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

Recently a friend of mine reminded me about an extract from the book of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as where he speaks about Islam. This is so beautiful a piece of writing that I have decided to share it with all our brothers and sisters so that they may also partake of the spiritual delights of reading such materials. The first time I read this extract was around 1982/3 when I first laid my hand on the book Aina-e-kamalaat Islam (Mirror of the Excellence of Islam). I will have to confess that at that time I strived to read the book because I was not very conversant with the Urdu language then. But I was eager to read the book because I wanted to know why Hazrat Sayyed Abdul Latif^ra , the martyr read the book at one go in one night and why it had such a profound effect on him. Since then I had always wished to share this text and some other extracts from this book with the members of the Jamaat but for one reason or other I could not do it.

First of all let me give you a brief note about the book itself. The book has two parts, one in Urdu and one in Arabic language. It was published in 1893. Another title of the book is “Dafi-ul-wasawis” which can be translated as ‘the remover of the suspicions' (or doubts). In fact the book addresses the doubts that crop into the mind concerning Islam and also the claims of the Promised Messiah ^as. The subtitle for the Arabic part of the book is “Al Tabligh” which means “the conveyance of the message”. At that time inIndia the Christians were making a very strong attack on Islam. The Muslims were unable to defend the arguments of the Christians and they felt overawed by what was happening. Therefore Hazrat Ahmad ^as wrote the book in order to show both the Muslims and others the beauty of the teachings of Islam.

So after explaining the excellences of Islam, he speaks about the prophetic revelations, the angels and their functions. He also answers those who are engrossed in modern philosophy and object to the teachings of Islam. He goes on to prove with convincing arguments that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, was far superior to Jesus Christ (as) - as he was to other prophets also. He had to do so because it was being preached that Jesus (as) was superior to the Holy Prophet (saw).

Then Hazrat Ahmad ^as goes on to tell his readers how to become good Muslims and what should a person do to attain to that position. Having proved that Islam is a living religion, he assures the Muslims that the days of the victory of Islam are at hand.

Hadhrat Ahmad (as) also refutes the idea of Jesus Christ (as) having performed the miracles which are ascribed to him, i. e. giving life to the dead. He says that if Jesus (as) had actually performed these miracles, the end of some of his disciples would not have been so bad as it really was - one of them took a small amount of money and got him arrested and another expressed his ignorance of who Jesus (as) was.

Hadhrat Ahmad (as) compares the Companions of the Holy Prophet (saw) with the disciples of Jesus Christ (as) and shows the marked difference and proves thereby that truly speaking it was the Holy Prophet (sa) who was life giving and not Jesus Christ (as).

Hadhrat Ahmad (as) announces that he has been commissioned by God to call upon all the Maulvis and Muftis who call him a kafir, because of their partial difference or because they have not been able to understand his claim, for a prayer duel to show who is on the right and who is not. He also calls upon the Christian missionaries, Hindus, Aryas, Brahmans, Sikhs, Atheists and Naturalists to come forward and get the issues decided. After these challenges and invitations, he assures those who had believed in him or who would believe in him in future that their end would be a blessed one and they would not be the losers at all.

The second part of this book which is in Arabic and is entitled Al-Tabligh was written at the instance of Maulvi Abdul Karim, one of his close companions, Maulvi Abdul Karim suggested that a detailed letter be written to the Muslim religious leaders who are known as Faqirs and Pirzadas. Hadhrat Ahmad (as) liked this suggestion very much and wanted to write the letter to be a part of his book, in Urdu. But he had some indications from God that he should write this letter in Arabic. That is why it was written in Arabic. This was the first writing of Hadhrat Ahmad (as) in Arabic.

At the very outset he addresses the Faqirs, the Zahids and the respectable people of Arabia, India and other countries and tells them that he has been raised to uproot the evils that crept into the world and to remind them all what  the religious Islamic law says. He also calls upon them not to look down upon him.

He proves to his readers that Jesus (as) had died and he adds that it is simply not possible that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, should be lying buried under the ground while Jesus Christ (as) should be alive and that too in the heavens. He also quotes the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith to prove the death of Jesus Christ (as). As for the second coming of Christ of the latter days he was to be born in those very days; he had not to come from the skies. In this Arabic section also he calls upon the Queen to accept Islam for this is the only religion now acceptable to God. He tells her to repent and to listen to him.

 Finally He gives some details of his lineage and also the biographical notes about some of his 'Brothers in religion'.

 I have adapted this summary from the book of Naseem Saifi Saheb “Introducing the books of the Promised Messiah” which is available at www.alislam.org .

Now I will read to you some extracts from the book, especially as I have already said where the Promised Messiah speaks about Islam. He says:

“First of all it is necessary to set out what is the reality of Islam, what are the means of arriving at that reality and what are the fruits of following that reality; for this knowledge is essential for the purpose of understanding many mysteries. It would be of great benefit for our opponents that they should study these matters with attention, for many of the doubts which assail their minds are the result of their failure to reflect upon the complete and perfect reality of Islam, its sources and its fruits. . . . The opponents of religion also would benefit greatly by this study. They would understand what religion is and what are the signs of its truth.

