Attributes of True Believers
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) recited verse 42 of Surah al-Hajj. The translation is “Those who, if We establish them in the earth, will observe Prayer and pay the Zakat and enjoin good and forbid evil. And with Allah rests the final issue of all affairs.”
In this verse, Allah the Exalted has explained that true believers do not become self-absorbed and materialistic when they attain peace and prosperity after a period of difficulty. Rather they observe salat, pay attention to their prayers, populate their mosques, serve humanity and spend their wealth on the poor and for the propagation of God’s faith. They are mindful of performing good deeds and avoid sins. They do all these only for the sake of God and God in return brings excellent results of these virtuous acts. Thus, the principle to understand is that any act that is done in accordance with the commandment of God, while being mindful of His awe and majesty, is bound to lead to excellent outcomes.
You have built a mosque here in Mahdi Abad, similarly a mosque has been inaugurated recently in Fulda and Giessen. By the grace of Allah the Exalted, under the 100 mosques scheme, the Jama’at in Germany has had the opportunity to construct various mosques. We are not granted religious freedom in Pakistan. There, the law of the country does not permit us to construct mosques and it does not permit us to worship freely. Here, we are constructing mosques in order to fulfil the rights of Allah the Exalted and Allah has also blessed us financially. We have pledged allegiance to the Promised Messiah (as) in order to improve our spiritual and moral state. Hence, our mosques draw our attention towards this fact. We must make a concerted effort to offer Salat in a committed and dedicated manner and attain the highest standard of worship. After an initial period of effort, God grants the person spiritual guidance that he does not need to struggle to offer Salat. For such a guided person Salat becomes the sustenance for his soul and leads to his spiritual progress. Such an individual is granted a pleasure and delight in Salat, which is as fulfilling as drinking cold water in extreme thirst. Such a person feels deprived and restless without Salat and experiences a particular sense of contentment and tranquillity in his heart by offering Salat. The Promised Messiah (as) states that it is not possible to put into words the pleasure a person feels, who truly offers the prayer. The Promised Messiah (as) said that prayer is the root and ladder of every advancement and Salat is the ladder through which a believer can find God.
It is vital that we pray during Salat in our own tongue, so that we can connect with God. Concentration and humility in prayers can be attained by supplicating in one’s own language. Hence, the Promised Messiah (as) instructed us to pray in our own language as well. The Promised Messiah (as) further states: ‘It is vital to offer the prayers that Allah Almighty has taught us and the best prayer among those prayers is Surah al-Fatihah because it is a complete prayer. In Surah al-Fatihah, Allah Almighty has taught us the following prayer: [Arabic] ‘Guide us in the right path’ (1:6). The meaning of this supplication is extensive, when the right path for a task is granted, then the task gets easy to accomplish. If a farmer gets the right path of farming skills and processes, he can expect a good yield. Similarly, a skilful Salat offered properly is a path to God Almighty. So, we should seek the right path to offer the best Salat. God listens to the supplications of his people. God Almighty states: [Arabic] “Pray unto Me; I will answer your prayer” He then states: [arabic] “And when My servant ask thee about Me, say, ‘I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me.’”
God Almighty has promised that one who earnestly comes towards Him and seeks to comprehend the true reality of His Being, God too shall hurry towards such an individual. The Holy Prophet (sa) has also explained this. God Almighty has declared that when His servant takes a step towards Him, He, in turn, takes two steps and when His servant walks towards Him, He comes running.
So true Salat brings about a true spiritual and moral transformation. If, after offering regular Salat, moral condition does not improve, then such a Salat is ineffective and will be rejected by God. We must be mindful that our worldly commitments do not distract us and lower our commitment and quality of Salat. Be very mindful that the Holy Prophet (sa) said that the difference between faith and disbelief is the abandoning of Salat. Only dedication to Salat will distinguish between belief and disbelief.
We must always bear these words of the Promised Messiah (as) in mind; he says: “You must reform yourselves in a manner whereby your intentions become aligned with God Almighty’s intentions. To the extent that nothing is left for one’s own self, rather everything becomes God ‘s. Purification means that one’s heart is cleansed of all sorts of beliefs and actions that are opposed to God. God Almighty does not assist anyone unless they ensure that their intentions become one with God Almighty’s desires and they completely submit to His will.”
The Promised Messiah (as) then says that when one reforms themselves, they ought to ensure the reform of their families, and one is responsible for the reformation of one’s wife and children. May God Almighty enable us to reform our conditions and to not only establish prayer, but to raise its standards. May we purify our wealth, increase our moral standards, perform virtuous deeds and also spread this far and wide. May we abstain from evil ourselves and strive to protect our offspring. After the construction of this mosque, may we spread the true message of Islam to the residents of this city, may we bring them closer to worship of the One God. We can only achieve this if we bring about virtuous changes within ourselves. May God Almighty grant us the opportunity to do so.
I will now mention some details about the mosque itself. Nearly, six or seven years ago, or rather eight years ago, I laid the foundations, and now the mosque has been constructed. The covered area of the two-storey mosque is 350 square meters and can hold 210 worshippers. The upper floor is for the men and the lower floor is for women. There are facilities for ablution etc. The total cost of the construction was approximately 560,000 Euros. The local members contributed a little over 200,000 Euros and the remaining amount was given by the 100-Mosque Scheme. May God Almighty bless the wealth and progeny of all those who sacrificed for this and with the construction of this mosque, may we fulfil the rights of our worship more than before.