'Strive to Excel in the Path of God'

Prepare for the 'Journey'

“At this time, the purpose of my address is that since there can be no guarantee of one’s life, I feel that the number of people who are gathered around me now may perhaps not be with us in the following year. Moreover, during these days, I saw in a vision that in the coming year certain friends would no longer be with us, but I cannot say who of them was referred to in this vision. I am certain that this is because everyone individually ought to prepare himself for their journey to the afterlife. As I have just mentioned, no names were disclosed to me, but I know for certain by knowledge given to me from Allah the Exalted that divine destiny and decree has its time. All must leave this transient world at some point or other.

And so, it is absolutely imperative to state that every individual and friend who is present now must not hear my words as though they were a storyteller’s tale. Rather, I counsel you from Allah and have been commissioned by Him. I address you with immense sympathy, true goodwill and with a burning heart. Hence, I call on my friends to heed my counsel. I reiterate that you ought to listen attentively and take my words to heart.

Belief in God

Allah is the most Supreme Being and He is the Light, for He has established His existence and Oneness in the Holy Quran with powerful and simple arguments. Those people who express doubts and harbour suspicion regarding His existence, despite witnessing the powers and miraculous wonders of this Magnificent Being, are truly the most unfortunate. In proof of His Magnificent and Powerful Being, Allah the Exalted has stated:

‘Are you in doubt concerning Allah, Maker of the heavens and the earth?’ (Surah Ibrahim; Ch. 14, v. 11)

meaning, can there be doubt in the existence of Allah the Exalted, who is the Creator of the heaven and earth? Now reflect, is it not perfectly clear and obvious that a created thing leads one to accept the existence of a creator? When a person sees a well-crafted shoe or chest, they are left with no choice but to immediately accept the existence of its craftsman. In the same way it is inexplicably astonishing that there should be any room for denial in the existence of Allah Almighty. How can one reject the existence of a Maker who has created thousands of wonders with which the heaven and earth are replete?

Hence, know for certain that a foolish person who doubts the Being and existence of God, even after observing these works and wonders of nature, which are beyond the power, mind or intellect of man to create, is an unfortunate person caught in the grip of Satan. Such a one ought to seek forgiveness from God. To reject the existence of God has no basis in argument or observation. In fact, to reject the existence of Allah, the Glorious, despite witnessing His powers, and the wonders of His creatures and creation at large, which fill the heaven and earth, is the height of blindness.

There are two forms of blindness: the blindness of one’s eyes and the blindness of one’s heart. A person’s physical blindness does not affect his faith. But a blinded heart does affect a person’s faith. Hence, it is necessary and absolutely imperative that every single individual constantly beseeches Allah Almighty with humility and submission so that He may grant him true divine understanding, insight and vision, and so that He may protect him/her from the evil whisperings of Satan.

The Wisdom of Obedience to God

We are Nothing Without Allah.

Dear brothers and sisters of Islamic faith, my dear disciples, neither you nor I owe our existence to our own will. The vast universe and the many creatures it contains are the work of the one and only Creator, with a set of rules / laws for each species and creation. This Unique Creator is Allah.

At first, apart from the Creator, there was no creature. Then Allah (swt) decided to create living beings, such as the angels, jinn and humans. Among these creatures, more specifically, the jinn and humans, there are those who use their life to do good, while others use it to do evil. Allah says:

“And by the day as it appears in brightness; And by that which He has created, the male and the female; Certainly, your efforts and deeds are diverse (different in aims and purposes).” (Al-Layl 92: 3-5).

Thus, it is clear that the man and the woman must fill their days and nights with various efforts for their survival on earth and therefore they will have to face the consequences of their actions on the Day of Judgment.

“But as for one whose scales are light, His refuge will be an abyss. And what can make you know what that is? It is a Fire, intensely hot.” (Al-Qariah, 92: 9-12).

Man and woman, in short the human race must fulfill their duty to its Creator, and the main duty is the exclusive worship of Allah (swt) and to make every effort to build their lives on the basis of Islam - complete submission to Allah - and to serve Him in all sincerity and piety.

Allah says: “I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Az-Zariyat, 51: 57).

And in serving Him, he must also serve humanity because the essence of God is in every human being on earth.

