Prophecies of the Promised Messiah a.s.: Verbal claim of Bai‘at is not enough

Responding to Allegations

Alhakam

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28th June 2019

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Prophecies of the Promised Messiah a.s.: Verbal claim of Bai‘at is not enough

“Our Jamaat must not adhere to mere verbal claims alone and should not be satisfied on simply taking the pledge of Bai‘at. Instead, they should bring a [positive] change in themselves. Ponder over the fact that the army of Moses^as was affected by the outbreak of plague on various occasions. The enemies must have rejoiced but Moses^as would have been deeply affected by the situation. It is written [in the books of history] that the epidemic claimed 80,000 lives due to the curse of Balam. Although many others were sinful as well but the followers of Moses^as were dually responsible. Very few people purify their hearts.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, pp. 68-69)

Referring to the above-mentioned extract, the opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as suggest that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat pointed out on 31 October 1902 that it might be possible that members of the Jamaat pass away in greater numbers as compared to others [due to the outbreak of plague].

The aforementioned excerpt of the Promised Messiah^asclearly shows that he said nothing of the sort. Certainly, he is guiding members of the Jamaat to produce a righteous change in themselves, as was the practice of earlier prophets. Hence, Allah the Almighty has declared in the Holy Quran:

وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ

“And he [the prophet] purifies them” (Surah Al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.165). This has been declared as an integral task from among the responsibilities of the Holy Prophet^sa. At another place, Allah the Almighty states in the Holy Quran:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكَّى

“Verily, he truly prospers who purifies himself.” (Surah al-A‘la, Ch.87: V.15)

Here, it should be noted that the achievement of true prosperity has not been linked with the simple pledge of Bai‘at.

Examining the accounts of earlier prophets mentioned in the Holy Quran, we find that every prophet advises his nation to be remorseful and seek forgiveness. Hence, it is stated in the Holy Quran regarding prophets Noah^as, Hud^as, Saleh^as, Lot^as and Shuaib^as that they directed their people by saying:

إِنِّي لَكُمْ رَسُوْلٌ أَمِيْنٌ ۔ فَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ وَأَطِيْعُوْنِ

“Surely, I am to you a Messenger, entirely trustworthy. So fear Allah and obey me.” (Surah al-Shuara, Ch.2: V.144-145)

In the same manner, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat guided members of his Jamaat to strive towards virtuous development.

Giving the example of the spread of plague in the followers of Moses^as, Hazrat Ahmad^as elucidated the fact that even the believers of a prophet could suffer a torment if they refrained from acting upon the teachings sent by Allah the Almighty, as it is stated in the Holy Quran:

فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِيْنَ ظَلَمُوْا رِجْزًا مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوْا يَفْسُقُونَ

“So We sent down upon the transgressors a punishment from heaven, because they were disobedient.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.60)

Pondering over the Holy Quran, we come to know that simply performing the Bai‘at is not enough for salvation. In fact, it is the first step towards faith. Hence, Allah the Almighty states in the Holy Quran:

قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا ۖ قُلْ لَّمْ تُؤْمِنُوْا وَلٰكِنْ قُوْلُوْا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيْمَانُ فِيْ قُلُوْبِكُمْ

“The Arabs of the desert say, ‘We believe.’ Say, ‘You have not believed yet; but rather say, we have accepted Islam for the true belief has not yet entered into your hearts.’” (Surah al-Hujurat, Ch.49: V.15)

Accordingly, the Promised Messiah^as said:

“Our Jamaat must not adhere to mere verbal claims alone and should not be satisfied on simply taking the pledge of Bai‘at.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, pp. 68-69)

The opponents move on to cite another extract of the Promised Messiah^as, dated 25 November 1902, and assert that it contradicts his earlier statement. Below is the exact quotation of the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat which is pointed out by opponents:

“The [present] plague epidemic has not come as a disease. It has only appeared to reform people. You should not correct yourselves from [the fear of] its chastisement, but instead, reform yourselves for the sake of Allah the Almighty, so that you stay free of Shirk [attributing partners to Allah]. Certain people raise the objection that it [the plague] only takes the lives of the poor. It is another kind of helplessness. Instead of learning a lesson, they object. Several others say that it is a mere disease therefore it has nothing to do with worship, fasting, good and bad deeds, and that one should get it treated from doctors. Hence, recklessness has gone beyond imagination. However, the plague is a mirror of God through which He shall manifest himself.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p. 233)

The above-mentioned excerpt clearly shows that the opponents have shot an arrow in the dark as there is not the slightest contradiction between this statement of the Promised Messiah^as and the one mentioned at the start. Moreover, if the opponents had really found any kind of contradiction, it was their responsibility to point it out. On the contrary, they have deceitfully presented a statement of the Promised Messiah^as in their own words and simply said that it contradicts his earlier statement. This indicates that they have nothing to support their argument.

Referring to the same extract, opponents suggest that these “contradictory” statements of the Promised Messiah^as threw the Ahmadiyya Jamaat into confusion and disorganised it soon after the demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra. Even within his lifetime, they suggest, dissensions began to take root.

Allah the Almighty lays down a key principle to understand the matters of faith. He states in the Holy Quran:

لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

“Assuredly, in their [prophets’] narrative there is a lesson for men” (Surah Yusuf, Ch.12: V.112). It means that every matter should be resolved in light of the accounts of prophets. If it is in accordance with the instances of prophets, it is to be considered correct, and if it is against them, it is false.

The opponents have levelled this allegation out of spite because the one who is divinely commissioned cannot be held responsible for the issues that caused dissensions in his Jamaat after his demise. If the objection is considered true, then every prophet would come under its impact. God forbid, it would hugely affect the most dignified and innocent soul of the Holy Prophet^sa as his Ummah has been divided into countless sects. Even today, Muslims are killing each other due to their mutual disputes and every sect is a vivid testimony of:

كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُوْنَ

“Every party is rejoicing in what they have” (Surah al-Rum, Ch.30: V.33). The same is the case of earlier prophets.

Is it rational and logical to hold Moses^as and Jesus^as accountable for their peoples being divided into various sects?

