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The Need & Importance of a
Jamā`at and Imām in Islām
Ansar Raza
Islamic teachings guarantee success, progress, tranquility, brotherhood and peace. The Holy Qur’ān tells us that:
Islam is the “PERFECT” Religion
“Today I have perfected your religion for you…” (5:4) اَلْیَوْمَ اَکْمَلْتُ لَکُمْ دِیْنَکُم۔۔۔
The Holy Qur`ān is the Best Book
“This is a perfect Book; there is no doubt in it…” (2:3) ذٰلِکَ الْکِتٰبُ لَا رَیْبَ فِیْہِ۔۔۔
Muslims are the Best People
“You are the best people raised for mankind…” (3: 111) کُنْتُمْ خَیْرَ اُمَّۃٍ اُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ
Victory is promised to the Believers
(3: 140) وَ لَا تَھِنُوْا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوْا وَ اَنْتُمُ الْاَعْلَوْنَ اِنْ کُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِیْنَ
“Slacken not, nor grieve; and you shall certainly have the upper hand, if you are true believers.”
However, the prevailing situation of Muslim Ummah depicts a complete opposite picture. We, therefore, need to seriously ask these questions:
•What are the reasons for the
spiritual, economical, and
political decline of Muslims and
who is responsible for this?
• Why are the Muslim states,
despite having resources,
manpower and above all, a great
divine religion, dominated by
others?
• How and why are the enemies
of Islām successively holding
sway over Muslim states?
• Notwithstanding God's
unalterable promise of support
and victory for Muslims, why
is it that since the inception of
the colonial era, Muslim armies
are always defeated in Jihād,
interpreted as armed in conflict,
battles and wars, against the
non-Muslim forces?
• What is the solution of all
these miseries and problems,
a democratic government of
corrupt Muslim politicians,
a theocratic government of
Mullahs, or Sufism?
• Who is the Reformer
(Mujaddid) of this century who
has to rejuvenate and revive our
religion for us, as prophesied
by the Holy Prophetsa?
• Has Allāh fulfilled His promises
by raising that Mujaddid but
Muslims have not recognized
the divine Imām of this age?
Internal and External
Dangers
To find the answers of the above
questions, we have to resort to the
Holy Qur'ān and Hadīth which
foretell us regarding this decline,
its causes and remedies. The Holy
Prophetsa warned about external
and internal dangers and advised us
to remain alert. Regarding external
dangers he said that a time comes
when the nations of the world will
invite each other to plunder the
resources of the Muslims and attack
them by making alliances.
Hadrat Thawbanra narrated that the
Holy Prophetsa said:
"The people will soon summon
one another to attack you as
people when eating invite others
to share their dish. Someone
asked: Will that be because of
our small numbers at that time?
He replied: No, you will be
numerous at that time: but you
will be scum and rubbish like
that carried down by a torrent,
and Allāh will take fear of you
from the breasts of your enemy
and wahn shall enter into your
hearts. Someone asked, What
is wahn. Apostle of Allāhsa
replied: Love of the world and
dislike of death. (Abu Dawood,
Kitāb Al-Malahim (Book of the
Battles) Book 37, Number 4284)
A mere glance at the international
political scene tells us that allthese things are happening now.
Regarding internal dangers,
emanating from within the Muslim
Ummah, the Holy Prophetsa
foretold that the Muslims shall
forsake the Holy Qur'ān, blindly
follow their scholars and divide
into different sect. He prophesied
that these conditions shall weaken
the Muslim Ummah and cause its
decline notwithstanding their large
number. The following verses of
the Holy Qur'ān and ahādīth point
toward these causes:
Forsaking
the Holy Qur'ān
And now when there has come
to them a Messenger from
Allāh, fulfilling that which is
with them, a party of the people
to whom the Book was given
have thrown the Book of Allāh
behind their backs, as if they
knew it not. (2:102)
And the Messenger will
say, 'O my Lord, my people
indeed treated this Qur'ān as a
discarded thing.' (25:31)
Hadrat Alira relates that the
Holy Prophetsa said, "A time
shall come to people when
nothing will be left of Islām
but its name and nothing left of
Qur'ān but its words. Mosques
shall be full of worshippers
but empty of guidance. The
religious scholars shall be
the worst creation under the
canopy of heavens, tribulations
shall emerge out of them and go
back to them.
Blindly Following
Their Scholars
How are they turned away!
They have taken their learned
men and their monks for lords
beside Allāh. And so have they
taken the Messiah, son of Mary.
And they were not commanded
but to worship the One God.
There is no God but He. Too
Holy is He for what they
associate with Him!(9:30-31)
A Hadīth Further Clarifies This
Situation:
Adi bin Hatim narrated; I came
to the Prophetsa while I wore
round my neck a cross made
of gold. He said to me, "Adi
remove from this idol from
you." And I heard him recite
from Surah al-Bara'ah; "They
take their priests and their
anchorites to be their lords in
derogation of Allāh." (9:31)
He also said, "They did not
worship them, but if they made
anything lawful for them, they
adopted it as lawful. And when
they made anything unlawful,
they adopted it as unlawful for
themselves." (Tirmidhi Kitābul-
Tafsīr)
Sectarianism
Amongst Muslims
In the following verse, Allāh
admonishes the Muslims to be a
united Ummah and not to divide
into sects.
