90th anniversary of the lahore ahmadiyya movement, … · 2019-12-25 · prophet muhammad. jihad is...

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Vol. No. 27, Issue No. 12 December 2019 IN MEMORY OF JALAL-UD-DIN AKBAR IBN-I ABDULLAH, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA Editor: Nasir Ahmad B.A. LL.B. MOTTO ISLAM: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT, SURINAME (SIV) AND 550TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF GURU BABA NANAK JI AT THE INDIAN EMBASSY, BERLIN

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Page 1: 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT, … · 2019-12-25 · Prophet Muhammad. Jihad is not about ... the same threefold mission. But the Holy Prophet Muḥammad is the

Vol. No. 27, Issue No. 12December 2019

IN MEMORY OF JALAL-UD-DIN AKBAR IBN-I ABDULLAH, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Editor: Nasir Ahmad B.A. LL.B.

MOTTO ISLAM: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT, SURINAME (SIV)

AND 550TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF GURU BABA NANAK JI AT THE INDIAN EMBASSY, BERLIN

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90TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAHORE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT IN SURINAME (SIV) 2Dr. Robbert BipetTHE QUR’AN AND THE HADITH 5FROM THE BLOG … (LAHORE.AHMADIYYA.ORG) 9Dr. Zahid AzizDOES GOD DISCRIMINATE? 11Mustaq AliACTIVITIES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE 22Imam Amir Aziz

PageCONTENTS

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAHORE AHMADIYYA ANJUMAN IN

SURINAME - SIV (SURINAME)Dr. Robbert Bipat, president SIV

“The four pillars of the Synagogue and the four minarets of the Mosque symbolize fidelity to faith, harmony in diversity, valuable neighbourhood and sincere brotherhood in Suriname. Divine Revelation connects Jews and Muslims as brothers, just like Isaac and Ishmael. We cannot imagine better neighbours than the Surinamese Islamic Association.” (Mr. Jacques Reeder, Israelite Municipality of Suriname)“Your building (The SIV Mosque) here is a unique monument of tolerance and religious harmony to the entire nation” (Pandit Nandoe).

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the SIV (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at-I Islam, Lahore) chairman, Dr Robbert Bipat stated: “We cherish the diversity in Suriname. It is very heart-warming to celebrate, together with representatives of other religions in Suriname, the 90th anniversary of the SIV at the headquarters at Keizerstraat,

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Paramaribo.” Representatives from all major religions were present, including the Roman-Catholic Diocese (Bishop Karel Choenie), the Sanatan Dharm (Pandit Rabinder Nandoe), Arya Dewaker (Mr. R. Mangre), the Madjlies Moeslimien Suriname (dr. Izaak Jamaludin) and the Israelite Municipality of Suriname (Mr. Jacques Reeder). SIV is the first Islamic as-sociation in Suriname and was established on November 17th, 1929. Barely 13 years after the end of British Indian immigration, 600 Muslims mainly of Hindustani origin gathered together in a theatre to found the first Islamic organization in Suriname. This humble beginning grew into SIV. SIV

is now an active member of the Inter-Religious Council in Suriname (IRIS), an inter-re-ligious dialogue platform.

In his speech, Bishop Choenie emphasized the equality and mutual respect for each other’s faith and working in harmony within the IRIS. “What binds us is faith in that one God who created us all” . “The SIV and Arya Dewaker have a special relationship with each other. Let us ensure that this special relationship never breaks”, was the message from mr. Mangre by Arya Dewaker.

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SIV chairman Dr. Robbert Bipat emphasized the importance of the harmonious union of the religions in Suriname and emphasized the duty of the SIV to actively promote this unifying forum. The chairman underlined the similarities that exist with the dif-ferent religions. Dr Bipat condemned the un-called for violence that is taking place in the world in the name of religion. This violence unfortunately also takes place in the Islamic world. “I invite you to read the explanation of Jihad by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam and his learned companion Maulana Muhammad Ali in the Light of the Holy Qur’an and sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Jihad is not about fighting and killing people as some extremist now claim and do a lot of harm to our religion and the religious harmony. That is not stated in the Holy Quran and nor endorsed by our Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” Dr. Bipat emphasized obligation of every Muslim to believe in the prophets from Adam to the Last Prophet, Holy Prophet Muhammad to whom the Holy Quran was revealed. All prophets have brought a universal mes-sage, namely peace and complete submission to the will of the Almighty Allah. It is important that all of us as human beings practice these teachings and live in peace with each other and fully submit to the will of Allah.” The Mosque and the Synagogue on Keizerstraat, Paramaribo are a tourist attraction and are, most importantly, cited as a living example of religious harmony and tolerance in Suriname. “Your building here is a unique monument to the entire nation,” Pandit Nandoe remarked in this context.

