August 2012
August 2012
Webcasting on the World’s first real-time Islamic service at www.virtualmosque.co.uk Editors: Shahid Aziz Mustaq Ali
Contents:
Page
Call of the Messiah
1
Ahmadiyya Movement and Others
2
Women Companions (r)
4
Justice
6
Ramadan
8
ﱠحيْم ِ بِس ِْم ﷲِ الرﱠحْ مٰ ِن الر Webcasts: Please note that the Friday khutba and prayers, the dars, as well as all meetings are broadcast over the Virtual Mosque (www.virtualmosque.co.uk).
Call of the Messiah Agnostics’ Argument Refuted The agnostic, obviously, finds a foothold to stand against this presumptive evidence in the fact that observational glance on the universe affords no positive proof of the actual existence of its Creator; it merely indicates that one ought to be, which makes the case doubtful and dubious in the eyes of the unbelieving agnostic. Reason and Science, it should be clearly understood, point to the need of His existence and prove
not the actual existence itself; and there is indeed a vast difference between the need of the existence of a thing and its actual, positive existence. The man who thinks that the knowledge pertaining to the Most High God is restricted and confined to the observation of nature has no indisputable argument to prove and profess that God exists as a matter of fact. His knowledge takes him not beyond the line of ought to be, provided, of course, he falls not into the lap of atheism. This was the reason that those of the ancient thinkers who clung to and drew their inferences from presumptive arguments committed many a blunder, and landed the world in a labyrinth of doubts and difficulties. Many of them died as unbelieving atheists and incredulous naturalists, and the paper boat of their philosophy and science could not carry them safely to the shore; for, on the one side, they had been obsessed with the love of this world, and, on the other side, they knew not for certain what was to befall them in the Hereafter, and so they departed from this world in a state of utter restlessness and disquietude of the mind, having been cut off and snipped asunder from that certainty which comes from realization. Their own confession is that their knowledge with regard to the Creator of this universe and the affairs relating to the Great Beyond is based on presumption and probability, and not on certainty and unquestionably established truth. Whatever the philosophers thought
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2 with regard to a thing or matter, that it should be so and in such a manner, thereafter they took it for granted that it was as opined by them and based their inferences thereon. It was on such a shaky and conjectural foundation that the philosophers of old based their reasoning and thought. To have a real, living faith in the existence of the real, living God never fell to their lot; and the highest point of knowledge reached by their wisdom and philosophy was that there seemed to be a need for the existence of a Creator. And the truth of the matter is that, like false and faithless people, they were caught in the quagmire of their own doubts and misgivings, and could not set their foot on the right path, Some of them denied the Most High God as the All-Wise and the AllDesigning Creator. Some said that matter and soul, being co-existent with God, were, like brothers, on a par with the Divine Being, and the Arya Samajists of the present age are their successors in this queer belief. Some did not accept the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul nor believed in the Day of Resurrection and Judgment. Some of them said that Time, like God, was the Everlasting and Eternal Effect. Some affixed sacrifices to idols and prostrated before artificial gods. And many well-known philosophers denied outright the very existence of the Supreme Being; and there was none among them who could be free from and unaffected by these false and pernicious notions. (Barahin-i Ahmadiyya, vol. 2)
Attitude of the Ahmadiyya Movement Towards Other Sects and Communities and Towards Government by Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali, the Second Head of the Ahmadiyya Community As the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at-i-Islam, Lahore, is carrying on its work of the defence and propagation of Islam in different countries,
and its members are now met with in most of the countries where there is a Muslim population and its mission work is carried on either through such members or by establishing regular missions, and as the community and its missionaries are sometimes misrepresented and occasionally misunderstood, I have thought it necessary to add a few words to clear up our position and to explain our attitude towards other communities and sects with whom we
A Mosque, Dubai come in contact and towards the governments under which we live. Our relations with the followers of other religions are most peaceful, as we accept the religious teachers of all nations as holy men who were raised by God for the moral and spiritual regeneration of those nations. This is in accordance with the plain teachings of the Quran, which says, “There is not a nation but a warner has appeared in it” (35:24). It is true that the names of all the prophets are not mentioned in the Holy Quran, as it says, “And We did send apostles before thee: there are some of them that We have mentioned to thee, and there are others whom We have not mentioned” (40:78). The Holy Quran being so plain that warners were sent to every nation, every Muslim must respect the great religious founders of every nation, such as Zoroaster in Persia, Rama,
