Friday Sermon of
Hazrat Amirul Momeneen
Zafrullah Domun

02 JANUARY 2009

At Bait-ul-Rahma Mosque
Les Guibies, Pailles
MAURITUS

After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine, Zafrullah Domun said:

Today is the first Jummah of the month Muharram of the new Islamic Year, 1430 AH. This month is usually remembered in the Islamic world for the tragic events that took place at Karbala in the year 680 AD Friday 10^th October , which corresponds to 10^th Muharram 61 AH. Karbala is situated in Iraq about 25 miles north west of Kufa. In fact it was there that Imam Hussein^ra, grand son of our beloved prophet Mohammad^saw and son of Hazrat Ali Murtaza^ra was brutally murdered by the army of Yazid, the son of Mu’awiyya. Imam Hussein^ra did not hesitate to play with death to fight the oppressors who wanted to trample truth under their feet, but whose  leader was nonetheless known as caliph. Imam Hussein was of that type of men who believed like the poet said “Sar kata sakteh hein lekin sar jhuka sakteh nahin”. The translation is “our head may be cut off but they cannot be bowed”. During the past 14 centuries of the history of Islam there have been many Husseins who raised their heads against Yazidis in order to preserve their freedom by fighting vested interests and hence preserving the purity of the Islamic teachings. As always these Husseins death gave a new vigor to the spirit of Islam as the poet most aptly says:

“Qatleh Hussein asal mein margeh Yazid hai

Islam zindah hota hai har karbala keh baad”

These verses are translated  as follows:

The murder of Hussein was in fact Yazid’s death

Islam is reborn after every Karbala

It is the blood of Imam Hussein more than that of his father Hazrat Ali^ra that led to the consolidation of shi’ism and which led to the downfall of the Umayyad seventy years later. Anyhow this is a long history which is not the subject of our discourse today.

In Iraq the Shia Muslims observe the first ten days of Muharram each year as days of lamentation and they remember the heroic example of the Great Martyr Imam Hussein who died for truth.

But as far as we are concerned we do not do anything special  to remember these days but if we engage ourselves in sending  more Darood on our beloved prophet Mohammad^saw and members of his family and his companions, we will Incha Allah get additional reward for all this.

As I have said many times in the past, we Ahmadis are a privileged group because by recognizing Hazrat Masih Maood^as, we have become the inheritors of a vast reservoir of spiritual knowledge. In fact, as you are all aware, the compilation of the books of the Promised Messiah has been published in twenty three Volumes under the name of “Rohani Khaza’aine” which means “Spiritual Treasures”. Although most of these “treasures” are still buried in the Urdu language yet there are enough available in English that may help a true seeker after truth to quench his spiritual thirst provided he is keen to drink. Unfortunately we see that most Ahmadis are still thirsty because they do not want to drink these spiritual beverages.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as was a teacher par excellence. In the spiritual field he taught us how we should go about. Whether it is in our relationship with those of other faiths or how we should handle our own affairs or how we should deal with controversies he has given us enough advice so that we might not get lost. He was a keen knower of the workings of peoples mind especially with regard to how they adopt or reject new ideas.  He has advised us not to reject any new idea outright. He said that we should study and examine it by emptying our mind from all our preconceived ideas and by seeking help through prayers. Then we should examine the idea with fear of Allah in our heart. Should we act like this and we are sincere in our quest Allah will eventually lead us to what is true.

Therefore if any new concept or idea is presented to the Jamaat, it is the duty of those who can investigate the matter to investigate it and to refrain from outright rejection. The fact is that if we want to understand an idea we should discuss it with the person who has proposed it. The dialogue with that person will help to remove many misunderstandings and will clarify many dark points. But if we refrain from engaging in a dialogue and we imprison ourselves in our certainties we will never be able to gain any new perspectives about the problem at all.

As far as I am concerned I have said it repeatedly that if members of the mainstream Ahmadiyya Jamaat think that we are wrong in our claims they should talk to us and try to make us understand what we cannot understand. I have always left open the door for dialogue because I think that it is the best way we have to remove misunderstandings. So from time to time I do have the opportunity to exchange some views with members of the mainstream Jamaat. Recently during one such encounter, I had a long discussion with a friend of mine. As Ahmadis who try to follow the teachings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as, there was a good exchange of views although there was no conversion or reconversion. The meeting ended on a happy note where each party understood that it had presented its views in a clear way. I thought that there would not be any follow up to the meeting.

But contrary to my expectations, two days after the discussions I received two emails of a total of 14 pages from that friend. He said that they were notes of the meeting plus some supplementary questions plus some recommendations. My friend regretted that I did not allow him to record the proceedings of the meeting. Moreover he circulated these notes of meeting to all members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya Al Mouslemeen who attended the meeting.

Consequently in response to these notes I decided to write my version of the proceedings together with my replies to all his supplementary questions and to post it on our website and to publish it as a booklet so that the world might read it.  In fact my reply is about 45 A4-pages long.

When my friend learned that I was about to publish a document on that meeting he called me to say that he would not allow me to publish that document although he did not know about its content then. I told him to read what I have written first and then we may see whether to publish or not. After reading the document my friend has sent me an email to tell me that I may go ahead with the publication of what I have written but not what he had written. I feel really sad at such a turn of events.