In his speech, Jacques Reeder emphasized the long friendship between the two munic-ipalities and gave examples of how this friendship works in practice. “The four pillars

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of the Synagogue and the four minarets of the Mosque symbolize fidelity to faith and harmony in diversity in Suriname, valuable neighbourhood and sincere brotherhood. Divine revelation connects Jews and Muslims as brothers, just like Isaac and Ishmael. We cannot imagine better neighbours than the Surinamese Islamic Association, “said Mr. Reeder.

Dr Bipat appreciated the presence of Bishop mgr. Choenie and also the representatives of the Hindu denominations. The SIV has a festive year in which the 90th anniversary will be commemorated at different times. After the official part, prayer followed in which the SIV members and guests participated. This was followed by lunch and a social gathering.

* * *

THE QUR’AN AND THE HADITHAs is well known, there are two sources from which all the principles and precepts of Islām are derived: the Holy Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth. The Qur’ān is a collection of revelations vouchsafed by God to the Holy Prophet Muḥammad (may peace and the blessings of God be upon him) and it is the Book of God. The Ḥadīth, using the word in its broader sense, is a collection of the Sayings of the Holy Prophet and of reports about his actions and behaviour. Strictly speaking, it is the former, i.e. the Sayings, which is Ḥadīth, while the term for the latter is Sunnah. Of the two sources, the Qur’ān is obviously more important. The Ḥadīth is subordinate to the Qur’ān, and no reported saying or action of the Holy Prophet in the Ḥadīth is to be accepted as authentic and authoritative which is not in conformity with the letter and spirit of the Qur’ān. However, the importance of the Ḥadīth as the secondary source of Islām is emphasized by the Qur’ān itself. It is written: “Certainly Allāh conferred a favour on the believers when He raised among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His messages and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error.” (3:164) From this verse of the Holy Qur’ān it is clear that the Holy Prophet Muḥammad had come to this world as God’s Messenger with a threefold mission: (1) to convey to mankind the messages that were revealed to him by God, to adopt measures to preserve them

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intact, and to spread them to all the corners of the world; (2) to explain the various doctrines and injunctions of the Qur’ān and to apply them to the concrete and partic-ular situations of life; and (3) to set a perfect example for others to follow by practising in their true sense the teachings of the Qur’ān in his own daily life and in his dealings with other people. All prophets, whenever they were raised by God, had come with the same threefold mission. But the Holy Prophet Muḥammad is the last and greatest of the prophets. The Qur’ān revealed to him is the Book of complete and all-embrac-ing Divine guidance for all mankind; and he himself is the perfect exemplar for people in all walks of life and for all times to come. Hence, the importance of both the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth. The Qur’ān says: “Obey Allāh and obey the Messenger” (24:54), where to obey Allāh obviously means to follow the Holy Qur’ān (the Book of Allāh), and to obey the Messenger means to follow the precepts and examples of the Holy Prophet (i.e., Ḥadīth and Sunnah). The Holy Prophet has been described in the Qur’ān as “an excellent exemplar” (33:21) and “a mercy to all the nations” (21:107), and it is pro-claimed: “O Prophet, surely We have sent you as a witness and a bearer of good news and a warner, and as an inviter to Allāh by His permission, and as a light-giving sun” (33:45–46). The Qur’ān enjoins upon those who love God and long to win His grace and attain nearness to Him, to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet: “Say: If you love Allāh, follow me. Allāh will love you, and grant you protection from your sins, and Allāh is Forgiving, Merciful.” (3:31) Thus, the importance of the Ḥadīth as a collection of the sayings of the Holy Prophet and reports of eye-witnesses about his life and actions cannot be denied by anyone. The Holy Qur’ān, as is well recognized, lays down broad principles of life. It was the Holy Prophet who provided the explanations and details and showed how they were to be translated into practice.

