The Khalifatullah (atba) is back home from London
Before getting to the heart of the subject of today’s
Friday Sermon, Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the immense favour He pours
down upon me and our Jamaat, which is making great progress day by day.
Recently, like I informed you, I had to go to London, in the United Kingdom and
Alhamdulillah, Allah has manifested
many signs and has opened the door of Dawa all the more, so that people in
general, and the Ahmadis in particular receive the message of peace which comes
from Allah and His Khalifatullah of this era.
The Dawa was great whereby many
people – Christians, Hindus and Muslims (Afghans and Arabs etc.) received the
message of the unity of Allah and of the advent of a Muhyi-ud-Din (Reviver of Faith) and Khalifatullah (Caliph of Allah) who has come to unite them together
under the banner of “Laa-Ilaaha Illallah
Muhammadur Rasullullah” (There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah). Alhamdulillah, Summa
Alhamdulillah, as I was journeying to London, I made it a duty to try to
contact the Khalifatul-Massih V, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Even before my
departure, I sent his officers an email to inform him about my visit to London,
and in London itself, I sent him a letter, a Message of Peace, which Insha-Allah, shall be official (along
with the other materials) on the website very soon.
What is pleasantly astonishing is that the Ahmadis in
London has not put any boycott on me. On the contrary, they received me with
lots of love and teary eyes, in the mosque itself. And there was some talks and
explanations on the divine manifestation which were very cordial and they even
offered me a place to stay (with all provisions) but by the grace of Allah,
Allah already made my provision in this regard, and I must appreciate this
also. All in all, they are completely different from the Ahmadis in Mauritius
with their boycott policy!
OBEISSANCE TO PARENTS
“And your Lord has commanded that you shall not worship (any) but Him, and good treatment to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them (so much as) “Ugh” nor chide them, but address them in terms of honour.” (17: 24).
These days, pupils are preparing themselves to take
the way back to school. Children also have duties/homework which are not only
academic in nature; indeed they also have to accomplish duties with due respect
to Allah and His Messenger Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). I have to tell you all
children to keep in mind this motto: Water your
mind with academic knowledge/education and water your soul with spiritual
knowledge/education which is verily essential in the life of a believer,
be him a small child or an adult. And this applies also for all children, even
the adults who still are children of their old parents and who have the duty to
take care of them.
Verily, after respect and obedience which we need to
have for Allah and His Rasul (pbuh), the most important obligation is to serve and
obey the parents and treat them well. The One who created everything (i.e.
Allah) says in the Surah Bani Israel (like I read at the beginning of my
sermon):
“And
your Lord has commanded that you shall not worship (any) but Him, and good
treatment to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, do
not say to them (so much as) “Ugh” nor chide them, but address them in terms of
honour.” (17: 24).
You must help your parents with affection for them,
even if they are in any kind of condition or age, and accomplish their wishes
in a convenient way. I put before you some sayings of Nabi Kareem (pbuh) on
the subject of respect and duty towards parents.
1. Once a person has asked Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh)
which is the best work to do for the pleasure of Allah. The Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) replied: “Pray (Salat) in the
appointed time.” And afterwards he asked Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), besides Salat, which is the best work which
pleases Allah most. Rasul-e-Kareem replied: “Treat
your parents well”. (Bukhari).
2. Hazrat Umama (ra) narrated that a person came to
the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and asked him what is the duty of a child towards
his parents? The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “Parents are either paradise (Jannah) or hell (Dozakh).” That is, if you act righteously towards them, you shall be
sent to Paradise, and if you displease them or make
them angry, you will be consigned to Hell.” (Tirmidhi).
3. Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) narrated that Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) said: “One who obeys his parents
(as a sign of obedience to Allah), as a reward, two doors of paradise who
remain open for him; on the other hand, the one who disobeys his parents, in
reward, two doors of hell shall remain open for him. If he has only a parent,
then only a door of either paradise or hell shall be respectively opened for
him.” On hearing this, a companion asked: “Oh Messenger of Allah (pbuh),
shall the punishment of hell be applied on that child even if his parents used
to wrong him (treat him bad)? Nabi Kareem (pbuh) replied: “Even if they treat him bad” (3 times).
Therefore, children do not have the right to have
rancour or neglect their parents, even if the latter treat them bad. According
to Bukhari, Hazrat Asma bint Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) was a polytheist. She
therefore asked Nabi Kareem (pbuh): “My
mother has come to me and she desires to receive a reward from me, shall I keep
good relations with her?” The Holy Prophet
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Yes, keep
good relation with her.”
