True faith
in Islam is a journey in progressive action. ‘Imaan’ entails a
believing person’s verbal commitment to abide by Divine commands to match with
his or her actions in life. Otherwise, mere expression of faith amounts to
nothing in the spiritual realm. For a Muslim, expression of faith with
sincerity of purpose leads to corresponding actions driven by the obligations
of faith. Put differently, verbal expression of belief in the values of Islam
is socially completed only when good deeds emanate from the believer. That is
why the Holy Qur’an repeatedly urges true believers to race with one another in
doing good deeds and to progress in piety by practicing all virtues of
life.
Believers have the duty to constantly strive: to bring
about reform and refinement in personal, family and social conduct; refrain
from evils and sinful inclinations; respect the rights of God and the rights of
His servants, etc. Reproduced below is a holy discourse given in March 1908 at Qadian by the Promised
Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian [1835-1908] urging his
disciples and followers in the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to bring about a pious change
in their personal, family and social life by being truly mindful of God and His
commandments:
Read the Spiritual Discourse Below
Mere Verbal Bai’at has No Value at All
What really
matters is that one should try to purify oneself. Mere verbal affirmation that
one has done the Bai’at has no value at
all until something is shown by way of actions. The tongue on its own can do
nothing. It is stated in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Why do you say what you do not do? Most hateful is it
in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do’ (Surah as-Saff, 61:3–4).
Man has many kinds of sins, laziness, arrogance, lethargy, and very fine and subtle sins—one should strive to eschew all of them. In the Holy Qur’an Allah the Exalted has defined three states of the human self—Ammarah [the self that incites to evil], Lawwamah [the self-reproaching self ], and Mutma’innah [the soul at rest]. Nafs-e-ammarah goes on pulling a man towards sin and disobedience all the time, and is very dangerous. Lawwamah is the self that reproves and reprimands man upon commission of any evil deed, but even this is not satisfactory either.
The only satisfactory state of self is the one that has been termed nafs-e-mutma’innah by Allah the Exalted, and that is the
only laudable state. That term is applied to the state when one comes to abide
with God. It is by arriving at this state that man is purified of the filth of
sin. This alone is the state which consumes sin, and it is only with people who
have attained this rank that promises of blessings have been made. Angels
descend upon them and true piety and purity is exclusively their lot.
Mere verbal
assertion has absolutely no merit in the estimation of
God Almighty. I have seen many Hindus who deceive, defraud, lie, and are
consumed by the love of this world and yet, on the other hand, keep saying with
their tongue that the world is transient and fleeting.
Become My
True Community
Therefore, you
should become such that the objectives of God Almighty should become your
objectives. Your pleasure should lie in His pleasure alone. You should
surrender everything to Him; you should possess nothing. Purification means
exactly this, that all opposition to God Almighty should be eliminated from the
heart, both in beliefs and actions. God Almighty does not help anyone until He
does not observe for Himself that his aim and his pleasure is not completely
subservient to His own aim and pleasure.
I am never
pleased just with the large numbers of [people belonging to] my Jama’at
[Community]. At present this number is 400,000 or even greater but the true
Jama’at does not come into being by people merely taking the oath of allegiance
at my hand. Rather, only such people deserve to be called the Jama’at when they
are acting upon the real objectives of entering into the Bai’at—when a pious
change has truly taken place in them, their lives have become totally cleansed
of the filth of sin; when having escaped from the clutches of carnal desires and
of Satan, they have become absorbed in seeking the pleasure of God Almighty,
they discharge the rights of God and the rights of His servants in a
comprehensive fashion with an open heart, and a passion develops in them for
their faith and for its propagation; when they become devoted to God having
annihilated their own desires, passions, and ambitions.
God Almighty
says that you are all misguided except the one whom I
guide; you are all blind except the one whom I give sight to; you are all dead,
only that one lives whom I give the elixir of spiritual life to drink. Sattar [Concealer of weaknesses] is an attribute of
God Almighty that keeps man under its cover. If the inner state and condition
of people was exposed to the world, people would not even want to go near
anybody. God Almighty is the great Sattar and does not inform every one of the faults of others.
Therefore, one should strive to perform good deeds and always remain engaged in
prayer.
Know it for
certain that if in fact there is no sign that distinguishes the members of the
Jama’at from others, then for what reason would God—Who is not the kin of
anyone—bestow honour upon them and keep them under His protection in every way,
and punish the others and seize them with His chastisement?
'Allah accepts only from the righteous' (Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:28).
Only those are
righteous who abandon, out of fear of God Almighty, such things as are opposed
to Divine Will, who consider their self and its carnal desires, and the world
and everything within it, insignificant in comparison to Allah the Exalted. The
level of one’s faith becomes known when it is put to test. There are some people who hear things from one ear and discard them from the other without permitting them to descend into their hearts. They remain unaffected no matter how much they are counselled.
Remember well
that God Almighty is not in need of anyone at all. His attention is not drawn
until one prays to Him abundantly and repeatedly and with urgency and anguish.
