SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE (part 2)

43The Review of Religions – March 2007 Based on a speech delivered by Mr Rafiq A Hayat, Ameer UK, at the Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community United Kingdom 2006 At the saddest time of his life when the Promised Messiah(as) knew that his father was going to die, a hint of an idea crept into his mind about his own future. He was left wondering as to who would provide him comfort after his father, when suddenly, in all His Majesty, Allah Almighty sent this revelation to him: Is Allah not sufficient for His servant? It was an admonishment from a Friend and a promise as well. Allah provides for His servants. Those who achieve closeness and nearness of Allah, Allah becomes responsible for them. The help and succour that the Promised Messiah(as) received time and again in his life, stands as a clear proof of the existence of Allah the Almighty. Indeed, the life of Promised Messiah(as) is a vast catalogue of Allah’s assistance and help to him at every step. Another example of the succour and help of Allah the Almighty given to the Promised Messiah(as) is taken from his momentous book, Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya. In this book, the Promised Messiah(as) declares: ‘Hence, He (meaning Allah the Almighty) has informed me that people will come to you and My Assistance will support you and people will Succour and Help from Allah the Almighty Is Proof of His Existence – Part 2 By Rafiq Ahmad Hayat – Ameer, UK 44 The Review of Religions – March 2007 SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 come from all directions and you will be provided succour.’ Then addressing the people, he further declares: ‘You can witness the succour of God, how it is coming and how it is being manifested. Everyone, who has eyes to see is running towards us’ So, my brothers and my friends! The above Divine glad tidings were given to the Promised Messiah(as) when he was an unknown person living in an unknown place like Qadian. He made his announcement on the occasion of the first Jalsa Salana when only 75 were present. Today, the fulfilment of this great prophecy is being witnessed by the whole world. We, who are sitting here in this Jalsa Salana, can testify to the truthfulness of the succour and the help of Allah for the Promised Messiah(as). The foundation of this blessed occasion was laid in 1891 in Qadian. On that occasion, the Promised Messiah(as) declared, ‘nations are being prepared for this (Jalsa).’ And indeed I would say that we are all witness to the fulfilment of these words. Today by the Grace of Allah we are holding Jalsa Salanas throughout the world and at this Jalsa Salana that we are enjoying today – we have seen thousands and thousands of people from almost a hundred countries come to join in this very auspicious occasion and there lies the Mercy and the Blessings of Allah and His assistance to His servants. Also with the help of MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya), the whole world is benefiting from these proceedings and through the blessings of MTA millions of people around the world, InshaAllah will be involved and will be participating in the International Bai’at Ceremony which will be InshaAllah taking place later. So for those who wanted proof and all those people who disbelieve about the coming of the Promised Messiah(as) – they only have to look but they need the eyes so 45The Review of Religions – March 2007 that they can look and all those people and all those Muslims who criticise the coming of the Promised Messiah(as), if with a bit of open-mindedness they looked at the blessings that this Jamaat has received from Allah Almighty, they need not have any more convincing about the succour that the Promised Messiah(as) received from Allah the Almighty. The Companions of the Promised Messiah(as) were infused with the same piety and righteousness as were the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) and they also witnessed the existence of Allah the Almighty. There are so many examples of the Companions of the Promised Messiah(as) who have had their personal experiences of the succour and assistance from Allah the Almighty. The devotion and obedience of Hadhrat Maulvi Nooruddeen Khalifatul Masih I(ra), to the Promised Messiah(as) is well documented. His love and his loyal faith in God is also very well documented. There is one incident that I would like to relate. He once received a message from the Promised Messiah(as) who at that time was with his father-in-law Hadhrat Mir Nasir Nawab Sahib who was not feeling well and the Promised Messiah(as) had gone to see him in Delhi. The Promised Messiah(as) sent a telegram to Hadhrat Maulvi Sahib and asked him to come and join him in Delhi. When Hadhrat Maulvi Sahib received the message – the person who had sent the telegram said ‘Come immediately’ – Maulvi Sahib was in his clinic when he received the telegram – and it is said that he stood up, while he was in surgery, sent a message to his wife, dismissed all the patients and left