The Qur’ān, as is well known, was written down in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. As soon as any revelation came to him, he would have it written down, and several of his followers would also learn it by heart. Immediately after his passing away, the revela-tions thus recorded and preserved were collected in the form of a book in the order of sequence that the Holy Prophet had himself determined under Divine guidance. Why were the Sayings and the Sunnah of the Prophet not reduced to writing in the same manner in his lifetime? The answer to this is that the Holy Prophet was anxious that his own sayings should not get mixed up with the verses of the Qur’ān. It was for this reason that the sayings and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet were not, generally speaking, committed to writing in his lifetime. Nevertheless, it is an undoubted fact that hundreds of his followers who saw him and heard his conversations, discourses

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and speeches memorized them and conveyed them to others who were not present. Thus the reports of the sayings and actions of the Holy Prophet passed from mouth to mouth, and from one generation to another, and were preserved in the memo-ries of his devoted disciples before they were finally written down. The Arabs were famous for their vast and retentive memories, and whatever had been recorded on their minds was as good as recorded with pen and ink on paper. But with the passage of time, as the early followers of the Holy Prophet began to pass away, the danger was felt that the knowledge of the Ḥadīth and Sunnah would die with them. So the need was felt to write them down and collect them in the form of books. The collectors of Ḥadīth observed certain definite principles and rules in accepting a report about the life and sayings of the Holy Prophet for inclusion in their collections. The first and the most important of these principles was that the Ḥadīth must be in conformity with the letter and spirit of the Qur’ān. Secondly, that it must be in keeping with the high-est moral principles. Thirdly, that it must not be in flagrant opposition to reason and common sense. Fourthly, that it must have come down to the collector through an unbroken chain of narrators from an eye-witness or from the first one who had heard it from the Holy Prophet himself. If the chain of narrators was not complete or if it was broken at any point, then the report was not considered of the highest authenticity. Moreover, the collectors of Ḥadīth made inquiries about and studied the characters of the narrators through whom the report had come to them. If anyone of the narrators was known to have told a lie or was prone to exaggeration or was not otherwise a man of perfect moral integrity, then the report which had come through him was not regarded as reliable. If it was found that a particular report was serving and advancing the worldly ambitions of the narrator or of the faction to which he belonged, then also it was not considered above suspicion. The collectors of Ḥadīth also made sure that the narrators had good memories and had enough intelligence to understand what they were reporting. If the report passed all these tests, then alone was it declared to be absolutely authentic. Otherwise the collectors either totally rejected it or if they included it in their works they took good care to point out in what way and how far it fell short of the required test. No report of any historical event or statement of any historical personage has ever been so thoroughly scrutinized and tested as the reports about the life and sayings of the Holy Prophet were tested by the collectors of Ḥadīth. We can safely speak of the collections of Ḥadīth as the most authentic and reliable works of history. Six collections of Ḥadīth are regarded as reliable by the vast majority of the Sunni Muslims. They are the collections of Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn

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Mājah, Nasā’i and Tirmidhī. Of these the Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is considered the most care-ful and trustworthy.

Firstly, Bukhārī has the unquestioned distinction of being first, all the others modelling their writings on his. Secondly, he is the most critical of all. He did not accept any report unless all its transmitters were reliable and until there was proof that the later transmitter had actually met the first; the mere fact that the two were contemporar-ies, which is the test adopted by the compiler of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, did not satisfy him. Thirdly, in his acumen he surpasses all. Fourthly, he heads the more important of his chapters with text from the Quran, and thus shows that Hadith is only an explanation of the Quran, and as such a secondary source of the teachings of Islām.

IMAM BUKHARIImām Bukhārī Abū ‛Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Ismā‛īl al-Bukhārī was born in the city of Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan) in 810 C.E. (194 A.H.). His father was a leading scholar of Ḥadīth. Completing his early education at the age of ten years, he started memorising sayings of the Holy Prophet. Even before he was sixteen, senior scholars of Ḥadīth were astonished by his ability to remember tens of thousands of reports along with the names of their narrators. At sixteen he accompanied his mother and a brother to the Pilgrimage at Makkah. While the mother and brother returned home, he re-mained in Makkah for two years to acquire more knowledge of Ḥadīth from the great scholars he met there. He then went to Madīnah to study under the teachers of that city. He wrote two books while in Arabia and then travelled to Iraq where several times he visited Baghdad, the centre of Islamic learning and civilisation at the time. It was at the suggestion of one of his teachers that Bukhārī became convinced that he should compile a book of the most authentic Ḥadīth reports. Over a period of sixteen years he produced his compilation by selecting out of some 600,000 reports those which met his standards. (This large number were not all different reports but included reports repeated with variations in wording or in lines of narrators.) After selecting a report for inclusion, he would say two rak‛ahs of prayer before writing it down in his manuscript. In Bukhara, the ruler became angry with him after Bukhārī refused his request to teach his sons Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī privately at the royal palace. The ruler exiled him and Bukhārī went to Nishapur. Here too he had a disagreement with the ruler and he moved to settle in Khartung, near Samarkand. His opponents had made life impossible for him and he prayed to God to call him back as “this earth has

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become narrow for me”. There he died on the night before Eid-ul-Fitr at the age of just over 60 years in the year 870 C.E. (256 A.H.).

* * *

FROM THE BLOG…. (LAHORE.AHMADIYYA.ORG)

DR. ZAHID AZIZ

THE PROPHET PROMISED IN WORLD SCRIPTURES, BY TWO TURKISH AUTHORS -ALI UNAL AND HARUN GULTEKIN, 2013.

This book covers the same subject and ground as Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi’s book Muhammad in World Scriptures, a Lahore Ahmadiyya publication.

What is most remarkable is that this book frequently mentions Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi and his book, and fully acknowledges making use of it. Such acknowledge-ment is quite rare to see in writings by Muslims who use material from his book. The authors have also added their own discussion and analysis of the subject, so this book (unlike other such writings) is not merely a copy of the Maulana’s book. Our congrat-ulations to these authors!

* * *

QADIANI JAMAAT TRANSLATION OF A STATEMENT IN ‘HAQIQAT-UL-WAHY’

In the Lahore Ahmadiyya literature, a statement by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from an Arabic section in his book Haqiqat-ul-Wahy has long been given as follows:

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“And I have been called nabi by Allah by way of metaphor, not by way of reality.”(Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, Zameema, pp. 64–65; Ruhani Khaza’in, v. 22, pp. 688–689).

Our friend Kamrul Hasan Siam came across the Qadiani Jama‘at translation of the complete book Haqiqat-ul-Wahy and searched for long to find this statement in it, and failing to find it he then asked me where it was. So I looked in the Qadiani translation and found it in the following words:

“I have been granted the name ‘Prophet’ by Allah, not in its original sense [of being raised independently], but as a subordinate Prophet.” (p. 878)

The statement in Hazrat Mirza sahib’s book is exactly as we have been translating it, the word for metaphor being majaz and the word for reality being haqiqat. A per-son being called “prophet” by way of metaphor means that he is not a prophet, and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has made this point further clear by adding: “not by way of reality.”

If there could be any doubt about what he means by metaphor and reality, it is re-moved by his explanation, earlier in the same book, of how prophets of God were called as ‘sons of God’. He writes:

“In the earlier scriptures the perfectly righteous ones have been called sons of God. This also did not mean that in reality (haqiqat) they were sons of God, for this is heresy and God is clear of having sons and daughters. The meaning is, in fact, that God had manifested Himself as an image in the clear mirror of (the hearts of) these perfectly righteous ones. …As to Jesus being called son of God in the Gospels, if Christians had remained within the limit of saying that just as Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon etc. were called sons of God in a metaphorical (is-ti‘arah) sense in the books of God, in the same way is Jesus so called, then there would have been no objection. For, just as these prophets were called son metaphorically in the books of the earlier prophets, our Holy Prophet has been called God in some prophecies. The fact is that neither were all those prophets sons of God, nor is the Holy Prophet God. All these are met-aphorical expressions based on love.”

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(Haqiqat-ul-Wahy, pp. 63–64; Ruhani Khaza’in, v. 22, p. 65–66).

Just as, in the earlier scriptures, prophets had been called ‘sons of God’ or even ‘God’ metaphorically, similarly it was by way of metaphor that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was called ‘prophet’ in his revelation and in a Hadith prophecy about him. According to Islam, the prophets did not become sons of God or God in reality by any stretch of the imagination. However, Christians took Jesus for son of God in reality, which was a great error. This amply illustrates what is meant by metaphor as opposed to reality. Similarly, Hazrat Mirza sahib was not a prophet in reality, and it is a great error to consider him so.

It is clear that the Qadiani translation of this statement has no justification whatso-ever. They have converted “prophet by way of reality” into “independent prophet” and converted “being called prophet by way of metaphor” into “being a subordinate prophet”, while the statement contains no mention of independent or subordinate at all.

* * *

DOES GOD DISCRIMINATE?Mustaq Ali, Cardiac Physician, London

“Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it andwhoever does an atom’s weight of evil will also see it” (99:7-8).

(EDITED VERSION OF FRIDAY KHUTBAH DELIVERED AT THE LAHORE AHMADIYYA CENTRE AT WEMBLEY ON 29TH AUGUST, 2019.)

There is a great misconception that the God of Islam or the God of the Muslims dis-criminates in favour of Muslims. What do I mean by this? Well, most Muslims try to stay on the straight and narrow on the premise that Hell will be filled with the disbe-lievers, the rejecters of faith.

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My question is, What about those who came before the Holy Prophet Muhammad and before Prophet Abraham, and in particular about who had/have no faith?

Are human beings capable of performing acts of kindness and good deeds without having any faith?

A study of the Qur’an and other Scriptures reveals some interesting points for discus-sion, which I hope to elucidate in this short sermon today.

The meaning of the word discriminate is ‘to make an unjust or prejudicial distinction in the treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, sex, or age.’ For the purposes of this sermon I want to extend this definition to include the performance of deeds and freedom to choose right or wrong.

So let us investigate the dictates of the Qur’an to see if there is any truth in this state-ment; that is, the God of Muslims discriminates when it comes to race, sex, age, the doing of deeds, or to favour mosques over other places of worship, and to use com-pulsion in the matter of religion.

Performance of deeds1. The Quran says: “So he who does an atom’s weight of good will see it and he does

who does an atom’s weight of evil will also see it” (99:7, 8). Nowhere does it say which religion you profess, or that you have to be a Muslim to do a good deed.

2. “O my son, even if it be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, even though it be in a rock, or in the heaven or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Surely Allah is Knower of subtleties, Aware” (31:16).

3. “And We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and even if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account). And Sufficient are We to take account” (21: 47).

Elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an, Allah says: “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it” (2:284).

Further on, the Holy Qur’an says: “I will not suffer the work of any worker among you to be lost, whether male of female ...” (3:195).

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Thus we find that the Holy Qur’an does not discriminate on any score.

The Holy Qur’an also gives us assurance and has taught us a prayer to keep on remind-ing Allah about it: “Our Lord, grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection. Surely You never fail in Your promise” (3: 194). In this verse Allah has used the word messengers, which includes the prophets of all religions, including Buddha, who is referred in the Qur’an as Dhu-l-Kifl (21:85).

Again, we find a very comprehensive statement in the Qur’an where almost all kinds of believing men and women have been mentioned together, assuring them of a mighty reward without any distinction: “Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the charitable men and the charitable women, and the fasting men and the fasting wom-en, and the men who guard their chastity and the women who guard (their chastity), and the men who remember Allah much and the women (who remember much) – Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward” (33:35).

So when it comes to good deeds and the performance of acts of kindness, Allah says that He knows and He sees and He will bring it forth on the Day of Resurrection.

What about the protection of places of worship?On this point the Holy Qur’an is again very explicit: “And if Allah did not repel some people by others, cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques in which Allah’s name is much remembered, would have been pulled down” (22:40). This verse assures the safety and sanctity of houses of worship of all religions without any exception.

Freedom of religion“There is no compulsion in religion – the right way is indeed clearly distinct from error” (2:256). To all allegations which are being levelled against the Holy Prophet offering Islam or the sword as alternatives to the pagan Arabs, this verse is a sufficient answer. Being assured of success, the Muslims are told that when they hold power in their hand their guiding principle should be that there should be no compulsion in the matter of religion. The presumption that this verse was directed to the early converts and was later abrogated is utterly baseless.

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“And fight them until there is no more persecution, and all religions are for Allah” (8:39). It clearly directs that if the enemy desist from fighting and put an end to their mischief, God’s decree of punishment will not be executed. God sees what men do, and if they mend their ways, He will not punish them. The state of religious liberty which Islam aimed at is put tersely in the two opening statements – There is no more persecution, and All religions are for Allah.

Again, God wants that every care should be taken to assure liberty of religion and not a slightest error be committed even on a flimsy pretext: “O you who believe, when you go forth (to fight) in Allah’s way, make investigation, and say not to anyone who offers you salutation, Thou art not a believer, seeking the good of this world’s life” (4:94).

Does God discriminate between genders?“Say to the believing men that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexual passions. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is Aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexual passions and do not dis-play their adornment except what appears thereof” (24:30, 31). To guard the relations between males and females and to check a too-free intermingling of men and women, the Qur’an also lays down an injunction in addition to lowering their gaze when they meet each other to not display their adornment.

Here is a general direction addressed to mankind that people should not make distinc-tion among themselves as they are born from the same species: “O mankind, surely We have created you from a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you. Surely Allah is Knowing, Aware” (49:13).

The concept of submission – does it include followers of other faiths?The word Muslim means one who submits. It comes from the root word aslama, which means someone who has resigned himself.

To become a Muslim, one has to recite, “I bear witness that there is no God except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

However, we see in the Qur’an that someone who submits himself to the will of God and believes in the Last day is also called a Muslim. Here is what we read about

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Prophet Abraham in the Qur’an: “Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian, but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim; and he was not one of the polytheists. The nearest of people to Abraham are surely those who follow him and their Prophet and those who believe. And Allah is the Friend of the believers” (3:67, 68). So the people who followed Abraham have been considered Muslims by virtue of their conduct and righteousness.

The Quran also tells us that the disciples of Jesus were ‘submitting ones,’ or Muslims (3:52). And, again, when Jesus perceived disbelief on their part, he said: “Who will be my helpers in Allah’s way? The disciples said: We are Allah’s helpers: we believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we are submitting ones” (3:52).

Similarly, the Qur’an regards Lady Mary as a Muslima in these words: “Mary, the daughter of Amran, who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into him Our inspira-tion and she accepted, the truth of the words of her Lord and His Books, and she was of the obedient ones” (66:12).

Finally, God mentions a general rule: “Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve” (2:62).

So the concept of a Muslim as elaborated in the Qur’an existed before the Holy Prophet Muhammad because anyone who submits to God and is a doer of good deeds is by divine definition a Muslim.

Did God change the core of His message to favour the Muslims?Here are some references from the Holy Scriptures:

Qur’an“Say: He Allah is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not and nor is He begotten; and none is like Him” (Ch. 112).

Bible“Hear ye, O Israel, the Lord thy God is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

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“For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22).“That they may know that You alone, Whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18).“For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10).“You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me” (Isaiah 43:10).

AtharvaThe Veda gives a unique definition of God rejecting any form of polytheism:

“There is no second God, nor a third, nor is even a fourth spoken of.There is no fifth God or a sixth nor is even a seventh mentioned.There is no eighth God, nor a ninth. Nothing is spoken about a tenth even.This Unique Power is in itself. That Lord is only One, the only Omnipresent. It is One and the Only.”

Yajur VedaIn chapter 32 it says that the God Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no Pratima (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Guru Granth SahibThe opening verse, known as the Mool Mantra, signifies: “One Universal Creator God. The name is Truth.”

The concept of the soulUpanishadsThe Upanishads say in effect that, “if you believe that the soul is one and God (Brahman) is another, you cannot understand the Truth.”

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Bible“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

Qur’an“And when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him” (15:29).

Judaism“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Eating of pork forbidden in previous ScripturesBible

“And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you” (Leviticus 11:7-8).

Qur’an“Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and the flesh of swine ...” (5:3).

Judaism“And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase” (Deuteronomy 14:8).

Alcohol discouraged in previous ScripturesBible

“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise” (Proverb 20:1).“Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.

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‘They hit me,’ you will say, ‘but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?’ ” (Proverbs 23:30-35).

Qur’an“O you who believe, intoxicants and games of chance and (sacrificing to) stones set up and (dividing by) arrows are only an uncleanness, the devil’s work; so shun it that you may succeed” (5:90).“The devil desires only to create enmity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and games of chance, and to keep you back from the remem-brance of Allah and from prayer. Will you then keep back?” (5:91).

Moderation in dress encouraged in previous scripturesBible

“Beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful” (1 Peter 3:2-5).

In all pictures of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, her head is covered.

Qur’an“O Children of Adam! We have indeed sent down to you clothing to cover your shame, and clothing for beauty; and clothing that guards against evil – that is the best” ( 7:26).“And let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms. And they should not display their adornment except to their husbands or their fa-thers…” (24:31).“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of believers to let down upon them their over-garments. This is more proper, so that they may be known, and not to be given trouble. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful” (33:59).

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Bible“But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishon-ours her head – it is the same as having her head shaved” (1 Corinthians 11:5).

Judaism“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this” (Deuteronomy 22:5).

Fasting in previous ScripturesBible

“When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfig-ure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, Who is unseen; and your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18).“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting” (Acts 13:2, 3).“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:1-4).“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the cov-enant – the Ten Commandments” (Exodus 34:28).

Qur’an“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil” (2:183).

HinduismFasting is a Vedic practice. In Sanskrit, the word for fast is upavasa. This literally means “sitting near to …,” which implies being in the presence of God.

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JudaismThere are two major fast days and four minor fast days that are part of the Jewish year. The two major fasts, Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, last just over twenty four hours. They begin before sundown, when it is still light outside, and end after the next sundown, when it is dark outside and three stars can be seen in the sky. This fast is absolute. The faster may not eat food, drink, brush his teeth, comb his hair, or take a bath. Minor fasts differ in their duration from a major fast. No food or drink is taken from dawn until nightfall.

Sacrifice to God is as old as mankindBible

“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead” (Hebrews 11:4)

Qur’an“And relate to them with truth the story of the two sons of Adam, when they offered a sacrifice, but it was accepted from one of them and was not accepted from the other” (5:27).“And when he became of age to work with him, he said, O my son, I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; so consider what is your view. He said, O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah please, you will find me patient” (37:102).

Bible“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean ani-mals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it” (Genesis 8:20).“But Moses said, You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God” (Exodus 10:25).

JudaismA korban was a kosher animal sacrifice, such as a bull, sheep, goat. It is the same as in Islam; we say qurbani.

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Hebrews explains the purpose of sacrifice as: “Indeed, under the law almost every-thing is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin” (Hebrews 9:22).

VedasThe Vedas speak of animal sacrifices as well in the Rig Veda and the Yajur Veda.

Are the methods of payer different?BibleAlthough prayer can (and should) be done from any bodily position, the Bible lists five specific postures: sitting (2 Sam 7:18), standing (Mark 11:25), kneeling (Chronicles 6:13; Daniel 6:10; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60, 9:40, 20:36, 21:5; Ephesians 3:14), with one’s face to the ground (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:35), and with hands lifted up (1 Timothy 2:8).

JudaismJews adopt all positions: standing, bowing, sitting, prostrating with their faces to the ground (Genesis 48: 12). “Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.”

SummaryAfter looking at the Quran and the message of God through Scriptures and prophets it can be safely concluded that God, Ella, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Parmeshwar, by whatever name you call the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, the message and directives are almost the same.

We find the Holy Qur’an very pertinent in this regard: “Say: Call on Allah or call on the Beneficent. By whatever (name) you call on Him, He has the best names. And utter not thy prayer loudly nor be silent in it, and seek a way between these” (17:110).

Allah admonishes the whole of mankind to come together and at least agree on com-mon things in order to live in harmony and peace: “Say: O People of the Book, come to an equitable word between us and you, that we shall serve none but Allah and that we

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shall not associate aught with Him, and that some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah. But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness, we are Muslims” (3:64).

* * *

ACTIVITIES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUEREPORT FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2019

Imam Amir Aziz M. A.Film about Noah’s ArchA group of children with their teacher visited the Berlin Mosque to gather information for children about a film ‘Noah’s Arch’. They were interested about teachings of the Holy Quran about this topic. Children were showed various verses regarding the topic. Later a book Prophets Stories in Holy Quran was presented to all students. This book is written by late Maulana Muhammad Yahya Butt Sahib who served the Berlin Muslim Mission as Imam for more than 30 years.

Mosques’ Open Day3 October. It was a public holiday in Germany to commemorate union of East and West Germany. This day is celebrated as ‘Mosques Open Day’. This year more than hundred people visited the Berlin Mosque in one day. They were given presentation about the history and work of the Berlin Mosque and question/answer sessions followed. Interested visitors were presented copies of the Holy Quran in German and English. The Imam is grateful to Mrs. Galida Badoellah from Suriname and Mrs. Sabeena Yasir for helping him in arranging the event successfully.

550 Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Ji6 October. Sikh community in Berlin celebrated 550 birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Ji, founder of the Sikh religion with the cooperation of the Indian Embassy in Berlin. Imam of the Berlin Mosque, Imam Amir Aziz was asked to represent Muslims and deliver a talk about the life and teachings of Guru Ji. The talk was appreciated by the participants. Later Officials of Indian Embassy presented book as gifts to the speakers. More than 500 people attended the programme.

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Award by Roman Catholic Academy11 October. Roman Catholic Academy in Berlin arranged a programme to celebrate 800 years of peace-loving work of Francis of Assissi who travelled to Egypt to meet then Sultan Al-Kamil Muhammad to persuade him to stop crusade and end the en-mity. Special stamps were printed to commemorate this great event of interfaith harmony. Religious leaders who are active in Interfaith dialogue were presented with special gift of Books. Imam of the Berlin Mosque, Mr. Amir Aziz was also awarded on this occasion.

Book-Launching Ceremony19 October. Urdu Anjuman in Berlin organized a programme to launch book of a fa-mous writer and prof. of Urdu language in Humboldt university of Berlin, Ms. Ishrat Mohin Seema. Her poetry book was launched. On this special occasion, Mr. Amir Aziz, Imam of the Berlin Mosque was presented a copy of this book by the author herself. Mr. Amir Aziz also recited his poem on this auspicious occasion.

Visit of a Ph. D. Scholar from Japan26 October. A Japanese scholar Ms. Aoi Mochizuki visited the Berlin Mosque and attended Friday prayer. Later on she stayed in the Mosque for two hours and had discussions with the Imam and the Syrian refugees. She is writing a thesis on this topic in which she has discussed their problems.

Poetry Recitation and Introduction of Book26 October. The same evening Bazm-i Adab, Berlin arranged a poetry recitation pro-gramme. Mr. Amir Aziz, Imam of the Berlin Mosque was invited to participate in this literary programme. Mr. Aziz’s poem was appreciated. Later on novel of a very famous Indian writer and author Rehman Abbas introduced himself. This novel has been translated into German language as well.

Visit of members from Holland24-26 October. Members of the Holland Jama’at visited Berlin Mosque during a family trip. They attended Friday prayer and also participated in daily prayers. It was a great pleasure for the Mission to have members from Holland who are dedicated and de-voted to the Jama’at and support the activities of the Mosque.

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550 BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF BABA GURU NANAK JI AT THE INDIAN EMBASSY, BERLIN

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ROMAN CATHOLIC ACADEMY AWARD CEREMONY

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OPEN DAY OF MOSQUES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE

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19 | P a g e

blessings of Allah be on him). LOVE also generates peace and happiness in the society. Follow the commandments of ALLAH and His Messenger, the Holy Prophet MUHAMMAD and earn an ever-lasting life here in this world and in the Hereafter. May Allah bless you all.

Ahmad Nawaz, Hayward, California I have just finished reading the February 2013 issue of the HOPE Bulletin dedicated to the memory of the late Br. Akbar Abdullah. I must say that your team has worked very hard to collect facts about the life and contributions made by our late Br. Akbar. The formatting of the Bulletin and photographs have made it very impressive and visual. Br. Akbar deserved such a beautiful dedication. I wish to congratulate you for making the Bulletin more than just a news bulletin. The brief life history of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas) by our new sister in the fold of Islam, Christiane Backer, is very impressive and shows how his Perfect Example has inspired her thoughts and behaviour. I am sure her book “From MTV to Mecca” must be worth reading. Thanks for introducing the autobiography of a highly popular figure in the Western media, who, by her own study, has adopted Islam, and is facing challenges with firm faith and conviction.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The HOPE Bulletin E-mail address: [email protected]

ISLAM stands for: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND

Design & Formatting : Erwan Hamdani, Jakarta, IndonesiaPhotographs : Dr. Robbert Bipet, Suriname. Mr. Amir Aziz, Berlin

http://www.aaiil.orghttp://www.Lahore.ahmadiyya.org

http://ahmadiyah.orgFor Books on Islam and the Ahmadiyya Movement: Translations of the Holy Quran in Urdu, English, German, French,

Russian, Arabic, Javanese, Indonesian, Dutch, Spanish and Turkish. Visit our websites.

URDU ACADEMY, BERLIN BOOK LAUNCHING CEREMONY