On 'Bai'at' and 'Taqwah'

The founder of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi of the Later Days, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908 CE) has had profound spiritual expectations regarding the people who chose to take the Bai'at- the sacred Islamic covenant of obedience to God and His Messenger (sa) and the Divinely-raised Imam of their times that devout Muslims undertake. In his book Kishti Noohu (The Noah's Ark), the Promised Messiah (as) spoke movingly about the vital importance of inner purity and sincere soul-searching; righteous conduct and just relations with God's creatures in the abiding quest of the human soul for Divine illumination- to be accepted in the presence of God Almighty. Reproduced below is an extract from the Book where Hazrat Ahmad (as) provides some of the most profound words of spiritual wisdom for the benefit of persons who chose to follow him by taking the Bai'at at his hands as the Divine Elect of the era, clearly describing what it takes to pursue the path of purity and righteousness, upholding faith above the world and what it means to be a true seeker after Divine Countenance:

'...God does what He wills. Foolish is the person who wars with Him and ignorant is the one who objects to his works and considers that they should have been otherwise. He has sent me with over ten thousand brilliant signs, one of which is the plague. So, in these calamitous times, my soul shall intercede only for such a person who sincerely enters my allegiance of Bai’at and wholeheartedly follows me and submerges themselves in obedience to me to the extent that they relinquish their own will. 

O ye people who consider yourselves members of my community! You will be counted as such in heaven when you truly tread upon the ways of righteousness. So, offer the five daily prayers in such fear and with such complete attention as though you were actually beholding God Almighty. Sincerely observe your fasts for the sake of God. Let everyone who is liable to pay the Zakat do so and anyone upon whom the Hajj has become obligatory and who face no hindrance ought to perform the pilgrimage. Do good in a handsome manner and discard vice with disgust. Bear well in mind that no action of yours, which is empty of righteousness, can reach God. Righteousness is the root of all goodness. No action that is rooted in righteousness will go in vain. 

It is inevitable that you should also be tried with various forms of anguish and misfortune, just as the faithful before you were tried. Be on your guard, lest you should falter. So long as you have a firm relationship with heaven, the earth can do you no harm. Whenever harm befalls you, it will be from your own hands and not from the hands of your enemy. Even if you lose all honour on earth, God will bestow eternal honour upon you in heaven. So do not forsake Him. You will certainly suffer pain and many of your desires will not be fulfilled, but do not lose heart in such situations, for your God tries you to see whether you are steadfast in His path or not. If you desire that even the angels should praise you in heaven, then endure beating and remain joyful, hear abuse and be grateful, suffer setbacks but do not sever your relationship with God.

You are the last community of God, so practice virtue at its best. Anyone of you who becomes slothful will be cast out of the community like a foul thing and will die in regret and will be able to do no harm to God. I gladly inform you that your God truly exists. Though all are His creation, but He chooses the one who chooses Him. He comes to the one who goes to Him. He bestows honour upon him who honours Him.

Approach God with sincere hearts, and pure tongues, eyes and ears, for He will then accept you. What God requires of you, in the matter of belief, is that God is One and that Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is His Prophet and Khatam-ul-Anbiya [the Seal of Prophets] and that he is the greatest of them all.

After him there is no Prophet except one who is cloaked in the mantle of Muhammad[(sa)], by way of reflection. For a servant cannot be separated from his master, nor is a branch separable from its root. Thus, one who completely annihilates himself for his master is bestowed with the title of Nabi [Prophet] by God. Such a one does not break the seal of prophethood. When you look into a mirror, although there seems to be two, in reality there is only one. The distinction exists between that which is real and its reflection. Such is the will of God with respect to the Promised Messiah. This is also the secret behind the saying of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, when he stated: ‘The Promised Messiah would be buried in my grave; meaning, he and I are the same and completely identical.’