Al Hakam - 15 May 2020

Scenes of God’s Forgiveness Part I Written in Urdu by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra Page 4

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Responding to Allegations

Mufti Sahib released from jail and update on the London Mosque

Those who abandon Jamaate-Ahmadiyya cause no harm

It’s Ramadan and anti-Ahmadiyya rhetoric is back

Part I Page 13

Page 9

Page 3

THE WEEKLY

www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 15 May 2020 | Issue CXIII Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL. UK info@alhakam.org | F: +44(0)208 544 7673

The search for God: What coronavirus showed us “Will people get out of the habit of worship?

Might faith – already fast declining in Britain – enter a downhill slump?” This is what The Spectator asked when churches and mosques began to close due to coronavirus. (The Spectator, 11 April 2020) The immediate “online” response to coronavirus has seen a surprising increase in religiosity, especially in secularist Western countries.

BBC’s religious affairs correspondent, Martin Bashir highlighted the increase in religiosity in terms of viewership. The Spectator article drew attention to how “The number of people searching for the word ‘prayer’ on Google ‘skyrocketed’ last month, doubling with every 80,000 new registered cases of coronavirus, according to a University of Copenhagen study.”

Meanwhile, the results of a Pew poll “found that 55 per cent of Americans have prayed for an end to the pandemic … 15 per cent of those who ‘seldom or never pray’ and 24 per cent of those who do not belong to any religion have prayed about the virus.”

Russell Brand’s recent podcast, with Continued on page 3

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

The start of the last ten days of Ramadan Hazrat Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, narrated, “With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to tighten his girdle and spend the night in worship.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, In His Own Words

Two perspectives on the transformation of morals The philosophers hold two views on the transformation of morals. There are those who hold that man has the strength to reform his morals, and there are some who say that man does not have the capacity for such reformation. The fact of the matter is that if an individual does not act indolently and out of sloth, and if they make an effort, a transformation is within their power.

Here, I am reminded of a story. It is said that a person came to the renowned Greek philosopher, Plato, and when he arrived at the door, he sent word inside. It was Plato’s practice that he would not allow anyone to enter until he was first apprised of their appearance and features. By virtue of his experience in physiognomy, he would come to a conclusion about the character of Continued on page 3

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

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This Week in History 15 - 21 May In this third year of Al Hakam, we will present a selection of incidents from the blessed life of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, this time, with some more details

15 May 1898: The Promised Messiahas wrote a letter to Hazrat Haji Allah Rakha Abdur Rahmanra updating him about the plague. Hazrat Ahmadas wrote that around 80 villages near Qadian were under severe attack from the plague and even in Qadian, some residents also experienced mild symptoms, but everyone recovered without the use of any medicine. Huzooras informed him that he, along with his son Bashir Ahmad, son-in-law of Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra and Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaqra, developed moderate indications of the sickness.

15 May 1899: The Promised Messiahas sent a letter to Hafiz Muhammad Yusuf Sahib about the so-called revelations of Munshi Ilahi Bakhsh Sahib. Hazrat Ahmadas desired to reach a decisive point in this regard. Huzooras added that in accordance to his wish, he thereby invited Munshi Sahib thrice on oath in precise wordings that he was allowed to publish all of his socalled revelations so that everyone could easily recognise their true saviour.

15 May 1899: The Promised Messiahas informed his companion Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahmanra that he had received a telegram from Madras, present day Chennai, that Seith Sahib reached his destination safely.

16 May 1878: Munshi Gurdiyal, a teacher in a middle school of Chiniot, wrote an article in Aftab-e-Punjab, which was published on this date. In it, he dealt with the Samajist belief regarding all souls being uncreated. As he addressed Hazrat Ahmadas in his article, Hazrat Ahmadas wrote a reply which silenced the Munshi forever.

16 May 1889: The Promised Messiahas replied to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Alira commending one of his works on a certain topic of Islamic history.

In the letter, Hazrat Ahmadas expressed his discomfort about some rules of printing presses.

16 May 1893: Riaz-e-Hind Press, Amritsar published the Promised Messiah’sas Urdu book Sachai ka Izhar (An Exposition of the Truth).

16 May 1897: Zia-ul-Islam Press Qadian published an Urdu book of the Promised Messiahas titled Istifta (An Inquiry).

16 May 1898: The Promised Messiahas encouraged his close friend Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahmanra to write to Huzooras for prayers when he was worried.

Jalaluddin Shamsra wrote, “The year of death has also been revealed in this revelation. Its numerical value, according to the abjad system, is 1326,” pointing towards 1326 AH. 18 May 1900: The famous Lord Bishop George Alfred LeFroy (1854-1919) started delivering a series of public lectures and declared that while Muhammadsa had died and was buried in Medina, Muslims hold that Jesusas is still alive in heaven.

Once, after a speech, the audience was given the opportunity to discuss the matter. A sincere disciple and faithful friend of the Promised Messiahas, Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra stood up and read a paper from the Promised Messiahas, which he had written only the previous day and was printed at Qadian the same night.

This companion had come to Lahore to attend the abovementioned meeting.

An important peculiarity of the article was that it contained a full reply to all the criticisms of the Lord Bishop. In his article, the Promised Messiahas advanced irrefutable arguments in favour of the death of Jesusas and that the prophet who lives forever was none else than the Holy Prophetsa, whose beneficence shall continue till the end of days. He said, “I am the living proof of this claim and no one can stand against me.”

At the end of the article, the Promised Messiahas wrote, “God has sent me to provide proof that the everlasting book is only the Holy Quran and that the living faith is only Islam and that the only living prophet is Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Listen, I call the heaven and the earth as witness that all that I tell you is true, and the true God is the One described in the Muslim creed, ‘There is no God but Allah’.”

As soon as the article was read out, the crowd echoed with the call, “Long live Islam!” and the Lord Bishop was completely flabbergasted and merely said, “It appears that you are a follower of the Mirza. We do not wish to have anything to do with you. We are only addressing the Muslims.” At this, the Muslims who were present in the gathering in a very large number said that though the followers of the Mirza were, in their view, infidels, yet it is they who had saved the face of lslam that day.

(Do not put your trust in the uncertain life.)

19 May 1892: The Promised Messiah sent a letter to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Alira mentioning that Huzooras was planning to prepare a publication to uproot certain misconceptions.

Hazrat Ahmadas also advised him to share a book of Hazrat Shah Waliullahrh, which he had borrowed from a certain Maulvi Sahib.

Regarding this revelation, Hazrat Maulana

20 May 1895: The Promised

17 May 1908: The Promised Messiahas was told by God in Persian about his age: � � � ‫ ������ار‬ �� ��� �

as

Messiah’sas book, Zia-ul-Haq (The Light of Truth) was published at Zia-ul-Islam Press Qadian. It was an early publication of the abovementioned historic press. This book deals with contemporary developments in the case with Abdullah Atham.

20 May 1902: The Promised Messiahas expressed his concerns about long delays in receiving a letter from his faithful companion Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahmanra. This letter adds to our information that Hazrat Ahmadas was suffering poor health due to dysentery in those days.

20 May 1908: The Promised Messiahas was occupied in drafting his last book Paigham-eSulh (A Message of Peace) and received the Arabic revelation: َ ُ ْ ّ ‫اَ ّلرَ ِح ْي ُل ثُ َّم‬ ‫الرَ ِح ْي ُل َوال َموْت � ِريْ ٌﺐ‬ (It is time to march; again, it is time to march and death is near.)

21 May 1879: The Promised Messiah’sas written debate with Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri commenced on the topic of “The need of revelation”. This correspondence lasted until 17 June. Primarily, this Pandit stood as an advocate of Brahmu Samaj’s views, but in front of the powerful and rational arguments of the Promised Messiahas, he felt compelled to abandon his previous beliefs of Brahmu Samaj and founded a new school of thought: Dev Samaj.

21 May 1883: The Promised Messiahas wrote a letter to Mir Abbas Ali of Ludhiana. In this letter, Hazrat Ahmadas also addressed Maulvi Abdul Qadir of Ludhiana. Huzooras explained to him about the true philosophy of prayer and also added that God Almighty himself had sent some men with an ardent ambition to bring reforms among the people.

21 May 1886: The Promised Messiahas wrote a letter to Haji Waliullah Sahib of Kapurthala, who was posted there at an influential post, informing him about the printing of Huzoor’sas new books like Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Siraj-eMunir, Surma Chasham-e-Arya etc. Huzooras wrote that he had purchased paper for printing the books after borrowing 500 rupees.

21 May 1906: Two students of Medical School, who had boycotted the classes, approached the Promised Messiahas to get some advice on the matter. They shared their viewpoints and highlighted their grievances. Hazrat Ahmadas guided them to resume their studies and shun all sorts of rebellion. Huzoor’sas wise words uttered on this date are a model for all those who call for walkouts and strikes over petty reasons.

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

Continued from page 1

the person in question. Regardless, Plato’s servant entered and described the person’s physical features as was the routine, to which Plato responded: ‘Tell the person that since you are a man of many ignoble morals, I do not wish to see you.’ When the person at the door heard this response from Plato, he asked the attendant to go in and say, ‘Whatever you have stated is true, but I have forsaken my evil habits and have reformed myself.’ At this, Plato

Continued from page 1

actor Ricky Gervais (an ardent atheist), about atheism and belief, especially in its modern context, was widely listened to and watched by people from across the world.

Without a doubt, when humans are struck with adversity, pain and helplessness, they realise nothing in the world – whether physical or intellectual – can provide lasting solace. Their natural internal compass directs them to a Higher Being and their conscience yearns to find and plead before that Divine Being; God. The Holy Quran highlights this by asking why, when people are left at the mercy of a storm at sea, they call out to God, promising, “If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful.” (Surah Yunus, Ch.10, V.22) Even after World War II – which killed 86 million people – Christianity saw more adherents and church worship across Europe.

Science – the new “god” of our age – has also failed; the science hasn’t been clear and decisive, nor has it given the solace and comfort people have been craving during the coronavirus. Governments and organisations have been using “the science” that suits them best.

Interestingly, as coronavirus began spreading through Europe, Phillip

said, ‘Indeed, that is a possibility.’ And so the man was called in and Plato met with him very respectfully, showing him honour. Those scholars who believe that a transformation of morals is beyond the strength of man have erred. We have observed that when certain employees who once habitually accepted bribes offer true repentance, if after this, someone offers them a mountain of gold, they do not even care to cast a glance upon it.

It’s Ramadan and anti-Ahmadiyya rhetoric is back

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 134 - 135)

Johnston asked in the Daily Telegraph, “How many times have we heard people say ‘Everything will be OK because scientists will work something out’”. (Daily Telegraph, 18 March 2020) People are, for the moment, reaching out to God, praying and finding their religious footing. However, the question, quite rightly asked by The Spectator, was, “Will the pandemic’s effects be so profound that they change the West’s prevailing view of mortality?”

Though the article expressed “It’s hard to believe” that people will revert to religion after the pandemic as much as post World War II, one thing is for sure; the pandemic has highlighted our internal whispering voice nagging us to search for God; humanity’s true solace.

Coronavirus has proved what God, in His divine texts, repeatedly echoed; His existence is imbedded within our very conscience.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be upon him, the Prophet of our time, encouraged everyone to at least begin a serious investigation – without prejudice – towards finding God. If done honestly, without a doubt, God will come running and manifest Himself.

That’s when the real journey begins.

Ataul Fatir Tahir Al Hakam

Scan the whole life of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and you will fail to discover hatred – in any shape or form – promoted by him. After all, he was the “Mercy for Mankind”.

Sadly, some of those who claim to “follow” this Prince of Peace find a second wind of hatred targeted at Ahmadi Muslims during, what is meant to be, the holy month of Ramadan; a period reserved for prayer, reflection and spiritual improvement in Islam.

This hatred usually originates from Pakistan, a country that claims to be based on Islamic principles. From government ministers and TV presenters supporting extreme clerics to artists trying to improve their following; instead of focusing on the real purpose of Ramadan, it is prime time for these so-called defenders of Islam to sensualise attacks against Ahmadi Muslims.

I desire not to detail the expressions of animosity against Ahmadis this Ramadan as it is there for all to witness.

Yes, Muslims are taught to avoid unhealthy disputes, fighting and quarrels in everyday life, but Ramadan is when you really hone in and battle against the natural self that incites.

The Holy Prophetsa emphatically made it clear that if a Muslim is fasting, they must steer clear of all forms of disputes, fighting and hatred and respond to the one who is picking the fight with “I am fasting, I am fasting”. Ahmadi Muslims, no matter what comes their way, will always offer this response to the persecution and hatred they face; it is what defines us; “Love for all, hatred for none”.

Ramadan is meant to be reserved for becoming a better human being, advancing in humanity and charity and emulating the peaceful and charitable character of Prophet Muhammadsa. It’s a time for getting rid of differences, uniting, becoming models of peace and coming out of Ramadan as better human beings. Ruining fasts by sowing discord, spewing hatred and calling for Ahmadis to be murdered is far from what Ramadan promotes – in fact, it’s far from Islam itself.

How do Ahmadis respond, you may ask?

Well, like our Khalifa has always taught, we increase our prayers before Allah, we send more salutations (durood) upon Prophet Muhammadsa, we grow in our pursuit of reading and understanding the Holy Quran, we excel in helping humanity further, we reaffirm our faith vowing never to let go of the revival of Islam that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be upon him, brought.

It is sunnatullah – practice of Allah – for all divine communities to face persecution; the Holy Quran is brimming with examples of past prophets and how they were labelled “liars”, “mad” and “misguided”, while also being physically persecuted.

These divine communities do react, they file a complaint to an Authority who always supports them; the Most Great and Powerful God: ّ ُ ۡ َ ۤ َّ َ َ ّٰ َ َ َ ّٰ ‫ِان َما اشكوۡا بَ ِث ۡى َو ُ� ۡ�نِ ۡۤى ِالى الل ِه َوا ۡعل ُم ِم َن الل ِه َما لَا � ۡعل ُموۡ َن‬ “I only complain of my sorrow and my grief to Allah, and I know from Allah that which you know not”. (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12, V.86) It is clear, therefore, who follows the practice of Prophet Muhammadsa and who does not.

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

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Scenes of God’s forgiveness Part I Written in Urdu by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra – brother-in-law of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas – and published in Al Fazl on 13 June 1944 Once, I was pondering over the topic of forgiveness of Allah and was enjoying thinking about the different aspects of this topic that a feeling of sluggishness overtook my mind and certain scenes flashed in front of my eyes pertaining to this topic.

Now, it does not matter much whether one considers these matters to be the imagination of the mind or stream of consciousness or a semi-vision. The only difference is that an academic exercise morphed from thoughts into images, otherwise the meaning and the reality is the same.

I saw that just at a little distance from me, there was an enormous door in a vast, open ground, similar to that which one may see erected at wedding occasions etc. When I went close to it, I saw that there was a beautiful inscription on it, which read: َْ ُ ‫ك َّل يَوْ ٍم ُهوَ فِى شأ ٍن‬ “Every day He reveals Himself in a different state.” (Surah al-Rahman, Ch.55: V.30) And on the other two sides of this big door were also various inscriptions, one of which read: ّ ‫ن َ ّب ْٔی ِع َبا ِد ْى أَنِّى أَنَا ال ْ َغ ُفوْ ُر‬ ‫الرَ ِح ْي ُم‬ ِ “Tell My servants that I am surely the One Most Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Surah alHijr, Ch.15: V.50) Another one read: ْ ْ ُ َ َ َّ َ َّ ‫اسع ال َمغ ِف َر ِة‬ ِ ‫ِإن ربك و‬ “Verily, thy Lord is very liberal in forgiving.”

