'Feel Welcome, O Ramadan!'

[Alhamdulillah, on 02 August 2011, LE MAURICIEN Newspaper, published from Mauritius, carried an article by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) on Fasting in Islam against the backdrop of the fast-approaching holy month of Ramadan under the Islamic Calendar. We are reproducing the article here for the special attention and benefit of all seekers of spiritual treasures].

The most desired guest for the believers is the Holy Month of Ramadan. Believers are commanded to welcome this special guest with fear of God in their heart and purity of mind and soul. The Almighty (Allah) says in the Holy Quran: “O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.” (Chapter 2; Verse 184).

First of all, what is Fasting? In Quran and Hadiths the word defining Fasting is “Sawm” which means “to abstain”. In our current language, this means that we must not drink or eat, and abstain from sexual relations from the beginning of dawn till sunset. Fasting existed even before the advent of Islam, for all people before Islam received divine commandments to fast, even if the quantity and quality of the different fasts were not the same.

Fasting is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam. The first pillar being the Shahada (Attestation of Faith), the second being Salaat (Prayer), the third being Sawm (Fasting – especially in the month of Ramadan where it is obligatory for a believer except if one is ill, on a long journey, and for the ladies who are in their menses, or pregnant or are breastfeeding their babies), then afterwards come Zakaat and Hajj.

Khalifatul Massih as ‘Alimul Ghayb’

Any one who objectively, impartially, unemotionally and dispassionately examines the mindset of the contemporary Ahmadi Muslims will be struck by the long shadow of blind faith engulfing the landscape of Jamaat-e- Ahmadiyya. Several dimensions of this are unmistakably apparent in the every day lives of the believers. First, in their quest for absolute obedience to their Khalifa, they are willing to suspend reason and rationality and stoop to the extent of committing Shirk. Secondly, they venerate their Khalifa so much that they fail to recognize the pitfalls involved. Thirdly, even as they enter into schemes brought in by their Khulafa, they do not realize what they are doing! 

In a recent speech, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib of Mauritius illustrated these points with glaring examples of this unfortunate scenario within the mainstream Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, who cliams the sole and exclusive legacy of the Promised Massih (as):

1.      Concerning absolute obedience to their Khalifa:

Once the 4^th Khalifa Mirza Thahir Ahmad Sahib said not to use any aluminium recipients to cook food, and therefore all Ahmadi Muslims in Mauritius threw away their own aluminium recipients so as to buy new costly “AMC” recipients so as to cook food. There were even some who contracted debts (taking credit and paying interest) so as to buy these new recipients. After some years, all of these Ahmadi Muslims reverted back to their use of aluminium recipients!

This is the mentality of the Ahmadi Muslims in Mauritius whereby they take the words of their Khalifa as more important than the Qur’anic verses and the words of the Holy Prophet (sa). If this is not a Shirk, then what is this? 

Trials of Faith and the Duty of the Believer

Test of character is a recurring theme in spiritual experience and religious history. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly warns believers to be constantly on the alert and to examine their own inner urges and external stimulations at crossroads of conscience. The experiences of disciples at the time of God’s Messengers such as Moses (as), Jesus (as) and Muhammad (sa) point to the complex questions and forces at work in social circumstances.

While faith is a framework to look for directions, it is important for believers to be cautious: You never know which way channels of vanity and material interests may overcome pure belief and corrupt your faith in God and in the manifestation of Divine favour among yourselves. Thus, in addition to fervent supplication of prayers, the believer must also distrust the human intellect and its vagaries or in any case, be critically aware of one's own subjectivity. In a speech delivered after Esha Prayers on June 10, 2011, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib reflected on this profound subject.

Read from the extracts: