Atfal from Sweden Have Honour of Virtual Meeting with World Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
“Allah the Almighty has taught Muslims the perfect way to worship” – Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad
On 20 November 2022, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad held a virtual online meeting with members of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya (Ahmadiyya Muslim Children’s Auxiliary) from Sweden.
His Holiness presided the meeting from MTA Studios in Islamabad, Tilford, whilst the Atfal joined the meeting virtually from the Nasir Mosque, in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Following a formal session which began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, members of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya had the opportunity to ask His Holiness a range of questions regarding their faith and contemporary issues.
A Tifl enquired from His Holiness why Muslims adopt different postures during their prayers whilst Hindus and Christians sit still to worship.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad replied:
“Allah the Almighty has taught Muslims the perfect way to worship. He has taught us to firstly stand and fold our arms in front. Whenever you go in front of someone who is respectable and of influence, you show them respect by standing… When you wish to seek something, your inner state changes and you bow down and that is the position that is reflected in the ‘Ruku’ position. Then you stand straight again when you become restless in yearning for what you desire. When you become extremely anxious when asking for something, you again straighten yourself in desperation and ask your heart’s desire. When your anxiety increases further still, you suddenly fall in prostration and weep in front of Allah the Almighty. You then sit up and fall in prostration again. Then you stand and then again pray whilst sitting down and eventually you finish your prayer. So these are the postures Allah the Almighty has taught us to adopt in prayer.”
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further stated:
“When infant children really want their parents to give them something, they strongly insist and wail and whilst doing so, sometimes they sit down and then stand… So this is a natural way to adopt different postures. During the obligatory prayers, Allah the Almighty has taught us that when we go in front of Allah, we should adopt the different postures and adopt the appropriate internal state. He has even taught us the words of prayer we should use. He has also commanded us to worship with fervency in our prayers. Thus, Allah will accept our prayers if we do so. So our way of worship is perfect. It is not that way of worshipping where you just sit down and relax. It is a method that is very natural and is in line with our nature. There is no greater being than Allah the Almighty. So when we turn to God then we must adopt all the appropriate postures.”
One boy asked His Holiness if those people can be forgiven by God Almighty who do not believe in the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:
“Whether someone will be forgiven or not is entirely up to God Almighty. Allah the Almighty has said that you should believe in His prophets as per the statement of the Holy Quran. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prophesied as well that in the latter days the Messiah and Mahdi will appear. We say that he was to be from amongst the Ummah, from amongst the Muslims. So the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) came and we accepted him…The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) has said that the dealings of Allah the Almighty with regards to the judgement of people is for the Hereafter. He will decide regarding punishment and reward and whether someone who has done a good deed, their deed is worthy of acceptance in the sight of God and how He shall punish anyone who is deserving of chastisement. Allah the Almighty punishes those people in this life who create disorder and carry out injustices and they will face His punishment in the Hereafter too.”
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad further stated:
“Nations are not destroyed because of the mere rejection of a prophet. They are punished because they transgress by committing cruelties. Today, people think Muslim nations are doing very well – they have oil wealth, and Muslims rule very rich countries and there are individuals that are very wealthy but this is not the true reality. They are actually in a terrible state. This is true for Muslims and for others. If you reject prophets and go further to mock them and commit injustices against those who believe in them, it is then that Allah the Almighty punishes the people and such people shall most certainly be punished in this life and the Hereafter.”
Continuing his reply, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:
“With regards to how Allah will deal with those who do not accept a prophet, the good deeds that they carry out, Allah the Almighty will reward them for it and punish them for their wrongdoing. Every individual is to go through some form of hell, either in this life or the next. Some people go through it in this life whilst others will do so in the next. However, it is a statement of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that a day shall come when hell will become empty and everyone will enter paradise.”
His Holiness went onto mention that as Ahmadi Muslims we must ask ourselves how we have benefitted from believing in the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and try to improve as individuals. Otherwise there is no benefit we will have derived from a belief in the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) if our actions and deeds are not reformed as a result.
A child asked His Holiness about why Ahmadi Muslims pray when there is a solar or lunar eclipse.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:
“We do so because there is a change that comes about in the circumstances and so the Holy prophet Muhammad (pace and blessings be upon him) instructed that it should instil a fear of God within us and we should pray because even on the Day of Judgement, the entire system will be upturned and this life will end. We should pray that Allah the Almighty protects us from its harms. There are negative effects the solar and lunar eclipses can have on people. For example, pregnant women can face difficulties as a result. So we should pray that Allah protects us from the harms and grants us all that is good of it. Whenever there is a change in the routine of things, it should instil a fear of God within us. When it rained and the clouds formed and there was thunder and lightning, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would seek forgiveness of Allah the Almighty that He may protect people from its negative impact. Nations and peoples were destroyed as a result of rain and thunder too. So we should always pray with a fear of Allah in our hearts whenever there is a change in the routine of circumstances.”