Voice of British Muslim Women

*Huzoor is the term Ahmadi Muslims use to refer to His Holiness, the fifth Caliph/Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community*

Sarah Waseem, London

Growing up, my parents taught us the blessings of the institution of Khalifat through their example. It was to the Khalifa of the time that my mother, who was a convert to Islam, always wrote whenever she experienced any distress. In my father we witnessed complete and absolute obedience to the word of the Khalifa. From both we learnt that Khalifat was our rope that we held onto through all times, good and bad.

Recently, the husband of a close non-Muslim friend of mine passed away after an illness of a few years. They had been together for about 50 years. I went to offer my condolences and we spoke about her next steps and the challenges that lay ahead. As she was telling me about how she was planning to meet  an adviser to sort out her financial affairs, I reflected on my bereavement some years ago. Unlike hers, it was sudden, and my world was thrown into chaos. My children were still dependent on me financially, and emotionally, and whilst I was fortunate enough to have a job, the suddenness of my late husband’s passing left me with several legal and practical problems.

But it was not to a financial adviser that I turned. It was to my Khalifa who supported me every step of the way. It was he who called to offer me words of comfort after my husband’s demise, words that just lifted my children and I from the darkness of anguish, towards the light of hope. His voice alone gave me strength and it still brings tears to my eyes as I recall that act of compassion. It was our Khalifa who noticed my boys a few weeks later, on Eid day as they went to the mosque for Prayer and came over to them to ask them how they were.  That simple gesture, at that moment, that first Eid without their father, made them feel so special, and so cared for.

After my idat (mourning period) had ended I went for a mulaqat ( private meeting ) with His Holiness where I requested prayers for my children and myself. I knew the journey ahead was not going to be easy but talking with His Holiness and his words of comfort, were as if a balm had been applied to my soul. I knew I had his prayers with me.  And so it has been, these last few years. He has allowed me to share my difficulties with him and guided me towards the best outcome.

My father’s devotion to Khalifat, might to some be termed ‘blind’ – whatever the Khalifa said, was his command.  Some might have said that my mother’s firm belief that every time one has a problem, one writes to ‘Huzoor’ might be termed as superstitious. But such people fail to see that love of Khalifat reflects love for God. The Khalifa is His appointee on earth. Our Khalifa’s compassion derives from his every act and every word being based on Godliness. Our faith in his prayers is because we know he is the chosen one of God. His words and actions are a daily affirmation that such convictions are neither blind nor superstitious. 

My friend has a difficult journey ahead of her. While the loss of a close one is rarely without trial, how blessed we are as Ahmadis that under the shade of Khilafat, that journey is never taken alone.