Voice of British Muslim Women

Saba Raja, Greenford

The Khalifa is the spiritual figurehead of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community around the world and we are taught to remain attached and obedient to him at all times. But why is this the case? To begin answering this question I would like to relate a personal anecdote of mine. Before having children, I used to regularly write to His Holiness Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah be his Helper) for prayers for my children to be spiritual. Now after having children, I have realised that with Allah’s grace these prayers were accepted. All praise belongs to Allah, my children are spiritually connected to the Community, are regular in their five daily Prayers, and attend Community events. I have realised that this is not only a one-off experience but that friends and family who request prayers from the Khalifa consistently have them answered. This makes one realise that it is an extreme blessing to not only have leadership that is connected to Allah, but also that His Holiness is so gracious and meets and listens to the concerns of members of the Community.

So, what does the Holy Quran say about Khilafat? In Surah al-Nur, verse 56, Allah the Almighty says that He ‘…has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth…’. Indeed, the Arabic word Khalifa literally means ‘successor’ in English, and we thus believe the Khalifa of the time to be a successor of the Promised Messiah who was in turn himself a successor and Khalifa of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). This helps ensure that the Community has a spiritual leader who has a greater degree of closeness to Allah, and thus helps to ensure the Community does not go astray. Likewise, the Holy Quran commands the believers to ‘…obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who are in authority over you…’ (4.60). The Quranic commentary of another verse (4.66) explains ‘Muslims should not only have their disputes settled in accordance with the Law of Islam but should submit to the awards of those in authority with cheerfulness’. In today’s age this means obeying our Khalifa, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper).

Thus, we have established that the Khalifa is chosen by Allah the Almighty himself. Several experiences of members of the Community are testament to the fact that his prayers are especially answered. And likewise, Islam teaches us that we should pay special attention to instructions of the Khalifa and those in authority in order to be counted amongst God’s righteous people.