Introduction to Bai‘at - Part VI

Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Khalīfatul Masīh V^aa

The following is taken from the concluding address delivered at the Annual Convention of the Ahmadīyya

Muslim Jamā`at, Germany, on August 24, 2003, in which the fourth, fifth and sixth conditions of bai‘at were explained in detail. It can be found in the book titled, “Conditions of Bai‘at And Responsibilities of an Ahmadī,” on pg. 91-102.

Condition V

That he/she shall remain faithful to God in all circumstances of life, in sorrow and in happiness, in adversity and in prosperity, in felicity and in trial; and that he/she shall in all conditions remain resigned to the decree of God and keep himself/herself ready to face all kinds of indignities and sufferings in His way and shall never turn away from Him at the onslaught of any misfortune; on the contrary, he/she shall march forward.

Allāh the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’ān:

And of men there is he who would sell himself to seek the pleasure of Allāh; and Allāh is Compassionate to His servants. (Al-Baqarah, 2:208)

In explaining this verse of the Holy Qur’ān, the Promised Messiah^as says:

The people of the highest grade among the people—that is, people who are completely lost in the pleasure of Allāh, and sell their selves to earn the pleasure of God—are the people upon whom the mercy of Allāh descends.… In this verse Allāh the Almighty says, ‘Only he is delivered from all tribulations who sells his self in My way and for My pleasure. He proves with his utmost endeavours that he belongs to God and considers his entire being as something that has been fashioned for obedience of the Creator and service to the creation…’ (Report Jalsah A‘zam Madhāhib, pg. 131–132)

Then he says:

A loved one of God sells his being in the way of God. In return, he earns the pleasure of God. Such are the ones upon whom the special mercy of God descends. (Report Jalsah A‘zam Madhāhib, pg. 188)

Then he^as says:

There are some people who sell their beings hoping that He would be pleased… (Paigham Sulh, Rūhānī Khazā’in, Vol. 23, pg. 473)

For such people, Allāh the Almighty has given the glad tiding:

And thou, O soul at peace! Return to thy Lord well pleased with Him and He well pleased with thee. So enter thou among My servants. And enter thou My Garden. (Al-Fajr, 89:28–31)

People who are reconciled to the will of Allāh, and suffer all hardships and tribulations for His sake, are never left unrewarded by Allāh the Almighty. There are many among us who are embodiments of shortcomings and defects. We commit many errors and sins. But if we are in the habit of reconciling to the will of Allāh, and are ever-prepared to, and do, suffer all indignities for Him, if we do not act like a wailing woman who puts up a big clamour on any small suffering, for such patient ones there is a glad tiding from the Holy Prophet^sa.

Sufferings of a Muslim are an Expiation for Sins

Hadrat Abū Hurairah^ra narrates that the Holy Prophet^sa said,

‘No Muslim suffers any calamity, suffering, pain, discomfort, or anxiety, even as small as the prick of a thorn, but Allāh wipes out instead some of his defaults and his sins.’ (Sahīh Muslim, Kitāb-ul-Birri was-Silah)

In another hadīth Hadrat Suhaib Bin Sinan^ra has related that:

The Holy Prophet^sa said, ‘Wondrous is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything, and it is so for him alone. If he experiences something agreeable, he is grateful to God and that is good for him; and if he experiences adversity, he is steadfast and that is good for him because he earns merit for his steadfastness.’ (Sahīh Muslim, Kitāb-uz-Zuhdi)

Sometimes Allāh makes His servants go through sufferings related to his children. There is excessive wailing and crying at the death of children, especially among women. Thanks to Allāh, He has granted the Ahmadīyya Muslim Jamā`at mothers who are very patient and reconciled to His will. But sometimes there are instances of complaining, especially among the illiterates or those with meagre education. In fact, I have also observed some cases where those with good education that they utter words of ingratitude.

There is a hadīth that the Holy Prophet^sa used to take a pledge from femaleCompanions^ra in this respect. The hadīth runs as follows:

Hadrat Usaid^ra relates that he heard from a female Companion^ra who had taken a pledge at the hand of the Holy Prophet^sa that the pledge included the following: “We will not disobey the Holy Prophet^sa, will not tear our faces in wailing, will not raise a hue and cry during mourning, and will not tear our clothes or keep our hair ruffled.” (Sunan Abū Dawud, Kitāb-ul-Janā’iz)

Real Time to Show Patience is When Tragedy Strikes

Hadrat Anas^ra relates that the Holy Prophet^sa passed by a woman who was crying by the side of a grave. He^sa said to her,

