The Philosophy of Spiritual Renewal

“Verily, We Ourselves have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian” 

-[HQ, 15:10]

In the early Muslim Community, there were hundreds of people who knew and could recite the whole of the Holy Qur’an from memory, as they learnt it from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). And the early Muslim Khulafa took practical measures to ensure that the Holy Book is preserved in written form as well. Beyond the physical protection of the text of the Holy Qur’an, Divine reformers (Mujaddidin) have always appeared in every century of Islam, to illuminate the teachings and to provide practical example for every generation.

In a recent speech, the Khalifatul Massih V of the Ahmadiyya Community has argued that there is no need for reformers any more. The Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib now points out that such thinking is mistaken and is against what Allah and His Messenger has taught us. In a speech on June 14, 2011, Hadhrat Sahib (atba) reflected on the Qur’anic perspective for the preservation of the Holy Qur’an for all times through the advent of reformers.

Read the Extracts from the Speech:

“Now, the question which is crucial to ponder over: Is it only through Hufaaz (the guardians of the Holy Quran, who know it by heart) or by writing (into the form of a Book) that the Quran shall be preserved?

Munir A. Azim: Expulsion for Revelations

Common Ahmadis are surprised. They are intrigued when they come to know that Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius was outsted from the Jamaat merely on the ground of his being a recipient of divine revelations.

They refuse to believe that the Jamaat establishment will excommunicate someone for being blessed by the divine favour of revelations. They feel that since the teaching of the Promised Massih (as) clearly foretold the continuity of revelations, it is simply impossible that any one would be expelled on that ground.

Sometime back, an Ahmadi brother who simply believes that the present Ahmadiyya Khalifa is appointed by Allah the Most High wrote to us explaining his position on the appearance of an Elect of Allah in the Jamaat. He was of the opinion that the Ahmadiyya Khilafat need not and will not be in conflict with the advent of a new Mujaddid/Khalifatullah and that they could co-“exist in perfect harmony” given the fact that the Promised Massih (as) taught us about the continuity of revelations in the Jamaat and that there are historical precedents for it. He wrote:

   

“As (I have stated that) the present system of which I am part of at the moment is Allah’s system, supported by the Holy Quran and foretold by Holy Prophet of Islam, the question is what should be done when someone arrives from Allah, when there exists a divine system already???

The answer is quite simple for an ahmadi. When we look into history we have witnessed the prophethood of Hazrath Haroon (as) at the same time of that of Hazrath Musa (as). Both were raised for the same cause. But they never challenged each other. There wasn’t any clash between them….

If a Mujaddid/reformer/caliph/ prophet of Allah come, they would exist in perfect harmony with the already present divine system just as we witnessed in the past history even in  case of two prophets at the same time. So why should be there any doubt regarding more than one divine appointees at the same time?”

Appreciation for the Kerala Jamaat

In his Friday Sermon of June 03, 2011 Hadhrat  Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius underscored the significance of Tabligh and made a special mention about the activities being undertaken by the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam in Kerala.

Read the Extracts from the sermon:

“In this century, we are the ones who need to spread the message of Allah, of Islam everywhere. Thus, take the firm determination (to accomplish this work) and free yourselves from all your past negligence and start your duty (to give the message of Allah to your surroundings, and other people). There are many people who may have religious knowledge, but religious knowledge alone is not sufficient. There must also be experience in the field of Tabligh and one must put it into practice. Tabligh must be done with good reasoning, with solid arguments, and not, by force.

I wish to congratulate the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam of Kerala where the Amir Sahib, Dr. Thahir Sahib, Fazil Jamal Sahib, Hariz Sahib and the others are doing excellent works in their own local language (Malayalam) along with the Siraj Makin (the ladies of the Jamaat) of Kerala. They even opened a blog which is linked to our official website. May Allah make them Mubarak in this noble work.

Trials of Faith and the Duty of the Believer

Test of character is a recurring theme in spiritual experience and religious history. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly warns believers to be constantly on the alert and to examine their own inner urges and external stimulations at crossroads of conscience. The experiences of disciples at the time of God’s Messengers such as Moses (as), Jesus (as) and Muhammad (sa) point to the complex questions and forces at work in social circumstances.

While faith is a framework to look for directions, it is important for believers to be cautious: You never know which way channels of vanity and material interests may overcome pure belief and corrupt your faith in God and in the manifestation of Divine favour among yourselves. Thus, in addition to fervent supplication of prayers, the believer must also distrust the human intellect and its vagaries or in any case, be critically aware of one's own subjectivity. In a speech delivered after Esha Prayers on June 10, 2011, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib reflected on this profound subject.

Read from the extracts:

Solemn Prayers for the Light of Guidance

Allah, the Most High has always been sending His Messengers. It is entirely under Allah’s discretion where and when to raise a Messenger of His and no creature of the earth can interfere with this Divine Decree. Common Ahmadis would willingly sacrifice their lives to hold onto this belief. Yet today, they are not being allowed by their leaders and scholars to consider that Allah can speak to an Ahmadi Muslim and raise him as a Messenger of His in the new century of Ahmadiyyat, to lead them in the path of Divine Love. Worse still, as is to be expected in the time of an Elect of Allah, the religious leadership had the audacity to boycott the new Messenger of Allah by expelling him from the Nizam-e- Jamaat. Yet, Allah, the Most High did not discard His servant and in fact, raised his spiritual status and elevated him with his own Jamaat. The Holy Qur’an says: “Thy Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you. Surely every hour that follows is better for you than the one that precedes. And your Lord will give you and you will be well pleased” [93:4-6]. 

