The Review of Religions November 2017

Women’s Rights
and Equality
12
The Meaning of the
Muslim Pledge
34
The Purpose of the
Promised Messiah’s
Advent
56
Imagining the Divine:
Ashmolean Museum’s
Blockbuster Exhibit
62
VOL. 112 - ISSUE ELEVENNOVEMBER 2017 WWW.REVIEWOFRELIGIONS.ORG
?WHERE ARE
THE
MUSLIM
YOUTH
HEADING?

The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
prophesied
that the Promised Messiahas
would be raised near a
white minaret, east of
Damascus. This prophecy
was fulfilled with the advent
of the Promised Messiahas
from Qadian, India, a city
directly east of Damascus.
The Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
©makhzan-e-tasaweer
founder of
the review of religions
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi was born to a noble family in Qadian, India.
From an early age he had a keen interest in religion and
developed a love for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. He
was also known for his honesty, friendliness and resolve.
Over time his knowledge and understanding of religion
and its application to society deepened. Being a Muslim
it was his firm belief that all religions were true at their
source but with the passage of time had drifted away
from their original teachings; he upheld the dignity of
religion and demonstrated its relevance to everyone.
His earnest defence of religion was ultimately blessed
when he started to receive direct revelation from Allah
– a blessing that he continued for the rest of his life.
His mission was to revitalise the truth that all religions
held within them and to revive the teachings of Islam. It
was through this that he would bring mankind together
and establish everlasting peace.
In 1889, under Divine Guidance, Hazrat Ahmadas
founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a
community that has since grown in its stature and
strength and has remained active in conveying the
message of Islam to the ends of the earth.
Hazrat Ahmadas
had established himself as a respected
writer and had written over 80 books. His writings
have been translated into more than 60 languages and
continue to inspire readers to this day. One of his greatest
scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of
Islam, prepared as a paper and read out at the Conference
of Great Religions in 1896.
He also wrote a fascinating treatise in 1899 entitled Jesus
in India, a book that uncovered remarkable evidence
of Jesus’sas
journey to India. In 1902, the Promised
Messiahas
initiated The Review of Religions which has
covered a vast array of topics on religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues of the day. It is the longest
running English magazine in defence of Islam and the
values it teaches.
From 1889 until the time of his demise in 1908 tens
of thousands of people accepted him. This blessing
has continued and will continue through his Khulafa
(successors).
Currently under the fifth successor, we are seeing that the
tide of acceptance is worldwide and that the message of
Prophet Ahmadas
has really reached the ends of the earth.

The Reverence for Life
WORLD FAITHS
On account of this, We prescribed
for the children of Israel that
whosoever killed a person –
unless it be for killing a person
or for creating disorder in the
land – it shall be as if he had
killed all mankind; and whoso
gave life to one, it shall be as if
he had given life to all mankind.
And Our Messengers came
to them with clear Signs, yet
even after that, many of them
commit excesses in the land.
ISLAM, THE HOLY QUR’AN,
5:33
Nu’man Bashir ibn Bashir relates
that the Holy Prophetsa
said: ‘The
believers in their love, kindness
and compassion towards each
other are like the human body;
when one of its limbs is afflicted
the whole of it is involved
both in waking and in fever.’
ISLAM, HADITH, SAHIH
BUKHARI
The principle to which we adhere
is that we have kindness at
heart for the whole of mankind.
If anyone sees the house of a
Hindu neighbour on fire and
does not come forward to
help extinguish the fire, most
truly I declare that he does
not belong to me. If anyone
of my followers, having seen
someone attempting to murder
a Christian does not endeavour
to save him, I most truly declare
that he does not belong to us.
ISLAM, HAZRAT MIRZA
GHULAM AHMADAS
, SIRAJ-E-
MUNEER, P. 28
There are six things the Lord
hates, seven that are detestable to
him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood, a
heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into
evil, a false witness who pours
out lies and a person who stirs
up conflict in the community.”
JUDAISM, TORAH, PROVERBS,
6:16-19
The commandments, ‘You shall
not commit adultery,’‘You shall
not murder,’‘You shall not steal,’
‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever
other command there may be, are
summed in this one command:
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
CHRISTIANITY, THE BIBLE,
ROMANS 13:9
A mother with her own life
guards the life of her child,
let all-embracing thoughts
for all that lives be thine.
BUDDHISM. KHUDDAKA
PATHA, META SUTTA
Have benevolence towards
all living beings.
JAINISM,
TATTVARTHASUTRA, 7.11

8 The Truth about Jihad with
the Sword
HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS
, THE PROMISED
MESSIAH AND IMAM MAHDI
12 Women’s Rights and Equality
While Islam is popularly believed to
oppress women, the real truth is that
Islam actually provides women a path
to true freedom and true achievement.
HAZRAT MIRZA MASROOR AHMADABA
, WORLDWIDE
HEAD OF THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY
30 A Glimpse into the Life of the
Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
34 The Meaning of the
Muslim Pledge
Muslims pledge that there is no God
but Allah and that Muhammadsa
is His messenger. But reciting the
pledge is not enough: Muslims
must put it into practise.
, WORLDWIDE
HEAD OF THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY
56 The Purpose of the Promised
Messiah’s Advent
What is the purpose of the coming
of the Messiah of the time? Why
do people need him? As the
Promised Messiahas
explains, it
is to show people to God.
, THE PROMISED
MESSIAH & IMAM MAHDI
62 Imagining the Divine:
A Preview of the Ashmolean
Museum’s Blockbuster Exhibit
Join us for a quick preview
of the new exhibit, focusing
on religious iconography
RIZWAN SAFIR, LONDON, UK
70 Calendar of Religious Events
Front cover pictures:
MidoSemsem / Prazis Images | shutterstock
CONTENTS
NOVEMBER 2017 VOL.112 - ISSUE ELEVEN

WORLD
CRISIS
M I R Z A M A S R O O R A H M A D
PEACE
andthePathwaytoThe world is passing through very turbulent times.The
global economic crisis continues to manifest newer and
graver dangers almost every week. The similarities to
the period just before the Second World War continue
to be cited and it seems clear that events are moving
the world at an unprecedented pace towards a horrific
Third World War.
In this book, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad,
the Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community warns the world of the fast approaching
dangers and how it can avert disaster and chart a
course to peace.
WORLD
CRISIS
PEACE
andthePathwayto
9 781848 808584
ISBN 184880858-5
9 781848 808577
ISBN 184880857-7
WORLDCRISISandthePathwaytoPEACEMIRZAMASROORAHMAD
Please Note.
Background colour:
C=10
M=10
Y=0
K=100
From His Holiness – Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
– comes a groundbreaking vision for how to estab-
lish long-lasting peace in a world fraught with rapidly
increasing disorder and unrest. His Holiness reminds
world leaders that the flames of war are already burn-
ing through local and regional conflicts and we stand
at the precipice of another world war. If these sparks
were to truly ignite we could witness the horrific
reality of a nuclear war, whose consequences are
unimaginable. His Holiness is the Worldwide Head
and Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
– which has tens of millions of followers in over
200 countries.
World Crisis and the Pathway to Peace is a collection
of the historic addresses and letters by His Holiness to
world leaders and influential figures. In this book, His
Holiness offers consummate analysis on all aspects
of the global crisis; political, economic, social and
spiritual and provides the golden keys to resolving
the critical problems the world faces. In a world where
existing strategies for peace have failed and peo-
ple are desperately looking for a new direction, His
Holiness presents fresh and practical solutions, giving
hope that we can still prevent a global catastrophe.
(continued on back flap)
s,
d
y,
n
e
-
t
e
r
c
-
e
m
f
-
f
n
s
s
o
.,
e
s
d
a
f
e
y
d
r-
ll
s
d
r-
The world is passing through turbulent times.The global economic crisis
continues to manifest new and grave dangers at every juncture.The
similarities of the current circumstances to the build-up of the Second
WorldWar are stark. Events appear to be moving us rapidly towards a
ThirdWorldWar.The consequences of a nuclear war are beyond
our imagination.
In this book, the historic addresses of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, Fifth
Khalifah of the Promised Messiahas
and Supreme Head of the worldwide
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to prominent dignitaries at Capitol Hill, the
House of Commons, the European Parliament and other notable locations
around the world have been collated.The book also includes the momentous
letters sent by His Holiness to the numerous world leaders. Over and over
again, His Holiness has reminded all that the only means of averting a global
catastrophe is for nations to establish justice as an absolute requirement of
their dealings with others. Even if mutual enmity exists, impartiality must
be observed at all times, because history has taught us that this alone is
the way to eliminate all traces of hatred and to build everlasting peace.
Read online at: www.alislam.org
Purchase the book here:
http://store.alislam.org/

CHIEF EDITOR & MANAGER
Syed Amer Safir
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Nakasha Ahmad,Tariq H. Malik
RELIGION & SCIENCE
Editor: Dr. Syed Muhammad Tahir Nasser
Deputy: Dr.Tauseef Khan
ISLAM & CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Editor: Shahzad Ahmad
Deputy: Zafir Malik
LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS
Editor: Qudsi Rasheed
Deputy: Ayesha Mahmood Malik
ANCIENT RELIGIONS & ARCHAEOLOGY
Editor: Fazal Ahmad
Deputy: Rizwan Safir
CHRISTIANITY
Editor: Navida Sayed
Deputy: Arif Khan
WOMEN’S SECTION
Editor: Aliya Latif
Deputy: Meliha Hayat
BOOK REVIEWS
Editor: Sarah Waseem
WEB TEAM
Mubashra Ahmad, Hibba Turrauf
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Head: Razwan Baig
EDITORIAL BOARD
Mansoor Saqi, Bockarie Tommy Kallon, Professor
Amtul Razzaq Carmichael, Murtaza Ahmad, Fiona
O’Keefe, Hassan Wahab, Jonathan Butterworth,
Munazza Khan, Waqar Ahmedi, Mahida Javed
SUB-EDITORS
Munawara Ghauri (Head), Maryam Malik,
Nusrat Haq, Mariam Rahman
PROOFREADERS
Farhana Dar (Head), Hina Rehman, Amina Abbasi, Aisha Patel
HOUSE STYLE GUIDE
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ACCOUNTS & MARKETING
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ART & CREATIVITY
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INDEXING,TAGGING & ARCHIVING
Mirza Krishan Ahmad (Head). Amtus Shakoor Tayyaba Ahmed
(Deputy). Humaira Omer, Humda Sohail, Shahid Malik, Ruhana
Hamood, Mubahil Shakir, Adila Bari, Hassan Raza Ahmad
MANAGEMENT BOARD
Munir-Ud-Din Shams (Chairman), Syed Amer Safir (Secretary), Mubarak Ahmad Zaffar, Abdul Baqi Arshad,
Ataul Mujeeb Rashed, Naseer Qamar, Abid Waheed Ahmad Khan, Aziz Ahmad Bilal

