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The Holy Qur’an

He it is Who has raised among the unlettered people a

Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them

His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book

and Wisdom though before that they were in manifest

error; And He will raise him among others of them who

have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise. That

is Allah's grace; He bestows it on whom He pleases; and

Allah is the Lord of immense grace. (62:3-5)

Sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah

be upon him)

Hadrat Abu Hurrairah (ra) narrates: "When Sura Jumaà

was revealed to the Holy Prophet (sa) we happened to be

there in his company. When he recited the verse ' others

from among them and have not joined them', someone

asked, 'who are they O Messenger of Allah?' The Holy

Prophet (sa) did not respond to him unless that person

repeated the question three times. At that time Salman (ra),

the Persian was also sitting amongst us. The Holy Prophet

(sa) put his hand on him and said, 'Even if faith ascended

to the Pleiades, there would be someone or some men from

his people who would restore it back.' (Bokhari)

Pearls of WisdomSelected verses of the Holy Qur’an & Sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

Pearls of Wisdom 1

A H M A D I Y Y A G A Z E T T E C A N A D A

The True Meaning of the Second Coming of Jesus

God Almighty has now disclosed the true meaning of

the prophecy, which is free from all contradictions

and unreasonableness. He has thus furnished every

fair-minded seeker of truth the opportunity to accept

the prophecy and to look for its fulfilment, thus

safeguarding himself against rejecting a clear and true

prophecy. [Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 13,

pp. 205-211, footnote]

I am the Promised Messiah who is Divinely guided,

and who follows the morals of the Messiah (peace be

on him.) Everyone should judge me with reference to

these morals and should purge his heart of all ill will

concerning me. A careful consideration of the

teaching that I have set forth during the last twenty

years, from Brahine-Ahmadiyyah to Raz-e-Haqiqat,

should testify to my innerpurity. I can prove that I

have spread these books as far as Arabia, Turkey,

Syria and Kabul. I utterly repudiate the doctrine that

Jesus will descend from heaven to fight the battles of

Islam, or that anyone who calls himself Mahdi, and

appears from among the descendants of Hadrat

Fatima, will be the monarch of the time, and that the

two of them will start a reign of bloodshed. God has

revealed to me that all these speculations are false.

Jesus (peace be on him) died long ago and lies buried

in Mohalla Khanyar in Srinagar, Kashmir. Thus as the

descent of the Messiah from heaven is disproved, the

appearance of any warrior Mahdi is also falsified. Let

him who thirsts for truth accept this. [Haqiqat-ul-

Mahdi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 14, pp. 429-433]

My statement concerning the Promised Messiah,

whose descent from heaven and second advent into

the world is awaited, which God Almighty has

disclosed to me by His grace and mercy, is that there

is no mention in the Holy Qur’an of the second

advent of Jesus. According to the Holy Qur’an, Jesus

has departed from this world forever. Some Ahadith,

which are replete with metaphors, predict the second

advent of Jesus. Their context indicates that they do

not predict the second coming of Jesus, son of Mary,

but comprise metaphorical statements which mean

that in an age that would resemble the age of Jesus,

son of Mary, a person will resemble Jesus, son of

Mary, in his temperament, power and function. As

Jesus, son of Mary, had revived the religion of Moses

(as) and had set forth afresh the true teaching of the

Torah, which the Jews had forgotten, in the same way

this second Messiah would revive the faith of the

Prophet who was like Moses (as) and was the Seal of

the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him.) This Messiah of the Prophet who was the like of

Mosesas will completely resemble the Messiah of

Moses (as) in the events of his life and in all other

consequences that his people will experience on

account of their obedience to him or their denial of

him. God Almighty has revealed to me that I am that

Promised Messiah. [Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in,

vol. 3, pp. 121]

Pearls of WisdomSelection from the writings of the Promised Messiah (Peace be upon him)


Pearls of Wisdom 2

In this Friday sermon, Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih V (aa) discussed the

divine attribute of Ar-Rahman (the

Gracious). According to the Holy

Qur’an 36:12, Allah’s Rahmaniyyat (the

manifestation of the attribute of Ar-

Rahman) is demonstrated through the

granting of divine grace and favour.

As it is universal, this beneficence

applies to all His creation. According

to the Promised Messiah (as), through

the divine attribute of Ar-Rahman,

Allah provides for His creation’s

subsistence and basic needs. From

amongst Allah’s creation, humankind

receives preferential treatment as the

rest of creation has been placed at its

service. This phenomenon is grounds

for humankind to be grateful to Allah,

and yet, the majority of humanity

ignores Allah’s beneficence.

One aspect of Allah’s Rahmaniyyat is

that He sends prophets as warners

against evil and teachers of goodness.

However, most people continue to

shun their teachings and do not

reform themselves. Such prophets

experience anguish for their people,

and as the Holy Qur’an states in 18:7

and 26:3, no prophet felt more anguish

for his people than the Holy Prophet

Muhammad (sa). However, in order

for spiritual reformation and

development to take place, the Holy

Qur’an 36:12 states “Thou canst warn

only him who would follow the

Reminder and fear the Gracious God

in secret. So give them the glad

tidings of forgiveness and a noble

reward.” The Gracious God is ever

inclined and ready to grant divine

favours to His creation. He revealed

His beautiful teachings and declared

that there is no compulsion in it. If

one’s faith is true, even in private,

then one will be blessed with nearness

to Allah.

According to the Holy Prophet (sa)

and the Promised Messiah (as), one of

the ways to demonstrate our

gratefulness to Allah for His

Rahmaniyyat is to convey His message

to others. Therefore, we should not be

disheartened by people’s rejection of

Allah’s message, but rather, we should

be persistent by continuing to convey

it. In doing so, we will undoubtedly

find people who will be blessed with

acceptance of the message and such

people will be a source of blessing for

us.

Regardless of the obstacles we face,

purely for the sake of achieving

Allah’s pleasure, we must initiate a

reformation of our inner selves and

then convey Allah’s message to others.

The only way to save people from

destruction is to convey the message

to them and teach them the proper

understanding and appreciation of the


Guidance from Khalifatul Masih V (May Allah strengthen his hands) 3

Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih V (may Allah strengthen his hands)

Divine attribute of Ar Rahman (The Gracious)Summary of the Friday Sermon delivered on January 19, 2007

Gracious God. Our only role is to

convey the message in the best

manner possible leaving the results to

Allah as only He can raise those who

are spiritually dead. As Ahmadis, it is

our duty and responsibility to convey

Allah’s message to our fellow citizens,

either through demonstrating it

through our devotional practice or

other effective means.

The Holy Qur’an (19:45-46) provides a

description of Hadrat Ibrahim (as)

warning his father against idolatry.

Idolatry persists in this day and age in

many different forms and

ungratefulness towards Allah is

rampant, even amongst those who call

themselves Muslims. The Holy

Qur’an in 62:12 predicted such

circumstances would occur in the

latter days, and we see evidence of the

truth of its fulfilment all around us

today. Just as predicted, what appears

as most fine is not the most fine, but

rather, it leads to destruction and ruin.

The rejection of the Imam of the age is

also a result of the lure of Satan. One

who is influenced by Satanic

temptation is incapable of possessing

a connection with Allah. To respond

to Satanic temptation is, in effect, to

worship him and be his follower.

According to a Hadith Qudsi, Allah

will maintain ties with one who

maintains ties with his kindred and

close relations and He will sever ties

with one who severs ties with his

kindred and close relations. In this

Hadith Qudsi, the term Rahm (womb)

is used, which is the root word for

Rahman, thereby connoting close

connection between family relations

and Allah’s Rahmaniyyat.

We must constantly engage in diligent

self-reflection and self-assessment lest

we say or do something that may

cause Allah the slightest displeasure.

We must heed the advice of Hadrat

Ibrahim (as) and be meticulous about

avoiding even the smallest errors lest

we fall into any of the many traps laid

for us by Satan.

While Allah is Ar-Rahman, He is also

Al-Jabbar (The Subduer) and Al-Qahhar

(The Supreme), and it is through these

latter two divine attributes that He

punishes. These two divine attributes

are invoked when, despite being

granted a myriad of favours, people

continue to be ungrateful and turn

away from Allah. Such

ungratefulness cannot persist with

impunity and without consequence.

Allah’s wrath does not contradict His

Rahmaniyyat because such wrath

would not have befallen but for

p e r s i s t e n t a n d s t u b b o r n

ungratefulness and mischief.

Only those who are persistent in their

ungratefulness and mischief are

punished. The Holy Qur’an

repeatedly states that those who are

remorseful and sincerely repent will

be granted forgiveness. Therefore, in

order to avoid Allah’s wrath, it is

imperative that we engage in constant

and sincere Istighfar (repentance). A

number of Hadith were cited which

provided examples of the Holy

Prophet’s (sa) teachings regarding

Istighfar.

As Christianity relies on the notion

that one person’s sacrifice was

required for and resulted in the

redemption of humanity, it necessarily

rejects the notion of Allah as Ar-

Rahman. According to this Christian

doctrine of atonement, Allah is not

gracious towards His creation and the

sacrifice of the life of Jesus was

necessary in order to inspire His grace.

Under this doctrine, if not for the

sacrificial death of Jesus, Allah’s grace

would never be forthcoming and will

be forever withheld to those who

refuse to believe in it. That such a

belief is fundamentally insulting to the

honour of Allah should be

communicated to Christians.

In the Holy Qur’an (19:89-94), the

notion of Allah begetting a son is

considered so insulting and belittling

of Him that the heavens and the earth

could burst from the shock of its mere

mention. Such a notion amounts to

shirk (associating partners with

Allah), a phenomenon that is

prevalent in this day and age. Indeed,

Allah’s purpose in sending the

“Messiah of Muhammad (sa)” is to

destroy the notion of Allah begetting

or being begotten and to obliterate the


Christian doctrine of atonement by

conveying a correct understanding of

the attributes of Allah, particularly His

attribute of Ar-Rahman.

The advent of the Promised Messiah

(as), itself, is a manifestation of Allah’s

Rahmaniyyat. To show our gratitude

and in order to be the recipients of

Allah’s divine favours, we must be

committed to taking the Promised

Messiah’s message to the world.

Inspired by the announcement that

Lajna Germany collected the funds

necessary for the establishment of the

Berlin Mosque, and by the desire to

also obtain the spiritual blessings

received by their ancestors (such as

those from Lajna Qadian who raised

funds for the original Berlin Mosque,

which resulted in the building of the

London Mosque), many Ahmadi

women outside of Germany have

expressed their desire to contribute to

the fundraising for the Berlin Mosque.

While a specific Tahrik (scheme) will

not be established in this regard, any

Ahmadi women around the world,

who wish to participate in the

fundraising, are certainly encouraged

to do so. We pray that, despite the

persistence of opposition against it,

the construction of the Berlin Mosque

continues under Allah’s divine

protection. Amen!

In this Friday sermon, Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih V (aa) continued to

discuss the divine attribute of Ar-

Rahman. This sermon concentrated on

discussing this divine attribute from

the viewpoint of the Hadith of the

Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) to

demonstrate to us how he was the

“mercy for all humankind” and our

ideal model.

According to the Promised Messiah

(as), the Holy Prophet (sa) was the

perfect earthly personification and

embodiment of Allah’s Rahmaniyyat.

The name ‘Muhammad’ means ‘the

highly praised one’ and ‘Ar-Rahman”

means ‘one who is most gracious’ or

‘one who gives without being asked to

do so’. One who possesses the

qualities of Rahmaniyyat will

undoubtedly receive great praise.

Indeed, the Holy Prophet received

such great praise, and deservedly so,

on account of his kindness and

compassion, and would not have

received such praise, had he not

provided the ideal human portrayal of

Allah’s Rahmaniyyat.

According to the Holy Prophet (sa), if

one had true knowledge of the nature

of Allah’s punishment, one would

despair of Allah’s mercy. However, if

one had true knowledge of the extent

of Allah’s mercy, one would possess

certain hope in receiving it. Allah’s

mercy is withheld only from the

extremely unfortunate and wretched.

Therefore, one should never despair of

receiving Allah’s mercy. Hope for

receiving Allah’s mercy is the basis of

faith – without such hope, one would

not possess faith.

Due to his or her taqwa

(righteousness), a true believer

comprehends Allah’s attributes and

fears committing even the slightest

error lest he or she receive His

punishment. That is why, as

described in the Holy Qur’an (7:24), a

true believer constantly prays to be

guided to the right path. A true

believer fears Allah’s punishment

despite having knowledge that His

mercy encompasses all things.

Indeed, the Promised Messiah (as)

taught that we should constantly seek

Istighfar (repentance) from all kinds of

sin, both overt and covert, and that we

should desire to pray in a manner that

attracts Allah’s mercy.

The mercy of Allah has one hundred

parts, ten of which He distributed to


Divine attribute of Ar Rahman (The Gracious)Summary of the Friday Sermon delivered on January 26, 2007

His creation. Due to the mercy

distributed to His creation, we

experience and express love and

affection for each other. Even the love

and tenderness expressed between

animals is a sign of the mercy of Allah.

The remaining ninety parts of mercy

were kept by Allah so that He could

mete them out to us on the Day of

Judgement.

In a parable related by the Holy

Prophet (sa), a wealthy man, while

lying on his deathbed, inquired of his

sons as to what sort of father he had

been to them. They replied that he

had been the best father to them and

that they bore no complaints against

him. Despite receiving this answer,

the man expressed fear that he was

destined to receive Allah’s wrath as he

could not discern what good he had

committed on the earth. Therefore, in

order to escape Allah’s wrath, the man

requested that, upon his death, he be

cremated and his ashes spread

throughout the earth by means of a

swift wind. The man held fast to the

hope that, as his remains would be

scattered throughout the earth, they

could not be collected again on the

Day of Judgement and he would

escape having to face Allah’s

reckoning. Although his sons

dutifully fulfilled their father’s

request, the man still found himself

brought before Allah on the Day of

Judgement. When Allah asked him

what motivated him to request his

cremation, he replied, “Your fear.” On

the basis of this answer, Allah had

mercy on him and forgave him his

sins.

In another parable, the Holy Prophet

(sa) related the story of a Jew who had

committed ninety-nine murders in his

lifetime but who had inquired from an

ascetic monk as to how he could

repent of them. The monk told him

that, due to the high number of

murders committed, repentance was

impossible. In response to this

answer, the Jew killed the monk

making him his one hundredth victim.

When the Jew inquired from another

man as to how he could repent of his

sins, he was advised to go to a

particular village and make the same

inquiry of an elderly wise man who

resided there. While en route to that

village, the Jew met his death. In the

moment before his death, the Jew

made one last effort to reach the

village, and did so by turning his torso

in its direction. Upon his death, the

angels of mercy and of punishment

descended upon him, each arguing

amongst themselves as to whose claim

over him was greater. The angels of

punishment made their claim for the

Jew on the basis of the murders he had

committed. The angels of mercy made

their claim on the basis that, at the end

of his life, he was striving to attempt

to seek repentance and they made

reference to the final direction of his

torso as support. When the matter

was brought before Allah for decision,

Allah ordered that the distance

between where the Jew began his

journey to the place of his death be

measured and compared with the

remaining distance to arrive at the

elderly wise man’s village. If the Jew

died in greater proximity to the


village, he would be forgiven, but if he

died in greater proximity to his point

of origin, he would be punished.

