Masjid Baitur Raḥmān Vancouver, British Columbia - Ahmadiyya ...

within which man can progress; hecannot [exceed the boundaries of] hissphere. Within one’s own sphere ofcapacity, in accordance with his sacrifice,his sincerity, his love for Allāh andardent love for the Holy Prophet sa , he canreach the peak of his sphere of capacityand capability. And, whosoever in thiseffort and struggle, through prayers,turning to God with humble and earnestsupplications beseeches Khair (goodness)from Him and then gets it, he receivesit through the spiritual beneficence ofthe Holy Prophet sa . And, he is the HolyProphet’s Khalīfah and vicegerent to thatextent, because the people benefit fromhim onwards.As far as the Holy Prophet sa is concerned,he is that grand personality about whomit is said (in the Holy Qur’ān):“Haply thou wilt grieve thyself to deathbecause they believe not.” (26:4)You have enmity towards none. Youare even prepared to sacrifice yourlife for your worst enemy so that theybecome believers and secure themselvesfrom the wrath and vengeance of God.Hence, whoeverachieves anythingof the spiritualbeneficence of theHoly Prophet sacan never confinehimself to his ownplace and keep theKhair (goodness)he has achievedconfined to himself,rather he pushes itfurther and makesothers partakersof that Khair(goodness). Hebenefitted others of the Khair (goodness)because to some extent within a spherehe held Muḥammad sa as the bestmodel, then how can he keep that Khair(goodness) for himself alone.holy Prophet’s sa excellent exampleDuring the battle of the Ditch there was alot of food deficiency that occurred, andthe Holy Prophet sa and his companionswere terribly affected by hunger. Theirancestors had the experience that if oneis suffering with hunger and is emptyof stomach, then there is a way to wardoff the suffering of the stomach, whichone bears due to the empty stomach, byputting a stone on the stomach and tyingit tightly with a cloth. The stone tied withcloth would press the stomach and thefeeling of hunger would not be as intense.In short, when such was the conditiondue to hunger, a person approached theHoly Prophet sa and said: “Yā Rasūlallāh(O Messenger of Allāh) the situation hasexceeded the bounds, our trouble hasreached its climax; we do not find foodand the army of the disbelievers haveencircled us. We were getting provisionsfrom abroad and these avenues havebeen closed.” Removing the cloth fromhis belly he said, “See to what extent weare suffering, we are forced to tie stonesto our bellies.” Then, Rasūlullāh said,“Now see this too,” and when he removedthe cloth from his belly there were twostones tied on his stomach compared tothe one stone of that person.During this same time of hunger, acompanion ra who had some flour in thehouse and a baby goat, slaughtered thebaby goat and after cleaning it told hiswife to prepare food and meanwhile hewould whisper into the ear of the HolyProphet sa that he was inviting him todinner which was ready and that heshould come to eat.He went to him and knowing that thatfood could hardly suffice for ten tofifteen persons, whispered to the HolyIt is a fact that when a Munafiq (hypocrite) saysthat the Promised Messiah as was a Mujaddid andanother Mujaddid would come at the head ofcentury, he belittles the position of the PromisedMessiahas. But listen, he was not only Mujaddid, hewas also Messiah, he was Mahdī, he was the Imāmof the last age and he was also the Mujaddid for thefinal millennium.Prophet sa : “Yā Rasūlallāh there is a smallquantity of food ready in my house,please come in and eat it.” When heheard this (notice his best example inresponse) he announced: “O people thisperson has invited us to dinner, let us goand eat.” Even in this condition when hehad stones tied on his stomach, he didnot go alone. He takes other people alongwith him. I am telling you, that whoeverachieves anything of the bounty of theHoly Prophet sa , try to understand abouthim that he cannot confine it to himself,he had to make others share with himat all costs. Consequently, when theHoly Prophet sa made the announcement,many people who could go, got ready toaccompany him. He (the Holy Prophet sa )said to the companion ra , “Return to yourhouse and tell your wife that she shouldnot pour the soup meal into plates andlet it remain in the pot until I come andshe should even hold off making theflatbread.” The man ran to the houseand told his wife, “Do not to touch thesoup and leave the dough as it is. TheHoly Prophet sa is coming.” He thought tohimself, heaven knows what will happen;the Holy Prophet sa has invited one and allto come and eat.Anyhow, the Holy Prophet sa arrived andprayed (for the blessings) over the soupand the dough, and then he started todistribute it with his own hand. Lo andbehold, the soup sufficed and the breadas well. In ordinary circumstances, itcould not have sufficed. It is the power ofGod and He did show a sign.A huge Army of Khulafā’So, I am telling you that a person, whoachieved bounty from the Holy Prophet sa ,how can he confine it to himself like amiserly person? A man who is saturatedby the generosity of the great generousman sa , whose extent of generosity cannotbe perceived, and he achieved somethingacting upon his example, would certainlydistribute this bounty further. And, whenhe would distribute,he would do soas a vicegerent.He would notdistribute it fromhimself and tothis extent hebecomes a Khalīfah.It means that thearmyof Khulafā’is in hundreds ofthousandswho,attainingthebounty from theHolyProphetsa ,push it further.The second promisein Ayat Istikhlāf is of those who are saints,and as I did explain they are not fewin number. For instance, it is said thatthere were such number of great saintsof God during the time of Ḥaḍrat ‘UmarBin ‘Abdul ‘Azīz that they cannot becounted. The Promised Messiah as has saidthat there used to be simultaneously 400prophets in the Ummah of Ḥaḍrat Mūsā asfor the regeneration of their religion.Ummah-e-Muḥammadiyya is an Ummahof great latitudes, and it is to spread allover the world, hence, in it there shouldbe thousands in comparison of hundreds.Therefore, they are all Khulafā’.And regarding Khulafā’, he said,kamā has come for resemblance inkamastakhlafalladhīna min qabli-him. Itmeans, as there had been 400 prophets18 Khilāfat And Mujaddidīyat - An Exposition