Siddiqa Faisal, Hayes
In the world of connectivity and information, we always want to be connected and be ‘online’, but the connection which should be the most important is unfortunately forgotten by many. That connection is with God, the Creator, and this forgetfulness is disrupting peace at all levels. Now, the question is how we can achieve this vital connectivity?
Fortunately, God has always provided for our spiritual needs to restore and have this ‘connectivity’ through His Prophets and Successors of the Prophets. Here I do not only mean Prophethood which is distant in time and its Successorship, but also the Successorship, that we are blessed to be living under in this very modern age.
By the grace of Allah, this month we are celebrating 115 glorious, successful and prosperous ‘connected’ years of Ahmadiyya Khilafat, Successorship that came after Prophethood and on its precepts. His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah be his Helper) the current and fifth Successor, leading the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community founded by His Holiness Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (may peace be on him), who was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. We believe that though the Khalifa is elected by people, he is chosen by God and one whom God chooses Himself, He strengthens with His support as well.
It is this support of God for His chosen one, that today the Community that started within the small town of Qadian in India, has now connected millions of people to their Creator and they are ever increasing in their faith and humility. The Khalifa of the time is always guiding us in ways to achieve the true connection with God. His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (May Allah be his Helper) in his recent Friday Sermon on 5th May 2023, drew our attention to achieve this very aspect. He said:
“The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) states that it is ordained by God that one should be just to Him and His creation, or in other words, fulfil their rights. If one can go beyond this, one should not only demonstrate justice, but also demonstrate kindness as though one truly perceives them. Furthermore, if one can go beyond this, then one should treat both God and His creation selflessly and with no expectation of recompense, similar to one who is selfless due to a relation.” [1]
The purpose of Khilafat is to keep people connected to the Creator so that the rights of both, humankind and the rights of God are fulfilled. If one is truly fulfilling the rights of God, it brings humility. This humility is then given back to His creation to make that vital connectivity even stronger and deeper. Under the divine institution of Khilafat and upon the calls of Khalifa of the time, the building of hundreds of mosques around the globe, translation of the Holy Qur’an in more than 70 languages, training of people to convey the beautiful teachings of Islam, building of free schools and well equipped hospitals worldwide run by volunteers, provision of clean water in underdeveloped countries, skill development in people, responding to natural disasters, these all are just a few examples of being closer to the ‘Source’ only to achieve the ultimate bond with God.
These endeavours are made not only by men but also by Ahmadi Muslim women who are equally taking part in all these activities. This year also marks 100 years of empowerment of women through Lajna Ima’illah around the globe. Lajna Ima’illah is the women’s auxiliary initiated by the second Successor His Holiness Mirza Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him). Since its inception in 1922 this auxiliary has been thriving under the auspices of Khilafat. Getting guidance from the Khalifa of the time to nurture the next generation, which is the most important duty that is assigned to a woman. In this era of gender equality, where a woman’s emotions are ignited in the name of freedom, we Ahmadi Muslim ladies are content, strong, free and proud to serve not only the community but also shape the future.
An incident with my son on a video call seemed to illustrate the need to get closer to something in order to reap the best benefit.
“Maybe you can get closer to the Wi-Fi router,” I suggested to my son, who was on the phone with his grandmother, but the video call was reconnecting again and again.
“Now, it’s much better”, the grandmother noticed happily when the connection was restored. They chatted for a while, exchanged goodbyes and the video call was over.
It was a simple thing that everyone can relate to, but that day, somehow it made me realise the importance of being closer to the ‘source’, in this case a router but in our lives as a whole, acting on the guidance of our Khalifa to get closer to God.
Official Blog of Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association UK 
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