By A. Abdul Aziz.

(Given below is an excerpt of the Friday Sermon delivered by Ahmadiyya Supreme Head (Khalifa) Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad  at Baithul Futhuh Mosque, London, U.K. on 11 th September 2015 gave a discourse on Faith in Islam.)

 Ahmadiyya Khalifa said:

   An individual who claims to be a Muslim can only be defined as true Muslim if he has strong faith and understands the reality of the teachings of Islam. Faith is to dedicate oneself solely to God and to act upon His commandments. Islam implies understanding all commandments and while saving oneself from every kind of evil, also be the source of spreading security for others. This is the essence of Faith and Islam. If the Islamic world understood these two principles, we would see such magnificent scenes of lasting peace and the spreading of security as could create Heaven on Earth

In this era, Allah, the exalted sent the Promised Messiah (as) into the world to establish this true faith in the hearts of men and to show the world true examples of such true teachings of Islam and having accepted him and declared our being attached to him, this has become our responsibility. Having true faith & being true role models for Islam, become the Helpers of the Promised Messiah (as) in this blessed work and make the world aware of the true Faith and spread peace and security .

By the Grace of Allah, through the Nizam [the System and Organization], the Jama’at Ahmadiyya is performing this task throughout the world but it is the task of each Ahmadi to be a role model of teachings of Islam so that every one of us can fulfill this responsibility.

Unfortunately the disorder in Muslim countries have tarnished the name of Islam. How we wish that the Muslim countries would understand how much damage their policies of pursuing their own personal interest have caused to Islam & extremism and extremist organizations have come into being and gained strength because these same self-interest pervades the scene everywhere. The peace of entire nations is being shattered. Neither they themselves enjoy peace nor are they the source of peace for others.

The Governments are not upholding principles of justice for their citizens and neither are the citizens discharging the responsibilities they owe to the governments.

The Founder of the ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) states, at one place, in this connection that so long as the Governments and the citizens continue to behave with justice towards each other peace reigns in the land but when any injustice surfaces from the people or from the ruler then peace of the land is disturbed. Unfortunately, this is all that we witness taking place in most Muslim countries. And on top of this we see that the interests who are the enemies of Islam also are engaged in trying to benefit from these conditions.

On the one hand, both blocs are helped to ensure that the situation of disorder goes on worsening while on the other, the activities of the extremists are given undue coverage and the press and media provides limitless coverage to such misdeeds and thus Islam is maligned.

Ahmadiyya Khalifa said: that in my interviews I have stated that media has played a role in spreading hatred of Islam and in presenting Islam is as a religion of extremism and that the media does not do justice in the manner in which it handles these issues.

Political upheaval is attributed to Islam; the actions of political leaders are so presented and given such immense publicity as to make people think that Islam is a horrible faith.

However, where their own interests are involved sometimes they suppress news also, but only when such bad actions are not from so-called Muslims. This happened in Ireland, for example, a while back, when disorderly elements were perpetrating violence the press decided not to cover the news or they were made to not issue news about such events. As a result such events just caused things to boil over just in that local area and the government was able to have things return to normal after a short period.

It may be true that disorder created by extremists or those who oppose the governments in Muslim nations may be greater, perhaps, but how are such people able to continuously carry out such misdeeds? The weapons that they need to keep these fires burning is being supplied to them from the outside.

Ahmadiyya Supreme Head said that I have also told them that when people who are experiencing restlessness get involved in such actions in Muslim countries then intense publicity is given to these events and it is reported with great detail how many people have gone to do such things from here and how many from there etc. and in one way or another Islam is attacked which goes to further increase the restlessness and generates reaction. But when thousands, hundreds of thousands of Muslims discuss peace the media fails to cover them totally or they are not given such coverage as is extended to those who behave negatively.

Ahmadiyya Community (Jama’at) is spreading the teachings of love and compassion which are the teachings of Islam above and beyond all and is involved in doing this devotedly all over the world, and as a result hundreds of thousands of people are joining Ahmadiyya and coming under the banner of peace pledging and helping to spread peace & security. Yet, no media covers this news or even looks upon this – even if we tell you about it. Mostly coverage is given only to the few Muslims or Muslim groups who do negative things and just this wrong picture of Islam is painted and presented to the world. As a result of this the non-Muslims think that the only purpose of Islam is extremist and injustice and this is the true picture of Islam. So, as I have said, the non-Muslims continue to increase in their hatred for Islam.

