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Machine Speaks: Rise of 5G Technologies

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Dr Ataul Habib Khalid,Lecturer in sensors and sensor systems

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We may all remember listening to Professor Stephen Hawking speak with a synthesised human-like voice created by his eye movement, to selecting and feeding the words to a machine. The mechanical robotic sound was produced through an electronic synthesis process, but it was the human who was creating those words.

The voice was unique and the message was interesting, so it always stood out of the noise and grabbed the listener’s attention.  There is something different about hearing a mechanical voice, though we are approaching a point where differentiating between a human and machine voice will become impossible.  

The Holy Quran talks about a similar machine that was producing a mechanical or lifeless voice that grabbed people’s attention and let them go astray from the truth. Allah says in Holy Quran:

فَاَخْرَجَ لَہُمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّہُ خُوَارٌ فَقَالُوْا ہَذَا اِلٰہُکُمْ وَ اِلٰہُ مُوْسیٰ فَنَسِیَ

“Then he produced for them a calf — a mere body which emitted a lowing sound. Then [he and his companions] said, ‘This is your god, and the god of Moses but he forgot [to mention it to you].” (Surah Ta-Ha, Ch.20: V.89)

The inventor of that machine was Samiri. He used a technology to grab people’s attention and follow him to worship the machine as if it was a god left behind by Mosesas for them. That machine synthesised the sound most likely through mechanical means, but the message was surely idolatry and hence the Holy Quran says it was a lifeless sound. However, the machine only produced lifeless sounds to attract people, a product that Samiri engineered to control the minds of the masses.

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5G will greatly benefit driverless cars as they require multiple data communications links at very high speeds to keep everyone safe on the roads

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh, in his Friday Sermons of 30 September and 7 October 1988 gave a detailed account of the Samiri incident as one of the most painful eras during the time of Mosesas and mentioned that the ideas of the “Samirism” stayed among the followers of Mosesas for a long time despite its apparent destruction.

On this backdrop of history, it will not be difficult to foresee that after over 3,000 years later, we are once again witnessing the world starting to listen and worship another type of machine where the basic concept is same – Samirism: ambitious plans of technological achievement to take the masses away from their Creator.

The idea of connected machines or networked machines is not new, and the basic technology existed long before we actually built the machine communication network. Many scientists had already anticipated the existence of worldwide networks of information through networked machines.

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IoT – Internet of Things, where machines talk to other machines without human intervention – is growing faster than we can imagine; Siri by Apple is an example of this

The real machine to machine communication started in the 1970s, when Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol – TCP/IP – a communications model that set standards for how data could be transmitted between multiple networks. This is like developing grammar for networked machines. This led to the development of the concept of “packet switching” or “data,” a method for effectively transmitting electronic data that would later become one of the major building blocks of the internet.

The Internet Protocol (IP) requires that every machine on the network have a unique address to deliver a data/packet. The information controller on the network reads the sender and receiver addresses, just like postal services where millions of items come from different places but are eventually sorted and finally delivered to the correct address.

While networked machines connected with hard wires started to communicate to build the information highway – i.e. the internet – the wireless networked machines also start emerging.

The first wireless 1G, or the first generation of wireless protocols, gave birth to mobile telephony in 1979 in Japan, and in a short space of time, the wireless telephone or mobile phones generations grew quickly with each new generation, becoming better than the previous one. We are all familiar with this progress as 2G, 3G and 4G enabled devices are in our pockets.

Recently we have started hearing more and more about 5G in news and print media, where the world’s technology giants are competing to build the infrastructure of this technology. At the same time, talks are already underway for the 6th generation or 6G to evolve around 2030.

The big question is, what exactly is 5G and all the fuss surrounding it? The simple answer is that 5G will be amazingly faster and full of new capabilities; for example, the typical download time of a 1GB size picture on a 1G device was more than 1.5 months; on the other hand, on a 4G device it is just 1.5 minutes.  However, in 5G it will be just less than a second.

So what’s the problem if things happen fast? This is a good thing, right? This part of the question is not so simple to answer in terms of “yes” or “no”.

Before answering the question, it would be useful at this stage if we discuss some details regarding the processes of how machines talk to other machines. All machines connected on a network adhere to the protocol for the information transmission and receiving, allowing our wireless devices to communicate with each other.

Put simply, when you dial a number on a mobile phone, a set of processes takes place from your mobile phone to the receiving phone. Yet your phone is already talking to other machines all the time. Just because we don’t “hear” them does not means they’re not talking! Therefore, until the receiving phone rings and the user picks up and says hello, both machines (calling and receiving mobile phone) are talking to each other and agreeing to establish a link to communicate the user’s voices.

Since early 1990, 2G and 3G mobile phone communication protocols became digital to merge seamlessly with any available network, wired or wireless. A digital transmit and receive means that all information that humans produce or consume, like voices and images, is converted into a digital format. A digital format means that every information i.e. data or packet on the network is just numbers and when these numbers move from one place to the other, they have to be coded and decoded to keep the integrity of the information they carry.

When we speak or send a picture on a mobile phone for example, every word is converted to numbers and then encoded to release on the network towards the other phone, one packet after other, and on the receiving end, the same process is repeated in reverse to decode the voice or picture. This coding and decoding is the most time-consuming part because these tasks are serial in nature, as if a pipe conveys water from one place to another. For example, if we have a water pipe one-centimetre wide in diameter, there is a limit on how fast we can fill a bucket on the other end. However, if we increase the diameter from one centimetre to one metre, it will fill a tanker in the same time as a bucket. This is effectively what is going to happen when 5G will start rolling out later this year.  

So why didn’t we do it earlier? Scientists were too busy to solve this problem, to increase the diameter of the data pipe so to speak, but it was not a trivial problem. A Turkish scientist, Dr Erdal Arikan, was the inventor of polar codes for 5G network to increase the “diameter” i.e. a multichannel coding process for over 20 years. He finally discovered a breakthrough technique that enabled his miracle codes using a relatively cheap hardware to achieve this.  

Here you can understand that this is the key development because it enabled high speed data coding, so whoever will manufacture the hardware will potentially have the keys for the backdoor to our communications. Thanks to these new polar codes, data speed will be a hundred times faster and so it would remove the bottlenecks of information flow for machines to talk to other machines.  

You may now ask what the big deal is if we get to download a video in one second instead of one hour? Apparently, this is a good thing, but there is another side of the ultra-high-speed machine-to-machine communication.

The first answer is that due to this increased bandwidth of data flow, a huge number of devices can be connected to network at all the time. These machines will be helping us by monitoring medical implants to everyday tasks using its sensors network. The net will be cast on every human being on the planet whether they use the network or not. This is excellent news for the upcoming autonomous cars (driverless car). This technology will be the biggest beneficiary of this development because each autonomous car needs multiple data communications links at very high speeds to keep everyone safe on the roads.

The next important beneficiaries are those of the “Internet of Things” (IoT). They are slowly creeping up in our homes like connected devices, for example the one marketed by Amazon – Alexa – or Siri by Apple. The IoT is growing faster than we can imagine and this is where machines talk to other machines and do not need any human intervention most of the time. This is changing our world in front of our eyes and the world is sleepwalking to embrace this technology because it “sounds” so nice!

The IoT is a technology designed to distribute almost everything that connects to network, or in other words, it will connect together all machines to talk to each other without human interaction. This means that we will all be immersed in the gazes of these machines at all times without any chance to escape. The key driver for this technology is machine intelligence or artificial intelligence that has almost all of the capabilities of humans but is ultimately lifeless and devoid of spirituality.

It is just matter of time before this marriage of 5G capability and machine intelligence will give birth to new machines that will have far superior capabilities than humans.

Now there is a philosophical debate whether such machines will remain in human control or will go rogue. One thing, however, will remain: they will be lifeless and devoid of spiritual insight.

The Holy Quran is very clear about the wicked plan and outcome of Samiri’s machine. Although it took people away for a while from the remembrance of Allah and they followed falsehood, ultimately the end of such machines was doomed.