(Surah al-Najm, Ch.53: V.33) At another place, it said: ُ ‫يَ ْغ ِف ُر ل َِم ْن يَ َش‬ ‫آء‬ “He forgives whomsoever he pleases.”

(Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.130) One of the places said: ُّ ْ َ َ ّٰ َّ ّ ‫الذنُوْ َب َج ِم ْي ًعا إنَّ ُه ُهوَ ال ْ َغ ُفوْ ُر‬ ‫الرَ ِح ْي ُم‬ ‫ِإن الله يغ ِف ُر‬ ِ “Surely, Allah forgives all sins. Verily He is Most Forgiving, Merciful. (Surah al-Zumar, Ch.39: V.54) Another said: ُ ُ​ُ ُ ْ ُ ‫يَ ْد ُعوْك ْم ل َِيغ ِف َر لَك ْم ِّم ْن ذنوْ ِبك ْم‬ “He calls you that He may forgive you your sins.” (Surah Ibrahim, Ch.14: V.11) ّٰ َّ ُ ُّ ْ َ ‫َو َم ْن يغ ِف ُر الذنوْ َب ِإلا الل ُه‬ “Who can forgive sins except Allah?” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.136) In short, there were dozens of beautiful inscriptions on either side of the door regarding the forgiveness of Allah.

Field of reckoning I saw certain people who were hovering over the doors like guards and I thought that maybe they were angels and so, I asked them if I could go inside.

They replied, “Yes, there are great

examples of God’s forgiveness on display today. You can go and look at them, but you will be accompanied by an official guard.”

With this, they asked one of their colleagues to accompany me and told me that his name was Ghufran (meaning forgiveness) and that he would show me around the vast expanse of the field where judgment was taking place. They also told me to continue to recite istighfar and not to criticise anything I may see.

After listening [to the instructions], as soon as I turned myself towards the enormous desert where reckoning was taking place, Ghufran held me by my arm and it was as if we were flying. It seemed as though we were able to reach wherever we wanted to go in a matter of seconds.

I noticed, while traveling, that there were humans for as far as the eye could see and that all of them were naked, except for a selected few who were clothed. There was a group here and a group there. There were various gatherings in different places and in the middle of every gathering or horde was a scale or balance. Hence, as far as the eye could see, there were only humans, scales or angels.

But there was absolutely no ruckus. It seemed as if the dead were made to stand and only those could speak who were given permission. There was a silent murmur of “O Ghafoor, O Sattar, O Ghaffar” [O Forgiving One, O Coverer of shortcomings, O Most Forgiving] and sometimes, when someone’s voice would get inappropriately loud, a trumpet would be blown saying: َّ ُ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ ‫َوخش َع ِت الْأ ْصوَات ل ِّلر ْح ٰم ِن فلَا ت ْس َمع إِلا َه ْم ًسا‬ “And [all] voices shall be hushed before the Gracious God and thou shalt not hear but a subdued sound of footsteps. (Surah Ta Ha, Ch.20: V.109) Upon this, an eerie silence would take over the place like the one that can be observed in graveyards at night.

Throne of Allah Hence, we kept on traveling and wherever we went, we saw the same scenes until we got tired. At this point, Ghufran told me that the throne of Allah was in front of us. When I looked up, I could see nothing but light and nur [spiritual light].

But suddenly, I was struck with such fear and awe that I started trembling and my throat tightened. I also realised that the throne seemed equidistant from every location in this infinitely vast ground and the orders which were being issued from this throne were heard clearly everywhere as if they were being pronounced from somewhere right next to us. Countless angels were circumambulating the throne.

Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismailra (right)

Ahmadiyya History

Some of them were saying: َّ َ ْ َ َّ َ ّٰ َ ُ ‫الل ُھ ّم ِانا ن ْس َتغ ِف ُرک ل ِل ِذیْ َن ٰا َمنوْا‬ “O Allah, we see forgiveness for the believers.” while others were saying: ْ َ ْ ْ َ ْ ْ َ َّ َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ربنا اغ ِفر من فِی الار‬ “O Allah forgive everyone on the earth.”

Some prayed: ْ ‫َر ِّب اغ ِف ْر َو ْار َح ْم‬ O Allah forgive and have mercy (Surah alMominoon, Ch.23: V.119) Some were chanting the attributes of “Ya Ghafoor; Ya Raheem” (O Most Forgiving, Most Merciful) and some were chanting the names of Allah “Ya Affuwun, Ya Ghafoor, Ya Sattar, Ya Ghaffar” i.e. “O Effacer of Sins, O Most Forgiving, O Coverer of faults, O Most Forgiving”.

Hence, these angels were reciting various chants and would come from one side and disappear around the other.

Atmosphere of happiness and jubilation At the same time, there was an atmosphere of happiness and jubilation due to it being

the day of forgiveness. Every sinner had a smile of hope and optimism on their face.

People’s actions were being measured and their shortcomings and weaknesses were being compensated with the blessings of forgiveness. There was an ease in reckoning today, for today was the day of the manifestation of the attributes of Most Effacing and the Most Forgiving.

Even though “Kiraaman Katibeen” [angels tasked with recording the actions of humans] were doing their job (of presenting the full record of deeds) and Rizwan [angel of heaven] and Malik [angel of hell] would argue every once in a while … but above all, today was the day of the Final Judgment and all matters were adjudged in the end by the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful God. I was busy wandering, when Ghufran said to me, “Let’s go; let me show you some people you may recognise and show you some specific incidents of the forgiveness of Allah, which ordinary people may not be familiar with. Otherwise this judgment and reckoning will continue according to the verse:

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM َْ ُ ‫ك َّل يَوْ ٍم ُهوَ فِى شأ ٍن‬ ‘Every day He reveals Himself in a different state.’ (Surah al-Rahman, Ch.55: V.30) “Today is the day of the manifestation of forgiveness. There are other days of God’s reckoning and awe-inspiring wrath and absolute dominion. But all these days are according to the conditions and actions of the people who are deserving of those specific attributes of Allah. There is no limit to the mercy of Allah. Yes, there is [punishment according to] justice, but never injustice.

“Let me show you some detailed signs of the mercy of your Lord so that you may increase in faith and love for your Master and Creator. So that you, who are always in a condition of despair and hopelessness due to the conditions of your actions, may also learn about the noble mercy and forgiveness of your Lord, which is the hope of every sinner and the support of every offender and upon which depends the covering of faults and forgiveness of the worlds.”

The group of the Prophets After this, we went forth and stood next to a group. All of these people were wearing high quality clothes and were busy in seeking forgiveness. Ghufran informed me, “This is the group of the prophets who have come here pure and forgiven from their earthly life.”

Scenes of forgiveness 1. I went a little further and saw that a person’s scale of sins was very heavy and had very few good deeds. The angels of hell were about to pull him to their side when a voice came from the throne of Allah, “Bring (so and so) person with the register of their deeds.”

The person was brought forward. Allah said, “He is the son of this sinful person.

Look at his record of deeds as well.”

When his record was looked at, it showed that he prayed regularly for the forgiveness of his parents’ sins. It was ordered [by Allah] to put his prayers in the scale of his father’s good deeds. When this was done, his scale of good deeds became heavier than his sins and the angels of heaven lifted him on their shoulders and took him with them.

2. When we went further, another such sinful person was crying over his fate. It was asked, “How many believers prayed over his grave for his forgiveness?” When these prayers were measured, even those prayers that were made by strangers just walking by the grave enabled this sinner to hop his way into the lap of the angels of forgiveness and departed from the scene.

3. When we went further, another sinner was standing there, looking sad, because of his lack of good deeds. It was ordered that if anyone had wronged him or had backbitten against him, then all the good deeds of such people should be put in his scale. I saw that thousands of good deeds of other people were put in his scale and he was forgiven.

4. I went a little further and saw that another person was under the custody of Malik [angel of hell]. It was said that this person was the author of a specific book and many generations learned about Islam and virtue through his book. Hence, all such people who did good because of his book would not only be rewarded for their good actions themselves, but the author would also be rewarded for them.

Hence, when such actions were looked at, an infinite treasure of good deeds came under the account of the author. Malik loosened his grip and the assistant of Rizwan (angel of heaven) took him to heaven.

5. I went further still and saw that a woman stood crying. Her register of deeds was full of vices. A sense of despair and hopelessness had taken over her, when a voice was heard, “Has this sinful and transgressing woman ever done a good deed as well?”

One of the Kiraaman Katibeen [angels tasked with recording the actions] said, “My Lord, once, she was traveling in a wilderness and a dog was panting out of thirst. This lady went down into the well, drank some water and brought some water in her shoes for the dog as well.”

Allah the Almighty replied, “We are very appreciative and reward the smallest actions manifold. We liked this action of hers so much that We have decided to forgive her at this very moment. Cover her in the mantle of Our forgiveness and let her go wherever she wishes.”

6. I went further and noticed that there was a lot of commotion at a certain place.

There was a humble sinner standing next to a decorated virtuous person. The seemingly virtuous person said to the sinner, “I swear to God, Allah will never forgive you.” On this, people started whispering to each other and some said that the “Holy man” was correct and that his sins were too enormous to be forgiven. A voice came from the throne of the Almighty, “O person, who are you to swear by our forgiveness? O sinner, you are forgiven. As for you, we will decide about you later.” On this, the sinner laughed and hopped his way to heaven in joy.

7. Similarly, there was a group of people whose judgment was taking place. They were believers, but their record of deeds was empty of any goodness. Even though they believed in the prophet of their time, however they did not live long enough to do many good deeds. Some of them had literally no good actions in their books.

Such people were judged according to the verse of the Holy Quran: ْ َ َ َّ ُ َ َ َ َ َ ُ َ ْ َ َ ُ ْ َ َّ ْ �َ �ِ‫إِنا نﻄ َمع أ ْن يغ ِف َر لَنا َر ّبنا خﻄايَانآ أ ْن ﻛنآ أ ّو َل ال ُم ْؤ ِمن‬ “We do hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first among the believers.” (Surah al-Shu‘ara, Ch.26: V.52) This means that since they were the first ones to believe in the Prophet, this very fact was good enough for their forgiveness, even if they had not performed a single good deed after becoming a Muslim.

8. We went ahead from there and saw that the children of Prophet Jacobas were being judged and they were forgiven due to the prayers of their forefathers i.e. the prayers of their father that were made according to their request that “O our father, ask forgiveness of our sins for us; we have indeed been sinners” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.98) And the reply that was given by their father was, “I will certainly ask forgiveness for you of my Lord. Surely, He is the Most Forgiving, the Merciful.’ (V.99).

9. I noticed at another place that several people are afflicted by their sins and could not find a way of salvation. Allah asked, “Who offered the funeral prayer of the person on the right?” It was found that his funeral prayer was offered by 40 believers.

Allah ordered, “Malik, let him go. We have forgiven him due to the intercession of those 40 believing men.”

Then came the turn for the person on the left. It was found that the majority of pious people in his town said at his death that he was a good person who had lived his life like a good Muslim. Allah ordered that he should be forgiven on account of the praise of those people.

Then, Allah asked, “What is the condition of the third person?” The angels replied that only two believers considered him virtuous and good at his death. It was ordered that he should be forgiven as well.

The fourth sinner was forgiven because there were three rows of Muslims at his funeral.

10. Another sinful Muslim was forgiven because three of his children died in his life. Another believing woman was forgiven because she had to bear the pain of the death of one of her children. Judgment was being done on a husband and wife, when a twoyear-old came running by and said that those two were his parents and he would not go to heaven without them. The eyes of those who were watching this scene were filled with tears.

In the meanwhile, another case of a husband and wife was being adjudged and a small child, whose umbilical cord was still stuck to his belly-button, came and started crying, “O my Lord, I am a miscarriagebaby. Due to your mercy, I am being allowed to live in heaven. But I will never go

back there if my parents are in hell.” Allah decreed, “We have forgiven your parents for you as well. Take them to Paradise with you.” The baby took his parents into heaven with his umbilical cord and the eyes of all the witnesses were filled with tears.

11. Then, we proceeded further. There was a person who had some weaknesses in his register of deeds. But because he used to visit his parents’ grave every Friday, he was let go.

On the right there was a huge group of people, none of whom had enough good deeds in their register to be forgiven, but all of them were forgiven because one night, the Holy Prophetsa spent the whole night praying in Tahajjud the following verse of the Holy Quran: ْ َ َ ُ َ ْ ُ َّ َ ْ ُ ْ ّ َ ُ ْ ْ ْ ْ َ َ َّ َ ‫ادک َو ِإ ْن �غ ِف ْر ل َ ُھ ْم ف ِﺈنك أن َت ال َع ِﺰيْ ُﺰ ال َﺤ ِك ْي ُم‬ ‫ِإن �ع ِذبھم ف ِﺈنھم ِعب‬ “If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them, Thou surely art the Mighty, the Wise.” (Surah al-Maidah, Ch.5: V.119) 12. From there, we came to a place where a murderer was being adjudged. I heard that he had killed 99 people in cold blood. After that, he had remorse in his heart and wanted to repent. So, he went to a hermit and asked him if his repentance would be accepted. The hermit replied that his sins were too grave to be forgiven. On this, he got angry and killed the hermit as well. People informed him of a scholar who may be able to help him with his repentance. This killer went in search of the scholar’s town, but died on his way.

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

6 This resulted in an argument between the angels of forgiveness and the angels of punishment. The angels of punishment were of the opinion that he was a coldblooded murderer and dacoit, while the others opined that he was on his way to perform true repentance. Hence, this caused a great commotion.

I heard that the decision had been passed from the throne of Allah to measure the distance between his home and the place of his death and to compare it with the distance between his place of death and the town of the scholar. A report was submitted from the department of Mikail that his dead body was closer to the town of the scholar by only a few inches. It was ordained, “We have accepted his repentance and have forgiven him. Cover him in the mantle of Our forgiveness.”

13. Then we went further. The case of a sinner was being presented. Kiraaman Katibeen [angels assigned to recording the deeds of the people] said to Allah the Almighty that this person used to sin during the day and cry at night, lamenting that he had sinned and asked for forgiveness.

Allah would forgive his sins and say that this servant of Mine knew that he had a Lord Who forgives sins and has the power to punish His servants. So, Allah would ordain, “Bear witness, O angels, I have forgiven him.”

Then, after a few days, he would sin again and then again pray in the same manner and Allah would reply, “This servant of Mine knows that he has a Lord who can punish him for his sins and has the power to forgive

as well.” So, Allah would ordain, “Bear witness, O angels, I have forgiven him.”

And then he would sin again after a short while and the entire episode would be repeated again in that he would then again pray for his forgiveness in the same manner and Allah would reply that this servant of His believed that God could punish him for his sins and has the power to forgive him as well.

Hence, the angels reported, this person continued to sin and seek forgiveness throughout his life. The angels requested Allah the Almighty for guidance and decision in his matter.

Allah the Almighty said, “I had ordained only after three times: َ ‫َغ َف ْر ُت ل َِع ْب ِد ْی َف ْل َي ْف َع ْل َما َش‬ ‫اء‬ ‘I have forgiven my servant; let him do what he wishes.’ Has this commandment not been recorded?”

The records were searched and a copy of this order was found in Bukhari and Muslim [Books of Hadith] and the culprit was forgiven.

14. We went further and saw the case of a sinner being presented by the Kiraaman Katibeen. Along with various other sins, there was also a complaint that in his will, he asked his children to burn his body and throw half of the ashes in the wind and throw the rest into the ocean. He was afraid that if God was to punish him, he would be given such a punishment by Allah, the like of which had never been given to anyone else. After a while, he died and his children acted upon his will. Now he was brought back to life on the Day of Judgment and the

angels enquired about what should be done regarding him.

Allah said, “Ask him why he made such a will?”

He replied, “O my Lord, I have never done any good in my life and spent my life in sin. So, my Lord, I did what I did out of your fear. You fully know the truth.”

Allah the Almighty replied, “He is telling the truth. He had my real fear and taqwa in his heart. Thus, I forgive him.”

15. On one side, I saw some men walking happily towards the road to Paradise. I asked them, “Have you been forgiven?” They replied, “Yes.” When asked, “Why?” they replied, “When our Lord saw us in trouble, he said, ‘I have promised these people that I will send them to heaven.’”

I asked them what sort of promise was made to them. They replied, “Allah the Almighty had promised through his prophet: ُ ُّ َ َ َ ‫َم ْن كَان َ ْت ل َ ُہ اُن ْ ٰثى َف َل ْم يُ َؤ‬ َ ُ‫دها َول َ ْم ي‬ ‫هنها َول َ ْم يَُؤثِر َول َ َد ٗه َعل ْي َها ي ْعن ِْی الذک َور‬ َ ّ َ ْ ُ ّٰ ُ َ َ ْ َ ‫ا د خلہ الله الجنۃ‬ “Whosoever has one daughter, and he does not bury her alive [like the custom of some Arab tribes], nor degrades her, nor does he give preference to his sons over his daughters, then I will enter them into paradise. So, Allah showered His grace upon us because we followed this commandment of Allah.”

16. Similarly, I saw another woman whose worship of Allah, such as her prayers, her fasting, her alms-giving, were not enough, but she was sent to Paradise because she never hurt her neighbours with her tongue and they were all happy with her.

17. So, we kept on walking around like this, until we came upon a huge group of martyrs, whose count was above anything I could have ever imagined. Ghufran told me that there were very few in this group who were martyred by a sword while fighting in the way of Allah. But Allah’s mercy and forgiveness had created so many ways to enter the fold of martyrdom. For example: - A person who died even from a natural death, while serving the cause of Allah would be considered a martyr - Whosoever died while protecting his property was a martyr - A believer who died of plague was a martyr - A woman who died in childbirth was a martyr - Whoever died of pleurisy was a martyr - Whoever died of diarrhea was a martyr - Whoever died with something falling on him was a martyr etc.

Hence, Allah has opened so many ways to become a martyr and partake from the mercy and forgiveness of Allah that even if a believer spends all of his life being grateful to Allah, they will not be able to properly thank their Lord, so much so that a person who regularly prays for martyrdom, even if he dies in his bed, he will be considered a martyr.

(To be continued) (Translated by Talha Ali, Missionary Philippines)

Why I believe in God: Biologist, Dr Denis Alexander talks about science and God Dr Denis R Alexander Emeritus Director of The Faraday Institute for Science & Religion, Cambridge

I have spent the past 40 years in the science research community and I find it surprising that I sometimes still encounter the comment, “How can you be a scientist and believe in God?” I find this curious because science was largely established by believers. The great flowering of modern science can be traced back to the Islamic science that was so influential in the 9th to 13th centuries, followed later by the so-called “scientific revolution” that has its roots in Christian Europe from the 16th century onwards.

Many of the great names in the history of science were people of faith – such as Robert Boyle, founder of modern chemistry; the astronomers Kepler and Galileo; naturalists such as John Ray and Linnaeus and many in the physical sciences such as Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin and Arthur Eddington.

These scientists wrote much about how their science was motivated and supported by their faith. Astronomers, wrote Kepler, are “the priests of God, called to interpret the Book of Nature”. Scientists who believe in God today are following in a long tradition. Being a believer within the

scientific community is a very natural place for the believer to be.

Scientific knowledge has no rivalry with theological knowledge for the simple reason that science represents our human attempts to understand how God’s world works.

The more we understand scientifically, the greater our wonder at this amazing universe.

Asking theological questions and asking scientific questions is like looking out of two different windows at the same reality,

providing different perspectives. Science aims to take things apart to understand how they work. Theology puts the pieces back together again to understand their meaning.

Science reveals a universe that is intelligible with properties that can be described by beautiful mathematical equations.

As Einstein put it, “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”

It is therefore very rational to believe in a great Mind behind all that exists – the one whom believers call God. And the whole idea of scientific laws has deep theological roots.

Speaking of “scientific laws” acts as a reminder that God is the ultimate source of the regularity of the properties of matter, without which the scientific enterprise itself would be impossible.

Science does not “prove God”, for science itself is simply describing the works of God. God is the Author of creation. Without God, there would be no book – no existence and no science – so believing that all that exists has an author is as rational as believing that a human book has a human author. And the emergence of human minds that can understand and appreciate the intelligibility of this wonderful universe is likewise consistent with the idea that the universe has an author.

Believing in a personal, creator God as the author of the universe is simply the best explanation for the intelligibility of all that we see and observe.

Dr Denis is an Emeritus Director of the Faraday Institute at the University of Cambridge and author of Rebuilding the Matrix – Science and Faith in the 21st Century. He also supervised a research group in cancer and immunology at the Babraham Institute.

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

Religious clergy, open mosques and dangers to Islam Faizan Mughni Missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat

In these perilous times of a global pandemic, when social distancing is the norm of the day, there is a special group of people who are defying these lifesaving measures for their petty egos and endangering the lives of millions.

All over the world, religious gatherings and masses have been cancelled. Even the two sacred places for Muslims, Masjid alHaram and Masjid al-Nabawi have been closed for the general public.

Meanwhile, Pakistani religious clerics have forced the government to keep mosques open in the outright defiance of the teachings of Islam. (www.dawn.com/ news/1551497) Unfortunately they are not alone; there are also some churches, especially in the United States, who have dismissed the warnings and carried on with their crowded public masses and subsequently state governments were forced to exempt religious gatherings from stay-athome orders. (www.theguardian.com/ world/2020/apr/05/coronavirus-churchesflorida-social-distancing) Some “prophets of science” would blame religion on the insanity of a group of people. Though their objection against the “people” who promote such teachings would be correct, attributing it to actual religious teachings, especially Islam, is false. And I shall prove this.

There should not be any friction or contradiction between science and the true religion of God Almighty; science is the work of God and religion is the word of God. (Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, p. 301) But the reality is that these so-called defenders of religion are opposing the very religious teachings they follow themselves.

According to Islam, killing a person or creating disorder in the earth is equivalent to killing the whole of humanity and vice versa; saving a single life is akin to saving the whole of mankind (Surah al-Maidah, Ch.5, V.33). And in these perilous times, the most important and easy way of saving someone’s life is to maintain social distance, which is being accepted and implemented all over the world. On the contrary, however, there are Pakistani Muslim clerics who have made the government open mosques for public gatherings even during a pandemic.

Islam is a comprehensive religion, which gives perfect guidance on all matters, including a pandemic. The Holy Quran clearly states that you should not cast yourselves into ruin with your own hands (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2, V.196).

This is a clear guidance for all those Muslim clerics who push their own views, the Holy Quran teaches otherwise; don’t steer yourself into ruin and hurt.

The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, through his own example, stressed social distancing when facing a contagious disease.

It is narrated that among the delegation of the tribe of Thaqif, there was a man who suffered from leprosy. The Holy Prophetsa sent word to him saying, “Go back [do not come in the city of Medina], for I have accepted your Bai‘at [pledge of allegiance]”. (Sunan al-Nasai) There was no physical ceremony involved, but the pledge of that person was accepted. This hadith manifests for us that sanctity of life and the wellbeing of society is a most important factor. That is why he altogether disregarded one of the most important religious ceremonies of that person’s life as it would harm others. Why then do these clerics force mosques to be opened?

Then, in another hadith, the Holy Prophetsa exhorted that if one hears the news of an epidemic in a certain place, one should not enter that place and if the epidemic falls in a place where one is present, then one ought not to leave that place to escape from the epidemic. Thus, in following these instructions of the Holy Prophetsa, Hazrat Umarra cancelled his trip to Syria when he was the Khalifa of Islam (Sahih al-Bukhari), thus restricting the spread of the disease.

In yet another hadith, it is narrated that when the Holy Prophetsa deputed any of his Companions on a task, he would say: “Give glad tidings [to the people] and do not create [in their minds] aversion [towards religion]; make things easy for them and do not be hard upon them.”

(Sahih Muslim) Then the Prophetsa, at times, would tell the Muslims to stay home and offer their prayers if the weather was unfavourable. It is narrated that Abu Malih said: “I went out on a rainy night [for congregational prayer], and when I came back, I asked for the door to be opened. My father asked, ‘Who is this?’ I replied, ‘Abu Malih’. He said, ‘We were with the Holy Prophetsa at Hudaibiyah and it rained a

little, such that the soles of our sandals did not get wet. The muazin [caller for prayer] of the Holy Prophetsa called out, ‘Perform your prayer in your camps.’” (Sunan Ibne-Maja, Congregational prayer on a rainy night) In a similar tradition, it is narrated by Muhammad bin Sirin that on a rainy day, Hazrat Ibn Abbasra said to his muazin that after saying, “I testify that Muhammad is Allah’s Prophet”, he should not say, “Come to prayer”, but rather say, “Pray in your houses.” The Muslims did not like this and objected. In response, Hazrat Ibn Abbasra said that this was the practice of one who was “much better than me” (i.e. the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa). (Sahih Muslims) Hence, these verses of the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Prophetsa indicate the right path for dealing with a pandemic or any situation out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, the so-called scholars of Islam today do not seem to understand

these principles.

This utter disregard for what the Holy Quran and the hadith teach is not an anomaly, rather it is constant and repetitive.

Not too long ago, a member of the upper house of the National Parliament of Pakistan, Senator Faiz Muhammad quoted Khan Ahmad Yar, who said, “If the Holy Prophetsa himself said to him that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian is a Prophet, even then he would not accept it.”

Again, and again, you see that these so-called “men of god” create disorder in the earth in the name of those sacred personalities, who were ambassadors of peace and humanity, just to gain importance and power.

They only care for their monopoly of “spirituality” and the influence they have on the everyday lives of the populace.

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

8

Interfaith Iftar in Detroit Virtual reflections on the Power of Prayer Shamshad Nasir Missionary, USA

Muhammad Ahmad Sahib of Detroit reports that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Detroit held its centennial interfaith iftar titled “Virtual reflections on the power of prayer during the pandemic” on 9 May 2020.

This event was part of the nationwide centennial celebrations held across all chapters of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya USA, on the same day. 2020 marked the hundred years of the arrival of Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra to the US and thus the formal beginnings Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya USA. Due to the ongoing pandemic across USA and state-wide restrictions on gatherings, the programme was held virtually.

This year’s programme was kicked off by secretary public affairs, Nasir Bukhari Sahib who provided details of the proceedings and introduced the interfaith speakers.

The formal programme proceedings started with the recitation of the Holy Quran

by Shifa Ilahi Sahib.

Next, local president, Maqbool Tahir Sahib welcomed the guests and Jamaat members.

“Exactly hundred years ago, our community’s foundation was laid in this very state in the city of Highland Park”, said Maqbool Tahir Sahib.

He then went on to provide a brief summary of the accomplishments and services of the Jamaat in the United States including blood drives, and other disaster relief services through Humanity First.

Following the opening remarks, a short video on the Jamaat’s centennial celebrations was played that showed the Jamaat-eAhmadiyya USA’s journey from the arrival of Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra Sahib to the current day progress.

Nasir Bukhari Sahib then invited representative Elissa Slotkin, US Congresswoman of MI 8 district, to provide her comments. Elissa thanked the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Michigan for organising and inviting to the centennial iftar. She provided details of the efforts she has been involved in regarding Covid-19 pandemic relief.

Then Barb Annes, democratic candidate of the Michigan 45th district provided her comments. His Excellency, Sidique AbouBakarr Wai, Ambassador of Sierra Leone spoke briefly about the Jamaat’s services in his country and thanked him for the invitation and the Jamaat’s services for his country.

Rev Eric M. Williams of the St Philip’s Episcopal Church of Rochester Hills spoke briefly and thanked the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for organising such a wonderful interfaith event. He provided prayers from the scripture for difficult times, such as Covid-19 pandemic.

Rev Melissa DeRosia of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor commented that she was delighted to be

part of the virtual programme and would love to be part of the interfaith dialogue with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Jewish faith was represented by Edward Chezick who thanked for the opportunity to be part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s network of friends and prayed that may God remove the situation created by the current pandemic.

A few other guests who spoke during the programme included Padma Kuppa, Michigan State representative, Narayanaswamy of Bhartia Temple Troy, Mohamed Kondeh, Imam of Sierra Leone Muslim community of Chicago and Lamin Kondeh of Sierra Leone community of Maryland joined and provided brief comments.

Hon Siddiqu Abu Bakker, Ambassador of Sierra Leone was also invited to speak, he praised the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Sierra Leone for its service and appealed to continue special help in this critical time.

Regional Missionary, Shamshad Nasir Sahib spoke as a keynote speaker. He thanked all the guests and members for joining the interfaith Ramadan event.

He said: “We are facing a great challenge this time due to Covid-19, and this is not our normal practice to hold this event virtually.

“During these difficult times, we need to turn to God. In all the holy scriptures brought by the reformers, it is clear that they all came to bring mankind closer to God”.

He further said that God listens to prayers and we need to turn to no one else but the only One God. He heard the prayers of Jesusas while he was put on the cross where he prayed “Oh my Lord take this cup of death from me” and his prayers were heard and he was delivered from the cross.

He said: “The spiritual head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa has been promoting peace through his many efforts of outreach to various heads of states. He has addressed the US Congress, Canada, UK Parliament and has written to many other world leaders to come together for world peace.”

Shamshad Sahib requested all to pray for all the front line workers including doctors, healthcare professionals and other workers, that may Allah protect them all in these difficult times. There was then a silent prayer.

Overall feedback from guests and Jamaat members was very encouraging.

Rev. Melissa DeRosia of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan said: “Dear Muhammad, thank you for the invitation to be part of such a monumental celebration in the life of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was an honour to share words of peace and prayer during this holy season of Ramadan. I have been so blessed in my relationships of interfaith partnerships in the past and pray this is the first of many opportunities to work

Ramadan for a new convert to Islam

Giovanni Spraggs Kingston, Jamaica

The word Muslim means, “total submission unto God Almighty and His will”.

As Muslims we are driven by gaining any opportunity to be exceptional servants to God Almighty and to be considered a pillar for humanity to emulate.

As a university student, I am pressured with many obstacles that can pull youth, especially young men, into predicaments that are considered harmful, but with the knowledge of the true teachings of Islam and the practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, the path of righteousness becomes more vivid and alludes the greatness that God Almighty can bestow upon you.

An opportunity that Islam prescribes is a sacred celebration that has been practiced since the beginning of Islam; this celebration is called Ramadan.

Ramadan is a whole month of fasting, from dawn until sunset. Ramadan is a period of spiritual reflection, self-improvement and heightened devotion and worship. These efforts bring you closer to God Almighty as you abstain from eating and drinking for 30 days, practicing the teachings of Islam and becoming a righteous servant of God. Ramadan in this day and age builds a solid relationship between you and God Almighty by fostering a new, unbreakable bond that garnishes your spirituality and manifests into a higher level of supplication.

The pressure of having to balance the practices and teachings of Islam, the prescriptions of society that varies and your studies. together. If at any time an opportunity arises for further conversation and collaboration, please do not hesitate to reach out. Ramadan Mubarak.”

By the grace of Allah the Almighty, the

It becomes an eco-system that has more contrasts than overlapping similarities, which poses a challenge, but with the sufficient intervention and interjection of having daily conversations with God Almighty before, during and after Salat, it creates a less blurry and confusing kaleidoscope of expectations and the path to God Almighty is communicated, acknowledged and embarked on.

During the first 10 days of Ramadan, the body slowly adjusts to the changes and as a result, reacts in a way where the stomach churns at a certain time of day and limbs begin to also ache. During these 10 days, I find myself repenting, studying harder and asking God Almighty to bestow upon me His grace and mercy to fulfil the covenant and mitigate any possibilities of displeasing him during this blessed month. Gradually, I feel that my body starts to adjust and the fast (sawm) becomes more fluid. Alhamdolillah!

During this holy month, as the pandemic strikes fear into our hearts, total supplication to God Almighty makes the thoughts of immense danger not so tantalising and burdensome as before.

As we aim our focus towards the teachings of Islam and the practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa during Ramadan, we realise that in this time, Ramadan becomes more than just a relevance but a necessity that can pull humanity to the fear and love of God Almighty to usher ourselves from worry and panic.

Ramadan allows for the self-growth, self-control and self-discipline that an individual need to foster into a righteous servant of God Almighty.

Jazakumullah. overall attendance was very good with more than 300 people.

May Allah bless all those who worked hard to make the programme a success.

Amin

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

Responding to Allegations

Those who abandon Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya cause no harm Part I Every now and then, the opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi, raise this objection that if Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya is the rightful faith, then why is it that some of its followers abandon the Jamaat and renounce their faith.

The truth is that examples of apostasy are found in the early Islamic era as well. When the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, claimed to be the Messenger of God, fortunate people among the Quraish of Mecca accepted him and converted to Islam. They were beaten day and night and they endured the atrocities of the idolaters, but the brutalities of disbelievers could not compel them to abandon Islam.

Some of the Companionsra migrated from Mecca to Abyssinia. Ubaidullah ibn Jahsh was also among those who migrated from Mecca and settled in Abyssinia to save themselves from the cruelties of Meccan idol worshipers.

After a period of peace in Abyssinia, he fell prey to the instigation and conspiracies of the Christian clergy and converted to Christianity. (Allama Nur-ud-Din Halabi, Al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah) Likewise, in the time of the Holy Prophetsa, Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah, who was one of the scribes of the Holy Quran, at the time of the revelation of the following verse left Islam: َ ّٰ َ َ ْ َْ �َ �ِ‫ف َت َب َارک الل ُه أ ْح َس ُن الﺨالِﻘ‬ “So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators” (Surah al-Muminun, Ch.23: V.15).

However, Allah the Almighty gave him the opportunity to repent and accepted his repentance and again, he converted to Islam and died in a state of faith.

Hence, learning a lesson from these two incidents, we must first pray for ourselves: ْ َ َ َّ ً َ ْ َّ َ ْ َ َ ُ​ُ ْ ُ َ​َ ‫َر ّبنا لَا ت ِﺰغ ﻗلوْبَنا �َ ْع َد ِإذ َه َديْ َتنا َو َه ْﺐ لَنا ِم ْن ل ُدنك َر ْح َمۃ � ِإنك أن َت‬ ُ‫الْوَ َّهاب‬ “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) Secondly, we must never despair of the mercy of Allah. We should also pray to God from the depth of our hearts for those who abandon our Jamaat, as He showed mercy to Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarah, that may

Allah shower His mercy on them and help them to repent and accept His Messiahas again so that eventually, they pass away in a state of faith.

As far as articles written by those who leave the Jamaat are concerned, they can do no harm to the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam because Allah the Almighty says: ً َ ّٰ َ ُ َ َ َ َْ ‫َو َم ْن يَنﻘل ِْﺐ َع ٰلى َعﻘ َِب ْي ِه فل ْن ي� ّر الل َه ش ْيﺌا‬ “And he who turns back on his heels shall not harm Allah at all. And Allah will certainly reward the grateful.” (Surah Al-eImran, Ch.3: V.145) Here, the words, “shall not harm Allah” imply that they can do no harm to Allah’s religion. Otherwise, it is physically impossible to benefit, harm, help or hate Allah Almighty.

God Almighty gives the following promise to the believers in the Holy Quran: ُْ َ​َ َ ُ َ َ ْ َّ َ ُّ َ َ َ ّٰ ْ ‫يا أيھا ال ِذين‬ ‫آمنوْا َم ْن يَ ْرت ّد ِمنك ْم َع ْن ِديْ ِن ِه ف َسوْ َف يَأ�ِ� الل ُه ِ�ﻘوْ ٍم‬ ُ‫يُﺤ ُّب ُھ ْم َويُﺤ ُّبوْنَه‬ ِ ِ “O ye who believe! Whoso among you turns back from his religion, then let it be known that in his stead, Allah will soon bring a people whom He will love and who will love Him.” (Surah al-Maidah, Ch.5: V.55) Hence, we should pray that Allah Almighty continues to fulfill this glad tiding and allow us to witness it with our very own eyes, and in exchange for the handful of apostates, may Allah continue to bless us with a Jamaat of believers who love God. On the other hand, it is by no means reasonable for the apostates to repeat the same worn-out objections of the opponents which have been going on for the last one and a half century.

The most rational thing to do is to ponder over the claim of the Promised Messiahas, which was that the Holy Prophetsa had prophesied the advent of a messiah in the latter days to revive Islam.

Apart from Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, all those sects who believe in this prophecy say that Jesusas of Nazareth is mentioned in it, who is alive in heaven and will come down in the last days and serve Islam.

The Ahmadiyya Jamaat disagrees from other sects in the interpretation of this prophecy and while other sects consider the Messiah of the Israelites to be alive in heaven and await his descent, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat says that Jesusas

of Nazareth is dead and according to the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa, he appeared as an embodiment of Prophet Jesusas.

Hence, it is appropriate for those who abandon the Jamaat to enlighten the public that this claim of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat’s

founder was wrong. They ought to quote verses of the Holy Quran and ahadith to support their belief that Jesusas did not die.

The Promised Messiahas states: “Remember that the death and life of Jesusas is to test the truth and lies uttered

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

10 between us and our opponents. If Jesusas is really alive, then all our claims are false and all our arguments come to naught. However, if he is in fact dead according to the Holy Quran, then our opponents are mistaken.

Now that the Quran is the mediator, ponder over it!” (Tohfah-e-Golarhviyyah, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 17, p. 264) Likewise, in Lecture Sialkot, which was published under the title, Islam, the Promised Messiahas said: “None can come to us but he whom God draws towards us. Indeed, He is drawing many and shall continue to do so and shall break many a barrier. The death of Jesusas is the root of my claim and this root is watered

by God’s own Hand and the Prophetsa looks after it.” (Lecture Sialkot, p. 65) When God Almighty informed the Promised Messiahas in a revelation that Jesusas, son of Mary had passed away and that he had come in accordance with His promise, he went to Delhi to announce this claim and for itmam al-hujjah (to completely clarify the truth) before the general public.

There, Maulvi Nazir Hussain Sahib Dehlvi – a great scholar of that time, Imam of the Jamey Masjid of Delhi, also known as Sheikh-ul-Kul – was also present. He had taught the subject of hadith for more than half a century there and at that time, almost all the leading scholars of India were either

his students or students of his adherents.

Addressing him, the Promised Messiahas said: “I had also promised that if I was mistaken with respect to this revelation of mine and you proved with clear, reasonable and irrefutable injunctions that Jesusas, son of Mary was physically alive, then the whole world should bear witness that I would give up my claim; I would revert from my word; I would declare my revelation as confused dreams and I would burn my books carrying this subject. Also, I swore by Allah that I would certainly do this if I found any evidence.” (Majmua Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, p.

236) In another announcement, the Promised Messiahas stated: “I solemnly declare that if you, Your Hazrat [Excellency], by setting up a debate, refute my arguments that I shall present from the Holy Quran and sahih [authentic] ahadith and submit better arguments about the life of Jesusas, son of Mary and prove with clear, reasonable and irrefutable verses and sahih, marfu [narrations made by a companion attributed specifically to the Holy Prophetsa] and muttasil [continuous chain of narration in which each narrator has heard that narration from the former] ahadith that Jesusas, son of Mary is physically alive, I will repent at your hands. Moreover,

I will burn all the books present in my house that I have written on this subject and I will publically announce through newspapers about my repentance and recourse.”

(Majmua Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, p. 223) Referring to the above announcement, the Promised Messiahas said: “Debate with me about the life and death of Jesusas and if you are incapable of having a discussion, then swear in light of the aforesaid announcement that in your view, the bodily ascension of Jesusas, son of Mary towards heaven is proven by clear, reasonable and irrefutable injunctions of the Holy Quran and hadith. Thereafter, if you remain safe from the effects of this false oath for one year, I will repent at your hands.

Moreover, I will burn all the books on this subject. However, Sheikh-ul-Kul Sahib did not approve of either of these methods.

Time and again, I repeatedly urged him that he should debate or swear on oath as per the conditions outlined in the announcement so that God Almighty may show a sign for seekers of truth.” (Majmua Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, p. 230) The Promised Messiahas reiterated: “Just to be clear, the point of contention that I wish to discuss is simply that the claim that Jesusas, son of Mary was raised to the heavens with his physical body is not valid in my view. In the injunctions of the Holy

Quran and hadith, not a single verse that is clear proof and definite evidence or a single hadith, which is sahih, marfu and muttasil, can be found to prove the life of Jesusas.

“On the contrary, the death [of Jesusas] is conclusively proven through various clear verses of the Holy Quran and sahih, marfu and muttasil ahadith.

“Now, I solemnly declare that if Hazrat Syed Maulvi Muhammad Nazir Hussain Sahib proves, with clear and irrefutable verses and sahih, marfu and muttasil ahadith, that Jesusas is physically alive, I will give up my claim of being the second Messiah [who was] promised, and I will repent before Maulvi Sahib. Moreover, I will burn all books on this subject.” (Majmua Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, p. 232) Hence, the deserters of Islam Ahmadiyyat leave aside the basic claim of the Promised Messiahas and indulge in raising tired, false allegations. They do so because they are unable to find any verse or hadith to refute the claim of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat’s Founder. Their actions clearly testify that the claim of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas was true and in complete accordance with the Holy Quran and hadith.

Humanity First Germany assists e-learning project in Kosovo

Besmir Yvejsi Secretary Ishaat, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Kosovo

Kosovo borders with Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia. Like many other countries, Kosovo has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, the government decided to halt primary and secondary education in all schools, since the second week of March 2020.

The Ministry of Education of Kosovo has started working on organising a distance learning process, through the production

of teaching materials that will be displayed through the “E-Teaching” platform. This form of teaching is now obligatory and will last about six months.

The economic situation of the state of Kosovo is not stable, and some children who do not have good economic conditions have not been able to participate in online learning in the absence of a computer or laptop.

It was to this stratum of society that Humanity First Germany came to help, and thanks to Allah the Almighty, in early May, the representative of Humanity First had a

meeting with the Director of the Directorate for Social Welfare and the Director of the Directorate of Education in the Municipality of Kamenica. Their request was for tablets to be distributed to families with social assistance so that their children could attend online distance learning.

On 5 May 2020, a meeting was held with the Mayor of Kamenica, Mr Qendron Kastrati, the Director of the Directorate for Economic Development, Mrs Majlinda Krasniqi and Chief of Cabinet of the Municipality of Kamenica, Mr Meriton Ramabaja.

In this case, Humanity First Germany presented 23 tablets with keyboards and it was agreed that the tablets will be donated to those families who are on social assistance and who have more than three children attending school. The total number of beneficiaries of this donation is 69 people.

Once again, Humanity First Germany has been at the forefront to provide aid and assistance. The Mayor of Kamenica, Mr Kastrati, through his official social media accounts thanked for this successful help, saying: “Humanity First donates 23 tablets to the children of Kamenica. These devices will be sent to children in poor economic condition and those who cannot attend classes remotely, at this time of pandemic.

Together, everything passes easily”.

The official website of the Municipality of Kamenica has also published their gratitude

and writes this announcement: “The Municipality of Kamenica is constantly trying to enable all children, who are living in deep areas due to the situation emerged by Covid-19 pandemic and those who have poor economic conditions to attend classes remotely. Mayor Mr Qendron Kastrati received at the meeting the representative of the organization “Humanity First” with which they signed cooperation agreements for donation and the distribution of technological equipment to children in need.... These devices will enable and facilitate the development of online learning or distance learning, through the “E-Teaching” platform”.

We hope that the pandemic situation in Kosovo will end as soon as possible, and we ask the readers of Al-Hakam to pray for all the people affected by the virus, that Allah the Almighty have mercy on them and heal them soon, Amin.

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

Tahajud without an alarm clock 13 ways to wake up without snoozing As we approach the final leg of Ramadan, it is vital that we “tighten” our “girdle” towards more worship, in all its forms, just as the Holy Prophetsa would.

An effective and very important worship is Tahajud – the night prayer – especially in the month of Ramadan.

If you have been struggling to wake up, here are 13 effective ways to get up for Tahajud without the aid of an alarm clock. These were devised by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, may Allah be pleased with him, through the Holy Quran, sunnah and hadith and are available in the book Remembrance of Allah.

“One way – albeit not very useful in my opinion – is to use an alarm clock. It creates dependency and fails to produce the resolute will. If you go to sleep having resolved to get up for Tahajud, you will be in a state of worship all night. Being determined, you will get up. Those depending on an alarm clock, but lacking determination, will often shut the alarm clock to go back to sleep. When they get up, they generally feel sleepy in prayers.

Their dependency prevents them from complete awakening and alertness.

“However, under certain circumstances, the alarm clock may be used by beginners or others. There are 13 methods that can help in getting up at night. Anyone who sincerely tries them will, God willing, benefit from them.

There may be difficulties in the beginning, but in the end, these methods will prove useful. I have derived these methods from the Holy Quran and hadith. It is Allah’s grace that these points, which remained hidden from others, have been manifested to me.

“To save time, I will only give my conclusions without quoting the references.

“1. It is a law of nature that everything reverts to its original state if similar circumstances reappear. Often in old age, a person suffers from their childhood diseases. The same happens to birds and trees. This law can be helpful in cultivating the habit of getting up during the night.

Perform zikr [reciting, reflecting and pondering over Allah’s attributes] for a while after Isha prayers. The more zikr you perform, the earlier you will get up for zikr before morning.

“2. Do not talk to anybody after Isha prayers. Although sometimes the Holy Prophetsa continued his conversation after Isha, as a general rule, he forbade it. There are two reasons: Firstly, if you start talking, you will sleep late and will not be able to

get up early in the morning and secondly, if the conversation concerns things other than faith, your attention will be diverted.