The press, the media, is in any case a business and their profession is to present spicy and tantalizing headlines so they can make a profit but as I have said, hundreds of thousands gather under the banner of peace & security every year and I present the accounts of such people during the Jalsa Salana [Annual Convention] also and I did this this year also on the second day of the proceedings of U.K. Ahmadiyya Convention..

I will now present just a few examples of such people who, through Ahmadiyyat, saw the true face of Islam and their hearts were impacted. Among them are Muslims and non-Muslims also and there are many among them who, by seeing the beautiful face of Islam, came into the fold of Ahmadiyya and by pledging allegiance to the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) they took the oath to try their level best to serve the creation of Allah and put into practice the true teachings of Islam. They pledged to spread the true teachings of Islam, the teachings which propagate peace & security.

Some also testified that the world is in need of just such teachings and that the media had as if blocked all avenues of them receiving this beautiful message by continuously portraying a wrong picture of Islam. Our efforts, the efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community then came to the rescue and corrected the wrong impressions that they had of Islam.

In Benin a Christian Priest bore testimony, one day, very openly on the occasion of the inauguration of a mosque saying that today is a very wonderful day of my life. Today Muslims and Christians are sitting in one place on the same platform. I have worked previously in Muslim areas also but never witnessed such an occasion where Muslims and Christians should be together. There is no doubt that it is the Ahmadiyya Jama’at that has gathered us all together. I salute Ahmadiyyat with the salutation of peace.

Then many who love justice are also very impressed with the work of the Jama’at. Some of these made their feelings known to you here also during the U.K. Convention. By the Grace of Allah, the teachings of Islam that Jama’at Ahmadiyya presents and the practical examples of the Ahmadis and their service to humanity and its other efforts are appreciated all around the world and are liked by them and they say how beautiful these teachings are.

Benin (mosque inauguration). Minister of Transport said that the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is not, for us, a new unknown entity. Their humanitarian efforts are apparent and known to all. We who are the representatives of the government investigate all groups and entities and it is our job to keep an eye on their aims and objectives and I can say that the humanitarian services rendered by the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in Benin and their efforts in spreading love and peace are of the foremost stature – they are number one. For these efforts to spread love and peace I present to the Ahmadiyya Jama’at the salutation of peace and it is this love that has drawn me to be present at this occasion. Then he goes on to say that all government institutions are present to help you in your tasks as your motto “love for all” and the teachings that you present have compelled us to do so.

The media plays such a great role in influencing the population that they are not only causing fear in the adults but are also creating fear in the hearts of children and sometimes such unfortunate incidents take place at schools in which non-Muslim children treat Muslim children in such a bad manner that it is most unfortunate and this shows that hatred of Muslims is on the rise.

Meanwhile on the other hand it is wonderful how the effect of all this negative propaganda is reversed by the efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. I will share a small incident that relates to this.

In Kababir we have a small mosque and our missionary from there writes that a little while back a Jewish teacher was visiting and was introducing the Jama’at to the children in front of our mosque. Very likely that the teacher also knew Arabic. It is written on the entrance of our mosque:

[3:96] whoso enters it, enters peace.

The teacher was reading and translating the Arabic and telling the children that this means that one who enters this abode will enter the abode of peace. The teacher said to the children that these words are said by all Muslims and are found in the Holy Quran and are repeated by all but he said to the children that you should know that the true meaning, the practical meaning of these words you will only be able to find inside the Ahmadi mosques.

Then it is also worth noting how wonderfully Allah, the Exalted, turns the attention of the people towards the Jama’at. There is an area in Burkina Faso a French speaking country, where a mosque was erected and on the occasion of its inauguration a friend said that I was introduced to the Jama’at 10 years ago and at that time I thought that it was just another ordinary Islamic community and so neither I accepted its message nor made mention of it in this area. But now, today, seeing the inauguration of their mosque, I realize that the Muslim Community whom I had ignored thinking that they were just another ordinary Muslim community are in fact the Community who are displaying the true teachings of Islam and serving Islam and today they have also established, erected a mosque in my village. And today it has become clear to me that this Jama’at is indeed true and enjoys the support of Allah, the Exalted.