The Death of a Scheming Enemy

Every soul shall taste death. (Al-Imran 3 : 186).

Today is a public Holiday as it is All Saints Day; in other words such a day in the life of a Christian where he commemorates the Saints and also the dead in general. And it is not a coincidence that Allah has guided me to deliver this sermon today (a sermon which I prepared beforehand and which applies exactly for today).

The world we live in is only ephemeral. One day or another, death will overtake us. We must then leave behind all our wealth, families, and friends. The only luggage we will bring with us is our actions and the intentions behind these actions.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said that there are three things that accompany a deceased to his grave: his family, his riches, and his actions. Of these three things, two come back, his family and his wealth. Only his actions accompany him. (Bukhari, Muslim).

On 02 July 2000, I received from Allah this revelation in poetic form (in French) on the subject of death: “Death is your Last Journey/ Travel”.

“Death is a journey,

So get ready,

No need for luggage,

Or yes, take with you:

Your pious actions, the love of Allah

Destination: the afterlife

Death is your last journey.”

In this extract, Allah mainly mentions the spiritual baggage of the believer, where he shall arm himself with his good deeds, his pious actions and his love for Allah. The pious will be very lucky. His obedience to Allah and His Messenger, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), and to the Messenger of His epoch - if his epoch was the time when Allah sent a Messenger and Reformer to revive Islam, like in this present era - will be like a fiery light for him, which shall illuminate his way. His path to the afterlife will be easy compared with the unbeliever or the hypocrite who had during his stay on earth ignored Allah and His commandments.

'Haqiqatul-Wahi' in Malayalam

Last month, the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International announced the publication of the first part of ‘Haqiqatul-‘Wahi’ (The Philosophy of Divine Revelations) in Malayalam. This classic of Ahmadiyya spiritual literature, written by the Promised Massih (as) in the last century was long available only in its original Urdu and Arabic editions, and the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya has finally unveiled an English edition of the work last week, almost 110 years after the Book was originally published. The Malayalam translation of the Book from the Arabic was accomplished by Mukarram Amir Jamaluddin Raother Saheb of the South Kerala Jamaat, Alhamdulillah, Summa Alhamdulillah.

Reproduced below is the text of the Introduction to the Malayalam Translation:

“Haqiqat-ul-Wahi” is one of the most remarkable works of the Promised Massih and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908 CE). Written in May 1907 in Urdu and Arabic; the Book in many ways consolidates the saintly author’s life time of engagement with, and profound study of, the spiritual phenomenon of Divine revelations. In the social and religious context (of India and elsewhere) where dreams and other psychic phenomenon that the humans experience often confuse common people about the true nature of spiritual illumination and mislead them into giving credence to psychic illusions and there is a crying need for clear guidance on how to distinguish between false claimants and the Divinely-imbued souls in the path of the Exalted Being; the Promised Massih (as) makes this important contribution to our collective understanding on mystical realities surrounding dreams, visions and revelations.

Belief in the Judgement Day

'Qiyamah' is coming 

Islam teaches us that every soul shall taste death. After a person’s death, his soul will reside in a world different from ours, called “Barzakh” until the Day of Judgement (Qiyamah). On that day, everyone will be gathered by Allah for the final account. The good believer will go to heaven while the bad servant will go to hell. To believe in this is a pillar of our faith (Iman). Therefore, a believer must learn about this subject and have conviction in it.

But to be precise, you must understand that each person shall witness his own Day of Judgement, and he will be among the group of his time, at the moment of his death. For example, in everyday life, we often learn of a calamity or other that has arisen and has made hundreds or millions of deaths. So, for these people, it’s their last hour on earth and they will face their Last Judgement after going through the “Barzakh” and from there on they will know their final destination.

“But those who disbelieve say, ‘The Hour will not come to us.’ Say, ‘Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you’.” (Saba, 34 : 4).

Non-believers in general, apart from religions which were originally monotheistic, such as Judaism and Christianity, do not believe in life after death, in the Last Judgement because most of them believe that their life on earth is their only life and death will mean a definite end to their life, while others believe in reincarnation, i.e., they will be resurrected in different bodies, be it in human or animal form, and that they will return to earth again and again, instantly, or centuries after their present death. These conceptions about life and death that they hold are really wrong.