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3 Krishna and Buddha in India, Tao and Confucius in la ilaha ill-Allah Muhammad-ur-Rasul-Ullah enters China, as the prophets of those nations, besides the into the fold of Islam, and no one has the right to prophets whose names are expressly mentioned in expel from the great Islamic brotherhood any perthe Holy Quran, such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, son who is admitted into it under the authority of etc. This broad Quranic teaching, which the God and His Prophet. The strength of Islam lies in Ahmadiyya community has particularly emphaits union, and union between the different sects sized lays down the basis of peace and brothercan only be brought about if they learn to respect hood among the various nations of the world. each other's leaders and tolerate differences of Next to this I take our relations with the differopinion within the fold of Islam. ent sects of Islam. We equally revere all the comThe third point I wish to impress here is the panions of the Holy Prophet, all the saints that attitude of our community towards the Governhave apment of peared in the counI s l a m try in and all which our the Mumembers jaddids live. As that have our aim b e e n and object raised in is to rethe difmove the ferent misreprecenturies sentations of Hijra that prefor the v a i l regenagainst eration Islam and of the to invite Sheikh Zaid Mosque, Abu Dhabi Muslim men to people. We accept the look upon the different sects of Islam not as sects great Islamic truths which bring about peace and in the real sense of the word, but as so many contentment of mind and establish the brotherschools of thought, as they are all at one so far as hood of man, we do not interfere with political afthe essentials of religion are concerned. The bigfairs of the Government under which we live. We gest division of Islam is into Sunni and Shia, yet do not minimize the importance of political strugeven the Sunni and the Shia do not differ in the gles in the world, but as a body we keep aloof from essentials of religion; their basic difference is as to political struggles so that we may be able to conwhether Abu Bakr or Ali was the rightful successor centrate all our attention on the great religious of the Holy Prophet, which is more a difference of a object we have in view. As a natural sequence of political nature than a religious one. We hold Abu this attitude our members must be loyal to the Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali in equal reverence, as Government established by law in any country. they all did immense service to the cause of Islam They must be loyal to the Muslim Government if and led simple lives of saints while sitting on the they happen to be in a country where the Muslims throne of one of the greatest empires of the world. rule, and they must be loyal to a non-Muslim GovWe honour the Sunni saints as well as the Shia ernment if they are living under a non-Muslim Imams. Further, we deem it the gravest sin on the rule. They obey the laws of the State in which they part of any Muslim to call his brother Muslim a happen to be, and keep aloof from all agitations kafir, as every one who subscribes to the formula against that Government. They are loyal to the
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4 upholders of the cause of God and His Apostle Arab Government if they are in Arabia, to the only, the upholders of the cause of Islam and its Turkish Government if they are in Turkey, to the sacred book, the upholders of the cause of the Persian Government if they are in Persia, to the great Islamic brotherhood, which is spread Afghan Government if they are in Afghanistan, to throughout the whole world. the Egyptian Government if they are in Egypt, to the Italian Government if they are in Italy, to the French Government if they are in France, to the Women Companions of the German Government if they are in Germany, to Prophet Mohammad (s): the American Government if they are in America, and to the British Government if they are in Al-Rubayyi’ British Territory. But our loyalty and obedience to any government, whether Muslim or nonA Visit to the Bride Muslim, is subject to one condition only – la taata li makhluqin fi ma siyat-Illah, i.e., “No (from Nur i Islam, Canada, July 2012) obedience is due to any creature when it inImagine a bride receiving the head of the state volves disobedience to God.” In India where we or the king who knocks at her door the morning have our headquarters and where there are after her wedding night to offer his congratulamore members of our community than in any tions. I suppose she will feel over the moon on other country, we are loyal to the British Govreceiving such an honour. Yet Al-Rubayyi’ reernment, and while fully sympathising with the ceived a far more national movehonourable visitor, ment, keep aloof the Prophet, peace from the political be on him, himself agitation that is who came in and going on here, and sat with her people. concentrate our She reports: “Allah’s whole attention on Messenger came to religious propavisit us the mornganda. It is this ing after my wedfact, which is misding, and he sat on represented by this couch as you some enemies of are sitting now. We our movement, and had a few maids our community is who were playing reviled as though the tambourine and we were the agents chanting praises of of this or that Govmy relatives who ernment. We are were martyrs in the loyal to the GovernBattle of Badr. He ment under which listened to their we live, we obey its singing until one of laws, but we are them said: ‘Among not the agents of us is a prophet who any Government; knows what will we are not upholdhappen tomorrow’. ers of the cause of He said to her: ‘Do any worldly GovA Mosque, Putra, Malaysia not say this. Go back ernment. We are the
