Al Hakam - 4 June 2021

From the Markaz Huzoor graces Atfal of the Gambia in virtual mulaqat

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100 Years Ago...

Khilafat and the Jamaat: Two sides of the same coin

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’s warning to the Indian Muslims regarding noncooperation

Our Khalifa in the quiet: The greatness of humility

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THE WEEKLY

www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 | Issue CLXVIII Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL. UK info@alhakam.org | F: +44(0)208 544 7673

Be honest and sincere with your work: The Gambia Khuddam meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih On 29 May 2021, members of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya the Gambia were given the opportunity to meet with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa through a virtual meeting.

The meeting started off with a recitation of the Holy Quran, its English translation and a hadith. An Urdu poem written by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was read out by two Khuddam members.

Next, a Khadim delivered a speech on the importance of financial sacrifice in Islam. Before he delivered his speech, he addressed Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa in the following words: “It’s a privilege to stand before you and deliver a speech on the topic of ‘Importance of financial sacrifice’.”

Another Khadim gave a speech on the importance of Al-Wasiyyat. This Khadim too, before starting his speech, said to Huzooraa, “I am very delighted to present a speech before you on the topic of Wasiyyat.”

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then turned to Sadr Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya the Gambia. Sadr Sahib said they desired to show Huzooraa a video presentation, as requested in their previous meeting with Huzooraa last week. Huzooraa granted permission.

The video showed highlights of the National Khuddam Ijtema of the Gambia, which the national minister for youth and sports from the government of the Gambia also attended and addressed the Khuddam.

Sadr Sahib said Khuddam from across Continued on next page >>

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

Modesty

Hazrat Imranra bin Husain narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Modesty brings forth nothing but goodness.”

(Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, Hadith 37a)

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, In His Own Words

Guidance to save oneself from the ways of those who have incurred divine displeasure and those gone astray Moving on, (Not the path of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, and nor those who have gone astray) corresponds with (Master of the Day of Judgement). One who incessantly prays to be saved from incurring divine displeasure and being led astray receives grace from the fountain of (Master of the Day of Judgement).

The meaning and connotation of this is: ‘O You Who are the Master of the Day of Judgement, save us from being like the Jews who fell prey to the plague and other worldly afflictions, etc., and who were destroyed by divine wrath; or from being like the Christians, to whom the path of salvation was lost.’ In this verse, the Continued on page 2 Photo courtesy of Suhaib Ahmad

Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

2 Continued from page 1

Jews have been described as maghdhub or those who have incurred the wrath of God, because the misfortune of their evil deeds brought upon them divine chastisement in this very world. For they rejected the pious Prophets of God Almighty and His righteous servants, and hurt them time and again. It should also be borne in mind that here in Surah Fatihah, God Almighty has guided us to refrain from following the way of the Jews. Furthermore, He has brought this chapter to a close on the word al-dhaleen and in doing so, He has taught us to save ourselves from the path of the misguided.

What is the secret in this? The hidden reality is that an era was to dawn upon the community of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, when Muslims would imitate the Jews and only give regard to the apparent; they would rise up to reject the holy men of God, whilst applying literal meanings to metaphors, just as the Jews rejected the Messiah, son of Mary. The trial which the Jews were faced with was that they mocked the interpretation of Jesusas and asserted that if God had really intended that someone else would appear in the likeness of Elijah, why then did God not clearly state this in the prophecy?

Similarly, our opponents have taken the same route in practice and have left no stone unturned in rejecting me and causing me grief. They have even issued edicts of death against me and have sought to disgrace and annihilate me through all

<< Continued from previous page

the country attended the Ijtema. Usually, many Khuddam, as an official activity, cycle hundreds of kilometres to attend the Ijtema. However this year, cycling was not possible. Nevertheless, some Khuddam walked almost 135 kilometres on foot to attend the Ijtema. Images of various Khuddam regional events and ijtemas were also shown in the presentation.

The presentation also showcased waqare-amal sessions that took place in a government hospital, blood donations, cleaning projects with local authorities and Khuddam helping local authorities with managing Covid-19 responses.

Amila members were then given the opportunity to ask questions.

The first question, by Ahmad Adams Sahib was, “How can we serve the Jamaat and our country in the best possible way?”

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said: “You are called ‘Khuddam-ulAhmadiyya’ – servants of Allah – and the best possible way [to serve the Jamaat and your country] is to be sincere and honest with your work. You have some duties you owe to the Jamaat – you have some assignments given to you. The best possible way is, as a Khadim, if you are assigned any duty, you should always be ready to discharge that duty, to serve the Jamaat.

“And as far as your country is concerned,

kinds of schemes and conspiracies. If, by the grace of God Almighty, the British government had not ruled this land, these people would have gladdened their hearts with my murder. However, God Almighty frustrated them in all their objectives and fulfilled His promise in my favour: “And Allah will protect thee from men.”

Therefore, in this prayer, the phrase (Not the path of those who have incurred Thy displeasure), informs us about the state of a party from among the Muslims that will oppose the Promised Messiah. Moreover, the word al-dhaleen indicates that in the era of the Promised Messiahas, the trial of Christianity would reach its pinnacle in severity. At that time, the dispensation unveiled by God Almighty would be the community of the Promised Messiah.

It is for this reason that God Almighty named the Promised Messiahas, ‘the one who would break the cross’, as we learn from the Holy Prophetsa in the hadith.

The actual fact is that every Reformer (Mujaddid) came to rectify the disorders that were prevalent at the time.

Now reflect for the sake of God and it becomes evident that presently, the pen and tongue have been employed in support of the Christian concept of salvation so forcefully that if one flips through the pages of history, no parallel can be found to exist in any other era, as far as efforts to support a false doctrine are concerned.

At present, proponents who support this

you should always be honest and sincere to serve your country. If you are working in some government department, you should be very much sincere and honest. People should know that ‘he is a person who is hard-working and honest and sincere with his work; he is sincere with the country; he loves the country.’ And, as we say, that ‘love of the country is part of your faith’, if you have this in mind, then you will serve your country as an essential part of your faith.

“These are things you should always keep in mind – be sincere, honest with your work; whether you are serving the country or the Jamaat. And people should take your example, that ‘these are the people who are called Ahmadis and they are very much sincere in their work and very diligent in discharging their duties.’”

Muhammad Sharif Sahib asked why Allah refers to Himself as “We” in the Holy Quran.

In response Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa explained: “It is not that Allah the Almighty claims Himself to be plural – He is only One, and the All-Powerful and Omnipotent Allah.

But to show His Majesty, He says ‘We’ […]

There are some points where Allah says ‘I’, it is ‘Me’ Who does this thing, it is ‘Me’ who does that thing. So, in different ways, He tries to show His Majesty […]”.

Bawa Saware Sahib asked what Africa could do to be self-sufficient and achieve

Photo courtesy of Suhaib Ahmad

disorder of Christianity have gone to the very extreme in their writings. So when unjust and vigorous allegations have been levelled against the true concept of God’s Unity, and upon the chastity, dignity and truth of the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and upon the divine origin of the Book of Allah, would the jealousy of Allah Almighty not demand that he be sent from on high who was to come and break the cross? Has God Almighty forgotten His promise (Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian).

Verily, remember that the promises of God are true. In accordance with His promise, He has sent a warner to the world, and while the world has not accepted him,

development.

Huzooraa said: “It is not only a matter of developing or achieving some target for Africans only.

Every nation [that] works hard will develop and achieve their targets.

“So, the first thing is that you should give more emphasis on education. Your literacy rate should be very high. It should not be that every student gets primary education, but the target of the African governments should be that every person of their country – whether it is a girl or boy, man or woman – should be highly educated. The minimum requirement should be secondary education and if it is graduation, then that will be much better.

“If you are an educated person and your literacy rate is high, then it will broaden your mind, and you will see what the world is doing and where the world is going and what should be your goals and targets and objectives. So, you must fix your targets – big targets – so that when you make big targets, you will work hard to achieve them.

“And be honest and sincere with your work, as I have already said. If you are a teacher, you should fully concentrate on teaching your students with full preparation. It should not be that you are not well prepared and go to the school and start teaching the students. If you are a worker, you should work as hard as you can.

If you are a bureaucrat, you should be very

God Almighty will surely accept him and demonstrate his truthfulness with immensely powerful onslaughts.

I tell you truthfully that in accordance with the promise of God Almighty, I have appeared as the Promised Messiah; accept if you will, or reject me if you so please.

But remember, your denial will amount to nothing. Whatsoever God has willed shall indeed come to pass, because God Almighty has already revealed to me, as recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah: The prophecy of Allah and His Messenger has been fulfilled at its duly appointed time and whatever God had willed was bound to happen.

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 212-214)

sincere and honest with your work and try hard to achieve the ultimate object of your assignment or complete your assignment within the prescribed time and as early as possible. So, work hard and be honest and sincere with your work and your nation; that will help you develop.

“The basic thing, as I have told you, is education. Every person should try hard to get better education. If you are a welleducated person, then your goals will also be high and you will use the knowledge and wisdom you get for the betterment of your nation – for the service of your nation.”

Another Khadim asked how one could keep themselves close to religion and the Jamaat in the current age of materialism.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa replied by saying: “You know that we are passing through a time when materialism is very high, or materialism is influencing us. If you know it, then you should also know how to avoid these things. And the best thing is to discharge your duties you owe to Allah, which is to pray to Allah first and be staunch and strong in your faith. Once you are strong in your faith and you believe that Allah the Almighty listens to your prayers, hears your prayers, then you should pray to Allah that He saves you from bad things and the materialism of the world.

“Secondly, also try to follow the commandments given to us in the Holy

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 Quran and follow the sunnah of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.”

Huzooraa referred to the advice of the Holy Prophetsa who said that one should not look at and envy those who are better off than them in terms of wealth and materialistic things; rather, they should always look at those who have less than them in terms of worldly riches as this would help them be grateful for the blessings they enjoy. And as regards spirituality, the Holy Prophetsa said to always look towards those who are spiritually and morally higher than you.

Huzooraa said that by listening to this advice, “You will change your preferences; instead of following the materialistic things or the people who are materialistic, you will try to follow those people who are spiritually and morally good […]”.

Ibrahim Ajan Sahib asked Huzooraa what benefits he got from the virtual mulaqats (meetings).

In response, with a smile, Huzooraa said, “You should tell me! This should be my question, not yours.”

Huzooraa then asked Ibrahim Sahib whether he got any benefits from these virtual meetings or not. Ibrahim Sahib responded by saying, “Yes, I am getting benefits because I have followed some of the previous mulaqats on YouTube and I have heard some of the answers you gave to the questions that were asked and the advice you gave.” To this, with a smile, Huzooraa asked, “And that is helping you?”

Ibrahim Sahib responded with a “yes”, to which Huzooraa lovingly said, “Then you have answered this question yourself.”

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa then said: “At least one benefit that I get from this virtual mulaqat is that I can see your faces. I can see how strong and staunch the people of the community are in their faith.

I can see the love for Khilafat on their faces, as I see on your face. So this is the benefit which I am also getting.”

Abdul Mohees Sahib asked Huzooraa how a person could perform Jumuah prayers in an area where there was no Ahmadi mosque.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said: “If you are alone and you don’t have any other Ahmadi, then you can offer your Zuhr prayer. Or if you preach in that area, then you can say to the imam of a mosque that ‘I believe in Ahmadiyyat and I believe that the Promised Messiahas has come and I believe him as the prophet of Allah, but without any shariah, he is the true servant of the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.’ Then, if he says, ‘Okay, I agree with you’, then you can offer your Jumuah prayer behind him.

“But he will never accept it. If such a person is not going to accept the Imam of the Age who has been sent by Allah the Almighty, then it is better to avoid offering prayer behind that person and offer your own prayer. Allah knows everything; He knows your good intentions. If you don’t have other people [around you] – at least two or three people – who can join together and offer their Jumuah prayer, then Allah the Almighty can give you the reward of offering Jumuah even if you are offering your Zuhr prayer alone.

“When I was in Ghana, my family and

one other person – we were three Ahmadis there – used to offer our Jumuah prayer together there. So in this way, you can also offer your Jumuah prayer. Now the Jamaat has been established there and there is a big Jamaat there, but when I was there, there was no Ahmadi in that town – we were only three people who used to offer our Jumuah prayer […].”

Huzooraa said that even if there were no Ahmadis there, one could just offer Zuhr prayer because Allah would know their intentions and would ultimately bless them.

Another Khadim asked how one could prove the existence of the Hereafter.

Huzooraa said: “All the prophets, when they come, give us some glad tidings and also warn us against some things. And they also make some prophecies. And we see that those prophecies have been fulfilled, as we can see in the prophecies of the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And in this age, we can see there was quite a number of prophecies of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him – we have seen some be fulfilled and some of them are still being fulfilled. He claimed that ‘you will see in the future quite a number of prophecies will be fulfilled’.

“Our experience shows that whatever the prophets said was true and we have experienced that their prophecies have been fulfilled. One of the things which they told us was that this is not the only life; there is a life in the Hereafter, which is an eternal life and Allah the Almighty will reward those who do good deeds in this world and will punish those people who are not following the commandments of Allah the Almighty […].

“So, this shows that those prophets who told us about these things, because quite a number of their other prophecies […] have come true – this will also be true.

Otherwise, Allah the Almighty says that a true believer should have staunch faith in

life after death. There are quite a number of people who have seen in their dreams, or Allah the Almighty has told them in some other way, what life after death is.

Sometimes, if your loved ones pass away, people see them in their dream, in Paradise or in good conditions. Some people see their relatives in a bad condition. So that shows that there is life after death.”

A Khadim said that some people were sceptical about taking the Covid-19 vaccine. He asked for Huzoor’s views about this.

In response Huzooraa said: “If the vaccine is available there in the Gambia, you should try to get it. Don’t worry. If it is available and they want to vaccinate you with the anti-Covid vaccine, then there is no harm in getting it.”

A Khadim said that the Holy Quran said we should not eat anything on which the name of Allah had not been pronounced.

He said that most of the food in Africa was imported and wanted to know Huzoor’s advice in this regard.

Huzooraa started his answer by detailing those things that Allah, in the Holy Quran, has forbidden from eating. He then said that if an animal had been slaughtered without any name pronounced while slaughtering it, then “you can just say bismillah and eat it.”

Huzooraa said: “Here, in Europe, for instance, they don’t slaughter any animal in the name of any person, or any god or any deity […] here we can eat it after saying bismillah […]

“Although it is said that it is halal and it is haram. Halal is only that food which has been slaughtered and bled after slaughtering […] they are not killing or slaughtering any animal in the name of any person or anything else. So you can simply say bismillah and eat it. That is enough.

“If you know, for sure, that this thing has been slaughtered in the name of some other deity or some other god, then you should not consume it. Avoid […] then, for

that is haram, totally haram.”

The same Khadim asked the difference between the jinn and mankind.

Huzooraa said: “[…] There are quite a [number] of different connotations of the word jinn – jinn means anything which is hidden. This is why bacteria are also called jinn. Those people who live in hidden places and do not come out publicly, are also called jinn […]. There were people who were called jinn, mentioned in the Holy Quran, who came to listen to the words of the Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And they said that ‘we have listened to these words, and these are true teachings which we should try to believe in’ […].”

Huzooraa said these people wanted to keep their visit a secret and did not want to be known publicly and so, they went back to their country and spread the message of Islam.

Huzooraa said, “Anything which is hidden, is called jinn.” He highlighted how big people who stayed out of public sight were referred to as jinn and even according to a hadith, bacteria were known as jinn. Huzooraa said human beings were also jinn – those people who claim themselves to be above ordinary people and try to keep themselves distanced fall under this category.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then said to Sadr Sahib that the time was over.

Sadr Sahib said: “Jazakallah khayran beloved Huzooraa!

We are very much thankful to you again for giving us the opportunity to spend time with you, despite your busy schedule. We continue to pray for you.”

Huzooraa said, “Jazakallah! May Allah the Almighty bless you all.” Huzooraa then conveyed his salaam and the meeting came to a successful end.

(Report prepared by Al Hakam)

Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

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From

You and I should both pray for my

the

visit to the Gambia: Huzoor graces

Markaz

Atfal of the Gambia in virtual mulaqat

On 30 May 2021, Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya the Gambia were given the opportunity to meet with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa through a virtual meeting.

The meeting started with a recitation of the Holy Quran by Muhammad Sheriff Colley. Hearing his recitation, Huzooraa asked, “Are you doing hifz? Are you memorising the Holy Quran?” Muhammad Sheriff Colley replied in the affirmative.

Next, Muhammad Issa Joof presented the English translation of the recited portion.

A hadith was presented by Masroor Ahmad Tanja in Arabic and its English translation was presented by Ebrahim Alem Nyabally.

An Urdu poem was then recited by Masroor Ahmad Hydara and Hassan Mansoor Ahmad Darboe and its English translation was presented by Bashirudeen Kassama.

Following this, a tifl, Salam Balde, delivered a speech on the importance of Salat. Then, Jahanzaib Ahmad had the opportunity to deliver a speech on the blessings of Khilafat.

After this, whilst addressing Sadr Sahib, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said, “There are two Masroors here. When were they born?

How old are they?” Both of them replied that they were 14 years of age.

Huzooraa then asked Masroor Ahmad Hydara, “Who gave you this name?” to which he answered that his father and mother named him. Huzooraa then said, “Masha-Allah! So, you are a born Ahmadi?”

Masroor Ahmad Hydara replied in the affirmative.

Next, Atfal were given the opportunity to pose questions to Huzooraa.

The first question was how one could

establish a relationship with Allah the Almighty.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa answered: “The best way is that you should always think that whatever you are doing, Allah the Almighty is watching over you. Whatever you do, Allah the Almighty sees. So, when you have this type of mindset that whatever you are doing, Allah Almighty is watching over you, then you will not do bad things and will try to follow everything which Allah says to do. And you try to avoid all those things which Allah says you should not do […]

“You can hide from people, but you cannot hide from Allah. Secondly, as Allah has said that the five daily prayers are obligatory, you have to offer these five daily prayers. So, when you are praying, then you should pray to Allah Almighty, in your sajdas [prostrations] that Allah may make you so strong and staunch that you have a good relationship with Allah […]

When your prayers are listened to, then you will develop a strong relationship with Allah in a much better way.

“So, never leave the five daily prayers.

And, whilst you are praying, you should pray to Allah the Almighty that he should make this bond stronger than ever before.”

Next, a tifl asked how he could spend his time as a student and what the best time to study was. He then asked how he could be successful in life.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa stated: “Being a student, you must realise your responsibilities; you have to fix a goal; you should set yourself some target. If you want to be a scientist, then always keep in mind that you have to work hard to become a scientist. If you want to be a doctor, always

“

Work hard, fix your targets, and always remember that you have to achieve your target, and for that, you will have to work hard.

keep in mind that you will have to work hard, and [the same goes for being an] engineer, lawyer and so on and so forth.

“In this way, you will fix a target for yourself and you will work hard to achieve that target […]. Whatever you study in school, you should revise it immediately when you come back home so that you may remember what you studied in school. And if you know what your teacher will teach you the next day, you should also try to read from your book, that ‘this is what we will study tomorrow’. So, in this way, you will have a better grasp and comprehension of that subject and you will understand it in a better way […]

“Work hard, fix your targets, and always remember that you have to achieve your target and for that, you will have to work hard.”

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa was asked how he spent the recent Eid. Hearing this, Huzooraa smiled and said: “After offering the Eid prayer and delivering my Eid sermon, I came to my office and prepared for my next Friday sermon. Then, after delivering the sermon and offering the Jumuah prayer, I came home, had lunch with my family members

and I enjoyed that. And then in the evening, I went round to see the children here in Islamabad, spent time with the people living here, then came back and again started my work in the office. This is how I spent my Eid.” A tifl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa that out of the 124,000 prophets, why is it that only 25 were mentioned in the Holy Quran.

Huzooraa replied: “The Holy Quran says, ‘We have sent prophets in each and every nation’. The Holy Quran and the Bible have mentioned some important prophets. And these are the prophets whose followers are also present today. This is one reason.

“The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said – there is a tradition in a hadith – that there were 124,000 prophets. Allah the Almighty says, ‘We have sent prophets in each and every nation’, some of whom are mentioned in the Holy Quran. But the Promised Messiahas has mentioned that Buddha, Krishna and Confucius were also prophets […]

Huzooraa further said: “Had Allah started giving the details of

AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 each and every prophet, the Quran would have been a very big, voluminous book.

Now, with these 24-25 prophets, Allah has given us an example that these were prophets, these were their nations, this is how they worked, and this is what happened to their nations – those who disobeyed were destroyed, and those who followed their prophets were saved […] So, Allah has just given us some examples; it is not necessary to give each and every detail.”

A tifl asked who he should please, to please Allah.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa stated: “Allah the Almighty says to invoke durood upon the Holy Prophetsa. If you say durood:

“then Allah will be happy and will listen to your prayers. So, Allah says that ‘whatever is written in the Holy Quran, these are My commandments; and whatever the Holy Prophetsa has done, that is his sunnah. So, if you want to please Me, follow the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa.’

“And, as prophesied by the Holy Prophetsa, in the Latter Days, the reformer of the age would come. So Allah says, ‘If you want to please Me, then you must accept that reformer as well’, who was the true servant of the Holy Prophetsa and whose advent was foretold in the Holy Quran as well.

“If you accept the Promised Messiahas and follow his teachings, that will also please Allah. Then, after that, [we must follow] the system which has been given to us by Allah, after the demise of the Promised Messiahas, that is Khilafat. If you are attached to Khilafat, you will become one strong community and then there will be unity. When there is unity, then Allah will be pleased […]”.

Upon being asked how one could strengthen and increase one’s faith, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said: “It is only Allah the Almighty who can give you strength […] Always seek Allah’s help in strengthening your faith and offer the five daily prayers; pray to Allah in your sajdas that, ‘O Allah, strengthen my faith and let it never be that I lose my faith in any way.’ In your five daily prayers, you should pray for this […]

“Then, also try to read and understand the Holy Quran and note the commandments given in the Holy Quran, all the injunctions given in the Holy Quran, all the instructions given in the Holy Quran for a true believer to follow. And try to avoid all those things which we are told to avoid. In this way, we can strengthen our faith. But the main thing is to pray to Allah that He always makes you strong and staunch in your faith.”

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then quoted the following prayers:

“Our Lord, let not our hearts become perverse after Thou hast guided us; and bestow on us mercy from Thyself; surely, Thou alone art the Bestower.” (Surah Al-eImran, Ch.3: V.9) “O our Lord, pour forth steadfastness

upon us, and make our steps firm, and help us against the disbelieving people.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.251) Huzooraa said: “You should also pray that Allah gives you strength and makes you patient, strong and steadfast. The only way is to pray to Allah the Almighty that He gives you the strength.”

Next, a tifl asked Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa if it was permissible to celebrate birthdays as children.

Huzooraa said: “As Ahmadi children, yes, you can celebrate your birthday in your houses.

There is no need to spend money on inviting people to your birthday. You can sit together with your family members and prepare some sweet and enjoy it – some cake, some pastry, make a feast even and enjoy it. But to invite so many people and celebrate it in a lavish way, is not permissible.

“We never celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophetsa […] so if we don’t celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophetsa, what is the need to celebrate our own birthdays.

But just to enjoy it, to remember that today is your birthday, you can sit together with your family members and your mother can prepare some good food for you – even cake or pastry, or something like that, or some other sweet, or whichever food you like; you can enjoy it at home.

“But there is no need to invite fellow students, no. That is just a waste of time and money. Instead, if you have enough money, you can give some amount to charity so that poor people can also enjoy some food from your money. There are quite a number of poor people in the world who are even deprived of daily food; they are hungerstricken; they are suffering. So instead of spending money on something which is just useless, you should help the poor people so that they can at least eat food and enjoy their life.

“Also, you should celebrate your birthday by offering two nafl. Pray to Allah the Almighty [express your gratitude] that Allah has blessed you with this life and blessed you with so many things. So you should thank Allah for this and also seek His Help and pray to Allah that He always gives you strength in the future so that you can be a good asset for the Jamaat and your nation.”

A tifl asked how one can further strengthen and increase his love for Huzooraa and be dedicated to the institution of Khilafat.

Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa said: “If you are following the commandments of Allah and following the instructions of the Khalifa of the time, then that means that you love the institution of Khilafat. The main thing is that you should love the institution of Khilafat. Once you are determined to love the institution of Khilafat and you try your level best to save the institution of Khilafat, then that means you love the Khalifa of the time.

“Also, follow the instructions given to you by the Khalifa of the time because the Khalifa of the time always gives instructions according to the teachings of Holy Quran and the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and the teachings of the Promised Messiahas” which are an explanation of the true teachings of Islam.”

A young tifl asked Hazrat Amirul

“

5

Always seek Allah’s help in

strengthening your faith and

offer the five daily prayers; pray to Allah in your sajdas that, “O Allah, strengthen my faith and let it never be that I lose my faith in any way.” In your five daily prayers, you should pray for this.

Momineenaa which prayer he likes and recited the most.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said: “There are quite a number of prayers which I like. I like the prayer: “O Allah, whatever blessing you bestow on me, I am in need of that.” (Surah alQasas, Ch.28: V.58) So, there are quite a number of prayers.

“My Lord, bestow wisdom on me and join me with the righteous; And give me a true and lasting reputation among posterity.”

(Surah al-Shu‘ara, Ch.26: V.84-85) “[…] there are so many prayers which I like and recite. [I recite] Durood Sharif and istighfar as well. Istighfar is the main thing which a person should recite and I also try to give more emphasis on doing istighfar.”

A tifl stated that he usually got angry quickly and requested Huzooraa to pray for him. Huzooraa responded: “When you get angry, you should drink cold water […] You should also recite istighfar.”

He further asked how one could become regular in prayer. Huzooraa said: “Always remember that Allah Almighty has stated that Salat is obligatory.”

Following this, a tifl expressed his desire for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa to visit the Gambia soon.

Huzooraa said: “Okay then; pray for it; pray that Allah the Almighty enables me to visit the Gambia as early as possible. I also want to visit [the] Gambia. I don’t know if you are more anxious [about] my visit or I am more anxious than you. We should both pray.

When Allah accepts our prayers, then I will visit the Gambia, insha-Allah. Then I will see you there personally.”

A tifl asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa what the exemplary qualities of a tifl should be and secondly, he also expressed his desire to serve the Jamaat and sought guidance as to how he could serve.

Huzooraa said: “An exemplary tifl should be very well behaved, obeying his parents, working hard in his studies, offering the five daily prayers, reciting the Holy Quran daily and listening to the sermons I deliver on MTA. They should not waste time gossiping or playing games that are useless – you can play football, but not video games. Do not watch bad programmes on the television; try to increase your religious knowledge.”

Answering the second question, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said: “As I have already said, you should a make a target […]”. Huzooraa then asked him what he wanted to do in the future. In response, the young tifl said he wanted to become a banker.

Huzooraa said: “So, if you want to be a banker, that is okay. You will have to work hard and be honest; when you become a banker, then try to be honest with your work and serve the people. It should not be that you only try to earn money and try to make yourself rich only. Your main purpose should be to serve the people of your nation […]”.

With this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said the time was over and said: “It was good meeting your Atfal-ulAhmadiyya. I don’t know whether they enjoyed it or not, but I enjoyed sitting with them.”

Sadr Sahib replied in the affirmative and said that the Atfal expressed that they also enjoyed the meeting.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa conveyed his salaam and the meeting came to a close.

(Report prepared by Al Hakam)

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

This Week in History 4-10 June 4 June 1944: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra presided over the formal inaugural ceremony of the Talim-ul-Islam College in Qadian. On 2 June, Punjab University telegram, that the government had permitted the establishment of the were enrolled.

The inauguration ceremony was held at Islam College. After a recitation of the Holy Quran and recital of nazm, Hazrat Malik Ghulam Farid MAra, who served as the college’s secretary, gave a detailed report about its establishment. Then, rh , who served as the principal of this college, details.

Following this, after reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah alFatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra outlined the purpose of establishing the college and gave valuable and important instructions to the professors and students.

In his opening speech, Huzoorra announced the establishment of Fazl-eUmar Research Institute and stated that its supervision was given to Chaudhry Abdul Ahad Sahib. It should be noted that in that time, there were several research institutes in Bengal, Allahabad and Delhi etc., which were operating either under the government’s of various universities. However, there was no institution for the hundreds of millions of Muslims living in the whole country. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra always had an earnest desire for such an institute. Then, at last, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, the means of its establishment were arranged and thus, established to combat the growing wave of Western philosophy.

Scenes from Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud'sra tour of Europe, 1955

4 June 1955: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was in Europe. Some glimpses of his activities recorded are as follows: On 4 June, Huzoor inspected the mission house of Zurich. On 5 June, Huzoorra delivered a speech in English ra

an interview of Huzoorra was televised by a Swiss television channel in English.

On the same day, a Yugoslavian man entered the fold of the Jamaat. On ra went to southern Switzerland’s city of Lugano.

On 11 June, Huzoorra reached Italy’s port, the city of Venice. On 14 June, Huzoorra was in Austria. On 15 June, Huzoorra On 17 June, Huzoorra was in The Hague; between 19 to 24 June.

On 25 June, Huzoorra was in Hamburg, where a famous journalist conducted his interview for his newspaper. On 26 June, an Orientalist performed bai‘at at the hand of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra – he was given the Muslim name of Zubair.

Huzoorra addressed a reception in

to build a mosque in Germany.

On 27 June, Huzoorra received some same day, Huzoorra attended a gathering arranged by locals and delivered a speech in English for half an hour. Many newspapers covered the abovementioned events. Then, on 29 June, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, once again, 5 June 1929: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra

AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021

7

September. During this stay, he invited the locals to increase their moral,

not a single Muslim newspaper was

in the future.

publishing this fortnightly newspaper, Muslim Times, to present an Islamic point of view on various matters to the Western world.

Apart from his family and children, the following people accompanied Huzoorra during this journey: Hazrat Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Halalpurira, Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim Dardra, Hazrat Dr Hashmatullah Khanra, Maulvi Qamaruddin Sahib. During this trip, Huzoorra attended a Jalsa in Yaripora where 64 people took the oath of allegiance.

During this trip, Huzoorra also went to ask about the wellbeing of Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib. Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib was residing in a tent on a height Srinagar ahead

arriving in India, he was assigned

7 June 1915:The Promised Messiah’sas youngest daughter,

Hoshiarpur during the plague epidemic.

For the same purpose, he was also appointed in district Gurdaspur. When the Promised Messiahas would go to Gurdaspur for court cases, he would stay at his house.

Amatul Hafeez Begum’sra nikah with Muhammad Abdullah Khanra, son of

Hazrat Dr Hashmatullah Khanra

Huzoorra stayed with him for an hour.

While mentioning this incident, Huzoorra stated that he had gone to meet with him and asked about his wellbeing to

to develop and propagate the message of the Jamaat. During his military service, he visited the ports of Mombasa and surrounding areas and was very skilled in preaching the teachings of Islam.

Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Abdullah Khanra

Muhammad Ali Khanra of Malerkotla, was announced.

Hazrat Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Rajekira announced this nikah in Masjid Aqsa, Hazrat Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Rajekira was called from Lahore to announce the nikah. The nikah was announced at seven o’clock in the evening.

Hazrat Ummul Momineen, Amma Janra, had a dream about the blessings of this marriage during the time of the Promised Messiahas. ra

Hazrat Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Halalpurira

injunction.

According to the situation and Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib’s health, Huzoorra said that the discussion mainly revolved around his illness.

lived a long life and passed away in with the following children: March 1919)

5 June 1931: Upon the completion of Promised Messiah’sas book, Fath-e-Islam Tahira Begum Sahiba (Born 3 June 1921) (Victory of Islam) Hazrat Musleh-eMaudra emphasised that every member 1923) of the Jamaat should strive to become regular in Tahajud prayer and endeavour to propagate the message of Islam.

1927) In his Friday sermon, Hazrat Musleh-eShahida Begum Sahiba (Born 31 October Maudra 1934) support and said that the Jamaat should the Jamaat. Huzoorra said that when blessing, that blessing is taken away.

Huzoorra stated that despite the efforts of enemies, the Jamaat has continued to prosper.

Al Fazl published a special issue about this successful tour. Moreover, Khalid magazine of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Markaziyya and Majlis Khuddam-ulAhmadiyya Karachi published special Tahrik-e-Jadid published a booklet titled Africa Speaks.

9 June 1921: Hazrat Dr Muhammad Ismailra of Goryani passed away. He was among the blessed companions who accepted the Promised Messiahas. He was buried in Bahishti Maqbarah Qadian. On Hazrat Dr Muhammad Ismailra of Goryani the morning of his demise, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra had seen a dream about his demise.

Hazrat Dr Muhammad Ismail of Goryani accepted Islam Ahmadiyyat after studying the Promised Messiah’s book, Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam. ra

During his stay in Africa, he worked hard

10 June 1946: Hazrat Maulana Karam Ilahi Zafar and Maulana Muhammad Ishaq Saqi Sahib reached Madrid with the aim of establishing the Ahmadiyya Mission in Spain. Keeping in mind the historic and glorious past of Muslims in this part of the earth, their humble entrance in Spain was an emotional and faith-inspiring episode.

These missionaries had been living in London for the before leaving for Spain – and left London on 3 June after completing the necessary process to enter Spain.

Hazrat Musleh-eHazrat Maulana Karam Maudra delivered Ilahi Zafar a speech in Masjid Mubarak Qadian upon receiving news that the missionaries had reached Spain. Huzoorra said that ever since he had read about Islam’s history in Spain, he had desired that Allah the Almighty enabled him to revive the glory of Islam in Spain once again. Huzoorra said that Sahib to Spain. However, after some time, a war erupted there. Huzoorra further stated that by the grace of God Almighty, the Jamaat’s missionaries had reached the capital of Spain, Madrid.

However, Huzoorra added that two missionaries were not enough for Spain’s vast land.

October 1935) 1941) Mian Mustafa Ahmad Khan Sahib (Born

6 June 1935: The Imam of Fazl Mosque, 8 June 1970: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih London, Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim rh ra Dard launched the Muslim Times from III returned to Rabwah after his tour of West Africa and Europe. He left Karachi London.

It should be noted that at that time,

Lahore Airport at 9:35 am. Then, he

newspapers in London alone, and a large part of the world was under the

On the way to Rabwah, he stayed in Sheikhupura and reached Rabwah at 1:45 pm.

Maulana Muhammad Ishaq Saqi Sahib standing second from left, Euston station, London, 1946

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

Khilafat and the Jamaat: Two sides of the same coin Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Sweden requested Sahibzada Mirza Waqas Ahmad Sahib to address the concluding session of their Khilafat Day Jalsa on 30 May 2021. The English translation of this faith-inspiring talk given by Mirza Waqas Ahmad Sahib is presented below:

Sahibzada Mirza Waqas Ahmad I have been asked to speak on the relationship between the Khalifa and the Jamaat.

Every Ahmadi is not only a witness to this connection but also feels it first-hand, but it is the Khulafa who feel and witness this unique connection. Since all Khulafa of the Promised Messiahas have described this otherwise indescribable connection that bonds the Jamaat and Khilafat together, what better way to present this than in their own words?

I will, therefore, present before you the very own words of Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat in this regard, starting with an excerpt from a Friday Sermon of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, which he delivered last year in

the month of May. About a week before this sermon, Huzooraa had faced an injury by tripping over; this fall had left bruises and hurt on Huzoor’s face and other parts of his body.

This incident brought with it an extraordinary expression of the Jamaat’s love, devotion and concern for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa. In the sermon that followed this incident, Huzooraa expressed his gratitude for the Jamaat. The following excerpt is from that sermon: “First of all, I would like to thank all the Ahmadis who expressed their sentiments in an exceptional manner and offered intense supplications after I sustained injuries from a fall. May Allah the Almighty grant the most excellent reward to all of you and may

He increase your sincerity and loyalty.

“In this age, it is only in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat that one can find such an example of mutual love, especially sincerity and loyalty, that it shows towards the Khalifa of the time. This is purely expressed for the sake of Allah the Almighty and in accordance with His instruction. It is only Allah the Almighty, Who can instil this mutual love.

“In such a case, one cannot determine as to who feels more pain for the other. At times, it seems that the love the members of the Jamaat have for Khilafat is at its peak and upon seeing the examples of some people, it may appear that the attachment and affection of the Khalifa of the time towards the members of the Jamaat may not

be of the same level.

“Nevertheless, this love and this relationship is mutual. As I said, this is such a relationship the likes of which one cannot find in any other worldly relations.

I particularly like these words of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh: ‘The Khalifa of the time and the Jamaat are two names of the same entity.’ (Khutbat-e-Nasir, Vol. 4, p. 423, Friday Sermon, 29 September 1972)

“It is due to the acceptance of your prayers that by the grace of Allah the Almighty, the injuries healed exceptionally quickly. The doctor told me that facial injuries usually heal very quickly, but he was not expecting them to heal this quick. I told him that treatment has its own importance, but the true factor are the supplications that

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 are being made by Ahmadis.

“I had personally thought that there were quite a few injuries and it may take up to two weeks for them to heal and even then it may leave some marks of the injury. However, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, everything was cleared within seven to eight days […]”.

This mercy of Allah the Almighty can only be acquired through prayers.

“I remember that some time ago, I was suffering from extreme pain in my shoulder and arm, so much so that it was difficult to raise the arm and would need to use help of the other hand. When I showed it to a specialist doctor, he said that this pain could persist for a period anywhere between six weeks to three to four months. In any case, when he re-examined after a few days, he saw that by the grace of Allah the Almighty, 90% of the pain had been alleviated, upon which he was very surprised.

“I told him that this is how Allah the Almighty blesses a person when hundreds of thousands of people are praying for him. He was an Englishman and said, “I am a Christian and I come from a religious family. I also believe in prayers.” He said, “This is certainly the result of prayers.”

“Hence, this is purely owing to grace of Allah the Almighty, which we should continuously be seeking from Him and submit before Him.” (Friday Sermon delivered by

of the Jamaat expressed their love for Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira at that time. By the grace of Allah, this expression of love and devotion continues, generation after generation, to this day.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa has repeatedly said, and has recently said again in his latest Friday Sermon [on 28 May 2021], that this mutual bond of the Jamaat and Khalifatul Masih is a manifestation of

the condition of the hearts whose love I much require. There are some about whose cordial state with the Jamaat and myself I was not aware of, but the way they have been at my service around the clock is proof of their sincerity.” (Hayat-e-Nur, p. 480) The reaction of the Jamaat on receiving the news of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I’sra accident was recorded in Al Hakam by Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira: “When the news of the incident reached the Jamaat, men and women arrived in crowds. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira said to tell the women that ‘I am fine; I am neither anxious nor scared. Tell them to head back home and leave behind their names so I may pray for them.’

“Without a hint of my religious attachment or exaggeration, I state the fact that these devotees of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa i.e. the men who are raised to sainthood and Khilafat only remember their Jamaat even in the time of pain and anguish.

Even in his state of illness, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira consistently said, ‘I shall pray for you’.” (Al Hakam, 28 November 1910, Vol. 14, no. 40, p. 18)

I would like to cite here another example from the present Khilafat. Immediately after Huzooraa got injured and while the doctor was cleaning the wounds and bruises, Huzooraa was continuously worried about

Masih Ira cared for his Jamaat members: “Those in service of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih possess a natural love for him. They want to see him recover to good health soon and resume the noble work of teaching the Holy Quran.” (Al Hakam, 7 December 1919, Vol. 14, no. 41)

Once, a member of the Jamaat and his wife were expecting a baby. His wife developed a complication in labour, so he rushed to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira to request him for prayers. The doorman said that he could not convey the message to Huzoorra at such a late hour of the night as Huzoorra must have retired.

Having overheard this debate, Huzoorra emerged out of the door. He prayed and handed the gentleman a date to feed his wife. Her labour went well and a healthy child was born.

When that gentleman came for the Fajr prayer, he informed Huzoorra that the birth had happened and there were no complications thereafter. Huzoorra said to him, “Your child was born; you and your wife went to sleep peacefully. Had you informed me during the night, I too would have slept in peace. I prayed all night for your wife.” (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 3, p. 553) Similarly, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra mentions this unique connection of love in the following words:

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, 22 May 2020)

The above excerpt was from the present day.

After the demise of the Promised Messiahas, the institution of Khilafat was established. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira once got hurt by falling off his horse. The concern and love that the Jamaat expressed at that time were also exceptional.

Reading through the reports from that time, one feels that the reporter might have written in an exaggerated manner.

On the contrary, those of us who live closer to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa and witness this love of the Jamaat for the Khalifa, feel that the reporters probably missed a lot of details; the love and sincerity seem to be under-reported, in fact.

I will give a brief account of the accident where Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira got hurt. On Friday, 18 November 1910, as Huzoorra rode back to his residence from the mansion of Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khanra, he fell off the horse that he was riding and was injured. This fall was a great shock for the whole Jamaat and left everyone traumatised. As the news got out, members of the Jamaat travelled to visit their beloved master. Letters started pouring in from all parts of the country, enquiring about Huzoor’s health. Every member of the Jamaat, young and old, devoted themselves to prayers. Requests for prayers were officially issued and those who had asked to be informed directly by post were sent postal updates. The love and devotion of the Jamaat for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihra on that occasion was exemplary.

Hazrat Mir Hussain Qureshira, a companion of the Promised Messiahas, supplicated to God that “O Allah, the needs of Hazrat Noah’s time were quite limited, but the demands of this age are not hidden from You. Pray accept our supplications and grant Huzoorra the lifetime of Hazrat Noahas.” (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 3, pp. 330-331) This is one example of how members

Allah’s testimony, just as is His favour for the Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. Those outside the Jamaat see this manifestation, but choose to live in denial.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira, upon seeing the Jamaat’s response, said, “It is satisfying to see that in these days of my illness, the Jamaat has turned to Allah”. (Ibid) I must mention here that when Huzooraa got injured last year, whenever I got the chance to inform Huzooraa about the messages of love and prayers from members of the Jamaat, he too said that such accidents enable the Jamaat to turn to Allah and pray to him.

Coming back to the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira, he wrote a message back to the Jamaat, saying: “This test that has befallen me has brought with it a wave of Allah’s mercy and compassion. Allah has laid bare before me

how anxious the Jamaat would be and how he would be able to deliver the Friday Sermon; praying constantly that the wounds may heal before Friday. The doctor said that the wounds might not heal by the coming Friday, or maybe even the following one.

Huzooraa continued to express his concern for the anxiousness the Jamaat would have to endure and also continued to pray that the wounds may heal before Friday.

As I said, the bruise had pretty much healed by the next Friday. So, this testimony of Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira is an absolute reality that saints and Khulafa never cease to be concerned about their Jamaat even in times of their personal pain. By the grace of Allah, we see that this concern of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih for his Jamaat continues to this day.

Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfanira goes on to mention how much Hazrat Khalifatul

“I can most honestly state that the love and compassion I have for my people, for being at this status that God has granted me, cannot exist even between a father and a son, or vice versa. But when I compare this compassion of mine with that of the prophets, it is as if comparing a firefly with the sun – the love of the prophets appears to have no bounds.” (Swanih Fazl-e-Umar, Vol. 5, p. 468)

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further states: “It is by Allah’s grace that he gave in my hands the reins of such a Jamaat about which I would be most ungrateful to say that it does not listen to me. To say that they listen to me would be an understatement; there are many who are ready to sacrifice their wealth, time, honour and anything that is dear to them, only at a signal on my Continued on next page >>

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM grandeur of Allah, initiated by the Promised Messiahas; the same mission carried forward to the corners of the earth by Hazrat Muslehe-Maudra through sacrificing everything dear to him; you are the ones who will keep speeding up your efforts […]

“My prayers are with you and I am in great need of yours. To alleviate your burdens, and for the peace of your hearts, and for your worries to be removed, I have asked my Merciful God to show me a sign through the acceptance of my prayers. I trust that Pure Being that He will not reject my supplication.” (Hayat-e-Nasir, p. 374) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh once recalled how some Christian missionaries met Huzoorrh in Copenhagen. One of them asked what status Huzoorrh held in the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. He replied by saying: “This question is incorrect because we take the Ahmadiyya Jamaat and the imam of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat to be one and the same thing; they combine to become one.

It is the responsibility of Khilafat that it should alleviate the pain of the Jamaat and

<< Continued from previous page

behalf.” (Swanih Fazl-e-Umar, Vol. 2, p. 85) Describing how believers in Khilafate-Ahmadiyya are different from those who deny it, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states: “Is there any difference between you and those who denied Khilafat? Apparently, no, there isn’t! But actually, there is a great difference. For you, there is a person who has a great deal of love and compassion for you; one who takes your pain to be his own; who takes your problems to be his own; one who supplicates to God for you. For them, there is none.

“This one person feels your agonies and pains and prays restlessly to God for you; for them, there is no one to do so.

“An ordinary person becomes restless if a single person close to them falls ill; can you imagine the state of a person whose thousands, rather hundreds of thousands are taken ill?

“So, you continue to enjoy your freedom, but a person who was once free like you has been taken to carry a huge burden of responsibilities.” (Barakat-e-Khilafat, Anwar-ulUlum, Vol. 2, p. 158)

As Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud set out on his journey to England in 1924, he sent a message from the deck of the ship before setting sail from Mumbai. Huzoorra assured his Jamaat that his prayers had always remained with the Jamaat, always would remain with the Jamaat and that he was devoted for the Jamaat in life and death.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, in this message, gave the example of a quarrel that could happen in common households: A wife asks her husband to buy her jewellery, whereas the husband finds excuses to avoid the big expense. Hazrat Musleh-eMaudra says that he had, on the contrary, come across women who wanted to donate their jewellery and valuables for the Jamaat, whereas the husbands told them to keep them safe for a time of need.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said: “Allah has blessed our Jamaat with such devotion that while worldly women run after jewellery, our women run after us to accept it as donation.” (Swanih Fazl-e-Umar, Vol. ra

would jump into them.” (Mein hi Musleh-e-Maud ki peshgoi ka misdaq hoon, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 17, pp.

241-242)

We know it from history that people would jump onto the train that Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra would be travelling in; they would run parallel to the train for as long as they could.

We witness such expressions of devotion to this day. Those who have travelled with Huzooraa and even those who watch Huzoor’s tours through MTA, have witnessed children and youth longingly see Huzoor’s car arrive, even run parallel to it to catch a glimpse of Huzooraa, wave to him to express their love and devotion for Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa. This love and devotion has been passed down from one generation to the next.

Going back in history, when Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was on his tour to Europe, Babu Siraj Din Sahib wrote to Huzooraa the following words: “O my master! We are far from you and are helpless. Had it been possible, we would 3, p. 324) turn into dust and cling to your shoes, only “It surprises me immensely and I find to be saved from the pain of being distanced. myself saying to God, ‘O Allah, what strange I have not been to Qadian for four years, ways Your will has! How have You instilled but at least I had the peace of mind that such love for me in the hearts of my people?’ whenever I wanted, I could travel to see my “If I decide to ride a horse for a journey, master. But now, even to pass a single day is a few men start to walk alongside for my burdensome. May Allah bring Huzoor back protection. As I come off the horse, they safely, triumphant and victorious.” (Swanih rush to massage my feet, thinking I must Fazl-e-Umar, Vol. 5, p. 475) be tired. I am left amazed when I consider Now, coming back to the present time, that I was riding on the horse, and these the last year-and-a-half has seen many men walked on foot beside my horse; their restrictions by law as well as by way of safety. love shields this thought in their mind that I People have been unable to visit Islamabad, was riding the horse and they were walking, Tilford. Similar expressions of love can be replacing it with the thought that they were witnessed. So many people say that we would riding and I had walked along. sacrifice anything in exchange for a visit to “I insist that I am not tired and these Islamabad; anything for a single prayer to men insist that, ‘No, you must be tired. Give be offered behind Huzooraa; and anything us the chance to serve you’; saying so, they to partake in the Friday congregation with start to massage my feet […] (Swanih Fazl-e- Huzooraa. For a huge number of people, it Umar, Vol. 3, p. 471) has been more than a year that they haven’t “Allah has granted me the swords that seen Huzooraa. They vehemently express split apart any infidelity. God has gifted their desire to see Huzooraa live once again, me with hearts that are ready to sacrifice and their hearts ache at their helplessness. anything at my call. Should I ask them to Some people have given vent to their jump into the sea, they would be ready to do emotions by only driving past Islamabad, so. If I were to ask them to jump off a cliff, looking helplessly towards Huzoor’s office they would most certainly do so. Should I and house, praying for his wellbeing. In the ask them to jump into burning ovens, they given restrictions, this is the closest they

could get to Huzooraa, and they availed this chance too even though it meant only driving past the main gates and merely glancing towards Huzoor’s abode.

Such an expression of devotion can never be out of conceit; it is a bond of true love instilled in the hearts of one generation after the other.

History has it that when an attempt was made at the life of Hazrat Muslehe-Maudra, a huge wave of concern and anguish ran through the spine of the Jamaat.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra sent a message in response: “I have always loved you more than my wives and my children. I have been ready to sacrifice anyone dear and near to me in the way of Islam Ahmadiyyat. I expect you and your generations to follow suit.” (Tarikhe-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 17, pp. 234-235)

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh also described this bond of love between Khilafat and the Jamaat. I quote here a few extracts: “I am aware of how the Jamaat prays for me; they pray for the success of my objectives. When the Khalifa has to worry for their worry, they, in return, get even more concerned that the Khalifa is having to endure pain for them […]

“Just as an injured finger causes the whole body to become restless, and just as mental stress causes the body to feel stressed, the same is the case with the Khalifa of the time and Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya.

“It is, therefore, wrong to see the Jamaat and the Khalifa as two different entities. By the grace of Allah, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya and imam of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya are one and the same; both combine to result in a form of unison.” (Al Fazl, 21 May 1978) On another occasion, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh stated: “O my brethren, who are dearer to me than my life, every bit of my being I offer to you as homage. You have, by the grace of Allah, shown such a great example of unity and stability that the angels in the Heavens are proud of you. So receive the blessings of heavenly souls.

“History will remember you and the generations to come will take pride in you for that act of uniting on the hand of this humble one and pledging to forward the mission of establishing the Oneness and

for the Khalifa to pray for the Jamaat. There are occasions when the Khalifa of the time prays for you all through the night.

“During the 1974 episode, I think I was not able to sleep for two months. Many months passed in praying. Therefore, the Khalifa of the time is one who shares your sorrow and your happiness […]

“The bitterness experienced in those days by the individuals of the Jamaat would all accumulate in my heart. There came nights when I, by the grace and blessings of Allah, continuously prayed for Ahmadis without sleeping for even a minute. I request the members of the Jamaat to remember me in prayers also. May Allah keep me in good health and may He enable me to carry out the responsibilities that he has laid upon my shoulders. Pray that the Jamaat and I are able to fulfil our duties, for I do not see the Jamaat and myself as distinct to each other.

The Jamaat and the imam of the Jamaat are two names of the same body and two angles of the same view.” (Al Fazl, 21 May 1978) I will now present a few excerpts from the sayings of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh. Huzoorrh stated: “A living miracle of the Promised Messiahas, that encompasses all other miracles, is the establishment of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, its training and its special features that are nowhere to be found

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 in the world […]

“Its devotional love and its adoring makes one envious. Despite the fact that there is love, but there remains a sort of envy.” (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 1, pp. 2-3) A Canadian professor who had visited Rabwah and had met Ahmadis and the Jamaat’s officials visited Hazrat Khalifatul Masihrh on his way back to Canada. Having met Huzoorrh, he is reported to have said that he thought the Jamaat loved their imam, but he had actually seen that their imam loved them even more. (Mahana Khalid, Syeduna Tahir, no. 2004, p.299)

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh said on one occasion: “The Jamaat of the Promised Messiahas is so adorable that not to adore it is just not possible; one is left with no choice but to love it. The one worry that makes my heart melt is that I am able to fulfil the rights of the Jamaat that have been entrusted to me by the Promised Messiahas. I desire to die in a state that Allah assures me that I have fulfilled its rights.” (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 3, p. 374) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh once expressed this bond of mutual love in one of his couplets: “I am not distinct from you, as you are my universe; It’s you that gives meaning and soul to my life.” (Kalam-e-Tahir, p. 26) Now, I will present some sayings of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa. We have heard Huzooraa, on many occasions, speak about and mention his deep love for the Jamaat – at times, using expressions such as, “O my beloved Jamaat”.

He has always spoken about how much love he feels from the Jamaat too.

On one occasion, Huzooraa says: “Like last year, I have been able to witness the devotion and loyal love of Ahmadis during my tour of African countries.

Some such expressions can be felt but not described in words.

“In Tanzania, there is a route that stretches across 600 to 700 kilometres and, owing to the poor state of the roads, can be covered in no less than eight or even 10 days. We travelled to a relatively bigger town of that area in a small aeroplane. Many had travelled from surrounding areas and assembled there to welcome us. Their zeal was incredible. Some of the areas there did not have the facility of MTA so it cannot be said that they had seen me and had therefore developed that zeal. Their enthusiasm

showed that they have a special love and connection with Khilafat.

“The sentiments of those who got to shake hands with me are hard to describe.

For instance, one of such people who stood in a queue, held out his hand for a handshake, but instantly became overwhelmed with emotion and started crying.

“Does this love ever exist for kings or rulers? Or is it instilled in hearts by God? […]

“Another person, who had suffered a paralytic stroke, had travelled forty or fifty miles to meet me. His hands were deformed which he held out for a handshake […] Does anyone undergo such trouble for a worldly cause?” (Al Fazl International, 10-17 June 2005) Huzooraa further explains how Ahmadis who had travelled from Kenya and Uganda expressed their devotional love for Khilafat.

Reminiscing his arrival in Uganda, Huzooraa once mentioned how, when his car drove out of the airport, a woman carrying her two-year-old child, started to run with Huzoor’s car. She wanted her child to see Huzooraa but the child’s gaze was distracted.

She got pushed around in the crowd but didn’t give up until her child caught sight of Huzooraa. Only then did she come to a halt. Huzooraa mentioned that the smile that emerged on the face of the child was such as if he had known Huzooraa for a very long time.

Huzooraa stated: “As long as such mothers will be born in the Jamaat, bringing up children who love Khilafat, then Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya is not in any danger.” (Ibid) I quote Huzooraa from another occasion: “The Jamaat, by the grace of Allah, is very strong; as strong as a lead-clad wall.

When I was recently in Africa, many people, who had never met me before, met as if they lived apart for a very long time. What would one call this? The love and joy that I saw on their faces, what would you call it?

The painstaking journeys they undertook to come to me; what was it? Is this love that these inhabitants of remote areas have for Khilafat merely for vainglory? […]

“So, what Allah instils in hearts, cannot be removed by human effort, howsoever one may try. I have seen men, women and children weep with tears; all this is out of the love for Khilafat that their hearts are laden with. The young children that run to me from here and there – crossing all security

protocols – do so out of the love that Allah has instilled in their hearts; this outburst cannot result if they are asked to do so.

“The parents of such children and other onlookers visibly become overwhelmed with the same love.” (Mash‘al-e-Rah, Vol. 5, p. 20) Huzooraa recalls that such parents, who themselves had not been able to meet Huzooraa, would hug their children for they had received the love of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih. Huzooraa stated: “The love and joy that this beloved Jamaat of the Promised Messiahas expressed, is unique to this Jamaat only. This expression of joy and love cannot be found anywhere in the world. This alone is sufficient proof of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiahas, but only to be seen by God-fearing hearts […]

“I see this expression every day in the letters I receive. My heart is overawed with Allah’s praise by seeing how someone living hundreds of miles away has love for the Khalifa of the time merely in the way of God. The same is reciprocated at this end when these emotions run through my body like an electric current.” (Khutbat-e-Masroor, Vol. 1, p. 17)

Huzooraa recalls that when he was in Singapore, Ahmadis had travelled from Indonesia, Malaysia and other neighbouring regions. Some of them had accepted Ahmadis fairly recently, but the love they expressed for Khilafat was incredible. For most of the Ahmadis that assembled there, the journey had been very costly. They had taken the burdens of this journey wholeheartedly and, Huzooraa says, it testified to the truth of the words of the Promised Messiahas: “These are the people of God; God alone is taking care of them”.

I would like to state here a saying of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra: “The eighth way of attaining the blessings of angels is through having a strong relation with the Khalifa of the time […]

“Once, the people of a prophet asked him to appoint his successor from whose advice they could continue to benefit in their worldly affairs. But when the prophet appointed a successor, the people asked what was special about him and what was in him that lacked in other people […]

“The prophet responded by saying, ‘Alright. Let me tell you what is special about him. The difference is that those who stay attached to this successor will be comforted

by angels.’

“This shows that staying connected to Khulafa leads to a connection with angels […]

“What will make such people distinct is that angels will carry their hearts and reveal unto them the knowledge of previous prophets and saints. Therefore, having a relation with Khilafat leads to angels descending on hearts.” (Malaikatullah, Anwarul-Ulum, Vol. 5, p. 561)

In the end, I would like to present a saying of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa: “What dictator has a connection with his subjects? The Khalifa, on the other hand, has a personal relation with every Ahmadi of every nation and every ethnicity.

They write to me in person and state their personal issues. If one sees the volume of such letters that I receive daily, they would find it incredible.

“It is only Khilafat that is concerned for the problems of every Ahmadi living in all parts of the world; the Khalifa personally prays for them.

“What worldly leader is there who prays for the ill? What worldly leader remains restless for matrimonial matches of his youth? What worldly leader remains concerned for the education of the children of his nation?

“Governments do provide schools and health facilities, but the concern for the education and health of people spread across the globe is only in the heart of the Khalifa-e-Waqt.

“There is no problem that afflicts Ahmadis – of personal nature or to do with the Jamaat – that does not leave the Khalifa-e-Waqt concerned; he not only takes practical measures to alleviate these problems but also prays for them.

“The Khulafa before me and I too have always done so. There is no country in the world where my imagination does not take me; praying for the Ahmadis living there while awake or even when asleep.

“I am not mentioning this as a favour.

It is my duty and I pray that Allah enables me to fulfil this duty even better than ever before […]”. (Friday Sermon delivered by Hazrat

Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, 6 June 2014)

May Allah enable us and our generations to establish and maintain a strong relation with Khilafat.

(Translated by Al Hakam)

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

100 Years Ago...

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’s warning to Indian Muslims regarding non-cooperation The Review of Religions (English), June 1921

Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra, the then Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, strongly opposed the politically motivated non-cooperation movement (1920-22) as many Muslim maulvis and ulema living in British India were endorsing it in the name of Islam.

He wrote a powerful, in-depth article under the title, “Tark-e-Mawalat aur Ahkam-e-Islam”, which was first published in December 1920. A portion of this article was summarised and translated into English under the heading, “Non-cooperation and Islam”, in the issue of February 1921 of “The Review of Religions”.

In this article, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra explained the true teachings of Islam regarding non-cooperation with the government and proved that in no way was it permissible to go against the British government because they never forced Muslims to change their faith or expelled them on religious grounds. He emphasised that those Muslim clerics who based their edicts of non-cooperation with disbelievers on the Holy Quran were clearly mistaken as these fatwas were completely against the Islamic injunctions.

Huzoorra also clarified that doctrines of Islam concerning non-cooperation with a specific group of non-Muslims were limited to corrupt, cruel and unjust actions.

Otherwise, cooperation with fellow human beings in every sphere of life is a fundamental principle of Islam.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra then offered guidance to Muslims and Hindus of British India to show patience and discipline in every difficult situation. Huzoorra advised the Muslims to follow the teaching of Islam, that is to refrain from unpeaceful activities and promote peace and harmony, which would eventually give rise to mutual affection and put an end to all the sufferings.

Below is an extract from the said article (Editor, Al Hakam): My dear countrymen, no form of noncooperation is permissible under the present circumstances and not only is it not obligatory against the British government, it is the height of injustice to declare it to be even lawful according to the precepts of Islam.

If any person should calmly think over the matter, he would be driven to the conclusion both by the force of arguments and the evidence of facts that the present agitation is merely the outcome of selfish motives. For he would see at a glance that all this excitement which is ascribed to a jealous love for Islam has occurred only when material interests are threatened and that when the very spirit and essence of Islam are to be protected against the attacks of the enemy, there is no display of any enthusiasm and no manifestation of indignation. Nay, the majority of those who are participating in the non-cooperation movement are men who are utterly indifferent to the real commandments of Islam and do not have for them even as much regard as they have for the words of a mere acquaintance, although the real thing is Islam and the temporal power or authority is only a subservient thing.

When the Muslims wielded no temporal power, there was nothing lacking in the glory of Islam and when they attained that power, it added nothing to its beauty.

Islam is itself beautiful and a Muslim is blessed in his own person. Neither Islam stands in need of worldly power, nor does the Muslim hunger for it. The beauty of Islam lies in its excellences and the power of the Muslim lies in his heart. Hence the kingdom of this world is not essential for Islam or for the Muslim.

The good things of this life are like servants to him which present themselves before him at his call and they keep away from him only until Islam has proved to the world its intrinsic worth and the Muslim the strength of his faith. Hence there need be no anxiety about these things if Islam and the Muslims do exist.

The real thing to feel anxious about is that Islam should [not] disappear, that truth should [not] be obliterated, that faith should [not] be lost, and that the light which showed the face of [God], the Beloved One, should [not] go out.

A Muslim does not sorrow for the world; he sorrows for his religion. The forgetting of one precept of Islam is to him more painful than the cessation of the shouts of victory, and the closing of one door of access to God causes him far greater uneasiness than the turning of all the successes of this life into failures.

If the effacement of faith and the weakening of Islam cause a person no pain, it is a proof of the fact that his heart is full

of the love of this world and that he has forsaken his God. And such indeed is the case of the present-day Mussalmans.

The edifice of Islam was completely demolished before their eyes, but the sight caused no pain to their hearts. The so-called Mussalmans abandoned the commandments of Islam one by one but their heart did not ache. The true principles of Islam were forsaken, nay, they were mocked at, but the Mussalmans instead of feeling any pain only enjoyed the fun.

In short, there is no form of disgracing

the religion but the Mussalmans have been guilty of it, and that in a joyous spirit, with cheer on their faces and with a smile on their lips, until Islam became like a dead body from which all life had departed, or like a ruined building, the very debris of which was removed by the people and the needy carried away the very bricks which formed its foundation and the wild animals made their abode in its ruins. Nay, it became like the carcass of an animal which its owners had cast out

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 of their homes and when the strangers passed by it, they covered their faces yet not a single Mussalman grew sad at this; they continued their life of enjoyment and luxury. There was no sign of grief on their eyebrows and there was no trace of sorrow in their eyes. They shrugged their shoulders and said with an air of indifference that if Islam was a hindrance to their ambitions and aspirations, it might perish and that there should be no interference with their enjoyment and pleasure.

But when God in order to open their eyes snatched from their hands the thing which was not worth even a straw compared with Islam and with which they had played as one plays with a toy and broke it into pieces and threw it away, they all with one voice began to cry and lament and they cried so much that the very heavens resounded with the wailing.

Is not this sufficient to open their eyes?

Do they require some other evidence to show that they are not the servants of God but the slaves of their own desires? Where was their love for Islam when thousands of professed Mussalmans, who were born in Muslim homes, went over in troops to the forces of the enemy which were engaged in bombarding the fortress of Islam, and added to their strength? Why did not their tongues and their hands move at that time and why did not their blood boil?

Have not the names of God and the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, even as much value as Mesopotamia or Syria?

Their hearts were wounded when Europe inflicted wrongs on the Turks, but when outrageous attacks were made on the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, their hearts were not moved in the least.

They forget the saying of the Holy Prophet[sa] – the Prophet whom they profess to love so much and to whose regard and honour they ascribe their present perturbance – which is to the effect that if one succeeds in guiding even a single person to truth, it is more blessed than the possession of herds of animals. But in the case of the present-day Mussalmans, to say nothing of guiding any person to truth, they made no attempt even to save their own co-religionists from being led astray.

They are now so much troubled at the loss of one or two territories but they lost hundreds of thousands of spiritual lands without feeling any pain. Would that their eyes had opened even now and they had realised that it is not the love of God and His Holy Prophet[sa] but the love of this world which had filled their hearts!

Today, college students are being persuaded to leave their colleges and apparently great sympathy is being shown towards them, but why were they neglected before? Now when advocates of noncooperation wished to boycott the colleges, they first of all thought of the students and their “love” for them drew them to college halls. But when they openly denied the existence of God, had abandoned prayers and thought fasting to be a penalty and the pilgrimage to be a waste of time and money, why did not their love for them burst forth into activity and why did it not occur to them to argue with them and lead them to the right path? Was it not so because at that

time they were of no service to them and now they can be of great help to them in their propaganda?

I know that this writing of mine will be resented by the advocates of noncooperation and their duped ones will also express their anger thereat, but my sympathy for them compels me to tell them the truth.

Truth is an extremely bitter thing and it is not un-often that a man is afraid to speak the truth even to himself. But we have devoted our lives to this purpose and we have taken upon ourselves the burden of guiding men to truth. We do not care for the opposition or enmity of any man.

The doctor never gives up the treatment of a patient because of the crossness of the latter, so we also cannot cease our work and have not despaired of the reformation of our brethren.

My dear fellow countrymen! I do not ask you to give up your efforts to get the error which the allies have committed rectified. What I mean to tell you is simply

My dear brethren, a thoughtful person never forgets a lesson and a wise man never loses sight of a precedent that serves as a warning. At this crisis, think over the fact that 675 years before this, the Islamic power received a blow which was far severer than the present one. Now there does exist at least a semblance of a Muslim empire, but at that time not a trace of it remained.

What weapon was it which proved serviceable at that time and how was the problem solved? A remedy that has already been tried with success, has a prior right to be resorted to when the same kind of disease breaks out again. Remember when the Turks completely demolished the edifice of the Abbasid Caliphate and when there was none among the Mussalmans to oppose the numberless hordes of the enemy, and when the holy places of Islam were without protection and at the tender mercy of the barbarians, what was the remedy which our forefathers employed on that occasion and whether it was employed with success or failure?

this that you should look into your own selves and see that you are labouring under a delusion. What you think to be the love of God is only the spirit of emulation which is raging in your minds in imitation of European peoples. If there was the love of Islam in your hearts, why did it not display itself at the time when Islam itself was being attacked and why did you not even now try to bring the Mussalmans nearer to Islam and to infuse into them faith in, and love for, God or make them adopt Islamic manners and morals?

What I say to you is simply this, your exertions for every object must be proportionate to its importance. If you get the kingdom of this world, but you have not Islam with you, then what is the use of that kingdom? Your exertions for Islam which is your real goal must be greater than your exertions for the attainment of earthly government, and whatever effort you may make for the latter object must be in conformity, and not at variance with the principle of Islam.

It is true that unless a cause is given a religious colour, it is difficult to secure for it the active sympathy of the people of India, but is it right to employ unlawful means to attain a good object? The end justifies [that] the means may be the precept of Europe, but this is not the teaching of Islam.

If you do not remember what was the course which our forefathers followed at that time and if you have forgotten that lesson, I may tell you that it was with the weapon of mutual friendship and love and not with that of non-cooperation that they attacked the enemy. At last they succeeded in destroying infidelity and out of its flesh and blood they prepared a new body for Islam and the spirit of Islam when breathed into that body again began to enchant the whole world by its charm.

The course adopted by the ulema of that age (who were far more learned than the maulvis of the present day and the correctness of whose view was testified to by the success which crowned their efforts) was that they made their way into the courts and assemblies of the Turks, with the determination to conquer the hearts of their conquerors. The result was that the grandson of that very king who had destroyed the Muslim power at Baghdad and who had dyed the earth with the blood of 1,800,000 Mussalmans, himself became a slave of Islam and having entered the fold of the worshippers of the One True God, became the founder of a new Muslim power, the traces of which have been obliterated partially by the present war.

Why is it that the old remedy is not used on the present occasion, but quite

the opposite way is being followed? When the Mussalmans of that age saved Islam by means of co-operation and mutual friendship, why is it that non-cooperation is being preached in these days? Does anybody ever abandon a well-tried remedy?

Is it Islam that has now lost the power of conquering the hearts of the conquerors and making slaves of them, or is it you who have lost the light of faith which your forefathers possessed? Their words touched the hearts of men, while yours are utterly ineffective. Why is it that they converted a foe into a friend by means of love, while you are seeking to turn a friend into a foe by means of your hostility or at least (to take your point of view) you are trying to turn an enemy into a greater enemy?

Don’t you see how you are groping in the darkness, having abandoned the right path? In the first place, you have taken a non-Muslim as your leader, in preference to your own religious guides and theologians.

Has Islam fallen so low that there cannot be found among its followers a single soul able to steer the boat safely out of this whirlpool to the haven of success? Is not there in the God of Islam even so much jealousy for His religion that in these critical days He should raise a man who should be a disciple and a follower of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, and who should guide the Mussalmans to the way which leads to success?

You have been led astray by your own impertinence. At first, you held the Holy Prophet[sa] to be under a debt to Jesus of Nazareth and now you lay him under an obligation to Mr Gandhi. If it is true that you will attain your object in a year or two through non-cooperation, then it follows that Islam will get its new life through Mr Gandhi and thus (God forbid) the sacred head of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, shall ever remain bent before Mr Gandhi for the latter’s favour to him; for Mr Gandhi has received nothing from the Holy Prophet[sa], while the Holy Prophet[sa] will get everything from Mr Gandhi.

Would that you had destroyed yourselves before the thought occurred to you. Mr Gandhi may be an earnest political leader, but one cannot help expressing astonishment and regret at your taking him for a guide in a matter on which according to you depends the life and death of Islam and which you regard as a religious duty of paramount importance.

Have you not already experienced God’s jealousy as the result of your assigning to Jesus of Nazareth the position of a benefactor of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him?

God’s Messiah told you times without number not to be so unjust as to believe that an outside prophet would come to reform Islam and thus occupy the position of a benefactor to the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him – a belief which involved an insult to the Holy Prophet[sa] and an undue exaltation of an outsider.

You have already tasted the fruit of your conduct and will yet taste more of it. When you exalted Christ over the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of God be upon Continued on next page >>

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM << Continued from previous page

him, why should not God have exalted the Christians over you? You did not listen to the voice of the Promised Messiah[as], and you have seen at last how painful is the chastisement of God. You made the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, bend his neck before Jesus, by according to the latter the position of a benefactor to the former and the result is that God has made you bend your necks before the Christians everywhere.

So whatever is happening is the result of your own misdeeds; it is the fruit of insulting the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him. Now you are going to commit another mistake; you are going to lay the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, under an obligation to Mr Gandhi.

Jesus was after all a prophet but the man whom you have now taken as your religious guide is not even a believer. So the fruit of this latter insult to the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, will even be more bitter. If you do not desist from this course you would have to live, as a punishment of this crime, in even humbler servitude to Mr Gandhi’s community, than that in which you allege you are held by the Christians.

You have time to repent and mend your course even now. The deliverer of the people of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, can rise only from among his followers, one, that is, who will ever be proud to call himself the slave of the Holy Prophet[sa].

Let not the thought cross your mind that you had already practised cooperation and had even rubbed foreheads of humility on the threshold of the British government and that there was no prospect of your gaining anything from that door, that you had served them like slaves, that you had even flattered them, had entreated and prayed to them and that, to tell the truth, you had even worshipped them, but the result was that they made you cut the throats of your brethren with your own hands and that afterwards thy forsook you also and pushed you into that very pit which they had made you dig.

I admit the correctness of your statement. You indeed acted in the way you describe and they have given you the reward which you say they have given you.

But you know that deeds are judged by the motive of the doer.

Did you do all this for the glory of Islam and for the advancement of its cause? You did flatter them but you did so in order to fill your own pockets, to secure titles, to get employments, and to win false honours.

You did pay visits to them and did express your love for them, but did you do so in order to win their hearts for Islam? You visited them to get from them certificates and testimonials of their pleasure. You did express your love for them, but it was because you were thirsty for their kind looks. You regarded their smile as the key to all barred doors and you thought their looks to be more blessed than the looks of God. You did rub your foreheads for hours and hours – nay, you rubbed your nose to an extent that the nose itself was rubbed out of existence, but by so doing

you only proved that your profession to be the worshippers of the One God was only a lip-profession and that really you were worshippers of lucre and you do not refrain from doing even the meanest things for the sake of worldly gain and that you are even ready to forsake God for the sake of money. You received education in their colleges and learnt their language, but did you learn it with a view to deliver to them the message of truth in their own language, to try to remove the doubts that lurked in their minds, to apprise them of the beauties of Islam and to convey to them the message of the Holy Prophet[sa]?

No, you learned the language so that you might be able to beg their favours in more eloquent form and might sing their praises in their own tongue. Why did you learn their language? Did you do so to serve the Holy Quran? No, on the contrary, after learning the language, you forgot the Word of God and you turned your back on God’s Book.

Berkeley, Kant and Spencer became your favourites. Instead of employing the language for the propagation of the sayings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, you forgot the very names of Bukhari and Muslim (names of the two most authentic collections of the sayings of the Holy Prophet[sa]). The names of Darwin, Huxley and James were every moment on your lips.

You may say that this was due to the English education being defective. But I say this was rather due to the unworthiness of your own motives. If you had cherished love for God and for His Holy Messenger[sa], if you had yourselves understood Islam, would you not have done something to prevent the light of faith in the minds of your children from being extinguished? If you had turned even a little attention to this matter, could darkness have stood before light?

Come, I may show you Ahmadi children who attend the same colleges as your children do, read with the same professors,

study the same books and appear in the same examinations, but their hearts are full of the light of faith. They believe in the Holy Quran not because their fathers believed in it, but because they have themselves read it and have found it to be true. They do not look upon it as something to swear by, but as the door through which one may find access to God. They do not keep it shut, they read it intelligently. They are in the habit of saying prayers, and observing fasts.

They do not deny the efficacy of prayers, but look upon it as the prop of life.

In short, Islam is the rule of their lives, love of God is the soul of their bodies, His remembrance their food, and every word of the Prophet[sa] is dear to their hearts. So the condition of your children is not really due to any defect in the colleges, or the courses of study or the universities; this is the outcome of your own negligence and carelessness.

To revert to the subject proper. I admit that you rendered active military service, fought bravely, killed the Turks and dyed the battlefield with their blood. But did you do so for God’s sake? Did you do this because it was God’s command to obey the authorities? Did you not say when you were being enlisted that you were turning kafirs [disbelievers] and were selling your souls to the devil for a paltry sum of money?

For every little service you pestered your officers with petitions for lands and titles. Indeed you did succeed, to some extent, in attaining the object for which you rendered services. You won titles, secured employments and got jagirs [lands] and medals. In short, you reached your goal.

What other right have you on the strength of which you ask the British to grant amnesty to the Turks? Did they not know that from the religious point of view you hated the war and that you had enlisted merely to get posts or rewards or out of a desire to please the government or to win titles and estates?

There might be honourable exceptions but such was the case with the majority

of the people. And when they know that you were sacrificing your religious beliefs (erroneous as they were) for the sake of worldly advantages, how could they be favourably impressed by the teachings of Islam and how could your cooperation with them bring them nearer to it?

So it is wrong to say that you have tried cooperation and have found it to be injurious. You have seen the evil result not of cooperation but of your evil motives. If you had visited the authorities in order to bring home to them the beauties of Islam, if you had testified to the wholesome influence of the teachings of Islam by your honest and sincere dealings, had spoken to them about the excellences of Islam whenever such an opportunity offered itself and if instead of worshipping them you had drawn their attention to the one true God, they were not so stonehearted as not be moved. They are men after all and have the capacity to appreciate beauty. When their eyes were dazzled by seeing a prophet, will not their eyes be filled with light when they will see the face of God Himself.

When Jesus Christ fascinated them, will not the Holy Prophet[sa] win their hearts?

Certainly, he will. But what is needed is this that every one of you should first purge his heart of all impure motives, should become a servant of God, and a devoted follower of Islam and a propagator thereof and at the same time have friendly relations with the rulers, to the fullest extent.

The day may come when the word of God may be fulfilled and he who is your enemy today may be your friend and a devoted follower of Islam tomorrow in the same way in which the Turks who laid waste the city of Baghdad and completely destroyed the Abbasside Caliphate, became devoted followers of Islam as a result of the friendly relations of your forefathers.

You are angry that these people, having availed themselves of your negligence have entered your house. But a Muslim is a lion.

Is a lion sorry when his prey enters his dint? Does he try to turn it out of his den

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 or does he wish to make a prey of it? When the Turks, having availed themselves of the negligence of your forefathers entered Mesopotamia, the latter did not turn them out by resorting to non-cooperation, but captivated them by friendship and love.

Why do you not do the same? If you are sincere in your faith, then every man that comes in your way is a prey to you. Indeed, it is regrettable that the game has dared to cross your path, but now that he has come, you must benefit from this circumstance and should give up your negligence for the future.

You are angry because the Holy Land has gone out of our hand. But you do not open the Holy Quran from which it appears that the Holy Land cannot come into your hands by means of non-cooperation, and that in order to get it you must become worshippers of God. And you do not read the Psalms to which reference has been made in the Holy Quran and where it is said in clear words that when the Holy Land goes into the hands of other people, you should not fret and be angry on that account and should not give way to excitement, lest in the heat of the moment you may do some evil, but you should wait patiently until God Himself should come to your assistance.

Remember, therefore, these prophecies and try to become God’s true servants by prostrating yourselves before Him, so that He may remove your troubles and do not at this critical time, provoke His anger by distorting the teachings of the Holy Quran.

Him who was sent as an angel of mercy to spread peace on earth, represent not to the enemy as a fiery giant. Restrain rebellious spirits from mischief and trusting in the purifying power of the Holy Quran, force your way into the people who are now denying the truth of Islam, so that they may take light from it.

Don’t think that these people will be reformed by your keeping away from them.

Hostility shuts the eyes of man and enmity blinds him. Sow not the seed of enmity and discord, but work in the spirit of love and friendship. Let not despair approach you, for a trumpet has been sounded by God, a trumpet, of glad tidings and happy news, a trumpet of victory for Islam, the same trumpet which has been sounded from time to time in ages gone by – the trumpet, which whenever it was blown stirred up commotions on earth. The soul of the Holy Prophet, may peace and the blessings of God be upon him, having seen the degraded condition of Islam, has drawn the favour of God which has appeared on the earth in the form of the Promised Messiah[as]. So despair not of the victory of Islam. Islam is bound to be victorious. Only take care of yourselves lest by engaging yourselves in other things, you may deprive yourselves of that blessing of God for which the world waited for thirteen centuries and to the bearer of which the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of God be upon him, sent his greetings.

And our last cry is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

(Transcribed by Al Hakam from the English translation presented in The Review of Religions [English], June 1921)

the murder of Marie Mendy and Islam’s defence for women’s rights Ali Fatty Student, Jamia Ahmadiyya International Ghana

Sometime last month, the shocking news of the gruesome and barbaric murder of Maria Mendy broke out. The news rocked the Gambia to its core.

Marie Mendy was a Christian by faith and was a high school teenager, raped and murdered in her own home by an unknown person.

The whole nation mourned her death.

Many women took to posting the hashtag #BlameTheRapist on their WhatsApp and Facebook statuses. After going through some comments, I realised many women fear for their lives today more than ever before in the Gambia and the world at large.

They also feel to be potential or vulnerable targets of such crimes in societies, known through their #IFearForMyLife on social media.

This tragic news indeed touched everyone in the Gambia. Looking at the tragic incident, I could not help but send my condolences to the family.

We mourn with them and I pray that God the Almighty enables them to show patience and forbearance. May her soul rest

in peace.

I do this because humanity comes first before everything and this is what Islam – the religion I believe in – preaches. In fact, once, the founder of Islam was sitting with his companions and the coffin of a dead person of a different religion was passing.

Prophet Muhammadsa stood up to show respect to the dead. The Companionsra asked him why he stood up. He replied, “Was the person not a human?”

This shows how tolerant and respectful the founder of Islam was even to the dead of the followers of other religions. (Sahih alBukhari) To pursue equal opportunities, whether in the field of science, education or arts, is accepted in Islam for both genders. For instance, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa said “It is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge”. (Sunan Ibn-eMajah) The suffering of women in the world is not something new. According to the United Nations, one-third of women and girls suffer physical or sexual abuse in their lives, usually by an intimate partner. 75% of the world’s human trafficking victims are women and girls and 75% of them are sexually mistreated. (www.un.org/en/events/

endviolenceday) The perception about who a woman is and what role she can play in the larger society has taken a new dimension in the 21st century.

It was not until recently that many countries and organisations recognised the political, economic, marital and educational rights of women. For example, in the UK, women were given the right to divorce and partake in the inheritance of their family in the late 1800s.

It is also due to the violence and sexual harassment against women around the world that 24 November is celebrated as “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women”. This was a day declared by the UN in 1999 to bring a halt to violence against women, and increase awareness of the acts of violence against women. Other days are also celebrated widely in the world like Mother’s Day and International Day of the Girl Child.

However, women continue to suffer harassment and violence.

Before the UN declaration, many countries never recognised the rights of women and denied them their basic rights which were granted to them 1,500 years ago. Islam laid down the blueprint for the protection of women’s rights 1,500 years ago, at a time when women were severely abused and had no real standing in society.

Nevertheless, the good news for the women of Arabia and the world at large with the advent of Islam was that such notions were discarded and the status of women dramatically rose and the stereotype was abolished gradually in the most beautiful manner.

With the advent of Islam, such acts were not only abolished, but the status of women in society changed and they were given the right to marry their husband of choice and an institution of khula was established through which women could seek divorce themselves.

With the teachings of Islam, women are given the right to marry their person of choice.

Once, a girl complained to the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa that her parents made her marry a man whom she did not love. The Holy Prophetsa immediately summoned the parents and asked them to dissolve the marriage.

The birth of a girl was seen as a misfortune. Some people would heartlessly bury them alive. The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa admonished his followers that the birth of a girl was a blessing and a source of honour for men. He said, “If a man has a daughter and he makes arrangements to have them educated and takes pains with their upbringing, God will save him from the torment of Hell”. (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi) Islam did not just establish women’s rights, but pursued justice for them as well. Once, a woman filed a case to the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa that a certain unscrupulous man raped her. The Holy Prophetsa punished the rapist and the woman was accorded justice. (Jami‘ alTirmidhi, Kitab al-Hudud) The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas is believed to be the long-awaited Promised Messiah whose advent has been foretold by Continued on page 20

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

100 Years Ago...

A new convert, lectures in the UK and meeting with Dr Rabindranath Tagore Al Fazl, 2 & 6 June 1921

Hazrat Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sayalra (1887-1960)

Women” section of the Lajna Imaillah UK website, Al Hakam is delighted to present below an article written by the granddaughter of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah strengthen his hand.

The article was widely circulated on social media and is readers.

A new convert Muslim

Yusra Dahri UK

In the period of the report under discussion, Allah the Almighty has blessed us with another new Muslim brother. His name is Cornelius Riordan ( ) and he is a resident of Norwich. Friends are requested to pray for his perseverance.

Dr Tagore Dr [Rabindranath] Tagore, the famous poet of Bengal, has come to London these days. I met him at his house and conveyed the message of the Promised Messiahas. He was very delighted to hear that Allah the Almighty had blessed the land of India with the emergence of His prophet.

Mr Tagore is establishing an international university for Asia in Bengal so that Asia, like Europe, may present its sciences and arts in a unified manner. He asked me to appoint one of our professors in this university so that the students could get acquainted with our views. Moreover, he insisted that, “As I am going to India now, you must meet me there at the university headquarters when you come [to India].”

During the discussion, I said that the real reason behind the unity of Europe is the oneness of religion. Although there are many sects in Europe, the religion of the majority is Christianity and that is why there is uniformity in the civilisation, sciences and social standards of all the people of Europe.

On the contrary, Asia is divided into three camps – Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. There must be a power that should substitute these three religions with

Our Khalifa in the quiet: The greatness of humility Originally published in the “Voice of British Muslim

I have not been able to write a letter for almost a month because I was ill. I was suffering from a type of influenza that made me very sick for about two weeks. Now, by the grace of Allah, I am feeling well.

According to the present state of affairs, regular [missionary] work has started in our new house by the grace of Allah and we are getting acquainted with the neighbours as well.

Last Sunday, in addition to our old friends and acquaintances, about a dozen people from the neighbourhood came to pay us a visit, which is a significant number with respect to this country.

An old scene of London, Circa 1920

only one religion. Thereafter, Asia will also be as strong as Europe.

Of the three religions mentioned above, only Islam has the potential to be a universal religion, so Hindus and Buddhists should convert to Islam.

On hearing this, Dr Tagore said, “I have no prejudice against the religion of Islam and I even read the Quran at times. So, when the university will be established and an educational centre will be created for all of Asia, then we will decide about a religion as well.”

Lectures for tabligh In the month of April [1921], regular weekly lectures were held in the mosque and at Star Street. In addition, speeches were given in various parks and lectures were delivered in three different societies as well.

My lecture on Islamic law was held in Walworth. After the lecture, questions and

answers started and after that, the president said in his speech, “We pray that the laws of Islam based on truth and wisdom be established in England as well.” This lecture took place on 15 April [1921].

On 18 April [1921], Maulvi Mubarak Ali Sahib gave a lecture at the Society of Philology on the accounts of the Promised Messiahas and Hazrat Maulana Khalifa Ira. The audience liked this lecture and the participants requested another lecture on this subject.

On 22 April [1921], a London based society aiming to unite East and West, invited me to attend a lecture. There, again, I got the opportunity to present the spiritual benefits of Islam to the people.

[Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sayal MA, 10 May 1921] (Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 2 & 6 June 1921 issue of Al Fazl)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021

There’s no denying that family can often influence your relationship with faith, especially growing up in a religious family. As a child, the way you see your most religious relatives can affect the way you view religion itself – for better or for worse.

Only when we are older, and we understand Islam, can we discern the difference between the actions of Muslims and the pristine teachings of Islam. As a result, we might endeavour to become better than those who came before us.

However, I grew up watching someone who I quickly recognised as following Islam as truthfully and sincerely as perhaps is humanly possible: Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper), the Fifth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and my grandfather.

Throughout my life, I have been sure of this: Huzoor’s integrity.

I do not say this lightly, because I do not believe there is a better measure of a person’s character than how they behave when they believe no one is watching. When there is no reason to believe that what they say or do will be recorded, or even remembered.

And yet, Huzoor’s example has always been unforgettable to me.

I do not speak of sweeping events of

grandeur or glory, but the quiet moments of humility and kindness, where I believe a person’s true character can be found. Those are the moments I know best.

Huzoor’s humility – as is all true humility – is silent. He is silent when he wipes something off the floor that nobody has seen or bothered to clean. He is silent when he washes the fruit that arrives at the door, before anyone has realised to help. He is silent when he picks vegetables from the garden, or lifts heavy bags, or clears out the hoover. I have come to memorise his footsteps, to listen for the silence – where there is not one word of reproach, only patience.

But Huzoor speaks out at injustice. He speaks out when someone has said an unkind word. He speaks out at the cruelty countries dole out to their citizens. He speaks out at the suffering of Ahmadis around the world. Not only in Friday Sermons, but he frequently mentions this at the dinner table. It is a constant thought. Yet, he never complains of any personal suffering, major or minor.

I ask Huzoor how he is, and he smiles and says, “Alhamdulillah.”

Huzoor’s kindness has shaped my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to say this openly. It may surprise some people who have read other blogs that I have written, that as a younger teenager, I used to be very shy about my writing, especially my poetry.

Huzoor and my grandmother discovered this and encouraged me to share my poetry with

them, which I tentatively did. Encouraged by this, I shared a second and a third poem.

At the fourth poem, Huzoor took my poem and began reading it. Out. Loud. That day, I hid under the dining table for a good five minutes until my embarrassment died down.

Once I came back to the surface, I felt my lifelong shyness begin to subside.

Huzoor encouraged me to give my poems to Lajna to publish, so that it could empower other girls my age. So, I began to write more, and share more. After one Jalsa, Huzoor’s example inspired me so much that I wrote a poem to him, about him. After I gave it to him, I ran away. Later, he simply told me that he didn’t know what to say. I won’t publish this poem, partly because I really would die from embarrassment, but also because Huzoor never encouraged me to share it. I don’t think that’s what he would want. Huzoor doesn’t ask for praise, which only makes him deserve it more. It’s the things that are left unsaid that often need to be said the most.

Other examples of Huzoor’s kindness are sprinkled throughout my life. Last winter when it snowed, I stopped building a snowman because my fingerless gloves made my hands too cold. Huzoor noticed that I had stopped and so gave me his gloves instead.

When I was about 11, I, for some reason, really wanted to play chess with Huzoor. He came back at around 11:30 that night from his office, and at that age, I guess I lacked the sensitivity to consider that he could be tired from working so late. I realise this now looking back, but at the time, Huzoor never said a word to make me feel as though I was being ridiculous or that it wasn’t the best time.

He simply played with me, and told me I had gotten better at chess. When the mood is low, and everyone is preoccupied with their own weariness, Huzoor’s humour always lightens the room. There are times when I have felt sadness creeping up on me, but Huzoor’s cheerful demeanour has brought me back to reality.

Perhaps most obvious of all, I have learnt so much from Huzoor. He has taught me that, say, when a handle falls off a cupboard, a person should rely on their own strength to fix it, rather than asking for outside help.

Though dinner isn’t necessarily the best time for a theological discussion, Huzoor always answers my questions about Islam with clarity and acuity. And, how to pray.

When I hear Huzoor pray, my heart feels both heavy and light at the same time. Heavy,

because of my slight understanding of the responsibilities he carries. Light, because God has chosen this person to be our Khalifa.

(Originally published on https:// voiceofbritishmuslimwomen.wordpress.com)

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

Coming from every distant track

Charles Francis Sievwright’s meeting with the Promised Messiah – Part II

A series looking at the high standard of morals of the Promised Messiahas and his Khulafa when receiving visitors in Qadian stated that today, he [Muhammad Abdul Haqq] was listening to a commentary of the Holy Quran from Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddin Sahibra. And, after hearing him, his [Muhammad Abdul Haqq’s] opinion was that there was a great need for this kind of translation. Most men had been deceived by other translations and he [expressed his] desire for [the Holy Quran’s] translation to be published by the Promised Messiahas.

The Promised Messiahas: It is also my intention that a translation of the Holy Quran should be published by the Jamaat.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: No one from among the Europeans feels the need for it more than I do. By reading wrong translations, every person, like me, after searching for the truth and exerting great effort for it, is led to error.

The Promised Messiahas: In actuality, [for a man in search of truth] the Holy Quran alone is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by its commentary. For example, with regard to:

Awwab Saad Hayat Al Hakam On 23 October, on behalf of Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib, Mian Mirajuddin Sahib

how can anyone understand that it refers to the Jews and Christians until it is openly revealed. And then also, why was this prayer taught to Muslims? The reason for this was that just as the Jews, by denying the Messiah [of Nazareth], received the wrath of God, in the same way, during the Latter Days, the [Muslim] ummah would earn the wrath

of God by denying the Promised Messiah.

That is why, firstly, by way of prophecy, [the Muslim ummah] was informed that only the blessed souls would be saved from His wrath.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: Muslims, as well as some tafsirs [of the Holy Quran], with regard to say that another man was given the image of the Messiah and was hanged, whilst the Messiah [Prophet Jesusas] ascended to Heaven.

The Promised Messiahas: [This issue] is very easy to understand. In common parlance, if it is said that someone was crucified or hanged, it means that he died on the cross. If a guilty person is hanged [on a cross] but does not die and he is taken off [the cross] alive, will the word “hanged” or “crucified” be used for him? Not at all.

On the contrary, it would be a crime to utter these words. A crucified person is one whose life is taken on the cross, and such a one who does not die on [the cross] will not be called crucified, even though he may have been hanged and taken off the cross.

Jews are alive [today]; ask them if the meaning of crucifixion is as we understand it to be or as our opponents comprehend.

Then, one should also look at [the usage of] idiomatic language. [In this verse, the phrase] has come with so that

it may be understood that crucifixion meant murder, which did not take place. Death by crucifixion did not occur. [The words] (Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.185) means that he was made to appear to like one crucified.

People’s claim that someone else was given the image of Christ [and put on the cross] is utterly false. Even one’s intellect does not accept it, nor is there any correct narration about it. Consider that if another man had become the image of the Messiah, he would not be free from two conditions – either he was a friend of the Messiah or an enemy. If he was a friend, then the objection is that why was the curse, which God saved the Messiah from, given to his friend? This makes God unjust. And if he was an enemy, what was the need for him to be placed on the cross instead of the Messiah? He must have cried out and shouted, “Ask my wife and children, my name is (so and so) and I am not the Messiah”. Then, there would have been a decrease in the number of people present which would have made it clear that this person was not the Messiah. So, in every way, this idea is false; and [in reality] means that [he] was made to resemble the one crucified.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: This theory [of crucifixion] will create a great revolution in Europe because people there Continued on next page >>

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 << Continued from previous page

have been deceived and the story has been entirely misconstrued.

The Promised Messiahas: What is commonly said by people is by no means the intention of the Holy Quran and through such misunderstandings, people have been deceived.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: The Islamic tenets have reached us through Christians, and [after hearing about Islam] I have come out [in search] of the true face of Islam.

The Promised Messiahas: This is a great grace of God and very fortunate for you that you have come here. It is true that those who are Muslims [today] do not understand the Holy Quran at all. But now, Allah intends to reveal the true meanings of the Quran.

Allah has commissioned me for this, and I understand the Holy Quran through His divine revelations and explanations.

The teachings of the Holy Quran are such that no objection can be raised against it, and it is filled with such words that not even a philosopher can get the chance to raise objections. However, Muslims [of today] have abandoned the Holy Quran and have attributed to the Holy Quran, of themselves, such statements which gradually become objections; and they make such claims, from themselves, which are not mentioned in the Holy Quran and are totally against its [teachings].

For example, ponder over the incident of the crucifixion; observe how much interpolation there is in this story. And [ponder over how much] the Holy Quran

has been opposed. This [belief] is also against reason and against the Holy Quran.

After this, the Promised Messiah explained the word “tawaffi” and [stated how] the Muslim ummah had faulted in [understanding its true meaning] and said: Only in the case of the Messiah do [Muslims today] take it to mean physical ascension. However, in the same Quran, and wherever this word appears in dictionaries and other Arabic books, it is translated as “death”.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: This is an important task that you have taken on and it is needed not only by the Muslims but also by Christians. I have found, from coming to Qadian, that this Jamaat is very useful; and I desire that may Allah make me a tool for great work such as this, and that I also have a share in it.

The Promised Messiahas: I always pray, and I always desired that a person among Europeans to come forth and dedicate his life for this cause. However, it is necessary for such a person to stay in my company for some time and gradually learn all the necessary Islamic principles that can clear Islam of all blemishes. He should understand all the powerful and majestic arguments, which would enable this.

Then such a person will be able to go to other countries and perform this service. To endure this service, one needs a pure and strong soul; he who possesses this will be a highly useful person and, in the sight of God, will be declared a great man in heaven.

Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib: I will be leaving here tomorrow and will be visiting various places in India till the

end of December to perform an essential service which is based on the service of mankind. That [service] is the removal of the restriction placed on Indian traders in Australia. After this visit, I will see which path I take.

The Promised Messiahas: The exegesis of the Holy Quran will be done at its appointed time, but if God so inspires you and you come to stay here, then we can immediately do the commentary of portions of the Holy Quran against which all other religions have raised allegations due to a lack of understanding, or Muslims have misunderstood them.

First, a list [of objections raised by others] will be prepared. The list shall not

be too long because the same objection has been repeatedly raised by each sect. Thus, if its truth could be impressed on your mind, then that would result in the exegesis of that portion. And in this way, every objection [against Islam which is raised] in Europe can be answered and, in this way, the deception of the people of Europe will be removed.

The newspaper, Badr, in its 29 October 1903 issue, whilst mentioning Hazrat Ahmad’sas engagements of 24 October 1903, wrote that Muhammad Abdul Haqq Sahib returned on the same day and after Zuhr, the Promised Messiahas delivered a speech in which he mentioned making sacrifices for the sake of religion.

Humanity First Bosnia donates speech therapy cabinet to school in Sarajevo, Bosnia

Zubair Khalil Khan Director Balkan Countries, Humanity First Germany 26 May 2021 was a sunny day in Sarajevo, Bosnia. In a festive ceremony, Humanity First donated a speech therapy cabinet to the school for Secondary Vocational Education and Work Training Sarajevo.

This school was established in 1964 and has been serving children with special needs. Various less complex professions are taught to children like painting, cooking, bookbinding, advertising graphics, art and decoration etc. Currently, 85 students between the ages of 15 and 21 are benefitting from the school facilities.

School authorities approached Mufeezur Rehman Sahib, President Humanity First Bosnia to provide a speech therapy cabinet to the school.

He examined all the possibilities and gave a project proposal to Humanity First Germany. Chairman Humanity First Germany, Dr Athar Zubair Sahib and other members of the executive board were generous enough to approve the project.

Equipment was purchased and installed in the school.

On arrival, the director of the school, Ms Inga Biscevic along with her school staff welcomed the Humanity First team which included director Humanity First Balkan countries, president of Humanity First

Bosnia and volunteers; Fawad Sahib, Nadim Sahib and Fareed Sahib.

Sarajevo Kanton Ministry of Education was represented by Ms Mina. Ms Mirela represented the mayor of the area.

The children of the school presented the welcome address and a prayer song. Later, Prof Samir who is a specialist in Speech Therapy took the delegation and other dignitaries to the room where the speech therapy cabinet was installed. There, he very amicably explained the functions of each item. As per his statement, this is the first such facility that has been installed in Sarajevo. He was extremely thankful for it and hoped that with the help of this equipment a new horizon would open

for the children who are suffering due to speech and other mental disorders. He was extremely grateful to Humanity First for making this dream a reality.

The representative of the ministry of education, the mayor of the area and the director of the school also applauded the noble work done by Humanity First and hoped that it would open new avenues for the needy children.

Director Humanity First for Balkan countries also thanked all the authorities for providing this opportunity to serve humanity and hoped for future cooperation to carry out such noble deeds.

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM Continued from page 15

different religious scriptures of the world, that he would descend in the world in the Latter Days to reunite the relationship between man and God and between man and his fellow beings. In one of his writings, he writes: “It is said of some people that they treat their wives like shoes and require them to perform the lowliest of services. They abuse them and despise them and enforce the injunction regarding the veil with such harshness as to virtually bury them alive.

“The relationship between a husband and wife should be like two true and sincere friends. After all, it is the wife who is the primary witness of a man’s high moral qualities and his relationship with God Almighty. If his relationship with his wife is not good, how can he be at peace with God? “The Holy Prophetsa has said: ‘The best among you is he who is best towards his wife’.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 5, pp. 417-418) This is how Islam has established the rights of women. In the Holy Quran, the examples of perfect believers have been linked to two great women for their great spiritual excellence, i.e. Mary, the daughter of Imran and the wife of Pharaoh.

God states: “And Allah sets forth for those who believe the example [of] the wife of Pharaoh when she said, ‘My Lord! build for me a house with Thee in the Garden; and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from the wrongdoing people;’ “And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity – so We breathed therein of Our Spirit – and she fulfilled [in her person] the words of her Lord and His Books and was one of the obedient.” (Surah al-Tahrim, Ch.66: V.12-13) The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa said a Muslim could learn half of faith from Hazrat Aishara – his wife – which shows the educational eminence women had in Islam.

The Holy Prophetsa said: “Your paradise lies under the feet of your mothers”. This shows that one way to earn paradise in the Hereafter is to show complete obedience and compassion for one’s mother.

Once a man came to the Holy Prophetsa and asked, “Who should I show more respect to, my mother or my father? The Holy Prophetsa responded, “Your mother”.

He asked, “Then who?” he repeated, “Your mother” the Prophetsa said and the fourth time he asked, the Holy Prophetsa said, “Your father”.

Hazrat Umarra, who would later become the second Khalifa of Islam, would usually say how the status of women began to take new turns with the advent of Islam. Hazrat Umarra reflected: “In Mecca, we despised women as lowly creatures. In Medina, the people accorded slight status to them, but when Islam arrived, we were made aware of the honour and status of women.” (Sahih al-Bukhari) In truth, if there is a religion that has unconditionally fulfilled and protected the rights of women in all situations and places, it is Islam. And the person who has always been a true champion of women’s rights is the founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Responding Proving the claim of to the Promised Messiah’s Allegations knowledge of miraculous

and profound Arabic Part XIII Shedding light on the claim of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas with regard to his knowledge of the Arabic language, this series of articles seeks to dispel major allegations raised against the Promised Messiah’sas use of Arabic phrases, his God-given eloquence and command over the language and the usage of sentences taken from past literature.

Muhammad Tahir Nadeem Central Arabic Desk

It is divine providence that from time to time, objections are raised by opponents, which enable members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat to research and reflect on the matter and ultimately gain access to the vast ocean of knowledge and insightful points of wisdom hidden beneath these objections, waiting to be uncovered.

The following statement of the Promised Messiahas about the opponents still proves true: “These allegations are objections in the view of the unwise and those who are foolish. However, I truthfully say that

where I have counted these allegations, I have also reflected and found that in reality, many distinct truths can be discovered at the point of these very allegations, but they cannot be seen by those who raise these objections due to their lack of insight.

Truly, it is the wisdom of God Almighty that wherever a blinded critic has raised an objection, it is there that a hidden treasure of verities and divine insights lie to be discovered.” (Malfuzat [English], Vol. 1, p.

59) All crucial objections are refuted by the points and arguments mentioned in the books of the Promised Messiahas.

In addition to the past objections, if the claim of the Promised Messiahas about the

Arabic language is rightly understood and presented in a comprehensive manner, it is also easier to respond to new objections as well.

A new objection about learning Arabic A new objection is that the Promised Messiahas wrote an introductory note of about one and a half pages in Arabic at the start of his book, Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.

After reading it, some hasty opponents suggest that the announcement of learning Arabic from God Almighty was made many years after the time of Barahin-eAhmadiyya, but the note shows that the founder of Ahmadiyya Jamaat already Continued on next page >>

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021

<< Continued from previous page

knew good Arabic, so the announcement of learning Arabic directly from God was, God forbid, false.

On the one hand, opponents object that all his writings were mere plagiarism and on the other, there is this objection that the Promised Messiahas knew good Arabic even before his claim. This allegation is similar to the objection made by some opponents in the time of the Promised Messiahas when they first accused him of plagiarism and at the same time objected that these books were written by Syrians and Arabs.

The Arabic language which the Promised Messiahas knew before he was taught Arabic by Allah the Almighty was the same as that which was taught in madrasas [schools] of his time. At that time, books of sarf wa nahw [principles of grammar], parts of Diwan-e-Hamasa, Diwan-e-Mutanabbi, the seven Mu‘allaqat and some chapters of Maqamat al-Hariri were taught in madrasas and this continues to be the case even today.

If someone could have written powerful and expressive books in Arabic by studying the said course, then it was studied by every cleric at that time. So why was it that not even a single scholar found the courage to compete in that era by writing eloquent Arabic books and accepting the challenge of the Promised Messiahas?

Regarding the Arabic language which is being objected to, the Promised Messiahas himself said that he already knew basic Arabic but it could, in no way, be considered as proficiency in Arabic. (Najm-ul-Huda, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 14, pp. 107-113) The claim of the Promised Messiahas was that he was divinely granted proficiency in Arabic and taught lughaat, proverbs, unique usages and styles of the Arabic language. However, the common understanding of basic Arabic language has nothing to do with the said claim of the Promised Messiahas, because it is not within the power of anyone to gain such knowledge of the Arabic language through his own efforts, which can only be acquired by a prophet of God, according to Imam Shafi‘irh.

In short, no matter how good his Arabic language was before his claim, it has nothing to do with the divinely taught Arabic the Promised Messiahas was granted by way of revelation. This miraculous

excellence is clearly manifested in the Arabic works of the Promised Messiahas and owing to his God-gifted proficiency, he consistently invited his opponents to hold Arabic contests so that the truth may reveal itself.

In the same way as the above objection, some diligent opponents took every sentence from the Arabic books of the Promised Messiahas and matched them with the phrases of different books of Arabic literature and wherever one or two words of any of his Arabic sentences were found to coincidently correspond with them, they immediately alleged that the said sentence had been plagiarised from such and such Arabic book.

Consequently, the impression given is as if the Promised Messiahas would sit in a room and open 52 Maqamat of Badi Al-Zaman Al-Hamadhani, 50 Maqamat of Abu Muhammad Al-Qasim Al-Hariri, all the poems of seven Mu‘allaqat, all the qasa‘id of Hamasa and other literary books of Arabic; he would then take one sentence from one book and another from a different one, sometimes from the seven Mu‘allaqat, sometimes from Hamasa and sometimes from another book; he would take notes of impressive words, styles and phrases, and at the end, would combine these sentences in the form of a book and publish it. Of course, one can easily understand that such Arabic books cannot be compiled in this way and later be presented as a challenge before the opponents.

Nowadays, softwares are available that contain thousands of books and in just a few seconds, all the books can be searched for a word, or a phrase, or a topic. However, more than a hundred years ago, it was impossible to even think about such a facility.

On the other hand, let us suppose that the Promised Messiahas used to write books in the said way; then this opportunity was also available to the opponents, so why didn’t they dare to compete with the Promised Messiahas? Or if it was difficult for them at that time, then what about today – why are the present-day opponents unable to write such Arabic books in this age when countless Arabic books are available in one software and a search of impressive phrases and words happens with the click of a button, in a matter of seconds.

Moreover, those who are actual writers can understand very well that the scope of plagiarism in research work on a particular subject is very narrow. If you are going to write on a specific subject, you will have to leave out a number of words and phrases to maintain the flow of the subject matter, regardless of how good they may be, because the only thing that can be used to express that very subject in the best possible way are only those particular phrases which are used by the writer of that work. However, one who focuses more on impressive words and phrases will have to forego the actual idea and the particular subject on which they are writing, as was the case of Hariri.

In addition to all these facts, it is also important to note how much time the Promised Messiahas had for writing.

Members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, non-Ahmadi Muslims and non-Muslims would visit him on a regular basis. The Promised Messiahas used to spare time

Miracles of Khilafat-eAhmadiyya: Healing my wife through prayer Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan Elementary School Teacher, Connecticut, USA

My wife is a convert to Islam Ahmadiyyat who was actually driven out of her Sunni home, left homeless because she had converted to Islam Ahmadiyyat.

After our marriage, we went through a traumatic car accident after Hurricane Irene hit in August 2011. My wife was a few months pregnant and began bleeding internally. We thought we had lost our first baby when it was actually her spleen that had ruptured.

She needed swift surgery but the doctors said it would jeopardize the baby’s life. This was a difficult choice we were faced with, so

for meetings with guests, arrange for their food and accommodation and look after such arrangements. He would also spend time removing doubts and objections by answering questions. The Promised Messiahas would also receive letters from associates and opponents on a regular basis, which would number up to 500 per month. Then, he would write replies to all the letters and sometimes, he would write thorough, comprehensive articles in response to some particular letters.

Moreover, he used to read articles written by friends and foes or listen to them from others, as well as compose extensive books in response to the attacks of Christians on Islam.

At times, he would write articles and books in response to objections of Hindus and Arya Samajists and on other occasions, publish announcements for the spread of Islam. Sometimes, he would participate in debates and discussions for the sake of manifesting the truth and had to go on various journeys as well.

We have mentioned only a few from the very many activities of the Promised Messiahas. It is impossible for such a person who is so occupied to find the opportunity to open books and extract sentences from them to compose a proficient book in Arabic. The work of welfare for people was in addition to these religious services.

Moreover, the Promised Messiahas managed to do all of the said works while residing in a town where even the basic necessities of daily life were lacking.

When the deniers and opponents were unable to show any parallel to the proficiency and eloquent Arabic knowledge of the Promised Messiahas, at times, they said that such and such work of the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was full of errors or was written in very weak Arabic. Sometimes, contrary to their own objections, they said that as his books contained very impressive literary phrases

my parents called Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa office for prayers and guidance through our connected family in London.

Not even a day had passed when miraculously, her spleen had healed on its own saving both her life and the life of our unborn child. Huzooraa named that very child, my daughter, Sadiya, the fortunate one.

This is just a humble example of the miracles we experienced through the blessings of true Khilafat and the lifesaving power that comes with this heavenly relationship that transcends this world.

In the end we extol: All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!

and eloquent styles, they must have been written by means of plagiarism and when this argument did not stand, they said that a Syrian or an Arab wrote these books for him.

Responding to the above allegations, the Promised Messiahas said: “My opponents are certainly rightful in thinking that this is not my work and that someone else secretly helps me. Thus, I solemnly declare that indeed, there is another [Entity] Who helps me, but He is not a human being; rather, He is that Omnipotent and Almighty God at Whose threshold our heads [prostrate].” (Ijaz-ulMasih, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 18, p. 2) In another book, the Promised Messiahas said: “Note their statements and the contradictions therein! Their stubborn opposition to me has deprived them of sound judgment.”

“At times, they ascribe my writing to an Arab, while, at other times, they say the writing is faulty in composition.”

“O troop of adversaries! This is indeed a gift from the Gracious God; neither the work of a Syrian, nor the work of any of my companions.” (Al-Istifta, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 22, p. 726 [English Translation of AlIstifta in Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 952]) Hence, the Promised Messiahas was blessed with miraculous Arabic knowledge from the Gracious God and the above answer of the Promised Messiahas leaves no room for further explanation.

(Research conducted by Muhammad Tahir Nadeem Sahib, Arabic Desk UK. Translated by Al Hakam)

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

The Covid-19 pandemic: Divine sign or caution?

We are seeing an increase in natural disasters. They don’t always mean that it’s the wrath of God, but at the same time, we cannot ignore what the Promised Messiahas said

Athar Mirza Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya UK Writers Base

In this time, more than ever, we are seeing a large increase in the prevalence of natural disasters. We cannot simply assume that these disasters express the wrath of God, but at the same time, we cannot ignore the words of wisdom that the Promised Messiahas has left us with on this issue.

In recent days, there have been two volcanic eruptions and a cyclone in India that has halted its Covid relief efforts in some parts of the country. As soon as I heard the news, I immediately thought of what the Promised Messiahas had said over 100 years ago that this period would be marked by an increase in crises. One volcano exploded in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland for the first time in 781 years.

Of course, the prime example is the Covid-19 pandemic which has swept across the globe, affecting rich and poor alike. Its severity and global effect have led people to question if the spread of this virus is a sign from Allah. Of course, we cannot declare that which the Khalifatul Masih has not; rather, these words are a contemplation of what Huzooraa said. Could it be that our

Creator is not happy with us?

Huzooraa mentioned the pandemic for the first time in a Friday Sermon on 6 March 2020: “Allah the Almighty knows best to what extent this epidemic will spread and what He has decreed. However, if this virus has emerged owing to the wrath of God, and just as we have seen in the present age, since the advent of the Promised Messiahas there has been a significant increase in the number of epidemics, diseases, earthquakes and storms, then one ought to turn towards God Almighty more than ever before to be safeguarded from the harmful impacts of what has been destined by God Almighty.

“Moreover, every Ahmadi ought to pay particular attention towards prayers and also to improve their spiritual condition.

One also ought to pray for the world in general that Allah the Almighty may grant them guidance. Instead of immersing themselves in worldly endeavours and being neglectful of God, may Allah enable the world to recognise their True Creator.”

(English translation taken from Al Hakam, 3 April 2020) As the true nature of the virus unveiled itself, Huzooraa once again addressed the

this love openly. However, if the child is continuously chastised, it must mean that the parent is unhappy.

To an atheist, the prominence of such disasters is nothing but the laws of nature in action. Therefore, the Covid-19 pandemic could constitute no type of divine sign.

In a beautiful five-part article that goes much further in depth into this topic than I do, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh explores the difference between natural disasters and divine punishments. Establishing the Muslim stance on this matter, Huzoorrh states that “the Ahmadiyya Community does not consider natural laws to be independent of or divorced from religious laws. Both are part and parcel of the laws of God.” (“Natural Disasters or Divine Punishment? Part I”, The Review of Religions, December 1993) The Holy Quran states: “And there falls not a leaf but He knows it”. (Surah al-An‘am Ch.6: V.60) He is:

issue in one of his sermons: “I too have been saying for many years that after the advent of the Promised Messiahas, and since he especially warned the world about calamities and heavenly afflictions, the frequency of storms, earthquakes and pandemics has increased greatly in the world. Generally, these pandemics and calamities come to caution mankind that they should fulfil the rights of their Creator as well as His creation […]

“We do not know if this is a specific sign or not. However, certainly, we do say, as I have mentioned just now and a few sermons ago when I referred to the pandemic for the first time, that this is a general sign. Since the advent of the Promised Messiahas, there has been a huge rise in heavenly and earthly calamities.” (Friday Sermon, 10 April 2020, English translation published in Al Hakam on 8 May 2020) Though we are in no position to deem this pandemic as the wrath of Allah, as Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated, this is certainly a moment to pause and reflect.

It may be appropriate to compare this relationship of God and His servants – us – to that of parent and child. If a parent loves their child, then that parent will show

“The All-Knowing”.

Returning to our analogy, as Allah has knowledge over all things, then surely it is incorrect to attribute the rise in natural disasters and the spread of global pandemics to the acts of mother nature alone, devoid of meaning. Surely, as Huzooraa stated, a person with belief in God must see the rise in natural disasters and the sheer scope of the current pandemic as a reminder from God to fulfil the rights due to Him and due to mankind.

What’s important to remember, in addition to the above, is that Allah the Almighty told the Promised Messiahas, “You and those who dwell within the four walls of your house; those who unconditionally follow you and are obedient to you, and who, on account of true righteousness, have become devoted to you, shall all be safeguarded against the plague.” (Noah’s Ark) We need to remember that this promise extends to the community of the Promised Messiahas in times of crisis as well as peace.

At this point, two questions arise in relation to the pandemic: Firstly, why are pious people being affected by the pandemic? Secondly, why are the effects of this pandemic so widespread?

Huzooraa addressed the first question in his Friday Sermon specifically. Huzooraa emphasised the Promised Messiah’sas point that the Holy Quran establishes that when “divine calamities befall the world, they engulf the righteous as well as wicked and corrupt people. As such, people will be judged according to their deeds. It is not the case that the righteous will remain completely unaffected; rather, they too will be impacted.” (Friday Sermon, 10 April 2020, English translation published in Al Hakam on 8 May 2020) Many pertinent examples were given.

One such example related to the people of Noahas: “The flood at the time of Hazrat Noahas affected many, whereas there were men, women and children who were oblivious to the claims and beliefs of Noahas, but yet succumbed to the calamity.”

When we look through these examples narrated by Huzooraa, it broadens our Continued on next page >>

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 << Continued from previous page

understanding of the philosophy of global disasters and demonstrates why we are in no position to question the piety of those of succumbing to this pandemic.

Secondly, when evaluating the widespread nature of this pandemic, we are left with no choice but to concede that global disasters and crises are occurring today, more than they occurred in the past.

Indeed, the Holy Quran also explains this in the words of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa when he said, “O mankind!

Truly I am a Messenger to you all from Allah”.

The Holy Prophetsa was the messenger for all of mankind, which inevitably means that from his advent, disasters began to take more of a global shape as opposed to being limited to only certain regions of the world.

To put it simply, what happens in one part of the world is not limited anymore in its effect.

We should also remember that Huzooraa wrote to the heads of various countries and religions emphasising the same message.

Each one of Huzoor’s letters emphasised the need for man to turn back to his Creator in the wake of the pandemic.

A particular quote emphasised by Huzooraa in these letters reads: “The matter of a person’s faith or

disbelief will be decided in the Hereafter.

These natural disasters or calamities that occur or through which the nations of the past were destroyed were not merely due to their disbelief. Rather, they were ruined as a result of their arrogance, transgressions and cruelties. Even the Pharaoh did not perish due to his disbelief, rather due to the injustices and brutalities he perpetrated.”

(The Review of Religions, January 2021, Vol. 116, Issue 1) However, not everyone will take the same perspective as our community on this matter, and this was evident from the collective response of world leaders.

A press release published early in 2021 stated the following: “His Holiness said that although some of the leaders responded to the letters expressing their desire for peace, in reality they offered only vague and diplomatic responses without seriously taking heed of the underlying message contained in the letters to bring about a spiritual and moral reformation. His Holiness said they did not touch upon the religious aspect contained in the letters whereby His Holiness drew attention towards fulfilling the obligations owed towards God Almighty as a means towards establishing peace.” (pressahmaddiya.com, 3 January 2021) Although disappointing, the only thing that we as Ahmadi Muslims can control is

our own conduct. This is not the first time in the history of the community that we have experienced a pandemic.

In 1919, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra gave crucial advice to the Jamaat at a time of great worry. His words came at the peak of the influenza pandemic, which was estimated to have claimed the lives of up to 50 million people.

In the 13 September 1919 edition of Al Fazl Qadian, Huzoorra said the following: “First and foremost, our belief in Allah being the only protector from any adversity and hardship, should make us bring about, in ourselves, such change and [we must] show such endeavour, through absolute obedience, that He becomes pleased with us […]

“If we were to obey Him with complete submission, why would He not show extraordinary grace in the wake of this deadly pandemic?

“Secondly, more time should be spent in invoking Allah’s tasbih [glorification] and tahmid [praise] […]

“Thirdly, remember that prescribed chanda is not sufficient as alms-giving and charity. Although the prescribed chanda is beneficial in this regard, more should be spent to fulfil the needs of the underprivileged, as it is this form of charitable spending that repels hardships

and troubles […]

“Fourthly, we should fall before Allah and pray fervently to Him […] Praying for the betterment of others is a great means of prevention from difficulties and hardship […]

“All the above are means of spiritual nature, but these should be topped-up with physical precautions. The Promised Messiahas said that one who does not observe physical precautions tests Allah the Almighty – as if to say, ‘Let’s see whether Allah saves me or not!’ […]

“I would also like to tell you about something which is both of spiritual and physical nature: Never despair and never be disappointed. Disappointment is a spiritual and physical disease; spiritual because it leads to disbelief and physical as it leads to a weakened body which attracts infection […]”.

Yes, this pandemic has not been followed by an open claim of it being the wrath of God, but time and time again, divinely guided leadership teaches us that moments like these ought to be marked by self-reflection and reformation.

It is for us Muslims to follow this guidance and show our positive examples: we ought to emerge from this pandemic as better people, closer to God.

Blessings of a jamaat: Eid in Jamaica Misbah Anmol Tariq Jamaica Correspondent Physical distance between relatives is deeply felt during special occasions. It really hits you during moments such as the birth of your nieces and nephews, on the graduation of your siblings and especially on a day such as Eid. However, with the grace of Allah, the Jamaat in which you serve becomes your family. I moved from Germany six years ago after marrying a missionary and I can say with a pure heart that I had never felt any loneliness on Eid until last year.

Every year prior to that, members of the Jamaat graciously invited us to be a part of their family gatherings, simply because they did not want us to spend the day alone. A lot of hard work and effort goes into inviting others over. Many formal arrangements end up being made. Yet still, they wanted to include us because they knew, as life devotees serving the Jamaat, we were far from our families.

Last year, we spent Eid alone for the first time. It was just me, my husband and our two little children. The two Eid celebrations in 2020 were spent a walking-distance away from the mosque, without the ability to go inside and pray.

This year, we were fortunate enough that the government had allowed small gatherings. In normal circumstances, we would have Eid with members from across the island of Jamaica coming together at the Mahdi Mosque in Old Harbor. This time, Eid was held at two separate locations

and members offered their prayers in their respective regions.

One gathering was allowed in the mosque and another was allowed in the parish of Trelawny in a community centre.

That is why this year has felt significantly special. During all of 2020, our activities were being held on Zoom and now, being allowed to gather in small numbers for Eid, felt like a great blessing.

While we all had to wear masks, get our temperatures checked and refrain from hugging anyone following Eid prayer, the true essence of Eid was still reignited this year.

To see the livelihood and the sheer presence of worshippers in the mosque created a beautiful atmosphere for all of us to enjoy.

Some volunteers had decorated the mosque with crafty banners saying “Eid Mubarak”, a self-made balloon garland and other small decorative items. It all gave the mosque a joyful ambience.

In his sermon, the missionary, Tariq Azeem Sahib spoke about the importance of Salat and the need to improve in this regard. He then continued to speak about the significance of instilling mutual love and brotherhood amongst ourselves as Muslims.

In the Trewlany chapter, the missionary Ahmad Forson’s Eid sermon was about how to make the good habits learnt during the month of Ramadan part of our lives.

Members were also encouraged to practice voluntary fasting as “fasting in general is good for us” both spiritually and health-

wise, in reference to the following verse of the Holy Quran: “And fasting is good for you, if you only knew.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.185) In the end, members were reminded to pray for Hazrat Amirul Momineen, may Allah be his Helper, the entire Jamaat and especially the crisis in Palestine.

After the prayer at the mosque, one Jamaican sister distributed homemade cake and chaat (chickpea salad), along with mosque-grown coconuts to drink from.

After offering Zuhr and Asr prayers, members concluded the special day with a formal lunch.

This was an Eid that we will remember for the rest of our lives: the first Eid after Covid-19. This Eid taught us the value of the Jamaat. It taught us that the Jamaat brings us together as a family, united under Khilafat and the motto, “Love for all, hatred for none.”

May we never forget the blessings and the unity that this special Jamaat adds to our lives.

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

Let’s clear the air to prevent Covid-19 and the next pandemic Abdulhaq Compier MD The Netherlands How Covid-19 spreads In May 2021, unfortunately, after debating the facts for more than a year, the World Health Organization finally acknowledged that Covid-19 is spread by “aerosols”. (www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opinion/ coronavirus-airborne-transmission.html) Aerosols are particles containing the virus that are emitted with the breath of an infected person and then float in the air, much like cigarette smoke. The more of these particles are inhaled by the people

around, the more sick they become. In the outdoors, aerosols are easily blown away in the wind. But in unventilated spaces, they form dangerous clouds that can infect everyone in a room. Most infections have occurred when dozens of people were infected all at once, called “superspreading events”. Furthermore asymptomatic carriers, which means people who do not (yet) feel ill, can be the most infectious. This explains how large outbreaks could suddenly occur and nobody saw them coming.

Create virus-resistant communities Despite all these troublesome facts, this knowledge can also help us keep safe even

while not having to lock ourselves up entirely.

For example, it has been shown that only 0.1 per cent of infections occurred outdoors. (/www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irishnews/outdoor-transmission-accounts-for-01-of-state-s-covid-19-cases-1.4529036) Also, ventilation and air purification technology can greatly help reduce risks. If we work together, we can eradicate Covid-19 almost entirely from our communities even where vaccines are not yet available.

The virus-resistant environment we thus create will, insha-Allah, also help prevent viruses like Covid-19 to take root in our communities in the future.

In Japan, the main ways of transmission of Covid-19 were understood already in February 2020. Below, I will elaborate on their Three Cs strategy to help you reduce infection risks. I will also suggest technology to further increase your safety.

Inform your boss at work, the principal at school and your social contacts about these recommendations to create your own protected social bubble.

AVO I D C L O S E D

AVO I D C R O W D E D

S PAC E S : V E N T I L AT E

P L AC E S

Move social activities outside as much as possible. Only 0.1 per cent of infections occurs outdoors.

Limit the amount of people in a gathering to approximately 10 people especially when ventilation options are limited to one door and one window on opposite sides. This will reduce the odds of people in the gathering being infectious. It will also reduce the risk of prolonged close contact and will enable enough ventilation. Below is explained how CO2 metres can help keep larger gatherings safe. Gatherings outdoors are much less dangerous, but risks increase in wind-still conditions, with loud conversation, shouting or singing and with longer duration of close contact.

Cross-ventilate the room when you meet with other people. Open doors and windows on multiple sides of the room as wide as possible, but at least eight inches (20 cm).

When ventilation cannot generate a tangible airflow, do not use the room.

Wear a face mask that fits well around the face. FFP2 or a well fitted washable mask, preferably two layers of cotton and one of satin. Plastic face shields and screens do not offer protection. Children that cannot wear a face mask may benefit about an hour from Vicks applied under the nostrils.

Shorten the duration of stay in spaces like shops to a maximum of 20 minutes (while also wearing a mask).

Avoid narrow spaces like elevators and public toilets. You can get infected within minutes even after the infectious person already left.

In cars, wear a face mask, increase ventilation, open windows.

Communication from the Japanese government, who adopted a wise strategy from the beginning of the pandemic.

Avoid the Three Cs

Do not use air-conditioning in an enclosed room. An aerosol cloud will build up because the air recirculates. The virus also survives longer in cold and dry air. Crossventilate the room or use HEPA air purifiers alongside the air conditioning.

AVO I D ( L E N G T H Y ) C L O S E C O N TAC T The 0.1 per cent of infections which happened outdoors were after a lengthy conversation (at least 15 minutes, but probably more like an hour) at close range, without a face mask. Wind-still conditions, loud conversation and singing increase the risk. Multiple shorter conversations on subsequent days can also cause infection.

Indoors, keeping distance adds to your safety, but first make sure to ventilate well to prevent an aerosol cloud fills up the entire room.

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 Most dangerous places to be in: Places where the Three Cs overlap. These are typically (karaoke) bars, church choirs, restaurants, classrooms, work and family meetings and gyms. Hotels, ships, care homes, prisons and apartment buildings are dangerous as ventilation systems often move air from one room to another. Meatpacking factories have seen large outbreaks because of loud talking in recirculating cold air, in which the virus survives longer. Aeroplanes are generally safe with their top-down ventilation and HEPA filters, but the narrow toilets are dangerous.

A note on disinfecting objects: “Fomite” infection, through touching a contaminated surface and then touching the nose or mouth, has been assumed initially and is also still cautioned against in the communication from Japan shown above. However, it has been shown not to happen in reallife conditions (www.nature.com/articles/ d41586-021-00251-4). Thus, disinfecting groceries seems like an unnecessary thing to do. Hand hygiene can be observed as usual.

Study the illustrations in El Païs to visualise how aerosol infection works. https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

TECHNOLO GY Examples are the Blueair Classic 605 SM (high CADR); Winix Zero (affordable), HoMedics Total Clean 5 in 1 Tower Large (high CADR for a low price). The Philips AC3829/10 and Daikin MCK75 have a built-in air humidifier to keep humidity at 50%, which helps to kill the virus, but these

Technology can help reduce infection risks significantly. At work, in schools and at home, make someone responsible to study this technology, to select the products, to do maintenance and to instruct people about their use.

require weekly maintenance. Prices start around $200. It helps to add a fan on the ceiling to prevent accumulation of aerosols in one area of the room. However, avoid floor fans that blow air directly from one person to another.

CO2 meters In schools and other places where groups gather, CO2 meters ($ 60-250) can show whether enough fresh air is coming in to reduce the risk of superspreading. If the below maximum values are maintained by ventilating, plus all doors and windows are opened wide every two hours, infection risks are reduced to almost zero. Prevent singing and shouting. For maximum safety, a facemask can be used or air purifiers added.

HEPA air purifiers H13 grade (“True”) HEPA air purifiers clean the air in homes, schools and offices using filters, ionization and/or UVC light. The

CADR indicates the maximum clean air delivery rate of the device. But maximum settings are noisy, so choose a high CADR to ensure that also at lower settings, your devices clean the air in the room ideally five times per hour. Use one device per 25 m2 of floor surface.

Affordable home devices can help reduce risks for single rooms. Larger buildings should review their HVAC systems to a create a virus-free indoor climate for the future.

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Perfect Preservation of the Holy Quran

Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

First manuscript and standardisation – Part II

A series of articles discussing the miracle of perfect preservation of the Holy Quran and responding to modern-day criticisms.

Farhan Iqbal Missionary, Canada Based on his research on the compilation of the Holy Quran, Ahsanullah Danish Sahib writes that while it is true that the Quran had been written down in its entirety by the Companionsra, the Quran did not exist in the form of a hardbound book or a single volume (like today) during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa. (Al-Zikrul Mahfuz, p. 77 [2007]) This is why, during the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakrra, when the Battle of Yamama took place wherein 500 reciters of the Quran were martyred, Hazrat Umarra suggested to Hazrat Abu Bakrra that the Holy Quran should be compiled into the form of a single volume. (Introduction to the Study of the Holy Quran, p. 362) This incident is described at length in Sahih al-Bukhari and it mentions how Hazrat Abu Bakrra had reservations at the beginning because such a task of putting the Quran into a single volume was never done during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa.

Eventually, however, he realised the necessity of this undertaking and assigned Hazrat Zaidra bin Thabit to carry out this task as he was the most trusted and prominent scribe of the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Fadha‘il-ulQuran, Bab Jam‘ul-Quran) At this point, some critics allege that this was the first attempt to write the Quran as Hazrat Abu Bakrra clearly said that this had never been done during the lifetime of the Holy Prophetsa. However, this allegation is born out of a poor understanding of the actual narration in Arabic.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra points out that the words which Hazrat Umarra said to Hazrat Abu Bakrra were: This means, “I suggest that you order the collection of the Quran”. In other words, he was not suggesting the writing down of the Quran as that had already been done. He was suggesting the collection of the Quran into a single, complete volume.

Similarly, when Hazrat Abu Bakrra called Hazrat Zaidra, he said to him “Ijma‘hu”, meaning that he should collect it in one place. He did not tell him to write it down as if for the first time.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra concludes by saying:

both memory of that verse and a written down format were asked for, before it was included in the mush‘af of Hazrat Abu Bakrra. What is more is that for most of the Quranic verses, there were dozens or even hundreds of witnesses who said they learnt the verse from the Holy Prophetsa directly. Many verses even had thousands of witnesses. (Tafsir-e-Kabir by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, Vol. 10, pp.

84-85) The final volume that was produced out of this monumental exercise is called mush‘af-e-umm and no Companions laid any objection to the accuracy of this manuscript of the Quran.

Standardised copy of the Quran

“These words themselves demonstrate that at that time, the question in front of them was to collect the pages of the Quran into a single volume. They were not concerned about writing it down per se”. (Fadha‘il-ul-Quran by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, pp. 25-26) Contrary to the way critics wish to portray this narration, it actually shows the extent to which the Companionsra strove in order to preserve the purity of the Quranic text. Prior to the time of the narration, the Quran had already been written down in its entirety by several companions, it had been memorised in its entirety by several companions, and it was being recited, memorised, studied, discussed and quoted frequently. On top of all this, the Companionsra still wished to go a step further and have the Quran put together into a single volume. What remarkable, sincere service to the Quran! Is it still possible to assume that the Quran was corrupted in light of such evidence to the contrary?

Furthermore, the reason why this singlevolume manuscript could not be prepared during the time of the Holy Prophetsa is that the Quran was being revealed to him constantly and it was not possible to know if the revelation of the Quran had ended.

However, when he died, it was understood that the Quranic revelation had come to an end and the Quran could be collected into a single book form.

In a remarkable book on the compilation, arrangement and revelation of the Quran – Al-Itqan fi ‘ulumil-Quran – Hazrat Imam Jalaluddin Suyutirh writes about the precautions that were taken to put together this first volume of the Quran. He writes that in light of the traditions, it should be

understood that Hazrat Zaidra was himself a hafiz (one who had memorised the whole Quran) but he still sought other witnesses to each and every verse, both in written form as well as via memorisation, before adding it to the single volume, or mush‘af, of the Quran that he was asked to prepare. Then, Imam Jalaluddin Suyutirh says: :

:

: : : “Abu Daud narrates that Abu Bakrra said to Umarra and Zaidra, ‘Sit at the entrance to the mosque and whoever comes to you with any portion from the book of Allah [i.e. the Holy Quran] with the support of two witnesses, write it down’. Ibn Hijr says that two witnesses refer to two formats, that is, through memorisation and in writing.

Sakhawi writes in his book, Jamal-ul-Qurra, ‘This means that two witnesses should give testimony that it was written down in front of the Holy Prophetsa’ […] Abu Shama says, ‘It was their intention that the Quran is written down in the same words that were written down in the presence of the Holy Prophetsa, and not just based on memory.’” (Al-Itqan fi ulumil Quran [An-Nau‘ Ath-thamin Ashar, fi jam‘ihi wa tartibihi], Lebanon: Resalah Publishers, p. 131 [2008]) Based on these numerous narrations Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra writes that for every single verse of the Holy Quran,

During the time of Hazrat Uthmanra, copies of this mush‘af-e-umm were made and distributed to different Muslim lands as official, standardised copies of the Quran.

This was because he started receiving complaints that different tribes enunciated or pronounced words of the Quran in distinctive ways, and so Hazrat Uthmanra forbade all variations of enunciation of even vowel points and sent a standard copy to be recited in the standard way.

This standard form of recitation or pronunciation of words was based on the dialect of the Holy Prophetsa or the dialect of the Quraish of Mecca. In Arabic, this is called qir‘ah and the closest analogy for English speakers to understand the difference between qira‘at (plural of qir‘ah) is to think of the difference between American English and British English in terms of pronunciation. Since Arabic is a much more diverse language as compared to English, this difference in dialects becomes much more profound and distinctive among Arabic speakers.

Hence, Hazrat Uthmanra responded to this challenge of differences in pronunciation by standardising the written copy of the Quran along with its mode of recitation.

As an added precaution, he ordered the burning of all other written manuscripts of the Quran – whether they were complete or only had portions of the Quran written on them.

Since a colossal effort had already been made to prepare the mush‘af-e-umm, there was no need to keep any other manuscripts of any other shape or form. One fear of allowing such manuscripts was that some Companions took personal notes on their manuscripts and it could have led to confusion for later peoples as they may have wondered which part is the Quran and which part is a footnote or a side note.

(To be continued...)

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021

Friday Sermon 7 May 2021 Men of Excellence: Hazrat Umarra ibn al-Khattab After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:

The accounts Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam were previously being mentioned.

With regard to Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra narrates: “Hazrat Umarra fiercely opposed Islam.” That is, until he accepted Islam, he continuously opposed the spread of Islam.

“One day, the thought crossed his mind as to why not simply put an end to its founder.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he took his sword and left his home in order to kill the Holy Prophetsa.

“On the way, someone asked him, ‘Where are you going, Umar?’ Hazrat Umarra replied, ‘I am going to kill Muhammad[sa].’

The person laughed and said, ‘You should first see what is happening within your own house. Your sister and brother-inlaw have already accepted him.’ Hazrat Umarra replied, ‘This is a lie.’ The individual responded by saying that he ought to go and investigate for himself. Hazrat Umarra went there and found the door to be locked.

Inside, a companion was teaching the Holy Quran. Hazrat Umarra knocked. His brother-in-law asked from inside, ‘Who is it?’ Hazrat Umarra replied that it was Umar.

“When they saw that it was Hazrat Umarra, they hid the companion who was teaching them the Holy Quran, as they knew that Hazrat Umarra was a fierce enemy of Islam. Similarly, they also hid the parchment of the Holy Quran in a corner and then opened the door.

“As Hazrat Umarra had already heard that his brother-in-law and sister had accepted Islam, he immediately asked them why they took so long in opening the door.

His brother-in-law replied that, at times, it can take a while to open the door. Hazrat Umarra said, ‘This is not the case’ and that ‘a particular issue must have hindered you from opening the door. I could also hear that you were listening to the words of a sabi man.’” The idolaters of Mecca used to call the Holy Prophetsa “Sabi” [i.e. one who had abandoned their old faith].

“His brother-in-law tried to brush off the matter, but Hazrat Umarra became infuriated and stepped forward in order to strike him.

However, out of love for her husband, Hazrat Umar’sra sister jumped between them. As

hands of a person like you.’ Hazrat Umarra asked what he should do? His sister replied, ‘There is some water. Bathe, as only then I will hand it to you.’

“Hazrat Umarra took a bath and returned.

His sister then placed the parchments of the Holy Quran, which they were listening to, in his hands. Since he was already affected by the earlier incident, reciting the verses of the Holy Quran melted his heart. Once he had completed reciting the verses, he spontaneously said:

Hazrat Umarra had already raised his hand to strike and his sister suddenly jumped in between, he was unable to hold back. It struck the nose of his sister with full force and blood started to flow from it. Hazrat Umarra was a compassionate person.

“Seeing that he had hit a woman, which

was against the custom of Arabia, on top of that it was his own sister, he tried to change the topic and said, ‘Right, tell me about what you were reading.’ His sister understood that Hazrat Umarra had overcome with sentiments of kindness and said, ‘Go! I am not prepared to give something pure in the

“‘I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammadsa is His Messenger.’ Hearing this, the companion, who was hiding out of fear of Hazrat Umarra, also came out.

“Subsequently, Hazrat Umarra enquired as to where the Holy Prophetsa was residing in those days. Due to the opposition, the Holy Prophetsa frequently changed homes during those days. He told him that these days, the Holy Prophetsa was staying in Dar al-Arqam. Hazrat Umarra immediately left, with his sword out of its sheath and headed towards this place. His sister became extremely anxious, thinking that he might be heading there with evil intentions. She stepped forward and said, ‘By God! I will not let you go until you reassure me that you are not going there to cause some mischief.’

Hazrat Umarra replied, ‘I give you a solemn promise that I will not cause any disorder.’

“Hazrat Umarra approached the place where the Holy Prophetsa was staying and knocked on the door. The Holy Prophetsa and his companions were sitting inside and discussing matters of religion. One of the companions asked who it was. Hazrat Umarra replied, ‘It is Umar.’

“The companions said: ‘O Messengersa of Allah! The door should not be opened, lest he causes some disorder.’ Hazrat Hamzahra had recently accepted Islam and had the disposition of a warrior. He said, ‘Open the door. I shall see to what he does!’

Hence, an individual opened the door and Hazrat Umarra entered. Upon this, the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Umar! How long will you go on opposing me?’

“Hazrat Umarra said, ‘O Messengersa of

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

Allah, I have not come in opposition; rather, I have come to become your follower.’ Umarra, who an hour earlier was a staunch enemy of Islam and had left his home to kill the Holy Prophetsa, became the highest calibre of a believer within a single moment. Hazrat Umarra was not among the chieftains of Mecca, but due to his courage, he had a great influence over the youth. When he became a Muslim, the Muslims raised slogans of ‘Allah is the Greatest’ [Allahu Akbar]. Then came the time for prayer and the Holy Prophetsa desired to offer his prayers, but that same Umarra, who two hours previously left his home to kill the Holy Prophetsa, once again took out his sword, saying, ‘O Messengersa of Allah! How can it be that God’s Messengersa and those who follow him pray in hiding whilst the idolaters of Mecca wander about freely? Let me see who will dare to stop us from offering our prayers in the vicinity of the Ka‘bah.’ The Holy Prophetsa stated, ‘This passion is commendable indeed, but for the moment, it is not suitable for us to go forth in such a state.’” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 6, pp. 141-143) Later on, they were able to pray at the Ka‘bah, as has been mentioned previously.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has also mentioned this, stating: “In the early period of Islam, only two people were considered to be truly courageous – one was Hazrat Umarra and the other was Hazrat Hamzahra. When both of these individuals entered the fold of Islam, they expressed to the Holy Prophetsa that they were not happy to only worship Allah in their homes, when they also had a right over the Ka‘bah. Hence, there was no reason for them not to attain this right of theirs of worshipping Allah the Almighty in the open. Thus, the Holy Prophetsa – who would worship in his home to avoid being accused by the idolaters of spreading disorder – went

“

to the Ka‘bah for worship. In that moment, to one side of him was Hazrat Umarra holding his sword, and to his other side was Hazrat Hamzahra. So in this way, the Holy Prophetsa offered his prayers at the Ka‘bah in plain sight.” (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 23, p. 10) When news of Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam spread amongst the Quraish, they became extremely infuriated and with these sentiments, they surrounded the house of Hazrat Umarra.

Hazrat Umarra came out to a large crowd that had surrounded him; certain overzealous individuals were prepared to attack him. However, Hazrat Umarra stood courageously and steadfastly in front of them. Eventually, as this was happening, the chieftain of Mecca, Aas bin Waa‘il arrived and having witnessed this crowd, asked in a commanding tone, “What is going on?”

The people replied, “Umarra has become a sabi.” Whilst assessing the situation, the chieftain said, “Alright, but there is no need for this commotion, I grant my protection to Umarra.”

As was the custom of the Arabs, the people had no choice but to remain silent when he spoke and they eventually dispersed. Thereafter, Hazrat Umarra remained in this protection for a few days, as no one dared go against the protection of Aas bin Waa‘il. However, the honour of Hazrat Umarra would not allow him to remain in this state for long. Hence, not long had passed that he went to say to Aas bin Waa‘il, ‘I remove myself from your protection.’ Hazrat Umarra states, ‘Thereafter I would find myself in confrontations and skirmishes in the streets (i.e. he would always be subjected to altercations).’ But Hazrat Umarra never backed down in front of anyone.” (Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra, p. 159)

Observe just how staunch the enemies of the Holy Prophetsa were and the change that took place within them. Not only were they reformed; in fact, they reached the heights of spiritual ranks that it would be impossible to recognise them” i.e. they were completely transformed to the point where they could not be recognised as the same people.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra then states: “Observe just how staunch the enemies of the Holy Prophetsa were and the change that took place within them. Not only were they reformed; in fact, they reached the heights of spiritual ranks that it would be impossible to recognise them” i.e. they were completely transformed to the point where they could not be recognised as the same people.

“When Hazrat Umarra – who was everready to oppose Islam and the Muslims – had the honour of accepting Islam, such a transformation took place in him that he was ready to put his life at risk for the benefit of the world and was occupied day and night in service to Islam.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 7, p. 45)

It should be “[…] for the benefit of religion he began to place his life in danger.”

The Promised Messiahas states with regard to Hazrat Umarra accepting Islam: “Observe just how beneficial Hazrat Umarra proved to be. There was a time when he had not accepted Islam and remained in this state for four years. Allah the Almighty knows best the secret behind this. Abu Jahl was searching for someone who would kill the Holy Prophetsa.

“At the time, Hazrat Umarra was wellknown for his bravery and courage and he possessed great might. They discussed amongst themselves and he took up the task of killing the Holy Prophetsa. Hazrat Umarra and Abu Jahl signed a contract in which it was stated that if Hazrat Umarra killed the Holy Prophetsa, he would be rewarded with such and such amount.

“It is the power of Allah the Almighty that the same Umarra who once went forth to slay the Holy Prophetsa later accepted Islam and was himself martyred. What an extraordinary era that was!

“Hence, the contract was signed that he would be the one to kill him. After signing this, he would go about in search of the Holy Prophetsa and spend the nights doing the same”, i.e. Hazrat Umarra would spend his time searching for the Holy Prophetsa and go about the night as well hoping for an opportunity to kill him in secret.

“He would enquire of the people as to when the Holy Prophetsa would be alone.

They would say that after half the night had passed, he would go to the Ka‘bah to offer his prayers. Hazrat Umarra was delighted to hear this, so he went and hid in the Ka‘bah.

After a short while, he could hear the sound of: “‘There is no god except Allah’ emanating from the wilderness; it was the voice of the Holy Prophetsa. Having heard his voice and understanding that he was making his way there, Hazrat Umarra sat even more diligently and decided that he would strike him with his sword when he lay in prostration, severing his head from his shoulders. As soon as the Holy Prophetsa arrived, he began performing his prayers.

Hazrat Umarra relates what happened thereafter.”

The Promised Messiahas states: “Hazrat Umarra himself relates what subsequently took place: ‘The Holy Prophetsa wept so much as he supplicated during his prostration that I was shaken to the core, to the point where the Holy Prophetsa even said:

“O my Lord, my soul and my heart prostrate before You.”’ “Hazrat Umarra states, ‘Having heard these prayers, my heart was torn apart. In the end my sword fell from my hand in awe of the truth. I realised from witnessing the Holy Prophetsa in such a state that he was truthful and would indeed be successful, yet the soul that incites to evil is indeed wicked and would incite over and over again. “‘When the Holy Prophetsa had completed his prayers and left, I pursued him. The Holy Prophetsa heard my footsteps.

The night was dark. The Holy Prophetsa asked, “Who is it?” I replied, “Umar.” He then said, “Umar, neither do you leave us in the night nor in the day.” In that moment, I sensed the scent of the Holy Prophet’ssa soul and I felt as though he was about to curse me. I said, “Do not curse me.”’

“Hazrat Umarra states, ‘That time and that moment was for my acceptance of Islam, and God Almighty enabled me to become a Muslim.’” (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, pp. 180-181) This is an extract of the Promised Messiahas and there is another quote of the Promised Messiahas which also sheds further light on this. It mentions more or less the same details but with a slightly different conclusion.

The Promised Messiahas states: “Prior to accepting Islam, Hazrat Umarra would often meet with Abu Jahl. In fact, it is mentioned that once, Abu Jahl conspired to kill the Holy Prophetsa and for this, he even fixed a reward. Hazrat Umarra was chosen to carry out this task and so he sharpened his sword and remained in search of the opportunity to carry this out. Hazrat Umarra came to learn that the Holy Prophetsa would go to the Ka‘bah in the middle of the night every day to offer his prayers. Subsequently, Hazrat Umarra went to the Ka‘bah and hid.

He then began to hear the words: “‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah’ coming from the direction of the wilderness and the sound started coming closer and closer until the Holy Prophetsa entered inside the Ka‘bah and began to offer his prayers.

“Hazrat Umarra stated, ‘The Holy Prophetsa supplicated so profusely that I no longer had the courage to strike my sword. When the Holy Prophetsa concluded his prayer, he left and I walked behind him. When the Holy Prophetsa heard my footsteps, he enquired as to who it was. I replied, “It is Umar!” Upon this, the Holy Prophetsa stated, “O Umar! You do not leave me alone in the day nor in the night.”’ Hazrat Umarra stated, ‘I felt as if the Holy Prophetsa was going to pray against me and so I stated, “As of today, I shall no longer cause you any hardship.”’

“Since the Arabs had great regard for their vows, therefore the Holy Prophetsa took his word, but the reality was that the time for Hazrat Umar’sra [good fortune] had been decreed.” This is slightly different from the previous quote.

“At that moment, the Holy Prophetsa felt that God would not allow him to go to ruin and eventually Hazrat Umarra became a Muslim and immediately severed his ties of friendship and relations with Abu Jahl and the other opponents and a new bond of brotherhood was established in its stead with Hazrat Abu Bakrra and the other companions; not once did he ever think

AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 about those previous relations.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 3, p. 340)

Then, mentioning Hazrat Umar’s acceptance of Islam in a similar manner – perhaps with a difference of just a few words – the Promised Messiahas states: “You will have heard of the incident when Hazrat Umarra went forth to kill the Holy Prophetsa. Abu Jahl had circulated a form of announcement amongst the people that whoever killed the Holy Prophetsa would be granted great reward and honour. Prior to him embracing Islam, Hazrat Umarra settled an agreement with Abu Jahl to kill the Holy Prophetsa. Following this, he remained in search for the perfect opportunity. Upon enquiring, he was informed that the Holy Prophetsa would go the Ka‘bah in the middle of the night in order to offer his prayers.

Deeming this to be the perfect opportunity, Hazrat Umarra went in the evening and hid in the Ka‘bah. In the middle of the night, the words: ra

“‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah...’ began to emerge from the wilderness. Hazrat Umarra decided that as soon as the Holy Prophetsa would go into prostration, he would kill him. The Holy Prophetsa began to offer his prayers with such anguish and fervency and offered praise to Allah the Almighty in his prostrations in such a manner that Hazrat Umar’sra heart was moved. He lost all his courage and the hand with which he sought to carry out the act of killing became completely lax” – the softening of his heart has been described in this particular manner in this quote.

“Upon completing his prayer, when the Holy Prophetsa left to go home, Hazrat Umarra followed him. The Holy Prophetsa heard footsteps and enquired who it was.

Upon learning who it was, the Holy Prophetsa stated, ‘O Umar! Will you not leave me?’

Fearing lest the Holy Prophetsa would pray against him, Hazrat Umarra stated, ‘I have abandoned the plan to kill you; please do not pray against me!’ Hazrat Umarra would often say that this was the very first night in which the love for Islam entered his heart.”

(Malfuzat, Vol. 7, p. 61)

I have read out three different quotes; they are from January 1901, August 1902 and June 1904 or perhaps 1907. In all three quotes, the Promised Messiahas has mentioned Hazrat Umarra going to the Ka‘bah in order to attack [the Holy Prophetsa]. It is possible that perhaps, after this incident, having been overcome by “nafs-e-amarah” [the state that incites to evil], he may have left during the day as well and that is when the incident involving his sister took place, which is generally quoted [in reference to his acceptance of Islam].

However, in any case, in all three instances, the Promised Messiahas stated this particular incident. Since the Promised Messiahas also mentioned the subject of nafs-e-amarah here, therefore it is possible that he was overcome by his emotions once again and left [to his sister’s house].

In any case, in both incidents, whether it be the one involving his sister and brotherin-law or going in the night to kill [the Holy Prophetsa], Hazrat Umarra decided to do this due to the incitement of Abu Jahl and him fixing a reward.

The Promised Messiahas states: “Abu Jahl has been described as Pharaoh, but in my view, he was far worse

“

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In the early period of Islam, only two people were considered to be truly courageous – one was Hazrat

Umarra and the other was Hazrat Hamzahra. When both of

these individuals entered the fold of Islam, they expressed to the Holy Prophetsa that they were not happy to only worship Allah in their homes, when they also had a right over the Ka‘bah.

than Pharaoh because after all, Pharaoh had proclaimed: [‘… I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the children of Israel believe…’

(Ch.10: V.91)] “However, he [i.e. Abu Jahl] did not accept at all. All of the disorder in Mecca was owing to him. He was extremely arrogant, selfish and pretentious. His real name was Amr. Both Umars belonged to Mecca and it was the divine decree that one of them was drawn towards [the truth] whilst the other remained unfortunate. Whilst his soul is burning in the hellfire, Hazrat Umarra, on the other hand, did not show stubbornness and eventually became a king.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p. 247)

Hazrat Ibn Umarra relates that when Hazrat Umarra bin Al-Khattab accepted Islam, the Holy Prophetsa tapped his hand on his chest three times and recited the following prayer: “O Allah! Remove whatever malice is in his heart and replace it with faith.” The Holy Prophetsa offered this prayer three times.

(Ibn Abd al-Barr, Al-Isti‘ab fi Ma‘rifat al-Ashab, Vol. 3, Bab Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2002], p. 237)

It was mentioned earlier that prior to his acceptance of Islam, Hazrat Umarra extremely opposed the Muslims. However, upon accepting Islam, his acceptance proved to be a means of victory for the Muslims and alleviating them from their hardships.

Hazrat Abdullahra bin Mas‘ud relates that they did not openly worship Allah until Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam. (Ibn Hajar alAsqalani, Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Vol. 4, Dhikr Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2005], p. 484)

Abdur Rahman bin Harith relates that Hazrat Umarra stated: “The night in which I accepted Islam, I thought, ‘Who is the most severe in his enmity towards the Holy Prophetsa from among the Meccans, so that I may go to him and inform him that I have accepted Islam?’”

Hazrat Umarra states further, “I thought it was none other than Abu Jahl. Thus, in the morning, I went to him and knocked on his door.” Hazrat Umarra states, “Abu Jahl came to me and said, ‘O my nephew!

Welcome. What brings you here?’” Hazrat Umarra states, “I replied, ‘I have come to let you know that I have professed my belief in Allah and His Messengersa and testify to that which he has brought.’”

Hazrat Umarra states, “Upon this, he closed the door on me and said, ‘May Allah cause you and what you have believed in to be ruined.’” (Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham, Islam Dhikr Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ibn Hazm, 2009], p. 162)

These were the words of Abu Jahl.

Hazrat Ibn Umarra relates: “When my father (i.e. Hazrat Umarra) accepted Islam, he asked the people who among the Quraish had the habit of spreading news. They informed him that it

was Jameel bin Ma‘mar Jumhi.” Hazrat Ibn Umarra states, “Hazrat Umarra went to him early in the morning and I also followed behind him in order to see what he did.

Even though I was quite young; however, I could understand everything.” This is Ibn Umarra saying this.

“When Hazrat Umarra reached him, he said, ‘O Jameel! Are you aware that I have accepted Islam and have entered the religion of Muhammadsa?’”

Hazrat Ibn Umarra states, “By God,

Khilafat Day 2021 events in USA Syed Shamshad Nasir Missionary, USA

Ijaz Ahmed Khokhar Sahib, President Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Fitchburg, USA, reports that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Fitchburg held Khilafat Day event at Masjid Bait-ulZikr on 22 May 2021. All social distancing guidelines were strictly followed.

The session was also streamed through Zoom for members who were unable to attend. About 20 people attended in person and more than 15 attended through Zoom.

The event began with a recitation of the Holy Quran followed by a Hadith and an Urdu poem about Khilafat.

In the opening address, the local president presented examples of the wisdom and guidance from Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa that brings benefit to our daily lives. A few prime examples were presented including Huzoor’s guidance on the use of social media, Fortnite, and bitcoin.

After this, a summary of Huzoor’s Friday Sermon of 14 January 2017 was presented, in which he had guided members on selfreformation resolve and faith.

Next, local qaid Majlis Khuddamul-Ahmadiyya, spoke about Huzoor’s blessed guidance throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has benefitted members of the Jamaat.

This was followed by a speech on obedience to Khilafat and the Nizaame-Jamaat by the local General Secretary, Masood Ashraf Sahib.

The members then participated in an interactive online quiz about Khilafat. The

meeting concluded with announcements and a request for prayers for Palestine.

Nasirat-ul-Ahmadiyya Harrisburg Iman Qureshi Sahiba, Secretary Ishaat, Nasirat-ul-Ahmadiyya Harrisburg reports that on 27 May 2021, the Nasirat of Harrisburg Jamaat celebrated Khilafat Day on Zoom. There were a total of 30 participants including Lajna members whose support was much appreciated by the Nasirat.

The programme started with a recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by a hadith and a poem.

As part of the proceedings, Laiba Sarfaraz Sahiba shared an informative presentation on the importance of Khilafat Day and the significance behind it. As a fun activity and to get all the Nasirat engaged, a Kahoot quiz was led by Rameen Khan Sahiba and this was enjoyed by the Nasirat and helped our understanding of this topic.

Then, Tahaani Khan Sahiba and Iman Qureshi Sahiba shared the impact of Khilafat on their daily lives and how following Huzoor’s guidance given in Friday Sermons helps them navigate modern society and be closer to Allah.

Next, the younger Nasirat aged 7-9, Tanzeela Khan, Zara Qureshi, Afia Munir, Zoya Bhatti, Zinnia Ahmad and Leila Sharif all shared their love for Huzooraa, their experiences with meeting him and the kindness and attention he showed them.

I pray that this may help the Nasirat remember the importance of Khilafat in our daily lives and help us realise and fulfil our responsibilities. Amin.

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM Do you think that the Banu Adi bin Kaab will hand their people over to you? Leave this person alone.” The narrator states that

by God, they all immediately left him.

Hazrat Ibn Umarra – Hazrat Umar’sra son – states, “Long after my father had migrated to Medina, I asked him, ‘O father! On the day you accepted Islam, who was the person in Mecca who admonished the people who were fighting against you and he sent them away?’ Hazrat Umarra stated, ‘My dear son!

It was Aas bin Waa‘il Sahmi.’” (Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham, Dhikr Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ibn Hazm, 2009], pp. 161-162)

There is a narration mentioned in Bukhari in which Hazrat Ibn Umarra relates: “One day, Hazrat Umarra was sat at home in a state of fear. In that instance, Abu Amr Aas bin Waa‘il Sahmi came and was wearing an embroidered cloak and an upper garment made of silk with designs on its hems. He belonged to the Banu Sahm tribe with whom we had an allegiance during the era of Jahiliyyah [era of ignorance prior to the advent of Islam]. Aas bin Waa‘il said to Hazrat Umarra, ‘What is this condition of yours?’ Hazrat Umarra replied, ‘Your people think that since I have become a Muslim, they will now kill me.’

“Aas bin Waa‘il stated, ‘No one will be able to get to you.’ Hazrat Umarra states that he felt assured after he said this. Aas bin Waa‘il then left and met the people.

The valley of Mecca at the time was full of people; Aas bin Waa‘il asked them where they were heading to. They replied, they were going to the son of Khattab who had forsaken his religion. Upon this, Aas bin Waa‘il stated that they were not to go to him and subsequently the people returned.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra, Hadith 3864)

Hazrat Umarra did not have to repeat this statement of his that he [i.e. Jameel] left with his cloak dragging across the floor and Hazrat Umarra also followed after him.”

Hazrat Ibn Umarra states: “I followed after my father and saw that he, i.e. Jameel, stood at the door of the Ka‘bah and loudly exclaimed, ‘O people of the Quraish!’” This was an announcement he made whilst standing at the door of the Ka‘bah. “‘O People of the Quraish!’ At the time, people were sat in groups near the Ka‘bah and all turned their attention towards him.

He then continued, ‘Let it be known that Umar bin Al-Khattab has become a sabi.’”

The narrator of this tradition states that Hazrat Umarra said from behind him, “He is lying for I have accepted Islam and I am not a sabi. And I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammadsa is His servant and Messenger.”

Upon this, the Quraish leapt towards Hazrat Umarra. They both began fighting with one another until the sun had completely risen. The narrator states that when Hazrat Umarra became tired and exhausted, he sat down. The people stood around him. Hazrat Umarra said to them, “You can do whatever you wish to do. But I swear by Allah that if we reach 300 in number, then either we will leave Mecca for you or you will leave it for us.” In other words, they would then be able to freely do whatever they wanted.

The narrator further states that the Quraish were still in their current state when an elderly man came forward, who was wearing an embroidered upper garment made from a Yemeni cloth. He came close to them and enquired what the matter was. They told him that Hazrat Umarra had become a sabi. To this, he said, “So what if he has? If a person has chosen something for himself, then what concern is that of yours?

This mention of Hazrat Umarra being fearful does not seem to be correct; this would be against the disposition of Hazrat Umarra. Perhaps seeing Hazrat Umarra worried, the narrator thought that he was fearful, as it was mentioned in an earlier narration that Hazrat Umarra renounced his protection, and this will be mentioned again later on as well.

Explaining the incident of Hazrat Umar’sra acceptance of Islam, Hazrat Zainul-Abideen Waliullah Shah Sahib makes reference to Aas bin Waa‘il Sahmi, stating: “There is mention regarding the persecution of the few people who accepted Islam prior to Hazrat Umarra. Hazrat Umarra would also have suffered persecution had Aas bin Waa‘il Sahmi not announced his protection. Aas bin Waa‘il was considered among the esteemed leaders of the Quraish and belonged to the Banu Sahm tribe. His ancestry is as follows: Aas bin Waa‘il bin Hashim bin Saeed bin Sahm. He died as a disbeliever prior to the migration. Hazrat Umarra belonged to the Banu Adi tribe who were allies of the Banu Sahm tribe. Owing to this pledge of friendship and support, Aas bin Waa‘il thought it his moral responsibility to assist Hazrat Umarra.” (Sahih al-Bukhari [translated], Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra, Vol. 7, pp. 346-347)

However, as I mentioned earlier, Hazrat Umarra renounced his protection soon after. Regarding this, Hazrat Umarra himself states: “I did not wish to see a Muslim persecuted but remain safe from it myself.

(Hazrat Umarra states) I thought to myself

that this is not right. I should also suffer what the other Muslims are made to suffer.

(Hazrat Umarra further says) I waited until they were all gathered near the Ka‘bah. I then went to my uncle, Aas bin Waa‘il and said, ‘Listen to what I have to say’ to which he replied, ‘What is the matter?’ I said, ‘I renounce your protection.’” Hazrat Umarra states, “Aas bin Waa‘il said, ‘O my nephew!

Do not do this.’ I replied, ‘This is how it will be,’ to which he replied, ‘As you wish.’”

Hazrat Umarra then states, “From this time onwards, either I would be beaten up or I would retaliate and fight, until a time came when Allah the Almighty established the honour of Islam.” (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.

141)

Muhammad bin Ubaid narrates, “I remember that we were never able to offer prayers inside the House of Allah until Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam. When Hazrat Umarra accepted Islam, he fought against the disbelievers to the extent that they eventually left us alone and we began to offer prayers.” (Ibn Saad, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 1996], p. 143)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘udra says, “From the time Hazrat Umarra became a Muslim, we were granted honour.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il Ashab al-Nabisa, Bab Hazrat Umar bin al-Khattabra, Hadith 3684)

There were difficult times later as well, but they would not consider those difficulties to be as severe as the ones they suffered previously, even though from history we know that even Hazrat Umarra suffered persecution.

Hazrat Abdullahra bin Hisham states: “We were with the Holy Prophetsa, who was holding on to Hazrat Umar’sra hand.

Hazrat Umarra said to the Holy Prophetsa, ‘O Messengersa of Allah! You are dearer to me than everything except for my own self.’ The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘No, by God in Whose hands is my life, your faith can never be complete unless I become dearer to you than your own self.’” This is a very important aspect. Hazrat Umarra said to the Holy Prophetsa, ‘By God! You are now dearer to me than myself.’ The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Indeed [that is correct] now Umar.’”

Meaning that this was now the true state of faith. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman wa al-Nudhur, Bab kaif Kanat Yamin al-Nabisa…, Hadith 6632)

With regard to Hazrat Umar’sra migration to Medina, Hazrat Abdullahra bin Abbas narrates that Alira bin Abi Talib said to him: “From among the Muhajireen, I do not know anyone who did not migrate discreetly, except for Hazrat Umar bin Khattabra. When he decided to migrate, he took his sword, hung his bow across his shoulder, held arrows in his hand and went towards the Ka‘bah.

“The leaders of the Quraish were present in the vicinity of the Ka‘bah. Hazrat Umarra calmly performed seven circuits of the Ka‘bah, and then went to Maqam-e-Ibrahim and offered his prayers with ease. He then went to each tribe individually and said to them, ‘May the faces become disfigured and their noses be rubbed in the dust! Whoever wishes for their mother to be separated from him, for their children to become orphaned and for their wives to become widowed, should meet me beyond this valley.’”

Hazrat Alira then stated, “Aside from a

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AL HAKAM | Friday 4 June 2021 few weak and helpless Muslims, nobody went after Hazrat Umarra. Hazrat Umarra imparted information to them and having guided them, he set off on his journey.” (Ali

migrated with him. Nevertheless, Allah knows best. Upon arrival in Medina, Hazrat Umarra stayed in Quba with Rifa‘a bin Abdil Munzir. (Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi,

Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Umar bin al-Khattabra Hijratuh [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, 2003], pp. 648-649)

Siyar al-Sahabah, Vol. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar alIsha‘ah, 2004], p. 93)

Hazrat Umarra openly declaring that he was about to migrate has only been mentioned in this narration by Hazrat Alira, whereas the majority of biographers hold a different view to this.

Muhammad Husayn Haykal has written a book about the life and character of Hazrat Umarra. In his book, he has argued that with regard to the migration, the Holy Prophetsa had instructed to migrate from Mecca quietly and discreetly, lest the opponents became aware of it and tried to stop them or hinder them. Therefore, in light of this clear instruction, how could it be that Hazrat Umarra would disobey this instruction, especially given that in Al-Tabaqat by Ibn Saad and Ibn Hisham, it is written that Hazrat Umarra migrated secretly along with the rest of the Muslims?

Nonetheless, if one deems the narration of Hazrat Alira to be correct, then it could be the case that Hazrat Umarra made this announcement, but did not migrate at that time; i.e. he announced before the leaders of the Quraish in the vicinity of the Ka‘bah that he would migrate and so whoever wished to stop him could try, but then he did not migrate at the time.

Then later, when it was time to migrate, he migrated quietly. Nevertheless, what Haykal has mentioned is also significant and as mentioned earlier, Ibn Saad in AlTabaqat and Ibn Hisham have also stated this. It seems that in accordance with the command of the Holy Prophetsa, Hazrat Umarra also migrated quietly along with the other Muslims, because given the situation of Mecca at the time, it was not possible to migrate by announcing their intentions.

In fact, we find that until the Conquest of Mecca, anyone who migrated had to do so in secret.

Nonetheless, if the narration of Hazrat Alira is to be deemed correct, then it could be an action from his own part, but the apparent evidence suggests that this [narration] is not correct. (Muhammad Husain Haikal, Al-Faruq Umar, Vol. 1, Bab fi Suhbat al-Nabisa, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2007], pp.

53-54)

Hazrat Bara bin Aazibra narrates: “The first from among the Muhajireen to reach us was Hazrat Mus‘abra bin Umair, who belonged to the Banu Abd al-Dar tribe, followed by Hazrat Ibn Umm Maktum, who was blind and belonged to the Banu Fihr tribe. After them, it was Hazrat Umarra bin Khattab, along with 20 people on horseback.

We enquired from them about the Holy Prophetsa, to which they said that he was behind them”, i.e. that he would come after a while. “Then after some time, the Holy Prophetsa came and Hazrat Abu Bakrra was with him.” (Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar alKutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 145)

If this narration is correct, then it is very possible that Hazrat Umarra would have mentioned his migration before a gathering and vehemently announced that if anyone wished, they could try to stop him, but then he migrated quietly because in this narration, it is stated that 20 people

Quba is an elevated area situated three miles from Medina and at the time, some families of the Ansar had settled there. The most eminent from among those families was that of Amr bin Auf. The leader of this family was Kulthum bin Hidam, with whom the Holy Prophetsa stayed when he arrived in Quba. (Sayyid Fadl al-Rahman, Farhang-i-Sirat [Karachi, Pakistan: Zawwar Academy Publications, 2003], p. 230)

There are various narrations with regards to Hazrat Umar’sra bond of brotherhood; according to one narration, the Holy Prophetsa established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiqra. The bonds of brotherhood were formed twice – once in Mecca and once in Medina after the migration. In Mecca, the Holy Prophetsa established a bond of brotherhood between himself and Hazrat Alira and between Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Abu Bakrra. Nonetheless, these bonds of brotherhood are two separate incidents. In Medina, the Holy Prophetsa established bonds of brotherhood between the Muhajireen and the Ansar. According to one narration, after the migration to Medina, the Holy Prophetsa established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Uwaim bin Saeedah.

According to another narration, the bond of brotherhood was established between Hazrat Umar bin Al-Khattabra and Hazrat Itban bin Malik. According to yet another narration, the bond of brotherhood was established between Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Muaz bin Afra. (Mustafa Abd al-Wahid, Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad fi Sirat Khair al-Ibad, Vol. 3, Fi Mawakhatih baina Ashabihra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1993], p. 363) (Ibn Saad, AlTabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Islam Umar bin al-Khattabra [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 2012], p. 206)

Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahibra has written that the bond of brotherhood was established between Hazrat Umarra and Hazrat Itban bin Malik. (Sirat KhatamunNabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra, p. 277)

With regard to the commencement of the Azan [call to prayer] there is a narration in which Muhammad bin Abdillah bin Zaid stated on the authority of his father, “We went to the Holy Prophetsa in the morning and narrated a dream to him”. This was mentioned in relation to Hazrat Abdullahra.

But as there is mention of Hazrat Umarra here as well, I will narrate it briefly again, or mention it in light of other narrations.

“The Holy Prophetsa stated, ‘Indeed this is a true dream. Go with Bilal, as he has a more powerful voice, and teach him what you have been taught. He should go and call [the Adhan].’”

He (Hazrat Abdullah bin Zaid) narrates: “When Hazrat Umar bin Al-Khattabra heard the voice of Hazrat Bilalra calling for the prayer, he went to the Holy Prophetsa in a manner whereby his cloak was dragging behind him and said, ‘O Messengersa of Allah! I swear by Him Who has sent you with the truth! I also saw [in a dream] exactly as he has just recited.’” The narrator states that the Holy Prophetsa said, “All praise belongs to Allah! The matter is now

confirmed.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Salah, Bab ma Ja‘a fi Bad al-Azan, Hadith 189)

Whilst mentioning this incident, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states: “In the time of the Holy Prophetsa, there was a companion by the name Hazrat Abdullahra bin Zaid. Allah the Almighty taught him the words of the prayer through a vision and accepting this vision to be true, the Holy Prophetsa established the practice of calling the Azan for the Muslims. Later on, the revelation of the Quran affirmed this fact.

“Hazrat Umarra states, ‘Allah the Almighty also taught me the Adhan, but I remained silent on the matter for 20 days, thinking that perhaps someone had already mentioned it to the Holy Prophetsa,’ because he thought that someone had already said something regarding this and thought it was not necessary to mention it again. The following hadith of the Holy Prophetsa refers to this very matter: meaning ‘A believer is taught something directly and at times they are taught through means of another.’” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 9, pp. 624625)

I will narrate the remaining accounts in the future, insha-Allah.

At present, I would like to briefly draw your attention towards the fact that today is the last Friday of Ramadan. It should not be regarded merely as the last Friday of Ramadan; rather, this Friday should be a source of opening new avenues for us in the future. We should strive in all those matters which we have been reminded of during the month of Ramadan and all the virtuous deeds which we were able to carry out during the month, and continue them even after Ramadan. In fact, we ought to try and excel in them. Otherwise, if we do not maintain these virtuous deeds and pious changes and do not excel in them, then there is no benefit in us simply passing through the month of Ramadan.

Last Friday, I drew your attention towards reciting durood [sending salutations upon the Holy Prophetsa] and istighfar [seeking forgiveness from God]; this should not be limited to Ramadan alone and it should not be the case that after Ramadan is over, we become immersed in the world to such an extent that we abandon prayers and seeking forgiveness (istighfar). I especially drew your attention to the fact that we must always bear this point in mind.

We are passing through a time where the Dajjal [Antichrist] is using new ploys and the lure and attraction of this world has taken hold over most people, and at times, even our children and youth become influenced by these things. When this is the case, it is vital for us to pray a great deal ourselves; may Allah Almighty save us from these satanic attacks and from those of the Dajjal.

We must stay closely attached to our children and after forming a special bond with them, we must teach them about the existence of God Almighty and the beautiful teachings of Islam. Then, by establishing complete certainty within the hearts of our children, we must attach them to God Almighty in such a manner that no action or deed of theirs, nor any thought contradicts the pleasure and teachings of God Almighty.

They should have an answer to every worldly thought and strife. It should not be

that they are unable to answer certain things and thus become influenced by others; rather, they should always have an answer whereby they can safeguard themselves from any sort of trial. This alone is the way to guarantee the progress and survival of our future generations and this alone is the right way of saving them from falling into trial. However, this cannot happen until we ourselves adopt high standards of belief and certainty and until we reach a degree which behoves a believer. This will only be possible when we have a strong connection with God Almighty; when our prayers and worship become exemplary and when we realise why we accepted the Promised Messiahas and the responsibility thereof. It is a great responsibility upon us, in that we must strengthen our faith and constantly watch over our actions so that we become the means of saving our progenies.

The level of immorality and indecency that is prevalent today has hardly been witnessed before. These things have now reached every home through the television and the Internet. Before, the danger was outside of the homes, whereas now the threat is in the homes as well.

Children can secretly watch certain things without anyone realising what they are watching. Hence, there is a great need to be vigilant in this regard.

The children of the elders of the Community, or of pioneer Ahmadis, or of those people who performed the bai‘at [the oath of allegiance] themselves, joined the Community and accepted the Imam of the Age and who were prepared and made sacrifices in order to safeguard their faith, should always remember that they can only safeguard themselves if they watch over themselves and by giving precedence to their faith over worldly pursuits; only then can we save ourselves and our progenies.

No matter which elder a family may be associated with or which elder they are the descendants of, merely belonging to the family of a pious person does not grant assurance that Allah the Almighty will continue to bestow His favours upon them or that will be pleased with them. Everyone is responsible for their own deeds in order to attain the pleasure of Allah the Almighty.

Only our own actions can save us; simply being related to someone or belonging to a certain family cannot save us.

Hence, we must always pray a great deal for this and should be mindful of our spiritual weaknesses. We must pray for the spiritual progress of our children and progenies more than praying for their worldly progress. We [already] pray a great deal for their worldly success, but we should pray even more for their spiritual success. Similarly, those who have accepted Ahmadiyyat on their own must also align their thoughts and actions in this manner. It is only then that we and our progenies can survive.

Thus, in the remaining days of Ramadan, pray that Allah the Almighty safeguards our faith and the faith of our progenies; may we increase in spirituality; may the standards of our worship remain at the highest levels even after Ramadan; may we establish a strong bond with Allah Almighty; may we remain protected from the schemes and ploys of the Dajjal [Antichrist]. Attaining worldly luxuries and comforts should not be our only goal; in fact, [pray that] may Allah Almighty bestow upon us those religious

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Friday 4 June 2021 | AL HAKAM

and worldly blessings which will make us grateful and incline towards Him; and enable us to become a true worshiper.

Similarly, with regard to the coronavirus pandemic, which has engulfed the entire world, I would like to draw your attention to pray especially in order to remain protected from it and also to beseech the mercy of Allah the Almighty. Furthermore, pray especially for Ahmadis residing in such countries which continue to oppose Ahmadiyyat and have made life difficult [for Ahmadis], may Allah the Almighty create ease for those Ahmadis.

Ahmadis living in Pakistan should always pay special attention towards giving alms, carrying out good deeds and their prayers; during these days and even after.

Insha-Allah, these prayers and efforts to attain the pleasure of Allah the Almighty will frustrate and foil all plans and ploys of our opponents. These prayers should be recited often:

The “Holy” Bible or the “Whole” Bible? A brief study in the Apocrypha controversy

[“O my Lord! Everything is dedicated to Your service! My Lord, protect me, help me, and have mercy on me.”] [“O Allah! We make You a shield against enemies and we take refuge in Thee from their evil.”]

However, it should also be remembered that merely repeating prayers is of no benefit.

People write letters [to me] asking which prayers they should recite. To simply utter prayers will be of no avail until we offer Salat will full concentration and attention and do justice to it. We should continue offering prayers after Ramadan with the same care and attention as we did during this month.

Only then will we become true recipients of Allah the Almighty’s mercy and help.

Similarly, we should pray especially to be saved from every kind of trial. May Allah the Almighty grant us the ability to successfully pass through the remaining four or five days of Ramadan and to be those who continue these virtues after Ramadan as well. Also remember that the more we widen the scope of our prayers, the more blessings of Allah the Almighty we will receive. Thus, every Ahmadi should especially pray continuously for all sorts of hardships to be removed from all Ahmadis.

In this way, without even realising, a spirit of mutual love, brotherhood and togetherness will be created. Not only will we receive the blessings of Allah the Almighty, but there will also be the practical benefit of increased love and affection.

Pray for the Muslim Ummah in general; they are ruining themselves in this life and in the Hereafter by rejecting the Imam of the Age and are heading towards a detrimental path, may Allah the Almighty protect them.

Pray for humanity at large – may Allah the Almighty guide them to the right path and may they be saved from incurring the displeasure of Allah the Almighty.

In any case, our duty is to pray, and continue to pray; during Ramadan and afterwards as well. May Allah the Almighty grant everyone the ability to do so.

(Original Urdu transcript published in Al Fazl International, 21 to 31 May 2021, pp. 10-15.

Translated by The Review of Religions)

www.alhakam.org/the-holy-bible-or-the-whole-bible-a-brief-study-in-the-apocrypha-controversy/