SIGNIFICANCE OF SERVICE TO ISLAM Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II and Musleh-e-Maud, may Allah be pleased with him During his Khilafat, Hazrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once went to Mecca for Hajj. When he had completed the pilgrimage, just as is customary among us to congratulate one another on Eid, one day, powerful chieftains came to congratulate him and convey their Salam. Hazrat Umarra was seated in a relatively small room. Huge halls did not exist at that time that could seat vast amounts of people. With only a few people, such rooms would get filled up. Hazrat Umarra belonged to a family that were experts in remembering ancestries and who were able to distinguish the families people belonged to. At the time, chieftains belonging to the progeny of the disbelievers of Mecca came to visit him. They came with the belief that as Hazrat Umarra was familiar with their lineages and how respected their fathers and grandfathers
were, they would be afforded special treatment as compared with other visitors. Thus, Hazrat Umarra extended due respect to them, sat them beside him and spoke to them on various matters. After some time, a new Muslim servant arrived. Hazrat Umarra asked the chieftains to move down and make room for the person who had just arrived. They moved back and Hazrat Umarra sat the servant down beside him. Hazrat Umarra then began to talk to him. After a short period, another new Muslim servant came and Hazrat Umarra again asked everyone to move back and make space for him. When that person sat down, a third new Muslim servant came, followed by a fourth, then a fifth and in this manner, seven new Muslim servants came and sat down. On the arrival of every such new Muslim, Hazrat Umarra would ask everyone to
ISMAEL JAN-MAR 2020
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