The
Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
( g u i d e d o n e )
founder of
the review of religions
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas

I
f,in the time of our Messenger,peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, war was ever waged against the opponents,
these wars were never meant to propagate religion; rather,
they were merely defensive.That is to say, they only took place
because the opponents of that time, on account of their igno-
rant religious prejudice, desired to eradicate the Muslims from
the face of the earth.They would slaughter the Muslims, inflict
great suffering upon them and prevent them from freely convey-
ing the message of Islam.Hence,these opponents who unjustly
slaughtered innocent Muslims merely due to religious animosity,
were in turn killed, which served as a punishment for their hei-
nous crimes. However, no one kills Muslims today on account
of religious resentment and prejudice, nor is the sword wielded
against them due to their religion. Of course, worldly conflicts
do occur amongst worldly people, but they are not our concern.
So,in the present circumstances when no one takes up the sword
to destroy Islam, it is immensely ignorant and contrary to the
Qur’an to take up the sword under the cover of religion.1
endnotes
1.Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
,TheTruth Unveiled,(Tilford,Surrey: Islam
International Publications, 2016), 40.
The Truth about Jihad
with the Sword

TheHONOURofPROPHETS
another. The
s of religion.
hless, yet the
alvation. So
e Promised
ure is weak,
o, owing to
or humanity,
ra, God has
ts, but none
of Islam in
present age,
ercessor that
ree mankind
hilosophy of
ilty and his
HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
HAZRATMIRZAGHULAMAHMAD
The
HONOUR
of
PROPHETS

E
very human being seeks salvation in some form or another. The
concept of salvation holds pivotal importance in matters of religion.
A faith unable to deliver its followers from sin is worthless, yet the
progress and benefit of society depends on this very salvation. So where
should one turn to attain it?
In this work, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi, explains that since human nature is weak, salvation can only be
attained through a mediator who, owing to their perfect relationship with
God and deep sympathy for humanity, can serve as a link between God and
man. In every era, God has conferred salvation upon humanity through His
prophets, but none can match the unparalleled status held by the Prophet
of Islam in this respect, who was the paragon of perfection. In the present
age, it is this pure and blessed prophet who is the only intercessor that can
grant humanity a living relationship with God and free mankind from the
shackles of sin.
The author presents an exquisite exposition on the philosophy of divine
intercession, sinlessness, forgiveness, human frailty and his advent as the
Promised Messiah.
NEW
BOOK
The
HONOUR
of
PROPHETS

The
SPIRITUAL
REFORMATION
‘In this era, one of the foremost objectives
for our Lajna [women’s auxiliary]
members is Tabligh [propagation] and
to fulfil this responsibility you must first
spiritually reform yourself.’

A
fter reciting Tashhahud,
Ta ’ a w w u z , a n d S u ra h
Al-Fatihah, Hazrat Khalifatul
Masih Vaba
said:
‘As a result of understanding Islam’s true
teachings, the members of the Jama’at
[the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community],
with the Grace of Allah, appreciate
the very high status of women accord-
ing to Islam, and it is a status that most
non-Ahmadi Muslims, and the wider
non-Muslim population, are not aware
of and do not comprehend. Today, your
Ijtema [annual conference where mem-
bers gather from all across the country],
which is purely for Ahmadi women and
girls,is concluding and during the event,
many activities and events have taken
place in order to increase the religious
Women’s Rights
and Equality
ADDRESS BY KHALIFATUL MASIH V,
,
THE WORLDWIDE HEAD OF THE AHMADI Y YA MUSLIM COMMUNIT Y
AND FIF TH SUCCESSOR TO THE PROMISED MESSIAHAS
, AT THE
CONCLUDING SESSION OF THE NATIONAL IJTEMA (CONFERENCE)
OF LAJNA IMAILLAH UK (THE WOMEN’S AUXILIARY OF THE
AHMADIY YA MUSLIM COMMUNIT Y ) ON 24 SEPTEMBER 2017
Islam and the status of women is
always a controversial topic, with
many people believing that women
hold an inferior status, or that they
are not truly free when practising
Islam. But this belief is wrong. His
Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, worldwide head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
explains the real status of women in
Islam: as free,courageous examples
for all of us to follow,at this address
delivered at the national Ijtema, or
annual gathering,of Lajna Imaillah
UK, the women’s auxiliary organi-
sation of the Ahmadiyya Women’s
Community.
14 THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS | NOVEMBER 2017

knowledge, morality and spirituality of
the participants. Furthermore, from an
administrative perspective, this Ijtema
has been organised and run by women
from start to end, and they will have
made a programme that is attuned to the
needs and preferences of our ladies and
girls. Hence, this Ijtema is a collective
and practical demonstration of the great
status bestowed upon women by Islam.
One allegation often levelled against our
religion is that it discriminates against
women or considers them to be less than
men. However, this is in complete con-
trast to Islam’s true teachings.In chapter
4, verse 2 of the Holy Qur’an, the crea-
tion of the human race is mentioned and
it states that Allah created humankind
from a “single soul”. Immediately after
One allegation often levelled
against our religion is that it
discriminates against women
or considers them to be less
than men. However, this is
in complete contrast to Islam’s
true teachings. In chapter 4,
verse 2 of the Holy Qur’an,
the creation of the human
race is mentioned and it states
that Allah created humankind
from a “single soul”.
Makhzan-e-Tasaweer
NOVEMBER 2017 | THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 15

this, the Holy Qur’an states 
which means “created therefrom its
mate”. In the Bible, where the creation
of man and woman is discussed,the con-
cept of a “mate” is also mentioned,
however it goes on to say that a woman
was created from the rib of Adamas
.This
is contrary to the teachings of the Holy
Qur’an,which clarifies that women were
not created out of the body of a man or
from his rib. Rather, the Qur’an testifies
to the fact that men and women were
created from a single soul and are of the
same kind and species. Thus, where the
Qur’an says “created therefrom its mate”
it signifies that Allah Ta’alah [God the
Exalted] has made men and women in
the same way and it cannot be said that
one is dominant over the other.
Furthermore, when Allah the Almighty
has said  that He has created
a woman in the same way that he created
man, it becomes clear that Allah has
made the hearts and minds of women in
the same way that He has created the
hearts and minds of men. There is no
mention of a woman being created from
a man’s rib, rather similarities and like-
ness are mentioned. Despite this,
throughout history,there have been occa-
sions where men have sought to prevent
women from fulfilling their potential and
responsibilities, whilst at other times,
women have sought to stop men from
fulfilling their duties and responsibilities.
Whether due to a superiority complex or
an inferiority complex, at times, men
have considered themselves to be intrin-
sically different to women or women
have considered themselves inherently
different to men. However, the Holy
Qur’an has categorically refuted this con-
cept by saying that men and women are
of the same kind.It has clarified that men
and women have the same feelings and
emotions, similarly as each man will be
accountable before Allah for his deeds,
so will each woman also be held account-
able for her acts before God.
Nevertheless, it is true that Islam has
given differing responsibilities and pre-
scribed a division of labour between
the sexes. Both men and women have
been given differing roles, however, this
should not be misunderstood to mean
that women are incapable of understand-
ing the responsibilities placed upon men.
This idea of differing responsibilities is
entirely normal and according to nature.
Even amongst men,there are differences
that exist, whereby people have differ-
ing skill-sets and abilities. For instance,
some men are trained as doctors, others
become engineers, teachers, scientists or
women’s rights and equality

a range of other professions and jobs.Yet,
no matter how skilled a doctor is, he is
not superior to the other professions and
in other fields as well and vice versa.
In the same way, to maintain a sense
of balance within the world, Allah the
Almighty,out of His infinite wisdom,has
given different roles to men and women
and they will both be held accountable
before Allah with regards to the fulfil-
ment of their respective responsibilities.
Indeed,the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
said that just as it is the duty of a shep-
herd to protect his sheep, similarly it is
the duty of every man and woman to ful-
fil their prescribed duties.Thus, if Allah
Ta’alah has placed upon a woman the
responsibility to ensure the moral and
religious training of her children and to
ensure that she protects the home and
property of her husband, she must pay
heed, because she alone will be held
accountable for these matters. Similarly,
if a man has been tasked with provid-
ing financially for his family, to care for
them and fulfil their needs, he will be
held accountable for this.
Both men and women have
been given differing roles,
however, this should not
be misunderstood to mean
that women are incapable
of understanding the
responsibilities placed upon
men.This idea of differing
responsibilities is entirely
normal and according to
nature. Even amongst men,
there are differences that exist,
whereby people have differing
skill-sets and abilities.
Men and women are given different roles
and responsibilities just as there is a
division of labour amongst professions.
Even though a doctor may be very
skilled, this does not mean that he is
superior to other professionals.
Syda Productions | Shutterstock

The fact that Islam has allocated differ-
ent duties to men and women does not
mean that women do not have the abil-
ity to do the work of men or are inferior
in any way. As I said at the beginning,
this Ijtema is being organised by Lajna
[members of Lajna Imaillah,an auxiliary
organisation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community comprising women over
the age of 15] members and is a great
example of the excellent capabilities
and organisational skills of our Ahmadi
women. In fact, this Ijtema is actually a
product and manifestation of the contin-
ued work and progress of Lajna Imaillah.
Thus, any man who thinks that women
should not take an active part in reli-
gious affairs, or make sacrifices for their
faith,and should stay away from religion
and just remain a “decoration” for their
husbands to enjoy, is guilty of extreme
ignorance.Similarly,if any woman thinks
that due to her domestic responsibilities
she does not need to partake in religious
matters, or make sacrifices for her faith
and nation, she too is mistaken and is
guilty of undermining the status of
women.
It was for the very sake of making our
Ahmadi women understand their respon-
sibilities,and to remove any doubt about
the need for women to be involved in
religious matters and other activities,that
Hazrat Musleh Mau’udra
[Hazrat Mirza
Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmad,the sec-
ond successor and worldwide head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from
1914-1965] established Lajna Imaillah so
that every Ahmadi lady could become an
active member of the Jama’at.Very beau-
tifully,Hazrat Musleh Mau’udra
said that
for a man the best name is “Abdullah”,
and in the same way the best name for a
woman is “Amtullah”– because any man
should desire, above all, to be a man of
God and His servant,whilst any woman
should desire to be a woman of God and
His servant.Indeed,in the Holy Qur’an,
of all the qualities of the Holy Prophetsa
one mentioned by Allah the Almighty
is of his being “Abdullah” – a true man
of God and His servant.Therefore,to be
a sincere servant of Allah, should be the
greatest desire for any Muslim lady and
this is the reason your auxiliary organi-
sation has been named Lajna Imaillah.
Accordingly, every Ahmadi woman
should sincerely strive to be a servant of
God so that they may become an heir to
His rewards,rather than inheritors of His
Wrath and Anger. In worldly terms, a
person who has fulfilled his duties in the
best way is presented before the monarch
in order to receive an honour or reward,

whilst a criminal is presented before the
authorities for sanction and punishment.
Whilst covetous glances are cast in the
direction of the person who receives
honours,criminals are looked upon with
disgust and pity.Thus, every lady should
seek to ensure that she understands her
duties and strives to be amongst those
who attain the rewards of Allah the
Almighty.
In terms of your duties to the Jama’at
and faith, you should remember that in
the eyes of Allah,the responsibilities and
duties placed upon men and women are
the same and both must be ready to fulfil
their pledges and make sacrifices for the
sake of Islam. Speaking about the great
sacrifices made by women in bygone eras,
Hazrat Musleh Mau’udra
gave the exam-
ple of the time of the Prophet Jesusas
.He
said that amongst the most sincere and
loyal disciples of Jesusas
were women,
who would tirelessly spend their days and
Thus, any man who thinks
that women should not take
an active part in religious
affairs, or make sacrifices for
their faith, and should stay
away from religion and just
remain a “decoration” for
their husbands to enjoy, is
guilty of extreme ignorance.
After the crucifixion of Jesusas
and
his emergence from the coffin, it was
the female companions who showed
courage and bravery and helped him.