Certain issues led to dissension in the Jamaat after the demise of the Promised Messiah^as but the seeker of truth can easily decide between right and wrong by witnessing that group which is blessed with divine succour. Moreover, one can easily observe that Jamaat which is a living testimony of the prophecies of the Holy Prophet^sa and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat regarding the revival of Islam and Khilafat on the precepts of prophethood. However, only that person can recognise this fact who is free from enmity and follows the guidance laid down by the Holy Prophet^sa in the following Hadith:

Hazrat Huzayfa bin al-Yaman^ranarrates, “I asked the Holy Prophet^sa, ‘Will there be a period of evil upon our Ummah?’ to which he replied, ‘Yes, my Ummah will also experience an age of evil.’ Then I asked, ‘What do you instruct me to do if such an evil period comes upon our Ummah?’ He said, ‘Hold fast to the Jamaat of Muslims and their Imam.’ I said, ‘What if there is neither a Jamaat of Muslims nor an Imam?’ He replied, ‘Then turn away from all those sects even if you have to bite [eat] at the roots of a tree till death overtakes you in that state.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Fitan)

In the above-mentioned Hadith, the Holy Prophet^sa guides us to side with that Jamaat of Muslims which is being led by an imam who is selected by Allah the Almighty. Certainly, a mere scholar or an imam of a mosque is not meant by this Imam, but only a prophet or a khalifa could be considered that Imam.

There is only one group or Jamaat that openly declares their Khalifa to be elected by God and that he is the successor of the Promised Messiah^as who was a prophet of God.

Hence, if a person seeks the truth, they must hold fast to the Imam of the age. However, if they are unable to identify that Imam foretold in the prophecy of the Holy Prophet^sa, they should turn away from every other sect even if they have to survive by eating the roots of a tree till death overtakes them while they are in that state, otherwise they would be considered an opponent of the Holy Prophet^sa.

Mentioning the same extract under discussion, the opponents point out that the Promised Messiah^as considered the treatment of plague to be reckless and haughty. The original statement of the Promised Messiah^ascited earlier surely denies these false assertions. On the other hand, he had commended the treatment of plague provided by the government. Hazrat Ahmad^as states:

“There is no denying that this remedy [for plague] has proven to be effective.” (Noah’s Ark, p. 2)

The Promised Messiah^as considered the attitude of those as reckless and haughty who said that it was a mere disease and therefore, instead of focusing on worship, fasting, good and bad deeds etc., one should get it treated from doctors.

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

6th Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema Ireland

Europe

Alhakam

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28th June 2019

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Shahzad Malik, Ireland Correspondent

The Waqf-e-Nau department in Ireland held its 6^th annual Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema on Sunday, 16 June at Esker Educate Together National School, Dublin for both Waqifeen-e-Nau and Waqifaat-e-Nau.

Preparations for the Ijtema began one month prior to the appointed date. Various departments were formed. A month prior to the Ijtema, the country’s secretary of Waqf-e-Nau presided over two meetings to allocate various tasks to the heads of these departments.

In addition to this, a letter requesting prayers for the success of the Ijtema was sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper.

In the late afternoon of Saturday, 15 June, many of the departments, along with their teams, diligently worked late into the night to set up the main hall and the classrooms that were going to be utilised throughout the day by both Waqifeen-e-Nau and Waqifaat-e-Nau.

After registration and breakfast, which began at 9:30am, Dr Anwar Malik Sahib, National President of Jamaat Ireland, chaired the opening session that began at 10:30am with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Dr Adnan Ahmad Rana Sahib, followed by its English and Urdu translations. Thereafter Ruhaan Malik recited a few couplets from a nazm of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra. This was followed by a clip from Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’s^aa recent address at the UK Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema, delivered on Sunday 7 April, wherein Huzoor-e-Anwar^aa drew the attention of Waqifeen towards the rights due to Allah and the rights owed to humankind.

The proceedings of this session were also relayed in the Waqifaat area as well. This formal session ended at 11am with silent prayer led by the national president.

For the academic competitions, the Waqifeen-e-Nau were split into 4 groups comprising of ages 5-7, 8-10, 11-15 and 16+. The academic competitions commenced at 11:15 which consisted of tilawat, nazm, English & Urdu speeches and Hifz-e-Quran. As two groups participated in their academic competitions, two groups simultaneously had their academic assessments conducted. The same pattern was used on the Waqifaat side. The academic competitions lasted until 1:15pm and was followed by a group discussion session.

This year, for the first time, a group discussion was held that was conducted by Ibrahim Noonan Sahib, Missionary In-charge Ireland. During this session, topics such as “What does the term Waqf mean?”, “Why was the Waqf-e-Nau scheme launched?”, “Professions for Waqifeen-e-Nau” and others were discussed. Alhamdolillah this session was enjoyed by all Waqifeen and proved beneficial in helping them to further understand the meaning of Waqf. This session finished at 2pm and was followed by Zuhr and Asr prayers and lunch.

At 3:30pm, a question & answer session was held. The panel consisted of Ireland Jamaat’s national president, missionary in-charge and secretary for Waqf-e-Nau. Both the Waqifeen and Waqifaat asked many intriguing questions ranging from a variety of topics. This session was thoroughly enjoyed by all those present and finished at 4:45pm.

The concluding session began at 5:05pm which was again chaired by the national president. After the recitation of the Holy Quran and its English translation, an Urdu nazm was recited.

Thereafter, Rabeeb Mirza Sahib, National Secretary for Waqf-e-Nau presented the Ijtema Report. This was followed by the prize distribution ceremony, which was simultaneously held on the Waqifaat side. After this, the national president delivered the concluding address wherein he quoted excerpts from the recent address of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa at the UK Waqf-e-Nau Ijtema.

He reminded Waqifeen-e-Nau over the age of 15 to fill their re-confirmation forms and also those who are working to constantly seek guidance from Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa. He called upon all Waqifeen and Waqifaat to purchase the quarterly central Waqf-e-Nau magazines, Ismael and Maryam.

The concluding session ended with silent prayer led by the national president 5:30pm. This was followed by a group photo.

