After reciting Tashahhud, Ta`awwuz and Surah al-Fatihah, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) said that by the grace of Allah, the month of Ramadan has started. This month of fasting has been granted to us by God in order to strengthen our connection with Him and for us to see to our spiritual reformation.
His Holiness (aba) prayed that may Allah enable every Ahmadi to truly benefit from this month. However, everyone must bear in mind that one can only attain true benefit when they seek to uphold and excel in their standards of love for God and His worship even after the month of Ramadan. It is then that we will be able to fulfil the purpose of our creation.
Learning Worship from The Prophets
His Holiness (aba) said that in the previous sermons, he has been mentioning incidents of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) love for God, his devotion to God’s worship, and then the Promised Messiah’s (as) love for God and his standard of worship. His Holiness (aba) said that this series will continue and he would present more incidents from the life of the Promised Messiah (as).
His Holiness (aba) said that it is a blessing that this series of incidents about a master and his servant’s love for God have led into Ramadan, giving us an opportunity to analyse ourselves in light of them so that we may improve our conditions. Thus, we should bear all of these incidents in mind and analyse ourselves against them and seek to improve our own conditions and standards in light of them. It should not be that we simply listen to and enjoy these incidents. Rather, they should be our guiding principle.
Always Thinking of God and His Rights
His Holiness (aba) said that in 1907, Maulvi Muhammad Abdullah was given a scrap of paper to discard, however that piece of paper had been written on by the Promised Messiah (as) and his blessed wife, and so rather than throwing that scrap of paper away he kept it safe with him. Later at some point, he said he lost it, however the person who gave him that scrap of paper, Amatul Rahman, had explained to him the background of what was written on that paper, which made it all the more special and which is why he has related this incident. Amatul Rahman recounted that one day, the Promised Messiah (as) and his wife tried an experiment: they wanted to see if they could close their eyes and write on a piece of paper. The Promised Messiah (as) closed his eyes and wrote, “Man should always fear God and pray to him five times a day.” This was the standard that the Promised Messiah (as) expected from his followers. The Promised Messiah’s (as) blessed wife wrote, “Mahmud is my beloved son, no one should trouble him.” She also wrote, “Mubarak Ahmad asks for biscuits!”
His Holiness (aba) said that even whilst in the relaxed environment of his home, when the Promised Messiah (as) wrote something without giving it much prior thought, it still pertained to imparting guidance. This is what sets those commissioned by God apart from others. He was concerned with establishing the love of God in others.
The Companionship of a Prophet is Like Boarding a Boat
His Holiness (aba) related another incident: the Promised Messiah (as) once intended to undertake a retreat of solitude outside of Qadian and also take the opportunity to see India. Hence, the Promised Messiah (as) decided to go to Sujanpur in Gurdaspur for this retreat of solitude. However, the Promised Messiah (as) was the