Hudhur recited the following verses of
the Holy Qur ’an at the start of his
Friday Sermon today: ‘We have
explained the truth in this Qur’an in
the various ways that they may be
admonished, but it only increases
them in aversion. ’ (17:42) and ‘And
We are gradually revealing of the
Qur ’an that which is a healing and a
mercy to the believers; but it only
adds to the loss of the wrongdoers.’
(17:83).
Hudhur said time and again, the
rancour and malice of the detractors of
Islam against Islam, the Holy Qur ’an
and the Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him) surfaces.
It was reported recently that in some
Muslim countries extreme reaction is
being demonstrated. This is regarding
the ill-natured American priest, who
was verbally abusive about the Holy
Qur ’an in September 2010 and had
talked of burning it, but had desisted
at the time due to some pressure.
However, two days ago, he committed
this foul act. He justified it by calling on
a [so-called] ‘jury’ of 12 people in
which a Muslim Imam represented
Islam. However, after 6 hours the jury
decided that the Holy Qur ’an, God
forbid, promotes violence and this was
cited as the reason why they burnt it.
Hudhur said they act as both the
perpetrator and the judge themselves.
This particular priest does not have
any standing in the USA. His
congregation numbers in a few
hundred. He has committed this
terrible act for cheap publicity which
the media is fanning simply to increase
their own circulation. Analysts are
saying that in spite of media reporting
it, the news item has not attracted
attention. Council on American-Islamic
Relations was asked to comment on
this but they declined, saying they did
not wish to give the man seeking his
fifteen minutes of fame any more
publicity.
Hudhur said such dreadful acts have
always been committed against Islam
and even if they are perpetrated
publically or privately, they are hurtful
to a true believer. However, the
reaction should not be to put a price
on the person’s head, as some have
done, or take out demonstrations and
cause damage to one ’s own country.
The correct reaction to such matters
should be to present such a picture of
the Qur ’an through one’s word and
deed that the world itself condemns
the perpetrator.
Giving example of acknowledgement
of the excellence of the Holy Qur ’an by
non- Muslims, Hudhur said that in his
book ‘History of the Intellectual
Development of Europe’ John William
Draper writes that it is an erroneous
concept that the advancement of the
Arabs was with the use of force. He
wrote that force cannot alter one ’s
conscience. He wrote that the Qur’an
articulates its objective in an excellent
manner.
Explaining the Quranic verses recited
at the start, Hudhur said the Holy
Qur ’an has drawn a clear picture of
these people. They are similar to the
pagans of Arabia. Such people have
always been around and will continue
to be around who, in spite of
elucidation of every aspect of the Holy
Qur ’an, they will continue to raise
objections. Rather than open their
eyes, the elucidation drives them away
from this beautiful teaching. As the
verses expound: ‘…increases them in
aversion…’ whereas for the believers
it is: ‘… a healing and a mercy…’.
Hudhur explained that one’s view is in
accordance to one’s nature, some will
always have a jaundiced view. The
Qur ’an states in its very beginning that
it is a ‘…guidance for the
righteous…’ (2:3). Its beautiful
teaching, which is superior to all the
earlier teachings will only be evident
to those who have Taqwa
(righteousness) and it will give
guidance to those who have fear of
God. We are not concerned that their
disrespectful stance will, God forbid,
harm the Qur ’an. God has taken the
responsibility of safeguarding it
Himself. The above verse 17:83 calls
the Qur ’an ‘a mercy’ and indeed it will
always facilitate mercy. If the verse
17:83 is linked with the one before it,
the message is that of glad-tiding for
believers: ‘Truth has come and
falsehood has vanished away…’
(17:82)
The honour of the Qur’an cannot be
maintained by putting price on heads
and wrongful demonstrations. A true
believer proves the superiority of the
Qur ’an by practicing its beautiful
teaching. When this teaching will
become evident to the world, God’s
decree will manifest to be a mercy for
believers and a balm for injured
hearts. The triumph of the Qur ’an will
be a triumph of the believers. Hudhur
said, we as the followers of the
Promised Messiah (on whom be
peace) are not particularly concerned
with the vulgar antics of these people.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be
peace) was sent to once again spread
the message of the Holy Qur ’an. It
states: ‘Whatever is in the heavens
and whatever is in the earth
glorifies Allah, the Sovereign, the
Holy, the Mighty, the Wise. He it is
Who has raised among the
Unlettered people a Messenger
from among themselves who
recites unto them His Signs, and
purifies them, and teaches them the
Book and wisdom, although they
had been, before, in manifest
misguidance; And among others
from among them who have not
yet joined them. He is the Mighty,
the Wise. ’ (62:2-4).
