10-16 May

11 May 1930: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra shared his wise observations on the famous political document of the time, the Nehru Report. The Nehru Report of 28-30 August 1928 was a memorandum outlining a proposed new dominion status for the constitution of India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal Nehru acting as secretary. There were nine other members in this committee. 

11 May 1937: Pir Meher Ali Shah died on this day at the age of 78 in Golra Sharif, British India (Present Day Pakistan). He is known among masses as a Hanafi scholar leading the anti-Ahmadiyya movement. He wrote several books, most notably Saif-e-Chishtiyai (The Sword of the Chishti Order), which is claimed to be a polemical work criticising the Ahmadiyya Movement. But his encounters with the Jamaat and a critical study of his works are enough to prove the truth. 

11 May 1942: An Ahmadi, Abdul Karim Khan Sahib, appointed in the Middle East during his military duties, sent a written query about the verses in the Holy Quran about Jesus^as to Al-Azhar University, Cairo. The university is associated with Al-Azhar Mosque and is Egypt’s oldest degree-granting university and is renowned as “Sunni Islam’s most prestigious university”. On this, His Eminence Shaikh Mahmoud Shaltout – Rector of Al-Azhar University, later to become Grand Imam of Al-Azhar – issued a decree that the Holy Quran pronounced Jesus^as dead. This fatwa sparked a heated debate. This Egyptian scholar was forced to take back his words, but he remained firm in his belief and replied to all the allegations raised against him. He then had this entire debate published in the monthly Al-Majallah, Cairo. Later on, the complete series of this debate was also published in his book Al-Fatawa too.

11 May 1948: Ahmadi Missionary Rashid Ahmad Chughtai Sahib had a meeting with the King of Jordan. During the meeting, he conveyed the well wishes and message of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra to which the king replied positively.

12 May 1907: An important session for the general public was held in Qadian for raising awareness of the establishment of peace. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra presided over the gathering on the instructions of the Promised Messiah^as.

12 May 1932: The Ahmadiyya Mission was established in Zanzibar through the special efforts of Dr Shahnawaz Sahib. It is located in the Indian Ocean and is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, East Africa.

12 May 1932: With great effort, members of the Jamaat collected 175,000 rupees to pay off loans because in previous fiscal years, some extra money had been borrowed to run the everyday businesses of Anjuman. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra was very much pleased with the generosity and obedience of members of the Jamaat.

12 May 1954: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s^ra legal statement was recorded at Lalian court in connection with the assassination attempt made on him. On 25 May, the additional district magistrate gave his verdict and the attacker was sentenced to a 5-year imprisonment.

13 May 1921: Hazrat Hakim Fazlur-Rahman took charge of the Ahmadiyya Mission in Ghana.

13 May 1927: Lahore witnessed great unrest and communal riots. This day’s Al Fazl published a detailed account written by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra. In his time, Huzoor’s selfless services were not limited to the religious field, but also on social and political rostrums, his voice, views and actions were taken very seriously and weighed heavily. On the same day, a detailed tract written by him was also widely circulated titled What can you do for Islam and Muslims? In it, Huzoor^ra put forward 31 important points for Muslim unity amongst the Ummah.

13 May 1933: On this day, Hazrat Syeda Sara Begum passed away after giving birth to a child. She was the third wife of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra. In her loving memory, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra wrote a eulogy titled Meri Sara (My Sara).

13 May 1951: The Ahmadiyya Mosque in Samundri, Faisalabad was ransacked and burnt on this day. Ahmadis present in the mosque were tortured and items available in the premises of the mosque were looted. However, the influential members of the neighbourhood and the city condemned this irreligious act committed in the name of religion.

14 May 1924: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra received an invitation from the organisers of the Wembley Conference in London. Upon this, Huzoor^ra wrote a letter for consultation to members of the Jamaat.

14 May 1932: Mirza Muhammad Ashraf Balanvi Sahib completed his tenure as auditor of Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya. Upon his retirement, a farewell function was arranged. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra graced this event with his presence and delivered an address.

14 May 1953: The Holy Quran’s Swahili translation was published on this day. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra wrote its preface. For the first edition, 10,000 copies were printed.

15 May 1908: In Lahore, a debate took place between Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddin^ra and Mufti Ghulam Murtaza Sahib. The topic was the life and death of Jesus^as.

16 May 1924: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra conducted a Shura and discussed with representatives the invitation received from the Wembley Conference. This was the first ever proposed long-distance journey of Khalifatul Masih out of the Indian subcontinent.

16 May 1938: Hazrat Hussain Bibi Sahiba^ra passed away. She was the mother of Hazrat Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarulla Khan^ra. Hazrat Chaudhry Zafrullah Khan^ra wrote My Mother in her memory and described the attractive and moving events of his mother’s life. Hazrat Chaudhry Sahib^ra not only performed the duty owed by a son to his mother in an excellent manner, but also rendered valuable service to the movement. Such literature can, by Allah’s grace, prove extremely useful helpful in fostering the moral and spiritual standards of the community.

16 May 1963: Hazrat Syed Zain-ul-Abidin Valiullah Shah^ra passed away. He was blessed with some admirable qualities and had many noteworthy achievements in the Jamaat, social and political fields and literature.

CORRECTION: Last week, on 3 May 2019, a companion, Hazrat Sardar Muhammad Yousuf^ra was referred to in This Week in History. The information pertaining to him was incorrect. Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, volume 2, pages 477 to 478 has it that he performed Bai‘at at the hand of the Promised Messiah^as in 1906 and had the honour of translating the Quran into Hindi and Gurmukhi.

Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, volume 14, pages 391 to 393 tell us that he was born in 1889 and accepted the Imam of the age in 1905 by sending his request for Bai‘at via post. He translated the Quran into Hindi and Gurmukhi, as well as authoring various other books.

His tombstone, however, has it that he was born in 1882 and performed Bai‘at in 1906.