On the 2^nd Day of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Germany’s Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana) on 25^th June 2011, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^(aba), Khalifatul Masih V, Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah^(as) and Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, delivered an address to an audience of over 300 non-Ahmadi guests. The majority of the guests were of German origin, whilst delegations from Macedonia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and various Arab countries were also in attendance. The guests included people from various professions, including doctors, teachers, lawyers, politicians, as well as ordinary citizens. We present below the transcript of the address delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^(aba).

After reciting Tashhahud, Ta’awwudh and Bismillah, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V^(aba) said:

“All the distinguished guests:

Assalamo ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu – Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all.

First of all I would like to thank all of the guests who, despite not being a part of our religion, are attending this event taking place within our Annual Convention (Jalsa Salana).

This programme today has been organised specifically for our non-Ahmadi friends, and indeed the majority, or at least quite a number of guests, are non-Muslim.

Certainly, your attendance at this event demonstrates your broad-mindedness, whereby as citizens of Germany, you appreciate that it is important to understand and recognise each another, irrespective of religious differences.

A large majority of the Ahmadis in Germany are not of German origin. In fact, apart from just a few people, the vast majority are of either Pakistani or Asian origin. This shows that not only have you come here irrespective of religious differences, but also irrespective of national and cultural differences.

It is said that some of Germany’s indigenous population has Asian ancestry.  It may seem that many of the world’s nations are divided by their cultures and languages, but the truth is that their cultures and languages often have common roots.

If we look, for example, at the case of the Indo-Pak sub-continent, we observe that for a very long period various nations came and inhabited its lands. If we look just at Pakistan, we find that dozens of tribes and ‘brotherhood’ systems existed. Over many eras these distinct groups came to form one nation.

Let me speak here though of the Pakistanis or other nationals who have come and settled here in Germany from different parts of the world. There is no doubt that with the passing of time their children and grandchildren, regardless of colour and race, will come to call and view themselves as true Germans. Indeed, many have already rapidly absorbed themselves into the German way of living, and they have adopted the local traditions and eating habits.

Moreover, as a means to protect this country, some have even joined the German armed forces, whilst to uphold and protect the law, others have joined the civil service and law enforcement agencies. Some have chosen to work in different departments of the social services, whilst others are facilitating economic progress by being involved in various trade and industries. Then there are immigrants who have become scientists and, therefore, are contributing towards the scientific progress of the nation. All of these efforts and activities prove the loyalty of these people towards Germany, and shows that they are an active part of the nation.

The Postdamer Platz square in Berlin in ruins after World War II

It is due to your relationship with such Ahmadis, who are originally from Pakistan and who you have come to know well over the past few years, that you have come to attend today. It is my prayer that God maintains your enlightened way of thinking, and also that He continues to increase this quality that you have all displayed.

May the thought never cross your minds that these immigrants come from such and such country, or that they are of such and such religion, and thus they cannot became part of the German nation. If this thought develops then it will become a means of causing restlessness in society.

Remember, that it is small and apparently insignificant issues and minor suspicions that lead to major problems, which do not only harm a few individuals or groups, rather they actually hinder the progress of the entire country.

No loyal German citizen can tolerate that the great efforts they have made to raise and maintain Germany to its current high standing should ever be put at risk. In truth, one who loves his country can never contemplate such an act.

The Postdamer Platz square today

Those Ahmadi Muslims who have settled here, they too love their adopted country and always desire that it advances. It is not only the moral obligation of every Ahmadi who has migrated here and who has been accepted by the German nation, but also his religious duty, to be loyal and devoted to his country.

It is a great quality of Western nations that they have kept faith and religion separate from politics and government for some time. Religion for each individual is left as a personal matter between him and God. Politics and government are considered to be secular matters.

Stock market crash

Perhaps as a consequence of the bad experiences of previous eras when there was no separation between Church and State, or perhaps due to the extremism of certain Muslim groups in the modern era, we find today that many Western countries have become anxious and fearful at just hearing the name of a religious organisation, or the name of Islam itself. Consequently, often without pausing to think or consider, a negative response takes place.

Because of the actions of certain Muslim groups, this reaction is quite justified, as some Muslims have portrayed a most terrifying image of Islam in which extremism and terrorism are prevalent. The fact is, however, that this is an Islam that they have concocted themselves and has no link to true Islam whatsoever.

Islam teaches that unjustly killing any one person is like killing all of mankind. This principle is derived from the Holy Qur’an, which states:

…Whosoever killed a person – unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land – it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoso saved a life, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind… (Ch.5:V.33)

Further to this beautiful Qur’anic teaching, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw) has said that whoever commits suicide cannot be a believer and is destined to go to hell.

If you look at these points together and analyse the teachings of Islam, you will see that any act of terrorism through which innocent people are killed, be it self-serving suicide bombings or otherwise, are completely and entirely against the teachings of Islam. These hateful acts are not eliminating disorder in the world, but in fact are fuelling disorder.

As a result of terrorism in the world today, there are thousands of children who are being orphaned. At the other extreme, thousands of parents are faced with burying their children, whilst thousands of women are being left as widows. Suicide bombings are completely devastating and wrecking the local economies. When economies fail, this again leads to restlessness and ultimately disorder.

Here I would also like to say that the current method of warfare is destroying the lives of the local citizens, without any regard for humanity at all. Innocent lives are being taken during such wars. This approach to war not only shows brutality, but is also proving to be a means for destroying the local economies. Thus, from the perspective of an Ahmadi Muslim, we are against all forms of disorder and indiscriminate bloodshed.

We are also opposed to indiscriminate firing and bombing by governments, because when such bombardments take place it results in human rights being completely usurped, and consequently lives are lost for no reason whatsoever.

As I have said, in the Western world the Church and State are kept separate. Whatever the reasons were that led to this separation, the end result has been beneficial. This system of government runs in a much smoother and just manner.

This positive experience of the Western governments is in complete contrast to what they observe in the Muslim world.

What they see is the seemingly deeply religious inclinations of the Muslims. They see certain Islamic governments adopting very harsh measures and even using violence against their own people. They also observe the extreme acts of various terrorist organisations, and due to lack of knowledge and understanding, they object to Islam rather than object to the extreme acts themselves. Consequently, they display a very severe reaction against the religion of Islam.

It is our claim that Islam is a universal religion, for all of mankind, which is why its teachings cover all aspects of life – from minor seemingly insignificant matters, to matters of vast importance and international concern.

The text of the Holy Qur’an remains in its exact original form today. Not even one letter has been added or taken away from it, and even many Orientalists and non-Muslim historians have testified to this truth.

So what does the Holy Qur’an say?

It teaches us that religion is a personal matter for each individual to determine for himself.

It teaches that religion should be entirely separate from matters of state and religious differences should not cause you to act unjustly.

In one verse, the Holy Qur’an teaches us that: there should be no compulsion in matters of faith (Ch.2:V.257). Some of you may not be aware that this verse was revealed when the Holy Prophet of Islam^(saw) had already established a government in Madinah. At the time, a covenant had already been made with the Jews and other tribes, and a functioning system of government was in place in which the Holy Prophet^(saw) had already been accepted as Head of State.

The injunction to keep religion and government independent of each other was revealed at that time and in those circumstances, even though the difference between right and wrong had become manifest, and even though the Muslims believed their religion to be true and their teachings to be unparalleled.

With this injunction it became clear that these excellent teachings were to be spread through love and affection, rather than by force or by acting unjustly towards others.

Allah has said that a requirement for a just government is that it should separate religious matters from matters of State, and every citizen should be afforded his due rights.

This principle is absolute and without exception, to the extent that you must act justly even with those people who have displayed hatred towards you, and who due to this opposition have persecuted you repeatedly in every possible way.

The Holy Qur’an states:

O ye who believe! Be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is Aware of what you do. (Ch.5:V.9)

This is the key principle to running a government, that religion should play no part in it. Religious differences should not be an obstacle to the implementation of justice.

Now, after hearing all of this, how can anyone allege that the teachings of Islam are not just? I do not believe that those who consider themselves to be just and educated can deem the teachings of Islam to be wrong once they have come to understand it.

Certainly, it is a person’s right to categorise those Muslim groups who do not follow the true teachings of Islam as wrong. Those who commit wrong acts and deeds should be condemned no matter what religion they subscribe to. This truly is real justice and is essential for the peace of the world, so that the values of love and affection can thrive and prosper.

In this short time it is impossible for me to mention all of the beautiful teachings of Islam to you, but I would say that because all of you here today are well-educated, I would urge you not to make a judgement based on just one side of the story.

In fact, look at the true picture of Islam portrayed by the Ahmadiyya community. The portrayal of Islam that we present is not a new representation of Islam. Our Islam is in exact accordance with the Holy Qur’an and the teachings of the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw). It is on these teachings that you should base your judgement.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s Khadija Mosque in Berlin

We believe that the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^(as), is the Reformer of the Age and the Promised Messiah, whom the followers of all the religions had been waiting for, in accordance with their scriptures and teachings. He came to establish a relationship between man and God, and also to remind man to discharge the rights due to others. He came to transform this world into a haven of peace.

He once said:

‘The task for which God has appointed me is that I should remove the malaise that afflicts the relationship between God and His creatures and restore the relationship of love and sincerity between them. Through the proclamation of truth and by putting an end to religious conflicts I should bring about peace and manifest the Divine verities that have become hidden from the eyes of the world.’ ^[1]

Religious hatred has engulfed the entire world. I should say rather that in the modern era, some who are opposed to Islam such as the followers of other religions, agnostics or atheists, unfairly target the teachings of Islam.

Yet in this era the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community^(as) has rendered those who object to Islam’s teachings totally speechless. He has done so through his acts and through his writings, in which he has presented the beautiful teachings of Islam to the world. Through his life’s work he has ensured that his followers continue to act upon the true teachings of Islam. We see a small glimpse of his teachings in the quote that I have just narrated.

What he has said is not something new, rather it is entirely rooted in the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. It is upon these teachings that I shall now speak further.

When the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Germany requested me to address you, he mentioned the current heated debate surrounding ‘Whether Islam belongs to Germany’, or ‘Do Germans need Islam?’, or ‘Is Islam for Germans?’ – Different phrases are being used.

This debate is leading to a very strong and negative reaction against Islam in Germany and in certain other countries. As far as any negative reaction against Islam is concerned, I have already briefly discussed this when I said that a person should not hastily jump to conclusions and immediately agree with one side of the story. Analysis and investigation requires that any matter of debate should be viewed from a just and fair perspective.

As I said, there is currently a very intense debate taking place about Islam’s role in Germany. On the one side there are some Muslims who believe that Islam does belong to Germany, whilst at the other end of the spectrum there are opposing groups who believe it does not.

The truth is that this is a very bizarre and false debate that is being conducted just for the sake of argument, and it is leading to very negative consequences. It is pushing people towards a path paved with danger, and as a result, is causing distress and hatred.

Neither Islam nor its Founder have ever claimed that Islam is only for Germans, or only for any particular nation or only for any particular continent. If Islam was limited to any particular area, then every effort would have been made to propagate it in that area only and this is how it should have been. However, Islam’s claim is that its teachings are complete and perfect and that it enables people of every era to fully recognise their Creator. Its teachings draw a person towards discharging the rights owed to God’s Creation, to the very highest standard.

The most excellent example of this was displayed by the Founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw), during his lifetime.

Here it is with some regret that I must say that the opponents of Islam have tried to portray the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw), in a very negative and prejudiced manner.Because of this Islam has been maliciously portrayed in the most barbaric fashion.

Unfortunately, some Muslim organisations due only to their vested interests, have also portrayed Islam in a totally wrong light. They do this despite the fact that Islam teaches us to live in society and to run governments in such a way whereby every citizen is granted his due civic rights.

This perfect model was demonstrated so exceptionally by the covenant of Madinah drawn up by the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw). In the society of Madinah every single person enjoyed freedom of religion, and everyone had the free will to be sanctioned according to their own religious laws and scriptures.

It should therefore be clear that such debates and questions are used only as a means to attain cheap worldly and political fame. Apart from this, such debates are meaningless, and so in my opinion they have no value whatsoever.

Some German people, who consider themselves indigenous Germans, are perhaps worried that Islam will be forced upon them. As I said earlier, Islam does not claim to be only for a particular region or country.

Yes, Islam does make one claim, which has been mentioned clearly in the Holy Qur’an. In this verse the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw) is directly addressed.  The Holy Qur’an states in Chapter 7, Verse 159:

Say, ‘O mankind, truly I am a Messenger to you all from Allah…

Therefore, the claim made here is that the Prophet Muhammad^(saw) was sent as a Messenger for the entire world. Of course, Germany is a major part of the world, and so it is also our duty to convey the message of Islam to the people of this country with a spirit of love and affection. There is no room for any form of compulsion and neither has Islam ever been spread by force.

From the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw) until today, Islam has only been spread through preaching. This is a long and historical debate which time does not permit me to speak on. I will say only this much that in Europe at one time there was an Islamic Government in Spain. During that era there were Ministers and officials who were non-Muslims, for example of the Christian faith.

The true meaning of Islam is love and affection, and this is the beauty of our religion. It is this teaching that the Ahmadiyya Community is spreading throughout the world today.

One such teaching, which I mentioned earlier, is that you must display justice – even to your most stern enemies. This principle is such that no wise person can deem it to be wrong. It follows naturally that a person’s conscience cannot accept compulsion in religious matters, or a lack of justice. Both of these points are so clear that the question of whether the German temperament and laws are compatible with the teachings of Islam, is rendered completely futile.

Apart from what I have already mentioned, there are countless other verses of the Holy Qur’an that guide us as to how to maintain peace in society. I shall, therefore, now present a few more examples from the Qur’an so that you can further understand the enlightened teachings of Islam, and so that every peace-loving citizen can stand up against those who erect walls of hatred against the peace-loving Muslims.

From the beginning to the end, the Holy Qur’an is filled with a message of peace and love. Due to time constraints, I shall only present to you a few of the commandments from one particular Chapter, which is Chapter 17 of the Holy Qur’an.

The Holy Qur’an teaches us the importance of showing love and respect to our parents. The first relationship a new-born child has is with his mother and father. Indeed, this relationship begins even before the child’s birth when he is carried in the womb of his mother, for a period of nine months. During these months, the mother is often subjected to great pain, yet she bears this pain and difficulty with great happiness. Hence, even before the child is born, the mother develops love for him in her heart.

Thus, it is clear that that the parental relationship is one of absolute love and this love is pure and entirely selfless. This is why God, Who is our Lord, and Who is our Creator and Sustainer, has commanded us that secondary only to His Worship, a person’s parents are most deserving of a child’s care and attention. Therefore, in all matters, you should treat your parents lovingly and with kindness. In this regard the Holy Qur’an states:

If one or both of them attain old age with thee, never say unto them any word expressive of disgust, nor reproach them, but always address them with kindly speech. (Ch.17:V.24)

In fact, the Holy Qur’an states further:

And lower to them the wing of humility out of tenderness. And say ‘My Lord have mercy on them even as they nourished me in my childhood. (Ch.17:V.25)

Will or can any society oppose such a golden principle? Will or can any law say that you should not behave in an excellent manner towards your parents? Surely not.

