بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Friday Sermon

 

HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD

 

Munir Ahmad Azim

 

JALSA SALANA 2011

02 September 2011 ~

 

(03 Shawwal 1432 Hijri)

 

(Summary of Friday Sermon)

 

After having greeted with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and he said:

 

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاء فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ۝

 

“(As for) those who believe and do good, a good final state shall be theirs and sweet communion with God.” (13: 30)

The world we live in is our point of support to access our Lord. This ascent is achieved through prayer certainly, but also through social work which is a form of worship. All the prophets from Adam (upon him be peace) to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and also in the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (upon him be peace) and till today in the era of this humble servant of Allah who is present among you, were sent to communities experiencing a far advanced social crisis. Through them, God showed that only the social organisation based on humanising values, and which transcends the differences contribute to the achievement of a true community partnership. 

We can say that social work was born with the prophecy, because the prophets of God have not content themselves to develop and codify the rituals; they have not fed themselves on theories, they have applied active brotherhood. The solutions which they brought were not made in a judging or condemning spirit, but they have known, outside the institutional criteria established by those in power, how to generate new ways based on faith in God.

 

For social work, they were able to transform societies built on cultural and racial differences, where the welfare of the individual depends on the possession and action, into humanising and humanised society where man firstly is for action and thereafter for receiving (something). It's a real divine education of the human that leads to the transformation of the being. The heart becomes the new land base of thought, speech and finally of action.

This predisposition to the divine man is the foundation of Islam. The work of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), from the Meccan to the Medina community shows that social work is primarily a work of liberation of humans, making him leave the invisible prison so that he may find divine freedom. The rich man was in the prison of his own wealth, the poor man was in the prison of his own poverty, and only God through the work of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was able to release them from bondage as his only reference measurement do not come from society, but of the relationship born between the rich and the poor based on sharing, solidarity and compassion which we call piety.

Piety is the fertile ground in which fraternity germinates and takes roots; it is the expression of living faith, the epitome of the feelings that a man dedicates to his brother and which inevitably leads to social action, which it is an expression of love. In the name of all these precepts, Musa (upon him be peace) freed the Jewish people from slavery, Isa (upon him be peace) came to transform the concept of “Every man for himself and God for all” in “Love one another”.

Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought to mankind's the first written constitution governing the relationship between individuals, recommending good and prohibiting evil and calling for the recognition (and gratefulness) of God. To Act is to be grateful to God, it is to prove that we love God, because the entire humanism of the divine message is in the act of social work, which is based on faith, the basis of any solidarity.

This faith in God and our belief in the prophetic example will only be meaningful if it has social implications in order to establish the correlation between faith and sensible action for which the Lord makes no difference when He said, “Forgive if you want to be forgiven, be merciful to others if you want the Lord to be merciful to you.”

Thus, social work is salvation, for the service to others constitutes the path of personal fulfilment. It is a profound transformation that takes place in the heart; man finds his divine nature. He then becomes aware that the world was created for him and that he in turn was created for his Lord. He (God) allows man to assume his role as caliph of God on earth and at the same time to become a man of love, freedom and choice.

“He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, and He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens, and He knows all things.” (2: 30)

Being useful to society, man lives in imitation of the prophets (upon them peace). I defined social work through the concept of khidma, which means service, and how to serve God by being in the service of one’s fellow human being, of humanity. Social work leads man to perfection of the heart and makes him accede to the seat of Divine Caliphate. The earth belongs to everyone and everything that man does must be accomplished for the good of all without distinction.

Man is a social being. Men are called to help each other to solve their problems. However, in a society where some are very fortunate compared to others who find themselves in a situation of exclusion, social work becomes imperative.

Who is a social worker? A social worker is someone who likes to help those in need, without expecting anything in return. He has a selfless love to rescue another (from their problems). The social worker feels a great joy if he manages to solve the problem of a person in need. But before getting there, we must not forget that the social worker is someone who has succeeded in getting rid of many weaknesses such as jealousy, hypocrisy and selfishness among others. A proud, haughty and arrogant person can never become a good social worker.

If however he becomes one, it will not be out of conviction or for the pleasure of Allah, but rather to get free publicity. Thus, he uses social work as a sham to be seen as a Good Samaritan to others or to brag. Such a worker must necessarily get rid of those nasty faults if he wants to really be useful to others. In addition, the social worker must exercise discretion to inspire people's trust.

How to become a social worker? It's not overnight that a person can become a worthy social worker. It is only after several years of learning and practice that a social worker can understand the psychology of problem people under their care. It is through ground experience that he develops a skill that will benefit others. A social worker must be firstly trained, so as to be ready to lend an ear to the problems of others. He needs to know how to give his time to listen carefully to the person who approaches him. For the latter, to know that someone is listening to him carefully can already solve a lot of his problem. Then, the social worker must understand the nature of the problem of the caller and find the cause. Also, he can provide some answers to the questions of the person, provide advice, referrals to professionals or appropriate institutions, and finally, if he has the ability, he can himself offer solutions.

 

It is equally important for him to carry out regular monitoring to detect deficiencies and where appropriate, he is responsible to take corrective action. It is also noteworthy that many problems have no solutions in practice, and thus, the sacred duty of the social worker is to do everything in his capacity to at least relieve the afflicted person from his pain or difficulty by using the symbolic gestures of moral support and affection.

Our education system must instil values ​​such as generosity, sharing and solidarity to encourage more young people to spend some free time in social work. There are so many people with problems and the issues are so varied and complex that there is room for any well-meaning and non-profit group to address a specific problem.

It is my responsibility to make you remember these illuminated words of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: “The whole community (Ummah) is like one body. When one part of the community suffers, the entire community feels the pain.”

 

Every citizen must be aware of the responsibilities which he has top shoulder as each of us has a duty vis-à-vis the other, and it is only a grace of Allah if one is a social worker because we could have been the person seeking the help of social workers to survive in a society that is evolving and where many people are being marginalised because they cannot adapt to the changes taking place. The social worker in his office to help others not only discover others and their problems, but ends up discovering himself in his reactions, choices, motivations and feelings, among others. Thus, social work is a real source of blessing which each parent should not hesitate to recommend to his children and himself.

Before ending this sermon, I tell you that service is the way by which man is self-realised. Science must necessarily be accompanied by action if it wants to be helpful. May Allah give us the Tawfiq to understand this sermon, and may He bless us with His knowledge and make us valuable help to our brothers and sisters in need. Ameen.