As I have mentioned at the start, the fascinating insight of Samirism described by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IVrh teaches us to be aware of the dangers of falsehood, which is all around us, and seek Allah’s forgiveness to help us stay on the path of righteousness.

Prophecies of the Promised Messiah a.s.: The Promised Messiah’s challenge to opponents to declare their towns safe from the plague

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A question posed to the Jamaat by its opponents is why the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat challenged his opponents to announce in their respective towns that they would be safeguarded from the outbreak of plague. The opponents question why – God forbid – a person should ascribe a false proclamation to God when He had, supposedly, made no such promise to him that his town would remain safe from the plague?  

Turning back the pages of time, we find that Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilanirh shed light on the ways Allah the Almighty showers His blessings through awliya-ullah (beloved ones of God), as he states in his book Futuh al-Ghaib regarding God’s beloved ones, when they successively accomplish the stages of attaining nearness to Allah the Almighty:

“Thenceforth, you [the beloved of God] will become the successor of every messenger, siddiq [truthful] and prophet of God. You will achieve the highest status of wilayat [saintliness] and the holy men will gather around you. Through your [prayers], difficulties will perish, the clouds will shower rain and the fields will yield harvest. By your prayers, the calamities and troubles will be removed of all and sundry, even of those living in the frontiers, of the rulers and the subjects, of the leaders and the followers and of all mankind. So you will be the chief police officer for the cities and the people.” (Futuh al-Ghaib, Maqala al-Rabia, Maut al-Ma‘anwi)

Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilanirh further states:

“God says in some of His books, ‘O son of Adam, I am God and there is none worthy of worship besides Me. I say to a thing, ‘Be!’ and it is. [Be obedient towards Me, I will grant you such reward that] if you say to a thing, ‘Be!’ it will start to happen. Verily, it has been His way with many of His Prophets and awliya [beloved ones of God] and the chosen ones from among the sons of Adam.” (Futuh al-Ghaib, Maqala al-Sadisa Ashara, Tawakal wa Maqamatihi)

He then states:

“They [the beloved ones of God] serve to prolong the stability of the heavens and the earth, and they are a source of comfort for the dead and the living, as their Lord has made them like pillars for the earth which He has spread. Hence, each one of them is like a mountain which stands firm.” (Futuh al-Ghaib, Maqala al-Rabia Ashara, Atibba Ahwal al-Qaum)

In the above cited extracts, a highly exalted beloved of God, born in the Ummah of the Holy Prophetsa, Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilanirh, has mentioned the way in which Allah the Almighty acted towards him and other seekers of God’s nearness. It is clearly evident from the excerpts that through the blessings of near and dear ones of Allah the Almighty, their towns are safeguarded from calamities and disasters.

Precisely for this very reason, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat challenged his opponents that if in their view he was not divinely commissioned and they were the ones near to God, then they should announce regarding their respective towns that Allah the Almighty would safeguard them through their blessings. If nobody had the courage to announce it – and in fact not a single opponent did – then it is a practical indication that neither were they God’s beloved ones, nor did God consider them His near ones because they were not saved from the catastrophe. However, it is impossible that the entire world becomes completely devoid of holy persons at a given point in time, hence it was only the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat who categorically announced that Allah the Almighty had promised him that He would safeguard him and his spiritual family from the plague epidemic.

History bears witness that the Promised Messiahas foretold the great epidemic of plague receiving revelation from Allah the Almighty and in accordance with the prophecy, the plague outbreak engulfed a greater part of the Punjab. It was at a time when there was hardly any plague in the Punjab and there was nothing to indicate that it would spread like wildfire and thousands of people would die on a weekly basis.

During those circumstances, the Promised Messiahas received another revelation from Allah the Almighty and declared in the year 1902:

اِنِّيْ اُحَافِظُ كُلَّ مَنْ فِي الدَّارِ۔۔۔ و احافظک خاصۃ

“I shall safeguard all those who are in this house … and I shall safeguard you in particular” (Nuzul-ul-Masih, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 18, p. 401). Moreover, the Promised Messiahas challenged his opponents to publish an announcement, if they believed that Allah was on their side, saying that their abodes would be saved from the calamity of plague. Furthermore, Hazrat Ahmadas said that if any one of them dared to declare that their town would be saved from the plague, it would surely be engulfed by it.

On the other hand, by the blessings of Allah the Almighty, the Promised Messiahas, his family and nearly 80 members who dwelled in his house were safeguarded from the great catastrophe and the town of Qadian was miraculously protected as compared to the other parts of the subcontinent. Hence, the divine announcement by the Promised Messiahas was fulfilled with great grandeur.

The Ahmadiyya Jamaat was not only safeguarded in abundance from the plague outbreak as compared to others, but in fact its progress took giant strides in those days. The Promised Messiahas states:

“I claim with full confidence and emphasis that if one person of our Jamaat dies of the plague, 100 or even more enter into our Jamaat in his place. This plague continues to increase the number of our Jamaat and continues to decimate our opponents. Each month, at least 500 and, at times, 1,000-2,000 new persons enter the fold of the Jamaat on account of the plague. Thus, the plague is a boon for us, but a bane and a chastisement for our opponents. I am sure that if the plague continues to remain rampant as it is now for another ten to fifteen years, the entire country will be filled with the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. It is an established fact that the plague continues to increase the numbers of our Jamaat and decrease those of our opponents. And if someone can prove otherwise, I solemnly declare under oath to God that I shall pay 1,000 rupees in cash to such a person. Is there anyone to challenge this offer and collect the reward from me?” (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation, p. 713 [English Translation of Haqiqatul Wahi])

Similar to the statement mentioned in the above extract, the Promised Messiahas repeatedly stated that only a handful of people would pass away from the Jamaat, particularly those who do not abide by the conditions of Bai‘at.

During those days, the Jamaat’s weekly newspapers Al Hakam and Al Badr continued to publish lists of names and addresses of all new Ahmadi converts belonging to different areas of the subcontinent. If the opponents had any kind of doubt regarding this matter, they would surely have pointed out and contended that the names mentioned in those newspapers were not inhabitants of their towns and localities, or that the persons by those names did exist but were not Ahmadis.

There is not a single reference which shows that any opponent claimed that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was publishing false lists of new Ahmadi converts in the Jamaat’s newspapers and it elucidates the fact that the above statement of the Promised Messiahas is entirely true and valid. It can also be comprehended by the statement of Allah the Almighty in the Holy Quran:

أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّا نَأْتِي الْأَرْضَ نَنْقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا ۚ أَفَهُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ

“Do they not see that we are visiting the land, reducing it from its outlying borders? Can they even then be victors?” (Surah al-Anbiya, Ch.21: V.45). Centuries have passed over this declaration, but Muslims are still less in number than the non-believers.

Instead of indicating that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat was false in his claims, the opponents admit on other occasions that the increase in the number of Ahmadis stopped in the year 1906 and their number did not exceed the figure of 400,000, acknowledging that there was an increase in the number of Ahmadis during the years of the plague.

The opponents had every opportunity to raise objections that the causalities of Ahmadis were greater in number and their loss was very little. However, even those newspapers that were run by outright enemies of the Promised Messiahas did not publish any such statement. For instance, an opponent of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, Maulvi Sanaullah of Amritsar mentioned the details of the devastations and destructions caused by the plague on page 11 of his newspaper Ahl-e-Hadith, published on 26 April 1907:

“Apart from last year’s devastations [of the plague], during the month of February and March in the current year, there were 35 casualties in the small town of Qadian … The list of deaths caused by the plague [is as follows]:

1896: 1704 deaths

1897: 56,055 deaths

1898: 101,853 deaths

1899: 134,789 deaths

1900: 93,150 deaths

1901: 273,679 deaths

1902: 577,427 deaths

1903: 8,510,263 deaths

1904: 1,022,299 deaths

1905: 950,863 deaths

January to April 1906: 170,000 deaths”. (Ahl-e-Hadith Amritsar, 26 April 1907, p. 11)

Recording weekly deaths caused by the plague, Maulvi Sahib states:

“Below are the details of deaths that happened in Punjab Districts (subcontinent) due to the plague in the week that ended on 6 April (1907):

“Hisar, 100 deaths; Rohtak, 1979 deaths; Gurgaon, 137 deaths; Dehli, 577 deaths; Karnal, 733 deaths; Ambala, 1678 deaths; Hoshiarpur, 815 deaths; Jalandhar, 2415 deaths; Ludhiana, 2411 deaths; Ferozpur, 1790 deaths; Montgomery, 296 deaths; Lahore, 2170 deaths; Amritsar, 1132 deaths; Gurdaspur, 2275 deaths; Sialkot, 3781 deaths; Gujranwala, 5254 deaths; Gujrat, 2659; Shahpur, 1184 deaths; Jehlum, 527 deaths; Rawalpindi, 436 deaths; Attock, 231 deaths; Multan, 1 death; Patiala State, 527 deaths; Kapurthala, 764 deaths; Malerkotla, 106 deaths; Junaid, 200 deaths; Kalisiya, 119 deaths; Fridkot, 117 deaths and Nabha, 527 deaths, making a total 34,436 deaths.