No matter how much you investigate you will never find man-made laws and principles that protect and give such honour to parents, as you find God Almighty has afforded them in the Holy Qur’an. It is He who has taught us to understand this reality, that the first lesson of love, affection and peace occurs in the cradle. If the people of developed countries are able to understand this universal truth, the anxieties of the elderly will forever be removed. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

And give thou to the kinsman his due, and to the poor and the wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth extravagantly. (Ch.17:V.27)

This is the second principle to establish peace and love in society. When a child leaves his parent’s home he comes into contact with his close friends and relatives, and so that is why it is said that you should discharge their rights as well.

One clarification I would make here is that the basis of Islamic laws is the discharging of the rights due to others, whereas secular or worldly laws are generally designed to fulfil and satisfy self-interests, rather than collective interests. When one only keeps in consideration the attainment of his own rights, then he is liable to carry out injustice; however, when a person keeps in mind the rights of others, a spirit of sacrifice naturally develops within him.

The truth is that being willing to make sacrifices is the only means to guaranteeing the spread of love and peace. If a person displays a spirit of sacrifice, then the heart of the other party also naturally softens towards him. Thus, in summary, this verse of the Holy Qur’an teaches us to be extremely kind to our close relations and to fulfil their rights.

Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, the 2nd largest slum in Africa

The verse I have just narrated also speaks of the necessity to fulfil the rights owed to the poor and needy. This refers to that category of people who are weak, deprived and who cannot fight for their rights. They too should be given their due rights. When you fulfil the rights of such people, a spirit of love will be fostered within society at every level, and such a society will be a guarantor for peace and love. The alternative is a situation where innocent people are deprived of their due rights, and have to face very severe conditions and illnesses due to the neglect of their rights. They are even unable to bear their basic daily expenses, and so because of all of these factors, they are staring death in the face. It is not unlikely that their children, witnessing all this hardship and deprivation, will one day in the future react to the cruelty they have seen all their lives and become rebellious. Thus, they will become a cause for the destruction of  peace of the society.

Therefore, with regard to the poor and deprived, Islam admonishes us to continue caring for them, irrespective of their religion or nationality. This is why giving charity and the doing of good acts have been given such great importance. Indeed, it has even been stressed that when you help the weak amongst you, you should not seek anything in return, or show that you have done them a favour. You should give financial sacrifices in such a way, that when you give with your right hand, your left hand should not even be aware of this act.

The verse I have just narrated also includes the commandment that you should look after those who are travelling or on a journey. This too is an excellent moral quality and a great service to mankind, because such kindness requires personal sacrifice. For example, you can only help others if you are willing to sacrifice your own wealth and time. That is why it is stated that you should not spend extravagantly, nor should you spend so much on your own comfort that in doing so, you forget the comfort of others. If you are extravagant then you will destroy the peace of the society and you will be deemed a sinner in God’s eyes.

The restlessness rife in the Muslim world today exists because the majority of Muslims fail to implement this commandment. The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen and thus society is becoming ever more polarised. If the real and beautiful teachings of Islam, were observed then such restlessness would be easily prevented.

Next, I would like to speak about the rights of children. These rights too have been established in a magnificent manner by the Holy Qur’an. The responsibility for the education and moral training of children has been placed upon the wider society as well as upon every individual.  The Holy Qur’an states:

And kill not your children for fear of poverty. It is We Who provide for them and for you. Surely, the slaying of them is a great sin. (Ch.17:V.32)

Firstly, parents have been given the responsibility to provide for the education and moral upbringing of their children. This is a vast responsibility placed on them. If they fail to fulfil this responsibility, it is as if a parent has ‘killed’ his child. The children are not only the progeny of their parents, but are also an asset of the nation. Indeed, they are a trust of the nation in the hands of the parents. The suitable training and education of a child guarantees the prosperous future of the nation. This is why the responsibility has been placed on the parents; they should not be reluctant to spend on their children’s well-being out of selfish motives, nor should they make excuses of being too busy to train and educate their children.

The Holy Qur’an has stated very clearly, that if a parent is guilty of such neglect, then that such neglect is akin to ‘killing’ the child. If every child who is born into this world, who has the suitable mental and physical faculties to be an excellent servant to his nation, is deprived of education due to limited resources, then that is a waste of his faculties, and so is also similar to ‘killing’ the child.

This is not only the responsibility of the parents. In fact, there is also a duty of care placed on the wider society. If even the society does not fulfil the rights of the child, then the society is also responsible for the ‘killing’ of that child. Thus, both the parents, who are the central point of providing education and moral training and the wider society, are bound by this duty towards the child.

The real assets of an advancing and progressing nation are its children, and so therefore, they should be taken care of. If you fail to do so, then instead of the children becoming a means of success for the nation, they can become a means for its destruction. Their lives will have been destroyed and this is what is meant by being ‘killed’. The responsibility for their ‘death’ would principally rest on the parents, but also on the government and the society at large. They will all be deserving of punishment in the sight of God.

Thus, you can see very clearly that Islam does not simply pay attention to the needs of the time, but also fully protects the requirements of the future generations.

The world today, which considers itself exceptionally developed and advanced, may have now understood this key point, but 1400 years ago Islam had already introduced and explained this principle with great vigour.

Thus, today I would like to inform you that in the light of this basic Islamic teaching, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at within its limited resources, provides the means for education to both Ahmadi and non-Ahmadi children, who have the potential to succeed in education. These educated children are developing into hugely beneficial individuals for their respective nations.

Generally, our Ahmadi children who are living in Germany are excelling in education. We are also catering for their moral training, so that they can play a significant part in the future success of Germany. In this way, in each country, Ahmadi Muslims are playing a prominent role in the success of the nation.

Then the Holy Qur’an commands:

And come not near the property of the orphan, except in the best way, until he attains his maturity, and fulfil the covenant; for the covenant shall be questioned about.(Ch.17:V.35)

Port industry, Imuiden, Netherlands

This verse refers to orphaned children. An orphan is also a part of the deprived section of society, and so his protection and his care is the responsibility of the wider society. If a child’s parents leave behind property for an orphan, it is the responsibility of the society to protect and administer their estate, until the child reaches maturity. If the child’s guardians are well-off, then they should themselves bear any associated costs, or if not, it is certainly the responsibility of the government or the wider society to fulfil this role. However, if there is no other alternative, and if the orphan child has enough property or wealth, then, a responsible amount can be paid from the inheritance itself towards safeguarding the inherited wealth. No matter what, the guardian should not be reckless in his duties in a manner whereby when the child reaches the age of maturity his entire inheritance has been wasted.

Thus, the right of inheritance has been protected by the Holy Qur’an, which further teaches us that when an orphan becomes sound of mind and understanding, then all of his inheritance should be returned to him. These are the beautiful teachings of Islam which preserve the rights of such orphaned children. Allah commands that these rights be granted, and if they are not, then you will be held to serious account by Him.

A further teaching of the Qur’an is that in all matters of business, one must act with complete honesty and straightforwardness. We are taught that if you earn any money through dishonesty it will be devoid of any blessing, and will be a means of causing unrest in the society. In this regard it is stated in the Holy Qur’an:

And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a right balance; that is best and most commendable in the end. (Ch.17:V.36)

I say once again, in worldly trade and industry and in business matters, honesty is the key to success for society, and is a guarantor for peace, and is also a guarantor for the excellent relations between people. God Almighty also draws our attention towards displaying excellent morals. The Holy Qur’an says:

And walk not in the earth haughtily, for thou canst not rend the earth, nor canst thou reach the mountains in height. (Ch.17:V.38)

This verse teaches us that a great moral quality is humility and humbleness. We must refrain from all forms of arrogance, whether it is arrogance pertaining to knowledge, whether it is arrogance pertaining to wealth, or whether it is arrogance based on nationality or government. Any form of arrogance will prevent you from progressing to a higher level.

There always comes a time when a person faces difficulties and hardships. At an individual level we often see that people face ups and downs. Even amongst the rich, we see changes of fortune, and we see the same with governments as well.

Take for example the current economic situation of the world. There was a time when some governments used to claim that nobody could compete with their economic might, and it seemed as though they felt invincible. But then the economic crisis came, and even a few years later, the world remains in grave economic turmoil.

We also find that there are many natural disasters that are occurring almost daily, and which have engulfed certain countries in their destructive paths. Their entire infrastructure has been destroyed. Some say that these disasters are a result of climate change, or of natural causes, but we attribute these disasters to the Power of God the Almighty. When Allah the Almighty wishes to break the arrogance of those who believe themselves to be superior, then through various means He displays His Might.

Let it be clear, whichever countries believe themselves to be safe, they are not safe. Instead of trying to determine who is right and wrong, the world should be seeking God’s Help, Guidance and Protection. And it is only this protection that can lead mankind to the true path of humanity.

In this short time, I have mentioned just these few points and yet I have taken much longer, and still the Holy Qur’an is filled from cover to cover with wisdom and guidance. Due to a shortage of time I have only indicated towards certain points, but even then these few points have taken quite a long time, for which I apologise.

In conclusion, I will say once again that the world has now become a global village. Nations are constantly intermixing. This is why we should draw attention to raising the standard of human values, and we should recognise our Creator.

It is my prayer that we are always amongst those who think in this way. Finally, I would once again like to thank you all for coming here today to attend this event, and by doing so enlightening this gathering with your presence.

Thank you very much.”

ENDNOTES

1. Lecture Lahore – Essence of Islam, Vol.4, p.111

As a result, the issue of Muslim immigration to Western countries has led to a particularly intense and frantic debate, with Europeans apprehensive of the number of Muslims settling in their countries. There are now over 53 million Muslims in Europe. The decadent actions of certain Muslim groups, who are an insignificant minority, combined with the portrayal of Islam in the media, have led to questions being asked. What practices will Muslims bring with them? How will their lifestyles affect the local communities? With the lens of the world focussed on Islam, Muslims have responded in different ways. Some Muslims have followed a very rigid interpretation of the Shariah, the Islamic law, and responded to attacks against Islam violently. A frustrated section of the Muslims is incited to rise up for a violent struggle. Other Muslims have taken an apologetic stance, diluting some of the core Islamic teachings to adopt Western ways that appease the West, and in the process often introduce major changes into Islam, such as abrogating entire verses of the Holy Qur’an.

However, the real Islam of the Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw), the Founder of Islam, reflected a balanced approach – taking the middle course, which neither poles of Muslims are truly representing. Instead, the real Islam today is truly represented by that group who resort to a peaceful struggle, and who utilise the ‘pen’ to respond to the attacks against Islam. They are in the process of an intellectual battle to win the hearts and minds of people through superior arguments, love and service to mankind. This group – the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – was founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^(as), who claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi awaited by all major religions. The Prophet Muhammad^(saw) had prophesied that in the latter age the Muslims would forget the essence of Islam, and would deviate from real Islamic teachings. The Messiah and Mahdi would therefore be appointed by God to revive the true Islamic teachings, by providing the correct interpretation of the Qur’an and Islamic practices. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^(as) claimed to be that very Messiah and Mahdi.

Since its inception in 1889, the Ahmadiyya Community has tirelessly been replying to allegations against Islam, and has been promoting the real message of Islam, of peace, love and mutual cooperation between all peoples. Now established in 200 countries of the world, the Ahmadiyya Community has translated the Qur’an into 70 languages, and run the first 24-hour Muslim television station, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International. Currently the 5^th Khalifa (successor to the Promised Messiah) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^(aba), continues the mission of spreading Islam’s true essence. He has delivered a large number of lectures all over the world where he tackles burning issues relating to Islam and its doctrines. Our main article in this edition features a recent lecture by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^(aba) in Germany, in light of the issue of Muslim immigration in Germany. We invite our readers to study this true portrayal of Islam, and the manner in which the Ahmadiyya Muslim community reacts to any crises or objections against Islam – which is with rational arguments, and with love, and by explaining what Islam really and truly stands for, and how the Qur’an is absolutely relevant to the pressing needs of the world today.

ENDNOTES

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion

Truthfulness

One of the natural qualities of man is truthfulness. Normally, unless a person is moved by some selfish motive, he does not wish to lie. He is averse to falsehood and is reluctant to have recourse to it. He is displeased with a person who is proved to have told a lie, and looks down upon him. But this natural inclination cannot be accounted a moral quality. Even children and the insane exhibit it. Unless a person discards those purposes that lead him away from telling the truth, he cannot be considered truthful. If a person tells the truth when no personal interest is involved, but is ready to have recourse to lying where his honour or property or life is concerned, and fails to tell the truth, he is no better than a child or an insane person. Do not the insane and minors speak such truth? There is scarcely anyone in the world who would lie without any purpose. The truth that might be abandoned in order to escape some loss that threatens is not a moral quality. The proper occasion of telling the truth is when one apprehends loss of life or property or honour. In this context the Divine teaching is:

Shun the abomination of idols, and shun all words of falsehood.1 This shows that falsehood is also an idol and he who relies upon it ceases to trust in God. Thus, by uttering a lie one loses God.

When you are called upon to testify to the truth, do not fail to do so;2 and do not conceal true testimony; he who conceals it is sinful at heart.3

When you speak, tell the truth and hold the scales even, though the person concerned be your kinsman.4

Be strict in observing justice and bear witness only for the sake of Allah, even if it should occasion loss to you or your parents, kinsmen or sons, etc.5 Let not the enmity of a people towards you incite you to injustice or falsehood.6 Truthful men and truthful women will have a great reward from Allah.7 They exhort one another to hold fast to the truth.8 Those who do not keep company with the untruthful.9

Steadfastness

One of the natural qualities of man is steadfastness during illness and under afflictions. He has recourse to patience after much complaining and sorrowing. It is natural that a person cries and groans under affliction and in the end, after giving vent to his grievance, he beats a retreat. Both these conditions are natural but are not in any sense part of a moral quality. In this context the relevant moral quality is that when one suffers a loss, one should consider it as rendering back to God that which He had bestowed, and should utter no complaint about it. One should affirm that it was a bounty of God which He has recalled and that one is reconciled to God’s pleasure. In this context the Holy Qur’an admonishes us:

O believers we shall surely try you with somewhat of fear, and hunger, and loss of wealth, and lives, and of the fruits of your labour and sometimes your dear children will die; then give glad tidings to the steadfast, who, when a misfortune overtakes them, do not lose heart, but affirm: We belong to God and are His servants and to Him shall we return. It is these on whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy, and it is these who are rightly guided.10

This moral quality is called steadfastness or reconciliation to the Divine will. From one aspect it might be called equity or justice. Throughout a person’s life, God Almighty manifests thousands of matters in accord with the wishes of a person and bestows numberless bounties upon him, so that it would be inequitable on his part that on such occasions when God calls upon him to submit to His will, he should turn away, not pleased with the will of God, and should be critical, or lose faith or go astray.

