By Abass A. Adebayo
Ahmadi Muslim Youth Organisation (Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya), Apata District has held its monthly public lecture beside Ronikom Filling Station, Apata Market, Apata Ganga, Ibadan on 10th January, 2019.
The Lecture, “Khilafat: the Need of the Time”, was delivered by the Apata District Youth Taleem Secretary, Ustaz Akinyemi Sherrif, who harped on the importance and the need of Khilafat.
In his lecture, he clarified that the Divine leadership began with the appointment of Hazrat Adam(as) as the first Prophet and Khalifatullah (vicegerent of God) for the guidance of mankind. Through him, very basic principles of communal life were introduced for the first time, and the best way of governing human society was taught and implemented in that age. Thereafter, a progressive set of guidance has been provided befitting human evolution in the ever-dynamic world throughout history up to its full maturity.
Furthermore, he said that the Holy Qur’an is a compendium of all that is good; lasting and imperishable in its teachings and with a good deal more, consisting of that which the earlier Scriptures lack but which mankind sorely needed for its moral and spiritual development. All the right ideals, principles, ordinances and commandments which are of permanent utility to man have been incorporated in it. The Holy Qur’an stands, as it were, a guardian over previous Books and has steered clear of all those defects and impurities, which were found in them. It claims that it lacks nothing (Q.6:39) and is complete and perfect in every respect.
He quoted from the relevant verse of the Holy Qur’an. It reads, “This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favors upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Q.5:4).
Thus, according to the divine guidance, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is the sole guide for all mankind. So his leadership was to continue in one form or other till the end of times. He mentioned the signs of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ in the latter days according to the Bible.
“And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying; tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them. Take heed that no man deceive you…. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.” (Matt. 24:3-7)
Ustaz Akinyemi also buttressed his point on the Holy Prophet’s Second manifestation which through his deputy has been predicted in the latter days through the light of strong Ahadith and Quranic verses.
“He it is Who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom though before that they were in manifest error; And He will raise him among others of them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (Q. 62:3-4)
Likewise, In a Hadith pertaining to these verses Hazrat Abu Hurairah narrates: when Surah Jumu’ah was revealed to the Holy Prophet(sa) we happened to be there in his company. When he recited the verse ‘And there are others from among them who have not yet joined them’, (Ch.62, v.4) one of those present asked, “Who are they O Messenger of Allah?’ The Holy Prophet(sa) did not pay any attention. The man repeated the question two or three times. At that time Salman, the Persian was also sitting among us. The Holy Prophet,(sa) turned to him, placed his hand on him and said ‘even if faith ascended to the Pleiades, there would be one man from his people who would restore faith (back) to earth.’ (Bukhari).
Vividly, Islam will have three centuries of greatness after which, it will ascend back to the heaven for a thousand years. (Bukhari, vol. 4).
He stated the Holy Prophet(sa) was reported to have said, “There will be a decline in religious faith and nothing would be left of Islam except its name and nothing would be left of the Holy Quran except its text. Mosques though full of worshippers will be empty of guidance. The religious scholars will be the worst creation under the canopy of Heaven. (Mishkat-ul Masabih, p.88 & Kanaz-ul Ummal, vol.6 p.43).
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, (as) being a spiritual son and deputy of Hazrat Muhammad (saw), carried out the peaceful mission in the latter days through propagation till his demise, and through him the institution of Khilafat as promised by Allah in His Holy Book was realized.
Therefore, the need of a Khalifah cannot be overemphasized since the primary function of a Khalifa is to carry the message of the Prophet into the future without losing the spirit of the message. This task is best accomplished when the community is united and strong, and the community cannot be united and strong without the Institution of Khilafat.
Moreover, it is the responsibility of the Khalifa to admonish us with the help of Allah to stay on the right path. So this is the blessings and need of a Khalifa, that they bring unity, harmony and guidance. This is what Islamic teaching centres on; without unity and harmony, you cannot follow the teachings properly.
If this was not the case, then there would have been no Khilafat at all because the spiritual condition of Muslims in the days of the Holy Prophet (saw) was a thousand times better than the Muslims of today. If they need to follow an Imam, how can we live without an Imam today when the condition of Muslims is worth crying for it? This is why Khilafat is needed.
Today, the world can witness that by Allah’s grace, Ahmadiyyat is constantly being blessed with Allah’s help and guidance. Under the Divine blessings of Khilafat, the Jama’at is progressing in every direction. The Community is well established in over 200 countries of the world and the community has translated and published the Holy Qur’an in over 72 different languages.
Similarly, through the blessings of Khilafat, the Community has built thousands of mosques throughout the world and that number is growing rapidly. It has striven to serve humanity throughout the world by building and opening hospitals, schools, training centres as we carry out our motto of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’.
During the question & answer section, among the participants was a Christian brother who commented that he felt so blessed to have attended the spiritual occasion. While in his grateful ambiance, he said he would’ve been happier and more satisfied if his other Christian fellows were there at the occasion to benefit from such a good spiritual exhortation. He declared that the world would have known peace if the so called religion clerics and leaders are imbibing the teachings of Ahmadiyyat community in people’s hearts, as he had experienced the day. He prayed that may God continue to bless the community, and may it continue to grow larger.
Among the dignitaries are: Aba Alaamu Jama’at President, Bro. Mujeeb Oniyinde; Aba Alamu Vice President, Pa. Oladeji; Apata Jama’at Vice President, Alh. Raheem and Apata District President, Bro. Muhammad Gaffar, among others.
In attendance at the lecture were 26 Ahmadi youths, 6 Ahmadi male elders, 6 Ahmadi women, 3 Ahmadi male kids and 8 non-members.