This friend of mine has gone around in the Jamaat and he told those with whom he talked that he was able to silence me and I could not reply to some of his questions. If one reads his “notes of the meeting” he emphasizes that I should not delude myself into thinking that I “won the day” to quote his own words. Moreover after the meeting he gave a briefing to his amir who commented about what I said in his speech on the occasion of the Ansar Ijtema. People laughed when he poked fun, as is his wont.

Now it would be fair that my version of the proceedings also is published so that all and sundry may know really what happened. If they knew the History of Ahmadiyyat they would have known that Hazrat Masih Maood^as has said that in matters of religion we should not look for the judgment of any third party. We should learn to solve our differences by ourselves.  In all fairness each party to a dispute should be free to air his views without any let or hindrance. And I fail to understand why my friend is objecting that I publish the document in its entirety. I personally think it will help many persons to see light in this whole matter. If they have such attitudes should they wonder why Allah should send someone to remind them of what they do not know or have forgotten! By the Grace of Allah I am not afraid of anyone besides Allah, be they caliphs or amirs or Majlis Amla or even the Supreme Court. But for the time being out of pity for him and because of my generosity I am not publishing what I have written. If any one reads what I have written he would have been able to judge by himself or herself who silenced whom and who displayed real knowledge  of the teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood ^as and the  Holy Quran.

Among the subjects that I have treated in this document the following are the most important ones: the need to be open minded, Qudrate Sania . Khilafat ala minhaj Nabuwwat, the alleged curse of the second caliph on the families of those they call 'rebels', the problems with Munir Azim, cases of intellectual dishonesty, the real nature of revelation; who is more cult-like JAAM or the mainstream Jamaat Ahmadiyya? etc.

In fact on the morning that the meeting took place Allah revealed to me“ Laa takhaf innaka antal aalaa”which means “ be not afraid you will have the upper hand”. He also said to me “Inni Aqouma ainama taqoum”, that is “I stand wherever you stand”. On one of the following days Allah said again to me “Famakarou famakarallah wallaho khayroul maakereen” which means “they made a plan and Allah made a plan and Allah is the best of Planners. Similarly when I was told not to go ahead with the publication Allah revealed to me “Wa makarou makran kubbaara” which means “and they have planned a mighty plan.” Sometime later Allah said “Maa shaa Allaho kaana wa maa lam yashaa lam yakoun”. Its translation is “What pleases Allah happens! What does not please Him does not happen”. These are some of the revelations that Allah has graciously given me on this matter.

As I said previously as members of Jamaat Ahmadiyya we should cultivate a broadness of mind that befits a Jamaat which has to conquer the world with its teachings and we should also inculcate good moral qualities. We should be bold enough to allow a free exchange of views in a brotherly way. We should learn to disagree without being disagreeable to one another. Such an attitude will help everyone. Slowly each one of us will learn to break free of our mental prison cells and know what real freedom of the mind is. One should learn not to let one’s actual knowledge become an impediment to acquire new knowledge. Of all people we Ahmadis should have been among the first of those who do not reject those who say they come from Allah. In the light of what Hazrat Masih Maood has told us we should always examine the claim of those who say they come from Allah. We cannot reject without any type of examination. But if after examination we have enough grounds to reject we should not hesitate to do so. Therefore I again make an appeal to members of the mainstream Jamaat to go for a free circulation of information and ideas and also to make contacts for civilized exchanges between us. Since the mainstream Jamaat thinks that it is on the right path and they have enough experience in defeating their opponents in debates they should not  at all be afraid to have debates and they should bring in all their facilities to spread these views around the world.

Recently on my brother Mobashir’s blog, some one has sent a response but yet he writes under “Anonymous”. Should an Ahmadi worthy of this Jamaat hide his identity when he speaks or writes? Is this the quality of a good Ahmadi? And yet he claims to be a follower of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as or even the second caliph Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Ahmad^ra? These were really bold and very courageous persons who never hesitated to air their views boldly. Have Ahmadis in Mauritius become so chicken hearted that whatever they say should be under the cover of anonymity? The real Ahmadi is the one who fears none but Allah. If such is the case he would always try to please Allah and guard his tongue from uttering or his hand from writing anything that may incur His displeasure. If that is his motive why should he be afraid that the world should know what he has to say? But if that is not his motive then he has every reason for the world not to know what he has to say or write. Therefore if Ahmadis who write or discuss want to be anonymous it is because they are afraid of someone or something other than Allah. It is this which is known as Shirk. And Allah sent Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as to extirpate this shirk from the heart of every Ahmadi worthy of that name.  Hence Mr. Anonymous would be well advised to tell us who he is so that we might know with whom we are dealing. Is he a man, a woman or a kafir posing as an Ahmadi? Let him identify himself and then he will see how I will break all his arguments and the world may benefit from the exchange!