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5 to what you were saying earlier.’” (Al-Tirmidhi)
describing how he performed his ablution, mentioning that he washed every part three times. Perhaps we should explain here that the Al-Rubayyi’ followed in her father’s footProphet did not object to the maids singing, steps. She joined the Prophet’s army whenever playing the tambourine, or extolling the praises there was a campaign of Jihad. Her role, like the of Al-Rubayyi’s father and uncle. He only obwomen who joined jected when the the army, was to maid attributed to give support, nurshim something ing the wounded that belongs to and giving the solAllah only, which is diers water to knowledge of the drink. She reports: future. “We used to join Who was Althe Prophet on his Rubayyi’ then, and expeditions, to give why would the water to the fightProphet pay her ers, serve them, atsuch a visit? She tend to the wounded was the daughter and send them and of Mu’awwidh ibn the dead back to MaAfraa, a man from dinah.” (Al-Bukhari) the Ansar who, Al-Rubayyi’ was with his brother, keen to learn from mortally wounded the Prophet whatAbu Jahl during ever she could. She the Battle of Badr reported no less and he could no than 21 Hadiths; longer stand on his some of them are feet. He then was related by Alkilled by Abdullah Bukhari and Musibn Massoud. Both lim while the othbrothers were then ers are reported in killed in the battle. other authentic Perhaps because of anthologies of this, the Prophet Hadith. wanted to reassure Char Minar, Hyderabad, India her that he would continue to be her guardian. She must have felt elated by the Prophet’s visit, as it signified an honour any bride would dearly love to have. Indeed the Prophet continued to visit her. She might offer him a meal and he would willingly eat with her family. He accepted her gifts and was generous to her. She once brought the Prophet a plate of dates and a plate of grapes. The Prophet accepted her gift and gave her a piece of jewellery telling her to wear it. On one of his visits, he told her to pour water for him to do his ablution. She did and reported a Hadith
Few of the Prophet’s companions gave us detailed description of him. Among these were Ali ibn Abi Talib and Umm Maabad at whose tent the Prophet stopped on his journey when he migrated to Madinah. They would mostly give a general description. Both Abu Bakr and Umar describe him as the full moon giving light. A man asked Al-Rubayyi’ to describe the Prophet. She could only give a general description. She said: “Son, were you to see him, you would have almost seen the sun in its full splendour.” Al-Rubayyi’ died in year 37, during the reign
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6 of Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them).
“O you who believe, be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness for Allah, even though it be
Makki Masjid, Hyderabad, India One of the oldest mosques in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India – a listed heritage building in the old city of Hyderabad. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, commissioned bricks to be made from the soil brought from Makkah. The whole mosque is constructed from these bricks.
Justice by Shahid Aziz (Friday Khutba, 25th January 2008) “These are the messages of Allah which We recite to thee with truth. And Allah desires no injustice to (His) creatures.” (3:108) “Surely Allah commands you to make over trusts to those worthy of them, and that when you judge between people, you judge with justice. Surely Allah admonishes you with what is excellent. Surely Allah is ever Hearing, Seeing.” (4:58)
against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives – whether he be rich or poor, Allah has a better right over them both. So follow not (your) low desires, lest you deviate. And if you distort or turn away from truth, surely Allah is ever Aware of what you do.” (4:135) “O you who believe, be upright for Allah, bearers of witness with justice; and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably. Be just; that is nearer to observance of duty. And keep your duty to Allah. Surely Allah is Aware of what you do.” (5:8) In these verses Allah has emphasised the quality of justice. Hazrat Ali is reported to have said that a nation can survive everything except injustice.
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7 It is also said, though historical evidence for this is to be seen as yet, that during the darkest days of World War II, Churchill said that so long as British courts hand down just decisions there is no danger of Britain losing the War.
Christian magistrate who exonerated him. Similarly, when our beliefs were discussed, Christian judges declared them to be in line with Islam, but our own brothers displayed no spirit required of them by this verse.
