Conditions of Bai'at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi — Page 200
C ONDITIONS OF B AI ‘ AT AND R ESPONSIBILITIES OF AN A H MAD I 200 I would like to further elaborate on the concept of obedi- ence to ‘ ma‘r u f ’ [right] directives. Explanation of Obedience to the Directives Based on Goodness The verse of the Holy Qur’an that I have recited stresses upon women who take bai‘at, that they should pledge not to asso- ciate anyone with Allah, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to kill their children, not to neglect moral upbringing of their children, not to accuse anyone falsely, and not to disobey in matters which are ‘ ma‘r u f ’. Here a question may arise: Can a Prophet, who is appointed by Allah the Almighty give directives that might be ‘ ghair ma‘r u f ’ [not right]? If a Prophet can do so, then evidently it is possible for his Khulaf a’ to issue directives that are not right. It should be clear that a Prophet can never give such directives. Whatever a Prophet would say has to be ‘ ma‘r u f ’. It is out of the question that he can say anything else. Therefore, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an at several places that the commandments of Allah and the Prophet should be obeyed. Nowhere is it stated that those command- ments which are good should be obeyed. The question arises: Why are there two separate directives? In reality, there is no contradiction in the directives; it is just a matter of misunder- standing. As I have said earlier, whatever directive is given by a Prophet, it has to be ‘ ma‘r u f ’. A Prophet cannot issue an injunction against the commandments of Allah the Almighty in contradiction to the laws of shari‘ah. He is appointed to