Qur'anic Concept of 'Khilafat'

Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will, surely, make them SUCCESSORS in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will, surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and exchange security and peace after their fear; They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso disbelieves after that, they will be the rebellious. (Chapter 24 Verse 56)

 

The following excerpt from the Quran, known as the “The Istikhlaf verse”, forms the basis of the Quranic concept of Islamic Khilafat, and includes the caliphate of Allah (Khalifatullah). A Khalifatullah govern between the people by that which Allah the Almighty has revealed to him, and follow not their vain desires. The Khalifatullah must beware in case the opponent seduce him from just some part of that which Allah the Almighty has revealed to him. 

 

Let me say a Hadith and this Hadith from Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal prophesies two eras of caliphate (both on the lines/precepts of prophethood). Hazrat Huzaifa (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills. Then caliphate (Khilafat) on the lines of Prophethood shall commence, and remain as long as Allah wills. Then corrupt/erosive monarchy would take place, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, the caliphate (Khilafat) shall come once again, based on the precept of prophethood.”

In this Hadith the first era of caliphate is commonly accepted by the Muslims as that of the Rashidun. The era after the Promised Messiah, there has been the Khalifatul Massih, a caliphate that the Ahmadiyya Jamaat has elected which would implement the injunctions of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, and this has remained as long as Allah willed. Then corruption took place and the teachings of Islam and the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) were trampled to dust, and the Ahmadis gave Khilafat more importance than Quran, Sunnah and teachings of the Promised Messiah. And especially when they have said “Khilafat is our life”, Allah has removed His Divine Light, favour and raised this humble one as His Khalifatullah, and this humble one has not been elected by men, but, Allah has chosen His beloved one to continue the work of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Promised Messiah (on him be peace). 

A 'Mujaddid' after the Promised Massih

“Innii jaa-ilun fil arzi Khalifah”

I am going to place My Vicegerent (Caliph) in the earth. (Chapter 2 Verse 31)

Fa-immaa ya-ti-yan-nakum-minnii hudan faman tabi-a hudaa-ya falaa khawfun alayhim wa laa hum yah-zanuun.

Surely there will come to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. (Chapter 2 Verse 39)

In light of these two verses that I read to you, we see that it (appearance of an Elect of Allah) is a blessing from Allah, not men.

Once man has reached a certain degree of mental maturity, God has sent prophets to guide him. The advent of these prophets is a great manifestation of God’s grace and a source of His many blessings. When these prophets die, Allah favours the world by giving it another manifestation of His grace – blessing its people by sending Mujaddidin, Reformers, and Revivalists, Messiahs or even Caliphs of Allah (Khalifatullah).

The Caliph of Allah (Khalifatullah) as Allah Himself has made clear “Innii jaa ilun fil-Arzi Khalifah”, i.e., Allah Himself, the Most High will place His Khalifah on Earth, and it is not by the vote of men that this Khalifah will be elected. This is by no means the same as the election of a minister or an MP. A Khalifatullah is unique. Why? Because he is not elected by the hand of men, but rather, he is established by God and chosen by Him, Himself. This means that the Khalifatullah is not only intellectually and spiritually speaking, the Chosen One of Allah, but he also commands by his status the highest moral quality. It is for these reasons that a Khalifatullah becomes for the Ummah of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) a wealth of blessings.

This divine manifestation has been amply demonstrated by God, with the arrival of a Khalifatullah where there is a spiritual revolution, especially when Islam (the universal religion) is now in a painful and difficult situation. Problems did not wait to come to the surface. When we see many so-called Muslims, and great defenders of Islam trampling the teachings of Islam, we realize that they are Muslims in name only.

Now let us see what the Promised Messiah, the founder of Jamaat Ahmadiyya (on him be peace) has said. In his book Shahadat’ul Quran (on pg. 48 - 60), the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) said:

“‘Qudrat-e-Saniyah’ is everlasting and will end till the day of Judgement”. The meaning of the Promised Messiah (on him be peace), in this sentence concerning the word “Qudrat-e-Saniyah” implies to “Khilafat”. And according to the Promised Messiah (on him be peace), “Khilafat” does not only implies to “Khilafat-e-Rassool” but it also implies to “Mujaddid”. The Promised Messiah (on him be peace) believes that “Khilafat” includes “the four rightly guided successors of Rassool” and Allah willed that it should continue to exist permanently till the Day of Judgement.

