The
noble wife of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Hazrat Nusrat Jehan Begum
Sahibara related to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra that the
Promised Messiahas used to say in respect to his youth:
“In that
time, it occurred to me that fasting was also necessary to progress along this
path … Then, I fasted for six consecutive months and nobody in the household or
from outside had an inkling that I was keeping fast. When my morning meal used
to arrive from the house, I would hand it to a needy person and eat the evening
meal myself.”
Hazrat
Mirza Bashir Ahmadra enquired from Hazrat Nusrat Jehan Begum Sahibara
whether he also kept voluntary fasts in old age. She replied:
“In old
age too he would keep fasts, chiefly the six fasts of Shawwal to which he would
strictly adhere. Whenever he had to pray for a task of particular importance,
he would fast, but in his final few years, he could not even fast in Ramadan
due to weakness and frailty.”
Hazrat
Mirza Bashir Ahmadra added here, “The Promised Messiahas
mentioned the period of his fasts to be eight to nine months in his book, Kitab-ul-Bariyya.”
Hazrat
Mirza Bashir Ahmadra also mentioned that Hazrat Nusrat Jehan Begum
Sahibara narrated to him:
“When
the Promised Messiahas began having spells of vertigo, he did not
fast during Ramadan that year and offered fidya. When the month of Ramadan came
again, he began to fast but he had just kept eight or nine fasts when he
experienced vertigo again. Hence, he left the rest and offered fidya. In the
Ramadan thereafter, he had kept ten or eleven fasts when he was compelled to
abandon fasting due to vertigo and he offered the fidya. In the following year
during Ramadan, it was on his thirteenth fast that he experienced vertigo near
Maghrib. He broke his fast, refrained from fasting for the rest of the month
and offered the fidya.
“Afterwards,
he kept all the fasts for every Ramadan which arrived, but a few years prior to
his demise, he again was unable to keep fasts due to weakness and continued to
offer fidya.” Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra enquired from Hazrat
Nusrat Jehan Begum Sahibara whether he offered the fasts at a later
period, which he had left when he had his initial spells of vertigo. Hazrat
Nusrat Jehan Begum Sahibara replied, “No, he only offered fidya.”
Hazrat
Mirza Bashir Ahmadra went on to say:
“When
the Promised Messiahas initially began having spells of vertigo and
encountered cold extremities, he became extremely weak and his health would
remain poor. Hence, when he would withdraw from fasting [in Ramadan], it would
appear as if he could not gather the strength to offer them again at a later
date till the upcoming Ramadan. However, when the forthcoming Ramadan would
arrive, he used to begin to fast, springing out of a love for worship, but
eventually, he would again have spells of vertigo. Thus, he would withdraw and
offer the fidya. And Allah knows best.”
Hazrat
Abdullah Sanaurira narrated to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
that once, at the beginning of his era, a guest came to visit the Promised
Messiahas in Qadian during the month of Ramadan. He was fasting at
the time and a great portion of the day had passed. It was perhaps after the
Asr prayer that the Promised Messiahas advised him to break his
fast. He replied, “There merely remains a small portion of day left, so is
there any point in breaking my fast now?” The Promised Messiahas
said, “You desire to please God Almighty through dogged means. God Almighty
cannot be pleased by tenacious deeds but through obedience. One should not fast
when He has directed that travellers should not do as such.” Upon this, he
broke his fast.
Hazrat
Maulvi Sher Ali Sahibra used to relate that once, in the era of the
Promised Messiahas, Hazrat Hakim Fazluddin Bhervira
observed etikaf [spending the last 10 days and nights of Ramadan in
solitude] but during the etikaf, he had to head out to present himself
for a court case. Thus, he broke his etikaf and departed from Qadian
near the Asr prayer, upon which the Promised Messiahas smilingly
said, “What need was there to sit for etikaf if you were bound to attend
the court case?”
Hazrat
Maulvi Sher Alira related to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
that Hazrat Pir Siraj-ul-Haq Sahibra was once fasting, but he
requested for water from somebody as he had forgotten. Upon hearing this,
someone remarked, “Are you not fasting?” Hazrat Pir Sahibra then
recalled that he was in fact fasting. The Promised Messiahas was
also present there at the time and said to Pir Sahibra, “When a
person forgets that they are fasting and consumes something by mistake, it is
God’s hospitality for that person. However, as you requested for water, and
requesting for things is disliked, you were not able to experience this
blessing.”
