Meekness and Humility

was also well known in the higher ranks that Mr. Kahlo was an extremely honest paramount Chief; neither would he take bribe nor he would permit his staff to do so.

When he fell ill I went to visit him one day. He called me and said: ‘Yunus, I constantly see kalimah written in green letters in front of me, what is the reason for this?’ I replied: ‘Chief, this is the outcome of your fervent love of Allah the Almighty and for the Holy Prophetsa.’ I continued to visit him for two months and he repeatedly said that he constantly had the kalimah in green letters in front of his eyes. When he was admitted to the hospital and was breathing his last, an Ahmadi friend Mr. Koji held him by the arm and said Chief, say:103

which he repeated. Next Mr. Koji said:104

which he also repeated and right then he breathed his last.

The seventh condition of bai‘at also entails that one would adopt humbleness, cheerfulness and meekness, etc. Those who believe in the Prophets are predominantly those who are mild-mannered. Even if they are not so well-off financially, they possess greater capacity than the affluent to spend their wealth. In fact they do not shy away even if they have to sacri-

103.There is none worthy of worship except Allah. 104.Muhammadsa is His messenger.

fice their lives. They never boast or convey arrogance and haughtiness. They are most humble and meek to one and all and establish high standards of humility and modesty. The essence of success of the divinely raised communities is that the more the humble and meek people demonstrate excellent examples of submission, the greater is the pace of their progress. As I said earlier such are the people who believe in Prophets.

When such hearts come in contact with Prophets they are polished even more. If those who are humble have to give up their place for others, and to sit in an inferior place, they would prefer it. However, the ones who are divinely appointed have the insight to identify them. To reward such humbleness and in order to educate their community that among them the meek and the humble have the greatest status, they remove such people from the lowly place and give them the honour to sit next to them and at meal times they ask them over and offer them food from their own plates. Prophets value them in this way because it is due to their humbleness that they come into faith quickly and completely adhere to the religious teachings.

The Promised Messiahas said:

The poor are not arrogant and accept the truth with complete humility. I tell you the truth there are very few among the wealthy who could acquire even a little of the grace that the poor acquire perfectly. (Izala-e-’Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 537)

This is the reason why he declared humility a condition to join the Community, so that one could properly understand

religion and act on it. How did these changes come about, I shall now present some examples.

Hadrat Sayyed Sarwar Shahra was an excellent scholar who belonged to a well-to-do family. In spite of this, his purity, humility and simplicity were exemplary. As soon as he associated with the Promised Messiahas and took on his obedience, he eradicated all worldly desires from his heart. During his employment at Madrassah Ahmadiyyah he spent the entire tenure in a small house which in fact was not even worthy of a peon to live. Once he had forsaken the entire world in submission to the cause of the Promised Messiahas, the question of material comforts simply did not arise. (Ashab-e-

Ahmad, vol. 5, part III, p. 9, published in 1964)

Here is another example of humility, and it is that of Hadrat Maulavi Burhan-ud-Din ra .

Once he came to see Hudur and God knows what thoughts came to his mind that he started weeping. Hudur asked him most affectionately if all was well. He replied (detailing the various saints and holy men he had been to in his search): ‘I first became a Kothi (belonged to Kothay Wala Pir), then a Baoli (associated with Baoli Sahib), then a Ghazni (becoming a follower of Maulavi ‘Abdullah Ghaznavi), and now a Mirzai. However, the pity is that I have reached his old-age, but still I feel that I am an ignoramus.’ (This was his humility). On hearing this, Hudur was most affectionate, and consoling Maulavi Sahib, said: ‘Maulavi Sahib do not be so perturbed; you have reached your destiny. Now there is no need to worry.’ This eventually calmed him down. (Monthly Ansarullah, Rabwah, September 1977, p. 14)

The Promised Messiahas writes:

Sayyed Fadl Shah of Lahore (whom I love for the sake of Allah the Almighty) originally from the state of Jammu, is extremely pure-hearted and is full of love and sincerity. He possesses the light of perfect faith and is ever-ready to offer his life and wealth. This is so because he is respectful and trusting in good faith in a wonderfully humble way. From the depth of his heart he has a true, pure and perfect faith in this humble one and maintains association and love with me for the sake of Allah the Almighty to a high degree. Attribute of sincerity and loyalty is most clearly prominent in him. His brother Nasir Shah also has a connection through bai‘at with this humble one, and his uncle Munshi Karam Ilahi too is a sincere friend of my humble being. (Izala-e’Auham, p. 798, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 532)

The Promised Messiahas also writes:

Munshi Rustam ‘Ali, Deputy Inspector Railway Police (whom I love for the sake of Allah the Almighty) is a righteous young man who is most sincere and is my friend of the first order. [In our countries the police department is most notorious, and this is appreciated when viewed with this background.] His very face exhibits signs of humility, selflessness and sincerity. I have never seen this friend shaken at the time of any tribulation. From the day that he has been inclined to me with sincerity, there has been no decline and reserve in this sincerity, rather it is growing day by day. [That is, its growth is towards advancement.] (Izala-e-’Auham, pp. 806–807, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 536)