After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta'uz, and Sura Fatihah Hazrat Ameer-ul-Mu'mineen (aba) said:

In the previous Friday sermon, I read out an excerpt by the Promised Messiah (as), in which he said that the it was a time for the advent of the Messiah to reform Muslims as Muslims have completely distanced themselves from the essence of Islam, and they are absolutely unaware of the meaning and the purpose of Islam." It is true that Muslims read the Kalima, observe the prayers, observe the fasting during the prescribed days of fasting and pay the zakat[obligatory alms]. The Promised Messiah (as) states, "I, however, say that all of their actions do not have the manner of righteous deeds. Otherwise, if these are righteous deeds, then why do they not produce pure results?" Today, we observe that the worst kind of disorder is found in Muslim countries, we observe that materialism is prevalent everywhere and people use the name of religion to further their own cause in politics and save their power.

However, the following statement by Hazrat Aisha (ra) regarding the life and character of the Holy Prophet (sa) is worth being written in gold. That is, "kaana khuluqu al-qur'an i.e. if you wish to know about his character and his habits, then study the Holy Qur'an, which describes his life and character in detail."

That is also what Allah the Exalted has stated that, you cannot establish a true relationship with Me by merely reciting la ilaha illAllah (There is no God but Allah). Rather, if you wish to attain My love, then follow My beloved Prophet and adopt his character and you will reach the station, which is termed as the station of Allah's nearness. Otherwise, your slogans are hollow. Thus, Allah the Exalted states: Say, 'If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you and forgive you your faults. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.' (3:32)

Can the state of Muslims today be that of those whom Allah the Exalted loves? Clerics –Him – are the ones who are creating the most disorder in the world. They have created a general state of fear, terror, disorder and corruption by issuing edicts of heresy against the one who has come from Allah the Exalted. Every day this allegation is levelled against the Promised Messiah (as) that he, God forbid, established the Jama'at in order to acquire and fulfil his worldly desires and in order to elevate his personal status. Nevertheless, we are aware that he was an ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (sa) and that Allah the Exalted sent him in order to complete [the spread] of the Shari'ah of the Holy Prophet (sa).

To elaborate further on this verse, Say, 'If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you I have chosen some extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiah (as). On one occasion, the Promised Messiah (as) says: "The cause for the internal division of Muslims is the love for this [material] world. … The Promised Messiah(as) says, "Instead of the love of Allah the Exalted and instead of following the Holy Prophet (sa), they have given preference to the love of this world. Is this called following the Holy Prophet (sa)? Was the Holy Prophet (sa) a worldly person? Did he, God forbid, take interest or demonstrate negligence in fulfilling his responsibilities of Divine commandments? Did he, God forbid, possess even an element of hypocrisy and pretence and did he give preference to the world over religion? Contemplate [over this]! Following the Holy Prophet (sa) means to follow his footsteps and then to observe how Allah the Exalted showers His blessings."

However, the practical state of Muslims these days, moreover, the practical example demonstrated by Allah the Exalted testifies to the fact that their condition is worsening. Countries are fighting with one another. Muslim countries are approaching and begging others to fight other Muslim countries. In the recent few days, the president of USA has once again announced that restrictions are being placed against Iran, and this is taking place contrary to the belief of the whole of Europe, the European Union and other countries are also against this decision. Even in the UK, a columnist has written that the entire world is against this decision by the President of the USA. However, there are three such countries that say that USA is acting appropriately. The USA itself is one of them, the second is Israel and the third is Saudi Arabia. Now, Saudi Arabia is granting permission to a non-Muslim country to wage war against a Muslim country. As a matter of fact, it is supporting it. Hence, these are the conditions of Muslims and exactly this is what the Promised Messiah (as) has depicted when he mentioned that the Muslims are divided. How then will they acquire the blessings of Allah the Exalted?

The Promised Messiah (as) says: "I say truly and I do so based on my experience that none can truly act virtuously, attain the pleasure of Allah the Exalted, nor derive benefit from these rewards, blessings, profound wisdoms, truths and visions, which are acquired at the highest stage of the purification of the soul…" (when a person reaches the highest stage of the purification of the soul, only then does he receive rewards and blessings from Allah the Exalted and sees visions and is blessed with communion with Allah the Exalted) "…until he subjugates himself in following the Holy Prophet (sa). Furthermore, evidence of this is found in the very words of God the Exalted as He states [Arabic] [Say, 'If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you]." The Promised Messiah (as) says: "I am a practical and living proof of this statement. In this age and era, Allah the Exalted shares communion with me as I have immersed myself in the being of the Holy Prophet (sa) and have followed him completely. Subsequently, Allah the Exalted showed his affection towards me."