The total attendance, including both the ladies and men’s side, was 102.

Apart from this, the recent Ismael and Maryam magazines, along with the newly published Waqf-e-Nau syllabus, were made available for purchase throughout the Ijtema.

The Significance of Jumuah Prayers

Alhakam

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28th June 2019

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Friday Sermon

31 May 2019

The Significance of Jumuah Prayers

After reciting the Tashahud, Ta‘awuz, and Surah al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa recited verses 10-12 of Surah al-Jumuah, after which he commenced with the Sermon:

یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِذَا نُوۡدِیَ لِلصَّلٰوۃِ مِنۡ یَّوۡمِ الۡجُمُعَۃِ فَاسۡعَوۡا اِلٰی ذِکۡرِ اللّٰہِ وَ ذَرُوا الۡبَیۡعَ ؕ ذٰلِکُمۡ خَیۡرٌ لَّکُمۡ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ۔ فَاِذَا قُضِیَتِ الصَّلٰوۃُ فَانۡتَشِرُوۡا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ وَ ابۡتَغُوۡا مِنۡ فَضۡلِ اللّٰہِ وَ اذۡکُرُوا اللّٰہَ کَثِیۡرًا لَّعَلَّکُمۡ تُفۡلِحُوۡنَ۔ وَ اِذَا رَاَوۡا تِجَارَۃً اَوۡ لَہۡوَاۨ انۡفَضُّوۡۤا اِلَیۡہَا وَ تَرَکُوۡکَ قَآئِمًا ؕ قُلۡ مَا عِنۡدَ اللّٰہِ خَیۡرٌ مِّنَ اللَّہۡوِ وَ مِنَ التِّجَارَۃِ ؕ وَ اللّٰہُ خَیۡرُ الرّٰزِقِیۡنَ۔

The translation of these verses is as follows:

“O ye who believe! when the call is made for Prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off all business. That is better for you, if you only knew. And when the Prayer is finished, then disperse in the land and seek of Allah’s grace, and remember Allah much, that you may prosper. But when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they break up for it, and leave thee standing. Say, ‘That which is with Allah is better than amusement and merchandise, and Allah is the Best Provider.’” (Surah al-Jumuah, Ch.62: V.10-12)

Today is the last Friday of this Ramadan. As it is usually the case, people are generally more inclined and pay special attention towards attending this Friday Sermon. Coincidentally, the majority of schools are on term break and hence, we can see an increased attendance as is generally the case.

The verses that I have recited are from the last ruku‘ of Surah al-Jumuah. In these verses, God Almighty has clearly explained the significance of the Friday prayers. Thus, in the sight of God Almighty, attending the Friday prayers is of vital importance.

God Almighty has clearly stated that when one is called for the Friday prayer, then one should not show any sort of listlessness. Rather, one ought to pay heed immediately and attend the Friday prayer, regardless of how busy one may be. Even if it is the peak business hour, whereby neglecting the business affairs and trade can result in a loss of millions for a businessman, one should not care about it and should attend the Friday prayers. This is because going to the central mosque to attend the Friday prayers and listening to the Friday sermon of the imam is hundreds of thousands of times better than one’s trade, businesses and other worldly affairs. However, only such an individual can realise this, who truly understands its importance.

God Almighty states that one who truly understands its true significance would certainly consider these trades and businesses of secondary importance. At the same time, God Almighty also states that one is free to go about their affairs after the Friday prayers. He states that by all means, one can go and see to their worldly affairs and businesses and that He will grant them His blessings. However, He also makes clear that one should not restrict their worship merely to the Friday prayers, rather one should remember God Almighty at all times.

One should remain focused on the remembrance of God Almighty, as a result of which one will be granted with greater success than before – religiously, spiritually as well as worldly. Those who remember God Almighty, they are also mindful of the fact that following the Friday prayer, they have to offer the Asr prayer as well, as this is also among their obligations. Similarly, they are mindful of the fact that they have to offer Maghrib and Isha prayers as these are also among their obligations. Both worldly affairs and other blessings are acquired through the grace of God Almighty alone. Thus, prosperity is interlinked with the remembrance and worship of God Almighty. Trying to offer the Friday prayer with regularity, remembering God Almighty and fulfilling the due rights of His worship should not be limited to the month of Ramadan alone, rather, as it is evident from these verses, this is a general command relating to every Friday prayer. The verse contains a general instruction as well as a specific instruction.

While mentioning the importance of the Friday prayer, on one occasion the Promised Messiah^as states that Friday is a day of Eid, and this Eid is far greater than the other Eid celebrations. With regard to how it is superior, the Promised Messiah^as states that Surah al-Jumuah has been revealed for this Eid. That is, particular attention has been drawn towards offering Friday prayers in Surah al-Jumuah. Furthermore, whilst stating the importance of Friday prayers, the Promised Messiah^as has also mentioned a conversation between Hazrat Umar^ra and a Jewish man. The incident is as follows that when the verse:

اَلۡیَوۡمَ اَکۡمَلۡتُ لَکُمۡ دِیۡنَکُمۡ

“This day have I perfected for you your religion”, was revealed, a Jew said that the Muslims ought to celebrate Eid on the day this verse was revealed; or he said that if this verse was revealed to us, we would have celebrated Eid. Hazrat Umar^ra replied that Friday is a day of Eid as this verse was revealed on a Friday.

The Promised Messiah^as states that many people are unaware of the true essence of this Eid. (Malfuzat, Vol. 8, p. 399)

God Almighty has enjoined to celebrate this Eid every week. It contains within it glad tidings of faith having been perfected and the completion of the favours of God Almighty. This day is not given its due importance and people simply believe that by making particular efforts to attend the last Friday prayer of Ramadan, they will attain the reward of every Friday prayer. Hence, we must be very mindful of safeguarding our Friday prayers. We must give the same importance to each and every Friday prayer throughout the year as we give to the last Friday prayer of Ramadan.

God Almighty says that every true believer should pay attention towards this. However, in reality many people do not pay attention towards this and they waste their Friday prayers for the sake of worldly affairs and materialistic pursuits. God Almighty has stated that one should know that whatever is with God Almighty is far greater than these material objects, wealth and one’s worldly pursuits. Furthermore, it is God Almighty alone Who grants man provisions. Hence, this is a matter of great importance and one that every believer should pay attention towards. We in particular, who believe in the Imam of the age, must pay special attention towards this.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra would say that Ahmadis are in fact true believers, as Ahmadis have accepted the Imam of the age. (Haqaiq-ul-Furqan, Vol. 4, pp. 122-123)

Hence, this belief places a responsibility on us to align our actions in accordance with the teaching of God Almighty as well as to try and obey His commands. Worldly desires should not be our preferences, rather, the pleasure of God Almighty and acquiring His pleasure should be our preference. However, there are many among us who tend to forget the reason why they have accepted the Promised Messiah^as.

The Promised Messiah^as was sent to strengthen our relationship with God Almighty. He appeared in order to make us understand that one’s ultimate objective should be to attain the pleasure and love of God Almighty. It should not be the case that one should only pray to God Almighty, supplicate and prostrate before Him when one’s worldly desires are not being fulfilled. Moreover, it should also not be the case that one is unmindful of the importance of attaining the pleasure of God Almighty and only gives preference to their desires and worldly needs.

At one place the Promised Messiah^as states:

“I say truly that the Friday prayer has been established as a special occasion for the fortunate ones; blessed are those who benefit from it. Those of you who have established a bond with me should never become arrogant that you have accomplished what was required of you. Indeed, it is true that you are closer to me than those who have rejected me, i.e. those who have incurred God Almighty’s displeasure owing to their vehement rejection and dishonour.”

The Promised Messiah^as further states:

“It is also true that you employed positive reasoning with regard to me and protected yourself from the wrath of God Almighty. However, the reality is that you are a step closer to that fountain established by God in order to bestow everlasting life. Indeed the only thing left is to drink from this fountain. Thus, implore God Almighty so that He many grant you the ability to drink from this fountain. It is only through His grace and mercy that one can drink from it and satiate their thirst; without God, nothing is possible. I am certain that whoever drinks from this fountain will not be destroyed because this water grants life and protects one from destruction and the attacks of Satan. How can one fully replenish themselves from this spring? It is by fulfilling the two rights God Almighty has made incumbent upon you to your utmost ability; one of these is to fulfil the rights due to God and the other is to fulfil the rights due to His creation.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 3, pp. 184-185)

Thus, the Promised Messiah^as has explained that one’s actions should be in accordance with the teachings of God Almighty and that after accepting the Promised Messiah, one should raise the standard of their worship and also in serving humanity. If this is not accomplished, then one cannot be counted amongst those who attain the favours of God Almighty in a manner that one truly ought to. In order to drink water from this fountain, one must revaluate their preferences and objectives.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra once stated, “I am anxious to know if I am the one being addressed in the statement of the Promised Messiah^as where he stated that people have yet to drink water from this fountain.” (Haqaiq-ul-Furqan, Vol. 4, p. 126)

We are all aware of the lofty status of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra since the Promised Messiah^as held him in high esteem. If he was anxious about this, then how concerned should we be in relation to striving to drink from this fountain and to become those who discharge the due rights of our pledge of allegiance? Hence, it is vital to attain the pleasure of God Almighty in order to discharge His rights. It is necessary to bear in mind whether we have fulfilled the due rights of His worship because He has established worship as the sole purpose of our creation. God Almighty states:

وَ مَا خَلَقۡتُ الۡجِنَّ وَ الۡاِنۡسَ اِلَّا لِیَعۡبُدُوۡنِ

“And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.”

God Almighty has elaborated the purpose of our creation. God Almighty did not state that since one obeys His commandment by offering the last Friday prayer of the month of Ramadan that one has fulfilled the due right of His worship. In fact, He stated that this is a practise that one must adopt from an early age right until one’s last breath.

Hence, do not be under the impression that offering one Friday prayer in the year is sufficient, rather every single Friday prayer is important. Whilst drawing attention to observing the Friday prayers, God Almighty has not stated that one should offer the prayers to fulfil the rights owed to Him or offer the daily prayers as they benefit God Almighty in any way, or that God Almighty is in need of our Friday prayers and remembrance. Rather, God has stated that when a person goes for the Friday prayers, offers the prayers, listens to the sermon and remembers God, there comes an hour wherein God Almighty accepts whatever His servant asks of Him. In other words, if God Almighty grants man such an hour, then apart from things which are unlawful, whatever man requests is granted to him. (Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Jumuah, Hadith no. 852)

Bear in mind that this hour and this time is not specific to any particular Friday, it is for each and every Friday prayer.

Whilst stressing the importance of the Friday prayers, on one occasion the Holy Prophet^sa stated:

“Whoever believes in God and the Hereafter, it has been made incumbent upon them to offer the Jumuah prayer on Friday, except for the sick, the wayfarer, women, children and the bondsman, as they are all compelled by certain limitations.”

The Holy Prophet^sa then stated, “He who is neglectful of the Friday prayers owing to their frivolous pursuits or trade, God Almighty shall also pay no regard – surely Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.” (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 7, p. 726, Kitab-ul-Salat, Hadith no. 21120)

God Almighty is not in need of anything from us. In fact, He is the One Who bestows everything, and owing to this, He requires that a believer ought to praise Him. The Holy Prophet^sa also stated that the reward for good deeds on Friday increases manifold. (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 7, p. 712, Kitab-ul-Salat, Hadith no. 21057)

What further good deeds are there outside the sphere of the commandments of God Almighty and acting upon them? Therefore, when a believer acts upon the commandments of God Almighty, for the sake of attaining His pleasure, among which is the command to attend the Friday prayers and to pay attention towards prayer and worship, then this is indeed a great virtue.