Gino Santa Maria | Shutterstock

nights spreading his message and their
sacrifices have been recorded in Christian
history as a source of pride.
Indeed, when Jesusas
was taken down
from the cross and emerged from the cof-
fin in which he was subsequently placed,
it was women who were the first to greet
and help him. Whilst his male disciples
had run away in fear of the rulers, it is
recorded that Mary Magdalene and two
other women disregarded any fears for
their own safety and reached Jesusas
in
the very early hours of the morning. In
this way,they displayed immense bravery
and exhibited a firm faith that exceeded
the standards of the men.
This was the example of the time of
Jesusas
but of all the prophets, without
doubt,it is the life of the Holy Prophetsa
that has been documented and preserved
in greatest detail and unquestionably
during his blessed era the sacrifices made
by the Muslim women reached a pin-
nacle and were of standards that have
never been witnessed at any other junc-
ture of history. Indeed, when you read
about the sacrifices made for the sake
of their faith, you can only be overcome
with emotion. During that early period
of Islam,the Holy Prophetsa
and his fol-
lowers were subjected to ferocious levels
of persecution and unspeakable cruelties
were inflicted upon them.Whilst all the
early Muslims had to face persecution,
nonetheless, the treatment of Muslim
slaves was even more inhumane and
brutal.
For example, amongst the companions,
were a husband and wife, both of whom
were slaves of a non-Muslim and their
owner inflicted such merciless and ter-
rifying cruelties upon them that merely
reading about their treatment leaves a
person shaken to the core.They would be
forced to lie on scorching hot sands and
beaten relentlessly on their chests and
bodies.They would be left to burn to the
point that their eyes would become com-
pletely red and swollen beyond all limits,
yet their master showed no remorse or
mercy. On one occasion, upon seeing
how they were being tortured and made
to lie upon the burning sands, the Holy
Prophetsa
became overwhelmed with
emotion. He was grief-stricken like a
father witnessing his children being
beaten before his very eyes.He observed
how the slave-master sought to com-
pel them to reject the Holy Prophetsa
and to accept his belief that there were
many other gods apart from Allah the
Almighty. Overcome with sorrow, the
Holy Prophetsa
turned towards Allah

and remained engaged in prayer for some
time.Thereafter,with great emotion,the
Holy Prophetsa
addressed the Muslim
husband and wife and said: Be patient!
Be patient! Surely, Allah will remove you
from these pains very soon and in return,
He has made a home for you in Paradise.
As a result of the continued torture,
it was not long before the husband
breathed his last. Thereafter, the owner
brutally attacked the Muslim lady by
piercing her stomach with a spear and so
she also joined the ranks of the martyrs.
These slaves were not of any worldly rank
or status, yet due to their acceptance of
the Holy Prophetsa
and their impeccable
standards of faith they scaled the high-
est spiritual mountains and have been
recorded in history forevermore. They
These slaves were not of
any worldly rank or status,
yet due to their acceptance
of the Holy Prophetsa
and
their impeccable standards
of faith they scaled the
highest spiritual mountains
and have been recorded
in history forevermore.
Women should strive to emulate the
courageous example of Hazrat Umar’sra
sister, who shielded her husband
and insisted that the Holy Qur’an be
treated with respect and care.
Istanbul_image_video | Shutterstock

were the people who gave every possible
sacrifice and bore every form of torture
for the sake of their belief in the One
God.The persecution of the Muslims in
Makkah continued unabated and finally,
when it went beyond all limits, as the
enemies of Islam continued to increase
their evil plots, the Holy Prophetsa
instructed his companions to migrate to
Ethiopia.
Upon this,the companions protested and
asked how could it be that they migrate
to live in peace, whilst their beloved
spiritual master, the Holy Prophetsa
,
remained in danger and continued to face
the most horrific cruelties. In response,
the Holy Prophetsa
said that Allah had
not yet commanded him to migrate and
if that day came he would as well, but
for the time being his followers should
go without him. Amongst those who
decided to migrate was a Muslim lady,
who in the early hours of one morning,
collected her belongings and placed them
on a camel ready to depart. By chance,
Hazrat Umarra
,who had not yet accepted
Islam,walked by and after observing this
lady being forced out of her hometown
in the early hours, he felt a sense of sor-
row and guilt. Addressing the lady with
his voice trembling with emotion,Hazrat
Umarra
said, it seems you are getting ready
for a journey?
In response, the Muslim lady said: We
can no longer tolerate the cruelties and pain
inflicted upon us and so we have been left
with no choice but to leave. In the end, what
did we do to you that meant you treated us
so inhumanely and punished us with such
cruelty? All we say is that Allah is One but
you cannot tolerate it and so now we have
to leave.
This desperate and emotional response of
the Muslim lady caused Hazrat Umarra
,
who was still a formidable opponent of
Islam and a person who had shown no
mercy in his opposition to Muslims,to be
overcome with emotion. As tears rolled
In a fit of rage, Hazrat Umarra
lunged forward in an attempt
to strike his brother-in-law,
but with great defiance and
courage, his sister stepped
forward to shield her husband
and said,“Yes, we are
Muslims and if you want
to kill us then go ahead!”

down his cheeks, he could only bring
himself to meekly say, goodbye and all the
best before turning away.
Similarly,there is a famous incident per-
taining to the sister of Hazrat Umarra
.On
one occasion,when he remained a raging
opponent of Islam,Hazrat Umarra
set out
with a sword in his hand,with the inten-
tion of killing the Holy Prophetsa
and
bringing an end to Islam once and for
all. On the way, a man asked him where
he was going, and when he told him his
purpose,the man said that he should first
enquire after his own family,as one of his
sisters had accepted Islam.Thus, Hazrat
Umarra
went straight to the home of his
sister and knocked forcefully at the door.
His sister and her husband were recit-
ing the Qur’an and upon realising that
Hazrat Umarra
had come, they hid their
Muslim teacher, as well as the pages of
the Qur’an.However,Hazrat Umarra
had
heard them, and so upon entering, he
immediately asked what they had been
reciting.His sister replied: We were recit-
ing the Holy Qur’an.
Hazrat Umarra
said that he heard that
she and her husband had become “Saabi”
meaning that they had accepted a belief
that was not accepted by the people of
Makkah. In a fit of rage, Hazrat Umarra
lunged forward in an attempt to strike his
brother-in-law, but with great defiance
and courage, his sister stepped forward
to shield her husband and said, Yes, we
are Muslims and if you want to kill us then
go ahead! Hazrat Umarra
was unable to
withdraw his hand in time and so he
struck his sister accidentally or uninten-
tionally in the face with such heavy force
that she was wounded and blood gushed
forth from her nose. Upon witnessing
how his sister had sacrificed herself to
protect her husband, Hazrat Umarra
was
left astonished.
Despite his hatred for Islam, Hazrat
Umarra
was good at heart, and so after
seeing the blood on his sister’s face, he
felt shame and regret, for he knew that
rather than protect his sister, as was his
duty, he had been a means of grievously
injuring her.Feeling restless and wracked
with guilt, his aggressive tone suddenly
changed, and he timidly asked his sis-
ter if she would bring the pages of the
Qur’an for him to read. Upon this, the
supreme faith of his sister roared into
action, and having already been beaten
by her brother,she no longer remained a
defenceless woman but was transformed
into a courageous lioness.
Without any fear,she declared,you cannot

touch the Qur’an as you are not pure or
clean. I cannot place the Qur’an anywhere
near you whilst you are in this state. Having
realised what he had done,Hazrat Umarra
felt ashamed, and so softly asked his
sister how he could purify himself so
that she would permit him to read the
Qur’an. In reply, his sister said that he
must first go and bathe and clean himself
and only then would she permit him to
touch the Holy Qur’an. As instructed,
Hazrat Umarra
went and bathed before
returning and then his sister placed the
Qur’an before him. After reading just a
few verses,Hazrat Umar’sra
heart melted
at the beauty of what he was reading and
tears flowed from his eyes. Instantly, he
felt abhorrence and shame for his past
disbelief of Islam. Instantly, he viewed
his past life with nothing but disdain and
disgust.
Thereupon, he stood up in an emotional
state and asked where the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
lived. Hearing this, his
sister felt a surge of love for her brother
and prayed sincerely that he would accept
Islam, but at the same time she knew
that she could never forgive herself if
her brother was the cause of any harm
to the Holy Prophetsa
.Thus,she grabbed
hold of the collar of Hazrat Umarra
and
with great emotion, that only could be
stirred by true faith and love for the Holy
Prophetsa
she said, first, swear that you
will not approach Muhammadsa
with any
ill intention. With true humility, Hazrat
Umarra
replied, my only intention is to
become a Muslim. Upon this, his sister
rejoiced and informed her brother where
the Holy Prophetsa
was. Hazrat Umarra
duly approached the Holy Prophetsa
and
accepted Islam in a state of total submis-
sion. Hence, this was the great sacrifice
made by a woman, who melted the
heart of her brother, and as a result, the
Muslims celebrated and raised slogans
in praise of Allah, “Allaho Akbar” [God
is Great].
Another astonishing example of faith
pertains to the Battle of Uhud. During
that war, the blessed teeth of the Holy
Prophetsa
were broken and word spread
that he had been martyred. When
this news reached Madinah, Muslim
women came out of their homes and
ran towards the battlefield to find out
the truth about their master. On the
way, an elderly Muslim woman franti-
cally asked a companion if the Holy
Prophetsa
was alive. In response, the
companion said, I regret to tell you that
your husband has been killed in the bat-
tle. Upon this the lady said, I am not
asking about my husband, I am asking