Then at another place in Benin where the people who live believe in a multiplicity of gods – all who live there associate partners with God. Our missionary went to a village in that area for the propagation of Islam and after giving a speech introducing the Jama’at he said if anyone has a question they should ask. An elder stood up and said that I used to have very bad ideas about Islam and when you came I thought that Boko Haram [which is a terrorist organization creating a lot of problems in Nigeria especially these days] had arrived amongst us and entered here, but now after listening to you all my doubts and worries about Islam have been removed and he said that I am the first to accept the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat. Then after him a total of some 40 individuals accepted Islam Ahmadiyyat in that village and a new Jama’at was established in a land where otherwise the people believe in a multiplicity of gods.

In his village, they have the custom of carrying out elaborate rituals upon a person’s death involving extreme expenditure and lengthy times but this elder said that I want to adopt Islamic customs and the custom they have should not be followed in his case. The elder also testified one day that a new spirit was instilled within him after accepting Islam Ahmadiyyat and that when it is time to offer prayer my body tells me that it is time to offer prayer. So such a wonderful change has happened in me that when it is time to pray I get up and offer prayer and my soul and body are afforded peace and contentment in this way. So those among us who are lazy in the offering of salat should remember that the new entrants into Islam Ahmadiyyat have such a wonderful attention to the worship of Allah and offer their prayers with great attention and care. And he says that now he feels a great transformation in himself. Today, as I have said, it is only through the Promised Messiah (as) that the true teachings of Islam can spread in the world. Mention is often made of this in the reports that how miraculously Allah, the Exalted, is making it possible for the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat to reach to the people and how the people are affected by this message. I will mention an incident to illustrate this.

In Guinea in a small place some 500 Kms from the Capitol of the country, a delegation of Ahmadis went for propagation in a village. A cleric arrived and tried to cause disorder. He said you are not allowed to propagate. An individual in the gathering stood up against him. He said the cleric has been there for such a long time but has never taught us such beautiful teachings of Islam. As a result the cleric left and 15 individuals accepted Ahmadiyyat from that gathering.

There is another incident from Guinea. Here when our missionary went to a village some 200 kms distant from the Capitol, an individual said that the Tablighi Jama’at had visited them before and although they also talked God and Prophet but they misbehaved so badly that their misdeeds cannot even be mentioned by us. So if you have come to do the same we want you to leave before we expel you by inflicting harm upon you.

Our people sought permission to speak and their petition was supported by an elder of the community who counseled that we should listen to them as these people seem somewhat different from those others. They were told about the purpose of the coming of the Promised Messiah (as), about the Day of Judgment and that the Holy Prophet had made a prophecy concerning the latter days and the appearance of the Promised Messiah in those days.

The individuals were impacted to such a degree that entire village converted with their Imam & the villages around also converted by the Grace of Allah within the span of a week.

Unfortunately, Muslim leaders have turned away from Islam due to actions of clerics & the non-Muslims have found a way to attack Islam.

I will now present one or two examples of how Jama’at Ahmadiyya brings people, who have become disheartened of Islam, back.

In Africa a Qur’an/Bookstall exhibition was set up at one place. Two individuals came and when they were introduced to Ahmadiyyat and were told that the Messiah (as) and Imam Mahdi had arrived and the he was the Imam of the Age, they immediately said, “but the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is Khatam-un-Nabiyeen, will someone come after him? So they were given a few books about the truth of the Promised Messiah (as) in French and were made aware of the prophecies found in the ahadees of the Holy Prophet about the sorry state in which the Muslims would be in the latter days. They were told about Ahmadiyyat, the True Islam, the True Islam that the Holy Prophet had brought and taught the beautiful face of which today’s Muslims have made so ugly and they do not know that Islam is about love, peace and harmony and tranquility.

Upon hearing all this, these two individuals said we are indeed Muslims insofar as our beliefs are concerned but we had become so fed up of the extremism and violence in Islam that we had decided to convert to Christianity but now hearing the description of true Islam from the Ahmadis we realize that Islam is not the religion that these mullahs teach and our wrong notion of Islam have been corrected. The missionary Sahib writes that they thanked us for having saved us from leaving Islam and converting to Christianity.

Even non-Muslims when they hear of the true and beautiful teachings of Islam their hearts are moved to want to spread this message and they begin to help us in this work. In Japan a Buddhist gentleman came to our bookstall and said that his knowledge of Islam was very little and when he was told about the true teachings of Islam and shown what the Holy Quran said about other faiths he liked them very much and not only thanked us for this information but said that this beautiful teaching merits being spread in the entire world and that the misconceptions that people have about Islam should be dispelled. This individual said that if he would be permitted he would like to spend an entire day with us distributing this message among the people and tell the world that Islam is a religion of peace. So he came to our stall one day and, despite being a Buddhist himself, spent the whole day, from 10 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, proclaiming in a loud voice that Islam is a religion of peace and kept distributing folders among the people.