“Be mindful of thy duty to Allāh and be steadfast.” She retorted, “Leave me alone; you have not been afflicted as I have been.” She had not known who he was. Someone told her, “That was the Holy Prophet^sa.” She proceeded to the door of the Holy Prophet^sa and not finding any doorman went in and said to him, “I had not recognised you.” He said, “Steadfastness means to be resigned at the time of the first shock of grief.” (Sahīh Al-Bukharī, Kitāb-ul-Janā’iz, Bāb Ziyaratil-Qubur)

Another important point that has been emphasised in the fifth condition is [to remain steadfast] no matter how hard the circumstances, how long the period of hardship, how apparent the worldly attractions, how likely the benefits from diverse worldly activities, and how luring the attractions offered by the worldly powers that tells you not to worry because: ‘as an Ahmadī, even as you maintain ties to the Jamā`at, you can still conduct your professional affairs, serve the Jamā`at, and sacrifice financially.’ All of these are caused by Dajjal [Antichrist] to move you away from Allāh and the Jamā`at. Therefore, the Promised Messiah^as says that if you have taken the pledge, stay away from these snares. Do not be misled by these attractions. Remain faithful to Allāh. If you turn to Him, you belong to the Promised Messiah^as and will receive everything. The following is a beautiful admonition of the Holy Prophet^sa in this respect.

Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Abbas^ra has related that, “I was once riding with the Holy Prophet^sa. He said, ‘My dear child, I am going to teach you a few things: Keep Allāh in mind, He will safeguard you; keep Allāh in mind, you will find Him nearby. When in need, ask only of Allāh; if you need help, ask Him alone for help. Remember, if the whole world joins together to benefit you, it can do nothing to benefit you, except if Allāh wishes and decrees it for you. And if they all join to hurt you, they can do nothing to hurt you, except if Allāh decrees the harm for you. The pens have been stored away and the ink has dried.” (Sunan Tirmadhī, Bāb Sifatil Qiyamah)

Another version is:

Keep Allāh in mind, you will find Him before you. Recognise Allāh in times of ease, He will recognise you in times of hardship. Remember, what escaped you was not decreed for you; and what is decreed for you will definitely come to you. Remember, the help of Allāh comes as a result of steadfastness, and times of ease and times of hardship are commingled, and every hardship is followed by times of ease. (Riād-us-Sālihīn, Bab-ul-Muraqabah, Hadīth no. 62)

Nothing that the Holy Prophet^sa did was against the pleasure of Allāh; yet, he prayed fervently, he prayed for the pleasure of Allāh.

Hadrat Muhammad Bin Ibrahim^ra narrates a hadīth from Hadrat ‘Aishah^ra, ‘Once I was sleeping by the side of the Holy Prophet^sa. During a time at night I did not find him there. While searching around, my hand touched his feet while he was prostrating. He was praying, “Allāh, I seek the protection of Thy pleasure against Thy displeasure; and I seek the protection of Thy forgiveness against Thy punishment. I cannot count the ways of praising Thee. You are as You have described Your Holy Self.”’ (Sunan Tirmadhī, Kitāb-ud-Da‘wat)

Another tradition says that:

Someone from Medina heard from Hadrat ‘Abdul Wahhab Bin al-Ward^ra that Hadrat Mu‘awiyah^ra wrote to Hadrat ‘Aishah^ra requesting some advice. She replied, ‘Assalāmo Alaikum.’ I have heard the Holy Prophet^sa say, “One who seeks the pleasure of Allāh, even at the cost of displeasing some people, Allāh is Sufficient for him against them. But he who displeases Allāh for the sake of pleasing some people, Allāh hands him over to those people.”’ (Sunan Tirmadhī, Kitāb-uz-Zuhd)

You Are the Last Jamā`at Established by Allāh

The Promised Messiah^as writes:

It is inevitable that you should be tried with diverse types of pain and misfortune as the faithful before you were tried. Be mindful, lest you should stumble. So long as you have a firm relationship with heaven, the earth can do you no harm. Whenever harm befalls you, it will be through yourself and not through your enemy. Even if you lose all honour on earth, Allāh will bestow eternal honour upon you from heaven. So do not let go of Him. It is inevitable that you be persecuted and suffer many disappointments, but do not lose heart, for it is Allāh Who tests you whether you are steadfast in His cause or not. If you desire that angels should praise you in heaven, then endure beating and be joyful, hear abuse and be grateful, experience failure and do not cut your relationship with Allāh. You are the last Jamā`at of Allāh, so practice virtue at its highest level. Anyone from among you who becomes slothful will be cast out of the Jamā`at like a foul thing and will die in sorrow and will be able to do no harm to Allāh. I give you the good news that your God truly exists. All are His creatures, but He chooses the one who chooses Him. He comes to the one who goes to Him. He bestows honour upon him who honours Him. (Kashtī-e-Nuh, Rūhānī Khazā’in, Vol. 19, pg. 15)

Then the Promised Messiah^as says:

