MAGAZINE: EDITION DECEMBER 2023
Religious Concepts

Gems of the Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi (as) – Obedience

The Promised Messiah (as)

Obedience means to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (sa). Then behold how Allah Almighty showers His blessings. The companions of the Holy Prophet (sa) acted in this manner and witness how Allah Almighty rewarded them with immense success! They turned their backs to the world and completely renounced its allure. They extinguished their desires. Now compare your state with theirs. Do you follow in their footsteps? Alas! Today, people do not realise what God Almighty desires of them. Indeed [1] رَأْسُ كُلِّ خَطِيْئَةٍ [love of the world] has spawned many a child. People go to court and do not feel the least bit of shame or regret in bearing false testimony for a mere two annas. Can advocates declare on oath that all the witnesses they produce in court are truthful? Today, the state of the world has become dire in every respect. False witnesses are produced, lodging false lawsuits is nothing, and false certificates are forged. Whenever people speak, they steer clear of the truth. Now, one must ask these people, who see no need in establishing this community, is this the religion which the Holy Prophet (sa) brought? Allah the Exalted equates falsehood to filth and states that one ought to abstain from it:

فَٱجۡتَنِبُواْ ٱلرِّجۡسَ مِنَ ٱلۡأَوۡثَٰنِ وَٱجۡتَنِبُواْ قَوۡلَ ٱلزُّورِ

Here falsehood is mentioned with idolatry. Just as a foolish person abandons Allah Almighty and bows before stone, so does one shun truth and piety to achieve his own ends, and take falsehood as an idol. This is the very reason that Allah the Exalted has mentioned falsehood alongside idol-worship and drawn a parallel between the two. Just as an idol-worshipper seeks salvation from an idol, a liar also carves an idol and surmises that they shall be delivered through this idol. How rampant has evil become? It is a pity that when people are asked the reason for their being idolaters and are advised to shun this abomination, they say that they cannot, and that they have no other option. What can be more unfortunate than the fact that such people consider their lives to be wholly reliant on falsehood? I assure you, however, that ultimately truth prevails, and goodness and success belong to it alone.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), The Advent of the Promised Messiah (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 2016), 27-29.


ENDNOTES

[1] The root cause of all vice.