Al Fazl, 14 and 28 March 1921
Malerkotla
On his way from Lahore to Malerkotla, some friends met Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] at the Amritsar station. The Ludhiana Jamaat was present at the station and they arranged for the evening feast as well. A lavish meal was served in the waiting room. Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib and his son, Maulana Saqib Sahib along with his sons, and Mansab Ali Khan Sahib as well as other members of the Jamaat were also present at Malerkotla station. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih reached Sherwani Kot by motor car.
On 9 March 1921, the lecture of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] was announced by the secretary of Anjuman Ahmadiyya Malerkotla. The city house of Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan was suggested as the Jalsa Gah. A delegation of three men went to the Afghans of Malerkotla and met them individually to join the lecture. Every effort was made by the opponent maulvis to ensure that no one participated in the sermon. The agents of maulvis went to every house, neighbourhood and mosque, to make sure that nobody attended this sermon. However, the gathering exceeded our expectations. As Malerkotla is basically a lifeless city for various reasons and the public there is in a very poor state, around 150 Ahmadis came from Patiala, Nabha, Sangrur, Ludhiana and surrounding areas [to attend the jalsa]. Most of the people of Malerkotla who were present at the gathering happened to be Hindus.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih led Maghrib and Isha prayers combined in the Ahmadiyya Mosque. Thereafter, the meeting started. In order to formalise the proceedings of the jalsa, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib recommended the name of Khan Muhammad Ehsan Ali Khan Sahib Raees of Malerkotla, as the president, which was seconded by Maulana Muhammad Nawab Khan Sahib Saqib. The president [of the gathering] said:
“Friends! As it has been announced before, the Honourable Mian Sahib, leader of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, will address you. The subject of his speech will be The Truth of Islam. The proceedings will start with a recitation of the Holy Quran followed by a poem. Then, there will be a speech. Those people who have something to ask about it can visit Sherwani Kot tomorrow morning and get all the information.”
After the president took his seat, Maulana Hafiz Roshan Ali Sahib recited the first section of Surah Bani Israil. Thereafter, he said that the president had told [the gathering] that those friends who had something to ask could come to Sherwani Kot tomorrow morning and ask about it. However, many people might not be able to get there because of the long distance. Therefore, with the permission of Hazrat Sahib[ra], I want to add this much to the statement of the president that those friends who can get to the said place should meet over there, but for the convenience of those who cannot go there, Hazrat Sahib[ra] has given an hour and a half in such a way that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih will come here at one o’clock and meet [the friends] till half past one.
Then, Baba Fazal Karim Sahib presented the following poem of the Promised Messiahas:
كس قدر ظاہر ہے نور اس مبدء الانوار كا
[An extraordinary light is being manifested from that Spring-Head of Lights.]
The speech of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih started at quarter to eight. He recited the fifth ruku of Surah al-Nur from beginning to end and explained as to why there are differences among all the religions. Huzoor[ra] said:
“The differences start from the concept of existence of God and extend to all other matters of faith and practices. The followers of one religion consider their religion to be true and call others false. People did not ponder over religion. Everyone is a follower of any religion because he has heard from his parents that he is a Hindu or a Muslim. This is what people fight for but do not try and understand their own religion.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] further said, “Islam also claims to be true and proves it.”
In this regard, Huzoor[ra] narrated the remarkable works of the Holy Prophetsa and compared Mr Gandhi with him. Huzoor[ra] then described the present condition of Muslims.
Thereafter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih brought up a question that “can Muslims be proved true according to the principles of the Holy Quran?” At this juncture, Huzoor[ra] presented the truth of the Promised Messiahas and said:
“There are only two ways for Muslims according to the principles mentioned in the Holy Quran. The first is to believe in him [the Promised Messiahas] and establish the truth of the Holy Quran. Apart from Hazrat Mirza Sahibas, they have nothing to substantiate the authenticity of Islam.”
The last part of the speech was full of passion and concern. The speech lasted for two hours. At the end, Huzoor[ra] [led the audience] in silent prayer and the jalsa came to a close.
The next day, two persons came to meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih when he arrived at one o’clock in the afternoon. In reply to the question of one gentleman as to what the meaning of Ibn-e-Maryam (son of Mary) is, Huzoor[ra] gave a short speech that will be published in a future issue. From there, Huzoor[ra] arrived at the station. The train in which Hazrat Khalifatul Masih was to depart for Ludhiana was over an hour late.
My (Mehr Muhammad Khan’s) father, Fazal Muhammad Khan Sahib Jagirdar and my maternal grandfather, Khan Sahib Qadir Bakhsh Khan Sahib (father of Maulana Saqib Sahib), met [Huzoorra]at the station. Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib and his sons and other friends were also present at the station.
The Ludhiana Jamaat welcomed us. The evening feast was at the house of Master Qadir Bakhsh Sahib. At his place, four ladies had the honour of taking bai‘at. Huzoor[ra] stayed at the guest house which is connected with the station. The next day, Huzoor[ra] boarded the express train from Ludhiana at 5 am and reached Amritsar. He stayed at the station for two hours. Thereafter, members of the Jamaat came and met him. At twelve o’clock, Huzoor[ra] rode from Batala and his tanga [horse-pulled vehicle] was the first to reach Qadian. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih gave the Friday sermon and led the prayer, alhamdulillah.
14 March 1921
Nikah sermon
After reciting the masnun nikah sermon [the verses of the Holy Quran recited on the occasion of nikah by the Holy Prophetsa], Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said:
“As this is the time for dars, I just want to advise both the parties that in the present age, the eyes of the whole world are on our Jamaat. People observe every single one of our actions and the difference between us and others. There is no doubt that if we claim to be the followers of a prophet of God, but we do not follow in his footsteps, then the blame will fall on us.
“For instance, if there is a true claimant [of prophethood], but those who believe in him are practically in a bad moral condition, then there is no benefit for them. God might guide us to [that prophet] owing to certain hidden attribute of ours, but otherwise, we cannot be drawn towards him by looking at the apparent [condition of his followers]. Hence, the same is true for others that unless people witness a practical difference between us and others, they cannot be attracted to us. It is for this reason that our Jamaat has not immensely progressed till today. People generally see no significant difference between us and others. They do not see any distinction in us as compared to others.
“Thus, unless we have a special distinction in each of our work, we cannot progress. It is the same in the matter of nikah. If people observe how Ahmadi men treat their relatives and their wife’s relatives, and how Ahmadi wives’ relatives treat their husbands’ relatives and how good a relationship all of them have with each other, then other people will be drawn towards us. However, if there is no difference between us and others in this matter, then people will not differentiate between us and others. If we have good relations with each other, we will live in peace and people will benefit from it. Consequently, the proverb, ‘aik panth do kaaj’ [kill two birds with one stone] will come true.”
Thereafter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih announced the nikah of Muhammad Ismail Sahib, son of Nizamuddin Sahib, with Maryam Sahiba, daughter of Muhammad Abdullah Sahib […]
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 14 & 28 March 1921 issues of Al Fazl)