When the angels began taking their

measurements, they discovered that

Allah had ordered the size of the

distance between the Jew and his

place of origin to enlarge and the

distance between him and the village

to shrink. Upon the completion of

their measurements, the angels found

that Allah had caused the distance of

the Jew to the village to be a mere

fraction of the distance between him

and his point of origin, and on the

basis of his greater proximity to the

village, Allah granted him forgiveness.

Despite Allah’s all-encompassing

mercy, the relentless sinner has

received warning of Allah’s wrath and

punishment. In order to be hopeful

for Allah’s mercy

pursuant to the Holy

Qur’an (39:54), one must

feel remorse for one’s sins

and take steps towards

r e f o r m a t i o n a n d

forgiveness. In addition,

according to the Holy

Prophet (sa), one must

extend kindness and

mercy to others, in order

to be worthy of receiving

Allah’s mercy. Allah will

not have mercy on one,

who is not compassionate

to others, including his

relatives and fellow

citizens.

Some Ahmadis have

complained that the

Jamaàt’s system of

reprimanding people is

not consistent with its

teachings regarding mercy

and compassion – while

many sermons and

speeches are given

regarding being merciful

and compassionate, the

complaint is that the

administrative system of

the Jamaàt does not

demonstrate such mercy

and compassion itself. It

is true that the Holy

Prophet (sa) advised

mercy and compassion

generally, and the Jamaàt

must adhere to such advice. However,

that is not to say that the Holy Prophet

(sa) did not reprimand people, and

where he did so, such people showed

obedience and accepted his

reprimand. Likewise, following the

practice of the companions of the Holy

Prophet (sa), once the Khalifa or the

administrative system of the Jamaàt


reprimands someone, that person

should accept his or her reprimand.

According to the Holy Prophet (sa),

the dwellers of Paradise shall be of

three types, (1) the ruler who is just,

wise and gives alms, (2) a person who

is kind to his relatives and to his or

her fellow Muslims, and (3) a person

who is in need but does not ask for

alms but rather gives it. The Holy

Prophet (sa) also stated that one who

does not show kindness to the young

and respect to his or her elders is not

from amongst his ummah

(community). Therefore, that

Ahmadis show kindness to their

relatives and fellow Muslims, as well

as convey respect and deference to

their elders, is incumbent upon them

if they are to be the recipients of

Allah’s mercy and be counted

amongst the Holy Prophet’s (sa)

ummah.

According to a Hadith, if one is not

thankful for a little, he is not thankful

for a lot, and one who is not grateful

to people is not grateful to Allah. In

another Hadith, a Jamaàt is a sign of

Allah’s mercy. Allah has extended His

mercy to us by granting us the

blessing of membership in the

Ahmadiyya Jamaàt. Our gratitude

can be shown to Allah by our

undertaking to take its message to

others and praying for them so that

they may also partake of this blessing.

According to the Holy Prophet (sa),

the ummah is like one body such that

when one part of the body ails, the

whole body suffers and works

towards healing. Therein lies a great

teaching regarding love, compassion

and affection within a true Islamic

society.

The Holy Prophet (sa) felt compassion

for children and there are a number of

Ahadith that provide evidence of the

special kindness he extended to them.

He also felt profound compassion for

the suffering of animals, even for

those who were destined to be

slaughtered. Once, he happened upon

a bird in distress because its eggs were

stolen from its nest and he ordered

that they be returned to

it.

Whenever the Holy

Prophet (sa) was asked

to curse a particular tribe

or person, he would

refrain from doing so,

and instead would pray

for them and their future

generations. When

asked to curse the

idolaters, the Holy

Prophet (sa) responded

by stating that he had

not been sent by Allah as

a curse but as a mercy

for humankind. If the

Holy Prophet’s ummah

followed his blessed

model, they would

surely be the recipients

of Allah’s blessings and

mercy.

The Holy Prophet (sa) always

prayed for his companions. For

example, prior to leaving a

gathering of them, the Holy

Prophet (sa) would recite the

following prayer:

“O Allah grant us such awe and

fear of You that would make us

avoid disobedience to You. Enable us

to be so obedient as would grant us to

Your Paradise. Bestow on us such

certainty that worldly troubles would

seem easy for us. For as long as You

grant us life, make us benefit from our

ears, eyes and other senses and grant

us successors from these senses.

Retaliate for us against those who

oppress us. Help us against those

who have enmity against us. Do not

try our faith and do not make this

world our greatest concern. Do not

make the one who conveys knowledge

to us a malady for us and do not

impose a person upon us who is not


kind to us.” (Tirmidhi Kitab-ud-

Da`waat, Ch. 79/82 – Hadith # 3502)

This prayer should be recited by all

Ahmadis who are subjects of unjust

and oppressive rulers.

Although the Holy Prophet was the

perfect personification and earthly

embodiment of mercy, and indeed,

obtained perfection in so many other

ways, he maintained that all salvation

was in Allah’s hands alone. Even

though the Holy Qur’an had him

announce, “My Prayer and my

sacrifice and my life and my death are

all for Allah, the Lord of the

worlds’ (6:163), he continued to hold

that he himself would be granted

salvation “only if Allah’s mercy

envelopes me.”

In order to receive Allah’s mercy, one

must believe in Him, turn to Him, and

ask for His mercy. May Allah enable

us to be of those who believe in Allah

and oft turn to and ask for His mercy!

Amen!

In the last two Friday sermons of Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih V, the divine attribute of

Ar-Rahman and its human personification

and embodiment in the Holy Prophet (sa)

was discussed. In this Friday sermon, the

following of the model of the Holy Prophet

(sa) by his truest devotee, namely, the

Promised Messiah (as) was the topic of

discussion. (Editor)

The Promised Messiah (as) occupied

himself wholly to serving Islam by

defending it against its enemies

through his writings, organizing

conferences and engaging in debates.

Despite this time-consuming task, he

was always eager to find time to

convey and exemplify kindness and

compassion, particularly to those who

were poor, needy and sick. He did so

out of an ardent desire to follow the

model of the Holy Prophet (sa) and

because Allah informed him that it

was his duty to also be a model of

kindness and compassion.

Once Lala Shrampat Rai, a witness to

many of the proofs of the truth of the

Promised Messiah (as), fell ill due to a

serious boil on his abdomen. When

the Promised Messiah (as) came to

visit him at his humble home and

found him anxiety-ridden, the

Promised Messiah (as) consoled him

and returned the following day

accompanied by a physician. He paid

the physician’s fees. Then, he

continued to visit Lala Shrampat

regularly until his health was restored.

Mehr Hamid was a meek and humble

person who lived on the outskirts of

Qadian and worked in the fields of the

local landlords. When he fell ill, the

Promised Messiah (as) would visit

him and many members of the Qadian

Jamaàt would accompany him. As

Mehr Hamid lived in an area where

the refuse of Qadian was dumped,

fowl and offensive odours often

wafted in the air. Despite the

Promised Messiah’s refined nature, he

tolerated these odours and continued

to visit Mehr Hamid on a regular basis

and met him warmly and

affectionately. Indeed, many had

noted that the Promised Messiah (as)

appeared to care for Mehr Hamid

more than one would typically care

for one’s own relatives.

While the Promised Messiah (as) was

granted tremendous strength to

withstand the mockery, disdain and

persecution of his enemies, his heart

would melt at and could not bear the

sight of someone suffering and in

pain. The Promised Messiah never

declined an opportunity to visit a sick

person.

When Ayub Baig, one of the

companions of the Promised Messiah

(as), fell fatally ill and was on his

deathbed, he felt an overwhelming

desire to see the Promised Messiah

(as) and sent him a letter and a

telegram requesting him to visit.

Unfortunately, at the time, the

Promised Messiah (as) was himself ill

and was thus unable to travel.

Indeed, the Promised Messiah (as)

was so ill that he could barely hold his

pen to write a response to Ayub Baig.

Nevertheless, he responded by

expressing his regrets at not being able

to visit and he assured Ayub Baig that


Life of the Promised Messiah (as)Summary of the Friday Sermon delivered on February 2, 2007

he was fervently praying for him. The

Promised Messiah (as) then proceeded

to inquire as to Ayub Baig’s health on

a daily basis.

Not only did the Promised Messiah

(as) never turn away a needy person,

he would often anticipate people’s

needs prior to their asking. For

example, when the weather became

cold, he would remember those who

were needy and send them clothing

and blankets so that they could keep

warm. He did this regardless of

whether the needy person was a

friend, enemy, Muslim or Hindu.

When someone came to visit him from

a far and when time came for them to

return home, he would offer to pay

their return travel fare.

Sheikh Muhammad Naseem Ahmad

was an orphan who had been brought

up in the care of the Jamaàt and who

worked for a newspaper. At the birth

of Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II’s (ra)

first son, Naseer Ahmad (who later

died in infancy), the Promised

Messiah requested the services of

Naseem Sahib’s wife as a wet nurse.

When speaking to her, he inquired as

to Naseem Sahib’s income, and upon

determining that he found making

ends meet difficult, the Promised

Messiah (as) discretely placed a small

bundle of money in Naseem Sahib’s

room.

Nihal Singh was a virulent opponent

of the Promised Messiah (as). He had

even resorted to suing the Promised

Messiah (as). During the litigation,

one of the female relatives of Nihal

Singh fell ill and musk was required

as her remedy. Having been

unsuccessful through other avenues to

obtain the remedy, Nihal Singh came

to the door of the Promised Messiah

(as) to ask for it. As the Promised

Messiah (as) always kept Greek and

Western medicines on hand, hurriedly,

the Promised Messiah obtained the

exact amount of musk that was

required and delivered it into Nihal

Singh’s hands.

Poor and simple rustic women often

came to the doorstep of the Promised

Messiah (as) to call upon him for aid.

Instead of ignoring them or sending

them away, the Promised Messiah (as)

always responded to their calls and

came out to see them. The women

came asking for medicine, which he

would give to them, or they would

relate their domestic hardships to him,

to which he patiently listened. On one

occasion, despite being under pressure

to complete the writing of an

important paper which was to be

delivered at a

conference, the

P r o m i s e d

Messiah (as)

tended to the

concerns of

these women

for almost

three hours.

The Promised

Messiah (s)

w a s

compassionate and kind towards

children. He would often sit on a

simple cot to listen to children’s

stories or to study while they played

around him. On many occasions, the

children would inadvertently or

clumsily shove him towards the end

of his cot and would cause him

physical discomfort. However, he

always endured this disturbance with

patience and never got annoyed. On

one occasion, a small child fell

critically ill and had died while being

transported by his elderly mother to

Qadian. The Promised Messiah (as)

led his funeral prayers, and these

prayers were so long that the

participants began to feel dizzy. When

asked afterwards as to the reason for

such lengthy prayers, the Promised

Messiah (as) stated that he did not

want to end his supplications until

Allah had provided him with the

assurance that the child would be

granted entry into Paradise, which He


eventually did, and upon receipt of

such assurance, the prayer was

ended.

The Promised Messiah (as) owned a

large amount of land. Each year, a

portion of the crop yield was set

aside for the personal consumption

of the workers of the land with the

remaining yield going to the

Promised Messiah (as) and his

family. One year the rainfall yielded

a poor crop and those who worked

on the land claimed that it was

sufficient only for their personal

consumption. Therefore, they

suggested that the Promised

Messiah’s (as) share be obtained from

the crop of the following year only.

The Promised Messiah (as) agreed,

and the following year, the crop yield

was so abundant that making up for

the pervious year’s insufficiency

posed no problem. Hadrat Khalifatul

Masih V advised that a lesson should

be drawn from the Promised Messiah

(as) in this regard and that Ahmadi

landowners, particularly those

residing in the Province of Sindh,

Pakistan, should follow his model,

especially when dealing with workers

who come from the Thar region.

The Promised Messiah (as) felt

compassion and kindness for animals.

On one occasion, he found young

Mahmood Ahmad (later Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih II, ra) trying to trap

birds by shutting the door of the

veranda behind them so they could

not escape. The Promised Messiah

(as) forbade him and stated, “Young

man, one does not catch the birds that

are around the house. One who does

not have compassion does not have

faith.” On another occasion, he saw

children attempting to strike a stray

dog that had entered his home and he

restrained and scolded them.

Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkoti’s

apartment was situated directly above

the Bai't-ud-Duà and he would often

overhear the supplications of the

Promised Messiah (as). Maulvi Sahib

often remarked as to the heart-rending

nature of these supplications, and on

many occasions, the pain and anguish

exhibited by them greatly alarmed

him. Even though the plague had

been sent by Allah as a sign of the

truthfulness of the Promised Messiah

(as), amongst his most fervent prayers

was that people be spared from the

suffering caused by it and that they

instead be brought to see Allah’s light

and comprehend His truth. Indeed,

throughout his writings, the focus of

the Promised Messiah (as) was to

achieve the spiritual reformation of

people and to save them from Allah’s

wrath. The prayers of the Promised

Messiah’s (as) for people are evidence

of his having lived in accordance with

the model and standard set by the

Holy Prophet (sa).

Due to the acceptance of the prayers of

the Promised Messiah (as), the Nur-e-

Muhammadi (the spiritual light of the

Holy Prophet (sa)) is spreading

throughout the world. As the

servants of the Holy Prophet (sa), we

must also pray for people in the

manner that the Promised Messiah

(as) prayed, adopt the teachings and

model of the Holy Prophet (sa) and

convey his message to the world. As

the purpose of the Promised Messiah’s

(sa) advent was to spread the Nur-e-

Muhammadi, we must join together

and raise the slogan raised in the Holy

Qur ’an at 3:53, “Nahnu

Ansarullah” (“We are the helpers of

Allah”), and ensure that we are

amongst those who assist in spreading

this spiritual light. May Allah enable

us to do so! Amen!


The world was engulfed in spiritual darkness when the noblest human being, the Seal of the Prophets, Hadrat Muhammad (sa) was divinely commissioned. There wasn’t a country of the world at that time that was free from idol-worship and superstition. The Jews had come to regard their religious scholars and divines as “Lords, beside Allah”, whereas the Christians were worshipping Jesus and Mary. There was no limit to materialism and object-

worship; the whole world had become morally corrupted.

At such an hour, the mercy of God desired to once again cause the world to reverberate with the truth; so He sent Hadrat Muhammad (sa). He achieved the eradication of associating partners with God, and idol-worship, from Arabia and firmly established the Oneness of God.

He preached to the monarchs of his time, all over the region, by writing letters to them. Subsequently, his successors (khulafaa) continued the preaching and dissemination of the message of Islam such that the golden period of Islam stretched over a period of three centuries, since the advent of the Holy Prophet (sa).

It was followed by the period of spiritual “Dark Ages” (Faij-e-A`waj) and by the 13th Century

the world was once again engulfed in spiritual darkness. At such an hour, Allah, the Exalted, sent the Promised Messiah (as) and fulfilled His promise that:

Verily, We Ourself have sent

down this Exhortation and most

surely, We will be its Guardian

(al-Hijr 15:10)

The Promised Messiah (as) brought down the true faith that had ascended to Pleiades, so to speak, and established a community of millions of devoted followers, who are engaged in disseminating the Holy Qur’an and Islam in the whole world and, in so doing, it continues to offer sacrifices of life, wealth, and honour.

There are some of them who

have fulfilled their vow, and

some who still wait …. (al-Ahzaab 33:24)

After being divinely commissioned, the Promised Messiah (as) revived Islam, proved that Hadrat Muhammad (sa) was the ever-living Prophet and Messenger of God, and demonstrated that the Holy Qur’an was the ever-living and universal Word of God.

God, the Exalted, granted me the good fortune of living humbly in the service of the Promised Messiah (as) for a number of years. I had come to Qadian for the Annual Conference (Jalsa Salana) of the year 1893 A.D., and when 1894 began I was in Qadian. I remained in the


The Magnificence of the Messiah of Muhammad (sa) Hadrat Sufi Ghulam Muhammad (ra)

The Magnificence of the Messiah 12

presence and service of the Promised Messiah (as) from 1895 up until his passing away in May 1908. I have had the opportunity to listen to the divine discourse of purity from the blessed lips of the Promised Messiah (as), almost on a daily basis, and witnessed the fulfilment of many divine Signs during his blessed lifetime.

The fulfilment of the prophecy regarding Abdullah Aathim and, following his avoidance to take an oath, his death in the 7th month; the assassination of Pandit Lekhram foretold in the prophecy of the Promised Messiah (as); the Promised Messiah’s writing a treatise to be

read out at the Great Religions Conference in Lahore: its being read out accordingly, and witnessing the fulfilment of the prior prophecy that the essay will remain victorious above all others; the Promised Messiah’s extempore delivery of the Revealed Sermon (Khutbah Ilhamiyyah) in Arabic language, in an eerily impressive tone of voice; his delivering speeches, in December, on the occasions of Jalsa Salana, in a manner that was completely free from any affectation of delivery style, or any contrived aloofness of manner; his walking about in the pathways of Qadian and, during every morning-walk, his relating the fresh Revelations from God;

continuing his blessed discourse while proceeding on his morning walks, sometimes in the direction of the east, sometimes towards the west; the occasion of his sending his essay at the conference held by the Arya Samaj at the Vach’hovaali mosque—and, prior to that, his listening to me, read out the whole essay, in obedience to him, as we sat at Qadian’s Mubarak Mosque; and, when the Arya lecturers cast aspersions on the fair name of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Promised Messiah’s denunciation, in view of his sensitivity to any instance of profaning the Holy Prophet’s name, as to why did not the Ahmadi participants, present at


that conference, immediately walk out in protest?; the earthquake of 4 April, 1905 that occasioned the Promised Messiah’s temporary relocation within the precincts of the garden; during the rampant epidemic of plague, the Promised Messiah’s declaring: ‘Not even a rat within our house will have the plague’; the divine promise through the (Arabic) Revelation: “I will certainly protect whoever is within the precincts of your house”, and, in c o n s e q u e n c e , Q a d i a n ’ s remaining free from fulminating incidence of the plague; launch of a newspaper by an opponent Arya resident of Qadian and the

Promised Messiah’s prophecy regarding his destruction, and its fulfilment; witnessing the rising death toll of the “leaders-of-proclamation-of-disbelief” in the Promised Messiah, as they fell victim to the plague; Pir Mehr Ali of Golrah’s acceptance of the Promised Messiah’s challenge to write a competitive response to his book, E`jaz-ul-Masih, and the scandalous discovery of Pir Mehr Ali’s plagiarism in that piece of writing, and the consequent notoriety that humiliated him; instituting of a legal case against the Promised Messiah (as) in Jhelum, by a vehement opponent, Karam Din of Bheen, occasioning the Promised Messiah’s journey to Jhelum and the consequent

conversion to Ahmadiyyat by thousands of people; the Promised Messiah’s staying at Gurdaspur on account of legal cases instituted against him by the opponents, and witnessing the transfer orders, and even demotion, of the iniquitously disposed judges who were assigned to adjudicate the Promised Messiah’s case; the incident of walling-off of the Mubarak Mosque by the opponents, to make it inaccessible to the worshippers, and its subsequent demolition; the income-tax case; the legal cases instituted by Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalavi; the Promised Messiah’s delivery

of lecture in Lahore (now known as “Lecture Lahore”) and in his proclamation that he was also in the image of Krishna, during his lecture at Sialkot (now known as “Lecture Sialkot”) — I am an eye-witness to all these incidents and Signs..

I have also witnessed the process of writing of books by the Promised Messiah (as). Imagine, for a moment, writing a book in Arabic language is underway; and renowned scholars and those adept in literature are proofreading the script written by the Promised Messiah (as). They are unable to find certain words, written in the script, in well-known Arabic lexicons. When they report this to the

Promised Messiah (as) he says: Let it stay the way it is; this is how I was told by God. Several c a l l i g r a p h e r - s c r i b e s simultaneously work day and night to transcribe the written script. There were certain books that were authored within a matter of a day and a half, and their printing and distribution was accomplished within just a few days.

When the Promised Messiah (as) was granted divine revelation, or when he was divinely apprised of certain future incidents, he would immediately arrange for it to be publicized through quickly printed announcements

in the form of leaflets. The Promised Messiah included a b i l i n g u a l p u b l i s h e d announcement, in English and Urdu languages, along with his to-be-published book, A’eena-e-Kamalat-e-Islam (i.e., A Mirror of the Miraculous Feats of Islam). In this announcement, he addressed himself to all the living leaders of the nations of the world, and priests, pundits, and maulvis that: Islam is the only true religion; all other religions were untrue. You can ascertain the truth of Islam by living in my company for a while.

The Promised Messiah (as) would write a book in Arabic language then, for a designated


period of time, he would continue to present his challenge to all to write competitively with such eloquence vis-à-vis his miraculously inspired writing. But none dared come forward to accept the writing challenge. The Promised Messiah (as) was divinely taught, within the span of just one night, 40,000 words and word-roots of Arabic language. He issued a challenge to competitively write, opposed to him, the commentary of a portion of the Holy Qur’an, selected randomly by drawing lots. But no one could step forward to take him up on that.

I have witnessed that his writing as well as his speech were always reinforced by the divine help. His personal mannerism was characterized by complete simplicity; he did not have even a shadow of any affectation or any contrived aloofness of manner. While sitting inside the mosque, he would occasionally utter the prayerful phrase, Subhaan Allah (i.e., Allah alone is free from all weakness or blemish) and he would lightly strike his hand on his thigh.

I had an opportunity to ponder over all scenarios in the apparent daily life of the Promised Messiah (as). He was a great well-wisher and empathiser of his followers. I had the opportunity to position myself in close proximity to him when he would pray after conducting the oath of allegiance (Baiàt) for someone, to hear what, and how, he prayed. He would begin with Surah Al-Faatiha, followed by the invocation of blessings and salutations of peace for the Holy

Prophet (sa), i.e., complete Dorood Sharif, as we recite in the daily prayers; then he prayed in the following words [Arabic]: “O our Lord! Forgive them their sins, and have mercy on them; and make them steadfast in their God-fearing and their faith.”

The Promised Messiah’s getting up and sitting down; his walking and moving around; his treatment of his followers whether at his house or outside;

his sleep as well as his being awake; his travelling as well as his stay; his hospitality and exercising great care in ensuring the comfort of his guests as well as those on a journey; and his conversing with people in a kind and compassionate manner—everything was purely for the sake of God. (Translated from:

Daily Al-Fazl, Qadian; 5 December

1941, pp. 10-11 - Translation by Dr.

Saleem Rahman)


[Following is the text of a

presentation delivered at the Jalsa

Salana Canada, held on July 7-9,

2006, in Mississauga, Ontario:

Editor]

“And those who say, ’Our Lord,

grant us of our wives and children

the delight of our eyes, and make us

a model for the righteous.” (25:75)

Recently, a rising trend of Ahmadi

marriages ending in divorce has

been noticed. This is an alarming

situation. For the community of the

Promised Messiah (as), even one

marriage failing is one too many

and should be a matter of great

concern for us.

What are the reasons? Why do

marriages fail?

The reasons for the failure of

marriages relate to the mutual

interaction of the spouses and in

most of the cases are:

Lack of consideration and sacrifice:

The wife wants to have light in the

bedroom at nighttime; the husband

wants no light.

Lack of magnanimity, lack of àfv

i.e. forbearance: The wife makes a

petty mistake, the husband, who

should have ignored it, mentions

and criticizes her conduct.

Other reasons include, lack of

patience, lack of tolerance, hot

temper, verbal and physical abuse,

pride and a superiority complex.

Laying too many restrictions: Some

husbands have a mistaken view that

if they exercise strict control over

their wives, it will help them to be

more respected and cared for. This

is far from reality! With a harsh

discipline, one can force one’s wife

to obey; but, one cannot receive love

and respect from her.

Lack of help: The husbands

consider it against their dignity to

help their wives in their daily

routine work, washing the dishes,

vacuuming, cleaning after the

infant, etc., etc.

Lack of Trust: Too much

interference with the way wives run

the expenses of the home. Some

husbands investigate what was

spent and where.

By far, most of the bitterness that we

find in our family lives is due to our

failure to exercise tolerance and

show consideration for the wives,

insisting on being right, insisting on

getting what is due to us and not

caring for what is due from us. The

truth is that long-term loving

relationships cannot be built on

such a mean spirited outlook

towards family life.

Sacrifice, being ready to forgive, and

being on the look out for doing a

favour here and there, are needed to

nourish the family relationships.

But it is difficult to find enough

motivation for such consideration in

a God-less society, in which what

matters, is only “me, myself and I.”

Only divine teaching and a very

strong motivation, to earn Allah’s

pleasure in doing so, can enable the

spouses to show compassion and

respect on a daily basis. It is only

thus that we can find peace and

happiness in our homes.

The Holy Qur’an gives excellent

guidance to the believers at various

places on how to make our

marriages successful. It exhorts

them to “treat them (their wives) in

an excellent manner:” (4:20)

This divine injunction makes it an

important religious duty for the

believers to show kindness to their


Life of the Promised Messiah (as) 16

Life of the Promised Messiah (as) – Treatment of Family

Lal Khan Malik, Naib Amir II, Canada

spouses. In these few words has

been laid down the foundation of a

happy family life.

This divine guideline is visible in

the most vivid form, in the glorious

life of our beloved master, the Holy

Prophet Muhammad, may peace

and blessings of Allah be upon him!

That is why Allah enjoins us to

follow his excellent model by

saying:

“There is an excellent model for you

in the Messenger of Allah, for him

who hopes to meet Allah and the

Last Day and who remembers Allah

much.” (33:22)

The Holy Prophet (sa) emphasized

this subject by declaring:

“The best among you is he who

treats his family best, and I am the

best of you in terms of treating my

family.” (Tirmidhi)

By saying so, the Holy Prophet (sa)

has laid down the high standard of

morals in our family relationships.

None can hope to be considered a

decent believer if his treatment of

his family is wanting.

The best example of how the

excellent model of the Holy Prophet

(sa) be followed in our age, is the

glorious life of Hadrat Mirza

Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the

Promised Messiah and Mahdi,

peace be upon him.

He was so particular in following

the Perfect Model of the Holy

Prophet (sa) that in every situation,

his first consideration would always

be ‘how did the Holy Prophet (sa)

do it?’

This afternoon, I am going to

present before you, some glimpses

from the sacred life of Hadrat

Ghulam-e-Ahmad, the great Servant

of Ahmad (as), on how he followed

the Perfect Exemplar (sa) in the

treatment of his family.

Through these glimpses, we shall be

able to see, how the Holy Prophet

(sa) would have acted in similar

circumstances. Also, we will be able

to see where we stand, in our own

lives, with reference to the supreme

level of nobility established by the

Holy Prophet (sa).

Ahmadiyya Culture:

If there is such a thing as

Ahmadiyya Culture, it would be a

culture based on the pedestal of the

lofty moral standards established by

the Perfect Exemplar (sa). This

Ahmadiyya Culture should be seen

in Ahmadi homes, in the lives of

men and women, in their daily lives

– homes where spouses are loved

and treated with kindness and

respect.

Instances from the Life of the

Promised Messiah (as):

You may already know some of the

incidents that I am going to relate

from the life of the Promised

Messiah (as). That should not

matter. When you love someone,

you love to listen about your

beloved. You love to listen to the

same things, again and again.

Secondly, the purpose is not to tell

stories, it is to ponder over these

examples and compare our own

conduct, in similar circumstances,

with the excellent conduct of the

Promise Messiah (as).

Freedom of Women in Early

Muslim Society:

I start with an interesting incident

from the blessed life of the Holy

Prophet (sa). Hadrat Umar (ra) was

discussing something with his wife.

She forcefully argued with him her

point of view. He exclaimed, in

astonishment, “Despite being my

wife, you are so forceful in your

arguments with me!” She

responded, “Umar, times have

changed. Wives of the Holy

Prophet (sa) freely discuss things

with him and they support their

point of view without any fear.

And, the Holy Prophet (sa) lets

them do that!” Hadrat Umar (ra),

raised in a male-dominated Arab

society, found it difficult to adjust to

the degree of freedom and equality

offered by the Holy Prophet (sa) to

his wives and thus, through his

model, to the women in general.

But, did this freedom, granted to

Muslim women, in early Islam, last

through the ages? Alas! With the

misinterpreted notion of hijab and


purdah, some part of the freedom

and equality granted to women was

withdrawn by Muslim societies,

under the influences of local

cultures and women were restricted

to homes, so much so that a women

was not allowed to even walk in

public with her husband.

Walking in Public with Husband:

An interesting incident will

illustrate how embarrassing it was if

one’s wife were to walk with him in

a public place.

The Promised Messiah (as)

abolished all those unjust

restrictions of purdah, which had

come to be imposed on Muslim

ladies in India under the influence

of the Rajput Hindu Culture. He

encouraged his wife, Hadrat Amma

Jan (ra) to go for a walk with

himself or, sometimes, with other

ladies.

During a journey, the Promised

Messiah (as) was waiting, for the

next train on a railway platform.

Hudhur’s wife, Hadrat Ummul

Mo’minin (ra) was with him.

Hudhur (as) started walking on the

platform with her. This was a

strange, unimaginable spectacle for

Hadrat Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib

Sialkoti (ra) who had particularly

puritan views. Feeling very uneasy

on what the people would think and

say about what the Promised

Messiah was doing in public, he

approached Hadrat Hakim Maulawi

Nooruddin Sahib (ra) and said,

“Maulawi Sahib, please request

Hadrat Sahib that Begum Sahiba be

seated on the side. Friends and

foes, all sorts of people, are present

on the platform. What would the

people think?”

Hadrat Maulawi Hakim Noorud-

Din Sahib (ra) said, “What Hadrat

Sahib is doing is right. I cannot say

anything to Hudhur. If you are so

uneasy, you can go and talk to

Hadrat Sahib yourself.” With some

hesitation, Maulawi Abdul Karim

Sahib approached the Promised

Messiah (as) and submitted his

suggestion that Hadrat Begum

Sahiba be requested not to walk

with Hudhur (as).

