Eid Message

Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, conveyed Eid greetings to every-one during his Sermon delivered on 26 November 2003 from the recently inaugurated Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, Surrey (UK). Some extracts from this Eidul Fitr (Eid = lit. a recurring happy day; Eidul Fitr is at the end of month of Ramadan) Sermon are reproduced in a summarised form below: O soul at rest that has found comfort in God, return to thy Lord, thou well pleased with Him and He well pleased with thee. Now join My 3 Eid Message from Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V The Review of Religions – January 2004 E i d M e s s a g e by Hahdrat M i rz a M a s ro o r Ahmad – Head of the w o r l d w i d e A h m a d i y y a c o m m u n i t y chosen servants and enter into My garden. (Ch. 89: V.28-31) In our faith, Eid is not for boisterous merry making, wearing of good clothes or eating and drinking. For the sake of winning Allah’s pleasure, we impose upon ourselves the restrictions of the month of fasting so that we may gather His blessings. Whereas great emphasis has been placed on worship during this month, there is also the requirement to be mindful of the needy. Do not stop by merely feeding them on Eid. Do not break the ties with the less fortunate but assess their needs from time to time and continue to help them. Helping the unemployed find a job and encouraging them would be an act of charity. So if in this spirit, each Ahmadi helps those less well off to stand on their own feet, then it is possible that the same person who was depen- dent on your aid this year would be able to help someone else at next year’s Eid. In this way, not only would economic condi- tions improve but moral values would also begin to rise higher and once moral values rise, other good values would also begin to emerge and a healthy environment would be established. The Promised Messiah( a s ) h a s said: Moral values are the ladder to all progress. God Almighty never wastes the faith of a person who acts kindly towards others. When a person does a deed for winning the pleasure of God Almighty and deals with his weak brother with compassion, then that person’s sincerity strength- ens his faith. But it should be remembered that moral values displayed as a show o ff are not regarded as values by God Almighty 4 Eid Message from Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V The Review of Religions – January 2004 and in the absence of sincerity, they serve no use. Many people build tem- porary lodgings for travellers but their true purpose is fame; however, if a person does something for God Almighty then no matter how small that deed, God does not let it go waste but rewards it. It is narrated in the Traditions that a Companion asked the Holy P r o p h e t( s a ) whether he would be rewarded for what he had spent in the age of ignorance. The Holy Prophet(sa) responded that it was the fruit of these alms and charity that he had become a Muslim. (Malfoozat, Vol.7 pp 281- 282). Today we should resolve that we would maintain the habit of doing good deeds that we formed in the past 29 or 30 days. We have to raise our moral values to such a high stage that God’s voice of ‘thou well pleased with Him and He well with thee’ can be heard. We can only attain true happiness of Eid when the status of our prayers is high, and we are conscious of prayers in congregation, obedience to Khilafat, the rights of creation, and the pledge of initiation and allegiance. May Allah grant us the paradise of both worlds. Amin. Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad wished everyone Eid Mubarak and led the congregation in silent prayer. 5 Eid Message from Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V The Review of Religions – January 2004 A Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year to all readers of The Review of Religions