CONTENTS June 2006, Vol.101, No - Review of ReligionsSpecial contributors: Amatul-Hadi Ahmad Farina...

Special contributors:Amatul-Hadi AhmadFarina QureshiProofreaders:Abdul Ghany JahangeerKhan and Shaukia Mir

Design and layout:Tanveer KhokharPublisher:Al Shirkatul IslamiyyahDistribution:Muhammad Hanif

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Basit AhmadBockarie Tommy KallonFareed Ahmad.Fazal AhmadFauzia BajwaMansoor SaqiMahmood Hanif Mansoora Hyder-MuneebNavida ShahidSarah WaseemSaleem Ahmad MalikTanveer Khokhar

Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

All correspondence shouldbe forwarded to the editor at:

The Review of ReligionsThe London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QLUnited Kingdom

© Islamic Publications, 2006ISSN No: 0034-6721

CONTENTS June 2006, Vol.101, No.6

1

Chief Editor and Manager: Mansoor Ahmed Shah

Management Board:Mr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman)Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary)Mr Naseer Ahmad QamarMr Mubarak Ahmad ZafarMr Mirza Fakhar AhmadMr. Abdul Baqi Arshad

Promised Messiah(as) – First Interview with Professor Wragge . . . . . . . . . 4A fascinating interview covering the question of sin as a relative concept.

The Messiah Has Come – Testimony of The Holy Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23A study of the Biblical evidence regarding the period expected for the appearance of the Promised Messiah of the latter days.

Poverty and Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A review of the Islamic solution to global poverty.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) – Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Ataul Mujeeb Rashed – Imam of the London Mosque

The Holy Prophet(saw) as ‘Abd Shakur’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37How ingratitude leads man away from God and His blessings.

Naseem Mehdi – Canada

Punishment for Apostasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50A scrutiny of the Qur’anic teachings on apostasy and how this conflicts with Maududi’s analysis. Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru) – Khalifatul Masih IV

Ataul Wahid Lahaye – Canada

COVER PIC:From Dreamstime Photo Library

Editorial: Could man achieve the objective of his creation without the existence of Satan?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Fareed Ahmad, Newquay - UK.

The presence of evil in the worldhas often given rise to thequestion that if God is soPowerful and so Merciful thenwhy does He not rid the world ofsuch misery? Why does He notcrush the work of Satan once andfor all? Surely that would resultin peace and enable mankind tolive in harmony.

The difficulty with such asolution is that it overlooks thevery purpose of creation itself.The object of the creation of manas set out in the Holy Qur’an isthe worship of God the Creator(Ch.51:V.57) and it is thisworship that enables man to drawcloser to God.

This worship is not merely theoffering of the daily salat.Although that is an obligatoryelement, any effort that seeks toearn the pleasure of Allah meritsreward. The Qu’ran sets out veryclearly the attributes of God andthe actions of man that earn

nearness to Him and these arefurther supplemented by the life-example of the Holy Prophet(saw).

For example man must behonest, just and merciful and ifhe is not then he is giving way tothe Satanic forces that constantlyseek to pull him away from thepath to God. The misery we seein this world is a reflection ofman’s failure to suppress thesatan within him. However, bystruggling to overcome negativetemptations and striving forpositive actions man progressesand gains Allah’s pleasure. Sucha struggle can only take placewhen there is a force that needsto be resisted and overcome.Take away the negative force andthe struggle and you take awaythe ability for man to progressand earn his reward.

In this issue of The Review ofReligions we reprint an interviewof The Promised Messiah(as) byProfessor Wragge of England,

2 The Review of Religions – June 2006

Fareed Ahmad – Newquay, UK

EDITORIAL

then living in the outbacks thattook place in 1908 that tacklesthis very issue. It is fascinating tosee that the questions thattroubled the intellectuals of thattime are not very different fromthe questions that trouble themind of modern man. Similarly

the answers that were soeloquently given by the PromisedMessiah(as) remain as true todayas they did nearly a century ago –no doubt a living testament to thetimeless message of Islam and itsguidance as set out in the HolyQur’an.

3

EDITORIAL

The Review of Religions – June 2006

References to the Holy Qur’an item count ‘Bismillah...’ (In theName of Allah...) as the first verse of each Chapter. In some non-standard texts, this is not counted and should the reader refer to suchtexts, the verse quoted in The Review of Religions will be found oneverse less than the number quoted.

In this journal, for the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘(saw)’ or ‘saw’after the words, ‘Holy Prophet’, or the name ‘Muhammad’, areused. They stand for ‘Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning ‘Peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him’. Likewise, the letters ‘(as)’ or‘as’ after the name of all other prophets is an abbreviation meaning‘Peace be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis salatu wassalam’ whichare words that a Muslim utters out of respect whenever he or shecomes across that name. The abbreviation ‘ra’ or (ra) stands for‘Radhiallahu Ta’ala anhu and is used for Companions of a Prophet,meaning Allah be pleased with him or her (when followed by therelevant Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘ru’ or (ru) for RahemahullahuTa’ala means the Mercy of Allah the Exalted be upon him.

In keeping with current universal practice, local transliterations arepreferred to their anglicised versions, e.g. Makkah instead ofMecca, etc.


I am a man of science and I seethat the earth on which we live isvery small. In comparison tothousands and millions of otherkinds of God’s creation, the earthmelts into insignificance. Whythen has God’s blessing beenlimited to this earth or to any onereligion or nation?

Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as):Actually this is not correct,neither is it our belief that Godreveals himself through aparticular nation or sect. Goddoes not have a specialrelationship or love for any oneparticular nation. What is correctis that God is the God of theentire universe and he has created

Professor Wragge

Professor Wragge was a renowned meteorologist of his time. He lived inAustralia, but in 1908 was visiting India as part of his world tour duringwhich he gave lectures on meteorology to very large audiences. In May1908, he stayed in Lahore for a short period. There he gave a lecture whichwas well-attended, especially by many highly placed English people.Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Sadiq(ra) was also present and he met theprofessor after the lecture. He briefly explained to Professor Wragge theproofs and arguments put forward by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

in support of his claim to be the Promised Messiah of his time. Uponhearing these the Professor wished to meet Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as) straight away. Mufti Sahib(ra) sought first to arrange a time withHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) who gave his permission; the meetingtook place after Zuhr prayers on 12th May 1908 in Lahore, Pakistan.Mufti Mohammad Sadiq(ra) acted as the interpreter and the conversationwas originally recorded in Urdu. The following is a translation of thatUrdu transcript which is to be found in Malfoozat, Vol. 10, p.353.

Professor Wragge meets

The Promised Messiah(as) (Part 1)

5The Review of Religions – June 2006

the means of physical nourish-ment and development for allcreation without any distinction.According to our principle he is‘Rabbil Alameen’ i.e. theNourisher and Sustainer of all theworlds. He has created grains,air, water, light, etc. for allcreation. Likewise, in every ageand in every nation He has, fromtime to time, sent reformers forthe reformation of people inthose nations. As it is stated inthe Holy Qu’ran (Surah Fatir,verse 25) Allah the Almighty isGod of all the worlds. He has nospecial relationship with anynation. In fact the differentheavenly books which have comefrom time to time do notcontradict each other.

This is because a reformer isneeded when the world inclinesmore towards evil deeds and badpractices, such as lies, theft,quarrels and general immorality,so that people become distancedfrom purity and virtue, and areoverwhelmed by selfish desiresand emotions. So much so thatthey, in their belief, also abandonthe worship of one God and

incline towards idol worship. Godis the nourisher of man’s physicalas well as spiritual being. His pridedemands that at such times ofspiritual darkness he shouldappoint a person for reform, andthe concept of such a reformerdoes not fall outside the bounds oflaws of nature. Just as the actualwheat that grew in the times ofAdam and other prophets cannotbe a source of nourishment for us,and just as the water which existedin previous times cannot quenchour thirst, so we need freshspiritual food as well as water.

It is the tradition of Allah that justas He nourishes and provides forthe development of the physicalprocess, where previous nourish-ment is not sufficient for thepresent, so is the case with thesystem of spiritual development,and the two systems, the physicaland the spiritual, go side by side.For the person who denies theexistence of God, this discussionwould take a different line. But aperson who believes in theexistence of God should keep thetwo systems in mind and benefitfrom their comparison. He who

PROFESSOR WRAGGE MEETS THE PROMISED MESSIAH(AS)


has created the physical systemhas also created the spiritualsystem. Just as He nourishes thephysical system with freshsustenance, so He nourishes thespiritual system with freshsustenance. Just as the physicalstate is dependent upon freshwater, so the spiritual state is alsodependent upon fresh, heavenlyrevelation. Just as the physicalbody dies if it does not receivenourishment, so the soul too dieswithout spiritual nourishment. Ifin spiritual matters only past andancient references are available,then what would be theconclusion other than that thespiritual system is in a state ofdeath. What else could it be?

God Almighty, as is His nature,always wishes to be recognised.For proof of his existence andidentification He always providestrue, clear and fresh signs andthese are not too difficult tounderstand. It is this systemwhich has always been inexistence and which continues.Thousands upon thousands ofprophets came and provided suchproofs through their own actionsand deeds, thus completing the

argument in favour of theexistence of God.

Now, how can a person statingthat he is a scientist or aphilosopher break this provencontinuum of witnessed signs?What is needed in such a case isthat, just as the holy peopleprovided a practical example withtheir lives and validated theirclaims, so should the negation ofit be offered in the same way.Such people, however, would bejustified in asking, why they arepresented with old stories andfables, why not give a livingproof or a living example, and forthis I am available.

An astronomer cannot provide adefinite proof of the existence ofGod merely by observing thesolar system which may, at thevery most, lead to a view thatthere should be a God. The factthat there is a God and that Hemost certainly exists has alwaysbeen proven with the principlesput forward by the prophets. Ifpeople like myself did not appearin this world there could never bein the world any real and com-plete proof of God. At the very



most, if someone was of a justdisposition and also possessed avirtuous character, then from thewell ordered heavenly bodies andfrom the solar system, etc. hecould conclude that there ought tobe a God. Other than that, the factthat God exists and He is theMaster, the Ruler and the movingforce behind all creation, all thisis not possible for people to knowwithout the guidance of thosewho are from God. It is suchpeople who enable others towitness the existence of God and,by providing fresh evidence andsigns, it is as if they are able to‘show’ God to others.

It is written that there was oneAdam and one Eve. Eve was aweak woman. She ate one apple.Now, the punishment of herhaving eaten an apple willcontinue forever. This I do notunderstand. Also, that this earthwith which we are related, is butone among many thousands andmillions of other systems whichGod has created then why wouldGod’s (qudrat) and blessings belimited to this earth?

Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as):This is not our belief. We don’tpropose that there is no systemother than our earth and the sky.Rather, our God says that He is‘Rabbil Alameen’ , that is, He is

Professor Wragge


The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was Hadhrat

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as). In 1891,he claimed, on the basis of Divinerevelation, that he was the PromisedMessiah and Mahdi whose adventhad been foretold by Muhammad,the Holy Prophet of Islam (peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him)and by the scriptures of other faiths. His claim constitutes the basis of thebeliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslimcommunity.


the Sustainer of all the universesand that wherever there has beenan inhabitation there He has sentHis messengers. Lack ofknowledge does not makesomething non-existent. Godcreated such a vast system ofprovision for this small earth,why would He not have createdprovision for all otherhabitations?

As for saying that all humansorrow and hardship were causedby Eve’s having eaten an apple,this is not a belief held by Islam.We are taught that:

And no burdened soul canbear the burden of another;and if a heavily laden soul callanother to bear its load,naught of it shall be carriedby the other, even though hebe a kinsman.....(Surah Fatir Verse 19)

One person’s punishment cannotbe meted out to another, nor canthere be imagined any benefit inthis. Eve’s having eaten of anapple is not the cause of anysorrow, difficulty or punishment,

the reasons for these things aregiven in the Qu’ran but are totallydifferent.

There are two things I wish to findout – one is, what is sin? A personin one country may consider someact to be a sin while the same actmay not be considered sinful inanother country. Man progressedfrom a small insect to a humanbeing and then he learned todiscern between truth andfalsehood, he distinguishes truthfrom lies, good from bad, gainedknowledge of sin and goodnessand after all this there is thedifference - what is sin for oneperson is not sin for another whoindulges in it?

The other thing I wish to find outis about Satan. What is Satan?How is it that God being themaster and having power oversuch knowledge, Satan got tohave so much sway that God hadto come to this world himself toreform the world. What is meantby this?

