Jamaat Ahmadiyya al Mouslemeen

Friday Sermon of Hazrat Amirul Momeneen Zafrullah Domun

10 SEP 2010

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After reciting the Tauz, the Tashahhud and the first chapter of the Holy Quran Imam Zafrullah Domun said:

First of all I would like to extend to all of you my good wishes of Eid Mubarak. May each day that you live be a day of joy for you every moment! May Allah give each one of us the wisdom that we are able to realize that Allah is a big treasure and that He is sufficient for us whatever the circumstances. May Allah enable us to know with certainty that each one amongst us should strive for his or her own salvation. Neither will we carry the burden of anyone else nor will anyone else be allowed to carry our burden. May the following words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as become true for each one of us. He says in his book Kishti Nuh:

“Our Paradise indeed is our God: our highest enjoyment is in God, for we have seen Him and have found all beauty in Him. This treasure is worth having , even if at the cost of one’s life; and this jewel should be purchased even if obtainable by sacrificing one’s entire being. O ye who are bereft run to this spring, for it will quench your thirst. It is the spring of life that shall save you. What am I to do , and how am I to impress this glad tiding upon your mind; with what drum should I go calling in the streets that “this is your God” so that all may hear. And with what unguent am I to treat the people so that their ears are opened and they might listen…” (page 12).

As an Ahmadi it is towards this God that we have to respond. Allah granted us the month of Ramadan so that we might make quick progress in the attainment of this noble objective. In our merry making let us never forget this most important objective. For all those who fasted as prescribed by Allah and as exemplified by the example of the Holy Prophet Mohammad ^saw, they are fully justified in expressing their joy for the arrival of Eid. In fact this is the day to be happy. However we should express our happiness within the limits prescribed by Islam. Everything that is forbidden during other days of the year is forbidden on Eid day as well. The most important thing that is forbidden (haram) on the day of Eid is that we keep a fast on that day. No this is the day where Allah has commanded us that we should “eat and drink without exceeding the bounds”. Keeping this instruction in view we are allowed to prepare and eat very delicious foods on Eid Day. Similarly it is allowed to drink whatever we wish with the exception of alcoholic drinks. Whilst during the month of Ramadan Allah required of us that we should follow His instructions and abstain from eating, drinking and sex, but on Eid day Allah has removed all restrictions on these activities. Therefore Eid day is a time to be happy and merry and to manifest our joy.

By the way what is the meaning of Eid. The root of this word is “ain, waw, daal” which means to return often. Hence Eid has the meaning of a festival that returns often periodically. This word has been used only once in the Holy Quran. It is mentioned in the prayer of Hazrat Isa ^as which is as follows:" Allahoumma rabbana anzil alayna maa’edatam minas samaa’e takouno lana eidan le awwalena wa aakherena  wa aayatam minka war zoukna wa anta khayrour razeqeen”(5:114). Its translation is “‘O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table from heaven spread with food that it may be to us a festival, to the first of us and to the last of us, and a Sign from Thee; and provide sustenance for us, for Thou art the Best of sustainers.’ Besides this place we do not find this word at all in the Holy Quran.

Although Allah allows us to rejoice on Eid Day, Allah has forbidden us to ignore those who are poor. It is well known that in all societies there are poor people. Around the world they consider someone poor if he has only $1.25 to spend per day. This is approximately Rs37. Even in Mauritius according to recent statistics there are about 26,000 families who are in this category and the total number of people involved is about 104,000. This is roughly less than 10 percent of the population. But elsewhere especially in Africa, South America and Asia the percentage is quite high. If fact almost half the population of the world is poor and they live in the three regions that I have mentioned. So at the time when everyone will be happy Islam does not forget the poor. The Holy Prophet has imposed on all Muslims of moderate means to pay Sadaqatul Fitr on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr. In fact this money is taken from those who have means to give to those who do not have them so that they might also participate in the festivities of Eid. This Sadaqatul Fitr has to be paid on behalf of all living Muslim. Hence even if a child is born before Eid Prayer on Eid day, Sadaqatul Fitr should be paid for him.  This Sadaqatul Fitr helps the poor members of society to participate in the joy of Eid in almost the same capacity as those who have means. This is just one aspect of Islam’s humanism. There are many others. For someone who would like to delve into this subject further I recommend he reads the French book “L’humanisme de L’islam” written by a Christian, Marcel Boisard.

