May 25, 1897
Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah
Since the purpose of the advent of the Promised Messiah(as) was to propagate the Unity of God and His message, he found a way to serve those objectives on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. He published a book, Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah (A Gift for the Queen) on May 25, 1897. The Promised Messiah(as) outlined the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet(saw) and Islam with great subtlety and wisdom. He outlined the principles which can lay the foundations of world peace and international brotherhood. A meeting to celebrate the Jubilee was also held in Qadian, India in June 1897, which was attended by several members who joined from out of town. In accordance with the directives of the government officials, a resolution was passed and sent to the Viceroy of India. Copies of Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah were prepared in high quality binding, one of which was sent to Deputy Commissioner District Gurdaspur for onward transmission to Her Majesty, and copies were sent to the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor Punjab. We present here but a few extracts from this book. Readers are urged to read the entire book in order to grasp the full extent of the message and prayers of the Promised Messiah(as).
Extracts from Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah (A Gift for the Queen)
‘Felicitations! Felicitations!! Felicitations!!!
Thanks to God who showed us this day of great joy that we witnessed the sixtieth jubilee of our honoured Queen, the Empress of India and England. Who can imagine the amount of joy this day has brought? Congratulations filled with joy and gratefulness from us to our benevolent and benignant Empress. May God keep her joyful forever! We pray to God—who has created this earth and raised the heavens, and has put the radiant sun and the moon in our service—that may He keep our honoured ruler, the Empress of India, safe for a long time. She is bearing different nations of her subjects in her lap of kindness, and millions of people are living in peace because of her single person.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.2)
‘One of the principles upon which I have been established is the following: God has informed me that of the religions which have spread and are firmly established in the world through Prophets, holding sway over a part of the world and achieving survival and long life, none was false in its origin. Nor was any of those Prophets false, because it is the eternal practice of God that a false prophet who lies against God—who is not from God, but dares to forge things from himself—never prospers.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.4)
‘I place this principle before Her Majesty, the Queen, the Empress of India and England because only this principle can spread peace in the world. This is our principle. Islam is proud to be unique in subscribing to this beautiful and handsome principle.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.8)
‘The second principle I have been established upon is the reformation of the wrong notion of jihad which has gained popularity among some ignorant Muslims. God the Almighty has made me understand that the ways taken as jihad these days are completely against the teachings of the Quran.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.9)
‘…it is not jihad to plan to revolt while living under the equitable rule of a just government, such as the empire of our honoured queen Her Majesty the Empress of India; rather, it is a thinking replete with incivility and ignorance. To act maliciously towards a government which allows civic freedom, and firmly establishes peace, and under which religious rites can be fully carried out, is a criminal act rather than jihad.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.10)
‘I do not wish to take any more of the Your Majesty’s time, and so I close this submission with the following prayer. O Powerful and Merciful Lord, keep our Honoured Queen pleased as we are pleased under the shade of her kindness. Be good to her as we are spending our lives under her beneficences, and inspire her to graciously attend to these submissions as only You have that power. Amin, Amin again.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.31)
‘I relate with great pleasure that many members of my Community travelled long distances to arrive in Qadian on June 19, 1897 to celebrate the jubilee of Her Majesty, the Empress of India, may she live long, and to express their thankfulness on that occasion.’ (A Gift to the Queen, p.33)
[A prayer was recited in six languages in the aforementioned meeting, which included:]
‘Almighty God! As Thy Wisdom and Providence has been pleased to put us under the rule of our blessed Empress enabling us to lead lives of peace and prosperity, we pray to Thee that our ruler may in return be saved from all evils and dangers as Thine is the kingdom, glory and power. Believing in Thy unlimited powers we earnestly ask Thee, All-Powerful Lord, to grant us one more prayer that our benefactress the Empress, before leaving this world, may probe her way out of the darkness of man-worship with the light of la-ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. [There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet].’
To Read the Full Book, please click here: ‘A Gift for the Queen’ (PDF).
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