Hudhur said in the first phase, God
sent the Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him) who,
with this teaching, brought a
revolutionary change in the extremely
deteriorated condition the world was
in. He purified those who were
ignorant and would get blood-thirsty
like animals on trifle matters with this
teaching. From the animal-like state
these people became human, and
then became knowledgeable humans
and ultimately became godly people.
In the current age, God ’s mercy and
grace sent the ardent devotee of the
Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be on him) to recite the Qur ’an
and guide and thus increase people in
faith. He gave us awareness of this
Divine Book and explained how it is a
healing and a mercy for us. He told us
about the hidden pearls of wisdom of
the teaching of the final Shariah. Thus
was God’s favour on believers, fulfilled
in the person of the Promised Messiah
(on whom be peace) as prophesised
by the Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him). Hudhur
read an extract from the writings of
the Promised Messiah (on whom be
peace) to further expound this. He
wrote:
‘The claim of the Christian missionaries
that the Qur’an does not set forth
anything new on the Unity of God and
on Divine commandments which is not
contained in the Torah, is altogether
false. An ignorant person reading the
Torah might fall into the error that it
sets forth the Unity of God, and
directions with regard to worship, and
the rights of mankind, and that there is
nothing new which has been set out
in the Qur ’an, but only a person who
has not pondered the Word of God
would fall into this error.
There is a great part of matters Divine
that finds no mention in the Torah; for
instance, it does not mention the finer
stages of the Unity of God. The Qur ’an
discloses that the Unity of God does
not mean merely that we should not
worship idols, or human beings, or
animals, or the elements, or heavenly
bodies or satans, but that the Unity of
God has three stages.
The first stage of the Unity of God is
for the common people who desire to
be delivered from the wrath of God
Almighty.
The second stage is for those who
desire to be closer to God than the
common people.
The third stage is for those special
ones who desire to achieve closeness
to perfection.
The first stage is that no one should be
worshipped except God, and that one
should refrain from the worship of
everything that is limited and created,
whether it is on the earth or in heaven.
The second stage of the Unity of God is
that in one's own affairs and in the
affairs of others, God Almighty should
be regarded as the true force and that
means should not be so emphasised
as to become associates of God. For
instance, to say that had it not been for
X one would have suffered a certain
loss, or that if it had not been for Y,
one would have been ruined, would
amount to shirk, if by such
pronouncements it is meant that X and
Y truly possess some power. The third
stage of the Unity of God is to exclude
the desires of one's ego from one's
love of God Almighty and to devote
oneself entirely to His Greatness. Such
Unity of God is not to be found in the
Torah. Also there is no mention of
salvation or hell in the Torah, except
some slight indications here and there.
In the same way, there is no detailed
mention in the Torah of the perfect
attributes of God Almighty. Had the
Torah contained any Surah like the
one in the Holy Qur’an: ‘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. ’ (112:2-5) then perhaps the
Christians might have refrained from
the worship of a creature. Also the
Torah has not set forth the degrees of
rights but the Qur ’an has set forth this
teaching also in perfection. For
instance, it says: ‘Verily, Allah
requires you to abide by justice,
and to treat with grace, and give
like the giving of kin to kin; (16:91)
Allah enjoins equity, benevolence and
graciousness between kindred. This
means that our sympathy with
mankind should be prompted by
natural eagerness and not by any
motive of seeking acknowledgement,
as for instance, a mother has
sympathy for her child. The Torah also
fails to establish the existence of God
and His Unity and His perfect attributes
on the basis of reason, but the Holy
Qur ’an has established all these
doctrines and the need of revelation
and Prophethood with arguments
based on reason, and by stating
everything in a philosophic way, has
made it easy for seekers after truth to
appreciate it. These arguments are put
forth in such an excellent manner in
the Holy Qur ’an that it is not within
anyone's power, for instance, to put
forth any argument on the existence
of God which is not contained in the
Qur ’an. A strong argument in support
of the need of the Holy Qur’an is that
all the previous Books beginning with
the Torah and ending with the Gospel
are addressed to a particular people,
namely, the children of Israel and state
in clear words that the directions
contained in them are not for the
general benefit, and are limited to the
children of Israel. But the Holy Qur ’an
aims at the reform of the whole world
and is not addressed to any particular
people but states plainly that it has
been revealed for the benefit of the
whole of mankind and that the reform
of everyone is its purpose. ’ [‘Kitab ul
Bariyyah’, Essence of Islam, Vol. I,
pp.468 – 471]
Hudhur said this is but a glimpse of
what the Promised Messiah (on whom
be peace) explained about the
superiority of the Qur ’an. Ahmadis are
fortunate, indeed can be called
fortunate only when they try and
adopt this teaching and show the
luminous teaching to the world about
which they raise objections. Then
alone will we be rightfully counted
among the latter-ones.
