Fulfill your obligations to mankind

7/31/2019 Fulfill your obligations to mankind

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Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih gave his Friday sermon at the occasion of Jalsa SalanaGermany.

In light of last years shortcomings at the larger Jalsa venue, the management hasmade improvements this year. The sound system did not work very well last yearand it will be seen how much that has improved. Last year was the first Jalsa atthis particular venue so obviously shortcomings that spring up in new locationsemerged. This was not something for which the management ought to have been criticised as they took note and have tried to improve. They have also tried to keep the costs down in areas where they exceeded last year. However, there is stillroom for improvement. Progressive people always look for ways to improve, either from their own experiences or from those of others and try and practice all good advice. Indeed, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) enjoined that good word of wisdom is the lost property of a believer. During his last years trip to Germany Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih had quoted this very Hadith tothe mayor of Berlin, who responded that if this was our teaching then we would win over the world soon or words to that effect.

If we are progressive people, which indeed we are, then we should not shut our eyes to our shortcomings. Our efforts to reform should not be simply from a worldly perspective. We claim to have accepted the Imam of the age who was the greatest and most ardent devotee of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah beon him) on the face of this earth. Who had come to draw attention to the rightsof God and the rights of mankind. This demands of us that we should view everyth

ing with Taqwa and fulfil every obligation with fear and humility and try and remove all our drawbacks with this in view. This does not signify simply the weaknesses of the management, rather it also signifies individual weaknesses. If allmen and women keep this lofty viewpoint and the management will also be heedfulof this, in other words, work with Taqwa, everyone will reap benefit.

It should always be remembered that in expounding the objectives of Jalsa, whilethe Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) spoke of worship, Tabligh, Taqwa and many other aspects, he specifically mentioned paying the dues of people, in particular compassion for mankind. If genuine sympathy for mankind is generated, the fulfilment of dues of people is accomplished. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) drew attention to worship, devotion to God and Taqwa and along with this and with similar intensity, he drew attention to gentleness, brotherhood, humility

and meekness. Taqwa is not attained by only performing worship, by serving theJamaat, by loving God and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)and obedience to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and Khilafat. Taqwa isperfected when the rights of parents, wives, husbands, children, friends and relatives are paid, when the rights of members of the Jamaat are paid, in fact whenthe rights of the enemy are paid. We come to the Jalsa for spiritual developmentand while we keep worship and remembrance of God in view here we should also pay attention to mutual love and friendship and sympathy.

People gather at Jalsa and one finds ones friends and family at Jalsa. One also suitably appreciates the academic speeches at Jalsa. However, the true objectiveof Jalsa is not attained unless one has sympathetic and considerate stance towards ones fellow brothers. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) once postponed t

he annual Jalsa because it came to his knowledge that having taken Baiat and joined the Jamaat, some people still harboured slanted views and mistreated their disadvantaged brothers and were disparaging towards them. He said it astonished himto see how much deep selfishness had affected such people. He said that ones faith is not right unless one gave preference to the comfort of ones brother over ones own comfort.

It deeply aggrieved the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) to note that mutuallove was missing from some people of his Community. As an indication of his sadness and as a punishment, he postponed the Jalsa. Some people assume that the Jal


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sa was postponed due to lack of resources whereas in fact it was the arrogance of a few which had deeply pained the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Lack ofmutual respect and sympathy is not a trivial matter; if an Ahmadi does this heor she should remember what the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) felt about it.

One should not feel any sense of pride about ones worship, or holding a Jamaat office or making financial sacrifice unless one has humility and genuine sympathy with ones brothers. This is what true Taqwa entails and one who follows true Taqwadoes not feel any sense of pride over any piety. Rather it increases him or herin humility and fear of God. After performing every good act he or she is concerned whether or not what they did will gain acceptance with God. This indeed iswhat the Promised Messiah (on whom be pace) came to inculcate. He included sympathy for others in his conditions of Baiat. The fourth condition reads:

That under the impulse of any passions, he/she shall cause no harm whatsoever tothe creatures of God in general and Muslims in particular, neither by his/her tongue, hands, nor any other means.

