Untold Stories

Untold Stories

UnToldStories

A Pious Soul in the Land of Guatemala

Upon the instructions of the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, I arrived in Guatemala in February 2007. It had only been a few days when a group of local Muslims came to our Baitul Awal Mosque. During our conversation, they said that Allah Almighty had given them the opportunity to embrace Islam and so they wanted to serve Islam. They said that our mosque was desolate and hardly any worshippers came to pray there, and they suggested that we sell our mosque to them and said that they would fill it with worshippers.

I told them that we belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, whose main objectives are preaching, the propagation of Islam and the building of mosques. I suggested that instead, they gain information about Jama’at Ahmadiyya and study our literature. I assured them that the doors of our mosque were always open for them. I told them that they could come and offer their prayers there whenever they wished and to work with us in spreading the message of Islam.

A young man, David Gonzalez, was a part of this group. He had previously been stopped from coming to our Ahmadi mosque and had fallen prey to many of the misconceptions about the Community. Despite this, he had come to our mosque on this occasion with his Muslim friends.

After two weeks I came to know that David’s father, who belonged to a very rich and well-reputed family in Guatemala, had been murdered. I went to see him and his family to offer my condolences. In this time of sorrow and grief, my meeting proved very fruitful and we developed a bond of friendship. David started coming to our mosque in search of the truth.

He was satisfied and immediately convinced by our beliefs about the death of Jesusas after listening to our Qur’anic arguments. He then went to a non-Ahmadi mosque and enquired from the Imam about their beliefs regarding Jesusas. In response, the Imam of the non-Ahmadi mosque, an Arab Sheikh, said “All the Muslims are unanimously agreed on the life of Jesusas and it is attested by the sayings of the Holy Prophetsa. It is only due to denying this that the Ahmadiyya Community is declared non-Muslim. However, no specific verses from the Holy Qur’an attest our belief.”

Respected David Gonzalez responded to these comments by declaring, “That means that the Qur’an does not support the general Muslim view of Jesusas. So I will be with the Community which accepts the Qur’anic teaching.” Hence he came back to our Ahmadi Mosque, completed the Bai’at form (Pledge of Allegiance form) and embraced the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.

In 2008, he had the privilege of attending Jalsa Salana UK (Annual Convention). A meeting with the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had a magical effect upon him. Thereafter, he experienced the blessings of seeing the Promised Messiahas and Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat (spiritual successors of the Community) in his dreams on numerous occasions. He is presently serving as the general secretary for Majlis Ansarullah (auxiliary organization of men above 40 years of age) and is a director of Humanity First, Guatemala.

Many such blessed souls have embraced Islam through him, including the president of Khuddamul Ahmadiyya (auxiliary organisation of youth aged 15-40), Mr. Daria Samayoa, who is a lawyer, and the president of Lajna Imaillah (auxiliary organisation of women), Mrs. Marta Maria De Paz.

Moreover, he has accompanied me on my missionary trips to Mexico, Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, and Colombia, where we spread the message of Ahmadiyyat and had the blessing of establishing missions.

Abdul Sattar Khan, Imam and Missionary In-Charge Guatemala