Voice of British Muslim Women

_{(Editor’s note: His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V has delivered two inspirational addresses to Ahmadi Muslim women in the last few months. We reflect over these through a series of blogs as we learn from the guidance contained within.)}

Fezia Haq, London

Earlier this month, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp were down, which gave a lot of people a much needed social media break. By calling this digital break a ‘detox’, we can rightfully identify that the online world can be toxic.

Days earlier, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) spoke to us at the Lajna Ijtema. In his address His Holiness said: “A large part of the world lives on the baseline of poverty, all the while observing the lifestyles of richer countries.” His Holiness explained that through things like social media, ordinary people are increasingly seeing the extraordinary wealth of the super-rich. His Holiness that when the have-nots observe how affluent people in society spend their wealth, it naturally makes them realise their material plight, and this can lead to feelings of restlessness. In this way, the technologies the world has access to today are highlighting many inequalities.

We see that reaching milestones in terms of money is celebrated, with lists of billionaires across the world being published yearly. A billion doesn’t even strike us so much anymore, until we compare how much it is in contrast to how little others have. £30K was the average annual household income last year in the UK. If all of it was saved, it would still take 33,333+ years to reach that amount. Most of that money does not event get spent, and where it does, it is wasted on consumerism or accumulation amongst other things. All the while it has the potential to help millions.

Not only does this mean that the super-rich have more than enough wealth to feed, clothe, and house the poor, but it also means that when they display their lavish lifestyles, it leads to feelings of anguish and dissatisfaction even in those who have enough to survive. Add to this the fact that despite having access to health-care, education and recreational activities, people in the developed world possessing these riches and luxuries are not guaranteed peace of heart or mind. For many who are impoverished, true luxury comes in the form of wellbeing and basic necessities. As the saying goes, ‘money can’t buy happiness’, though wealth – and technology – can be used for good.

So when His Holiness gave guidance  in the same address saying “It is my firm belief that the root cause of this is that they have been trapped by their materialistic pursuits and cravings and, above all, because they have abandoned faith in God Almighty”, we see that while therein is a warning there is also a solution. The guidance given to us by His Holiness is that we should advance spiritually and morally to guard ourselves from the ill-effects of the luxuries we see online, and this shows us a way out of this venomous cycle. Our relationship with God becomes the most prized thing we have, and out of love for His creation, we spend on those who need it the most. Our aspirations revolve around doing righteous deeds, not attaining worldly riches. Our use of new technologies becomes about imparting good will, not ill-feelings. And in this way, our soul also experiences a detox.

We Ahmadi Muslims are forever grateful for the blessing of Khilafat, as indeed we should be, which constantly guides us through thick and thin.