Justice falls into two categories: first, the justice There is also the example of Hazrat Umar. A we see being done in the courts of law, and the Jew accused him of borrowing money and not other is the just returning it. distribution of the Hazrat Umar at resources of a the time was country. As for the the Khalifa and first, we have Head of State, many examples. It yet he was is said that when called to court the Holy Prophet of the local Qazi (s) punished the or magistrate to daughter of a answer the prominent and charge. Hazrat influential leader, Umar appeared people interceded before the Qazi on her behalf, saywithout coming that if his deplaint and excision was enplained that he forced, Muslims had repaid will lose the supthe loan. On The Quranic verse “taught with the pen” calligraphed port of this imporbeing asked in the shape of a pen tant tribe – to to provide which the Holy evidence he could only put forward his own son Prophet responded by saying that even if it had as a witness. But the Qazi refused to accept the evibeen his own daughter his decision would have dence of someone as great as Hazrat Umar’s son in been the same; for if we believe that Allah is the favour of his father. The Qazi gave a decision in the source of our strength, then we should not be conJew’s favour. Is there such an example in the cerned with losing the support of people of this Muslim world today? world when we do the right thing. What wonderful words did Hazrat Abu Bakr Look at 4:135, where Allah specifically warns speak on becoming the Khalifa: “If I obey Allah us against bearing false witness for our near and and His Prophet, support me, but if I go against dear, especially if they are rich or influential. It is their commands stop me.” He added that the our natural inclination to try and help our relatives, weak living under him are strong because they but if they are rich there is a special temptation, have his support and strength, and the strong because we may need their help or favour if we are are weak because he will not let the strong in trouble. usurp the rights of the weak. 5:8 lays down another great principle, which is that a Muslim is always to do justice even if it involves people that he hates. We see examples of this in non-Muslims, but not among our own brothers. When a false accusation of attempted assassination was made against the Promised Messiah it was a
This also leads to the concept of justice enshrined in equitable distribution of resources. But this is not to be restricted to government or official action only. We can do justice to our family, to our neighbours, to our colleagues and assistants. All of this is embodied in the Islamic
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8 concept of justice. Is it just that we go to bed with our stomach full, but our neighbour, whatever his religion, colour or creed, go to bed hungry? It is doing of justice which leads to building of a nation and to success. We do not need rules or laws to do justice to our family, neighbours and colleagues. We do not need rules to bear true witness, and I am proud that I have personal experience of members of this jamaat bearing true witness against their own children.
Ramadaan The Muslim month of fasting called Ramadaan starts on July 21st, 2012 C.E. and the ‘Id celebrations which mark its end will take place on Sunday, 19th August, 2012 C.E. Because Islam is a rational religion and does not require blind faith, Allah gives us the reasons in the Holy Quran for enjoining fasting upon the human race – “so that you may guard against evil”, it says. Fasting is for our own good because it helps us keep away from evil and sin. More than this, fasting, like all other Islamic institutions is meant to remove the superiority humans feel because of material possession. It levels that difference between them. When one cannot eat, regardless of whether one is rich or poor, there is no value in possessing riches and
wealth. Islam wants to teach humans the lesson that what matters is the richness of the soul and not the richness of the wallet. Material possessions are only outward signs of what you are. Remove them and see what you are really like. For when you fast you are required to be even more kind, considerate and polite than you may be otherwise. If you do not do so then you are not fasting in the Islamic sense, you are just going hungry. Fasting also makes a person realise how it feels not to have food or water. When one sees images of the hungry and the thirsty on TV, one is moved by their plight. People donate their hard-earned money to help those in such dire circumstances. How much greater will be the impact on a person if he could identify with the hunger and the thirst that these people are feeling! Fasting is to teach a Muslim that he is on the side of the poor, the needy and those in difficulties. But fasting is not a new institution. The Holy Quran tells us: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you…. So whoever does good spontaneously, it is better for them; and that you fast is better for you if you know.” (2:183–184) We invite all of you to come to us and see and hear for yourself that Islam stands for “I Shall Love All Mankind”.
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK) The first Islamic Mission in the UK, established 1913 as the Woking Muslim Mission Dar- us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, UK, HA0 4JQ Centre: 020 8903 2689 President: 020 8524 8212 Secretary: 01753 575313 E-mail: aaiiLahore@gmail.com Websites: www.aaiil.org/uk | www.ahmadiyya.org | www.virtualmosque.co.uk Donations: www.virtualmosque.co.uk/donations