Furthermore, how great a reward will God Almighty be granting a believer, who carries out good deeds, offers his prayers and attends the Friday prayers, purely for the sake of obtaining the pleasure of God and without giving any precedence to worldly desires. Regarding those who forsake the Friday prayer without reason, the Holy Prophet^sa gave a grave warning that they shall be considered amongst the hypocrites. (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 7, p. 730, Kitab-ul-Salat, Hadith 21144)

The Holy Prophet^sa also stated that he who misses three consecutive Friday prayers out of negligence, God Almighty shall place a seal on their hearts. (Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitab-ul-Salat, Hadith 1052)

Hence this is a very alarming situation, because once the seal is set upon one’s heart, the ability to do good deeds also continues to diminish and attending the prayers and the Friday prayers unwillingly will continue to foster hypocrisy.

Thus, this is a very worrying situation which requires a great deal of attention. On one occasion the Holy Prophet^sa instructed to offer the Friday prayers because the one who distances themselves from offering the Friday prayers will remain distant from paradise, even though they may be destined for paradise originally. (Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 6, p. 752, Hadith no. 20373)

Likewise, the Holy Prophet^sa instructed to participate in the Friday prayers on countless occasions. Moreover, he also issued warnings to those who miss it without good reason. He never stated that you should only attend the final Friday in Ramadan and you shall have your sins forgiven. Rather, as we have determined from one of his instructions that the Holy Prophet^sa stated that one who forsakes the Friday prayer or shows negligence due to their trade or being immersed in worldly affairs and endeavours, then God Almighty shall also forsake them. However, this is not limited to just the Friday prayer, in fact, let alone abandoning prayers and the Friday prayer owing to one’s worldly desires, one of the hallmarks of a believer who fulfils the due rights of prayer is that he anticipates and remains anxious between one prayer and the next, and also between one Friday prayer and the next Friday Prayer and between one Ramadan and the following Ramadan. They do not neglect their Friday prayers and other obligatory prayers for the sake of their worldly endeavours.

Therefore, we ought to be mindful of our prayers and ensure to keep our priorities in order. One must strive in order to attain [the nearness of] God Almighty and it is essential to develop a true understanding of this because this cannot be achieved merely through verbal deceleration.

If one was to carefully ponder upon this, they would realise that their actions are not reflective of one who truly understands the status of God and His grandeur. By assessing the practise of many of us, we cannot say that our conditions are like that of one who truly recognises God Almighty, in fact even our prayers are only to fulfil our personal interests.

If the objective of one’s prayers are to attain God Almighty, there would be consistency in one’s prayers. One’s heart should not only be inclined towards the Friday prayers, rather they should remain ever inclined towards offering all five daily prayers in the mosque. However, as I mentioned, many do not have a true understanding of this; they prioritise their temporary and urgent needs, but that which is everlasting and of greater significance is given secondary importance. They abandon their prayers and the Friday prayer and seek to acquire their temporary worldly benefits, questioning the difference it would make since they can seek God Almighty’s forgiveness later and considering it best to first pursue their worldly endeavours.

A businessman may say that he does not want to lose the customer for who knows if such a customer will ever come again. Similarly, an employee who meets his superior may feel that since he is in a good mood therefore if he was to seek leave because it was the time for prayer or the Friday prayer then perhaps his superior may become upset with him and thus he will be deprived from receiving any favour from him.

If such a thought arises in a person, then their priorities are completely different; their desire for the world supersedes their desire for God Almighty. Similarly, there are many other desires which instead of being given secondary importance to God Almighty, have become their foremost priority. For them, their worldly desires take precedence over God Almighty.

At that moment, one forgets the admonishment of the Holy Prophet^sa that when one forsakes God Almighty and gives precedence to their worldly desires over Him, then God Almighty also forsakes that person and despite them deserving paradise, they are deprived from it owing to their neglectful attitude.

Thus, it is the duty of a believer to always be mindful of the fact that any trade and business, or any of their affairs for that matter, can only be blessed through the grace of God Almighty. Hence, if one can only attain these blessings through the grace of God Almighty, then they ought to strive to fulfil His rights first.

Therefore, everyone must try and understand this principle. If this principle is understood, then for the five daily prayers and the Friday prayers, our mosques will remain populated and in fact will appear to become short of space, even after Ramadan. Indeed, this was the very purpose of the Promised Messiah’s^as advent to bring mankind closer to God Almighty and this is also the objective of our Bai‘at i.e. to attain God’s nearness, develop a bond with Him and to become His true servant.

Our daily prayers, Friday prayers, observing fasts and Eid should solely be for attaining the nearness of God Almighty. It is for this reason that God Almighty has prescribed the month of Ramadan, so that the believers may raise the standard of their virtue and worship by paying special focus in this month. The standard they achieve should then be maintained and then seek to further build on that in the next Ramadan. It should not be the case that after Ramadan, one regresses back to the same level they started at. This is precisely what the Promised Messiah^as has stated that if one’s present is not showing improvement from their past, they cannot be considered a true believer. (Malfuzat, Vol. 10, p. 138)

Thus, we have not gathered here today to bid farewell to the Friday prayer, rather we have gathered here to pray to God Almighty to further strengthen us in our piety, worship and love for God Almighty. We should make a solemn pledge that, God willing, we shall strive to further excel in our relation with God Almighty. However, we can only make this pledge and pray for this when we truly understand what it means to acquire the nearness of God Almighty. In other words, one should truly understand that God Almighty is the possessor and fountainhead of all powers and He is One Who can complete every task to its perfection.

