A Publication of Lajna Ima’illah Lajna Matters & Nasiratul Ahmadiyya USA Dhul Qa’idah 1436 Issue 3 - 2015 August 2015 Holy Qur’an Special Features Mutual rivalry in seeking worldly The Glorious Qur’an increase diverts you from God Message from Sadr Lajna Till you reach the graves. Correspondence Nay! you will soon come to know. Reports Nay again! you will soon come to know. Taleem Matters Nay! if you only knew with certain Tarbiyat Matters knowledge, Khidmat-e-Khalq Matters You will surely see Hell in this very life. Tabligh Matters Aye, you will surely see it with the eye Publication/IT Matters of certainty Hereafter. Nasirat Matters Then, on that day you shall be called to Regional Matters account for the favors bestowed upon Local Matters you (102: 2- 9). Urdu Section And entice whomsoever of them thou canst, with thy voice, and urge against them thy horsemen and thy All members are footmen and be their partner in asked to make use of wealth, and children, and make the resources promises to them.’ And Satan provided by Jama’at promises them naught but deceit and Lajna in order to (17: 65). improve their reading and their comprehension of the And this life of the world is nothing Holy Qur’an. All but a pastime and a sport, and the Home of the Hereafter — that Majalis are requested indeed is Life, if they but knew! to spend 10-15 (29:65). minutes during their General Meetings to improve their And it is not your riches nor your Tarteel. children that will bring you near Us in rank, but those who believe and do good works, will have a double reward for what they did. And in lofty mansions will they be secure (34:38). 2 Ahadith Amr ibn Awf reported: The Messenger of Allahsaw, said, “By Allah, it is not poverty I fear for you, but rather I fear you will be given the wealth of the world just as it was given to those before you and you will compete for it just as they competed for it and it will destroy you just as it destroyed them” (Bukhari and Muslim). Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allahsaw said, "If the people of my community ever come to attach a lot of significance to this material world, the awe-inspiring effect of Islam will be taken away from them. And if they ever abandon the task of enjoining what is good and forbidding from what is wrong, they will be deprived of the blessings of divine revelations. And if they start to curse one another, they will be degraded in the sight of Allah" (Tirmidhi). Ibn Umar relates that the Holy Prophetsaw said: “Only two are to be envied: he upon whom Allah bestows the Qur’an and he conforms to it through the hours of the night and day; and he upon whom Allah bestows wealth and he spends it in the cause of Allah, through the hours of the night and the day” (Bukhari and Muslim). Writings of the Promised Messiahas The remarkable material progress of the current age has been more than counterbalanced by its deplorable spiritual decline, to the extent that the souls of men have lost their ability even to grasp obvious truths. It is apparent from a close study of humanity that a hidden and formidable force is pulling it downwards, and man is swiftly being dragged into a pit, which is termed Asfalus Safilin (the lowest of the low). Such a complete change has come over the intellects of men that they have come to admire and praise things, which are abhorrent and detestable to the spiritual eye. Every soul feels itself being dragged downwards by a force, which, through its devastating influence, has already caused a whole world to fall into decline. Pure truths are laughed at and ridiculed, and complete submission to God is looked upon as an absurdity. Every soul is drawn towards the world as if constrained by some hidden force (How to Free from Sin, p.1). Those who fall on worldly benefits like dogs or ants or vultures falling blindly on carrion, those who have only sought comfort in this life: they cannot win nearness to Him. Every impure eye remains far removed from Him; every impure heart remains unaware of Him. For Him, whoever lives in fire, shall be saved from the flames; he who weeps for His sake shall be made happy, full of laughter and jubilance; he who breaks away from this world for His sake, shall find Him (Our Teaching p. 11). I do not say, nor is it my religion that the use of means should be totally abandoned. Allah, the exalted has encouraged us to use all necessary means. It would be an insult to human abilities and potential not to do so and disrespectful to the glorious Divine scheme of creating them. The landlord and the artisan should carry on their work and provide for their family and other dependents. But when a person exclusively relies and trusts in means, he commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) that leads him astray from the main purpose of his creation. For the Holy Qur’an says; “And in heaven is your sustenance (51:23)” (Malfoozat, Vol III pp. 80 – 81). 