Al Fazl, 3 July 1922
Hazrat Sheikh Mahmud Ahmad Irfanira (1897-1944)
Praise and gratefulness
I am extremely grateful to God Almighty that He helped me reach Port Said with His grace. From there, I reached Cairo, [Egypt]. As soon as I reached there, Allah the Almighty, by His sheer blessings, provided me with such means that I did not face many difficulties.
An Ahmadi
Here [in Egypt], I met an Ahmadi named Sheikh Fazal Karim Sahib. He is an Indian and holds many degrees in Arabic. He is going to receive another prominent degree called Shahadat-ul-Almia from Al-Azhar University. He remained a ghair-muba‘i [one who did not pledge bai‘at of Khalifatul Masih II] for a while, but he performed bai‘at after coming to Egypt. Before I reached [Egypt], he had pledged allegiance. He introduced me to many people and introduced me to many scholars.
Preaching efforts
A group of Indian students lives here. They meet me frequently and I preach to them openly. Moreover, there are three persons who had Ahmadiyyat in their family but they are still deprived of Ahmadiyyat. I openly preach to all who meet me.
There is another gentleman here named Dr Nabi Bakhsh. He is also Punjabi but has been living here for 30 years and has not returned to his country in that time. He got married here, had children, and now his children are going to be married. He met me and said, “I have not had any relation with any Indian here for 30 years. However, I came when I heard about you.” He invited us and we had a long conversation on that occasion.
After the discussion, he said that everything he had heard about Ahmadiyyat was completely false.
In the same way, I am carrying on dialogue with both the Indians and the Egyptians.
Egypt: A melting pot of cultures languages
All the nations of Europe and Asia are present in Egypt. Just as it is the centre and an important point for the passage of ships due to the Suez Canal, so is Egypt a very significant place owing to the confluence of all nations.
All kinds of literature are needed here, namely Arabic, Urdu, English, Persian, Turkish, French, Greek, etc. I had brought some literature that has been distributed. The people here ask for literature, so friends should help me with all kinds of literature. Everyone can contribute to this good work. If not more, then please buy a single book and send it to me. It is quite possible that the truth might be revealed to the reader by that very book and he may convert to Ahmadiyyat. Whoever is granted strength by Allah the Almighty, please send literature of the Jamaat to my address for free distribution.
A call to all Ahmadis who visit Egypt
Jamaat members visit Egypt from time to time and have made efforts to preach in their own way. Please inform me if a friend knows about an Egyptian Ahmadi.
Moreover, could Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahib, wherever he is, please let me know about those Ahmadi friends who converted to Ahmadiyyat in Port Said, Suez, Alexandria and Cairo, through his efforts. Furthermore, please tell me if we have a library here in Suez. Please write a letter to our friend who has the library, so that he can give me access to it and I can take advantage of it in my preaching work.
Wassalam, Sheikh Mahmud Ahmad (Ahmadi, Cairo, Egypt). Khairiat Street, House No. 19.
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 3 July 1922 issue of Al Fazl)