for Batala. Now there are many instances in the life of Hadhrat Maulvi Sahib that show that his blind faith took him through some very difficult situations. Very often he would make these journeys totally unprepared not having a penny in his pocket or any food yet Allah continued to SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 46 The Review of Religions – March 2007 help him. And in this instance as well Allah came to his assistance. A Hindu citizen saw Maulvi Sahib at the station and requested him to see his wife in town who was ill. Maulvi Sahib apologised and said he had to catch a train to Amritsar. So the Hindu gentleman immediately went and fetched his wife to the station and Maulvi Sahib was able to give her medication. Immediately after, the gentleman went and bought the ticket for the train and also gave him money. When Maulvi Sahib had left he had absolutely no money to even buy a ticket for that train. There you see the example of Allah’s succour and the blind faith that some of the companions had. Another example of a companion of the Promised Messiah(as) that I want to quote is from the life of Hadhrat Ghulam Rasool Rajekee Sahib. When we read his life story in Hayaat-a-Qudsi, we find that every instance, every moment of life was governed by his obedience of the Promised Messiah(as) and in the suppli- cation to Allah the Almighty. In return, he was rewarded with exceptional acceptance of prayer and was aided and provided succour by Allah the Almighty against the opponents of the Promised Messiah(as). Hadhrat Maulvi Rajekee Sahib narrates that a delegation of four Ulama was sent on a tour of India by Hadhrat Khalifa-tul-Masih II(ra). The delegation consisted of Maulvi Rajekee Sahib, Maulvi Muhammad Salim Sahib, Mahasha Muhammad Umar Sahib and Giani Ibadullah Sahib. In one of the important Tabligh meetings to a large gathering listening to the speeches, it started to rain and all chairs and carpets started to get soaked in water. All Ahmadi speakers felt great anxiety that this opportunity to convey the message of Islam may be missed. Maulvi Rajekee started to pray and says: as I finished my prayer, the rain slowed down and I announced that people should sit down because the rain will stop. Alhamduolillah, we were able to pass our message without any interruption. SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 47The Review of Religions – March 2007 Indeed, I can also narrate my personal experience of this nature. When I was Sadar Ansarullah UK and we were holding our Annual Ijtema in Islamabad – we were making preparations when dark clouds descended and it started to rain. I immediately telephoned Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV(ru) and explained the situation. At the same time, all Ansar present joined in a prayer and supplicated to Allah to use His Mercy and stop the rain so that the noble purpose of this Ijtema could be achieved. It will, forever remain with me as an endearing memory of an exceptional experience: it was entirely through the Mercy of Allah that the rain stopped immediately and we were able to continue our programme. For all those present it was a manifestation of Allah’s mercy on us as we continued to receive reports from the new arrivals that heavy rainfall continued a short distance away from Islamabad where the Ijtema was being held. It saddens me to think why is it that nowadays, people think or feel that they have not been able to witness the existence of God through His Beneficent mani- festation? The Reformers in Islam at the head of each century and the Promised Messiah(as) in the 14th century came to remind us about the existence of God and about the necessity to achieve the nearness of Allah the Almighty. The converse with Allah and direct address from Allah the Almighty to each human being requires total and absolute surrender to the Majesty of Allah, before Whom nothing can exist. In an ordinary sense it means to surrender ourselves to the Will of Allah, and in the highest sense it means the awareness of nothingness before Him. As the Holy Qur’an states: All that is on it (earth) will pass away. And there will remain only the Person of thy Lord, Master of Glory and Honour. (Ch.55:Vs.27-28) SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 48 The Review of Religions – March 2007 The very name of the religion of Islam comes from this reality, for the Arabic word ISLAM means our surrender to God as well as the peace that issues forth from this surrender. However, this surrender must involve our whole being and a person must become a perfect servant (ABD) in the sense of following all His commandments. It means living while following the Divine Law and the ethical teachings of Islam, striving in life according to religious teachings to the extent of one’s ability and then being resigned to the Will of God and what destiny places before us. This is what the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) taught us. When the Muslims all over the world forgot that message, the Promised Messiah(as) came to revive and remind humanity at