about the Holy Prophetsa
. The compan-
ion then said, I regret to tell you that
your brother has also been killed. Hearing
this, the lady said, I am not asking about
my brother, I ask only about the Holy
Prophetsa
. The companion then said,
I am sorry but your son has also been
killed. Upon this, the lady desperately
remarked, I do not ask about my son, I am
asking if the Holy Prophetsa
is alive.
Finally, the companion informed [her]
that the rumours regarding the Holy
Prophetsa
had been false and he was alive.
In a state of utter relief, the lady said,
I do not feel any loss or pain or grief over
whoever in my family has died because my
beloved master, the Holy Prophetsa
remains
alive. This was the pure love and devo-
tion professed by the Muslim women of
that time towards the Holy Prophetsa
.
These were the women who were ready
for every sacrifice for the sake of Islam
and their names have been recorded in
history as examples for the rest of time.
Recently, I was told about an Ahmadi
lady living in another country, who said
that when she comes to Lajna meetings
and takes the pledge, she repeats the
words that,“for the sake of her faith and
nation she will be ready to sacrifice her
life, wealth and time.”However, when it
comes to the part about being ready to
sacrifice her “children”she remains silent
because her children are the one thing
she can never sacrifice. This is an exam-
ple of a weakness in faith,and ultimately,
such a person will become weaker in faith
However, when it comes to
the part about being ready
to sacrifice her “children” she
remains silent because her
children are the one thing she
can never sacrifice.This is an
example of a weakness in faith.
Muslim women should be prepared
to live up to the pledge they take to
sacrifice their life, wealth, time and
children for the cause of the faith.
Arapix | Shutterstock

and,in reality,will neither be able to sac-
rifice their own lives, wealth or time for
the sake of Islam. Remember, when we
pledge in our Bai’at [pledge to join the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and live
by its tenets] to give precedence to our
religion and faith over all worldly mat-
ters it means that our love for Allah, for
the Holy Prophet of Islamsa
and for our
religion should be greater than for any-
thing or anyone else.
Further, in this era, the Promised
Messiahas
said that, after developing
a true love for Allah and for the Holy
Prophetsa
, his followers must also form
a bond of love with him. Thus, if we
wish to remain part of the Jama’at of
the Promised Messiahas
, we must mani-
fest our love for him by fulfilling the
conditions of our Bai’at and remaining
obedient to his teachings.The Promised
Messiahas
said, in my Jama’at, I wish to
see a spiritual transformation which distin-
guishes Ahmadis from all others. If we are
just the same as other Muslims then what is
the benefit of doing Bai’at? If we are weak
and lazy in our prayers like other Muslims
then what is the benefit? If we are weak
and lazy in reading the Qur’an and do not
follow its teachings then what is the benefit?
Thus, if according to the teachings of
the Holy Qur’an, you are not modest
in your clothing and do not uphold the
requirements of purdah what is the ben-
efit of your Bai’at? If you do not fulfil
your responsibilities within your homes,
what is the benefit of your Bai’at? And
if you do not practically manifest the
teachings of Islam and do not seek to
spread it, what is the benefit of being
an Ahmadi? Thus, every Ahmadi lady
should deeply reflect upon their pledge
to give precedence to their faith over all
material desires.
Every one of you should constantly ana-
lyse and think about whether you have
the same spirit and devotion for serving
your religion that the female compan-
ions of the Holy Prophetsa
had? Ask
yourselves if you have the same true
and sincere love for Allah the Almighty
and His noble Messengersa
as the com-
panions did. Reflect upon whether you
Thus, every Ahmadi
lady should deeply reflect
upon their pledge to give
precedence to their faith
over all material desires.

have acquired the religious knowledge
and insight needed to fulfil your duties.
Consider if you are a true role model for
your children and if you are bringing
them up in the same righteous way that
the companions raised their children.
If the answer to these questions is “no”
you should be very worried and con-
cerned and it is also a cause of deep
concern for the entire Jama’at. Let it be
clear that you – our Ahmadi women and
girls – are not living lives without pur-
pose; rather,you all have extremely great
objectives, which I hope and pray you
understand and strive to fulfil.
In this era, one of the foremost objec-
tives for our Lajna members is Tabligh
[preaching and propagation] and to fulfil
this responsibility you must first spiritu-
ally reform yourself. You must personally
set the best example,and fulfil your duty
to morally train and educate your chil-
dren, and you must be their guide and
attach them to the Jama’at from a young
age.Only then can you fulfil your respon-
sibilities in the field of Tabligh.
In this era, there is an urgent need for
our women to portray Islam’s true teach-
ings and to spread them far and wide.
Without any fear or complex, you must
propagate Islam by practicing its teach-
ings. If anyone claims that Islam does
not give women freedom or that they
are oppressed by men, it is your duty
to show the world that Islam has given
you true freedom, true liberty and true
enlightenment!
It is your duty to show the world that
whatever restrictions exist are not forced
upon you by men,but rather are willingly
and freely adopted, having observed the
magnificent teachings of Islam.If you do
not wish to mingle freely with men or to
sit alongside them it is your own choice,
made of your own volition, in order to
preserve your honour and dignity. If you
do not choose to shake the hands of men,
Ahmadi women have the responsibility
to strive to spread the true teachings of
Islam far and wide amongst all people.
Ints Vikmanis | Shutterstock

it is because your heart demands that you
follow Islam’s teachings, which provide
true dignity for women.Such conduct is
not based on the demands of men but is
the result of your freedom to make your
own decisions and is a symbol of true
independence.
Remember, following the crowd and
bowing to the influences of society is not
freedom; rather, true freedom is having
the strength to follow your beliefs and to
act upon your convictions.Until the voice
of your hearts does not emit pure love for
Allah the Almighty and His Messengersa
,
in the way of Hazrat Umar’sra
sister, or
the elderly lady whose husband, brother
and son were martyred,we cannot influ-
ence the wider world and we cannot
bring about that spiritual revolution that
is destined to occur.
As I said, in this era, our women must
propagate Islam and especially when it
comes to women’s issues,it is much more
effective for women to respond than for
any man to do so on their behalf. Every
woman should pay careful attention to
this and seek to gain knowledge of their
faith so that they can refute the alle-
gations directed at Islam and be ready
for every sacrifice for the sake of their
religion.
Thus, I ask all of you to understand and
assume your responsibilities and to ful-
fil your pledge to morally train the next
generation in the best way and to bring
your children close to the Jama’at. I ask
all of you to be ready to propagate Islam’s
teachings through Tabligh, within your
own circles and especially to women.
If you understand your responsibilities,
I am sure that you will prove to be suc-
cessful mothers, and successful Ahmadi
Muslim women who are ready for every
sacrifice for the sake of giving precedence
to their faith over all worldly matters.
If you understand your duties, I am sure
you will be successful in spreading the
Remember, following the
crowd and bowing to the
influences of society is not
freedom; rather, true freedom
is having the strength to
follow your beliefs and to
act upon your convictions.

message of Islam Ahmadiyyat far and
wide.
Only then will you have fulfilled the
requirements and obligations of your
Bai’at.
May Allah enable you all to do so.
May Allah continue to bless Lajna
Imaillah UK and indeed our Lajna
organisations throughout the world –
Ameen. Now join me in silent prayer
– Dua.’
The English
Rendering of the
5 Volume
Commentary of the
Holy Qur’an
One of the most comprehen-
sive commentaries of the
Holy Qur’an ever written.
Commentary by
Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din
Mahmud Ahmad(ra)
Read it online at:
http://www.alislam.org/quran/
Or Purchase the print version at:
http://store.alislam.org/
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IMPORTANT TO US
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A Glimpse into the Life of
the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
Inquisitiveness
The Holy Prophetsa
always exhorted people against inquisitive-
ness and to think well of each other. Abu Hurairara
relates: ‘The
Prophetsa
said: “Save yourselves from thinking ill of others for this
is the greatest falsehood, and do not be inquisitive or apply epi-
thets to each other out of contempt nor be envious of each other
and do not entertain ill feelings towards each other; let each of
you regard himself as the servant of God and treat others as his
brothers as God has commanded,”and also “Remember that every
Muslim is a brother to every other Muslim. No Muslim should
trespass against another or desert another in times of distress or
look down upon another on account of his lack of substance or
learning or any other thing.Purity springs from the heart and it is
enough to defile a man’s heart that he should look down upon his
brother.Every Muslim must regard another Muslim’s life,honour
and property as sacred and inviolate. God does not regard your
bodies nor your countenances nor your external actions but looks
into your hearts.”’(Muslim, Kitabul Birr Was Sila). 1
endnotes
1. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmadra
, Life of Muhammad
(Tilford, Surrey, U.K.: Islam International Publications Limited, 2013), 369-
370.

The
SPIRITUAL
REFORMATION
‘The primary reason why the auxiliary
organisations were created was to ensure
that great attention was placed upon the
moral, religious and spiritual training of
Ahmadis of all ages.’

After reciting Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz
and Surah Al-Fatihah,Hazrat Khalifatul
Masih Vaba
said:
‘With the Grace of Allah,in most coun-
tries where the Jama’at [the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community] is well-established,
Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya [the male
youth organisation of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community] and the other
auxiliary organisations have also been
founded. And the primary reason why
the auxiliary organisations were cre-
ated was to ensure that great attention
was placed upon the moral, religious
and spiritual training of Ahmadis of all
ages. The auxiliaries were established in
order to bring members of the Jama’at
closer to their religion and to explain to
them their individual responsibilities.
The Meaning of the
Muslim Pledge
ADDRESS BY KHALIFATUL MASIH V, HAZRAT MIRZA MASROOR
AHMADABA
, THE WORLDWIDE HEAD OF THE AHMADIY YA MUSLIM
COMMUNIT Y AND FIF TH SUCCESSOR TO THE PROMISED MESSIAHAS
,
TO MAJLIS KHUDDAM UL AHMADIY YA ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
M
uslims the world over
profess their faith by
saying,‘There is no God
but Allah and Muhammadsa
is his
messenger’. But how can Muslims
manifest those words through
practical action? His Holiness
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
,
worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community, sheds light
on how Muslims can truly live out
the kalima in this address to Majlis
Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK (the
male youth organisation of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community),
delivered on Sunday,September 17,
2017.