Similarly, in India in Karnatak a book stall was set up and a non-Muslim came and after seeing our books he said that I have seen other book stalls before but that he had never seen people who were spreading the beautiful message of Islam of peace and tranquility in this manner. He was most impressed and bought a large number of books from our stall.

In Luxembourg a book stall/exhibition was arranged in a city and on this occasion the Mayor of the city also came and was introduced to Jama’at and he saw various books and the local President of the Jama’at gave him a brief introduction of the Jama’at and presented him a book as a gift. Upon hearing all this, the Mayor said that your community is doing great work and that you should spread this beautiful teaching of Islam throughout the world in the quickest time possible.

Let me present now an incident involving a heartbroken man, which our missionary from Holland has written to us about. This concerns a Dutch Muslim named Bilal who was had become very distraught and heartbroken over the sad state of the Muslims. Once he went into the shops with the intention of buying a gift for his child when he saw a book stall of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at and he stopped there and for the first time he saw the Holy Qur’an published by Ahmadiyya Jama’at and he talked with a young member of the Jama’at who was present at the stall and took some additional literature with himself to his home.

Later, when he was met again by members of the Jama’at he told them that he very impressed by the Jama’at but that when he had mentioned, with great happiness and joy, the Ahmadiyya Jama’at to his sunni friends, and that he had some literature of the Jama’at also with him, they became furious and got ready even to fight with him and that even his wife who is from Morocco, also behaved in a similar manner and it has become impossible even to talk about Ahmadiyyat in the house

He decided, nevertheless, to study about Ahmadiyyat in secret and Allah, the Exalted, made it possible for me to again meet the young man I had met at the stall and he invited me to participate in the Jalsa Salana (annual convention) of Holland and I spent two days at the Jalsa. During this time also I found a few videos in Dutch language on YouTube which helped me a lot and watching these videos my wife changed her opinion about Ahmadiyyat. This is how Allah, the Exalted, made manifest to me the truth of Ahmadiyyat and I was blessed the opportunity to perform the bai’at and now I participate in the events of the Jama’at and feel that I am advancing spiritually and my previous restlessness has begun to diminish.

Then, the impact that the teachings of the Holy Quran have on people, this too is worth mentioning. A friend who engages regularly in calling people to Allah, writes from Canada that a couple came to our book stall and upon seeing the Holy Quran asked I tell them what are the characteristics and qualities specific to the Holy Qur’an? They were given a brief introduction to the Holy Quran

The husband wanted to buy a copy of Qur’an but the wife, who was a very staunch Christian, said otherwise. The husband said to the Ahmadi at the stall, “convince my wife, tell her something about the Holy Quran that may convince her.” He himself wanted to purchase the Quran but also did not want the peace of the house destroyed. So our Ahmadi told them that there is a Sura [Chapter] in the Holy Quran in which there is an account of Jesus (peace be on him) and his mother Mary (peace be on her). There you will find a discussion and details that you will not find in the Bible. And he opened the Holy Quran to this Sura and placed it in front of them and his wife started reading. After reading for some time she said this is indeed a very interesting book. She said the media, the newspapers have told us that the Qur’an is full of hatred but this book in fact contains material about Jesus and his mother that is full of love and so they bought the Holy Quran.

A few weeks later when they passed by our stall, they conveyed their thanks and said that we have read the Holy Quran and the hatred that is being spread in the media and the newspapers against the Holy Prophet and Islam, if anyone was to read the Holy Quran, or even go through it cursorily, all their misconceptions will be clarified. He says that I tell my friends to just go and read the Holy Quran even those who are Christians, I tell them too.

In Benin at one of our book stalls a teacher came and when he saw and learnt of the beautiful teachings of Islam he said he wanted the Jama’at literature for his students so they can study it also so that our society can become full of peace & security. In order to fill society with love and harmony and peace what is needed in fact are the beautiful teachings of Islam. So he took the Jama’at literature and gave it to his students and afterwards when some of those students came to our stall and saw our literature they told us that they had received it from their teacher.

Right minded Muslims are also impacted by Nizam of Jama’at (administrative body) which is as per teachings of Islam and this becomes the means of them being guided aright.