However, if one is to hold worldly pleasures and endeavours dearer than God, then their example is that of children who have no idea of the true value of diamonds. If such children were to find those diamonds, they would take them as mere marbles and would play with them whereby they throw marbles and the one who collects the greatest number of marbles by hitting the other marbles wins. This is the example of such people in that they too are playing with diamonds. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra relating an incident states:

“Perhaps it was during my travel to Hajj when I was waiting for the ship at Bombay,” in those days they travelled by sea, “a friend told me that a few days ago a jeweller was going through the marketplace and lost his diamonds. It is said that there were perhaps 105 diamonds in total, consisting of various sizes. The jeweller reported this to the central police office who then informed all the local police stations in order to keep an eye out and carry out a search. After a few days, a person came to the police station and reported that he had seen some children playing with the diamonds. When one of the children was asked about it, he replied that he thought they were marbles. He said he found them wrapped in a piece of paper and thought they were marbles and just like other children, he also began to play with them. He was then asked where the rest of the diamonds were and he replied that he had shared them with the other children of his neighbourhood. Even though those diamonds were worth hundreds of thousands of rupees, how would a child know what their true value was?”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra further states:

“If the child’s father had found them, perhaps he would have tried to hide them and may have even left the city to sell them elsewhere in another city. However, they had no value in the eyes of the child and since he thought they were marbles, therefore he shared them with the other children. If the child had found small sweets, he would have been overjoyed and perhaps would not have shared them like he did with the marbles. However, in the case of the marbles, when the other children asked for them, he may have thought what he would do with 105 marbles and therefore shared them with the others. However, if they were sweets on the other hand, he would never have shared them like that and would have decided to eat them himself. Thus, the sweets would have had more value in the sight of the child as compared to the marbles.”

Similarly, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra narrated another fable in which a man was travelling across a jungle. His food and provisions had become exhausted. He was starving to the extent that he did not see how he would survive without food. On the way he saw a sack and thinking that it contained roasted seeds or something edible, he rushed towards the sack. He slashed it with his knife, only to discover that it contained pearls. Dejected by this, he discarded the sack. In that instance, a handful of seeds seemed more precious to him than those pearls. Thus, one appreciates an object according to the need and knowledge of it. Some people in their estimation strive in search of something insignificant but then overlook the important matters. (Khutabat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 20, pp. 494-495)

This is something we observe in relation to worldly pursuits and forging a connection with God Almighty. Many people in the world act in this manner and owing to their lack of knowledge or understanding about this, they give preference to these pursuits over their prayers. They consider less important matters to be very important for them and push aside those matters which are in fact vital for them.

With regard to giving preference to prayer, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra has mentioned an excellent point. Before I mention his point, many people ask me as well that they pray in earnestness and with fervency, yet their prayers are not accepted. I answer them in light of the verses I spoke about during the first sermon of this Ramadan in which God Almighty has said that He is near to His servants and that He listens to their prayers. God Almighty states:

اُجِیۡبُ دَعۡوَۃَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ ۙ فَلۡیَسۡتَجِیۡبُوۡا لِیۡ وَ لۡیُؤۡمِنُوۡا بِیۡ لَعَلَّہُمۡ یَرۡشُدُوۡنَ

With regard to this verse, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra has elaborated on the clause

دَعۡوَۃَ الدَّاعِ

“The prayer of the supplicant” and states that this does not include every person who supplicates to God. Rather the acceptance of prayer mentioned in this clause refers to those supplicants who fast in the day for the sake of God Almighty, offer the obligatory prayers, spend time in remembrance of God Almighty, safeguard their prayers and the Friday prayers and then in the night, they supplicate to God Almighty with fervency and devotion. Although the meaning of ‘al-Da‘i’ – the supplicant – could include every person who prays, however, in these verses, since the topic of Ramadan is specifically under discussion, therefore it refers to those supplicants who pray only for the sake of God Almighty. They do not offer their prayers only during Ramadan, in fact they worship all year round. They do not offer prayers for worldly pursuits, rather they only pray to be granted the nearness of God Almighty. God Almighty has stated that if a person abandons everything and seeks His nearness, then God Almighty listens to that person’s prayers and this is the meaning of ‘al-Da‘i’ [the supplicant] as explained by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra. God Almighty has stated that His servants are those who strive to find Him, as explained in the verse:

وَ اِذَا سَاَلَکَ عِبَادِیۡ عَنِّیۡ

that is, when God’s servants enquire about Him and wish to form a connection with Him, they do not enquire about food, employment nor any worldly desire, in fact they only ask, “where is God Almighty, as we wish to form a connection with Him.”

God Almighty has stated that those who are anxious to meet Him, He responds to their calling. God Almighty has not stated that He certainly responds to those people who pray to Him about employment, food or for them to be bestowed wealth. Usually it is the case that the people who seek these things from God Almighty are the ones who say that God Almighty did not respond to their earnest and fervent prayers. The people who seek these things from God Almighty are those who worship God only occasionally. They only pray to God Almighty and fulfil His worship so long as they are in need of something. Their state of fervency is only temporary.

Some people say that they prayed with great anguish and fervency, however God Almighty did not listen to their prayers. God Almighty has not stated anywhere that He shall fulfil all of man’s worldly desires and accept prayers related to them. Indeed, if one was to bring about virtuous changes within themselves and then pray in anguish to find God Almighty, then God has stated that He will certainly listen to such prayers. God will then become the friend of such a supplicant and stand side by side with him, fulfil their requests and fight against their enemies.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra states:

“Some subject matters are not clear from the words alone, but instead are hidden deep within the text. The same is the case for the meaning of ‘al-Da‘i’ [the supplicant] in that it does not refer to every supplicant, rather it refers to the one who seeks God Almighty. God has stated, ‘When My servants strive towards Me, they develop a state of anguish and love within them that they supplicate “Where is our God” and God shall answer, ‘I do not reject the call of a supplicant and certainly respond to their prayer.’” (Khutabat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 20, pp. 500-501)

People pray for worldly objects and when their prayers are not accepted, they become disappointed with God Almighty. As I mentioned earlier, for example, they pray for employment and seeking many other things. A person may be more qualified for the job and will thus get that job. If then the other person complains that they prayed in anguish for that job, then it is quite possible that the first person prayed even harder and for that reason they were given the job. The same is the case for other worldly objects as well. Worldly pursuits are limited to a certain sphere. If a person has a job or works in a few different places, what they seek will be limited to that alone.

Similarly, other worldly pursuits are also limited. They will be one, two or a few, however, God Almighty is limitless and has no end. When we seek God Almighty, every single person can be granted His nearness, on the condition that they develop the fervency and act on His commands. God Almighty has stated that we ought to obey Him and understand the value of His lofty status and grandeur. One ought to recognise a diamond when they see it and not consider it to be a glass pebble.