They also serve to guide the members
of the Jama’at about how they can fulfil
their material and worldly needs, whilst
staying firm to their faith. Further, it is
also the responsibility of the auxiliaries
to emphasise the importance of serving
both your faith and your nation to the
best of your abilities.
As you all know, Majlis Khuddamul
Ahmadiyya is made up of our male
youth between the ages of 15 and 40 and
Khuddamul Ahmadiyya is also aligned
with Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya [organisation
for boys between the ages of 7 and 15],
which caters for the moral and religious
training of our young boys.Certainly,the
older members of Atfal,aged between 12
and 15, are of an age where their minds
are maturing and they understand the
And the primary reason why
the auxiliary organisations
were created was to ensure
that great attention was
placed upon the moral,
religious and spiritual
training of Ahmadis of all
ages.The auxiliaries were
established in order to bring
members of the Jama’at
closer to their religion and
to explain to them their
individual responsibilities.

basic elements of their faith and the
pledges they make. In light of this,
today, I am going to speak about the
most basic pledge that all Muslims make
– the Kalima – “Laa ‘ilaaha ‘il-lal-laah
Muhammad-ur-Rasuu-lullaah” – “There
is none worthy of worship except Allah
and Muhammadsa
is His Messenger.”
These are the foundational words upon
which the teachings of Islam are based
and the respective pledges of our auxiliary
organisations, including your Khuddam
pledge, all begin with this declaration
of faith. Thus, every Khadim [member
of Khuddam ul Ahmadiyya] and every
Tifal [member of Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya]
who reaches an age of comprehension
must pay serious attention to the mean-
ings of this pledge and strive to fulfil it.
The first part of the Kalima is, “Laa
‘ilaaha ‘il-lal-laah,”which means that “no
one is worthy of worship except Allah.”
Hence, the first and foremost principle
by which any Muslim must live his or her
life is that of Tauheed - the firm belief and
acceptance that Allah the Almighty is
One and has no partner.It is not enough
to just repeat these words, rather they
must be accompanied by a manifesta-
tion of one’s faith through the worship
of Allah and the most important and sig-
nificant form of worship is Namaz – Salat
[the five daily prayers that all Muslims
are obliged to perform].At various places
in the Holy Qur’an,Allah the Almighty
has commanded us to offer the five oblig-
atory prayers, and so if we are negligent
in our prayers, it means our declaration
of faith in Allah is meaningless, with-
out value and false. With great beauty
and wisdom,the Promised Messiahas
has
elaborated upon this point.The Promised
Messiahas
says,
A person is only sincere in his declaration
that ‘There is none worthy of worship except
Allah’ when in reality his conduct speaks for
itself and proves that, apart from Allah the
Although Muslims may recite the Kalima and
declare their belief in it, they have to manifest
this belief by being conscientious about
performing the salat, the five daily prayers
that every Muslim is obligated to perform.
Jasminko Ibrakovic | Shutterstock
the meaning of the muslim pledge

Almighty,there is no one else worthy of wor-
ship and that there is no one else whom he
craves and nor does he have any other objec-
tive besides Allah.
said that only
people who reached this state of pure
devotion and loyalty to God Almighty,
where they considered the rest of the
world to be meaningless in comparison
to Him,could claim that their proclama-
tions of faith were true and not based on
falsehood.He taught that a true Muslim
is he whose heart and soul are intoxicated
with the love of Allah and consumed by
the belief that He alone is worthy of
worship. This is the standard required,
otherwise a person’s proclamation of
faith in Allah is reduced to superficial
and hollow words.
The second part of the Kalima requires
a firm belief that “Muhammad-ur-
Rasuu-lullaah,” that “Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah.”The Promised
Messiahas
has explained that the essence
of the second part of the Kalima is that
the Holy Prophetsa
is the best exam-
ple for all of mankind, because he was
the perfect embodiment of following
the commands of Allah the Almighty.
Indeed, in the Holy Qur’an, Allah the
Almighty has deemed the Holy Prophetsa
to be the perfect role model and guide for
all humanity. Hence, at all times, every
Ahmadi Muslim should keep the blessed
example of the Holy Prophet of Islamsa
at the forefront of his mind and seek to
follow his noble character. Certainly,
our youth must realise that this is the
golden key with which we can unlock
the doors to success and is our only hope
and means of presenting the true reality
of Islam to the people of the world.
In light of this,I shall now mention some
characteristics of the Holy Prophetsa
which we should learn from and seek
to personally adopt. The love the Holy
Prophetsa
had for Allah the Almighty and
his complete conviction in the principle
He taught that a true Muslim
is he whose heart and soul
are intoxicated with the love
of Allah and consumed by
the belief that He alone is
worthy of worship.This is the
standard required, otherwise
a person’s proclamation of
faith in Allah is reduced to
superficial and hollow words.

of the Oneness of God was such that
even the disbelieving non-Muslims could
not deny or refute it. Indeed, following
his claim, the disbelievers of Makkah
would openly say that Muhammadsa
has become besotted and consumed by
his love for his Lord. In addition, the
prayers of the Holy Prophetsa
also dem-
onstrated his complete devotion to Allah
the Almighty. One prayer offered by the
Holy Prophetsa
,which should be repeated
by all Muslims, was:
O Allah, I beseech Your love and I beseech
the love of those who love You. I seek from
You the ability to do those things that are
loved by You and that take me within reach
of Your love. O Allah, establish such love in
my heart for You that is far greater than the
love I hold for myself, my wealth, my loved
ones and the taste of cold water.
This beautiful prayer illustrates the Holy
Prophet’ssa
complete fidelity towards
Allah and we must seek to inculcate
this spirit within ourselves. In today’s
world, people routinely give preference
to their personal desires over religion,
to such an extent that it does not even
enter their mind to manifest their love
for their Creator or to fulfil His rights.
Even amongst us are people who are so
obsessed with a desire to gain wealth and
material success,that they forget to offer
Namaz at the appointed times, or are so
busy with their family matters, that they
ignore their foremost duty to love and
worship Allah the Almighty. How can
this be the conduct of a true Muslim?
Only if we consider the love of Allah to
be above all other things can we honestly
say that we are upholding our belief that
“there is none worthy of worship except
Allah”– “Laa ‘ilaaha ‘il-lal-laah.”
Further, for the establishment of the
Unity of God, the Holy Prophetsa
said
that whosoever acknowledged the
Oneness of God would be the recipient
of Allah’s Grace and Favours. The Holy
Prophetsa
said that a Muslim should
declare the unity of God by praying:
َ‫ل‬‫إ‬ َ‫ال‬‫ـ‬‫ـ‬‫ـ‬ُ‫الله‬ َّ‫ال‬‫إ‬ َ‫ه‬،ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬ َ‫ك‬ْ‫ي‬ِ‫ر‬َ‫ش‬ َ‫ال‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫د‬ْ‫ح‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ك‬ْ‫ل‬ُ‫ـم‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬
ٍ‫ر‬‫ي‬ِ‫د‬َ‫ق‬ ٍ‫ء‬ْ‫ي‬َ‫ش‬ ِ‫ل‬ُ‫ك‬‫ى‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ َ‫و‬ُ‫ه‬َ‫و‬ ُ‫د‬ْ‫م‬َ‫ـح‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬َ‫و‬


There is none worthy of worship except
Allah, He is One and has no partner; His is
the true Kingdom, and all praise belongs to
Him and He is the All-Powerful.
The Holy Prophetsa
said that whoso-
ever repeated this prayer one hundred
times would be granted the equivalent
reward of a person who had freed ten
slaves, that one hundred righteous acts

would be recorded in his favour and one
hundred sins would be struck off from
his record. Further, remembering Allah
in this way would protect a person from
the influence of Satan, from morning
until night, and no other person would
be considered better except he or she who
had spent even more time in the remem-
brance of Allah.This shows the true value
that lies within our declaration of faith
that “Laa ‘ilaaha ‘il-lal-laah” – “there is
none worthy of worship except Allah.”
When a person sincerely prays in this
way there is no chance that they will be
found wanting in their worship of Allah
the Almighty.
The audience listens to His Holinessaba
deliver the keynote address at the
Ijtema, or annual gathering, of Majlis
Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK, the male youth
organisation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, comprising men between the
ages of 15 and 40. Held over three days
every year, the event allows the men to
focus on spiritual reformation while also
building bonds with their fellow brothers.
Makhzan-e-Tasaweer
“O Allah, I beseech Your love
and I beseech the love of those
who love You. I seek from You
the ability to do those things
that are loved by You and
that take me within reach of
Your love. O Allah, establish
such love in my heart for You
that is far greater than the
love I hold for myself, my
wealth, my loved ones and
the taste of cold water.”

Without a shadow of doubt, it was the
Holy Prophetsa
who scaled the highest
possible peaks of worshipping Allah.No
matter the circumstances,he would never
allow anything to get in the way of ful-
filling the rights of Allah the Almighty.
For example,it is recorded in the Ahadith
[oral traditions and sayings of the Holy
Prphetsa
which have been compiled and
handed down over the centuries] that
even during times of severe illness or
injury, the Holy Prophetsa
continued to
excel in the worship of Allah. On one
occasion, the Holy Prophetsa
fell from a
horse and as a result,his entire right side
was severely injured and he was unable
to stand to offer his prayers, but rather
than forsake congregational prayers, the
Holy Prophetsa
continued to lead Salat
whilst sitting. At a personal level, we all
know what our intentions and standards
of worship are and we know if we are try-
ing our best to follow the example of the
Holy Prophetsa
.
It is a cause of great sadness that there
are many Ahmadis who sacrifice con-
gregational Salat for the sake of their
own small personal errands or just out
of sheer laziness.Yet,without any shame
or sense of embarrassment, they con-
tinue to repeat the words of the Kalima,
claiming their belief that there is no one
worthy of worship except Allah and that
Muhammadsa
is his Messenger.
As I said before, words alone are never
enough, rather they must also be mir-
rored by a person’s deeds and conduct.
Despite being the Messenger of Allah
and His most beloved servant, the Holy
Prophetsa
was forever overcome by the
fear of Allah.He constantly urged his fol-
lowers to remain anxious that,as a result
of their negligence,they did not become
the recipients of the wrath of Allah and
deprived of His love. There are many
narrations of the companions which tell
us how the Holy Prophetsa
would bow
down before Allah and surrender himself
before Him in a state of complete sub-
mission and humility. For instance, it is
reported that when he prayed alone,peo-
ple could hear the Holy Prophetsa
weep
with such intensity that it sounded like
he was screaming and wailing in despair.
Some companions described the sound
engaged in prayer
as like a grinding mill in action, whilst
others said that the sound was like boil-
ing water in a pan.
This was the unparalleled standard of
worship and of the fear and love of Allah
displayed by the Holy Prophetsa
which
was an example for all of mankind to

come. Unquestionably, in terms of the
remembrance of Allah and gratitude to
Him, the Holy Prophetsa
reached the
highest possible standards. No matter
whether day or night, whether awake or
asleep, whether in a group or alone, the
Holy Prophetsa
never forgot his Creator.
It is narrated that the Holy Prophetsa
told
his companions that even when he was
sitting in a group he would continue to
offer Istighfar – seeking the forgiveness
of Allah – at least seventy times.
Just consider that if the Holy Prophetsa
considered it necessary to offer repent-
ance so ardently, then how important
If people skip congregational prayer because
of laziness, then they are not fully living
up to their declaration of the Kalima.
FS Stock | Shutterstock
Unquestionably, in terms of
the remembrance of Allah
and gratitude to Him, the
Holy Prophetsa
reached the
highest possible standards.
No matter whether day or
night, whether awake or
asleep, whether in a group
or alone, the Holy Prophetsa
never forgot his Creator.