Our missionary from Burkina Faso says that they went to a place where their tabligh [preaching] discussions went on into late part of the night. A gathering was told that our Jama’at is united on One hand. An individual said he saw a dream where he was told to donate to a community where a proper financial system is present. He offered his donation. Many witnessed his dream come true. Over 200 individuals converted in this village

In Guatemala an individual was contacted during flyer distribution. He accepted Ahmadiyyat. He had only accepted Islam a few months ago. He did not feel at rest by visiting non-Ahmadi mosques. He saw a dream, saw a saintly person who said to follow him. Wherever this person went the path became clear. He was shown image of Promised Messiah (as) & he realized that this was the saintly person from the dream.

Some students from Jamia [Muslim Missionary Training College] Canada were sent to Guatemala. They spread 100,000 flyers and frequented various towns. A Judge also visited our mission house and said he would spread this message in his city. He came later with a delegation of 7 individuals. By the Grace of Allah the judge and his wife accepted Ahmadiyyat. Guatemala Ahmadis presented events of their acceptance. and this resulted in the 89 bai’ats (oath of allegiance) .

In Zurich, an individual said he likes the Ahmadiyya Jama’at a lot. A church has decided to celebrate our motto for a week – the 33^rd week of the 2015 year. The leaflet that they have prepared for this campaign of theirs makes mention of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in a beautiful way. They have said in it that the Ahmadiyya Jama’at has two basic principles. One is: Love for All, Hatred for None, and the second that there is no compulsion in faith and they say that by following these two principles of Jama’at Ahmadiyya peace can be established in the world.

In Switzerland, much is said against Islam but there too there is a wind blowing that results in individuals rising up and praising Islam.

An Orthodox Church Priest said, I am very much impressed with your ways of preaching and that I have decided to enter into Islam and before anything else will have my child embrace Islam Ahmadiyyat. And as he said his son has performed bai’at (initiation) and entered the fold of Islam Ahmadiyyat.

In Congo a radio director said that I have seen Christians preaching but your ways of preaching are all together different. In all your programs you do not throw mud on others. You simply focus attention on the beauties of Islam and teach people how to become beneficial members of society.

In Nigeria a Muslim said that your entire Jama’at has qualities of peace which join you with the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

May Allah accept the prayers of your Khalifa that he does in favor of Islam. Amen

From Benin our missionary writes that at the occasion of a mosque inauguration the King of a village had also come. He said that I will tell everyone to become Ahmadis, these are indeed truthful ones. He recited some poetic verses also in the local language which have the following meaning: A plant sown by man dries up if it is not nourished by water but the tree planted by God does not need this. Ahmadiyyat is a plant sown by God and the construction of the mosque is a manifest proof of this. My house is near this mosque so why should I go to a far off church to worship This plant is a plant of Islam. Why not go the mosque.

This indeed is a plant sown by Allah, the Exalted and in this age, in this epoch, and in accord with the prophecies of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) was sent to take care and water this plant.. and Insha’Allah this tree will continue to flourish and receive water from Allah, the Exalted till the day of Judgment drawing and benefitting from the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

.These were just few events out of thousands which help strengthen our faith. How God is opening hearts all across the world and how He makes the people speak in our favor from all parts of the world.

All are impacted because there is only One Universal Teaching and that is the teaching of Islam. Every just person is compelled to understand that Islam is the only way for world peace.

No just person will say that the action of extremist factions can tarnish the name of Islam. Only someone who is unjust will say things like this. No matter how much propaganda those who oppose Islam carry out against it, it is only Islam that will show the world the ways that lead to God and spread peace and security. If not today then tomorrow the world will have to accept that only Islam can guarantee the peace and security of the world.

May Allah enable us to be a part of this future success and be among those who witness these manifold blessings of God and be those who reform ourselves as per the teachings of Islam. Amen.

All praise is due to Allah. We laud Him, we beseech help from Him and ask His protection; We confide in Him, we trust Him alone and we seek protection against the evils. Whomsoever He guides on the right path, none can misguide him. He is alone and has no partner. We bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O servants of Allah! May Allah be merciful to you. Verily, Allah commands you to act with justice. Forbids evil which pertain to your own selves and evils which affect others. He warns you against being unmindful. Remember Allah; He too will remember you. Call on Him and He will make a response to your call. Verily divine remembrance is the highest virtue.