Men of Excellence
After reciting the Tashahhud, Ta‘awwuz, and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba) stated:
I will continue the account of the life of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair. The Holy Prophet (sa) faced intense opposition in his preaching of the message of the Unity of God in Mecca and received may divine signs that he would have to emigrate to a place with wells and date-groves.
During this time, the annual Hajj drew near, and pilgrims from all parts of Arabia arrived in Mecca. The Holy Prophet (sa) extended his preaching message to a group of men from the Khazraj tribe of Medina, this tribe was in alliance with the Jews of Medina. The group became much impressed and accepted the Message. They promised, on their return to Medina, to confer with others and report next year whether Medina would be willing to receive Muslim refugees from Mecca. Subsequently, they returned and conferred with their friends and relations.
There were, at the time, two Arab and three Jewish tribes at Medina. The Arab tribes were the Aus and the Khazraj and the Jewish tribes were the Banu Qurayzah, the Banu Nadir, and the Banu Qaynuqa. The Aus and the Khazraj were at war. The Qurayzah and the Nadir were in alliance with the Aus and the Qaynuqa‘ were with the Khazraj. At last, they called truce and agreed to acknowledge the Khazraj Chief, Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, as King of Medina. The Jews of Medina used to talk to the people of Medina about the advent of a Prophet ‘like unto Moses’. People of Medina wondered if the prophet in Mecca is the promised one and were interested in his message. At the next Hajj twelve men from Medina came to Mecca with the intention to join the Holy Prophet (sa)’s faith. Ten of these belonged to the Khazraj and two to the Aus tribe. They met the Holy Prophet (sa) in the valley of Mina and, holding the Holy Prophet (sa)’s hand, solemnly declared their belief in the Oneness of God. This is called Bai’at as Bai’at Aqabah. ‘Aqabah’ means a valley or a mountain that is difficult to manoeuvre through or a difficult mountainous path. When they returned to Medina, they spread the message of Islam to their people. There was a keen interest in the people of Medina about this message, therefore the Holy Prophet (sa) sent one of his young companions, Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair to assist them and to teach the faith to the Muslims. When these people returned to Medina, Islam spread in Medina within a very short period of time. Hence, the Holy Prophet (sa) sent some more companions to them, including Hazrat Umar (ra). After that, upon receiving the command to migrate, the Holy Prophet (sa) also went to Medina. Upon his arrival, all the idolaters of Medina accepted Islam within a very short period.
After the migration to Medina, the Holy Prophet (sa) established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair and Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari (ra). Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair participated in the Battles of Badr and Uhud. During the Battles of Badr and Uhud, the main flag of the Muhajireen was being carried by Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair. Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin ‘Umair was martyred during the Battle of Uhud. He fought valiantly and defended the honour of the flag till the last minute of his life. Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) was just over forty at the time of martyrdom. When the Holy Prophet (sa) approached the body of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra), it was turned face down. The Holy Prophet (sa) stood beside it and recited the following verse: That is, ‘Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. There are some of them who have fulfilled their vow, and some who still wait, and they have not changed their condition in the least.’ Then, the Holy Prophet (sa) addressed the companions and said that “you should visit him and send your salutations upon him. By that Being, in Whose hand lies my life, he will answer the salutations of everyone who will send salutations upon him until the day of judgment.” Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) had the special divine status of a companion and a guardian of the Holy Prophet of God (sa). He was well-mannered and conflict-averse individual.
When people informed Hazrat Hamnah bint Jahsh (ra), the wife of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair that her husband had also been martyred, she became distressed and cried. At this, the Holy Prophet (sa) then said, “A husband holds a special status in the eyes of his wife. The Holy Prophet (sa) also prayed for the children of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair, saying, ‘O Allah, be their Guardian and Protector, treat them with kindness and affection and take good care of them.’ God Almighty did indeed take good care of them as the prayer of the Holy Prophet (sa) was accepted. This brings a close to the accounts from the life of Hazrat Mus’ab (ra) bin Umair. Insha’Allah [God-willing] the next companion will be mentioned in the future sermon.
I would now like to draw the attention of the Jamaat to the current outbreak of the coronavirus. We must all adhere to the precautionary measures that are set out by governments and the health departments. From the outset, after consultation with some homoeopaths, I advised about the use of certain homoeopathic remedies, as a precautionary measure as well as for treatment. May Allah the Almighty grant cure through them. Thus, we ought to use them and at the same time we must adhere to the precautionary measures that have been outlined. In relation to this, it is advised that you should avoid large gatherings. People coming to the mosque should err on the side of caution. There are certain etiquettes of the mosque, among them is that if one is suffering from something such as a contagious illness – which can affect others – they should avoid coming to the mosque. One preventative measure mentioned by the Doctors is that one’s hands and mouth should always be clean. If one’s hands are unclean, they should not touch their face, or ensure that they use hand sanitizers or they should wash their hands regularly. However, for a Muslim – as is in our case – who pray five times a day and also perform the ablution in the correct manner, which includes cleaning the nose with water etc, then this high standard of hygiene is such that it can compensate the shortage of sanitizers. Nonetheless, if the ablution is performed in the correct manner, this can not only help towards physical cleanliness, but one who performs the ablution would subsequently offer their prayers, which then in turn becomes a means for their spiritual cleanliness as well. Moreover, in these days we must pay particular attention towards our prayers.