And hold fast, all together,
by the rope of Allāh and be
not divided; and remember
the favour of Allāh which He
bestowed upon you when you
were enemies and He united
your hearts in love, so that by His
grace you became as brothers;
and you were on the brink of
a pit of fire and He saved you
from it. Thus does Allāh explain
to you His commandments that
you may be guided.(3:104)
In the following hadīth, the Holy
Prophetsa foretold about this
division and declared only one
group on right path that follows his
and his companions way.
Verily the Israelites were
divided into 72 sections but
my people will be divided into
73 sections, all of them will
be in the fire except one. The
companions asked, 'Who are
they O Messenger of Allāh.'
The Holy Prophet (peace be
upon him) said, "They are those
who will be like me and my
companions."
Solution of the Problems
A doctor not only diagnoses the
illness and its causes but also
prescribes the remedy. Likewise,
Islāmic teachings not only explicitly
describe the evil ways that lead
to decline but also tell us what
remedial measure should be taken.
This remedial measure, advised by
the Holy Qur'ān and Hadīth is to
join the Imām and Jamā`at.
Join the
Jamā`at & the Imām
It is an established fact that a
country, a business corporation,
and even a house cannot function
properly or even survive without a
unified cohesive system headed by
a head of the government, CEO of a
corporation, and a head of a family.
The root cause of all the miseries and
problems of the Muslim Ummah
is that it lacks a central cohesive
and unified Jamā`at and there is
no unanimously accepted spiritual
leader. We see this centralized
cohesive system from atom to solar
system. As mentioned above, the
Holy Qur'ān teaches us to become
a united community, as rehearsed
and practiced five times a day while praying in congregation behind an
Imām.
…and bow down with those
who bow.(2:44)
Often, people suggest that it is
enough to be a good person. They
think that this is what any religion
requires from us. However, Islāmic
teachings start from individual
reformation and culminate to a
reformed society. A truthful person
is not supposed to be limited to his
household but should interact with
other truthful people
of the society, make a
club and help create a
truthful society. Allāh
says that be with the
truthful people, hold
fast to the rope of
Allāh jointly and be
not divided:
…Be with the
truthful. (9:119)
And hold fast, all
together, by the
rope of Allāh and
be not divided;
and remember the
favour of Allāh
which He bestowed
upon you when
you were enemies
and He united your
hearts in love, so that by His
grace you became as brothers;
and you were on the brink of
a pit of fire and He saved you
from it. Thus does Allāh explain
to you His commandments that
you may be guided.(3:104)
Islāmic history shows that Allāh
united the hearts of Arabs through
the Holy Prophetsa and made them
brothers at a time when they were
at the brink of a pit of fire. When
one of his companions asked if
there shall be a situation of disunity
again, the Holy Prophetsa answered
in affirmative. Upon this, the
companion asked what to do if
he is alive at that time. The Holy
Prophetsa said: "Stick to the group of Muslims
and their Imām." I said, "If
there is neither a group of
Muslims nor an Imām (ruler)?" He said, "Then turn away from
all those sects even if you were
to bite (eat) the roots of a tree
till death overtakes you while
you are in that state." Bukhari
Kitāb-ul-Fitn, Muslim Kitābul
Imarah, Ibn-e- Maja Kitābul
Fitn; Tirmidhi Abwabul Fitn)
In the following ahādīth, the Holy
Prophetsa described the importance
of an Imām and strongly advised
Muslims to follow and obey the
Imām of their age:
Narrated Abu Hurairara: The Holy
Prophetsa said: "Indeed the Imām is a shelter
behind whom and for whose safety
Muslims should fight. So if he
orders them with righteousness
and justice, then he gets the reward
for it and if he orders other than
that then he shall be responsible for
it." (Bukhāri, Book of Jihād) "One who dies without the
Imām dies a death of ignorance." "And I order you of five things
Allāh has ordered me with:
To hear; obey; Jihād; Hijrah;
and the Jamā`at. So
if anyone takes one
step out of Jamā`at
has indeed cast off the
tie of Islām from his
neck unless he comes
back."
Who is
the Imām of the
Age?
