Revealed Sermon

Khutba Ilhamiyya (The Revealed Sermon)

On 11th April 1900, the day of Eid-ulAzha, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmed (as) delivered the sermon in the Arabic language and on his instructions it was noted word for word by Hadhrat Maulvi Nurud Deen and Hadhrat Maulvi Abdul Karim, Hadhrat Ahmad (as) who knew the nature of this sermon (that it was a revelation), instructed the two of them to ask him at the same time if they missed any word for, once missed, it would be gone (which meant that he would not be able to repeat it).

The book Khutba-i-lihamiyya consists of five chapters. One of these is the Khutba-the revealed one-and the other four chapters were written later on. Because it contains the text of the Khutba, it was named Khutba Ilhamiyya. In this Khutba, Hadhrat Ahmad(as) dilates on the philosophy of sacrifice. As for the other four chapters of the book, he explains his claim, in the light of the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith. There is also a supplement which is in the form of a poster or an announcement in connection with the Minarutul Masih. In it he has explained at some length the aims and objects of the Minaret and has proved that so far as the time factor is concerned, the mosque of the Promised Messiah is the Masjid Aqsa. This announcement was made on 28th May 1900.

It is worthy of note that before the Iduz Zuha, Hadhrat Ahmed (as) devoted some time to pray for himself and for his friends. He asked all those who were present at Qadian to give him their names with their addresses so that he could remember them in his prayers. On the day of Iduz Zuha, he told Maulvi Abdul Karim that he had been commanded by God to say a few sentences in Arabic to a gathering and he thought perhaps it was the gathering of Iduz Zuha that God wanted him to speak to. So Hadhrat Ahmad (as) delivered the sermon in Arabic. At the end of it, and on the request of the gathering, Maulvi Abdul Karim got up to give an Urdu translation of the Khutba. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) remarked that all the prayers that he had offered the previous day had been accepted and the delivery of Khutba in Arabic was to be a proof of their acceptance. He thanked God that the Khutba had been delivered in Arabic and the prayers had been accepted.

When Maulvi Abdul Karim was rendering the Khutba into Urdu Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) fell down in prostration for offering thanks to God and when he raised his head up he remarked that he had seen the word 'Mubarak' (Blessed) written in red ink and it was an indication of acceptance.

Hadhrat Ahmad (as) says that he got up to deliver the sermon in Arabic and God the Almighty granted him power from Himself and the words were being uttered by him spontaneously, in a way that did not at all lie in his power. 'It was like a hidden fountain gushing forth and I did not know whether it was I who was speaking or an angel was speaking through his tongue. The sentences were just being uttered and every sentence was a sign of God for me.'

In one of the chapters written later on, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) discusses the condition of the world and tries to convince his readers that it is actually the need of the time that his advent should have taken place.