it must be for us to constantly repent
and seek God’s forgiveness. Indeed,
the importance of Istighfar cannot be
overstated as it focuses our attention
towards the worship of Allah and pro-
tects us from wrongdoing and sinful
activities. Moreover, the Holy Prophetsa
taught his followers that it was impera-
tive to remain forever thankful to Allah
for His blessings and that Namaz was
the best means of expressing gratitude.
Regarding his personal love for Namaz,
the Holy Prophetsa
said that it was the
true source of comfort and peace for his
eyes and heart and he would repeatedly
pray that, O Allah, my Lord, make me the
person who always remembers You and is
forever grateful to You. In terms of love
for the Holy Qur’an and obedience to
its teachings,the Holy Prophetsa
was the
greatest example.
Hazrat Aishahra
relates that if a person
wished to know the character and mor-
als of the Holy Prophetsa
, all they had
to do was read the Qur’an. Every pore
and every fibre of the Holy Prophetsa
was engulfed by pure love and reverence
for the Word of Allah. Whenever any
portion was recited he would become
emotional and tears would flow from his
blessed eyes. Once the Holy Prophetsa
asked his companion, Hazrat Abdullah
bin Masoodra
, to recite a portion of the
Hazrat Aishahra
relates that if
a person wished to know the
character and morals of the
Holy Prophetsa
, all they had
to do was read the Qur’an.
While also delivering the keynote
address, His Holinessaba
also took time
out of his schedule to visit various booths
and exhibits at the three-day event,
including an exhibition by The Review
of Religions, displaying Razwan Baig’s
unmatched collection of priceless and
historic copies of the Holy Qur’an.
Makhzan-e-Tasaweer

Qur’an and after a while, he reached
verse 42 of Surah Nisa, which states:
َ‫ل‬‫إ‬ َ‫ال‬‫ـ‬‫ـ‬‫ـ‬ُ‫الله‬ َّ‫ال‬‫إ‬ َ‫ه‬،ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬ َ‫ك‬ْ‫ي‬ِ‫ر‬َ‫ش‬ َ‫ال‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫د‬ْ‫ح‬َ‫و‬ُ‫ك‬ْ‫ل‬ُ‫ـم‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬
ٍ‫ر‬‫ي‬ِ‫د‬َ‫ق‬ ٍ‫ء‬ْ‫ي‬َ‫ش‬ ِ‫ل‬ُ‫ك‬‫ى‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ َ‫و‬ُ‫ه‬َ‫و‬ ُ‫د‬ْ‫م‬َ‫ـح‬ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬َ‫و‬


“And how will it fare with them when We
shall bring a witness from every people, and
shall bring thee as a witness against these!”
As he listened to this verse, the Holy
Prophetsa
could no longer control his
emotions and, as tears flowed uncon-
trollably from his eyes, he gestured with
his hand asking his companion to stop
reciting. In another narration, Hazrat
Abu Hurairahra
reports that once, dur-
ing a journey, he had the opportunity to
spend a night in the company of the Holy
Prophetsa
. He narrates that the Holy
Prophetsa
had only recited “Bismillah”
– “In the Name of Allah” – when he
became so overwhelmed with emotion
that he fell down in grief. Hazrat Abu
Hurairahra
said that the Holy Prophetsa
recited “Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem”
twenty times and each time he would
again be overcome with emotion and
fall to the ground. Thereafter, the Holy
Prophetsa
explained his grief by stating
that a person upon whom the Gracious
and Merciful God is not merciful is most
unfortunate.Hence,today,it is imperative
that we bow down before that Gracious
and Merciful God, worship Him, weep
before Him,open our hearts to Him and
seek His Grace and His Mercy and pray
that we are never cast amongst the unfor-
tunate ones.
I have spoken so far about the example
of worship of the Holy Prophetsa
and his
relationship with Allah the Almighty,

which helps us better understand the
first part of Kalima that, “there is none
worthy of worship except Allah” and
shows us how he fulfilled his duties to
God Almighty.Yet,at the same time,the
Holy Prophetsa
also perfectly fulfilled his
duties to society and to mankind at large
and it is essential that we pay attention to
this sphere of his life as well so that we
have full comprehension of “Muhammad-
ur-Rasuu-lullaah,” “Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah”. Only then can
we begin to understand how the Holy
Prophetsa
fulfilled his duties as the
Messenger of Allah and proved to be a
true source of everlasting mercy for all
mankind. In every respect, his character
was flawless,beyond reproach and a per-
fect illustration of true morality.
A fundamental quality of a believer is
that he or she should be truthful and
fulfil their trusts and covenants. In this
regard,even the opponents of Islam were
forced to admit that the Holy Prophetsa
was an example for mankind. For exam-
ple, the testimony of Abu Sufyan, given
at a time when he was an ardent enemy
, is of great signifi-
cance.Upon being asked by the Emperor
of Rome what the Holy Prophetsa
taught
to his followers, Abu Sufyan testified
that, Muhammad[sa]
says we should wor-
ship the One God, offer prayers, be honest
and fulfil our trusts and pledges.
As I said, this was the statement of a
sworn enemy and testifies to the fact
preached only a
message of fulfilling the rights of Allah
and of mankind.The unconditional hon-
esty and integrity of the Holy Prophetsa
At that time, because of the
prolonged war, Muslims
were subject to starvation. A
Jewish Ethiopian shepherd
accepted Islam and asked the
Holy Prophetsa
what he should
do with the lambs under his
control which belonged to the
Jews. Whilst he could easily
have ordered the shepherd to
hand over the lambs, instead,
the Holy Prophetsa
ordered
him to honour his duties to
the Jews and to turn the
lambs in the direction of their
owners so that they could
make their own way back.

was reflected at all times no matter how
challenging the circumstances.For exam-
ple,in wars and battles,it was commonly
assumed that the victor had a right over
the spoils and could seize the wealth
and property of the vanquished. Yet, the
Holy Prophet’ssa
conduct in this regard
was quite the opposite.Instead of seeking
personal benefit and riches for him and
his followers, the noble character of the
Holy Prophetsa
demanded that no injus-
tice was ever perpetrated.
For instance, the war against the Jews
at Khaybar was extremely arduous and
demanding. At that time, because of the
prolonged war, Muslims were subject to
starvation. A Jewish Ethiopian shep-
herd accepted Islam and asked the Holy
Prophetsa
what he should do with the
lambs under his control which belonged
to the Jews. Whilst he could easily have
ordered the shepherd to hand over
the lambs, instead, the Holy Prophetsa
ordered him to honour his duties to the
Jews and to turn the lambs in the direc-
tion of their owners so that they could
make their own way back. Rather than
give in to any form of temptation at a
time when he and his followers were
famished and desperate for sustenance,
the Holy Prophetsa
ensured that the
rights of the opponents were fulfilled and
set an incomparable example of fulfilling
one’s trusts and obligations.
In a similar vein, whenever the Holy
Prophetsa
signed a treaty or covenant fol-
lowing the end of wars and battles, he
always ensured that he and the Muslims
abided by them no matter what. For
example,after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
[a treaty between the Muslims and
Makkans, with terms generally unfa-
vourable to the Muslims], there were
times when the lives of the Muslims
were put at risk but the Holy Prophetsa
never wavered from the agreement and
continued to honour every pledge made
regardless of the danger. In all respects,
the Holy Prophetsa
taught and practically
showed us how we must give priority to
our faith over all worldly matters,and we
Ahmadis all make this pledge again and
again,but regrettably,whenever personal
issues arise there are many who choose to
ignore it. For example,in Surah Jumu’ah,
Allah the Almighty has said that when it
is time for the Friday Prayers, Muslims
should close their businesses and give pri-
ority to the worship of Allah. However,
there are people amongst us who disre-
gard this Qur’anic injunction. Thus, I
say to all our Khuddam that they should
keep this teaching ingrained in their
minds and give full priority to attending

the Friday Prayers, rather than giving
precedence to worldly matters.
In terms of the true status of material-
ism and worldly pursuits, we should all
pay attention to the following Hadith.
On one occasion the Holy Prophetsa
entered a market, with his companions
walking alongside him,when he noticed
a dead goat, with extremely small and
deformed ears, lying on the ground.The
Holy Prophetsa
grabbed the goat by one
of his ears and asked his companions if
any of them wished to purchase it for
one dirham. In reply, the companions
said that if the goat had been alive they
might have considered buying it,in spite
of its deformed ears,yet how could there
be any value in the dead animal. Upon
this, the Holy Prophetsa
said:
I swear that in the eyes of Allah, the mate-
rial world is even lower in value and more
debased than this dead goat and so do not
follow materialism, rather always keep the
attainment of the nearness and pleasure of
In terms of his compassion
towards Allah’s Creation, the
Holy Prophet’ssa
example
was the very best. Never
did he let any opportunity
pass by to help the weak and
needy; rather, he taught that
if a person helped his brother,
Allah would help him and if
he removed the difficulty of
his Muslim brother, Allah
would remove his difficulties
on the Day of Judgment, and
if he covered the mistakes of
his Muslim brother, Allah
would cover his mistakes
on the Day of Judgment.
In Surah Jumu’ah, Muslims are
instructed to leave aside all their worldly
pursuits to come to Friday prayers, and
Muslims should make attendance at the
mosque for these prayers a priority.
Ayoub Kayor | Shutterstock