In the idiom of Arabic, Islam means money paid as earnest to conclude a bargain, or to commit some affair to someone, or to seek peace, or to surrender a claim or point.

The technical meaning of Islam is set out in the verse: “man aslama wajhahou lillahe wa howa muhsenoune falahu ajrohou inda rabbehi wa laa  khawfoune alayhim wa laa houm yahzanoune”

Translation:“The truth is that whoever submits himself completely to the will of Allah and acts righteously shall have his reward with his Lord. No fear shall come upon such, nor shall they grieve (2:113).

This means that a Muslim is one who commits himself wholly to the cause of God Almighty; that is to say, one who devotes himself to God Almighty, to following His designs and to winning His pleasure, and then becomes steadfast in doing good for the sake of God Almighty and devotes all his faculties to that cause. In other words, he belongs entirely to God Almighty both doctrinally and in practice.

Doctrinal belonging means that one should esteem one's being as something which has been created for the recognition of God Almighty and His obedience and the seeking of His love and pleasure.

Practical belonging means to do all the good that is related to every one of one's faculties with such eagerness and attention as if one beholds the countenance of the True Beloved in the mirror of one's obedience [Ayna Kamalat-e-Islam, Essence of Islam Volume 1 page 18].

In order to understand the deeper meanings of these words you should reflect upon them. If you think that a cursory reading will suffice you would be mistaken. You need to read these extracts several times before it dawns upon you how far you are following Islam as it should be followed. Those who are familiar with the Urdu language should read in that language. Then you will be able to better appreciate what is being said here. The Promised Messiah goes on to say:

“A person can be held to be a Muslim when the whole of his being together with all his faculties, physical and spiritual, is devoted to God Almighty, and the trusts that are committed to him by God Almighty are rendered back to the True Giver. He should demonstrate his being a Muslim not only doctrinally but also in practice. In other words, a person claiming to be a Muslim should prove that his hands and feet and heart and mind, his reason and his understanding, his anger and his compassion, his meekness and his knowledge, all his physical and spiritual faculties, and his honour and his property, his comfort and his delight and whatever pertains to him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, together with his motives, his fears, his passions, have all been subordinated to Almighty God as a person's limbs are subordinated to him. It should be proved that his sincerity has reached a stage in which whatever is his does not belong to him but to God Almighty, and that all his limbs and faculties have become so devoted to the service of God as if they had become the limbs of the Divine.

Reflection on these verses shows clearly that devoting one's life to the cause of God Almighty, which is the essence of Islam, has two aspects. First, that God Almighty should become the object of worship and the true goal and beloved, and that no one should be associated in His worship, in His love, and in His hope. All the commandments related to His holiness and glory and worship, and all the limits set by Him, and all heavenly decrees should be totally and sincerely accepted. All these commandments and limits and laws and decrees should be accepted in great humility, and all the truths and understandings, which are the means of appreciating His vast powers and of finding out the greatness of His kingdom and His sovereignty and are a guide for the recognition of His favours and bounties, should be fully ascertained.

The second aspect of devoting one's life to the cause of God Almighty is that one's life should be devoted to the service of His creatures and to sympathy with them and to sharing their burdens and sorrows. One should suffer pain to bring them comfort, and one should experience grief to bring them consolation.

This shows that the reality of Islam is a very superior thing and that no one can truly deserve the title of Muslim till he surrenders the whole of his being to God, together with all his faculties and desires and designs, and till he begins to tread along this path withdrawing altogether from his ego and all its attendant qualities. A person will be truly called a Muslim only when his heedless life undergoes a total revolution and his evil-directing self, together with all its passions, is wiped out altogether and he is invested with a new life which is characterized by his carrying out all his obligations to Allah and which should comprise nothing except obedience to the Creator and sympathy for His creatures.

Obedience to the Creator means that to make manifest His Honour and Glory and Unity one should be ready to endure every dishonour and humiliation, and one should be eager to undergo a thousand deaths in order to uphold His Unity. One hand should be ready to cut off the other with pleasure in obedience to Him, and the love of the grandeur of His commandments and the thirst for seeking His pleasure should make sin so hateful as if it were a consuming fire, or a fatal poison, or an obliterating lightning, from which one must run away with all one's power. For seeking His pleasure one must surrender all the desires of one's ego; and to establish a relationship with Him one should be ready to endure all kinds of injuries; and to prove such relationship one must cut sunder from all other relationships.

The service of one's fellow-beings means to strive 'for their benefit purely for the sake of God in all their needs, and in all the relationships of mutual dependence which God has established out of true and selfless sympathy for them. Everyone in need of help should be helped out of one's God-given capacity and one must strive for their betterment both in this world and in the hereafter [Essence of Islam Volume 1 page 21-23]

These are only two of the extracts that I wanted to share with you from this important book of Hazrat Masih Maood ^as. Unfortunately because of time constraints I will have to end here but incha Allah I will comment some parts of these extracts in a later sermon. May Allah help each one amongst us to understand the true ideals of Jamaat Ahmadiyya and to live up to them incha Allah.