Hazrat
Mir Muhammed Ismailra mentioned to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra:
“Once,
some guests came from Lahore to Qadian in Ramadan. When the Promised Messiahas
received news of their arrival, he attended the mosque in order
to meet them, bringing along with him some breakfast. The gentlemen submitted
that they were all fasting. The Promised Messiahas replied, ‘It is
incorrect to fast in a journey. One should adhere to the leave granted by Allah
Almighty.’ Thus, they were fed breakfast and their fasts were broken.”
Hazrat
Maulvi Sher Ali Sahibra narrated to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
that the Promised Messiahas once stated:
“It is
also a bounty of God Almighty that he has raised me in such an age when the
month of Ramadan occurs in the winter. Fasting does not cause much physical
fatigue and I can easily carry out my responsibilities in the month of
Ramadan.”
Hazrat
Maulvi Sher Ali Sahibra said that in those days, Ramadan had
occurred in December. Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra says:
“I have
studied the calendar of that time period. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
claimed to be the Messiah in
1891 and in the same year, Ramadan commenced on 11 April. In other words, this
was the beginning of the time span when Ramadan would occur within winter.
Thus, in 1892, Ramadan commenced on 31 March and in 1893, on 20 March.
Afterwards, the month of Ramadan would occur each year through the days of
winter, to a greater degree. In 1908, when the Promised Messiahas
passed away, Ramadan began on 1 October. In this manner, the total period of
the Promised Messiah’sas advent elapsed in such circumstances where
the fasts of Ramadan would continuously take place in winter. And this was a
blessing of God Almighty which transpired under divine decree and which led the
Promised Messiahas to carefully observe this blessing and develop
sentiments of gratitude, understanding it to be a bounty of God.”
Hazrat
Mir Muhammed Ismailra related to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
that the Promised Messiahas was once fasting during Ramadan in
Ludhiana when he felt nauseous and began encountering cold extremities. At that
particular time, the time for sunset was nigh, but he immediately broke the
fast. Hazrat Mir Sahibra said that Hazrat Ahmadas would
always opt for the easy lawful path which the Shariah would afford.
With
regard to this, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra said:
“In the
Hadith, regarding the Holy Prophetsa, through the narration of
Hazrat Aishara, there is mention that he always used to prefer the
easier of two permissible paths.”
Hazrat
Sheikh Karam Ilahi Patialvira narrated to Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
in writing:
“Once, I
came to spend the month of Ramadan, which had arrived at an intensely cold
period, in Qadian. In those days, Hazrat Hakim Fazluddinra was the
administrator of the library of the Promised Messiahas and therefore
responsible for it. The room where the library was situated was adjacent to
Masjid Mubarak and Hazrat Hakim Sahibra lodged in the very same
place. Upon my arrival, he also granted me permission to temporarily reside in
the same room. Offering gratitude, I set up my bed at a corner and began
passing time with great ease and enjoyment. The Promised Messiahas
used to walk to the mosque, passing by this room for every prayer. At one
occasion, the doors opened at the time for sehri [pre-dawn meal for
fasting]. I was sat directly in front and stood out of respect when I saw that
the Promised Messiahas was stood at the door. Huzooras
called me towards him through a gesture. When I advanced, I observed that there
were two china bowls in the hands of the Promised Messiahas, which
had kheer [rice pudding] in them. Handing me both bowls, Huzooras
said to me, ‘Deliver these to those people whose names are written on it.’ I
handed them to Hakim Sahib. Hakim Sahib called a person from the mosque and had
the bowls delivered to those people whose names were inscribed in ink.
Thereafter, the doors opened again. The Promised Messiahas handed us
two bowls again and those were also delivered to those people, in accordance
with their names. In this manner, the Promised Messiahas continued
to bring bowls of kheer on ten or eleven occasions and we would deliver
them to the people in the guest room. Finally, upon one of the two bowls which
the Promised Messiahas handed was the name of Hakim Sahib and upon
the second was my name, inscribed. After consuming the kheer, Hakim
Sahib remarked, “Today, manna and salwa [divine bounties] have
descended upon us.”
(Taken
from the compilation of narrations related to the life of the Promised Messiahas,
Sirat-ul-Mahdi, compiled by Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra.
Translated by Fateh Alam, London.)