From the books of Hadiths we understand that the Holy Prophet ^saw had a quite particular way of celebrating Eid. Taking him as our example we understand that we should all of us wake up for at least Fajr Prayer and men should perform it in the mosque in congregation. Here, unfortunately I have to say that most men especially the young ones are not very punctilious about this matter. As soon as the Eid moon is visible many forget about their duties. They start indulging in other things and some even wake up late for their Fajr Prayer. People should be careful and reflect why they fasted for about thirty days. Was it to stop reading their Fajr Prayer at the mosque that they have been practicing this virtue for the past thirty days? No! You fasted because Allah had asked you to fast and it is your intention to continue to practice the good actions of Ramadan beyond Ramadan. If you think otherwise then you are negligent and you will miss the great opportunities that are given to you to do good. All of us should try to keep alive the mosque in the days and months that follow the month of Ramadan if we have taken our Ramadan lessons well.  So on this day we should wake up early and offer Salat al-Fajr and prepare for personal cleanliness take care of details of clothing, etc. Here it should be noted that it is not an obligation to put on new clothing but it is not forbidden also. What is recommended is that our clothes should be clean. If we have perfume (who does not have these days!) we may put on some and proceed to the Eid Gah (place where Eid prayer is performed). But before leaving the house it is sunna to eat something because the holy prophet used to do so. Furthermore he used to take two different routes going and coming back from the mosque and while going and coming back he used to recite the takbir.

Recently I read a long hadith which is not found in the canonical books of Hadith, but in view of the way it expresses Allah’s regard for His servants I have decided to share part of it with you. The hadith is reported by Ibn Abbas. After saying that the deeds of the servants of Allah are presented before Allah during the month of Ramadan, the angels enquired “O Jibril! But what did Allah do regarding the deeds of the faithful ones from among the umma of Ahmad saw when they were put before Him. Jibril replied “Allah looked at them with mercy and pardoned them all except four kinds of people”. Then the sahabas asked “Who are they O Prophet of Allah?” the prophet replied “They are those addicted to wine drinking, those disobedient to their parents, those who cut themselves off from their near relatives and the Moshaahin. The sahabas enquired “who are they?” The Holy Prophet saw replied “They are those who harbor ill feelings in their hearts against their fellow brethren and break off relations with them”.

Although I said that this hadith did not have a place in the 6 canonical books of hadiths, yet whatever we have heard up till now are repeated in the hadiths elsewhere. And here in Mauritius we know that the Ahmadiyya mainstream Jamaat has made a virtue of the vice of bringing enmity between members of the same family. Despite what we have been telling them they continue to create enmity between brothers and sisters from the same mother. They have completely ignored the teachings of Hazrat Masih Maood ^as who said that we should live like brothers of the same mother if we want to attract Allah’s Mercy upon us. If they are sincere to the teachings of Islam they can easily conclude how much of their deeds are really being accepted by Allah on this day of Eid!

The Hadith continues as follows: “And then the night of Eid ul Fitr which is called the laylatul Jaiza,(the night of prize giving)comes along. On the morning of Eid Allah sends the angels to all the lands of the earth where they take their positions at access points on the roads calling out with a voice that is heard by all except by Jinn and men.

“O umma of Mohammad^saw , come forth from your houses towards a Lord that is Noble and Gracious, who grants much and pardon the major sins ". When they proceed to the Eid gah, Allah says to the angels “What indeed is the reward of that employee who has rendered his services?” The angels reply" O Lord and Master, it is only right that he should receive his reward in full for his services”. Allah then says “ I call you to witness, o my angels , that for their having fasted during the month of Ramadan , and for their having stood before in prayer  by night, I have granted to them as reward My Pleasure and have granted them forgiveness. O My servant ask now of Me , for I swear by My Honour and My Greatness, that whatsoever you shall beg of Me this day in this assembly of yours for the needs of the hereafter , I shall grant you; and whatsoever you shall ask for the needs of this world  I shall look upon you favorably. By My Honour I swear, as long as you shall obey My Commandments, I shall cover your faults. By My Honour and My Greatness do I swear that I shall never disgrace you among the evildoing ones and the disbelievers Depart now from here, you are forgiven. You have pleased me and I am pleased with you. "

On seeing the great reward that Allah has bestowed on the umma of Mohammad ^saw on the day of Eid ul Fitr, the angels are greatly pleased and happy.(Reported in Targheeb)

So all those who did their best in fasting and praying during the month of Ramadan, should really be happy today because they have a promise of forgiveness from Allah. Here I should like to say that although this hadith is quite elaborate yet it almost expresses the same idea that has been explained in the hadith “unfortunate is that person who witnessed the month of Ramadan but yet did not have his sins forgiven”

So be happy and express your joy, you who form part of the umma of the Holy Prophet Mohammad ^saw. I hope and am sure that you will be forgiven by Allah because you are not among the four groups who would be deprived of Allah’s Mercy because of disobedience to Allah’s fundamental commandments.

