The Review of Religions (Urdu), July & August 1920
Gujranwala
Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Sahib Rajeki has gone to Gujranwala district on a [tabligh] tour.
Patiala
Maulvi Muhammad Ibrahim Sahib Baqapuri is on a [tabligh] tour in [Patiala] region. (He has been sent to visit various places in the state of Patiala. He has been instructed to especially visit the villages of non-Ahmadis.)
Kapurthala
Hafiz Jamal Ahmad Sahib and Sheikh Chiragh Din Sahib are going to attend a Jalsa gathering at Sultanpur, in the state of Kapurthala. (Speeches of both the gentlemen were held there and it has been reported that they had a positive impact on the audience.)
Kasur
The boycott in Kasur is slowing down. All praise belongs to Allah, that the sufferings of the Ahmadis are diminishing day by day. May Allah grant the best of rewards to [Kasur] Jamaat for showing exceptional sincerity and steadfastness, Amin! (Maulvi Jalaluddin Sahib, missionary to Firozpur, is on a [tabligh] tour in Tehsil Kasur.)
Shimla
Since the classes of missionaries are closed due to summer vacation, Hafiz Roshan Ali Sahib, as per the wish of Khan Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib of Malerkotla (who now resides in Shimla), has gone to Shimla [for tabligh].
Hyderabad
Hakim Khalil Ahmad Sahib (missionary to Madras) is currently residing in Hyderabad Deccan. By the grace of God, his wound has now healed.
Bengal
Maulvi Zillur Rahman Sahib is currently visiting some districts of Bengal. It has been reported that two persons have accepted Ahmadiyyat, alhamdolillah! Maulvi Abdul Wahid Sahib is engaged in tabligh in Brahmanbaria.
Baghdad and Iraq
Muhammad Khawas Khan Sahib Ahmadi, Secretary Anjuman Ahmadiyya Baghdad and Iraq informs in his recent letters that since Chaudhry Maula Bakhsh Sahib IMDS (station master), has gone to India, Syed Fateh Ali Shah Sahib (former secretary), has been appointed as the president and in his place, Muhammad Khawas Khan Sahib Ahmadi has been appointed as the secretary. Babu Barkat Ali Sahib is performing the duty of muhasib [auditor] as usual. The amount of 1,115 rupees which was collected by the Jamaat there for inviting the missionary has been sent here. For Baghdad, Master Nazir Khan Sahib Munshi Fazil and Maulvi Abu Bakar Sahib Malabari, graduates of Ahmadiyya Madrasa, have been recommended. They have applied for passports. They will depart immediately aft er receiving their passports, insha-Allah. The [Baghdad and Iraq] Jamaat has sent 314 rupees for the mosque fund. They are still drawing the attention [of members towards this Chanda].
Nigeria
Maulvi Mubarak Ali Sahib BA BT (headmaster), Chittagong, who has devoted his life for the service of Islam, is preparing to go to Nigeria. He has applied for a passport. He has been granted leave. He will departed from here in August 1920, insha-Allah. Members of the Jamaat may know that no Ahmadi has visited this country before. A great Jamaat has been established there only through books and letters. Japan Mian Chirag Din Sahib, who has been pursuing religious studies in Darul Aman, [Qadian], for a long time and has devoted himself to the service of Islam is preparing to go to Japan as per the desire and instructions of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih. He has applied for a passport.
China
Hakim Fazl-ur-Rahman Sahib was also engaged in acquiring knowledge from a long time. He has also devoted his life to religion. Now, he is preparing to go to China under the guidance of Hazrat Khalift ul Masih. He has applied for a passport. The passport will be ready soon, insha-Allah!
Greece
Chaudhry Abul Asim Khan Sahib, younger brother of Chaudhry Abul Hashim Khan Sahib MA and Mumtaz Ali Khan Sahib, son of Khan Zulfiqar Ali Khan Sahib Rampuri, are preparing to go to Greece. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih wants us to carry out tabligh to the Muslims who have been held under the Christians in Thrace and to persuade them towards Ahmadiyyat.
All the said gentlemen, preparing to go to Nigeria, China, Japan and Greece, will go there and make their own living. They will convey the message of truth to the people there. May Allah Almighty help them and bless their work. Amin!
The Islamic situation and a timely advice to Muhammadans
The Review of Religions (English), August & September 1920
The Great War has brought about striking changes in this world. Nothing, however, has undergone such a radical change as the Muslim world. The Turkish Empire, which was the strongest of all the Muslim States, whether independent or dependent, has had a most unfortunate ending and has practically been obliterated from the map after a brilliant and glorious history of above 467 years.
Arabia, which is said to have long suffered at the cruel hands of the co-believing Turk, has been recognised as independent by the Great Peace Conference. But it remains to be seen whether the Arabs prove themselves worthy of their trust or degenerate into a lawless congeries of tribes.
Persia, a Shiah Kingdom, is already badly off and a single Bolshevik stroke will suffice to despatch her.
Afghanistan, notwithstanding the fact that she has acquired freedom in her foreign relations, is within easy reach of the Bolsheviks and is a tempting morsel for the Soviet.
Tunis and Morocco have finally passed into the French hands.