When this is the case, one can find God Almighty and whosoever finds God Almighty, every blessing of this world will be made available for them. Thus, it is the duty of man to obey every injunction of God Almighty. One should not consider that only one month in the year is exclusive for worship. One should not consider that worship [only] on the last Friday of Ramadan will be accepted. We ought to have full conviction and belief in God Almighty and should never betray Him. Only then will we be counted amongst those people who are guided, as mentioned by God Almighty. When God Almighty becomes the friend of an individual, then all their needs are taken care of and this is a promise of God Almighty.

Thus, it is our responsibility as those who have accepted the Promised Messiah^as to raise the standards of our worship. Strive to prevent the standards from falling below the level that your worship has reached this Ramadan or the level that you are trying to raise it to. Continue to elevate the status of your prayers and maintain the attendance at Friday prayers, obey the commandments of God Almighty and strive to become counted amongst those people who always pray for the sake of God Almighty alone, meaning that one ought to pray constantly for them to find God Almighty.

May our prayers and worship enable us to reach the level of meeting our God. May God Almighty enable us to achieve these standards.

(Translated by The Review of Religions. Originally published in Al Fazl International on 21 June 2019, pp. 5-8)

Disciplined and proper use of the human faculties

In His Own Words

Alhakam

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28th June 2019

0

Disciplined and proper use of the human faculties

None of the faculties endowed by Allah Almighty have been granted to man so that they may be wasted; rather, their discipline and proper use is the true means by which they are nourished and developed. This is why Islam has not taught that the faculties of virility be slaughtered completely or that the eye be gouged out. Instead, it teaches their proper use and the purification of one’s inner self. In this respect, Allah the Exalted states:

َقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُوْن

“Surely, success does come to the believers.”

Then, after illustrating the life of a righteous person, God Almighty draws a conclusion in the following words:

وَأُولٰٓئِکَ ھُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

And it is they who shall prosper.
That is to say, those who tread the path of righteousness; those who believe in the unseen; those who establish or set upright their Prayer when it begins to fall as it were; those who give from that which is bestowed to them by God; those who, irrespective of their own thoughts and fancies, believe in all the divine scriptures sent by God, ultimately attain to the level of certainty. It is these very people who are truly guided and who tread a path that goes on to lead a person to success. Therefore, it is such people who are triumphant and who shall reach their final destination, and who have been delivered from the perils of the journey before them. Hence, from the very outset, Allah the Exalted has given us a teaching of righteousness and bestowed upon us a book, which also provides counsel on how to develop piety. And so, let my community grieve, more than anything else, over whether they possess righteousness or not.

(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 34-35)

First UK Shura called by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

0

First UK Shura called by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II

UK Shura 1924 — *Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud*^ra leading prayer at 6 Chesham Place in Belgravia, London where the first UK Shura took place

We have discussed the roots of Majlis-e-Shura (central consultative body of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya) in a number of issues over the last year. That was usually with reference to the central institution coming into being as a twin of the institution of Jalsa Salana. As the Jamaat spread to countries outside India (and later Pakistan), the institution of Shura evolved naturally and started off on informal grounds, developing later in a more formal and organised manner.

Jamaat UK held its 40^thMajlis-e-Shura last weekend on 15-16 June. We decided to go through the annals of history to see how this Majlis-e-Shura came into being in the UK.

We are pleased to share with our readers the pleasant surprise that we received during this research.

The first ever Shura of the UK Jamaat was held not only under the instruction of Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II^ra but was also graced by his august presence. The research took us back to 1924 when this historic Shura of the UK Jamaat took place in London – 6 Chesham Place in Belgravia, London, to be precise.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra had delivered his lecture before the Conference of the Living Religions of the Empire on 23 September. This had been his primary motive behind the travel from Qadian to London and it was now out of the way. The next big milestone was to be the foundation-stone laying of the Fazl Mosque. This Majlis-e-Shura was called by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra between these two landmarks. Who would have thought that it was to become a landmark of the Jamaat’s history in its own capacity?

The Ahmadi missionaries had been around in the UK since 1913 and their reports – regularly published in Al Fazl and Al Hakam, Qadian – show that they worked with mutual consultation, but we do not find an organised form of Shura to have taken place in the decade leading up to the one in 1924.

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra called a mushawarat (a session of mutual consultation) on 3 October 1924 to meet after the Isha prayer at 6 Chesham Place – his rented residence in London during the 1924 tour of England.

The main matter at hand was the launch of the Review of Religions from London – originally launched by the Promised Messiah^as in 1902 from Qadian. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra drew detailed guidelines regarding every aspect of the journal; from the nature of the content, the size of the publication, to printing and circulation.

Among other matters discussed was the number of missionaries required in London, their duties, their obedience to the newly appointed missionary in-charge, Maulana Abdur Rahim Dard, and the allowances of missionaries who were to reside in London thereupon. (For details: Safar-e-Europe 1924 by Hazrat Bhai Abdur Rahman Qadiani^ra)

This historic event marked the first Majlis-e-Shura of the London mission. Shall we call it informal as there was no institution of Shura established by then in London? Or shall we call it formal because the session was called directly by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih who was also present and rendered guidance to the missionaries and others present? We opt to go with the latter.

The second session of a Majlis-e-Shura is found in a report by Syed Safiruddin Bashir Ahmad Sahib published in the Al Fazl of 25 December 1949. It is reported that the London Jamaat wrote to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra seeking permission to hold a national Jalsa of the UK Jamaat. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra not only granted permission but instructed that a Majlis-e-Shura of all European missionaries be called on this occasion (referred to as “conference” in the report).

The Jalsa was held on 29 and 30 October 1949, with the conference (or Shura) on the second day. Starting after the Zuhr and Asr prayers, the session ended at 7pm.