“Last week’s death toll is 29,154 and the deaths in the same week last year amount to 4,275 … Schools in Lahore remained closed due to the increase in the spread of the plague. (We seek refuge in Allah.)” (Ahl-e-Hadith, Amritsar, 26 April 1907, p. 11)

One should ponder over this fact that in the above-mentioned newspaper of the arch-enemy of the Jamaat, it was stated that 35 deaths occurred in Qadian, without any mention as to how many of them were Ahmadis or non-Ahmadis. Had there been a single Ahmadi death in those 35, there would have been an uproar and a tempest of mockery accompanying it.

This was the time when another opponent’s newspaper, Paisa Akhbar used to publish false news to prove that the Promised Messiahas was a false claimant. Even then Ahl-e-Hadith never alleged names or numbers of Ahmadis who might have passed away due to the plague.

However, the Promised Messiahas in his book Nuzul-ul-Masih exposed the untruthful and deceitful claims of Paisa Akhbar during the years of its publication and stated that there were three types of false news being published by it. Firstly, names of those people were mentioned to have died from plague who were in fact alive; secondly, those names were mentioned who were not inhabitants of Qadian and thirdly, those deaths were mentioned that had occurred due to some other reasons and not because of the plague.

Despite the fact that the Promised Messiahas announced many times over that if someone considered themselves to be a near one of God, they should declare that their town would be saved from the plague, yet nobody accepted the challenge. On the other hand, the Promised Messiahas declared that his town would be saved, and his claim was proven correct and truthful in every respect, Alhamdolillah.

(Research conducted by a panel of scholars at the Research Cell, Rabwah. Translated by Al Hakam)

Jamia UK Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony 2019

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Jamia UK Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony 2019

Waseem Ahmad Fazal

Lecturer, Jamia Ahmadiyya UK

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On 12 June 2019, Jamia Ahmadiyya UK was once again given the blessed opportunity to host its Annual Prize Distribution event for the academic year 2018-2019 in Haslemere, Surrey.

This event highlights the remarkable achievements made by students in academic competitions throughout the year.

Competition judges, office bearers and other respected members of the Jamaat around the country, as well as parents of students obtaining first positions in competitions were cordially invited to attend this event. Jamia Ahmadiyya UK follows a traditional house-like system consisting of 5 groups, namely Sadaqat, Shaja‘at, Rafaqat, Amanat and Dianat.

The history behind the selection of the above house names derives from Jamia Ahmadiyya in Rabwah and Qadian, as they were the pioneering international Jamias to put this structure into action, thus inspiring Jamia UK to put this house-system into practice, too.

Parents, guests, judges and dignitaries made their way to this long-awaited event at around 6pm, allowing the Annual Prize Distribution to promptly start at 6:20pm.

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As per custom and tradition, the programme commenced with tilawat, followed by an Urdu nazm, upon which the Chairman of Majlis-e-Ilmi (organising body of this event) Waseem Ahmad Fazl Sahib gave an introductory address to the audience, providing fine details of the academic year.

Towards the end of the report, Waseem Sahib paid gratitude to each and every judge and touched upon the significance of being desirous to achieve higher.

By the grace of Allah, from a total of just over 130 students, more than half of the students participated in various competitions throughout the year, ranging from conventional competitions such as tilawat, nazm and Azan, to competitions like the general knowledge quiz and presentation competition. Positions were to be acquired by both, individuals and groups, subject to the style of competition.

After the opening address, Ataul Momin Zahid Sahib announced the prize winners of this year’s Annual Prize Distribution, whereupon students made their way to the stage and were presented with their respective awards by the chief guest, Abdul Majid Tahir Sahib, Additional Wakil-ut-Tabshir.

Towards the end of the prize distribution, outstanding awards were presented to joint best speakers, Musab Rashid Dogar and Nasar Arshad, as well as best student, which was awarded to Mashood Adeeb. These results were decided according to results collated from various competitions.

Subsequently, the last award of the day to conclude this session was presented to Amanat group for securing themselves a firm position as the best group in overall competitions. In order to receive this prize, group secretary, Sohaib Ahmad and group leader, Mansoor Zia Sahib were ultimately presented with the annual shield.

To conclude the event, Abdul Majid Tahir Sahib delivered a speech on a very thought-provoking address which Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered to missionaries in the United States. Majid Sahib referred to many crucial pieces of advice our beloved Huzooraa alluded to, which a missionary must act upon in order to become a successful representative of the Jamaat.

This event was brought to a close with dua led by the guest speaker, Abdul Majid Tahir Sahib, followed by dinner at 7:10pm.

Annual Peace Symposium held by the women’s auxiliary of Jamaat Queensland, Australia

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Annual Peace Symposium held by the women’s auxiliary of Jamaat Queensland, Australia

Bushra Nasir

Media Coordinator, Lajna Imaillah Queensland

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Lajna Imaillah Queensland, Australia held their annual Peace Symposium on 15 June 2019 at Bait-ul-Masroor Mosque in Stockleigh.

More than 200 women came together to discuss how women play important roles as nation builders in an effort towards establishing peace within society.

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Senator for Queensland, Clair Moore; Brisbane City Councillor, Kim Marx; Aboriginal Elder, Aunty Heather Castledine; CEO Access Community Services, Gail Kerr; Logan and Brisbane City Councillors, Australian Federal Police representatives, presidents and members of various community organisations were some of the key dignitaries attending the event.

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Keynote faith speakers were Judith Gibbons from the Uniting Church in Toowoomba; Prakruthi Gururaj, Multicultural Ambassador and Sabah Janud, representative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Community of Queensland.

As part of this annual event, the women’s auxiliary presents donations to various community organisations every year.

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This year, the Refugee Association of Queensland and Logan Helping Hands were recipients of $2000 in donations from the auxiliary.

On the event, the president of the auxiliary, Nuzhat Ayesha, commented:

“Muslim women play a fundamental role towards the establishment of a peaceful society. Islam teaches us that the responsibility of building peaceful societies and nations depends on the contributions of women in their roles as daughters, wives and mothers. If each one of us as women realise our potential and fulfil our roles within society to the best of our abilities, then no doubt we can nurture peaceful societies.”