Hadrat Sahib said, “Maulawi Sahib,

I do not consider anyone’s honour

more important than the honour of

the Holy Prophet (sa). The wives of

the Holy Prophet (sa) and his

companions used to accompany

them in battles; they used to carry

water for them and they did the

nursing duty. I do not consider my

honour and nobility higher than

their honour and nobility. Rather it


Mubarak (Blessed) Mosque, Qadian

is a matter of great honour for us to

follow their model.

What would the people say? Would

they say: Mirza Sahib is walking

with his wife! Well, this is fine with

me. I do not believe in such

restrictive purdah that a women

may not even walk with her

husband.”

Obviously, Maulawi Abdul Karim

Sahib was very embarrassed. When

he returned where his friends were

waiting for the report as to what

had transpired, Hadrat Maulawi

Nooruddin Sahib (ra) asked him,

“Maulawi Sahib, did you get your

answer?” He said, “Yes, I got it!”

A Spoiled Dish:

How many a time, peace of a home

has been shattered just because the

husband did not like the meals

prepared by his wife! This foolish

reason is responsible for ruining the

peace of many families. Let us see

how the Promised Messiah (as)

handled a similar situation.

Hadrat Ummul Mo’minin (ra)

relates an incident of the early

period of her marriage. She

says:

“In the beginning when I came from

Delhi, I learnt that Hadrat Sahib was

fond of gur ke chawal, i.e. sweet rice

made with dried molasses.

Intending to give him a pleasant

surprise, I arranged for cooking of

the dish. I got some rice and added

four times the amount of gur, i.e. the

dried molasses. It became a thick

sticky mass. When I took the pot off

the stove and put the rice in the

plate, I was shocked and deeply

saddened when I realized that the

rice had been ruined. It was almost

mealtime and there was no time to

prepare something else. I was not

sure what to do?

In the mean time Hadrat Sahib came

in. When he saw my face, I was

close to tears due to the

embarrassment and the shock that

there I was with a ruined dish for

Hudhur. When he saw what had

happened, he laughed and said:

“Are you distressed because the rice

did not turn out good?”

Then he said: “No, this rice is very

tasty. It is cooked according to my

taste. I like it when it is more sweet.

It is very good.”

And then he ate happily. Hadrat

Sahib said so many things to make

me happy that I felt happy

too.” (Seerat Hadrat Amma Jan,

page 14)

Extra Care for Wife’s Point of View:

The Promised Messiah (as) used to

consider Amma Jan (ra) as one of

the signs of God and whatever she

used to say, he tried his best to fulfill

it. He used to say that wives should

be treated with extra care.

Let me relate an incident about the

caring nature of Hudhur (as). In

Darul-Masih, there was a courtyard.

In the summer, at nighttime,

Hudhur and all his family members

used to sleep in that courtyard. But

in the rainy season, it created a lot of

problems, because all the beds

needed to be taken into the rooms.

Therefore, Hadrat Amma Jan

proposed that a roof should be put

on a part of the courtyard. Thus, a

verandah should be made so that

when it rains, all the beds should be

pulled under it. Hudhur ordered

that this should be done. Hadrat

Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib (ra)

and a few other companions, who

also lived in the same house,

suggested that this should not be

done as it will ruin the beauty of the

courtyard. But after listening to

every one, Hadrat Sahib said,

“That’s fine. But, since my wife is

one of the signs of Allah and she is

the mother of my sons about whom

God has given me glad tidings,

therefore, I listen to whatever she

says. This verandah should be

constructed.”

More Light in the House:

Hadrat Amma Jan herself tells a

story that when she came newly to

Qadian, she was used to sleeping

with the lights on. But Hudhur was

used to sleeping with the lights off.

When she would go to sleep,

Hudhur used to put out the light.

When she would wake up at night,

the darkness would cause her

anxiety and Hadrat Sahib used to

put on the light again. Eventually

Hudhur got used to sleeping in the

light. Then it so happened that all

the corners of the house were lit,

stairs, bathroom, all the rooms,

courtyard, all the places were lit and

a servant was specially appointed

for this purpose. Sometimes Hadrat

Amma Jan used to remind Hudhur

with love that:

“Do you remember the time when

you could not sleep in the light and

now if all the corners of the house

are not lit, you cannot sleep?”

Hadrat Sahib would smile with

happiness, in agreement.


Value Opinion of Wife:

Hadrat Maulawi Abdul Karim

Sialkoti (ra) had a very keen sense of

observation. He has written in his

concise compilation “ Seerat Masih

Mauùd (as)” that he had the

vantage point of observing the

domestic life of the Promised

Messiah (as), as he lived in a part of

his house for a long time. He

writes:

“The women of the country-side

who visited frequently observed the

conduct of the Promised Messiah

(as) with amazement because it was

totally different from the way they

had seen other people behave

towards their wives. They used to

say: “Mirza Sahib respects the

opinion of his wife a lot.” (Seerat,

page 18)

Doing Common Household Tasks:

The Promised Messiah (as) had no

hesitation in doing common

household work. When he would

find that people of the house were

engaged in various tasks, he would

get up and complete his personal or

household tasks. If he would notice

that the cleaner had not applied

disinfectant in the washroom, he

would himself do that. He would

move the cots and make up beds.

During summer at nighttime, in

case of sudden rain, he would not

wake up the children and would

himself carry their cots, under the

verandah, with the help of another

person.

Ignore Weaknesses:

Once Maulawi Muhammad Ahsan

Amrohi (ra) was staying in Qadian,

in a room in the new guesthouse.

He sent a boy to the Promised

Messiah (as) asking for some

charcoal for heating, since it was

very cold. The Promised Messiah

(as) asked Hadrat Amma Jan (ra) to

give some coal to the boy. She was

busy in doing something else,

therefore, she could not attend to

Hudhur’s instructions immediately.

There was heavy rain and it was

very cold. The Promised Messiah

(as) left what he was doing and

went to the storeroom and gave

some coal to the boy.

Being a Husband is a favour of

Allah

Hudhur used to say:

“We consider it a matter of great

shame that, despite being men, we

should quarrel with women. God

made us men and this, in fact, is a

great favour of Allah on us.

Gratefulness, in this respect, is that

we treat the womenfolk with

compassion and kindness.” (Seerat

p. 18)

Complete Trust in Wife:

The Promised Messiah (as) reposed

complete trust in his wife. He

would never ask for an account of

the home expenses, whether the

whole amount had been spent or

not. If it was spent, what for was it

spent? Or, why too much was

spent? Show me the detail of the

expense account, etc., etc. Allah had

granted him such a generous heart

that such thoughts could not find

any place in it. (Mujaddad A`zam,

p. 1274)

Ignore imperfections of Wife:


say that one should ignore all

imperfections of one’s wife, short of

indecency. (Malfoozat, Edition 2003,

Nazarat Nashro Ishaàt Qadian

Vol. I p. 307)

Patience and Benevolence for Wife:

The Promised Messiah (as) never

asked Hadrat Amma Jan (ra) why

she had not carried out such and

such of his instructions or why did

she not care for proper preparation

of his meals. His degree of patience,

for ignoring such lapses, was

astonishing to the people around.

Hadrat Maulawi Abdul Karim (ra)

says:

“Some times the Promised Messiah

(as) would express his wish for a

particular meal and in view of his

illness a special diet was needed for

him. He would not eat the regular

meals, waiting for the special dish

he had requested. The dish would

sometimes not arrive till it was time

for the next meal. Hudhur would

very softly ask whether the dish was

ready. When he would be told that

the dish could not be prepared due

to such and such reason, he would

just give a smile and again become


busy in his work, as if nothing had

happened.” (Seerat p. 31)

“Our friends should not behave in

this manner!”

On mention of a member of the

Jamaàt that he had treated his wife

harshly, Hadrat Sahib was greatly

displeased. He said:

“Our friends should not behave in

this manner.”

“Our friends must shun such

behaviour.”

During one of his visits to Amratsar

in connection with the debate with

Deputy Atham, one day Hadrat

Sahib was suffering from a

headache. A large number of

members of the Jamaàt had

assembled to see him. Hudhur (as)

came out to see them, despite being

indisposed. During the

conversation, Munshi Abdul Haq

Sahib of Lahore suggested that

Hadrat Sahib should give due

attention to his diet. Since he is

engaged in intellectual and

scholarly work, hard work for long

hours, special nutritional meals

must be prepared for him every day.

Hudhur (as) responded, “Yes, you

are right and we have, on occasions,

mentioned this also. But the

womenfolk are so busy in their

daily household routines that they

do not care much for other matters”.

Here, Munshi Abdul Haq Sahib (ra)

had a chance to stress his point. He

said, “Hudhur, you do not give such

instructions with enough emphasis.

You do not use your ru`b,

(commanding influence). I make

special arrangements for my meals,

and, it is not possible that my

instructions are ignored. There is

not even a slight deviation from

what I demand. Otherwise, we

shall resort to other measures

(Warnah hum doosari tarah khabar

lay lein).”

Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib says:

“I was keenly listening to Munshi

Sahib and was feeling very happy

that this may result in some benefit

for our Beloved Master. I wished to

support Munshi Sahib’s approach. I

said:

“Yes, Hudhur, Munshi sahib is right.

You should also get your

instructions followed with full

force.”

Hadrat Sahib looked at me, smiled

and said:

“Our friends must shun such

behaviour.” (Seerat p.19)

We can imagine the embarrassment

of Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib (ra).

Loud Remark for Wife:

Hudhur talked on this subject

further for some time. He said:

“….The way I feel is such that once I

called my wife in a loud voice, and I

felt that the loud voice was the

result of the sorrow of my heart.

But, despite this, I did not utter even

one harsh word. After this, I did

istighfar for a long time and in

complete humility offered nawafil

and offered some Sadaqa (charity)

also, because I realized that this

mistreatment of my wife was the

result of some hidden disobedience

of Allah.” (Seerat p.20)

Concern on knowing of

Mistreatment of Wife by Someone:


urge his followers that they must

treat their wives and other relatives

kindly. If he would know that one

of his followers had mistreated his

wife, he was greatly distressed.

Once Hadrat Maulawi Abdul Karim

Sahib Sialkoti (ra) was displeased

A view of Qadian in 1945


with his younger wife and he

scolded her angrily in a loud voice,

which was overheard by the

Promised Messiah (as) in the lower

level of the house. He was very

much disturbed. The same night,

the Promised Messiah (as) received

the revelation: “This is not the right

conduct! Abdul Karim, leader of

Muslims, should be stopped from

this behaviour.”

Interestingly, the next morning

Maulawi Abdul Karim Sahib was

feeling ashamed for this misconduct

and people were congratulating him

on having received the title of

‘Leader of Muslims’ from Allah.

(Mujaddad A`zam p. 1286)

Regular Supplications for Wife:

Hudhur said: “I regularly make

some supplications: First, for myself

that Allah may enable me to serve

His cause in such a way that His

Honour and Majesty may become

manifest and that He may enable

me to earn His pleasure. Secondly,

for my wife that Allah may grant me

delight of eyes from her and that

she may follow the paths of His

pleasure. Thirdly, for my children

that they all become servants of

faith. Then, for my sincere friends,

one by one, and then for all those,

who are in my community, whether

we know them or we know them

not.” (Seerat p. 38)

The Conclusion:

These incidents from the life of the

Promised Messiah (as) provide the

standard of good conduct of an

Ahmadi husband towards his

family. We should compare our

own conduct against this measure.

An important part of paradise,

which has been promised to the

believers in this world, is the

peaceful and caring atmosphere of

our homes. This atmosphere can be

achieved and maintained only by

following this noble example.

Let us pray that Allah may enable

me and enable each one of us, to

follow the example of the Promised

Messiah (as) in following the

Excellent Model of the Holy Prophet

Muhammad (sa) in treatment of our

families! Ameen!

Tombstone on the sacred grave of the Promised Messiah (as)


Hoshiarpur city and the nearby

village of Baroti is my ancestral

home that I left as a child with my

parents, in 1947, and migrated to

Pakistan in the wake of the partition

of the British Indian sub-continent.

I always had a great wish to visit

my ancestral home and I would

pray for its realization. In December

2006, Allah accepted my prayers

and I was able to fulfill my wish.

Alhamdolillah.

After visiting Pakistan in mid-

December 2006, I entered India on

December 26 through Wagha-Atari

border. Jamaàt volunteers, on both

sides of the border, facilitated my

entry for which I am grateful. From

Atari, I boarded a bus to Qadian

that was arranged by the Jamaàt. I

reached Qadian just after the time of

maghreb prayer and was put up in

the UK Guest House, since Canada

Guest House was allotted to guests

from Kashmir this year.

I recall visiting Qadian with my

parents in my childhood, although

my recollection of it is hazy. I have

some recollection of how Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih II (ra) used to

deliver quite long and inspiring

speech on the last day of Jalsa,

which continued to sunset time, and

the lights would be turned on. I can

also recall my parents visiting and

meeting Hadrat Mufti Muhammad

Sadiq (ra) and Maulana Abual Ata

Jallandhry during Jalsa days. In my

adult life my late wife

Bushra and I visited Qadian

at Jalsa in 1977 when I

made a brief speech about

the activities of Canada

Jamaàt at that time.

The December 2006 visit

was, in fact, a nostalgic visit

to Qadian after about 30

years. This time I saw the

addition of four guest

houses (Canada, USA, UK

and Germany)

in one walled-compound

and a very impressive and

spacious Sarai Tahir (Tahir

Inn), just across from the

guesthouses, which can

comfortably accommodate

over 6,000 guests.

One highlight of 2006 Jalsa

Salana, in my view, was the

presentation of Sheikh Saeed

Ahmad (a maternal grandson of

Maulvi Muhammad Hussain

Batalvi, an opponent of the

Promised Messiah) during the

speech of Maulana Ghulam Nabi,

Missionary Incharge of Kashmir.

His speech title was: The Truth of

the Promised Messiah (as) in the


My Nostalgic Visit to Hoshiarpur 23

My Nostalgic Visit to Hoshiarpur

Dr. Ijaz Qamar

Light of Prophesies of Warning and

Good News. I had seen this

gentleman, Sheikh Saeed Ahmad,

earlier in the Ahmadiyya mosque in

Jaranwala (near Faisalabad,

Pakistan) in my college days. I

came to know from the speech of

Maulana Ghulam Nabi that

government of the day had gifted

some agricultural land to Maulvi

Muhammad Hussain Batalvi in a

village (chak # 123) near Jaranwala

and his family had settled there.

Another highlight of Jalsa 2006, in

my view, was a speech in the

Punjabi language by Maulvi Giani

Tanvir Ahmad on the subject of

Ahmadiyyat: The True Islam. Being

a Punjabi myself, I enjoyed this

speech thoroughly. This was my

first time listening to a speech

delivered in Punjabi from the stage

of Jalsa Salana.