You should go to sleep while thinking of your faith; you will get up with the same thoughts.

“It is not forbidden to carry out office work or other important assignments after Isha, but in that case, it is better to spend some time in zikr before going to sleep.

“3. Perform wuzu (ablution) before going to bed, even if you are already in a state of ablution. It affects the heart and creates a special kind of freshness. If you go to sleep in that state of freshness, you will get up in the same condition. This is a common observation. Someone smiling at bedtime is generally smiling when he gets up; one who is crying will wake up crying. With ablution you will feel fresh at the time of sleep and when you wake up. It will also help you in getting up.

“4. Recite some zikr before falling asleep; this will cause you to wake up again for zikr during the night. The Holy Prophetsa used to perform zikr in the following manner before going to sleep: “He would Ayat-ul-Kursi [Surah alBaqarah, Ch.2: V.256] and the last three chapters of the Holy Quran; he then gently blew upon his hands and lightly passed them over his body three times. Then, he would turn towards his right and say: ‘O Allah, I put myself in Your protection, and turn my face towards You and assign all my affairs to You, with complete inclination and fear of You. There is no refuge or protection from You except towards Yourself. I believe in Your Book, which You have revealed, and Your Prophet that You have sent.’

“All believers should perform this zikr and then continue with another form of zikr until sleep takes over.

“An important recitation for this time is: ‘Subhanallahi wa bi-hamdihi, subhanallahil-Azim’ (Holy is Allah, with His Praise; Holy is Allah, the Great). The condition in which a person goes to sleep stays with him all night. If someone sleeps while performing tasbih [glorification of God] and tahmid [praise of God] they will remain in that spiritual state all night.

“It is a common observation that ladies or children who are disturbed or are in pain at bedtime cry when they turn over onto their sides during sleep. Similarly, if someone goes to sleep reciting tasbih, they will recite tasbih when they turn sides.

God Almighty says, ‘Their sides keep away from their beds; and they call on their Lord in fear and hope, and spend out of what We have bestowed on them’ (Surah As-Sajdah, Ch.32: V.17). To a casual observer, it may not appear that Muslims keep away from their beds.

“The Holy Prophetsa went to sleep and so do all the Muslims. But in truth, their slumber is not sleep; it is a form of tasbih.

They appear to be sleeping, but in reality, they are not. Their sides keep away from their beds, as they remain engaged in the remembrance of their Lord.

“5. Resolve firmly at bedtime to get up for Tahajud. God Almighty has given man the power to make his mind obey his will. Philosophers have accepted this principle. Decide firmly that you will get up for Tahajud. While your body sleeps, your mind will be alert. It will wake you up at exactly the desired time.

“6. The sixth method is only for those who are really strong in faith. Instead of

performing Witr [three rak‘at prescribed as essential] after Isha, leave Witr for Tahajud time. In general, people are regular in performing the obligatory worship, but show slackness in the voluntary prayers. Witr are wajib – an essential act of worship, not obligatory but more important than the voluntary. When a wajib is combined with the nawafil [voluntary prayers] it will strengthen the resolve to observe both. The soul will not rest until the wajib has been observed. So, the voluntary prayers will also be observed. One who has already performed Witr may not get up for Tahajud even if he is awake. His soul will feel at ease. But if the Witr is still due, the soul will be restless and will awaken them.

Only the strong in faith should practice this method; the weak ones may deprive themselves even of the Witr by doing so.

“7. The seventh method is also for those who have excelled in spirituality.

They should start offering nawafil after Isha prayer and continue until they begin to doze off in prayers and are overpowered by sleep. Even though their total sleep will be reduced, they will find themselves awake at the time of Tahajud. This method is an exercise for the spirit.

“8. The eighth method has been practiced by many sufis. I have not felt the need for it myself, but it is beneficial nonetheless. If you get into the habit of oversleeping, then change the soft bed to a hard one.

“9. Have dinner several hours before going to bed. Eat before Maghrib prayer or immediately after it. Sometimes the spirit is active, but the body is not. The body acts like a yoke; if the yoke is too heavy, it strangles the spirit. The stomach should not be full at bedtime. It has an adverse effect upon the heart and makes a man lazy.

“10. Do not go to bed unclean. Angels associate with those who are clean; they do not approach the unclean. Once, the Holy Prophetsa was offered something with a strong odour. He did not eat it but permitted his Companionsra to do so. He explained to them that the angels, who visit him frequently, did not like such odours. Angels abhor filth.

“Once Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih Ira went to bed without washing his hands after dinner. He saw a dream; his older brother wanted to present him the Holy Quran, but when he was about to touch it, his brother withdrew it and said, ‘Do not touch the Holy Quran; your hands are not clean.’ Physical cleanliness affects purity

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

12 of the heart. Those who are clean will have the help of angels to get up; the unclean will not be approached by them. So, keep your bodies clean.

“11. The bed should be clean. Many people ignore this matter. Remember that spirituality is directly influenced by cleanliness of the bed. Take special care in this respect.

“12. Husbands and wives should avoid going to sleep in the same bed.

Amongst ordinary Muslims, this habit can harm spirituality, but it does not affect the spiritually advanced. The Holy Prophetsa slept in the same bed with his wives. He possessed a lofty spiritual status and his spirituality could not be compromised. Ordinary Muslims should be careful. A carnal passion adversely affects spirituality.

“That is why Islam teaches: ‘…eat and drink but exceed not the bounds…’ (Surah al-A‘raf, Ch.7: V.32) “Why does Islam prohibit us from exceeding the limits? Because it harms spirituality. Couples with self-control will not suffer by sleeping together, but ordinary Muslims may find that it keeps their minds inclined towards passion.

That hurts spirituality and prevents them from getting up.

“13. The last method is superior. It helps in getting up for Tahajud and saves one from many sins and weaknesses.

Before retiring for sleep, ponder whether you have any malice or harbour any rancour or prejudices against someone. If so, remove it. The purification achieved by this exercise will enable you to get up for Tahajud. The heart should be completely clean at bedtime.

“Anybody who considers such thoughts to be of some worth should remind themselves that they may be free to indulge in them during the day, but they have no need for them at night. After all, they are not going to fight anybody during the night. Once rooted out, such thoughts will generally not recur. Even if they do, their damage will not be very serious. The result of a thing depends on how long it has been influenced by something else. If you wipe something with a sponge, it will dampen. But if you soak the sponge for a long time, it will get drenched. Thoughts that linger and are repeated in your mind all night will overpower your heart. Such thoughts cannot do much harm during the day because the mind is absorbed in other activities. But during the night, the mind is free to be influenced.

“Eliminate all evil thoughts against others which occur at bedtime, lest they become rooted. To shun them will not be difficult then. Moreover, should you breathe your last during the night; you will miss the opportunity of asking forgiveness for this sin. Once you eliminate the rancour, you will be free from it permanently. When you purify yourself at night, you will definitely be blessed with the opportunity of getting up for Tahajud.”

(Taken from the book, Remembrance of Allah, by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra, pp.34-39)

Ahmadis help in Niger, a country in need Muhammad Jamal Niger Correspondent

During this pandemic, which has caused economic downturn and financial meltdown, most developed countries are facing burdensome challenges to feed the needy. Just imagine the situation in the most underdeveloped country of the world – Niger – carrying the 189th rank out of 189 countries in the human development category and with the toughest climate in the world to live in as 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara Desert.

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya has always been there to help the underprivileged in every corner of the world, regardless of race, religion and color.

Keeping in mind the instructions for helping the deprived and needy given by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper, Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Niger came to rescue the people of Teynoma village.

Village Teynoma is the ancestral village of the speaker of the National Assembly from Niger, Mr Hussaini Teeni. Earlier he had explained the situation to Amir Jamaat-eAhmadiyya Niger, Asad Majeeb Sahib and asked for help for the inhabitants.

With the approval of Huzooraa, Jamaate-Ahmadiyya Niger launched the food distribution programme. More than 1000kg

of sugar and 3000kg of rice were distributed for 200 families. A point to note is that the work was done solely on a humanitarian basis as there is not a single Ahmadi in that village.

This act of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Niger brought joy and delight in the village and cheerful faces with the expression of

gratitude could be seen everywhere.

Amir Sahib Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Niger, president of Humanity First Niger and the advisor of the National Assembly speaker for Niger participated in this ceremony and this event was covered by three famous newspapers and two regional radios.

Humanity First France helps across the world Mansoor Ahmad Mubashir France Correspondent

Humanity First France has been active in doing what they know best; serving humanity!

They have provided 1280 meals to the homeless, with volunteers working tirelessly in French cities of Paris and Lyon. They have prepared more than 1800 face masks, thanks to the clothes brand Aanaya B Collection who offered us a partnership opportunity.

The brand is selling masks and all profits are donated to Humanity First France. We

also produced a tutorial video on how to make face masks. In total, we supported 12 hospitals battling coronavirus in the Greater Paris region and Epernay and donated PPE impermeable gowns, face masks and food.

In French Guyana, we offered 7040 hot meals to the homeless and refugees and our volunteers are preparing around 250 meals every day now for such people.

In Mayotte, our volunteers prepared food supplies for 175 families. The food packs will serve a family of four, for up to two months.

The picture of our triage tent, donated

to a medical biology laboratory during the first week of the lockdown, was used in the second largest regional newspaper “Le Parisien”. We are proud people are liking and appreciating our work, which is all due to Allah’s grace.

Humanity First’s work is still on going and will continue insha-Allah, as Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa has instructed us to continue to serve humanity.

Humanity First France requests prayers of all the Al Hakam readers.

Jamaat Los Angeles holds finance webinar Anwer Khan USA Correspondent

Armughan Jattala Sahib reports that on 3 May 2020, amid the stay at home selfquarantine guidelines of the local authorities due to the Covid19 pandemic, 104 members of the Baitul Hameed mosque congregated virtually during an open forum session on finance, hosted by the local Jamaat.

The session elaborated on the many spiritual benefits for members who can look to financial sacrifice in the way of Allah to

cleanse the spirit. The session was led by the local President, the regional missionary, and the local finance secretary.

They shared in great detail how collected chanda is allocated, and where those financial sacrifices end up being deployed by the Jamaat.

The regional missionary explained that a large part of financial sacrifices facilitates the construction of complexes, hospitals, and serves the underprivileged. In this way, individual members are able to broaden their reach towards helping humanity.

Members engaged in dialogue with the presenters asking for further guidance about where the inception of various Jamaat funds come from, as well as how Majlis-eShura deliberates on the budget allocations for the current year.

All members were able to better understand this topic and were invited to keep in touch with the Jamaat finance department for any additional resources that the Jamaat could provide.

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

100 Years Ago...

Mufti Sahib released from jail and update on the London Mosque Al Fazl, 17 May 1920 As has been briefly reported in the previous issue, by the grace of God Almighty, all the obstacles that stood in the way of Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib have been removed. He has been allowed to openly spread Islam in America. All praise be to Allah who made this possible!

The courage, patience and perseverance with which the revered Mufti Sahib faced those impending hardships is a model of excellence and it is impossible for anyone other than a person who has complete trust in God Almighty to stand up against them.

Leading American newspapers also expressed surprise and admiration for the courage and bravery of Mufti Sahib.

They were amazed to see that not the slightest bit from the spirit of this sole person dropped in the face of America’s ill-treatment. Consequently, God Almighty helped His faithful servant in front of a mighty government and showed that the one who strives hard in the way of the Almighty Allah, no matter how much they are helpless with respect to apparent means, still achieves success and triumph.

One of the many divine providences underlying the hurdles placed in the path of Mufti Sahib was the achievement of this [victory], which was fulfilled with great perfection and eminence.

Taking this opportunity, where we urge our Jamaat to prostrate due to this immense bounty and blessing of God Almighty, we also say that for those people of our Jamaat who wish to lay down their lives for the spread Islam and intend to go to distant lands of the world for elevating the name of Allah, respected Mufti Sahib has set such an example and model which they should be ready to follow and adopt with sincerity of heart and true intent in the face difficulties and hardships that may come their way.

This is so that God Almighty may help them in every difficulty and distress in the very same way as He supported Mufti Sahib.

On this occasion, we thank those associates and newspapers who, regardless of their religious differences, expressed sympathy in the case of Mufti Sahib.

Although in principle it was their duty to do so, we still value their sense of honour and devotion for religion because they separated from those who claim to be Muslims, but

are never ready and willing to do anything about Islam in practice and raised their voices against [the treatment of] America.

On the other hand, those people and newspapers (in which the periodical, Paigham-e-Sulh stands out) – who once more expressed their spite and jealousy and showed their disrespect for Islam on this occasion as well – we consider them worthy of sympathy for they will mourn and lament when they will hear about Mufti Sahib’s permission to promulgate Islam in America.

I wish they had not grown so much in hatred and envy so that today, they would not have to go through all this.

Last but not least, we request those newspapers, which, in their columns mentioned the detention of Mufti Sahib, to convey to their readers that by the grace and mercy of God Almighty, reverend Mufti Sahib has been granted the permission to spread Islam in America. Now, he will freely introduce the teachings of Islam in America and bring rational, noble souls under the flag of Islam.

May the blessings of God Almighty be with him and help him on every occasion and at every opportunity and grant him victory and succour in every field, so that His religion may spread across the globe and those who have attached themselves with this world may incline towards the divine religion.

Ahmadiyya mosque, Peshawar The presence of the [Ahmadiyya] Dar-ulKitab in central Peshawar, in the form of an upper storey room (for the accommodation of guests), library and dars of the Holy Quran, is an extraordinary blessing.

This room has been dedicated for some time by our noble and respected Mirza Abdur Rahim Sahib Ahmadi in the name of Anjuman for the needs of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. May Allah the Almighty grant this man of God a great reward from Himself.

This place is very suitable and useful to some extent. However, in view of the ever-increasing members of the Jamaat and the growing needs of Ahmadiyyat, it was deemed necessary to have a mosque and a guest house in Peshawar.

In addition, we often have Ahmadis coming from places like Afghanistan,

Kabul and other places along the border, for whom we find it very necessary to arrange accommodation and hospitality.

Consequently, keeping these matters in sight, a proposition of a mosque was presented before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra, which he accepted with great delight. He even granted a reasonable amount of money in this regard. Our Community, in spite of being a poor Jamaat, took part in this cause with great courage in the days of extreme scarcity and famine and contributed up to around 1,000 rupees in Chanda.

May Allah the Almighty reward the handsome efforts of our respected Mirza Abdur Rahim Sahib. He has made an additional promise of offering more than 300 rupees as well.

Apart from obliging us by participating in this good deed, some associates of Mardan are also worthy of Allah’s reward.

Other members of Mardan and Nowshera jamaats have also promised to offer huge contributions.

O Allah, bless our efforts in this regard.

Efforts are now underway to purchase land at a suitable place. Members of the Jamaat are requested to help us succeed through prayers and almsgiving and become worthy of reward in this world and the next life.

Ahmadiyya mosque, London In spite of other Chanda mentioned above, this destitute jamaat [of Peshawar] participated in the contribution of the London Mosque with great courage. Thus far, 631 rupees, 6 annas and 6 paisas have been collected for this cause and sent to Qadian. Moreover, it is estimated that upon

the fulfillment of all the promises, the total chanda will amount to around 1,000 rupees.

Surely, Allah alone can help us succeed.

Muhammad Abdul Majeed Khan Ahmadi, Secretary Anjuman Ahmadiyya, Peshawar Role model – Monetary sacrifice for London Mosque After the appeal of Chanda for the London Mosque, respected Abdur Rahman Sahib, son of Haji Umar Dar Sahib, resident of Nasnoor, Kashmir immediately presented 50 rupees.

A detailed report of the total Chanda received in this regard from the time of appeal to 6 March 1920 has been published in the 29 March issue of Al Fazl. It expressed that Nasnoor’s jamaat offered 130 rupees and the Kashmir region contributed 306 rupees and 8 annas to this cause. Moreover, it was noted that the said region seemed to have paid less attention towards offering Chanda.

Due to this and through the stimulation of Maulvi Habibullah Sahib, the sons of the late Haji Sahib donated a part of their property worth 1,600 rupees for the London Mosque and handed over the rights of ownership of their property to the Anjuman.

May Allah grant them the best of rewards. Members and Jamaats should draw a lesson from this good and exemplary model. May Allah give them the strength to perform much higher deeds of goodness and accept our sacrifices. Amin.

Wassalam, Nazir Bait-ul-Mal, Qadian Dar-ul-Aman

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

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Atheism on Trial

How to talk to atheists 7 principles Sabahat Ali Rajput Missionary, Mexico

1. Morals, morals, morals The single most important thing when discussing opposing views – especially when discussing God Almighty – is to remember that if we are trying to pitch a version of God with certain attributes to someone – mercy, compassion, forgiveness, benevolence – then these attributes should be visible to the atheist in ourselves first. Particularly worthy of note are four things: i. The way we behave ii. The way we speak iii. The way we respond iv. The way we listen In a world abounding in talkers misguided by a grossly disproportionate cultural emphasis on self-importance, sometimes, the rarest gems are those that have mastered the art of listening.

Being intelligent and graceful in any conversation demands the right amount of listening and so does a Muslim’s sympathy for his fellow man.

Remember that it is sometimes the things we don’t say – silence in its proper place and its proper time – that catapults us beyond our self-concocted cornucopia of words.

Listening properly will not only demonstrate that you genuinely care about the person, it will earn you an opportunity to speak without being interrupted when comes your turn.

2. Where does his/her atheism stem from?

If you’ve ever stood against a brick wall, felt its vicious gradient against your skin, seen the cold stone stare back at you in all of its adamantly lackluster glory, you know how wise it is to come at it with a fist.

When dialoguing with atheists, if it feels like you are talking to a brick wall, take a step back. Ask them, “Are you an atheist because you hate the version of religion you were taught or because you know without a shadow of doubt that there is certainly no God?” Chances are that if you are being warm and friendly, the person will open up about their contentions and perhaps even about their emotional journey toward rejecting the concept of religion/God. 3. Gently open the door Most of our atheist friends are born out of repugnance to a skewed misunderstanding or false version of religion. Often, this is emotional and not academic. One friend of mine was passionately training in South America to become a priest and was among the favourites of the region’s archbishop.

He once related to me that when he found out one of his own teachers was caught in a scandal of sexual misconduct, he became so horrified that it rendered him bitter to the concept of religion in general.

Alternatively, in Islam, many exMuslim atheists are those who endured years of backward (and totally un-Islamic) cultural customs, which they mistook for the religion. Until we spoke about it like friends and he witnessed first-hand how I treat my daughter and wife, another friend of mine was fixated on the false notion that Islam suppresses women and had rejected the god which – in his view – endorsed that.

Being very gentle, we should probe the elasticity of our atheist friends’ willingness to accept another version of events. Ask your friend: “Would you be willing to discuss the fact that perhaps the version or narrative of religion that you know isn’t the only one?”

4. Find common ground

If he/she argues that other, dangerous versions of your faith also exist, then great!

You can both agree in your rejection and condemnation of these views.

You might be surprised to know that the Islamic declaration of faith requires a great deal of “A”theism (rejecting deities).

When Muslims declare those sacred words known as the Kalimah, even before giving expression to their belief in God, they first emphatically denounce every single other deity or form of God – “There is none other worthy of worship…”

It’s a curious point, after all.

When the companions of the Holy Prophetsa declared the Kalimah, they were effectively announcing their rejection of the 360 false gods found at that time in the Ka‘bah first and then expressing their belief in the Oneness of Allah the Almighty.

Hence, we have a lot more in common than we think with our atheist friends.

We have rejected all false and corrupted silhouettes wrongly attributed to God Almighty and have accepted the Ultimate Reality.

5. Let it breath & be infectious If you’ve ever run a marathon, halfmarathon or even a 5K, you know how important it is to pace yourself. Go too fast all at once and you will burn out.

Waste time dilly-dallying or slothfully meandering along the route and you won’t perform.

Many atheists, on account of being far from faith and spirituality, haven’t the stomach to digest a lot about religion at once. Like a tiny partridge that can only eat so much, it does not matter how scrumptious a spread is placed before it – it will only eat what it can stomach.

When we speak with our atheist friends, we ought to give them time

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Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM between discussions.

Don’t always bring up religion – let your actions speak. Our behaviours and mannerisms – from how we respond to the beggar on the street to whether we hold the door open, smile at the cashier, say please and thank you – all tell people more about us than any elaborate speech that might follow over coffee.

We are all human – talk about sports, what Netflix series they’re watching, ask how their family is doing, offer to help in anything you can. It is imperative that they see that we are not just claiming to be moderate and balanced people – we actually are.

6. Being jolly doesn’t hurt Don’t be afraid to joke and laugh. Just because we have different views doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve the very best of one another.

An atheist will say things which we find hurtful, but imagine how much the atheist might be hurting – after all, his god is dead. Many times, when people say derogatory things, it stems from a wound deep within their unconscious.

It is the duty of a Muslim, about whom the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa said, “Beware the sharp insight of a believer,” to use the instruments of true compassion and intelligent grace to get to the crux of the matter and see if he can help his brother/sister in mankind see the true face of God Almighty.

7. Pray, pray, pray Even before getting together for a dialogue, responding to that offensive comment someone left on a Jamaat article or respectfully interjecting a conversation you hear on the bus, take a moment to raise your hands and pray first.

After reciting Surah al-Fatihah and Durood, which is the way of dua, take a moment to pray for the person. Light a candle of compassion in your heart for the person – when you speak to them after that, the seed of compassion and love you planted will emerge in your mannerisms and dialogue.

Take another moment to pray for your own words and remember that even the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa was not given the power to change hearts. His actions shined so brilliantly with the torch of love that over time, even his staunchest enemies could not hold back from throwing their hand into his.

Finally, if you are becoming friends and are on good terms, write to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa about him/her. If they are going through some exceedingly difficult circumstances, solicit the prayers of this noble saint of God whose prayers are a grand sign of His existence.

If you receive a response, give a copy to your friend. There are such blessings in that letter that even where our humble efforts fall short, they will light up the way.

(This concludes the first part of the ongoing series of articles called “Atheism on Trial”)

100 Years Ago...

Tabligh in Malabar, USA and China and consideration for other places Al Fazl, 14 May 1920 News from Malabar A missionary to Bihar, Maulvi Abdur Rahim Sahib is engaged in tabligh and the Jamaat is progressing by leaps and bounds. He went to Kudali and 22 people accepted Ahmadiyyat, alhamdolillah!

Opposition is also at its peak. Members of the Jamaat are requested to pray.

K Abdullah Ahmadi Sadiq enters America

The news that Hazrat Sadiq has been finally allowed to enter America will be heard with great delight as he has now entered the country. A telegram has been received in Qadian. Upon receiving this telegram, a holiday was observed in madrasas and other institutes.

I believe that the prayer of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih brought about this miraculous outcome. The person for whom there were no sending of telegrams and no resolutions or jalsas [voicing requests] to let him enter, and on the contrary, gatherings were held in his opposition and newspapers wrote against

him, he was released within a few days and entered the country. Praise be to Allah who made this all possible!

I present congratulations before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] on this joyous occasion.

Three students of Ahmadiyya Madrassa to China We have learned that three students from the madrassa have sought permission from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih to go to China and carry out tabligh. It is not known at this time what Huzoor’s instructions are in this regard.

These students wish to travel without any demand for money. It shows that we are moving swiftly towards awareness and progress. Their names are Abdul Ahad, Allah Ditta and Tajuddin.

Ahmadiyya missions in different countries Nowadays, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih has his eyes set on many countries, wherein the need for promulgating Ahmadiyyat is felt. Plans to set up missions in those countries are in view.

Huzoor[ra] intends to send such people there who are only given the travel allowances along with the expenses of one or two months, after which they are expected to generate funds themselves and carry out tabligh as well.

Consequently, proposals for setting up missions in Greece, Japan, Madras, Assam and Egypt etc. are under consideration.

Missionaries will soon be sent to the said places. Once they reach there, they will also do some work. The names of these missionaries will be reported later.

Interesting discussion no. 1 Ahmadi: (To a non-Ahmadi friend) Assalamo alaikum, Maulvi Sahib!

Non-Ahmadi: Namaste, Sahib.

Ahmadi: Oh! Maulvi Sahib, when did you become an Arya Samajist?

Non-Ahmadi: Sahib, since your sect is a new sect like the Arya Samajists, I have answered in this manner.

Ahmadi: Maulvi Sahib, do you know what is the belief of the Arya Samajists?

Non-Ahmadi: No! Ahmadi: It is a sect that denies all the prophets, from Adamas to Ahmadas.

Moreover, it is written in the Holy Quran that a person who denies one prophet is a denier of all. You are a denier of Hazrat Ahmadas, hence you deny all the previous prophets. Now tell me! Who are the Arya Samajists? Us or you? Also, your answer, “Namaste”, is evidence enough to show that you are in fact an Arya Samajist.

Non-Ahmadi: (Silent, surprised and dumbfounded.)

Interesting discussion no. 2 Ahmadi: (To a non-Ahmadi friend) Tell me Maulvi Sahib, is Jesusas still alive?

Non-Ahmadi: Yes Sahib, our Jesus, by the grace of God, is alive on the fourth heaven and will soon come down.

Ahmadi: Why did you let Jesusas alone ascend to heaven?

Non-Ahmadi: So tell me, who else was needed along with him?

Ahmadi: It is written in the Holy Quran that Jesusas promised God Almighty that as long as he lived, he would continue to pay Zakat, pray and serve his mother. So you should have also taken his mother to heaven or at least kept her alive on earth, so that he could have come down and served her. Now tell me, how and which artificial mother is he serving in the heavens. It is better that you ascend his mother to the heavens now so that the foundation of your philosophy does not collapse.

Non-Ahmadi: (Shocked, amazed, speechless.)

Muhammad Allah Ditta Umar, Middle School, Kahnuwan

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

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Friday Sermon 17 April 2020 Men of Excellence After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:

Today, from among the Badri companions, I shall present accounts from the life of Hazrat Mu‘azra bin Harith. Hazrat Mu‘azra belonged to the Banu Malik bin Najjar clan of the Khazraj tribe of the Ansar. His father’s name was Harith bin Rifa‘ah and his mother’s name was Afraa bint Ubaid.

Hazrat Mu‘awwizra and Hazrat Aufra were his brothers. All three of these brothers used to be referred to by the name of their father as well as their mother. Hence, they were also known as Banu Afraa [the sons of Afraa].

Hazrat Mu‘azra and his two brothers, Hazrat Aufra and Hazrat Mu‘awwizra, participated in the Battle of Badr. Hazrat Aufra and Hazrat Mu‘awwizra were martyred during the Battle of Badr, but Hazrat Mu‘azra participated in all the subsequent battles along with the Holy Prophetsa thereafter.

According to one narration, Hazrat Mu‘azra bin Harith and Hazrat Raafi‘ra bin Malik Zuraqiyy were among the foremost Ansar who accepted the Holy Prophetsa in Mecca. Hazrat Mu‘azra was among those eight Ansar who accepted the Holy Prophetsa at the occasion of the First Pledge at Aqabah in Mecca. Likewise, Hazrat Mu‘azra was also present during the Second Pledge at Aqabah. When Hazrat Ma‘mar bin Harithra migrated from Mecca to Medina, the Holy Prophetsa established a bond of brotherhood between him and Hazrat Mu‘azra bin Harith. (Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 5, pp. 190-191, Mu‘az bin al-Harith bin Rifa‘ah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 374, Mu‘az bin al-Harith, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990) Although the details of Abu Jahl’s

death have already been presented in a sermon last year [Friday Sermon, 5 April 2019], I will present them here again due to their importance in relation to the account of Hazrat Mu‘azra. The narrations that I will present are from Bukhari. As the summary cannot be presented, the entire narration will need to be read out.

Salih bin Ibrahim narrates from his grandfather Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf who stated: “While I was standing in the row for the Battle of Badr, I looked to my right and left and found two youths from the Ansar. At the time I wished that I was standing among people who were older and stronger. During this very instance, one of them tapped me and asked, ‘Uncle, do you recognise Abu Jahl?’ I said to him, ‘Yes, my nephew, what do you want with him?’ He replied, ‘I learnt that he would hurl abuse at the Holy Prophetsa. I swear

by Him in Whose Hands is my life, if I were to see him, my eyes would not move from him, until one of us – whose end has been decreed – dies.’”

Hazrat Abdur Rahmanra bin ‘Auf states: “These words left me astonished. Then the other one who was standing on the other side tapped me and asked me the same question. After a short while, I saw Abu Jahl circling among the ranks. I said to them, ‘There is that individual about whom you asked.’ As soon as they heard this, they rushed towards him with their swords drawn. They continued their onslaught until he died.

Following this, they returned to the Holy Prophetas to inform him. The Holy Prophetsa enquired, ‘Which one of you killed him?’ Both of them replied that they had killed him. The Holy Prophetsa then asked, ‘Have you wiped your swords clean?’ They replied that they had not yet

done so. The Holy Prophetsa examined their swords and said, ‘Both of you have killed him.’ Following this, he said, ‘His wealth will be given to Mu‘az bin Amr bin Jamuh.’”

Both of them were named Mu‘az, i.e one was called Mu‘az bin Afraa and the other was Mu‘az bin Amr bin Jamuh.

This is a narration of Sahih Bukhari.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fard al-Khumus, Bab Man Lam Yukhammis al-Aslab, Hadith 3141) Hazrat Anasra narrates, “On the day of the Battle of Badr, the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Who will go to see what became of Abu Jahl?’ Hazrat Ibn Mas‘udra went and saw that both sons of Afraa, Hazrat Mu‘azra and Hazrat Mu‘awwizra had struck him with their swords to such an extent that he was on the brink of death. Hazrat Ibn Mas‘udra went to him and asked if he was Abu Jahl? Hazrat Ibn Mas‘ud narrates, ‘I grabbed Abu Jahl by the beard. Abu Jahl said, “Have you killed a greater man than this”, or he said, “Had his nation killed a greater man than him?”’”

Ahmad bin Yunus has mentioned this in his narration in the following manner that Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud stated, “You must be Abu Jahl?” This is also a narration of Bukhari. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitabul Maghazi, Bab Qatl Abi Jahl, Hadith 3962) In relation to this narration found in Bukhari, Hazrat Sayyid Zain-ul-Abideen Waliullah Shah Sahib states in his commentary: “In some narrations, it is mentioned that the two sons of Afraa, Mu‘azra and Mu‘awwizra, attacked Abu Jahl to the extent that he was on the brink of death and that

17

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM Hazrat Abdullahra bin Mas‘ud severed his head later on. This is mentioned in Bukhari, in the Book of Maghazi [military expeditions]. Allama Ibn Hajar Asqalani has expressed the possibility of Mu‘awwizra bin Afraa having also attacked him [i.e.