The ultimate question
that arises here is that
who is the Imām of this
age? According to the
Ahmadīyya Muslim
Jamā`at, Hadrat Mirzā Ghulām Ahmadas of
Qādian is the Imām of
this age. Presenting his
claim, he writes:
"When God Almighty,
observing the condition of
the world and finding the
earth filled with every type
of disobedience, sin and
misguidance, appointed me
for the propagation of the truth
and the reform of people and
the time was….the end of the
thirteenth and the beginning of
the fourteenth century, then I— in obedience to this command— sent forth the call through
written announcements andspeeches, that I am that person
who was to come from God
at the turn of the century
for revival of the faith. The
purpose was that I should reestablish
the faith which had
disappeared from the earth,
and pull mankind towards
reform and righteousness
and truthfulness through the
power and strength that God
had bestowed upon me and
through the magnetic power of
His hand. I was also destined
to correct their doctrinal errors
and to reform
their conduct…A
few years
thereafter, it was
made quite clear
to me through
Divine revelation
that the Messiah,
whose advent
among the
Muslims had
been promised
from the
b e g i n n i n g ,
and the last
Mahdī whose
advent had been
Divinely decreed
to take place at
the time of decline of Islām
and the spread of error, and
who was to be guided directly
by God, and who was to
invite people to partake of the
heavenly banquet, and whose
advent had been foretold by
the Holy Prophet sa thirteen
hundred years in advance,
was none other than myself." [Tadhkirat-us-Shahādatain,
Rūhānī Khazā'in, vol.20, pg.3-4]
Call of
The Promised Messiahas
To The Muslims
…O ye Muslims, if you believe
truly in God Almighty and in
His Holy Prophetsa and are
awaiting Divine help, then
be sure that the time of such
help has arrived. This affair
is not from man, nor has it
been devised by man. In fact,
this is the dawn which had
been prophesized in Holy
Scriptures from ancient times.
God Almighty has remembered
you at the time of your dire
need. You were about to fall
into the pit of ruin, but His
compassionate Hand has come
to your rescue. Be grateful and
jump with joy that the day of
your revival has arrived. God
Almighty would not permit
the ruin of the garden of His
faith, which was irrigated by
the blood of the righteous. He
does not desire that, like the
religions of other people, Islām
also should become a collection
of ancient tales, which should
exhibit no current blessing. He
Himself provides light when the
darkness is at its height. Do you
not look for a new moon after
the night of complete darkness?
You comprehend fully the
physical law of nature, but,
alas, you are wholly unaware
of the spiritual law which it
resembles." (Izāla-e-Auhām,
Rūhanī Khazā'in, vol-3, P-105)
Khilāfat-e-Ahmadīyya
There has been
no prophethood
after which
Khilāfat has not
been established.
Therefore, after
the death of the
Holy Prophetsa,
the blessed system
of Khilāfat was
established which
kept the Muslim
Ummah united
and through which
Islām spread in
the whole world.
Likewise, after
the death of the
Promised Messiahas,
a blessed system
of Khilāfat was estvablished on
the same pattern. This system of
Khilāfat is keeping the Ahmadīyya
Muslim Jamā`at united under one
Imām and spreading the message
of Islām all over the world. The
Promised Messiahas writes: "It is the practice of God
Almighty, and since He created
man on this earth, He has been
demonstrating this practice,
that He helps His messengers
and grants them ascendancy.He has said "Allāh has decreed:
Most surely I will prevail, I and
My Messengers. Verily, Allāh is
Powerful, Mighty. (58:22)
Here prevail means as it is
the intention of
messengers and
prophets that
God's word must
be established on
earth and no one
should be able
to fight it, thus
God manifests
their truth with
His mighty signs.
The truth which
they want to
disseminate in
the world, He
sows its seeds
with their hands.
But He does not
accomplish it
through them. Rather, He
causes them to die at a time
when there is the fear of their
collapse. Thus, He gives his
enemies to laugh, jeer, ridicule
and scorn . When they have
done this, then He shows His
hand of might and brings about
grounds with which the goals
there were a little unfinished
reach their zenith. Thus He
manifests two kinds of power:
He shows His hand of might
through the prophets. Secondly
at the time of the demise of
the prophet, when difficulties
mount and the enemy is in
full might and thinks that they
(the followers of the prophet)
are in a disarray and is sure
that now this community
will be destroyed. Even some
within the community become
hesitant and their backs are
broken and some unfortunates
among them even apostatize,
then God manifests His strong
hand of might and sustains the
collapsing community. Thus he
who shows patience till the end,
watches this divine miracle.
You should therefore, neither
grieve over what I have told you
(that the hour of my demise is
nigh) nor should you be heartbroken
for it is mandatory
that you see God's second
m a n i f e s t a t i o n .
The coming of
that manifestation
is a lot better for
you because it
is eternal whose succession will
not terminate
till the end of
days. When I go,
Allāh will send
to you the second
manifestation and
it will stay with
you forever. (Al
Wassiyyat, The
Will, pg. 6-7)
Conclusion
As explained
above, according to the Holy
Qur'ān, Hadīth and early Islāmic
history, Khilāfat is the only
solution available to Muslims in
particular and the whole humanity
in general to get rid of the burdens
that the satanic system has put
on their shoulders and to create
an exploitation free society,
worshipping only One, True God.
May Allāh enable everyone to
realize this fact as soon as possible
before it is too late.