We continue our newly launched series of ‘untold stories’ from around the world.
Blessings of “Allahu Akbar”
On the 2nd of December 2010, I answered the mission house phone to hear the voice of a woman crying profusely. I enquired from her the reason for her crying, to which she replied, “Someone tried to kidnap me today but I was saved due to the remembrance of Allah.” She further narrated the entire incident. She said:
“This morning I was withdrawing money from the bank and as I was heading towards my car, a man casually put his arm around my neck, as if he was my husband and with his other hand, put a pistol against my side, signaling me not to make any noise and to keep walking. I complied as he led me to a car and forced me to sit in the middle of the back seat between two men. They wanted my husband’s phone number to demand a ransom as they seized my phone and the cash I had withdrawn from the bank. During this time, I started to pray to God for help and suddenly I found myself reciting the words ‘Allahu Akbar’again and again. I repeated these words for 25 minutes, after which the car stopped and they pushed me out. I began to run, completely unaware of where I was. When I had composed myself, I realised that I was near a restaurant owned by someone I knew. I called my husband and my children from the restaurant and informed them of what had happened.”
She further stated she had only been saved due to her remembering Allah, otherwise who knows what the kidnappers could have done to her and how much ransom money they could have potentially demanded. This lady was born into a strict Catholic household; her mother is a devout Catholic and a supervisor of a Catholic women’s organisation. However, she left the Church and joined Tibetan Buddhism. In 2010, some of our newly converted Lajna members (an auxiliary group for women above the age of 15 in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community) brought her to the mosque, which sparked her interest in Islam. Eventually, she began asking various questions about Islam. A few days before this incident, she attended a Lajna Tarbiyyati class (a class for learning Islamic moral values) in which I had the opportunity to discuss the importance of the remembrance of Allah and teach some praises of Allah in Arabic, one of which was “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest). As mentioned earlier, I was speaking to her on the phone and I comforted her by saying, “Be thankful, Allah has saved you from such a horrifying incident only due to the blessings of ‘Allahu Akbar’. I asked her to attend our Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) the next day. She attended the Jalsa and stated, “The truth of Islam has manifested itself upon me and by repeating the words of ‘Allahu Akbar’ has saved me from a great misfortune — so I want to accept Islam.” Hence, she signed the Bai’at form (pledge of initiation into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – True Islam) on the same day and had the good fortune to enter the fold of Ahmadiyyat. She also had the golden opportunity to attend Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) UK 2014 and to meet Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Her name is Alma and she is now a very devout member of our Jama’at (Community). May Allah increase her sincerity and faith, and also grant her family the opportunity to accept Ahmadiyyat. Ameen!
Abdul Sattar Khan
Ameer (National President) & Missionary In-Charge
Guatemala, South America
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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has undertaken an extensive leafleting campaign; distributing thousands of leaflets introducing theCommunity and explaining the peaceful teachings of Islam. By the Grace of Allah, since the commencement of this programme, this peaceful message has been conveyed to many people. One particular day, my son and I were distributing leaflets in Kings Langley, a village located in Hertfordshire. We had the opportunity to invite people to a peace conference which would also be held in the village. A large number of people from the village thanked us for the invitations. However, there were some who declined, purely because of the mentioning of the word ‘Islam’. One such incident involved an elderly couple; after I had introduced myself and the Jama’at, I invited them to the National Peace Symposium UK. Though they took the leaflet happily, they eventually apologised and said that they would not be able to attend the symposium due to their physical disabilities. Considering their age and health, I requested that if they were not able to attend, perhaps they could read the leaflet at their convenience. The next day, I received a message that the gentleman had contacted the office of the National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK. He explained that two people had given him a leaflet and invited him to the Symposium, but at the time, he had rejected the invitation. However, he had now decided to attend and requested another invitation. By coincidence on the same day, I went to the gentleman’s house again. Immediately after ringing the bell, he came out and deeply apologised for initially declining the invitation. He commented, “I didn’t know that your Community is spreading the beautiful message of Islam. After reading the leaflet that you gave me yesterday, I have decided that we want to join in this peace conference.” On the day of the Symposium, I saw that the gentleman and his wife arrived at the venue before the programme had even started. He was slowly pushing his wife in a wheelchair. They listened to the whole of the Peace Symposium and also participated in the question and answer session. As they were leaving he said, “Please hold this programme again in our village and we will invite other people. There is a need to spread the message of the true Islam to every person in the world.” Moreover, the couple also said that they would discuss all the points that had been mentioned in the programme with their friends.
Faiz Ahmed Zahid, UK
Regional Missionary
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