Hudhur said in one of his sermons he
had cited the German Jama ’at as an
example of holding exhibitions in
various venues, including church halls,
on the Holy Qur ’an that had had
positive results. Hudhur said his
inference was that Jama ’ats in other
countries too should hold such
exhibitions; however, this was not
done. If an exhibition had been
organised in USA, media, which is
drawn to Islam these days would have
referred to us along with referring to
this bigoted man. Although the US
Jama ’at has extensively worked on
the peace leaflets and has held
seminars, and has worked well, which
has been covered by the media, but
exhibitions have not been organised
as they should have been. A believer ’s
task is to keep an eye on every front.
Media as well as the public will be
drawn if exhibitions are organised in
hired halls, in USA as well as other
countries. Due to the negative
impression people have formed about
mosques they have reservations
about coming to events there. So, if
halls are hired and proper exhibitions
are held with posters and banners
depicting the teachings of the Qur ’an
and copies of the Holy Qur’an with
translation beautifully displayed. Due
to the attention to Islam, some people
are writing in positive light as well,
often they report accurately about our
Jama ’at. God knows what their
intention is but we should take
advantage of this. Although we set up
stalls and participate in general
exhibitions but those are not covered
by the media. If we organise separate
exhibitions they will nevertheless
have impact.
Hudhur said our detractors talk a lot
about Jihad and ‘Qitaal’ but do not
mention what are the conditions
under which fighting is allowed in
Islam. These are ploys of Dajjal
(antichrist) that are manoeuvred by
certain people from time to time to
harm Islam. A definitive antidote of
this is required and for a definitive
antidote continuous effort is required.
The Ahmadiyya Community alone can
truly pay the dues of this.
The extract from the writings of the
Promised Messiah (on whom be
peace) informs us of the significance
of the teachings of the Qur ’an and
indeed no other book has given as
much emphasis as the Qur ’an does on
justice. It states: ‘Allah forbids you
not, respecting those who have not
fought against you on account of
your religion, and who have not
driven you forth from your homes,
that you be kind to them and act
equitably towards them; surely
Allah loves those who are
equitable. ’ (60:9). It also 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. ’ (5:9). The Qur’an also
states: ‘And worship Allah and
associate naught with Him, 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, ’ (4:37).
Hudhur explained that the verse 60:9
commands to extend virtue to those
who do not bear enmity. The verse 5:9
enjoins to be just and fair even to the
enemy and not to respond to his foul
act with a foul act. The verse 4:37
commands good treatment of
everyone, from one ’s parents to every
human being, so that peace is
established in the world. Such is the
supremely excellent teaching of Islam
which is the guarantee of peace in the
world, as opposed to the step taken
by the bigoted priest. Whenever we
see wrong reaction as regards Islam,
the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be on him) and the Holy
Qur ’an, our task is to first correct our
own practices and then spread the
teachings of Islam in the world.
Next Hudhur mentioned a scholarly
elder of the Community who was a
Hafiz of the Holy Qur ’an. He was also a
scholar in worldly knowledge and
was a renowned academic of
astronomy. His name was Hafiz Saleh
Muhammad Alladin sahib who passed
away recently. Inna lillahe wa inna
illaihe raji ’oon. He was the sadr of
Anjuman Ahmadiyya Qadian for the
past four years. He had an MSc in
Physics and a PhD in Astrophysics
from an American university. He had
many qualities and had published
more than fifty research papers and
had received many awards. Yet he was
most humble. Dynamics of galaxies
and lunar and solar eclipses were his
favourite subjects. His research work
was always inspired by the Holy
Qur ’an and he did this most skilfully.