Friday Sermon: Khilafat and Obedience (24 May 2019)

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Friday Sermon: Khilafat and Obedience (24 May 2019)

Friday Sermon

24 May 2019

Khilafat and Obedience

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After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa recited verses 52-58 of Surah al-Nur and commenced with the sermon:

اِنَّمَا کَانَ قَوۡلَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ اِذَا دُعُوۡۤا اِلَی اللہِ وَ رَسُوۡلِہٖ لِیَحۡکُمَ بَیۡنَہُمۡ اَنۡ یَّقُوۡلُوۡا سَمِعۡنَا وَ اَطَعۡنَا ؕ وَ اُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡمُفۡلِحُوۡنَ۔ وَ مَنۡ یُّطِعِ اللہَ وَ رَسُوۡلَہٗ وَ یَخۡشَ اللّٰہَ وَ یَتَّقۡہِ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡفَآئِزُوۡنَ۔ وَ اَقۡسَمُوۡا بِاللّٰہِ جَہۡدَ اَیۡمَانِہِمۡ لَئِنۡ اَمَرۡتَہُمۡ لَیَخۡرُجُنَّ ؕ قُلۡ لَّا تُقۡسِمُوۡا ۚ طَاعَۃٌ مَّعۡرُوۡفَۃٌ ؕ اِنَّ اللہَ خَبِیۡرٌۢ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ۔ قُلۡ اَطِیۡعُوا اللہَ وَ اَطِیۡعُوا الرَّسُوۡلَ ۚ فَاِنۡ تَوَلَّوۡا فَاِنَّمَا عَلَیۡہِ مَا حُمِّلَ وَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ مَّا حُمِّلۡتُمۡ ؕ وَ اِنۡ تُطِیۡعُوۡہُ تَہۡتَدُوۡا ؕ وَ مَا عَلَی الرَّسُوۡلِ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِیۡنُ۔ وَعَدَ اللہُ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا مِنۡکُمۡ وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَیَسۡتَخۡلِفَنَّہُمۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ کَمَا اسۡتَخۡلَفَ الَّذِیۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِہِم۪ۡ وَ لَیُمَکِّنَنَّ لَہُمۡ دِیۡنَہُمُ الَّذِی ارۡتَضٰی لَہُمۡ وَ لَیُبَدِّلَنَّہُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِ خَوۡفِہِمۡ اَمۡنًا ؕ یَعۡبُدُوۡنَنِیۡ لَا یُشۡرِکُوۡنَ بِیۡ شَیۡئًا ؕ وَ مَنۡ کَفَرَ بَعۡدَ ذٰلِکَ فَاُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمُ الۡفٰسِقُوۡنَ۔ وَ اَقِیۡمُوا الصَّلٰوۃَ وَ اٰتُوا الزَّکٰوۃَ وَ اَطِیۡعُوا الرَّسُوۡلَ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تُرۡحَمُوۡنَ۔ لَا تَحۡسَبَنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا مُعۡجِزِیۡنَ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ ۚ وَ مَاۡوٰہُمُ النَّارُ ؕ وَ لَبِئۡسَ الۡمَصِیۡرُ

These verses that I have just recited are from Surah al-Nur. It includes the verse relating to Khilafat [Ayat-e-Istikhlaaf], in which God Almighty promised the believers to establish the institution of Khilafat. In the preceding verses and also in the verses that follow after this, they draw one’s attention towards showing obedience to God Almighty and His Messengersa. If these conditions are fulfilled, then God Almighty will fulfil His promise of establishing Khilafat, grant security and peace after our state of fear and He will punish the enemy.   

The translation of these verses is as follows:

“The response of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger in order that he may judge between them, is only that they say: ‘We hear and we obey.’ And it is they who will prosper. And whoso obeys Allah and His Messenger, and fears Allah, and takes Him as a shield for protection, it is they who will be successful. And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that, if thou command them, they will surely go forth. Say, ‘Swear not; what is required is actual obedience in what is right. Surely, Allah is well aware of what you do.’ Say, ‘Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger.’ But if you turn away, then upon him is his burden, and upon you is your burden. And if you obey him, you will be rightly guided. And the messenger is not responsible but for the plain delivery of the Message. Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious. And observe Prayer and give the Zakat and obey the Messenger, that you may be shown mercy. Think not that those who disbelieve can frustrate Our plan in the earth; their abode is Hell; and it is indeed an evil resort.”

(Surah al-Nur, Ch.24: V.52-58]

Thus, God Almighty has clearly expounded upon this subject. No matter how often one claims to be a believer, until and unless one follows the commandments of God Almighty and His Messengersa with complete conviction and full certainty and becomes steadfast in the face of every test and trial, one cannot be granted success. Thus, in order to attain true success and triumph, it is incumbent to show complete obedience to God Almighty and His Messengersa. In order to attain the pleasure of God Almighty, it is incumbent to follow His commandments with the fear that lest one may incur the displeasure of God due to some action of his. Likewise, it is incumbent to uphold righteousness. Every good deed and excellent moral needs to be adopted as this is a commandment of God Almighty. When one fulfil these conditions, only then can one attain success and be granted the protection of God Almighty.

When one reflects upon this, they will observe that on many occasions they fail to maintain the standard of obedience which is expected of them – and even in instances where they do act upon something which is against their wishes, they do not do it with the full contention of their hearts. The instruction to obey the commandments of God Almighty and His Messengersa has appeared repeatedly in these verses. These verses pertain to the continuation of the establishment of Khilafat. Thus, in other words, God Almighty is stating that the institution of Khilafat comes under the commandment of showing obedience to God Almighty and His Messengersa. Hence, it is incumbent for one to act upon the directives of Khilafat as this is also among the commandments of God Almighty. In fact, in order to secure the continuation of one’s worldly and spiritual life, it is essential for believers to raise the standard of their obedience.

The Holy Prophetsa has stated, “One who obeys the Amir appointed by me, in fact obeys me and one who obeys me, in fact obeys God Almighty. One who disobeys the Amir appointed by me, in fact disobeys me and my disobedience equates to the disobeying God Almighty.”

(Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Ahkam, Hadith 7137)

The obedience of the Khalifa of the time however is even more important than the obedience one shows to an ordinary Amir.

We find accounts of complete and absolute obedience in the lives of the companions of the Holy Prophetsa. I will present one such example.

During one of the battles, Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed was appointed as the leader of the army. However, owing to some reason, Hazrat Umarra replaced him while the battle was at its peak. In any case, the instruction of the Khalifa of the time that came at that occasion was that Hazrat Abu Ubaidahra should take charge. However, Hazrat Abu ‘Ubaidahra initially did not take the charge from Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed thinking that he was already commanding in an excellent manner. However, Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed said, “You must immediately take the charge from me because that is the instruction of the Khalifa of the time. I will serve under you with full obedience as you require of me without complaining or any thought of an ill will.”

(Tarikh Tabari, Vol. 2, pp. 356-357)

Thus, this is the standard of obedience required of a believer and it should not be the case that if a decision is made against an individual’s wishes, they begin to object to it. Or, if an office bearer is replaced by another individual, they stop doing their work. Whoever acts in this manner, does not show any obedience and fails to instil the fear of God Almighty and righteousness.

It has now been brought to my attention that there are some presidents [of local Jamaats], who have stopped performing their duties before their actual term ends in June. Since there is a new rule now [where the term officially ends in June] they therefore question why they should now carry on with their duty. However, were they merely performing their duties because they believed that they were permanently going to serve as office bearers? Consequently, they are not paying attention towards the duties they have to perform in the months of May and June.

Firstly, such a thought is a dishonesty of one’s religious obligations. Secondly, it is a rebellious way of thinking and it is a matter that will remove one from the sphere of the obedience towards Khilafat. Since the Khalifa of the time has now approved the rule that the term of a president will only be for six years, therefore, some of them feel that they no longer need to perform their duties wholeheartedly. Hence, such people should act with righteousness and fear God. On one occasion, the Holy Prophetsa took the pledge of initiation on the condition that “we will hear and we will obey, whether we like it or not”. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Ahkaam, Hadith no. 7199)

Following this, the Holy Prophetsa said, “Whoever disobeys God Almighty, he will meet Him on the Day of Judgment in a state of not having any argument or excuse for being disobedient”. Furthermore, the Holy Prophetsa states, “The person who dies in a state of not having pledged initiation to the Imam of the age will die a death of ignorance and misguidance”. (Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Imaraa, Hadith 1851)

Hence, we are fortunate to have pledged initiation to the Imam of the age and are not among the ignorant, who have rejected him. However, after having pledged allegiance to him, if we still behave like those who are ignorant, then it will be as if we are removing ourselves from this pledge and we will also be removing ourselves from the sphere of the obedience towards God Almighty and His Messengersa.