Recently Munir Azim has spoken against us on his website. I want him and the world to know that we are not going to respond to his attacks. I advise him to spare his saliva for other purposes. He was one of us and when we needed him to assume his role and to sit down to discuss some important matters, he adamantly refused and declined the invitation. He preferred to stay aloof despite our many entreaties. Today we have no concern with him and we will not respond to his call in order to please our common opponents. Therefore I am really sorry to say that the duel that most Ahmadis in Mauritius expected between him and us is postponed sine die for the time being. We will observe what he does. If in future we feel that he needs a response we will give him a most befitting one Incha Allah. For the time being Allah has given us enough patience to deal with him. We have better things to do than to fight with he who has shirked his god-given responsibilities by avoiding to deal with problems as they cropped up and by hiding behind what he thinks is his God-given status. Moreover he and those who follow him think that he is sufficient as their guide; there is no need for me to try to persuade them otherwise. For the time being we will continue to concentrate our efforts on our Ahmadi brothers and sisters of the mainstream Jamaat.

Some persons have accused me of breaking the unity of the Jamaat. Others have accused me of undermining good Ahmadis faith in Khilafat. Recently during Jalsa Salana Mauritius one of the mullahs of the Jamaat, in the course of his speech said that it is a pity that some persons have been deprived of the blessings of khilafat. Those who level these accusations at me are the opinion makers within the Jamaat. Yet they are the same persons who keep telling the members that khilafat lasted only 30 years after the Holy Prophet Mohammad ^saw. But we all know that Hazrat Masih Maood ^as has said in very clear terms that such an opinion is a “despicable idea”. As far as I am concerned I am only supporting my claims on what Hazrat Masih Maood has said and yet these people are rejecting it. The question is who has undermined the people’s belief in real khilafat: I or these Pauls within the Jamaat? The reply is that those persons who form the opinion of simpleminded Ahmadis within the Jamaat are ignorant of the real teachings and yet they ignore that they are ignorant and they think they are knowledgeable. Could there be anything worse?

 Now I will speak a few words about what is going on in the Gaza strip to the Palestinian people. It is a well known fact that the country Israel has been carved in Arab territories by the help of the British, the French and the Americans. They drove many Palestinians out of their homeland in 1948 and since then many of them have been living in exile. The plight of the Palestinian people is one of the saddest of all people in the world. The Jews have taken their land and have imposed on them the worst living conditions that human beings could live under. These days the Israelis are bombarding the Gaza Strip and they have already killed more than 400 civilians and they have destroyed many buildings. In one such incident they massacred five sisters aged between four and seventeen years in a house. It is a real shame that rich Arab countries cannot do anything but send protest letters. Unfortunately we are a small Jamaat but our Lord is Great. He listens to the prayers of the oppressed. Today the Muslims of Gaza are being oppressed by the Israelis with the help of the Americans and the English and many other foreign powers. We cannot help the Palestinians with any type of material help but we can definitely help them with our prayers. So let us not forget them in our prayers. May Allah relieve them of the great distress under which they are living and help them with His Power to overcome their enemies. May Allah destroy all their enemies to dust and may He help them to live in peace incha Allah ever after.

To end I will tell you about some other revelations that Allah has given me this week. They are as follows:

1.      Unzur kaifa kaana aaqebatul Mokazzebeen. Zaleka bema asaw wa kaanou laa yattaqoune. It’s translation is “Look what has been the end of those who said that the message is a lie. That is because they disobeyed and they were not amongst those who feared Allah.

2.      I saw that some words were written in Arabic. I could not retain what I saw. I remember only the following “Allah, iqdaamoul ambiaaeh”. But I understood that it meant Allah has directed our steps on that of the prophets.

3.      “Inna fatahna laka fatham mobina le yaghferalakallaho maa taqaddama min zambeka wa maa ta’akkhara wa yotimma ne’matahou alaika wa yahdeyaka siratam moustaqima” The translation is “Verily we have given thee a clear victory. That Allah may cover up for thee thy shortcomings past and future and that He may complete His Favours upon you and guide you to the right path.”

4.      “Rahmatullaheh wa Barakaatohou alaikoum yaa ahlal bait”. The translation is “ Allah’s Mercy and His Blessings upon you all those who are in the house”

5.      “Alam yaj’al kaidahoum fi tazleel”. Translation “ Did He not bring their plan to nought”

6.      “Haa antoum oulaa eh tohibbounahoum wa laa yohibbounakoum” The translation is “Behold! you are those who love them but they love you not ”

This last message is very clear. It applies to the mainstream Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Despite their propaganda around their motto “Love for all hatred for none”, their heart is full of hate for us. Their previous caliph said that we will know a fearful destiny. All their speeches show that they are not wishing us any good. But as far as we are concerned we are trying to persuade them that they have made a wrong reading of the writings of the Messiah. And they do not like at all that we should tell them this because they think they know better. It is because we want their salvation out of love for them that we call them towards the truth that Allah has revealed. Hence we want their salvation because we love them but they want our ruin because they hate what we say Allah has revealed to us. Hence this small phrase clearly depicts what they feel for us and what we feel for them. But Allah is sufficient for us.

So O you all my friends and members of my family who are with me, rejoice in these words that come from your Lord. May Allah help us to share with others the blessings that He has given us incha Allah? May Allah make us forgive and forget all the harms that others try to do to us.