Website: www.aaiil.uk
Is it enough to call
yourself a Muslim, while ignoring being a Muslim?
Friday
Khutba by Dr Zahid Aziz,
for Lahore
Ahmadiyya UK, 7 February 2025
|
“And they say: None shall enter the Garden except he who is a Jew, or the Christians. These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful. No, whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good (to others), he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for such nor shall they grieve.” — ch. 2, Al-Baqarah, v. 111–112 |
وَ
قَالُوۡا
لَنۡ یَّدۡخُلَ
الۡجَنَّۃَ
اِلَّا مَنۡ
کَانَ ہُوۡدًا
اَوۡ نَصٰرٰی
ؕ تِلۡکَ
اَمَانِیُّہُمۡ
ؕ قُلۡ
ہَاتُوۡا
بُرۡہَانَکُمۡ
اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ
صٰدِقِیۡنَ ﴿۱۱۱﴾ بَلٰی ٭
مَنۡ اَسۡلَمَ
وَجۡہَہٗ
لِلّٰہِ وَ
ہُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ
فَلَہٗۤ اَجۡرُہٗ
عِنۡدَ
رَبِّہٖ ۪ وَ
لَا خَوۡفٌ
عَلَیۡہِمۡ
وَ لَا ہُمۡ یَحۡزَنُوۡنَ
﴿۱۱۲﴾٪ |
|
“Those who hold back from among the believers, not
disabled by injury, and those who strive hard in Allah’s way with their
property and their persons, are not equal. Allah has made those who strive
with their property and their persons to excel those who hold back by a
(high) degree. And to each Allah has promised good. And Allah has granted to
those who strive above those who hold back a mighty reward” — ch. 4, Al-Nisā’, v. 95 |
لَا یَسۡتَوِی
الۡقٰعِدُوۡنَ
مِنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ
غَیۡرُ
اُولِی
الضَّرَرِ
وَ الۡمُجٰہِدُوۡنَ
فِیۡ سَبِیۡلِ
اللّٰہِ
بِاَمۡوَالِہِمۡ
وَ اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ
ؕ فَضَّلَ
اللّٰہُ الۡمُجٰہِدِیۡنَ
بِاَمۡوَالِہِمۡ
وَ اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ
عَلَی الۡقٰعِدِیۡنَ
دَرَجَۃً ؕ
وَ کُلًّا
وَّعَدَ
اللّٰہُ الۡحُسۡنٰی
ؕ وَ فَضَّلَ
اللّٰہُ الۡمُجٰہِدِیۡنَ
عَلَی الۡقٰعِدِیۡنَ
اَجۡرًا
عَظِیۡمًا ﴿ۙ۹۵﴾ |
I have recited these verses because it
is often said to members of our Jamaat by some other Muslims that we should
call ourselves Muslims only and that we are going against the teachings of
Islam by calling ourselves as Ahmadi in addition. What I notice in particular
is that these critics are always impressing upon us the necessity of calling
ourselves as Muslim, but they never stress on us that we should follow any
teaching of Islam or that we should in practice act like Muslims. It is
certainly my personal experience, and probably of others in our Jamaat, that no
such critic has ever said to us that we should pray five times a day or fast in
Ramadan or give in charity or read the Quran or be truthful and honest. They
only say: call yourselves Muslim so that you are regarded as Muslim by other
Muslims. It seems that according to them what matters is that other Muslims
think that we are Muslims and it matters not whether Allah considers us as
Muslims.
“No, whoever submits himself entirely (meaning, with his entire being) to
Allah and he is the doer of good (to others), he has his reward from his Lord”.
The Quran says that instead of
calling yourselves as Jews or Christians you should submit the entirety of your
being to God and do good to others. Our anti-Ahmadiyya critics don’t say to us:
Instead of calling yourself Ahmadis, you should submit the entirety of your
being to Allah and do good to others! If they did say that to us, we would
certainly take it very seriously and try to remove any failing or neglect of
duty by us to submit to Allah or to do good to others.
The second verse I recited describes
two kinds of believers: those who “hold back” from helping the cause of Islam
while they are not prevented by any injury or disability that they have, and
“those who strive hard in Allah’s way with their property and their persons”.
It says the two are not equal, and that Allah Himself has given a higher rank
to the strivers over those who hold back. I will also give a few examples of
how other translators of the Quran into English have translated these words:
“Those who stay at home — except those with valid excuses — are not equal
to those who strive in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives”,
“The passive believers who stayed behind are unequal to those who commit
themselves, their possessions, and their lives to struggling in God’s cause”,
“Not equal are the inactive among the believers — except the disabled —
and the strivers in the cause of God with their possessions and their persons”,
and
“Those believers who sit idle, other than those with a disability, are
not on par with those who strive in God’s path with their wealth and lives”.
Both groups are called “believers” —
those who sit idly without any valid reason and those who strive in the cause
of Islam with their wealth and lives. But Allah grants a higher rank and reward
to the strivers. The Ahmadiyya Movement was founded to create a group of
strivers in Allah’s way because the vast majority of Muslims had become idle
sitters as far as helping the cause of Islam was concerned. We say to our
critics: Certainly we call ourselves Muslims, but this verse says that Muslims
can be idle sitters, or qā‘idūn in the Arabic, or strivers, mujāhidūn,
so we are entitled to say that we are Muslims and we belong to
the second category mentioned.
A verse is often quoted at us by our
critics, that the Quran says:
“Allah has named you Muslims (in
scriptures) before this and in this (scripture)” (22:78),
meaning that not only in the Quran are
we named as Muslims, but previous prophets too had given the prophecies that a
nation of Muslims would arise. But this statement is from the middle of this
verse. The verse begins as follows:
“And strive hard for Allah with due
striving.”
And later, after mentioning that
Allah has named you Muslims, this verse reads:
“that the Messenger may be a bearer
of witness to you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people; so keep up
prayer and give the due charity and hold fast to Allah.”
It is clear that this name is given
to Muslims because, firstly, they are expected to strive hard in Allah’s cause
“with due striving”, the true striving as it should be done, and secondly
because just as the Holy Prophet brought them the truth and bore witness to
them that it was the truth, so must Muslims take this truth to the rest of the
world and provide evidence that it is the truth. Moreover, they must keep up
prayer and give in charity, and hold fast to what Allah has taught them. When
Allah names them as Muslims, it is because He expects them to do all these
things.
It is therefore not only justifiable,
but in fact a duty, for a group or community of Muslims to be formed who strive
for Allah in the real and true sense and act as bearers witness to the world of
the truth of Islam. It is a gross distortion to say that this verse is
instructing us to simply call ourselves Muslims as a label, and nothing else is
required of us. As regards the description “due striving”, it means a striving
as it ought to be done. In modern times, this jihad is not by means of
fighting in battles with weapons of war, but striving to spread the message of
Islam in the world by means of words, printed and spoken. This is the
interpretation of jihad put forward by the Founder of the Ahmadiyya
Movement, and for the purpose of conducting this jihad he founded this
Movement. The majority of Muslims simply ignore the performing of any jihad.
And unfortunately, there are certain misguided Muslim groups and individuals
who believe in carrying out a jihad by weapons. They kill the innocent,
cause wanton destruction and only bring Islam into disrepute.
In one chapter the Quran addresses
Muslims as follows:
“O you who believe, why do you say
things which you do not do? It is most hateful in the sight of Allah that you
say things which you do not do” (61:2–3).
If you call yourself a Muslim, you
are required to perform certain duties. If you don’t do them, then as the Quran
says it is most hateful in the sight of Allah. But those who are always telling
us that we should call ourselves only Muslims, they never mention to us that
after calling ourselves as Muslims if we fail to do certain duties then it is
hateful in the sight of Allah. They never advise us this because they
themselves are not concerned about doing anymore than applying the label Muslim
to themselves.
The same chapter later says:
“O you who believe, shall I lead you
to a bargain which will deliver you from a painful punishment? You should
believe in Allah and His Messenger, and strive hard in Allah’s way with your
wealth and your lives. That is better for you, if only you knew!” (61:10–11)
This warns the believers, those
calling themselves Muslims, that they could still face a painful punishment
from Allah. They must follow up their belief in Allah and His Messenger by
striving hard in Allah’s way with their wealth and their lives. This striving
takes two forms. One is for self-improvement through giving in charity, doing
good works, and struggling to overcome the bad within oneself. The other form
is for taking the message of Islam to others, and spending your wealth and
lives for that purpose.
At the end of the same chapter of the
Quran, we are directed as follows:
“O you who believe, be helpers (in
the cause) of Allah, as Jesus, son of Mary, said to the disciples: Who are my
helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the
cause) of Allah” (61:14).
This says that more than just being
known as Muslims, you are also required to be helpers in the cause of Allah or anṣārullāh.
It then gives the example of the disciples of Jesus responding to the call of
Jesus to become his helpers in the cause of Allah and saying to him: “We are
helpers (in the cause) of Allah”. Elsewhere the Quran relates that these
disciples became believers in Jesus and Muslims in submitting to God (5:111).
So here we have believers in a prophet who were, so to speak, “Muslims”, but
beyond that they were anṣārullāh or his helpers in the
cause of Allah. And Allah is requiring the believers in the Holy Prophet
Muhammad to follow their example by not just remaining believers and Muslims
and content and satisfied with this, but to become anṣārullāh
or his helpers in the cause of Allah.
May Allah enable us to be Muslims as
required by Allah in the Quran, and protect us from the mistaken idea that
being called a Muslim is more important than being a Muslim — ameen.
Website:
www.aaiil.uk