He wrote many books and served the
Community in different capacities.
After retirement he came to live in
Qadian. He had a deep connection
with God. His wife related that once at
Karachi airport, customs unfairly held
some of their electronic items which
was very worrisome. A short while
later he disappeared. When he
returned his wife asked him where he
had gone. He replied that given the
situation, he had thought of offering
Salat and added a positive note that
they should now get their items back.
By this time, the customs staff had
changed and those on duty
apologised to them and returned their
equipment.
His wife’s sister, Dr. Nusrat Jehan has
related (He was the son-in-law of
Maulwi Abdul Maalik Khan sahib) that
when he was 36 years old, Sheikh
Yaqub Ali Arfani sahib told him that he
had had a dream in which Hafiz Saleh
sahib is sitting on the chair of Hadhrat
Khalifatul Masih I (may Allah be
pleased with him). He had thought this
as a most implausible thing. Later,
when after the passing away of
Sahibzada Mirza Waseem Ahmadi
sahib, Hudhur appointed him the sadr
of Anjuman Ahmadiyya, he read in
‘ Tareekh e Ahmadiyyat’ that Hadhrat
Khalifatul Masih I (may Allah be
pleased with him) was the first sadr of
Anjuman Ahmadiyya. He had a great
bond with the Holy Qur ’an and taught
himself to be a Hafiz. He would go in
the basement of the house and
memorise the Qur ’an. Later, seeing his
enthusiasm, his parents organised a
teacher to help him. He had perfect
obedience to Khilafat, had a most loyal
devotion and a special connection
with the dervishes of Qadian. He
observed Tahajjud regularly and in
Jalsa days lead Tahajjud Prayer. Once
while attending a marriage ceremony
of a relative, owing to his worldly
standing, he was asked to read the
Nikah. He did not take to this kindly
and said that while a murrabi sahib
was present it was not right for him to
read the Nikah. After the pledge of
Khilafat centenary 2008, his stance
towards Tabligh changed dramatically
and he was always engaged in it. He
especially had an email account made
for this purpose. He continually did
research work on solar and lunar
eclipses. After his Anjuman work, he
would go to a murrabi sahib to do this
research on a computer. He was
deeply interested in observing the
stars and the moon. He was among
‘ Ulil Albab’ [men of understanding, as
in 3:191]. Next Hudhur related about
his grandfather who had first accepted
Ahmadiyyat in the family after reading
‘ Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam’.
Hafiz Saleh sahib had an extremely
humble disposition. His son has
related that he once wore a red shirt
while at Delhi train station. In India the
train porters wear red shirts. A family
mistook him for a porter and asked
him to carry their luggage. He
complied. When the family wanted to
remunerate him for the service he
explained that he was not a porter
and had helped them because they
had asked. The family was most
embarrassed. Hudhur said he had
come for Jalsa Salana [UK] in 2003
while not feeling very well and
although the transport arrangement
from the airport was not up to scratch
and the accommodation was also not
quite adequate but he did not
complain at all. May God keep his
children firm on virtue and be their
Helper and Protector.
Hudhur announced another funeral
Prayer in absentia, that of Col. (r)
Muhammad Saeed sahib. He was
currently residing in Canada and
passed away on the airplane en route
Pakistan. He had served as an
honourary murrabi in Vancouver,
Calgary. In addition he had served as
Gen. Sec. in Canada, also as president
of Qadha Board as well as secretary
Wasaya. He also worked on
Ahmadiyya Gazette and as co-
ordinator for Waqfe Nau and took part
in the project of French translation of
the Qur ’an in Quebec. When Hadhrat
Khalifatul Masih (may Allah have mercy
on him) announced Baiyutul Hamd
project, he expressed the wish to pay
100,000 on behalf of his family. But he
left for Canada. So, during the building
of the mosque Baitul Salam there, he
donated 100,000 dollars on behalf of
his family. He also donated generously
towards publication of the Quran in
two translations. May God elevate his
station and be the Helper and
Protector of his children.
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