February 2012
February 2012
Editors: Shahid Aziz Mustaq Ali
Contents:
Page
Announcements and News
1
The Promised Messiah speaks
2
The Second South Africa Case
4
Announcements and News Friday
Prayers Dars/speech
12:30 12:45
Sunday
01-01-2012
15:00
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) at the time stated above.
‍ا؏ؚ Ů’Ů?Ůˆ َن‏ Ů? ‍اŮ?Ů†ďą Ř§ Ů? Ů° ŮŽ ŮŽŮˆŘ§Ů?Ů†ďą Ř§Ř§Ů?Ů„ŮŽ Ů’ŮŠ Ů?Ű ŮŽŘąâ€Ź Friends who left us Mr Nasir Ahmad writes: “My dear Bro Akbar, Assalamo alaikum. I have just heard from Bro Khalid Iqbal of Woking and it was also on the Pakistan TV, that the senior journalist of Pakistan, Sheikh Ikramul Haque, son of late Sh. Abdul Haque, Manazir-i Islam and son-in-law of late Hazrat Maulana Abdur Rahman Misri, died in Madina while on pilgrimage. He lived in Rawalpindi. He was 80 years old. All the Jamaats are requested to offer janaza ghaibana for the deceased. With sincere prayers. Yours sincerely Nasir Ahmad. “We pray that Allah (swt) with His bountiful
mercy and graceful blessings grant the soul of Marhoom peace, solace and happiness in the Heaven of eternity and instil strength, patience and fortitude amongst the surviving family in their anguish and sorrow to bear the burden of such irreparable personal loss. Aameen.�
APPRECIATION OF THE LADIES OF AAIIL, SUVA, FIJI As Chairperson of Interfaith Search Fiji and further as representative delegate of the Muslims, I take this special opportunity to extend our most sincere thanks to the wonderful ladies of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Movement (AMWM), in taking up the initiative to prepare special food items for the Interfaith Search Fiji Gathering at the Masjid Noor Conference Centre. A valid point that some of the members remarked was that the meals (of wide variety) were so delicious, even without the inclusion of onions and garlic in all foods. The Hindus had double observance of fullmoon and moon eclipse last night and consuming food without onions and garlic was a necessary requirement. They were pleased; as a few braved and decided to come to the function and then went to their mandirs later. Many of the Christians were at retreat, 2 weeks before Christmas, but a few braved and came over. Thank you also for providing the necessary backup support so that the event was not all "just men" but ladies' participation also reflected in true practice the fundamental rights of women as both propagated and stressed upon in the Holy Qur'an at so many places. Thank you also for your Islam-prescriptive dressing, which brought about colourful distinctiveness and brightness to the event. I'm confident that Allah was very pleased with the kind gesture of you good ladies and He will reward you all in His best way. Ameen.
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2 Request for prayers From Mr Amir Aziz, Secretary General, the Centre: (1) “I just talked to Dr Tareen sahib's son who informed that Dr Tareen sahib got cardiac arrest and is admitted in the hospital for surgery. We request jammat members to pray that may Allah bless him with perfect health. Hazrat Ameer has asked all jammats members to pray for Dr Tareen's health and fast recovery. “Dr Tareen is most valuable and knowledgeable member of the Jammat who is rendering great services for the jammat. “May Allah shower His blessings on him and grant him Shifa e kamla for all times to come.” (2) “I sadly inform you that yesterday Mr Jamil ur Rehman, is an employee of Central Anjuman, also got heart problem and has been hospitalized. “We request jammat members to pray that may Allah bless him with perfect health. Hazrat Ameer has asked all jammats members to pray for Jamil ur Rehman sahib's health and fast recovery. Mr Jamil is father of Mr Hamid ur Rehman who is sub editor of Paighame Sulha. May Allah shower His blessings on him and grant him Shifa e kamla for all times to come.”