Some of the recommendations made by the house are recorded as follows:

1. Every member of the Jamaat should devote a week, a month or as much as time as possible for the service of the Jamaat. (Presented by Hazrat Mir Abdus Salam Sahib and seconded by Syed Safiruddin Ahmad Sahib)

2. The financial contribution (Chanda) should be done in line with the guidelines of the Markaz. (Presented by Abdullah Sahib and seconded by Abdul Karim Herbert Sahib)

3. A syllabus to be set out that every member of the Jamaat should study to enhance their understanding of the teachings of the Jamaat. (Presented by Maqbool Ahmad Qureshi Sahib and seconded by Dr Omar Suleiman Sahib)

4. Every Ahmadi should actively participate in tabligh and a plan should be made to facilitate their endeavors. (Presented by Bilal Nuttall Sahib and seconded by Abdul Aziz Deen Sahib)

5. The Lajna auxiliary be established for the Ahmadi women of the UK. (Presented by Janet Wells Sahiba and seconded by all female members present at the session)

The second major turning point in the history of the UK Shura is again in the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra during his second visit to England in 1955. While in London, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra called for an international conference of Ahmadiyya missionaries serving in Western countries. This conference was held from 22 to 24 July 1955. A day before the conference commenced, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra sent a telegraphic message to all the Jamaats around the world to request Ahmadis to pray for the success of the conference. The message read:

“Putney, 21 July: After the time of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, a very important conference will commence tomorrow in London to ponder over and plan the propagation of Islam worldwide. Ahmadi missionaries from almost all major countries of America, West Indies, Africa and Europe will participate.

“Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khan will also participate on 22 July. Members of the Jamaat are requested to cordially pray for a significant and broad success of this conference. (Signed) Khalifatul Masih”

Five sessions of the conference were held and all sessions were blessed by the presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II^ra. Every mission’s report was thoroughly discussed along with plans for further strengthening missionary activity, publication of literature in respective languages, establishing new mosques and other means of extending the message of Islam to the Western world. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra listened to each and every single proposal and granted the house with guidance.

A telegraphic message sent from London to Al Fazl, Rabwah reported the conference (Shura) in detail and mentioned that all missionary-delegates formally pledged to dedicate their whole lives for the service of Islam. (Al Fazl, Rabwah, 27 July 1955)

Khuddam group from Germany meets Huzoor

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

2

On 15 June, a group of Khuddam from Germany had the privilege of meeting with Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa. Among the Khuddam were some who were either meeting Huzoor^aa for the very first time with some meeting Huzoor^aa after a very long period.

Hazrat Amirul Momineen^aa then graciously opened the floor to the Khuddam who began asking questions they had.

One Khadim, who is serving as a qaid, told Huzoor^aa that there is a lot of diversity among members of the Jamaat. Some members are from Pakistan, while others are born and raised in Germany. The Khadim asked Huzoor^aa how they could further strengthen the brotherhood among members of the Jamaat.

Answering the Khadim’s question, Huzoor^aa stated:

“You should make different types of interactive programmes for all members. For those who are interested in studies, there should be an informative programme for them.”

Huzoor^aa further stated:

“You should make programmes on contemporary issues and religious topics; talks on common subjects should be chosen to have interactive discussions on, such as ‘Is there a need for religion?’ Discussions should be held on various other topics too such as how one can make time for the five daily prayers. By doing this you will be able to cater to everyone’s needs and this will be more beneficial and interesting for all members.”

Another Khadim asked Huzoor^aa why God puts man through various trials.

Answering the Khadim’s question, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa stated:

“Did God not also put prophets through trials. God’s most beloved prophet was the Holy Prophet^sa and we can see through history how many hardships he had to endure.”

Huzoor^aa further gave examples of the Holy Prophet^sa in which he had to endure hardships in Mecca, Taif and Medina. Huzoor^aa further stated:

“If the Holy Prophet^sa endured hardships, then who are we that we should not be tried.”

One Khadim, after requesting Huzoor^aa for prayers, asked if it is permissible to break Salat due to certain circumstances. Upon this, Huzoor^aa replied in the affirmative and stated:

“If you are offering your prayers and you hear a child cry out of pain, you should leave your Namaz and cater to the child and take him to hospital [or provide the appropriate medical attention]. This is allowed.” Huzoor^aa added, “It should be taken into consideration what the circumstance is.”

The Khadim further asked if this was permissible even if it is relating to work or business. Huzoor^aa replied, “No, this is not permissible for business or worldly matters”. Huzoor^aa said to the Khadim that he should read the last 3 verses of Surah al-Jumuah and the answer will be clear.

Another Khadim asked Huzoor^aa regarding the Atfal who, when asked what they wish to do when they are older, reply that they wish to become footballers or athletes. He asked what our response should be to this.

Answering the question, Huzoor^aa stated:

“If they are interested, then it is fine; you should not discourage them.” Huzoor^aa added, “You should remind them that whether they decide to become a footballer, a doctor or an engineer, they should always remember God, never leave their prayers and also serve their religion. When you lay emphasis on this, then they will begin to slowly understand.”

Huzoor^aa added that these are things a child desires and when a child who is studying in year five reaches year 10, they usually would have changed their aspirations 6 times. That is why it is important to not discourage children from the beginning and instead, listen to them and encourage them in a profession where they can help mankind.

In the end, the Khuddam had the opportunity to take a group picture with Huzoor^aa.

Machine Speaks: Rise of 5G Technologies

Science & Technology

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

0

Dr Ataul Habib Khalid,Lecturer in sensors and sensor systems

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 Moses^as 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.

Waymo self driving car side view.gk — *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 IV^rh, 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 Moses^as and mentioned that the ideas of the “Samirism” stayed among the followers of Moses^as 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.

33565306452 1e24b5d63d o — *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 6^th 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 IV^rh 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

Responding to Allegations

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

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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 Gilani^rhshed 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 Gilani^rh 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 Prophet^sa, Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani^rh, 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 Jamaatchallenged 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Ahmad^as 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 Messiah^as, 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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 Messiah^as 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

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

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Jamia UK Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony 2019

Waseem Ahmad Fazal

Lecturer, Jamia Ahmadiyya UK

On 12June 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.

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 V^aa delivered to missionaries in the United States. Majid Sahib referred to many crucial pieces of advice our beloved Huzoor^aa 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

Australia

Alhakam

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21st June 2019

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

Bushra Nasir

Media Coordinator, Lajna Imaillah Queensland

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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