On December 29, I left Qadian for

Hoshiarpur, which is located at a

distance of about two hours by taxi

cab, in the company of Maulvi

Nasrul Haq, Missionary of

Hoshiarpur. We reached his

residence and the Jamaàt Mission

House located on Bank Bazar (near

Old Kanak Mandi) by noon, well in

time for the Friday prayer. This

blessed and historic house is the

same house where the Promised

Messiah (as) spent 40 days in 1886

in seclusion, supplicating to Allah,

due to His command. This was a

very emotional visit for me, being

my first ever visit, to this house

which I had not had an opportunity

to visit although it was located in

my ancestral city.

This building consists of

several different parts. On

the street level are small

shops owned by non-

Muslims and a portion of

the upper level is owned

by the Jamaàt. The old

staircase is also in the

possession of the Jamaàt

but now it does not lead to

the street, and it is

functionally closed. A

garage-type room is also in

possession of the Jamaàt.

The upper level, which is

in possession of the

Jamaàt, has two sections.

One section is used as the

Missionary’s residence

and its opposite side

consists of a verandah and

two adjoining rooms in

east-west directions, which are used

as a mosque. Out of these two

rooms, the western room (about

12x12 ft) is the historic room where

the Promised Messiah (as) did

“chilla”—a 40-days solitary retreat

for supplication to God in pious

seclusion, following the command

of Allah, the Exalted. I spent 24

hours, out of my stay in Hoshiarpur,

in these two rooms.

The year of 1886 was a year of

momentous incidents, full of Allah’s

blessings, in which the Promised

Messiah (as) saw splendid

manifestations of special signs from

Allah. He was divinely informed of

many future happenings, including

the birth of a Promised Son to him,

which the world came to know as

Hadrat Mirza Bashirudin Mahmud

Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II (ra).

The Promised Messiah (as) had a

long time wish and intention to

spend 40 days in special

supplication, like Hadrat Musa (as)

did in his life, at a place where no

body knew him so that he could

concentrate without human

disturbance. In 1884 he had

intended to go to Sojanpur (district

Gurdaspur) for that purpose but

that journey was postponed

according to the will of Allah. He

wanted for the divine light to guide

him in the selection of the place to

which he would go. Allah revealed

to the Promised Messiah (as) in

Urdu “tumhari uqda kushaee

Hoshiarpur mein ho gi”, (your

conundrum will be resolved in

Hoshiarpur). As a result, in January

1886, the Promised Messiah (as) left

for Hoshiarpur in the company of

Hadrat Maulvi Abdullah Sanori,


Entrance to the house from the street

Hadrat Sheikh Hamid Ali and Mian

Fateh Khan (may Allah be pleased

with all of them). Hudur stayed at

the upper floor of the house which

at that time was owned by Sheikh

Mehr Ali.

Because the Promised Messiah (as)

had already become widely known

due to the publication of Braheen-e-

Ahmadiyya, people had wished to

meet him in person. For that reason

he had made public announcement

through handbills (flyers etc.) that

no one should meet him for 40 days

and that afterwards he would stay

there for 20 days when public will

be able to meet him.

After the passage of 40 days of

secluded supplication, the Promised

Messiah (as) issued a leaflet on

February 20, 1886, in which he

noted a number of prophecies about

himself, his progeny, his relatives,

his friends, and about Sir Syed

Ahmad Khan as well as about

Maharajah Daleep Singh. His

prophecy about the Musleh Mauùd

(the Promised Reformer) was

especially highlighted.

According to Hadrat Maulvi

Abdullah Sanori (ra), (see, Seeratul

Mahdi, Vol I, narration No. 88) he

and his other two companions

stayed in the lower portion of the

building. The Promised Messiah

(as) gave instructions to them that

no one would take the initiative to

speak to the Promised Messiah

unless he himself spoke to someone

to ask for something. There would

be no other conversation. The

Promised Messiah’s meals would be

brought to him, upstairs. (This

author saw this historic staircase

which is not in use now. Instead a

new staircase has been built, which

opens onto the Bank Bazar at the

street level.) Hudur also instructed

that he would offer his daily prayers

by himself, but for Friday prayers

he asked them to locate a mosque

that was not very much frequented.

So a small mosque situated in a park

was found outside Hoshiarpur city.

Hudur used to deliver a short

sermon and would quickly return to

the house just after the Friday

prayer.

According to Hadrat Maulvi

Abdullah Sanori (ra), he would go

upstairs to deliver food to the

Promised Messiah (as). Once, the

Promised Messiah (as) said to

him,”Mian Abdullah, these days

numerous doors of Allah’s blessings

have been opened for me and

sometimes Allah converses with me

for an extended period of time. If

these are written down on paper,

they will cover a lot of pages.”

After 40 days of devotional worship,

a number of people were waiting to

meet the Promised Messiah (as).

Some people exchanged religious

discourses with him, the most

famous one being a debate with

Pandit Murlidhar, an account of

which is given in the Promised

Messiah’s book entitled “Surma

Chashm Ariya”.

After staying for a total of two

months in Hoshiarpur, the Promised

Messiah went back to Qadian, using

the same route that he had used for

coming to the city of Hoshiarpur.

On the way back, Hudur stopped at

the tomb of a holy person that was

situated in a small garden, about 5

to 6 miles from Hoshiarpur, and

offered prayer at his grave. There he

saw in a vision, the saintly person

who was buried in that grave 100

years ago. He gave a verbal

description of his appearance saying

that he had big eyes and was of

somewhat dark complexion. This

description of the holy man was

confirmed by the caretaker of the

tomb, who had heard about it from

his forefathers.

While staying in this blessed house,

I toured the vicinity in which the

Promised Messiah (as) had moved

about. There is an open area (called

old Kanak Mandi) just a few steps


Entrance to the room of

"Solitary Retreat"

down the Bank Bazar where he held

a Jalsa after his “chilla”. Now this

area is occupied by some make-shift

shops and a transport terminal for

rickshaws.

Then, in the company of Murabbi

Nasrul Haq Sahib, I went to my

ancestral village Baroti. This village

belonged to our extended family of

the Rajput clan and at the time of

the partition of India we all left and

only a few working class Hindus

(now called adhartis) were left

behind. This village, located 5 miles

North-East of Hoshiarpur, is nestled

in a very serene and picturesque

setting of the foothills of Koh-e-

Shiwalik (a part of the Himalayan

range), with housing on the sloping

hills and the farm land on the plains

below. A history of the area is

contained in a book entitled A

Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of

the Punjab and North-West Frontier

Province complied by H.A Rose

(1919, Low Priced Publications,

New Dehli). The village history goes

back to the Mughal Muslim period

in India. During the ruler Mahmud

Ghaznavi’s time, there were various

fights that resulted in conquering

and re-conquering of territories, as

was the case at that time. In that

period of history there was a person

by the name of Rana Mal (a

descendent of Nipal Chand, later

called Naru Khan) who had five

sons, who divided the territory

under their control. One of his sons

by the name of Bhojo got various

villages and one of them was our

village Baroti.

My father, Chaudhry Dost

Muhammad Khan (M.A. Gold

Medalist – Aligarh University, B.T. –

Punjab University) was the pioneer

of Ahmadiyyat in our village, and in

fact in the Hoshiarpur district of

that time, by joining the Jamaàt in

1931. He made history soon after

1931 by organizing a successful

propagational conference (tablighi

jalsa) in the village of Baroti, against

heavy odds. My father has written

in his personal diary that Maulvi

Badruddin of Faizullah Chak (near

Qadian) was the featured Ahmadi

speaker who explained the message

of Ahmadiyyat very effectively.

On this visit to my village, I was

able to see the site of the above-

mentioned jalsa and also the

location of our home and those of

our extended family, which we had

evacuated back in 1947. I was an

elementary school child at that time

and have just a hazy memory of

these ancestral sites. I was able to

find an elderly person in the village

who became my tour guide for two

hours I was in the village. It was

another emotional moment for me

when I saw the wells and a pond

from where we used to draw water.

Now with the span of over half a

century, the village had significantly

progressed, with running tap-water,

electricity, roads and telephone

lines.

After I concluded my visit to my

village, I returned to Hoshiarpur

city and visited the clock-tower and

the nearby school which I had

attended. Luckily, I found a teacher

on the school premises who took me

around the school building and

reminded me of the class room

where I used to have wood working

class (it was called “manual

training” in those days).

Then I stayed in the room next to

the room where the Promised

Messiah (as) had done his chilla in

1886. Saying obligatory prayers and

nawafil in the Promised Messiah’s

room was a spiritual experience of

unfathomable proportions. The next

day, I headed for Pakistan via Atari-

Wagha border in the company of

Murabbi Nasrul Haq Sahib. On the

way, I made a brief stop in

Jallandhar city where my father

taught high school and my sister

Akhtarun Nisa Begum obtained her

Maulvi degree from the well-known

Madrasa-tul-Binat. Seeing our old

house where we resided in

Mohallah Pakka Bagh (near Rainak

Bazar Chowk) and the school I went

to was another occasion for my

personal recollection of old times.

I am deeply grateful to Allah for

providing me with the opportunity

to undertake this journey to

Hoshiarpur and its vicinity, where

the Promised Messiah (as) had spent

two months on a Divine mission.

References:

Life of Ahmad, Part 1 By A.R. Dard,

M.A. (A Tabshir Publication 1948),

p.108.

Hayat-e-Tayyiba (Urdu) By Hadrat

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Saudagarmal

(Nazarat Nashro Ishaàt, Qadian,

2001), p.63-64


And those, who hearken to their

Lord, and observe Prayer, and

whose affairs are decided by mutual

consultation, and who spend out of

what We have provided for them,

(42:39)

Sh r is an Arabic word for

"consultation." The word Sh r is

derived from connotations of giving

one’s opinion after having purified

oneself. According to the above

mentioned verse of the Holy

Qur’an, the true believers are those

who observe prayer and who

consult in communal matters, who

reflect and then give an opinion and

once a decision is made they

cooperate and employ all their

strengths to implement it.

While Islam enjoins representative

democracy, it also requires

submission to those in authority.

This is a more traditional approach,

characteristic of many centuries of

Islamic history.

Sh r is a key principle of

governance in Islam. However, a

true Sh r can only exist with

guidance from Khilafat. In the Holy

Qur’an, two modes of consultation

are mentioned. In the one, the Holy

Prophet Muhammad (sa) is asked to

consult with his companions, but

ultimately, to decide on his own. In

the other, the community of the

faithful is described as the one that

(among its other attributes)

administers its affairs by mutual

consultation. For the first one,

consultation is mandated but is not

binding; whereas for the second, it

is depicted as constituting the very

process by which are reached

binding decisions on public matters.

Similarly in the first mode, the

Prophet (sa), and by interpretation

his representative, is personally

involved, while in the second mode,

it is the community deliberating on

public matters collectively.

The Holy Qur’an states:

“And it is by the great mercy of

Allah that thou art kind towards

them, and if thou hadst been rough

and hard-hearted, they would surely

have dispersed from around thee. So

pardon them and ask forgiveness for

them, and consult them in matters


Dr. Syed Muhammad Aslam Daud

Secretary Majlis Shura Canada

Majlis Sh r

and whose affairs are decided by mutual consultation

Majlis Sh r 27

of administration; and when thou

art resolved, then put thy trust in

Allah. Surely, Allah loves those who

put their trust in Him.” (3:160)

Following the above commandment

of Allah, the Holy Prophet

Muhammad (sa) used to seek

consultation and confer with others.

However, if the final decision is

contrary to the counsel and the

opinions given, then Allah

commands the Prophet (or in the

present day, the Khal fa) to put his

trust in Him and stay firm on his

decision.

The Holy Prophet (sa) said that the

one who is consulted is a trustee

and the one whose brother seeks his

consultation and he gives it to him

without due integrity betrays him.

He enjoined his followers to consult

those who are sensible and who are

sincere worshippers, be they men or

women. The Holy Prophet (sa)

himself used to take advice from

both men and women.

Choosing the first Caliphs by Sh r

The first form of Majlis Sh r

(Consultative Body) was held at the

demise of Holy Prophet

Muhammad (sa) in 632 CE to

discuss his succession. Hadrat Abu

Bakr (ra) was selected with mutual

consultation as his successor.

Hadrat Umar Bin Khattab (ra), the

second successor of the Holy

Prophet (sa) established a splendid

system of administration for the

Islamic state including the

establishment of Majlis Sh r as a

consultative advisory body to the

Khal fa. In the light of Qura'nic

guidance and the blessed model of

the Holy Prophet (sa), Hadrat Umer

(ra) said that there is no Khilafat

without Sh r . Hadrat Ali (ra) also

said that counsel should be sought

from those who are sensible and

those who worship God.

During and after Hadrat Ali's (ra)

tenure as Caliph, the Muslim

community fell into civil war. Power

was eventually grasped by the

Ummayad caliphs and then by the

Abbasid caliphs. However, a few of

the later caliphs had anything but

nominal control over the many

Islamic States. There were also rival

caliphates in Egypt and Al-Andalus,

which included most of today’s

Spain. Later, the rulers of the

Ottoman empire claimed the

caliphate which was ultimately

dissolved in 1924.

None of the later caliphs or rulers of

early Islam, after the righteous

caliphate, were chosen by Sh r ;

most came into authority by

inheritance or by the sword. In

practice, most Muslim rulers at that

time were autocratic, listened only

to powerful advisors and clergy, and

rejected advice they did not like.

One can cautiously attribute their

failure to the lack of existence of a

pious Majlis Sh r .

Sh r and Contemporary Muslim-

Majority States

Some Muslim-majority states, like

Turkey, are secular democracies or

cons t i tu t iona l monarchies

(Morocco). They could thus be said

to be ruled by one version of Sh r .

Other states are dictatorship,

secular, monarchic, or clerical. The

bicameral Parliament of Pakistan is

officially called the Majlis Sh r ,

although the Constitution uses

various spellings of the term. In

Egypt, the Upper House of

Parliament is known as the Sh r

Council. Most members are elected

for a six-year term; however, all real

power is held by the President.

Saudi Arabia was given a Sh r

council in 1993 of which there are

now 120 members. All real power is

held by the King, who is elected by

family members, with no input from

the populace. Oman also has a

Sh r Council, but its members are

appointed by the Sultan and they

Majlis Sh r 28

can only offer advice, which may be

refused if the Sultan so pleases. Iran

also practices Sh r where the

leader consults with other clergies.

Majlis Sh r in Jam àt

Ahmadiyya

In Jam àt Ahmadiyya, Majlis Sh r

is an advisory consultative council

of the Jam àt. This institution was

established in 1922 by Hadrat Mirza

Bashirudin Mahmood Ahmed,

Khal fatul Mas h II (ra).

International Majlis Sh r normally

convened annually to submit its

recommendations to Hadrat

Khal fatul Mas h on such matters of

international importance, as might

be entrusted to it through the

members of the Jam àt through

their Am rs and Maj lis ` mila.

Apart from International Majlis

Sh r , every country now holds its

own National Sh r annually to

discuss and advise the National

Am r on matters of national

importance. The National Am r then

forwards these recommendations to

Hadrat Khal fatul Mas h for his

consideration and approval. The

first Majlis Shura of Canada Jamaàt

was held on December 24, 1977. It

was also the first day of Jalsa Salana

Canada.

Members of Majlis Sh r

Majlis Sh r is composed of the

Pres idents and e lec ted

representatives of the local Jam àts,

members of the National Majlis

` mila (including Central

Missionaries working in any

capacity) and other national office

bearers.

Proceeding of Majlis Sh r

The format of the session of Majlis

Sh r is as follows:

• After the inaugural address by

Hadrat Khal fatul Mas h, or his

representative as the case may be,

a report of the Majlis Sh r of the

previous year is presented by the

Secretary Sh r .

• The minutes of the previous

regular annual Sh r are

confirmed by the Majlis Sh r .

• The approved agenda for the

current meeting is presented by

Secretary Sh r .

• If it is an election year (to elect

office bearers of the Jamaàt), then

national office bearers are elected

for a 3-year term.

• If required, sub-committees are set

up for detailed consideration of

the items/proposals on the

agenda. It is to be noted that all

the proposals on the agenda which

could be submitted by any

Auxiliary organization, Jamaàt, or

National Majlis Àmila are

reviewed and approved by Hadrat

Khalifatul Masih.

• The sub-committees submit their

reports to the Sh r for discussion

and formulation of its

recommendations.

• After discussing the proposal and

the report of the sub-committee,

the Majlis Shura then formulates

its recommendations by majority

vote.

The Am r submits the proposed

recommendations to Hadrat

Khal fatul Mas h for his

consideration and decision. Hadrat

Khal fatul Mas h, at his pleasure,

g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t s t h e

recommendations made by the

majority. However, if he is of the

view that a recommendation ignores

a principle, he explains the principle

and rejects the recommendation. He

may also, at his discretion, accept

the proposal in a modified form.

Etiquettes of Majlis Sh rAll delegates and participants are

expected to observe certain rules

and etiquettes of Majlis Shura,

which is regarded as a highly formal

session. During the proceedings,

delegates speak when they are

invited to do so. For secretarial

purposes, they should clearly state

their full name and the Jam àt they

represent. They should seek

permission from the chair by raising

their hands before leaving the

council while in session and can

leave if the permission is granted.

During the proceeding of the Sh r ,

members should engage themselves

in Istighfar (seeking Divine

forgiveness) and invoke blessings

on the Holy Prophet (sa), and try to

keep one’s mind clear of any

worldly thoughts.

Participation in the Sh r should be

purely for the sake of Allah and one

should be clear-headed and

engaged in prayer throughout the

proceedings. In addition to the

above, the following should be

specially observed during Majlis

Sh r :

• The intention should never be to

convince others of one’s opinion

and others’ opinions should be

carefully listened to.

• The delegate should not give an

opinion on someone’s behalf and

should not concur merely because

of whose opinion it is. One should

give an opinion in view of

whatever is under discussion with

the best possible assessment and

judgment.

• The delegate should not be hasty

to form an opinion.

• The delegate should not follow

emotions; rather facts and figures

Majlis Sh r 29

should be kept in mind and

positive supportive arguments

should be presented.

• The delegate should only speak in

the best interest of the religion and

the community keeping in mind

that the objective is to propagate

Islam.

• All advices should be based on

Taqwa (fear of Allah).

• The delegate should be mindful of

the sanctity of the Sh r and

continually seek Divine help.

• Those who are not official

delegates may also attend the

Sh r , with permission, as

“Observers.” However, they are

not permitted to speak or

participate in discussions.

The system of Sh r is in place

under the guidelines of the Holy

Prophet (sa). Therefore, the final

decision lies with the Khal fa and

the Sh r assembly is only entitled

to ‘propose’ issues rather than make

decisions. However, a significance

of the Sh r is that it provides the

Khal fa a yardstick to gauge the

condition of various countries from

the advice and counsel he receives.

Three Major Benefits of Majlis

Shura

Hadrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra)

has pointed out three major benefits

of Majlis Sh r :

• The Khalifatul Masih is able to get

advice from members of Jamaàt

and thus members of the Jamaàt

are able to become part of

decision-making process.

• Due to Majlis Sh r , members of

the Jamaàt become aware of

things of national interest and are

able to assist in the progress of the

Jamaàt.

• Members of the Jamaàt get

practical training of decision

making and the system of the

Jamaàt. Majlis Sh r is most

significant in helping the Nizame

Jam àt (Administrative system of

the Community) and the Nizame

Khilafat. People who are elected as

delegates are prospective advisors

to the Khal fa, therefore, much

care is needed in electing the

delegates while electing members

to participate in the Sh r and

represent a particular Jamaàt.

Those who clearly and evidently

appear undeserving or those who

seek self-promotion should not be

chosen at all.

The responsibility of the Sh r

delegates is not just for the two or

three days of the Sh r conference,

but for the whole year until the next

set of representatives are chosen.

Therefore, they need to continually

self-reflect; they ought to be sincere

worshippers of God who stand firm

on Taqwa.

Once the recommendations of the

Majlis Sh r proposal are approved

by Khal fatul Mas h then it is the

duty of all the representatives to

ensure and assist in its

implementation.

Majlis Sh r 30

Abder Rahman III of Spain is

arguably the most distinguished

and brilliant Moorish ruler, having

reigned for 49 years over a vast and

wealthy empire. However, when he

died in 961 CE he left behind a piece

of paper on which he gave a brief

yet poignant account of his life:

I have now reigned about 50 years

in victory or peace, beloved by my

subjects, dreaded by my enemies,

and respected by my allies. Riches

and honours, power and pleasure,

have waited on my call, nor does

any earthly blessing appear to have

been wanting to my felicity. In this

situation, I have diligently

numbered the days of pure and

genuine happiness which have

fallen to my lot. They amount to

fourteen.

Throughout almost a half century in

the seat of power and glory, Abder

Rahman III only experienced two

weeks of happiness. How is it

possible that a man who had so

much in this world received such

little joy from his life?

Unfortunately, people today have

more in common with Abder

Rahman III than they realize. On

average, 3 million Canadians have

serious depression. A report

published this year discovered that

in British Columbia the use of

prevalent antidepressants has gone

up dramatically from 1996 to 2004.

In fact, in 2002 the U.S. Agency for

Healthcare Research and Quality

found that two antidepressants

were in the top 10 prescription

drugs bought that year; Americans

spent $2.2 billion on Paxil and $2.1

billion on Zoloft. People are

struggling to be satisfied and happy

with their lives, and this is going to

be a difficult battle that will not be

won through antidepressants. This

is because the World Health

Organization has predicted that by

2020 depression will be the second

leading cause of disability

worldwide after heart disease. Is

“pure and genuine happiness”

really so elusive?

Most research to date has focused

primarily upon negative states of

the human mind (anxiety,

depression, neurosis, etc) and great

advancement has been made in

understanding the intricacies of

these complex psychological states.

However, in the past decade alone

there has been a concerted effort to

focus scientific research on

happiness. Positive Psychology is

the new branch of psychology that

has been created for this new

direction that science is taking.

Today, economists, biologists and

psychologists are diligently working

to uncover the secret behind leading

a fulfilling and satisfying life. There

is great promise that true happiness

is not as elusive as it seems.

ECONOMY OF HAPPINESS

Economists have always measured a

country’s progress through its GDP

(Gross Domestic Product), which

gauges economic activity. However,

the shortcomings of such a measure

has become a leading concern in this

field, and research has been done to

establish new and more realistic

ways of quantifying a country’s

well-being that take into account

factors such as human and

environmental welfare rather than

just monetary factors. Bhutan is one

country that has really made great

strides to find ways of measuring its

happiness.

Bhutan is an east Himalayan

Buddhist monarchy with a

population of approximately

800,000 people and unfortunately

one of the least developed countries

in the world. It was not until the

late 1990’s that television and the

Internet were allowed into the


In Search of Happiness 31

country. However, its relatively

poor status in comparison to much

of the rest of the world is of no

concern to the Bhutanese, as this

country is obsessed with its state of

happiness. The government of

Bhutan is worried about the affect of

globalization on its country and is

therefore, concerned about

protecting its unique culture. This is

why the government is committed

to establishing its GNH (Gross

National Happiness) rather than

improving its GDP and it believes

that “GNH is more important that

Gross National Product.” GNH is

based upon social, environmental,

and health indicators to better

accurately represent the real

conditions of society. As a measure

of progress, GNH is based upon

four values: the promotion of

equitable and sustainable socio-

economic development, the

presentation and promotion of

cultural values, the conservation of

the natural environment, and the

establishment of good governance.

In Bhutan, the fulfilment of these

values will work to ensure the

country’s overall happiness.

Of course, there are critics of GNH,

who do not believe that it is a

proper scientific measure as it is

quantitative; however, this is where

other countries, especially Canada,

have offered their assistance to

Bhutan in finding scientific methods

of measuring the country’s overall

happiness. Canada, as well as the

Netherlands, France and Germany,

are all supporting the GPI (Genuine

Progress Indicator), which is a

qualitative measure in tandem with

the GNH and proves that happiness

can be measured on a large scale.

The GPI takes into account the

economic value of human, social,

and natural factors on top of

manufactured and financial capital.

It assigns value to things like

environmental quality, population

health, livelihood security, equity,

free time, educational attainment,

unpaid voluntary and household

work. What is innovative about GPI

is that it balances the costs of

economic activity (such as sickness,

crime, pollution, family breakdown,

resource depletion) to the benefits,

which is more realistic than the

GDP as studies have shown that

people are more affected by losses

rather than gains in their decisions.

In other words, GPI answers the

question of whether or not

economic development harms or

improves welfare of people.

Although there is still a long way to

go before GPI is an established

indicator, it holds great potential for

uncovering what actually makes a

country happier and healthier.

BIOLOGY OF HAPPINESS

In terms of biological research, the

sensation of happiness and related

mental states, such as hopefulness,

optimism, and contentment, have

been found to be centred in the left

prefrontal cortex of the brain (an

area of the brain behind the left

forehead). Dopamine is a brain

chemical that plays an important

role in what makes us feel happy. It

is released in the frontal cortex as a

natural reward for the body


World Health Organization has predicted that by

2020 depression will be the second leading cause

of disability worldwide after heart disease.

Real time quotes at a stock exchange

whenever we do a certain activity

such as eating, thereby reinforcing

feelings of pleasure so that we

remember and repeat the activity—

this is also why this chemical has

been central to drug addiction

research. Happiness, like the high

from any type of addiction, is

fleeting and does not last long. For

example, when a person eats,

dopamine is released and they begin

to feel good, but eventually they

will start to feel hungry again.

Although science is still struggling

to understand whether the

prefrontal cortex creates sensations

of happiness or if it just reflects

one’s general emotional state,

behavioural geneticists have been

trying to figure out if a “happiness

gene” exists. Thus far, they have

determined that everyone has a

hedonic set point, which is our

individual level of happiness.

Everyday our feelings of happiness

fluctuate up or down, but we each

have a unique stable mid point to

which our happiness level returns.

Behavioural geneticists are

interested in how much of the

difference between our hedonic set

point is due to our genetic makeup.

Essentially, the question they are

trying to answer is how much of our

happiness is under our control.

Some scientists believe that genes

contribute 80% to our hedonic set

point, while others propose that it is

only 50%. Regardless of this debate,

it is clear that there is no specific

“happiness gene” and it is not

hereditary the way that eye colour is

for example. Happiness is an

“emergent property,” which means

that it is a combination of many

genes combined. Therefore,

geneticists think that it is the

arrangement of these genes that

determines our behaviours,

emotions and basic personality

traits. What remains to be studied

then is the interaction of these genes

with each other and also with the

world. However, there is a caution

that should be highlighted in

regards to the genetics of happiness.

If happiness levels are set points

that are influenced mostly by genes,

then it can be concluded that it is

impossible to improve your level of

happiness. Such a conclusion raises

the question of personal

responsibility. For example, it can

be claimed that a person who has a

negative personality cannot

improve because they are born this

way. Such an assumption about

genetic research is dangerous for

society, because it can be easily

misconstrued and people may

assume that random chance has a

part to play in our happiness, thus

removing personal responsibility

from the individual. This is why it

is important to stress that most

scientist believe that our

environment contributes at least

50% to our hedonic set point and

therefore, it is possible to improve

our happiness no matter what level

our genes start us out at. This

branch of genetic research is

beginning to show that happiness is

not a state that we are born with,

but rather something that we can

affect and change.

However, there is no doubt that by

understanding the neurophysiology

of happiness and how positive

emotions affect the body overall

great advancement can be made in


What makes a person happy? Is it possible to

increase your level of happiness?

What do you think: [email protected]

Reviewing MRI scan of the human brain

how to lead a healthy life. Several

studies that have already been

conducted have uncovered

fascinating details about how

happiness can drastically affect a

person’s life. For example, it has

been shown that “happy people”

develop 50% more antibodies than

average in response to the flue

vaccine. Happiness has also been

shown to reduce the risk or limit the

severity of cardiovascular disease,

pulmonary disease, diabetes,

hypertension, colds, and upper-

respiratory infections. It seems that

happier people have lower levels of

stress chemicals in their body. Stress

chemicals like cortisol have been

linked to abdominal obesity, Type 2

diabetes, high blood pressure, and

autoimmune disorders. In one

study, after following 1300 men for

ten years, it was found that the rate

of heart disease amongst the

optimists in the group was half of

that of those who did not call

themselves optimists. There have

also been studies where people were

asked to keep a daily journal listing

what they were grateful for each

day. Those who see life as a gift and

display gratefulness have been

shown to take better care of

themselves. All of the research to

date shows that positive emotions

make the immune system function

better, help battle disease, and

ultimately ensure that we live

longer.

PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS

Obviously then there are positive

affects of happiness on our physical

well-being; however, we are still

back to the difficult question of

where happiness comes from. What

makes a person happy? And is it

possible to increase your level of

happiness?

I recently asked several of my

family and friends what they think

is happiness. The responses I

received were predictable in some

cases and surprising in others. A

few were worldly notions (money,

music, candy, sunshine, shopping),

but most responses revolved around

familial relations and having a life

of peace, security, and freedom from

worldly pains and worries. My

interviewees were of all various

ages, cultures, and religions and in

different stages of life, so

understandably they generally had

vastly different responses. Let me

ask you to please take a moment

and consider what you think is

happiness.

Now that you have your answer,

you will be surprised to learn what

it reveals about your level of

happiness. To begin to even answer

the question of what makes people

happy, it is first important to

understand what does not make a

person happy. And unfortunately

for most of the people who

responded to my email studies have

shown that a lot of what we would

assume would make a person

happy, such as money, family,

youth, and sunny days, in reality do

not do much for our level of

happiness. Dr. Edward Diener of

the University of Illinois has been

studying what does and does not

make people satisfied with life for

the past twenty years. When it

comes to wealth, he has shown that

once a person’s basic needs are met,

their satisfaction with life does not

increase with additional income. As

for the young, they are not as happy

as is popularly believed. Studies

have shown that people under 20

years have the highest rates of

depression. Older people are

actually happier and they are less

prone to dark moods. And finally,

for all those who are holding on to

their single status for dear life,

generally speaking married people

are happier than single people,

physically and socially. A report

published by the Center for Disease

Control and Prevention showed that

married people are less likely to be

in poor-to-fair health, smoke or

drink heavily, or suffer from such

health problems as headaches and

serious psychological distress. Also,

Diener has demonstrated that

people who are generally lonely and

lack social interaction with others

stand the most to gain from

marriage. This is because people

that are positive and content with

life tend to get married and stay

married.

Obviously then, understanding

happiness is not as simple as one

might assume; however, neither is it

as complicated as you may be

thinking now. The Greek

philosopher Aristotle believed that


A person who incorporates religion into daily life is

better off in two important ways: a greater

frequency of positive emotions and a greater overall

sense of satisfaction with in life.

there are four levels of happiness,

which begin with short-term

happiness that is gained through

self-serving activities and end with

lasting happiness that is achieved

by serving others. The first and

lowest level is immediate but short-

term happiness that is gained

through pleasurable activities that

appeal to the senses like eating your

favourite food or drinking tea on a

cold day. The second is happiness

that we achieve after reaching goals

that we set for ourselves. Of course,

the happiness that we receive after

reaching that goal does not last very

long. It is only when we turn our

attention to the world outside of

ourselves and contribute to society

that a lasting happiness seems

possible. Aristotle believed that we

could receive a lot of joy from

helping and serving other people.

This is why the final level is about

living life for an important purpose

outside of our own existence (for

example, peace, justice, etc). Here,

we are contributing to a cause that is

larger than ourselves and serves to

help a lot of people. In this respect,

the happiness we can achieve in this

level is limitless and one that

outlasts us.

After reading Aristotle’s theory, I

noticed a correlation with Hadrat

Mirza Tahir Ahmad’s (r.h.) book

Absolute Justice, Kindness, and Kinship

—The Three Creative Principles,

where he explains in great depth the

three stages of human relationships

as listed in the Holy Qur’an:

“Indeed Allah requires you to abide

by justice, to treat with grace and to

give like the giving of kin to

kin” (16:91). The first stage is Adl or

absolute justice where what a

person does is balanced by an equal

reward; this is the least that Allah

expects of us. One level higher than

this is Ihsan or kindness where we

voluntarily grant someone more

than his due through an act of

beneficence. And finally, the highest

level we can attain is Ita’i Dhil-

Qurba, which is to spontaneously

treat others with such grace and

overwhelming benevolence just as

one would treat their own family. In

his analysis of this verse, Khalifatul

Masih IV (rh) demonstrates that

only through a gradual evolution

through these stages of justice can

human relationships reach a level of

peace, security, and ultimate

happiness.

Scientific research today validates

much of Aristotle’s theory as, thus

far, psychologists seem to think that

there are two things that will make

us happy: religion and then friends.

It may be astonishing but scientists

believe that religion will make a

person happy. Studies have found

that religious people are less

stressed and happier than non-

believers. Apparently religion

shields followers from worrying,

and they are better able to cope with

crises. The more that a person

incorporates religion into their daily

life (attending service, praying,

reading scripture, etc) and the

greater their religious certainty is

(ie: their faith in God and the truth

of their beliefs) the better off they

are in two important ways: they

have a greater frequency of positive

emotions and they have a greater

overall sense of satisfaction with

their life. A 2002 study at the

University of Illinois found that the

happiest 10% of students (and those

with the fewest signs of depression)

were the ones with the strongest ties

to their friends and family and who

also had a commitment to spending

time with them. As Diener has said,

“Word needs to be spread. It is

important to work on social skills,

close interpersonal ties and social

support in order to be happy.”

HAPPINESS IN ISLAM

Although science is pointing to both

religion and friends as a source of

happiness, it is only seeing the signs

of the true source, which from the

Holy Qur’an we learn is really

Allah. What science has only

revealed now, Allah clearly told us

15 centuries ago in the Holy Qur’an:

“Those who believe and do good

works—happiness is decreed for

them, and an excellent place of

return” (13:30). With every study

that is done on happiness, the

validity of Islam teachings will only

continue to be proven. It is

surprising to learn that a person’s

wealth, spouse, and kids do not give

them lasting happiness, but these

findings only lend support to the

Holy Qur’an where humankind has

been repeatedly told that the life of

this world is fleeting and therefore,

so is any happiness this world can

potentially give us. For eternal and

lasting happiness we need only to

turn to the Creator of this world,

Allah Almighty, Who has cautioned

us that “The love of desired objects

like women and children and

stored-up reserves of gold and


“Those who believe and do good works—happiness is

decreed for them...(Holy Qur’an 13:30)

silver, and pastured horses and

cattle and crops, appears attractive

to people. All this is the provision

of the hither life; and it is Allah

with Whom is an excellent

abode” (3:15). To think of happiness

in relation to objects is indicative of

our consumer culture: the more we

have the happier we seem.

Unfortunately, this could not be any

further from the truth. If we take a

moment to think about it, those

things that we assume to give us

happiness may do so for a short

while, but that joy never lasts; it is

always an imperfect happiness. For

example, a greater income may be

followed by a whole new set of

problems while our children may

not be as academically inclined as

we would like them to be. The

Promised Messiah (as) has clearly

explained the plight of those who

seem to be happy because of their

wealth and luxurious lifestyle:

What does a man wish for in this

world? His greatest wish always is

that he should live a comfortable

and peaceful life. For this, there

is only one way open to him and

that is the way of Taqwa; in

other words, it is called the way

of the Holy Qur’an or the Siraat-

i-Mustaqeem [the right path].

Let nobody think that the

disbelievers also possess a lot of

wealth and they also live a

comfortable life, rather they are

engrossed in luxuries, which

make them intoxicated. I tell you

the truth, these people seem to be

happy only to those who are

materialistic and who can only

see the surface of things. The

fact is that they are experiencing

an intense burning and pain. You

have only seen their faces, but I

look to their hearts. It is as if they

are chained and they are burning.

God says, “Verily, We have prepared

for the disbelievers chains and iron-

collars and a blazing fire” (76:15).

They cannot turn to virtue. They

are so burdened under the chains

that they seem to be worse than

beasts. They are looking towards

the worldly gains and they always

incline towards the earth. In the

heart of their heart they have a

burning. If their amassed wealth

decreases or they do not achieve the

desired success, they are greatly

despaired and they feel a type of

burning. At times, while passing

through this kind of circumstance

they run mad and knock on the

door of the courts. There is no

doubt about it that he who only

cares for worldly gains (he who is

irreligious) is always having a sort

of burning; he lacks satisfaction and

contentment. It is just like an

alcoholic who takes one peg and

asks for another. He feels a sort of

burning. The same is the case of the

person who cares for nothing but

worldly gains. His fire of greed

cannot be quenched even for a

moment. The real happiness is the

lot of the Muttaqi [a righteous

person] alone to whom God has

promised two paradises. A Muttaqi

can find happiness in a thatched hut

while a worldly person cannot get it

in grand and huge castles. The more

he gets, the more troubles he has to

confront. You must remember that

true happiness is never the lot of a

worldly person. Do not think that

abundance of wealth and gorgeous

dresses are the source of happiness.

It definitely is not so. The

fountainhead of true happiness is

Taqwa. (Malfoozat, Vol. 1, p. 420-423)

It can be easy to understand how

one’s wealth does not ensure

happiness as we all know that

money comes and goes, but what is

more difficult to reconcile with one’s

heart is the notion that our family

cannot give us lasting happiness.

However, in The Philosophy of the

Teachings of Islam, the Promised

Messiah (r.a.) has explained the true

nature of our love for our family

and friends clearly:


The fountainhead of true happiness is Taqwa.

Promised Messiah (as)

It is the attraction that the True

Creator has implanted in the nature

of man. The same attraction comes

into play whenever a person feels

love for another. It is a reflection of

the attraction that is inherent in

man’s nature towards God, as if he

is in search of something that he

misses, the name of which he has

forgotten and which he seeks to find

in one thing or another which he

takes up from time to time. A

person’s love of wealth or offspring

or wife or his soul being attracted

towards a musical voice are all

indications of his search for the True

Beloved. As man cannot behold

with his physical eyes the

Imperceptible Being, Who is latent

like the quality of fire in everyone,

but is hidden, nor can he discover

Him through the mere exercise of

imperfect reason, he has been misled

grievously in his search and has

mistakenly assigned His position to

others. (pages 52-53)

It must be remembered that the

reason why we aim to tread the path

of taqwa is to worship Allah. And it

is only through taqwa that we can

increase our level of happiness. To

search for Allah and to find Him is

the innermost yearning of the

human soul and this is the real

object and goal of life. It is only

when this goal is attained that we

can enjoy perfect peace of mind and

everlasting happiness.

It is no wonder then that scientific

research is beginning to finally

acknowledge the importance of

religion that believers have

understood all along. Studies have

shown that religion is beneficial for

four reasons. First is the social

support that a religious organization

gives. A person not only has a

strong connection with others, but

they also have the belief that God

will take care of them. We have

only to look at our own Ahmadiyya

Community as the perfect example

of this. As an international

organization, we are established in

over 180 countries in every

continent of the world. As

impressive as this is, what is more

remarkable is that an Ahmadi can

travel anywhere in the world, and

have comfort in knowing that they

have a friend in their foreign

surroundings, with Ahmadiyyat

being the only thing in common

between them.

Second is spiritual support that

gives us a sense of a connection to a

community by doing good works

through charity, prayer and

meditation. There has been much

research done, especially on

Buddhists, that has found that the

prefrontal cortex I discussed earlier

is highly active during meditation.

It is obvious then that there is a clear

correlation between meditation and

happiness. The Ahmadiyya

Community, as large and

widespread as it may be, is blessed

with a strong social network

because of the spiritual bond that

ties its members together. The bond

is so strong because we observe the

five pillars of Islam, individually

and as a community. These acts of

worship are the Kalimah or the

verbal Declaration of Faith (“There

is none worthy of worship but

Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger

of Allah”), observance of Salat five

times a day (preferably in

congregation), the paying of Zakat,

performing Hajj or pilgrimage, and

finally, fasting for the month of

Ramadhan.

Thirdly, religion gives people a

sense of purpose and meaning. It

has been found that those who

believe in life after death are

significantly happier. Repeatedly in

the Holy Qur’an, Allah has pointed

to the insignificance of this world:

“And whatever of anything you are

given is only a temporary


Can money buy happiness? [email protected]

enjoyment of the present life and an

adornment thereof; and that which

is with Allah is better and more

lasting. Will you not then

understand?” (28:61). It is only for

the believers to recognize that this

world is not for them, that their

happiness lies in the hereafter. On

the Day of Judgement, Allah the

Gracious, the Ever Merciful, will say

to His true believers:

O My servants, there is no fear for

you this day, nor shall you grieve.

Enter the Garden, you and your

companions, delighted and joyful.

Dishes and cups of gold will be

passed round to them and in them

will be all the heart desires and in

which the eyes delight. Therein will

you abide. This is the Garden to

which you have been made heirs,

because of that which you

practised. Therein for you is fruit in

abundance of which you will eat.

(43:69-74)

It is no surprise then that believers

are happier than non-believers.

This world is not paradise, and it is

not the place of a true believer.

There is a hadith that beautifully

demonstrates this:

Abu Sa’id Khudri relates that the

Holy Prophet (s.a.) said: “Allah, the

Lord of honour and glory, will call

the dwellers of Paradise and they

will respond: Here we are, our Lord,

and all good is in Thy hands. He

will ask them: Are you happy? They

will answer: Why should we not be

happy, our Lord, when You have

bestowed upon us that which You

have not bestowed on any of Your

other creation. He will say to them:

Shall I bestow upon you even better

than that? They will inquire: What

could be better than that? He will

say: I bestow upon you My Pleasure

and I shall never hereafter be wroth

with you.” (Bokhari and Muslim)

And finally, religion encourages the

avoidance of risky and stressful

behaviour, and thereby, simplifies

our life. This is most true in the case

of Islam where Muslims have been

given clear guidance for all aspects

of their lives in the Holy Qur’an.

For example, Allah Almighty has

instructed Muslims to “Recite that

which has been revealed of the Book

and observe Prayer. Surely, Prayer

restrains one from indecency and

manifest evil; and the remembrance

of Allah is the greatest virtue. And

Allah knows what you do” (29:46).

A second source of guidance is the

Ahadith, which are the words

spoken by the Holy Prophet (sa) or

the descriptions of incidents related

to the Holy Prophet’s (sa) life. The

following is a hadith that

emphasizes the fundamental acts of

worship in the lives of all Muslims:

Abu Ayub Khalid ibn Zaid Ansari

relates that a man asked:

“Messenger of Allah, tell me that

which will cause me to be admitted

to Paradise and will keep me away

from the Fire.” He answered:

“Worship Allah and do not

associate anything with Him.

Observe Prayer; pay the Zakat and

join the ties of kinship” (Bokhari

and Muslim).

As Ahmadis, we have been further

blessed with guidance from our

beloved Promised Messiah (as) and

the institution of Khilafat. As our

present Khalifah, Hadrat Mirza

Masroor Ahmad (aa.), has

explained, it is through the

leadership and knowledge of the

Khilafat that Islam enjoys many

blessings and is guided on the right

path.

They give instructions in spiritual

matters asking [Muslims] to

populate the mosques, to establish

Prayers, to give proper training to

the children, to strengthen moral

values, to foster courage and

perseverance. They also make

appeals for inviting others towards

Allah and making financial

sacrifices. All these need to be

followed unfailingly. In other

words, they fall in the category of

obedience to the good. No Prophet

or Khalifah shall ever ask you to do

a n y t h i n g a g a i n s t t h e

commandments of God or against

the dictates of wisdom. They will


not ask you to jump into fire or

drown yourselves in the ocean.

Not only is the Khalifah important

for the health of the whole

community, but for each individual

on a personal level. It is incumbent

upon every Ahmadi, children and

adults alike, to form a relationship

with the Khalifah even if it is just by

writing regularly to him. Only by

telling him about the good and the

bad in our lives can we have peace

in our own lives, because his

spiritual support and guidance will

lead us to happiness.

Therefore, it is very clear in Islam

that there is nothing or anyone that

will give us greater pleasure in this

world than Allah. Again, Allah has

clearly explained:

Keep in mind that the life of this

world is only sport and pastime,

and a display, and a subject of

boasting among yourselves, and

rivalry in multiplying riches and

children. It is like vegetation

produced by the rain which rejoices

the tiller. Then it dries up and takes

on a yellow colour, then it becomes

broken particles of stubble. In the

hereafter there is severe

chastisement and forgiveness from

Allah and His pleasure. The life of

this world is but illusory

enjoyment. (57:21)

If this world will not last, how can

we expect that it will give us

happiness that will last? It is Allah

Who is synonymous with

happiness, not wealth, family, or

anything else. This is why we have

been told, “And call not on any

other god beside Allah. There is no

god but He. Everything will perish

but He. His is the judgment, and to

Him will you all be brought

back” (28:89). And we have been

told to “Put thy trust in the One

Who is Ever Living and is the

Source of Life, Who dies

not” (25:59). By placing our trust in

Allah (in regards to all aspects of

our lives) we are bringing peace of

mind to ourselves and freedom

from worldly grief. As it is written

in the Holy Qur’an: “Behold:

indeed, those who are Allah’s

friends, they have no fear, nor will

they come to grief” (10:63). The road

to happiness may not be a smooth

ride, and we may make mistakes

along the way, but once we

recognize the importance of Allah’s

role in our lives, we just may have

more than 14 days of “pure and

genuine” happiness in this world

and eternal happiness in the next.