The Promised Messiah Speaks Example of the Holy Prophet (s) and his companions I have already stated that our Holy Prophet (s) did not ever first raise the sword against anyone, rather for a long period he was persecuted by the Polytheists and he exhibited such patience which is beyond any human. Similarly, his companions too adhered to the same highest principle and, as they were commanded to bear the persecution with patience, they exhibited the same sincerity and steadfastness and patience. They were trampled under the feet but they did not utter a word, their children were cut into pieces in front of them, they were tortured with fire and water but they restrained
from offering any resistance against their persecutors as if they were infants. Who can prove that anyone from among the followers of all other prophets of the world, in spite of possessing the ability to avenge, on hearing the Divine Command made themselves humble and abstained from confrontation as they did? Who has the proof of the fact that a community has ever passed in the world which, in spite of bravery, numerical and physical strength and power of confrontation as well as possessing all requisite courage and valour, patiently bore torture and painful persecution at the hands of bloodthirsty enemy for thirteen consecutive years. The patience of our Leader and Master (s) and his companions was not due to some helplessness. On the contrary, during this period of patience he and his devoted companions had the same mettle that they exhibited after the revelation of the permission relating to jihad when at times one thousand of their men defeated a strong army of a hundred thousand of their enemy. It happened so that people may know that the patience that was displayed by them against the bloodshed by their enemies in Makkah was not due to cowardice or weakness, but that they had laid down their weapons in obedience to the Divine Commandment and they made ready to be slaughtered like lambs. Undoubtedly, such patience is beyond the human power of endurance. If we study history of the whole world and all of the prophets we do not find any example of such high morals in any community or followers of any prophet. And if we hear of any instances of patience shown by some earlier people then circumstances pertaining thereto immediately bring it to mind that the reason for that patience really would have been cowardice or lack of ability to avenge. But when a community that actually possesses soldierly skills and a courageous and robust heart is persecuted and their children are murdered and they are wounded with lances and even then it chooses not to resist the evil, that was the masculine quality which was shown for thirteen years in an excellent manner by the Holy Prophet (s) and his companions in fulfilment of the Divine Commandment. This type of patience in which every moment one was facing great
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3 calamities and which was spread over thirteen years is in fact incomparable and unique in the annals of history of mankind. If someone doubts it then let him show us where such an example is traceable in the history of righteous persons of the yore. It is worth remembering that, at the time when this violence was being meted out to the companions of the Holy Prophet (s), the Holy Prophet (s) did not suggest any measures of avoiding it; using his own judgment instead he (s) repeatedly told them to bear the pain patiently. If someone pleaded some way of resistance, he (s) stopped him and said: “I have been commanded to be patient.� In brief, the Holy Prophet (s) always emphasized patience until the Divine Commandment for confrontation with arms was revealed. Now bring an example of this type of patience in the past and the later people. Then, if it is possible, bring a precedent from the people of Moses (as) or the disciples of Jesus Christ (as) and show it to us.
The Perfect Role Model ignored To summarize, when the Muslims have this example of patience, abstinence from wrongdoing and highest morals, which has superiority over all the people of the world, how stupid and unfortunate it is that this example has completely been ignored. Ignorant Muslim priests, may Allah give them guidance, have wholly deceived mankind and have declared this act (i.e. jihad), which is manifest injustice and cruelty and an affront to human morality, as the key to Paradise. Can it be a virtuous deed that a person about whom we know nothing, so much so that we do not even know his name, neither does he know us is, for example, going in the market deep in his thought and we open fire with a pistol to murder him. Is this piety? If this is a virtuous deed then undoubtedly ravenous beasts are superior in performance in doing such virtuous acts. God be praised, how righteous were those people and had the spirit of the prophets in them! When, in Makkah, God commanded them not to resist the evil-doers even though they are cut into pieces; on hearing this command they became humble and weak like infants as if neither their hands had any strength nor their arms have any power. Some of them were killed in this way that
their legs were firmly tied to the legs of two camels which were made to stand side by side. Then these camels were made to run in different directions tearing them, in one minute, like a carrot or a radish is cut into pieces. It is regrettable that Muslims, especially Muslim priests, have forgotten these events. Now they consider the whole world as their prey. The condition of the majority of the Muslims today is like a hunter who, after locating a deer in the forest, walks stealthily towards it and finding an opportunity opens fire from his gun on it. The same is the condition of these Muslim priests. They have not learnt even a word from the lesson of human sympathy. Rather, opening fire with a pistol or gun on an unmindful person for no fault of his is considered a religious act. Where are such persons among them who will undergo persecution and suffer torture like the companions (r) of the Holy Prophet (s) but remain patient? Has God commanded us to cut to pieces with a knife or kill with gunfire, at random, a person who knows us not, nor we know him, without proof of any crime, finding him not on his guard? Can such a religion be from God that teaches just to go on murdering sinless innocent people without any preaching and you will enter Paradise? It is a matter of great regret and shame that we may open fire on a person with whom we have no previous enmity, rather we do not know him, while he is busy purchasing something from a shop for his children or is busy in some other lawful errand without any reason or concern and in a moment render his wife a widow and his children orphans and turn his home into a place of mourning. In which hadith or verse of Quran is it so written? Is there any respected Muslim priest who will provide us with answer to this question of ours? Ignorant ones have heard the word jihad and then using it as an excuse, they have sought to fulfill their selfish desires or they shed blood out of lunacy. We have already written that when at the time of the Holy Prophet (s), Islam raised the sword under Divine Commandment, it was raised when many Muslims had been laid in the graves by the enemy’s sword. Finally, Divine Honour desired that those who kill with sword be killed with swords too. God is very generous, merciful and
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4 forbearing but at the end He is covetous about His righteous persons. I am amazed that, when no one is murdering Muslims in this era for their religion, then under what commandment do they choose to murder innocent people? Why do their priests not stop them from committing these unlawful acts, which bring Islam into disrepute? Can someone determine how much peace the Muslims are now enjoying under this British Government? Many persons such as those who have seen something of the Sikh rule would still be alive. Let them say what the condition of the Muslims was during the Sikh reign. An obligatory practice of Islam, which is the call to prayer, was declared a form of a crime. Who could dare call Azan in a loud voice and remain safe from the spears and lances of the Sikhs. Then what wrong did God commit that He rid Muslims of the unjust coercion practiced by the Sikhs and brought them under the peaceful British Government. And with the advent of this Government, it was as if Muslims of the Punjab embraced Islam anew. Since return for favour is favour, therefore, it is not fitting that we reject this Divine Blessing, which we have received in replacement of the Sikh rule after thousands of prayers. (Continued from the last issue)
The Second South Africa Case Some Memories of events in 1987 Shahid Aziz
Hafiz Maulana Sher Muhammad, Shabir, Shahid Aziz and the typist - translation and typing during the case Sheikh Jasseim v Sheikh Nazim and the MJC.
I just want to relate some incidents, which happened during the course of the hearings.
Attack and counter-attack : Towards the end of the hearing one day, I translated something and suddenly all hell broke loose. One guy from the opposition benches leapt up and started whispering in their barrister’s ear, who stood up and objected to my translation. The proceedings were being taped. So the tape was played back and he gave his translation. The following morning I met the opposing barrister in the corridor and Sheikh Jasseim, a Sunni who asked him fought for the principle that eveabout the fuss ryone who recites the kalima is and he told me a Muslim and Hafiz Maulana to forget it. It Sher Muhammad, the expert was a storm in witness who defended the Laa tea cup. And hore-Ahmadiyya beliefs. as the hearing proceeded I got the impression that he had more respect for us than for his own clients. The hearing started and Mr De Villiers asked Hafiz sahib a question and I remained silent. He looked at me, as did the judge. The judge then asked me if I heard the question and I responded that the previous day there had been such fuss about my interpretation and yet the learned gentlemen on the opposite side constantly talk during the proceedings. I said that I would not interpret unless there is absolute silence in the court. I noticed Mr De Villiers smile and the judge hiding her smile as she told them to be absolutely quiet or she will expel them
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5 from the court.
Our opponents bad behavior : At break times the judge would give instructions about time when the hearing will resume. Both parties were always late and one day we arrived to find the judge waiting. After that Mr De Villiers would make sure that we arrived a few minutes before the time given by the judge. But this had no affect on our opponents. One day we arrived the other barrister was there and the judge came in and the hearing started. About ten minutes later there was a lot of noise from outside and eventually a court bailiff came and whispered in the other barristers’ ear that his expert witnesses wanted to see him outside. He asked the judge’s permission and she said that she had instructed that if they are late they are not to be allowed in as it disturbs the proceedings and shows disrespect to the court. She allowed them in and told them that if they are late again they will not be allowed to enter. One more thing worth mentioning is that, as you know, when a judge comes in the whole court stands. In accordance with the custom we would but our opposition would not stand. The judge had to tell them that next time they remained sitting when she entered they would be arrested for contempt of court. After that they started making half-hearted attempts to stand when the judge entered the room.
Our opponents’ idea of service to Islam is falsification of documents : At first we used books printed in Pakistan to support our case. However, as the case progressed we found these books had been edited to take out “incorrect material”, as someone put it. To make sure they had not been tampered with. We had to get the same books from India . I remember two incidents in particular. One was a book by Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah and the other was a book of hadith. I had translated a hadith and as I went to copy the edition from Pakistan Hafiz sahib asked me to check the hadith given in the book. I laughed and said, “Hafiz sahib, these are words of the Holy Prophet (s); who will tamper with them! But as I checked the
words, to my horror I found that the words we used to support our case had been removed from the Pakistan edition and were present in the edition from India. It seems that even the Holy Prophet’s words needed correction by our Sunni friends in Pakistan! We never managed to get to South Africa the book by Hazrat Shah Wali Ullah with the complete reference.
Our lack of knowledge : Another problem that we faced was that Hazrat sahib had answered some Christian padres who used abusive language against the Holy Prophet Muhammad, in harsh words. And
Mr De Villiers (counsel for Sheikh Jasseim - back to camera), Hafiz Sher Muhammad, Seikh Jasseim (standing), Masud Akhtar, Rishad Khan, Shahid Aziz.
the maulvis kept bringing these up and presenting them to the court. Hazrat Mirza sahib had said that he had taken all these thing from the Old and the New Testaments. However, being cautious, Mr De Villiers added “or Jewish literature” to these words. As we sat looking for these references from the Testaments one night at about two in the morning Hafiz sahib stood up, smashed the Bible against the wall and said: “Why didn’t God tell Hazrat sahib this as well that coming generations of the jamaat will not have the same knowledge and put in references as well?” Eventually, we found every single incident about Jesus that Hazrat Mirza sahib had written in the Testaments. I have to thank that great warrior of our jamaat and the great man Ismail Peck who was almost a hafiz of the Bible. Without his help we would not have been able to
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6 find all the reference. The judge, a devout Roman Catholic, was astonished. She said that she had read the Bible all her life but didn’t know these references existed. She went on to add that she did not interpret them in the same way as Hazrat sahib. We responded that that was the point Hazrat sahib was making, that Christian padres wrongly interpreted the incidents from the life of the Holy Prophet (s) to give them a wrong meaning and if they could do that so could we.
The judge benefits from the Promised Messiah’s writings :
over to me and asked me what was the verse I had recited. I gave him the reference and told him that if the case has made just one maulvi want to seek the truth all the money spent on it would have been worthwhile. He responded by saying that was not why he wanted to see the reference. “Allama sahib had made many mistakes in the Holy Quran and when we find them we correct them”, said he. I asked him whether they actually tell people that they have changed what Allama wrote but he said there was no need!
It is interesting that at a private party she commented to Mr De Villiers that she had greatly benefited from Hazrat sahib’s writings. Although a Roman Catholic, she had never believed that Jesus was the son of God; it was Hazrat Sahib’s writing which showed her what Jesus meant by saying he was the son of God.
Jesus’ father : Our opponents kept twisting and turning their case. If, for example, they were told that Hazrat Sahib believed Jesus was born of Immaculate Conception so at least on this point they should accept him as a Muslim. They would say, “But Lahori Ahamdis believe that Jesus had a father, so they are still not Muslims.” Mr De Villiers was very worried about this. Hafiz sahib would say find me an English translation of the Holy Quran by Adbullah Yusuf Ali and it will take me one minute. Suddenly, all copies of this translation disappear from South Africa! I had noticed a copy on the opposing barrister’s table. So I asked Mr De Villiers to ask Hafiz sahib a question about birth of Jesus in open court. I asked Hafiz sahib to point to the copy of Yusuf Ali’s translation on the table in front of our opponent’s barrister and ask for it. And this was what we did. Hafiz sahib gave me the chapter and verse to look up which I did. It is the verse of the Holy Quran where, after giving a list of prophets ending with Jesus, it is said, “and We guided their fathers and their children.” So Hafiz sahib said, “There you are, it shows that Jesus had a father. During the break a Maulana ran
Mr De Villiers, Counsel for Sheikh Jasseim
Partial superiority explained : One thing that worried us was the concept of partial superiority. We would ask Mr De Villiers for time to explain this and he would just say don’t bother, I will explain it in one minute. And that he did. He asked Prof Ghazi whether Jesus knew Latin, English and Afrikaans. Ghazi replied in the negative. He then asked whether Jesus had studied the law and represented his country before the International Court. Again Ghazi said no. “Well then professor,” said Mr De Villiers, “in
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7 this respect I am superior to Jesus “.
Prof Ghazi.