Allah at the forefront of your minds.
Furthermore, it is quite common
amongst worldly people to think that a
degree of falsehood or deception in busi-
ness or trade is permissible. However,
such an attitude is an example of pri-
oritising materialism over faith because
Allah has deemed all forms of falsehood
and deception to be sinful. The Holy
Prophetsa
warned his followers that
there was an increased risk of falsehood
when buying or selling goods, and so
before conducting any form of business,
he advised them to give some sadaqah
(charity),which would shield them from
wrongdoing.
Whenever entering a bazaar or market,
the Holy Prophetsa
himself would pray:
O Allah, I enter this market and desire only
that which is good for me and I seek your ref-
uge from anything bad within it. O Allah,
I also seek your refuge and protection from
professing any form of falsehood whilst in
this market or from any wrong trade.
The Holy Prophetsa
also reminded his
followers that, though a person may be
able to sell goods on the basis of decep-
tion, by exaggerating their price or
quality,there could never be any blessings
in such dishonest sales.On the other side,
the Holy Prophetsa
gave the glad tidings
to those Muslim traders or business peo-
ple who were honest and fair in their
dealings that on the Day of Judgement
they would stand alongside the martyrs.
The Holy Prophetsa
also emphasised the
importance of showing compassion to
one’s relatives and the blessings of keep-
ing families closely knitted together. In
this regard, the Holy Prophetsa
said that
to respond in kind to the love shown
by your relatives was not an example of
compassion and mercy,rather true benev-
olence towards your family was to mend
the broken ties amongst them and to heal
any rifts that existed.
Certainly, this is a golden principle
which is of great importance today and
if our youths pay heed to it, many of the
domestic issues that arise in people’s
homes will disappear. In terms of his
compassion towards Allah’s Creation,
the Holy Prophet’ssa
example was the
very best. Never did he let any opportu-
nity pass by to help the weak and needy;
rather, he taught that if a person helped
his brother,Allah would help him and if
he removed the difficulty of his Muslim
brother, Allah would remove his diffi-
culties on the Day of Judgment, and if
he covered the mistakes of his Muslim

brother, Allah would cover his mistakes
on the Day of Judgment.
A very important Hadith, and one that
we know very well, is that a true Muslim
is he from whose tongue and hand all others
are safe. However,despite knowing these
words of the Holy Prophetsa
, there are
many who fail to act upon them. If peo-
ple lived by this teaching all hatreds and
conflicts would end – both at a personal
level and amongst the wider society.This
Hadith does not only instruct Muslims
to abstain from harming others, it also
directs them towards humanitarian
efforts, because the deeper meaning of
these words require Muslims to actively
seek to help and serve mankind.The best
example of this was the Holy Prophetsa
himself who was ever ready to assist the
needy with his own hands and showered
his love and mercy upon all deprived and
vulnerable members of society.
On many occasions,poor and needy peo-
ple would stop the Holy Prophetsa
as he
walked to the mosque or somewhere else
and he never became irritated or impa-
tient; rather, with great love, tenderness,
and attention he listened to them, com-
forted them and helped them.Truly, we
must all learn from this blessed exam-
ple and realise that a true Muslim is he
who considers the pain and grief of oth-
ers as his own. Within the home, the
Holy Prophetsa
also set the best example
and catered for the moral and spiritual
well-being of his family.For example,he
would wake his family in the night for
Salat and called on other Muslims to do
the same.
Thus, our men should not only offer
their prayers at the appointed times,
but should also ensure that their family
members are offering Namaz and wak-
ing for Fajr Prayer.This is something that
Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya should
pay great attention to.As I said,in terms
of his family home, the Holy Prophetsa
set the best example and established the
rights of women. Time and again, the
Holy Prophetsa
emphasised that a man
must treat his wife with love,compassion
and be fully respectful to her.He said that
the best amongst you are those who treat
their wives in the best way and that he
was the one who took the greatest care
of his wives.
The Holy Prophetsa
said that some-
times disputes arose between a husband
and a wife, whereby they found flaws
in one another or became irritated by
certain habits. In this regard, he said
that each spouse should remember that

they themselves were not perfect and
there would be things that the other did
not like in them. Thus, it was far bet-
ter to focus on the good qualities and
those things that they did like about
one another. With this teaching, the
Holy Prophetsa
has given us very beauti-
ful advice, filled with immense wisdom,
about how to maintain peace within our
homes. It is also important that a hus-
band speaks softly and kindly with his
wife.
In this regard, Hazrat Ayeshara
testifies
spoke in the soft-
est tone with his wives and was extremely
loving and caring of their needs. She
added that unlike most of the men of that
time,he would speak informally with his
family and would keep a smile on his face
within the home. Throughout his life,
the Holy Prophetsa
never once raised his
hand to any of his wives or towards any
servant, despite living in an era when
such abuse was common and consid-
ered normal. Sadly, even today there
are many men who become angry with
their wives over small and trivial mat-
ters and so I urge the members of Majlis
Khuddamul Ahmadiyya to swallow their
pride and instead to follow the exam-
ple of our noble Prophet Muhammadsa
,
whose humility knew no bounds.
Remember, that the Holy Prophetsa
said
that men who were harsh to women could
not be considered amongst the righteous.
I have mentioned just a few of the quali-
ties of the Holy Prophetsa
and there are
countless other examples which illustrate
the perfect conduct of the Holy Prophetsa
in all spheres of his life. It is not enough
to just hear or read about his example,but
rather we must seek to adopt and follow
the character of the Holy Prophetsa
to the
best of our abilities.Only then will we be
amongst those who understand the true
meaning and status of “Laa ‘ilaaha ‘il-
lal-laah Muhammad-ur-Rasuu-lullaah.”
Only then will we be able to claim that,
having accepted the Promised Messiahas
,
His Holinessaba
waves to the crowd after
his keynote address. During his speech,
His Holinessaba
also emphasized that men
have a duty to be kind to their spouses.
Makhzan-e-Tasaweer

we are acting upon our pledge to bring
about a righteous transformation in our
lives and are living up to the demands of
the Kalima which is the foundation of
any Muslim’s life.
At the end,I will present the words of the
Promised Messiahas
which highlight his
expectations of his Jama’at.The Promised
Messiahas
said,
Remember our Jama’at is not for the normal
worldly people who say that they are part of
a community,but feel there is no need for any
practical manifestation. Unfortunately, this
is the state of the Muslims of today, whereby
if you ask them if they are Muslim they will
reply ‘Alhamdolillah’, [all praise belongs to
Allah] ‘With the Grace of Allah’,‘yes we are
Muslims,’ yet they fail to even offer Namaz
or to respect the basic commands of Allah.
Hence,I do not want you to be like those who
only verbally accept with their tongues but
do not take any practical steps. Remember,
such people are guilty of laziness and this is
not liked by Allah at all. It was this very
state of the world that caused for Allah the
Almighty to send me for the reformation of
mankind.
Today, those who claim to stand with
me, but do not make any practical efforts
to reform and do not use their faculties to
improve and who think verbally accepting
is enough, it is as if they deny the need for my
advent. Thus, if you wish for my advent to
be in vain and worthless there is no benefit
to having made this association with me.
Rather, if you do desire to be associated with
me then you must seek to fulfil the purpose
of my advent and to further my objectives.
And these are for you to bow down before
Allah the Almighty with sincerity and loy-
alty and to act upon the teachings of the Holy
Qur’an in the way that the Holy Prophetsa
and his companions did.
further said,
In the eyes of Allah the Almighty, it is not
enough for you to just accept in words and
to have no passion or sincerity in your acts.
Rather, always remember that the Jama’at
that Allah wished to create cannot remain
May we, through our conduct,
convince the world that true
Muslims are those who seek
to build bridges of love and
who seek to fulfil the rights of
others at every level of society.

alive without practical measures and a true
manifestation of faith.
Accordingly, we must always try to
improve and reform and be sincere
Muslims so that when we say the
words “There is none worthy of wor-
ship except Allah and Muhammad is
His Messenger”, we understand its true
meanings and are motivated to fulfil
the rights of Allah and His Creation.
We must endeavour to personally fulfil
the mission of the Promised Messiahas
,
which was to make the world recognise
its Creator and to accept the Unity of
God Almighty and to fulfil the rights of
mankind. We must strive to further this
mission so that the world,the majority of
whom considers Islam to be an extremist
religion that promotes terrorism, comes
to realise that Islam is actually a peaceful
religion that desires for mankind to rec-
ognise its Creator and to fulfil the rights
of one another.
May we, through our conduct, convince
the world that true Muslims are those
who seek to build bridges of love and
who seek to fulfil the rights of others at
every level of society.May we practically
demonstrate the fact that true Muslims
are those who are striving to eradicate
all forms of disorder and conflict from
the world. May Allah grant us all the
ability to fulfil this great objective – to
understand the true reality of Islam –
and to spread it to all parts of the world.
May Allah the Almighty continue to
bless Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK
and Khuddam all across the world in all
respects – Ameen.’
His Holinessaba
participates in the flag-
hoisting ceremony at the national ijtema
of Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya.
Makhzan-e-Tasaweer

Read online: https://www.alislam.org/library/books/Noahs-Ark-Kashti-Nuh.pdf
Purchase print copy: http://store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html
F
rom 1896 to 1914 the plague ravaged British India, and
more particularly, the province of Punjab. During these
perilous times, as towns and cities were devoured, the
British government undertook efforts to save the people from this
pandemic through inoculation. It was in this backdrop that Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian penned Noah’s Ark in 1902. In it the
author elaborates the essence of his teachings and states that those
who sincerely follow its tenets would be saved miraculously from
the onslaughts of this epidemic, even without inoculation. This
was a prophecy vouchsafed to him by God. History testifies to the
magnificent fulfilment of this prophecy.
The book Noah’s Ark shines as a beacon of hope not only for the
people of the past, but also now and shall continue to grant salvation
to the world in all ages. It is a book that stands as one of the most
influential works of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi,and continues
to transform lives even today.
NEW
BOOK
NOAH’S
ARK
AN INVITATION TO FAITH

The
PURPOSE
of the
ADVENT
of The
PROMISED
MESSIAH

Whenever the Imam of an age makes his
appearance in the world, he is accompanied by
thousands of lights.There is jubilation in heaven
and people’s good qualities are stimulated
through the spread of spirituality and light.
Panuwat bunsroem | Shutterstock
EXTRACTS FROM
THE ESSENCE OF
ISLAMVOLUME IV

‘I firmly believe that whoso follows me
with steadfastness and sincerity of heart
will not perish but will partake of the life
which is immortal.’
All Prophets Come for the Same
Purpose
The main purpose of the advent of
prophetsas
in this world and the grand
objective of their teaching and preach-
ing is that mankind should recognize
God Almighty and should be delivered
from the life which leads to hell and ruin
and which is known as the life of sin. In
fact,this is the most important objective
before them. Now that God Almighty
has established a dispensation and has
raised me, the same purpose which is
common to all prophetsas
is also the pur-
pose of my coming; namely, that I wish
not only to tell the world what God is,
The Purpose of the
Promised Messiah’s
Advent
wrote over 80
books in Arabic, Urdu, and Persian.
Excerpts of his collected works have
been translated into English and
organised by topic. The Review of
Religions is pleased to present these
excerpts as part of a monthly feature.
Here, the Promised Messiahas
explains
the purpose of his coming.
Extracts from the Essence of Islam,
Vol.IV, pp. 108-113.
,
THE PROMISED MESSIAH & IMAM MAHDI

but I actually want them to see Him,and
to show them the way of desisting from
sin.
[Malfuzat, vol. 3, p.11]
Blessings of the Imam of the Age
Whenever the Imam of an age makes his
appearance in the world, he is accom-
panied by thousands of lights. There
is jubilation in heaven and people’s
good qualities are stimulated through
the spread of spirituality and light. So,
the one who possesses the capacity of
receiving revelation,begins to receive rev-
elation,and the one who has the capacity
to gain understanding by reflecting upon
matters of faith, his power of reflec-
tion and understanding is augmented,
and the one inclined towards worship
begins to find pleasure in worship and
I have been sent to strengthen
the faith and to prove the
existence of God Almighty
to the people, for their faith
has become weak, and they
take life after death no more
seriously than a fable.The
conduct of every person
proclaims that he has not the
faith and trust in God and in
the hereafter as he has in the
world and its ranks and its
resources.Tongues profess a
lot but the hearts are suffused
with the love of the world.

supplication, and the one who engages
in discourse with the followers of other
faiths, is bestowed the power of reason-
ing and carrying the arguments to a
convincing conclusion. In fact, all this
results from the diffusion of spiritual-
ity which descends from heaven with
the Imam of the age and finds its way
into every eager heart. This is a general
phenomenon and a Divine practice to
which the Holy Qur’an and the authentic
Ahadith [traditions and sayings of the
Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
] guide us
and which I have observed through my
personal experiences. But the age of the
Promised Messiah has a unique charac-
teristic, which is that in the scriptures
of earlier prophetsas
and in Ahadith it is
recorded that at the time of advent of the
Promised Messiah,the spread of spiritual
light will reach a degree that women will
also receive revelations, children will be
able to prophesy and common people will
speak with the power of the Holy Spirit.
All this will be a reflection of the spiritu-
ality of the Promised Messiah.
When the light of the sun falls upon a
wall, it is illuminated, and if it has been
white-washed with lime it shines even
more, and if it is studded with mirrors
it reflects the light so strongly that the
naked eye can hardly bear its reflection.
But the wall cannot claim that the light is
its own, for the light vanishes altogether
after sunset. In the same manner, all the
light of revelation is a reflection of the
light of the Imam of the age.
[Darurat-ul-Imam, Ruhani Khaza’in,
vol. 13, pp. 474-475]
Strengthening of the Faith
I have been sent to strengthen the
faith and to prove the existence of God
Almighty to the people, for their faith
has become weak,and they take life after
death no more seriously than a fable.The
conduct of every person proclaims that
he has not the faith and trust in God and
in the hereafter as he has in the world
and its ranks and its resources. Tongues
profess a lot but the hearts are suffused
with the love of the world.It is the same
condition in which the Messiah
as
had
found the Jews.As a characteristic of the
weakness of their faith,the moral condi-
tion of the Jews had deteriorated greatly,
and love of God had become cold in their
hearts.The same is true in my time.I have
been sent so that truth and faith may be
revived and righteousness may inspire the
hearts.This is the purpose of my advent.
I have been told that heaven will once
more come near the earth after it had
the purpose of the
promised messiah’s advent

moved far away. These are the reforms
that I have to bring about and these are
the tasks for which I have been sent.
[Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in,
vol. 13, pp. 291-294, footnote]
...I wish to state that God Almighty –
having found this age full of darkness,
and sunk deep in heedlessness, denial
and paganism, and having observed the
waning of faith, truthfulness, sincerity
and righteousness – has sent me so that
He may once again reestablish in the
The task for which God
has appointed me is that I
should remove the malaise
that afflicts the relationship
between God and His
creatures and restore the
relationship of love and
sincerity between them.
While a whitewashed wall shines brightly,
its light is merely the reflected light of
the sun. In the same way, believers
reflect the light of the Imam of the age.
Martin M303 | Shutterstock

world the intellectual, physical, moral
and spiritual verities, and to safeguard
Islam against the onslaughts of those
who design to harm this divine garden
in the guise of philosophy, naturalism,
innovation, polytheism and atheism.
[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani
Khaza’in, vol. 5, p. 251]
The task for which God has appointed me
is that I should remove the malaise that
afflicts the relationship between God and
His creatures and restore the relation-
ship of love and sincerity between them.
Through the proclamation of truth and
by putting an end to religious conflicts,
I should bring about peace and mani-
fest the divine verities that have become
hidden from the eyes of the world. I am
called upon to demonstrate spirituality
which lies buried under egoistic darkness.
It is for me to demonstrate by practise,
and not by words alone, the divine pow-
ers which penetrate into a human being
and are manifested through prayer or
attention. Above all, it is my task to re-
establish in people’s hearts the eternal
plant of the pure and shining Unity of
God which is free from every impu-
rity of polytheism, and which has now
completely disappeared. All this will be
accomplished,not through my power,but
through the power of the Almighty God,
Who is the God of heaven and earth.
[Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol.
20, p.180]
God has sent me into the world so that
through gentleness,love,and kindness,I
should draw towards God and His holy
guidance people who have gone astray,
and should enable them to tread the right
path with the Divine light that has been
bestowed upon me. Man stands in need
of such reasoning as would convince him
that God does indeed exist,inasmuch as
a great part of the world is being driven
The purpose of a prophet’s advent is to
bring peace to the world and to bring
people back to the straight path.
Little Perfect Stock | Shutterstock
the purpose of the
promised messiah’s advent

to ruin for lack of faith in the existence
of God Almighty and in His revealed
guidance. There is no clearer and easier
way to believe in the existence of God
than through the understanding that
He reveals to His close servants matters
of the unseen and prophecies regard-
ing future events. He discloses to those
who are close to Him the deep hidden
secrets, because there is no way for man
to be enlightened about such secrets of
the future as are beyond the reach of
human faculties. It is indeed true that
knowledge of unseen events and hid-
den matters, especially those which are
related to the exercise of Divine power
and will, are matters that man can never
attain through his own efforts. There-
fore, God has bestowed His beneficence
upon me and has chosen me out of the
whole world so that, through the mani-
festation of His signs, He may bring
back to the right path those who have
gone astray. But God has observed from
heaven that the helpers and followers
of the Christian faith, i.e. the Christian
clergy,have wandered far from the truth,
and have become a people who have not
only lost the straight path themselves but
they traverse thousands of miles of land
and ocean and endeavour to convert oth-
ers to their own doctrines. They do not
know the true God,but their god is their
own invention. Therefore, God’s mercy
for mankind demanded that He should
rescue His creatures from their deception.
He has,for this reason,sent this Messiah
so that through the right reasoning and
argument he should break the cross that
had broken and wounded the body of
Jesusas
.
[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in,
vol. 15, pp. 143-144]
There is no clearer and easier
way to believe in the existence
of God than through the
understanding that He reveals
to His close servants matters
of the unseen and prophecies
regarding future events.

S
ince 1683, the Ashmolean Museum has been the
University of Oxford’s museum for art and archaeology.
The Review of Religions was granted exclusive access
to the pre-opening of the Ashmolean Museum’s new blockbuster
exhibition entitled:‘Imagining the Divine’.This exhibition
explores how the world’s major religions – Hinduism, Judaism,
Buddhism, Christianity and Islam – have developed religious
iconography, or in some cases such as Islam, strictly avoided
iconography. Here we present a snap preview of some of the
incredible objects on display. Don’t miss out on next month’s
edition for our in-depth look at the exhbition - including
interviews and insights from the curators, along with more
details on the exhibits themselves. -- Rizwan Safir, London, UK
Bowl with Kufic Script:
Squarish Kufic script was a
popular form of calligraphy in
the early centuries of Islam.The
lack of figural representation
in Islam led artists to develop
other forms of visual expression.
Architecture and calligraphy
were two such forms of
expressions which were greatly
developed by Muslims.
COMING UP IN THE
NEXT EDITION

Hinton St Mary Roundel:
Found in Britain, this is perhaps the oldest surviving image of Christ;
surely the oldest in Britain. Early Christians would have strongly resisted
depictions of Jesusas
, yet the influence of Roman pagan traditions and
iconography is apparent in this scene. Jesusas
is shown in a Roman style
portrait with the ‘chi rho’ symbol behind him, the name for Christ in
Greek.

Footprints of the Buddha:
For 300 years after the arrival of Buddhaas
, there is no image of him.The
typical image of the seated Buddha seen in statues across the world did
not exist – only representations of his hands or feet. Buddhist historians
are unable to determine why there is no image of Buddhaas
for the first
three centuries.

These are just some of the incredible
objects from the exhibition which will
be explored in greater depth in the next
edition.The exhibition was born out of
the ‘Empires of Faith’ research project – a
collaboration between Oxford University
and the British Museum.The project
has undertaken in-depth archaeological
research into the 5 major religions of the
world and will be publishing a series of
articles and books in the coming year.
http://www.ashmolean.org/imaginingthedivine
Hajj Pilgrimage Certificate:
This scroll from over 500 years ago was an
attestation of the pilgrimage or Hajj, given to
a woman named Maymunah following her
completion of the annual ritual in Makkah.This
example includes calligraphic bands carrying
quotations from the Holy Qur’an, as well as the
Ka’bah, the hill at al-Marwah and the Prophet
Muhammad’ssa
tomb in Madinah (although the
latter is not part of the Hajj).

In recent times vested interests have
launched a ‘crusade’ against Islam.
Islam is labelled as a religion of terror,
backwardness and suppression.
Based on Quranic teachings, the author of
this book goes about disproving these notions
and professes that Islam provides practical
solutions to current issues; and argues that:
(1) Swords can win territories but not hearts,
forces can bend heads but not minds; (2) The role
of women is not of concubines in harems nor a
society imprisoned in the four wall of their houses;
(3) Richer nations provide aid with strings attached
and yet the flow of wealth continues to be in the
direction of the rich while the poorer sink deeper
in the red; (4) Religion does not need to be the
predominant legislative authority in the political
affairs of the state; (5) Irrespective of the thawing
of the cold war, the issue of war and peace does not
only hang by the thread of superpower relationship.
(6) Without God there can be no peace.
It also contains comprehensive discussion
on interest; financial aid; international
relations; and the role of Israel, America and
the United Kingdom in a new world order.
The message of this book is timeless and chalks
a blue print for the future prospects for peace.
Read online: http://www.alislam.org/books/
Purchase print copy: http://store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html

The Review of Religions November 2017

The Review of Religions November 2017

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The Review of Religions November 2017