Published on Mar 25 2010 by Tommy Kallon, Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK

My dear brothers Khuddam and Atfal,

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. May the Lord of mankind open unto you the gates of His mercy and may He so ordain that you are always accompanied by the supplication of His angels.

Today, 23rd March, sees the one hundred and twenty first anniversary of the day the first forty of the Promised Messiah’s (as) devotees discarded worldly chains for a spiritual rebirth. With unshakeable belief in the mission of the Promised Messiah (as), they were convinced that the historic Bai’at that they were to take at the hand of the foretold Messiah and Mahdi that day in 1889 would inaugurate a worldwide movement of change. And it did. Today, on Promised Messiah’s Day, we celebrate the investiture of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the arrival of the Messiah and Mahdi awaited by all major religions. Today we celebrate the propagation of his message to the corners of the earth.

But as we celebrate success there are those that mourn their failure as they lament their own religious crisis. Christianity has evolved from its theological beginnings to an unfortunate shallower and more populist agenda. Despite their attempts to modernise, however, Church membership and attendances are in decline and the decision to ordain gay bishops and sanctify same-sex marriages has enormously vexed those loyal to what the Church was intended to represent.

Perhaps even more sadly, the Lahori community whose founders once stood alongside the Promised Messiah (as) later chose to reject his successors and rebuff his status. Their especially misguided attempt to usurp the leadership of the Jama’at at the time of the Divine appointment of the second Khalifa, Hadhrat Musleh Maud (ra), proved to be a grave error. Since then they have tragically sought to re-engineer their faith and align themselves with mainstream Islam by misinterpreting the Holy Prophet’s (saw) status as the Seal of the Prophets and relegating the Promised Messiah (as) station to Mujaddid. Whereas the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has spread to 195 countries and into millions, the Lahori Jama’at has been left wrong-footed and destitute. Their regrettable attempt to compromise their beliefs has left them a faded community guided only by a broken spiritual compass.

The attempts by both to redefine their faith for convenience can, therefore, be seen to be acute miscalculations. No human inkling or worldly design can supersede the infinite wisdom of Allah. No modernisation strategy or fashionable agenda can surpass Allah’s design.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (as) was indeed the same Imam Mahdi and Promised Messiah whose advent and status was foretold by the Holy Prophet (saw) himself. He was Divinely commissioned and granted the status of Prophethood by Allah, the Almighty, Himself. His writings and teachings leave no room for doubting his claim:

“God is One and Muhammad (saw) is His Prophet and he is the Khatamul Anbiya and above all other prophets. After him there is no other prophet except one who is clothed in the cloak of Muhammad by way of reflection… He who is bestowed the title of prophet on account of his complete absorption in his master does not contravene the Khatam-e-Nabuwat… This is what God desired in the case of the Promised Messiah.” (Kishti Nuh, p.15)

And so as we celebrate this day, we should do so by keeping in mind the exalted station of the Promised Messiah (as), that grand spiritual son of the Holy Prophet (saw). Let our faith in him as the Latter Day prophet penetrate every aspect of our being and let the same unimpeded obedience to the ten conditions of Bai’at that the first forty followers of the Promised Messiah(as)’s took allegiance to him on this day one hundred and twenty one years ago – conditions we should revisit and reaffirm today – inspire us to unparalleled service in his cause. With that, the naysayer shall be flabbergasted and the cynic dumbfounded as the message of the Promised Messiah (as) – the message of true Islam – spreads through our superior conduct and our actions.

Commenting upon a revelation he had received, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

“The rising of the sun from the west means that western countries which have for centuries been in the darkness of unbelief and error, shall be illumined by the sun of righteousness, and shall share in the blessings of Islam.” (Ahmad the Guided One, Iain Adamson, p.128)

With the inspired wisdom of our Beloved Khalifa (atba) to spread the message of Ahmadiyyat to every household, that illumination is on the horizon and within sight. And as we sit on the precipice of the fulfilment of that prophecy, it is my prayer that together, we the members of Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK, shall be the conduit for the spread of the Promised Messiah(as)’s message throughout this great land we have repeatedly pledged our loyalty to. May Allah so ordain and bless you all profoundly. Ameen.
 
Wassalam.

Yours sincerely,
Tommy Kallon.
Sadr Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK