Published on Feb 14 2010 

 

 

 

My Dear Brothers Khuddam and Atfal,

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah.

It gives me great pleasure to join you here today at this local Ijtema. It is a rare pleasure for me to have the chance to speak at close quarters with my dear Khuddam and Atfal brothers in the local Qiadats. I cherish the atmosphere of these local Ijtema’at; they offer me a unique opportunity to spend some valuable time with you. Seeing so many young Khuddam and Atfal here today reminds me of my boyhood, which before you laugh, was not that long ago!

Although I briefly hearken back to those days as a young boy, they really were truly a wonderful time. Each day brought with it something new and exciting – the wondrous pleasure of seeing something for the first time was a treasured delight that almost, on a daily basis, would bring wonderment to my senses, causing me to challenge what, until then, I knew to be true or took for granted.

As I grew, that sense of wonderment was replaced by some level of wisdom which Allah was gracious enough to bestow upon me. Such wisdom – that quintessential combination of experience and knowledge – removed that sense of awe and eradicated, in almost all cases, the astonishment of many of life’s encounters. That is with one notable exception. That exception is the blessed and august personality of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih.

My dear brothers, not a week goes by when, on reflection, I am not amazed and astounded by the holy personage of our beloved Khalifa – the breathtaking piety of his conduct, the remarkable purity of his diction, the profound wisdom of his sermon, the inspirational abundance of his love. To the members of the Jama’at he is, at all times, a deeply loving father whom we can look up to for guidance, advice and encouragement, to the intelligentsia and reasonable people of goodwill he is a wise friend and counsellor, and to the afflicted he is, without discrimination, a ready source of comfort, consolation and relief.

I want to share with you today my inspiration in the hope that you too can join me as witnesses to the extraordinary luminosity that Khilafat brings; to share with me that magnetic resonance which a bond with Allah’s Khalifa offers to all those who choose to embrace it.

To describe Khilafat merely as an institution of the highest worldly order is an underestimation which does not express its true significance. Established as a method of communicating with His creation, Khilafat is that sacred institution the significance of which has been eloquently explained by Allah Himself in the Holy Qur’an. It is a brilliant beacon of guidance and unity; it is a glorious fountain of blessings and mercies.

It is through the blessings of Khilafat that Islam has made progress in the past as it continues to do today and, Insha’Allah, will continue to do for years and centuries to come. Prophethood is a seed after which the instrumentality of Khilafat spreads its munificence throughout the world. After the Holy Prophet (saw), through the devoted works of the rightly-guided Khulafa, Islam spread throughout the then known world. Today, under the guidance of the Ahmadiyya Khulafa, who represent the Promised Messiah of the Latter Days, the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam is spreading and spreading exponentially all around the world.

The passage of 100 years of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat – replete with countless blessings and phenomenal achievements – has demonstrated and contextualised the significance of Khilafat in consolidating mankind under the flag of love and devotion to One God. It should also demonstrate to us the importance of obedience. It is by obeying the Khalifa of the time that Muslims will be serving the cause of Islam because it is under Khilafat that Islam was promised triumph.

There has been no magic to the victories of Ahmadiyyat, no dark power, no feat of coincidence. It has been quite simply obedience to Khilafat which has manifested so many miracles on this blessed community.

“Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them…” (Ch.24:V.56). This is a verse of the Holy Qur’an many of us are familiar with. What we must also note is that in the very next verse, the Holy Qur’an introduces the subject of obedience when it states: “And observe prayer and pay the Zakat, and obey the Messenger, that you may be shown mercy.” (Ch.24:V.57)

From these verses it can be seen that whilst the Holy Qur’an promises a great reward to those who believe and do good works, such reward is not without conditionality. It is no surprise that those rewards cannot be available to those who have no appreciation of Khilafat or who are not obedient to it.

On an almost a daily basis, we see before us the consequences of the perilous rejection of the Promised Messiah (as) and his Khulafa by Muslim nations across the world. Whilst Khilafat in Ahmadiyyat has resulted in success reflecting the benefits of Divine favour, the condition of Muslims who have denied this Khilafat has suffered nothing but continued fragmentation and frustration.

It should be patently obvious by now that Khilafat is not only a very blessed institution but also a very important institution of Islam and unquestionably calls for the highest degree of obedience. Inasmuch as the Khalifa is elected in accordance with the Divine Will, disobedience to him is in fact tantamount to the disobedience of Allah and, by the same token, obedience to Allah and obedience to the office of Khilafat are simply the obverse and reverse of the same coin.

Mere proclamations of obedience to Khilafat are insufficient for Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

“Swear not; what is required is actual obedience in what is right. Surely Allah is well aware of what you do.” (Ch.24:V.54)

To a large extent, it is the implementation of those pledges of obedience that forms one of the fundamental purposes of these Ijtema’at. We must use these opportunities to grasp those commitments of obedience moving from the cusp of obeying Allah’s commands to zealously seeking their practical implementation in our daily lives.

We must be the role models, the leaders, the standard setters whose example seeks to improve the communities we live in. We, the point of reference for all those who seek a better way of life, must take concerted and committed action to pursue a virtuous change in our lives, to relentlessly chase the goal of righteousness and pursue a personal relationship with our beloved Khalifa, and hence Almighty Allah, through absolute obedience. We must seek obedience not just in words but also in practice. The test before us all, therefore, is not how loudly we recite our pledges, but how effectively we put those pledges into practice.

I close with the prayer that the enchanting fragrance of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya serves to enthuse our spirits and galvanize our determination to seek a greater and more personal relationship with our Creator. May it stimulate within us all a boundless hunger to please our Lord and be obedient to His commands. May our obedience swiftly lead us to the treasures assured by a life of righteousness. Ameen.

Thanks for having me. Wassalamu Alaikum.