Al Hakam - 21 May 2021

Israel-Palestinian conflict and the Ahmadiyya Khilafat A brief look at seven decades of the most viable advice Page 8

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Khilafat: Leadership redefining liberty

From longing to living embraced – Part I A testimony of how “fear” was turned into “security and peace”

Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya: Style of leadership, aspirations and its future

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THE WEEKLY

www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 | Issue CLXVI Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL. UK info@alhakam.org | F: +44(0)208 544 7673

Khilafat: The route back to normality The coronavirus pandemic has been crashing at the shores of human population in waves; mighty tides, rather, with a greater appetite for sweeping beyond shores into the mainland of every continent.

In between the waves, the lowered contours have been filled in with geopolitical tug-of-war; as if to declaim to the pandemic, “We, the human race, will not change; come what may!”

Fighting for land is still very much around; a reminder that we still are living in the age that we wishfully call “primitive”. The human race has not gotten over the impulsive lust for land, even if it calls for killing innocent people in scores of hundreds and even thousands in one episode of strikes.

Religion seems to be melting away like a scoop of ice cream in a sunny, summer afternoon; dripping down the high altar it once sat on with all its majesty. The only lump remaining in the middle feels too soft to be picked up and restored.

Morality is skiing down the mighty Alps, once known as modesty. The more out of normality you are, the better suited you are seen for modernity. When mankind derailed to see modesty and modernity as two opposite poles of Continued on next page >>

Hadith-e-Rasul – Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa

Khilafat after the Prophetsa

ّٰ ّ ّٰ ُ ‫‬ﺗ��ن‬:‫ﻗال َ‬ر ُس ْول‬الل ِہ‬صلی‬اللہ‬�لیﻪ‬وسلم‬ ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬یﺮفعہا‬،‫الﻨﺒوة‬فیﻜم‬ما‬شاء‬اللہ‬أن‬ﺗ��ن‬ ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬ﺗ��ن‬خلافة‬�لی‬،‫اللہ‬إذا‬شاء‬أن‬یﺮفعہا‬ ّٰ ،‫�ﻨہاج‬الﻨﺒوة‬فﺘ��ن‬ما‬شاء‬اللہ‬أن‬ﺗ��ن‬ ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬ﺗ��ن‬،‫ﺛم‬یﺮفعہا‬اللہ‬إذا‬شاء‬أن‬یﺮفعہا‬ ً ً ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬،‫مل�ا‬�اﺿا‬فی��ن‬ما‬شاء‬اللہ‬أن‬ی��ن‬ ً ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬ﺗ��ن‬مل�ا‬،‫یﺮفعہا‬إذا‬شاء‬اللہ‬أن‬یﺮفعہا‬ ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬یﺮفعہا‬،‫ج��یة‬فﺘ��ن‬ما‬شاء‬اللہ‬أن‬ﺗ��ن‬ ّٰ ‫‬ﺛم‬ﺗ��ن‬خلافة‬�لی‬،‫اللہ‬إذا‬شاء‬أن‬یﺮفعہا‬ ‫‬ﺛم‬سﻜﺖ‬،‫�ﻨہاج‬الﻨﺒوة‬ The Holy Prophetsa said: “Prophethood shall remain among you as long as God wills. He will bring about its end and follow it with Khilafat on the precepts of Prophethood for as long as He wills and then bring about its end. Kingship shall then follow, to remain as long as God wills and then come to an end. There shall then be monarchical despotism which shall remain as long as God wills and come to an end upon His decree. There will then emerge Khilafat on the precepts of Prophethood. Then he became silent.”

(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. Mishkat, Kitab arRiqaq, Bab al-Andhar wal-Tahdhir.)

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, In His Own Words

Graciousness and mercy I would like to state once again – and this point is worthy of note – that divine favour is of two kinds. Firstly, there is graciousness (rahmaniyyat) Continued on page 2

Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

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mankind’s collective psyche, is not known and, to be very honest, no one even wants to know about it. Who cares? is the call of the day.

Well! There has to be someone who actually cares; who actually yearns to put things right! There has to be someone, somewhere who knows the route back to normality!

This route-back-to-normality is a phrase we have become accustomed to since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. But is this dream of the lost normality restricted to the social aspect of the human society? Or does it apply to all aspects of it?

So, there has to be someone, somewhere who is concerned about every aspect of the world we live in.

There has to be someone advising on how nations should act and react to their lust for growth and expansion; someone who calls to international peace.

There has to be someone who reminds world leaders that military action can sometimes be necessary as a last resort, but it still calls for an ethical approach where civilians are not killed in the stampede of army boots.

There has to be someone who calls the world to repair and restore the roof and walls that protected humanity from falling prey to strong gusts and torrential rains of inhumanity: the safe confines of morality.

There has to be someone who still believes that religion is an integral part of human personality. Someone who thinks that letting this side wither away could well leave mankind impaired; signs of which are not inconspicuous already.

One could argue that there are such someones who stand for one or the other of the above. But then one could also argue that the situation calls for a single individual and one voice. The damage caused and the force of decadence that continues to pull the society apart need to be attended to by an expert in all areas; the effort has to be concerted and in one direction.

We need to stop looking around. It is time to act. There is one person in the world who spends his days and nights trying to restore humanity back to its raison d’être.

This one person is Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa – the successor of the promised saviour of the Latter Days, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian; one whose vision-range starts from international affairs and goes deep down into domestic issues; one who knows where morality has stumbled and, also, how to pull it back on to its feet; one who tells the world that killing one innocent human being amounts to slaying the whole humanity; one who says that there is a God; one who calls the world to connect to God and be resuscitated from the dark dead-ends of the burrows of a self-induced moral coma of morality and humanity.

Read this issue and know more about Khilafat – the only way to salvation.

Continued from page 1

and the second kind is known as mercy (rahimiyyat). The grace of rahmaniyyat is that which was in operation even before we ever existed or came into being. For example, even before we existed, Allah the Exalted created the heaven and earth, the sun and moon, as well as other earthly and heavenly creations, all of which exist to serve us, and from which we derive

benefit. The animals also derive benefit from them, but when even they too have been created for the benefit of mankind, and come to their use, it can be said in general that man is the one who truly benefits from these creations. Observe how humans eat the highest quality food for physical nourishment; the highest quality meats are for man, while scraps and bones are for dogs. Although animals

partake in physical benefits, they do not partake of spiritual pleasures. Hence, these are the two kinds of divine favour; the first kind is granted even before we have come into being; and the second kind is a demonstration of the grandeur of rahimiyyat, which is manifested after prayer and which requires action.

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p. 205)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

From the Markaz

The true Eid: Loving God and His creation

Friday, 14 May: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, in his Eid sermon today, emphasised worshipping Allah in the true sense and developing love and mercy with one another to attain the true Eid. “Was this the only purpose” of Ramadan, that we merely pass through fasting and then eat, drink and enjoy ourselves on Eid? Huzooraa said we must understand, on Eid, the true purpose of Ramadan and continue the good habits we developed. After 30 days of fasting, positive changes should be seen within us.

The Promised Messiahas said he had come for two purposes; firstly, to take mankind to God and secondly, to take mankind closer to each other – to understand their rights, to take care of one another, and to recognise each others’ feelings, etc. Fulfilling rights of God and the rights of man are essential.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said that if we truly recognised these two aspects, we would be successful believers. Ramadan is a mode of attaining this purpose. When the happiness of Eid comes, we are also taught lessons on this day to develop these positive changes forever.

One can only become a true Muslim and believer when one pays attention to the rights of God and the rights of man. We, as Ahmadi Muslims, are blessed that we have accepted the Imam of the age who drew our attention toward how a true believer should be.

Relating the standard of our love with God, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa quoted the Promised Messiahas who said loving God meant to put the pleasure of Allah above all else; family and our own selves and wants.

The Holy Quran tells us to remember Allah as we remember our forefathers; rather, the love for Allah should be much more than this.

Only when we develop this love of God can we say we attained the true Eid. The Promised Messiahas said, “Along with professing [belief] with the tongue, supporting actions are necessary” too.

Huzooraa said that those who had done waqf should always remember they did so for the sake of Allah alone.

The Promised Messiahas said, “The intention of Islam is to make many Abrahams. So each one of you should strive to become Abraham. Do not become a mere follower of a wali [saint]; instead, become a wali yourself, and do not become a mere follower of a pir [holy person], instead, become a pir’”. (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, p. 139 [2010]) “We should reflect and analyse ourselves as to the level of our love with God”, Huzooraa said.

To attain the love of Allah the Almighty, it is essential we pay attention to repentance, istighfar, invoking salutations

Photo courtesy of MTA International

on the Holy Prophet and prayers. The Promised Messiahas said to always keep death in mind for this temporal abode is not to be relied on.

The Promised Messiahas said that before every action, one should ponder and reflect whether Allah the Almighty would be pleased with a certain action or displeased.

The Promised Messiahas also said that prayer was the mirage of a believer.

However, prayer did not mean to merely perform all the actions, as there is no benefit in such a prayer. Salat was to praise Allah the Almighty and to seek forgiveness of our sins.

“Offer Namaz in a beautiful manner”, the Promised Messiahas exhorted. He said to pray for the success of our spiritual life and our worldly life in Salat.

With regard to worship, the Promised Messiahas said, “A Muslim is the one who sacrifices their whole existence for attaining the pleasure of Allah the Almighty […]”

The Promised Messiahas said a believer should worship Allah with love and happiness. A true Muslim loves Allah the Almighty as they recognise Allah is the Benefactor and loves greatly. Even if a Muslim is told there is nothing in Heaven, they still cannot leave their faith and good actions because their worship, obedience and connection with Allah is not for the sake of reward; rather, such a Muslim knows that their existence is to attain the closeness and understanding of Allah the Almighty.

The Promised Messiahas said a true believer does not love Allah due to reward or recompense. “Therefore I give the teaching to you, who have a connection with sa

me, to adopt this path”, said the Promised Messiahas.

This is the true Eid. The Promised Messiahas said the development and success of our Jamaat will be through steps, as a plant grows.

After bai‘at we must develop new colours in having a connection with Allah, in our remembrance of Allah and in dealing with our brothers. “Are we making efforts towards this?” Huzooraa asked.

A true Muslim has no personal enemies.

Yes, they do see the enemies of God and His prophet as their enemies, but this does not mean to abuse that person; rather, it means to separate yourself from them and pray for their rectification.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that to progress in belief and certainty, it was essential to read the Holy Quran, along with Salat and prayers. The Promised Messiahas said, “[…] read the translation of the Holy Quran too” so that we may understand it. “Don’t read the Holy Quran as a normal book, but read it while knowing it is the Word of God”.

In his sermon, Huzooraa said we should try to attain the true Eid by beautifying our prayers and studying the Holy Quran.

The Promised Messiahas said he found a great prophecy in the word “Quran”. It means that this is the only book worth reading; it will be the book that will distinguish between what is true and what is false. He said, “Leave all other books” and read the Holy Quran day and night. He said that the Holy Quran should be the focus and not the ahadith. He said it is a great shame that more attention is given to teaching the

ahadith and not the Holy Quran. The Holy Prophetsa said that the one who didn’t have portions of the Holy Quran in their memory was like an abandoned house. Huzooraa said we should revise what we already have committed to memory too. We should also reflect on the Holy Quran while reading it.

When we do this, we can say we have attained the true Eid. We are not to celebrate Eid and then forget all the forms of worship we carried out in Ramadan, including reading the Holy Quran.

Huzooraa said one begins to worship Allah and read the Holy Quran only when they take care of the rights of God’s creation.

The Promised Messiahas said we should not have any resentment or hate for other believers. He said there are many who look down on others, talk against each other and hold resentments in their hearts. However, Allah the Almighty says to become like “one being.” The Promised Messiahas said that until people do not deal well with others, they cannot have a true connection with Allah the Almighty.

Huzooraa said we must ask ourselves if we were fulfilling the rights of our fellow beings and whether we had vowed to do so.

The attributes mentioned about Allah in Surah al-Fatihah should also be adopted by believers. These attributes are the fundamental morals of Allah, as it were. We should always deal well with others, treat them well and fulfil the rights owed to them.

The Promised Messiahas said it was the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa to pray for enemies too. It was through his prayers that Continued on next page >>

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Hazrat Umar converted to Islam.

The Promised Messiahas said that his followers should develop love and mercy for each other and fulfil each other’s rights. He said the most difficult aspect was fulfilling the rights of creation because this came at every step of life. He also said that having mercy on humanity was a great means of worship and a great means of attaining the love of Allah. Those who Allah has blessed should be merciful towards the poor and meek.

Huzooraa said that those who could should donate towards the various funds set up by the Jamaat for people in need.

The Promised Messiahas said, “Until you do not become like brothers with each other, you will not attain God […]” Believers should not fight with each other and should truly love one another.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said that at home, there should be peace too. The Promised Messiahas said a man should forgive all faults of their wives, apart from indecency. He said it was embarrassing for ra

a man to fight a woman. Therefore, taking care of our wives was essential to attain the love of Allah.

The Promised Messiahas said that the Jamaat Allah desires to create cannot be made without action. The preparation for this Jamaat started with Adamas. Therefore, our being part of this Jamaat was no normal matter; it was a great blessing, but we must attain what Allah desires from us.

God Almighty told Muslims to become at one with each other. Believers should not fight with each other and should pray for each other and show love and mercy for each other.

The Promised Messiahas said, “[…] adopt the unity of God and secondly, develop love and mercy with each other. Bring that example which becomes a miracle for others. This is what the companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa showed […]”

“A person who is part of my Jamaat and is not following what I teach is akin to a dry branch” that will be cut off, said the Promised Messiahas. In other words, there is no point in being part of this Jamaat if we

are not good with everyone.

The Promised Messiahas said, “Without having a pure heart, salvation is not possible […]” He said the greatest filth was arrogance.

If there was not arrogance, prophets of God would have been accepted.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said that these were the teachings that would enable us to attain the true Eid. Our celebrations would not be limited to one or two days of Eid; rather we would have attained the true Eid all year round.

At the end of the Sermon, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said to pray especially for Palestinians who were suffering a great deal. They were not allowed into their own areas and were being forcefully taken out of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. The media was now speaking out against the actions of Israel, even within Israel. Airstrikes were taking place which were unjustified.

Huzooraa said the US state department has not issued any statement for the Palestinian children killed, yet they claim to uphold human rights.

Reports by Amnesty International also

showed that Israel was transgressing and a plethora of newspapers, even in Israel, were speaking against the actions of the governments.

Huzooraa said instead of the joys of this Eid, Palestinians were faced with mountains of pain and sorrow. Huzooraa said to pray that their sorrow converted into happiness and joy.

“The reaction of Muslim countries has not been as it should have […] If they had responded as one, it would have had a great effect.”

It is as if the Palestinians are fighting with sticks while the Israelis have a heavy army – there is no comparison, said Huzooraa.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said also to pray for all those being persecuted in the world and to pray that Allah the Almighty relieves the world from the coronavirus and we go back to our normal lives. This is only possible when the world recognises its Creator and fulfils His rights and the rights of His creation.

Humanity First UK continues to assist Palestinians Dr Aziz Ahmad Hafiz Chairman Humanity First (United Kingdom)

For the last number of years, our Humanity First volunteers in Palestine have been working hard to support many vulnerable and needy people both in Gaza and the West Bank. Over the last many years, Humanity First has benefited hugely from direct guidance by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa on its operations and equity and justice in its provision for beneficiaries around the world.

We support poor students to enable them to fund their undergraduate education in Gaza and the West Bank. This gives them access to a better future and improves their employment prospects.

Farming and agricultural support

projects have also been carried out over the years and sadly we also provide emergency support during acute crises such as the current horrific situation in Gaza.

With the support of our donors, we are currently providing emergency supplies including family food packs and medicine, for example, vital anaesthetic drugs, disposable wound staplers – for the rapid closure of wounds, blood transfusion products – to respond to casualties and disposables such as sterile gloves, needles, syringes and intravenous giving sets via our volunteers and partners.

Supply chain access is a major challenge for all NGO’s, but we are using all options available to us currently and over the coming days and weeks Below is the latest situation report

from the ground with data from UN reports.

• There has been large-scale displacement of Palestinians in northern Gaza following concerted intensive air and ground strikes across Gaza with a concentration on the north of the Strip • Between 10 May and 15 May, 139 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza (including 39 children and 22 women) and 1,038 were injured (including 313 children and 206 women), according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza • The UN estimates over 17,000 people are displaced seeking safety in 41 UN schools across Gaza • Extensive damage is reported to residential and commercial buildings, schools and infrastructures such as

roads, electricity networks and water installations and agricultural lands • As of 15 May 2021, only 2 of the 10 electricity feeder lines from Israel to Gaza were functioning with supply from all sources at 70MW out of the estimated need of 400MW, disrupting basic services such as water, sanitation and healthcare • Water and sanitation infrastructures have been severely affected with the North Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant still not operational affecting about 250,000 people • In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 10 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 injured because of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces • The Israeli authorities have closed the Erez crossing in Northern Gaza since 10 May, including for humanitarian aid and personnel, and the Kerem Shalom goods crossing (Southern Gaza), including for fuel.

For anyone wanting to support our work you can do so by donating at: www.hfuk.org/palestine/

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

British Muslim youth write to MPs on injustices against Palestinians

Nadeem Ahmed Muavin Sadr MKA UK, Press & Media Secretary

Due to recent events, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been brought up once again in the media, and everyone is talking about the oppression and violence being perpetrated against residents of Palestine.

Just last Friday, 14 May 2021, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, the worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, spoke out and strongly condemned the recent cruelties and atrocities. He condemned the use of unjust force inflicted in recent days by the Israeli state.

In his Eid sermon, Hazrat Mirza

Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “Today, we must sincerely pray for the Palestinian people who are currently being subjected to grave cruelties […]

“May the Palestinian people find leaders who can guide them in the right way.

Certainly, Muslim countries should come together and play their role to protect the Palestinians and other Muslims who are being oppressed in the world. However, the Muslim world is divided and there is a complete lack of unity amongst the Muslim nations. Certainly, in this instance, the Muslim countries have failed to show the reaction they ought to have. They have given weak statements, whereas if they had all come together and given a united

statement, it would have had far greater impact and carried much more weight.”

Concluding, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa said: “May Allah have mercy on the oppressed and may He bring the oppressors to justice.

“May Allah grant sense and wisdom to the Muslim leadership. May He also give sense to the Israelis that they may refrain and withdraw from their injustices.

Further, may Allah guide the Palestinians who are suffering from a lack of leadership if there is any injustice from their side – though in reality, this is not the case. If they [the Palestinians] are using sticks, they are being subjected to heavy missiles and sophisticated weaponry, which is something I have mentioned before as well. There is no comparison in terms of the force being used by both sides. We must, therefore, pray for the Palestinians.

“May Allah the Almighty better their situation and create the means for their freedom and may they continue to hold on to their rightful places and land that were allotted to them in the initial treaty.”

As a result of this, in order to raise awareness on the matter, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya) UK, numbering thousands, have started to write to MPs across the UK to share their deep concern for the Palestinian people who are being subjected to extreme cruelty.

Hundreds of letters have already been sent and replies have been received from MPs. Below is the full statement of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK and some responses that have already been received from MPs: “Dear Mr Nasir “Thank you for your email about issues concerning the Palestinian people.

“I share the UK Government’s commitment to a two-state solution, where two equal and sovereign states, Palestine and Israel, live side by side in peace and mutual respect. The situation on the ground has deteriorated over recent years and a sustainable resolution is long overdue.

“The UK continues to urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to engage in substantive peace talks and resume direct negotiations towards a just and durable two-state solution, and I have been assured that the UK has a regular dialogue with many parties on this important issue.

“It is important that the barriers to peace are addressed. The UK’s position on

Photo courtesy of MKA UK

Israeli settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. I join my colleagues in Government in continuing to urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately.

“I am also concerned by the continued demolitions of Palestinian structures

by Israeli authorities. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, call into question Israel’s commitment to a viable two-state solution, and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. More broadly, the UK has consistently been among UNRWA’s top donors, and has recently significantly increased its financial contribution to UNRWA in light of the organisation’s funding difficulties.

“The UK contribution will help to deliver essential services, including healthcare and education for millions of Palestinian refugees. I know that the UK consistently calls for an immediate end to all actions that undermine the viability of the twostate solution and is encouraging both sides to maintain calm and avoid taking actions which make peace more difficult to achieve.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

“Yours sincerely “LIAM FOX “Parliamentary Office of the Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP “020 7219 4198 “House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA” “Dear Fatihul “Many thanks for your email and expressing your concerns.

“Wars and violence of any nature are not good for mankind.

“You will hopefully appreciate as the Lord-Lieutenant is Her Majesty The Queen’s representative in West Yorkshire, he must adopt the same stance as Her Majesty and remain totally outside the realms of any political bias or comments, leaving this to the politicians of the day.

“With all good wishes “Kevin “Kevin Sharp LVO DL “Clerk to the West Yorkshire Lieutenancy”.

Stay updated on the works of AMYA UK by following @UKMuslimYouth.

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

This Week in History 21 - 27 May

21 May 1951: Rabwah’s first telephonic message was sent on this date.

Reporting on this historical moment, Al Fazl wrote that on the evening of 21 May 1951, a phone call was made from Rabwah to Qadian. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra was asked what message should be sent to Qadian on his behalf.

Huzoorra responded that his salaam should be extended and members of the Jamaat should be encouraged to pray.

Huzoor’sra message was conveyed to the amir of Qadian through the first phone call of Rabwah.

21 May 1954: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra delivered the first Friday Sermon in Mubarak Mosque, Rabwah after the attempt on his life in 1954.

22 May 1926: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra laid the foundation stone of Qasre-Khilafat, Qadian. The building was constructed on a plot of land between Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Bashir Ahmad’sra workplace and the house of Hazrat Syed Nasir Shahra in Qadian.

22 May 1948: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra issued a written message under the title, “Aap ki talash hei” (I need you). This announcement was made in search of young waqifeen.

The English rendering can be read at this link: www. alhakam.org/i-need-you/ 22 May 1970: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh established the Nusrat Jehan Reserve Fund during his tour of England. During his Friday Sermon of 22 May 1970, he announced the heavenly scheme “Nusrat Jehan Reserve Fund” and disclosed to members of the Jamaat that he had been directed

by Allah the Almighty that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya should arrange £100,000 for hospitals and schools in West

Africa.

23 May 1924: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was invited by the Muslim League to their annual session. Upon this, Huzoorra penned a detailed article about the bases of unity. Huzoorra did not suffice only by giving advice and suggestions, but instead, he started to provide every possible moral, constitutional and financial help as well. He said: “When the Muslim League was established, the financial situation was so meagre that they had no money to even arrange their conventions and I would provide them the help […] A lawyer from Lahore met me in Lucknow once and said, ‘I had been a secretary

of Maulana Muhammad Ali for nearly nine years and I remember very well that whenever there was a convention of the Muslim League, you [Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra] were also invited and advice would be sought from you […] And when the convention could not be held due to the [shortage of] money, financial help would be taken from you.

We, who are alive now, are witness to this.’”

23 May 1970: On this date, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh inaugurated the newly built Mahmood Hall within the London Mission. This building consisted of a hall, offices and three residential flats for Missionaries. Huzoorrh had laid the foundation of this building during his previous European tour on 30 July 1967. Its expenses were provided by Hazrat Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khanra, something which became openly known after his demise.

24 May 1932: Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaqra read out his research paper in Lahore during a session arranged by Sanatana Dharma Hindus.

His topic was, “Is religion an obstacle in a nation’s development?”

25 May 1941: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra delivered a speech about the situation prevailing in Iraq due to World War II. Huzoor’sra analysis was broadcast from Lahore radio stations along with Delhi and Lucknow radio stations.

25 May 1965: Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmad Sahib inaugurated a mosque in Southall, London. Jamaate-Ahmadiyya UK raised the funds for this mosque through donations. On this occasion, Bashir Ahmad Khan Rafiq Sahib and Hazrat Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khanra addressed the

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh laying the foundation stone of Mahmood Hall London, 1967

attendees and advised them to attain internal purity, use their God-given capabilities in the way of Allah and sacrifice their lives for His cause.

26 May 1906: A baby boy was born in the house of Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra. He was named Mirza Naseer Ahmad; however, this grandson of the Promised Messiah passed away in infancy.

According to the narration of Hazrat Nawab Mubaraka Begum Sahibara, this baby boy was buried in Lahore.

26 May 1908: Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra led the funeral prayer of the Promised Messiahas in Lahore at noon.

Then, in the evening, the rail journey started from Lahore Station to take the coffin to Qadian for burial.

26 May 1908: Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra made his resolution to fulfil the mission of the Promised Messiahas. He stated that if, God forbid, no Ahmadi helped him, he would sacrifice his entire being and every fibre of his body for the Promised Messiah’sas great cause. At that time, he was merely a young man, grief-ridden, standing beside the body of his father,

AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

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y the Promised Messiahas.

26 May 1926: On this day, the publication of the Ahmadiyya Gazette started from Qadian, which continued regularly for a few years. The purpose was to inform members of the Jamaat about the activities of different departments and anjumans of the Jamaat. Its first editor was Hazrat Qazi Muhammad Zuhooruddin Akmal.

26 May 1967: Hazrat Mian Khuda Bakhshra passed away on this day. He was from Patiala, a city in southeastern Punjab. He was a very sincere and selfless person. After accepting Islam Ahmadiyyat, he faced severe opposition from his family.

27 May 1908: Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra was elected unanimously as the First Khalifa of the Promised Messiahas. He addressed the Ahmadis before accepting their bai‘at. Men performed the bai‘at first and then the ladies. Among the ladies, the family members of the Promised Messiahas were first.

Afterwards, he led the funeral prayer of the Promised Messiahas and the burial was completed under his guidance. All Ahmadis performed his bai‘at and the Jamaat was again united under one hand to spread the message of Islam.

27 May 1935: The first Ahmadiyya Mission in China was established by Sufi Abdul Ghafur Bhervi Sahib, who reached Hong Kong on 27 May 1935.

After serving as a missionary for many years, he returned to Qadian. During his time, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya China was established. The first-ever Chinese Ahmadi, whose information was sent to the markaz, was Leung King Fung, who resided in Kawai Show, District Santak, Province Kwanteeng of China.

Sufi Sahib arranged to have The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam translated into Chinese, which proved to be very useful in spreading the message of Ahmadiyyat.

Blessings of being obedient to Khilafat Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra said: “If you [members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat] are absolutely obedient [to Khilafat], the clouds of hardships will vanish, your enemies will be subdued and angels from Heaven will create a flourishing new earth for you and a new sky worthy of your greatness and glory, but the condition to be met is perfect obedience.”

(Al Fazl, 4 September 1937)

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Israel-Palestine conflict and the Ahmadiyya Khilafat A brief look at seven decades of the most viable advice Romaan Basit Student Jamia Ahmadiyya UK

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a term we all have become very well acquainted with, as a result of the recent heavy media coverage. This violence and oppression, although having taken a turn for the worst this Ramadan, is nothing new. It has been around since the early twentieth century with the formation of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948, or even before as it brewed under British Mandatory Palestine.

As we see the tension building, injustices against the Palestinians continuing and the conflict worsening on a daily basis with no current sign of cessation, the minds of the masses have been filled with various questions: “Where is all this headed to?”

“What is the fate of the Muslim world?”

“Where are the Muslim leaders?” “Why are they not speaking out or doing anything to condemn these atrocities?”

A natural question that may lead on from this is, “What has the Ahmadiyya Khilafat done in the face of such crisis?” In this piece, I will briefly present the unparalleled efforts of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat in not only consistently condemning these attacks, but also in guiding the Muslim ummah, right from the very onset of this crisis, for the solution.

It is hard to put an exact date to when this conflict began; however, the crisis came to the surface when the State of Israel was in the making – the decades leading up to its inception in 1948.

Much oppression had been meted out against the Jews in Europe between the two great wars and consequently, they were left without land to their name. In turn, when Palestine was colonised by the British after World War I, great pressure was put on Britain to hand over a piece of land to the Jews – a land that could be their homeland. This was one of the main aims of the Zionist Movement, founded and led by Theodor Herzl. In 1948, this is exactly what happened, and a part of Palestine was given to the Jews, which, without wasting a single moment, was declared the Jewish state by its Zionist leadership.

Amidst this political theatre, did the Muslims have a voice? Did they have anyone to represent them on the diplomatic level?

These complicated questions bring us to the initial query: Did the Ahmadiyya Khilafat have anything to offer in this situation?

Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, the Second Khalifa Interestingly, in 1946, two years prior to Israel being formed, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, the Second Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, had a divinely inspired vision foretelling a challenging and delicate situation looming

the horizon of the Muslim world. He had this vision published in Al Fazl with all its details in a feature article titled “Al-Inzar” (The Warning). The article warned the community of an upcoming challenge for the Muslim world, and that the only way it would be able to face this challenge was by leaving their differences aside and uniting

together as one nation. He also instructed the Jamaat to especially pray for the Muslim world during his Friday Sermon of 30 August 1946.

Just two years later, the Jewish State of Israel was created, bringing along a whole array of problems for the Arab Muslims in not only Palestine but the whole region.

Who would have known this clash would one day turn into a global crisis?

As the first Arab-Israel war broke out in 1948, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra wrote a treatise titled, “Al-Kufru Millatun Wahidah” (Kufr is a nation united), calling on all Muslims to unite and pull together as one to face this challenge. This article was published on 21 May 1948 in Al Fazl, just six days after the formal establishment of Israel. He wrote: “The day which was prophesied by the Holy Quran and the ahadith hundreds of years ago; the day which was prophesied in the Torah and Gospels; the day which was told to be painful and dangerous for the Muslims has seemingly arrived. Jews are being inhabited in Palestine.”

“I draw the attention of the Muslims to understand the sensitivity of this time and remember that today, the saying of the Holy Prophetsa, ‘Al-Kufru Millatun Wahidah’ (Kufr is a nation united) is being manifested to the letter.” (Al Fazl, 21 May 1948, pp. 3-4) “This article had a great impact in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and other Arab countries.

Syrian radio stations aired its summary and many Arabic newspapers published its excerpts, including Al-Yaum, AlAkhbar, Al-Nasr and Al-Urdan.” (Al Hakam, 19 February 2021, “Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s services to the Muslim cause: Guidance for Turkey, peace in the Arab world and the Kashmir Movement”) Later that year, in December, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra delivered an address at Law College Lahore, titled The Status and Future of the Islamic World in Light of the Current Situation. Once again, he drew attention to the prevalent crisis and advised the Muslim world regarding it: “In my view, the future of the Islamic world is completely safe, provided we act upon those ways of success which the Holy Quran has fixed for us […] Islamic countries should dispel their internal enmities and create a passion of sacrifice for each other.

The people of the Islamic countries should travel extensively to each other’s countries […]

“Islamic countries should make trade

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relations with each other. We should help those countries where Muslims are comparatively more underdeveloped, for example Western and Eastern Africa etc., by establishing relief organisations. The Holy Quran has declared tabligh as the best way for Islam’s progress. We should pay attention to this.” (Al Fazl, 14 December 1948, p. 2) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra did a lot more for the Palestinian cause. This was just a taste of the advice he was giving to Muslims at the inception of Israel.

Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh, the Third Khalifa By the end of the 20th century, Muslim nations had plunged into infighting; the onset of the worst form of Muslim-againstMuslim conflict in modern history – that we witness today – was in the making. At this sensitive point in time, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat was still there, in absence of any other leadership, to advise and guide the Muslim world.

This was during the Khilafat of Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh. In a Friday Sermon delivered on 24 July 1981, he gave the guidance that was the dire need of the time for the Muslim world. He said: “Pray fervently for the reformation of the Muslim Ummah. Rabbi Aslih Ummata Muhammadin. ‘O Lord, reform the Ummah of Muhammad’. This was, in fact, a prayer which was revealed to the Promised Messiahas; and in this one prayer, every type of reformation is encompassed […]

“So, pray a lot that Allah the Almighty takes away these worries from the Muslim Ummah, and that He makes such means, by which the Muslim world can follow the paths of guidance revealed in the Quran, in order to attain the love of God; and that they are able to stop actions which displease God and incur his wrath.”

Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, the Fourth Khalifa As Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh was elected

Al-Inzar (The Warning), Al Fazl, 28 August 1946

as Khalifatul Masih IV in the summer of 1982, it strikes one to notice that the first ever message he sent out to his community through Al Fazl was a heartfelt appeal to pray for the Palestinians. Elected on 10 June 1982, this appeal for prayers appeared in the Al Fazl of 13 June 1982: “There is such a wound in our hearts, which gets deeper and more painful by the day. Our hearts continue to bleed with every passing moment. Here, I am talking about the extremely inhumane atrocities being carried out against the Muslim world at the hands of Israel.

“There is no doubt that we are a small and feeble community in the eyes of the world; however, you and I are fully aware, that we are the humble servants of our Lord.

We have always remained recipients of His grace and He listens to our supplications.

“I would like to bring to the attention of every Ahmadi – man, woman, old and young – to supplicate with great fervour, that Allah may have mercy on every person who is associated with our Master, the Holy Prophetsa.

“I have complete faith in Allah the Almighty that He will accept our supplications made with heavy hearts; healing our wounds and granting us peace.”

During his Khilafat, he continued to speak up against the oppression carried out by Israel against Palestine. Responding to a long-standing allegation that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat were agents of Israel, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh delivered a whole sermon on 15 March 1985 wherein he refuted this allegation by highlighting services of the Jamaat for the Palestinian cause. He said: “Before the United Nations General Assembly made the oppressive decision to divide Palestine, who warned and cautioned the Muslim world, creating a commotion in the Arab and non-Arab countries alike?

That passionate warning came from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra. He wrote a heart-

Al-Kufru Millatun Wahidah, Al Fazl, 21 May 1948

rendering pamphlet and had it circulated in abundance.

“Does the Islamic world have any sense of honour? Do they not possess the love for Islam that would allow them to forget their animosity towards each other and unite?

“Whenever Islam or the Islamic world faces danger, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and its Khulafa always have had (with the grace of Allah the Almighty) the outstanding capacity and distinctive honour of being the foremost to draw attention to these dangers.”

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, the Fifth Khalifa Our present Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, has also warned the Muslim world to realise that the root cause of their plight lies in them being disunited. He has openly condemned the injustices of Israel, in fact, like all his predecessors, he has condemned all injustices wherever in the world.

Continued on next page >>

First appeal for prayers by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IVrh that appeared in the Al Fazl of 13 June 1982

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<< Continued from previous page

His underlying message for the Muslim world is a continuation of the same advice: unity is the only plausible solution.

Without the entire Muslim world coming together, such problems can never be solved. And the world is yet to take heed of the blessed words of our khulafa.

In July 2014, as violence against Palestinians of Gaza escalated, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa categorically condemned the oppression and gave a detailed analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said: “With great regret, it must be said that

today, it is the ill fortune of many Muslim countries that they are no longer united.

Members of the public are fighting amongst themselves; citizens are also fighting with governments, whilst governments are inflicting cruelty upon their public.

Therefore, not only has unity been lost, but great cruelties and injustices are being perpetrated.

“The result of the lack of unity is that non-Muslim countries now have the confidence to do whatever they please against the Muslims and this is the very reason that Israel is currently engaged in killing scores of innocent Palestinians in the cruelest manner.

“If the Muslims were united and followed the path of God then the collective strength of the Muslim nations is so great that this cruelty could never have taken place.”

Just last week, during the sermon delivered on Eid-ul-Fitr 2021, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa once again spoke up for the rights of the Palestinian Muslims, in a time where no other Muslim leadership seems to be around. He said: “Today, we must sincerely pray for the Palestinian people who are currently being subjected to grave cruelties. In recent days, when they went to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque, they were brutally attacked and beaten by the state authorities. Similarly,

they are being forced out of Sheikh Jarrah, a small neighbourhood, which is their own land.

“Certainly, Muslim countries should come together and play their role to protect the Palestinians and other Muslims who are being oppressed in the world. However, the Muslim world is divided and there is a complete lack of unity amongst the Muslim nations. Certainly, in this instance, the Muslim countries have failed to show the reaction they ought to have. They have given weak statements, whereas if they had all come together and given a united statement, it would have had a far greater impact and carried much more weight.”

“May Allah grant sense and wisdom to the Muslim leadership. May He also give sense to the Israelis that they may refrain and withdraw from their injustices. Further, may Allah guide the Palestinians who are suffering from a lack of leadership, if there is any injustice from their side – though in reality, this is not the case. If they (the Palestinians) are using sticks they are being subjected to heavy missiles and sophisticated weaponry, which is something I have mentioned before as well. There is no comparison in terms of the force being used by both sides. We must, therefore, pray for the Palestinians. May Allah the Almighty better their situation and create the means for their freedom and may they continue to hold on to their rightful places and land that were allotted to them in the initial treaty.”

More than 70 years of atrocities and bloodshed of innocent Palestinians have gone by, but as they say, it is never too late.

Unity and sincere prayers are the only way forward for the Muslim world. The advice of Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa is still around and so are his prayers. All the Muslim world needs to do is pay heed.

Uniting servants everywhere under one faith “Let the righteous persons of the Jamaat who have pure souls accept bai‘at in my name. God Almighty desires to draw all those who live in various habitations of the world, be it Europe or Asia, and who have virtuous nature to the Unity of God and unite His servants under one faith. This indeed is the purpose of God for which I have been sent to the world. You, too, therefore should pursue this end, but with kindness, moral probity and fervent prayers.”

(The Will, pp. 8-9)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya: Preaching like the prophets

Jazib Mehmood Student Jamia Ahmadiyya Ghana

The Khilafat of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community pledges allegiance to the Promised Messiahas, who came in the shadow of the Holy Prophetsa. Since his demise in 1908, the Ahmadi Muslim Khulafa have followed the teachings of Islam, the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophetsa in minute detail as displayed by the character and teachings of the Promised Messiahas.

In this regard, the Khulafa also act on the subtle instructions of the Holy Quran.

Today, in the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, one such example is found in the story of Prophet Josephas, a prophet sent to the Bani Israel.

The Holy Quran has narrated his story at length. When Prophet Josephas was thrown in prison over a false allegation, two youth were also there with him. They immediately recognised that Hazrat Josephas was a pious man, so they asked him to interpret their dreams for them. The Holy Quran captures the scene in these words: “And with him there entered the prison two young men. One of them said, ‘I see myself [in a dream] pressing wine.’

And the other said, ‘I see myself [in a dream] carrying upon my head bread of which the birds are eating. Inform us of the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be of the righteous.’” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.37) Hazrat Yusuf ’s reply is rather curious.

First, he assured them that he would answer

them in no time. He says: “The food which you are given shall not come to you but I shall inform you of the interpretation thereof before it comes to you.” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.38) But then, he completely digresses and says: “This is on account of what my Lord has taught me. I have renounced the religion of the people who do not believe in Allah and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter.

“And I have followed the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

We cannot indeed associate anything as partner with Allah. This is of Allah’s grace upon us and upon mankind, but most men are ungrateful.

“O my two companions of the prison, are diverse lords better or Allah, the One, the Most Supreme?

“You worship nothing beside Allah, but [mere] names that you have named, you and your fathers; Allah has sent down no authority for that. The decision rests with Allah alone. He has commanded that you shall not worship anything save Him. That is the right religion, but most men know [it] not.” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.3841) Only after conveying this most illuminating message does he begin to interpret their dreams. So in these verses, Allah the Almighty has subtly pointed to a great way to preach. That is, before you answer an enquiry, take the opportunity to explain your beliefs and your view of things.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has commented

on these verses. He says, “It seems that Prophet Josephas did not get opportunities to preach. He considered their question to be a blessing and understood that before their need was fulfilled, he would preach so that they felt compelled to listen.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 3, pp. 312-313) The Holy Prophetsa employed a similar technique of preaching. At the beginning of his claim, he wanted to preach to the chiefs of Mecca but they avoided him and did not listen. So he invited them to a feast of some sort. After eating, he tried to preach to them but they left before he could do so.

Hereupon he planned that he would invite them again and before the food came, he made them aware of his claim. This way, the chiefs had to sit while waiting for the food, so he got the chance to have his say. (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2; Seal of the Prophets, Vol. 1, pp. 181-182 [English]) Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra also alluded to this similarity of the two prophets. He says: “We also learn the way of preaching of the prophets. Thus, following them, when preaching or advising, it should always be kept in mind that the message is reached and the person does not also resent it.”

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 3, p. 313) The Holy Quran advises us concerning this in the following manner: َ ْ َ ْ ْ ْ َ ‫ْاد ُع إِلَى َس ِب ْي ِل َر ِّبك ِبال ِحك َم ِة َوال َموْ ِعظ ِة ال َح َسن ِة‬ That is, call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation. (Surah alNahl, Ch.16: V.126)

So, in the Holy Quran, not only has Allah the Almighty given us this clear injunction, He has also given us examples to further illuminate the injunction.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has instructed his Jamaat at length over the years to preach with wisdom. However, he does not merely say this. Huzooraa also employs this technique himself. When a journalist or an interviewer would ask a question, it has been noticed that sometimes, Huzooraa would speak in general terms about Islam, the claim of the Promised Messiahas and the truthfulness of Ahmadiyyat before going into specifics. Abid Khan Sahib has written in his diary of Huzoor’s Canadian tour of 2016, “Giving a personal insight into the way he conducts interviews, Huzoor said: “‘When I get asked questions by journalists, often, I do not answer their question straight away and people may think I misheard; however, I do it on purpose as a means of tabligh [preaching]. I prefer to take the opportunity to tell them about the advent of the Promised Messiahas and how he came in fulfilment of the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa. Only when I have conveyed this message do I answer their questions.’”

(Abid Khan Sahib’s Diary, Canada Tour 2016, Part I, p. 29) In this way, Huzooraa follows the way of not only Holy Prophetsa, but also Prophet Josephas, as advised by the Holy Quran.

Huzooraa has chosen to follow the way of the prophets and preaches in a manner only a truthful one would.

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Khilafat and Western Muslim youth: 10 personal accounts Ataul Fatir Tahir Al Hakam

For the outside world, it may be very difficult to comprehend the relationship and love between Ahmadis and their Khalifa. Often, outsiders are surprised and wonder why Ahmadis show so much love, obedience and reverence to their Khalifa.

It’s better to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth – therefore, I reached out to young Ahmadi men in the West and asked them about their relationship with their Khalifa. What does Khilafat mean to them and how has it impacted their lives as young Muslims navigating the modern world?

Every story is different and has its own unique angle, but one theme is repeated throughout – Khilafat has been a constant means of rescue, solace and spiritual fulfilment.

Syed Hamzah Fiaz Ahmed, Dentist, Newcastle, UK

The question of the existence of God has certainly crept into my mind on more than one occasion. Especially as a young teenager, and on multiple occasions through university. Having spent five years in Devon and Cornwall, UK I can say first-hand how your environment has a massive impact on you.

With limited Jamaat contacts in this area, and friends of various religions and ethnic backgrounds, it becomes very easy to follow the crowd and indulge in the same harmful acts as your friends. The idea of God and any connection to him can seem very distant. As I became stressed about examinations and deadlines, I found myself being easily distracted by these worldly concerns. Sadly, at various points in my undergraduate studies, I had “no time for God”.

But by Allah’s grace, every time I gave precedence to worldly matters over faith, every time doubts about God crossed my mind, it seemed as though Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa was speaking directly to me in his Friday Sermons.

On 6 July 2012, in a Friday Sermon, Huzooraa, addressing the youth, said: “[…] sometimes, they are not familiar with the rules of the Jamaat or cannot distinguish between right and wrong. Therefore, they must also refrain from developing friendships with such individuals who are involved in debauchery and immoral acts, which can be addictive once started.”

This was one of many Friday Sermons that served as a warning and a reminder to me. In other instances, no sooner would I draw near to human error and weakness, that my mother would inform me that I had received a letter from Huzooraa.

Simple yet powerful instructions would be the difference between the right path, and diverting from it. Reminders on the importance of istighfar (seeking forgiveness) and durood (invoking blessings on the Holy Prophetsa) played a massive role. The urge, however, from beloved Huzooraa was not just to recite the above as mere words or rituals, but to understand the deeper meanings.

Writing fortnightly to Huzooraa has taken me on a journey of self-reformation and a desperate desire to attain to a living communion and relationship with God Thousands of converts to Ahmadiyyat have experienced God first hand, through true dreams, visions and other unquestionable signs. If Allah is willing to reveal Himself to others who have doubts, why would He not be willing to do the same for us? We only need to take the first step and strive in His way through sincere supplications to Allah and obedience to His divinely appointed representative, the Khalifa of the time.

Saul Page, Design Engineer, Wales, UK To me, Khilafat is a continuous source of spiritual guidance, which is a direct link to God for Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya and the world. When I had questions before becoming a Muslim, I struggled to seek out the answers, but now, through the Khalifa’s regular sermons, my questions are always answered. This has helped me stay attached to my religion as it proves to me that there is a living God. With the presence of a Khalifa for spiritual guidance, I feel a lot more content in my day to day life. When I have discussions or debates with atheists, I feel that I have

material relevant for this day and age.

For Ahmadi Muslims, the Khalifa is a father figure and mulaqats [meetings] and writing letters to him enables us to develop a personal relationship with him. I strongly believe my fellow Khuddam feel this way, which strengthens the bond between me and my fellow brothers. Through this feeling, I believe this brings complete unity throughout the Jamaat.

In my personal life, I look at the Khalifa as an exemplar, when my life becomes busy or difficult, I look at the roles and responsibilities of the head of our Jamaat and it helps me persevere through the challenges until they are overcome.

Intesar Tariq, Medical student, Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee, USA I walked out of the room to see a flurry of white coats, navy blue scrubs, and a respiratory technician pushing a crash cart to room 10. I distinctly remembered this patient because she resembled my own mother.

The patient was in her early 60s, had a short stature and a heavy frame. Just hours prior, she had flashed a loving smile to me as she wheeled past the nurse’s station on the way to her room. I hurried behind my colleagues to embark on what would become the longest code of my career as an ER Technician.

I still remember the smeared blood on my gloves during the 5th round of compressions as the sutures on her chest from her recent open-heart surgery began to seep blood.

The patient’s oxygen saturation plummeted to 40% and despite numerous interventions including CPR, intubation, placement of a

central line, and consultations from ICU staff, we could not save her life. As the ED physician explained to the patient’s daughter that there was nothing more that we could do to save her mother, I gazed down to the floor as my tears began to well up.

Shortly after, the ED physician ended the code and the time of death was noted.

I will never forget walking out of that room and looking back to see the patient’s daughter weeping at her mother’s bedside.

She tenderly held her mother’s hand and sobbed uncontrollably with her family on speakerphone as their entire world turned upside down. This scene is engraved in my mind forever.

After an experience such as this, there is a certain level of trauma that lingers.

Questions that can’t be answered easily echo in your head. “Did we do everything that we could to help save that woman’s life?” “Why did she have to pass at such a relatively young age?” “What unfathomable grief must her family be going through right now?”

During this time, being a waqif-e-nau and under direct instructions from Huzooraa, I had been pursuing medical school after graduating from university. I needed to boost my GPA and was taking extra classes while working full time in the Emergency Department at Virginia Hospital Centre as an ED Technician. I felt myself becoming numb in school; physically present in class but mentally being drawn back to that room where the patient had passed away.

My grades began to drop, I had to withdraw from my class, and I felt the dream of becoming a physician slipping away from me. I had lost all motivation and

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 was questioning whether I even wanted to become a physician anymore. This is when my brother (who is also a waqif-e-nau) suggested that I go and visit Huzooraa. I bought a cheap flight in the bitter cold of February and decided that if anyone would be able to help guide me through this, it would be Huzooraa.

I had never had a mulaqat (meeting) with Huzooraa by myself before. I was a nervous wreck and was worried that out of shyness in front of Huzooraa, I may not be able to properly convey what was going with me. Luckily, my brother advised me to write down some points and questions so that even when my nerves kicked in, I could look at those points and read them to Huzooraa.

This mulaqat changed the trajectory of my life.

Huzooraa listened to me as I spoke about my career path as a waqif-e-nau in medicine.

I became emotional when speaking about my experiences in the ER and the woman whose life we were unable to save. Huzooraa first responded by stating that maybe I had become too old to pursue medicine and

and when I am ready, prepare to apply to medical school.

Finally, Huzooraa reminded me that Allah states in the Quran that this life is temporary and that we as Muslims should be making preparations for the next life.

age is praying for me.

In the “dog-eat-dog” world we live in, it is not common for just anyone to have someone that shares your pain as their own and yet, all Ahmadi Muslims have someone like this in their lives.

In an age of atheism, it is seeing yourself saved from an impossibly difficult situation and have belief and love of the Creator in one’s heart. This is not only what an individual prays for themselves, but also what Khalifatul Masih prays for his community.

Whenever we face an obstacle, whether it be in our schooling, whether it be in our work, in family struggles, difficulty with mental health, physical health and even concern for our brothers and sisters; it is the Khalifa of Allah who is always there for us to share our pain with, so that he may pray for our rescue to the Almighty.

Abdul Naseer, Dentist, UK

may want to consider changing my career path. Hearing this, my shoulders slouched, I looked down as tears welled up in my eyes. I felt that I had let Huzooraa down in the task that he had given me. Huzooraa then paused and stated in a loving tone, “However, if you have the courage, ambition and dedication to become a doctor then you should go back and apply in the next cycle”.

Upon hearing those words, I remember feeling goosebumps all over my body and the feeling that I had a new chance at chasing the dream of becoming a physician!

Huzooraa next asked about the patient who had passed away and asked me to describe my experience. After speaking, tears were flowing down my face as I looked down at the ground. I felt like there was such a weight on my shoulders at that time.

Huzooraa listened intently and quietly the whole time, only interrupting to ask brief questions about the patient’s underlying health issues. He then prayed for the patient and her family, for me and the rest of the team for attempting to save her life.

He tenderly spoke to me and stated that I had gone through a traumatic experience.

He explained that I was now feeling the aftereffects of that experience and told me I should take some time to get myself together

Afterwards, Huzooraa made some lighthearted remarks to lift my spirits and took a picture with me!

This mulaqat calmed my spirit and gave me the peace of mind that I had been struggling to gain for close to 5 months. I am writing this two years later as I am about to begin medical school and continue to work in the emergency department.

I have worked to save lives through the Covid-19 pandemic and have experienced many happy and tragic moments with patients. If I had not been able to have this pivotal meeting with Khalifatul Masihaa, I truly believe that I would not have had the mental fortitude to continue in the medical field and survive the last year. Alhamdulillah for Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya and the privilege to be a khadim!

Usama Sobhi, Civil Engineering Student, University of Calgary, Canada “Normal people” – that is, those who live without Ahmadiyyat or religion in their lives – have to face their issues, struggles and labours on their own. This is not the case for an Ahmadi Muslim. God is always there to support His servants and loved ones, and it helps to put the heart at ease knowing that the closest person to Him in this day and

Khilafat has immensely helped me during my student life and now professional life.

It can be difficult to navigate the world especially in an atheistic environment and thus having a connection with the institute of Khilafat provides vital guidance.

My parents always instilled in me the importance of staying close to the Jamaat and some of my treasured memories are my mulaqats with the Fourth and Fifth Khulafa and the love they showed me.

By forming this connection with Khilafat, listening to his sermons and writing letters to Huzooraa the youth can gain a personal relationship that will help in a practical manner for their day-to-day life.

By having this bond with Khilafat, naturally, one would want to live his life in accordance with the wishes and desires of his beloved leader and ultimately strive to win the pleasure of Allah the Almighty.

As I grew older, and still to this day, the question-and-answer programmes shown on MTA were my constant source of guidance. I thoroughly enjoy listening to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh; the great wisdom in the answers was so comforting and eradicated any doubts one may have.

Personally, when I met a fellow Ahmadi brother in The Gambia, he related to me that it was these question-and-answer sessions that had comforted his heart. This had a profound effect on me and showed how Allah, through MTA, enabled this knowledge to spread all over the world.

This Week with Huzoor shown by MTA

is another great way to learn and try and implement what beloved Huzooraa expects from us.

Another great blessing of Khilafat is the access to all the young new missionaries that are graduating from Jamia Ahmadiyya.

They are able to connect with the youth in a loving and open manner. I personally have learnt a lot by forming friendships and being able to ask any questions.

I pray that this has been useful and encourages all the youth to pray immensely and develop their connection with Allah as without prayer, one can easily fall into many hardships and forget spirituality and focus entirely on the materialistic, temporary world.

Tehmeed Choudhry, Doctor of Pharmacy Student, University of Toronto, Canada As far as I can remember, I recall my mother encouraging me to write letters to Huzooraa on a regular basis to establish a connection with Khilafat. When writing to Huzooraa, I always pray for Huzoor’s health, for my spirituality and mainly my studies.

I know that studying is required to get good grades, but relying solely on studying is a type of shirk and it must be paired with prayer for optimal results.

The number of letters I would write to Huzooraa would always increase around exam time and this always puts my heart at ease and allows me to concentrate more on my studies to achieve higher grades.

I also had the opportunity to do waqfe-arzi in the UK and meet Huzooraa in 2018; this trip brought me much closer to the Jamaat and Khilafat. Ever since that trip, I have been taking Jamaat work more seriously and recently, I have been granted the opportunity to become a regional amila member.

I also had a chance to be a part of the executive team of AMSA (Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association) York University. I was able to spend up to 10 hours a week involved in AMSA events such as the tabligh stall while maintaining high grades.

I have noticed that whenever I substitute studying for an important Jamaat task, my marks are not hindered; instead, I become more efficient with my time and achieve higher grades. I was also able to gain admission to pharmacy school after my second year in university and I don’t think Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM Uzair Ahmed, Medical Student, Palacky University, Czech Republic

<< Continued from previous page

this would have been possible without the blessing of God and the prayers of Huzooraa.

A lot of my university colleagues spend most of their time stressing about school and staying up late at night studying which really impacts their mental health. But as an Ahmadi, whenever school got really tough, I wrote to Huzooraa and partook in more Jamaat activities which would serve as an outlet for me and allow me to access the right mindset needed to be successful in my endeavours.

Hamaad Muin Ahmad, Medicine Student, Palacky University, Czech Republic Khilafat has been my guiding light from as early as childhood. As a young boy, prior to adolescence, my parents and grandparents would especially encourage me to constantly write to the Khalifa and ask him for prayers.

As a young child with no laptop, I would write weekly handwritten letters asking for prayers for my educational and spiritual endeavours. This was frequently met with a reply from Huzooraa with prayers.

A direct reply from Huzooraa was the highest delight I would feel as a child – nothing could match it. My love for this man of God continued to increase through the years.

I am currently studying medicine in my fourth year, by the grace of Allah. One particular event which helped me, and I strongly believe still affects me today, was in my first year of medical school.

I had just begun medical school and I was highly anxious due to the intimidating exams which lay ahead, not to mention my university being hundreds of miles away from home. I immediately wrote a letter to Huzooraa explaining my worries and was met with a direct reply within a week. The reply entailed, “May Allah increase you in knowledge and wisdom.”

Ever since that letter, I have witnessed myself increase in these two characteristics manifold, alhamdulillah. Since then, I have not majorly struggled with any examination or topic and, insha-Allah, I will soon graduate to be a doctor due to the consistent support I received from beloved Huzooraa.

Any exam I pass, my heart cries out of gratefulness for the blessings Allah has bestowed upon me through His Khalifa. I cannot think of a single man in the world who prays daily for his community, except Huzooraa. The vast ocean of love radiating from his being is a sign that he has been

sent directly by God Himself. To not attach myself to Huzooraa is completely out of the question. He is a lifeline directly to God. Saood Ahmed Qureshi, Computer Science Student, Oakland University, USA I started studying at Oakland University in the fall of 2019 and at that point, I felt that I was free to do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to eat a burger, then I would eat a burger; if I wanted to skip a class, then I would skip a class and if I wanted to hang out with my friends, then I would hang out with my friends.

It started to take a toll on me mentally, physically and financially. I would hold everything a secret from my parents and would say that this was my life and I chose to do whatever I wanted. With all that power, I made terrible life decisions. Then, in March of 2020, my whole world came crashing down as the world fell into the edges of Covid-19; my made-up fake world came crashing down as well.

As the campus and stores shut down and we were kept at home all day, the perfect world I had made up in my mind would disappear as I couldn’t keep any secrets at home. I had to come out and get help – luckily, my parents understood my struggles and put me on their own probation. They made rules, such as to watch MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya) for an hour or more a day and to read the books of the Promised Messiahas.

In those, I started watching the Friday Sermon, This Week with Huzoor and old classes with Huzooraa. These really helped me bring my fictional world back into the fold of the real world and also helped me regain information to answer to help myself and help others around me.

The message that Huzooraa gave in these programmes and sermons was that the happiness of this world comes and goes. But if you pray hard and concentrate on your religious duties, you will forge a connection with Allah the Almighty. Once you have a connection with Allah the Almighty, then He will give you true and eternal happiness.

That sealed it for me, as who does not want to be happy? And if Allah gives you true happiness, then I must try that way as well. Alhamdulillah, I have been on this path since then and have been happier since then as well.

Khilafat has been my lifeline in ways that are difficult to explain. In short, though, I believe that the means by which one can develop and sustain their yaqeen (belief) in the existence of God is through attaching themselves to beloved Huzooraa and by trying to sincerely follow his guidance.

One example that I think ties these concepts together quite clearly is when I was about to do my final exams at the end of my first year of medical school, of which anatomy was the largest. About two months before exams started, I began writing to Huzooraa every few days to request his prayers specifically for the exams. I would go to check my mail every week or so, hoping to receive a response.

It wasn’t until the very morning of my anatomy exam, two months later that I received Huzoor’s response for the first time to my letters about exams, in which he prayed, “May Allah Almighty enable you to do exceptionally well in your education and exams and gain an outstanding result.”

The perfect timing brought immense ease to my heart. I had spent the previous days in severe worry, and a part of me had this humble desire that may Allah the Almighty grant me a small indication that everything will be okay so that some of this discomfort could be lifted even before the exam. I didn’t even verbalize that part in my prayers, but Allah, in His endless graciousness, accepted it anyway by bringing this letter to me that morning. I was able to walk into my exam with peace knowing that God had already accepted my prayer, and alhamdulillah, it went better than I had anticipated.

Whether in a personal mulaqat or in his addresses, when you see beloved Huzooraa speak, you can’t help but feel that no one desires your ultimate success in life more than him. His insight sees through all the transient pursuits of life, and he looks at your very core, desiring that you excel in spirituality. Thus, every letter that you write to Huzooraa is a reminder to yourself that this is that person who sees more potential in you than anyone else, and spends his nights praying that God helps you to achieve it.

Rahman Nasir, Law Student, University of Houston Law, USA I have never excelled as a student. Since

third grade, I was a borderline passing student, getting Cs and Ds in my classes. By the grace of Allah, I tended to do well on standardised exams, but in general classes, I would struggle.

I graduated high school at the bottom quarter of my class. I had to go to community college to get admission into my local university in Houston.

When I arrived at university, it was difficult for me to ever get focused on my studies. After my first year, I was placed on suspension and upon my return, I had one semester where I avoided being placed on academic probation, but was still barely just getting by.

Spring 2017 was the toughest semester of my life, both academically and spiritually.

My closest friend and mentor, Tariq Bhatti Sahib, was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 36 years old. I didn’t know how to cope with the thought that my close friend won’t be here much longer. I lost interest in everything, especially academics.

After checking my grades in spring 2017, I was ready to quit, but my father – who I have constantly disappointed academically – told me that quitting was not an option and I had to get a degree. I am grateful for his commitment towards education.

That summer, I was blessed to make two life-changing trips to London. Both served a deep purpose for me in both figuring out my academic situation and how to cope with my friend’s condition.

During the first trip, which was organized

by MKA USA, Tariq was also joining us. His health was not good, but he knew he needed to meet his Khalifa one last time in this life.

He booked his ticket, and scheduled his personal mulaqat with Huzooraa.

The day before his personal mulaqat was the larger mulaqat with the entire majlis. As we were waiting for the mulaqat to begin, I noticed Tariq was nowhere to be seen. I checked across the street in the guest house he was staying in and his health was not good at all; he was in no shape to leave the house. I mentioned to him that it was okay if he missed this mulaqat as he had a mulaqat with Beloved Huzoor the next day.

He was barely able to walk, but he was not about to let me or his health get between him and his Khalifa. He looked at me and said, “Na, let’s go.”

So we went, and upon arrival to the

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

hall, his condition had not improved in the slightest. He was extremely distressed, but he persevered through it for the chance of getting a glance of his Khalifa.

After the mulaqat, in which we all said salaam to Huzooraa and introduced ourselves, I caught up with Tariq and it seemed as if there was nothing wrong – all his symptoms had vanished. He later told me that as soon as his glance fell upon Huzooraa,

his symptoms disappeared, the cancer and everything seemed so small compared to the light that radiated from Huzooraa.

He mentioned that as soon as he saw Huzooraa, he went from a state of extreme distress to a state of true peace and comfort.

This experience was extremely powerful for me because I saw how someone who was facing death, a much larger problem than anything I have to deal with, found peace in

Ahmadis in Malaysia serve humanity and preach Islam Ahmadiyyat Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammad Ibrahim President Jamaat Penang, Malaysia

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Penang, Malaysia conducted humanitarian and tabligh programmes during the holy month of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Penang donated basic grocery items to Penang Muslim Girls Orphanage and Penang Old Age Care Home. Moreover, more than 1,000 free face masks and Covid-19 awareness leaflets were distributed to the people of Penang at various locations namely, Pasar Tani Balik Pulau, Ayer Item Market and Chowrasata Market. This awareness programme was conducted together with Malaysia Information Department (Penang Branch).

During the holy month of Ramadan,

Penang Jamaat was able to spread the true teachings of Islam Ahmadiyyat to the people of Penang especially to the non-Muslims.

The local president of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Penang personally met with some NGO leaders and religious leaders to present some literature including the book, World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace. Jamaate-Ahmadiyya Penang also used online platforms to share the Pdf link of this book to more than 300 Penangites.

Alhamdulillah, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Penang provided lunch to orphans at Penang Orphanage Home.

May Allah the Almighty accept and bless these efforts, and may He shower His ultimate mercy to all of us and protect this world from the Covid-19 pandemic. Amin

khilafat.

A month after this, my parents, my sister and I had a personal mulaqat with Huzooraa.

I intended to ask for prayers for my beloved Tariq bhai and for my education.

During the mulaqat when I had the opportunity to speak, I started to ask for prayers for Tariq Sahib.

I became extremely emotional and my parents had to finish my humble request for prayers as I couldn’t. Huzooraa looked at me, and prayed that “Allah fazl karey” and I found peace in an unexplainable way.

That no matter what happened with Tariq’s health, ultimately it would be okay.

In January 2018, my beloved brother, Tariq Bhatti passed away. I was blessed to see him accept Allah’s will and make enormous progress towards him. Seeing the way my brother handled this enormous trial left no doubt in my mind that he was accepted by Allah.

After that, I said to Huzooraa, “I’m really struggling with school. Please pray for me.”

With my education, I didn’t feel the same immediate comfort, but I was also not as immediately concerned for my education.

Following this mulaqat, I witnessed the power of Huzoor’s prayers. Starting with the

summer of 2017 to when I graduated in the summer of 2019, I was able to maintain a 3.85/4.0 GPA. I was constantly taking time off to serve the Jamaat.

I prioritised the rights of my friends and family as well as my obligations to the Jamaat over school and still, Allah showered me with academic success for the first time in my life.

In 2018, during Huzoor’s US tour, I told all of my professors, “I will be taking three weeks off in the middle of my class. I will be able to work remotely but my Khalifa is visiting my country and I cannot miss a moment of it. Please tell me what I need to do to get an A.” Most professors told me this would not be possible if I took three weeks off. But by the grace of Allah, I ended up with 3 As and a B. In the fall of 2019, I took my LSAT and only by the grace of Allah I scored in the 90th percentile. I got accepted into my local law school and just finished my first year. I am nervously checking my grades now to see how I am doing in law school, but regardless of what I get, I know that as long as Huzoor’s prayers are with me, I’ll be okay.

Respect of the Khulafa is a source of success Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said: “The Shariah [divine law] has been mentioned in the Holy Quran and the etiquettes are what the Khulafa express in their discourse. Thus, on the one hand, it is necessary for you to respect the Shariah and on the other, it is also necessary to show respect to the Khulafa – this is what makes the believers successful.

(Al Fazl, 4 September 1937)

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

From longing to living embraced – Part I A testimony of how, according to the Quranic promise, “fear” was turned into “security and peace” Asif Mahmood Basit UK

I arrived in London in 2002 with my wife and two-year-old son as a refugee. It took me almost an entire year to settle down.

With time, I gradually became familiar with my surroundings. Apart from my parents and sisters, who already resided in the UK, everyone was a stranger to me, including those who I saw frequently and those less so but had heard of. The strange thing was that the place I associated such people with, never felt unknown to me.

Since the very first day, the Fazl Mosque welcomed me with warmth and affection.

The first time I saw the mosque was on 2 April 2002 as the sun had begun to set setting and the shadows were growing longer. Seeing the structure of the mosque and the buildings surrounding it made me realise that this scene had been etched into my mind since very early on.

Demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh We were living in Zambia when one morning, we received the news of the demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh. Every Ahmadi child is born with the love for Khilafat infused into them by their mothers. But this love remains a mere emotion before it finds rational grounds as one progresses towards maturity. The same was in my case.

I knew quite well that the Khalifatul Masih was dearer to my parents than anything. But to grieve and mourn the demise of Huzoorrh in that manner was completely beyond me.

It was my first encounter with the death of a dear one. There was a strange sense of sadness and loneliness looming over the house. Any question to my father was met with a short reply and a perpetual answer to “pray, just pray”. He may have mentioned it, but truthfully speaking I was still unsure about what exactly I had to pray for.

“A Khalifa has passed away, so Allah will appoint another.” Even in that age of innocence, I did not dare share my confusion because I knew that to say anything related to Khilafat required one to think twice. That is what I saw and that is what I had learned. I prayed, albeit unaware of what I was praying for.

It was on that occasion when, for the first time, I heard of “turning fear into peace” and overheard my parents praying for this.

The start of the Fourth Khilafat What fear? What peace? I had always been taught by my parents of “peace” as the antonym of “war”.

Where is this war taking place! Hardly

a day had passed in that state of mourning when, once again, a shimmering glow of happiness returned to my parents’ faces. The first cause was the whispered announcement my father made to us while still on the phone.

“Mian Tari!” My mother became overwhelmed with joy. She began to cry and fell into prostration. We were also made to do the same. Then, gradually, we were told of further details.

My father, who had casually and due to old habit, referred to him as “Mian Tari”, now, with utmost respect and reverence, began referring to him as Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. He began to tell us about him and would use the term Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Al-Rabi‘ for him. We had become so accustomed to the term Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Al-Thalith that the term Khalifatul Masih Al-Rabi‘ seemed peculiar.

But it would not take us long at all to be accustomed to the new term because for the next few days, it was used at home so often that it became part of our regular jargon.

The following days were spent being introduced to Huzoorrh. It was in those days that I began to understand some aspects of the status and importance of Khilafat.

(I say “some aspects” because even today, I have probably not fully understood it.

Truly fortunate are those who claim to have attained full knowledge, if there are any at all.)

Then, after some time had elapsed, our home was swept with another wave of panic. I woke up one morning to see my father continuously on the phone, switching from one call to the other. Some of the calls came from Rabwah and others, he would dial himself. It wasn’t before midmorning that he broke the news to us: Huzoorrh had migrated from Rabwah to London.

Even though the distance from Zambia to London was pretty much the same as it was to Pakistan, Huzoorrh now seemed much closer than before. But the sense of closeness was due to my father’s instructions of constantly writing letters to Huzoorrh. He would teach us how to write letters and how to phrase the opening line. (In truth, I still write my opening sentences in the same manner today.)

After writing the letter, he would get us to neatly fold the letter into an envelope and write the address: “16 Gressenhall Road, London, UK, SW18 5QL” From 1984 to 2000, i.e. 16 years, this address remained a metonymy for England.

We would frequently write letters to this address and frequently receive replies. We cherished those letters more than anything.

Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh after being elected as Khalifatul Masih IV

ABOVE The first address delivered by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV

May Allah reward my parents abundantly, for they taught tothe treasure each orword times.

They could not me display Kalima Tayyaba offer that was written in those letters.

Allah the Islamic greeting ‘Assalamo alaikum’ to anyone.

The always accepted prayerscarried of Khalifatul contravention of thesethe regulations heavy fines, Masih in our favour. or imprisonment or both. Thousands of Ahmadis were May Allah acceptlaws, those thrown behind bars continue under these to draconian and prayers for my parents because some are still incarcerated in the Pakistani jails. to this living in Rabwah, where the day,Huzur the letterswasIstillwrite seeking prayers aa Movement are located. General Zia head of the fromoffices Huzoor are a result of the love and al-Haq, ordered Huzur hould not be allowed reverence mythat parents had for Khilafat.

track because in Pakistan, we had only seen heaps of litterto and waste surrounding the with instructions prevent the head of the Community tracks.

How were we to know that, unlike from leaving Pakistan but in what was shown to be God’s Pakistan, was notoura Huzur common sight find guiding handitprotecting

, the to name on heaps of waste anywhere in England, even the list read ‘Hadhrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad’. The authorities along stretch of ofrailway had beenthe given the name Hadhratlines?

Khalifatul Masih III With video recordings of thethe Friday

! As Huzur flew to London, General was informed(that of the came blunder,tonous doubt rage of Sermons oncausing VHS atapes) epic proportions over glimpses the incompetence of his security came our first of the mosque. services. the Jama’at wasand divineyear intervention at What aForsight!

Yearit in out, we to leave the country under any circumstances. Security work. heard Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh deliver Mixed emotions personnel were appointed to all ports; land, sea, and air sermons in that mosque; the nearness of traffic came under intense scrutiny to prevent Huzur Arrival In London The day I arrived in London, we went God, the purpose of worship, poverty in from leaving Pakistan. But Gods’ hand and security the For someone who had narrowly the clutches world, education, moral escaped upbringing and straight from the airport to my sister’s descended over our beloved Huzur and under of a tyrannical regime, Huzur expressed what was his general day-to-day issues, and a vast variety house. I asked her how far the Fazl Mosque what can only be described as miraculous circumstances trademark calmness and pragmatism as he addressed was from there, to which I was told that it of topics had been taught to us through under the very eye of General Zia’s security personnel the hundreds of Ahmadis who had descended upon the those sermons. was only a fiboarded ve- to seven-minute drive.

Huzur

a plane accompanied by his wife mosque. Recounting the circumstances of his arrival of Leaving the setting sun outdoors, I was completely to find and two youngest daughters taken and flewaback to the security of Huzur explained how the draconian laws initiated against I entered the mosque where, in a few that someone could live so close to the Fazl Europe whilst the late General was left pondering over the the Jama’at made it impossible for the Khalifa to function moments, the sun that I had seen dawn for Mosque.

I requested them to take me, to sheer ineffectiveness of his botched attempts to arrest our effectively from Rabwah. years on arrival the television screen would which Huzur they said, “It. Huzur will be timeleft forPakistan Maghrib beloved

not many Huzur’s

in London which was hailed as eyes. One can witness shortly; then. ” declared, as ‘Imam of adawn under any we coverwill but go as his passport victoryagain by thebefore mullahs my of Pakistan, proved to be hollow thethe nur light) coming from the Ahmadiyya Jama’at’. The had beenasissued next 19(spiritual years of Khilafat–e–Rabia demonstrated.

So, we reached theauthorities Fazl Mosque the as sun was setting. Various thoughts crossed Huzoor’s blessed countenance through the my mind. The number of times I’ve seen this television screen but cannot feel its warmth.

262 | TARIQ Khilafat Centenary Special Edition—Part 5: Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV But the combination of nur and warmth mosque on MTA ... This is remarkable!

Even before MTA, we would listen enveloped my entire being that evening. rh to audio cassettes of the Friday Sermons I was barely able to look up as Huzoor delivered from the Fazl Mosque. During entered the mosque, but as he departed the those sermons, we would often hear the mosque after prayers, I was able to see him. passing of a train from a distance. When It was then that I was struck by something my father once returned to Zambia from strange.

Huzoorrh would take small, careful London, he told us that trains passed every minute or so along the tracks near the steps. It was not the usual pace that we were accustomed to from the videos of Huzoorrh. mosque.

Then the Friday Sermons began to What happened to the renowned energy of broadcast live on MTA and the concept of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV? I then realised that the reflection is not the mosque was completely transformed.

Initially, we would imagine the train passing necessarily always the same as the original. close to the walls of the mosque. We could Faces and places seen in pictures always not imagine a mosque being so near a railway seem different in real-life. Thus, I consoled

17

AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 myself and returned home. But I was full of confused emotions. Never had I seen Khalifatul Masih from so close.

In 1982, when we were to depart for Zambia, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh graced us with a mulaqat. I was only seven at the time. I have a very hazy memory of the mulaqat – a clouded memory, much like a dream. I remember the details of that day, but I suspect it could be imagery resulting from hearsay. Then, after a few years of moving to Zambia, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh passed away. A few years later, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh migrated to London. Five years later, when we returned to Rabwah from Zambia, we found Qasre-Khilafat (the abode of Khilafat) standing tall, with the only difference that Khilafat had moved to a far-off land.

I continued writing letters to Huzoorrh.

In that era of remoteness from Khilafat, I stepped into my youth, became a man, got married and was blessed with a son. In short, a very long time had passed without seeing the Khalifa of the time.

After many years, I had now come to my beloved’s abode! My whole being had desperately waited for this moment. That day, I was extremely ecstatic. I felt as if I had no worries or problems and that none could ever come near me ever again.

I felt so, but reality does not always care for what we feel or wish for. When we returned home after the Maghrib prayer, my family started to talk about Huzoor’srh health. Everyone was concerned. It was painful for everyone. But for someone who had been desperately waiting for so long, it was truly heart-wrenching.

I requested a mulaqat with Huzoorrh for as early as possible. We were given an appointment, which was fortunately not too long away. A few days had passed when my wife and my two-year-old son, Romaan Mahmood Basit, and I sat in the waiting

room for our names to be called out.

Before I commence with the details of what happened next, come and sit in the waiting room with me and share what I felt in those moments.

The wait in that room caused my heart to race with emotions. Urdu poetry is rich with the experiences of being distant and far from a loved one, and also about the moment when nearness is attained. In my life, I had read many verses referring to the ebb and flow of such experiences.

During that wait, a verse from one poem would appear in my mind when another verse would soon replace it. Then, I would remind myself that that was the time for durood and prayers. Thus, I was swamped in mixed emotions – ones I had never experienced before.

How will I start talking when I enter?

What will Huzoor say? There was also a certain desire that I had in my mind for many years, which I hoped would come true. That yearning was due to a certain lifechanging event.

A long-awaited moment In my youth, when I would write poetry, I would send it to the daily Al Fazl. As I always saw my attempts as that of an amateur, I had no expectations for the poetry to ever get published. But the late Naseem Saifi Sahib – may God rest his soul – squeezed my poetry into a small corner of the last few pages. That was something very special for me. What could be more of an honour than to have an early attempt at poetry published in Al Fazl.

When it was first published, for a few days, I walked around with a broad smile on my face while people congratulated me wherever I went in Rabwah. However, after a few days, all those compliments were outshone by a very special one.

In those days, a person would bring the

letters of Huzoorrh from the private secretariat in Rabwah. One day, the worker handed me an envelope.

But the envelope was different from the letters I had received before.

Normally, the letters would arrive in small square envelopes. The style of the envelope would testify to its Pakistani origin. But the envelope I received that day was far bigger and of higher quality. I immediately opened it and found a few typed lines under the letterhead of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh! As I read the letter to myself, I laughed, then cried, then jumped up with elation and hopped about in celebration. (Bear in mind that I was only 17 at the time.) My parents rushed outside to see what the matter was. I handed them the letter. Both my parents were overwhelmed with joy. My father has always had a silent expression for everything, be it good or bad. But my mother would hug me and kiss me. The letter was unbelievable for us all.

“My Dear Asif Mahmood Basit, “Assalamo alaikum wa rahmtaullahi wa barakatuhu.

“I read your poem in Al Fazl. MashaAllah, it is of a very high standard. Please introduce yourself as to who you are and if possible, send me a picture of yourself.

I would like to see this rising star in Ahmadiyyat’s world of poetry. Wassalam.”

I do not know what qualities my poem had, but I was stunned at Huzoor’srh expression of love that on such a small effort of a child, he expressed such affection and lifted my spirits.

Of course, I replied to Huzoor’s letter and sent a picture of myself. I received a lot of prayers in return. Then I began to receive letters from Huzoorrh with comments of

my various poems that would, by then, be regularly published. I received such appreciation for my amateur poetry that I felt embarrassed.

So, for many years, I had lived with the wishful thought that whenever I would meet Huzoorrh, he would immediately recognise me.

There I sat, to meet Huzoorrh. The person who knew me among the millions he knew.

First mulaqat with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh All those thoughts were running through my head, during which we were called to the next waiting room. And then the next. And then, finally, we were standing outside the door behind which was my beloved Imam.

Those of our relatives who had had the opportunity to meet Huzoorrh told us to request for a picture towards the end of the mulaqat. They told me that Huzoorrh would stand and thus, a memorable picture could be taken.

The door opened. We entered. Huzoorrh was seated on his chair. His blessed countenance was glowing. We sat on the chairs opposite him. I wished to say something, but Huzoorrh began speaking to our son most affectionately. Huzoorrh asked him how he was and pulled out a chocolatebar from the drawer to his side and handed it to him. Then, Huzoorrh raised his blessed hand as if to say goodbye.

It is impossible to describe what I felt in a mulaqat that seemed to have ended even before it had started. I felt like a person who, having just arrived at the platform, saw his train pulling away, and as he rushed to catch the train, it kept getting faster and faster; he just about got to touch the last carriage of the train but couldn’t get a grip; he watched the train disappear into the narrowing perspective, leaving him behind on the platform.

My train was also leaving and I could see it leave before my eyes, yet it was still visible.

As Huzoorrh raised his hand, we also got up from our seats. As I got up, I wished to say something, but with a glistening smile on his face, Huzoor said, “Assalamo alaikum Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM << Continued from previous page

wa rahmatullah”. And we were outside.

When we came out, we were all extremely happy. The happiest of all was my son who had seen Huzoorrh and was given a chocolate bar. I was also very happy to have seen Huzoorrh, but I was experiencing a strange overriding emotion.

First of all, my wife turned to me, displeased: “Why didn’t you request a picture? It was such a memorable moment!”

When we got home, I was met with the perplexity of my relatives, some of whom were even upset as to why I hadn’t requested a picture.

How could I explain to them what I had been through? The status and reverence of Khalifatul Masih is such that one doesn’t feel the courage to associate with him the words we usually use to describe any other person’s ill health.

If it were any ordinary man, then I would have told them, “He was too frail!” But how could I say the same for a man of such status and with whom my whole being had such a deep, spiritual connection? All I could say was that I did not have the audacity to request Huzoorrh to stand up for me. Those who were sensible understood. Yet, most of them saw this as an unacceptable excuse.

For many days, I regretted that mistake.

Then the happiness one gets after meeting Huzoorrh dawned upon me.

So what if Huzoor didn’t recognise me!

It was not necessary for Huzoor to recognise me. I recognise Huzoor! That itself is the greatest blessing of Allah. The world does not recognise him, but Allah has granted this Jamaat the ability to recognise him. This great man is seated on the throne of Prophet Muhammadsa; the throne he was blessed through Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas.

God Himself has seated him there.

Then I thought to myself, “How silly of me! For so many years I desperately waited for this moment. Now, when the moment arrives, I am being ungrateful!”

Well, what do you think happened next?

From dawn till dusk, I would travel back and forth to the Fazl Mosque to catch a glimpse of Huzoorrh. I got to see Huzoorrh day and night at the mosque and this brought me great comfort. When I found a job, I would go to the mosque for the evening prayers.

18 April 2003 was a Friday and I was in the Fazl Mosque. I had planned to be somewhere that evening, but a last-minute cancellation brought me back to the Fazl Mosque for Maghrib prayers.

I offered Maghrib behind Huzoorrh and was fortunate enough to be seated in Huzoor’s question-and-answer session.

I was in the Mahmood Hall, which was usually seen as a second choice, but on that day, this became a blessing in disguise. As Huzoorrh left the mosque for his residence, those seated in the Mahmood Hall got the chance to stand outside and catch a glimpse of Huzoorrh. Who would have thought that that would be our last glimpse of Huzoorrh?

True realisation The next morning, an announcement was made on MTA International. The effect it had on the Ahmadis around the world does not require any description. It was as if the Jamaat had lost all its strength. But the gist of the concluding words of the announcement was, that the past hundred

years bore testimony to the fact that God Almighty had never left the Jamaat alone.

At the end, the name of the signatory of this announcement was read out. “Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Nazir-e-Ala and Amir-eMuqami, Rabwah.”

If anything pumped some strength back into the Jamaat’s body, it was the name that was read out at the end of the announcement. But who was to know that after all of this, the new life that awaited the Jamaat would be in the very name cited at the end of the announcement?

According to the will of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh, the heart-breaking announcement was to be made by this devout individual. Thus, Huzoor’s will was acted upon and probably for the first time, a great majority of the Jamaat became acquainted with this name.

This pious individual, like his master the Holy Prophetsa, had always preferred to remain in seclusion. A small circle in Pakistan knew of Huzooraa due to his administrative capacities. But an even smaller minority was aware of the characteristics that made him an extra-ordinary human.

As soon as I heard the announcement, I rushed to the mosque. Crowds had started to gather from far and wide at the Fazl Mosque, but despite people crying and praying, everything seemed to stand still and silent. Everyone seemed as uncertain and anxious as an orphaned child. There was a strange atmosphere of grief and sorrow looming over the Mosque.

The English weather, gloomy and grey as it usually is, had become even gloomier that day – the day when a sun had set in millions of hearts. If I was to summarise the entire atmosphere under one word, it would be “fear”.

The atmosphere that day took me back to the morning of June 1982, when we were in Zambia and had heard of the demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh. My parents went through those very feelings. Due to being so young, I had not appreciated entirely what they were going through. But now, I had come to the realisation that it was indeed “fear”.

What will happen next? Who will it be?

What tribulations await the Jamaat? What if this happens? What if that happens? And countless other questions crowded my mind.

That day, the Fazl Mosque was draped in the same cloak of fear that I had seen many years ago, although I had not felt it. That day, I realised that that fear was no ordinary fear. It was the same fear that left my parents restless in 1982.

Everyone here today, myself included, was experiencing that fear. Tears flowed down our cheeks and our hearts ached with anguish. Everything stood still. The one sound that murmured around was the question of what would happen next.

For the next few days, the fear stretched over the entire Jamaat. We had been orphaned! The Jamaat no longer had a head who loved, cared and supported them, more than a loving father.

Inquisitive about the unknown man There was a strange feeling in the prayers that were said then. As the Jamaat fell into prostration, you could hear wailing and sobbing from every part of the Fazl Mosque. When people would begin

to gather themselves, they would start enquiring about the man who had sent out the message. Some would express their unfamiliarity, while others felt privileged to have known him. I was among those lucky few who knew the unknown man; albeit very little, but I knew him.

Whenever I heard that name or had to explain to someone who he was, I would start picturing Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Masroor Ahmad in different settings: outside the nazarat-e-talim offices; as the special guest at a Nusrat Jehan Academy event; parking his bicycle at a stand in Rabwah; addressing

others, very fearful. “Fearful” because the age of my adolescence, ignorance, immaturity, foolishness and incompetence had all been witnessed by him. (I do not intend to say that all that has passed. Apart from adolescence, everything else has only changed slightly.)

After attaining my bachelor’s degree, it was Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib (may Allah strengthen his hand) who gave me the responsibility of teaching at the Nusrat Jehan Academy. In the capacity of chairman of the Nasir Foundation, he was the patron of the Nusrat Jehan Academy. One day, he

a gathering at the Ahmadiyya Hostel, Darul-Hamd, in Lahore; driving his modest car on the roads of Rabwah; turning into Rajeki Road from Aqsa Chowk; seated in the offices of nazarat-e-ulya or, the fondest of all memories, the day when we gathered at Aiwan-e-Mahmood at the occasion of my walima where he entered the gates in his car and blessed the occasion.

It is but natural to imagine the person and how he looks when talking about him.

Very rarely do you reminisce the person alone; they always come with a package of memories. Albeit vaguely, images of Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib always appeared on the canvas of my mind in varying colours of seasons and settings.

Every picture showed his wonderful characteristics.

Simplicity, sincerity, modesty and composure. But the most prominent quality that I would notice was one that is only found in Godly people; a charisma that cannot be attained without nearness to Allah. When light passes through a prism, all the colours that are hidden in the ray of light become manifest.

When brought together, it is called nur.

Thus, the manifestation of hundreds of colours was the most apparent feature that I could recall.

In the images that crossed my mind, I would recall a short beard that was once jetblack; then the full beard that was black with some grey hairs while the visible hair on his head (the rest usually under a Jinnah cap) was black entirely. It should be remembered that those images were appearing in my mind without any conscious effort. In the context of the nature of discussions, various images would flicker in my mind.

Although I had not met Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib a lot, the occasions where I had met him were engraved in my memory.

When I would recall those occasions, I would become extremely happy, but at

handed me a note and sent me to Khalid Goraya Sahib, Principal of the Nusrat Jehan Academy. The following day, I began my teaching career.

With that came a stipend and thus, I could partake in the blessed scheme of AlWasiyyat. That too was a result of Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib drawing my attention towards the noble cause when I received my first stipend.

It was this very person who took me out of that atmosphere and instructed me to pursue my master’s degree. Otherwise, I would have remained in the teaching position at Rabwah. Actually, I was quite adamant about remaining there and would never have moved, quite like a brat.

He instructed me to reside and study at university as such exposure has its own benefits in life.

When I informed him that I had enrolled but there was still a month before the classes commenced, it was he who advised me to join a computer course at the same university. In the capacity of nazir talim, he designated a grant to enable me to attend the course.

That was about 27 years ago, but to this day, I have greatly benefitted from knowing how to use a computer. I have never felt the need to rely on people to help me type or compose a document. Today, I type these lines on a computer and since the day I developed computer skills, the face of the person who enabled this all to happen always comes to mind.

Then, when I began my master’s degree, I informed him that I had gained entry to a post-graduate course in philosophy. I will never forget his response. “A poet studying philosophy; God help you!”

Then he narrated a joke.

“Once, a philosopher went to a farmer and asked why he had tied a bell to his cow’s collar. He replied, ‘As long as the bell

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 continues to ring, I know that the cow is at work’. The philosopher asked how he would know the cow was at work if it stopped walking but continued to move its neck.

The farmer simply replied, ‘It’s a cow! Not a philosopher!’”

But today, it has to be declared that those words uttered by Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib later proved to be a prayer for me and Allah always sheltered me with His blessings. The cause of this was always Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib and to this day, he remains my shelter.

(In fact, now he is a cause of shelter for the whole world.)

When I arrived in Lahore, I had no accommodation other than Dar-ul-Hamd (Ahmadiyya Hostel, Muslim Town, Lahore).

In those days, the hostel was under the management of the Jamaat in Lahore. But bearing in mind its state and its erstwhile condition, “management” is surely an overstatement.

This was the place where Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra had once delivered his masterpiece, The Economic System of Islam. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh had also delivered speeches to the Ahmadiyya Students’ Association here.

The recollections I have of that time include many mischievous pranks among students, but the kind of mischief that is acceptable at such an age. The good fortune of the institution would strike when it would be assigned to nazarat-etalim (department for education, Jamaat-eAhmadiyya Pakistan). I was there when the transformation took place. The institution began to take a new form very quickly.

Chronic ailments take time to heal, but if a skilful doctor is at hand, then the process of healing is expedited. Thus, during my stay in the hostel, the healing process began.

In those days, Huzooraa would regularly visit the hostel. I must admit that I was not innocent of the mischief surrounding the atmosphere of the hostel. There is a possibility that he was aware of it. (I spent 22 years thinking there was a “possibility”. How I found out that this “possibility” turned out to be a “reality”, will follow below!)

In those days, when everyone wanted to find out about this saintly person and when his name echoed here and there, these memories would come to mind.

I recalled the day when he graced my walima ceremony. It is not just a memory, but I have a picture of the event still with me. My family and I were gathered around that saintly individual. The same simplicity and glow. In the picture, everyone held simple paper cups. Now when I see the picture, I feel ashamed. But those who have been through the eventful days of a South Asian-style shadi will agree that the groom is completely helpless on what is supposed to be his “big day”. Thus, I comfort myself with this reason for the shortcomings on that day.

Now, let me take you back to the days when fear had encompassed every aspect of life. Every day, people would be seen joining the queues at the Fazl Mosque to see one last glimpse of their beloved Imamrh. Having walked past their Imam, who now rested in a coffin, they would join the back of the queue again. Such was their state of restlessness.

The leader of the faithful had passed away.

The Jamaat was, for now, orphaned. Their source of peace remained no more. Thus, by means of repeatedly seeing his face, they

tried to heal their wounds. They would repeat this cycle until the certainty of the unimaginable sunk in.

On one such afternoon, news spread that members of the electoral college from Rabwah had arrived in London. At the time, it was not fully known who they were or where and when they had arrived. All we knew was that people had begun to flock towards the Fazl Mosque.

That day, after the evening prayers, a crowd had gathered just outside the doors of the mosque. The crowd surrounded a certain individual. I raised my heels to see who the individual was; one who was being met so passionately by so many people.

As I got closer, I saw that the person in question was none other than Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Masroor Ahmad. I was seeing him after many years, but his complexion, features and appearance all seemed to be the same. His beard was a mix of black and grey.

He stood patiently, comforting and meeting all those people. I also joined the queue. The queue was more of a crowd that kept swelling up. Some joined the crowd from one side, while others pushed in from another to get the chance to meet him.

I was left perplexed because only that very morning were people wondering who this Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahib was, but now that he had arrived, people were meeting him as if they had known him for years. Other people had also come from Pakistan, including members of the family of the Promised Messiah who were close relations to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh! Of all people, why were people crowding around him?

I tried my best to push forward, trying my luck to take me to him. But after all, everyone around me was as grief-stricken as the other.

When some time had passed and it seemed difficult to cut through the crowd, I decided to pay my condolences to him the following day. Having lost hope, I made

my way to the gate to leave. I began to walk along the footpath parallel to the fence of the Fazl Mosque when I glanced up at the crowd again. From that angle, I could see Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib’s face.

There was something about his countenance that was both strange and unique. It was only a glance, but I noticed that he seemed to be the most devastated and grief-stricken person in the whole world. I stopped in my steps. Suddenly I felt my legs push me back. I was now rushing towards the entrance. “Whatever happens, I will meet him and I will meet him today!”

I found myself in the same crowd, being pushed and shoved as I advanced towards Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib.

Now, I was in front of him and there was only one individual between me and him.

As Huzoor embraced that man, his eyes met with mine. There was an electrifying current in his eyes, yet a strong sense of pain. As soon as that man moved to one side, I embraced Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib and held on to him. To this day, his “Wa alaikumussalam” echoes in my ears.

The first feeling of peace was felt when I heard his name after the announcement. The second was felt when I physically embraced him. Being so close to his blessed presence gave me firm belief in the statement made in his announcement that God Almighty would never leave the Jamaat alone and helpless; He never had and never would!

Up until that point, my mind could not accept that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh had passed away. Naturally, I would begin to think who the next Khalifa would be, but I would shun those thoughts immediately.

I had been taught by my parents from childhood that the term “next Khalifa” was a no-go area.

People spent those days expressing condolences and comforting one another.

I had met and embraced countless people since. Many of them had been elders of the Jamaat from Pakistan. But today, I must admit, albeit with caution, that while

meeting Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Masroor Ahmad, I felt something distinct. Don’t ask what it was because I do not know! The term I had attributed to that feeling in order for me to understand it, was a term my heart did not permit me to think about.

The childhood lessons were clearly in practise now. I had met and embraced hundreds of people. We were all in a state of sorrow and despair and we continuously comforted each other. But from among those hundreds of embraces, one stood out.

If only I knew what that feeling was, I might have embraced him a little longer!

But “a little longer” was out of the question! The crowd was so powerful that I didn’t even realise that my time had come and gone. I felt as though I was walking in the bitter cold but had passed by a blaze of warmth. It was as if I had only just begun to raise my hands to absorb the heat that the bell had rung and I was compelled to move on.

The following day was a strange one. I saw Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib two or three times after various Salats but did not have the audacity to meet him. At times, he was alone, while at other times, he was accompanied by members of majlis-emushawirat (the consultation committee).

But my steps failed to move towards him. The feeling I had the previous day was extremely peaceful and I wished to experience it once more. But I was frozen in my steps.

On the afternoon of the day the Fifth Khalifa was to be elected, I was walking along Melrose Road outside the guesthouse by the Fazl Mosque. I turned the corner and saw Hazrat Sahibzada Sahib walking towards the guesthouse. The same humility that always remained a hallmark of his personality was now complemented with an aspect I had never seen: Awe! As always, his gaze was lowered, but I could see that his eyes were bloodshot, probably from staying awake. The same humility was in his steps but every step was so majestic as if a king Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

God’s blessings are bestowed upon the Ahmadiyya Jamaat through Khilafat Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIIrh, said: “Allah the Almighty Himself said that He has established Khilafat for the manifestation of His blessings and mercy, so no matter what the world may think and no matter what acquaintances or outsiders may say, the blessings and mercy of Allah the Almighty are destined with the Khilafat. God is showering His countless blessings on the Jamaat.”

(Al Fazl, 22 July 1970, p. 4)

<< Continued from previous page

strode forward. I shuddered and stopped where I was, which was a safe distance away.

I realised that meeting him now would not be appropriate. But if his eyes met with mine, I would not be able to contain myself.

That afternoon, I saw a personification of the revelation, which I would later become more familiar with: �‫وہ ابداشہ ٓا یا‬ “Here comes the king.”

Along with his companions, he entered the building adjacent to the mosque.

Thereafter I saw him in the evening as he entered the mosque for the divine appointment of the Fifth Khalifa. He wore shalwar kameez with a simple blazer on top.

But there was something different now as compared to when I had seen him earlier. It was very bizarre for me to grasp.

“This is not the same person”, I thought to myself. “This is someone else!” In that moment, he seemed to be a holy man who had submitted himself completely to His Lord just like a lump of clay, ready to take any shape that the potter intended. How was I supposed to know that the same majesty, splendour, magnificence and awe emanating from his eyes was still there, only in a different form?

Those moments truly were trying ones and everyone wished that they passed quickly so that we may come to know who Allah had chosen as our new Imam.

The state of our prayers at that time is beyond expression; a deep and stirring emotion. Everyone was in a state of fear as if they were waiting at the threshold but could not knock on the door or take a step forward. It was as if we were just waiting at the doorstep of an unknown world to lay open before us. The time of fear was soon to be over, but anxiousness and restlessness were part and parcel.

(To be continued...)

Ahmadis in Malta continue help during Covid-19 Laiq Ahmed Atif President Jamaat Malta

The unprecedented and difficult time we are passing through requires that we must show kindness, generosity and solidarity with each other in this time of need. With this love for humanity, which in essence is part of our religious beliefs, we are motivated and feel obliged to serve humanity.

Therefore, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Malta presented a donation of 10,000 certified face masks to Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation (MCCFF) for families in need. The donation was presented to Madam Chair of Administrative Board Ambassador Marlene Mizzi. The MCCFF works under the auspices of His Excellency, Dr George Vella, the President of the Republic of Malta.

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Malta also provided hand sanitisers and 5,000 certified face masks for the migrant families living in Hal-Far refugee centres. A further donation of hand sanitisers and 5,000 certified masks were presented to M. Alfred Grixi, the CEO of FSWS (Foundation for Social Welfare Services) for those who are benefiting from the services of FSWS. During this presentation, Jamaat-eAhmadiyya Malta had the opportunity to brief them about the selfless services of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya in Malta and also worldwide.

May Allah accept our services and help us to continue serve His creation. Amin

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

The Ahmadiyya Khilafat’s call for Muslim unity: The solution to Israel-Palestine issue Ata-ul-Haye Nasir Al Hakam

Following the life of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, the Khulafa of Islam Ahmadiyyat have always urged Muslims to unite for the victory and protection of Muslim countries, people and Islam as a whole. The need for this unity is being felt more than ever today and cries for a khilafat have been heard by all even during the current crisis in Palestine.

With recent atrocities against the Palestinians, it is a shame that Muslim countries are not united so as to speak up for them. We don’t see any practical efforts on their part to tackle the issue either.

The OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) deemed it sufficient to merely “condemn” Israel’s brutal aggression against the Palestinian people, in an emergency meeting on 16 May 2021. Pakistan – whose first foreign minister, Hazrat Sir Zafrulla Khanra strived hard for the Palestinian cause in the United Nations – has now sufficed on merely passing a resolution of condemnation in its parliament.

The current conflict has exposed the differences among the Muslims states. “For the first time in the many clashes between the two foes, regional unity over who is to blame and what should be done to stop the fighting has splintered”, reported The Guardian on 17 May 2021.

Some Muslim majority countries, such as Turkey and Iran, have spoken against Israel’s atrocities, but the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, “which all recently normalised ties with Israel, now find themselves balancing their new relationships against citizens who have been vocal in their anger at Israel’s violence” reported The Guardian.

Historically, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat actually urged Muslims to unite for the protection of Muslim majority lands, especially Palestine.

In February 1939, when the British government organised a conference of the Arab countries in relation to the issue of Palestine, Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Shamsra, an Ahmadi missionary, invited the viceroy of Mecca and representatives of Palestine, Iraq and Yemen to a dinner party in which 200 guests participated, including Prince Faisal and many other dignitaries.

Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra sent a telegram which was read out in both English and Arabic. Huzoorra said: “Extend welcome on my behalf to His Royal Highness, Amir Faisal, and delegations of the Palestine Conference and

tell them that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya is fully in their support and prays that Allah the Almighty may grant them success.” (Al Fazl, 16 March 1939, p. 2) While commentating on verses 22 to 26 of Surah Saad, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra stated: “The Holy Quran has stated a prophecy in these verses, which is a similitude and a divine vision in regard to the Latter Days.

In this, God Almighty has said that those belonging to the progeny of Davidas, or his followers (who are both Jews and Christians) will possess 99 per cent of the world’s power, and on the opposite, the followers of the Holy Prophetsa would only have 1 per cent.

Even then, they [Jews and Christians] would conspire to occupy the remaining 1 per cent [from the Muslims] as well.

“The Holy Quran mentions the word kifalat […] The European people use the term, ‘Mandate’ for those countries which they have occupied after the recent war [World War II], and the meaning of ‘mandate’ is kifalat [authority]. Nowadays, the same word is being used for Palestine.

So, in these verses, it has been told that Christians and Jews would demand from the Muslims to ‘hand over Palestine to us as well’. Now, President [Harry] Truman [of the USA] is sending telegrams that Jews should be allowed to settle in Palestine […].”

Huzoorra raised a pertinent question as to why countries such as America, Australia and England were not ready to let the Jews

settle in their respective countries, despite having large areas [of land] in comparison to the area of Palestine. (Al Fazl, 31 October 1945, p. 2) In 1946, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra, saw a vision in which he was foretold by Allah the Almighty that a delicate time was coming for Islam and Muslims needed to unite for tackling that issue. He wrote an article, title Al-Inzaar, wherein he mentioned his vision in detail and advised the Muslims in this regard. He stated: “This divine dream has called our attention to the matter that a very delicate time is coming for Islam, and Muslims need to be united in worldly and political matters.

And each person should prioritise unity above all other matters because the salvation of Muslims lies in this [unity]. This is a very difficult thing, not an easy one […]

“While narrating this divine dream, I advise each Ahmadi that they should call the attention of the Muslims in their respective circles that ‘your division will cause your destruction’. At this juncture, you [Muslims] should forget about yourselves, your thoughts and your parties and should strive to unite everyone who claims to be a Muslim for the protection of Islam, and should ignore all differences […]

“I believe that even now, if the Muslims gather for unity, instead of emphasising the differences, then the future of Islam will not remain dark.” (Al Fazl, 28 August 1946, p. 3) Then, during his Friday Sermon of 30

August 1946, he instructed the Jamaat to especially pray for the Muslim world. He stated: “The circumstances faced by the Muslims nowadays are very bleak. The identity of the Muslims in places such as India, Palestine, Egypt, Indonesia is in severe danger [...]

So, all members [of the Jamaat] should especially pray in these days. The other Muslims [non-Ahmadis] should also be urged to start praying, as there is no other remedy for the Muslims. Until the Muslims do not step aside from worldliness and the pursuit of luxury and unite for offering all types of sacrifices [...] success is impossible.”

(Al Fazl, 10 September 1946, p. 2) Two years later, when Israel was established on 14 May 1948, conspiracies regarding Palestine emerged openly and at that time, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra tried to awaken the Muslim ummah. He wrote a masterpiece, titled Al-Kufru Millatun Wahidah and called on all Muslims to unite as one.

He said: “The day which was prophesied by the Holy Quran and the ahadith hundreds of years ago; the day which was prophesied in the Torah and Gospels; the day which was told to be painful and dangerous for the Muslims has seemingly arrived. Jews are being inhabited in Palestine.

“America and Russia […] seem to be on the same page. And strangely, they Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM << Continued from previous page

both were united on the Kashmir issue as well […] It is strange that the disputes of Palestine and Kashmir have emerged at the same time […]

“So, I draw the Muslims’ attention towards this matter that they should understand this delicate time and remember that today, the saying of the Holy Prophetsa: ٌ َ َّ ٌ َّ ُ ْ ُ ْ َ ‫احدة‬ ِ ‫الكفر‬ ِملة‬و‬ “[kufr is one nation] is being fulfilled to the letter.” (Al Fazl, 21 May 1948, p. 3) He further stated: “The Arab [world] knows that now, the Jews are considering throwing out the Arabs from the [land of] Arabia […] But do the people of Arabia have any strength [to tackle this]? Does this matter belong only to the Arab?

“Obviously, neither the Arabs have any strength for this competition, nor does this matter only belong to the Arabs.

“The question is not about Palestine; it is about Medina. The question is not about Jerusalem; it is about Mecca al-Mukarrimah itself. The question is not about Zaid [A] or Bakr [B]; it is about the honour of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa.

“The enemy has united against Islam, despite their [internal] disagreements. Will the Muslim [ummah] not unite despite the thousands of reasons for unity?” (Ibid) Then, in regard to the impact of America and Russia, he said: “The wealth of America and Russia’s plans and deceits, both are united against the poor Arabs.” (Ibid) This article had a great impact in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and other Arab countries.

Syrian radio stations aired its summary and many Arabic newspapers published its excerpts, including Al-Yaum, Al-Akhbar, AlNasr and Al-Urdan.

A famous and respected journalist of Iraq, Al-Ustadh Ali al-Khayat Effendi stated in an article in his newspaper, Al-Anbaa‘: “Foreign governments always try to spread hatred among the Muslims through slogans [of some other Muslims], and [they try to urge] some sects to stand for objecting Ahmadis and declaring them infidels [...]

A representative of a foreign country’s government, residing in Baghdad, called me for a meeting, and after appreciating my style of objection, for flattering me, asked me to start raising objections against the Qadiani Jamaat in my newspaper, in a hurtful manner, as much as possible, because this Jamaat was out of [the pale of] deen.

“This happened when, in 1948, a part of the Holy Land was divided and handed over to the Zionist government and the Israeli state was established. And in my view, the above-mentioned activity of the embassy was, in fact, the practical reaction of the two tracts, which were published by Jamaate-Ahmadiyya during the same year when Palestine was divided.

“One tract was titled ‘Hay‘atul Umami alMuttahidati wa Qararu Taqsimi Falastina’, in which those conspiracies of the Western colonial powers and Zionists were disclosed, in which it was planned to hand over the Palestinian ports to the Jews.

“The second tract was published as ‘Al-Kufru Millatun Wahidah’, in which the Muslims were advised to instil perfect unity.” (Akhbar Al-Anbaa‘ [Baghdad], 21

September 1954, with reference of Mujallah Al-Taqwa, September-October 1989) So, from this reference alone, we can easily understand the impact of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’s masterpiece and how he created great worry among the ranks of the anti-Muslim powers.

Had the Muslim ummah acted on his advice and called for Islamic unity, Muslims would never be in a situation in which they find themselves now.

On 12 December 1948, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra delivered a lecture at Law College Lahore, titled The Status and Future of the Islamic World in Light of the Current Situation. During the lecture, he stated that the Islamic world’s future was completely safe, provided the Muslims acted upon those ways of success which the Holy Quran had prescribed for us.

Huzoorra advised the Islamic countries to dispel their internal enmities and to make trade relations with each other. He added that the Holy Quran had declared tabligh as the best way for Islam’s progress, so the Muslims should pay attention to this. (Al Fazl, 14 December 1948, p. 2) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra stated in his speech of 28 December 1954: “In the past, [the Muslims] had temporarily lost the occupation [of Palestine] twice as well and have lost it now too. And when we say ‘temporarily’, it necessarily means that the Muslims will again go to Palestine and will rule it. It necessarily means that the Jews will again have to leave it and it necessarily means that Allah the Almighty will enable the Muslims to defeat this whole order which is being established with the help of the UNO and America, and once again let the Muslims settle here [...]

“So, I say ‘temporarily’ because there is a [Quranic] injunction ‘My righteous servants shall inherit the land’ [Ch.21: V.106) [...] So, the ‘righteous servants’ of God Almighty, the people of Muhammad Rasulullahsa, will surely go to this country [Palestine]. Neither can America’s atomic bombs and H-bombs do anything, nor can the help of Russia do anything. This is God’s decree, which will come to pass eventually, no matter how much power the world exerts.” (Anwar-ulUlum, Vol. 25, pp. 80-81) Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, after being elected Khalifatul Masih IV on 10 June 1982, sent a heartfelt message to Jamaat-eAhmadiyya, in which he urged everyone to pray for the Palestinian Muslims.

He stated that there was a wound in our hearts that was getting more terrifying, deeper and painful by the day, and that was a result of the inhumane atrocities being carried out by Israel against the Muslim world.

He said that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh felt this grief severely during the last few days of his life and upon the mention of these oppressions, he would become so grieved that one could see the pain in his eyes.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh instructed the Ahmadis: “So, I call the attention of all Ahmadis – men, women, elders and children – that they should supplicate to Allah with great fervour, that He may have Mercy on everyone who is associated with our master, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa.” (Al Fazl, 13 June 1982) Then, during his Friday Sermon of 8 March 1985, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh stated: “Whereas the loyalty of Jamaat-eAhmadiyya to the interests of Islam and the Palestinian Muslims is concerned, it is not a hidden fact or a matter of recent times […]

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya had a deep connection with the Islamic interests of Palestine.

“Khulafa of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya cautioned the Muslims of Palestine from every danger, and kept them aware, and would present Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya for every possible help for them.

“And these matters are continuing even prior to the partition [of the Indian subcontinent]; even the Ahrari newspapers had to accept these facts. They have uttered from their mouths and written with their pens that ‘the love showed by Qadian’s Mirza Mahmud Ahmad Sahib[ra] for the people of Islam and the Islamic world, is found very less elsewhere.’

“There was a newspaper of the Ahrar, Zamzam, which was devoted to the opposition of the Jamaat […] wrote in its publication of 19 July 1942: ‘Under these circumstances […] the Imam Sahib has shown such love for Islam with reference to Egypt and the Holy Land of the Hijaz that we are greatly indebted to him and by expressing his concern, he has rightly represented the feelings of Muslims.’

“Now, look: if they [Muslims] ever found a spokesperson for the Muslims, he would be an Ahmadi. They considered the leader of Ahmadis to be the best spokesperson [of Islam].” (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 4, pp. 224-

225) Then, in his next Friday Sermon of 15 March 1985, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IVrh stated: “Before the United Nations General Assembly made the oppressive decision to divide Palestine, who warned and cautioned the Muslim world, creating a commotion in the Arab and non-Arab countries alike?

That passionate warning came from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra!” (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 4, p. 231) Huzoorrh continued by stating that Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra wrote a heart-rendering pamphlet and had it circulated in abundance, in which he said: “I tell you that today, neither is America your friend, nor is Russia your friend. They have formed a mutual conspiracy against Islam. They have forgotten their own enmities due to the enmity of Islam and have united. Does the Islamic world have any sense of honour? Do they not possess the love for Islam that would allow them to forget their animosity towards each other and unite?”

Huzoorrh added that when that decision of dividing Palestine was passed, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra wrote another article, describing the steps Muslims needed to take to help them in winning the lost battle again.

During his Friday Sermon of 11 January 1991, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh instructed Ahmadis to especially pray that Allah may guide the Muslim world. He stated that the Muslim countries should keep in mind the interests of the Muslim ummah as a whole, instead of only protecting their own interests. He added that if the Arab countries did not remove their internal differences, then there would be no peace in this territory and eventually, Israel would emerge as a bigger power than ever before, and no Arab Muslim power could ever think to act against Israel. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 10, pp. 32-33) Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa has also called the attention of the Muslim Ummah towards unity and regularly advised them that for removal of the ongoing miseries, Muslims must unite and face the opponents of Islam as a united front by forgetting all internal disputes.

During his Friday Sermon of 23 November 2012, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “[...] Israel’s attack on the Palestinians is due to the differences and disunity among

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 the Muslims. There is no Islamic country where all moral values are not being violated due to the religious or political differences, or where horrific stories of oppression against each other are not being created. As a result, in one way or another, we are witnessing oppression [by the Muslims] against each other [...] It is my desire that Muslims come to their senses and be united.” (Khutbat-eMasroor, Vol. 10, p. 719) Then, during his Friday Sermon of 25 July 2014, Huzooraa stated that the Muslim countries did not have unity and consensus.

The governments were oppressing their peoples. Not only was there a lack of unity, but there was also widespread oppression.

Huzooraa added that the result of this lack of unity and consensus was that non-Muslims also had the courage to do whatever they wanted against the Muslims and that was why Israel was now brutally killing innocent Palestinians. If there was unity among Muslims, then there would have been no such oppression. (Khutbat-eMasroor, Vol. 12, pp. 453-454) Recently, during his Eid-ul-Fitr Sermon of 14 May 2021, Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa instructed Ahmadis to pray especially for Palestinians who are suffering a great deal. He said: “Today, we must sincerely pray for the Palestinian people who are currently being subjected to grave cruelties. In recent days, when they went to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque, they were brutally attacked and beaten by state authorities. Similarly, they are being forced out of Sheikh Jarrah, a small neighbourhood, which is their own land.”

He continued: “The [Israeli] police are using tear gas and bullets and now airstrikes have started. They say they are targeting their enemies and militants but in reality, horrific and unjust cruelties are taking place and innocent civilians are being attacked. There have also been media reports that the Israeli police have denied wounded people access to medical aid and treatment.”

He added: “May Allah have mercy on the oppressed and may He bring the oppressors to justice [...] May the Palestinian people find leaders who can guide them in the right way.

“Certainly, Muslim countries should come together and play their role to protect the Palestinians and other Muslims who are being oppressed in the world. However, the Muslim world is divided and there is a complete lack of unity amongst the Muslim nations.

“Certainly, in this instance, the Muslim countries have failed to show the reaction they ought to have. They have given weak statements, whereas if they had all come together and given a united statement, it would have had a far greater impact and carried much more weight.”

So, the Muslim ummah needs to understand the dire need of unity so that they can better their situation. But for this, there is only one way and that is accepting the Imam of the age – the Promised Messiahas – and his Khilafat.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa is the leader who can lead the Muslim ummah towards betterment and victories. May Allah the Almighty guide the Muslim ummah. Amin.

Daily diary of Hazrat Khalifatul 100 Masih II: Unrelenting efforts of Years Ago... Christian missionaries and the role of Muslim missionaries Al Fazl, 19 May 1921 6 May 1921

Need of courage and perseverance for tabligh On the mention of the tabligh efforts of Christian missionaries, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said: “These [Christian] people work with great perseverance and steadiness. They wait patiently for the results of their work for a long time. The efforts of Christian missionaries in India were not given much importance and people wondered who could listen to them, but now it has come to light that about four million people have converted to Christianity.

“If India will not make any effort to save itself but remain silent as before, then regions of regions will soon fall in the hands of Christianity. The Christians have achieved this owing to their persistent and unceasing efforts, which they have been doing for many years. In some countries, their efforts have been going on for almost a hundred years and then someone converted to Christianity.

“Among the accounts I have read about Christian missionaries, it is written about Java that Christian missionaries went there in 1818 and they started their efforts.

However, not a single person converted to Christianity before 1908.

“When one person converted to Christianity in 1908, the door for Christianity opened. During this period, the missionaries there used to send reports that great success was being achieved. They used to write in the beginning, ‘Now, the people hate us less than before.’ Then, they would write that, ‘People no longer hate us.’ Later on, they would write that, ‘This year, one or two persons have listened to us’ and used to increase that number in the next year. Then, they would write that, ‘This number of men took our tracts and read them.’

“They used to present such things as their great success. Moreover, they were highly praised by their mission and provided with as much money as they needed. As a result, Christians are found in large numbers over there.

“However, our folk get nervous very quickly and start criticising the conversion of a handful of people to Islam by saying that nothing will come out of it and that the money is being wasted gratuitously in this way or if they see any weakness in new convert Muslims due to their previous condition, they say that what the benefit of making such Muslims is?

“However, as much as we are succeeding in the initial stage of our work, it is a great achievement, and it also shows that if we continue our efforts with courage and

perseverance, the results will be great and far-reaching by the grace of God Almighty.

“I consider the example of one or two Christians converting to Islam as that of the inventor of chess. It is said that the person who invented chess, took his invention to the king. The king was very happy and said, ‘Ask for whatever reward you want and the wish will be fulfilled.’ The king would have given him half of the kingdom as a reward if he would have asked for it. However, he said [to the king], ‘I do not ask for anything else, [just reward me] by putting cowries [a currency – 1 damri (i.e. 1/256 rupee) roughly equates to 10 cowries] in all the squares of the chessboard, but to double it each time.’

The king thought that he had asked for very little money in his ignorance and said, ‘You are asking for nothing. You may wish for anything else’, but the man insisted on the said technique.

“Eventually, the king ordered to reward him as he wished. When the treasurer went and began to give the said reward to

him, the treasury became empty while the chessboard squares were still remaining.

The treasurer came to the king and asked him, ‘What should now be given [to the man as nothing remained in the treasury]?’

The king was very surprised.

“So even though one or two people are converting to Islam at the moment, it is the same as the cowries in this incident.

“By the grace of God, a day will come when the world will be amazed to see us, but it requires courage and relentlessness. If our missionaries show perseverance in the said way and never give up, no matter how many years it takes and we also provide them monetary assistance, great results can be achieved. Though Islam is such a truth that does not require much time to be accepted as it does for Christianity, it still requires courage and perseverance.”

(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 19 May 1921 issue of Al Fazl)

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Acceptance of prayers of Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat

The Promised Messiahas states: “God Almighty has repeatedly informed me through divine revelation that everything that will be achieved, will only be achieved with the help of prayers.”

(Seerat Masih-e-Maudas by Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira, p. 518) The Jamaat has achieved all success by adhering to this advice of the Promised Messiahas. The blessing of Khilafat that God Almighty has bestowed on Jamaat-eAhmadiyya is also a result of the prayers of the Promised Messiahas.

One of the great blessings of this blessed institution is that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih is given the miracle of the acceptance of prayers. Explaining its philosophy, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states: “When Allah the Exalted elevates someone to the position of Khilafat, He increases the acceptance of his [the Khalifa’s] prayers because were his prayers not accepted, it would be tantamount to disrespecting His own choice.” (Mansab-eKhilafat, p. 32) Khulafa have a living relationship with God Almighty. Hence, those who obey the Khalifa and do good deeds are saved from calamities as a result of the prayers of the Khalifa.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira, while

addressing the first Jalsa Salana of his Khilafat on 26 December 1908, stated: “Know full well, if you wish, that it is a blessing of God that He has appointed such a person as your Imam who prays for you in anguish.” (Badr, 7 January 1909) Prayers of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira Malik Muhammad Abdullah Sahib narrates an incident of his childhood, which was narrated by his elder brother, that when he was one and a half years old, an abscess appeared on his leg, which later became very severe.

When every treatment proved ineffective, he was sent to the Mission Hospital Sialkot in severe pain, where a British doctor advised that his leg be amputated. Upon this, his parents came to Qadian with him and with great worry, presented the situation to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira. Another girl in Qadian was also suffering from the same problem. Huzoorra appointed a board of two doctors who examined her and advised that the leg should be amputated.

Malik Sahib was to have an operation the next day. Prayers were also offered and since one of the sons of Huzoorra was a friend of Malik Muhammad Abdullah

Sahib’s elder brother, he also requested Huzoorra not to amputate his leg. Huzoorra said that the repeated pleading had stirred his heart, which he considered to be divine intervention. Huzoorra postponed the operation and gave some ointments and some doses of medicinal powder, which brought a lot of relief on the same day and by the grace of Allah, the effect of the disease disappeared within three days and within a few further days, he recovered completely.

Malik Sahib said, “Today I am 85 years old; the signs of the illness are still present in my knee but there has never been any pain after that.” (Al Fazl International, 24 May 2002) Chaudhry Haakim Din Sahib’s wife was experiencing severe labour pains. He went to the house of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira at eleven o’clock at night and asked the watchman if he could meet Huzoorra at that time. The watchman replied in the negative but Huzoorra heard the voice and called him inside.

When he mentioned the problem, Huzoorra recited something on a date and gave it to him and said, “Give it to your wife and once she has given birth, inform me too.” He gave her the date and soon after, a girl was born.

However, he thought that it was not appropriate to wake Huzoorra up at that time. So, he came at the time of Fajr azan instead and informed Huzoorra about the situation.

Hearing it, Huzoorra said, “After the birth of the girl, you and your wife went to sleep comfortably. If you had informed me as well, I would have also slept without being worried. I spent all night praying for your wife.” (Ibid) Chaudhry Ghulam Muhammad Sahib narrates an incident about the acceptance of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I’sra prayers.

In the rainy season of 1909, it rained for eight consecutive days, which caused many houses of Qadian to collapse. On the eighth or ninth day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira said, “I am going to say a prayer, [and] all of you should say, ‘Amin’.”

After praying, he said, “Today I offered a supplication which the Holy Prophetsa only offered once in his entire life. That supplication was the prayer to stop rain.”

It was raining heavily at the time the prayer was offered. However, the rain stopped soon after it and during the Asr prayer, the sky cleared and the sun was shining. (Ibid) Prayers of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra Syed Ijaz Ahmad Shah Sahib states that in

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 the reply, he started to recover and was eventually healed. (Ibid) Abdul Hameed Khurshid Effendi, a sincere Ahmadi of Egypt, came to Qadian for 40 days in 1938 and requested Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra for prayers as he had no children, despite being married for 10 to 12 years. Huzoorra responded that he would pray.

A few days later, when he met Huzoorra, he said, “I have prayed for you. Allah the Almighty will grant you a son.”

Effendi Sahib returned to Egypt and there, he had a son who was named Jalaluddin, after Maulana Jalaluddin Shamsra, the first Ahmadiyya missionary to Arabia. Later, another son, Shamsuddin, and a daughter, Aisha, were also born.

(Ibid)

offspring. Then, Allah the Almighty granted him four sons. (Ibid) Prayers of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh A Ghanaian woman was rather perturbed as her children would die within two weeks after birth. When she requested Huzoorrh for prayers, Huzoorrh replied, “Name the girl Amatul Haye.” Allah the Almighty then granted her a healthy daughter. (Ibid) When a Ghanaian chief converted to

Prayers of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh

the year 1951, his younger brother from Jaranwala sent him a telegram in Rabwah stating that their father’s condition was critical, so he should come immediately.

He offered the Maghrib prayer in a state of panic and after the prayer, he requested Huzoorra for dua. Huzoorra said, “Okay, I will pray.”

He states, “When I reached Jaranwala the next morning, my father was sitting upright on a charpoy while chewing paan.”

Ijaz Sahib’s brother told him that since last evening, the situation had begun to improve miraculously; otherwise, it was alarmingly dangerous at first. Ijaz Sahib told him that he had requested Huzoorra for prayers in the evening and that was the blessing of his supplications. (Ibid) After the formation of Pakistan, Hazrat Nawab Abdullah Khan Sahibra was serving as nazir-e-ala. In 1948, he had such a severe heart attack that doctors became hopeless for his life.

When Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was informed, he and Hazrat Amma Janra started praying to Allah with great anguish. Doctors used to say that they had read about such severe heart attacks in books but that was the first time they had seen such a patient.

Hazrat Nawab Sahib’s heart had [nearly] stopped functioning and the signs

of life were almost gone, but suddenly, Allah the Almighty accepted the prayers and he was granted a new life.

For a long time after this heart attack, he was not allowed to move even slightly. Many times, the situation became dangerous and each time, Allah the Almighty saved him with prayers. After many months, he was able to take the first step and then miraculously lived a healthy 13 extra years. (Ibid) Saeeda Khanum Sahiba states that a toe injury of her two-year-old daughter resulted in a damaged bone and the wound became infected. Doctors said there was a risk of amputation.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was requested for prayers. Thereafter, Allah the Almighty blessed the same medicine, which they had used many times before and her health was restored. (Ibid) Sheikh Fazal Haq Sahib’s fourth son became seriously ill eight to nine months after birth. Many treatments were tried for three years until his legs became nonfunctional. People used to advise him to use amulets [ta‘wiz] but he would say that he would not use any amulets even if his son died.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was requested for prayers. He replied, “Allah the Almighty will heal Aziz.” Soon after

Dr Mubarak Sahib, a sincere Ahmadi from Ghana, states that after his marriage, he was deprived of the blessing of children for a long time. Doctors performed various tests and said that his wife could not become a mother. He took his wife to Germany where further tests were conducted but the result was the same.

He then wrote a letter to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh, in which he explained the whole matter and requested prayers.

Sometime after that, a reply came in which it was written that Huzoorrh had prayed and that Allah the Almighty would give him a son and that he should give that son such and such a name.

After a while, his wife became pregnant and when they went to the doctors, they were surprised to see the reports. The doctors said that this woman could not have become pregnant. However, after some time, a son was born and they named him as told by Huzoorrh.

Once, when he was in Germany, Huzoorrh was also visiting Germany.

They met Huzoorrh and took their son with them and told Huzoorrh the whole story. Huzoorrh remembered everything.

He held the child and said that when his brother was born, he should be given such and such name and when another brother was born, he should be given such and such name. Later, God fulfilled the words of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih and granted them two more sons.

A woman from West Africa wrote to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh requesting prayers as she had been married for 37 years but had no children. She also expressed her increasing concerns regarding her age.

Allah the Almighty accepted the prayers of Huzoorrh and granted her a son after 40 years of marriage. (Ibid) Mian Muhammad Aslam Sahib was able to accept Ahmadiyyat in November 1963. He got married in April 1965, but despite treatment, he had no children for 12 years. Opponents of Ahmadiyyat started saying that since he had become an Ahmadi, he would remain without issue.

He requested Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh for prayers and described the circumstances. Huzoorrh said that Allah the Almighty would never waste him and would surely bless him with male

Islam at the hands of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh, he did not have any male children and his wife had suffered two miscarriages. Disappointed, he requested Huzoorrh for prayers. Huzoorrh prayed with great anguish and soon, Allah the Almighty blessed him with a healthy son.

(Ibid) Abdul Basit Sahib of Germany had just started writing a letter to Huzoorrh in distress over his case, when an Arab friend came and on his enquiry, Abdul Basit Sahib said that all worldly means had been exhausted and that he was writing a letter to his Imam.

A few days later, the case of that Ahmadi was decided in his favour on the same day he received a reply from Huzoorrh. Impressed by this, the Arab friend said, “Write a letter for prayers for me.”

By the grace of God Almighty, the Arab friend’s case was also accepted on the same day when he received a reply from Huzoorrh.

When this matter became known to others, another non-Ahmadi friend asked for prayers to Huzoorrh for his loved one who was critically ill in Pakistan and doctors were unable to diagnose his illness. So, Allah the Almighty bestowed His grace and one day, the doctors were able to diagnose the disease and then the patient was healed.

Coincidently, the doctors diagnosed the disease on the same day when Huzoorrh replied to his letter. (Ibid) Prayers of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa Abdul Majid Tahir Sahib, Additional Wakil-ul-Tabshir states that on 4 May Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

<< Continued from previous page

2006, when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa was in Nandi, Fiji during his tour of the Far East, after midnight, news was received that a serious sea storm had struck a close-by island called Tonga. The intensity of this storm was greater than the tsunami in Indonesia, in which hundreds of thousands of people died and which brought destruction to various countries.

According to the most recent news on television at the time, the tsunami was continually growing in its intensity and

there were fears that Fiji, nearby islands, Australia and some parts of New Zealand would be flooded in water. This was a very frightening and worrying situation.

When Huzooraa arrived for Fajr prayer, he was informed of the whole situation.

Huzooraa then led the Fajr prayer and remained in prostration longer than usual. He prayed so fervently before his Mighty Lord that after the Fajr prayer, he addressed the members of the Jamaat by saying: “There is nothing to fear, Allah the Almighty will show His grace and mercy.

Nothing will happen.”

The faith-inspiring manifestation of God was shown in such a way that after about two and a half hours, they received news that the tsunami had abated. Later, news was received that the tsunami that was about to wreak havoc in the entire area had stopped dead in its tracks. The newspapers in Fiji would later write that it was a miracle that this tsunami had stopped. (Al Fazl International, 21 November 2014, pp. 15-16) A young pilot from Ivory Coast had come to Belgium for a one-year course.

Here, he had a meeting with Huzooraa and he said that his selection for becoming a pilot was due to the prayers of Huzooraa.

It so happened that when he attended the Jalsa Salana of Ivory Coast a few years ago, a friend there told him that he had seen an advertisement that Air Ivory Coast was

holding a competition to hire people but the date had passed.

Despite the fact that date had passed, he wrote to Huzooraa requesting prayers and at the same time, submitted his application.

A few days later, he received a reply that although he had submitted the documents late, they were allowing him to participate in that competition. He then took a written test for the competition and out of a thousand candidates, only 15 were selected, including him. He said that all this happened due to the prayers of Huzooraa. (Al Fazl International, 25 October 2019) A missionary of Mayotte Island states that during a delegation’s mulaqat, during Huzoor’s tour of Germany in 2019, Yusuf Labiun Sahib said to Huzooraa that when he had a child, the doctors said that the child was disabled and would not be able to sit, stand or see, in the future. Therefore, he wrote a letter to Huzooraa requesting prayers and after that, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, the child grew in a miraculous way and the same child could now sit and stand.

During the same mulaqat, Huzooraa placed his hand on the child’s head and said, “Allah will show His Grace.” Yusuf Sahib states that after that, Allah the Almighty showed more miracles and the child’s eyes also improved and his strabismus was also healed. (Al Fazl

International, 23 July 2019) Kushtrim Alhadaraj Sahib from Kosovo says that his son, aged four, was unable to walk and he wrote to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa requesting prayers.

He states that just two days after writing the letter, his son started walking on his own feet. (Al Fazl International, 27 September 2019, p. 15) Ibrahim Ikhlaf Sahib, a life devotee from the UK, was affected by Covid-19 and was in a critical condition in the ICU. Munir Odeh Sahib said to Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa during a meeting that Reem Sahiba (wife of Ibrahim Ikhlaf Sahib) was very worried due to the situation of her husband. Upon this, Huzooraa said: “Tell Reem to not worry. Nothing will happen to Ibrahim. He will recover.”

Due to the prayers of Huzooraa, Ikhlaf Sahib recovered and became a living proof of the acceptance of prayers of Khalifae-Waqt. (Al Fazl International, 21 April 2020, pp. 16-17) Thus, the thousands of faith-inspiring incidents that are scattered in every part of the world and the bounties of Allah the Almighty demand that we instil the love of Khilafat in our next generations as well.

May we have such a personal relationship with Khalifatul Masih, based on true obedience and sincere love, that we are able to receive an ample share of the blessings of Khilafat. Amin.

Obedience to the Holy Prophet is to be united “Another objective of obedience towards the Holy Prophetsa is to become united, which cannot be achieved without the institution of Khilafat.

Although other Muslims observe their prayers; however, due to a lack of unity, their hearts are divided. Despite believing in the same essential doctrines, they have created divisions as a result of delving into the finer details of faith. In order to uphold their authority and fulfil their objectives – which now also include political objectives in the case of Pakistan – scholars constantly fight with one another. The same is the case of those who follow them.”

(Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, Friday Sermon, 25 May 2018)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

Khilafat: Leadership redefining liberty

Mustafa Siddiqi Student Jamia Ahmadiyya UK

Liberalism is a social and political philosophy, which is fundamentally based on the concept of liberty, of achieving and ensuring self-determination for all individuals in society.

All Western countries today are based on liberal principles, to the point where liberalism is now considered to have been the “defining political ideology of the Western world for nearly three centuries”. (www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/97815 26137951/9781526137951.00014.xml) Religion is often presented and understood as being the archenemy of liberalism, which is somewhat ironic, given that the very raison d’être of religion is the liberation of mankind.

Liberalism is fundamentally based on the principles of liberty, consent of the governed and equality before the law.

These principles are entirely Islamic. Other notable principles are, for example: freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of belief. These are just as much a part of Islamic society as any (ideologically) liberal one.

It is only the misapplication of the very concept of what religion is that has caused it to become liberalism’s supposed enemy. For example, Christianity, of some form, has been the official state religion of England for almost one-and-a-half millennia, and remains so today. While this jars with the essence of faith being a matter of one’s

individual conscience as much at any time in the past as it does today, it’s the misguided practical application of this power and some of the excesses it has historically produced that has spelt the greatest infamy for the name of religion.

Throughout much of history, for example, heresy was punishable by death by the church itself. Perhaps the most infamous example is Mary I of England, popularly remembered – even to this day – as “Bloody Mary”, who had some 300 English Protestants burned alive for their religious dissent; the executioners and bishops of the day would have been approved under the same authority. Disturbingly, her executions – of which one was justified as leading to the “salvation of many innocent Christians, who might otherwise have been led astray” (The Burning Time: Henry VIII, Bloody Mary and the Protestant Martyrs of London) – were considered “completely standard practise for the period.” (www.history.com/news/ queen-mary-i-bloody-mary-reformation) It is perhaps little wonder then that religion has come to be seen in the West particularly as an enemy of liberal principles.

A key difference, however, between the liberal and Islamic conceptions of human rights is that, in the liberal tradition, they are rooted exclusively in individualism – in the belief that the individual’s own will takes precedence over all other group loyalties, including obedience to any authority – governmental, religious or otherwise. Yet liberals also believe in the necessity of some form of government to ensure individual

rights and to protect them from usurpation by other individuals.

A lack of a government would lead to what the famous liberal philosopher, Thomas Hobbes called a “state of nature”: a “condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man”, in which he famously wrote that life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”. (www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/ acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oroed4-00005474) This liberal fear – of a lack of government, causing society to invariably descend into a savage free-for-all and general anarchy, which is the basis for its support for (limited) government – exposes liberalism’s fundamental existential dilemma: distrusting but calling for government; disliking it, but recognising it as essential for social stability.

While the need for leadership is established by the threat of anarchy, human nature itself provides compelling evidence of why (true) leadership is so utterly indispensable.

On 21 February 2018, American media personality, Kylie Jenner tweeted that she no longer used the messaging app, Snapchat following an unpopular redesign, saying: “sooo [sic] does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me... ugh this is so sad.”

This 18-word tweet alone caused owning company Snap Inc’s shares to drop by 8% and wiped $1.3 billion (£1 billion) off its stock market value – adding up to over $72

million (£51 million) lost per word. (www. bbc.co.uk/news/business-43163544) The American actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was revealed to have personally earnt over $1 million (£709,000) per Instagram post. (www.hopperhq.com/ blog/instagram-rich-list/) In 2007, American talk show host, Oprah Winfrey publicly endorsed thenDemocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, which had quite an effect: 23% of Democrats said that her endorsement would make them more likely to vote for Obama (Pew Research Center, 2007, taken from https://thescarlet.org/17180/ larts/do-celebrities-influence-elections/) and her endorsement itself accounted for approximately a million votes for Obama in the Democratic primary race against Hillary Clinton. (www.cbsnews.com/ news/u-maryland-students-study-oprahendorsement-earned-obama-votes/) What do these, and many other, figures have in common that could possibly account for such staggering influence? It can’t be appearing on television in itself, because television newsreaders appear on television far more often and none of them appear to command anywhere near such influence.

Nor can it be misplaced notions of “hard work”, which would imply that the entirety of the rest of society is somehow doing something less.

None of these figures are directly involved in politics and religion does not feature prominently in any of their public profiles, and while their respective philanthropic efforts are certainly commendable, they are evidently not the cause of their being famous and influential; otherwise, so would ordinary charity workers be.

It would appear that millions and millions of people are influenced solely by none other than the allure of uncountable wealth – while this highlights just how influential people can be, wealth is surely not a genuine criterion for leadership by anyone’s standards. In fact, with the United States’ top 10% earning nine times more than the remaining 90%, the possibility of leadership appears closed in the hands of very few, qualified necessarily by nothing more than the circumstances they find themselves in.

Leadership is thus as critical an issue as it has ever been, yet it appears less-justly distributed as ever before.

Unlike the politically-motivated misuse of religious authority of the past (and present), Islamic teaching actually categorically dictates the separation of religion and state affairs, because the idea of “state religion” itself is a contradiction in terms: religion is based on faith, which is a belief, and belief is unenforceable; whereas a state must necessarily enforce compliance by its very nature.

Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM << Continued from previous page

While liberalism holds government to be, at best, a “necessary evil” (Common Sense (1776) by Thomas Paine, www. britannica.com/topic/liberalism), Islam holds true leadership, in the form of khilafat (the system of successorship which follows the advent of a prophet) to be a great divine blessing vouchsafed to the Muslims by God in the form of a promise contained in the Holy Quran:

َّ َ ْ ُ َ َ َّ ُ ّٰ َ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ ْ ُ ‫ات ل َ َي ْس َتخ ِلفن ُه ْم فِي‬ ‫آمنوا ِمنكم وع ِملوا‬ ‫وعد الله ال ِذين‬ ِ ‫الصال َِح‬ َّ ُ ُ َ ْ ُ َ َّ َ ّ َ ُ َ َ ْ ْ َ َ َّ َ َ ْ َ ْ َ َ ْ َ ْ ‫ض كما استخلف ال ِذين ِمن قب ِل ِهم وليم ِكنن لهم ِدينهم ال ِذي‬ ِ ‫الأر‬ َ‫ْارتَ َض ٰى ل َ ُه ْم َول َ ُي َب ّدل َ َّن ُهم ّمن بَ ْعد َخوْفِه ْم أَ ْم ًنا يَ ْع ُب ُدونَني لَا يُ ْشركُون‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ َ‫بي َش ْي ًئا َو َمن َك َف َر بَ ْع َد ٰ َذل َِك َفأ ُ ٰول َئ َك ُه ُم ال ْ َفاسقُون‬ ِ ِ ِ

“Allah has 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 their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security [and peace] after their fear: They will worship Me, [and] they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.” (Surah al-Nur, Ch.24: V.56) So, we have here Islam presenting a form of leadership. Many examples of leadership in history – including religious ones – have been oppressive and cruel and have denied millions their rightful liberty. Still others, if not tyrannical, have brought little net benefit to mankind. So why is Islamic Khilafat any different?

Islamic Khilafat in its true form, as exemplified by the Khilafat of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – stands quite apart from others by its liberating people from the vicious clutches of politicised religious interests by being an unwavering beacon of peace, with peace emanating from each of the words and actions of the Khulafa and being reflected by members of their community, to widespread attention and positive reception.

This is in marked contrast to, for example, the bloody image of Khilafat painted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, whose leader is proclaimed by the group to be an international “Caliph” with religious and political authority over Muslims worldwide; which has done absolutely nothing to spread Islam in any meaningful way anywhere at all, but which instead has sadly been more successful in shamelessly misrepresenting the teachings of Islam and attracting utter ignominy for both itself and its professed religion.

It is also deeply liberating by – instead of attempting to self-aggrandise via dogmatism or affecting desirability – repeatedly calling people to reflect on their existence, to soul-search and to give true meaning to their lives by recognising the purpose of their existence; thus developing a true relationship with God and dedicating themselves to the service and betterment of the people of the world.

Instead of trying to promote an image of widespread admiration and acclaim in the eyes of the world, it teaches people to do away with the fickle affections of the world altogether; to consider, understand and then wholeheartedly pursue what is objectively

true, which can only be recognised by understanding why we are here on earth, and thus who it is who created us and granted us the liberty we value so dearly.

Ultimately, Islamic Khilafat far outshines liberalism and is the true bastion of liberty because it redefines what liberty is.

Liberalism is doomed to fail because, given its ultimate goal is to (somehow) achieve social stability and cohesion by reinforcing and developing only individual rights, it can never reconcile between competing individual interests and warring factions in society, and ultimately the destructive conflicts these often lead to.

Whilst individual endeavour and accountability are admirable – and very much necessary – drivers of change and social progress, untrammelled individualism is a destructive, rather than constructive, force; because it fails to account for the fact that we are above all social creatures and that a flourishing, healthy society can never be based on selfishness.

While liberalism’s highest calling is “returning the favour” of when someone is gracious to another (though the former’s act is actually entirely unnecessary and has no inherent moral value according to liberal philosophy because he was only ever obliged to look out for his own interests), the teaching presented by Islam is incomparably great:

Blessed is he who accepts God’s decree

ُ ۡ ٔ َ ۡ َ َ ۡ ۡ َ ۡ َ ۡ ُ ُ ۡ َ َ ّٰ َّ ۡ ‫ٓای ِذی الق ۡر ٰبی َو یَن ٰہی َع ِن‬ ِ ‫ان و ِایت‬ ِ ‫ِان اللہ یامر ِبالعد ِل و الاِحس‬ َ َ‫ال ۡ َف ۡح َشٓا ِء َو ال ۡ ُم ۡن َکر َو ال ۡ َب ۡغی ۚ یَ ِع ُظ ُک ۡم ل َ َع َّل ُک ۡم تَ َذکّ ُر ۡون‬ ِ ِ

“Verily, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression.

He admonished you that you may take heed.” (Surah al-Nahl, Ch.16: V.91) “Returning the favour” is the only the very least expected of a Muslim – the pinnacle of liberalism is where Islam only begins. Beyond the primary stage of equity, Islam commands Muslims to go out of their way to show benevolence towards God’s people, to take the initiative and to show kindness unwarranted in the cold light of naked individualism. Yet further still, the beauty of Islamic teaching becomes fully apparent at the third stage – where Islam calls Muslims to be gracious towards others as one would, selflessly and unconditionally, be towards members of one’s own family.

It is according to this guidance that Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya has led and constantly pushes the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to selflessly build schools, hospitals and clinics; to plant trees, organise blood donations and clean roads; to feed the homeless, visit the sick and defend the oppressed.

Islamic Khilafat alone is the true custodian of liberty because it redefines liberty: not as the freedom to be left alone to become enslaved to one’s own base selfishness and thus remain locked in perpetual internal and intersocial conflict, but as being enabled to achieve true liberty by being freed from the shackles of rampant individualistic selfishness.

ۡ ۡ َ ُ َ ۡ َ َّ ُ َ ُ ‫َو َم ۡن ّیوۡق شح نف ِس ٖہ فاولٰٓ ِئک ُہ ُم ال ُمف ِل ُحوۡ َن‬

“[…] and whoso is rid of the covetousness of his own mind – it is these who will be successful” (Surah al-Hashr, Ch.59: V.10)

“Even if the whole world accepts me, the status of my Khilafat will not be affected and if everyone abandons me (God forbid), even then there will be no effect to my Khilafat. Just as a prophet remains a prophet when he is alone, so is the khalifa a khalifa even if he is alone.

Therefore, blessed is he who accepts God’s decree.

The burden which God Almighty has placed on my shoulders is a great one and I cannot do anything without His help. But I believe in the Holy One that He will always help me.”

(Mein hi Musleh-e-Maud ki Peshgoi ka Misdaaq hun, Anwar-ulUlum, Vol. 17, pp. 209-210)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

100 Years Ago...

Tabligh in America by Mufti Sadiq and Siddiqatun Nisa Rahatullah (Mrs EM Garber) The Review of Religions (English), May 1921, pp. 190-99 https://www.newspapers.com/image/118981094

Our Brother at Michigan City, America The Michigan City News says in its issue of 8 March 1921: “The Syrian Mohammedans in Michigan City will hold a banquet on Wednesday evening at the Vreeland hotel in honor of their missionary in this country, Doctor Mufti Mohammad Sadiq of India, the first Moslem preacher in America sent by the great Moslem movement called ‘Ahmadia’ after the name of its founder, the prophet ‘Ahmed.’

“Islam is the final religion and Koran the final book. There can be no new religion or new book after Mohammed, but the inspired reformers appear after him as exponents and interpreters and preachers of Islam. Mohammedans do not worship Mohammed, but believe him a man and a messenger of God, Allah is the Arabic for God and not the name of any man or idol. Drinking wine was prohibited by the master prophet Mohammed 1300 years ago.

Moslem countries used to have no saloons and no gambling houses before they were introduced by the Western people. Islam gives equal rights to women. Jesus Christ is believed by all Mohammedans as a holy man and prophet of Allah; but he did not die the cursed death on the cross. His tomb has been found in Kashmir, India, says Dr Sadiq, [and] members of the Ahmadia movement are 600,000 in India.

“The Mohammedans will make the best citizen in the United States as they are enjoined by their faith to obey peacefully the laws of the government under which they happen to live. Dr Sadiq is a guest of Mr Neffen Sam, 808 Tennessee Street, and will remain here a few days trying to make the Americans understand what the religion of Islam really is.

“Dr Mufti Mohammed Sadiq will deliver an address to the public and particularly to the Mohammedans of this city tomorrow evening in the assembly hall in the superior court building. All citizens are cordially invited to attend this meeting and hear this eminent man.” […]

Dr Sadiq in the American Press From the newspapers coming from America, it appears that even in the free country of the United States of America all people are not so liberal minded as we thought they were and that even among them there are Christian gentlemen and ladies who are as intolerant and as bigoted as any Christian that ever breathed. In order to illustrate this, we need quote only one letter from the Free Press Detroit which it gives under the heading “Voice of the People.”

One Anise Atiyeh writing to the

Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan)

· Sun, Feb 13, 1921 · P

Downloaded on Nov 1

aforesaid paper, says: “A foreigner from India who has recently arrived in this city has repeatedly and publicly accused the Christian ministers [priests] of unfairness religious intolerance, and narrow-mindedness simply because they don’t turn over their churches to him for the purpose of preaching a religion which not only believes in slavery and polygamy, but is diametrically opposed to the Christian religion, and in my judgment is subversive of the very foundations of American society.

“Not only the ministers were subjected to his attacks but the very Christ whom those ministers preach ... Muhammad is claimed to be far superior to Christ.”

“Now all this is being done in a preeminently Christian community and not only he has his photograph published as an advertisement to attract deluded Christians to flock and hear him and be converted, but his criticisms of Christianity and its founder are given prominence by being published by the daily papers.”

The reader may see how the writer of the above letter is burning with rage on account of the preachings of our missionary to America. He cannot bear the sight of Christians flocking to hear him [Mufti Sahib] and he fears that those who are so fond of listening to his [Mufti Sahib] lectures will be converted. It pains him to see the photographs of our brother and his criticisms of Christianity given prominence in the daily press of that country and if it had been in his power, the kindliest thing he could have done to our brother would have been to turn him out of the country.

Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) 13 February 1921 His argument for intolerance to Islam is that it teaches polygamy. Polygamy it missionary advocate the exclusion of the already believe in Jesus as a man-prophet Copyright All Rights Reserved. does sanction, as does the Bible also,© 2018 andNewspapers.com.

Bible from the schools, the churches, and and reject the doctrines of the divinity of the day does not appear to be very far the country because the Bible permits both Jesus and trinity, they are considered by when Christendom will see the necessity of polygamy and slavery? the orthodox and other churches as nonpermitting polygamy as the only remedy for He is angry with our brother because he Christians. many evils.

[Mufti Sahib] says the Christian ministers “Rev Pearson kindly suggests that I Slavery, as practised by Christians right are narrow-minded. He wants to defend should hire a hall. I thank the reverend down to our own times is unknown to Islam. the ministers but instead of defending, gentleman, though his advice makes me Those who attacked the Muslims and fought he only pleads guilty of betraying his own no wiser … One pastor says that I am in with them were indeed taken captives by the intolerance and bigotry. conflict with Christianity and therefore Muslims, in accordance with the custom In connection by with our brother’s no church door should be opened to me. prevailing in Arabia, but they had the orders reference to the narrow-mindedness of the Well, I love Jesus and I believe as well as the of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the Christian ministers, the following quotation reverend pastor. At least, I am not an enemy blessings of God upon him, to treat them from one of our brother’s letters in the Free of Christ. But suppose I am. Then don’t you as their brethren and their emancipation Press will be interesting. Our Brother [Mufti [Christians] preach ‘Love your enemies.’ was declared to be a deed which made one Sahib] says: Yes, you do. But you do not practise what entitled to paradise. Besides, the captives “I had asked the Christian ministers if any you teach. You could not and you do not. themselves could purchase their freedom by of them was so broad-minded as our Holy I knew this well. But I wanted to get it out making a certain payment to their masters.

Prophet Muhammad[sa], who had given his of your mouths, and I have got it. Therefore Can the writer of the aforesaid letter mosque to the Christians for holding their now I say – don’t worry.” quote even a single word of Jesus in favour Sunday service. In reply, I have received an Our brother had no desire to make use of of slaves? Why does not the gentleman all-round refusal, excepting one Unitarian the Christian churches. His object was only who is so enraged at the preachings of our Club; but as the Unitarians, like myself, Continued on next page >>

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM fighting.”

Beautiful Islam

<< Continued from previous page

to bring home to the Christian ministers and others the noble-mindedness of the Holy Prophet[sa] and their own narrowmindedness and to show that they did not practise what they taught from their pulpits.

The Christian ministers are convicted

out of their own mouths and being unable to make any reply to the criticisms of the Ahmadi missionary they want to conceal their defeat by showing anger and rage at his criticisms. True, indeed, is the Persian saying which says, “When a person is discomfited in debate, he resorts to quarrelling and

A paper written and read by Madam Siddiqatun Nisa (Mrs EM Garber) at the weekly meeting of the Ahmadia movement in Chicago on 21 November 1921: Truth in its radiant beauty so clear, Has presented a living life so dear, Through the claims and teachings of Ahmad[as], the seer, To the one who hath a listening ear.

O blessed prophet of the latter day, In humble posture how often didst thou pray!

That thy true light might illumine without delay, The world’s corruption sinking in decay.

Thy words are filled with strength and power; They blossom forth as doth the flower; They nourish our souls as the gentle shower, Droppeth her kisses from Allah’s tower.

In far away India this master hath been found, Born in a little unpretentious town, But by the blessed Allah he hath been crowned, And the name of Ahmad is peeling forth in sound!

The beauty of his teachings shall soothe the weary heart As a stream of life from it doth start Into thy life t’will bring the joy of the lark, Freeing thee forever from worldly shark.

Islam’s beauty the master doth reveal Which to the many hath been a book concealed, But today in the desert is growing a new field, Which to the faithful sweetest fruit will yield.

Islam’s strength and eternal patience Is being known throughout each and every nation, For Allah hath established a wireless

station; And the true and faithful one shall receive his allotted ration.

In the study of Holy Quran I [Madam Siddiqatun Nisa] found a beauty in Islam surpassing any beauty I had ever known.

Not as it is manifested by some of its people who have lost much of its beauty owing to their mingling with Christian worldly ambitious people but in my silent hours of study and thought this book revealed its true meaning to me.

The beauty in Allah’s strength, the freedom of spirit, the breaking of the bends of ignorance and delusions of the imaginations. The power to stand alone with Allah’s truth, fortified against all petty notions the world would heap upon us.

The beauty in a pure unbroken love which manifests its self in the hearts of the faithful.

These are but a few of the beauties of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught through his inspired word.

Today we have with us right in our midst a blessed teacher Professor Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who has come to awaken our hearts to the true meaning of Islam and the beauties contained therein and I have found in him the true spirit of Islam and the quality of beauty expressing its self through him. His patience, his tolerance, his kindness and his humble devotion to his master Ahmad[as], his love and reverence for the great Arabian Master Prophet Muhammad[sa] and his submission to the One and only Allah the Creator and his desire to bring others to this truth are some of the beauties of his nature.

Day and night he labors to spread this truth, which shall break all the chains of bondage, uniting us in one perfect whole – keeping our minds balanced as we ascend step after step to that Divine Throne where bliss shall be eternal and wisdom our guide throughout the infinite time.

(Transcribed by Al Hakam from the original article in The Review of Religions [English], May 1921)

Christian observes fast with Huddersfield Jamaat Aamir Shahzad President Jamaat Huddersfield South

While the blessed month of Ramadan brings a boost spiritually and physically for Muslims it also gives a chance to nonMuslims to think about the benefits of fasting and the wisdom of Islamic teachings.

One of our Christian friends, Edison Condoz who resides in Huddersfield but is originally from Portugal, had a discussion with one of his Muslim friends that he would like to try to fast for a day to experience the benefits of fasting.

This idea of his became possible on 9 May 2021, when Edison was informed about timings of keeping the fast according to the sunrise and sunset.

To share his experience, he was invited to the local mosque Baitus Samad, where

he shared his experience with regional Missionary, Sabahat Karim Sahib and the local president, Aamir Shahzad Sahib.

We were delighted to present him with food for his Iftar, along with a copy of the Holy Quran and a gift pack which consisted of the book, World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace.

He was also informed about the awaited Messiah and that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya believes that Messiah has come in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian, who is the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat and now Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Sahibaa is the fifth Khalifa of the Promised Messiahas. This meeting came to an end with the hope to have more sittings in the future.

AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021

A man of God who prays for you like no other

“

90 per cent of people would not even pray for themselves, the way I pray for them.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said the following: If someone assumes that upon receiving a letter requesting prayers, I would pray for that person separately for half an hour or more, then this is not correct. This is not my approach, nor am I able to do so.

If you count the letters from Qadian, I receive about a hundred letters requesting prayers every day. In some of those letters, people ask me to pray for them continuously.

If I continue to include them, the number increases even further.

If I was to pray for all those people separately, even for just a minute each and then add [prayer time] for matters related to the needs of Islam, I would need three to four hours to pray at a time.

So, I proceed as the Promised Messiahas used to. His principle was to read the letters and pray for those people at the same time. I do the same thing. This enables me to read the letters with greater concentration.

Often, my secretary holds a letter in his

hand and reads it to me and I have to point out that it did not read as [he was saying]; rather, it was something else [being conveyed] and it turns out that I am right.

Thus, since I am mindful of praying for the concerned people, I read the letters with great concentration and internalise the content. That is one of my ways of supplicating.

The second approach is that I pray during nawafil. For a few days now, even during all the fara‘iz, I have been praying for the progress of the Jamaat and the elimination of its difficulties.

These supplications also mean that I invoke God’s blessings [durood] on the Holy Prophetsa and the Promised Messiahas. I pray for their ranks to be elevated and that God may fulfil the purpose of sending them at our hands.

I pray that God may enlighten the minds of those who do not believe in, or object to, them, that the difficulties and suffering of the Jamaat may be removed and that the means

for their progress may become available.

Moreover, since some members of our Jamaat have been martyred in Kabul, I also pray daily that God may help our brothers there and protect them from every wickedness of the enemy. Then I pray that the truth of Islam may spread equally to East and West and that all people may embrace Islam.

Then I pray for the entire Jamaat. The summary of that prayer is that God may remove the financial, physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual difficulties of members of the Jamaat and may He give them the means to advance in all these areas. Then I pray for the great projects of the Jamaat.

After that, I pray that Allah may remove the suffering and difficulties of those who have written to me for prayers and that He may open the gates of happiness for them. Those people whose suffering at that moment has a special impact on my mind, I remember them in my prayers by name.

Then I pray, ‘My Lord, have mercy not

only on the present members of our Jamaat, but also on their future generations.’

Then I pray for the workers of the Jamaat that God may instil in them a sense of duty towards their responsibilities, enable them to inherit His blessings, teach them the way of cooperation and compassion for members of the Jamaat and that the members of the Jamaat may cooperate with them with compassion.

I then pray for those members who go out for tabligh and their families. I then pray for those who are suffering from various difficulties. I say these prayers continuously in the five farz prayers as well as the nawafil.

If someone is still of the opinion that I do not pray for the Jamaat, then they are like the one who denies the Sun even in broad daylight. 90 per cent of people would not even pray for themselves, the way I pray for them.

(Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, Minhaj-ulTalibin, in Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. IX, pp. 161-162)

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya: Style of leadership, aspirations and its future M Adam Ahmad Al Hakam There are different types of systems and governments prevalent across the globe.

The majority prefers democracy in which public representatives offer their services to the nation. The ones who get more votes sit on the seat of government and run their respective states. They make policies, plans, laws etc., which are mostly in favour of the citizens and the nation as a whole.

Apart from the man-made political system of the world, there is also a heavenly system of Khilafat, established by the Lord of the worlds according to the needs of His creation to help and guide mankind towards the path of righteousness and prosperity through the light given by God Almighty.

This blessed system is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the words: “Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them successors [khulafa] in the earth, as He made successors [from among] those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security [and peace] after their fear: They will worship Me, [and] they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.” (Surah al-Nur, Ch.24:V.56) Definition of “khalifa”?

The person who heads the institution of Khilafat is called the Khalifa. The word “khalifa” means successor and in Islam, this term refers to the successor of a Prophet.

The Promised Messiahas said: “The meaning of ‘khalifa’ is ‘a successor who revives faith’. Those who come in the place of prophets to remove the darkness that spreads after their time are called khulafa.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p. 383) At another place, the Promised Messiahas states: “The word ‘khalifa’ refers to a successor, and only that person can be a successor of the prophet in the true sense who possesses within him the attributes of the prophet as a reflection.” (Shahadatul Quran, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 6, p. 353) Hence, a khalifa carries on the works of a prophet, i.e. reforms and guides mankind towards God Almighty, peace and welfare.

Is Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya an administrative or spiritual leadership?

As mentioned in the verse presented at the outset, khulafa are chosen and appointed

by Allah the Almighty to guide those who believe and do good deeds. This means that God grants the khalifa authority over the believers and in order to fulfil his duties in the best possible manner, his leadership is both administrative and spiritual.

The primary role of khilafat is the spiritual wellbeing and moral improvement of the believers as the khalifa is a religious guide and not a worldly leader. It is the responsibility of khilafat to bring people closer to Allah and ensure that they worship One True God. In other words, khilafat spares no effort to complete the spiritual mission of the prophet.

On the other hand, the khalifa has to administer and look after the affairs and important matters of his community and this requires an administrative role.

Shedding light on the authority of the Khalifa, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said: “[The Khalifa] is absolute in the sense that he can, in certain cases, override the opinion of the representatives of the people; on the other hand, his authority is limited in the sense that he cannot override or set aside any portion of the Islamic constitution, by which he is bound. He is bound to seek the advice of the people and to preserve the elective character of his own office. He is an elected ruler in the sense that, under the will and guidance of God, he is appointed to his office through the agency of the people, and he is a representative of the people in

the sense that he is expected to follow the advice of their representatives, except when compelled to depart from it by urgent or extraordinary necessity.

“He cannot, by his own authority, spend a penny out of the public funds on his own person or for his personal needs. He rules by virtue of a divine right in the sense that he cannot be removed from his office and is promised divine aid in the discharge of his duties and in the carrying out of his undertaking.” (Ahmadiyyat or the True Islam, p. 268) The present head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Khalifatul Masih V, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa said: “Whilst worldly leaders have secular goals, the purpose of Khilafat is to draw the attention of all people towards fulfilling each other’s rights. It is to instil a spirit amongst Ahmadi Muslims of giving precedence to their faith over all worldly matters and Khilafat makes every effort to peacefully establish the Unity of God in the world.”

(Friday Sermon, 6 June 2014) He further said: “Let me make it clear to every Ahmadi Muslim, every youth and everyone, that Khilafat and dictatorship have no link whatsoever […]. There is no compulsion in religion and so, when a person willingly and entirely of his own volition accepts Ahmadiyyat, then for the sake of religion, it

is necessary to fulfil that pledge.” (Ibid) Hence, the authority of the leadership of true and rightful Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is poles apart from the picture drawn by most of Western media and extremist Muslims.

It is completely based on compassion and winning hearts by love rather than force.

Does Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya aspire for any state or worldly governance?

Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya was established

by God Almighty after the passing of His prophet, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas. The Khalifa only follows in the footsteps of the Prophet as Khilafat is formed on the precepts of prophethood (Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal). Prophet Ahmadas has explained on more than one occasion the purpose of the Messiah’s mission and his position on worldly power. He said: “[The Holy Prophetsa] said that Christian faith would come to an end at the hands of [the Messiah] and that he would break the cross. He [the Holy Prophetsa] did not say that he would destroy their government.

This signifies that the Promised Messiah’s kingdom would be spiritual and it would have nothing to do with worldly governments […].” (Shahadatul Quran, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 6, p. 353) In accordance with the directions of God’s Prophet, Ahmadas, none of the Khulafa have

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 ever aspired for any state or expressed desire for any worldly governance. The Khulafa have never enforced Islamic teachings on anyone. As highlighted before, true Khilafat aspires for the spiritual improvement and moral welfare of the people.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “For this Khilafat, neither is a violent uprising required, nor do bullets need to be fired. The reward of Khilafat can only be established with God’s grace, and has been established through His blessings; not through the efforts and schemes of the people.” (Friday Sermon, 25 February 2011) On 28 September 2013, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa held a question-and-answer session at Taha Mosque, Singapore. In reply to a question on Khilafat and democracy, Huzooraa said: “Khilafat has no relation with government or politics. When Ahmadiyyat spreads far and wide, Khilafat will play no role in government and will never interfere with matters of the state. We have no political ambitions or desires. We believe entirely in a separation of religion and matters of state.”

The second Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, said: “As the Promised Messiahas was only a spiritual Khalifa, his successors will also remain, so far as possible, outside and above politics, even when sovereigns and states join the [Ahmadiyya] movement. […] I have said that they will, so far as possible, remain outside and above politics. I have made this reservation to meet exceptional cases where the people of a particular country, in a time of difficulty or crisis, may request the aid of the spiritual Khilafat, and it may become necessary to make temporary arrangements for the government of that country. But such arrangements would be limited to the shortest possible period of time in each case.” (Ahmadiyyat or the True Islam, pp.

270-71) Moreover, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat, according to the teachings of Islam and the Promised Messiahas, strongly advises every Ahmadi Muslim to love their respective countries and follow the laws and instructions of their governments.

Emphasising this matter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “We have always implemented the teaching of Islam that you should never take the law into your own hands, and always keep the best interests of your country in view and never create disorder because this is a requirement of true love for your country. Wherever in the world Ahmadis reside, no matter which country they originate from […] for the sake of attaining Allah’s pleasure, they always steer clear of all forms of disorder. And this is the conduct that will, one day, not only save the world from anarchy, but in fact, will be the guarantor for world peace […]. In terms of the role of our community – the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat – we hold a passionate desire to establish peace and to end cruelty in light of the true Islamic teachings.” (8th Annual Peace Symposium, London) Hence, neither does Khilafat-eAhmadiyya aspire for any state or empire, nor does it seek any worldly governance or glory. Khilafat only aims to instil the love of Allah in the hearts of its followers and promote peace and harmony among mankind.

What should the world hope to expect from the leadership of Khilafat-eAhmadiyya?

The present situation of the whole world is very perturbing and requires immediate healing. There is widespread chaos, anxiety and uncertainty. The majority of the Islamic world is divided and Muslim countries have become centres of corruption and immorality. Their towns and streets seem devoid of Islamic values. The true teachings of Islam are not found in them and it is almost impossible to attribute these type of societies to Islam.

In the midst of all this, the leadership of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is like an orchard of mercy with streams of peace and serenity in

interest and this fact makes it much more powerful than any other leader of the world.

Owing to this very quality, the leadership of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is fearless in voicing concerns regarding any global issue and providing key guidance to address these problems.

At times, the vested interests of nations render their leaders so weak that they cannot even use the right vocabulary and take just actions to address the prevailing catastrophes and ensure peace in the world.

The divided Muslims in particular and the rest of the world in general, should consider Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya as a warm blanket in the fierce cold. They should, at least for once, experience the blessings and

“If we consider that [the early Islamic Khilafat] remained for 30 years, then that 30-year period was according to the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa. On the other hand, this everlasting era [of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya] is also in accordance with his prophecy. Allah the Almighty knows best what will happen till the Day of Judgment, but let me make it clear to you that this period of Khilafat will continue to prosper, generation after generation, and for innumerable generations, insha-Allah, provided that goodness and righteousness remain in you.” the desert of pain and suffering. Everyone is welcome with open arms to come under the flag of this blessing of God Almighty.

Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is the only hope for the Muslim world and a light at the end of the tunnel. Ahmadi Muslims are united under one Khalifa and the unification of the rest of the Muslims is only possible if they accept and submit to the divinely established institution of Khilafat.

When it is said that Khilafat-eAhmadiyya is the only hope, it is because there can only be one true khilafat within Islam in the present age.

Expounding on this matter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “There cannot be a khilafat in each sect of Islam. If Muslims wish to progress, then they have to unite on the leadership of one person in accordance with the prophecy of Prophet Muhammadsa, who said that the institution of Khilafat would be established within the community of the Promised Messiahas.

“Certainly, you will not find any other Islamic community that is united like the Ahmadiyya Community. Wherever our members are in the world, they act in the same way and have the same beliefs.” (Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, at Taha Mosque, Singapore, 28 September 2013) As previously mentioned, Khilafate-Ahmadiyya has no worldly or political

kindness of Khilafat which the Ahmadi Muslims enjoy.

Speaking of this unique relationship between the Khalifa and Ahmadi Muslims, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa said: “Which leader or dictator is there who keeps a personal connection with each of his citizens? On the other hand, the Khalifa of the age maintains a personal connection with Ahmadi Muslims from amongst every race and from all parts of the world. It is Khilafat alone that cares for and feels the pain of every Ahmadi Muslim and prays for them.” (Friday Sermon, 6 June 2014) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa further said: “Before sleeping at night, there is no country of the world that I do not visit in my imagination and no Ahmadi for whom I do not pray whilst sleeping and whilst awake. I am not doing any favour because this is my duty; may Allah enable me to ever increase in assuming my responsibilities. The only reason I have said this is to make it clear that there can be no comparison between Khilafat and other worldly or secular leaders.” (Ibid) Hence, the world should expect only the best from the leadership of Khilafate-Ahmadiyya as it is guiding and serving humanity in the best possible manner.

No matter which race, class or nation you belong to, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat will

embrace you with love and compassion.

As Ahmadis, do we believe Khilafat-eAhmadiyya will ever come to an end?

It is clear from the verse of the Holy Quran presented at the outset that God will Himself establish Khilafat. We also know from the long hadith about Khilafat in Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal that the Holy Prophetsa said in its end that Khilafat would be formed on the precepts of prophethood and then became silent.

The Promised Messiahas, who appeared in accordance with the prophecy of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophetsa, explained to us that the Khilafat would come after him and last forever.

The Promised Messiahas said: “So dear friends! since it is the sunnatullah [practise of Allah], from time immemorial, that God Almighty shows two manifestations so that the two false joys of the opponents be put to an end, it is not possible now that God should relinquish His sunnah of old.

“So do not grieve over what I have said to you; nor should your hearts be distressed.

For it is essential for you to witness the second manifestation also, and its coming is better for you because it is everlasting, the continuity of which will not end till the Day of Judgement. And that second manifestation cannot come unless I depart.

But when I depart, God will send that second manifestation for you which shall always stay with you […].” (The Will, p. 7) Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddin, Khalifatul Masih Ira, said: “God has promised that when there will be negligence, people will become forgetful of the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophetsa will be misunderstood, He will always raise Khulafa.” (Al Hakam, 17 July 1902, p. 15) The present Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, said: “This second manifestation, or the institution of Khilafat, will remain established, insha-Allah. And its [duration] has nothing to do with the era of the Khulafa of the Holy Prophetsa.

“If we consider that [the early Islamic Khilafat] remained for 30 years, then that 30-year period was according to the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa. On the other hand, this everlasting era [of Khilafate-Ahmadiyya] is also in accordance with his prophecy. Allah the Almighty knows best what will happen till the Day of Judgment, but let me make it clear to you that this period of Khilafat will continue to prosper, generation after generation, and for innumerable generations, insha-Allah, provided that goodness and righteousness remain in you.” (Friday Sermon, 27 May 2005) In the concluding address of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK’s 2015 Ijtema, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said: “Gradually the world has passed through various eras, according to the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa and now, Islam has entered the era of the everlasting Khilafat, which Allah promised.”

Hence, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat will last for a very long period of time, insha-Allah, as promised by God Almighty and it will continue to quench the spiritual thirst of mankind and strive to establish the unity of God in the world.

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Book Intro

Blessings of Khilafat

by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud

The book, Blessings of Khilafat, consists of addresses of Hazrat Mulseh-e-Maudra during the first Jalsa Salana of his Khilafat in 1914.

Huzoorra gives a detailed account of the events ensuing the demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira and his election to the august office of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya.

Huzoorra explains various matters such as the functions of Khilafat and also sheds light on various misunderstandings about Khilafat.

Huzoorra talks about the dire consequences of abandoning the robe of Khilafat and various important issues facing the Jamaat.

Huzoorra also explains the objectives of human life, attaining nearness to Allah, seven ranks of spiritual development and many more important subjects linked to Islam and man’s spiritual and moral progress.

This speech was delivered at a time when the Jamaat was facing serious challenges. When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira passed away, some people, under the leadership of Maulvi Muhammad Ali and Khawaja Kamaluddin, began to challenge and undermine the institution of Khilafat.

(To further read on this subject, see A‘inae-Sadaqat, or The Truth About the Split,

by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra.)

Below is an extract taken from Hazrat Mulseh-e-Maud’sra first speech during Jalsa Salana 1914. Readers are further encouraged to read the full book, which is accessible on alislam.org

In the extract provided below, Huzoorra explains some important themes relating to Khilafat: Functions of Khilafat “The issue of Khilafat is not a complex one.

In my speech on 12 April 1914 [the speech has been published under the title: Mansabe-Khilafat] I had explained with reference to a verse from the Holy Quran what the function of a Khalifa is.

“The word ‘khalifa’ means someone who succeeds another and continues the work of his predecessor. To understand the function of a successor, one has to look at the function of the predecessor. God has explained the work of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as follows: ّ َ ۡ ۡ َ ُ ۡ ّ ُ ‫یَ ۡتلوۡا َعل ۡی ِہ ۡم ٰا ٰیت ِٖہ َو یُ َزک ِ ۡی ِہ ۡم َو ی َعل ُِم ُہ ُم ال ِک ٰت َب َو ال ِحک َمۃ‬ “[‘… who recites to them His Signs, and purifies them and teaches them the Book and Wisdom…’] That is, he should: 1. Recite the verses of God to the people 2. Purify them 3. Teach them the book 4. Impart wisdom to them “I also explained that these four tasks of a prophet cannot be performed by any ‘anjuman’. They can be performed only by the person whom God Himself appoints after the prophet, and who is entitled as a khalifa. I do not wish to go into details about this subject right now. For the time being, I will take up a few key accusations against me and answer them. I will also explain why I did not give up my courage

and determination and remained steadfast in my stance.

“Some people criticise me by saying that I should have shown a big heart and declined the office of Khilafat. Someone who talks like this considers Khilafat to be a source of great pleasure and happiness; what he does not know is that Khilafat has no worldly comforts and pleasures.

“I will now explain why, having gathered all my courage and bravery, I took up this task; what exactly it was which, upon seeing the community divided into two, gave me the heart to stay steadfast and whose hand it was that always supported me to stick to one point of view and not the other. Right now, people have come here from all sides, but there was a time when just a handful of them were initiated into the Jamaat.

“The question is, why, for the sake of unity among the members of the Jamaat, did I not retreat from my position and let this so-called unity stay intact? To answer this, today I would like to explain what has always kept me strong and resolute in my stance. But before I speak on that, I would like to touch on a few other things.

Misunderstandings about Khilafat “Does a khalifa have to be divinely appointed or a ruler?

“One objection made in this regard by some people is that only a person who is either a king or is directly appointed by God can be a khalifa. Such people ask me, ‘Who are you? Are you a king’? I say, ‘No.’ ‘Have you been directly appointed by God?’ I say, ‘No.’ ‘How can you be the Khalifa then?’,

they ask me.

“They imagine that it is compulsory for the Khalifa to be either a king or directly appointed by God. In fact, those who raise this objection have not pondered over the word ‘khalifa’ at all. Their point of view in this regard is no different than that of a person who goes to the shop of a tailor and finds that a young trainee is addressing his master as ‘khalifa’. Having heard this, he comes out of the shop and proclaims that ‘khalifa’ is a title to be used only for a tailor.

“Similar is the condition of a person who, having visited a school, finds that students use the title of ‘khalifa’ for their monitor [in the past, ‘khalifa’ was the title used for the student who monitored a class] and then proclaims that a khalifa is only he who monitors a class of schoolboys.

“Hence, one who does not monitor the students cannot be a khalifa because to his poor intellect, being a khalifa is conditional upon monitoring some students.

“Similar is the case of a person who, having observed that God made a khalifa and ordered the angels to prostrate before him, starts inferring that khalifa can only be he to whom the angels are ordered to prostrate. Otherwise, he concludes that no other person can be a khalifa.

“Similar is the situation of the person who observes that the Khulafa of the Holy Prophetsa had kingdoms and sovereign governments, and therefore concludes that only a person who has a kingdom can be a khalifa and no other person should be Continued on next page >>

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AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 << Continued from previous page

addressed as khalifa, for being a khalifa requires one to have a kingdom.

“Those who say this are absolutely unaware of what the word khalifa stands for. In fact, the word signifies the one who is called someone’s successor and who should succeed his predecessor’s work for all practical purposes.

“If someone is a tailor, then the person doing the same work after him is his khalifa, and if a student takes up the task of conducting a class in the absence of his teacher, that student will be called the khalifa of the teacher.

“Likewise, one who succeeds the work of a prophet is a khalifa of that prophet. If God grants kingdom to His prophet, his khalifa will also be entitled to it and God will surely vouchsafe the kingdom upon him. But if the prophet happens to be without a kingdom, from where will it come for his khalifa?

‘Because God had granted both the worldly and spiritual kingdoms to the Holy Prophetsa, his Khulafa too were granted both of these bounties. But now, as God has not vouchsafed a worldly kingdom upon the Promised Messiahas, with whom should his khalifa fight to have one? Those who raise this objection have not duly reflected upon the word ‘khalifa’.

“Would not such a person be considered a fool who, having seen people here wearing turbans, caps and clothes, should note down with him that human beings are only classified as those who wear turbans, caps and clothes of a specific type? Then when he goes out and finds that people are not dressed as he had thought they should be, he starts proclaiming that the people he saw were not human beings since human beings have a specific dress code? What do you think of such a person? He is definitely a credulous fool.

“Similarly, if someone, having seen the Khulafa of certain prophets, concludes that Khulafa can only be of a particular kind and none other, can his statement be acceptable to any sane person? No, never! Such a person should rather ponder over the word ‘khalifa’ and reflect upon its meanings.

“In this age, too, people have misunderstood the word ‘khalifa’ on account of their being ignorant of the Arabic language. According to the Arabic language, khalifa is he: 1. who succeeds someone 2. who is succeeded by someone 3. who issues commands and orders and gets them executed “In addition to this, khulafa are of two types. The first type are those who succeed someone after his death. Second are those who work as subordinates to someone during his lifetime; for example, a viceroy who serves as khalifa to the king.

“Now, should someone say that since the viceroy has nothing to do with religion, he cannot be a khalifa to the king, he would certainly be in error because the king of whom the viceroy happens to be a khalifa is possessed of only a worldly government.

The viceroy is a khalifa to the king only in matters related to the worldly government and not in matters of religion.

“This is a clear-cut argument which some people have failed to understand, or perhaps they simply do not want to understand it.”

(Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, Blessings of Khilafat, pp. 9-12)

100 Years Ago...

First female missionary of Islam in America Al Fazl, 19 May 1921

The Detroit News, a local newspaper of the city of Detroit, USA, in its issue of 13 March 1921, published a photograph of a new convert Muslim lady, Siddiqatun Nisa Rahatullah, along with a short article that is being presented below […] It will certainly be of great interest to readers.

Moreover, we will also present […] two couplets from this woman’s works that the said newspaper has published with her picture. From only these two couplets, the readers can easily comprehend this lady’s love for the light of Islam and her passion for tabligh. The [article] is as follows: “Siddiqatun Nisa Rahatullah (resident of 624 Stimson Avenue) – who was formerly known as Mrs EM Garber before converting to Islam and adopting her Islamic name – is the first female Muslim missionary to preach Islam and the Holy Quran in the United States of America. She will help Mufti Muhammad Sadiq in his preaching efforts in Detroit. This lady, Rahatullah, is a native of America who was born in Indiana and studied religion for many years.

“Once, she traveled to the Pacific coast where she became interested in a society that

had studied and mastered Eastern theology.

On her return to the city of New York, she became acquainted with Syed Muhammad Wajih Gilani, a former secretary of the sheikh of Constantinople, who had been selected to go to the nation of Moros in the Islands of Philippine as a Muslim teacher. As Mr Gilani was a descendant of Muhammad[sa], he was welcomed with respect by Muslims of America, but he passed away before he could leave for the Philippines.

“Mr Mufti Muhammad Sadiq came to America from India to preach Islam and upon learning of Mrs Garber’s acquaintance with Mr Gilani, he started exchanging letters with her. As a result, she converted to Islam and chose for herself the name Siddiqatun [Nisa Rahatullah] which in Arabic means truthful and faithful, and Rahatullah means the one who has been granted peace by Allah.

“Expressing about her conversion to Islam, Mrs Garber states, ‘Muslims of America treated me with such compassion and I gained such a satisfying knowledge of Islam that it became very easy for me to convert to Islam.’

“Mrs Garber has authored a number of preaching poems and songs that will be used in the Ahmadiyya Movement’s preaching campaign in America. The Ahmadiyya Movement is affiliated with Prophet Ahmad[as]. He was born in India and established a school for teachers who are being trained to spread the teachings of Islam in all parts of the world. After extending [help in] preaching efforts at local level, Mrs Garber, as she states, will travel from Detroit to India for education as a teacher of the Holy Quran and an Ahmadiyya Movement’s missionary.

“Below is the translation of [Mrs Garber’s] couplets: “I see in the night the world of the beauty of Islam which is ablaze with its shining torch of light.

“In the darkness of the night, I find myself moving forward in this journey as the river flows through the valleys.”

(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 19 May 1921 issue of Al Fazl)

An old scene of Detroit, USA

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Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Friday Sermon 23 April 2021 Men of Excellence: Hazrat Umarra ibn al-Khattab After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:

Today, I will speak about Hazrat Umarra bin al-Khattab. Hazrat Umarra belonged to the tribe of Banu Adi bin Kaab bin Lu‘ayy. His father’s name was Al-Khattab bin Nufail and according to one narration, the name of his mother was Hantama bint Hashim. As such, his mother would be the paternal cousin of Abu Jahl.

According to another narration, the name of his mother was Hantama bint Hisham. Based on this narration, she would be the sister of Abu Jahl. However, this narration which mentions her being the sister of Abu Jahl is not widely accepted.

Abu Umar says that whoever says that she was the sister of Abu Jahl is mistaken. If this was correct, she would have been the sister of Abu Jahl as well as Harith. However, this is not the case. She was the daughter of their paternal uncle [and therefore] the name of her father was Hashim. (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Umarra bin alKhattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2005], 484.) (Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 138)

Various narrations have been recorded with regard to Hazrat Umar’sra date of birth and the year of his birth differs from one narration to another. One view is that Hazrat Umarra was born four years prior to the great Battle of Fijar, whereas at another place, it is written that he was born four years after the great Battle of Fijar. It is called the Battle of Fijar as it was fought during a sacred month, which is a matter of grave immorality and sin. This battle was fought in four periods.

Aside from calling the fourth battle al-Fijar al-A‘zam i.e. the greatest Battle of Fijar, it is also called al-Fijar al-A‘zam al-Akhir i.e. the last great Battle of Fijar. This battle was fought between the Quraish, Banu Kinanah and Hawazin tribes.

Another viewpoint is that Hazrat Umarra was born in Mecca 13 years after the Year of the Elephant. (Tarikh Dimashq al-Kabir li Ibn Asakir, Vol. 47, p. 54, Umar bin al-Khattab, Dar Ihya al-Turah al-Arabi, Beirut, 2001) (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Umarra bin alKhattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2005], p. 484) (Atlas Sirat Nabawisa, p. 102, Dar alra

say, “Ever since I uttered those words on that day, I had never felt at ease and was always anxious owing to what I had said, and only martyrdom could serve as an atonement for this.” Thus, Hazrat Abu Huzayfara attained martyrdom in the Battle of Yamamah. (Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, Bab Ghazwat Badr [Egypt: Mustafa al-Babi, 1955], p. 429)

Hazrat Aishara states that the Holy Prophetsa gave Hazrat Umarra the title of Farooq. (Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat

al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub alIlmiyyah, 2003], p. 143)

Islam, Riyad, 1424 AH)

The Year of the Elephant was 570 CE and adding 13 years to this would make the year of Hazrat Umar’sra birth 583 CE. A third opinion is that Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam in the sixth year Nabawai and at the time he was 26 years old. (Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Islam Umarra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], p. 204)

According to the Gregorian calendar, the sixth Nabawi year is 616 CE. If Hazrat Umarra was 26 at the time, the year of his birth would be 590 CE. A fourth opinion is that Hazrat Umarra was born when the Holy Prophetsa was 21 years of age. (Tarikh al-Khamis fi Ahwal Anfus Nafis, Vol. 1, p. 259, Wiladat Umarra, Mu‘assisat Sha‘ban, Beirut)

Nonetheless, there are various opinions in this regard; at the time he accepted Islam, he was somewhere between 21 and 26 years old.

The title of Hazrat Umarra was Abu Hafs.

(Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Umarra bin al-Khattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2005], p. 484)

Hazrat Ibn Abbasra relates that on the day of the Battle of Badr, the Holy Prophetsa said to his companions: “I have heard that some of the members of the Banu Hashim and a few others have been forced against their will to come along

with the Quraish and they do not wish to fight against us. Therefore, whosoever amongst you comes up against anyone from the Banu Hashim, he should not kill him.

And whoever sees Abu Al-Bakhtari, should not kill him. And whoever sees Abbas bin Abdil Muttalib” who was the paternal uncle of the Holy Prophetsa, “should not kill him.

This is because all of these people have been forced to come with the Quraish.”

Hazrat Ibn Abbasra relates that Hazrat Abu Huzayfara bin Utbah stated, “Are we to kill our fathers, sons, brothers and other relatives and let Abbas live. By God, if I find him”, i.e. Abbas, “I will kill him with my sword.”

The narrator states that when news of this reached the Holy Prophetsa, he addressed Hazrat Umarra bin Al-Khattab by saying “O Abu Hafs!” Hazrat Umarra states, “I swear by Allah, this was the first time that the Holy Prophetsa addressed me with the title of ‘Abu Hafs’.”

The Holy Prophetsa then stated, “Will a sword be struck against the face of the uncle of the Messengersa of Allah?” Hazrat Umarra submitted, “O Messengersa of Allah! Grant me permission to sever the head of the individual who has uttered these words. By Allah, he” i.e. Abu Huzayfa, “has displayed hypocrisy.” Hazrat Abu Huzayfara would later

We find a narration regarding the context of this in which Hazrat Ibn Abbasra relates: “I enquired of Hazrat Umarra as to how he was given the title of Farooq. He replied, ‘Hazrat Hamzahra accepted Islam three days before I did. Coincidentally I headed to the Holy Mosque and Abu Jahl approached the Holy Prophetsa, hurling abuse at him. Following this, he informed Hazrat Hamzahra of what he had done.

“When Hazrat Hamzahra came to know of this, he took his bow and headed towards the Ka‘bah. He stood in front of the gathering of the Quraish in which Abu Jahl was seated, leaning on his bow and glaring at Abu Jahl.

Sensing displeasure from Hazrat Hamzah’sra face, Abu Jahl said, ‘O Abu Ammarah!’ This was the title of Hazrat Hamzahra. ‘What is the matter?’ Hearing this, Hazrat Hamzahra struck his bow on Abu Jahl’s face with such force that his cheek was cut and it started bleeding. Fearing his rage, the Quraish immediately put an end to the quarrel.” The narrator states that he did not personally witness what Hazrat Umarra narrated about that day.

“Three days after this incident I went out and on the way, I met a person from the Banu Makhzum. I asked, ‘Have you forsaken the religion of your forefathers and adopted the religion of Muhammad[sa]?’ He replied, ‘What would it matter if I have done so? They too have done so over whom you have more right than myself.’ Hazrat Umarra then asked, ‘Who do you speak of?’ He answered, ‘Your sister and brother-in-law.’

Hazrat Umarra states, ‘Having heard this, I

37

AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 went to my sister’s house and found the door locked. I could hear some whispers from inside. The door was then opened for me and I entered. I then asked them, “What did I just hear you saying?” They replied, “What did you hear?” During the conversation, the matter escalated and I grabbed my brotherin-law by his head and struck him, causing him to bleed. My sister got up and held me by the head saying, “This happened against your wishes, i.e. our acceptance of Islam.”’”

In any case, in another narration there is mention of his sister also being injured.

Hazrat Umarra says, “When I saw the blood of my brother-in-law”, or it could have been that of his sister, “in that moment, I felt ashamed so I sat down and said, ‘Show me this parchment.’ My sister replied, ‘Only the pure can touch it. If you speak the truth, go and wash yourself.’ So I washed myself and came and sat down. They brought the parchment to me on which it was written:

ّٰ ْ ّ ‫الرَ ْح ٰمن‬ ّ ‫الل ِہ‬ ‫ِبس ِم‬ ‫الرَ ِح ْی ِم‬ ِ

“[In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Ever Merciful.] I said, ‘These names are very pure and virtuous.’ Then it was written: ٰ ْ ُْ َ َ َْ َْ ‫ٰط ٰہ َما ان َزلنا َعل ْیک الق ْر ٰا َن ل َِتشقى‬ “[Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to thee that thou shouldst be distressed] and he read up to:

ٰ ْ ُ َ ْ َْ ُ َ ‫آء ال ُح ْسنى‬ ‫لہ الاسم‬

“[(He is) Allah. There is no God but He. His are the most beautiful names.]” These were the verses 2-9 of Surah Ta Ha. Hazrat Umarra states: “I developed a great degree of respect in my heart for these words. I then said, ‘The Quraish flee from this, but I have accepted Islam,’ and asked, ‘Where is the Holy Prophetsa?’ My sister answered, ‘He is in Dar al-Arqam.’ I reached there and knocked on the door. The companions gathered around.

Hazrat Hamzahra asked them, ‘What is the matter with you people?’ They replied, ‘Umar!’ Hazrat Hamzahra then said, ‘Even if it is Umar, open the door for him if he is standing outside. If he has come with good intentions, we shall accept him. But if he has come with evil intentions we shall slay him.’”

The Holy Prophetsa also heard this. He went outside, then Hazrat Umarra recited the declaration of faith, upon which all the companions present there exclaimed, “Allah is the Greatest” [Allahu Akbar], which was heard by all the people of Mecca.

Hazrat Umarra continues, “I then asked, ‘O Messengersa of Allah, are we not on the truth?’ The Holy Prophetsa answered, ‘Indeed.’ I then asked, ‘Then why do we keep our religion hidden?’ Thereafter we formed two rows and set forth; I was in one of the rows and Hazrat Hamzahra was in the other, until we reached Masjid AlHaram and entered it. Thereupon, when the Quraish saw me and Hazrat Hamzahra they were overcome with such grief and pain, the likes of which they had never felt before.

Thus, on that day, the Holy Prophetsa gave me the name ‘Farooq’ because Islam was strengthened and truth and falsehood were distinguished from one another.” (Jalaluddin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr al-Suyuti, Tarikh alKhulafa, pp. 91-92, Lebanon, 1999)

Ayyub bin Musa relates: “The Holy Prophetsa stated, ‘Undoubtedly Allah the Almighty has placed the truth in the words and heart of Hazrat Umarra and he is the Farooq, for Allah the Almighty has distinguished between truth and falsehood

through him.’”

(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 143)

Hazrat Umarra was tall and had a strong build. He had no hair on the front of his head. He was of a reddish complexion and his moustache was thick, the ends of which had a reddish tinge and his cheeks were slim.

(Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2005], p. 484)

With regard to the pastime of Hazrat Umarra, during the era of ignorance, it is mentioned that horse-riding and wrestling were among his favourite hobbies. Hazrat Umarra would win almost every year in the wrestling competition during the annual Ukkaz festival. During his youth, he would graze camels for his father, as was the custom among the Arabs. (Sayyiduna Hazrat Umar Faruq

A‘zamra, Muhammad Hussain Haikal [translated] pp.

51-52, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore)

Prior to the advent of Islam, learning to read and write was not common practise among the Arabs. At the advent of the Holy Prophetsa, only 17 people among the Quraish knew how to read and write. Hazrat Umarra had also learnt to read and write in that era. (Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi, Siyar al-Sahabah, Vol. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar alIsha‘ah, 2004], p. 133)

Hazrat Umarra was among the nobles of the Quraish. Prior to Islam, he was the designated envoy of the Quraish; it was the practise of the Quraish that whenever there would be feuds among them or with others, they would send Hazrat Umarra as their representative. (Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Umarra bin al-Khattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2003], p.

642)

When some of the Muslims were migrating to Abyssinia, those acquainted with Hazrat Umarra saw his extremely compassionate side as he witnessed them migrating, despite the fact that he had not yet accepted Islam and in spite of his strong nature. In relation to this, Hazrat Umm Abdillahra bint Abi Hasmah relates: “By Allah, when we were departing for Abyssinia and my husband Amirra bin Rabi‘ah had gone due to some work of his, in that moment Hazrat Umarra bin alKhattab came and stood next to me. He was still an idolater at the time and we had suffered great affliction at his hands. He said to me, ‘O Umm Abdillah, it seems as though you are going somewhere.’ I replied, ‘Yes,

by Allah we are indeed setting forth in the land of Allah’”; they were going in search of somewhere as the land of Allah is vast. “‘You people have caused us much grief and committed grave injustices against us, to the point where Allah the Almighty granted us a way to save ourselves.’”

Hazarat Umm Abdillahra then relates, “Hazrat Umarra then said, ‘May Allah be with you.’ Never before had I witnessed the emotion that had overcome Hazrat Umarra. Thereafter, he left. I felt as though our departing had saddened him.” Hazrat Umm Abdillahra then states, “When Amirra bin Rabi‘ah returned from his work, I said to him, ‘O Abdullah, if only you had witnessed the state of Umar and his compassion and sadness for our sake. Amirra bin Rabi‘ah replied, ‘Are you hopeful of his conversion to Islam?’” She must have been affected by this incident and thought he would accept Islam. “I answered in the affirmative.

Thereupon, Amirra bin Rabi‘ah said, ‘He will never accept Islam. No matter what you saw of him, Khattab’s donkey will accept Islam before he does.’” Hazrat Umm Abdillahra says, “Amir bin Rabi‘ahra had said this out of despair having witnessed Hazrat Umar’sra ferocity and sternness towards Islam, and thought how can such a fierce opponent accept Islam?” (Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, Bab Dhikr Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra [Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut, 2009], p. 159)

Whilst mentioning this incident and in relation to Hazrat Umar’sra fierce opposition to Islam, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has narrated this incident in his own style: “Despite Hazrat Umar’sra intense hostility towards Islam, he also possessed a spiritual capacity, i.e. despite his severe temper and his afflictions upon the Holy Prophetsa and his companions, he still possessed kindness and compassion. When the first migration to Abyssinia was taking place, the Muslims had prepared to depart from Mecca before the Fajr prayer, lest the idolaters halted and harassed them. There was a custom in Mecca where some of the chieftains would go around the city at night to prevent any theft etc.”; they would patrol in the streets.

“In accordance with this custom, Hazrat Umarra was walking about at night when he saw some household luggage tied up in one place. He proceeded forward and there was a female companion standing by the luggage. The husband of this companion was perhaps a relative of Hazrat Umarra which is why he addressed the female companion saying, ‘O lady! What is all this? It seems to me as though you are about to embark on a long journey.’ Her husband was not present at the time. Had he been there, after hearing this from Hazrat Umarra and due to the persecutions of the idolaters of Mecca, he could have perhaps made an excuse”, i.e. an excuse as to whether they were going or not, or that it was perhaps a short journey, or that the place they were going to was nearby.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states: “This woman did not think in this way”; this thought did not cross her mind, or if it did she chose to speak the truth. “This female companion said, ‘O Umar[ra], we are leaving Mecca.’ He replied, ‘You are leaving Mecca?’ She answered, ‘Yes, we are leaving Mecca.’ Hazrat Umarra then asked, ‘Why are you leaving Mecca?’, to which she replied, ‘Umar[ra], we are leaving because you and your brethren do not wish us to stay here and we are not free to worship the One God here. For this reason, we are leaving our homeland and going to another land.’

Despite Hazrat Umarra being a staunch enemy of Islam; despite the fact that he himself was ready to persecute Muslims, when he heard this answer of that female companion in the darkness of the night that they were leaving their homeland because he and his kinsmen disliked for them to remain there, and because they were unable to freely worship the One God; Hazrat Umarra turned his face the other way, saying to the female companion, ‘Alright then, go.

May God be your Protector.’ It is evident from this that Hazrat Umarra was overcome with such emotion whereby he thought that if he had not turned his face the other way he would have begun to weep. The husband of the female companion then arrived.

Knowing Umarra to be a fierce opponent of Islam he thought that Umarra might hinder them in their journey. Thus, he asked his

wife as to why he had come there. She told him why Umarra came and what he had asked. Her husband thought he may perhaps be causing some kind of mischief.”

The husband may have seen Hazrat Umarra just as he was leaving or perhaps Hazrat Umarra left after meeting the husband as well. In any case, the husband said he feared he might cause some mischief.

“The female companion said, ‘O son of my uncle’”, Arab women in those days would often call their husbands the son of their paternal uncle, “‘you say that he might cause some trouble, but I feel as though one day he will become a Muslim. This is because when I said, “O Umar[ra], we are leaving because you and your kinsmen do not allow us to freely worship the One God here,” he turned his face saying, “Alright go. May God be your Protector.” There was a trembling in his voice and I believe that his eyes were filled with tears. So, because of this, I believe that one day he will become a Muslim.’” (Tafsir-eKabir, Vol. 6, pp. 140-141)

The Holy Prophetsa had also prayed for Hazrat Umarra to accept the message of Islam. In relation to this, there is a narration.

Hazrat Ibn Umarra relates that the Holy Prophetsa stated: َ َ َ َْ َ َ َ ٰ َ َ َ ‫اَلل ّ ُہ َّم أ ِع َّز ال ْ ِا ْسل‬ ّ ‫ام بأ َح ّب ٰہ َذیْن‬ ‫الر ُجلی ِن ِإل ْیک بِأبِ ْی َج ْہ ٍل أ ْو‬ ِ ِ ِ ْ َّ َ ْ َ َ ُ ‫اب‬ ِ ‫بِعمر ب ِن الخط‬ “O Allah! Whoever is dearer to you between Abu Jahl and Umar bin Al-Khattab, grant honour to Islam through him.”

Ibn Umarra relates further, “Among these two, Hazrat Umarra was dearer to Allah.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Manaqib, Bab fi Manaqib Abi Hafs Umar bin al-Khattabra, Hadith 3681)

Hazrat Ibn Umarra relates that the Holy Prophetsa stated: َّ َ ْ ْ َ َ ُ َ ْ ّ ّ َ َّ ُ ّ ٰ َ ‫اب‬ ِ ‫اللہم أیِ ِد ال ِدین بِعمر ب ِن الخط‬ “O Allah! Grant support to the faith through Umar bin Al-Khattab.”

Hazrat Aishara relates that the Holy Prophetsa stated: ً َّ َ َّ َ ْ ْ َ َ ُ َ َ ْ ْ َّ َ َّ ُ ّ ٰ َ ‫اصۃ‬ ‫اب خ‬ ِ ‫اللہم أ ِعز ال ِإسلام بِعمر ب ِن الخط‬ “O Allah! Grant honour to Islam especially through Umar bin Al-Khattab.”

(Mustadrak lil Hakim ala al-Sahihain, Vol. 3, p. 89, Kitab Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, bab min Manaqib Amir alMu‘minin Umar bin al-Khattabra, Hadith 4483-4485, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002)

One day prior to Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam, the Holy Prophetsa prayed: َ َّ َ ْ ْ َ َ ُ َ َ ْ َ ُ َ ّ َ َ َ ٰ َ َ ْ ْ ّ َّ ُ ّ َ ْ ّ ‫اب أ ْو‬ ِ ‫ عمر ب ِن الخط‬،‫اللہم أیِ ِد ال ِإسلام بِأح ِب الرجلی ِن ِإلیک‬ َ ْ َْ ‫ام‬ ٍ ‫عم ِرو ب ِن ِہش‬ “O Allah! Whoever is dearer to you between these two men, that is, Umar bin Al-Khattab and Amr bin Al-Hisham, grant honour to Islam through him.”

When Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam, Angel Gabrielas descended [from the heavens] and said, “O Muhammadsa!

Even the heavens are pleased with Umar’s acceptance of Islam.” This is a narration from Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra. (Ibn Saad, AlTabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Bab Islam Islam Umarra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 1996], p. 123)

Further details in relation to Hazrat Umarra’s acceptance of Islam are as follows: Hazrat Umar bin Al-Khattabra accepted Islam in Dhul-Hijjah, 6 Nabawi. (Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1990], p. 204)

There are various accounts and narrations mentioned in the books of hadith and history in relation to the factors that led

38 to his acceptance of Islam.

One of the narrations regarding his acceptance of Islam has been recorded in AlSirah Al-Halabiya in which it states that on one occasion, Abu Jahl said to the people: “O people of Quraish! Muhammad[sa] speaks against your idols and considers you bereft of wisdom. Moreover, he states that your idols are the fuel for the hell-fire. Thus, I announce that whosoever among you kills Muhammad[sa], he will receive a reward of a hundred red camels and a 1,000 auqiyah of silver.”

One auqiyah was equal to 40 dirhams at the time, which is approximately 126 grams; however, according to others, it was even more than this. In any case, it was a very large amount which was fixed as a reward.

One auqiyah is equivalent to 126 grams, which is a very large amount that had been fixed as a reward. According to another narration, he stated that whoever would kill the Holy Prophetsa would receive “X” auqiyah of gold and silver and also such and such amount of musk, precious clothes as well as many other items. Upon this, Hazrat Umarra stated that he would be the one who would attain this reward. The people present at the time all agreed that he would indeed be the one to attain this reward.

Thereafter, Hazrat Umarra settled a formal agreement with him. Hazrat Umarra states that after this, he set out in search of the Holy Prophetsa with an unsheathed sword hanging from his shoulder. Along the way, he passed by a certain place where a calf was being slaughtered. From the stomach of the calf, he heard a voice, “O progeny of Dhareeh!” Dhareeh was the name of the calf that was being slaughtered. And the one who was saying this then stated in a clear voice, inviting him to the bear witness that “there is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammadsa is His Messenger”. Hazrat Umarra states that he felt as if this indication for him. (Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 1, Bab al-Hijrah al-Ula ila Ard alHabshah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2002], p. 470) (Lughat al-Hadith, Vo. 4, p. 527)

That is, if this tradition from Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah is correct, it is possible that this was a vision which Hazrat Umarra experienced at the time whereby he also heard this voice.

The third narration in regard to Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam is as follows: Hazrat Umarra relates, “One day I arrived at the Haram with the intention to perform tawaf [i.e. perform circuits of the Ka‘bah]. At the time, the Holy Prophetsa was standing there offering his prayers.

Whenever he would offer his prayers, he would face in the direction of Syria, i.e. towards the rock in Baitul Maqdas. And he would stand in such a way that the qiblah would come between him and the direction of Syria. Thus, the Holy Prophetsa would be stood between the Hajr al-Aswad [Black Stone] and Rukn al-Yamani [The Yemeni Corner]. (The Rukn al-Yamani is the southeastern corner of the Ka‘bah and is in the direction of Yemen) and without [standing there] one cannot not face Baitul Maqdas.

Hazrat Umarra further states: “When I saw the Holy Prophetsa, I decided that I would listen to what he recited. Then I thought that if I went close to him in order to listen, he may become alerted [of my presence], therefore I came from the side of the Hajr al-Aswad and

Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM stood behind the drapes of the Ka‘bah and began to slowly walk across. The Holy Prophetsa remained occupied in his prayer and was reciting Surah al-Rahman.

I eventually stood right before the Holy Prophetsa in the direction he was facing and there was nothing between me and him apart from the drapes of the Ka‘bah. When I heard the recitation of the Holy Quran, my heart began to melt and I began to cry and the message of Islam had penetrated inside me. I remained standing where I was until the Holy Prophetsa had completed his prayer and returned from there. I began to walk behind the Holy Prophetsa. When the Holy Prophetsa heard the sound of my footsteps, he recognised me. The Holy Prophetsa thought that perhaps I was walking behind him in order to cause him harm. And so, the Holy Prophetsa admonished me, saying, ‘O Ibn Khattab! With what intention have you come here so late into the night?’ I submitted, ‘I have come to profess my belief in Allah, His Messengersa and that which has been revealed to him by Allah.’”

The fourth narration that is found is as follows: Hazrat Umarra relates: “One night, my sister began to feel labour pains and so I left my house and went to the Ka‘bah. Whilst holding onto the drapes of the Ka‘bah, I began to pray. At the same time, the Holy Prophetsa also arrived and offered his prayer near the Hajr alAswad as much as Allah had willed for him.

At that moment, I had heard such words, which I had never heard before. And so, when the Holy Prophetsa left from there, I began to walk behind him.

“The Holy Prophetsa enquired, ‘Who is it?’ to which I replied, ‘Umar’. The Holy Prophetsa then stated, ‘O Umar, you do not leave me alone in the day nor in the night.’ Upon this, I became fearful lest the Holy Prophetsa prayed against me and immediately proclaimed: ّٰ ُ َ َّ َ ّ ٰ َّ ٰ َّ َ ُ ْ َ ‫اش َھد ا ْن لا اِل َہ اِلا الل ُہ َوانک َر ُس ْول الل ِہ‬ “‘I bear witness that there is none of worthy of worship except Allah and indeed you are the Messengersa of Allah.’

“Upon this, the Holy Prophetsa stated, ‘O Umar! Do you wish to keep your Islam hidden [from others]?’ I submitted, ‘No, I swear by Him Who has sent you with the true religion that I will declare my acceptance of Islam just as I would previously declare my belief in shirk.’ Upon this the Holy Prophetsa praised Allah the Almighty and said, ‘O Umar! May Allah keep you steadfast upon the truth.’ Thereafter, the Holy Prophetsa rubbed his hand over my chest and prayed for me to remain steadfast. After this, I left from there and the Holy Prophetsa returned to his home.” (Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, AlSirah al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 1, Bab al-Hijrah al-Ula ila Ard al-Habshah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub alIlmiyyah, 2002] p. 469) (Farhang-e-Sirat, p. 135)

The fifth narration in regard to Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam, which is a very famous one, and some of its details have been briefly mentioned previously as well is as follows: Hazrat Anasra bin Malik relates that one day, Hazrat Umarra left his house with his sword drawn. Along the way he met someone from among the Banu Zuhra and asked, “O Umar! What are your intentions?”

Hazrat Umarra responded, “I am going to kill Muhammad[sa]” (God-forbid). To this, he replied, “By killing Muhammad[sa] will

you remain safe from the Banu Hashim and Banu Zuhra?” Hazrat Umarra replied, “I believe you have forsaken your religion.”

This individual then said, “O Umar! Shall I not inform you of something even more astonishing than this? You say that I have abandoned my faith, but let me tell you a news even bigger than this and that is that your sister and brother-in-law have both left the religion which you follow.”

Upon hearing this, Hazrat Umarra went to their house whilst cursing them. At the time, a companion from among the Muhajireen, Hazrat Khabbabra was with them. (I related this account previously in relation to Hazrat Khabbabra.) When he heard Hazrat Umar’sra voice, he hid inside the house.

Hazrat Umarra entered the house and asked, “What were you reading? What was this that I just heard coming from here?” At the time, they were reciting Surah Ta Ha. They replied that apart from one thing there was nothing else they were talking about. Hazrat Umarra then asked, “I have heard that you both have abandoned your religion.” Hazrat Umar’sra brother-in-law asked, “O Umar!

Have you ever pondered that the truth may be found in a faith other than yours?” (If you are searching for the truth, have you considered that the truth may be found in another religion?) Upon this, Hazrat Umarra took hold of his brother-in-law and began to hit him. Hazrat Umar’sra sister tried to come in the way to save her husband and Hazrat Umarra raised his hand against her as well as a result of which blood began to pour from her face. She became extremely angry and said, “O Umar! If the truth is to be found in a faith other than yours, then proclaim that ‘there is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammadsa is His Messenger.’”

When Hazrat Umarra failed to come up with a response, he stated, “Give me the book which you have with you, so that I may read it.” (Hazrat Umarra knew how to read.)

Hazrat Umar’sra sister stated, “You are not clean and no one can touch this in a state of impurity. Therefore, either take a bath or perform ablution first.”

And so, Hazrat Umarra performed ablution and then took hold of the book and began to read Surah Ta Ha. When he reached the verse:

ْ َ َّ َ َ ْ ُ ْ َ َ َ َّ َ ٰ َ ُ ّٰ َ َ َّ ‫الص ٰلوۃ ل ِ​ِذک ِر ْی‬ ‫ِان ِن ْی انا اللہ لا ِالہ ِالا انا فاعبدنِ ْی و اقِ ِم‬

“Verily, I am Allah; there is no God beside Me. So serve Me, and observe Prayer for My remembrance” [Ch.20: V.15] After reading this verse, Hazrat Umarra said, “Tell me where Muhammadsa is.” Upon hearing this, Hazrat Khabbabra came out of the house and said, “O Umar! Let there be glad-tidings for you. I wish that the prayer of the Holy Prophetsa which he offered on Thursday night may be accepted in your favour. The Holy Prophetsa had prayed: ْ ْ َ َ ُ َ َ ْ ْ َّ َ َّ ُ ّ ٰ َ َ ْ ْ َ ْ َ ‫الخَ َّط‬ ‫اللہم أ ِعز ال ِاسلام بِعمر ب ِن‬ ‫ام‬ ٍ ‫اب او بِعم ِرو ب ِن ِہش‬ ِ “‘O Allah! Grant honour to Islam through Umar bin Al-Khattab or Amr bin Hisham.’”

At the time, the Holy Prophetsa was in a house that was situated in the valley of Safa. And so, Hazrat Umarra left from there and reached the house. At the time, Hazrat Hamzahra, Hazrat Talhara and various other companions of the Holy Prophetsa were at the door. Hazrat Hamzahra noticed that they were scared of Hazrat Umarra and he said, “Alright, so this is Umar. If Allah has bought him for his own good, then he shall

accept Islam and follow the Holy Prophetsa.

However, if he has come with any other intention then it will be easy for us to kill him.”

At the time, the Holy Prophetsa was inside the house and was receiving divine revelation. The Holy Prophetsa came outside and went to Hazrat Umarra and took hold of him from the chest and said, “O Umar!

Will you not refrain from your actions until Allah causes your ruin and sends down a terrible punishment just as he did for Walid bin Mughira?” Thereafter, the Holy Prophetsa prayed to Allah the Almighty, “O Allah! This is Umar bin Al-Khattab. O Allah! Grant honour to the faith through Umar bin Al-Khattab.” After this, Hazrat Umarra stated, “I testify that you are the Messengersa of Allah.” Hazrat Umarra then accepted Islam and stated, “O Messengersa of Allah! Come out for the propagation of Islam.”

It is narrated from Ma‘mar and Zuhri that Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam after the Holy Prophetsa was in Dar al-Arqam and he was the fortieth person to accept Islam, or he accepted Islam slightly after 40 men and women had entered Islam. Dar al-Arqam was the house or centre which belonged to a new convert Arqam bin Abi al-Arqam and was situated just outside of Mecca. The Muslims would gather here and this became a centre for Muslims to learn about their faith and worship etc. For this reason, it also became known as Dar alIslam and this remained the centre for the Muslims in Mecca for three years; here, they would worship away from others and also the Holy Prophetsa would hold gatherings.

Then when Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam, the Muslims came out from there. In a narration it is stated that Hazrat Umarra was the last person to accept Islam in this centre and after he accepted Islam, it gave courage to the Muslims and they came out from Dar al-Arqam and began preaching openly. (Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 1996], pp. 142-143) (Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra, p.

129)

There is another narration with regard to Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam with a slight variation. In the aforementioned incident, it was stated that [Hazrat Umarra heard] the opening verses of Surah Ta Ha being recited in his sister’s house, whereas in another narration it is mentioned that it was the opening verses of Surah al-Hadid. (Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003], p.

140)

There is a sixth narration as well regarding Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam. Hazrat Umarra states: “One day, prior to accepting Islam, I set out in search for the Holy Prophetsa, but noticed that he had reached the mosque [Al-Haram] before him. I stood behind him.

He began to recite Surah al-Haqqah. Upon hearing the order and composition of the Holy Qur‘an I was left amazed and I said, ‘By God! He is a poet, just as the Quraish say he is.’”

Hazrat Umarra further says, “When I thought of this, the Holy Prophetsa said:

َ َ َ َ ُ ُ َ َ َ َّ ‫ِان ٗہ لَقوْ ُل َر ُسوْ ٍل ک ِریْ ٍم۔ ّو َما ُہوَ بِقوْ ِل شا ِع ٍر۔ ق ِل ْیلًا ّما ت ْؤ ِمنوْ َن‬

Meaning, “That it is surely the word brought by a noble Messenger; And it is not the word of a poet; little is it that you believe!”

39

AL HAKAM | Friday 21 May 2021 Hazrat Umarra then said, “He is a fortune-teller” i.e. a sorcerer. “Subsequently, the Holy Prophetsa recited َ the following:

ْ‫َولَا بقَوْ ِل کَا ِہن۔ َق ِل ْیلًا َّما تَ َذکّ ُر ْو َن۔ تَنْزِیْ ٌل ِّم ْن َّر ّب ال ْ َعال َ ِمی ْ َن۔ َولَو‬ ِ ِ ٍ َ ْ َ َ َ َّ ُ ْ َ ْ ُ ْ َ ْ َ َ َ ْ َ َ ْ َ ْ َ َ ْ َ َ َ َّ َ َ ‫تقول علینا بعض الأقا ِوی ِل۔ لأخذنا ِمنہ ِبالی ِمی ِن۔ ثم لقطعنا‬ َ ُ ْ َ َ َ ْ ّ ْ ُ ْ َ​َ َ ْ َْ ُ ْ ‫اج ِزیْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِمنہ الو ِتین۔ فما ِمنکم ِمن أح ٍد عنہ ح‬

And then he recited to the end of the chapter. The translation is as follows: “Nor is it the word of a soothsayer; little is it that you heed! It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. And if he had forged and attributed any sayings to Us; We would surely, have seized him by the right hand, and then surely, We would have severed his life-artery, And not one of you could have held Our punishment off from him.”

Hazrat Umarra then says, “From that moment, Islam was etched on my heart.”

(Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 1, Musnad Umarra bin al-Khattab, Hadith 23966 [Beirut, Lebanon: Alam al-Kutub, 1998], pp. 108-109)

There is a seventh narration [regarding Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam], which is a narration of Bukhari. Hazrat Abdullahra bin Umar narrates: “Whenever I heard Hazrat Umarra say, ‘I think that such and such will happen’, it would come true just as he had stated. Once, while Hazrat Umarra was sitting, a handsome man passed by him. Hazrat Umarra said, ‘If I am not mistaken, this person still follows the religion of the Jahiliyyah [era of ignorance before the advent of Islam] or he was their fortune-teller. Bring this man to me.’

“The man was brought to Hazrat Umarra and informed of what was said [about him].

The man said, ‘I have never seen such a day on which a Muslim was faced with such an accusation.’” This man later accepted Islam.

“Hazrat Umarra then said, ‘I am adamant that you should tell me the truth.’ He said, ‘I was a fortune-teller in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.’ Then Hazrat Umar said, ‘Tell me the most astonishing thing your female jinn has told you of.’” They were fortunetellers and magicians and so he asked what peculiar thing the Jinn had told him about.

“He replied, ‘One day while I was in the market, she came to me and was petrified.

She said, “Have you not seen the jinn and their state of despair and anxiousness they have been left in? [For now, all they do is] follow the camels and their saddles.”’

“Hazrat Umarra said, ‘He is right,’ and added, ‘One day, while I was sleeping near their idols, a man came with a calf and slaughtered it [as an offering to the idols].

Someone let out a shriek, the likes of which I had never heard before. He was exclaiming, “O transgressing enemy! A matter of success [approaches]! An eloquent man proclaims: ‘No one has the right to be worshipped except Allah.’” Upon hearing this the people fled, but I [i.e. Hazrat Umarra] said, “I shall not flee till I know who is behind this.”

Then the cry came again: “O transgressing enemy! A matter of success [approaches]!

An eloquent man proclaims: ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.’” I then went away and a few days later it was said, “A prophet has appeared.”’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra, Hadith 3866)

In some versions of Bukhari, instead of “there is none worthy of worship except Allah”, the wording is “there is none worthy of worship except Thee”. This is a narration of Bukhari.

With regard to Hazrat Umar’sra

acceptance of Islam, there are various accounts mentioned in the books of history and biographies. Among them the most well-known, i.e. the one that is commonly cited is the one in which Hazrat Umarra went with his sword in order to kill the Holy Prophetsa, God-forbid, but someone along the way, informed him to first see to his sister and brother-in-law and then he went to their house. This is the narration that is widely accepted and is mentioned in most of these places. Although there are various other narrations as have been mentioned earlier; however, historians and biographers have greatly debated the authenticity of these narrations according to their own understanding. Nonetheless, we accept the narration in which there is mention of the events that took place in Hazrat Umar’sra sister and brother-in-law’s house and that Hazrat Umarra went to Dar al-Arqam from there.

It can be said that there is a possibility that all the aforementioned narrations about Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam are correct in their own right which would indicate that at different times, Hazrat Umar’sra viewpoint began to slowly change.

At times, one undergoes changes at various stages but is unable to take the final step.

Perhaps the final step was when Hazrat Umarra heard the Quran in the house of his sister and brother-in-law and then he presented himself before the Holy Prophetsa in order to accept Islam. In any case, Allah the Almighty knows best.

At the time of his acceptance of Islam, he was 33 years old and he was the chief of the Banu Adi tribe. [Prior to] pledging allegiance, he had the responsibility of being an envoy for the Quraish. Furthermore, he was extremely influential, brave and courageous. After he accepted Islam, it strengthened the Muslims and they came out from Dar al-Arqam and offered prayers openly in Masjid al-Haram. Hazrat Umarra was the last companion who accepted Islam in Dar al-Arqam and this took place in the last month of the sixth year after the advent of the Holy Prophet. At the time, the total number of Muslim men in Mecca was 40.

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra, p. 159)

I will narrate the remaining accounts in the future, insha-Allah.

At present, I will speak about some members who have passed away and also lead their funeral prayers [in absentia].

The first is of Ahmad Muhammad Uthman Shabooti Sahib, who was the son of Muhammad Uthman Shabooti Sahib of Yemen. He passed away on 9 April 2021 in Egypt, at the age of 87.

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِہ و ِانا ِالی ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

Ahmad Muhammad Uthman Shabooti Sahib was born in the city of Aden in Yemen. When respected Ghulam Ahmad Sahib, who was a missionary, was sent to Aden, at that time, Shabooti Sahib pledged allegiance at the age of 14. Subsequently, he had the opportunity to work in different capacities for the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in Yemen, including serving as the President of the Jamaat in Yemen for a long time and he served in this capacity until his demise.

He was married to respected Waseema Muhammad Sahiba, daughter of Dr Muhammad Ahmad Adani Sahib. Waseema

Sahiba was the granddaughter of Hazrat Haji Muhammad Din Sahib Dehlvira and Hazrat Haseena Bibi Sahibara, both of whom were companions of the Promised Messiahas. Shabooti Sahib’s nikah took place in Rabwah, but he was not present there at the time. Through this, he established a link with the markaz and had the opportunity to travel to Rabwah. He had the honour of meeting with Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, various elders [of the Jamaat] and the companions of the Promised Messiahas.

Shabooti Sahib studied at several universities in England, studying nursing and health management. He obtained a masters in health administration from the University of Liverpool. He served in the health sector in various capacities for approximately 29 years, including as Dean of the Central Health Institute in Yemen. Aside from countries in the Middle East, he served as a temporary advisor to the World Health Organisation for various other countries.

He had been unwell recently and was moved to Egypt for treatment with the intention of coming to the UK. He was undergoing treatment there but his health deteriorated and after spending a few days in hospital, he passed away on 9 April and met with his creator.

The deceased was a musi [part of the institution of Al-Wasiyyat]; aside from his wife, he is survived by his son, Muhammad Shabooti, who is a doctor in USA, three daughters and many grandsons and granddaughters. His eldest daughter is in Yemen, one daughter is in Germany and Marwa Shabooti Sahiba lives here in the UK and is serving in MTA Al-Arabiyyah.

His daughter, Marwa Shabooti, writes: “It is correct that ‘paradise lies under the feet of mothers’; however, my father showed us affection just like that of a mother; or it can be said that there was no difference between the love we received from our mother and father.”

She further writes: “My father was a righteous and pious person who possessed many qualities; he was extremely humble and meek, patient and truthful; he would look after the poor and loved all people and humanity at large” and many people that knew him have mentioned these qualities of his. “He would complete his work meticulously, he was punctual and would fulfil his promises.

He would remain occupied in worship and voluntary prayers and would especially be mindful of the obligatory prayers.” She also says that both her parents had the opportunity to perform the Hajj in 2002.

The interim president of the Jamaat in Yemen, Khalid Ali al-Sabri Sahib says: “Even in his advanced age, the deceased was an awe-inspiring personality. He had a pure heart and always had a smile on his face. He was generous and hospitable. He cared for every Ahmadi like a compassionate father. Whenever there was any need of the Jamaat, he would spend out of his own pocket and would buy things himself which were of use to the Jamaat such as a printer or fax machine. He was very benevolent and kind towards the poor and needy. He would spend abundantly on every Ahmadi in need.

He would also take care of Ahmadi orphans and widows. He was paying rent from his own pocket for the home of a family which had been affected by the war. Despite his old age, in 2018, he undertook the 20-hour long

and arduous journey from Aden to Sana‘a, even at a time when the route was quite dangerous due to Saudi attacks, and there would be checkpoints at various locations.

Even though it was difficult for him to walk due to his old age, yet he undertook this journey only so that he could offer the Eid prayer along with the Jamaat in Sana‘a, give Eid gifts to the poor members of the Jamaat and to join them in their happiness. Upon his arrival, all the members of the Jamaat were overjoyed.”

The next funeral is of respected Qureshi Zakaullah Sahib who worked as an accountant in the office of Jalsa Salana. He also passed away on 9 April at the age of 87:

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِہ و ِانا ِالی ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

Ahmadiyyat was introduced to Qureshi Sahib’s family through his maternal grandfather and his wife’s paternal grandfather Hazrat Khurshid Ali Sahibra.

When the Promised Messiahas went to Sialkot, Hazrat Khurshid Ali Sahibra was 16 years old and had the honour of pledging allegiance to the Promised Messiahas at that time. Qureshi Sahib’s wife has already passed away; [they had] five daughters and a son who is a ‘Hafiz-e-Quran’ [one who has committed the Holy Quran to memory] and lives here in the UK. The husband of one of his daughters is currently serving in the private secretary’s office in Rabwah.

Another daughter is in Manchester and one daughter has passed away.

Qureshi Sahib began his service to the Jamaat in 1954 as a relieving clerk and worked under Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahibra and the Sadr Anjuman Board. He worked in Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya for over 58 years. His son, Hafiz Shamsuz Zuha says: “He had the opportunity of working with Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahibra and would even go to his home. On the very first day when he went to his house, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahibra asked him to take a seat, to which he said that he could not sit at the same level as the progeny of the Promised Messiahas. Upon this, Hazrat Mian Bashir Ahmad Sahibra said: َ ْ َ َ ْ َ َْ ‫الام ُر ف ْوق الا َد ِب‬ Meaning, ‘An order takes precedence over respect and honour,’ and so he sat down; he had a great deal of respect for him.”

He says, “My father had a quiet disposition and not only was he regular in offering the five daily prayers in congregation, but he was also regular in offering Tahajud prayer [pre-dawn voluntary prayers]. He would offer financial contributions on behalf of the deceased. He would keep elders of the family in our home and would serve them, some of them even passed away in our home. He had great love and loyalty for Khilafat and ensured that the same was instilled in his children.”

He continues to say, “When I was young, he [i.e. Qureshi Sahib] would take me along to offer prayers and often, along the way, he would say that if ever a Khalifa called upon him for some task, he should always remain prepared. He was taking care of the expenses of several poor families.”

His daughter, Amatul Islam says: “My father presented one kanal [unit of measurement equivalent to 5,400 square feet] of his own property in Muhalla

40

Friday 21 May 2021 | AL HAKAM

Naseerabad Sultan in Rabwah as a gift to the Sadr Anjuman so that a mosque could be built there. On average, he would complete a reading of the Holy Quran twice every month.” He had five daughters and one son.

He also ensured that his children were well educated and ensured their moral training.

The next funeral is of respected Malik Khaliq Daad Sahib of Canada who passed away at the age of 85:

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِه و ِانا ِالي ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

His maternal grandfather Hazrat Sheikh Nooruddin Sahib Tajirra of Qadian was a companion of the Promised Messiahas. His paternal grandfather, respected Maula Daad Sahib had the honour of pledging allegiance at the hand of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira and entered the fold of Ahmadiyyat.

He served for a long period of time as the local president [of the Community] in Karachi. He was serving in Canada under the finance department. He was regular in offering prayers and fasting; he was kind, looked after the poor, and was a virtuous, sincere and noble person. He was always at the forefront of presenting financial contribution and participating in various financial initiatives.

He had a profound bond of love with Khilafat, which I myself have observed.

He had an extraordinary connection with Khilafat. By the grace of Allah, the deceased was one of the early musis [part of the AlWasiyyat Scheme]. He is survived by his wife, four sons and three daughters. One of his sons is serving in the national amila of

Canada.

The next funeral is of Muhammad Saleem Sabir Sahib who was a worker in nazarat umur-e-ama. He passed away on 27 March [2021] at the age of 77:

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِه و ِانا ِالي ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

Ahmadiyyat was introduced to Saleem Sahib’s family through his father, Hazrat Mian Noor Muhammad Sahibra, who was a companion of the Promised Messiahas. His father was from a village near India called Wanjwan and went to Qadian himself in 1903 in order to pledge allegiance at the hands of the Promised Messiahas.

The deceased was appointed in Sadr Anjuman on 19 May 1962; then in 1968 he was transferred from [the office of] diwan to the private secretary’s office, as Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh had specially chosen him to work in his office. Then he worked as a muhtasib [administrator] in umur-e-ama from 1987 to 2006. The time of his service spans about 59 years. He was a musi.

His nephew and son-in-law says: “He was regular in offering Tahajud [pre-dawn voluntary prayers]. He would supplicate with such anguish in his prayers, especially the Tahajud prayers that the heart of anyone sitting nearby would melt.

He consistently taught the new generation about obedience to the Khalifa; he would work at the office even outside of the office hours; he would consider the pain of any Ahmadi to be akin to his own pain; he would consider the hardships of others to be his own hardships; and he would help

people solve their problems keeping the obedience to the Khalifa and the Jamaat in mind. He constantly recited Durood Sharif [sending salutations upon the Holy Prophetsa]. He would discreetly help the poor and possessed many great qualities.

The next funeral is of respected Naeema Latif Sahiba, wife of Sahibzada Mahdi Latif Sahib of USA. She passed away on 10 March [2021]:

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِه و ِانا ِالي ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

Her husband, Sahibzada Mahdi Latif Sahib is the grandson of Hazrat Sahibzada Abdul Latif Sahib Shaheedra. The deceased obtained her master’s degree in botany in 1969 from the University of Peshawar.

Then she began research work in the botany department at the Research Institute of Peshawar and remained there until 1972. In 1970, upon an initiative launched by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh, she devoted herself under the Nusrat Jehan scheme. She, along with her younger brother, Saeed Malik Sahib, went to Nigeria and remained there until 1975. During this time, she served as the principal of the Women’s Arabic College Gusau. In 1975 she went to the USA where she worked in research at the botany department for the University of Nebraska.

From there, she moved to Maryland where she was able to continuously serve under Lajna [women’s auxiliary organisation]; she was also able to serve as the vice-president of the women’s auxiliary organization, USA. She also served as the local president of a Jamaat in Washington. She was very

loving and empathetic of other’s pains and hardships. She was a musia. She is survived by her husband, four brothers and two sisters; she did not have any children. One of her brothers is serving as the national vicepresident of the Jamaat in USA and another brother works in Dar al-Qaza in USA. The next funeral is of Safiyya Begum Sahiba, wife of Muhammad Sharif Sahib of Canada who passed away on 11 March [2021] at the age of 80:

َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِه و ِانا ِالي ِہ ر‬

[Verily to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.]

She was the elder daughter of respected Maulvi Charagh Din Sahib, the former missionary of Peshawar. She served as the president of the women’s auxiliary organisation in Wah Cantt for quite some time. Her husband passed away in 1993 due to an accident. After the demise of her husband, she ensured the moral training of her children in an excellent manner. She was regular in offering prayers and fasting; she would offer Tahajud prayers and was very patient and grateful. She was very sociable; she was virtuous and empathetic. She had pledged Wasiyyat at the rate of ⅓. She is survived by four daughters and one son. All of her children are serving the Jamaat in one way or another.

May Allah the Almighty bestow His forgiveness and mercy on all the deceased members and elevate their ranks.

(Original Urdu transcript published in Al Fazl International, 15 May 2021, pp. 5-10.

Translated by The Review of Religions.)

ANNOUNCEMENT Additional Wakalat Tasneef UK is looking to expand their team of books' cover designers.

The Promised Messiahas took special interest in making his books presentable and appealing to the readers by arranging beautiful calligraphy and cover designs.

We intend to follow these footsteps and endeavour to create attractive cover designs which are used for English and other translations of these books of the Promised Messiahas and his successors.

Therefore, if you have good aesthetics and designing experience, you are invited to contact us through your National Amir to volunteer in this noble cause.

Ideally, the designer should be well-versed in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator as a minimum. Jazakallah.

Editor: Qaasid Muin Ahmad | Design & Layout: Jalees Ahmad | Sub-Editorial: Ataul Fatir Tahir, Aqeel Ahmed Kang | News: Ata-ul-Haye Nasir | © Al Hakam 2021