Hence, after having pledged initiation, it is extremely important to direct our way of thinking in the right direction and to show examples of complete obedience. What has the Imam of the age said about the standard one ought to acquire after having pledged initiation to him? On one occasion, the Promised Messiahas stated: “A person who makes our teaching his code of conduct and tries his level best to act in accordance with it will be considered to have truly entered the Jamaat. However, one who simply registers his name, but does not act in accordance with the teachings, should remember that God Almighty has intended to make this Jamaat a special Jamaat and an individual, who is not truly a part of this Jamaat, will not remain a member merely by having his name registered in it.” In other words, if one does not act in accordance with this teaching, it is as if one is merely a part of the Jamaat in name only and according to the Promised Messiahas he is not truly part of the Jamaat. The Promised Messiahas further states, “…therefore, you should try your utmost to fashion your deeds in accordance with the teaching that is given to you.”(Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p. 439)

“The teaching is the following that you should not cause any disorder, not commit any evil, show patience in the face of verbal abuse and avoid confrontation.”

That is, one should not confront anyone in idle and vain matters. One should not confront others in the sense that as such and such individual has now been appointed as an office bearer, therefore they will no longer remain obedient or that since they have now been removed from an office, they will no longer obey. The Promised Messiahas further states: “One should treat the one who confronts him with kindness and virtue.” This should be in the case of general, day to day circumstances, as well as in quarrels and disputes. Even if someone confronts others in vain and idle matters, one should try and overlook this fault of theirs. As a matter of fact, one should not only overlook this fault of theirs but treat them with kindness. The Promised Messiahas states, “One should demonstrate an excellent example of speaking to others in a kind manner.” One should speak to others with kindness and in a soft tone and demonstrate a good example. “Comply with each instruction with utmost sincerity of the heart so that you may please God Almighty. Moreover, even your opponent should acknowledge that since taking the Bai‘at, this individual has completely transformed. Be truthful when testifying whilst standing in trial. Those who enter the Community should exert all their efforts and strength to remain truthful.”

(Malfuzat, Vol. 6, p. 413)

Furthermore, God Almighty states that there are some who make a firm oath and claim that if God was to instruct them, they would do such and such. However, when they are instructed to do something, they do not follow through with it. For this reason, God Almighty states that one should not make such great promises and bold claims. In fact, one should simply show ma‘ruf obedience – i.e. what is required is actual obedience in what is right. Even if one was to show such obedience, it would be deemed as fulfilling the commandment. Otherwise, it will be just mere verbal claims and God Almighty is well-aware of one’s deeds as well as the condition of the hearts. Hence, general obedience is that one fulfils the rights due to God Almighty and worship Him in the most excellent manner.

These days during the month of Ramadan, many have acquired a greater focus towards worship, and this should continue to be maintained. Furthermore, this obedience entails that one fulfil the rights of mankind in accordance to the commandments of God Almighty. Also, as I just mentioned that the Promised Messiahas stated that one should safeguard themselves from all kinds of mischief, evil, confrontation and disputes. One should improve the standard of their morals. One’s manners should be such that they show a clear distinction between an Ahmadi and a non-Ahmadi. Always remain steadfast on truthfulness. In short, it is essential to perform all types of virtuous deeds, and this in fact is ma‘ruf obedience, which God Almighty has commanded us to establish. This is what the Holy Prophetsa commanded us and the Promised Messiahas also expressed this desire and instructed the members of his Community to uphold this. Also, Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya has consistently highlighted the importance towards this for the past 111 years.

This obedience is not only to be shown in religious and spiritual matters, but it is also important to demonstrate perfect examples of obedience in administrative matters as well, just like we find in the example of obedience shown by Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed. One should not enter into a dispute of whether an instruction is ma‘ruf or not. Indeed, if a directive is against the commandments of God Almighty and His Messengersa, then it is undoubtedly not ma‘ruf.

However, this also does not mean that one should infer from the words of the pledge in which it states: “I shall deem it essential to abide by any ma‘ruf decision made by Khalifatul Masih” that people should now begin to offer their own interpretation and begin to decide what is ma‘ruf and what is not.

When Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed received the instruction from Hazrat Umarra right at the moment when they were in the middle of the battle and both armies were facing one another – Hazrat Khalidra bin Waleed also possessed great astuteness in the art of war which was proving to be beneficial for the Muslims – but despite this he did not say that this was a non-ma‘ruf order. In fact, he displayed perfect obedience to Abu Ubaidahra and considered it a blessing to serve as an ordinary soldier under his leadership.

Regarding those people who get entangled in the discussion about whether something is ma‘ruf or not, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira stated: “There is another mistake people make and that is in understanding the words ‘to show obedience in ma‘ruf matters.’ Such people do not obey certain instructions that they consider not to be ma‘ruf.” In other words, they decide for themselves as to what is ma‘ruf  and what is not. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira further states, “The word ma‘ruf has also been used for the Holy Prophetsa as well:

وَلَا یَعْصِیْنَکَ فِیْ مَعْرُوْفٍ

‘nor disobey thee in what is right’ (Surah al-Mumtahanah, Ch.60: V.13).”

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira states: “Have such people prepared a list consisting of the Holy Prophet’ssa faults?”  

Did they make some kind of list for his short-comings and weaknesses, God forbid, whereby one could ascertain as to which of his decisions were ma‘ruf  and which were not? Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira states, “Likewise, Hazrat Sahib”, i.e. the Promised Messiahas “has also included the obedience of all ma‘ruf decisions in the conditions of Bai‘at. There is a deep underlying wisdom in doing so.”

(Haqaiq-ul-Furqan, Vol.4, pp. 75-76)

This is because the prophets and the Khulafa instruct only according to the commandments given to them by God Almighty. On one occasion, whilst explaining the word ma‘ruf , the Promised Messiahas stated that a prophet commands that which is in line with reason and he forbids all that which goes against logic. He deems pure things lawful and all impurities unlawful. God Almighty has clearly stated all of these in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophetsa has also explained all the commands and prohibitions, i.e. the acts we should carry out and those we should abstain from. Thus, those who follow Allah and His Messengersa and act upon all these commandments will attain salvation. Therefore, we must always remember that the instructions given by Khilafat are, and will continue to be so, in accordance to the Shariah and Sunnah. God Almighty has stated that if you obey, you shall be rightly guided and there is no other path besides this which leads to salvation. God Almighty then states that He has promised those who believe and do good deeds that Khilafat shall remain with them. Good deeds is not only that one turns all their attention to prayer, are sincere in their worship of God Almighty, abstain from all kinds of shirk [associating partners with God]; not just outward shirk but also to pursue your vain desires and to give faith secondary importance is also shirk; no doubt these are very pious deeds, but in addition to this, to demonstrate obedience is also very important.

Hence, if we wish to truly benefit from the promise of the blessings of Khilafat, we must not only safeguard our prayers and stay away from shirk, but it is also incumbent that we obey the Khalifa of the time, otherwise we shall be counted among the disobedient, just as the Promised Messiahas stated that they will not truly be deemed among his adherents. God Almighty states that the Jamaat of believers, who remain firmly attached to Khilafat, also pay attention to observing prayer, populate the mosques, give Zakat, make financial sacrifices for the sake of Allah and His Messengersa and who follow the commands of God Almighty and the practice of the Holy Prophetsa to the best of their ability. When this condition is developed, God Almighty will have mercy on such servants.

Therefore, in order to attract the mercy of God Almighty, we must improve our condition and when the mercy of God Almighty covers us in His cloak of rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat, all the plots and schemes of the opponents will come to naught and they shall come to a miserable end, God-willing. Hence, if we are to attract the favours of God Almighty, we must analyse ourselves as to what extent we possess obedience, are acting upon the commandments of God Almighty, are adorning our prayers, are trying to follow the practice of the Holy Prophetsa and what our level of obedience is. We should reflect upon our conditions in this regard.

I will now present some incidents relating to Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra which he narrated at various occasions. He mentioned about the precarious times after the demise of the Promised Messiahas and how the institution of Khilafat granted peace and security. With regard to those who refused to perform the Bai‘at, he has narrated about their lives before the second Khilafat and how they acted after the election took place. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has also written about their line of thinking before the second khilafat and after.