Furthermore, it is being advised that one should refrain from shaking hands and this is also extremely important, as one does not know what the hands are contaminated with. Although shaking hands increases the bond with one another and instils mutual love, however, owing to the current outbreak these days, it is better to avoid this practice. Even those people who previously raised an outcry that we do not shake hands with men or women of the opposite gender, have themselves been a target of amusement. They were not willing to adhere to the commandments of Allah the Almighty, but nonetheless the spread of this outbreak has drawn their attention towards this injunction. May Allah the Almighty also enable them to draw closer to Him.
Allah the Almighty knows best to what extent this epidemic will spread and what He has decreed. However, if this virus has emerged owing to the Divine wrath of God, and just as we have seen in the present age, since the advent of the Promised Messiah (as) there has been a significant increase in the number of epidemics, diseases, earthquakes and storms, then one ought to turn towards God Almighty more than ever before to be safeguarded from these. Moreover, every Ahmadi ought to pay particular attention towards prayers and also to improve their spiritual condition. One also ought to pray for the world in general that may Allah the Almighty grant them guidance. Instead of immersing themselves in worldly endeavours and being neglectful of God, may Allah enable them to recognise their True Creator.
After this I shall lead some funeral prayers in absentia. The first is of respected Tanzeel Ahmad Butt, son of Aqeel Ahmad Butt Sahib. He was a young 11-year-old child who passed away on 27th February 2020, in fact, in my opinion he was a martyr. He was martyred and his body was hidden in a suitcase. Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. Tanzeel Ahmad Butt was born on 20th November 2009 in Lahore and was part of the Waqf-e-Nau scheme. He was a very active member of the Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya organisation and would regularly take part in all the Jama’at programmes. He was counted amongst the intelligent students in his class and was studying in the fourth year. After his demise, his exam results were announced and he stood first in his class after attaining 729 marks out of 750. The deceased’s mother states, “Tanzeel was the most obedient out of all my children. If he ever wanted to do something, he would always seek permission from me first. If any of the neighbours or an office-bearer asked him to do something, he would immediately do it and never refuse. In fact, at times even the neighbour who killed him would get him to do some chores. He would always show obedience to her and fulfil any work she gave him. His schoolteachers and Jama’at office-bearers were all very happy with him and would always praise him. He would regularly watch programmes on MTA, especially programmes for children and the sermons. He would regularly attend the mosque for prayers. If ever his father would return from the factory very tired and would be unwilling to go to the mosque, he would persist and force him to take him to the mosque.” May Allah the Almighty grant him His nearness and grant the murderers a punishment they truly deserve. May God Almighty also grant patience and comfort to the parents.
The second funeral is Brigadier Bashir Ahmad Sahib, who was the former Amir of Rawalpindi district. He was the son of Dr Muhammad Abdullah Sahib and passed away on 16th February at the age of 87: “Surely to Allah we belong and to him shall we return”. He had a glittering career in services to the community as the Amir of the Rawalpindi Jama’at, the Amir of the Rawalpindi district and city until 9th February 2020, Naib Amir and Secretary Taleem for the Rawalpindi Jama’at. He was one of the directors for the Fazl-e-Umar Foundation and part of many committees of Majlis-e-Shura. He was extremely devout in his supplications and prayers and had great love for Khilafat. May Allah the Almighty grant him his forgiveness and mercy. May He elevate his station and enable his progeny to continue on his good deeds.
The third funeral is of Dr Hameed-ul-Din Sahib who lived in 121 Geem Be Gakhowal Faisalabad. He passed away on 29th February 2020: “Surely to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return”. The deceased was a dispenser by profession and in this way he had the opportunity to serve mankind in his entire area. He would treat the needy for free. He led an extremely simple life, was very righteous, regularly observed his prayers from his childhood and was very respectful of Islamic customs and traditions. He had great love for Khilafat, was extremely compassionate, and had great trust in Allah the Almighty and was an extremely honest and truthful individual. He would never refuse help to anyone and would always look out for others and seek to help them. The deceased had the opportunity to serve the Jama’at in various roles. May Allah the Almighty grant him His forgiveness and mercy and elevate his station. May He also enable his progeny to continue to fulfil the due rights of their Bai’at with loyalty.
As I mentioned earlier that after the Friday prayers, I shall lead their funeral prayers in absentia.