Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 116
Khilafat Centenary responsible for their upbringing, thus they possess the power to mold them in any way. It is both a burden and a blessing, neither can be taken lightly. Since society depends so much on mothers, it is most important that they themselves are dedicated and WFROMALLAH job of both parents to educate our children with correct tarbiyyat, the responsibility falls mainly on the mothers. Correct tarbiyyat requires keeping your children connected to the Jama ' at, for that is where y ou they will find the essence of khilafat. Mothers have the ability to instill into their children the love of the Jama ' at, and thus for khilafat. \. J Allah had promised to those among you who believe and ~ do good works that He will surely make them Successors in ~ the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them flJ their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He f1j will surely give them in exchange security and peace after The words of the khalifa should be heard by all in the family, and mothers ha ve a valuable opportunity during juma (Friday pra yer service) when the khalifa of the time delivers his weekly sermon. Everyone ma y not be able to attend the mosque and listen to Huzur 's sermons live, 1 1 1 their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate. . . . . . . anything with Me. Then who so is ungrateful after that, ~ they will be the rebellious. but thanks to technology, ev er y Ahmadi can access MTA through satellite dishes and the Internet. Some mothers who work outside the home argue that they cannot. C Surah Al-Nur, Verse 56 fully attached to the Jama' at, especially during this advanced age when we are so distracted by every new gadget or device. So how can we keep our children on the straight path? There are some children who do not take bai'at (the oath of allegiance) at the hand of the new khalifa when he is first elected. True, it takes more than a few scripted words to stay on the right path , but those who do take the bai'at, those who accept Ahmadiyyat with a new khalifa, if the occasion arises in their lifetime, have never turned their back on it. When they pledged it was not just with their minds- it was with their hearts, it was the dedication of their soul, and all those who have vowed their lives for Ahmadiyyat have been blessed by Allah Almighty. This is what we must teach our children, that as long as they sincerely follow every divinely chosen Khalifa, Almighty Allah will never abandon them, He will never leave their side, and they will never feel alone. Of course, women cannot get lazy and leave it at that- there is still a lot more work to be done. This is where tarbiyyat (educational and moral training) comes in to play. And though it is the listen to the sermon during its broadcast, but the Friday sermon is repeated several times throughout that da y, and again over the weekend and is available to listen to on the Internet anytime. So there is no excuse for mothers and their children not to be able to hear the word of the khalifa of the time. It ma y seem like a simple and small thing, but the long- term consequences of missing the weekly Frida y s ermon are regrettable. In this era , it is vital that our children are raised hearing the words of their khalifa in his own voice whenever possible, acting on his guidance and obeying his directives. If this can be achieved then the mother has fulfilled a large part of her duty to khilafat. As is stated in the well-known Hadith (saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad saw ): 'Paradise lies at the feet of the mother. ' Only under a good mother can a child reach Paradise. If we mothers are vigilant in keeping our children on the right path and stay aware of how the world affects our children, we can work magic with the help of Allah and shape our future generations into truly remarkable human beings, dedicated followers of Ahmadi yyat, the true Islam. Ma y we all remain close to khilafat and inspire our future generations to do the same, Ameen.