It is therefore important that it is not only Ahmadi Muslims who are safe from an Ahmadi Muslim but also every Muslim and all creation of God. Many people do not habitually hurt others, they are free of this bad habit, but they should not think they have attained high status of piety. A believer is forever marching onwards. This is why the ninth condition of Baiat as stated by the Promised Messiah

(on whom be peace) reads:

That he/she shall keep himself/herself occupied in the service of Gods creatures for His sake only and shall endeavour towards the beneficence of mankind to the best of his/her God-given abilities and powers.

Among Gods creation the greatest is mankind, most eminent of all creation but manbecomes a true human being when he tries to be advantageous to others. HadhratKhalifatul Masih has drawn attention before that he always puts it to outsidersthat it is an excellence of Islam that while worldly systems demand rights and when these rights are not met, force is used, Islam teaches to pay the dues of each other. Worldly systems demand rights and often through unwarrantable ways butGod states pay the dues of others not only when demanded, rather with justice a

nd borne out of the milk of human kindness. If each Ahmadi develops this fervourthere would no question of any problems arising within the Community whereby the Khalifa of the time goes through hundreds of letters about such matters. His time would be better spent in constructive matters. When the problem cases are presented to the Khalifa of the time, he has to weigh many aspects, like better administration as well as reformation. There are some cases where people do not abide by the rules, do not heed the advice that is given to them. They have to befirmly responded to. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih replies to them that if they are not prepared to accept the decision of the Jamaat, they should be prepared for corresponding action. At times people have to be disciplined but the sentiment of sympathy also compels to pray for these people.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) stated in his condition of Baiat that one

will not cause any harm. This connotes that at times pain is caused but it due toa warrantable reason and is not inflicted on someone with intent. In addition,the administration of the Jamaat or the Khalifa of the time needs to take steps at times which cause pain to others, however this pain is caused with the objective of reformation and is thus not unwarrantable. Even in such a situation one should always pray for one who goes through the pain and Khalifa of the time has to experience this more than anyone else lest his action does not unnecessarily disrupt the peace of a family. Not only this, the method applied should be such that it promotes reformation. It is a requisite of fairness and sympathy that Khalifa of the time has to meet and he meets it with the resources available.


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Office-holders of the Jamaat also need to work with this spirit, otherwise they would be betraying the trusts given to them and will certainly be accountable before God for it. Office of Jamaat is not like worldly position, rather it requiresapplication of greater sympathy and support for people. Such a spirit of sympathy should be generated in every office-holder. They will fulfil the due of theirservice only if they present themselves as role-models. The Holy Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allah be on him) said that the leader of a nation is in fact its servant and the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that to be in service of the nation is a sign of being one who is served. Reading and listening to Hadith is only beneficial if full effort is made to practice it. An office-holderhas to keep his or her character very high and not let the sentiment of sympathy dissipate.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that repressing anger was the height of valour and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that a champion is one who controls his temper at time of anger. Indeed, one canonly be just and fair if one can control ones temper. This is a standard that allour office-holders should adopt. Just because Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih gave thesermon in Germany does not signify that he was only addressing the German Jamaat. He clarified that he was addressing Ahmadis all over the world and said that he was making this clarification because some people assume that only the peoplepresent during a sermon are addressed in his sermons whereas he addresses peopleall over the world. MTA now provides this opportunity for the Khalifa of the ti

me. However, it is the privilege of the country who directly listens to the advice given and should consider themselves as the primary addressees.

The aforementioned conditions of Baiat were addressed to every single Ahmadi, every Ahmadi who considers him or herself to be associated to the administration ofthe Jamaat. Office-holders were mentioned because they have to present role-models. In the fourth condition of Baiat the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) stated that no harm should be inflicted neither by tongue, hands, nor any other means and this can only be attained through Taqwa.

