ISLAM AND RUSSIA – Part 11 (Final)

44 ISLAM AND RUSSIA (Final Instalment) No. 11 (Dr. Qazi Muhammad Barakatullah) REVELATIONS God revealed to the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement about a world calamity that the day was coming when the Tzar of Russia would be in a very miserable plight. After the Red Revolution, as we all know, the reigning Tzar of the day was captured and killed after he had suffered untold privations and humiliations which formed one of the most painful and tragic episodes of human history. Another prophecy made by the Promised Messiah in .regard to Russia was recorded by him as follows: “On January 22, 1903, I saw in Ka.shf (vision) that the staff of the Tzar of Russia had come into my hand. It was very long and beautiful. But examining it carefully I found that it was a gun, though it had not the appearance of one, for it had secret barrels and outwardly appeared to be no more than a staff, while it was really a gun.” (Tazkirah, page 429) In a vision, to be given the staff or sceptre of a country signifies the growth of power and influence in that country of the party to whom the staff was given. The Promised Messiah thus gave the glad tiding that the direction and control of Russia’s affairs would one day pass into the hands of the Ahmadis who would thoroughly overhaul the Communist system. These prophecies, of which the origin is God Almighty, were made at a time when the human eye could detect no sign to indicate that their fulfilment was at all likely at that time, or ever afterwards in the future. Extraordinary is the prophecy of the Promised Messiah in regard to the tragic end, not of any particular Tzar but of the office itself of Tzar, for the whole world has seen how literally and truly this wonderful prophecy has been fulfilled. The second prophecy of the REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 45 Promised Messiah now remains to be fulfilled-that the government of Russia would ultimately assume a form which would put its guiding control into his hands. That is the sceptre of Russia would pass, according to this prophecy of the Promised Messiah, into the hands of his followers: Prediction has been made by the Promised Messiah about a great catastrophic event which eventually will result in the ultimate victory of Islam. The prophecy below is the English translation of the Urdu text: “God has informed me that a great catastrophe is destined to take place in the world. All kings shall be involved in a mutual conflict with each other. So much bloodshed will will take place that the whole earth will be soaked in blood. The subjects of each king too will fight among themselves. There will be a world catastrophe, the middle point of which will be the Middle East. At th;:t.t time my Promised son will be there. God has concurred these circumstances with his presence. After these happenings our dispensation will make great strides in progress. Kings shall then enter our Movement.” (Tzakeratul-Mahdi, Vol.II, p.IS) VISIONS Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih 11 narrated some of his visions which are cited here: “God vouchsafed to me the revelation, the rendering of which in English is ‘The wall of Zend that has fallen and the wall of Zend that has not fallen. I need say here is that while in the first part of this revelation the word ‘Zend’ is used in a metaphorical sense, in the latter part it is used in its literal· sense and indicates the territory of Bukhara and the surrounding country, as Zend is a town in that part of central Asia. In the first part the word has been used metaphorically and, having regard to recent developments, appears to refer to Korea. The meaning of the revelation is that if Russia decides to attack the West, the attack will first develop in two directions: (a) towards the Far East and (b) towards the Middle East. The wall that at the present restrains Russia is made up of political 46 ISLAM AND RUSSIA considerations. Russia will begin the attack if and when those considerations cease to have material value. Some of these ‘considerations apply to the Far East. The wall in the Middle East was referred’ to in the Book of Ezekiel, which gives a graphic description of the Russian danger as it is developing at the present time.” (Communism and Democracy, p.13) “I once saw a vast plain. I was standing in the middle of the plain when I noticed a monster serpent of gigantic proportions approaching in the distance. It might have been as much as twenty yards in length, and it was thick like the trunk of some giant tree. As I saw this monster approaching, it seemed to me that it had started to march from one end of the earth and was proceeding to the other end, devouring everything that came in its path. At last it reached the place where I was standing and where there were some other people also. The reptile swallowed everybody else and then turned to an Ahmadi who next fell in its path. I saw this Ahmadi running for his life, closely followed by the serpent; and with a stick in my hand I ran to the help of this friend. But I found that the monster was running so fast that I had no chance of overtaking him. I continued to run, however, and then I saw this Ahmadi friend climb a tree. But before he could