Monday, October 21, 2013

Exclusion of Ahmadis from HAJJ: A Grave Error

Performance of Hajj is one of the fundamental religious obligations of the Muslims. Yet, today Ahmadi Muslims are legally prohibited from enlisting themselves for the same, as the Ulema in Pakistan have succeeded in writing their bigotry and intolerance into legal injunctions. The Saudi Arabian authorities who take pride in the title of “Custodians of the Holy Mosques” have failed to estimate the gravity of their mistake in preventing those who believe in Allah (twa) and His Messenger from doing Hajj. The Kaaba, in the course of its several millennium of history, had witnessed some tragic transgressions, including the installation of idols and the taking away of the Black Stone itself for a period of time. Allah the Most High has informed the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius that the present legal restrictions/ religious prohibitions would also be thrown into the dustbin of history as it unjustly prevent the Ahmadi Muslims from being able to perform the Hajj.   

Read the Extracts from the Eid-ul-Adha Sermon, delivered on 16 October 2013: 

 And who is more unjust than he who prevents (men) from the Mosques of Allah, that His name should be remembered in them, and strives to ruin them? (As for) these, it was not proper for them that they should have entered them except in fear; they shall meet with disgrace in this world, and they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter. (2: 115)



He alone can keep the Mosques of Allah in a good and flourishing condition who believes in Allah, and the Last Day, and observes Prayer, and pays the Zakat, and fears none but Allah; so these it is who may be among those who reach the goal. (9: 18)




We celebrate Eid-ul-Adha to commemorate the sacrifice of Abraham. But we must not lose sight of the important role of the other two persons in the same sacrifice. They deserve our admiration all the more for the spontaneous way they lent their support to Abraham, happily agreeing to be abandoned in the desolation of Arabia.

Muslims must annually seek to benefit from this exemplary sacrifice, trying their best to penetrate and understand its meaning. Men can make it their duty to acquire the spirit of sacrifice of Abraham (as) and ladies can inculcate the spirit of renunciation of Hajra and children the same spirit of sacrifice which Ismail showed. When I think of the days preceding the Eid-ul-Adha, the days where the pilgrims prepare and go for Hajj, and this holy day itself, it is with tears and sadness that wrings my heart that I think about it because the entry to go on Hajj to perform the fifth pillar of Islam has been barred for us, but only by men and not by God.

But Allah (swt) has given me the necessary relief and told me to be patient, because this is also for us a great sacrifice that we do and it’s been over 39 years since the imbeciles among men has denied us access to Mecca for the Hajj. It is us, the believers of Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) who did a great Qurbani (sacrifice) as our ancestors Hazrat Ibrahim and Hazrat Ismail (as).

The government and their Pakistani and Saudi mullahs have passed several laws to prevent the believers in Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) (the Messiah of the last century) to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. According to their law, the believers in Massih Ma’ud (as) are non-Muslims and are thus not allowed to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. A request was also made to the Saudi government those believers in Massih Ma’ud (as) cannot enter Mecca. According to them, our presence in Mecca and Medina for the Hajj and Umrah would be an insult to those religious shrines.

The question we must ask is this: how to discern the true Muslim from the false one – the authentic one from the one who is in name only – according to the Islamic faith and practice? The one who should decide is none other than Allah, our master and judge. The religious thing is decided between man and his Creator, Allah. As human beings, we have absolutely no power and no right to decide for others, to determine what should be the faith of a person.

We are not worried that we are being labelled as non-Muslims (by men). If in the sight of Allah, we are Muslims, we are satisfied, that is all we need. We have no need of proof of any Pakistani and Saudi Arabian government or any other Islamic country or meeting to fix us, to decide our fate. We must say that the Pakistani and Saudi government passed many laws concerning the pilgrimage of the believers in Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) in Mecca and many are those believers of Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) who cannot perform the Hajj because of the hostility of some Muslim states.

The Kaaba was the first house built for the worship of Allah, a common house made for human beings irrespective of religion, colour and race, a holy house where beings derive countless benefits and which is dedicated to humanity for his guidance and the peace of his soul.