Thus, [in reply to] those who raise allegations against the Promised Messiah (as) that he has decreased the status of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Promised Messiah (as) has affirmed himself that the status that he has acquired was through loving and truly following the Holy Prophet (sa). Regarding the task assigned to him due to his complete submission of the Holy Prophet (sa) the Promised Messiah (as) says: "I was sent to once again establish the lost grandeur of the Holy Prophet (sa) and manifest to the world the verities of the Holy Qur'an and all of this is prevailing. However, those who have a cover over their eyes are unable to see this."

The Promised Messiah (as) continues by saying: "Your claim to have love for Allah the Almighty' will only be proven authentic and complete if you follow the Holy Prophet (sa)." He says "It is clear from this verse that man cannot become God's beloved and deserving of His nearness with any of his self-devised spiritual exercises and efforts. The Divine splendor and blessings cannot descend on anyone until a person is completely absorbed in the obedience of the Holy Prophet (sa). A person who loses himself in the love of the Holy Prophet (sa) and endures every type of sacrifice, receives the radiance of faith that liberates him from everything other than God and delivers him from sins and becomes a source of salvation. He lives a virtuous life in this world and is rescued from the narrow and dark graves of carnal passions. This is mentioned in a hadith, where the Holy Prophet (sa) has said: [Arabic text] I am the one to raise up the dead and they will be revived through me." The spiritually dead are revived by the Holy Prophet (sa) and his followers become the beloved of Allah Almighty. Hence, those who are truly obedient raise the standards of their acts of worship. Every one of us should reflect on this and we must improve in this regard otherwise our claims of devotion and obedience will be hollow.

While commenting on the Holy Prophet (sa)'s perfect belief in God, the Promised Messiah (as) says: "Say, 'If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you.' Man can become God's beloved by showing complete obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa). This leads us to believe that he was the model of perfect belief in God."

The Promised Messiah (as) says: "Man cannot develop complete love of Allah Almighty without using the morals and attributes of the Holy Prophet (sa) as his guide. Thus, Allah Almighty says 'Say, "If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you."' True obedience of the Holy Prophet (sa) is to adopt his morals

And so firstly there is the hue of worship and secondly there is the hue of high moral standards. To be a true follower means to instil the moral characteristics within you that have been outlined in the Holy Quran. Therefore this is also why it is necessary for us to read the Holy Quran. Before we advise others, we need to assess our own condition that after accepting the Promised Messiah (as), to what extent have we made the Holy Quran our code of conduct and incorporated it into our Bai'at? To what degree do we remain steadfast on truthfulness and justice? To what extent do we make efforts to establish the rights of others?

Then the Promised Messiah (as) says: One way of pleasing Allah the Almighty is to demonstrate true obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa). We see that people have become embroiled in all sorts of customs and rituals. The new customs that have been concocted do not only violate the Holy Prophet's (sa) instructions, rather in one sense they are an affront to him. It is as if they do not consider the Holy Prophet (sa) sufficient because had they done so, why would they need to stoop to this low level of forming these customs and rituals.'

The Promised Messiah (as) states: 'Thus, it is evident from this verse that until one does not completely follow the Holy Prophet (sa), he cannot attain the grace and blessings of Allah the Almighty and neither is one granted the insight and wisdom which can vanquish his life of sin and the fiery nature of his inner desires. The expression, ''the Ulema [scholars] of my Ummah'' applies to such people.'

In other place, the Promised Messiah (as) states: 'One who claims that salvation can be achieved without the Holy Prophet (sa), utters a lie as this is completely contrary to what God Almighty has taught us. God Almighty states: That is, O Prophet Muhammad (sa)! Let the people know: If you love God Almighty then follow me: then will Allah love you. Without following the Holy Prophet (sa) no one can attain salvation. Those who harbour enmity against the Holy Prophet (sa) will also be held accountable. This is part of our faith.'

On one occasion, the Promised Messiah (as) was having a debate in the form of submitting question and answers with a Christian. The Christian presented a reference in regard to the status of Jesus (as) in which Jesus (as) states:

'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' Jesus (as) also stated, 'I am light' and 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' In other words, he stated that he is the light, one who shows the way and one who gives life, so they should come to him. Upon this the Christian scholar asked the question that did the founder of the Islam, the Holy Prophet (sa), ever speak of himself in these terms?