What we need to do is to please Allāh. That requires sincerity, truthfulness, and fidelity, not that the efforts of our Jamā`at be limited to mere words. When Allāh is pleased with us, He puts blessings in our affairs and opens the doors of His grace and blessings... This narrow gate—the gate of truthfulness and fidelity—is not easy to cross. We can never be boastful that we start receiving dreams or revelations and thus we sit idly and refrain from utmost striving. Allāh the Almighty does not like that…. (Al-Badr, Vol., 3, No. 18–19, May 8–16, 1904, pg. 10)

Then he^as says:

Every true believer passes through such circumstances. If he becomes His with sincerity and fidelity, Allāh becomes his friend. But if the structure of faith is weak, then there are dangers. We have no knowledge of the secrets of anybody’s heart… but anyone who totally belong to God receives His protection. Although He is the God of everyone, He manifests especially to those who hand themselves over to God. To hand oneself over to God means that the self be totally demolished and nothing should remain of it. That is why I tell my Jamā`at again and again that they should take no pride in taking the pledge. If the heart is not purified, there is no merit in placing their hands in my hand.… But anyone who makes a true pledge attains forgiveness of even major sins and receives a new life. (Malfūzāt, Vol. 3, pg. 65)

Those Who Belong to the Promised Messiah^as Cannot be Separated From Him

Then the Promised Messiah^as says:

He who does not wish to follow me can depart from me. I do not know how many terrible and thorny forests I may have to cross. Why do those who are tender-footed put themselves to trouble with me? Those who are mine will not depart from me, neither on account of misfortune, nor in consequence of the vilification of people, nor through heavenly trials and tribulations. Those who are not mine, vain are their affirmations of friendship, for they will soon be separated from me and their last state will be worse than their first. Shall we be afraid of earthquakes; shall we become frightened by trials in the cause of Allāh? Can we be separated by any trial that comes from our Beloved Allāh? Certainly not, but only through His grace and mercy. Those who wish to depart may do so; we bid them farewell. But they should remember that after thinking ill and cutting asunder, if they should again incline towards me, such inclination would not receive the honour from God as is bestowed upon the faithful, for the stain of ill-thinking and treachery is a big stain. (Anwār-ul-Islām, Rūhānī Khazā’in, Vol. 9, pg. 23–24)

Steadfastness

One hundred years ago, two elders of the Jamā`at demonstrated perfect fidelity and steadfastness. They were true to their pledge, very true. They were enticed with different kinds of attractions to break the pledge, but these princes of steadfastness paid no attention to them and remained true to their pledge. The Promised Messiah^as has paid excellent tribute to them. They are Sāhibzadah Sayyed ‘Abdul Latif Shahīd^ra and ‘Abdur-Rahmān Khan^ra. I present an excerpt from the Promised Messiah^as:

Ponder with faith and fairness that if a Jamā`at were based entirely on deceit, falsehood, and trickery, could its members demonstrate such steadfastness and valour that they should not forsake this path, accept being trampled under stones and—not worrying about their wives and children—offer their lives despite the repeated promises of release on condition of renouncing bai‘at? Sheikh ‘Abdur-Rahmān^ra was slaughtered in Kabul in the same manner. He made no protest nor begged for release by renouncing bai‘at.

This alone is the sign of a true faith and a true Imām. When someone attains a true understanding and the heart is permeated with spiritual sweetness, such a person does not fear being killed in this path. Of course, those whose faith is skin-deep, and faith has not permeated their limbs and veins, can turn apostate like Judas Iscariot. There are examples of such apostates in the life of every Prophet. Thanks to Allāh a large party of the faithful is with me; every one of them is a sign for me. This is the Grace of my Lord.

O my Lord, You are my Paradise, and Your Mercy is my protection, and Your signs are my nourishment and Your Grace is my mantle. (Haqīqat-ul-Wahī, Rūhānī Khazā’in, Vol. 22, pg. 360–361)

The history of the Ahmadīyya Muslim Jamā`at over the last one hundred years bears witness that such examples of faithfulness and fidelity have been repeatedly demonstrated. There were losses of lives and property. There were martyrdoms. Children were killed in the presence of fathers, and fathers were killed in the presence of children. Then did Allāh—Who is the Greatest in rewarding faithfulness— permit this blood to be spilled in vain? No. He showered His Mercy upon their progenies in an unprecedented way. Many of you who are present here or are spread in many countries are personal witnesses to this. Indeed, many of you are the recipients of these blessings. This is a consequence of the fidelity that you have shown towards Allāh and the way you remained true to the pledge of allegiance. When the time of ease comes, do not forget this pledge of bai‘at nor let your future generations forget it. Always remain faithful to the dear Allāh, so that His blessings may continue to pour on your future generations; transfer this relationship of fidelity to the coming generations.