Thus, the Promised Messiah (on him be peace) has not declared the “Ahmadiyya Khilafat” everlasting in his writings. What he has declared everlasting are two things: (1) Qudrat-e-Saniyah (2) Islamic Khilafat.

'Jalsa Salana' Address to the Kerala Jamaat

My dear brothers, sisters and children of the Kerala Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam,

Assalamoualaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuhu.

It is a great pleasure for me to address you for your Annual Jalsa Salana in Mathra, South Kerala. I may be far away from you, but you are very close to my heart, in my thoughts and prayers.

Today, I have chosen to talk to you about the need for believers to remain ever true and sincere to their faith. Remember my dear ones, there shall be a thousand, nay a million trial which shall inevitably cross your path, but when you choose to trust in Allah, and keep firm in your faith, and at the same time strive to give your best for the propagation of the message of Allah in the four corners of the world, then definitely Allah shall become your closest Friend and Support, and help you through all ordeals in life.

The time you are living is not an ordinary time. Allah has chosen you in this era and guided you and then placed you in His Jamaat, under the leadership of His Messenger, the Khalifatullah. You are not ordinary people. You may think you are ordinary out of your humility, but indeed you are exceptional, and in each and every one of you – provided you are truly sincere – is found the light of different talents which Allah has vouchsafed you to help His cause and message to propagate in the four corners of the world.

End of the Year: Celebration of Vanity

December - the month of revelry

The end of the Gregorian year is drawing to a close; everyone is so busy, so much that he forgets his own soul. December is a month of great temptations. Everyone is preparing for the end of year party, because the fun and entertainment are paramount whatever the circumstance, as an excuse just to relax after a long year of hard and stressful job.

Joy or excitation reigns in the atmosphere especially when people have a lot of money. It’s time to spend the hard-earned money. Like you know, the last month of the year allows officials, employees and workers to receive their bonuses or their rewards. So they feel a desire to buy, spend. But buy what? All they have under the eyes, little everything and nothingness. This is a first sign of temptation. They buy clothes and expensive footwear, alcoholic beverages that cost thousands of rupees, they organize parties, banquets, open buffets that cost a fortune. They buy firecrackers and fireworks at very high prices. Everyone thinks to do more than the other, if not to compete for more glory.

As for the merchant/seller, he is there to attract customers and to satisfy their needs as much as possible. Often, the (market) place (or place where the sales are being done) is invaded by loud music or songs that wreck the ears. We find the men and women mixed, especially in very narrow places. Many of these Muslim traders do not perform Salat (prayer) or do not close their stores for Salat-ul-Jummah (Friday prayers); for the simple reason of not losing a single client and not to leave any money to escape from their crates.

Divine Precepts on Political Order

Islam is a World Order; hence the conception of Islamic state is that of a World State, for God is the Sovereign of all:

“Command is for none but God.” (12: 41).

“His is the sovereignty of the Heavens and the Earth.” (57: 6).

“Blessed is He in Whose hands is the sovereignty and He over all things has power.” (67: 2).

The ideal of Islamic state (or an Islamic country), like I just mentioned, is righteous life as it further proved by the oft-repeated voice of the Quran, “Believe and act righteously” which forms its leading theme. And to achieve this ideal God says: “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.” (3: 105).

Righteous life is the life lived in strict conformity with divine laws. The Quran is the code of right conduct which equips man to establish the will of God on earth and to lead humanity to its noblest destiny. Righteous life cannot be achieved unless society is purged of evils and virtue prevails. Virtue consists in moral excellence and in conformity of life and conduct with the laws of God who alone knows what is really good. There is no specific form of government prescribed by the Quran and the Sunnah. It seems that no detailed blue prints for the form of government are given so that flexibility be retained as to the adoption of some form suited to the occasion except despotism, for the head of the Islamic State himself is subject to the dictates of Islamic laws.