When the Promised Messiahas passed away, the enemies [of Ahmadiyyat] were rejoicing. However, with the election of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira, they expressed dejection and embarrassment. Subsequently, when Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira passed away, the enemies of Ahmadiyyat hoped then that the Jamaat would be destroyed. But once again, God Almighty safeguarded the Jamaat of the believers and changed the atmosphere of fear into peace and tranquillity. These historical accounts are vital to strengthen the faith of the youths as well as of those who are unaware of them. They are also important because everyone should be aware of the events in history to a certain extent. I will present these accounts before you.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra has written that after the demise of the Promised Messiahas, their condition was the same as that of the Muslims at the demise of the Holy Prophetsa. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra writes:

“The Ahmadiyya Jamaat was in the same state of mind during the lifetime of the Promised Messiahas as were the Companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa during his lifetime. All of us believed that the Promised Messiahas would not die as yet. As a result, we never thought, even for a moment, about what would happen after his demise. I, at that time, was not a child. I was a young man, I used to write articles, and was editor of a magazine. I say on oath that I never thought, for a minute, or even for a second, that the Promised Messiahas would die, even though in the last years of his life, there were a series of revelations about his demise. In his last days, such revelations increased manifold. Despite the fact that there were revelations and visions specifying the date etc. of the demise of the Promised Messiahas, and we used to read Al-Wasiyyat (The Will), we still presumed that these things would probably happen after two centuries. Thus, the thought of what would happen after the demise of the Promised Messiahas never crossed our minds.

“Since we had assumed that he would not die in our lifetime, it was difficult for us to accept the reality of his demise when it happened. I clearly remember that after his demise, he was given a bath and was wrapped in the shroud. As is common, that one’s clothes and moustache etc. move with the blowing of the wind, some of the companions would come running, saying that the Promised Messiahas was alive, and his clothes or moustache was moving. Some said that they saw his shroud moving. Anyhow, the body of the Promised Messiahas was brought to Qadian and was placed inside a house in a garden.”

After describing their condition upon the demise of the Promised Messiahas, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further states:

“Around eight or nine o’clock, Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib arrived in the garden, took me aside, and asked me, ‘Mian! Have you thought of what would happen after the demise of the Promised Messiahas?’ I replied to him, ‘Something should happen, but as to what it should be, I cannot say anything.’

“He said to me, ‘In my opinion, we should give Bai‘at to Hazrat Maulvi Sahib (Hazrat Khalifatul Messiah Ira)’. At that time, due to my age and lack of knowledge, I said, ‘The Promised Messiahas did not mention anywhere that we should take the Bai‘at of someone after him, so why should we take the Bai‘at of Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra?’”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further says:

“Though it was mentioned in Al-Wasiyyat, however it did not occur to me at that time.”

He further writes:

“On this, Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib started arguing that the Community would be destroyed if the Bai‘at was not taken at the hand of one person. He added that after the demise of the Holy Prophetsa, the people took the Bai‘at of Hazrat Abu Bakrra…”

This point raised by Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib is of great significance. He said that after the demise of the Holy Prophetsa, the Muslims pledged allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakrra and accepted him as the Khalifa. Khawaja Sahib then further adds:

“So the same should be done now, and there is no one more suitable in the Jamaat than Hazrat Maulvi Sahib [Hazrat Khalifatul Messiah Ira].”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra further writes that Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib was of the same opinion, rather it was Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib who informed Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra that Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib also held the same opinion that the Jamaat should pledge allegiance at the hands of Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra writes:

“Finally, the whole Community unanimously requested Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira to accept the Bai‘at of the people. Then, all the people gathered in the garden and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira addressed them and said, ‘I have no wish for imamat [leadership], and in my opinion, the Bai‘at of someone else should be taken’. For this purpose, he first proposed my name, then the name of our maternal grandfather, Mir Nasir Nawab Sahib, then the name of our brother-in-law, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib, and then the names of some other people, but we all unanimously told him that he himself was entitled to the post of Khilafat. Then, everyone took Bai‘at on his hand.” (Khilafat-e-Rashida, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol.15, pp. 489-491)

Furthermore, according to some narrations, Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib published an announcement in which he stated that in light of the book, Al-Wasiyyat, they ought to elect a Khalifa who is to be obeyed in full and even presented the name of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira.

Nonetheless, this was their thinking initially and perhaps this was after assessing the situation and in order to achieve their underlying goal. Although these people pledged allegiance to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira, in reality, they lacked true obedience to Khilafat and were devoid of the true spirit of pledging allegiance. Deep down they had other ideas and were always scheming how they could impose the authority of the [Sadr] Anjuman over Khilafat, thereby gaining complete control to govern through the Anjuman. This was the thinking of those individuals. Mentioning about their intentions, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra writes:

“About 15 to 20 days after the Bai‘at (of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira), Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib met me and said, ‘Mian! Have you ever considered how the organisation of the Community would function?’ I replied, ‘What is the point of pondering over this issue, for we have taken Bai‘at at the hand of Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra’. On this, he said, ‘This is the relationship between a ‘pir’ [spiritual mentor] and ‘murid’ (follower of a spiritual mentor), and the question remains, how will the organisation of our Jamaat operate?’ I said, ‘I do not see this matter worthy of discussion, as we have taken the Bai‘at of one person, and he can better explain which type of system should be established in the Jamaat, and there is no need for us to interfere in this matter.’ He stopped his argumentation but added that the point required further consideration.” (Khilafat-e-Rashida, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol.15, p. 491)

He [Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib] was not content. From these incidents one can gauge their internal condition. It shows that they did not perform the Bai‘at at the hands of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira wholeheartedly, rather they had an agenda. For this reason, they were never at peace and were always anxious. They failed to develop that peace within them that God Almighty has promised to bestow upon those who forge a connection with Khilafat. They refused to show complete obedience and wished to run this spiritual institution in the way a worldly organisation would be run. We are a witness to their outcome; they exist merely by name and are a handful, perhaps a few hundred followers. In fact, it is appropriate to say they are only a handful who follow their self-made organisation. On the contrary, those who remain under the shade of Khilafat, by the grace of Allah, they are now established in 212 countries of the world.

Then explaining about what the enemies thought regarding the future of the Jamaat after the demise of the Promised Messiahas, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra says that when the Promised Messiahas passed away, people generally thought that the community would perish. The enemies were jubilant and thought that people would stop paying Chanda – as they thought that people only paid this because of the Promised Messiahas – and as a result the progress of the Jamaat would stop. However, when people witnessed that the Jamaat was continuously progressing in terms of its numbers, sacrifices and propagation of the faith, they concocted that Maulvi Nuruddin Sahib was a renowned scholar in the Jamaat and the entire progress of the Jamaat was owing to his efforts and even during the lifetime of Mirza Sahib [i.e. the Promised Messiahas], he did most of the work but would attribute it all to Mirza Sahibas. In fact, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states that many people, whose nature and disposition is similar to that of the Maulvis and only have regard for superficial things, would say even during the lifetime of the Promised Messiahas that the community was in fact being run by Maulvi Nuruddin Sahib. Thus, when they witnessed that the Jamaat was progressing even more than before during the time of Maulvi Sahib, the Maulvis completely retracted from their initial claims and instead began to rejoice at the fact that they were right when they said that everything was being done by Maulvi Nuruddin Sahibra. They claimed that a proof of this was that despite the demise of the Promised Messiahas, it had no impact whatsoever upon the Jamaat. They claimed that the Jamaat was being run owing to the efforts of Hazrat Maulana Nuuruddin Sahibra alone.

(Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 21, p. 413)

In relation to a particular Maulvi, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra states: “Some members from Gujrat told me that when the Promised Messiahas passed away, an Ahl-e-Hadith Maulvi told them, ‘You are now trapped because the Holy Prophetsa stated that after prophethood, the institution of Khilafat is established. You claim the Promised Messiah is a prophet, but irrespective of whether he is a non-law bearing prophet or attained the status of prophethood through his subservience to the Holy Prophetsa, prophethood is succeeded by Khilafat and you will not have Khilafat. You follow the values of the English, therefore will not seek to establish Khilafat.’ The Ahmadi member from Gujrat further stated that the next day they received a telegram.”