Those who has the means and capacity should go and perform Hajj in the name of the Rab (Allah) – that is the injunction of the Holy Quran to the followers of Islam. Today we believers in Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) we see ourselves excluded from this practice. The question that arises is this: since when Allah (swt) rejected His own injunction, which allows access to the Kaaba to all men without distinction, and who among men granted to himself the privilege of His (Allah’s) powers? Who are you to decide who among men can perform the pilgrimage or not? The Kaaba is the house of God and not the property of anyone. As mentioned at the beginning of my sermon, Allah says in the Qur’an:

And who is more unjust than he who prevents (men) from the Mosques of Allah, that His name should be remembered in them, and strives to ruin them? (As for) these, it was not proper for them that they should have entered them except in fear; they shall meet with disgrace in this world, and they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter. (2: 115)

He alone can keep the Mosques of Allah in a good and flourishing condition who believes in Allah, and the Last Day, and observes Prayer, and pays the Zakat, and fears none but Allah; so these it is who may be among those who reach the goal.
(9: 18)

I cite before you a very important Hadith which has been narrated by Hazrat Abu Huraira (ra) and which is found in Sahih Muslim:

Abu Huraira (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) delivered a Khutba and said, “O people! Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) has been made incumbent upon you, so perform Hajj. A man inquired: “O Messenger of Allah, is it prescribed every year?” He (pbuh) remained silent till the man repeated it thrice. Then he (pbuh) said, “Had I replied in the affirmative, it would have surely become obligatory, and you would not have been able to fulfil it.” Afterwards he said, “Do not ask me so long as I do not impose anything upon you, because those who were before you were destroyed on account of their frequent questioning and their disagreement with their Prophets. So when I order you to do something, do it as far as you can; and when I forbid you from doing anything, eschew it.”

Nowhere in the life of our beloved master Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) are we able to detect such an example of forbiddance (whereby): Neither the pilgrimage to Mecca is forbidden to those who worship the Almighty and proclaim His uniqueness; nor during the period of the four caliphs succeeding the Holy Prophet (pbuh) such a ban was proclaimed to the faithful. But what is obvious is the prohibition, according to the Holy Quran and the holy traditions, made to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and his faithful companions by their opponents to perform their pilgrimage to Mecca.

It is time you do a review of your conscience in the light of the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Hadith. If you are left with nothing but a patch of light in the depths of your soul, maybe then you will understand (and make the difference between) who the real Muslim is and the one who is (Muslim) just for appearances’ sake. If you continue to deny us the pilgrimage to the house of God, and if you continue to follow the path set by the enemies of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) thus feeling in yourself to be very happy and proud of your actions, then do so against your own soul.

As for us, Allah and His Prophet suffice us. Put all prohibitions that you want, but the love we feel for Allah, His Messenger, for Mecca and Medina, you can never remove it from our hearts. We are totally imbued with this love. Oh lovers of God, Oh lovers of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), you who study the oneness of God and received the guidance of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), you who have learned the practice of spirituality through him, I can assure you and I promise you that as long as you will not be allowed to go on pilgrimage to Mecca, in the name of Allah, for fear of reprisal, your pilgrimage will be accepted, be accepted, be accepted.

Thus, Oh Hajjis who cannot journey for the pilgrimage, my best wishes to you and I congratulate you. My best wishes for this Eid-ul-Adha festival and also my best wishes to our Sahih-al-Islam generation. When Allah (swt) revealed to me that Insha-Allah the door of Hajj will open for us, the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, it was as if someone had a gently massaged my whole body, creating in me a strange sensation of pain and peace, releasing every worry in this regard.

But the good news I have shared with you, that Allah (swt) will open the ways of heaven for us and very soon the divine decision will overtake and encompass all hatched temporal plans. Insha-Allah. Permission will be granted to us by divine grace, to fulfil our fondest wish: to go to Mecca for the pilgrimage, the heart filled with love of God and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Insha-Allah, there is no doubt in the message that this humble servant has received from his creator and this will definitely happen in the coming years, Insha-Allah, and Allah (swt) will fulfil His Khalifatullah and the sincere members of the Divine Manifestation of this century by a resounding victory when we shall enter Mecca for the pilgrimage, Insha-Allah.

I, along with all my sincere followers of Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International, we are confident that the day will come when all these bans will be removed and we will be welcomed in Mecca. Insha-Allah, Ameen. Eid Mubarak.


The video of the Speech can be viewed here.