Watching the scale of the disaster in Pakistan unfolding one cannot prevent oneself from feeling pain for all those innocent women and children and daily laborers who are reeling under the consequences of this unprecedented disaster that has affected the country from the north to the south. As at now they are estimating damages to be in the region of $41billion. Almost one quarter of the land area of the country is under water. The number of houses, bridges and cultivated land that has been damaged is simply mindboggling. The number of cattle and other animals and poultry that is dead is too many to have  any meaning to simple minded folks like us who live on an island of 1200000 inhabitants. About 20 million people have been affected by the flood and about 13 million will need aid to survive. Although the death toll of about 2000 appears to be low for a disaster of such a scale, as yet there is no end in sight. And what is worse they are expecting more rain and for four days during the week the Americans had to stop relief efforts because the rain was so intense.

Despite all this yet there are some people over there who still think that in the midst of this entire crisis they are intensifying their campaign to kill Shi’as and Ahmadis. Last week they killed about 40 Shias in a suicide attack and on Friday last they attacked an Ahmadi Mosque in Mardan killing one person and injuring four others. Suicide attack has become almost a daily occurrence over there.

Moreover it has been reported that some mullahs even prevented about 500 Ahmadi families from getting relief aid because they are Ahmadis. Another idiotic mullah has said that Allah is punishing them because they have not done enough to persecute the Ahmadis. For the past 60 years Ahmadi leaders have been telling the Pakistanis to stop their campaign of persecution against the Ahmadis, but the bigoted mullah and headless politicians went ahead with their enmity thinking that by doing so they would become the leaders of the Muslim world. Those who were forward in persecuting Ahmadis, namely Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Zia Ul Haq have been punished in a way that is a lesson for all others to see. Allah does not like oppression. He may keep silent for some time but when the appointed time of his decision comes, at times even the innocent are carried away by the visitations that visit the land. Now it is time for the Pakistanis to ask themselves if they are the beloved of Allah as they should have been why is it that He punishes them so often?. There is no peace in their land. As good Muslims they should have been living in peace but it is nowhere to be found over there.

Ahmadis have sacrificed a lot for the creation of Pakistan and they have helped a lot in its development. We do not have time for the details at this moment. But Pakistanis should by now realize that they cannot go on flouting Allah’s laws and expect Allah to deal with them mercifully. There is a great need for a change of course for the whole country. If that does not come then they might just become part of history as many before them have already become. May Allah have mercy on them despite the excesses in their conduct. All those who intend to follow in their path by disobeying Allah’s commands should beware. Our task is here to advise and warn although this may displease many.  

I have some more thoughts to share on this subject but we will leave it for the next Friday sermon maybe, because I have something else to say about another matter.

Those of you who follow international news are aware that a Christian pastor intends to burn one Holy Quran a day starting from tomorrow, the date of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attack in New York.  This pastor and his church represent only about 50 people in America. To the best of my knowledge he is doing this because a group of Muslims have decided to build a mosque at Ground zero. The intended action of this pastor and his minority group mirrors the type of bigotry that we can see in America.  

The Ahmadiyya Caliph Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad spoke about this matter in one of his recent sermons and he said:

“The world needs peace, love and brotherhood. The world needs an end to wars. Instead of walls of hatred being erected we need peace to prevail and for this to occur people of all faiths must join together. As I said there is nothing wrong with debates but they should take place in a peaceful and respectful environment.”

These are his words as published on their website. Speaking with others he sends the message of peace but when he speaks about his own people who do not agree with him he issues decrees of boycott and contrary to his own words he imposes upon simpleminded Ahmadis to boycott their brothers and sisters in social functions. I have already once published the letters where such instructions have been given and they are easily available on demand. Once an instruction of boycott has the sanctity of caliphal approval, of course the national Amir and his coterie of yes-men in the Majlis Amila are here to oblige. With a religious and fanatical zeal that even rivals their desire to obey Allah’s instructions they continue to darken their book of life with misdeeds. At the same time they continue to proclaim not in mosques but on the roof of mosques that they promote “Love for all and hatred for none”. What hypocrisy, they say something and they do its opposite. Do they not read in the Holy Quran “Most hateful it is in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not practice?”

If we can excuse a bigoted behavior on the part of a Christian because we know he has false beliefs and he is ignorant, however such an attitude on part of claimants of followers of true Islam is obnoxious in the sight of Allah. Were the Holy Prophet ^saw or Hazrat Masih Maood ^as alive, they would have wondered how such people could claim to be their representatives. 

The real lovers of Allah and the Holy Prophet and Hazrat Masih Maood ^as have genuine love for others. They are here to build bridges and to reach out to others and they are careful not to harm anyone with either words or actions. As I have said previously Ahmadiyya doctrine is being diluted these days by people at the head in order to meet some political expediency. Later incha Allah I will write or talk about the announcement that has been made and invitations that have been taken back because of pressure from the Amir.

Despite all this I tell you all to rise above their pettiness and seek your pleasure in your Lord. He is your Paradise and no one can replace Him. Eid Mobarak once again to you all and to all sincere Muslims around the world.