Nowadays we have the internet and phones and news can be conveyed in a matter of seconds, however in those days they would send information through post office via telegram. At times, it could take up to two to three days to receive a telegram post.

“The telegram contained the news that the Jamaat had taken the Bai‘at [pledge of allegiance] at the hands of the Hazrat Maulvi Nuruddin Sahibra

100 Years Ago… – News from Jamaats around the world

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100 Years Ago… – News from Jamaats around the world

Al Fazl, 21 June and 24 June 1919

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Qazi Abdullah Sahib’s letter to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih on the impact of Haqiqat-ul-Roya

My beloved master, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (may Allah be his helper)

Assalamo Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatohu

Although Haqiqat-ul-Roya, a collection of Huzoor’s lectures delivered at Jalsa Salana in 1917 was received late, but reading them had a delightful impact on the heart. Every word was refreshing. It served as an extremely sublime spiritual nourishment for the soul. One’s heart is filled with divine light, and an extraordinary energy and contentment is granted for further sacrifice. At this very moment, I find not a single challenging matter which could prove to be a hurdle for me in embarking the most cherished way. Huzoor’s pearls of wisdom had an electrifying effect on me.

Efficacy of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih’s prayer

An extraordinary sign of the fulfillment of Huzoor’s prayer was witnessed recently. Apparently, there were no signs of brother (…), a new Ahmadi convert, being released [from prison]. According to the prison governor, several Indians were more likely to be released before him and above all, it was impossible for the governor to recommend his release. Repeated requests were made to the home secretary which were rejected every single time. In spite of the adverse conditions, through the blessings of Allah the Almighty which were absorbed by the prayers of Huzoor, such circumstances were created miraculously that the new Muslim convert was released while the others who were more likely to be released remain behind bars.

Tract for tabligh

A short tract has been sent for printing. 10,000 copies have been ordered for the time being. During this time of the year, I intend to carry out tabligh moving about on foot. I observed istikhara [prayer seeking good from Allah] at night and all of a sudden, before getting up, I was whispering the following words:

وَاسْتَفْتَحُوا وَخَابَ كُلّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيْدٍ

“And they prayed for victory, and as a result thereof, every haughty enemy of truth came to naught.”

This humble one prays for Huzoor and I request Huzoor from the depth of my heart to pray for me.

Wassalam; Huzoor’s humble servant, Qazi Abdullah

Qazi Abdullah Sahib’s health

A telegram received from Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib on 16 June indicates that Qazi Abdullah Sahib’s health is relatively better than before, all praise belongs to Allah. Members of the Jamaat are requested to pray that Allah the Almighty grants him full recovery from illness. (Editor Al Fazl)

Tabligh in the UK

The truth of Islam lies in its pure teachings which is being acknowledged by the people of Europe after thorough research. Listening to this week’s lecture of Qazi Abdullah Sahib in the Lecture Hall, Star Street, London, a revered gentleman and his lady who already had a discourse with him in Hyde Park, openly admitted in front of the audience that the lecture was well reasoned and true and that they totally agree with it. Another respected lady, by the name of Miss Bobby South, embraced Islam through Hazrat Mufti Sahib. She was given the Islamic name Maryam and her request of Bai‘at has been sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.

Servant of religion; MS Abbasi

4 Star Street, London, W2. (21 May 1919)

Recent letter from Malabar

Through the blessings of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih’s prayers, a discussion was held with three paighamis [those Ahmadis who had not accepted Khilafat]. By the grace of Allah, truth has become clear upon them and they have sent a request for Bai‘at to be presented before our Imam, Khalifatul Masih II. Their names are B Muhammad Kunji Sahib, G Muhammad Sahib and K Kunji Ahmad Sahib.

Mahmud Ahmad

Al Fazl24 June 1919

By the grace of Allah the Almighty, tabligh is being carried out exceptionally well. According to the weekly report, an English gentleman named Mr Scott, inhabitant of Islington, embraced Islam through Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib. He was given the Islamic name Ibrahim. All praise belongs to Allah. At the Lecture Hall on Sunday evening, Hazrat Mufti Sahib delivered an address on The Blessings and Qualities of Islam in a very interesting manner. It had a positive impact on the new Muslim converts and the remaining audience which was fairly numbered. This humble one went to Southend-on-Sea on a tabligh visit where a number of people were spoken to about the verities of Islam Ahmadiyyat, aside from a public lecture. Moreover, literature was distributed.

Wassalam; Humbly yours, Qazi Abdullah

4 Star Street, London, W2. (28 May 1919)

A letter from Malabar

A recent letter from Sheikh Mahmud Ahmad Sahib indicates that the health of Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Sahib is on the road of recovery and the wound is healing. However, in spite of extreme weakness and loss of strength, which at times led to unconsciousness, Maulvi Sahib continued to carry out tabligh and sent letters to the chiefs of that region composed in Arabic.

Ahmadiyyat in Shimoga (Mysuru)

Bombay’s missionary, Hakim Khalil Ahmad Sahib went to Shimoga for some days, [then] part of Mysuru’s region. There was only one Ahmadi, Mir Kalimullah Sahib (thekedar) at that time. By now, through the blessings of Allah the Almighty, a Jamaat has been established there. It has become known from Hakim Sahib’s letter that as per the needs, a mosque has been built in a matter of only a few days. Hakim Sahib will send a detailed report from Bombay.  

Deepest appreciation

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Deepest appreciation

Assalamo Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatohu

I have been meaning to write to Al Hakam for some time now and I find that my inner yearning can hold it off no more, and so I put my thoughts [in writing].

It is indeed a phenomenon that living in a “connected world” and wanting bitesize pieces of information (or just the facts) through the plethora of social media apps and online content, I find myself deeply and intrinsically hooked to the Al Hakam newspaper.

Upon reading the many articles, especially those focused upon our beloved Imam, Syedna Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (may Allah be his Helper), the sheer impact that it leaves upon me is like that of a beautiful perfume or musk, where it leaves a trail of fragrance even after the person wearing it has gone. The fragrance continues to be smelt and the pleasure such a fragrance gives continues to invigorate. 

I find when reading the writing in Al Hakam that it comes to life and it is as if one can live, or is living through, that moment and I find myself visualising that moment as I read the many incredibly spiritually uplifting articles.

Not only has Al Hakam helped me to garner knowledge that I was previously not privy to, but it has also given me a most dramatic unquenchable thirst of wanting more and more. The highlight is certainly every Friday after Jumuah whereby I look forward to clicking on the app and finding new content. 

It is like being in a sweetshop when one is of a young age, but certainly this sweetshop is full of the sweets of spirituality and the sweets that enable one to truly feel connected. 

Thus, most humbly, I wish to take this opportunity to express my deepest and most heartfelt appreciation to the entire team for this incredible newspaper.

How fortunate we are that this precious gem that was started in the time of Al-Masih and Al-Mahdi, Hazrat Masih-e-Maudas is now once again alive and awakening so many through its incredibly pertinent, sometimes poignant and, more often than not, exhilarating articles.

I do not wish to take more of your time but suffice to say that I have tried to express my feelings above. I cannot do enough justice to expressing the inner pleasure and serenity that I feel when I open Al Hakam.

Indeed, it is a blessing of Allah, and certainly a result of the guidance of our beloved Imam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.

May Allah continue to bless all the team involved in the composition of Al Hakam. Amin. May Allah reward you all abundantly. Amin. May Allah enable you all to continue to provide service to the newspaper and may He grant you success in leaps and bounds. Amin. 

Finally, may Allah bless our beloved Imam, Huzoor-e-Aqdas (may Allah be his Helper) with a long, healthy life, and may our beloved Imam lead us to the victory of Islam Ahmadiyyat through the grace and help of Allah. Amin.

