just raise your hands high as you shout slogans. Make these things a part of your lives. As I said, I will express some themes in the words of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), so that his words enter your ears directly, reach your heads and hearts, and give rise to the spiritual change that the Promised Messiah expects from us.

The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) says at a juncture that he has repeatedly told his Jama'at that do not rely merely on the Bai'at. There will be no emancipation until you reach its reality. The one who is satisfied by the shell, will be deprived of the core. It is futile if you are happy only because you got the skin or the shell of the fruit. You will be deprived of the real fruit. Only that one is intelligent who tries to get the fruit and not just the shell. He further said that if the disciple doesn't practice, the guru's sagacity is of no avail. Meaning that you came under Bai'at but did not improve your practical nature. You are happy that the one you accepted is sent by God. The high status of the one sent by God is true and right in itself. The believer will benefit from his reverence only if his actions are in conformity with what the revered one says. He again expressed that if a physician gives a prescription to someone and he puts the prescription away, he will not benefit from it at all. It will be useful only if it is put into action i.e. dispense the medicine accordingly or buy it and then use it. In other words, after getting the prescription, he deprives himself by not using it.

He told to study 'Noah's Arc' again and again and mold yourselves accordingly. Then he says again:

Translation: "He indeed truly prospers who purifies it". [91:10]

He further said that there are thousands of thieves, fornicators, evil doers, drunkards and rascals that claim to belong to the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him). But, are they really so? Not at all, only the ones who fully follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), belong to his Ummah. Then at an occasion, he further explained the standard of Bai'at by saying that the one who claims the Bai'at and the faith, he should assess himself if he is only the shell or a kernel. It is not a true claim of faith, love, obedience, Bai'at, belief, following, and Islam, if there is no essence to it. Remember that before God, the shell has no value in the absence of the kernel. Keep very well in mind that the time of death is not known but it will surely come. So don't depend only on the claim, and be happy. It is decidedly not useful and a human cannot reach the purpose of humanity unless he experiences many deaths, undergoes many transformations and revolutions.

What are these deaths? It means to give precedence to faith over worldly matters. The glitter of this world is visible in these countries. Worldly arrangements have been done to divert from the path to Allah the Almighty. We have to avoid them. He further invites us to look at the current state of the world. The Holy Prophet (peace be on him) showed by his example that his life and death, i.e. everything was solely for Allah. And now there are Muslims in this world and if you ask any one of them if he was a Muslim. He says 'thank God'. The one whose creed he pronounces, his principles belonged to Allah, but he (the Muslim now) lives and dies for the world, until the time of death approaches and he starts breathing his last. It is not wise to become happy. A Muslim invited a Jew to convert to Islam. He answered him not to be happy just for the name that you are a Muslim. The Jew further said that he named his son 'Khalid' and he buried him before the evening fell. He did not become everlasting because of the name. He did not live long for the child died and he buried him. Don't be satisfied with names only. What a shame that one calls himself in the Ummah and passes a life of an infidel. You should be an example of the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) and assume the same state.

Once, some people came to his attendance and then did the Bai'at. The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) gave them some pieces of advice. He advised that at doing the Bai'at, one should not accept only that this system is true and there will be a blessing just for accepting that. He asked us to become noble, to be righteous, and always busy ourselves in praying. He further advised that Allah has placed righteous deeds along with faith. The righteous deeds are the ones that do not have even the slightest discrepancies. Remember that human deeds are always subject to attack by thieves. What are they? 'Showing off' that a person is doing a deed to show others and is glad in his self that by doing something, he has performed a great act of nobility. And actions are annulled by many bad deeds and sins that he commits. Righteous deeds do not contain even the mere thinking of cruelty, showing of, pride or trampling of human rights. He explained that like a man is saved by the righteous deeds in the hereafter, he is saved in this world as well in the same way. If there is a single person with righteous deeds in the household, the whole household is saved. Be advised that only believing is not useful unless you have righteous deeds. When a physician writes a prescription, he means to drink according to what is prescribed. It's of no use if he doesn't use the medicine and puts away the prescription.