Professor Wragge



Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as):I usually speak having in mindpeople who believe in theexistence of God. God’s being is asource of eternal happiness andpleasure for man’s life. Whoeverseparates from Him or leaves Himin one way or another, about sucha state of a person it is said that hehas sinned. Furthermore, keepingin view the nature of man, God hasfurther defined as ‘sin’ those actswhich through their finerimplications, prove to be harmfulfor man himself, even though aperson sometimes may not be ableto appreciate such harmfulness.For example, theft and harmingothers by taking away their rights,harms the purity of one's own life.An adulterer’s act of adultery andhis taking what may belong tosomeone else, destroys his ownpiety and engulfs him in variousphysical and spiritual difficulties.Similarly, those acts which areagainst the nature of man’s purityand piety are also referred to as‘sin’, as are all the related acts –whether related closely ordistantly – these are alsoconsidered as types of sin.

God Almighty is greater than allelse, He has the most knowledge,He is the true creator of man andevery particle which exists. It isHe Who is also the creator of theirnature and He is wise. If, with Hiscomplete wisdom and completeknowledge, He suggests thatsomething is harmful for you, thatindulging in it would not benefityou at all, rather it is totallyharmful, then it is not the action ofa wholesome person to go againstthis.

We see that when a doctor advisesa patient to abstain fromsomething, the patient acts on thatadvice without any argument.Why does he act in this way? Hedoes this because he considers thedoctor as being in possession ofmuch greater knowledge thanhimself. Similarly, there are somethings which are harmful forman’s body or spirit whether manhimself understands that or not.There are some things whichwould be harmful even if God hadnot given a ruling about them. Inmedicine also there are somethings which are considered ‘sins’and lack of medical knowledge is



no excuse for the person who goesagainst the medical principles. Ifsomeone does not believe thisthey can check with doctors andphysicians.

The point to remember is simplythis that the root of sin is thoseactions which lead man far awayfrom purity and righteousness.The true love of God and unionwith Him is the true pleasure andreal comfort. Thus moving awayfrom God and being distant fromHim is also sin and is the sourceof pain, sorrow and difficulty.Those things which God dislikesdue to His own sanctity, that issin. There are some matters onwhich people may not agree but,on the other hand, the greater partof the world is jointly agreed thatlying, stealing, adultery andcruelty are such acts that allnations and religions jointlyconsider them to be sins. Butremember that the root of sin isprecisely those acts whichdistance man from God, which areagainst His sanctity, against Hiswishes and against man’s nature –it is such acts which constitute sin.

Every person senses sin. Ifsomeone slaps an innocent personand knows that he had no right todo so, he will, at some later time,when he looks at his action with acool head, himself feel ashamedand will sense that he has done abad deed. Conversely, if someonefeeds a hungry person, gives adrink of water to a thirsty person,and clothes someone lackingclothes, such a person will havean inner sense of having beengood, and having done a blesseddeed. A person’s heart andconscience and the light of beliefremind him whether his variousactions were a good act or a sinfulact.

With regard to Satan, it should beremembered that in man’s natureand composition there have beenincluded two forces and they areboth opposed to each other and itis so in order for a person to betried and tested and, with asuccessful outcome, to becomedeserving of God ‘s nearness. Ofthe two forces, one pulls mantowards goodness and the otherinvites man towards evil. Theforce that pulls towards goodness



is called ‘malak’ or ‘angel’ andthe force which invites towardsevil is called ‘Satan’. In otherwords, you can understand it likethis that there are two forceswhich work on a person: one callstowards good (da’i ilal khair), andthe other towards bad (da'i ilash-sharr). Someone may not like theuse of the terms ‘angel ‘ and‘Satan’, but he would not be ableto deny the existence of these twotypes of forces within man. Godnever intended any evil. God onlydoes what is good.

You see, if sin did not exist in theworld there would be nogoodness. Goodness developsfrom sin. The concept of goodnessis formed by the concept of sin. Ifsomeone has the opportunity tocommit adultery and he possessesthe ability to do so but then heabstains from this sin, this actionis called goodness. If someone hasthe opportunity to steal, or to becruel, and he is capable of doingthese acts, but he does not do soand positively abstains from them,then he is doing a good deed. Tohave the opportunity andcapability of sinning and then not

indulging in sin, that is a good andblessed deed.

In the world there are two forcesat work – the positive and thenegative. If we always use thepositive force and never use thenegative, one day the negativewill gather force and could eruptat any time and destroy the world.The same is true of good and evil.If the whole world did only goodand never did any bad deeds thensimilarly evil would gather forceand destroy the world.

Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as):You see, if a person is not capableof shouting, his speaking softlywill not be considered abehaviour of high esteem. If aperson always remained in onestate and was not capable of anychange, then goodness could notremain as goodness. It is theexistence of the two extremeswhich creates goodness. If thestate was unchangeable and manwas not given any other abilitiesto change his state so that he was

Professor Wragge



always forced to do good, and hewas never given the ability to doevil, then what would there bethat we could call ‘obedience’ or‘goodness’? God has, to anextent, given human beingscontrol – they can change theirstate. They have the power to dogood and have the ability to doevil. However a person will act,he will find his rewardaccordingly.

You see, if there were no evilbehaviour then what kind ofbehaviour would be called ‘goodbehaviour’. Only when thereexist bad characteristics can [one]have good characteristics. Aperson can think of somethingbad, and having a picture of it inhis mind, he can censure it.Similarly, he refers to somespecial deeds as ‘goodness’ andpraises these. If there were nopictures in one's mind of anythingbad then there would be no suchthing as ‘noble characteristics’. Itis always through evil that we candistinguish goodness. If only oneaspect was created then therecertainly would not be any rewardnor any pleasure (of God).

Sorrow and joy, discomfort andcomfort, darkness and light, bitterand sweet, poison and antidote,bad and good and sin andgoodness, all come into being bythe existence of its opposite. Ifsuch opposites were not created,life itself would have been verydull. If only one state was created,that was already in our nature,why then would there be anyreward and why any recompense?How could this be a source ofgaining God’s pleasure when allthe deeds were acts ofcompulsion, a person having nopower to do otherwise.

It must be remembered that manhas been given control. He hasthe power to do good or bad, to bekind or cruel, to be benevolent ormiserly. It is always by keeping inmind the two aspects of possiblebehaviour that we can form anopinion about a particular personbeing good or bad. Indeed, theessential defining element of theterm ‘deeds’ is that a person hasthe capability of doing thereverse. A person, having thecapacity to take revenge but doesnot do so, has performed an act of



goodness. But a person who doesnot possess a limb with which toretaliate against some-one whohits him, would not be in aposition to say that he has done agood deed by not retaliating:

He, indeed, prospers whopurifies it, and he is ruinedwho corrupts it(Ch.91:Vs.10-11)

It is clear from this holy verse thatthe existence of goodness andgood qualities has its basis on thetwo capabilities (of doing good orbad). He who is endowed withonly one capability and has neverbeen given the other, would belike an image which cannot beerased.

He who denies the existence ofAngels and Satan is in effectdenying self-evident truths, andgoing against that which can beeasily sensed or witnessed. Wesee everyday that people do gooddeeds and also that in the worldaround us many evil acts arecommitted and that the two forcesare equally at work. This cannotbe denied by any person. Who is

there who does not within himselffind some sense and influence ofboth? Here, no philosophy orlogic can rule otherwise since thetwo forces are present and each isworking in its place.

To turn to your question that ifpeople only do good deeds and nobad acts are committed theneventually evil will gather forceand destroy the world. About this,all I can say is that I am notconcerned with statements of thetype 'if this happens then that willhappen and if that happens thiswill happen'. We see this muchthat human nature has beencreated and prepared for goodactions as well as for bad actions.I do not go beyond this.



Throughout recorded history,philosophers and thinkers havesought to solve the problem of howto establish a balance between therights and obligations of man. Inthe earlier period, loyalty to acommunity was rewarded bydistributing portions from itspossessions. Later, the feudal ortribal lords guaranteed security andsafety of their followers in returnfor personal or tribal obedience.The Greeks realised that acontented man was necessary for ahappy society. The advent of theRenaissance paved the way for theAge of Man in which human needsand urges for individuality andfreedom have been accordedrecognition. Since then, as thelimits of human knowledge havewidened, more and more attentionhas been paid to the requirementsof identifying and safeguardingsuch rights as are considered

essential for the progress ofmankind.

The famous English-Americanwriter of the eighteenth century,Thomas Paine, spelt out the ideasof constitutional enlightenmentwhich provide the framework ofhuman rights as a part of Westernpolitical culture and socialmorality. As a result, many stateshave incorporated provisionsdealing with the social, economicand political rights for their citizensin their constitutions or legalsystems. The adoption of theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights by the General Assembly ofthe U.N. in 1948, represents abroad consensus of contemporarycivilisation on the subject of humanrights.

However, this does not mean thateveryone in this world is

POVERTY and

HUMAN RIGHTSThe following paper was presented at the Assembly of the World’sReligions held in New Jersey U.S.A. in November 1985

By Maulana Ataul Mujeeb Rashed – Imam of the London Mosque


guaranteed full freedom or that allthe governments are committed tosafeguarding human rights withoutany exception. Far from it. Mancontinues to be a victim ofdiscrimination, intolerance, andcruelty at the hands of fellow men.Despite the existence of the U.N.Human Rights Commission andsimilar bodies at regional andnational levels, there is nofoolproof system under which anindividual or a community can seekimmediate or effective redress ofgrievances pertaining to humanrights.

There are two main reasons for thisunsatisfactory situation. First, thelegislative or legal guaranteesdesigned by the Western Societycover but a segment of the totalfield of human rights. Further, thelegal sanctions can be applied onlyafter the violations have takenplace and can be substantiated byrelevant evidence. The U.N.Human Rights Commission and themany governments which arerepresented on it, fail to recognisethe seriousness of the violationsunless there is mass bloodshed ordestruction of life and property.Lastly, the question of safeguardinghuman rights is frequently

considered on political orideological basis. For example, theWestern thinking is concentratedon political rights of man while thefocus of attention in the Marxistsociety is on the economic rights ofman.

Again, Western countries are moreinterested in the human rightsviolations in the Communistcountries but ignore similarviolations in the countries allied tothe West. The Americans and theEuropeans shed so many tears atthe fate of Jews in the Eastern blocbut remain silent at the plight ofArabs in Israeli-occupiedterritories.

Both East and West subscribe to theprovisions of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rightsconcerning freedom of travel butall over the world barriers areraised to restrict travel andmovement on grounds of colourand race.

The Soviet Union is in the forefrontdemanding economic and socialrights of farmers and workers inCentral America and condemningapartheid in South Africa but it haseffectively curbed religious and

POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS


cultural freedom of Muslims inCentral Asia and is denying thepeople of Afghanistan the right tofollow their own way of life. Thus,serious contradictions existbetween the precepts and practicesof the contemporary world inrespect of safeguarding humanrights.

It is my submission that thisdiabolical situation can becorrected if the world wouldunderstand and adopt theprovisions regarding. HumanRights embodied in the HolyQur’an and the Sunnah (Precepts)of the Holy ProphetMuhammad(saw), which are the mostauthentic and authoritative sourcesof the Islamic Code of humanbehaviour.

Poverty and Human RightsBut, before I proceed further toexplain the human rights and itsprinciples as laid down in Islam, letme explain briefly the phenomenonof poverty and its impact on humanrights.

Allah, the Almighty, our Creatorand Maker, has created us all insuch a way that no two persons areexactly identical. This change and

variety bestows a unique beautyand individuality upon eachindividual. The good aspects aside,the other side of the overallsituation very often presents agloomy picture. These differencesin creation, such as colour and race,have led to the division of humansociety into various groups andblocs. The difference in mental andphysical capabilities has furtherresulted in various divisions basedon social and economicalstandards. This division is found atall levels. Individuals are torn apartby the barriers of poverty andrichness. Nations are beingclassified as developed anddeveloping countries on the samebasis. And the phenomenon doesnot end here. Nations andindividuals are being subjected toall sorts of discrimination due totheir poverty. Individuals arelooked down upon by their fellowbeings merely because they werenot born with a silver spoon in theirmouth. Poor nations are hated anddeprived of their equal position inthe community of nations. Thevictims of poverty are persistentlydenied their basic human rightsindividually and collectively.

The organisers of this World



Assembly have rightly pointed outin their statement that poverty, thatcondition where human beings lackthe basic necessities to sustain life,is a pervasive reality in our world.Islam, being a universal andcomprehensive religion, hasthoroughly commented on variousaspects of this question and hasguided us to such methods as maybe helpful to safeguard the rights ofthe poor. Some of these points arementioned below:

1. Discrimination stems from thefeelings of superiority. In orderto nip this evil in the bud, Islamhas stressed the idea of absoluteequality of all human beings inthe sight of Allah. Neithermembership of a tribe norcitizenship of a state confersany privilege, nor are theysources of honour. The truesource of honour in the sight ofAllah is a righteous life (Ch.49:V14). In his Farewell Address,the Holy Prophet of Islam(saw)

said:

‘You are all brothers andare all equal. None of youcan claim any privilegeor any superiority overany other. An Arab is not

to be preferred to a non-Arab, nor is a non-Arabto be preferred to anArab; nor is a white manto be preferred to acoloured one, or acoloured one to a white,except on the basis ofrighteousness.’ (Hanbal V, p.41).