climb up high enough, the serpent was upon him; the vicious head snatched him off in a single mouthful. Then the monster turned to me in anger for having tried to interfere with its prey. But as it ran to attack me I saw the skeleton frame of a charpai (Indian bedstead) lying near where I stood. I jumped on to this frame at once and stood on it with a foot on the two opposite bars. As the reptile approached I heard som people asking me how I could fight it when the Holy Prophet had said that there was no one who could subdue it. I then realized that this monster was no other than the Gog and Magog to whom this hadith referred. It occured to me that this monster was also Dajjal, and I raised both hands towards heaven in prayer for God’s help and protection. To the Ahmadis by my side who had pointed out to me the futility of efforts to fight the monster I said that I was not aiming at fighting it through my own powers, but through the power of prayer; and that victory by this means was not precluded by what the Holy Prophet had said, and as I prayed, I saw a change coming over the serpent. Those who have been to the Indian hill stations in summer know that there is an insect that crawls along the hillside in the rain. If you put a REVIEW OF RELIGIONS quantity of powdered salt on this insect, it literally melts away into water and nothing is left but a kind of slush. Something identical began to happen to the monster attacking me. I first noticed that it was no longer fiery and agile in movement. It became languid and lazy; it crept under the frame on which I was standing, and lay quiet and still, as if it had spent itself and had grown weak. Then it changed into a jelly, which finally melted into the water which ran off on all sides, and was no more. Then I turned to my companions and said, ‘See the power of prayer”! I, of course, was helpless in the face of this danger, but God undoubtedly had the strength to remove it. (The Economic Structure of Islamic Society pp.149-151) Hazrat Khalifatul Masih 11 said: “I had the first vision in the begining of 1943. It was published in the daily ‘AI-Fazal’ of the 14th of April, 1943, on page 4. This vision ,indicated clearly that Russian inf’luencewould spread in China. This was the time when Russia was hard pressed by Germany and China at the mercy of Japan. Later, events took an entirely different turn and Communism prevailed in China. Another vision was vouchsafed towards the middle of 1946 and was published in the daily ‘AI-Fazal’ on August 23, 1946. In brief, I saw a mountain which had three niches. Russia in the central niche, America in the one towards the South and England in the one towards the North. There appeared to be some struggle in the course of which both America and England fired at Russia but she received no injury. England then beckoned to me that I should help. I also fired at Russia but with no result. Russia then got out of the niche and began to run. I ran after her and overtook her; she faced round to me and said: ‘You can go on firing at me but there is a time fixed before which I cannot be destroyed.’ I fired at her several times and though all the shots disappeared into her body she appeard to receive no injury and walked away. I have been vouchsafed several other visions in this connection which have’ been published. They indicate that nothing would avail against Russia in the beginning but that in the end through my prayers and the prayers of my community God will destroy her. The significance of these visions is that the destruction of Communism has been decreed by God but that it will come 47 48 ISLAM AND RUSSIA about through spiritual rather than material means. It is necessary, therefore, that the people of America and the West should give an ear to the voice of God and should seek to work a spiritual revolution within themselves.” (Communism and Democracy, by Hazrat Mirza Bashirud Din Mahmood Ahmad, pp.3-4) CONCLUSION: The rise of Islam in Russia is imminent. It is a matter of record of history that the nations have seen their rise and nations have seen their fall. The Holy Quran exhorts to go and tour around about the world and see that how many mighty civilizations have perished in the past. But the prophecy about the rise of Communism is very significant in the sense that there was almost no nation at all to rise. The first prophecy was made 2587 years ago that Russia will develop into a super power in the future. And also it was predicted that coming into conflict with other super powers, Communism will disappear and a new era, would usher in the ultimate triumph of Islam. With reliance on the activities of the Ahmadiyya Movement,everyone would submit to the Promised Messiah and the Kingdom of God will be established on earth God Willing. The present Head of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam is Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV. (May Allah bestow on him long life). He is of the progeny of the Promised Messiah and son of his Promised son. Under the rules of the fulfilment of the prophecies, in his own right he is also the promised son because Allah promised the Promised son of the Promised Messiah that he will bestow on him also a son who would establish the glory of Islam in the four corners of the world. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad is endowed with the qualities, spiritual and otherwise, far superior and unmatched by any other leader alive today. Allah knows well that the downfall of Communism in Russia could very well occur during his spiritual reign as Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV. It is not a fanciful dream that Russia will one day accept Ahmadiyyat. It is evident form the prophecies that someday the majority of Russian people would fall into the lap of Islam and gather under the banner of the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Russian people would then realize that the only remedy for the evils and afflictions they had suffered for so long lay in the teachings of Islam. continued on page 23 …. What is Islam? Islam literally means Peace, surrender of one’s Will; and to be in amity and concord. The significance of the name Islam is the attainment of a life of perfect peace and eternal happiness through complete surrender to the Will of God. The Ouran – the Holy Book of the Muslims – interprets it to be the religion whose teachings are in consonance with human nature. Islam, as the Ouran has stated (5:4), is the completion of the religion inaugurated by God in the beginning of the world, on His sending the Ouran through the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be on him). As a child is taught his alphabet, so God taught the religion tu the world gradually and little by little, by sending His prophets at different times and to different peoples. When the world reached that stage of understanding when it was ready for the final lesson, He sent the last and complete Book through the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be on him). This Book not only corrects the errors which had found their way into vario!ls religions, but preaches the truths which have not been preached before, on account of special circumstances of the society or the early stage of its development. At the same time it gathers together in itself the truths which were contained in any Divine revelation granted to any people for the guidance of men (The Ouran 98:4). Lastly, it meets all the spiritual and moral requirements of an ever advancing humanity. This is Islam which is wrongly called Muhammadanism. According to Islam, the object of man’s life is its’complete unfoldment. Islam does not support the idea that man is born in sin. It teaches that everyone has within him the seed of perfect development and it rests solely with a person himself to make or mar his fortune. We created man in the best make says the Holy Ouran (95:5). The cardinal doctrine of Islam is the Unity of Godhead. There is none worthy of worship but the one and only God, and Muhammad is His Prophet. He is free from all defects, Holy and Transcendent. He is All Good, All Mercy and All Power. He has no partner. He neither begets nor is He begotten, because these are the traits of frail and weak humanity. Furthermore, Islam helps us to establish a permanent relationship with God and to realise Him during our earthly life as our Helper in all our affairs and undertakings. This Unity of God is the first and foremost pillar of Islam and every other belief hangs upon it. Islam requires belief in all the prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucious and Zoroaster. We regard them all (and many more not mentioned here) as heavenly teachers born to reform and regenerate man and lead him to God. Adherents of some other religions may consider it an act of piety to use disrespectful words and heap abuse on the prophets of other religions, but if a Muslim were to show the slightest disrespect towards the founder of any other faith, he does so at the cost of his own faith. He has to utter the respectful benediction Alaihis-Salam (peace be on him) after mentioning the name of every prophet. Thus Islam establishes peace between all religions. The REVIEW of RELIGIONS The Review of Religion is the oldest magazine of its kind published in English language in the Indo-Pakistan Sub-Continent. Its first issue was published in 1902 and it has been continuously published since. It bears the distinction that it was initiated under the direction of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah himself. During more then eighty-six years the message of Islam has been conveyed through this magazine to millions of readers and many fortunate persons have recognized the truth of Islam and accepted it through its study. The articles published in it deal not only with the doctrines and teachings of Islam but also set forth a comparative appreciation of the teachings of other faiths. One of its outstanding features is the refutation of the criticism ofIslamic teachings by orientalists and non-muslim scholars. I t also presents solutions in the light oflslamic teachings of the problems with which the Islamic world is from time to time confronted. A study of this magazine is indispensable for the appreciation of the doctrines of the Ahmadiyya Movement and the teachings of its holy Founder. Printed by Raqeem Press, Islamabad, Tilford, Surrey GU1 0 2AQ, U.K. Published by The Review of Religions, The London Mosque, 16 Gressenhall Road, London SW18 5QL