Wassalam,

Dr Atiq Ahmad Bhatti, Slough

Article on historicity of the Holy Prophetsa

I pray you and your team are well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the service you are being blessed to do. May Allah bless you. Amin.

I would like to draw your attention to the Grand Mosque in Cordoba. This was built by Abdul Rahman I of the Umayyad dynasty. There are detailed accounts of the construction and arrival of Muslims in Málaga, thus proving the existence of the religion of Islam and also proving the existence of our beloved Imam, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, peace and blessings of Allah be on him.

There is an overwhelming amount of physical evidence on the existence of the Holy Prophetsa. Much is present around the Battle of Yarmouk preserved in Roman history. It is undoubtedly a great shame that the Muslims of today are not even aware of the need to preserve the holy sites of Islam and proofs around the legitimacy of Islamic concepts and authenticity.

Therefore, I thank you for bringing this to my attention and I hope and pray that this article is read by those in positions of charge for the protection of such sites and relics and that they heed the warnings raised by the so-called scholars in Germany … Without any attention to a universe of proof in front of them, they deny the obvious.

Wassalam,

Waqar Ahmad, UK

40th Majlis-e-Shura UK

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40th Majlis-e-Shura UK

Jalees Ahmad

Al Hakam Correspondent

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On 15 and 16 June, the 40th National UK Majlis-e-Shura was successfully held in the Tahir Hall, Baitul Futuh complex.

Registration of delegates and special invitees began at 9am on Saturday, 15 June, and at 10am the Shura commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by the English transition.

At 10:20, announcements were made by the UK Jamaat’s General Secretary, Rana Mashood Sahib followed by the recommendations of the 39th Majlis-e-Shura and a report on their implementation.

Following this, at 11:45am, Amir Jamaat UK, Rafiq Ahmad Hayat Sahib addressed the Shura after which the subcommittees were formed.

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After the Zuhr and Asr prayers, the elections for the UK majlis-e-amila were conducted. After the elections, the subcommittees deliberations commenced.

The following day, the Shura continued and commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran and translation. Thereafter the subcommittees presented their reports.

Before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa arrival, Amir Sahib UK addressed the Shura in which he thanked all those who helped in contributing and making arrangements for the Shura, especially those who worked behind the scenes.

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At approximately 1pm, Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa arrived to address the UK Majlis-e-Shura, the summary of which has been included in this issue.  

After the concluding address, Huzooraa proceeded to the construction site of the new administrative block of Baitul Futuh to examine the work.

Thereafter, Huzooraa led Salat at the Baitul Futuh Mosque before attending a dinner with all Shura delegates and guests.

The Virtue Of Going To The Masjid

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The Virtue Of Going To The Masjid

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

“When a man goes out of his house to the Masjid, one foot records a good deed and the other erases a bad deed.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

21-27 June

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21-27 June

21 June 1908: The Promised Messiah’sas last written work, Paigham-e-Sulh (A Message of Peace), was read out for the representatives of different faiths in Punjab University Hall, Lahore by Khawaja Kamaluddin Sahib.

21 June 1913: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira announced the nikah of his son Abdul Hayy Sahib.

21 June 1920: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra established Muballighin Class and appointed Hazrat Hafiz Roshan Alira as its first teacher.

21 June 1928: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra set off on his journey to Dalhousie and stayed there until 5 August. Huzoorra appointed Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra as amir-e-muqami back at the headquarters (Qadian).

21 June 1931: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra article about the financial difficulties of farmers was read out in a conference of agriculturists held in Lyallpur, present-day Faisalabad.

21 June 1950: Hazrat Pir Manzur Muhammadra passed away. He had beautiful handwriting and had the privilege of writing with hand the first copy of many of the Promised Messiah’sas books. Hazrat Pir Sahibra introduced the unique system to teach children how to read the Quran – Qaida Yassarnal Quran.

22 June 1927: To poison the already tense atmosphere of the Indian subcontinent, a shameless member of the Arya Samaj, Rajpal, published a most scurrilous and disgraceful book concerning the Holy Prophetsa of Islam, called Rangila Rasul (The Flamboyant Prophet). A Hindu journal called Vartman of Amritsar also published an equally offensive article against the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra raised his voice against this and guided the masses at large and his Jamaat especially about how to react to this. The government prosecuted Rajpal for the offence. On this day, Rajpal was convicted and sentenced but was later acquitted by a high court judge, who took the view that the publication of the book did not fall within the scope of the relevant section of the Indian penal code. This entire case and a related contempt of court case against the Muslim press is worth studying. The services rendered by the Ahmadiyya Jamaat and Hazrat Chaudhry Zafarulla Khanra at the time are worth studying.

22 June 1948: Missionary in France, Malik Ataur-Rahman Sahib received official clearance and related documents from the concerned authorities to propagate the message of Islam in the country.

22 June 1957: Hazrat Sir Chaudhry Zafarulla Khanra inaugurated an Ahmadi mosque in Hamburg, Germany.

22 June 1964: The Promised Messiah’sas book Eik Ghalati ka Izala (A Misconception Removed) was confiscated on the orders of government officials of Pakistan. This ban was lifted on 16 August.

Hazrat Hafiz Roshan Ali Sahib ra

23 June 1929: Hazrat Hafiz Roshan Alira (right) passed away. He was a saintly individual and one of the stalwart scholars of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. He was famous for reciting the Holy Quran in a melodious voice. Two of his renowned students were Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Shams and Hazrat Maulana Abul Ata. He accompanied Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra in his journey to Europe in 1924.

23 June 1937: Hazrat Dr Syed Abdul Sattar Shahra passed away. He was the father of Hazrat Syeda Umm-e-Tahirra – wife of Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra and mother of Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh.

23 June 1944: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra instructed the young generation of the Jamaat to develop the habit of offering Tahajud prayers regularly.

25 June 1921: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra set out for his tour of Kashmir, which lasted a few months.

25 June 1956: At the start of the year, a small town was planned and developed near District Sarghoda’s town of Jaba. This settlement was named Nakhla. On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra arrived here for the first time to stay. However, this area was ransacked and looted in May/June 1974 by opponents during anti-Ahmadiyya riots.

26 June 1937: During the Khilafat of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, many conspiracies were hatched against the Jamaat. Some of these plots were so alarming that in all likelihood, the Jamaat could have been wiped off the face of the earth. Huzoorra overcame every obstacle with amazing courage. He foretold that every plot would fail. Every prediction made by Huzoorra came true. In 1937, Sheikh Abdur Rahman Misri, former principal of Madrasa Ahmadiyya started creating a rift in the community. He wrote vilifying letters and tried his utmost to create disorder within the Jamaat. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra wise reply was published in this day’s issue of Al Fazl along with the announcement of his expulsion from the Jamaat.

26 June 1942: With the expansion of war fronts, the flames and horrors of World War 2 started engulfing the Middle East, Egypt and other neighbouring areas. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra asked his followers to sincerely pray for the security and sanctity of sacred places located in the Muslim world.

26 June 1952: On this day, the famous Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm dedicated a column to Hasanein bin Makhlouf, a scholar of the country. This article contained many misleading ideas regarding the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. To defuse the impact, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra prepared an article under the title, Al-Youm. Moreover, Huzoorra issued a pamphlet for the Pakistani public in an attempt to save them from going astray.

26 June 1953: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra laid the foundation stone of an academic block and hostel building of Talim-ul-Islam College Rabwah. A brick from Dar-ul-Masih Qadian was used for this purpose.

27 June 1905: Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra celebrated the completion of the first reading of the Holy Quran by his son Abdul Hayy Sahib. Under the guidance of the Promised Messiahas, he also arranged food for people.

27 June 1925: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra sent Hazrat Syed Zain-ul-Abidin Waliullah Shahra and Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Shamsra to Syria to establish the Ahmadiyya Mission there. They reached their destination on 27 July.

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Al Hakam is a weekly English newspaper for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat around the world. Its aim is to provide Ahmadis with content regarding the beliefs of the true Islam, reintroduced to the world by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, peace be on him.

Contact us: info@alhakam.org

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