2. Islam has stressed this pointtime and again in the HolyQur’an that the whole universe,with all its potentials, has beencreated for the benefit of thewhole of mankind without anydis-crimination. They are notintended for, or confined to, anyparticular section of humansociety. This teaching rules outthe ideas of exclusive ownershipor monopoly in regard to naturalresources. All that GodAlmighty, the Creator, hascreated in this universe is to beused and shared by all.

3. After establishing the above-mentioned principles, in orderto assure the equal position ofthe poor in a society, Islam hasparticularly stressed the statusof such members of societywho are generally looked down



upon and maltreated by othersdue to their poverty or otherdrawbacks. The orphans, thewidows, the servants, thelabourers and the poor aregranted a respectable andhonoured position in Islamicsociety. Muslims are enjoinedto do maximum good to suchpeople and any act of kindnessand honour done towards thesepeople is extremelypraiseworthy and noble in thesight of Allah. Just to mentiontwo examples, I wish to quotethree sayings of the HolyProphet of Islam(saw),:

In one place he is reported tohave said that he who strives forthe welfare of a widow will bejoined with him in heaven asthe two fingers of a hand arejoined together.

Similarly, he has enjoined hisfaithful followers to pay thewages of a labourer before thesweat dries upon his body.

With regard to servants, theProphet(saw) said: ‘They are yourbrothers, and you should treatthem as such. Provide themwith the kind of clothes that you

wear and if you set them a hardtask, join them in it to help themcomplete it’ (Abu Dard).

4. Islam has established a verycomprehensive economic sys-tem in order to secure the widestand most beneficent distributionof wealth through institutionsset up by it and through moralexhortations. Wealth mustremain in constant circulationamong all sections of thecommunity and should notbecome the monopoly of therich (Ch.59: V.8). Islam hasensured the achievement of thissublime object by establishing asystem of inheritance and asystem of regular charity on theone hand and prohibition ofinterest, gambling and all suchways of accumulating wealth byunlawful means on the other.This economic system laiddown by Islam minimises thegap and difference between thepoor and the rich and thus, goesa long way in eradicating theimbalance which is the root-cause of economic discri-mination and denial of humanrights.



Principles of Human RightsThe principles of Human Rightsenunciated by Islam differ from theWestern concept in two importantaspects. First, the Islamic valuesare comprehensive and universal.Second, they are guaranteed bydivine sanction derived from theWord of God. No other judicial orconstitutional system can make thisclaim. Let us briefly examine thefundamentals of Islamic code onhuman rights.

In the opening verses of Surah Al-Rahman, and at several othersections of the Holy Qur’an, we aretold that the aim of Islam is toestablish a balance and to bringabout an accord in the relationshipof man and his Maker, hisrelationship with the Universe andwith his fellow men throughbeneficent judgement. Islam insistsupon the acceptance andcomprehension of the unity andcoordination of the creation and theunity and equality of man. TheHoly Qur’an informs us time andagain that the universe is created inan orderly design and that there is aspecific purpose behind thecreation of man. The most strikingcharacter of Islam is its universalityand the place that it assigns to man

as the focal point of the universe. Aunique position is thus allotted toman in the Divine scheme of theuniverse. Equipped with all theinherent qualities and capacities,and with Divine guidance availableat all stages, and with the whole ofthe Universe subjected to hisservice, Man has been placed in themost favourable position for thecomplete fulfilment of his life.

The second fundamental charac-teristic of the Islamic code is theplace of honour accorded to thefreedom of man and the rejection ofcompulsion or coercion. However,it does not sanction unrestricted orunbridled freedom, as it would beagainst the very law of nature.Freedom has to be balanced withcertain limitations. To ensurefreedom for everyone, the freedomof each must be, to a degree,curbed, curtailed or controlled. Thefreedom that man enjoys is theright to discipline his freedom.

Like most subjects affecting humanpersonality, the subject of humanrights has many facets. As an all-pervading and complete religion,Islam provides a comprehensiveframework for human conduct interms of individual, moral, social,



economic and political rights andobligations. The Holy Qur’an hasspelt out the rights of man duringall phases of life – starting frompre-birth to childhood and throughadult life to old age. The HolyQur’an also lays down broadprinciples governing man’srelations with all those who willpossibly come into contact withhim throughout his life. Theseinclude the rights of children, therights of parents, the rights of awife and a husband, the rights ofneighbours, the rights of travellers,the rights of the needy, the rights oforphans, the rights of workers andwage earners. The list of the itemsis so comprehensive that thesubject could provide a challengefor any legal or constitutionalexpert of modern times.

To begin with, Islam stands firmlyand uncompromisingly on freedomof conscience. It does not seek tosecure even belief in God throughcompulsion or coercion. Much lessdoes it object to restricting freedomon the ground of one’s belief andconviction. Belief is a matter ofconscience and conscience cannotbe compelled. This truth isproclaimed by the Holy Qur’an inVerse 257 of Surah Al-Baqarah:

There should be no compulsionin religion. Surely, right hasbecome distinct from wrong;whosoever refuses to be led bythose who transgress, andbelieves in Allah, has surelygrasped a strong handle whichknows no breaking. And Allahis All-Hearing, All-Knowing.(Ch.2: V.257)

Again, in Verse 30 of Surah Al-Kahf, the Holy Qur’an mentions:

And say,‘It is the truth fromyour Lord; wherefore let himwho will, believe, and let himwill, disbelieve.’

It follows that Islam gives a personthe right to profess what he trulybelieves, and not to profess beliefin that which he does not sincerelybelieve. In the same context, thechange of belief, howsoeveroffensive from the moral orspiritual point of view, does notattract any physical penalty.

There is another fundamental rightwhich the Holy Qur’an recognisesand accords to man. This is theexercise of reason, understandingand judgement at every step. At thesame time, man is allowed the



freedom to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas through anymedia and regardless of frontiers.This is essential so that knowledgemay be fostered and ignorancerepelled. The Holy Prophet(saw) isquoted as saying: ‘The seeking ofknowledge is a duty laid upon everyMuslim, man and woman’.

One should not get the impressionthat Islam speaks about humanrights in abstract terms only. Thelimited time at my disposal hasprevented me from discussing thesocial and economic rightsenjoined by the Holy Qur’an. Theprinciples concerning theprotection of personal property andpossessions, equality before law,equality of opportunity to work,reduction of poverty, balanceddistribution of wealth, and sanctityof contracts and agreements aresanctioned by Islam and these alsoform the true basis of the concept ofthe Welfare State. Within a fewyears of the establishment of thefirst Islamic state, the provision ofthe basic necessities for everyonewas assured. This is the reason whyIslam is considered not only areligion but also a system and acivilisation which fulfils man’sspiritual as well as material needs.

Earlier, I had mentioned that theexcellent example of the HolyProphet of Islam(saw), along with theHoly Qur’an, constitutes the mostauthentic source of instruction for acode of righteous conduct and forthe preservation of the rights ofman. The Holy Qur’an describeshis functions as the creation andstrengthening of faith throughdrawing attention to Divine Signs,the moral and physical uplift of thepeople, teaching them the Law andfurnishing them with guidance andexpounding the philosophyunderlying the guidance given bythe Holy Qur’an. What do we learnfrom his life about the preservationof human rights? From innu-merable instances, let me mentiononly two events to illustrate hisregard for the rights of the enemiesof Islam and his own proclamationon human rights in the most preciseterms.

The Holy Prophet(saw) hadappointed Hadhrat Ali(ra), theFourth Caliph of Islam, to conductpeace negotiations at Hudaibiyyawith the Makkans who were swornenemies of Islam and had wagedwar against the Holy Prophet(saw)

and his followers. After protractednegotiations, when the final terms


were being drawn, the Makkansstrongly objected to the designationof the Holy Prophet(saw) as the‘Messenger of Allah’ and insistedthat he should be described only as‘Muhammad, Son of Abdullah’.When this was brought to theattention of the Holy Prophet(saw),he said: ‘I am the Messenger ofAllah and I am the son of Abdullah.If the Makkans so prefer, I may bedescribed as ‘Muhammad, Son ofAbdullah’. Hadhrat Ali(ra) could notbring himself to bear theresponsibility of removing thewords ‘the Messenger of Allah’from the draft and the HolyProphet(saw) amended the draft withhis own hands.

On the occasion of his lastpilgrimage, the Holy Prophet(saw)

addressed his people in Mina on the11th of Dhul-Hajj, which is theepitome of the entire teachings ofIslam. In this historicalproclamation, he said: ‘All men,whatever nation or tribe they maybelong to, and whatever the statusin life they may hold, are equal’. Hefurther declared: ‘Your lives andyour possessions have been madeimmune by God to attacks by oneanother until the Day of Judgment’.

This is the most eloquent and mostperceptive universal declaration onthe rights of free and equal man. Sothe entire mankind owes gratitudeto the Holy Messenger of Islam(saw),for drawing attention to the DivineGuidance concerning the status andrights of man as enjoined by theteachings of Islam.

22




Today, I will be discussing howHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

has fulfilled the propheciescontained in the Holy Bibleregarding the Second Advent ofJesus Christ(as). The majority ofverses from the Bible that I amabout to analyse are found in theliterature of the millennium scholarswho lived in the 19th century.Hundreds of these Christianscholars expected the immediateappearance of Christ, and manywent so far as to precisely predictwhen he was to return. For example,Christopher Hoffman undertook torebuild the temple in Jerusalem forChrist’s occupancy in 1826.

Bengle fixed the date of Christ’s(as)

return at 1836, and from thisprediction, others followed in rapidsuccession. The Irvingites inEngland and Scotland announced1835, 1838, 1864 and 1866. MotherLee and her Shakers abolished

matrimony, as they also believedChrist's return was at hand.Cunningham predicted 1839, Elliot1866, Brewer and Decker bothpredicted 1867 and Seis favoured1870.

William Miller, who predicted1844, had up to 500,000 followers,many of whom were so convincedof Christ’s(as) return on October 22,1844 that they refused to plantcrops, gave away their money,discharged their employees, settledtheir accounts and made pre-parations for the climactic midnightcry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroomcometh, go ye out to meet him.’

They dressed in shrouds, and stoodon mountaintops in New York Stateawaiting Christ's descent. That dayhas gone down in history as theGreat Disappointment.

A famous Jewish convert to

THE MESSIAH HAS COMETestimony of the Holy BibleAn extract of a speech delivered by Ataul Wahid Lahaye on 7h July, 2001, atthe 25th Jalsa Salana of Jama'at Ahmadiyya Canada held at Baitul IslamComplex, Maple (Ontario).


Christianity, Joseph Wolfe predicted1847. Claus Epp, a leader of theMennonite Brethren in Russiapredicted March 8, 1889. TheDukhabors set forth from aCanadian village in 1902, somenaked, to meet the Lord. ReverendComing in his book, The End,written in 1879, concluded that allthe signs of those days werepreparing for the fulfilment of theprophecy for the Second Coming ofChrist. He wrote, Christ is at ourdoor. Harriet Livingston, a famousWashingtonian, preached TheSecond Coming before the House ofRepresentatives in this time period.

The majority of the predictions thatconvinced these scholars thatChrist’s return was imminent arefound in Matthew’s 24th and Luke’s21st chapters. In these chapters, ourattention is directed to other booksof the Holy Bible that containrelevant prophecies. Theseprophecies can be divided into fourmain categories:

• The time of his return,specifically in years,

• The social environment thatmankind would find itselfexperiencing at that time

including very specific events,heavenly signs.

• How the Messiah and hisfollowers were to be treated.

• The general location of theSecond Coming.

The Jews are still expecting theirMessiah to come. That Messiah isto be escorted by Elijah theProphet(as) whom they believe rosephysically to heaven in a chariot offire thousands of years ago. TheJews of 2,000 years ago had thesame expectations with evidence ofthis found in the New Testament. InJohn 1 verse 21, the Phariseesasked John the Baptist(as) if he wasElijah and in Matthew 16:14 somepeople mistook Jesus(as) forElijah(as). Their attitude was, wewill certainly entertain your claimas the Messiah, but first produceElijah(as).

‘Behold, I will send you Elijah,the Prophet, before the comingof the great and dreadful day ofthe Lord.’ (Malachi 4:5)

Many Jews accepted Jesus(as) as theMessiah, yet no Elijah descended

THE MESSIAH HAS COME – TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY BIBLE


from heaven. Fortunately for us,Jesus(as) clears up the entiremisconception by explaining inMatthew 17:12-13 when he says:

‘But I say unto you that Elijahis come already, and they knewhim not, but have done untohim whatsoever they listed.Likewise shall also the son ofman suffer of them. Then thedisciples understood that hespoke unto them of John theBaptist’

Elijah's return had been fulfilled byJohn the Baptist(as).