This
is the reply of that perfect role model prophet. He did not say boycott her, do
not see her, do not greet her Salam when that mother was a idolatress. Instead
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) instructed to treat her well, keeping good relation with
her.
Social Boycott in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya
Nowadays,
the Ahmadis must ponder over this Hadith. With all the boycott laws that the Ahmadiyya
Association has applied here and there, therefore this Hadith is a lesson which
they need to draw. Like Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has said, the one who disobeys
his parent, consequently as a reward the door shall remain open for him. Thus,
if you proclaim to be a Muslim, and that you believe in Allah and in His
Messenger (pbuh), you need to reflect upon the words of Nabi Kareem (pbuh)
before your so-called Amir or so-called Mullahs drive you away from your
parents; especially those parents who have accepted the divine signs and
manifestations; those parents who have sacrificed nights and days to raise you
and give you education as well as all your needs and who have married you off
also.
Nowadays,
when one’s child is getting married, one does not have the right to invite his
or her own blood relations, even the parents! Boycott becomes a must. On the
other hand, other people, such as idolaters, and people who ill-talk Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh) and Hazrat Massih Ma’ud (as) can be invited. There is no
repercussion for them! As for the one who believes in the Divine Manifestation,
he must be boycotted, and if an invitation is given to such people (of the
Divine Manifestation), even if they be one’s own parents, then there is the
necessity to take back the invitation card (wedding invitation card), for if
not the Nikah won’t be pronounced!! Do you consider all this as Islamic
teachings? On top of that, the instructions to boycott are obeyed to the letter,
following them blindly. And you, in your blindness accept to hurt the feelings
of your parents. But finally as reward the door of hell shall remain open for
you (this kind of person who listens to others to boycott his/her parents).
Doesn’t reflect upon the fact that what his position shall be tomorrow if his
own child gives him the same treatment? This is the question I ask.
Beware! Do not listen to those imbeciles; never hurt
your parents with hurtful words or by any offending means except through the
exceptional conditions as mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran, whereby there
are certain conditions whereby the parents are not to be obeyed and not to
observe a too friendly/close relation with them. In normal times, even if the
parents wrong you or treat you bad, but you, you have the duty to treat them
well. And you should not hurt their feelings. You must always preserve their
honour and respect through your words, acts and thus maintain their status and
honour high.
There are children who give a bad image to their
parents, sullying their honour and greatness. There are parents who are
respectable people of society, but while they are honourable people, their
children on the other hand are good for nothing and bring shame to their
parents in society. On the contrary, a child must always take the consent of
his/her parents before doing all the good works that he/she does. If your
parents are in a difficulty and he/she/they take something belonging to you,
then beware not to think bad on them, and never show your disapproval/anger.
On the contrary, you should have good thoughts,
whereby all that you are and have today is because of the sacrifices of your
parents. (Upon their death) they leave all that they possess for you as
inheritance. There are children who do not know the value of the inheritance of
their parents, who strove hard and made great sacrifices to buy all kind of
things to bequeath all to their children. It is unfortunate that there are some
kinds of heirs who in their imbecility do not know the value of the heritage of
their parents (a memento of their parents) which they do not hesitate to sell
at minimum price because they forgot how their parents have sacrificed to have
it. They listen to what others have to say and lose that heritage/inheritance.
These kinds of heirs are always among those who hurt their parents while they
are alive, making them cry. They are those who look down upon their parents,
mistreating them. They do not bid them Salam
or talk to them. They shall at the end of the day bear the consequences of
their acts with their own children. When their children shall give them the
same treatment, how shall they feel?
A child must bear this in mind. It is not only the
material aspects of things or inheritance which you should like to have (when
one’s parents die). You must bear this in mind that even when dead your parents
have rights on you. The question is what kind of rights they have on you once
they are dead? If your parents have died and they have left debts, it is your
duty to pay back those debts, and if your parents have confided you something
to do before his/her/their death, then it is your duty to accomplish them.
Moreover, you should go regularly on their tombs to clean the place and pray
for them (Dua-e-Maghfirat). Through
these actions, the soul of your parents shall be pleased. The angels shall
convey the blessings of these duas which you did and present them to your
parents and they shall be really pleased and in their turn, they pray for those
children who pray for them.
I pray, may Allah (swt) give each of you the Tawfiq to take good care of your
parents, and if you don’t have parents who are well and living, then may you
pray for them, whereby these prayers shall be of benefit for them in the
hereafter. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
-Friday Sermon of January 09, 2015 delivered by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius