Summary

The following points below are summary from this week's Friday Sermon:

• After reciting Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz and Surah al-Fatihah, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) said that in previous sermons, he has been mentioning the Holy Prophet’s (sa) love for the God, and he would continue on this topic, with reference to traditions and the manner in which the Holy Prophet’s (sa) most ardent devotee, the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has written on the topic.
• His Holiness (aba) said that one companion relates that one night he stood alongside the Holy Prophet (sa) in prayer. The Holy Prophet (sa) began reciting the second chapter of the Holy Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah.
• His Holiness (aba) said that according to Hazrat A’ishah (ra), once the Holy Prophet (sa) stood in prayer whilst reciting the same chapter of the Holy Qur’an over and over after having recited the opening chapter of the Holy Qur’an. With regards to how long the Holy Prophet (sa) stood for, Hazrat A’ishah (ra) said that the length and beauty of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) prayers could not be described in words. ‘If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them, Thou surely art the Mighty, the Wise.’ (The Holy Qur’an, 5:119)
• His Holiness (aba) said that when there was a solar eclipse during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (sa), he offered prayer during the eclipse, thus teaching the manner of offering the eclipse prayer. Thereafter, the Holy Prophet (sa) delivered a sermon and said that the sun and the moon are signs of God, and so when sees them, they should glorify God, pray to Him and give charity.
• His Holiness (aba) said that during the Battle of Badr, the Holy Prophet (sa) turned towards the direction of the Ka‘bah and prayed for God to fulfil His promise to the Holy Prophet (sa). The Holy Prophet (sa) prayed that if the Muslims were destroyed that day, then there would remain no one on the face of the earth to worship God. ‘When you implored the assistance of your Lord, and He answered you, saying, ‘I will assist you with a thousand of the angels, following one another.’’ (The Holy Qur’an, 8:10)
• His Holiness (aba) quoted the Promised Messiah (as) who writes:
• ‘In the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was repeatedly given the promise of the victory over the disbelievers, but when the Battle of Badr – which was the first battle of Islam – started, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began supplicating and praying, and these are the words that issued from his tongue:
• If you destroy these people (they were just three hundred and thirteen men), none will worship You till Doomsday.’ If you destroy these people (they were just three hundred and thirteen men), none will worship You till Doomsday.’
• When Hadrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be p these words from the mouth of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he submitted, ‘O Prophet of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, why are you so perturbed? God has given you the firm promise that He would give victory.’ He said, ‘This is true, but I am keeping my eyes on the fact that He is in need of no one.’ That is to say, God is not obligated to fulfil any promise.
• His Holiness (aba) further quoted the Promised Messiah (as) who writes:
• ‘Understand it well that true monotheists are those who do not make the slightest display of their virtues and are not afraid of the world in accepting the truth. They do not care if the world becomes alarmed by any of their actions.
• It does not follow from this that they were (God forbid) superior to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Instead, the real issue is that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was brought before the world by Allah the Exalted through force and coercion.
• On one occasion, Hadrat Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, states that it was the day that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would stay at her home. When she opened her eyes at night, she saw that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was not there.
• His Holiness (aba) said that another example of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) love for God was when he went to preach the message of Islam to the people of Ta’if. However, ultimately, the people of Ta’if began pelting the Holy Prophet (sa) with stones, causing him to become wounded.
• This verse contains a refutation of those ignorant Unitarians who hold the belief that our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is not proven to have complete superiority over the other Prophets, and who say, on the basis of ahadith of weak authenticity, that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has forbidden that he be given superiority even over Yunus bin Matta [ Jonah son of Amittai]. These ignorant people do not realise that even if that hadith is authentic, it is only an expression of humility and modesty, which was ever the way of our Master, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
• ‘I always wonder what a sublime Prophet this Arabian Prophet is, whose name is Muhammad (thousands upon thousands of blessings and peace be upon him). One cannot fathom the limit of his sublime status and it is not given to man to estimate the extent of his spiritual effectiveness.
• Second is that such perfect love for the One Glorious God should be instilled in one’s heart that, as a consequence of its influence and dominance, obedience to God Almighty should truly become the delight of one’s heart without which he could not live at all. Love for the Divine should trample and obliterate love for all besides Him.
• Send down Thy blessings and peace, O Allah, on him and his people according to the amount of pain and anguish he felt for his umma, and pour down upon him the light of Thy mercy forever.
• I too have observed from personal experience that the effect of prayers far excels that of water and fire. In fact, nothing in the chain of natural causes is as gloriously potent as prayer.’ (Blessings of Prayer, pp.
• His Holiness (aba) prayed that may Allah enable to offer prayers in the truest sense that can gain acceptance. May Allah make us true believers who do justice to offering prayers and to become those who strive to follow the example of the Holy Prophet (sa).