Al Hakam - 30 March 2018

This Week in History

Jamaat News

From the Markaz

A collection of historic events that took place this week

Mahzarnama – The Memorandum

Page 4

Page 3

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Book Review:

Outreach programme in Sri Lanka. Peace Symposium in Malta.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa graces Jamia Ahmadiyya Convocation

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THE WEEKLY

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www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 30 March 2018 | Issue II Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL. UK. info@alhakam.org | F: +44(0)208 544 7673

Deeds are Judged by Motives 'Umar bin Al-Khattabra narrated: "I heard Allah's Messengersa saying, 'Deeds are judged on the intentions, and every person will get their reward according to what they have intended.

So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Bad-ul-Wahi

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V Launches Al Hakam

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Huzooraa launching Al Hakam online

London, 23 March Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, Khalifatul Masih V launched the first English weekly newspaper of the Jamaat—Al Hakam.

Huzooraa, as he came out of the Baitul Futuh Mosque after the Friday Sermon, graciously launched The Weekly Al Hakam online. Huzooraa launched the website and app through the web and the website www. alhakam.org immediately went live around the globe. Huzoor scrolled through the homepage and stated the words, “Allah Mubarak Karey” [May Allah shower His blessings].

But this was the second blessing that Al Hakam witnessed on the day of its launch. The first blessing, in chronological order, was the

announcement of the relaunch of Al Hakam that Huzooraa made in his Friday Sermon. As Huzoor approached the end of the Sermon, Huzooraa said: “There is an announcement today which is also good news, that the newspaper Al Hakam, which was initiated in Qadian and then was resumed in 1934 but ceased to publish again, is being relaunched here in the UK in English.

“Today is the Promised Messiah Day. This newspaper was the first newspaper to be launched in the time of the Promised Messiahas...It will be available on the internet immediately after the Friday Sermon on the website www.alhakam.org. Similarly, an app will also be available for mobile

phones and tablets with the name ‘Al Hakam’ where the newspaper can be downloaded and easily read. This app will be available on the commonly used mobile phone systems, Apple and Android immediately after this Sermon.

“This edition of the newspaper is a ‘Promised Messiah Day Special’.

New issues will be uploaded every Friday... People can benefit from it.

May Allah enable the newspaper to continue forever in this phase of its relaunch. Since it will be in the English language, English-speaking people should derive as much benefit from it as possible.”

Thus, with its launch, Al Hakam had been blessed with Allah’s grace and mercy; Hazrat Khalifatul Masih mentioned with great love and blessed it with prayers, and then very graciously launched its website.

Continued on page 2

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , In His Own Words as

The Promised Messiah'sas Message to the World

Remember that God has informed me about the coming of earthquakes. So, remember surely that in accordance with the prophecy, earthquakes came in America and also in Europe. They will also occur in different parts of Asia.

Some of them will be as terrifying as doomsday.

There will be death on such a large scale that rivers will run with blood. Even birds and animals will not escape it. Such destruction will overtake the Earth as has not happened since man was born. Most places will be turned upside down as if they had never been inhabited. There will also be other terrible afflictions both in the Heaven and in the Earth and every sensible person will realise that they are no ordinary phenomena and no trace of them will be found in books of astronomy or philosophy. Then people will be seized by anxiety and will wonder what is going to happen. Many will be saved and many will perish.

Those days are near. Indeed, they are at the doorstep, that the world shall witness a spectacle of doomsday. Not only will there be earthquakes but other terrible calamities will also appear; some from the heaven and some from the Earth. This will happen because men have given up the worship of their God and all their thoughts and their designs and all their resolves are diverted towards this world.

Had I not come, these calamities might have been delayed for a while but with my coming, the secret designs of God’s wrath that had been long hidden have been manifested. As God Almighty said, “We never punish until We have sent a Messenger”. Those who repent shall find security and those who fear before the calamity overtakes them will be shown mercy.

Do you think that you will be saved from the earthquakes? Or that you can save yourselves by your own designs. No, you cannot. All human designs will come to nought that day. Do not imagine that only America has been shaken by the earthquake and that you are safe for

you may experience even greater calamities. O Europe, you are not secure! O Asia, you are not secure! O you who dwell in the islands, no artificial god will come to your aid.

I see the cities falling and I see the habitations in ruin. The One and the Unique has long remained silent.

Abominations were committed before His eyes and yet He remained silent, but now He shall reveal His Countenance in a dreadful manner.

He, who has ears to hear, let him hear. The hour is not far. I try to bring everyone under the security of God but the decrees of destiny had to be fulfilled. Assuredly, I say that this country’s turn is also drawing near. The days of Noah shall appear before your eyes and you will see with your own eyes what happened to the land of Lot. But God is slow to wrath. Repent so that you are shown mercy. He who abandons God is a worm, not a man and he who does not fear Him is dead not alive.

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Haqiqatul-Wahi, Ruhani Khazain,

___________ _______

Vol.22, pp.268-269)

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AL HAKAM | Friday March 30 2018

From the Archives

From the Markaz

Jamia Ahmadiyya Convocation 25 March 2018, Haselemere, UK

Jamia Ahmadiyya UK

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azrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa graciously blessed the 6th graduation ceremony of Jamia Ahmadiyya UK on Sunday, 25 March 2018 at their campus in Haslemere, UK. Founded in 2005, this was the sixth batch of missionaries trained at Jamia Ahmadiyya UK, who passed their final exams in 2017. Alongside graduating missionaries from Jamia UK, were Jamia Canada and Jamia Germany graduates. 43 qualified missionaries were awarded their Shahid Degree (awarded after completion of a sevenyear course in Theology, Comparative Studies of Religions, Tafsir, Fiqh, Hadith and Modern Languages).

Qualifying missionaries from Jamias of Germany and Canada were also awarded their Shahid degrees on this occasion, making the graduation an international ceremony. 18 graduates from the UK Jamia, 11 from Germany and 14 from Canada were fortunate to have received their degrees from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa. Representatives of the three Jamias presented a summary of their annual activities during the year, followed by the hallmark of the event – the address by Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa.

Institute of Jamia Ahmadiyya

Addressing the graduates, Huzooraa drew their attention to the vast array of responsibilities that lay ahead of them.

Huzooraa stated that this was apparently an end to their formal education, but enhancing this education further and developing a bond with Allah the Almighty is a responsibility of every Muslim, not to speak of those who were trained to educate others.

Now that they will set off to put their knowledge into practice as missionaries, Huzooraa enlightened them with guidance on what is expected of them by not only the Jamaat but also the people that they will come into contact with.

Huzooraa stated: “You devoted your lives. Why did you do so? To accomplish the mission of the Promised Messiahas; to take foward the task assigned to the Promised Messiahas of reviving Islam; establishing the Oneness of Allah in the world by taking this mission forward.

You have to wave the flag of the Holy Prophetsa over the whole world.”

Commenting on his incentive for joining Jamia, Tahir Chaudhry of Jamia Canada said: “Through Jamia Ahmadiyya we can prepare ourselves to become familiar with what we have in our literature, to spread the message to the corners of the Earth.”

Zulfiqar Abbasi, a Jamia UK graduate said, “My time in Jamia was challenging but at the same time very rewarding.” ___________ _______ Jamia UK

Huzooraa concluding the Convocation with prayer

O

n the demise of great scholars like Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkotira and Hazrat Burhanuddin Jehlmira, the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas felt the need to establish an institution that could produce more scholars. Hence, he established an institution named Madrasah-eAhmadiyya in Qadian.

Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, the second successor of the Promised Messiahas, described the early state of the Madrasa-e-Ahmadiyya in the following words: “There were no buildings here. This place was a big pond of water where people would come and bathe. There was only one small structure where a Jamia Ahmadiyya Qadian few classes could be seated.

The two rooms towards the walkway were not built then; there were only four rooms that faced the pond. The rooms that now face the bazaar were built later. There were no benches, chairs or tables. Only jute mats were used [to sit on], and those too were not ones made [professionally] in mills but were handmade by poor labourers. They used to be so small in breadth that even someone with a moderate body would have half their body touching the bare floor. A prayer mat would be used as the teacher’s seat.”

(Al Fazl, 22 Dec 1925)

Jamia Ahmadiyya Germany

From these humble beginnings, the Madrasah-e-Ahmadiyya continued to flourish, later evolving into Jamia Ahmadiyya – the Ahmadiyya University.

This blessed institution, the seed of which was sown by the Promised Messiah and Mahdias, went through many turbulent patches of time; from moving to stables after the partition of India, to being opened in mud-huts, to sanctions imposed by the infamous Pakistani laws.

Having started off from Qadian, then opened in Rabwah, Jamia Ahmadiyya saw new heights of progress and outreach when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa established (on an international scale) Canada, UK, Germany and Ghana Jamias. Functioning right in the heart of their respective locations, these Jamias are working towards the realisation of a great vision – the Sun Rising From the West.

Jamias are also functional on national levels in some African and Asian countries.

Wiki Commons Jamia Ahmadiyya Ghana

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Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

Jamaat News

AMJ Malta

Outreach Programmes Jamia Ahmadiyya Visits

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here is great emphasis on tabligh in Spain.

For the past four years, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa has been sending newly qualified missionaries from Jamia Ahmadiyya U.K to Spain to distribute leaflets with a brief introduction to the Jamaat to create awareness among the public.

For the last two years, newly qualified missionaries of Jamia Germany have

School visit to Basharat Mosque, Spain

Neighbouring islands such as Gibraltar and Morocco have been the centre of attention for the past few years.

Groups visit these areas as well and pass on the peaceful message of Islam.

Bearing in mind that Huzooraa desires that the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat should spread rapidly in Spain, Jamaat Spain has formulated outreach programmes also. Regular leafleting sessions are take place in all the five Jamaats throughout Spain.

Small villages and market places are targeted to ensure that the message of Islam Ahmadiyyat reaches far and wide.

Lectures Throughout the year, lectures have been held in the universities, schools and colleges of Spain. It is a great chance to educate the youth about the reality of Islam and how it offers a peaceful, harmonious and practical way of life.

The lectures are followed by Q&A sessions in which students never hold back in raising the controversial issues surrounding Islam in the media. Often the students are amazed at the logical answers they are given and appreciate Islam’s tolerant and sensible teachings.

School Visits The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat’s mosques are hubs of harmony, tolerance and knowledge. Jamaat Spain has had over ten visits of secondary schools, primary schools and universities to their mosques. For children, it is usually their first experience in a mosque since there are not many Mosques in Spain.

Students are given tours of the mosque

Throughout the year, the Basharat Mosque often makes the headlines in newspapers and television channels.

Tabligh in Colombo, Sri Lanka

TColombo,

he Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Sri Lanka observed Tabligh Day on 18 February 2018 at Baitul Hamd Colombo. Several members took part in the programme that commenced at 09:00. They were sent in groups to various parts of the Colombo city. The message of Ahmadiyyat reached 1300 people and a large quantity of leaflets were distributed.

The main event of the programme was a group visit, headed by Chief Missionary Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmad sahib that visited a place called Dehiyovita, sixty kilometers from Colombo. They visited a house where they met seven non-Ahmadis and by Allah’s Grace all of their questions related to Ahmadiyyat were replied in a befitting manner and were convincing for them.

Jamaat Ahmadiyya Sri Lanka have, in the past few months, visited various AMJ Sri Lanka

he Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Malta held their 10th Annual Peace Symposium, on Friday 16 March 2018.

The theme of the Symposium was “The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century; Education and Peace”.

The event was presided over by the well-known Maltese journalist Mr. Joe Dimech. After the recitation of the Holy Quran, a panel of four speakers delivered their talks and answered questions from the audience.

More than seventy people from different walks of life including diplomatic representatives, students, academics, and religious and political leaders attended the event.

The representative of the Minister for Education and Employment highlighted in his speech the threat of radicalisation and promoted building bridges between the secular and religious communities.

Representing Christianity, Rev. John Berry of University of Malta said that peace was a gift of God and a fruit of human endeavour.

On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, Laiq Ahmed Atif sahib gave the Islamic perspective of the theme of the event and presented numerous supporting verses from the Holy Quran. He focused on the responsibilities of leaders, in light of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa addresses to world leaders.

been visiting for the same purpose.

Groups are formed to are spread out throughout the different cities of Spain and they distribute leaflets, which result in many one-on-one discussions about the truth of Islam and the background of the Promised Messiah’sas advent.

AMJ Spain

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Malta Peace Symposium

and brief introductions about the Jamaat as the true Islam.

The Basharat Mosque is situated at an ideal location and is clearly visible from the highway. It is among the most beautiful and visible buildings in the village. It is very common for travellers to stop and ask to be given a tour of the mosque. They are provided with refreshments and are given a brief introduction of Islam Ahmadiyyat.

Meeting State Minister of Agriculture, Sri Lanka

Government Ministers and presented them with the Sinhala translations of the Holy Quran and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace.

These were presented to : • Hon. T B Ekanayake, State Minister of Lands on 24 January 2018 • Hon. Dilip Wedaarachchi, State Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on 28 February 2018 • Hon. Champika Premadasa, State Minister of Industry and Commerce on 7 March 2018 • Hon. Wasantha Aluwihare, State Minister of Agriculture on 7 March 2018 The books were received warmly and they all showed deep respect for the Ahmadiyya beliefs. The introduction that was given of the Jamaat was also heard with reverence. Some even commented on how they had already heard of the Community and were well aware of its decent reputation.

Peace Symposium Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered the keynote address at the annual Peace Symposium.

The event is held every year to promote tolerance among communities, highlight the true and peaceful teachings of Islam and concentrate on how everlasting peace can be established throughout the world. The theme of this year’s Peace Symposium was “Fundamentals of Establishing Lasting Peace”.

Huzoor’saa address titled, “Leaving a Legacy for Future Generations” is now available to read on The Review of Religions website. www.reviewofreligions. org/13661/leavinga-legacy-for-futuregenerations/

The Origins of Easter Easter, for many of those who live in the western hemisphere of the world, means “holidays”. But for practising Christians, it is taken to commemorate the resurrection of Jesusas.

Where Easter is still taken to be a religious festival, it is about time that some historical facts were brought to light. A detailed article by Navida Syed sahiba is not only a work of comparative study of religions but also a very good read.

To read the article, please visit: http://www.reviewofreligions. org/2927/a-study-of-the-origins-andfeatures-of-easter/

AL HAKAM | Friday March 30 2018

The Companionsra

“My companions are like the stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided.”

The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa

Hazrat Abu Bakrra

By Jalees Ahmad

Born: 573 AD. Mecca, Arabia Full name: (Abu Bakr) Abdullah bin Abi Quhafa Father: Uthman Abu Quhafa Mother: Salma Ummul-Khair Tribe: Quraysh (Banu Taym) Friendship with the Prophetsa fter the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa married Hazrat Khadijara, he settled down in the same area as Hazrat Abu Bakrra. They lived next door to each other and thus became acquainted with one another resulting in them quickly becoming close friends. They also recognized each other as kindred spirits; both shared the same pious habits which increased their ties of friendship.

A

Studying the life of the Companions of the Holy Prophetsa ra

The Quintessence of Adolescence

By Qaasid Muin Ahmad

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fter reading a recent BBC article it was intriguing to learn that scientists have deemed the ages of 10 to 24 to be the age of adolescence. www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42732442 According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, the definition of adolescence is “the time in a person’s life when he or she develops from a child into an adult”.

Although the article focused on recent studies on extending the age of adolescence to 24, what was more fascinating was that somehow it has been determined that adolescence begins at 10. Whether this is based on mere conjecture or has been deliberated upon on biological grounds, the fact remains that scientists say, as the BBC

puts it, “Young people continuing their education for longer, as well as delayed marriage and parenthood, has pushed back popular perceptions of when adulthood begins.”

So, society defines when childhood ends, when maturity kicks in and when adulthood begins. If that is the case, then it is surely fascinating that people are quick to judge those who marry younger partners with the consent of both parties. Under this definition, many marriages of the past all become legal.

The fact is that marriages out of the model and average age of marriage is looked upon as cruel and harsh among progressive modernists due to appearing uncommon and out of the standards of

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The Dream It was at that time that Hazrat Abu Bakrra saw in a dream that a huge moon in the sky was illuminating a tremendous amount of light into the abodes of Mecca. When he related this dream to the people of the book they interpreted it to mean that he would be fortunate enough to accept the Prophet of the age.

This was before the Holy Prophetsa was commissioned as the messenger of God.

news from Abu Jahl, who later proved to be staunch enemy of Islam.

When he heard the news, he replied that if he had indeed claimed to be a messenger of Allah then he was speaking the truth.

Without wasting any time, he made his way directly to the Holy Prophet’ssa home and asked if it was true, upon which he received the reply that he had been commissioned as the Messenger of God. Hearing this Hazrat Abu Bakrra, without any hesitation, accepted Islam.

The Holy Prophetsa used to say to his Companions that whenever he invited a person to Islam, usually that person would hesitate and wait for a while before making up his mind to embrace Islam. However, Hazrat Abu Bakr was the only person who neither hesitated nor wavered.

After accepting Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakrra spent his days wholly and entirely in spreading the message of Islam. Due to his efforts and prayers many people from the Quraish accepted Islam among whom were Hazrat Uthman, Hazrat Talha, Hazrat Zubair bin Al-‘Awam, Hazrat Sa’d bin Abi Waqas and Hazrat Abdul Rehman bin ‘Aouf.

Acceptance of Islam At the time of the Holy Prophet’ssa claim of being a prophet of God, Hazrat Abu Bakrra was not present in Mecca. News of the Holy Prophetssa claim had spread fast. Hazrat Abu Bakrra first heard the

Perseverance The Holy Prophetsa said that when people neglected the message of Islam, it was Hazrat Abu Bakrra who remained by his side and gave his life and wealth

the contemporary world and the socalled modern-day progressive minds.

Further in the article, the BBC states, “[Puberty] used to happen around the age of 14 but has dropped with improved health and nutrition in much of the developed world to around the age of 10. As a consequence, in industrialised countries such as the UK the average age for a girl’s first menstruation has dropped by four years in the past 150 years.”

Environment matters! The type of atmosphere you live in, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the general health in your area all have an effect on when children will biologically begin to take adult forms.

“Age definitions are always arbitrary”, writes Prof Susan Sawyer, director of the centre for adolescent health at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, but “our current definition of adolescence is overly restricted”. She adds, “The ages of 10-24 years are a better fit with the development of adolescents nowadays.”

At this point, the BBC’s integrity must be appreciated for they have presented the facts as they are before us. Puberty, adolescence and maturity are not all the same. One of those is a biological result which can be affected by the environment around us while the other two are subjective and can have a multitude of variations in any part of the world, since it came into being.

Among the Romans it was common for girls to marry before puberty. The famous French Latinist, Marcel Durry, has suggested in his research that Roman girls would marry before the age of puberty; that puberty was not considered a determining factor for the age of marriage and that such early marriages were consummated before puberty.

Professor M K Hopkins, University of Leicester, researched on the age of Roman girls at marriage. He stated, “As late as A.D. 530 and at least as far back as the reign of Augustus, the legal

Continued on page 11

Continued on page 11

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Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

100 Years Ago… “Sadiq’s Diary” is a diary belonging to Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq sahibra that was included in Akhbar Faruq on 28 March 1918, exactly a hundred years ago.

In the diary, Hazrat Mufti sahibra reveals the challenges he was facing serving as a missionary in England and gives insight to his activities.

Sadiq’s Diary, from England 18 January 1918

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urrently I am in Ventnor [Isle of Wight] Today – 13 January 1918 – I received mail from India and it proved to be a source of comfort. It is not too chilly here and in fact the sun has been out. I took my mail and set off on top of a hill where I read all my letters and prayed for everyone.

Mr Ahmad of Malabar and Mr Lai of Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] have asked when my monthly journal will start.

There is a scarcity of paper where I am, thus it is difficult for a monthly journal to start just yet. However, I intend to publish various gazettes every now and then which cover topics related to tabligh [preaching] and personal accounts about tabligh. In this regard, I request all learned people to share their views…

The person of Seith Abdullah Bhai is also a blessing of the many blessings of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya’s second era. Fal-hamdulillah ‘Ala Dhalik. [All praise for this is due to Allah.] If only

the ignorant opponents could reflect how inconsequential their renunciation proved to for Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. All power belongs to Allah; He commissions whoever He pleases.

Brother Mahbub Alam from Arrah writes, and how true it is, that I was the one who could not bear freezing temperatures but God assigned the task of tabligh in Great Britain to me. For this reason, I declare with certainty that the work being done here is not my doing, I have very little contribution in it. It is all a result of Allah’s blessings and what attracts these blessings are the prayers and supplications of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih and members of the Jamaat.

My prayer is always La Haula Wa La Quwwata Illa Billahil-‘Aliyyil-‘Azim. [No power or might is greater than Allah, the Most Supreme, the Highest.]

The propagation of Ahmadiyyat has made Khawaja [Kamaluddin] sahib quite zealous in inciting non-Ahmadis against us. To some he will say that we are Mushrik [believers in more than one deity] while he tells others that we are Roman Catholics. He may say what he wills. If anything, his unease, restlessness and requests to nonAhmadi newspapers to avoid giving us publicity contradicts and disproves his initial claim that Ahmadiyyat was not capable of spreading in England. How can anyone supress the one who God wishes to manifest…

The Cold Generally it is very cold here. In fact, the temperature at one stage dropped to 23°F. However, it is now stable not exceeding 32-35°F. The weather reports we are receiving from London and southern England show that it is extremely cold there. A lady from London wrote that water had started freezing her taps to the extent that the taps would burst and on top of that, plumbers were not available to help. In London, the temperature dropped to around 18°F. I have heard that in Ventnor the temperature has never gone below 22°F. One day, I stepped out for a walk when I noticed small white flaky grains floating in the air. I became perplexed as to what it was and soon realised that it was in fact snow. I immediately went back to the house and gazed out of the window observing the snowfall that settled on the road beneath, creating a long white carpet of snow. It was the first time in my life that I had witnessed

Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra

snowfall and saw it illuminate the surroundings.

When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira was Royal Physician in Jammu, I travelled with him in the month of April from Jammu to Kashmir as a very young boy. At that time, Huzoorra was teaching me the translation of the Holy Quran.

We crossed the Pir Panjal Mountain Range where we saw mountains covered in snow. We also walked across many miles of snow. As I was in my youth I did not feel the cold as much. Now I am frightened of the word “snow”.

Aside from the extreme cold and perpetual snowfall, in his passionate and brave way, brother Qazi sahib has full trust in Allah in the midst of the constant air bombardments. He remains focused on his work both day and night…

A Letter of Complaint from a Priest One day I had the opportunity of meeting with a Catholic Priest. He was dressed in customary English clothes. I commented, “The Roman Catholic Priests in our country usually wear a long gown. The cummerbund [waistband] is made of ropes with the cross and a chaplet of beads hanging from one side and a hood around the collar. This is usually how we recognise Christian Priests. What sort of Father walks around in a blazer and trousers?”

He took a big sigh and replied, “We are an oppressed people. The Protestants have formed a national law

that no Catholic Priest should be seen with a gown, otherwise there can be a huge uproar against it. To extreme extents, we are stopped from purchasing land for building churches.

The land we managed to erect a church on in this town was possible only because it was purchased in a lawyer’s name from London. These people do not have any respect for their elders; they reject the Pope and in doing so have all become little popes.” In this manner, the Priest continued to voice his grievances.

In the end when I attempted to engage him in a more doctrinal dialogue, he evaded the discussion.

Generally, I have observed that Roman Catholics refrain from debates and discourse and do not study books of other sects and religions.

Prophet of God There is a lady here who once resided in India. Every now and then I get the chance to meet her. One day, she invited me for tea. I gave her and her husband Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II’s book Islam Aur Digar Mazahib [Islam and other religions]. When I next met them, they spoke highly of the book and the husband – Mr Denton – said that he would read it two or three more times. During our conversation the lady mentioned, “You were walking along a path, one day recently, when a young girl noticed you and abruptly alerted her mother very seriously, ‘Look Mum! There goes a Prophet of God.’ ” Jesus, the Messiah There is a Priest here of a big Church by the name of Father Cheeseman BD. Every so often we get together and share thoughts in discussions. He is a very courteous and polite human being.

One day, when I entered his house, his youngest daughter came and sat next to me and carefully listened to what we spoke about. She asked me my name which she eventually memorised.

Thereafter, when I met him on another occasion, he said, “It is strange that when you left that day, my youngest daughter who was carefully listening to what you were saying said to me, ‘Dad, the man who came to our house today Continued on page 10

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Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

Friday Sermon 02.03.18 Delivered from Baitul Futuh Mosque The Examples of High Morals After reciting the Tashahud, Ta’awuz, Tasmiyah and Surah Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated: Adopting excellent morals and showing good manners on every occasion, be it at home, at any level of the society, towards one’s close ones or other people, has been taught by Islam to such an extent that not even the smallest aspect has been left unaddressed. No other religion addresses these matters in such detail.

However, unfortunately, it is Muslims, who are generally considered to be at the lowest level in this regard. Non-Muslims criticise them because their practice is contrary to what they preach. The Holy Prophetsa has not only emphasised this through his practical example but has also, at various occasions, repeatedly emphasised that his ummah achieve the highest moral standards.

Muslims generally claim to love the Holy Prophetsa but there is almost no adherence [among them] to his words or deeds. Due to such a condition of the Muslims, the current state of affairs was bound to arise.

Thus, Allah the Exalted sent the Promised Messiahas but these people refuse to pay heed to this. Rather, some people in certain countries and regions have reached the height of opposition. They use the most loathsome and vile language against the Promised Messiahas and his followers, while disregarding even the smallest manners or rather sinking themselves lower than a completely immoral person. They are also facing its consequences. As I mentioned, non-Muslims are denouncing them everywhere in the world.

This state of theirs should draw the attention of us Ahmadis towards making utmost efforts to inculcate in us, the most excellent of morals. We should try to adopt the highest morals utilising all our faculties, which is also a teaching of Islam and the practical example of which the Holy Prophetsa established before us and towards which he constantly drew our attention to.

Otherwise, it would be of no benefit for us to be “Ahmadis” or of being called so.

If we look at the practical example of the Holy Prophetsa, we see astonishing [moral] standards. If we take a look at his family affairs, we see that, for example, he expressed his utmost displeasure to one of his wives for mocking another’s short height, saying that one should not inflict emotional pain to anyone. (Sunan Abi Dawood, Bab Fil Ghibah, Hadith 4875) At times [we hear of him] advising one of his wives not to show the slightest displeasure at any of the other wives’ action. (Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab Al Ahkam, Hadith 2333) At times [we hear of him him] advising children to raise their moral standard.

He said to a child, “You should not throw

stones at people’s fruit trees and thereby destroy their ripe or half-ripe fruits. If you are hungry and you cannot bear it anymore, then you may eat the fallen off ripe dates.”

However, he also told him, “What would be excellent is that I pray for you that you may never be faced with such a situation where you have to pick up the dates from the floor to eat. May Allah the Exalted continue to provide for you.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitabul Jihad, Hadith 2622) With this prayer, he drew the attention of the child towards turning to Allah the Exalted for the fulfilment of his needs instead of taking people’s property by using wrongful means.

Thus, in this way even this child became aware of the importance of truthfulness and the abhorrence of dishonesty at this very young age. Furthermore, he remembered it even when he grew older and mentioned that this was the importance of truthfulness that had taken root in his heart following the incident.

Once, the Holy Prophetsa said to a person that if he was unable to refrain from every vice, then he should refrain from telling lies, thus refraining from at least one vice.

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Imam Razi, Vol 8, Part 16, p. 176, Tafseer Surah Taubah) Now, let us see whether Muslims nowadays observe such standards and refrain from dishonesty, establishing truthfulness with such consideration. As a matter of fact, we should also assess ourselves as to whether we uphold such standards. It is narrated that in relation to the greater sins, the Holy Prophetsa said, “The major sins are Shirk [associating partners with God] and disobedience towards parents”. The person narrating this said that the Holy Prophetsa was listing these major sins whilst seated and leaning back. He then sat upright and said, “Listen carefully. Dishonesty and falsewitnessing are among these too.” The Holy Prophetsa repeated, “Dishonesty and falsewitness”. He repeated this several times.

The Holy Prophetsa said, “You have been created to provide ease for people, not to create difficulty.”

Although, under some circumstances, such things, which are just lying around in excess may become lawful but he said that one should adopt higher morals, which is true righteousness. Furthermore, when a child was eating quickly and moving around his hand around the plate swiftly, he said, “First, recite ‘Bismillah…’, eat with your right hand and eat from what is in front of you.” (Sahih Al Bukhari, Kitabul Atma, Bab Tasmia ‘Alata‘am, Hadith 5376) Thus, we should undertake the moral training of children in this manner, so that they grow up to adopt excellent morals.

Furthermore, dishonesty is a sin and truthfulness is a virtue and moral. The Holy Prophetsa gave guidance to instil this [moral quality] in the hearts of children from their very childhood in this manner.

A companion narrates an incident of his childhood saying, “Once, the Holy Prophetsa came to our home. Due to my immaturity, a short while later, whilst the Holy Prophetsa was still present at home, I prepared to leave in order to play outside. Hence, in order to stop me from leaving this blessed environment, my mother said, ‘Come here and stay here. [If you do so] I will give you something.’ Upon this, the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Do you wish to give him something?’

My mother replied, ‘Yes, I will give him a date.’ Upon this, the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘If this was not your intention and you merely said this in order to call the child, you would have been guilty of committing a sin as you told a lie.’” (Sunan Abi Daud, Kitabul Adab, Baab Fit-Tashdeed Fil Kadhab, hadith 4991)

The narrator says that the Holy Prophetsa continued to repeat it to the extent that we wished that the Holy Prophetsa would now stop doing so. (Sahih Al Bukhari, Kitabul Adab, Bab Aququl Walidain Minal Kabair, Hadith 5976) Furthermore, we also witness and observe his morals as to how elevated his standards of forbearance and patience were and how he used to guide [his companions]. Once, a Bedouin urinated in the mosque. People rushed to stop him. The Holy Prophetsa said, “Leave him be and pour water over the area he urinated on.” Furthermore, the Holy Prophetsa said, “You have been created to provide ease for people, not to create difficulty.” Thereafter, that Bedouin always mentioned this act of kindness of the Holy Prophetsa.

Nowadays, it seems as if Muslim governments, scholars as well as [certain] groups are leading the way in causing hardships for people. They are neither providing ease on minor issues, nor on major issues. On one occasion, the Holy Prophetsa said, “If you wish to find out whether you are doing something good or bad, you should turn towards your neighbours and see what opinion they hold of you.” (Sunan Ibn e Majah, Kitabuz-Zuhd, Bab Al-Thanaul-Hassan, Hadith 4222) Following this, the Holy Prophetsa said to the leaders, “Your high morals will manifest themselves when you consider yourselves to be the servants of the nation and when you serve the general public with all your capabilities.” (Kanzul Ummal, Vol 6, p. 710,

Hadith 17517, published Beirut, 1885) Where do we see such standards among leaders and those occupying official posts today? Thus, the office bearers in our Jama’at should also pay heed to this.

Furthermore, we observe the standards of the Holy Prophetsa when he received every power and had conquered Arabia. How [excellent] was the manner in which he manifested his high morals on the occasion of the conquest of Mecca, where he forgave his enemies; those enemies who were his sworn enemies and continuously caused hardships? But it was his forgiveness that led to many [among them] accepting Islam.

Mentioning the high standards of the high moral qualities of the Holy Prophetsa, the Promised Messiahas states on one occasion, “Addressing the Holy Prophetsa, Allah the Glorious says:

َ‫ِانَّ َک لَع‬ ْ‫لی ُخ ُلق َع ِظیم‬ ٰ ٍ ٍ

‘Thou dost surely possess high moral excellences’. (Surah Al Qalam: V.5) Hence, in accordance with this elaboration it means that you embody every form of moral excellence, such as generosity, courage, justice, mercy, benevolence, truthfulness and forbearance etc.,” meaning, to tolerate something with forbearance. “In short, every attribute that can be found within the heart of a person such as respect, modesty, honesty, kindness, honour, steadfastness, chastity, moderation, sympathy, as well as courage, generosity, forgiveness, patience, benevolence, truthfulness, loyalty and so on; when all of these natural conditions are manifested in accordance with one’s mind and intellect at their appropriate and proper occasion, they will all be labelled moral qualities. Furthermore, all of these moral qualities are in fact natural conditions and feelings of a person and are merely labelled as moral qualities when they are manifested on their appropriate and proper occasion and in accordance with a person’s intention.”

(Islami Usul Ki Filasfi, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 10, p. 333) This is not to be according to habit. As a matter of fact, every moral quality should be applied and manifested in order to bring forth its virtuous outcome. At times, punishment is required to be meted out.

Hence, this should be done in order to bring forth a virtuous outcome.

Mentioning the various circumstances of displaying high moral qualities, the Promised Messiahas states: “High morals can be gauged under two circumstances; in times of trials and tribulations and in times of success and prosperity. A person who demonstrates patience in times of trials and tribulations and endeavours to acquire the pleasure of Allah the Exalted, possesses high moral excellences. Furthermore, a person who demonstrates humility and establishes justice in times of success and supremacy, can also be labelled as one who possesses high moral qualities. Thus, both of these circumstances manifest themselves in all their glory in the life of our Holy Prophetsa.”

I mentioned earlier as well, as to how the Holy Prophetsa forgave even his enemies at the time of the conquest of Mecca; those who were enemies of his life. The Promised Messiahas [further] states:

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Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

“The morals of a person can always manifest themselves under two circumstances; either at times of trials or at times of success. If only one aspect manifests itself, whereas the other aspect does not, then moral qualities cannot be gauged. God the Exalted desired to perfect the moral qualities of the Holy Prophetsa, and so part of his life was spent in Mecca, whereas the other part was spent in Medina. He demonstrated patience upon the extreme torment of the enemies in

example of patience, which left the world in astonishment and through which he became the ruler of the whole of Arabia.

As [the Promised Messiahas] mentioned, he forgave every person who committed cruelties [against them]. Thus, these are the standards of excellent high morals, which a true Muslim, a person who believes in the Holy Prophetsa, should always and under any circumstance keep before him. How has the Promised Messiahas guided us in this

eternal and living miracle. Improving your moral state is such a virtue that never goes to waste, instead you reap benefits for a long time. A believer should try to show such miracles in front of people as well as before God. Many licentious and immoral people who are not convinced by miraculous signs, bow before high moral virtues and have no alternative but to accept them. If you read people’s biographies, you will find that many of them converted to the true religion by

The Promised Messiahas further stated, “The most perfect example in relation to these moral qualities is that of the Holy Prophetsa, who possessed every attribute in perfection. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said in relation to him: ‘Thou dost surely possess high moral excellences’.”

Mecca and despite these people behaving with utmost cruelty, the Holy Prophetsa continued to treat them with kindness and forbearance. Furthermore, he continued to convey the message he had received from God the Exalted and never desisted in this responsibility. Following this, when he gained dominance in Medina and those very enemies were captured and brought before him, he forgave the large majority. Despite possessing the power to seek retribution, he did not do so.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 6, p. 195-196, UK, 1985) Further mentioning the moral excellences of the Holy Prophetsa, the Promised Messiahas states: “One should listen to these matters with great attentiveness. I have observed and scrutinised many people in that they are generous, however, at the same time they are furious and ill-tempered”. This means that they are very generous and considerate towards others, but at the same time they also become furious and express their irritation on the smallest of issues. At times, they give charity to someone and immediately boast about it if they become irritated. The Promised Messiahas stated: “Some people are kind and gentle, however, they are also niggardly. Some people inflict wounds upon another person in a state of rage and fury and they are absolutely void of modesty and humility. I have seen some people, who are extremely modest and humble, however, they are not courageous.” They are modest and humble, but are not courageous.

They display cowardice at the slightest of adversities. The Promised Messiahas states: “Every attribute cannot be found in every person. This is correct. However, it is also true that one cannot be absolutely void of every attribute.”

Mentioning the Holy Prophetsa, the Promised Messiahas further stated, “The most perfect example in relation to these moral qualities is that of the Holy Prophetsa, who possessed every attribute in perfection.

For this reason, Allah the Exalted said in relation to him: ‘Thou dost surely possess high moral excellences’.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p.

132-133, UK, 1985) Thus, the Holy Prophetsa displayed [excellent] moral qualities during times of hardships and displayed such an

regard? In relation to the moral qualities of the Holy Prophetsa, the Promised Messiahas also states: “Such were these high morals that they attracted people towards him in a miraculous way. Then he tells us that if we improve our moral standards in following this example and use every moral value in its appropriate place, we will also be able to show miracles.”

The Promised Messiahas states: “People often give excuses and try to wriggle out when rare signs are demonstrated, but high moral virtues have such a miraculous effect that no one can question them. That is why the greatest miracle given to our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was that of high moral virtues. As it says in the Holy Quran: Thou dost surely possess high moral excellences.”

“Even though the strength of proof of the Holy Prophet’ssa is much higher than all the other prophets, but the miracle of his moral virtues is higher than the rest of them. There is no parallel in the history of the world; no one can show such a parallel.”

The Promised Messiahas states: “I think everyone who gives up sinful practices and adopts good virtues (takes up good habits), that is the miracle for him.” Thus, it is a great miracle if you leave evil habits and adopt noble virtues. “For example, if a person who is quick tempered and is given to show anger, leaves these habits and becomes of a milder nature and forgiving, or gives up a miserly nature and adopts generosity and leaves jealousy for compassion, without a doubt these are miracles.” If someone is quick tempered and shows anger but leaves those bad habits and becomes soft and forgiving; leaves miserliness for generosity and adopts compassion instead of being jealous, then this is such a change that is nothing short of a miracle and the results are obvious for everyone to see. “Similarly, when one leaves self-praise and conceit and adopts humility and modesty, that humility is the miracle.”

Leaving self-praise, or asking others to praise oneself and adopting humility will become a miracle.

The Promised Messiahas says: “Who among you does not want to show miracles? I am aware everyone wants that. Thus this is an

mere observation of high moral virtues.”

(Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p. 141-142, UK, 1985) On the face of it, even some worldly people are courteous, but what is called a moral virtue is in fact a façade. They show these virtues just to prove to themselves that they are good people. They show themselves to be good where no personal interest is involved, while in their hearts they are completely different. They say a person of a high official or financial status has high moral virtues, although it is just flattery.

They see a weakness but they call it a virtue either out of fear or due to cowardice.

The Promised Messiahas states: “This is not an Islamic teaching, as these are not the true Islamic virtues. Instead, high virtue is that whatever you say, it should be heartfelt.

If you are showing compassion, it should come from your heart. If you are showing any other emotion, it should also come from your heart.” Expounding on this further, he once said, “There are two types of virtues.

The first is shown by the educated classes of today, who verbally flatter others while their hearts are full of deceit and hostility. Such behaviour is against the Quran. The second type of virtue is that one should be truly compassionate, they should not harbour any deceit in the heart and should not resort to flattery. As God Almighty states:

ْ ُ ُ ْ َ َ ّٰ َّ ْ ْ ْ َ َ‫ان و‬ َ َ ِ ‫ِان اللہ یام َر ِبالعد ْ ِ ُل والاِحس‬ ٰ ‫ِایْتٓا ِء ِذی الق ْر‬ ‫بی‬

‘Verily, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred.’

(Surah Al-Nahl: V.91) This is the best practise.” One should adhere to justice, act fairly and say things as they are. Then there are situations where Ehsan (doing good) is required, and in such situations you should do good. Then going a step further, treat people like a mother treats her children, or a close relative treats his kindred.

The Promised Messiahas states: “This is the best practise and there is guidance for the best practise in Allah’s book. Those who do not submit to this book, cannot find true guidance anywhere else. Good teachings require pure hearts for them to be effective.

If you look closely, you will find impurities

in people who are away from this true guidance.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 6, p. 200, UK, 1985) Thus, purity of heart is required. You are required to follow the path of Allah’s commandments and that which earns pleasure. The Promised Messiahas states, “Life is unreliable, therefore one should attempt to enhance their truthfulness, purity and standard of Salat.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 6. p. 200, UK, 1985) Enhance your worship and enrich your level of truthfulness; base all your actions on truthfulness. Some people ask, What are good deeds? Some people think that formal Salat and acts of worship is true virtue, or demonstration of ordinary virtues is a good deed. They are not careful about many basic virtues. The Promised Messiahas has shed light on this subject beautifully. He says: “Virtues are the key to other good deeds.

Those who do not look after their virtues gradually become useless.” This means that no good comes from them. The Promised Messiahas says: “I believe that there is a use for everything in this world, including poison and filth. Strychnine has its own utility as it affects your nerves, except the person who having attained high moral virtues, does not become a useful entity.” So even the poison and filth have their uses if they work toward uplifting the moral state; but the one who does not seek moral virtue and is not beneficial for others, renders completely useless.

Thus a person is only of use if they possess high moral virtues. The Promised Messiahas states: “In such an instance, one becomes worse than the dead animal. At least the flesh and bones of a dead animal can be used, but a man’s flesh is useless. This is the point when one becomes the embodiment of:

َ​َ ‫بَ ْل ُہ ْم اض ُّل‬

‘Nay, they are even more astray.’” (Surah AlA‘raf: V.180) Meaning, they become the lowest of low.

“So remember, improvement of your morals is extremely important as morals are the mother of good deeds.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, UK, 1985) If you have good moral virtues, you will be able to perform good deeds. How these morals are expressed in one’s daily dealings, the Promised Messiahas states: “It is customary for some people that they become irritable upon seeing a beggar.” They get irritated seeing a beggar or a person in need. “If they are clerics, instead of giving something, they begin admonishing them about when and how to ask for help”. If a person asks them for help, instead of giving them help, they start explaining the whats and whys, initiate scholarly discourse and start explaining the pros and cons of asking for help.

The Promised Messiahas states: “Having impressed them with their knowledge, they sometimes start rebuking them fir their laziness. Alas, they are devoid of all sense and they lack all judgment endowed to a person of pure heart and good nature.

They do not stop to think that if a person is begging despite being able-bodied, they are themselves committing a sin.” If a beggar asks for help despite being in good health, they are themselves responsible for that sin.

If you have something that can help the

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AL HAKAM | Friday March 30 2018 beggar then you should offer it.

“Assisting them in need is not a sin.

According to the Hadith,

َ َ​َ ‫لَوْ اتاک َراک ًِبا‬

even if a beggar comes riding on a horse [and asking for help], you should help them.

The Holy Quran states,

ْ َ َ َّ َّ َ َ ‫السٓائِ َل فلَا تن َہ ْر‬ ‫و ام ا‬

(Surah Al-Duha: V.11) That is, ‘Do not rebuke the beggar.’”

The Promised Messiahas states: “No distinction has been made between the beggar you are permitted to reproach and the one you must not. The only thing one must remember is not to rebuke the beggar as this sows the seed of bad conduct. Virtue is that one should not hasten in irritability towards beggars. Satan’s desire is to keep you from doing good deeds and to make you do evil.”

The Promised Messiahas further states: “Reflect on the fact that a virtuous deed generates another virtue and similarly an evil deed is the source of causing another evil. Just as something absorbs another, similarly God Almighty has established this system of assimilation,” the system of learning and mastering, “in every action.

Therefore, you will offer something in charity through your good manners by treating a beggar with politeness. This will reduce your disinclination and you will in effect be performing another act of goodness.” That is, the feeling of reluctance in that person would lessen and they would be able to do more good deeds. “In this case, such a person will give something to the beggar.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, pp. 75-76, UK 1985) Then there is a question among our people about respecting parents who are not Ahmadis or oppose Ahmadiyyat. How did the Promised Messiahas establish veneration for such parents? Once the Promised Messiahas advised Sheikh Abdur Rahman sahib Qadiani regarding a similar matter.

While enquiring about Sheikh sahib’s father, the Promised Messiahas stated: “You should pray for him. One should please their parents in any way and as much as possible. One should demonstrate their good manners and pure example more than ever before in order to prove the truthfulness of Islam to them.” The Promised Messiahas advised Sheikh sahib to show his example because his parents were not Muslims. So in this way they would be convinced of the truthfulness of Islam through his example.

“Other miracles cannot come close to a perfect example of good morals. The standard of true Islam is such that its follower is able to achieve high morals through it and as a result, they become distinguished individuals. Through you, God may instil the love of Islam in their hearts. Islam does not hinder one from serving their parents.

You should show utmost obedience to them in any way possible in worldly affairs that do not damage the faith. Serve them with your heart and soul.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p.175, Footnote 1, UK 1985) On one occasion he said that morals were what distinguished human beings from animals. Expounding on this further, the Promised Messiahas stated: “Firstly, animals cannot differentiate between a condition

and quantity and they take whatever is in front of them. Take, for example, a dog. It will continue to eat to the point of vomiting.”

gave an example that even in the current times people eat the dead.

He further stated: “People do not even

One should please their parents in any way and as much as possible. One should demonstrate their good manners and pure example more than ever before Animals do not know the difference between the different environments, circumstances and measures of various things. He gave an example of a dog that it does not know its limits while eating. It will continue to eat until the point of sickness. This condition has been noticed of some people. Their greed knows no limits and they try to devour everything, whether it is food or someone’s wealth, whether it be through lawful or unlawful means.

The Promised Messiahas says: “Secondly,

animals do not understand the difference between lawful and unlawful.” The first thing mentioned about such people was that they are not aware of what their condition should be and its spirituality and to what extent is one allowed use their permissible sources to live. One should not be focused solely on amassing wealth continuously; rather, people should have a careful assessment about all such things. Secondly, animals cannot draw a distinction between lawful and unlawful.

The Promised Messiahas states: “For example a bull is not able to draw distinction between its own field and the neighbour’s field and that it should not be there.” It is a free animal and it is grazing. If the field is unfenced, it will go to the other fields as it does not understand the difference.

Thus, Huzooras states: “Similarly, it does not do everything required in terms of food.”

The Promised Messiahas states: “Such people who break the rules of morality and do not care about this as if they are not human beings. There is no difference between what is pure and impure to such an extent that in Arabia they would eat dog carcass.”

The Promised Messiah went on further and

slightly hesitate in usurping the wealth of the orphans. If some grass owned by an orphan is placed in front of a cow, it will consume it,” meaning, if grass owned by an orphan is place in front of a cow, it will eat it without any hesitation regardless of the fact that it was brought there with permission or without it. Similar is the case of some people who usurp the wealth of orphans with or without permission.

He says, “Similar is the condition of certain people. This is the meaning of

َّ َ ْ‫الن ُار َم ْث ًوی لَّ ُہم‬ ‫و‬

(Surah Muhammad: V.13) That is, ‘their abode is hell.’” The abode of humans who usurp something and devour it unlawfully is hell.

The Promised Messiahas states: “Therefore, bear in mind that there are two aspects of this. The first aspect is of divine magnificence. Whoever is against this, they are against morality. The second aspect is affection towards the creation of Allah.

Hence, whoever is against mankind, they are against morality.” If they do not fulfill the rights of Allah and do not accept his magnificence, do not worship Him, do not pay attention to his commandments, do not strive to obtain his pleasure, then this is not morality. If they do not fulfill the rights of human beings, and usurp their wealth unlawfully and try to cause them harm and demonstrated bad morals towards them then this is also against virtue. The Promised Messiahas further says: “Alas! There are very few people who focus on the aim and objective of a human being’s life.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, pp. 78-79, UK 1985)

Then, arrogance is another vice which deprives one from performing virtuous deeds, rather, it is a source of God’s displeasure. The Promised Messiahas says: “The Sufis say that there are countless demons of lowly morals within man. They continue to be released gradually, and the last demon amongst them is the demon of arrogance that exists within man. It can be defeated through the grace of God, sincere endeavour and prayers.”

He further states, “A lot of men consider themselves humble.” They demonstrate immense meekness and think [to themselves], We are truly modest. “But even they have some sort of arrogance within them. For this reason, one should safeguard against the subtlest types of arrogance.

Sometimes wealth develops arrogance. A wealthy person considers other people as impoverished. He thinks [to himself], ‘Who is this person trying to contend with me?’

At times, people get arrogance due to family lineage and caste. One considers their family lineage to be superior over another family’s that they consider as inferior in comparison . . . Every so often knowledge becomes a source of arrogance. When someone makes a mistake, such a person immediately points out the error and cries aloud ‘This person does not know how to say this word correctly.’ In short, arrogance exists in many forms and they all deprive a person from attaining virtuous deeds and prevent people from benefiting others. One should protect himself from all of these.” (Malfuzat, Vo. 6, p. 402, UK 1985) The Promised Messiahas then states: “No person is bestowed with the power to do moral good, save the opportunity to do virtuous deeds. To abandon ones morals is vice and a sin.”

The Promised Messiahas says that man is given oppurtunities to perform righteous deeds and said that ignoring morals and mannerism is in fact a sin and vice. If you forget your moral values, in turn they will lead you to vice and sin. At the same time, the opportunity to perform virtuous deeds will also diminish.

The Promised Messiahas states: “For example, a man who commits adultery completely disregards the extent of pain that [his action] will inflict upon the wife’s husband.” If someone commits adultery with a married woman, “If they felt the pain and trauma [their action would eventually cause] and had moral values, they would never commit such an abhorrent act. If such a corrupt individual truly understood the dangerous consequences of his evil actions towards society in general, he would abstain from doing such a thing.”

The Promised Messiahas states: “If a person commits a theft in the home of a poor person, the despicable tyrant does not even consider if he has left anything for that individual,” who may be poor, “to eat in the night. It is often seen at such occasions that a poor persons years of effort and struggle is plummeted.”

The Promised Messiahas then says, “If that individual was engrained with the aforementioned disposition and was not unaware of moral values, then why would he need to steal? Everyday we read in the newspapers that a certain child was murdered out of greed for jewellery, or

10 a certain woman was murdered . . . Just ponder, if ones moral condition improves in this manner, then why would there be such issues. It is possible for a person to go through such trials – due to their own condition – and yet not realise.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, p. 7, UK 1985) If one possesses neither these morals and thoughtfulness nor the fear of God Almighty, then it is not possible to create such a state. If one has the fear of God and also has humanity inside them, then that individual would never commit such [vile] acts.

Guiding his Jamaat, the Promised Messiahas further states, “Whosoever shows a change in their moral behaviour to their neighbour, i.e. of what they were before and how they are now, then they have displayed nothing short of a miracle and through this they can be a positive influence on their neighbour,” people raise allegations against our Jamaat saying that they do not see any progress, or that they are unaware of any progress of the Jamaat. “They raise accusations and they allege that we display anger and become enraged as well as invent fabrications. Is it not a source of remorse for those people that an individual entered this community considering it to be grand and noble, just like a sensible child.” People who then go on to commit such atrocities should be ashamed of themselves. The Promised Messiahas then says: “A sensible son bears the virtuous traits of his father, because the one who pledges allegiance is akin to a son who follows commands, just like all of you who have pledged allegiance.”

Therefore, the allegations raised by such people should not prove to be true for any of us. The Promised Messiahas then further says: “A spiritual father can carry an individual to heaven,” just as a father gives life to his offspring and is responsible for bringing them physically into this world, which is the true centre of gathering.

He further says: “Would any son desire to defame his father by visiting prostitutes, involving himself in gambling, become a drunkard or indulging himself in such immoral acts that would bring shame upon the father.” The Promised Messiahas says: “I know for a fact that no individual would wish for this, yet when a shameful son carries out such acts, it is not possible for other people to remain silent. People will point fingers at the father saying that the son of such and such is engrossed in immoral acts.

Thus, the shameful son himself becomes the means of bringing shame upon his father.

Similarly, if an individual enters this fold [i.e. joins the Jamaat] and does not uphold the honour and respect of this community by committing an act that is contrary to its values, then he is culpable in the eyes of God Almighty because he not only ruins himself, rather he has a negative impact on others and becomes the reason for them to remain bereft of the good fortune of guidance.”

If people see corrupt examples, it will distance them from the Jamaat. They will not come close to the Jamaat and as a result, will be bereft of all the blessings and guidance that one gains from being part of a community.

[The Promised Messiahas further states,] “Thus, you should seek the succour of God with all your might and with all your

Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM strength and courage you should strive to remove your weaknesses. Wherever you stumble, you should raise your hands in supplication with complete truthfulness and conviction, because anyone who supplicates with complete humility and meekness – accompanied with conviction and truthfulness – is never left emptyhanded. Through experience I can say that thousands of my prayers have been accepted and continue to be accepted.” The Promised Messiahas continues by saying: “It is an undeniable truth that the one who does not harbour any compassion for their fellow beings is a miser. If I see a path that is blessed and beneficial, then it is my responsibility to alert the people and call them towards it. One should not be concerned whether people will follow it or not.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 146-147, UK 1985) He then says: “Until man does not strive and seek help through prayers, he will not be able to remove the stain from his heart.

For this reason God Almighty states:

ّ َ ُ ّٰ َ ّ َ ُ ّٰ َ ‫ِا ّن الل َہ لَا یغ ِی ُر َم َاْ ِبقوْ ٍم َحتی یغ ِی ُر ْوا‬ ُ ‫َما ِبانف ِس ِہ ْم‬

(Surah Al-Ra‘d: V.12) In other words, God Almighty does not avert any kind of punishment which befalls on one until a nation does not seek to change their own condition. How can one bring about a change if they do not show any bravery or courage? This is an unchangeable practise of God Almighty, just as God Almighty states,

ّٰ َّ ُ َ َ ْ َ َ ً‫اللہ تَ ْبدیْلا‬ ِ ِ ‫و لن ت ِجد ل ِسن ِة‬

‘But thou wilt never find any change in the way of Allah.’

Therefore, whether it is our Jama’at or any other, they can only bring about a change in their morals when they strive and pray, otherwise it is not possible.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p. 137, UK 1985) May God Almighty enable us to follow the noble example of the Holy Prophetsa and better our morals in every aspect and in all situations and circumstances. May we raise the standard of our morals in order to attain the pleasure of God Almighty and not for worldly gains. May true sympathy for mankind develop within our hearts and may we raise the standards of our Taqwa [fear of God].

We have accepted the Imam of this age, therefore we should always be cognisant of the fact that no action of ours should be such that dishonours the Holy Prophetsa and the Promised Messiahas, rather we should spread the beautiful teachings of Islam and leave a positive impression on the world.

Moreover, we should constantly seek to raise the standards of our morals and for this we should prostrate and supplicate before God Almighty and seek His help to achieve this.

After the Friday prayers, I shall lead a funeral prayer in absentia of Sheikh Abdul Majid sahib, son of Sheikh Abdul Hameed sahib from Defence Society, Karachi. He passed away on 15 February 2018 at the age of 88. Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilahi Rajioon.

Ahmadiyyat entered their family through their grandfather, Hazrat Sheikh Noor Ahmad sahib Jalandhri, whose name has

been mentioned by the Promised Messiahas among the 313 companions in his book, Anjam-e-Atham, at number 242 by the name, Sheikh Noor Ahmad sahib Jalandhri from Mumbasa. (Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 11, p. 328) He was born in 1929 in Jalandhar. After acquiring an FSC from Talim-ul-Islam College Qadian, he did his MSC from Government College Lahore in Chemical Engineering and topped his college. From 1951 to 1953, he travelled to the UK and pursued further education in Metallurgical Engineering from Surrey University. After this, he had the opportunity to serve the Jamaat. He served as Secretary Jaidad, the President of the Local Welfare Committee and also served as the Local President. He had the honour of serving as Vice President of Karachi [Jamaat]. He also served as a member of the central Majlis Tehrik-eJadid. He had one daughter, Salma Tariq, wife of Tariq Sajjad sahib and leaves behind two grandsons and one granddaughter.

His grandson writes: “Since childhood, he had a special relationship with God Almighty due to being in the company of the elders in Qadian. Once, he did not perform well in his English matriculation exams and he was on his way from the direction of the mosque and Hazrat Mualana Sher Ali sahib was coming out from the mosque. Having met Maulana sahib, he enquired about the exam to which he replied that the exam had not gone well. Maulana Sher Ali sahib raised his hands and immediately began to pray and then gave the good news that he would pass.

The prayer was heard in such manner that he passed in every exam after that.”

He experienced various circumstances in his life, both challenging and joyous.

After leaving from here [UK], he worked in various employments and due to the opposition of the Jamaat and also due to the misconduct of the superiors, he was expelled from his duties. Eventually, he started his own business and pledged that he would keep aside a small portion of his income apart from his expenses and would give the rest to the Jama’at. By the grace of God Almighty he remained loyal to his pledge which he had made with God Almighty until his demise. He started a business, ran factories, donated his earnings to the Jamaat and always continued to pay his Chanda.

When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrt launched MTA International, he immediately donated ten million rupees. Similarly, there were plans to build a mosque in Russia and before any appeal was even launched, a Russian delegation came to visit Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrt and during their meeting, the Private Secretary informed Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrt that Sheikh sahib had already donated a large sum of money for the mosque and this was well before any appeal had been launched. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrt expressed great happiness upon this.

Similarly, the missionary of that area wrote: “When the incidents in Dar-ul-Zikr and Model Town occurred on 28 May 2010, I went to the office and saw the secretary finance filling a receipt writing many zeros.

I mentioned that perhaps he was filling so many zeros by mistake, however he replied, ‘No. Sheikh sahib just came and donated ten million rupees towards Sydena Bilal Fund.’”

Similarly, he donated very large sums of money for the publication of the Holy Quran. He donated towards many projects that were initiated by the Jamaat in Karachi.

He lived his life with great simplicity.

From his appearance, one could not tell that he was the owner of two factories and was extremely affluent, but that is because whatever he earned, he would put aside some of it for his own expenses and donate the rest to the Jamaat. In his will too, he stated that his wealth should be donated to the Jamaat.

May God Almighty shower him with His blessings, elevate his status and grant patience and courage to his grandchildren and daughter. May He enable them to continue his good deeds. After the prayers, I shall lead his funeral prayer in absentia.

___________ _______ Continued from page 6

was Jesus, the Messiah!’ ” I am not aware how these thoughts crept into the innocent minds of these children and how those words came out of their mouths. But they proved to be another great way of explaining the prophethood of the Messiah, Jesus, among people. Thus, it was another great means of tabligh.

It is possible that the souls of the children could smell the aroma coming from my fortunate companionship of the Promised Messiah and Prophet of Godas, resulting in them using such words. Allah knows best.

Although these words will enrage the rebels of Khilafat and the opponents of the prophethood of “Jariyullah Fi Hulalil Anbiya”, [the Champion of God, in the mantle of all the prophets] the Promised Messiahas with envy, but the truth is that Hazrat Ahmad Qadiani, as far as prophethood goes, was no less than any prophet. No one can now be at peace and rest without being a recipient of his spiritual blessings.

Those who wish to wail may do so; those who wish to express their disgust may do so, but nothing and nobody can overrule Allah’s Word.

Although I am currently in Ventnor but mail sent in my name should be sent to the permanent address in London: 4 Star Street, W2. London.

Wassalam Humbly Muhammad Sadiq Ventnor 18 January 1918

(Translated from the original Urdu by Qaasid Muin Ahmad)

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Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

Testimonies

Continued from page 5

Societies vary in their definitions of "adolescence", and base most of thier reasoning on social and geographical grounds

11

Peter Frankopan The Silk Roads

R

minimum age of marriage for girls was 12 and for boys 14… Octavia, daughter of the emperor Claudium, married at 11… Of 145 inscriptions, from which the age of marriage of pagan girls under 25 can be calculated, 12 (or 8 per cent) married at the ages of 10 and 11.”

He further added, “Surely Romans, and especially aristocratic Romans at the height of Roman culture, were similar to modern (or eighteenthcentury) gentlemen, and they therefore could not have behaved like savages.

But early marriage is not confined to savages; it is practiced among highcaste Indians. Civilization and early marriage can, and do, go hand in hand. It is quite unhistorical and quite unnecessary to eulogize the Romans in terms of ourselves or our ideals.”

He concludes, “Thus some caution

is needed, and it would be naïve to generalize on the basis of the recognized similarity of the institutions without first examining the cultural setting.”

Modern science suggests that society and the environment affect the definitions of regional adulthood.

Where health and nutrition affect the growth of children, aspects today such as education and marriage have also now begun affecting the social norms.

If the definition of adolescence today is based on when people leave fulltime education and when, on average, they get married, then the modern day still has a lot to answer about definitions it supports. And that must be answered before orientalists comment on Prophet Muhammad’ssa marriage to Aishara.

Continued from page 5

companions who took part in battles and stood side by side with the Prophetsa through thick and thin, from the Battle of Badr all the way to the Victory of Mecca. It was very commonly known among all the companions that Hazrat Abu Bakrra would always be ready to sacrifice his life, wealth and time for the sake of Islam. Countless incidents have been narrated in the books of Hadith regarding this.

for the cause of Islam.