Sympathy for Mankind

Of the natural qualities of man is his sympathy for his fellow beings. The followers of every religion have natural sympathy for their own people and many of them, under the urge of such sympathy, act wrongfully towards other people, as if they do not regard them as human beings. This state cannot be described as a moral quality. It is a natural urge, which is manifested even by birds. For instance, when one crow dies hundreds of crows flock together. This quality would be accounted a high moral quality when it is exercised on its proper occasion justly and equitably. It would be a great moral quality, which is designated sympathy both in Arabic and Persian. This is referred to by Allah the Exalted in the Holy Qur’an. God Almighty has directed in the Holy Qur’an:

One should show sympathy to, and help one’s people only in the doing of good deeds and at no cost  should one assist them in sin and transgression.11

Slacken not in serving your fellow beings.12 Contend not on behalf of the treacherous.13 Plead not on behalf of those who persist in being unfaithful.14 Allah loves not those who are perfidious.15

Search for an Exalted Being

Of the natural conditions of man is his search after an Exalted Being towards Whom he has an inherent attraction, manifested by an infant from the moment of its birth. As soon as it is born, it displays a spiritual characteristic – it inclines towards its mother and is inspired by love for her. As its faculties are developed and its nature begins to display itself openly, this inherent quality is displayed more and more strongly. It finds no comfort anywhere except in the lap of its mother. If it is separated from her and finds itself at a distance from her, its life becomes bitter. Heaps of bounties fail to beguile it away from its mother in whom all its joy is concentrated. It feels no joy apart from her. What, then, is the nature of the attraction, which an infant feels so strongly towards its mother?

It is the attraction, which 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. The Holy Qur’an has, in this context, set forth an excellent illustration, to the effect that the world is like a palace, the floor of which is paved with smooth slabs of glass, under which flows a rapid current of water.16 Every eye that beholds this floor mistakenly imagines it to be running water. A person fears to tread upon the floor as he would be afraid of treading upon running water, though in reality the floor is only paved with smooth transparent slabs of glass. Thus these heavenly bodies such as the sun and  moon etc. are the smooth and transparent slabs of glass under which a great power is in operation like a fast flowing current of water. It is a huge mistake on the part of those who worship these heavenly bodies that they attribute to them that which is manifested by the power that operates behind them. This is the interpretation of the verse of the Holy Qur’an. 17

As the Being of God Almighty, despite its brilliance, is utterly hidden, this physical system that is spread out before our eyes is not alone sufficient for its recognition. That is why those who have depended upon this system and have observed carefully its perfect and complete orderliness together with all the wonders comprehended in it, and have thoroughly studied astronomy, physics, and philosophy, and have, as it were, penetrated into the heavens and the earth, have yet not been delivered from the darkness of doubts and suspicions. Many of them become involved in grave errors and wander far away in pursuit of their stupid fancies. Their utmost conjecture is that this grand system, which displays great wisdom, must have a Maker, but this conjecture is incomplete and this insight is defective. The affirmation that this system must have a creator does not amount to a positive affirmation that He does in truth exist. Such a conjecture cannot bestow satisfaction upon the heart, nor remove all doubt from it. Nor is it a draught that can quench the thirst for complete understanding which man’s nature demands. Indeed, this defective understanding is most dangerous, for despite all its noise it amounts to nothing.

In short, unless God Almighty affirms His existence through His Word, as He has manifested it through His work, the observation of the work alone does not afford complete satisfaction.18 For instance, if we are confronted by a room the door of which is bolted from inside, our immediate reaction would be that there is someone inside the room who has bolted the door from inside, inasmuch as it is apparently impossible to bolt a door from inside by some device employed for the purpose from the outside. But if, despite persistent calls from the outside over a period of years, no response becomes audible from inside, our supposition that there must be someone inside would have to be abandoned and we would be compelled to conclude that the door has been bolted from inside through some clever device. This is the situation in which those philosophers have placed themselves whose understanding is limited solely to the observation of the work of God. It is a great mistake to imagine that God is like a corpse interred in the earth whose recovery is the business of man. If God has only been discovered through human effort, it is vain to expect anything from Him. Indeed, God has, through eternity, called mankind to Himself by affirming: I am present. It would be a great impertinence to imagine that man has laid God under an obligation by discovering Him through his own effort, and that if there had been no philosophers He would have continued unknown.

It is equally stupid to enquire how can God speak unless He has a tongue with which to speak. The answer is:  Has He not created the earth and the heavenly bodies without physical hands? Does He not view the universe without eyes? Does He not hear our supplications without physical ears?

Then is it not necessary that He should also speak to us? Nor is it correct to say that God spoke in the past but does not speak now. We cannot limit His Word or His discourse to any particular time. He is as ready today to enrich His seekers from the fountain of revelation as He was at any time, and the gates of His grace are as wide open today as they were at any time. It is true, however, that as the need for a perfect law has been fulfilled all law and limitations have been completed. Also all prophethoods, having arrived at their climax in the person of our lord and master, the Holy Prophet^(saw) have been fulfilled.

1.  Shun therefore the abomination of idols, and shun all words of untruth… (Ch.22:V.31)

2.  And the witnesses should not refuse when they are called. (Ch.2:V.283)

3.  And conceal not testimony; and whoever conceals it, his heart is certainly sinful. (Ch.2:V.284)

4.   And when you speak, observe justice, even if the concerned person be a relative… (Ch.6:V.153)

5.   Be strict in observing justice, and be witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or against parents and kindred. (Ch.4:V.136)

6.   And let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. (Ch.5:V.9)

7.   And truthful men and truthful women… (Ch.33:V.36)

8.   And exhort one another to accept truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast. (Ch.103:V.4)

9.  Who bear not false witness, (Ch.25:V.73)

10.  And We will try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives, and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient, Who, when a misfortune overtakes them, say, ‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.’ It is these on whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy, and it is these who are rightly guided. (Ch.2:Vs.156-158)

11. Help one another in righteousness and piety; but help not one another in sin and transgression. (Ch.5:V.3)

12. And slacken not in seeking these people. (Ch.4:V.105)

13. And be not you a disputer for the faithless; (Ch.4:V.106)

14 . And plead not on behalf of those who are dishonest to themselves. Surely, Allah loves not one who is perfidious and a great sinner. (Ch.4:V.108)

15. Here the Promised Messiah^(as) mentions two categories of verses. In the first category are those verses which deal with compassion for God’s creation and with the idea of collaboration in the doing of good deeds. In the second category, the subject of discussion is the punishment of the wrongdoer when the situation so demands. The message being conveyed is that sympathy for humankind does not mean that the culprit merely be punished for his wrongdoings thus securing the rest of society from his transgressions. In fact punishing him is an aspect of sympathy for humankind.

16. It is a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass. (Ch.27:V.45)

17. It is a palace paved smooth with slabs of glass. (Ch.27:V.45)

18. This means that without the Word of God, contemplation of and foresight into the laws of nature cannot be sufficient.

The second types of moral qualities are those that are related to doing good. The first of these is forbearance or forgiveness. He who commits an offence against another causes him pain or harm and deserves to be punished either through the process of the law, with imprisonment or fine, or directly by the person offended. To forgive him, if forgiveness be appropriate, would be to do good unto him. In this context the teaching of the Holy Qur’an is:

That is, good men are those who control their tempers when they are roused and who overlook people’s faults when that is appropriate.1 The recompense of an injury is a penalty in proportion thereto; but whoso forgives and effects thereby a reform in the offender, and no harm is apprehended, that is to say, exercises forgiveness on its appropriate occasion, will have his reward with Allah.2

This verse shows that the Qur’an does not teach non-resistance to evil on all occasions, or that mischief-makers and wrongdoers should never be punished. Its teaching is that one must consider whether the occasion calls for forgiveness or punishment, and to adopt the course which would be best in the interests both of the offender and the public. Sometimes an offender turns away from wrongdoing in consequence of being forgiven, and sometimes forgiveness incites him to further wrongdoing. Therefore, God Almighty directs that we should not develop the habit of forgiving blindly on all occasions, but should consider carefully whether forgiveness or punishment would be most appropriate, and, therefore, constitute a virtue, in each particular case, and should adopt that course. Some people are so vindictive that they keep in mind the wrongs done to their fathers through generations, and there are others who carry forbearance and forgiveness to the extreme, sometimes even to the limit of shamelessness. They exercise such weakness, forgiveness and forbearance as are utterly inconsistent with dignity, honour, and chastity. Their conduct is a stain on good character and the result of their forgiveness and forbearance is that people are disgusted with them. That is why the Holy Qur’an attaches the condition of appropriate time and place for the exercise of every moral quality, and does not approve the exercise of a moral quality out of its place.

It should be remembered that forgiveness is not a moral quality in itself. It is a natural impulse which is found in children also. A child soon forgets an injury, if it is inflicted upon him wrongfully, and again approaches affectionately the person who has inflicted the injury upon him, even if such a person should intend to kill him. He is pleased with his beguiling words. Such forgiveness is in no sense a moral quality. It would become a moral quality when it is exercised in its proper place and on its proper occasion; otherwise it would only be a natural impulse. There are few who are able to distinguish between a natural impulse and a moral quality. We have repeatedly pointed out the distinction between a true moral quality and a natural condition, which is that a moral quality is conditioned by conformity to place and occasion, and a natural impulse often comes into play out of place. A cow is harmless and a goat is humble but we do not attribute these qualities to them because they are not invested with a sense of time and place. Divine wisdom and God’s true and perfect Book have made every moral quality subject to time and place for its proper exercise.

The second moral quality in this category is equity, and the third is benevolence and the fourth is graciousness as between kindred. God, the Glorious, has said:

This means that we are commanded to return good for good, and to exercise benevolence when it is called for, and to do good with natural eagerness as between kindred, when that should be appropriate. God Almighty forbids transgression or that you should exercise benevolence out of place or should refrain from exercising it when it is called for; or that you should fall short of exercising graciousness as between kindred on its proper occasion, or should extend it beyond its appropriate limit.3 This verse sets forth three gradations of doing good.

The first is the doing of good in return for good. This is the lowest gradation and even an average person can easily acquire this gradation that he should do good to those who do good to him.

The second gradation is a little more difficult than the first, and that is to take the initiative in doing good out of pure benevolence. This is the middle grade. Most people act benevolently towards the poor, but there is a hidden deficiency in benevolence, that the person exercising benevolence is conscious of it and desires gratitude or prayer in return for his benevolence. If on any occasion the other person should turn against him, he considers him ungrateful. On occasion he reminds him of his benevolence or puts some heavy burden upon him. The benevolent ones have been admonished by God Almighty:

That is, O those who do good to others–good that should be based on sincerity – do not render it vain by reminding them what favours you have done them or by inflicting injury on them.4 The Arabic word for alms (Sadaqah) is derived from a root (sidq) that means sincerity. If the heart is not inspired by sincerity in bestowing alms, the almsgiving ceases to be alms and becomes mere display. That is why those who exercise benevolence have been admonished by God Almighty not to render vain their benevolence by reproaches or injury.

The third grade of doing good is graciousness as between kindred. God Almighty directs that in this grade there should be no idea of benevolence or any desire for gratitude, but good should be done out of such eager sympathy as, for instance, a mother does good to her child. This is the highest grade of doing good which cannot be exceeded. But God Almighty has conditioned all these grades of doing good with their appropriate time and place. The verse cited above clearly indicates that if these virtues are not exercised in their proper places they would become vices. For instance, if equity exceeds its limits it would take on an unwholesome aspect and would become indecent. In the same way, misuse of benevolence would take on a form which would be repelled by reason and conscience; and in the same way graciousness between kindred would become transgression. The Arabic word for transgression is baghi, which connotes excessive rain which ruins crops. A deficiency in the discharge of an obligation or an excess in its discharge are both baghi. In short, whichever of these three qualities is exercised out of place becomes tainted. That is why they are all three qualities conditioned by the due observance of place and occasion. It should be remembered that equity or benevolence or graciousness between kindred are not in themselves moral qualities. They are man’s natural conditions and faculties that are exhibited even by children before they develop their reason. Reason is a condition of the exercise of a moral quality and there is also a condition that every moral quality should be exercised in its proper place and on its proper occasion.

There are several other directions set out in the Holy Qur’an concerning benevolence which are all made subject to the condition of place and time. It is said:

That is, O ye who believe, spend by way of generosity or benevolence or charity such of your wealth as you have acquired lawfully, that is to say, no part of which has been acquired through theft or bribery or dishonesty or embezzlement or wrongdoing. Do not select for charity out of it that which is useless or unclean.5

Render not vain your alms with reproaches or injury, that is to say, never remind your donee that you had bestowed anything on him nor inflict any injury upon him, for in such case your charity would be rendered vain, nor spend your money merely for display.6 Be benevolent towards your fellow beings, for Allah loves those who are benevolent.7

The truly virtuous shall drink of a cup tempered with camphor. The reference to camphor means that their hearts will be cleansed of all the burning desires and impure urges of the world. The root of the Arabic word for camphor connotes suppression, or covering up, which means that their illicit emotions will be suppressed and they will become pure hearted and will enjoy the coolness of understanding. Then it is said that they will drink from a spring which they shall cause to gush forth from the earth through their efforts.8 This indicates a deep mystery of the philosophy of paradise. Let him who has understanding understand it.

Then he said: the truly virtuous feed the poor, the orphan, and the captive for the love of Allah with such foods as they eat themselves, assuring them: We are not laying you under any obligation but feed you only to win Allah’s pleasure. We desire no return or thanks from you.9 This is an indication that they exercise the third grade of doing good which proceeds out of pure sympathy.

The truly virtuous are in the habit of spending their wealth out of love of God on their kindred and on the upbringing and training of orphans and in making provision for the poor and for providing comfort for travellers and for those who ask and for procuring the freedom of slaves and discharging the burdens of those who are in debt.10

They are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but keep a balance between the two.11 They join together that which Allah has bidden to be joined, and fear their Lord.12 In their wealth those who ask and those who are unable to ask have a right.13 By those who are unable to ask are meant animals such as dogs, cats, sparrows, oxen, donkeys, goats and others that cannot express their needs in words.

They do not hold back in times of scarcity or famine, but continue to spend at such times also according to their capacity.14 They spend in charity secretly and openly; secretly, so that they might safeguard themselves against displaying their charity, and openly, so that they might set an example for others.15 That which is set aside for charity should be spent on the poor and the needy, and on those employed in connection with its collection and distribution, and to help those who have to be rescued from some evil, and on procuring the freedom of slaves, and on those burdened with debts, and the afflicted and on other purposes which are purely for the sake of God and on those striving in the cause of Allah.16

You cannot attain the highest grade of virtue unless you spend for the promotion of the welfare of your fellow beings that part of your wealth which you hold dear.17

Render to the poor their due and to the needy and the wayfarer but safeguard yourselves against extravagance.18 This is a direction to restrain people from spending unnecessarily on weddings and luxuries and on the occasion of the birth of a child etc.

Be benevolent towards parents and kindred, and orphans and the needy and the neighbour who is a kinsman, and the neighbour who is not related to you, and the wayfarer and your servants and your horses and your cattle and your other animals that you possess. This is what God loves. He loves not those who are heedless and selfish, and those who are niggardly and enjoin other people to be niggardly, and conceal their wealth and tell those who are needy that they have nothing which they can give them.19

True Courage

Of the natural conditions of man is that which resembles courage, as an infant sometimes seeks to thrust his hand into the fire on account of its natural condition of fearlessness. In that condition a person fearlessly confronts tigers and other wild beasts and issues forth alone to fight a large number of people. Such a one is considered very brave. But this is only a natural condition that is found even in savage animals and in dogs. True courage, which is one of the high moral qualities, is conditioned by place and occasion, which are mentioned in the Holy Word of God as follows.

That is, those who are steadfast in adversity and under affliction and in battle;20 their steadfastness is for the purpose of seeking the favour and countenance of Allah and not for the display of bravery.21 They are threatened that people have gathered together to persecute them and they should be afraid of them, but this only adds to their faith and they say: Sufficient for us is Allah.22 Thus their courage and bravery are not like that of dogs and wild animals which proceed from natural passions and are only one-sided. Their courage has two aspects. Sometimes they contend out of their personal courage against the passions of their selves and overcome them; and sometimes when they feel that it is appropriate to fight against an enemy they issue forth against him, not out of any urge of a roused self but for the support of truth. They do not depend upon their selves but trust in God and behave courageously. They do not issue forth from their homes insolently and to be seen of people.23 Their only purpose is to win the pleasure of God.

These verses illustrate that true courage derives from steadfastness. To be steadfast against every personal passion or against any calamity that attacks like an enemy and not to run away out of cowardice is true courage. Thus, there is a great difference between human courage and the courage of a wild beast. A wild animal is moved only in one direction when it is roused, but a man who possesses true courage chooses confrontation or non-resistance whichever might be appropriate to the occasion.

1. …and those who suppress anger and pardon men… (Ch.3:V.135)

2. And the recompense of an injury is an injury the like thereof; but whoso forgives and his act brings about reformation, his reward is with Allah… (Ch.42:V.41)

3. Verily, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency, and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression… (Ch.16:V.91)

4. ….render not vain your alms by taunt or injury… (Ch.2:V.265)

5. O you who believe! Spend of the good things that you have earned,……and seek not what is bad to spend out of it… (Ch.2:V.268)

6. …render not vain your alms by taunt and injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men… (Ch.2:V.265)

7. …and do good; surely, Allah loves those who do good. (Ch.2:V.196)

8. But the virtuous drink of a cup, tempered with camphor – a spring wherefrom the servants of Allah drink. They make it gush forth – a forceful gushing forth. (Ch.76:Vs.6-7)

9. And they feed, for love of Him, the poor, the orphan, and the prisoner, saying, ‘We feed you for Allah’s pleasure only. We desire no reward nor thanks from you. (Ch.76:Vs.9-10)

10. …and spends his money for love of Him, on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask for charity, and for ransoming the captives… (Ch.2:V.178)

11. …when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly but moderate between the two; (Ch.25:V.68)

12. And those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined, and fear their Lord, and dread the evil reckoning. (Ch.13:V.22)

13. And in their wealth was a share for one who asked for help and for one who could not. (Ch.51:V.20)

14. Those who spend in prosperity and adversity… (Ch.3:V.135)

15. …and spend out of that with which We have provided them, secretly and openly… (Ch.13:V.23)

16. The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and for those employed in connection therewith, and for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for the freeing of slaves, and for those in debt, and for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer – an ordinance from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, Wise. (Ch.9:V.60)

17. Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love… (Ch.3:V.93)

18. And give you to the kinsman his due, and to the poor and the wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth extravagantly. (Ch.17:V.27)

19. …and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour that is a kinsman and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom your right hands possess. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and the boastful; Who are niggardly and enjoin people to be niggardly, and conceal that which Allah has given them of His bounty. (Ch.4:Vs.37-38)

20. …and the patient in poverty and afflictions and the steadfast in time of war; (Ch.2:V.178)

21. And those who persevere in seeking the favour of their Lord… (Ch.13:V.23)

22. Those to whom men said, ‘People have mustered against you, therefore fear them,’ but this only increased their faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and an excellent Guardian is He.’ (Ch.3:V.174)

23. And be not like those who came forth from their homes boastfully, and to be seen of men… (Ch.8:V.48)

Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad^(ra), Khalifatul Masih II, was the Second Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and eldest son of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^(as), the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi. Elected to the spiritual station of Khilafat in 1914 at the young age of 25, he shouldered the responsibility of guarding this institution fearlessly for almost 52 years. A great orator, he delivered countless speeches the world over on a vast array of topics. He was a true visionary and epic administrator, establishing the administrative structure of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, now established in over 198 countries. He was a revered scholar with immense knowledge and wrote over 200 books, including his peerless 5-volume commentary of the Holy Qur’an. This was Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad^(ra)’s personal account of why he believed in Islam in response to a question posed to him by a Bombay radio station.

Translated from the Urdu

(From The Review of Religions, March 1940 Edition)

Bismillah-ir Rahman-ir Rahim

(In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful)

I have been asked to state why I believe in Islam. When I put the question to myself, the reply I received was, for the same reason for which I believe in anything else, that is to say, because it is the truth. A more detailed reply would be that in my view the central doctrine of all religions is the existence of God and man’s relationship with Him, so that the religion that can succeed in establishing a true relationship between God and man must be true, and the truth of a faith is surely a sufficient reason for believing in it.

Islam claims that the Creator of this universe is a living God and that He reveals Himself to His creatures in this age, in the same manner in which He used to reveal Himself in the ages past. This claim can be tested in two ways. God may either manifest His signs directly for a seeker after Him, or the seeker may come to believe in God by studying the life of a person to whom God has revealed Himself. As by the Grace of God, I happen to be one of those people to whom God has on many occasions and in a supernatural way revealed Himself, I stand in need of no further reason for believing in the truth of Islam, than that I have experienced that truth in my own person.

However, for the benefit of people who have had no similar experience, I proceed to relate the grounds which, in addition to my personal experience, have been the cause of my believing in Islam.

First of all, I believe in Islam for the reason that it does not compel me to accept all those matters the sum total of which is called religion merely on authority, but furnishes convincing arguments in support of its doctrines. The existence of God and the nature of His attributes, angels, prayer and its effects, Divine decrees and their sphere, worship and its need, Divine law and its benefits, revelation and its importance, resurrection and the life after death, heaven and hell – with regard to every one of these, Islam has given detailed explanations and has established their truth with strong arguments, to the satisfaction of the human mind.

Islam therefore, furnishes me not only with faith, but also with the certainty of knowledge, which satisfies my intellect and compels it to admit the need for religion.

Secondly, I believe in Islam as it does not base itself upon the experience of people who have passed away, but invites everybody to a personal experience of that which it teaches and guarantees. It claims that every truth can, in some manner or the other, be put to the test in this world, and it thus satisfies my reason.

Thirdly, I believe in Islam as it teaches that there can be no conflict between the word of God and the work of God, and thus resolves the supposed conflict between religion and science. It does not ask me to ignore the laws of nature and to believe in things which contradict them. On the contrary, it exhorts me to study the laws of nature and derive benefit from them. It teaches me that, as revelation comes from God and He also is the Creator of the universe, there can be no conflict between that which He does and that which He says. It invites me, therefore, in order to understand His revelation, to study His work, and in order to realise the significance of His work, to study His word, and thus satisfies my intellectual yearning.

The Holy Qur’an - Islam furnishes logical arguments in support of its truth

Fourthly, I believe in Islam as it does not seek to crush my natural desires, but guides them along the right channels. It does not by altogether crushing my desires, reduce me to a stone; nor does it, by leaving them uncontrolled and unrestrained, reduce me to an animal, but, like an expert irrigation engineer who harnesses uncontrolled waters and makes them run into irrigation channels, thereby bringing prosperity to waste areas, it converts my natural desires by proper control and guidance, into high moral qualities.

It does not say to me: God has given you a loving heart but forbids you to select a life companion, or that He has endowed you with the sense of taste and the capacity to appreciate good food, but has forbidden you to eat such food. On the contrary, it teaches me to love in a pure and proper way that would ensure through my progeny the perpetuation of all my good resolves. It permits me to use good food, but within proper limits, lest I should eat my fill and my neighbour should go hungry. By thus converting my natural desires into high moral qualities, it satisfies my humanity.

Fifthly, I believe in Islam for the reason that it has dealt fairly and lovingly not only with me, but also with the whole world. It teaches me not to discharge my duties only  towards myself, but insists upon my dealing fairly with every other person and thing, and has furnished me with proper guidance for this purpose.

For instance, it draws attention to the rights of parents and the duties which children owe to their parents. It admonishes children to behave obediently and tenderly toward their parents, and has made the latter heirs to that which the former may leave. On the other hand, it enjoins love and affection by the parents for their children and imposes upon them the duty of bringing up their children well, training them in good qualities and looking after their health. It has also made them heirs to their parents.

Similarly, it enjoins the best relationship between husband and wife, and requires each to have due consideration for the need and desires of the other, and that they should behave affectionately towards each other. This was put beautifully by the Holy Founder of Islam^(saw) when he said:

“A person who mistreats his wife during the day and loves her at night, acts in complete contradiction to the beauty of human nature.”

He also said:

“The best of you are those who treat their wives best.”

Again he said:

“A woman is fragile – like glass, and men should therefore treat a woman with delicacy and tenderness, as they would handle an article made of glass.”

Islam has laid special stress upon the education and training of girls. The Holy Prophet^(saw) has said:

“A person who brings his daughter up well and gives her a good training and education, thereby earns paradise.”

Islam has made daughters the heirs of their parents along with sons.

Again, it has laid down fair rules for the guidance of the rulers and the ruled. It says to the rulers that the authority vested in them is not their private property but is a trust, and that they should discharge the obligations of that trust to the utmost, like upright and honest people, and should carry on government in consultation with the people. It says to the ruled, the power to choose your rulers has been bestowed upon you as a gift from God and you should, therefore, be careful to invest only such persons with governing authority as fully deserve it, and after vesting this authority in them, you should give them your fullest cooperation and should not rebel against them, for if you do so, you are merely seeking to demolish that which your own hands have built.

It has also regulated the rights and duties of the employer and employed. It says to the employer: You must render to the workman his full due even before his perspiration is dry on his body, and should not look down upon those who work for you, for they are your brothers whose care has been entrusted to you by God, and who are the true supporters of your prosperity. You should, therefore, not be so foolish as to seek to destroy that which constitutes your own support and the basis of your power. It says to the workman: when you are engaged to execute a piece of work for somebody, you should discharge your obligation honestly and with due care and diligence.

It says to those who have been endowed with abundance of physical health and strength, that they should not behave oppressively towards the weak nor treat contemptuously those who suffer from some physical defect or blemish; for these ought to excite one’s pity rather than one’s contempt.

It says to the wealthy: You have been charged with the duty of looking after the poor and you must set aside one fortieth of your substance every year so that it may be employed in the relief of poverty and distress, and for the advancement of those who lack the means of advancement. It teaches them not to enhance the disabilities of the poor by lending money to them on interest, but to help them with free gifts and free loans, pointing out that wealth is not given to a man that he may spend his life in luxury and riotous living, but that he should use it for the advancement of the whole of humanity, and should thus deserve the best reward here and hereafter.

On the other hand, it also teaches the poor not to look with envy and longing upon that which has been given to other people, as these feelings gradually darken the mind and disable a person from developing such good qualities as he himself has been endowed with.  It therefore, exhorts the poor to devote their attention towards developing such talents as God has bestowed upon them, so that they should progress along beneficent paths. It directs governments to afford facilities for the poorer sections of the community for such advancement, and not to permit all wealth and power to be concentrated in a few hands.

It reminds those whose ancestors had attained dignity and honour as the result of noble efforts, that it is their duty to maintain that dignity and that honour with their own noble efforts, and it warns them against looking down upon others who have not been blessed in the same way, as God has made all mankind equal. It reminds them that God, who has bestowed these honours upon them, can bestow greater honours upon others, and that if they misuse the position to which they have been called, and transgress against those who have not been similarly endowed, they will be laying the foundations of future transgressions against themselves by those who are now transgressed against. They should, therefore, take no pride in proclaiming their own greatness, but should take pride in helping others to become great, for true greatness belongs only to him who tries to raise his fallen brother to greatness.

Islam teaches that no nation should transgress against another nation, nor should one state transgress against another, but that nations and states should cooperate with each other for the purpose of advancing the interests of the whole of humanity. It forbids some nations, states and individuals to unite with each other in order to conspire against other nations, states or individuals. On the other hand, it teaches that nations, states and individuals should covenant with each other to restrain each other from aggression, and to cooperate with each other in advancing those that are less advanced.

In short, I find that Islam provides conditions of peace and comfort for me, and for all those who may wish to tread the path prescribed by it, whoever they may be, whatever they may be, and wherever they may be. In whatever position I place myself, I find that Islam is equally useful and beneficial for: me and mine, for my neighbours, for people whom I do not know and have not even heard of, for men and for women, for the aged and for the young, for the employer and the employed, for the rich and for the poor, for great nations and for small, for internationalists and for nationalists, and that it establishes a sure and certain relationship between me and my Maker.

I believe in it, and indeed how could I give it up and accept something else in its place?

The Holy Founder of Islam^(saw) placed great emphasis on learning. His specific instruction was to “seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.”1

Acting upon this directive, the early Muslims embarked upon the pursuit of knowledge and learning, the blessings emanating from which were to inspire a great civilisation in which Muslims and non-Muslims alike lived creative and useful lives and which, by its achievements, enriched the whole world. Islam developed from among an unlettered people far removed from the crossroads of civilisation and human thought to become the standard-bearer of enlightenment in the then known world.

History bears witness that Islam, far more than Christendom, was the intermediate stage between the ancient East and the modern West. During the centuries that in European history are called medieval, the most advanced civilisation in the world was undoubtedly that of Islam. Under the blessed Khulafa-ar-Rashideen (Rightly guided successors), and again under the Persian and Turkish dynasties, the empire of Islam was the most powerful, most creative and most enlightened region in the world.

In that golden era of Islam, great libraries were built and universities were established. Great works of the Greeks, Indians, Persians and Egyptians and numerous religious texts were translated and preserved.  Scholars from various religions and cultures were drawn to this enlightened empire while all the time Europe was in the midst of the ‘Dark Ages’.

This article provides a brief overview of the importance placed by Islam on seeking and acquiring knowledge and in particular the remarkable progress  made by early Muslims in the field of Science.

Islam and Science

Progress comes in many forms. It is the desire to recognise and extract the genius from within us that necessitates the seizure of a problem and the application of a uniqueness of thought and approach; a focus on outcomes that discards prejudices and preconceptions, and challenges, with relish and gusto, accepted interpretations and common understandings. However, it is by partaking of Divine knowledge passed on to us by the Prophets of Allah that we can establish in practice what the poet Ezra Pound once said, “Genius…is the capacity to see ten things where the ordinary man sees one.”

Common amongst all geniuses is free thought. It is that free thinking; that search for knowledge and its intrinsic connection with Islam which this article seeks to address.

It is the quest for knowledge that opens the doors of progress; where Muslim minds seek not only to demonstrate their genius but to apply it to achieve progress in service to their Creator.

The natural intelligence that underlies genius is one of the most profound of human faculties and probably our most important. Deriving from the Arabic word “aql”, its Islamic significance stems from the essential obligation of every Muslim to see and understand truth. Some of those truths require thought; some are self-evident.

An Alchemical apparatus of Jabir Ibn Hayyan (721-815), considered to be the ‘father of chemistry’; introduced experimentation, invented the alembic still and retort, many chemical processes such as filtration, and many chemical substances. He also established the perfumery industry.

Take, for instance, the concept of Unity of Allah. Rooted in the pre-eminent and paramount undertaking that every Muslim makes, that there is none worthy of worship save Allah, our intellect induces a recognition of the Unity of Allah as the dominant force behind all things good. This universal truth, self-evident to every Muslim scientist, dispels the so-called contradiction between Islam and science.

Many thinkers would ask how the alleged dichotomy of science and religion could in any way be resolved, so let us deal with that.

Whereas the scientific society may suggest that, for instance, Fourier’s Law of Heat Conduction, or Bernoulli’s Law of Fluid Dynamics are human theories that determine the conduction of heat, or the pressure and flow-speed of liquid respectively, a Muslim scientist’s intellectual recognition of the existence of Allah, itself a self-evident truth, obviates this fallacy. A Muslim scientist is able to apply these scientific laws, whether they be Fourier’s Law, Bernoulli’s Law or indeed Newton’s Law of Motion, not as a determinant dreamed up by secular scientists, but rather the evidence that these laws represent some of the many wonderful manifestations of Allah’s Will.

And Allah has made such Will clear, rewarding man with scientific understanding in the Holy Qur’an itself.

The Holy Qur’an says:

And we made of water every living thing. Will they not then believe? (Ch.21:V.31)

The relationship between water and all living organisms is readily understood. Science has now determined beyond doubt that, in line with this Qur’anic declaration, living organisms indeed are largely constituted from water.

The Holy Qur’an also notes in the same verse:

Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed up mass then we opened them out? (Ch.21:V.31).

Page from the Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabila, The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing by Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, (780-850) Muslim mathematician, astronomer and geographer. ‘Algebra’ is derived from ‘al-jabr’ in Arabic, one of the two operations he used to solve quadratic equations. The book is considered a foundational text in the history of the development of algebra. He also invented the Algorithm in Mathematics which is the base for Computer Science.

Science has now demonstrated that the universe was developed from an indistinct mass. We now know that the fundamental particles in the universe and those found in earthly matter are of identical constitution.

Whilst only few of the many examples of the Qur’an have been quoted, they are cogent and decisive. They demonstrate that Islam is entirely consistent with science because science, at its root, is in fact the study of Allah’s work.

Contribution of Muslim Scientists

For centuries Muslims pushed the outer limits of accepted thought, introducing the world to concepts that would underpin the development of science beyond boundaries thought humanly possible at the time.

Islam’s rapid spread during the time of the Holy Prophet^(saw) and under the leadership of the Rightly-guided Khulafa precipitated what is commonly referred to as the Golden Age of Islam – a period which ushered in immense contributions to philosophy, science, engineering and governance.

An expansion of Muslim dominance spanning the Middle East, and stretching as far as Europe and North Africa brought the widespread implementation of modern science by some of the most outstanding scholars that the world has known.

The development of modern medicine, astronomy and mathematics, the refinement of algebra and trigonometry and the physical use of optics were legacies from an Islamic era. Muslim scientists brought both knowledge and application into inventions that remain central to modern life today. Everything from simple tools such as scissors to complex water-powered pumping machines and standardised weighing scales are all contributions from Muslim scientists.

Indeed their legacy lives on, not only in machines but words too. Many words today retain their Arabic origins: “algebra”, “algorithm”, “zenith”, “alchemy” to name but a few.

Yet the progression of science did not exist in isolation to the Divine Creator; in fact, it progressed because of it.  We see this in the guidance Allah provided man in the Holy Qur’an.

Study of the Holy Qur’an

Indeed, the study of the Holy Qur’an is central to scientific research. The development of life, both in human and other forms, is specifically addressed by the Holy Qur’an. Revealing the possibility of more advanced creation with sensory perceptions beyond the five human senses that we currently know and understand, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV^(ru) challenged those who presented the proposition that evolution might have been blind and inadvertent. In his book, Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth, with both wisdom and prescience, he expounded the understanding of the Almighty Creator as set out in the Holy Qur’an. Among other significant contributions, through his inspiring study of the Holy Qur’an, he demonstrated how it predicts the ultimate transformation of mankind into a different entity. Discussing the following verse of the Holy Qur’an:

Do you not see that Allah created the heavens and the earth with Truth? If He so pleases, He can do away with you, and bring a new creation (Ch.14:V.20)

Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV^(ru) said:

‘The verse under discussion does not speak of replacing man with others like him. It clearly mentions the bringing into being of a new creation ‘khalq’ and speaks of the whole of mankind to be changed into a different entity… Quite distinct from the subject of life after death, the Holy Quran also speaks of a different form here on earth which will supersede humans… Thus, the Qur’an raises the possibility of more advanced forms of creation developing, with superior faculties or even new senses in addition to our five.’2

His avant-garde engagement with the complex issue of evolution looks beyond historic analysis of origin, looking more to the future in an approach that seeks to address conduits of scientific thought often considered difficult to evaluate. It is studies like these that form the starting point of greater understanding; it is studies like these that constitute higher learning, the dissemination of which should be the duty of every Muslim intellectual.

In September 2009, the challenging and thought-provoking discussions on atheistic tradition as propounded by Richard Dawkins seem also to have been a catalyst for thought, encouraging Muslim scientists to identify ways and means of countering atheistic arguments. With this in mind, thought should also be given to the erroneously supposed paradox between the concept of Divine predetermination and that of human free will. Although the Holy Qur’an beautifully deals with this point when it says “whatever good comes to thee is from Allah and whatever of evil befalls thee is from thyself” (Ch.4:V.80), this common and infectious argument among atheists levelled at all Abrahamic monotheistic religions is suggestive of false and derisory notions about Allah that are worthy of serious and intellectual challenge.

These and other challenges should not occasion nervousness or apprehension. As already mentioned, for hundreds of years after the Holy Prophet^(saw), challenge was the staple diet of Muslim scientists. Supported by injunctions in the Holy Qur’an to seek knowledge, the Holy Prophet^(saw) once said:

“He who issues forth in search of knowledge is busy in the cause of Allah till he returns from his quest.”3

He is also reported to have said:

“Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China.”4

The Role of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

It was the gravitational pull of Khilafat that precipitated the rapid progress of Islam during its Golden Era. Once Khilafat on the precept of prophethood ended, the dominance of Islam also began to ebb. When the ruling Sultans began to confuse religion with culture, when politics overtook philosophy and when power became a struggle between brothers and clans, Islam was gradually forgotten and the Muslim Empire lost its unity and influence.

The story of the rise, decline and eventual renaissance of Islam at the hands of the Promised Messiah^(as), the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, is a vital part of world history. The Promised Messiah^(as) was raised to dispel darkness from the world, to reform mankind and to restore Islam to its former glory. He produced such voluminous and powerful writings that even the most decorated poetry stands inferior in comparison. He was crowned the Sultan-ul-Qalam, that is, the King of the Pen, by Allah Almighty and through his writings such as the epoch-making Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam he invigorated the Muslims with a new sense of belief and conviction and energised them with the true understanding of Islam. Islam was once more resurrected as a living religion that offered hope and salvation not just for Muslims but for all who wished to benefit from it.

Today, that renaissance of Islam continues in the form of Khilafat in Ahmadiyyat, instituted after the demise of the Promised Messiah(as). As with the Holy Founder of the Community, through a century of the Ahmadiyya Khilafat, the Khulafa of the Promised Messiah(as) have also produced many great literary works. Collectively these represent an inexhaustible ocean of religious knowledge. Under the Divinely-inspired leadership of Khilafat, therefore, the gravitational pull of unity is restored and the Golden Era of Islam is once more within sight.

During his opening address at the first Jalsa Salana of the Khilafat Centenary year in Ghana, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah^(as), said:

‘Excel others in hard work. Excel others in education. That should be the hallmark of an Ahmadi. Allah told the Promised Messiah(as) that the people of your Jama’at will progress in knowledge. Therefore, I advise the youth: Immerse yourself in studies to the exclusion of everything else. Advance so much in every field of education that your minimum target is a Nobel Prize.’5

In their biography of Professor Abdus Salam, the first Muslim to receive a Nobel Prize in Science, the Nobel Foundation said of him:

‘Abdus Salam is known to be a devout Muslim, whose religion does not occupy a separate compartment of his life; it is inseparable from his work and family life. He once wrote: “The Holy Quran enjoins us to reflect on the verities of Allah’s created laws of nature; however, that our generation has been privileged to glimpse a part of His design is a bounty and a grace for which I render thanks with a humble heart.’6

It is that dedication and contribution to Islam and society that is the benchmark which present-day Muslim scientists and researchers should aim to emulate.

Conclusion

To bring about unity among man under the canopy of Allah’s mercy was the challenge set for the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community by their Holy Founder, the Promised Messiah(as). Raised to illumine those whose hearts and minds had become darkened, to re-elevate Islam to its proper station, he sought to instil in all those who choose to avail it, the true understanding of Islam.

That task transcended his lifetime and now it is the members of his community who propagate that message. Unfortunately, due to misguided deeds and media propaganda, much talk nowadays wrongly links Islam to extremism and ignorance. Equally, however, religious dialogue is on the increase. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, more than any other Muslim group, actively champions the cause of education, learning and debate. It wages a ‘Jihad’ of the pen to defend and unearth truth in religious matters, and to banish ignorance. It engages in intellectual dialogue and discussion with both determination and resolve so that ignorance and indifference will, God-willing, become the first casualties of that intellectual struggle and the quest for knowledge, ushering in a new era of Islamic civilisation even as the early Muslims led the world to a new age of enlightenment in their time. May Allah so ordain. Ameen.

1  The Holy Prophet of Islam, Quoted from Pathway to Paradise, 1st Ed, 1999 p.29

2  Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth, pp.487-488

3  The Holy Prophet of Islam, Quoted from Tirmidhi

4  The Holy Prophet of Islam, Quoted from Pathway to Paradise, 1st Ed, 1999 p.29

5  Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V, Opening Address, Jalsa Salana 2008, Ghana

6   http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1979/salam-bio.html

The final part of Paigham-e-Sulh (A Message of Peace), the last written work of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi and Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, completed a day before his demise on May 25, 1908.

Here, I do not wish to censure any particular people nor do I intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. But, with a deep sense of mortification, I observe that Islam, being a religion of peace, never attacked the founder of any religion. The Qur’an is that revered book which laid the foundation of peace between nations and acknowledged the truth of all Prophets belonging to all the different nations. It is the Holy Qur’an which enjoys the unique distinction of teaching us with regards to the Prophets of the entire world that:

[…We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit. [Ch.3:V.85]]

Therefore, O Muslims, you should declare: We believe in all the Prophets of God belonging to this world and we do not discriminate between them as to reject one and accept the others. Name one book like the Holy Qur’an which is so dedicated for the cause of peace. The universal beneficence of God has not been confined by the Qur’an to any specific House. It acknowledges the Prophets of the House of Israel, one and all, be they Jacob^(as), Isaac^(as), Moses^(as), David^(as) or Jesus^(as). And it acknowledges the Prophets of other nations regardless of whether they dwelt in India or Persia. None of them have been labeled as deceitful or imposters. On the contrary, it clearly proclaims that Prophets appeared in every nation and in every township and laid the foundation of peace between all the peoples. Alas, this Messenger of peace is abused and treated with contempt by all peoples alike.

O my dear countrymen, I have not expressed this view to offend you or to hurt your sensibilities in any way. But I do desire to submit, in all sincerity, that those who have made it their second nature to vilify the Prophets of other faiths and consider this unjustified behaviour to be a part of their faith commit an act of unwarranted interference in the affairs of others. They not only sin against God, but they are also guilty of sowing the seed of discord and enmity among mankind. Now answer me with hand on heart: if someone abuses another’s father or accuses another’s mother of unchaste conduct, will this not be tantamount to assailing the honour of his father himself? If anyone retaliates with similar abuses, will it not be appropriate to say that in reality the blame lies with the person who initiated it? In that case he himself would be the offender of his parents’ honour. God, through the Holy Qur’an, has cultivated refined and respectful etiquettes. He admonishes:

[…revile not whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they, out of spite, revile Allah in their ignorance… [Ch.6:V:109]]

In other words, do not even abuse the idols of the non-believers lest they abuse your God out of ignorance. Now consider that this is the Qur’anic teaching despite the fact that it treats idols as of no significance. Yet God teaches the Muslims to abstain from insulting even the idols and admonishes them instead to adopt a course of gentle persuasion lest the idolaters should be provoked, in turn, to abuse God. The Muslims would then be responsible for such abuses. What manner of people are they who revile the name of this great Prophet of Islam and speak of him with utter disrespect, brutally assailing his honour and tarnishing his spotless character. He is the highly revered Prophet whose name is held in such awe as when uttered the great Muslim kings vacate their thrones and bow their heads to his commands. They consider it an honour to be counted among the humblest of his servants. Is this respect not a bounty of God? Those who dare insult the recipient of such honour do, in fact, quarrel with God Himself. The Holy Prophet Muhammad^(saw) holds such a high station with God that to prove his truth He has shown the world great miracles. Is this not the work of His Mighty hand, which has bowed the heads of 200 million people before Muhammad^(saw)’s threshold? Granted that every Prophet had many a heavenly signs in his support, but the peerless signs shown in Muhammad^(saw)’s support outnumber them all. They continue to appear even today as they were manifested in the past.

Alas, you cannot understand an argument as plain as this: when the earth is filled with sin and becomes uncouth and when wickedness, debauchery, and impertinence weigh heavier on the scale of God than acts of righteousness, it is then that God’s mercy requires of Him to send one of His servants who would set the disorder right. Sickness and disease call for a healer. You of all people should be able to understand this better than others. You hold the view that the Vedas were not revealed at a time when the ocean of sin was in spate, but that they were revealed, instead when the calm of sinlessness prevailed over land and sea. Do you then consider it inconceivable that a Prophet should appear when the flood of sin rages high and rapidly inundates every country of the world?

I do hope that you are not so ignorant of the facts of history. When our Holy Prophet^(saw) honoured the office of prophethood with his advent, the age had plunged into utter darkness and no aspect of human conduct was free from the blemish of sin and false beliefs. Pundit Dyanand writes in his book Satyarath Prakash, that even in the land of Aryavart [which takes pride in its monotheistic beliefs] idolatry had replaced the worship of God, and the Vedic faith had become extensively corrupted.

Reverend Pfander, a European priest and a staunch defender of the Christian faith, also endorses these views in his book, Mizan-ul-Haq. He observes that at the time of the inception of Islam, the Christians had become the most corrupt among all the religious denominations. The lewd and wanton conduct of the Christians of the time was a source of shame and dishonour for Christianity. The Holy Qur’an, justifying its revelation, speaks of the same in the following verse:

[Corruption has appeared on land and sea… [Ch.30:V.42]]

That is: corruption has appeared on the land and the sea. This verse implies that every nation, whether in a state of ignorance or whether it presumed itself to be wise, was not free from corruption. Thus it is established on the authority of all testimonies that the entire mankind, during the age of Prophet Muhammad^(saw) were they oriental or occidental, those belonging to the land of Aryas or those who were dwellers of the Arabian desert, so also those who inhabited islands, had all become moral destitutes. There was not one among them whose relation with God was without blemish. Evil practices contaminated the entire earth. Why then cannot a man of sound mind understand this simple matter of commonsense that it was the right time and the right age, with reference to which human reason can accept, that an exceptionally eminent Prophet must be raised?

As to the question concerning the reformation which this Prophet brought about with his advent, none can answer like a Muslim with reference to the overwhelming evidence of the great reformation brought about by the Holy Prophet of Islam^(saw). It is beyond the scope of a Christian, Jew or Aryan to answer this question with such clarity and with the support of such irrefutable evidence.

The first phase of the Holy Prophet^(saw)’s reformation began with that of the Arabs. The Arabian Peninsula was in such a hapless state that it was hard to refer to its dwellers as humans. Name an evil which they did not exhibit; name a form of idolatry which they did not practise. To steal and rob was the order of the day, and committing pointless murder was like trampling an insignificant ant under their feet. They murdered innocent children and usurped all that belonged to them. It was not rare for them to bury their daughters alive. They took pride in fornication and boasted of it in their songs. Drinking was so common among them that there was no house without cellars of wine. They led the whole world in gambling. Beasts would feel ashamed at being likened to them and snakes and wolves would be disgraced if called Arabs. When our Prophet^(saw) stood up with a resolve to reform them and decided to cleanse their hearts with all his spiritual intent, within a matter of a short time they displayed such rapid changes as transformed them from beasts into humans and then from ordinary humans into a cultured people and from a cultured people they became Godly and became totally immersed in the love of God. For the sake of that love they suffered every torture as though their sense of pain had been paralyzed. They were subjected to extreme suffering by different modes of torture and were ruthlessly flogged. They were made to lie on burning sand and imprisoned. They were deprived of food and water until they reached the verge of death; but at every trial they continued to march forward.

There were so many among them whose children were slain before their very eyes and there were many among them who were themselves crucified in front of their children. The singular devotion with which they laid down their lives is such that even to think of it agitates one to tears. If it is not the command of God and the power of spiritual attention of His Prophet^(saw), which worked magic on their hearts, what else could it have been which gravitated them so irresistibly towards Islam? What magic transformed them and made them bow on the threshold of a humble man who had once treaded the streets of Makkah without any kind of friendship, wealth, or power? There had to be a spiritual hand which lifted them from such lowly depths to such dazzling heights. Even more amazing is the fact that many among them were those who, in their earlier stages of rejection, were sworn enemies of the Holy Prophet^(saw) and thirsty after his blood. I see no greater miracle than this that one so helpless, poor and penniless as he, could wash their hearts of all the stains of enmity and hatred and draw them so powerfully towards himself. So much so that they cast away their royal garments willingly for the sake of God and accepted the humility of being clothed in sackcloth.

Some, in their ignorance, blame Islam for Jihad to spread its message and of gaining converts at the point of sword. They claim that these converts were forced to change their religion under the threat of the sword. Woe to them a thousand times! They have exceeded all limits in their injustice and in their efforts to conceal the truth. O pity! What is wrong with them, that they wilfully turn away from realities? Our Holy Prophet^(saw) did not appear in the land of Arabia in the capacity of a monarch. It, therefore, cannot be suspected that he had royal majesty and power with him, such that the people gathered under his banner for fear of their lives. Now the question one faces is simply this: When he waged his lone spiritual battle for the pronouncement of God’s Unity and for the establishment of the truth of his ministry in a state of utter helplessness and poverty, then where was that sword which struck terror in their hearts, and coerced the meek into submission? And had they refused to believe or had they persisted in their rejection of him, from which king did he beg for a contingent army to be sent to his aid so that they may be forced to yield?

O seekers of truth! Rest assured that all these allegations are fabrications by those who are sworn enemies of Islam. Cast a glance at history. Muhammad^(saw) was that same orphan whose father died shortly after his birth and whose mother passed away leaving him behind as a child of only a few months. That child on whom God had extended His hand of support was nurtured in His care without any other patronage. During those hard times of orphanhood, he tended goats belonging to others. None was his mentor except God. And even up to the age of twenty-five, none of his uncles were willing to offer their daughter’s hand in marriage to him as it appeared that he would be unable to meet even the basic household expenses. Moreover, he was unlettered and was not trained in any skill or profession. As he approached the age of forty, lo, there he was with his heart powerfully drawn towards his Lord, Allah, the Gracious. There was a cave, a few miles from Makkah by the name of Hira. It was here that he would retire by himself and, concealed from the eyes of men, become lost in the remembrance of God. One day, in that very cave, while he was praying in seclusion, God revealed Himself to him, and he was told: The people have turned their backs on the path of Allah and the earth is befouled with sin. So I [God Almighty] appoint you as My Messenger and send you to the world, so that you may warn the people that they should turn back to their Lord before His punishment befalls them.

Being unlettered, he was frightened by this command and beseeched God: I know not how to read and write. Then God filled his bosom with all faculties of spiritual knowledge and enlightened his heart. With the blessing of his quwwat-e-qudsiyyah [power of purification], the humble and meek started entering the circle of obedience to him. But the powerful leaders mustered all their forces to oppose him tooth and nail. They went even to the length of plotting to kill him and many men and many women were put to agonising death. As a last measure they surrounded the house of the Holy Prophet^(saw) with intent to murder him. But who can touch him whom God protects. God revealed to him: leave this town forthwith and I will remain with you at every step.

Accordingly he left Makkah and took Abu Bakr^(ra) along and remained in hiding for three nights in the cave of Thaur. The enemy gave chase, and with the aid of a tracker were led to the cave. That tracker traced their footsteps right up to the entrance of the cave, telling them: here the track ends, so search for him in this cave. If he is not to be found here then the sky must have swallowed him. Who can limit the boundless wonders of God’s creation? In a single night, God so manifested His will that a spider spun its web across the mouth of the cave from end to end and a pigeon built its nest at the entrance of the cave and even laid its eggs therein. When the tracker urged the Makkans to enter the cave, an old man thus retorted: this tracker must be mad. I have been seeing this web across the mouth of the cave since the time when Muhammad^(saw) was not even born. At this, people began to disperse and gave up the idea of searching the cave.

After this, the Holy Prophet^(saw) travelled to Madinah secretly. The majority of the inhabitants of Madinah accepted him, causing the people of Makkah to seethe in rage, lamenting: our prey has slipped out of our hands. They then became occupied in plots to murder the Holy Prophet^(saw). A small party from among the Makkans who had accepted Muhammad^(saw) also left Makkah and migrated to different countries. Some took shelter under the Emperor of Abyssinia.

Some, however, were left behind in Makkah as they lacked adequate provisions for such journeys; they were tormented to the extreme. The Holy Qur’an mentions how they wailed and moaned day and night to God.

The cruelties of the infidels from among the Quraish exceeded all bounds. They started to murder the helpless, poor women and orphaned children. They went to the extent of killing some women with such ruthlessness as to have bound their legs each to different camels tightly and driving them in opposite directions. Thus they died as they split in two.

When the transgression of these merciless infidels reached this stage, God, who turns to His servants with mercy revealed to His Messenger: The supplications of the afflicted have reached Me. Thus this day, I permit them to stand up to their persecutors and remember that a people who raise their sword against the innocent will themselves perish by the sword. Yet, transgress not, because God does not befriend those who transgress.

This is the spirit and essence of Islamic Jihad which has been maliciously portrayed in the wrong light. God is forbearing, indeed, but when the mischief of a people crosses all limits, then He does not let the transgressors go unpunished. Then He Himself creates conditions which result in their destruction. I know not how and from where our opponents heard that Islam was spread by the might of the sword. God in the Holy Qur’an pronounced that there is no compulsion in Islam:

[There should be no compulsion in religion….[Ch.2:V.257]]

That is: The religion of Islam does not permit any compulsion in matters of faith. Who commanded the application of force and what were the means of coercion available to them? And again, such people as are coerced into changing their faith do not display such dedication and such quality of belief that without any financial returns and despite being a mere few hundred they dare to confront the army of thousands. When the same reached the number of one thousand, they somehow acquired the strength to defeat enemies running into hundreds of thousands. They readily offered their lives in defence of their faith, to be slaughtered like sheep and goats. They stamped the testimony to the truth of Islam with their own blood. Moreover, they became so enamoured with the task of spreading the Unity of God that, willingly accepting all kinds of hardships like ascetics, they crossed the deserts of Africa to disseminate the message of Islam so that their blessed teachings should bear the fruit of truth. Thus they succeeded in converting tens of millions of Chinese people to Islam.

Then they entered India in the style of dervishes wearing sackcloth and succeeded in converting many from the Arya faith to Islam. They even reached the frontiers of Europe and raised loud and clear the message:

[There is none worthy of worship except Allah [Muslim creed]]

Can you claim in honesty that such as these are really the fruits of the sword of Islam, whose hearts remain infidel while the tongues alone profess the faith. Nay! It is the work of those whose hearts were filled with the light of faith. Nothing but God dwelled in their hearts.

Now we turn our attention to the study of Islamic teachings and its true nature. It should be clearly borne in mind that the predominant purpose of Islamic teachings is to establish the Unity and Majesty of God on earth, to completely eradicate idolatry and to gather all scattered religious denominations around a single article of faith and turn them into one people.

The religions which appeared before Islam and the Prophets and Messengers who came were confined to the reformation of their own respective nation and country; whatever they did for their moral uplift was all aimed for the benefit of their own people. This is why Jesus^(as) unambiguously admitted that his teachings were for the House of Israel alone. It is reported that when a woman who did not belong to the Israelites beseeched him with humility for him to show her ‘the way’, he rejected her plea. The poor woman even went to the extent of likening herself to a dog to evoke pity, and implored guidance. He again rejected her plea on the ground that he was sent only for the sheep of the House of Israel. Finally, she was silenced. But our Prophet^(saw) nowhere pronounced that he had been sent only for the Arabs. On the contrary, the Holy Qur’an commands him to say:

[Say ‘O Mankind! Truly I am a messenger to you all from Allah…[Ch.7:V.159]]

That is, tell the people that I am a Messenger to you all from Allah. It should be remembered that it was no fault of Jesus^(as) that he gave such a curt answer to the woman. The time had not yet come for a universal teaching. This was the teaching vouchsafed to Jesus^(as) by God: You are specifically sent for the House of Israel. You have no concern with others. As I mentioned above, the moral teachings of Jesus^(as) were confined to the Jewish people. The Torah taught “a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, and an ear for the ear”¹. The purport of the teaching was to provide a commandment to the Jews to establish justice and prevent them from committing transgressions and excesses. This was necessary because having spent four hundred years in slavery, cruelty and meanness had become their second nature. Hence the profound Wisdom of God so planned that to counter the overemphasis of cruelty and revenge in their natures, the teachings of forgiveness and love was highly stressed to the same degree. Hence the moral teaching found in the Gospels is specifically for the Jewish people and not for the whole world as Jesus^(as) had no concern with other people.

The teaching which Jesus^(as) brought did not only have the drawback of not being addressed to all mankind, but it also had another shortcoming. As the Torah overemphasises revenge to one extreme, the Gospels, turn to the other extreme as regards the teaching of forgiveness. Both these scriptures fail to bring into focus all the possible branches of human nature. As for the Torah, it remains concerned with only one branch, while the Gospels hold fast to the other exclusively. Both teachings lack balance. As it is evident that to punish on every occasion is not appropriate nor is it in accordance with the dictates of justice, likewise to forgive and to overlook faults indiscriminately is contrary to the spirit of human reform. In view of this the Holy Qur’an does not entirely agree with either, but instead proposes the following:

[The recompense of an injury is the like thereof, but whoso forgives and his act brings about reformation, his reward is with Allah. [Ch.42:V.41]]

So an injury can only be avenged to the extent of the injury received, as is taught by the Torah. But whoever prefers to forgive, as is taught by the Gospels, then such forgiveness is only permitted when the person forgiven is likely to respond with reform and the final outcome is positive and healthy and the whole episode ends up well. Otherwise, the routine teaching remains the same as that of the Torah.

Notes

1.       See (Exodus, 21:24), (Leviticus, 24:20), and (Deuteronomy, 19:21). [Publisher]

And revile not those whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they out of spite, revile Allah in their ignorance. (Holy Qur’an, Ch.6:V.109)

Who owns the name of God? A seemingly banal question perhaps, but not so in Malaysia where three years ago the government banned the Catholic Church using the Arabic word Allah as a translation for God in its Malay-language newspaper. That ban was then overturned by a High Court ruling that upheld the constitutional right of the church’s weekly Herald newspaper to refer to Jesus Christ^(as) as the son of Allah.

The verdict has angered Muslim groups who fear that some Muslims could be misled by Christians using the word Allah. They say the word should be reserved for Islam alone. However, according to Reverend Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, there is no other appropriate term for ‘God’ in Malay. As we go to print a Malaysian court has just suspended that ruling in favour of the government ban on the use of the word Allah after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict.

The Catholic Herald argues that the word Allah has been used by Malay-speaking Christians for centuries, after the concept of a single deity was introduced by Arabic-speaking traders. The newspaper has a circulation of about 14,000 and is available only in Catholic churches, although some Muslims have complained that it is possible to look up Malay-language material using the term Allah on the Herald’s Web. The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students contends that:

‘…the word Allah is exclusive and only refers to the concept of God that is understood by Muslims…’

and have warned that allowing the Herald to use Allah could cause confusion among Muslims who may leave their faith.

(http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/80405892.html).

Government lawyers have argued that Allah denotes the Muslim God, is accepted as such around the world, and is exclusively for Muslims. If Catholics were allowed to use Allah, then they argue Muslims would be “confused.” The confusion would worsen because while Christians recognise a “trinity of gods” Islam is “totally monotheistic.” They contend that the proper word for God in the Malay language is Tuhan, not Allah.

According to Malay-language Utusan Malaysia, the mufti of northern Perak state, Harussani Zakaria, termed the verdict “an insult to Muslims in this country.” The state news agency, Bernama, reported former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as saying that the authorities should set strict conditions for non-Muslims using the word Allah to avoid provoking a Muslim backlash:

“What I am afraid of is that the term ‘Allah’ might be used in such a way that could inflame the anger of Muslims, if [non-Muslims] were to use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam.”

Sadly, this prediction has come to pass with attacks on ten churches to date, most of them having been fire bombed.

It is true that the word ‘Allah’ means the one and only true God, but despite the pre-islamic Arabian idol worshippers’ belief in more than 300 Gods, they believed in an entity above all of them called ‘Allah’. Yet the Holy Prophet^(saw) never forbade the idol worshippers to use the word ‘Allah’.

The concerns of the Malaysian government over the use of Allah by the Catholic Herald are rather perplexing. How can Christian newspaper articles using the term ‘Allah’ to refer to God, draw Muslims away from Islam? Is it because by referring to ‘Jesus son of Allah’, Muslims will be swayed into believing that Allah is not one but three?

How ironic, for in the Holy Qur’an Allah Himself has not only defined His name and His attributes but has also specifically rejected the concept of trinity! Surah Al-Ikhlas of the Holy Qur’an emphatically proclaims the Unity of Allah:

Say, ‘He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Independent and Besought of all. He begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.’ (Ch.112:Vs.2-5)

Allah has asserted His unity and independence. ‘Allah’ is the ‘One’ and it therefore defies His deity that He could have a son. The Qur’an clearly rejects any notion of trinity.

Again, the Qur’an declares:

…So believe in Allah and His Messengers, and say not ‘They are three.’ Desist, it will be better for you. Verily, Allah is the only One God. Far is it from His Holiness that He should have a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And sufficient is Allah as a Guardian. (Ch.4:V.172)

They are surely disbelievers who say, ‘Allah is the third of three;’ there is no God but the One God. And if they do not desist from what they say, a grievous punishment shall surely befall those of them that disbelieve. (Ch.5:V.74)

…and they falsely ascribe to Him sons and daughters without any knowledge. Holy is He and exalted far above what they attribute to Him. The Originator of the heavens and the earth! How can He have a son when He has no consort, and when He has created everything and has knowledge of all things? (Ch.6:Vs.101-102)

Perhaps most strikingly the Holy Qur’an itself has used the utterances ‘Messiah, son of Allah’:-

And the Jews say, Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say, the Messiah is the son of Allah… (Ch.9:Vs.30)

Now if the Holy Qur’an can remind us of the utterances ‘Messiah son of God’ albeit to deny that this could be possible, why are Malaysian Muslims afraid that if the Catholic Herald does so, Muslims will be confused about their own faith? The Holy Qur’an tells us :

It does not befit the Majesty of Allah to take unto Himself a son. Holy is He. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’, and it is. Said Jesus: ‘Surely , Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him alone; this is the right path.’ (Ch.19:Vs.36-37)

The Qur’an also reminds us that Jesus^(as) was not responsible for the introduction of trinity into Christian belief. It tells us how he will respond to any accusations to having promoted his own Divinity.

And when Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?’”, he will answer, “Holy art Thou. I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou Who art the Knower of hidden things. I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me – ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord…’ (Ch.5:Vs.117-118)

So, not only has Allah Himself, in the Holy Qur’an, defined the meaning of His Name, but He has also explained that the introduction of the concept of trinity was not propagated by Jesus^(as), and is instead a distortion of the original message of Jesus Christ^(as)! One wonders, therefore, how any Malaysian Muslim could be drawn away from Islam if ‘Allah’ is used by a believer in the trinity?

Now, what about the government’s assertion that ‘Allah’ denotes the Muslim God, and is exclusively for Muslims?

Again, a reading of the Holy Qur’an directs us to reject this. In Surah Al-Naml we read:

The Queen said, “Ye chiefs, there has been delivered to me a noble letter.

It is from Solomon, and it is: ‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful; (Ch.27:Vs.30-31)

Hadhrat Sulaiman^(as) himself used the words ‘In the name of Allah’! His advent predated Islam! So, if the Holy Qur’an tells us that he used the word ‘Allah’, what exclusive right have present day Muslims to stop other faiths from using Allah’s name to refer to God?

Malaysian Muslim leaders ought not to worry that Muslims who read the Holy Qur’an will be misled if they see His name used by other faiths.

Final part of series of extracts from Victory of Islam, an English rendering of the Urdu Fateh-e-Islam, written by the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).

The fourth branch of this Dispensation is the correspondence written both by the ‘seekers after truth’ or by the antagonists. It is estimated that during the past years, over ninety thousand letters must have been received and duly responded to, except those that were considered to be worthless or unimportant. This work also continues unabated. During each month about three hundred to seven hundred letters are received and replied to. In some months the number may reach a thousand.

The fifth branch of this great project established under the express inspiration and revelation of God is the widening of the circle of devotees and of those who take the Oath of Initiation (Bai’at) at my hand. At the time of the establishment of this Dispensation, God spoke to me saying: The world is engulfed in a storm of misguidance. During this storm, you should construct this ark. He who embarks on the ark will be saved from drowning. Death would await those who continue to reject.

And He said: Anyone who slips his hand into your hand in allegiance, slips it not into your hand but rather into the Hand of God.

And again God the Almighty gave me glad tidings by saying: I will cause you to die and then raise you to Myself. But your true followers and devotees will always excel those who rejected you, till the Day of Judgement.

These are the five branches of this Dispensation established by God with His own hand. A person with a superficial perception might consider the writing and printing of books to be the only important project of this Dispensation, and consider the other branches as unimportant and worthless. But in the sight of God, all these branches are obligatory. The great reform which God intends to initiate cannot be accomplished without the coordination of these five branches.

However, the success of the project is entirely dependent upon the extraordinary support and singular blessing of God. He alone is sufficient for its triumphant completion. It is His heartening promises which grant tranquillity and respite. But it is also under His instructions and incentive that the attention of the Muslims is invited towards monetary assistance. This appeal is in keeping with the practice of all the earlier Prophets of God who appealed for such assistance from their followers in times of distress. It is solely for this purpose, that I launch this appeal…

…O ye Muslims, who are the surviving vestiges and descendants of resolute and noble believers! Do not rush towards the rejection and distrust of this appeal, rather, dread that epidemic which is fast spreading around you. A multitude has already been snared in its treachery. Do you notice the ferocity of the attempts to wipe out the religion of Islam? Is it not equally incumbent upon you as well to strive in this cause? The religion of Islam is not man-made that it could suffer desolation through the intrigues of man. But woe to those who are engrossed in attempts at its extermination!

Alas! Muslims have enough to spend upon their wives and children, enough to squander upon personal lavishness, but for Islam their pockets are empty. Ye sluggish and lethargic ones, woe unto you! You do not possess the ability to strengthen the religion of Islam and demonstrate its miraculous powers, yet you fail to accept with gratitude this Divine Dispensation which has been established by God to manifest the dazzling truth of Islam.

Today, Islam is likened unto a light that has been caged in a chest or to a sweet fountain that has been concealed by twigs and leaves. That is why Islam is in decline and its beautiful face is shrouded from the world. Its enchanting silhouette cannot be seen. It was vital for the Muslims to liberate Islam from this confinement at all costs. Not to speak of financial sacrifices alone, if so needed, they should have shed their blood like the pouring of water. But they failed to do that. They are still engrossed in their ignorance, saying, ‘Are the previous books not sufficient?’ They are oblivious to the fact that to combat new intrigues, fresh techniques have to be devised.

At the onset of every spiritual gloom, Prophets, Messengers and Reformers have been coming to the world. At the time of their advent, were the previous books not already present? Brothers! It is therefore essential that at the spread of darkness, a heavenly light must descend from heavens.

As earlier mentioned in this book, God gives glad tidings to the faithful in Surah Al-Qadr that His Prophet and His revelation descended from the heaven during the period of ‘Lailat-ul-Qadr’ (The Night of Decree). Every Guide and Reformer who is commissioned by God always appears during the Night of Decree.

Do you understand what is meant by the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree or the ‘Lailat-ul-Qadr’ is the name of a night when spiritual darkness reaches its ultimate gloom. That gloom, metaphorically, demands a light from heaven for its dissipation. This night is symbolically called the Night of Decree. In fact, it is not a night but a period, referred to as a ‘night’ because of its intense darkness.

One thousand months is the approximate life span of a human being. It is also a period after which normal human senses cease to function. The elapse of a period of one thousand months, following the demise of a Prophet or his spiritual successor, also signals the commencement of a ‘night’ of darkness. This ‘night’ triggers a fervour in the heavens and the seeds of the birth of one or more reformers is stealthily sown. Thus, such a reformer or reformers prepare to emerge at the head of the new century. The following verse is also an indication by God towards this phenomenon:

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. (Ch. 97:V.4)

Meaning that anyone who perceives the blessings of this Night of Decree, or anyone who benefits from the company of the Reformer of the age, is better than an eighty-year-old man who failed to behold this blessed time. Even if he witnessed a single moment of this blessed era, it was better than his past one thousand months. Why is that moment better? Because during that period, in support of the Reformer, the angels of God and the ‘Ruh-ul-Qudus’ (Holy Spirit) descend from the heavens. They manifest themselves upon the hearts of the faithful for the purpose of unveiling the path to guidance. They remain fully engaged in this endeavour until the gloom of delinquency vanishes, ushering in a dawn of piety.

Now O Muslims! Ponder over these verses and observe how God praises that blessed period in which, at the hour of need, a Reformer is sent unto the world. Would you not acknowledge the value of this period? Would you view with ridicule and taunt the covenants of God Almighty?

So, O Muslims who have been granted affluence, listen! I convey the message to you that it is obligatory for you to wholeheartedly support this Divinely inspired reformatory Dispensation. You should hasten to do justice to this scheme after considering, with absolute sincerity, all its aspects…

…Who is my companion? Who is dear to me? He who recognises my station. Who recognises me? Only he who is firmly convinced that I have been sent by God.

He who accepts me in the same way as those sent earlier are accepted. The world cannot accept me for I am not of this world. But those whose inherent nature has been gifted with a portion of the knowledge of the other domain are accepting me and will continue to accept me. He who forsakes me indeed forsakes Him Who sent me. He who is grafted onto me is grafted onto Him from Whom I have come. I hold a lamp in my hand. Any person who comes to me will certainly partake of the light of this lamp. But those who flee as a result of delusion and distrust will be thrown into darkness. I am the invincible citadel of this age. Only he who enters therein will be secure from the scourge of swindlers, crooks and ferocious beasts. But he who prefers to stay away from my periphery, will confront death from all directions! Even his corpse will not be secure.

Who is it who enters my citadel? Only he who discards all vice and instead embraces the path of rectitude. He who gives up the path of crookedness and treads along the path of truthfulness. He who cuts asunder from the bondage of Satan and becomes an obedient servant of God. Everyone who does that is of me and I am of him.

But only he succeeds in accomplishing this feat who is placed by God the Almighty, under the shadow of a Muzakki (Purifier). He then stamps out under his feet the hell of his ego. The fire within him is quenched and cooled as if there had never been any fire. Then he begins to accomplish brisk spiritual progress till the spirit of God Almighty dwells in him. And as a result of a remarkable Divine phenomenon, God, the Lord of the worlds, firmly establishes Himself upon his heart. Thus, his old individuality is incinerated and he is accorded a new and purified temperament. For him, God Almighty becomes a new God, establishing a fresh and unique attachment with him. He is bestowed in this very world with all the immaculate blessings of a blissful life.

At this juncture, I cannot refrain from expressing my intense gratitude to the Almighty God, Who out of His Grace and Mercy never left me alone. Those who developed a bond of brotherhood with me by joining this Community that was established by God with His own Hand, are imbued with a unique tint of love and devotion. Such spiritual souls satiated with sincerity that are granted to me, were not acquired by any act of diligence on my part, but entirely due to the distinctive blessing of God.

First of all, I experience an immense fervour in my heart for the mention of a spiritual brother whose name Nur-ud-Din (The Brilliance of Faith) is synonymous with his brilliant services. I have always cast wistful looks at some of the religious services which he renders with his lawful earnings for the propagation of Islam. Alas! If only I too could perform such services. The portrayal of the unlimited power and authority of God comes to mind, when I ponder at the intensity of his devotion towards Islam. I marvel at how God attracts people towards His cause. He stands resolute and ever ready to sacrifice all the wealth and property at his disposal in obedience to God and His Prophet. It is my conviction which is based upon experience and not upon mere optimistic speculation that, not to speak of wealth alone, he is even ready to sacrifice his honour and life for my sake. Had I permitted, he would have given up everything and come to live with me here. Thus, he would be physically close to me, as he is spiritually close already…

…At this point, I consider it appropriate to state that all who have entered into the covenant of Bai‘at are not such that I could express a good opinion about them. Instead, I view some of them as the dry branches of a tree, whom my God, Who is my Guardian, will one day sever from me and hurl into the pile of firewood. There are others who showed a certain amount of devotion and sincerity in the beginning but have now become indifferent. They have lost the glow of warmth and enthusiasm associated with loving disciples. Indeed, the intrigues of Bal’am are all that remains in them. They are likened to rotten teeth, waiting to be extracted and trampled upon. They became exhausted with fatigue. This corrupted world clenched them in the snare of its deception. I say this with conviction that very soon they will be cut off from me, except such among them whom God chooses to save afresh with His own Hand. There are those, of course, whom God has permanently handed over to me. They are indeed the evergreen branches of the tree of my being. I shall, Insha Allah (God willing), write about them on another occasion.

It would be appropriate here to dispel the conceited views of some wealthy people who deem themselves as having offered rich sacrifices in the cause of God, while they are extremely reluctant to spend their wealth on the right cause whenever it arises. They say that had they been born in the period of a true man sent from God for the rejuvenation of faith, they would have come forward to help him and even be ready to be sacrificed for him, but what can they do in an age rampant with swindlers and cheats?

But let it be clear to you that a person has already been sent in support of the faith but you failed to recognise him. He is among you and it is he who is addressing you now. But there are heavy veils covering your eyes. If your hearts are in search of truth it should not be difficult to verify the claim of one who professes to be in communion with God. Come to him. Stay in his company for two or three weeks, if Allah so wills, you may also witness blessings being showered upon him and many a spiritual light which descends upon him. It is he who seeks who finds. He who knocks, it is for him that the door is opened. If you lament the absence of the sun after having locked yourself up in a dark closet with your eyes shut, then your moaning will be in vain.

O ye who are bereft of clear vision! Open the door of your closet and remove the covering from your eyes so that you may not only see the sun but may also bask in its light.

Some claim that the founding of Anjumans [Organisations] and the opening of schools is sufficient to promote the cause of faith. But they fail to understand what faith is, nor do they understand the ultimate objective of our creation or what the means of achieving such objectives are. They should realise that the ultimate goal of this life is to attain a true and certain bond with God – such as would sever our ties with relations based on animal instincts. The paths leading to such certainty and conviction cannot be attained through human deliberations and schemes. Human devices and philosophies are of no avail. Rather, in the times of darkness, this light always descends from the heavens through His chosen servants. He who comes from heaven, it is only he who can lead you to heaven.

Therefore, O ye who are buried in pits of darkness and those who are held in the claws of doubt and suspicion and are slaves of selfish desires! Do not pride over the mere title or legacy of Islam. Do not consider that the formation of syndicates and schools are the answer for your true solace, genuine welfare and ultimate success. Basically, these things are useful and can be regarded as the initial steps, but they are very far off from the final objective. These exercises may generate some intellectual ingenuity, astuteness, intelligence or debate. They may help a person to be called a ‘sage’ or a ‘renowned scholar’. It is also possible that a long and sustained schooling might result in the partial achievement of the ultimate objective. But (as the Persian saying goes)

Before the arrival of the antidote from Iraq, the snake-bitten victim may succumb to the venom.

Therefore, wake up and be vigilant! Lest you stumble and find yourself in a state of apostasy and disbelief as you traverse the final journey to the hereafter. Know for certain that salvation in the hereafter does not entirely depend on the acquisition of conventional knowledge. The manifestation of a Heavenly light is essential for the removal of the dirt of scepticism and lack of conviction. It is indeed necessary for the negation of the fire of sensual obsession. It draws man towards sincere love, true affection and obedience to God. If you confer with your conscience, it is bound to respond by saying that you do not possess that genuine satisfaction and inherent tranquillity that is essential for the instantaneous spiritual transformation. Therefore, how unfortunate that you do not possess even a minute fraction of the keenness and enthusiasm for the publication of literature pertaining to this Divine scheme that you possess for the printing of works of mere customary sayings and knowledge. Generally, your life is devoted towards such pursuits as have had little relevance towards the uplift of faith, or are of little significance and very remote from the ultimate objective. If you were equipped with such sensibilities and wisdom as stop only at the essential scheme of things, then you would not rest until you had reached that ultimate objective.

O humankind! You are created for the recognition, and the consequent obedience to and love of your true Creator, the One alone who is truly worthy of worship. Therefore, until the ultimate and final purpose of your creation does not fully dawn upon you, you remain very remote from true salvation. If you are candid, you could be attesting to your own internal state that instead of the worship of God, a gigantic idol of materialism permanently dwells within you, before which you prostrate a thousand times each second! You are so engrossed in the affairs of the world that you do not have the leisure of glancing at anything else. Do you ever think about the ultimate and final end of this creation? Where are the characteristics of justice? Where is your integrity? Where are the qualities of truthfulness, sympathy, honesty and humility towards which the Qur’an beckons you?

Even during the years gone by, it never ever occurred to you that we indeed have a Creator. Have you ever thought of your obligations towards Him? The plain truth is that you never developed any concern, link or affiliation with the God of ultimate existence. Even the very mention of His name is cumbersome upon you. Although in your worldly affairs and concerns, you exhibit extraordinary wisdom and solemnity, yet your proficiency, your deep and far reaching insight end at the fringes of this worldliness, and you cannot visualise in the least that which belongs to the other world, the world your souls are created to inhabit eternally. But in your entire life you have never even once reflected on the hereafter, the happiness of which is permanent and assured beyond a shadow of doubt.

How unfortunate that you are sitting absolutely unaware of the most important issue that matters in life, and your eyes are completely shut to it, while day and night you are madly engaged in lustful pursuits which are of matters only transient and are fit only to be forgotten. You are fully aware that, without doubt, an instant will finally come which will suddenly terminate your life and all that you yearned for. But this is a peculiar type of callousness because of which, despite having complete knowledge, you continue to waste your entire time in worldly quests. And your pursuit of materialism is not confined only to lawful means; you do not stop short of employing falsehood, deceit and even the ruthless murder of truth to gain your objectives.

Despite all these ignominious crimes, which are rampant in you, you continue to assert that there was no need for Divine Light or a Divine Commission. In fact you nurture an extreme animosity towards it. You have looked down with contempt at this Heavenly Dispensation of God, so much so that if you ever mention these things, you do it with words full of foul language with eyebrows drawn with arrogance and upturned noses. You insistently demand to know how you can reach the stage of certainty that this institution is from God. I have just answered this question: this tree can be recognised by its fruit and this luminary moon can be recognised by its light. Now it is up to you either to accept it or reject it and again it lies with you to remember my admonitions or wipe them out from your memories.

The qualities of a person are not appreciated during his lifetime, my dear ones.

You will remember my admonitions after I am no more.

Address delivered by Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, Head of the Worlwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community (may Allah strengthen his hand),  on 19th December 2009, at the VIP Reception held at Ratskeller am Römer, on the 50th anniversary of the Nur Mosque, Frankfurt.

All the honourable guests, Assalamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you all.

Firstly, I would like to thank all the guests who have come to attend the 50th Anniversary of our Nur Mosque here in Frankfurt today. The fact that you are here shows that you are open-minded people because you have come despite the fact that there is an ongoing anti-Islamic campaign being waged in society; not only against Muslims, but against Islam itself. And after listening to the speeches of all the honourable speakers I am now more confident that I am right in thinking this, of having this view, that you are all open-minded people sitting in front of me. Anyway, this campaign by the opponents of Islam presents Islam as an extremist faith; however, this is far removed from the actual teachings of the religion.

When people, who are unfamiliar with Islam, hear such claims, or when they listen to news of terrorists, Muslim suicide bombers, or fanatics and hardliners, they begin to believe that Islam really is an extreme religion that promotes terror, and that Muslims follow hatred and consider every non-Muslim to be worthless. Moreover, they consider that it is only the teachings of Islam that pose a threat to the world peace. And it is now, I am happy that those who are sitting here are not of this view, but there are quite a number of people in the world who still hold this view. Unfortunately, this entirely false notion has now taken firm root. However, I shall now clarify some of these misunderstandings in light of the true teachings of Islam.

As I mentioned earlier, the fact that you have come here, despite hearing all such allegations, proves that you do not wish to only hear one point of view but, fulfilling the requirements of justice and fair-play, you have come to see what the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at says about the teachings of Islam.

I have always said that I am not ashamed to admit that certain extremist ‘Muslim’ groups have created great disorder in the world. However, this lack of peace exists more in the countries of the perpetrators themselves rather than in Europe or other places in the world. This clearly illustrates that this battle is not against any religion, but is the work of a small and self-serving group who create disorder and carry out attacks in the name of religion. If you analyse the situation, you will realise that these people, who serve their own interests, have killed more Muslims than people of other faiths. The non-Muslims being killed are those who are sending armies to assist such Muslims countries, perhaps, on the pretext of establishing peace.

I do not wish to comment on whether military assistance is right or wrong, or whether the assessments of the western powers regarding the future plans of the terrorists are sound. Nor do I wish to comment upon the strategic position of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq or whether the terrorists are trying to dominate such areas, or what the final solution should be in tackling the war on terror. These are all separate issues on which I would prefer not to speak at this time.

However, as the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, I would like to remove the misunderstandings about Islam in light of its true teachings and present to you the real and beautiful picture of Islam as we see it.

I now present to you a few examples of Islamic teachings based on the Holy Qur’an with regards to establishing world peace.

If we look at the fundamental reasons for religious animosity amongst the followers of religion, the principle causes are when people reject the founders of each other’s religion as false, mock them and consequently ridicule the customs and rituals that are linked to the founder of respective religion.

Let us see what Islam teaches about the prophets or the founders of religions. Chapter 3, Verse 85 of the Holy Qur’an states:

Say, ‘We believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and to Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and other Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit.

This is the beautiful teaching of Islam.

If a Muslim claims to obey Allah, he is duty bound to believe in all the prophets, to the extent that at another place, Allah the Almighty states that He has sent prophets to all the nations as a means to reform people, some of whom Allah has named in the Qur’an. Thus, Islam has laid the foundation for peace, harmony and reconciliation by making all the founders of religions worthy of respect.

If we look at the early history of Islam we see that when, due to the extreme cruelties against the Muslims in Makkah, they were forced to migrate from Makkah to Madinah, even then the disbelievers of Makkah did not leave them alone and in fact continued their persecution. They tried to finish the Muslims by attacking them. It was only then that Allah granted the Holy Prophet(saw), peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his followers permission to fight and defend themselves.

This is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in Chapter 22, verses 40 and 41; the translation is as follows:

Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged – and Allah indeed has power to help them – Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’ – And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah will surely help one who helps Him. Allah is indeed Powerful, Mighty.

Now see, it is not just the rights of Islam that have been considered. Muslims have not been instructed to only preserve their own rights, but have, in fact, been commanded to eradicate the evil intentions of those who associate partners with God, on the basis that, were they to fail to act, the oppressors would become so bold that they would try to annihilate all religions.

Muslims have been instructed to preserve and protect the sanctity of all places of worship of all religions, and they have been taught that if they have to assist other religions in compliance with this command, then they must do so. If you act with good intentions then God will help you.

God Almighty has said right from the outset that even if you have to wage a war in order to stop cruelty of the wrongdoers, then do so; God will help you.

And history bears witness to this. The 313 companions of the Holy Prophet of Islam^(saw), peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who were totally ill-equipped for war, confronted and defeated a well-equipped force three times bigger than them. This is proof that God is on the side of truth. If any Muslim today acts contrary to these teachings he acts against the commands of Allah.

In view of these teachings, decide with your own hearts whether anyone can raise any fair objection against Islam.

Should the actions of a handful of Muslims, pursuing solely their own interests, be used as a source of torment for the rest of the Muslim world? Most certainly, the heart of any decent person who wishes peace in the world would definitely desire that he should not cause distress to anyone else.

As I said previously, and as you are all aware today, we are holding this function on the 50th anniversary of our mosque, Nur Mosque. From this building the same message has been preached for the past fifty years, that mosques are centres of spreading love, peace, affection and the worship of the One God.

Today, the number of mosques of the Ahmadiyya Community, Ahmadiyya Jama’at in Germany, has reached to almost 35 or 40. You will not hear voices or slogans of hatred or of those who spread disorder from any single one of these mosques. If any voice is raised, it is the call to worship the One God and to fulfil the rights of His Creation. And this is not only in Germany.

The Ahmadiyya Jama’at has thousands of mosques all over the world. From not a single one can it be proved that hatred is being spread, or that even minor distress is caused; nor has it ever happened.

Nonetheless, I say with great sorrow that in the West a wave has been unleashed in some countries, and by certain classes, that, without distinction, every Muslim ought to be considered a terrorist, and that Islam teaches terrorism. From time to time they raise their voices against Islam.

The most recent example is the referendum held in Switzerland, and it has been quoted by two of our honourable speakers: putting a ban on the minarets of mosques. According to newspaper reports, it was German-speaking Swiss people who cast the majority of the votes in favour of the ban.

I cannot understand how changing the shape or cosmetics of the mosque will change the character of those who come to worship at the mosque. If we suppose that mosques are the breeding grounds of teachings of hatred, then by not building minarets will these teachings of hatred suddenly cease? These hatreds and animosities will not cease in this way, rather such acts will cause distress amongst the peace-loving majority of Muslims. Their feelings are being played upon through this action.

On the one hand they claim, I mean the Western Governments, to be secular, and on the other, they place restrictions upon religious freedom. By doing this they have tried to counter extremism with extremism. When these types of thoughtless solutions are employed, then the reaction will likewise be senseless.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, under the supervision of Khilafat, never reacts in a wrong manner. We even respond to abuse with prayers. In certain Muslim countries, there are restrictions on the minarets and arches of our mosques, yet we remain silent. However, non-Ahmadi Muslims can react in an extreme way and this has happened in the past.

Thus I implore all of you, the educated class of Germans, to continue to display the open-heartedness that you have shown in the past. You should certainly acquire the good things from your neighbours but avoid the bad. The minarets of mosques are symbols of spreading light, and from where the call is raised that God is Greatest, and that there is none worthy of worship except Him, and that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His Messenger and Servant; come to the mosque to worship because you can only establish peace in the world by developing a relationship with your Creator, with Allah; and come towards success because it is only through worship of Him and by maintaining peace in the world that success can be achieved.

Thus, this is the purpose of the minaret, and if any other voice is raised apart from this, from any minaret, it is against the teachings of Islam. It is the responsibility of the Government to punish such criminals, rather than punishing every peace-loving person for the crimes of one misguided individual.

World peace cannot be achieved in this way. Walls of hatred are certainly erected because of this, and to bring down these walls of hatred the Holy Qur’an has taught us in Chapter 5, verse 9:

O ye who believe! Be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is aware of what you do.

This is Islam’s beautiful teaching: that if the relationship between people and countries can sometimes sour, this does not mean that you can discard the requirements of justice. If you discard the requirements of justice then that will be far removed from righteousness; and one who is far removed from righteousness, has no relationship with God. Such a person’s actions are not for the sake of God, because God says that if you want to come close to Him, then you must discharge the rights of others by fulfilling the requirements of justice. Even your enemy should not suffer unnecessarily from you.

At another place, the Holy Qur’an states that the recompense of an injury should be proportionate to the injury itself, but if one chooses to forgive and that act of forgiveness brings about reformation, then it is better, because the reward for such forgiveness is given by God Himself. These are the methods for the reformation of society and these are the ways for establishing peace that have been taught to us by Islam.

And, according to our beliefs, to give a fresh lease of life to this teaching, Allah sent the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at as the Promised Messiah for this age, who proclaimed the concept of love, affection and peace to bring an end to religious extremism and religious wars. He inclined us to take care of the religious sentiments of others.

This is exactly in accordance with the teachings of Islam: that one should not say anything against even the idols of non-believers, lest they say something about your God, and it destroys the peace of society.

As I said before, speaking ill against the founders of religions and the observance of religious customs creates hatred and destroys peace. The world is immersed in such problems today.

Economic and social problems have caused unrest and such conditions themselves are the cause of creating disorder. Adding religion to this instability is not a sensible idea, even though it is common knowledge that there are some people with vested interests who are in search of creating disarray.

Thus, by reference to today’s function I will request that for the sake of societal peace, we must be considerate of each other’s religious sentiments. In this age, due to our trade and media contacts and fast means of transport, we now call the world a ‘global village’. Therefore, in every country, each religion should have complete freedom, so long as it does not harm the peace of the country.

The followers of any religion should be able to practice their religious customs freely, otherwise if the government will interfere with religion, in this civilised world, such interference will negate their claim to being secular and discharging the rights of others.

I conclude my speech by saying that every person should try to discharge the rights of his Creator and Creation, rather than trying to usurp the rights of mankind, so that peace can be established in the world.

Finally, I would like to once again thank all of you who participated in our function and by doing so displayed your openheartedness.

Thank you very much.