Abu Jahl] after Mu‘azra bin Amr and Mu‘azra bin Afraa had already done so.”

(Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Fard al-Khumus, Vol. 5, p. 491, Footnote, Urdu translation Nizarat Ishaat, Rabwah) With regard to who took part in the killing of Abu Jahl during the Battle of Badr, in one place, we find the details regarding this in the following manner: Ibn Hisham narrated from Allama Ibn Ishaq, “Mu‘azra bin Amr bin Jamuh wounded the leg of Abu Jahl, as a result of which he fell down. Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl struck Hazrat Mu‘az’s hand with his sword, which was severed as a result of the blow. Either his hand or his arm was cut off. Following this, Mu‘awwizra bin Afraa attacked Abu Jahl, as a result of which Abu Jahl fell to the ground but was still alive. Subsequently, Hazrat Abdullahra bin Mas‘ud severed his head from his body.”

When Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud was sent by the Holy Prophetsa to find Abu Jahl among those who had been killed, it was then that Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud severed his head from his body.

According to a tradition of Sahih Muslim, the two sons of Afraa attacked Abu Jahl so ferociously that he died as a result. Similarly, in Bukhari, under the heading of the killing of Abu Jahl, it has been recorded in a similar manner. Imam Qurtabi expresses doubt that the two sons of Afraa killed Abu Jahl. He says that some narrators confused Mu‘azra bin Amr bin Jamuh. That is, instead of Mu‘azra bin Afraa, it was in fact Mu‘azra bin Amr bin Jamuh [who killed Abu Jahl], whom people considered to be Mu‘azra bin Afraa.

He says that people have confused Mu‘azra bin Amr bin Jamuh with Mu‘azra bin Afraa.

Allama Ibn al-Jawzi says that Mu‘azra bin Jamuh was not from among the progeny of Afraa and that Mu‘azra bin Afraa was among those individuals, who killed Abu Jahl. Perhaps a brother or paternal uncle of Mu‘azra bin Afraa was present at that time, or only one of the sons of Afraa were mentioned, but the narrator may have mistakenly mentioned both sons.

Abu Umar states that the more reliable narration is that of Hazrat Anas bin Malikra, in which it is stated that Ibn Afraa killed Abu Jahl i.e. one of the sons of Afraa. Ibn Theen relates that there is a possibility that both Mu‘az’s – i.e. Mu‘azra bin Amr bin Jamu and Mu‘azra bin Afraa were brothers from the same mother, or that they were foster-brothers [who were weaned by the same wet-nurse]. Allamah Daudi has taken the two sons of Afraa to actually mean Sahl and Suhail and it is said that they were both Mu‘awwizra and Mu‘azra. (Umdatul Qari, Vol. 15, pp. 100101, Darul Fikr, Beirut) In any case, these are the various accounts in which it is either mentioned that three individuals killed [Abu Jahl] or

two individuals and among them there is mention of Hazrat Mu’azra bin Harith.

Whilst describing the circumstances during the Battle of Badr and the incident regarding the killing of Abu Jahl, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahibra writes: “Now, the field of battle was heated by bloodshed. Before the Muslims was a party three times their number, which had entered the field of battle, embellished with all kinds of military equipment, determined to erase all traces of Islam.

The poor Muslims were fewer in number, lesser in equipment and struck by shocks of poverty and exile, and as far as apparent means were concerned, they were a prey of a few minutes before the people of Mecca. However, they had become intoxicated in the love of Divine Unity and Prophethood. Living faith is a power in comparison to which there is no greater power on the earth, and it had instilled within them a supernormal strength. At that time, in the field of battle, they were displaying an unparalleled example of service to the faith.

“Every man would step ahead further than the other, and seemed restless to offer his life for the sake of God. Hamzara, Alira and Zubairra cut down rank upon rank of the enemies. The passionate sincerity of the Ansar was such that Abdur Rahmanra bin Auf relates: ‘When the war fully commenced, I looked to my right and left, but found two youngsters from the Ansar to both my sides. Upon seeing them, my heart sank, because in such wars, the outcome of battle greatly depends on the companions to the right and left. Only such a person can fight effectively, whose sides are secure.’

“Abdur Rahmanra adds: ‘I was still in this state of mind, when one of the two boys enquired of me in a whisper, as if to keep it secret from the other, (i.e. lest the boy on the other side should hear them) “O Uncle! Where is that Abu Jahl who would give grief to the Holy Prophetsa in Mecca? I have made an oath with God that I shall either kill him or die trying.” I had not yet responded when the other also whispered the same enquiry.

Upon witnessing their courage, I was stunned because Abu Jahl was the general of the army and he was surrounded by veteran warriors. I pointed to him saying, “That is Abu Jahl.”’

Abdur Rahmanra states: ‘I had only to make an indication, when both children sprung forward like hawks and cutting through the enemy ranks reached there in an instant. They executed an assault so swiftly, that Abu Jahl and his comrades were left dumbstruck, and Abu Jahl was mixed to dust.’

“Ikramah bin Abi Jahl also accompanied his father. Although he was unable to save his father, he managed to strike Mu‘azra from behind in such a manner, that his left arm was cut and began to dangle. Mu‘azra pursued Ikramah, but he escaped. Since a semi-attached arm was a hindrance in battle, Mu‘azra tore it forcefully from his body and continued to

fight.” (Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra, p. 362) Whilst relating this incident, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra states: “Abu Jahl was that individual, at the birth of whom camels were slaughtered for weeks and the meat distributed among the people; at the birth of whom Mecca was echoing with the sound of tambourines.”

In other words, on the news of his birth, the people of Mecca were rejoicing with the sound of drums and other musical instruments. He further writes: “When he was killed during the Battle of Badr, it was two fifteen-year-old youngsters of the Ansar who wounded him. Hazrat Abdullahra bin Mas‘ud relates, ‘When the people were returning from the battle, I went to see those injured in combat.’ He too was from Mecca so Abu Jahl would have recognised him instantly.

He states, ‘I was walking in the battlefield when all of a sudden, I saw Abu Jahl injured and was groaning with pain. When I approached him, he said to me, “It does not seem as if I will survive this, my injury has taken a turn for the worst. Seeing as you are also a Meccan, it is my wish that you kill me to put an end to my suffering.

But as you are aware, I am an Arab chief and it is an Arab custom to cut the neck in a manner that it would be prominent as this is the sign of a slain chief. So I want you to cut my neck in this manner.”’

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘udra continues, ‘I cut his neck in a manner that it was short (i.e. near to his chin) and said that even your last wish will not be fulfilled.’

Now in terms of their end, observe how humiliating the death of Abu Jahl was, whose head was always held high during his lifetime, but at the time of his death his neck was cut very short and even his final wish was left unfulfilled.” (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 7, p. 101) Hazrat Rubayy bint Mu‘awwizra relates: “My uncle Hazrat Mu‘azra bin Afraa handed me some fresh dates and sent me to the Holy Prophetsa. The Holy Prophetsa in turn gave me some jewellery which had been gifted to him by the governor of Bahrain.” In another narration Hazrat Rubayy bint Mu‘awwizra relates, “My uncle Hazrat Mu‘azra handed me a gift to take to the Holy Prophetsa and in return he gave me some jewellery which he had received from the governor of Bahrain.”

Allamah Ibn Athir writes, “The governor of Bahrain and other kings only started to send gifts to the Holy Prophetsa when Islam had spread and strengthened and after he had sent letters to these kings.

He [the governor] too was among those who sent back letters and also gifts.”

(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 5, p. 192, Mu’az bin al-Harith bin Rifa‘ah, Dar-ul-Kutub alIlmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) Hazrat Mu‘azra bin Harith married four times, the details of which are as follows: Habibah bint Qais, with whom he had a son named Ubaidullah, His second wife was Umme Harith bint Sabrah, with whom he had Harith, Auf, Salma, Umm-e-Abdillah and Ramlah.

His third wife was Umm-e-Abdillah bint Numair with whom he had Ibrahim and

Aisha. His fourth wife was Umm-e-Thabit Ramla bint Harith, with whom he had Sarah.” (Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, pp. 373-374, Mu‘az bin al-Harith, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990) In his book, Usdul Ghabah, Allamah Ibn Athir has recorded several narrations with regard to the demise of Hazrat Mu‘azra. According to one of these narrations, Hazrat Mu‘azra was wounded in the Battle of Badr and passed away from his injuries after returning to Medina. In another narration, he lived up until the Khilafat of Hazrat Usmanra. According to yet another narration, he lived until the Khilafat of Hazrat Alira and he passed away during the Battle of Siffin, which took place between Hazrat Alira and Amir Mu‘awiyyahra in the year 36 AH/37 AH. Hazrat Mu‘azra fought alongside Hazrat Alira. (Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 5, p. 191, Mu‘az bin al-Harith bin Rifa‘ah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Al-Isti‘ab, Vol. 3, pp. 1409-1410, Mu‘adh bin Afraa, Darul-Jeel, Beirut) In any case, there are different accounts with regard to his demise. If one analyses the accounts relating to his marriage and his children, it seems that he lived a long life, that is if these narrations are indeed regarding him.

Now, after relating the accounts from the life of Hazat Mu‘azra, I shall speak about Respected Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib, son of Feroz-ud-Din Munshi Sahib, who passed away on 9َ April [2020]: َ ْ َ ّ َ ّٰ َّ ‫اج ُعوْ َن‬ ِ ‫ِانا لِل ِه و ِانا ِالی ِه ر‬ “To Allah do we belong and to Him shall we return.”

He had been unwell for quite some time and would frequently go to hospital for various ailments. The doctors would always say that these were his final moments, but God Almighty would send down His grace and he would recover.

When he would regain his strength and be able to walk again, he would come to the mosque.

Nevertheless, the most recent ailment proved to be his final illness as a result of which he passed away. According to the official documentation, Rana Sahib was born in 1934, but according to other accounts, he was born in 1930 or 1932. In official documents it is recorded as 1934 so in accordance with this, he was 86 years of age. Ahmadiyyat was established in his family through his father, respected Feroz-ud-Din Sahib in 1906, when he took the Pledge of Allegiance of the Promised Messiahas through a letter. After the partition of India and Pakistan, their family migrated to Pakistan and initially settled in Lahore and then in 1948, they settled in Rabwah.

He then offered his services for the Furqan Battalion. After serving in the Furqan Battalion, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra sent Rana Sahib near Mirpur Khaas for work relating to land there, where he stayed for a few years.

He was a very long-standing member of the Wasiyyat scheme, having joined in 1951. He was married to Sara Parveen, who was the paternal granddaughter of Doulat Khan Sahib, a companion of the

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

18 Promised Messiahas. According to the departmental register – the office order of Hifazat-e-Khaas [security staff] – on 3 August 1954, Rana Naeeem-Ul-Din Sahib was appointed as “reserve on-duty”.

From November 1955 to 11 May 1959, he served as part of the Hifazat-e-Khaas as a security guard. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra would often go for several months to Jaaba, Nakhla to work on his commentary [of the Holy Quran]. The deceased also went and as there was no electricity, he had the responsibility of maintaining the diesel generator and also was responsible for security for the small vicinity they were residing in.

According to the records of Wasiyyat, he retired from Hifazat-e-Khaas staff in 1978 and moved to Harappa in the Sahiwal District, where he later served as caretaker of the Sahiwal mosque.

In October 1984, opponents [of Ahmadiyyat] attacked the Sahiwal mosque where he was on guard duty. As Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib retaliated to the attack, he, along with ten others, had court cases lodged against them. Thus, from 26 October 1984 to March 1994 he had the blessing of being a prisoner in the way of Allah.

Rather than take any action against the attackers, the police instead implicated the eleven Ahmadis in court cases who were subsequently sentenced. This case was referred to a special military court during the era of Zia-ul-Haq. The court hearing formally commenced on 16 February 1985 and continued until 1 June 1985. There were initially 11 people in this case, but this later became seven. The case of Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib was declared as “pending”. Two of the eleven went abroad and two were released. The case of the remaining seven was declared “pending”. Later the same special military court delivered a verdict of the death penalty for Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib and Ilyas Munir Sahib, Murrabi-e-Silsilah [Missionary]. The other five were handed 25-year prison sentences. An appeal was made against these sentences and the Lahore High Court in March 1994 ordered their release. After the paperwork was completed, they were formally released on 19 March 1994.

As such these prisoners in the way of Allah were blessed to spend nine and a half years in jail. The opponents lodged an appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision of the High Court to acquit them. The court hearing began in May 2013 even though the two individuals were abroad and did not attend court and until today this case is pending.

During the period of imprisonment, he was tortured by the police and they tried to force a confession from him to say that as he was a bodyguard of the Khalifa and that he had been sent by the Khalifa to kill the Muslims. After being acquitted, Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib moved to London in 1994. Here, he carried out his duties in Hifazat-e-Khaas far belying his age.

In 2010, his elder daughter passed away and a few days later, his wife too

passed away. He then asked me about travelling to Pakistan. The circumstances made this seem difficult but nonetheless, I said to go but to return quickly. He travelled there for a few days and then returned. The deceased leaves behind in his family one son and four daughters.

His son, Rana Waseem Ahmad is a life devotee [Waqf-e-Zindagi] who serves in the private secretary’s office here in the UK. All of the deceased’s daughters live in London. His son, Rana Waseem writes: “Our father always taught us to remain closely attached with Khilafat and that everything was linked to Khilafat. He himself had immense love for Khilafat. He would say that whenever he would go for his duties, he would become invigorated and energised after seeing the Khilafa. He said the secret of his good health was that despite his age, he carried out his duties, otherwise he would just be in bed at home.

He was very punctual with attending his duty on time, preparing himself two or three hours before schedule. When I would say to him, ‘Father, there is still plenty of time left’, he would reply ‘So what? What will I do just sitting at home?’

“A doctor, Hasham has written on similar lines. He was astonished after reading through his [medical] records and observed that normally at this age and with such illnesses, a person stays at home or is sent to care homes, yet he is walking and going about like normal. Rana Sahib told this doctor as well that the secret to his health was that he would go for duty and stay in the blessed company of the Khalifa of the time.”

His son, Rana Sahib, further writes: “I would often massage his legs. On one occasion, as I was massaging his legs and moved closer towards his knees, he let out a small sigh. I enquired as to the reason, but he replied that it was nothing.

However, I insisted to know what the reason was, to which he replied that it was the result of the injuries sustained whilst he was in prison. He always showed patience and steadfastness.” When they mete out punishment in the prisons of Pakistan, they do it in the cruellest manner, but in any case, he endured all of this with patience “and continued to demonstrate an exemplary level of patience even after his release from prison. If ever he fell ill, he would not mention it to anyone and in fact, would often just say, ‘All praise is due to Allah! I am fine.’”