He says that you have repented at this time, and now God wants to see that how much you have cleansed yourself. It is the age that God wants to differentiate by righteousness. There are many people who complain about God, and don't examine their selves. Humans are cruel to themselves otherwise God is very merciful and gracious. All the losses of man are due to his own self. Allah is never cruel to anybody, he is very merciful and gracious. He said that there are some people who know about their sin. And some are so much used to it that they are not even conscious of it. Allah has advised of always asking for forgiveness. A lot of prayers are to be done for forgiveness. The convention has an atmosphere of prayers, so when you are invoking the durood, do pray frequently for forgiveness. He said that for a sin, whether it is manifest or hidden, whether known or unknown, and sin of hand, of foot, of tongue, of nose, of ear, or of eye; keep on praying for forgiveness of all kinds of sins. These days, we should recite the prayer of Adam (peace be on him):

"Our Lord, we wronged ourselves; and if Thou forgives us not and have not mercy on us, we shall surely be of the lost". [7:24]

He says that this prayer has been accepted from the day one. This prayer has been accepted ever since God taught it. Don't live a life of carelessness. This prayer has been taught to be accepted. We should recite this prayer seriously. Hopefully, a person will not face an overpowering calamity if he is not passing his life carelessly. No calamity arrives without a consent. As this prayer was taught to me: "O my lord, everything is subservient to you. So my Lord protect me, help me and have mercy upon me". This prayer should also be frequently recited.

Once, Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkoti (may Allah be pleased with him) requested him to say something about unity and solidarity. At that he (peace be on him) offered some pieces of advice. I state a part of it. He stated that he has come with two propositions. One, that accept the oneness of God. Two, that show love and sympathy to each other. Show such an example for others that is a miracle for them. This was the proof created in the companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him).

"…You were enemies and He united your hearts in love…" [3:104]

Remember that love is a miracle. Remember that unless everyone among you likes for his brother, what he likes for himself, he is not in my Jama'at. Remember that severance of malice is a sign of Mahdi. Will that sign not show? Malice and ill-will shall disappear at the time of Mahdi. It will prove to be true. Why are you not patient? As is the physicians' proposition that unless some diseases are not uprooted, they will not go away. Insha Allah, a righteous Jama'at will be created due to my presence. What is the cause of mutual enmity? It is miserliness, haughtiness and self-pride. This Jama'at will form by the grace of God, and many faithful are being born in the world. Those who cannot control their emotions and cannot live with love and solidarity, should remember that they are guests for a few days, unless they show a fine example. I don't want to be blamed for the reason of someone. Such a person who is in my Jama'at and doesn't act as I mean, is like a dry branch. What should a gardener do except cutting it down? The dry branch soaks up the water as it is attached to a green branch, but water cannot make it green. Instead, it destroys the other branch as well. So be warned that the one who doesn't cure himself, will not stay with me. So, those who increase the animosity between themselves, they are at a point of a great fear. When we have accepted the one who has come to reform us; we need to try for him as well. There is a need to listen to and act upon his words.

Referring to humanity, he says, "what is humanity and what are its standards? What should a believer be like?" He said in that regard that 'insaan' has been derived from 'unsaan'. So one should have two kinds of true relationships; one with God and the other one the sympathy with the human kind. He is called human at the time when both kinds of love are created in him. This is what is called the core of a human. This is what is called the essence of humankind that creates two kinds of relationships. Create a relationship with God and fulfill each other's rights. He said that a man is called 'sagacious' at that point. You may have a thousand claims, but all are worthless in the sight of God, his messenger, and his angels. Explaining that, he says that Allah doesn't forbid from chores and business of the world. He commands us to work and not be lazy. The purpose should be the will of God and not the material world. This should always be kept in view. Where there is a struggle to achieve the blessings of this world, at the same time one should fully strive to attain the blessings of the hereafter.

He explained this topic at a juncture that Allah has taught us this prayer: "…Our Lord, grant us good in this world as well as good in the world to come…" [2:202]

In this, the world has been held high but what kind of world is it. The blessed world that will bless the hereafter as well. The teaching of this prayer makes it abundantly clear that while getting this world, a believer should keep the blessing of the hereafter in mind. And the mention of all the best means of achieving this world came along with the words 'good in this world' that a believing Muslim should adopt in attaining this world. Get this world in such a way that achieving it will bring good and betterment and not by harming others, and not by usurping others' rights and misappropriating others' wealth … not those ways that cause pain to other humans nor the ones that bring shame to the fellow beings. The people who earn such a world will be the ones who spend in the way of Allah and for His creation.