Even as the Jamaat of the new Massih is progressing by leaps and bounds, the villains who conspired to harm the Massih is biting the dust: The scheming National Amir of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in Mauritius, Amin Jawahir, who played the lead role in the expulsion episode was disgraced recently by his own Khalifa on charges no less serious than corruption and maladministration!  Would someone who abused his position and privilege to persecute God’s Messenger have a fate other than humiliation and loss of face among his own people?   

In a message to world Ahmadis in 2008, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib invited them to consider his Divine Mission and asserted that anyone who considered his claims with purity of heart and nobility of intentions and sought the light of guidance from Allah will definitely receive signs in favour of the Divine Manifestation and recommended that they follow the advice rendered by the Promised Massih (as) in this regard. 

Read the extracts: 

“Today by Allah's Grace, I take Allah as witness to say that I am one of those persons who speak with the Holy Spirit ( rouhil qouddous ). It is indeed a great proof in favour of Hazrat Massih Maoud as that Allah has raised someone in his Jamaat to guide people towards him. In fact the spiritual heritage of Hazrat Massih Maoud (as) has been bequeathed to us. However, as at today the physical heritage is in the hands of others. Now it is up to you to see of which heritage you want to partake. The caliphs are the administrators of the Jamaat after the departure of a prophet until Allah sends someone else. Listen well my brothers and sisters, I swear that there are no lies in what I say and I do not have any ulterior motive.

Khalifatullah as a Laila-tul-Qadr

In his book “Victory of Islam”, the Promised Massih Hadhrat Ahmad (as) specifically linked the coming of a Khalifatullah in every century with the spiritual concept of Laila-tul Qadr. He clearly stated that the Khalifatullah appears to rouse people to spiritual consciousness and that angels descent with him- through revelations, they enable him to provide a living testimonial to the vitality of Islam in every age. In his Friday Sermon of June 03, 2011, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius explained this important point from the blessed writings of the Promised Massih (as).

Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon:

“By the grace of Allah, one of my sincere disciples called my attention on the fact that the Promised Messiah (as) draw the people’s attention to the coming of a Khalifatullah, especially when he speaks about the period of a Khalifatullah as a Laila-tul-Qadr (Night of Decree, of blessings) and that when the Caliph of Allah comes down to earth, he comes down accompanied with the light of Allah which thereafter the sincere people who surrounds the Khalifatullah receive.

By the grace of Allah, the Promised Messiah (as) has in other others say he has come to earth in the mantle of a Khalifatullah, but that which is much more surprising is that he has already said that not only in his time there shall be one (a Khalifatullah), but this Khalifatullah shall come in confirmation of his (the Promised Messiah’s) truthfulness. It is this Khalifatullah who shall come in conformity with his words and he shall come in confirmation of his truth like the Promised Messiah (as) came in confirmation of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), where the Prophet of Allah (sa) said (while putting his hand on the shoulders of Salman Farsi) that when faith shall go to the Pleiades, then there shall come someone from Persian descent shall bring it back.

FRIDAY, the 10 and the New Massih

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad Sahib (May Allah forgive him) once said that he saw in a vision “Friday the 10”.

Almost everyone in the Ahmadiyya Community is familiar with this vision of the Fourth Khalifa. And there has always been much speculation within about its real meaning and import. Reflecting upon the profound meaning of this spiritual vision, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius linked it with the year 2010 and the events in his Divine mission. 

The year 2010 began on a Friday, 01 January 2010- the first Friday of the year 2010. The first Friday of the New Year was also a blessed day for Muslims- for it was an Eid-ul-Jumm’ah. And the last day of the Year 2010 was also a Friday, 31 December 2010.

It was on Friday, September 10, 2010, that Allah made the Khalifatullah stand up to officially proclaim himself as Messiah, Mujaddid and Prophet of Allah.

Within a month of this official proclamation, Allah inclined the hearts of believers in a distant Asian land -Kerala, India- to recognize the Divine Manifestation in Mauritius, an African island! That the Divine Manifestation is happening in Africa should be a matter of happiness and pride for thoughtful Ahmadis- For it confirms a prophecy of Hadhrat Khalifa Sani (ra) that “the future of the Jamaat is linked up with Africa”.

And it was on a Friday in the 10^th month of the year 2010 that the new disciples of the Khalifatullah formed a branch of the Jamaat in Kerala!!

The year 2010 also marked the 10^th year of the Divine Mission of Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib, having begun his preaching in 2001- “the number has changed place – 2001 has become 2010. The 1 which was after 0 has now come before 0”, as Hadhrat Khalifatullah mystically observed in the Friday Sermon of January 01, 2010.