Therefore, if we as AhmadiMuslims claim that Hadhrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad(as) has fulfilled thedescent of Jesus Christ(as) as Johnthe Baptist(as) fulfilled the descent ofElijah(as), we would not beextraneous to the explanation ofsuch an event, as presented byJesus(as) himself. Obviously descentis a metaphorical term used toattach greater importance to theexpected occurrence.

This is also supported in Matthew23:39 where Jesus(as) states:

‘…Ye shall not see me

henceforth till ye say “Blessedis he that cometh in the name ofthe Lord.”’

This may mean that someone wasto come in the name of Jesus(as), andnot Jesus(as)himself.

Let us now review the versespertaining to Christ’s(as) return. InLuke 21:24-27, we read:

‘And they shall fall by the edgeof the sword, and shall be ledaway captive into all nations:and Jerusalem shall be troddendown of the Gentiles until thetimes of the Gentiles be fulfilled.And there shall be signs in thesun and in the moon, and in thestars, and upon the earth distressof nations, with perplexity, thesea and waves roaring. Men'shearts failing them for fear, andfor looking after those things,which are coming on the earth:for the powers of heaven shall beshaken. And then shall they seethe Son of Man coming in acloud with power and greatglory.’

In these verses, Jesus(as) ispredicting the destruction ofJerusalem by the Gentiles, and the



banishment of the Jews fromJerusalem. When that banishmentwas to end, when the time of thegentiles is fulfilled, he wouldreturn.

Jerusalem was destroyed by theRomans under Emperor Titus in 70A.D. after a long siege. In 132 A.D.the Jews, under the leadership ofBar Cochba, rebelled against theRomans. Jerusalem was destroyedand a new city, Aellia Capatilinawas constructed on the ruins. ManyJews were scattered and exiled.Under Roman law, Jews were notallowed to enter the city. In 637, theArabs took control of Jerusalemand similar restriction still applied.

This restriction upon the Jews waslifted when Turkey signed the‘Edict of Tolerance’ allowing Jewsto freely enter Jerusalem. Thisdocument was signed on March 21,1844. Shortly thereafter, Jewsstarted to migrate back toJerusalem for the first time since 70A.D. The time of the Gentiles hadcome to an end. David ben Gurioncomments on this era in the book,The Jews In Their Land:

‘And every such wave of returnwas inspired by renewed

Messianic hopes. This processwas crowned in the last quarterof the 19th century withheightened immigration and thebeginnings of agriculturalsettlements.’

The millennium scholars found averse in the Book of Revelationthat supported this date. In Chapter11:2-3, we read:

‘…And the holy city(Jerusalem) shall they treadunder foot forty and twomonths….And they shallprophesy a thousand twohundred and three score days.’

Christian scholars all agree, that inBible prophecy, one day stands forone year. This is supported inseveral verses. For example inEzekiel 4:6 we read: ‘I haveappointed thee, each day for a year.’

The Christian scholars came to theconclusion, that since at that time,the Gentiles who controlledJerusalem were Muslims, thatpredicted time period of forty-andtwo months, or 1,260 days whenapplied as the year 1,260 to theMuslim calendar was 1844 of theChristian calendar.



The Book of Matthew directs us tothe Prophet Daniel(as) in Chapter24:15. Again the millenniumscholars found reference to severalmore dates. Daniel 12: 11-12referring to the holy temple inJerusalem states:

‘And from the time that thedaily sacrifice shall be takenaway, and the abomination thatmaketh desolate set up, thereshall be a thousand two hundredand ninety days. Blessed is hethat waiteth, and cometh to thethousand three hundred and fiveand thirty days.’

Using the same method ofcalculation as was used for theverse in Revelation; the dates of1,290, 1305, and 1330 of theMuslim calendar correspond to1873, 1888 and 1912 of theChristian Calendar. More dates arepredicted in Daniel 9:1-24:

‘Seventy weeks are determinedupon thy people, and upon theholy city, to finish thetransgression, and to make anend of sins, and to makereconciliation for iniquity, andto bring in everlasting right-eousness, and to seal up the

vision and prophecy, and toanoint the most Holy.’

The millennium Christian scholarsunanimously interpreted this verseto be the time period from therebuilding of the Temple inJerusalem to the coming years.They also took this prophecy tostart when Artaxerxes decreed theTemple to be rebuilt in 47 B.C. asmentioned in Ezra Chapter 7. 457BC plus 490 years brings us to 33A.D., the general time of Christ’s(as)

crucifixion.

They also found another prophecyin Daniel that they believed appliedto the Second Coming of Christ(as).We find in Daniel 8:13-14:

‘Then I heard one saintspeaking, and another saint saidunto that certain saint whichspake; How long shall be thevision concerning the dailysacrifice, and the transgressionof desolation, to give both thesanctuary and the host to betrodden under foot? And he saidunto me, unto two thousand andthree hundred days then shallthe sanctuary be cleansed.’

Adding 2300 years to 457 B.C.



brings us to 1843. We can readilyunderstand why the millenniumscholars of the 19th centuryexpected the return of JesusChris(as) during their time. Thesecond category of predictionswhich describe the conditionmankind would be in at that timefully support the same time period.We read in Matthew 24:14 :

‘And this gospel of thekingdom shall be preached inall the world for a witness untoall nations and then shall theend come.’

The study of the spread ofChristianity conducted by themillennium scholars of the 19thcentury establishes that this was thetime when the message of thekingdom had been conveyed to theentire world. According to theBritish and American BibleSocieties, 421 million copies of theBible had been distributed in 50languages in practically everycountry of the world. In 1842, Mr.Spicer stated in Our Day In TheLight Of Prophecy, that the gospelhad been spread to 95% of theinhabitants of earth.

In 1842, five treaty ports in China

were opened to commerce andmissionaries. In that same year, Dr.Livingston opened the door toBible preaching in the Africaninterior. In 1844, Turkeyrecognised the right of Muslims tobecome Christian. In the book, AHundred Years Of Missions, Dr.Leanard writes:

‘For the first time since theapostolic period occurred, anoutburst of general missionaryzeal and activity occurred.’

He was referring to the 19thcentury.

Dr A.T. Pearson wrote in ModernMission Century:

‘India, Siam, Burma, China,Japan, Turkey, Africa, Mexico,South America weresuccessively and successfullyentered within 5 years, from1853 to 1858, new facilitieswere given to entrance andoccupation of seven differentcountries, together embracinghalf the world population.’

Mr Faber writes in EightDissertations:



The stupendous endeavours ofone gigantic community toconvey the Scriptures in everylanguage to every part of theglobe may well deserve to beconsidered as an eminent signeven of these eventful times.Unless I be much mistaken.Such endeavours are pre-paratory to the final granddiffusion of Christianity, whichis the theme of so manyinspired prophets and whichcannot be so far distant in thepresent day.’

Another prophecy of this categoryis found in Matthew 24:6,

‘And ye shall hear of wars andrumours of wars; see that ye benot troubled, for all these thingsmust come to pass, but the endis not yet.’

Just before the end, the end definedas the time for the return of JesusChrist(as), wars and rumours of warswould prevail. We can readilydetermine that this prophecy wasfulfilled in the 19th century byreviewing the wars fought duringthat time period. To be brief, I willmention just 10. They were Britain,Prussia, Austria and Russia against

France in 1815. The war of 1818between America and Britain. TheCrimean War 1853, The Civil Warin America 1861, Britain againstChina in 1860, the Sepoy Mutiny inIndia, 1857, Russia against Turkey,1870, China against Korea, 1894,the Boxer Rebellion in China,1900, Great Britain against theBoer Republic 1899 and Americaagainst Spain in 1898.

Two more prophecies of thiscategory, the category of specialevents and social conditions isfound in the Book of Daniel, 12:4.It states:

‘But thou, O Daniel, shut up thewords, and seal the book, evento the time of the end: manyshall run to and fro andknowledge shall be increased.’

Regarding the increase ofknowledge, economist RobertGorden suggests that the greatinventions of 1860 to 1900 had amore pronounced effect onproductivity and living standardsand for many more years than ourmuch-acclaimed New Economy oftoday. In fact, our moderninventions pale when compared tothe great inventions leading to the



first new economy. Thoseinventions, electricity, the internalcombustion engine, the chemical andpharmaceutical industries, advancesin entertainment and commu-nication, and urban sanitation reallydid change the world. The post 1913surge in productivity growth thatlasted until the beginning of the1970's was directly connected tothese new inventions. Computersand the Internet do not measure up tothe Great Inventions of the late 19thand early 20th centuries. Again, weconclude that there was a greatincrease of knowledge in the 19thcentury.

The second prophecy found in thisverse in Daniel speaks of peoplerunning to and fro, as a descriptionof restlessness. Again looking forevidence of restlessness during the19th century we see a long list ofriots and revolutions. Again, forbrevity, I will mention just 10.Enough to prove that this prophecyalso came to light in the 19thcentury.

Riots raged in 1842 fromSeptember to December insouthern and eastern England asrioting agricultural workersdirected their main efforts against

threshing machines. More ruralriots broke out in 1843. During theplug riots of 1842, strikers stopped,instead of wrecking the mills byremoving the lead plugs in thesteam engines. In Latin America,revolutions against the Spanish andPortuguese occurred in Venezuela,Argentina, Paraguay, and Mexicoin the early 1800s under theleadership of Simon Bolivar. FromJuly 27th to July 29th 1830,students and workers raisedbarricades and made themselvesmasters of France, leading to theflight of Charles X.

The Slavs were too scattered toform a single nation. A rising inPrague in June of 1848 wasruthlessly crushed by Austria. OnMarch 13, 1881, the Nihilistorganisation known as the People’sWill, assassinated Tsar Alexander.The bomb blast shook everyEuropean throne and reprisal inRussia was severe. The generalmood of Europe and the US wasmore aggressive in the last years ofthe 19th century, than it had beenfor several decades before. InNovember 1887, the lifeguardswere called in to London to clearTrafalgar Square of demonstrators.On May 1, 1890, militant workers



demonstrated in both America andEurope, demanding an 8-hour day.In 1894, the army was called in toquell rioting strikers in Illinois. InChina, rebellions, murders,massacres and succession crisesaccompanied the rise of power ofEmpress Tzu Hsi in 1898.

R.A. Wallace in his book, TheWonderful Century, 1898,summarised the mood of the time.

‘There was, therefore, no 19thcentury resting place. TheFrench Revolution, combinedwith the Industrial Revolution(both unfinished), affected bothways of thinking and feeling.The repercussions are stillechoed today.’

The next category deals withheavenly signs, or specialastronomical activities. Researchinto this topic show that the amountof unique astronomical activitiesincreased several times during the19th century.

Again we turn to Matthew’s 24thchapter, verse 29.

‘Immediately after thetribulation of those days, shall

the sun be darkened and themoon shall not give her light,and the stars shall fall from theheavens and the power of theheavens shall be shaken.’

The Christian Millennium scholarsof the 19th century interpreted thisverse to mean eclipses of the sunand the moon, meteor showers,comets, etc.

Henry James Foreman states in hisbook, The Story of Prophecy,

‘It was the 19th century, yet theshooting stars of 1833, and theperihelia, or rings around thesun 1843 were objects of themost awesome speculation anddiscussion. And the tail of thegreat comet of 1843 measured108 million miles in length...whole families were engaged inmaking shrouds against thatfateful day.’

In 1811, a comet appeared with ahead 1,125,000 miles in diameter,larger than the sun. The tail was100 million miles in length.

Bielids Comet was first discoveredin 1772, but was not found to beperiodical until 1826. In 1832 the



comet passed very close to theearth. In 1845, the comet wasobserved to break in two, and in1852, at the time of its expectedreturn, it was found that the twoparts of the comet were both veryfaint and separated by over onemillion miles. It did not return in1866.

On November 27 of 1885, aspectacular meteor showeroriginating from Von NostrandsComet was observed. 39,546meteors were observed in fourhours and eight minutes. Since1899, very few showers from thiscomet have been observed.

Records of Leonids Comet arefound as far back as 585 A.D. In1799, 1833 and 1866-67 this cometcaused the most spectacular showerof modern times.

The great comet of 1843, which hasnot been named, was a periodicalcomet with an orbit of 400 years. Ithad the longest tail of any comet,200 million miles long, making it asight of grandeur. Donati's comet litthe sky in 1858.

Yet another comet appeared in1861. At one time the comet was

brighter than any star in the sky,except Venus, and a peculiar glowsuffused the entire sky. It couldeasily be seen in broad daylight.

Another great comet, one of thebrightest of modern times, passedwithin a third of a million miles ofthe sun in 1882.

The head of Holmes comet had adiameter in excess of a millionmiles. It is one of the largest onrecord and appeared in 1892, 1899and 1906. Since then it has not beenseen.

On June 30, 1908, the greatestmeteor fall in modern history tookplace in Siberia. Scientists stillstudy this phenomenon because ofits great destructive power. Lunarand Solar eclipses also occurred in1894 and 1895.

To the people witnessing theseevents, it would surely have lookedas if the stars were falling fromheaven, and we can readilyconclude that this prophecy wasfulfilled during the 19th century.

Let us now turn to the fourthcategory of millennium prophecies,those that describe how the



Messiah and his followers were tobe treated.

‘Then shall they deliver you upto be afflicted and shall kill you,and ye shall be hated by allnations for my name’s sake.

And then shall appear the signof the son of man in heaven,and then shall all the tribes ofthe earth mourn, and they shallsee the son of man coming inthe clouds of heaven withpower and great glory.’ (Matthew 24:9,30)

‘For I will give you a mouthand wisdom, which all youradversaries shall not be able togainsay or resist. And ye shallbe betrayed both by parents andbrethren, and kinsfolk andfriends, and some of you shallbe put to death. And ye shall behated of all men for my name'ssake. But there shall not an hairon your head perish.’ (Luke 21: 15-18)

These verses paint a rather grimpicture of how those who were toaccept the Messiah, those whowould pledge their loyalty to theone who would represent Jesus

Christ(as) in his Second Coming,were to be treated. Hatred,persecution and even death awaitedthem. They would be betrayed bytheir own family members andentire nations would conspire tooppose them.

The Messiah, from the verses inLuke, would possess profoundwisdom, such that no one on earthcould argue against him, and eventhough afflicted with severepersecution, he would be protectedby God Almighty as indicated by‘there shall not an hair on your headshall perish’.

His appearance should be of acloudy nature, and his messagewould run counter to all contem-porary thought and expectations,causing the nations of the earth tomourn. This type of appearance issupported in Paul’s letter to theThessalonians 5:2.

‘For yourselves know perfectlythat the day of the Lord socometh as a thief in the night.’

The fifth category of propheciesindicating the general location of theSecond Coming is found in Matthew24:27:



‘For as lightning cometh out ofthe east, and shineth even untothe west, so shall also the comingof the Son of man be.’

The millennium scholars inter-preted this verse literally, expectingChrist's return to be accompaniedby a huge flash of lightning thatwould travel across the globe.However, the verse could very wellindicate that since Jesus(as) was inJerusalem when he made thisprophecy, the Second Comingwould appear east of Jerusalem,and the light or teachings of thePromised One would first beaccepted in the east and wouldeventually extend to the west.

This interpretation finds support inEzekiel 43:2 where he describes ina vision the glory of God camefrom the way of the east, and inRevelation 7:2 that mentionsanother angel ascending from theeast having the seal of the livingGod.

We also read in Matthew 24thchapter, verse 5:

‘For many shall come in myname saying, I am Christ: andshall deceive many.’

This verse also indicates that theSecond Coming would not be of anearth shattering event because iffalse Messiahs were to be accepted,they would somehow have toannounce their arrival bydescending from the skysurrounded by lighting bolts andangels. During the 19th centurythere were several men claiming tobe either the Messiah or a Prophet.They were the Mahdi of Sudan;Alexander Dowie of Zion, Ohio,who claimed to be Elijah the third;Joseph Smith of the Mormons whoclaimed to be a prophet; AliMuhammad Bab who claimed to bethe Mahdi when he performed Hajjin 1844; Bahaullah of Iran whoclaimed to be the manifestation ofGod; Piggot of England whoclaimed to be the Messiah; andHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian(as) who claimed herepresented the second coming ofChrist for the Christians and ImamMahdi for the Muslims.

To find the true Messiah, we needto apply the prophecies fromcategories 4 and 5, those thatdescribe the Messiah’s charac-teristics and how he and hisfollowers would be received, to theclaimants who came from areas



east of Jerusalem during the 19thcentury. They were Mirza AliMuhammad (Ali Muhammad Babof Shiraz), Bahaullah (MirzaHussain Ali Nur) of Tehran andHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian(as), India.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

was born in Qadian, India in theyear 1835 and departed from thisworld in 1908. Heavenly signsmark both the years of his birth anddeath. Haley’s Comet made itsmost dramatic appearance ofmodern times in 1835, and a greatmeteor impact occurred in Siberiain 1908.

Qadian, India is directly east ofJerusalem. He authored over 80books on religious and com-parative religious studies andclaimed to be the Mahdi andMessiah whose advent had beenpredicted in the Holy Bible andother holy books.

When commenting on just one ofhis books titled Baraheen-e-Ahmadiyya, one of his most bitterooponents admitted, and he says:‘He challenged the repre-sentativesof other religions to prove the truthof their religions with the same or

less number of arguments as hadbeen presented by him in support ofthe Holy Qur’an in his monumentalwork.’ (Qadianism, A CriticalStudy, p.27)

Towards the end of 1890, HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

announced that God had informedhim that Jesus(as) was dead and wasnot going to return and that he wasin fact representing the SecondAdvent of Jesus(as). This announce-ment brought a storm of protest andthreats from Christians andMuslims alike, who both were andare still expecting Jesus(as) todescend from the sky. He told theentire world that their beliefs werewrong, their knowledge hollow andtheir actions unworthy becausetheir spiritual faculties had becomedebilitated by drifting away fromGod.

Today, the followers of HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian(as), India are counted in tensof millions and have establishedcentres for the spread of the trueIslam in over 150 countries. Wepropagate our faith by means ofclear and logical arguments, basedon wisdom and proof. However, theMessiah and his followers were,



and still are persecuted in manycountries.

In 1984, General Ziaul Haq ofPakistan brought Ordinance XXinto law, making it a criminaloffence for the followers ofHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

to practise or propagate theirreligion. On the Pakistani passportapplications, the applicant mustsign a statement denouncingHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

as an impostor before a passport isissued.

The Saudi Arabian Governmentdoes not allow the followers ofHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

from Pakistan to perform Hajj.

A report by the LawyersCommittee for human rights statesthat the Ahmadiyya Sect, as agroup,s is subject to systematic andextensive discrimination.

Over the course of the last 111years, Ahmadis have beenmurdered in cold blood, onlybecause they believe that theMessiah has come.

In closing, only one of theclaimants who came from east of

Jerusalem was alive to witness andannounce that these eclipses were aunique sign by God specifically forhim and that was Hadhrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad of Qadian(as).



Allah and His angels sendblessings on the Prophet. O yewho believe! you also shouldinvoke blessings on him andsalute him with the salutationof peace.(Ch.33: V.57)

The Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) –the ‘Abd Shakur’ – embodied thequality of gratitude to the highestdegree and practiced it for his entirelife. The following is a descriptionof the state of contemporary societywith regards to gratitude; theIslamic teachings on the concept ofgratitude, some examples from thelife of Holy Prophet(saw) on how heinfused every element of thisteaching into his life and thebenefits of following his beautifulmodel in gratitude.

Ingratitude in ContemporarySocietySadly, ingratitude has become anintegral part of society. The Holy

Qur’an draws our attention to thisphenomenon.

And We have established youin the earth and provided foryou therein the means ofsubsistence. How little thanksyou give!(Ch.7: V.11)

Ingratitude is so ingrained in thelives of people that they cannotperceive their ungratefulness andhence do not admit it. Amazingly,this situation occurs at times whenwe have more to be thankful for,than any other previouscivilisation. Human life has beenextended by decades. The qualityof life has been improved to adegree that was incomprehensiblemerely a hundred years ago.Similarly, the wealth of indi-viduals and nations has reachedenormous proportions, whichreminds a person of stories ofuncountable treasures.

HADHRAT MUHAMMAD(saw)

as ‘Abd Shakur’ (graceful servant of Allah)

Speech delivered by Maulana Naseem Mahdi, (Ameer Jama’at AhmadiyyaCanada) on the occasion of Jalsa Salana Canada 2004


Individualism and ExcessiveIndividual Freedom: Cause ofIngratitudeRegretfully many people have gotinto the cult of ingratitude underthe guise of individualism andindividual freedom. Not so longago I attended the graduation cere-mony of one of my children ingrade one. My experience wassimilar to the other ceremonies Ihad attended for Grade 5, Grade 8and countless other achieve-ments. One common thing Inoticed at each of these events washow much individual success wasbeing noted and appreciated ateach of these events. It was as ifthe whole world revolved aroundthese young people and that theircurrent status was achievedwithout regard of a divine being.This so called individualism is notlimited to school going children;Adults face the same mindset intheir work place.

Negative Perception of GodGenerally, people assume that eachsuccess is achieved because oftheir own efforts and anything badmust be attributed to some freakaccident of nature. For example,we do not hear much about

Quebec’s successful skiing season;we do not hear about plentifulharvest of the prairies; we do nothear people thanking for thebenefits of the forestry of BritishColumbia; but on the onset of eachcalamity, be it a snowstorm inQuebec, a drought in the prairies orwild fires in British Columbia, it istermed as an Act of God, as if Godis only out there to smite people.

Gratitude in IslamIn this wilderness of ingratitude,Islamic teachings are like a sourceof light or fresh morning breeze.

In Islam, gratitude is a spiritual andmoral state of mind. It is spiritualin the sense of acknowledging thebelievers’ obligation to the Creatorand moral in the sense ofmandating rightful conduct inrelation to God and to thoseappointed by God.

Ingratitude is simply the oppositeof gratitude. It is characterised bythe denial of what is rightfullyowed to God. The Holy Qur’anstates that ingratitude is a form ofrebellious unbelief or kufr. It ruins,and distorts the very basis of allmoral relationships, whether those

HADHRAT MUHAMMAD(SAW) AS ‘ABD SHAKUR’


with God or those within thehuman community.

A dominant feature of the conceptof gratitude – ‘shukr’ in the HolyQur’an – is its use to describe thespiritual bond between thebeliever and God. The term‘shukr’ is derived from the rootshin-kaf-ra. Words derived fromthis root occur at more thanseventy places in the Holy Qur’an.In Arabic lexicons, the term‘shakara’ has the root meaning of‘being filled over’, of that of an‘expression’. ‘Al-Mishkar’ is amilk-producing animal that isproductive despite lack of fodder.‘Shakra’ is also the grass thatgrows despite very little water.Inherent in this meaning is theability to become content withsmall provisions. This also refersto the ability to be productivedespite meagre resources.

Types of ShukrAccording to the very well knowndictionary Tajul’Urus, shukr is ofthree types:

1. Shukr bi al-Qalb: Its literalmeaning is gratitude in the heart. Itrelates to the understanding at the

provisions given to us and theirknowledge in one’s heart andmind.

2. Shukr bi al-Lisan: Its literalmeaning is gratitude with thetongue. It refers to verbal praisefor the one who has done us somefavour.

3. Shukr bi al-Jawarih: This termis applied for appropriate andsuitable use of the provisionsprovided to a person.

Basis for GratitudeThe root of gratitude lies in the actof creation to which every humanbeing owes his existence. Thesustenance of life through Allah’sbounties and blessings is furthergrounds for gratitude.

The Holy Qur’an states:

And Allah brought you forthfrom the wombs of yourmothers while you knewnothing, and gave you ears andeyes and hearts, that you mightbe grateful.(Ch.16: V.79)



The Holy Prophet(saw) as AbdShakurThe person who exemplified thisgratitude in his life was the HolyProphet Muhammad(saw). Thereforeif we are ever to truly learn aboutshukr, then we must turn our eyestowards the life of the HolyProphet(saw) as Abd Shakur.

Qualities of Abd ShakurAbd Shakur is in reality acomposite of two qualities. In it,the Holy Prophet(saw) can be seen asthe true ‘abd’ or servant of Godand he can be witnessed as the truehuman embodiment of ‘shakur’the one who shows gratitude.These two qualities are completelyintertwined. Their relationship issuch that one cannot be trulycalled an abd or a servant of Godwithout showing gratitude and thata shakir or a shakur – a personwho does shukr – cannot attain hisstatus, unless he is a true servant ofGod, i.e., and abd of Allah.

Examples of the HolyProphet’s(saw)AppreciationWe witness that the Holy ProphetMuhammad’s(saw) entire liferevolved around the remembranceand gratitude of Allah. He started

his day with hamd or praise ofAllah. During the day, beforestarting any activity, he wouldremember and thank Allah, andHe would end that activity byagain showing gratitude to Allah.Despite the fact that his entire daywas spent being grateful to Allah,he continued to pray:

‘Oh my Lord, Make me one ofthose who remember You andof those who show ingratitudetowards Allah.’ (Abu Daud,Kitab-us-Salat, The book ofprayer)

Even after his obligatory prayers,he would not forget theremembrance of Allah andcontinued in the following words.

‘Oh, My Allah grant me theability to pray that is full ofyour remembrance, gratitudeand beauty.’(Abu Daud, Kitab-us-Salat, thebook of prayer)

The Holy Prophet(saw) did not passa single occasion on which aperson could show gratitudewithout setting an example for us.For example whenever it rained



after a long dry season, the HolyProphet(saw) was full of gratitude toAllah. He would uncover his headand take the early shower upon hisblessed head and would say:

‘This is a fresh blessing frommy Lord.’ (Masnad-e-Ahmad, Volume 3,page 267 published in Beirut)

The Holy Qur’an mentions aprophecy of Jesus(as) that indicatesthat a prophet by the name of‘Ahmad’ would come after him.One meaning of Ahmad is aperson who has shownincomparable gratitude towardsAllah. This prophecy was fulfilledin the person of the HolyProphet(saw) who taught us SurahAl-Fatiha, which is the mostbeautiful hamd or praise possible.

One attribute of Allah is that He isShakur, The Appreciator. Thusshukr is the ability to appreciate.The Holy Prophet(saw) is the perfectmanifestation of human equivalentof this attribute. He appreciatedevery kindness or good deed ofother fellow beings. He remindedus that a person who is notappreciative of others cannot be

grateful to Allah. He hasadmonished us to be mindful ofother people’s favours.

One example on true appreciationis related to the Holy Prophet’s(saw)

visit to Ta’if. Upon the HolyProphet’s(saw) return, the non-Muslim Mut’im bin’ Adi extendedhis protection to the HolyProphet(saw), so that he could enterMakkah again. Although Mut’imdied soon thereafter, the HolyProphet(saw) did not forget the gooddeed. When the prisoners of battleof Badr were presented to the HolyProphet(saw), he said,

‘If Mut’im had been alive, andhe had asked to free theseprisoners, I would have doneso without asking for anyransom’1

Similarly, during the battle of Badr,an uncle of the Holy Prophet(saw),Hadhrat Abbas(ra) was one of theprisoners. The Holy Prophet(saw)

had ordered that all the prisonersshould be given clothes. However,Hadhrat Abbas(ra) was quite tall,and no person’s garment would fithim. Abdullah bin ‘Ubayy, ahypocrite, brought his shirt from



home and gave it to HadhratAbbas(saw). Even this deed was notforgotten by the Holy Prophet(saw) ,so much so that upon the death ofthis leader of the hypocrites, theHoly Prophet(saw) gave his blessedgarment for his burial.

Another incident shows how theHoly Prophet(saw) was appreciativeof others. Hadhrat Fatima bintAsad(ra) was the mother of HadhratAli(ra) and a cousin of the HolyProphet(saw). When she passedaway in Madinah the HolyProphet(saw) gave his blessedgarment for her shroud andpersonally lowered her corpse intoher grave to ensure that the burialwas performed correctly. His eyeswere full of tears at that time.Hadhrat Umar(ra) asked the reasonfor that special attention. The HolyProphet(saw) indicated that after thedeath of his mother, HadhratFatima(ra) was like a mother to him.She had showed such lovingtreatment that he could not trulyshow his gratitude.

He continued: ‘Whenever I satwith my cousins to eat, she wouldprovide for me even more thanwhat was given to her own sons.

Even then, she would save somefood for me separately.’

Examples of Holy Prophet’s(saw)

ContentmentShukr has another meaning ofcontentment. The early life ofHadhrat Muhammad Mustafa(saw)

was full of struggles. However,when he migrated to Madinah andIslam spread to all corners ofArabia, life became affluent formany. Despite that change infortunes, the Holy Prophet(saw) leda simple and content life, alwayslooking to provide for peopleworse off than him .

Hadhrat Abu Huraira(ra) narratedthat the Holy Prophet(saw) said,

‘If any of you would like to seethe great blessings of Allah onhim, then let him look at thosewho are less fortunate thanhim, not those who appearbetter off than him.’2

Hadhrat Aisha(ra) relates that itnever happened that food wascooked in the household of theHoly Prophet(saw) for threeconsecutive days. Surely if theHoly Prophet(saw) had wanted, he



could have filled his house withthe best of provisions; but his wayof showing gratitude was toremain content and not show anygreed.

Once Hadhrat Umar(ra) visited theHoly Prophet(saw) and noticed thathe was resting upon a mat. Whenthe Holy Prophet(saw) got up, themarks of this rough mat wereevident on his skin. HadhratUmar(ra) was much disturbed bythis sight and enquired if a betterarrangement could be made for theHoly Prophet(saw). The HolyProphet(saw) responded by sayingthat there was no need for suchluxuries as he was leading his lifein this world just like a travellerwho had stopped under a tree forrest before continuing his journey.Some may think that there is noconnection of contentment withthankfulness, but, in reality, truegratitude cannot be shown withoutbeing content. Greed is the enemyof contentment and thankfulness.

The conquest of Makkah is theepitome of true gratitude. TheHoly Prophet(saw) entered Makkahvictoriously with ten thousandfollowers. However, due to his

gratitude to Allah and humility, heentered the city in a prostratingposition looking down – whilesitting on the back of a camel. Itwas a magnificent bloodlessvictory, which had been pro-phesied in the earlier scriptures. Aworldly leader would have starteda grand feast to celebrate thismonumental victory. That rulerwould have butchered hundreds ofanimals for this feast. However,the attitude of the Holy Prophet(saw)

provides true guidance to us. Aftercompleting some urgent tasks, theHoly Prophet(saw) visited UmmHani’s(ra) abode and asked her ifthere was anything to eat. Sheresponded that there was nothing inthe house except some driedbreadcrumbs. The Holy Prophet(saw)

asked her to dip those breadcrumbsin water to make them soft andedible. He then enquired from her ifthere was anything to eat withthose breadcrumbs. She respondedthat there was nothing in the houseexcept a few drops of vinegar. TheHoly Prophet(saw) asked her tobring that vinegar and started toeat. With each bite, he thankedAllah; he praised Allah and saidhow good those breadcrumbs werewith those few drops of vinegar.



Such was the feast of the HolyProphet(saw) on the great victory ofMakkah.3

It is reported that the HolyProphet(saw) often stayed up allnight standing until his feetbecame swollen. When he wasasked why he was subjectinghimself to such hardship, whenAllah had already forgiven all hispast and future human lapses. Hewould reply, ‘Should I not be agrateful servant?’4

Hisham bin Urwa said that theHoly Prophet(saw) used to pray, ‘OhAllah! Help me to remember You,to give thanks to You and toworship You well.’5

The Holy Prophet(saw) once said:‘Allah is pleased with his slave,who, when he eats something,thanks Allah for it and when hedrinks something, thanks Allah forit.’6

Shu’bah(ra) narrated that once hecame to the Messenger ofAllah(saw) looking untidy andscruffy. The Holy Prophet(saw)

asked him whether he had anypossessions. Shu’bah(ra) replied

that Allah had given him camels,horses, slaves and sheep. The HolyProphet(saw) said, ‘If Allah hasgiven you all of that, then let Himsee His blessings on you.’

Al-Nu’man bin Bashir(ra) narratedthat the Holy Prophet(saw) said,‘Speaking of Allah’s blessing isgratitude and ignoring it isingratitude. The one who does notgive thanks for a small blessingwill not give thanks for a greatblessing, and the one who does notgive thanks to people will not givethanks to Allah.’7

Examples of the HolyProphet’s(saw) Remembrance ofAllahThe Holy Prophet(saw) was veryparticular about prayers in con-gregation. Even during illness, hewould go to the mosque to lead theprayers himself. Once, due toseverity of illness, he was not ableto proceed to the mosque andinstructed Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra) tolead the prayers. As he felt a bitbetter, he asked to be supported tothe mosque. He was still so feeblethat he had to rest his weight onthe shoulders of two men.According to Hadhrat Aishah(ra),



his feet trailed around the ground.Is this not the example of a trueservant of Allah whose everybreath was filled with theremembrance of Allah?8

It is fascinating to note that everymoment of the life of the HolyProphet(saw) was filled with theremembrance of Allah. Evenwhile going to sleep, he wouldoffer the prayer:

‘O Allah! Let me die with Thyname on my lips, and with Thyname on my lips let me rise.’Upon waking up he would say,‘All praise is due to Allah Whohas brought me to life afterdeath and one day we shall allbe gathered unto Him.’9

Darud Sharif – Our Gratitude tothe Holy Prophet(saw)

The Holy Prophet(saw) was the bestamongst the grateful servants ofAllah. Allah the Almighty hasbestowed us with all kinds ofbounties because of the HolyProphet’s gratitude toward Him. Ifwe show our gratitude to the HolyProphet(saw) by offering DarudSharif, Allah the Almighty willmultiply these favours on us.

Fruits of Following the BeautifulExample of the Holy Prophet(saw)

as Abd ShakurIn the Holy Qur’an, Allah theAlmighty says:

And remember also the timewhen your Lord declared: Ifyou are grateful, I will, surely,bestow more favours on you;but if you are ungrateful, thenknow that My punishment issevere indeed.’ (Ch.14: V.8)

The Holy Prophet(saw) offered hisgratefulness toward Allah theAlmighty throughout his life. Thebounties that Allah bestowed uponthe Holy Prophet(saw) as a result ofhis gratitude to Allah arementioned in the Holy Qur’an inthe following words:

Surely, we have given thee anabundance of good.(Ch.108: V.2)

These favours that belong to thisworld as well as the hereafter willalso be extended to his truefollowers.

Allah the Almighty says in theHoly Qur’an:


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O ye who believe! fear Allahand seek the way of approachunto Him and strive in His waythat you may prosper.(Ch.5: V.36)

The Holy Prophet(saw) has shownus the beautiful face of Allah; hehas given us the beautiful teachingin the shape of the Holy Qur’an;he has given us the beautifulSharia of Islam, the most beautifulreligion on earth. So, following inhis footsteps and showing ourgratitude to him, we should alsobecome grateful servants of Allahthe Almighty.

In this time and age, the PromisedMessiah(as) – the founder of theAhmadiyya Muslim Communityhas been given the torch of Islam.The light will shine through him.He is the second coming of theHoly Prophet Muhammad(saw). Heclaims that whatever he has got isdue to his love for the HolyProphet(saw). He says:

‘Once I realised that I shouldspend more time in invokingblessings and saying darud onthe name of HadhratMuhammad Mustafa(saw), I

realised that the roads leadingto Allah are very tiny and sometimes you have to find themwith struggle. Then I realisedthat this is possible onlythrough the medium of theHoly Prophet(saw), becauseAllah says, ‘seek the way ofapproach Unto Him.’ The wayof approach to Allah is trueobedience of HadhratMuhammad Mustafa(saw). ThenI saw a vision that two angelscome to my house withcontainers of light. One comesfrom the outside and onecomes from the inside. Theyare sprinkling light in myhouse while saying, ‘This lightis given to you because youhave been sending darud onthe Holy Prophet.’10

If we show our gratitude to theHoly Prophet(saw), then since hepossesses the attribute of Shakurto its full human capacity, hisappreciation for us will work inour favour in wonderful ways as isevident from the followingAhadith:

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah(ra)

relates that the Holy

47



Prophet(saw) said, ‘He who callsblessings on me, Allah sendsdown blessings on him tentimes.’ (Sahih Muslim) TheHoly Prophet(saw) was not inneed of blessings, from us; buthe has shown us the way toreceive the blessing of Allah.

Hadhrat Abu Talha Ansari(ra)

relates that one morning theHoly Prophet(saw) wasextraordinarily cheerful. Hisface was shining with joy. Thecompanions enquired from theHoly Prophet(saw) the reason ofsuch extreme happiness. TheHoly Prophet(saw) replied thatHadhrat Gabriel(as) came to himand told him that he who sendsor invokes darud or salam onhim from his ummah, Allahwill write down ten good deedsin his record. Moreover, tenbad deeds will be taken awayfrom his record and thespiritual station of that personwill be raised ten times.11

On the Day of Judgementeverybody will be in a state of lossand fear. However, the HolyProphet(saw) said:

‘The closest to me on the Dayof Judgement will be thosewho called down blessings onme the most.’(Jamia Tirmidi)

Similarly, in another hadith, theHoly Prophet(saw) said:

‘The best of your days isFriday. Therefore, invokeblessings on me frequently onthat day, for your invocation isconveyed to me.’12

Thus a spiritual arrangement hasbeen made by Allah the Almightysuch that our darud is reported tothe soul of the Holy Prophet(saw).

Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq(ra) relatesthat the Holy Prophet(saw) said:

‘He who sends darud on me, Iwill intercede on his behalf onthe Day of Judgement .’13

Hadhrat Fadhaalah bin’ Ubaidrelates that the Holy Prophet(saw)

heard someone supplicate in hisprayer without glorification ofAllah and without invokingblessings upon the HolyProphet(saw). The Holy Prophet(saw)

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observed that he was in a hurry.Then he called him and said to himor to someone beside him thatwhen one is to supplicate, theprayer should begin with thepraise of his Lord and Hisglorification followed by theinvoking of blessings on the HolyProphet(saw). Then one can suppli-cate as he may wish. Hence theHoly Prophet(saw) has taught us theart of prayer. Our prayers areenriched when they start with thepraise and glorification of Allahand with darud and salam on theHoly Prophet(saw).14

Hadhrat Ubayy bin Ka’b once toldthe Holy Prophet(saw) that when hesupplicated, he would spend onefourth of his time in darud. Heenquired whether he shouldincrease the amount of time spentin darud. The Holy Prophet(saw)

replied that if he were to offermore darud, it would be better forhim. Upon hearing this advice, hesuggested that he reserved half ofhis time of supplication for darud.The Holy Prophet(saw) again saidthat if he were to offer even moredarud, it would be better for him.Then he suggested that he spenttwo thirds of his supplication time

in darud. Again the HolyProphet(saw) said that if he were tooffer even more darud, it would bebetter for him. Now he said that hewould only offer darud sharifduring his entire supplication.Upon this, the Holy Prophet(saw)

said Allah would fulfil all of hisdesires.15

Hadhrat Anas(ra) relates that theHoly Prophet(saw) said:

‘The one who says darud onethousand times a day, he willnot die until he is shown hisabode in paradise.’16

ConclusionHow often do we come acrosspeople who complain about smalland insignificant things? Howoften do we see people not contentwith provisions given to them byAllah? How often do we realisethat what Allah has provided forus is truly a blessing? The attitudeof appreciation, contentment andgratitude must develop within ourdaily lives. Without this change inour behaviour, we cannot trulyfollow in the footsteps of ourbeloved master HadhratMuhammad Mustafa(saw).

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What a perfect example of shukrhas been set by the HolyProphet(saw) for us. He was an AbdShakur. He is Shakur because heappreciated. When we send darud,it is appreciated by Allah on hisbehalf and a spiritual relationshipis developed with him which willgrow so strong by the Day ofJudgement that he will intercedeon our behalf. Therefore, we muststrive to develop a spiritualrelationship with the HolyProphet(saw)

REFERENCES1. Bukhari Kitab-ul-Maghazi,

Chapter the Battle of Badr2. Masnad-e-Ahmad, Volume 2,

page 254 Beirut.3. As-Seeratun Nabawiyya. Ibn

Hisham. Vol.4 page 91, Beirutand Majma-uz-zawahid. Vol.8,p.172.

4. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Tafseer4460.

5. Abu Daud, Kitab-us-Salat,Chapter Istighfar 1301.

6. Jamia Tirmidhi, Kitab-ul-Dawaat 3379.

7. Jamia Tirmidhi, Kitabul Birru-

was-silah, 1877.8. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Adhan,

624 and 4088.9. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ud-Dawat,

5837.10. Haqiqa-tul-Wahi, p.128

footnote.11. Jila-ul-afham by Hafiz Ibn-e-

Qayyem with the reference ofMasnad Imam Hanbal, p.31.

12. Sunan Abu Daud, AbwabulJumu'ah.

13. Jila-ul-afham, p.70 withreference to Ibn Shaheen.

14. Sunan Abu Daud, Kitab al Salat,Bab al Dua’a

15. Jami' Tirmidhi16. Jila-ul-afham with reference of

Ibn-al-Ghazi.


In earlier chapters we have givennumerous references from theHoly Qur’an and the history ofIslam to expose the fallacy thatIslam prescribes any corporalpunishment for those whorenounce Islam as their faith. Weexamined at length the mostcommon arguments presented bythe advocates of death forapostasy, namely the report ofIkramah and the incident of zakatin Hadhrat Abu Bakr’s time. Someother arguments are examined inthis chapter.

It is difficult to assess whether theconcept of coercion in Islam hadits birth on Islamic soil or was thechild of the orientalists'imagination and was later ontransferred to the lap of Islam.Having examined this in the lightof Islamic history, I honestlybelieve that the idea first took rootin the Islamic world itself and thatit is wrong of us to blame the

orientalists for having initiated it.They picked it up from theMuslims: before the orientalistswere even born, the idea seems tohave been present in medievalIslamic thought. It originated inthe late Umayyad dynasty.Throughout the Abbaside period,the idea continued to flourish andwas further strengthened becausethe Abbaside sovereigns wanted touse force not only against theenemies of Islam but also againsttheir own people. A licence forthis was not infrequently soughtfrom Muslim scholars under theirinfluence. The concept has there-fore arisen from the conduct andpolicies of the post-Khilafat-i-Rashida1 Muslim governments ofBaghdad.

Looking on from the outside,Western scholars believed that thiswas an Islamic teaching, but thefact was that it was not Islamic atall. It was the basis of the

PUNISHMENT FORAPOSTASY– Part 7This is the seventh extract from the ‘Murder in the Name of Allah’ by HadhratMirza Tahir Ahmad, dealing with Jama’at Islami’s founder, MaulanaMaududi’s misinterpretation of the Islamic concept of Jihad.

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PUNISHMENT FOR APOSTASY


behaviour of some Muslimgovernments. We shouldremember that the idea had itsbirth in an age when all over theworld the use of force for thespread of influence and ideologywas a common feature and noexception was taken to this.

It is clear that the allegation thatIslam advocates the use of forcefor the spread of its ideology doesnot originate from a study of thesources of Islamic teachings butfrom a study of the conduct ofsome Muslim states. Now that anew era has dawned in which allthe Islamic literature and traditionsare available to us and the HolyQur’an has been translated into somany languages – when Westernscholars have direct access to thesources of Islamic teachings –their persistence in making theallegation is unjustified. Theyshould go to the sources and studythe teachings of the Holy Qur’an,the traditions and the conduct ofthe Holy Prophet, Muhammad(saw),himself.

This work is an attempt toexamine the whole issue, not inthe light of how Muslims of a

certain era behaved, but in thelight of the fundamental teachingsof the Holy Qur’an and theexposition of those teachings bythe words of the Holy Prophet(saw)

and by his conduct.

The tendency to judge teachingsby the conduct of their followershas often misled people about theoriginal teachings. It is universallyobserved that after a while allreligions lose their influence onthe conduct of their adherents. Forillustrations of this, study thebehaviour of the Buddhists oftoday or of earlier eras, study thebehaviour of the Hindugovernments, and so on and soforth; it often has no relationshipwhatsoever with the originalteachings. In particular, politicsmust not be confused withreligion; political behaviour of anation should not be treated as amirror reflecting the teachings ofthe religion which its people aresupposed to follow.

It is against this background thatwe examine the argumentspresented by the advocates ofdeath as a punishment forapostasy.

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Definition of an apostateThe Holy Qur’an states:

They will not stop fighting youuntil they turn you back fromyour faith, if they can. Theworks of those from among youwho turn back from their faithand die in a state of disbeliefshall be vain in this world andthe next. These are the inmatesof the fire, therein shall theyabide. (Ch2: V.218)

This means that whoever, out offear of the sword (or pain ofpunishment), decides to abjureIslam has a fundamental right todo so but no one else has the rightto declare him to be an apostate.The right to declare himself to bean apostate lies only with him.Nowhere in the Holy Qur’an hasthis right been granted to others.That is to say, one is free torenounce one's own religion buthas no right to imposerenunciation of religion on others.According to Islamic teachings, anapostate, therefore, cannot bemanufactured by religiousscholars or the clergy or any non-tolerant individual or government.

The Holy Qur’an also states:

Surely, those who have turnedaway after guidance has beenmade manifest to them havebeen deceived by Satan whohas beguiled them with falsehopes.(Ch.47: V.26)

The Holy Qur’an says:

O ye who believe, whoso fromamong you turns back from hisreligion let him remember thatin place of such a person,Allah will soon bring a peoplewhom He will love and whowill love Him, who will be kindand considerate towards thebelievers and firm andunyielding towards thedisbelievers. They will strivehard in the cause of Allah andwill not at all take to heart thereproaches of fault finders.That is Allah’s grace; Hebestows it upon whosoever Hepleases. Allah is the Lord ofvast bounty, All-Knowing. (Ch.5: V.55)

Whoso disbelieves in Allahafter he has believed,

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excepting the case of one whois forced to make a declarationof disbelief while his heartrests securely in faith, but onewho opens his mind wide todisbelief; on him is Allah’swrath and he shall have agrievous punishment.(Ch.16: V.107)

Those who believe, thendisbelieve, then again believe,then disbelieve and thereaftergo on increasing in disbelief,Allah will never forgive them,nor guide them to any way ofdeliverance.(Ch.4: V.138)

Muhammad is but aMessenger; of a surety, allMessengers before him havepassed away. If then, he dies orbe slain, will you turn back onyour heels? He who turns backon his heels shall not harmAllah a whit. Allah willcertainly reward the grateful.(Ch.3: V.145)

No corporal punishment can beunderstood to have beenmentioned by any stretch ofimagination in the foregoing

passages from the Holy Qur’an.

Surah Al-TaubahIn a desperate search for at leastone verse in the Holy Qur’anwhich might lend support fordeath as a punishment forapostasy, recourse has been madeto verses 12 and 13 of Chapter 9(Surah Al-Taubah). We quotebelow verses 3-14 of that chapter.These speak for themselves anddefy all attempts on the part ofanyone who would have themunderstood differently:

3. This is a public proclamation onthe part of Allah and HisMessenger on the day of the GreatPilgrimage, that Allah is free of allobligation to the idolaters, and sois His Messenger. So now, havingwitnessed this Sign, if you willrepent and make peace, it will bebetter for you; but if you turnaway, then know that you cannotfrustrate Allah’s design. Warn thedisbelievers of a painfulchastisement.

4. Excepting those of them withwhom you have a pact and whohave not defaulted in any respect,nor supported anyone against you.

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Carry out the obligations you haveassumed towards them till the endof their terms. Surely, Allah lovesthose who are mindful of theirobligations.

5. When the period of four monthsduring which hostilities aresuspended expires, without theidolaters having settled the termsof peace with you, resume fightingwith them and kill them whereveryou find them and make themprisoners and beleaguer them, andlie in wait for them at every placeof ambush. Then if they repent andobserve prayers and pay the zakat,leave them alone. Surely, Allah isMost Forgiving, Ever Merciful.

6. If anyone of the idolaters seeksasylum with thee, grant himasylum so that he may hear theWord of Allah; then convey him toa place of security for him, for theyare a people who lack knowledge.

7. How could there be a guaranteefor the idolaters on the part ofAllah and His Messenger, exceptin favour of those with whom youentered into an express treaty atthe Sacred Mosque? So long asthey carry out their obligations

thereunder, you must carry outyour obligations. Surely, Allahloves those who are mindful oftheir obligations.

8. How can there be a guaranteefor the others who, if they were toprevail against you, would have noregard for any tie of kinship orpact in respect of you? They seekto please you with words, whiletheir hearts repudiate them; mostof them are perfidious.

9. They have bartered the Signs ofAllah for small gains and hinderedpeople from His way. Evil indeedis that which they have done.

10. They show no regard for anytie of kinship or any pact in respectof a believer. It is they who are thetransgressors.

11. If they repent and observeprayer and pay the zakat, thenthey are your brethren in faith. Weexpound our commandments for apeople who know.

12. But if they break faith afterpledging it and ridicule yourreligion, then fight these leaders ofdisbelief that they may desist, for

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they have no regard for theirpledged word.

13. Will you not fight a people whohave violated their oaths, whoplotted to turn out the Messengerfrom his home, and who were thefirst to start hostilities againstyou? Do you fear them? It is AllahWho is Most Worthy that youshould fear Him, if you arebelievers.

14. Fight them: Allah will punishthem at your hands, and willhumiliate them, and will help youto overcome them, and will relievethe minds of the believers of fearand distress.

Those who deduce from verses 12and 13 that the punishment forapostasy is death offer noexplanation of the contradictionthis creates with numerous otherverses. These verses relate to theperiod after the migration fromMakkah to Madinah (see verse 3)when the Quraish of Makkah hadembarked upon hostilities to wipeout Islam by force.

The advocates of capital punish-ment for apostasy should

remember that these verses refer toidolaters who have broken theirpledges and ridicule religion; thereis no mention of peoplerenouncing their faith. They havebroken their pledge after their firmcommitment to it. Those who havebecome hostile to your religion arethe first to initiate hostilitiesagainst you. The permission foryou to fight them is restricted totheir leaders whose covenants areworthless and false. Thepermission is given in order tostop them from entering intohostile acts against you.

This is the true meaning of theseverses which have beenmisconstrued by the advocates ofcapital punishment. There is noteven the remotest reference topeople who renounce their faithbeing forced to become Muslims.The same people are discussed inanother part of the Holy Qur’an:

It may be that Allah will bringabout amity between you andthose with whom you are atenmity. Allah has the power;Allah is Most Forgiving, EverMerciful. Allah does not forbidyou to be kind and act

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equitably towards those whohave not fought you because ofyour religion, and who havenot driven you forth from yourhomes. Surely Allah lovesthose who are equitable. Allahonly forbids you that you makefriends with those who havefought against you because ofyour religion and have drivenyou out of your homes andhave aided others in drivingyou out. Whoso makes friendswith them, those are thetransgressors. (Ch.60: Vs.8-10)

Temporary disbeliefAnother verse of the Holy Qur’anstates:

A section of the people of theBook urge some from amongthemselves: why not affirm, inthe early part of the day, beliefin that which has beenrevealed unto the believers andrepudiate it in the latter part ofthe day, perchance they mayturn away from their faith.(Ch.3: V.73)

The people of the Book mentionedin this verse are the Jews of

Madinah. Theirs was a Jewishtactic to create doubt among theMuslims in the hope that some ofthem might thereby by beguiledinto repudiating Islam. How couldit be possible for the Jews to haveenacted this plan if death was apenalty for apostasy? Had anyonebeen executed for commiting thiscrime, that would have been adeterrent for others who would notfollow in their footsteps.

The advocates of the death penaltyurge that this verse merely refersto a Jewish philosophy which wasnever put into practice by them.Even if it was merely aphilosophy, this verse isconclusive proof of there being nopunishment in this world forapostasy because the Jews couldnever have conceived the idea hadthere been such a punishmentMoreover, it is wrong to say thatthe idea was a hypothetical case;the books of tradition mention thatit was put into practice by twelveJewish divines of Khaibar andUrainah.2

All commentaries agree that thischapter of the Holy Qur’an wasrevealed between the victory of

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Makkah and the demise of theHoly Prophet(saw). This conclu-sively proves that the Jews put itinto practice after Islam becamefirmly established in Arabia. Howcould the Jews ever think of sucha suicidal and insane strategy ifdeath was prescribed as apunishment for apostasy? Howcould they encourage Muslims tofollow their faith by affirming itduring the day and repudiating itat the end of the day if they knewthat the Muslims would beexecuted for changing their faith?

TraditionsThe advocates of capitalpunishment for apostasy mis-construe out of all proportion thetraditions narrated about the HolyProphet(saw). Traditions lend nosupport to their thesis. On thecontrary, there are many traditionswhich clearly show that there is nopunishment for apostasy in this life.

However, for the sake ofcompleteness, we set out thosetraditions which are most oftencited by advocates of capitalpunishment for apostasy.

a) Abu Qalabah reports on the

authority of Anas that the HolyProphet(saw) told the people of Akalor Uraynah to go and stay amonghis she-camels outside Madinah.These people killed the keeper ofthe camels and ran away with theherd. Although it is true that thesepeople had become apostates, theirpunishment was not a result oftheir apostasy but of their murderof the keeper of the she-camels.

b) Whereas Ibn Khatal, who waswithout doubt one of the fourexecuted on the fall of Makkah,was an apostate, he had alsocommitted the crime of murderinghis travelling companion. Hisexecution was, therefore,obviously ordered as a result of hishaving been convicted as amurderer.

c) Another incident is that ofMaqees b. Sababah who killed anAnsar in revenge for Hisham, hisbrother, who was accidentallykilled during the campaign ofZeeqard. Thereafter, Maqeesbecame an apostate. He wasexecuted on account of the murderof the Ansar.

In each one of the above incidents,

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the executed person hadcommitted murder. The threepeople had also happened torenounce their faith, but how cananyone shut his eyes to themurders and attribute theirexecutions to their acts ofapostasy?

d) The advocates of capitalpunishment for apostasy relyheavily on a tradition whichmentions the execution of awoman for apostasy. This traditionis most unreliable, to say the least.The truth of the matter is that theHoly Prophet(saw) never ordered theexecution of a woman on accountof her apostasy. The well-knowntreatise of jurisprudence,Hedayah, sets out the following:

‘The Holy Prophet(saw)

forbade the killing of womenfor apostasy, because theprinciple of punitiveregulations is that in suchcases the penalty should beleft for the hereafter, as apenalty imposed in this lifewould contravene the purposeof apostasy, being a trialcalling to account whatpertains to God alone. This

can be departed from onlywhen the object in view is torestrain the person concernedfrom continuing hostilities(during times of war). Aswomen, by their very nature,are not capable of fighting, awoman apostate cannot bepunished in any case.’

Strangely enough, scholars likeMaududi, who might be supposedto be fully aware of serious flawsin the reliability of thesetraditions, still adhere to weaktraditions which have beenrejected by most eminent Muslimscholars.

e)The incident of Abdullah BinSad has already been quoted inpart 6. Had there been anyQur’anic penalty for apostasy, theHoly Prophet’s(saw) words to theeffect that no one is above the lawwould be a clear reminder of hisstrict observance of God’s laws. Ifdeath was the punishment forapostasy, how could the HolyProphet(saw) disobey thecommandments of God?

CompanionsWe have observed that neither the

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Holy Qur’an nor any reliabletraditions of the Holy Prophet(saw)

lend any support to those whoadvocate capital punishment forapostasy. But those advocateshave some other tricks up theirsleeves. It is necessary to examinetheir remaining arguments atgreater length. Those argumentsare based on the opinions of theCompanions of the HolyProphet(saw), and not directly on hisown personal judgement. Let it beknown at the outset thatobservations or opinions ofCompanions(ra) can only be acommentary; they have no right tobe treated with as much respect asan injunction of the Holy Qur’an.At best they can only be regardedas an opinion.

a) The incident of the widespreadapostasy in relation to the paymentof zakat has been discussed [inpart 6, see The Review ofReligions, May 2006]. The Absand the Zubyan were the tribeswhich initiated hostilities byattacking Madinah. Hadhrat AbuBakr(ra) fought them before thereturn of Osama from hisexpedition. The apostates were theaggressors. They not only refused

to pay zakat, but also took up thesword against the Muslims. Thusthey rebelled against the Islamicstate, slaughtered the Muslimsamongst them by burning somealive and mutilated those they hadkilled3. Those who advocateexecution for apostasy on theauthority of this incident are eitherignorant of the facts ordeliberately seek to misleadpeople by playing down the killingof innocent Muslims by the rebels.

b) The advocates then pose thequestion that if there was nopunishment for apostasy, why wasMusailmah the imposter not leftalone? The truth is that Musailmahaspired to political power. He hadaccompanied Abu Hanifa andoffered to the Holy Prophet(saw) hissubmission subject to his beingnominated as his successor. TheHoly Prophet(saw) told Musailmahthat he would not yield him even atwig of a date palm tree.Musailmah returned and claimedthat half of Arabia belonged tohim. He sent a letter to the HolyProphet(saw) in which he claimed: ‘Ihave been appointed your partnerin authority.’ The Holy Prophet(saw)

responded by quoting to him verse

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129 of chapter 7 of the HolyQur’an.4 After Musailmah’s claimof prophethood, he capturedHabeeb b. Zaid, a Companion ofthe Holy Prophet(saw), dismem-bered him limb from limb, andthen burned his remains. Theadvocates of capital punishmentignore this gruesome murder andclaim that apostasy was the onlycrime attributable to Musailmah.Had he not commited murder,would he have been killed for thecrime of apostasy alone? Was henot brought to justice for themurder and for the mayhem anddisorder which he created in theland? There is not the slightestshred of evidence that having heardof Musailmah's rejection of hisprophethood, the Holy Prophet(saw)

condemned Musailmah to death orexhorted any of his Companions tokill him. Having failed to findevidence of any specificcondemnation by the HolyProphet(saw), Maulana Maududi hadto seek recourse in a wish whichthe Holy Prophet(saw) is said to haveexpressed during his dyingmoments, that Musailmah shouldbe done away with. Had there beensuch a wish, it is impossible for usto believe that the Holy

Prophet’s(saw) first successor,Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra), would haveignored it and not sent anexpedition in compliance with thewish of the Holy Prophet(saw). Whydid Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra) wait untilthe time when Musailmah himselftook the offensive and openlyrebelled against the Muslims? Wefind that Musailmah mustered aforce of 40,000 warriors of BanuHanifa alone when he foughtKhalid b. Walid. Musailmahinitiated hostilities and movedagainst Madinah. It was only thenthat Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra) gaveorders to march against him onaccount of his rebellion and hisgruesome murder of Habeeb binZaid.5

c) Another incident cited is that ofTulaiha, another pretender toprophethood. Again, he was notjust a pretender but had murderedUkasha b. Mohsin and Thabit b.Aqram Ansari. Before Khalid b.Walid commenced battle with him,he sent an emissary to Tulaiha toagree peace terms and avoidbloodshed. The advocates ofcapital punishment overlook thefact that if there had been capitalpunishment for apostasy, there

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was no point in sending anemissary offering forgiveness toTulaiha.6

d) A similar case is that of AswadAnasi who raised the standard ofrebellion with his apostasy. Hekilled the Muslim governor ofYemen, Shahr b. Bazan, forciblymarried his widow and madehimself ruler of Yemen. When theHoly Prophet(saw) learned of hisrebellion, he sent a letter to Muadhb. Jabal and the Muslims tooppose Aswad Anasi, who wassubsequently killed in a skirmishwith the Muslims. (News of hisdeath arrived one day after thedemise of the Holy Prophet(saw))7

e) Similarly, Laqbeet b. MalikAzdi became an apostate andclaimed to be a prophet. Heexpelled Jafar and Abad who hadbeen appointed as functionaries inOman.8 He, like all these claimantsto prophethood, had no concernwith religion. He had his ownpolitical axe to grind. His searchfor political domination wasthrough open rebellion against theIslamic state he lived in, so thequestion of apostasy is irrelevanthere. Let us suppose for a moment

that all these people had notrecanted their faith but had merelyrebelled against the Muslim state.The state would have had to takethe step of quelling the rebellion;for the crime of creating disorderin the land, the Holy Qur’anprescribes capital punishment.That punishment is not forapostasy.

f) The advocates of capitalpunishment for apostacy cite alsothe case of Umm Qarfah, a womanwho became an apostate duringthe time of Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra).She had thirty sons whom sheconstantly exhorted to fight theMuslims. She paid the price forher treason and for her complicityin murder, not on account of herapostasy.9

g) The case of Hadhrat Ali(ra)

fighting the Khawarij is oftencited. The Khawarij createddisorder in the land, killed Muslimmen and women, the governorappointed by Hadhrat Ali(ra), hisfemale slave, and also Ali’semissary.10 (This incident has beendiscussed on p.70.)

h) Reference needs to be made to

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the appointments of Muadh b.Jabal and Abu Musa Ashari, eachas governor of a part of Yemen. Asthey were about to leave, the HolyProphet(saw) instructed them:‘Make things easy for people anddo not put them into difficulty.Talk to them cheerfully and not ina manner that might repel them’.One day Muadh came to meet AbuMusa Ashari and noticed a personsitting there who had been securedwith a rope. When Muadhenquired about this he was toldthat that person was a Jew whohad become a Muslim and thenbecame an apostate. The narratoradds that for the past two to threemonths the Muslims had reasonedwith him in order to persuade himto become a Muslim but to noavail. Muadh declared that hewould not dismount until theperson had been executed andobserved that this was thejudgement of God and HisMessenger. This last remarkindicates no more than hispersonal opinion of what heunderstood to be the Will of Godand His prophet. Such opinionscarry no weight in law unless theyare completely substantiated byreferences which verify the claim.

(This principle is elaboratedsubsequently in this chapter.)

References1. The term used for the first four

caliphs (successors) after thedeath of the Holy Prophet(saw),namely Hadhrat Abu Bakr(ra),Umar(ra), Uthman(ra), and Ali(ra).(Their rule lasted from AD632to 661).

2. Commentary: Bahral Muheet,vol. II, 493.

3. Tabari, vol.IV, 1873; IbnKhaldun, vol. II, 65; Khamees,vol.II, 237 etc

4. Tabari, vol. IV, 1849.

5. Khamees, vol. II, 641.

6. Ibn Hijr Al-Asqalani, Al-Isabafi Tamyiz-is-Suhaba (Beirut:Darul Kitab Al-Arabi), vol.2,448; Al Imam-Allama Ibn ul-Athir, Usudul Ghaba fiMa'rifat-is-Sahaba (Beirut:Dar Ahyaultarath Al-Arabi),vol.4,3.

7. Ibn Al-Athir Al-Jazri, Alkamil

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fil Tarikh (Beirut: Darul KutbAl-Almiya), vol.2, 201-5.

8. Tabari, vol.IV, 1977.

9. Masboot, vol.x, 110.

10. Fath Al-Bari, vol.XII, 267;Imam Razi, Tafsir Kabir,

vol.III, 614; Sheikh IbnTaimiyyah, MinhajusSunnah, vol.II, 61-2; Tarikh-al Kamil, vol.III, 148.

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CONTENTS June 2006, Vol.101, No - Review of ReligionsSpecial contributors: Amatul-Hadi Ahmad Farina...

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