After accepting Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakrra faced many hardships. It is narrated in the books of Hadith that at times, due to their enmity towards Islam, the people of Mecca would abuse Hazrat Abu Bakrra so much so that his hair would fall off due to being dragged around pulled by his hair and beard.

Worship One’s relation with their Creator can be gauged through their level of worship and prayer. In the Holy Quran, we read that man’s sole purpose of creation was to recognise his Lord and Creator.

Hazrat Abu Bakrra understood this very well.

We find in a Hadith that before migration to Medina, Hazrat Abu Bakrra made a small Masjid within his home where he would worship God and recite the Holy Quran in a loud yet gentle tone. Later, when Hazrat Abu Bakrra was asked why he had to migrate, he said that the people of Mecca did not like it when he would recite the Quran or worship even at home.

Passion for Islam’s Defense Hazrat Abu Bakrra, being the closest companion to the Holy Prophetsa, was among those blessed and fortunate

___________ _______

Passing of the Holy Prophetsa Often, the pain of losing someone can seem impossible to get over. When the Holy Prophetsa passed away, the Companions experienced all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, including shock, anger, disbelief, guilt and profound sadness.

Hazrat Umarra was no different.

His heart wasn’t ready to accept the Prophet’ssa demise and threatened to kill anyone who said that the Prophetsa had passed away. In such a situation, where the companions were in denial and confusion, Hazrat Abu Bakrra stood up and recited the verse.

"And Muhammad in only a Messenger.

Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him. If then he die or be slain, will you turn back on your heels? And he who turns back on his heels shall not harm Allah at all. And Allah will certainly

egarding the Ottomans in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the author says: “The social structures in the Muslim world, which had developed along very different lines to those in western Europe, also proved to be an important factor. Islamic societies generally distributed wealth more evenly than their Christian counterparts, largely thanks to very detailed instructions set out in the Qur’an about legacies – including principles that were positively enlightened by the standards of the day when it came to the share women could and should expect from the estates of their father or husband.

A Muslims woman could expect to be much better looked after than her European peer; but this came with the expense of allowing large-scale wealth to remain within the same family for a long period of time. This in turn meant that the gap between rich and poor was never as acute as it became in Europe because money was redistributed and recirculated more widely.”

He goes on to talk about the methods of distributing spoils among navy soldiers, stating: “In order to become a lieutenant, it became necessary to spend three years at sea and to pass an exam conducted by superior officers.

Subsequent promotions were based strictly on ability rather than on patronage, which meant not only that the ablest rose to the top, but that they did so with the endorsement of their peers. The incentivising transparency of this meritocratic system was further enhanced by a system that rewarded those who had served for longest in the most important capacities. It was broadly identical to the organisation put in place in the earliest days of Islam and which had proved so effective during the Muslim conquests. In England now too, spoils were shared according to a pre-set allocation, with officers and sailors rewarded in proportion to seniority and length of service.

This made promotion highly desirable and lucrative, which again served to propel the most able to the top…”

reward the grateful."

[Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.145] When we read this incident in the Hadith, we find the reactions of the companions who were present. Hazrat Umarra stated that when he heard Hazrat Abu Bakrra recite the verse, he felt as though it had been revealed to him by God at that very moment ,though he had recited it before many times. Thus, Hazrat Abu Bakrra was able to bring peace back into the hearts of the Companions. Thereafter the Companions took the Bai’at at the hand of Hazrat Abu Bakrra.

played a major role in motivating Hazrat Abu Bakrra to compile the Quran.

During the life of the Holy Prophetsa many parts of the Quran were memorised by the companions and also written, most of which were scattered and could not be compiled in bookform.

When eight hundred Huffaz (people who had memorized the Quran) were killed in the Battle of Yamama, Hazrat Abu Bakrra ordered the collection of the surviving pieces so that the Quran could be compiled in book-form. This was completed during the Khilafat of Hazrat Uthman.

Khilafat After Hazrat Abu Bakrra was elected as the Khalifa, he gathered everyone in Masjid Nabwi. In his address, he expressed how he in no way desired that he be elected as the Khalifa. He also stated that if anyone else felt that they could carry the responsibility then they were most welcome to do so.

Thus, the reason he accepted the divine status of Khilafat was so that no fitna – disorder –would spread throughout the Muslim Umma.

One of the many accomplishments of his Khilafat was the compilation of the Quran. This was a very sensitive issue, which the foundation of the Muslim Umma relied on. The Battle of Yamama

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Al-Siddiq When we look closely at the life of the Companions of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, we find the true essence and teachings of Islam within their character. We find examples and true-life morals that we must all try to adopt. Hazrat Abu Bakrra was the Holy Prophet’ssa neighbour, best friend, a true companion and Khalifatur-Rasul. Thus, even today the whole Muslim Umma remembers him as Al-Siddiq, which according to the Holy Quran is the second highest rank man can attain after Nubuwwah – prophethood. ___________ _______

12

Friday March 30 2018 | AL HAKAM

Book Review Title: Mahzarnama – The Memorandum

M

ahzarnama (the Memorandum) is an important historical document which was presented by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in 1974, to the Special Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan, comprising the entire house.

The purpose of this document was to establish that the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat are Muslims and to explain its basic tenets, as well as to refute the baseless allegations levelled against it.

It was declared at the outset that, according to Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, no Assembly or court in this world had any right to determine, or specify, the religion of any individual or a community; because this can be done only by God who knows the innermost thoughts of our hearts.

Similarly, an impassioned warning was also put on record to the effect that this Assembly might become instrumental in creating dissension among the ranks of the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa by declaring Ahmadis to be non-Muslim, because this act would set such a wrong and horrible precedent which might engulf other sects in the future.

The backdrop of this sad episode was a preconceived scheme (for the details of which there is no room here) of the then government. Due to the dictates of political expediency, it declared Ahmadis to be outside the pail of Islam, in order to win support of the extremist Muslim clerics. Since a large number of these hardline clerics had already penetrated the ranks of the official Government Opposition, which, also

fully supported the government in this matter.

When this preconceived political plan reached its logical conclusion, an internecine tussle broke out between the Government and the Opposition for the credit to have resolved this so-called “ninety-year old problem”. As a matter of fact this marked a great tragedy in the history of Pakistan, enabling politics to impinge on religion and allowing religion, in turn, to interfere with politics. This indeed was the most serious blunder the outcome of which mars the contemporary Pakistani political scene that seems to find no way out of the mess.

After this tragic mistake, the influence of extremist divines continued to plague national politics, culminating in the imposition of a sinister elevenyear stint of martial law which proved much more macabre than the earlier martial law episodes, and whose gruesomeness continues to eclipse

the future of our nation. The country continues to be deprived of discipline, unity, tolerance, and national purpose.

The seeds of dissension sowed by selfishly motivated politics have resulted in a crop of multifarious hatreds, and have fragmented Pakistan into factions, sects, clans, and provincialism.

It is plainly obvious to the intelligentsia that the foundations of Pakistan’s present misery were in fact laid in 1974. We pray that Allah may enlighten the nation and help adopt the noble charter which the Quaid-e-Azam prescribed for the nation, and which reflected his vision for this country. He said: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed— that has nothing to do with the business of the State. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.

“Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

[Quaid-e-Azam’s Address of 11 August 1947, to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan] The exposition of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama‘at’s position, in the form of Mahzarnama – the Memorandum, which was submitted as a historical document, has been reproduced as a book. After the submission of the document, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was subjected to a grilling inquisition, for eleven days, in the National Assembly of Pakistan, by the Attorney General of Pakistan and clerics. The then Supreme Head of the

worldwide Muslim Jama‘at Ahmadiyya, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrt, personally answered all the allegations that were made, and provided their solid, wellreasoned and conclusive rebuttal . . .

The government of Pakistan required the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIIrt, to present himself personally before the aforesaid Committee of the National Assembly to enunciate his standpoint and to answer all the questions that may be asked of him on that occasion. He was allowed to have four self-selected representatives to assist him.

The five-member delegation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat consisted of the following four who assisted him: 1. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad 2. Maulana Abul Ata Jalandhari sahib 3. Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar sahib 4. Maulana Dost Muhammad Shahid sahib Prior to the commencement of its aforesaid session, the Special Committee of the National Assembly sifted through thousands of objections and allegations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat and selected a few hundred of them to pointedly direct those at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.

This Committee, as pointed out before, consisted of the entire House, and was fully aided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Attorney General who represented the Ministry of Law, in preparation of the questionnaire which was then put forth by the Attorney General. In addition to this, selected religious scholars were also allowed by the government to subsequently direct their questions to the Supreme Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.

To read more, please go to: www.alislam.org/library/books/ Mahzarnama.pdf ___________ _______

Editor: Qaasid Muin Ahmad | Design & Layout: Jalees Ahmad