As a matter of fact, a shadow of death has swept over all the Muslim countries, and for all practical purposes they have all been reduced to mere nothings. Partial was the destruction of the Muslim power, when Baghdad was sacked by the Turks, but how complete is now the ruin, when Turkey has been destroyed.
The Muslim power has been rapidly waning during the last 150 years and the Muslim countries have been dropping out one by one, from the list. In fact, so complete is the ruin that a non-believer may well rejoice in the political downfall of Islam.
But does Islam consist in politics and political ascendancy? The question is a stiff one. In fact, so close has been the relation for the last thirteen centuries between the political and spiritual sides of Islam that it is well-nigh impossible to separate the one from the other. With the exception of a small period of 13 years, when the newly born faith was still in the cradle, even the early history of Islam is the history of an Islamic republic established at Medina under the lifelong presidency of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him and his Caliphs. Nor has political power been denied to the Muslim in the Holy Quran and one may find a number of Quranic verses pertaining to the same.
Indeed all the rich lands lying to the north, east and west of the desert of Arabia were promised to the Muslim, and the Muslim occupation of them down to our own days, bears witness to the fulfilment of the great promise. But with all this, it must be admitted that Islam is not wholly a political creed and can exist without political power.
Worldly power is only an additional gift granted to Mussalmans but not a component factor of the faith itself. We read in the Holy Quran:
وَ اِذۡ قَالَ مُوۡسٰی لِقَوۡمِہٖ یٰقَوۡمِ اذۡکُرُوۡا نِعۡمَۃَ اللّٰہِ عَلَیۡکُمۡ اِذۡ جَعَلَ فِیۡکُمۡ اَنۡۢبِیَآءَ وَ جَعَلَکُمۡ مُّلُوۡکًا٭ۖ وَّ اٰتٰٮکُمۡ مَّا لَمۡ یُؤۡتِ اَحَدًا مِّنَ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ
“When Moses said to his people, O my people! remember the favours of God showered upon you in that he raised prophets among you and made you kings, and gave you what was not given to any in the worlds.”
The greatest blessings God bestows upon a nation in the world is, first, prophethood and then, dominion. And blessed is the nation that enjoys them both. The Almighty God was pleased to bestow both of these blessings upon the children of Israel and in a far greater degree also upon the Muslims.
But how regrettable it is that Mussalmans ceasing to remain as such have forfeited the possession of vast empires and their power now consists only in petty States always at the mercy of the Christian nations. Considering, then, the fundamental principles, political power is a matter of secondary importance in Islam and as such, can well be absent for a time, although it is true that it cannot permanently be denied to the followers of Muhammad, peace be upon him. Islam is a religion of the conscience and establishes the relation between the Creator and His creatures. This was true as well in the beginning, when it had no political power, as it is true now, when little worldly power is left to it.
But nevertheless it is making fresh conquests even in the most civilized countries of the world – England and America. In the land of the black man its progress is greater still. Islam having received fresh impetus from Qadian (Punjab, India) has its mission established in different parts of the world and its rapid progress in India, Ceylon, Mauritius, Egypt and England is a hopeful sign of its future ascendancy. It is sure once more to prevail in the world agreeably to the promise held out in the verse:
اِنَّا نَحۡنُ نَزَّلۡنَا الذِّکۡرَ وَ اِنَّا لَہٗ لَحٰفِظُوۡنَ
“Verily, We revealed this remembrancer and We shall be its preserver.”
So there is little cause for anxiety. If the Muhammadans have lost their worldly power through their misdeeds, let them not break their hearts over the loss but gather under the leadership of Ahmad of Qadian, who has come for the regeneration of Islam in these days of its trial. Their only hope of salvation lies in their acceptance of him – the messenger of God. Reformed and reformers, they can well aspire to regain the same loft y position held by the companions of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him.
Vain in their case are associations, conferences and deputations. Let them follow the path chalked out for them by the Holy Quran, rather than wait upon ministers and kings praying for the preservation of their political status, the sanctity of their holy places and the honour of their Caliphate. The Almighty says:
کَتَبَ اللّٰہُ لَاَغۡلِبَنَّ اَنَا وَ رُسُلِیۡ
It is decreed that I shall be victorious and my prophets. A Prophet has appeared on the earth and the cause he upholds cannot but prove victorious over its rivals. So true wisdom lies in casting our lot with him and his mission. Hearken, therefore, ye Muslims of the world! God has come down upon the earth with mighty signs in support of his servant. The heaven and the earth have borne witness to the truth of His messenger, and the sun and moon were darkened for his sake. Will ye believe and accept him? He called you to God’s true path throughout the whole of his life but you listened not to him.
It is high time, now, that you give him your ears. You have had the bitter experience of losing your worldly power of which you were so proud. Does not the Holy Quran teach you the truth that it is always the Prophet and his followers who are victorious and his opponents who are vanquished? Did not Moses, Jesus and our Holy Prophet, peace be upon them all, every one of them ultimately prove victorious over their enemies? Again a Jesus has come to you. Come forward as his helpers and bring not upon yourselves the curse as did the Jews, by refusing to accept him.
(Ali Muhammad)