Jealousy is at the root of all the suppression of rights in the world today, where Muslim is killing Muslim and barbarity is rampant. We are fortunate that we have accepted the Imam of the age, but we too experience these injustices on a sm

aller scale in our homes. If we analyse the situation fairly, we will see that it is quite evidently so. There are grievances between brothers borne out of jealousy; women have grievances with other women borne out of jealousy. There is also grievance if someone is given the chance to serve the Jamaat. If one has faiththat this is a divine community, then one should engage in Istaghfar (seek forgiveness). The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that onewho wishes for an office should not be given one. A Jamaat office is a trust andif one has Taqwa one should always be fearful of accountability. God is Knowerof the unseen, He is All-Knowing All-Aware and nothing is hidden from Him. If those who hold office and those who wish to hold office remember this they will bestepping towards Taqwa. At times, plans are made how to inflict pain on someone, how he or she can be disgraced in front of the administration of the Jamaat orthe Khalifa of the time. On one end of the spectrum is the pledge of Baiat not to

harm any creature and on the other end are such practices. Truth is such casesdo come up and are a source of extreme embarrassment. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih tells the world that our Jamaat is that Community which guides in upholding rightsof others and the advent of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) took placeto establish Taqwa, but such are the practices of some of us. If we are to become a source of revolutionary change in the world, we have to first bring about arevolutionary change in our lives.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) enjoined not to spoila trade deal of another by offering more money. This does not only mean to raise


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the stakes in a business deal with ones larger resources, rather this advice carries extensive scope. Sometimes in on-going matrimonial matches another party interferes. If a matrimonial match is on-going no one should interfere. The proposal that comes first should be considered by the family with prayers. They shouldnot even think about any subsequent proposal until such time that they have considered the first one. In certain situations a girls receives a proposal but a third party with grievance contacts the boys side and furnishes information to them about such and such defect in the girl. They then go on to suggest a better match which never materialises but meanwhile the situation is spoiled. Ploys are used to disgrace the girl and her family and thus the poor girl is discredited andall this wickedness is borne of jealousy. Rather than obey the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to fill their hearts with Taqwa and as the Quran states: Verily you have in the Prophet of Allah an excellent model3:22)

Indeed, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said that a believer is one from whom everyone is safe. And his own blessed model was such that his trait of love and affection was supreme. In fact there was no moral quality in which he had not reached the most excellent stage. Today we have gathered to bring about pure changes in ourselves, thus there is a great need to pay heedto the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Such was the degree of his humility that he used to pray: O my Allah, I seek Yourrefuge from bad morals, bad practices and bad wishes. His was a perfect model yethe prayed in this way. Conversely, how much do we need to self-reflect and feel

embarrassed at what we do. Our Dear God and our dear Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) have unfolded to us how to live our lives. Fortunate arethose who are ever trying to please God and to better their ending.

Next Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih read a few extracts from the writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) elucidating ways and means to be compassionate tonear and dear ones as well as fellow human beings. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih said we need to widen our sentiments of sympathy. Days of Jalsa should be used to worship God and remember Him as well as show compassion to each other and removemutual grievances. Efforts should be made to do this purely to please God and this cannot be achieved unless rancour is removed from hearts. Sentiments of mutual compassion promote prayer for each other and prayer for each other promotes Taqwa and thus new standards are set. The basis of the pledge of Baiat is not a tri

vial matter; it is essential to bring about a revolutionary change in ourselves,it is essential to attain Gods pleasure, it is essential to spread the teachingof Islam in society. Efforts should be made to enhance these sentiments during Jalsa days. May God grant everyone the blessings of the prayers of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), may our generations to come remain connected to Ahmadiyyat. May God keep everyone safe from every evil of the enemy during these daysand in future. Owing to the sentiment of sympathy prayers should be made that may God save the world from the destruction that it is heading towards. Prayers should also be made for the Muslims countries that may God enable them to acceptthe Imam of the age. Attention should be given to Salat. At Fajr some people were asleep in the hall. Salat needs to offered even if they were unwell. Such a sight should not be seen in the hall, the Tarbiyyat department should take note ofthis. Everyone should also be vigilant about security and keep an eye on any po

ssible mischief.

Next Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih said he would lead a funeral Paryer in absentia for Syedda Amtulla Begum sahiba.

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Fulfill your obligations to mankind