Look how much anguish one feels if one’s wife or child becomes
ill or one becomes involved in some grave court case. Thus, unless and until
there develops a real restlessness and a state of anguish in supplication, it
is a totally ineffectual and absurd endeavour. Anguish is a prerequisite for
acceptance [of prayers] as Allah says: ‘Or, Who answers the distressed person when he calls
upon Him, and removes the evil’ (Surah
an-Naml, 27:63).
Make Yourself
an Excellent and Pious Example
Our Jama’at
members should make themselves into an example for others. If the life of
anyone, even after entering into the Bai’at [Pledge of
Allegiance], is as unholy and filthy as it was before, and the person sets a
bad example despite being a member of my Jama’at and displays weakness in his
belief or in his conduct, then such a one is a wrongdoer because he defames the
entire Jama’at and makes me a target of criticism as well. Members who are a
bad exemplification create aversion in others while those who are a good
exemplification serve to attract others. Some people write to me that though
they are not yet members of my Jama’at, they surmise from the condition of some
of its members that it must have pious teachings.
‘Verily, Allah is with those who are righteous and
those who do good’ (Surah an-Nahl, 16:129).
God Almighty also prepares a daily record of man’s
actions so we too should prepare a daily record of our actions and should ponder
upon it to see how far we have moved forward in righteousness. Our today should
not be the same as our yesterday. If one’s today
equals yesterday as far as the progress in piety is concerned, he is in a loss.
If one believes in God and has perfect faith in Him alone, he would never be
allowed to go to waste. Rather, the lives of hundreds of thousands are saved
for the sake of that single person.
It is said about
a saintly person that he was on board a ship when a storm developed in the sea.
The ship came close to sinking. However, it was saved because of his prayer.
When he was praying, he received a revelation that everyone was being saved for
his sake. But these things do not happen merely by lip service.
Look, I too have
been given a promise by Allah the Exalted: [‘I shall safeguard all those who are within
the four walls of this house.’]
However, included amongst them are neglectful women and people of variegated temperaments and conditions. If, God forbid, someone from amongst them dies of plague—or as some people from my Jama’at have died of plague—it would provide an opportunity to these opponents to criticize me although Allah the Exalted has also said: ‘Those who believe and mix not up their belief with injustice’ (Surah al-An‘am, 6:83).
Nevertheless,
the weakness of the members of the Jama’at or their poor example does affect me
and it provides an opportunity for
people to unfairly criticize me. Therefore, I admonish that you should always
strive to make yourself a good and noble example. How can someone be said to
have been purified until his life becomes like unto the life of angels?
‘They do as
they are commanded’ (Surah at-Tahrim, 66:7).
One should undergo self annihilation for the sake of Allah and, abandoning one’s own wishes and desires, abide purely by the desires and commands of Allah so as to become a source of mercy for one’s self, one’s progeny, wife, children, kindred, and friends—and for me as well. You should never provide an excuse for the opponents to criticize me. Allah the Exalted says: ‘And of them are some who are breaking down their own selves by suppressing their desires, and of them are some who keep to the right course, and of them are some who excel others in acts of goodness by Allah’s leave’. (Surah Fatir, 35:33).
Both of the
first two traits are deficient. One should embody sabequn-bil-khairat [excelling
in goodness]. To come to a halt at any one level is not a good trait. Stagnant
water ultimately becomes foul; due to the proximity of sludge, it develops a
bad odour and bad taste. Running water is always excellent, clean, and pleasant
tasting; even though it may have sludge beneath it, it cannot have any effect
on it. The same holds true for man. One should not halt at any particular
stage—this state is precarious. One should always keep moving forward. One
should strive to advance in piety; otherwise, God Almighty does not assist man
with His help and thus, in this way, man becomes bereft of Divine
light, the result of which, in some cases, is ultimately apostasy and thus, he
becomes spiritually blind.
Include Your
Wife and Family in Your Personal Reformation
The help of God Almighty is with those who continue to advance in piety at all times and do not halt at any stage. They are the ones who attain a good end. I have seen some people who had great ardour and zeal, and extreme affection but, subsequently—after advancing somewhat—they come to a complete standstill and ultimately their end does not prove to be good.
Allah the
Exalted has taught us this prayer in the Holy Qur’an: ‘Reform my wife and children too’ [Surah al-Ahqaf, 46:16].
While you are trying to bring about a pure change in your own selves and praying for it, you should also continue to pray for your wife and children because most trials befall man on account of one’s children and wife. The first trial that befell Adam was also due to his wife. Also, it appears from the Torah that the real reason behind Bal’am losing his faith in the confrontation with Moses (as), was that his wife had been lured by the king by showing her some ornaments, who then cajoled Bal’am to pray against Moses (as). Thus, many a time, one suffers hardships and trials because of them. Therefore, full attention should be paid to their reformation, and one should continually pray for them.’ [Al-Hakam, vol. 12, no. 16, p. 4–6, dated 2 March 1908].