Only that one enters our Jama'at who regards our teaching as his rule of engagement and tries to act upon it according to his will and strength. But the one who only retains a name and doesn't act according the teachings, should remember that Allah has intended to create a peculiar Jama'at. If, in reality, he is not following the teachings of the Jama'at, he cannot stay in the Jama'at only by having his name attached to the Jama'at. He will see such a time that he will dissociate himself from the Jama'at. For that reason, try to align your deeds with teachings given to you. Deeds are like the wings. Without actions, a man cannot soar for the spiritual ranges. Human actions fly him spiritually as the birds fly virtually. He cannot attain those objectives that are kept under them (the deeds) by God. The birds have an understanding. If they don't apply it, they cannot do what they are to do. For example, if the bee doesn't have the sense, it cannot draw honey. Similar are the message-carrying pigeons who carry messages from one place to another after training. They carry letters to great distances by using their senses to a great extant. They were used in the olden times. Similarly, the birds are used for various purposes. So it is necessary that a man should use his senses and think that the action that he is about to take, is under the commandments and will of God or not. So, before doing everything, one must think that what he is about to do, is allowed by the faith or not, is allowed by God or not, is legitimate or not, and not that a human should start using all the unfair means to earn this world. When he has judged and used his understanding, then, it is necessary to use his hands. He should not be negligent and lazy. It is prudent to see that the teaching is right. Sometimes it happens that the teaching is right but due to his misjudgment and ignorance or due to someone else's misstatement or mischief, a man is trapped in a deception. For that reason, one should research with an unbiased mind.

We should apply ourselves to the matter that the field of righteousness is empty. You must be righteous and do not raise the sword. It is disallowed. If you are righteous, the whole world will be with you. So, inculcate righteousness. Those who drink and drinking is the greatest part of their faith, they do not have anything to do with righteousness. They are at war with nobility. So if Allah makes our Jama't fortunate and enables it to fight the ignoble deeds, and we progress in righteousness and piety, then that is a great achievement and nothing can be more effective. Look at all the religions of the world that the real purpose of righteousness is absent. Worldly magnificence has been deified. The real God is hidden. The real God is dishonored. But now, God desires to be recognized by Himself and world should be cognizant of Him. Those who consider this world to be God, cannot be self-sufficient. A great tribulation is in the offing. It is a great warning! And He is about to differentiate between the unholy and the pious. He will bestow you with the differentiating power, when He observes no disparities in your hearts. If someone affirms in the Bai'at that he will give precedence to faith over worldly matters but doesn't show its truth and sincerity in keeping the promise, then God doesn't care for him. If not one, but hundreds die like him, we shall say that he kept himself away from the One who banishes darkness with the light of the truth and depth of knowledge, and bestows the heart with faith and relish. He died for that reason.

So the condition of the world at this time worries me that what will be the end of this world! A person said a few days ago that what will happen to us as the world is moving rapidly towards disaster. The answer has already been given by the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) in one of his couplets:

"It is fire, but all those who love God will be saved from it"

So the reality is that we should strengthen our relationship with God. As we fulfill Allah's rights, at the same time, we should fulfill the rights of His men. Try to achieve that good that is good according to the principles told to us by Allah, try to avoid evil, that evil which is evil according to the rules told to us by God and He has made them manifest in the Holy Quran. We should become stronger and stronger in our faith and deeds after accepting the Promised Messiah (peace be on him). These are the things that will bring deliverance to us. These are the things that are liked by God as well, otherwise, fifty, seventy-five or a hundred years that Jama'ats reach in time are meaningless without the revolution. The worldly people, no doubt become happy over these matters but not so with the spiritual Jama'ats. If the show of happiness is due to the fact that we have made progress in acting upon Allah's commandments and will strive more in future, then this shows gratitude towards Allah and is permissible. But if our feet have stopped moving forward or are moving backward, then it is something to worry about. So, keep in mind the sayings of the Promised Messiah (peace be on him), keep acting on the commandments of Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) and keep on taking stock of your actions. We should always judge ourselves. When we reach the completion of seventy-five years here, we should Insha Allah be able to say that we are not only steadfast in our promise to give precedence to our faith over worldly matters, but also are making good progress in that regard. May Allah enable us all to do it. I have already said so that we should spend in supplications, these three days of Jalsa, in particular. Fulfill the purpose of Jalsa, by attending it thoroughly and by listening to its programs. May Allah grant us the capacity to do that as well. (Ameen)