large. The Promised Messiah(as) has stated that one of the purposes of his coming was to show people how to achieve the nearness of Allah the Almighty. We, who have accepted him and have the privilege of being Ahmadi Muslims, have a duty to cultivate in ourselves the surrender to the Will of Allah. Only then will we witness the succour of Allah for us and we will realise the existence of Allah the Almighty. The Promised Messiah(as) declares: ‘Pay attention those of you who have ears; what does God require from you? Only this that you become His alone and have no equals with Him, neither on this earth nor in heaven. Our God is the One Who is alive today as much as He ever was, He speaks today as He did in the past and He hears as He used to hear. To think that He only listens but does not speak in this age is a vain belief. Indeed, He both hears and speaks. All His attributes are eternal and everlasting. None of His attributes were suspended. He is the same Unique Being Who has no associates. He has neither son nor wife and He is the same Eternal Being Who is peerless and there is none like Him and there is no one similar to Him in His attributes. He is near yet far SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 49The Review of Religions – March 2007 and distant yet close and He is the highest of the high…’ (Roohani Khazain,Alwassiyat, pp.309) We have a living God Who hears and answers. It is only for us to seek Him in the truest sense by a total and complete surrender. Only then will we experience the existence of that Majestic Reality Who has all the attributes of Beneficence and Mercy. We are fortunate to have all the guidance in the Holy Qur’an and the commentaries that have been left for us by the Promised Messiah and his Khulafa. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V has been continuously guiding us in these matters. It is prayers, suppli- cations and our obedience to our beloved Khalifa that can help us to achieve the nearness of Allah. Only at that stage can we expect the succour and help from Allah the Almighty. Let us remember the purpose of our creation. As the Holy Qur’an says: And we created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between the two in play. (Ch.21:V.17) The deepest purpose of this creation is explained in a famous Hadith-e-Qudsi (a sacred saying of the Holy Prophet(saw) in which Allah speaks in the first person through the mouth of the Holy Prophet(saw)): ‘I was a hidden treasure. I loved to be known. Therefore, I created the creation so that I should be known.’ The purpose of creation of this humanity is God’s love of the knowledge of Himself to be realised by His central agent on earth – human beings. For a human being to know God and to understand God is fulfilling the very purpose of his creation. Once we have developed that love, we will witness the existence of God at every step and every instance of our lives. His succour will be manifested for us. Indeed He will become our eyes through which we see, our ears through which we hear SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2 50 The Review of Religions – March 2007 and our hands that will perform the deeds that are loved by God. There are numerous examples and I am sure that everyone sitting in this very auditorium will be able to relate their own personal examples in this respect. Allah even today speaks to his people. Allah today assists all those who have prayed sincerely to Him, He has come to our assistance. Indeed the very fact that we are sitting in this hall, the acquisition of this site, and being able to hold a Jalsa Salana in a very short time is again proof of Allah’s assistance and how He comes to the aid of His people. You have no idea of the number of problems and the number of issues that arose in trying to get to this stage – but at every endeavour God Almighty assisted us and paved the path for us in allowing this magnificent event to take place on this new site. As my time is running out, I would like to say we should always remember that the reason for our creation is to attain closeness to God Almighty. We should supplicate to Him. We should pray to Him. We can talk to Him in any language that we like, as I quoted the earlier example of the shepherd, God loves to hear from His people. God communicates with His people. People see dreams which are fulfilled. You will have heard in Huzur’s sermon yesterday how people through their dreams were brought close to the Jama’at and I am sure that each and every one of you sitting here would have their own personal experiences. Therefore it is very important that we continue to supplicate to God Almighty – the world that we live in is seeing a lot of strife at the moment. We need Allah’s assistance and through prayers and through supplication to Him, that is the only way that Allah’s assistance will come and the strife and the hurt that humanity is going through today will achieve a peaceful end. May Allah bless you all. SUCCOUR AND HELP FROM ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY IS PROOF OF HIS EXISTENCE – PART 2