The Six Pillars of Islam

As Muslims we need to know and understand that our faith (Iman) rests on six pillars; Our faith in: Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers / Prophets, the Last Day of Judgement and Fate/ Predestination/ Destiny – and the fact that good and evil come through the knowledge, law and the creation of Allah, and the firm belief in life after death (the Resurrection) which are each an indisputable truth.

Why Follow A Mujaddid-II

"He who dies without having a pledge of allegiance (to the Imam/Khalifah) on his neck, dies the death of Jahilliyah."-- Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

'Allah’s Messenger (sa) said three times: ‘May Allah’s mercy be upon my Caliphs.’  The Companions said: ‘And who are your Caliphs, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘Those who revive my Sunna and teach it to the people!’" (According to al-Hasan bin ‘Ali (ra): Ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq al-Kabir, 51/61)

"The obligation of appointing an Imam (Khalifah) is from the necessities of the Shari'ah that simply cannot be left." - Imam Al-Ghazzali

It is regrettable that most Muslims today are simply unaware of the deep verities of the Faith they otherwise claim to profess and even practice. People in their ignorance and stupidity usually remain satisfied with what they are habitually familiar with- inherited family traditions, ritual practices and the tales of dead and gone Divine savants in their communities. So much so that by their sheer negligence of profound teachings - especially those pertaining to the advent of Divinely-imbued souls to guide the Ummah in every era of Islam-, the folks do not recognize what they are missing out in experiential spirituality or the rich inner life that the Islamic Way promises to the Divine-seekers.  

Against this indifference of contemporary peoples stand the rich record of the past. Indeed through the millennium and more of Islamic history, the Divinely-raised Mujaddidin had left their imprints on Islamic spirituality in every era. As Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (ra) noted in one of his books: "A Mujadid appears at the end of every century, the Mujadid of the 1st century was Umar bin Abdul Aziz for establishing justice. The Mujadid of the 2nd century was Imam Shafi for explaining the Aqa’id and Fiqh. The Mujadid of the 3rd century was Abu Hasan al Ashari for formulating the sciences of Ahl us Sunnah and refuting the innovators. The Mujadid of the 4th century was Imam al Hakim and Al Baihaqi for laying the foundations in Hadith sciences and Abu Hamid Isfara’ini for spreading Ilm of Fiqh. In the 5th century was Imam Ghazzali for opening new paths in Fiqh, Kalaam and Tasawwuf. In the 6th century was Fakhr ud-Din Razi for spreading knowledge of Kalaam while Nawawi spread knowledge of Fiqh.” [Shah Walliullah in his Izalat al-Khafa]

Like many saints of Islam in the past, in the previous century, the Promised Massih and Mahdi Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian also offered layers of spiritual and logical explanations to ‘normalize’ the phenomenon of Divine Manifestations among the Muslim believers. Through his comprehensive and all pervading engagement with the spiritual doctrine in all its settings, the Promised Massih (as) has left behind an extraordinary range of explanations emphasizing the need for recognizing an Elect of God whenever such a person announces his spiritual mission of renewal of the Faith. The Promised Massih (as) noted that Allah (swt) maintained the institution of Reformers (Mujaddidin) after the Seal of the Prophets, because along with their own practical example, these personages command a spiritual attraction and influence, and virtue of the highest degree could be observed in their persons-  a path of spirituality that any thoughtful person would inherently find appealing. 

'Cultivate Refined Habits'

I have chosen to address you in this Friday Sermon today on “Perfecting Good Manners”. Every good Muslim must necessarily have a good behaviour and good manners in his everyday life. He must understand that good behaviour in this life on earth is essential to lead an honourable life. The Muslim, in addition, has the sacred duty to have a good behaviour because therein contains high moral values.

And these moral values ​​have a particular importance. They are signs of happiness and success here in this life on earth, but much more so in life after death. It has been reported that our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “I have been sent to perfect good moral character.” (Musnad Ahmad).

He also said: “The dearest and the closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who will be best in behaviour.” (Tirmidhi).

When his companions questioned him about what most cause people to enter paradise, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) replied, “Taqwa (piety, righteousness, fear of Allah) and good manners (or character).” (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).

This is why Muslims must pay special attention to moral values ​​and must give them special importance because they represent the signs of happiness and success in this present life and in the hereafter.