We have firm belief that the Holy

Qur’ n is the word of God and

science is the act of God and that the

two cannot contradict each other.

On the basis of the scientific

concepts held so far about light

energy and darkness believers used

to amaze and the opponents

criticize the following verse of the

Holy Qur’an where darkness is not

mentioned as mere absence of light

but as another type of non-luminous

energy created and put beside light,

the luminous energy:

All praise belongs to Allah Who

created the heavens and the earth

and brought into being darkness

and light; yet those who disbelieve

set up equals to their Lord. [6:2]

Another verse of the Holy Qur’ n

draws our attention regarding light

and darkness:

So He completed them in the form of

seven heavens in two days and He

revealed to each heaven its

functions. And We adorned the

lowest heaven with lamps for light

and provided it with the means of

protection. That is the decree of the

Mighty, the All-Knowing. (41:13)

According to this verse, only the

lowest Heaven has luminous

energy, i.e., light. This means that

some kind of non-luminous energy,

i.e., darkness, exists in the six

Heavens superimposed above the

lowest one.

The concept of ‘darkness’ in our

minds, so far, was mere absence of

light. Darkness is not considered as

an entity itself. We know that light is

an observable energy in the

universe which can be created and

diminished. On the contrary, it was

widely accepted that darkness

cannot be created. Until recent past

even scientists held the same

concept about darkness and they

were unaware of any other form of

energy.

Another view held about darkness

is that absolute darkness cannot be

attained. Scientifically it is only

possible to have a reduced amount

of light. Darkness, in science, is a

relatively low level of light. A dark

object reflects fewer visible photons

than other objects, and, therefore,

appears dim in comparison. For

example black paint does not reflect

visible light and appears dark, but

white paint reflects all visible light

and appears bright.

Scientists recently confirmed the

existence of "Dark Energy", a

mysterious repulsive force that acts

in opposite to gravity. As the

distance increases the attractive

gravitational force decreases but this

mysterious repulsive force

increases. This repulsive force is

pushing galaxies apart; the greater

the distance the greater the

repulsion. Scientists today do not

know what this "Dark Energy" is,

but they know that it exists

independently and that it is causing

the entire universe to expand at an

increasing rate.


Dark Energy & the Holy Qur’an 40

Dark Energy & the Holy Qur’anAnsar Raza, Professor Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada

The magazine ‘Scientific American’

for February 2007 contains an article

on “Dark Energy”. This article is

written by Christopher J. Conselice,

an astronomer and lecturer at the

University of Nottingham in

England, where he recently moved

from the California Institute of

Technology.

He states that only in very recent

past the dark energy has been

discovered. He states.

“Only in 1998 did astronomers

discover we have been missing

nearly three quarters of the contents

of the universe, the so-called dark

energy—an unknown form of energy

that surrounds each of us, tugging

at us ever so slightly, holding the

fate of the cosmos in its grip, but to

which we are almost totally blind.”

He further states in that article:

“Ironically, the very pervasiveness

of dark energy is what made it so

hard to recognize. Dark energy,

unlike matter, does not clump in

some places more than others; by its

very nature, it is spread smoothly

everywhere. Whatever the location

—be it your kitchen or in

intergalactic space—it has the same

density, about 10-26 kilograms per

cubic meter, equivalent to a handful

of hydrogen atoms.”

It is now a widely known scientific

fact that the universe is constantly

expanding. This fact is another

testimony of the truthfulness of the

Holy Qur’ n which has informed

more than 1400 years ago that this

universe is ever-expanding.

And the heaven We built with Our

own powers and indeed We go on

expanding it. [51:48]

The dark energy is discovered when

the astronomers realized that the

rate of expansion of universe is

increasing. Mr. Conselice states:

“They reasoned that it [the

expansion] should be slowing down,

as the inward gravitational

attraction exerted by galaxies on

one another should have

counteracted the outward

e x p a n s i o n … O n e p o s s i b l e

conclusion is that different laws of

gravity apply on supergalactic

scales than on lesser ones, so that

galaxies’ gravity does not, in fact,

resist expansion. But the more

generally accepted hypothesis is

that the laws of gravity are

universal and that some form of

energy, previously unknown to

science, opposes and overwhelms

galaxies’ mutual attraction, pushing

them apart very faster. Although

dark energy is inconsequential

within our galaxy (let alone your

kitchen), it adds up to the most

powerful force in the cosmos.”

Hadrat Khalifatul Masih IV (ra) in

his great book, “Revelation,

Rationality, Knowledge and Truth”,

has described the scientific

knowledge of the Holy Qur’ n

revealed upon the Holy Prophet (sa)

more than 1400 years ago and

proved today by modern science as

valid. The topics he has discussed

are: The Qur’an and Cosmology;

Entropy and the Finite Universe; the

Qur’an and the Extraterrestrial Life;

Origin of Life and its Evolution;

Nuclear Holocaust; Genetic

Engineering and many prophecies

of the Holy Qur’ n fulfilled in this

modern age. Now, in addition to

this, by the grace of God, once again

the act of God, i.e., science, has

proved the truthfulness of the word

of God, i.e., the Holy Qur’ n, by

acknowledging the existence of dark

energy and dark matter in the

universe. Now, we know,

scientifically, that darkness is not

mere absence of light, rather a

creation in itself as enunciated by

All h, the Creator in His Holy Book,

Qur’ n, revealed more than 1400

years ago to an unlettered Prophet

(sa).

Dark Energy & the Holy Qur’an 41

The Heart Nebula

Humanity First is an international

humanitarian relief organization

working to provide disaster relief

and community development

services to several poverty-affected

communities in Canada and around

the world. To achieve this objective,

help and support is provided in the

form of basic necessities with the

ultimate goal to build self-

sustaining communities in the

longer run.

Humanity First Canada has

launched various projects within

Canada and in other under-

developed countries. In Canada,

“Feed a Family Program” and “Feed

the Homeless Program” have

already been started. On the

international front, a detailed

program is being formulated to

execute the plans for following

programs:

Water for Humanity

Vision for Humanity

Computer Training Institutes

in Africa

Vocational Training

Orphan Care

In Canada, Feed the Homeless

Program was launched by

Humanity First on the eve of

Christmas 2006. “The area of


“Feed the Homeless Program”an initiative by Humanity First

Feed the Homeless - Humanity First 42

downtown was selected

as most of the homeless

people live in and

around that area”

explained Dr. Aslam

D a u d C h a i r m a n

Humanity First Canada.

While commenting on

the details of the

program, he said,

“After initial survey, it

was decided to prepare

soup and bread for

about 200 people. HF

team coordinated with a local

organization that helped us in

identifying the exact places for food

distribution and also gave us some

other items like warm clothing etc

for distribution.”

HF team started distribution of food

on the evening of 24th of December.

The food was distributed through a

mobile kitchen van with Humanity

First banners on it. There were

different spots for distribution of

food. Mirza Naseem Ahmad, Project

in-charge giving details of the

program said, “We were shocked to

see people in this country living

under the bridges, parks, narrow

dirty streets where we were even

feeling afraid to go. In most of the

cases, homeless

people were

waiting for any

humanitarian

aid on those

places.”

The recipients

were very

pleased with

the service. The

homeless were

satisfied with

the food and

were clearly impressed by the

courtesy and nice gesture offered by

the volunteers of Humanity First.

“The timing of this service couldn’t

have been better as most of the

shops and other charitable

organizations were

closed because of the

Christmas Eve.” said

one homeless.

Humanity First team

traveled over 80

kilometers before

serving the last

recipient at about 2:00

a.m. The same service

was repeated on the

Christmas day.

This experience was such a success

and encouraging that Humanity

First has decided to make this

program as a regular event and run

it on a regular basis in various parts

of the province on as and when

needed basis.

Feed the Homeless - Humanity First 43

In this straight forward, easy to read

book Jill Rigby gives practical

everyday examples and options on

“how to” best deal with what may

be the most challenging and

rewarding of all roles we may play

in this world – being Parents.

In light of the verse from the Holy

Qur’an, chapter 6 verse 141, this

book is recommended to help

achieve knowledge and apply it to

practical day to day skills and

activities. The verse reads, “Losers

indeed are they who slay their

children foolishly for the lack of

knowledge…”

It has also been narrated by Hadrat

Abu Umamah that the Holy Prophet

(sa) said, “The parents are the

Heaven or Hell for their children”.

This clearly indicates the powerful

influence we as parents play in

shaping, and building our children’s

characters. It also reminds us that

we play a very crucial role in

creating an atmosphere of love,

respect, harmony (Heaven) in our

homes or quite the opposite.

With regards to raising children, the

author of this book places full

responsibility squarely on the

shoulders of parents. It is up to us

parents to rise to the challenge of

creating an atmosphere that

replicates Heaven on earth by

fulfilling our responsibilities to our

children. One of the very refreshing

themes throughout the book is how

Rigby consistently drives from

Islamic teachings. She places God as

the highest priority in any family

and encourages prayer. “Let the

children catch you talking to God”.

For us, this very clearly reminds us

to set the example of offering

prayers five times a day, following

the articles of faith, and reading the

Qur’an on a daily basis. In other

words, set the example you expect

from your children or perhaps

better said, BE the person you want

your children to become!

Further more, it reminds me of a

quote which I find to be very true

and helpful when talking about

raising children “Remember, we are

not raising children, we are raising

young adults.” The point here being

that when we focus on what we

want our children to become, we

start treating them, teaching them,

respecting them and praying for

them differently.

The book covers some of the

challenges children face and reveals

how desperately they are seeking

answers to the truth in how to deal

with these challenges. Some very

important life lessons come from

this, and as a result, “respectful

children”. However these results are

conditional. The condition is that as

parents we must be willing to do the

following:


Raising Respectful Children 44

Raising Respectful Children In A Disrespectful World

Book Review by Maqbool Sheikh

You must be willing to follow

God’s principles.

Be the person you want your

children to become.

Find contentment so your

children can be filled with

gratefulness.

Abandon old notions of building

self-esteem, and enroll your

family in the School Of Respect.

Help your children find their

purpose and use perseverance to

fulfill that purpose.

Use encouragement to motivate

your children.

Set boundaries without building

walls between you and your

children.

Do all you can to protect and

shield your children from the

garbage of our culture.

Engage your children in

meaningful activities, not useless

entertainment.

Listen with your heart to your

children’s needs.

Rigby then describes what the

current situation is, asking “where

have all the parents gone?” She

suggests that parents today have

abdicated their responsibility to

“parent” in favour of pursuing other

interests. Our community is not

immune from this phenomenon. I

am sure you are all aware of

families who fall into this category,

and perhaps you can relate to those

parents who are so busy working,

chasing money to pay a mortgage

that they end up neglecting their

family, and our future! This reminds

me of another quote which

emphasizes the point, “The


answers are simple. It’s parents who

are difficult.”

In order to better understand this

next section I highly recommend

you read the full description in the

book. The following is a brief

outline of the key goals and related

training suggested by age. The

stages are as follows:

The book goes on to cover how we

should deal with the negative

influence of visual images and

messages seen in movies, television

and on the Web. She gives a specific

check list of practical advice on

protecting children from accepting

deviant behaviour as “normal.”

The book ends with thoughts on

how to engage your children versus

“entertaining” them, teaching them

gratefulness, not greediness and

what may be the most powerful tool

of all – listening to our children.

This is a must read for all parents

and parents to be.

According to Dr. Laura Schlessinger

– Internationally Syndicated Talk –

Show host and author – “This is the

book every parent should read to

ensure that their children become

blessings to the world”

It is critical that we all fulfill our

obligations as parents and raise

respectful children because they are

our future, our next generation, and

they will be the future leaders of

our Jamaàt. It is our duty to leave

this world a better place than when

we came, and by reading,

understanding and implementing

the practical advice found in this

book we are one step closer to

achieving this goal.

We learn from this book that not

only do we need prayers; we must

have and provide a structure to our

children. This book is affordable and

available online at Chapters.ca.

Published by Howards Books, a

division of Simon and Schuster, it

retails from $12.99 to $18.99 and can

easily be found by typing in the title

or author: “Raising Respectful

Children In A Disrespectful World”

– Author Jill Rigby.

I end this review by reminding

myself and you that the most

important thing we can do in this

Jihad – this struggle, is to earnestly

pray for ourselves and our children.

Chapter 25, verse 75 states: And

those who say “Our Lord, grant us

of our wives and children the

delight of our eyes, and make us a

model for the righteous.”


Announcement:

"InshaÀllah, this year the

National Majlis Shura Canada

will be held on April 28-29, 2007

at Masjid Baitul Islam. A number

of important proposals will be

discussed.

As members of the Jamaàt you

are invited to attend this blessed

event as "Observers". At Shura

you will have the opportunity to

learn about the system of the

Jamaàt and see how the

delegates, representing their

respective Jamaàts, participate

in the planning of Jamaàt

activities and its ongoing

progress. Members of the

Jamaàt are also requested to

pray for the success of this

important event.

If you are interested in attending

the National Majlis Shura as an

"Observer", please forward your

name through your Sadr

Jamaàt."

Dr. Syed Aslam Daud, Secretary

National Majlis Shura Canada.

Corrections:

Following picture was taken on

the occasion of Jalsa Musleh

Mauùd in Delhi. It was held in

1944. Incorrect date appeared in

last issue of the Gazette.

Our reader Mr. M. Ziaul Haque

Jattala has provided additional

information on an historic

picture published in last issue of

the Gazette . He confirmed that

"... the person on the left is an

Italian who was a prisoner of

war from "Youl camp". The

P.OW Camp was located near a

village named "Youl near

Dharam Shala” in the

mountainous area of Punjab.

He was an Engineer by

profession and due to his good

behavior was allowed a two

weeks leave from the camp

where during the stay he got

hold of some books of the

Jamaàt as such books of all the

religions were distributed by

prison authorities to the P.O.W's

He decided to come to Qadian

for a visit where in Dar ul Ziafat

he was made to share a room

with me for the purpose of

providing him a translator.

His name was "Piano-peo". He

accepted Ahmadiyat at the

hands of Hadrat Khalifatul

Masih II (ra) and was named as

Muhammad Farooq."


Announcements 47

Announcements

The 1882 revelation of the Promised Messiah (peace be

upon him) continues to be fulfilled in every corner of the

World. By the Grace of Allah,

two guest houses have been built by the Canada Jamaàt

to better serve the guests of the Promised Messiah (as).

By the Grace of Allah, construction of the Baitun Nur Mosque in Calgary is

progressing on schedule .

Documents

Gazette · convey the message in the best manner possible leaving the results to Allah as only He can raise those who ... and sincere Istighfar (repentance). A