3 National Correspondence Message from National Sadr Lajna Ima’illah, Saliha Malik My Dear Sisters, It must be painfully clear to us all that living here in America we are indeed immersed in a most materialistic society. While on the one hand our hearts bow down to Allah in gratitude for the many blessings: for enabling us to have a life of relative ease and efficiency of means and for His most ample provision and above all for the freedom to practice our religion. On the other hand we must be ever watchful for ourselves and our children that we don’t fall into the materialistic attitude that surrounds us, which drives away our prayers and causes us to forget Allah. In his sermon of 9/25/1998, Khalifatul Masih IVrh explains a Prayer of Holy Prophetsaw. This prayer, he said, is for the latter days when people have will no humility and their prayers will not be heard. A materialistic people are those who are never satisfied and whose knowledge though great is for personal gains only. Hazrat Abdullahra relates that the Holy Prophet used to pray, Oh Allah, I seek protection in my Prayer from four things: The heart, which is deprived of humility The Prayer, which is not heard The person who is not satisfied The people whose knowledge has no benefit We are most fortunate to have the teachings of the Promised Messiahas and the constant guidance of Khalifatul Masih Vatba, whose explanations on this subject give great depth of understanding – (be sure to read Huzoor’s Khutba in this issue of Lajna Matters!) I would simply remind everyone of several most effective, practical methods of detaching from the clutches of materialism and from selfish desires, as follows: Keep the fasts in Ramadhan and Nawafil fasts – the real journey towards insight. Attend Jalsa Salana every year – put aside all obstacles; those three days in the Jalsa Gah are key! Attend your National and Regional Ijtemaat every year – again silence the objecting voices that make excuses; those three days in the mosque really help to remind us and give us distinction – Furqan – the capacity to recognize material traps. Become a Moosie! Above all this is a most helpful step! If we take this step in all sincerity, our focus towards simplicity and our life’s purpose definitely increases. Allah promises: ‘And as for those who strive in Our path — We will surely guide them in Our ways’ (Holy Qur’an: 29: 70). May Allah grant us the capacity to be in this world but not a slave to it; the true community of the Promised Messiahas, Ameen. atba 4 Letters from the office of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih atba Khamis5/12/15 salaam to all the Nasirat and Lajna in USA. Dear Sadr Lajna Ima’illah USA, Wassalaam Assalaamo Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatoh, 6/2/15 Dear Sadr Lajna Ima’illah USA, I have received your activity report for the month of Assalaamo Alikum wa rahmatullahe wa barakatohu, January 2015 along the February issue of ‘Lajna Matters’ quarterly newsletter. Jazakamullah. Your I am acknowledging receipt of your activity report reports give a good account of the activities carried for the month of February 2015, as Huzoor Ayadullaho Ta’ala is on tour at present. out during this month. It is pleasing to note that atba through the efforts of Lajna Ima’illah USA, 1 bai’at Jazakamullah. Huzoor Anwar has prayed that: was achieved. May Allah strengthen the faith of the May Allah the Almighty bless Lajna Ima’illah USA new comer. for their sincere efforts and may He enable them to Seerat-ul-nabi Jalsa as well as fulfill their duties to the best of their various other Tabligh events were abilities, may Allah Ta’ala fulfill all organized and attended by non- your pious prayers. Ameen. Ahmadi guests. The efforts of It is pleasing to read the detailed and Khidmat-e-khalq shoba included well-presented report, particularly the volunteering at several work carried out by the Tabligh Shoba, organizations. Workshops were held may Allah reward the hard work of all for Nasirat on various topics such as your members and enable Lajna “The Holy Prophetsaw and the as Ima’illah USA to progress further in all Promised Messiah ” and Jama’at services.