Mauritius 2014: General Election Results

Yesterday, Thursday 11 December 2014, people of Mauritius and Rodrigues followed live on TV and several private and national radio/s the results of the general elections in all 21 circumscriptions till late at night. The results came as a surprise. There have been 10 elections since the independence – 1976-2010, and since then there was never such a low level of participation from voters as witnessed yesterday for these general elections 2014. And this despite the dominance of the two main great political blocs in the electoral campaign, with private, regional and national meetings! We learnt that the two main alliances, the PTR/MMM Alliance and also the People’s Alliance (MSM/PMSD/ML) spent a little more than 73 million rupees in only 2 months of electoral campaign.

When one hears about the course of the electoral campaign, especially between the two political adversary blocs, there was the display of hatred and other vulgarities. In many places political agents have been spoiled rotten with free provision of food and alcoholic drinks, and they got several fuel bonds so that they may use their cars (for the electoral campaign). They abused of such monies and enjoyed a lot, spreading money like confetti (that is, spending money in vain things).

Therefore, I come back today on the dream that I made prior to the fixed date for the general elections. I dreamt of Sir Anerood Jugnauth in a beautiful coat, very chic and he was in the car with me and I was asking him several questions. When I enquired with him about Paul Raymond Berenger, he told me that he was not a traitor, and it was a strategy which he used when he decided to walk with the Labour Party (PTR); what I omitted to say (publicly) is that in the dream I told him: “Oh, it is to remove Navin Ramgoolam as the Prime Minister and the useless people around him who used their power ruthlessly against the people (of Mauritius)!”

Now, I relate to you a recent Vision (Kashaf) which overcame me on the 07 December 2014. On that day the two main political blocs held there grand meetings before the elections of 10 December 2014. It was after Namaz Zuhr and Asr, and I was in my office looking for my driving license when suddenly I felt very weak and I had to sit down a bit when suddenly this vision overcame me. The vision lasted 15-20 minutes. I was shown many heads of the Labour Party were falling down and when the vision ended, I understood that in response to the prayers that I made since a long time now against this ruthless Government which is making the people suffer, thus I came to know (there and then) what shall happen to them in the coming elections. And on the spot, a thought crossed my mind that the Mauritian Militant Movement shall not also be spared – when one walks with dirt, one is bound to get the bad odour of that dirt around him – and it is verily what happened!

South Kerala Jalsa Salana 2014: A Report

Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam- South Kerala (India) organized its Fourth  Jalsa Salana at Noorul Islam Masjid, Mathra, 22-23 December 2014. Alhamdulillah.

Brothers from Kannur, Alappuzha and Malappuram, and also from Delhi, reached ahead of the commencement of the two-day programme that largely revolved around speeches and extended conversations, discussing the finer points of being a believer in these difficult times where the world around us is largely indifferent to Tawheed and all that it entails in our private lives and public conduct as a community of people with shared interests and concerns, common goals under the banner of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam and the Imamat of the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius.  

On the first day, all brothers and sisters collectively offered the Tahajjud prayers and it was followed later by the Namaz-e-Fajr.  Mukarram Amir Jamaluddin Sahib of Mathra formally inaugurated the Jalsa Salana programme by conducting a Dars-e-Qur’an, immediately after the Fajr Namaz . In his speech, the Amir Sahib pointed to the subtle verities of spiritual wisdom contained in Surah Al Fatihah and the enduring promise of Divine guidance available to all true and sincere believers in every age till the Day of Judgement. 

At 12.00 noon, all members assembled for a new session. Based on the recent series of Friday Sermons delivered by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba), the Amir Sahib explained at length the significance of purification of heart for spiritual life.  A Malayalm Translation of the booklet, “Heart: A Study”, being a Translation of the aforesaid series of Friday Sermons of Huzur (atba) was released on the occasion. Senior member Saleem Sahib recieved the first copy of the Book from the Mukarram Amir Sahib. After the Inaugural Session Namaz-e- Zuhar was followed by Lunch and rest.