In relation to the standard of his obedience towards Khilafat, he further states: “I would often ask my father to narrate various accounts. One day, I was sat with him and he told me that ‘when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra travelled to Nakhla, Jaaba to write his Tafsir [exegesis of the Holy Quran], I also had the opportunity to accompany him’” as mentioned previously that he would stay there “‘and owing to something I had done, Huzoorra became unhappy with me. (Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra expressed his displeasure at Rana Naeem-ul-Din Sahib). Huzoorra instructed me to go to the mosque and recite istighfar [seek forgiveness from

Allah]. I thus went to the mosque – and the mosque in Jaaba at the time was made of mud brick and had a small open courtyard. I sat in the courtyard of the mosque and began to recite istighfar when all of a sudden, a powerful storm broke out and it began to rain heavily. However, I sat where I was and continued to remain engaged in reciting Istighfar. Quite some time had passed and one of the canopies of the mosque also blew off. Huzoorra, i.e.

Khalifatul Masih IIra, enquired, “Where is Naeem?” A few people came out in search of me and eventually arrived at the mosque and informed me that Huzoor was calling me. When I presented myself before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra, he stated, “I knew you would be sat there. I have forgiven you now, therefore you can go.”’”

His son further writes in relation to this: “When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra began writing his Tafsir, my father had the opportunity to stay close and serve him. He would always express his great joy at this opportunity. It was his habit that he would always share his news of happiness with everyone, but would never tell anyone about any news of sorrow or grief.”

Describing his qualities, he further writes: “He was an exceptionally compassionate father and a sincere friend. When my Waqf [life devotion] was accepted, he one day said to me that this was a huge responsibility and that I should fulfil this Waqf whilst always seeking repentance and forgiveness from God Almighty. He advised that if ever anyone caused me pain, I should remain silent and not enter into an argument and instead, leave the affair in the hands of Allah and always remain patient for Allah the Almighty is with those who demonstrate patience. He would always impart advice like a friend.”

He then further states: “He would always treat my wife (i.e. the daughter-in-law of Rana Sahib) like a close friend, in fact, even closer than one’s own daughters. He also once told me that he had the opportunity to stand guard at the residence of Hazrat Amma Janra in Rabwah. When he entered the scheme of Al-Wasiyyat, he would also encourage his family relatives to also take part in this.

He was very regular in paying his Chanda (financial sacrifice) and he would pay his Chanda on the first of every month and only after that would he spend his money on anything else. He would always discretely help others and would never mention it to anyone.”

His daughters write that their father had such immense love for Khilafat that one would be truly left in envy of it. The love for Khilafat was imbued in every grain of his existence and whenever there was mention of the Khalifa of the time, his eyes would well up.

In regard to the respect he showed towards his superiors, one of his daughters writes: “On one occasion, all of us sisters,

along with our father, were sat in the private secretary office waiting to go inside for our mulaqat when suddenly we noticed our father standing up alert as if he was on duty. We were surprised as to what had suddenly happened to him. When I slightly glanced to look up, I noticed that the Naib Afsar Hifazat [Deputy Head of Security] had entered into the office, either to attend to some work or for duty and out of respect for him, my father had stood up. Until he remained in the office, my father continuously remained stood and only sat down once he had left.”

She writes, “Although this incident just lasted for a few minutes, however it carried many lessons for us. Throughout his entire life, he would always advise us that if we wanted to attain any success in life then we ought to attach ourselves with Khilafat like a metal sticks to a magnet.”

She further writes, “A few days prior to his demise, our father gave Eid gifts to all us sisters and our brother and also his wife. We said to our father that the month of Ramadan had not even started yet, however he said that one cannot guarantee anything about the future, thus one should not delay in fulfilling their obligations.”

Hence, he gave his children Eid gifts a few days prior to his demise.

His daughter-in-law writes: “He would take great care of me and would always advise me like a father.

When my father passed away, he told me and my husband to immediately go to Pakistan and attend the funeral.”

His daughter-in-law further writes: “Whenever I would wake up in the night, I would always see him offering prayers. He had an unbounding love for Khilafat (almost everyone has written about his relationship of great loyalty with Khilafat). He would often say that it was owing to the prayers of the Khalifa that he had the opportunity to serve term in prison [due to his faith] and it was owing to the prayers of the Khalifa that he was here. He would also say that due to the prayers of the Khalifa, no one ever knows of what happened to the president of the country who signed the documents for our death sentence, but he (i.e. Rana Sahib) appeared before the world as a living sign.”

One of his daughters, Abida, writes: “He would always advise our children to form a strong bond with God and Khilafat and would tell them that all their success was dependent upon this. He would always encourage us to recite the Holy Quran and was regular in offering his Tahajjud prayer.”

She further writes: “I have never seen in my entire life that he ever missed the Tahajjud prayer; he indeed prayed profusely for us. He was very hospitable and would always look after his less affluent relatives. Rana Sahib continued to regularly pay the Chanda on behalf of his parents and wife after their demise.”

She further states, “I would often hear him loudly reciting the following couplet: My Lord! Be it a grace bestowed by Thee

19

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM or an affliction; content we shall remain with Thy Divine will.”

She further writes: “After the demise of our mother, he took even greater care of all us sisters and treated his daughter-in-law more than even one’s own daughter. Whenever he brought something or when giving an Eid gift, he would always give it to his daughter-in-law first and then to us. He would always say that ‘we have brought someone else’s daughter into our house, therefore we ought to take even greater care of her as I will be held accountable before my God.’” Another daughter writes: “Indeed, the time he spent in prison was endured whilst showing contentment at the will of the Almighty God, love for his faith and Khilafat. Let alone a complaint, we did not hear even the slightest expression of discontent. He always offered his prayers and Tahajjud on time. Even during his illness, he would never miss the prayer. Due to the torture he suffered in prison, he developed problems in his kidneys which intensified in the latter stages of his life and he also had breathing problems. However, we never heard any such words uttered by him of anguish or despair. He would say, ‘All praise is due to Allah’ and nothing else.”

Another daughter states that he took so much care of them that he once told them that he was now 86-87 years of age and did not know anything about the future as to whether he would be alive or would pass away. Therefore, upon his demise, he should be taken to Pakistan. Moreover, he told his daughters that he had kept money aside for their tickets, so that when it comes to taking his funeral, they would not need to ask from their husbands and they would instead take their father’s funeral with the money provided by him.

Due to the current situation, it was not possible for the funeral to be taken [to Pakistan], hence he has been buried here temporarily and whenever it is possible, then we shall – God Willing – arrange for it to be taken in accordance to his wishes.

One of his nephews, Rana Shabeer, who serves in the Tahir Heart [Hospital] in Rabwah, states: “During the years of his imprisonment, I had numerous opportunities to go and visit Rana Sahib. Whenever we would go to the prison to give him some provisions, we would become extremely anxious, however he would always advise us to show patience and to pray. He was an extremely noble individual and always exhibited patience.”

Similarly, his niece from his brother’s side, writes: “Up to 1980, he resided in the compounds of Qasr-e-Khilafat and when we used to go for the Jalsa, some nonAhmadi families would also come with us.” This is his wife’s niece, Rubina Sahib.

“Our uncle [Rana Sahib] always used to say to his wife that guests should be looked after well and they should not experience any discomfort in their food or sleeping arrangements. If there was shortage of

space, he would take his children and sleep in the store or kitchen and would let the guests sleep in better arrangements such as the rooms or in the veranda.

He would say, “These are guests of the Promised Messiahas and they should not suffer any sort of discomfort.”

One of his nephews says that when he visited him in prison and enquired about him and also about the incident that took place, he replied in a passionate manner, “Son, you must always safeguard the [honour of the] Kalima [Muslim declaration of faith], even if it means sacrificing your life in the process.” His nephew writes, “I felt as if these were not the words of a man, rather it sounded like the voice of an angel. He was an incredibly courageous and brave Ahmadi Muslim who always upheld the sanctity of the Kalima and had great reverence for Khilafat.” He further writes, “When I moved to London from Belgium, he advised me saying, ‘Ensure that you remain attached to Khilafat. Since you have moved here because of Khilafat, if you do not listen and respond to every directive issued by the Khalifa, then your coming here will be of no benefit.’ He also said, ‘Make sure you are regular in your prayers, and whenever you face any difficulty, instead of becoming worried and anxious, always turn towards God Almighty.’ He was greatly averse to lying and hypocrisy. He would always show great diligence towards performing his duty. Whenever he would feel unwell and his family would advise him to stay at home to rest, he would refuse and say that he is feeling fine, and that as he has been granted an opportunity to serve in his advanced age, these days are a bonus for him.”

Ilyas Munir Sahib, who was in prison alongside Rana Sahib, writes: “I spent a significant part of my life with Rana Sahib, and now, I was unable to see him in his final days, which has left me very anxious. I was in prison with the late Rana Sahib for ten years. I did not see him lose hope for even one moment during this time, to the extent that when the death penalty was unjustly issued by the military dictator, he listened to the directive in a cheerful manner. He had a large family and all his children were young. Although he did not have a steady income, he had incredible trust in God Almighty. He had a passion to serve the faith and was concerned only to uphold the honour of the Jamaat. Whenever he was worried, he would say, ‘Their intentions are dangerous. Only Allah the Almighty can safeguard us from them.’

God Almighty ensured his affairs were in order, and all his daughters were married during the time he was imprisoned.”

Ilyas Munir Sahib says that he would never forget the incident which took place when rioters attacked the mosque and began to defame the Kalima Tayyiba [Muslim declaration of faith], verses of the Holy Quran and ahadith. Describing this incident, he says: “It was the first time I had heard him speak in a thunderous tone when he

challenged them [i.e. the rioters] saying: ‘Who are you to erase the Kalima? Who are you to erase the Kalima?’” He further writes, “Up until then, I had never heard him speak Urdu, yet at that time he spoke in Urdu and spoke in a thunderous manner. He alone compelled the 30 or 40 attackers to first hide in one side of the mosque and then made them flee.”

He further writes, “Not only did he carry this out resolutely, but when the police officer enquired as to who opened fire, he did not hesitate for even a moment and stepped forward saying that it was him who opened fire. Subsequently he was subjected to severe cruelties and they tried their utmost to compel him to say that he carried this out on the orders of the Jamaat’s office bearers. However, it was truly remarkable to see that brave hearted individual who did not even allow an iota of blame to fall on the Jamaat. In reality, the office bearers did not know that he owned a gun. Furthermore, he never succumbed to the pressure of the court, even though it was a special military court. Both verbally as well as in written statements, he courageously and with a clear conscious accepted that he was the one who opened fire. It was this bravery and valour, honesty and passion to serve

the faith that God Almighty granted him success and honour, and thus was able to serve Khilafat until the very end.”

Ilyas Munir Sahib further writes, “During our imprisonment, Rana Sahib’s father would send them letters and the Sermon of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh.” Since MTA had not yet been established in those days, they would receive a written script of the Friday Sermon, which Rana Sahib’s father would bring to them.

“Rana Sahib would sit me down and say to read out the sermon. The prisoners on death row would be kept in separate cells but would be allowed out for a short while. During the time they were allowed out, he would dedicate that time to listening to the Friday Sermon and he would do so with great regularity.”

He then writes, “Whenever possible, he would ensure that we offered the prayers in congregation. In fact, whenever possible, he would call the other Ahmadis in prison to join us [for prayers].”

With regard to Ramadan, Ilyas Sahib writes, “During our time in prison, we observed Ramadan in the intense months of May, June and July. Despite his advanced age and the hardships of prison, he would fast the entire month of Ramadan.”

He further writes, “He displayed

Friday 15 May 2020 | AL HAKAM

20 extraordinary resolve and patience and happily faced every situation. When the death penalty verdict was pronounced, he showed immense courage and resolve, and this was something that was felt by others as well.” He writes, “When the death penalty verdict was issued with the signature of the president, one prison warden came to Rana Naeem-Ul-Din Sahib, who was older in age than him and said, ‘The Mirzais [a term used by nonAhmadis to refer to Ahmadis] are very strange. They have been given the date of their death penalty and their end is near, yet they express no sign of concern. They do not worry in the least.’ Nonetheless, he began a lengthy discussion. Rana Sahib said that he understood that the warden did not know that he was an Ahmadi.

Thus, when he finished speaking, Rana Sahib asked him: ‘Do you see any sign of concern in my expression?’ He replied in the negative. The warden was astounded upon discovering that Rana Sahib was also an Ahmadi.”

In the end, I will read a letter Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh sent to Rana NaeemUl-Din Sahib in September 1986. Part of the letter is as follows: “I have received your sincere and heartfelt letters. You stand resolutely with unwavering faith, which is indeed

greatly admirable. The chosen ones of God who wish to reach the highest ranks must first cross these difficult and testing paths. I greatly admire this opportunity that you have been blessed with. A tree is recognised by its fruits. You all are the flourishing branches and sweet fruit of the tree of the Promised Messiahas and Allah the Almighty will never forsake you. The Jamaat is praying for you, my prayers are also with you. I hope that you would have heard my most recent poem which is about my heartfelt prayers and sentiments for you and those members like you. May Allah the Almighty grant succour through His angels and save you from the grips of the enemy. May Allah be with you.” This was the letter Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh sent to Rana Sahib.

Mubarak Siddiqi Sahib writes, “I once asked Rana Sahib about his time in prison and the difficulties he faced. To this, Rana Sahib smiled and said, ‘We as Ahmadis have dedicated our lives to show obedience to Allah the Almighty, His Messengersa and the Khalifa of the time.

Therefore, I have never thought of any hardship to be difficult. I remain content with the Will of God Almighty.”

Undoubtedly, he remained content with the Will of God until his last breath.

Whenever I asked about his health, he

always replied by saying “Alhamdolilah” [All praise belongs to Allah]. Whenever he spent time in hospital, he would return to duty the very next day and say that his health is fine, and at the same time he would offer prayers for me.

As mentioned earlier, one doctor said that those people who suffer from such ailments, in which their legs are swollen, are normally unable to leave the house, whereas he performs all his duties; this astonished the doctor.

Doctors may well be astonished by this, but what would they know that Rana Sahib had a deep love for Khilafat and this yearning to remain close would inspire him to come to the mosque to perform his duties. I always saw tranquillity and love for Khilafat emanate from him. May Allah the Almighty bestow His love and affection on him in the next life and grant him a place among His loved ones.

I have known him since childhood and as mentioned earlier, Rana Sahib would accompany Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra when he would go to Jaba Nakhla. In the summer, we would also go there for a few days. Even then, Rana Sahib would always treat us with great kindness and after becoming Khalifa, this relationship increased manifold. The incidents that we have heard about his loyalty and passion

for Khilafat, were always visible in his character.

May Allah the Almighty enable his children to emulate the loyalty shown by their father and follow in his footsteps.

Regrettably, owing to the current situation and restrictions by the government, I was unable to lead his funeral prayer. GodWilling, I will lead his funeral prayer in absentia in the future.

In the end, with regard to the current pandemic, I would like to say that some Ahmadis are also unwell; we ought to pray to Allah the Almighty to grant them complete recovery and also enable everyone to tread the paths of His pleasure. May He enable us to worship in the true sense and fulfil the rights due to mankind and swiftly alleviate the world of this pandemic. May Allah enable the world to see reason and recognise the One God; may they recognise His Unity and worship Him. May Allah shower His mercy on everyone.

(Original Urdu published in Al Fazl International, London, 8 May 2020, pp. 5-9. Translated by The Review of Religions)

Hazrat Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, narrates that the Holy prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

“Search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.”

(Sahih Bukhari)

Editor: Qaasid Muin Ahmad | Design & Layout: Jalees Ahmad | Sub-Editorial: Ataul Fatir Tahir | News: Ata-ul-Haye Nasir | © Al Hakam 2020