Ghazi’s use of Hazrat Maulana Muham-
Khurshid Ahmad runs away :
mad Ali’s translation:
After Prof Ghazi’s evidence came to an end the opposition’s next witness was Professor Khurshid Ahmad, a high-ranking official of the Jamaat I Islami and a member of the Senate in Pakistan. On the day he was to start giving evidence the court was asked for an adjournment because Prof Khurshid Ahmad had been recalled to Pakistan by General Zia for important consultations. The hearing was adjourned for many months to give the Professor time to return but he has never returned to South Africa. However, on arriving in Pakistan, when asked why he had returned while the case was still
During the proceeding the judge had in front of her four translations of the Holy Quran. One of these was by Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali. She picked up on the fact that Prof Ghazi always used Hazrat Maulana’s English translation when discussing a verse of the Quran. She asked him the reason for this and he said because Hazrat Maulana’s translation was the best and the closest to Arabic. This must have annoyed the opposition and the following day Prof Ghazi asked to be allowed add to his statement of the previous day. He said that many non-Muslims had done great service to Islam, as well. Mr De Villiers then asked the Prof to name one and of course he could not.
Quran says Jesus is dead: Another interesting incident relates to the argument about death of Jesus and the Prof conceded that according to the Holy Quran Jesus was dead. Again, this caused much consternation in the opposition and it was reported that Prof Ghazi had become angry and asked the other maulvis why they don’t appear in the witness stand.
Gen Zia’s offer:
Boarding card for outbound flight to Cape Town, 16 July 1987
One day the court reader whispered to us: “pray a lot”. This puzzled us but initially she would not explain further. Eventually, she told us that President Zia ul Haq had made an offer to the President of South Africa that if the court decides that Ahmadis are non-Muslims he will use his influence in the Muslim world to get South Africa recognition and the South African President had asked for a transcript of the case. This shows what little confidence our opponents had in their case.
continuing, he gave statements that he has returned after finishing his task. Our Centre challenged this but the Prof never responded to the challenge. Later he made further erroneous statements about Ahmadis losing the case and these were challenged by Dr Zahid Aziz in letters to the Prof and to the Jamaat I Islami’s magazine where these statements appeared. Prof Khurshid Ahmad never replied and the magazine never printed Dr Aziz’s rejoinder.
Who is the most stupid maulvi?
My return and Nauman’s kindness :
As the case proceeded, Mr De Villiers constantly asked this question. Eventually, we asked him what he meant by that. He laughed and said the maulvi who presents himself as a witness to give evidence in the court after Hafiz Sher Muhammad’s will be the most stupid maulvi because he will tear him to pieces and so it happened to poor
I had taken four weeks’ leave from my job to go to South Africa and my leave came to an end half way through Hafiz Maulana Sher Muhammad’s evidence. Rishad kindly offered to get a court order barring me from leaving South Africa so that I could send it to BT and get leave without pay. And Nauman called and offered to
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8 pay my salary so that my family would not suffer. I rang my wife and discussed the matter with her. Riffat said that if I was needed by the jamaat I should stay but she would not accept any money from Nauman as she regarded it as charity and said she would rather starve. I talked to Choudhry Masud Akhtar who advised that as most of the translation work was now complete and now only interpretation in court is required, he could manage and that there was no point in everyone losing their livelihood. I declined Nauman’s kind offer and with much regret returned to the UK.
bit sad. At first he didn’t say anything but then in a soft voice he said it was my father’s funeral yesterday. I said how sorry I was and hoped that everything went OK. Suddenly, tears started running down his face. I wasn’t allowed to attend. I am the only Ahmadi in the whole family and they didn’t want me there. After everyone had gone I went to his grave to say a prayer. And yet the following day he was back in court because the jamaat needed him!
Remember them all We should remember that Mr Masud Akthar Choudhry closed down his business to go and translate and interpret for Hafiz Sher Muhammad and that, although he was paid for this case, Rishad Khan, who practiced as a sole legal practitioner, had to close down his legal practice, to concentrate on the case and because of the difficulties his involvement in the case was causing with his clients.
And most of all . . . At the end I want to describe an incident, which shows that if you are sincere and want to help, you can do so regardless of your station in life, or how much you know. I noticed that there was one person from our jamaat in South Africa who turned up at the hearing every day. He would sit and listen. Every now and then Rishad would give him something to photocopy or something else to do like bring a cup of tea for Hafiz sahib and he would quietly go and do it. One day I did not see him and I thought that perhaps he has had enough. However, he was back the following day. I went up to ask him the reason for his absence and noticed that he looked a
Lahori-Ahmadis, threatened with death, under armed guard. The person mentioned in this paragraph is the brother at the back .
Say not of those who die in Allah’s way that they are dead. They are not dead, they are alive.
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore (UK) The first Islamic Mission in the U.K. 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: aaiil.uk@gmail.com Websites: www.aaiil.org/uk | www.ahmadiyya.org | www.virtualmosque.co.uk Donations: www.virtualmosque.co.uk/donations