The Promised Messiah (as) replied to this and said: 'The Holy Quran clearly states:

i.e., Say, ''If you love Allah, follow me: then will Allah love you and forgive you your faults.''' The Promised Messiah (as) further states: 'The promise, that by following the Holy Prophet(sa) one is loved by God, surpasses all the sayings of the Messiah, for there can be no station higher than attaining the love of God.' Jesus (as) said that come and acquire the light, however God Almighty here states to the Holy Prophet (sa) that he should declare that one who follows him can become the beloved of God Almighty and will also have his sins forgiven. The Promised Messiah (as) further states: 'Who is more worthy of proclaiming himself the light than he who leads to God's love?'

The Promised Messiah (as) then presented a very beautiful argument from the verse, ''Say, If you love Allah, follow me…'' in order to prove that Jesus (as) passed away. 'Death is included in the Sunnah [practise] of the Holy Prophet (sa) (i.e. the Holy Prophet (sa) also experienced death). The Holy Prophet (sa) passed away therefore who can yearn to live forever, or approve of it for anyone else that he lives on forever.' … 'True love demands that one should become wholly immersed in subservience to the Holy Prophet (sa) in that he has complete control over his inner passions and reflects as to whose Ummah [community] he belongs to. In such an instance where one holds the belief that Jesus (as) is still alive in the heavens, how can then he truly profess to love and follow the Holy Prophet (sa)? Since he accepts Jesus (as) to be considered more superior and declares the Holy Prophet (sa) among the dead and is content in believing Jesus (as) to still be alive.'

On the one hand they claim to love the Holy Prophet (sa) and follow his commands, yet on the other hand, by accepting that the Messiah (as) is alive in the heaven they accept him to be superior. Thus, in this day and age, it is only the Promised Messiah (as) who defended the Islam and the Holy Prophet (sa) from every attack, as well as elevating his status. This was the purpose of the advent of the Promised Messiah (as), yet the [Muslim] clerics only raise allegations against him.

The Promised Messiah (as) further states: "It is my firm belief that the misfortune and calamity that has befallen them (i.e. the Muslims who believe Jesus to be alive) is due to the fact that they have given Priests ample opportunity to slander and defame the Holy Prophet (sa)." The condition of the Muslims is due to this very reason. The Promised Messiah (as) further elaborates: "On the one hand they verbally proclaim that the Holy Prophet (sa) is the greatest of all Prophets, i.e. the Holy Prophet (sa) is the most superior of all the prophets, whilst on the other hand they believe that he passed away after sixty-three years and the Messiah (as) is alive until this very day. … How unfortunate it is that the very people who attribute themselves to the Holy Prophet (sa), they themselves pronounce him dead (heaven forbid)."

Having mentioned that fact that after the Holy Prophet (sa) no previous prophet can appear; i.e. since Jesus was a prophet of the Mosaic dispensation and has passed away, therefore no prophet of the Mosaic dispensation can now appear, the Promised Messiah (as) then states: "This blessing can only be sought through complete obedience of the Holy Prophet (sa), because it is only the Holy Prophet (sa) that is a living prophet."

Thus, due to complete obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa), God Almighty sent the Promised Messiah (as) in this era as the awaited Mahdi and Messiah. His status is that of a subordinate, non-law bearing prophet.

The Promised Messiah (as) states: "When one loves God Almighty wholeheartedly over all worldly objects, and the grandeur and majesty of all beings other than God are removed from his heart – in fact he considers everything else to be akin to a dead insect – then God Almighty descends upon his heart with a great manifestation, just as if a clear mirror is placed before the moon, owing to the reflection of the moon it can be said metaphorically that the same moon in the sky is present in the mirror. In the same manner God descends upon that heart and makes that heart His throne. This is the reason why man has been created." Thus, the Promised Messiah (as) was the complete devotee of the Holy Prophet (sa) and it is for this reason that God Almighty loved him and honoured him by declaring him to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi as well as a subordinate prophet.

Having accepted the Promised Messiah (as), may Allah the Almighty enable us to appreciate him and also enable us to become completely devoted to the Holy Prophet (sa). May he enable every single one of us to follow the example of the Holy Prophet (sa) according to our abilities and capacities, and may He enable the Muslims to accept and follow the ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (sa).