Al Fazl, 13 September 1920
Maulvi Rahim Bakhsh Sahibra M.A.
28 August [1920]
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra], accompanied by his associates, went to Kalatop for sightseeing. On the way, he said that the Promised Messiahas liked two of his poems very much. One of them was:
[در کوئے تُو اگر سرِعشّاق را زنند]
اوّل کسے کہ لافِ تعَشُّق زَنَد منَم
“If it is ordered to cut off the heads of lovers in Your [Allah’s] way, I will be the first one to cry out loud that I am also among [Your] lovers.” [Durr-e-Sameen Farsi, p. 143]
And the second [poem] was:
عجب نوریست در جان محمدؐ
[عجب لعلیست در کان محمدؐ]
“There is an extraordinary light in the persona of Muhammadsa and there are unique gems in the mine of Muhammadsa.” [Durr-e-Sameen Farsi, p. 141]
29 August
Huzoor[ra] said, “I am not affected by my moods. I have so many works to perform that I never get free from them. When the work of hands is over, the mind stays busy all the time. My heart desires for the day and night to be even longer [so that I can do more work].”
30 August
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra] went to Dainkund.
31 August
Huzoor[ra] said, “Once a melancholic Muslim walked past Hazrat Umarra with his head bowed down. He [playfully] tapped him with his hand and said, ‘How can you feel sad when it is the time of Islam’s progress and triumphs?’”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said, “Depression and downheartedness are signs of despair. We should not feel sad about the events of the past and ought to keep an eye on our present and the future. In fact, the way of sufis [mystics] is that they remove past mistakes from their minds altogether. This is only possible if the man contemplates on the relationship with their beloved [God]. Otherwise, if they always keep their mistakes before them, a hijab [veil of shame] will be created between them and their beloved, which will further pull them apart.”
Huzoor[ra] said, “However, this does not mean that a person completely holds back their emotions and not express them. The one whose feelings are not alive is not a human being, but a rock. Feelings should not be suppressed because there are very bad consequences of it.”
Huzoor[ra] explained its negative effects with the help of an example and said, “Affluent people usually try to suppress their feelings and consider their expression to be a weakness. The Holy Prophetsa was saddened to see the pain of death of one of his grandsons and tears flowed from his eyes. One of the Companionsra said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, do you also weep?’ The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Yes, God has not hardened my heart.’ This shows that completely suppressing the feelings of compassion and affection makes a person hardhearted. These emotions are good and not bad at all.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said, “Some people make a mistake and then apologise. It hurts me a lot because sometimes the misdeed is not worthy of being forgiven or it has to be forgiven after a while or it is such that there is no need to apologise for it. Then, if it is not said that it has been forgiven, the apologiser insists and in fact, forces to be forgiven. Nevertheless, it is also important to acknowledge our mistake. It can be done in such a way that a person expresses remorse and promises to be careful about the future, but requesting for forgiveness and presenting arguments for the misdeed is to make the mistake even more so.”
Huzoor[ra] added, “Once Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira was displeased with me in the life of the Promised Messiahas. The reason was that he had asked us to write an essay and had set a reward for it. The topic he chose was not befitting according to some. I was of the same opinion. A person criticised it harshly and somebody attributed it to me and conveyed it to him. Maulvi Sahibra was unhappy with me. I used to study Bukhari [book of ahadith] in those days. I immediately took Bukhari and went to him for studying. Although I had a fever in those days and had been missing lessons for many months, I thought, ‘If I will not go today, a hijab [veil] will certainly be created in the heart and I will be deprived of knowledge.’”
1 September
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra] went to see the scenic view of pine trees located in the way of Simlou.
2 September
At the time of dinner after Maghrib prayers, Huzoor[ra] said, “A person should be sent to Russia because there is prophecy of the Promised Messiahas that the scepter of Russian Tsar was taken and handed over to him. This revelation should be widely circulated in the present days. In Australia, Sufi Hassan Musa Khan Sahib extensively published the prophecy about the Tsar of Russia. Consequently, when it was fulfilled at the time of the war, a well-known newspaper of [Australia] wrote a great article on the Promised Messiahas. Publication of prophecies before their fulfilment has a great effect on people’s hearts.”
3 September
It was Friday. The sermon was delivered by Huzoor[ra] himself. Bhai Abdur Rahman Sahib will compose it in clear handwriting and send [to Qadian], insha-Allah.
4 September
At nine o’clock in the morning, Huzoor[ra], along with his associates left for Chamba. We ate on the way and reached Khajjiar at four in the evening. Khajjiar is 14 miles from here [Dalhousie]. From there, we left at 5pm and reached Chamba at 8:30pm. We covered 23-24 miles distance in one day. The next day, we left after Zuhr prayers. We returned to Khajjiar at 8pm.
There was no accommodation in the bungalows etc. because Raja Sahib of Chamba was staying over there himself. However, Raja Sahib, under Divine providence, kindly vacated a room in the bungalow for Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra]. His private secretary was staying in that room.
We are grateful to Raja Sahib for his compassion and thank him for his kindness. May Allah the Almighty grant Raja Sahib the best of rewards. Amin! We stayed overnight in Khajjiar and left around 11 in the morning and returned safely to Dalhousie on the evening of 6 September [1920].
On the way, Huzoor[ra] said, “Maulvi Burhanuddin Sahibra of Jhelum was a great scholar. However, nobody could guess from his appearance that he was a very educated person. Once, on a journey, he boarded a train. The carriage was full and there was no place to sit. Maulvi Sahib requested the passengers to move aside. They asked, ‘Who are you?’ Maulvi Sahib replied, ‘I am your kammi [servant].’ People thought he was a chura or chamar [untouchable] and left their seats because of him. He freely laid down and slept. He was asked, ‘Maulvi Sahib, why did you call yourself a kammi?’ He said that the scholars are also khuddam [servants].”
“When the Promised Messiahas returned from Jhelum, he said, ‘The influence of Maulvi Burhanuddin Sahibra could be ascertained by going to Jhelum.’ Around a thousand people took Bai‘at of the Promised Messiahas in Jhelum and he used to say that he got tired while taking Bai‘at but Maulvi Sahib continued to bring more and more people. Thousands of people came to visit the Promised Messiahas because of his efforts. Such a large crowd had not gathered anywhere else to welcome the Promised Messiahas.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said, “Once in my childhood, the late Maulvi Sahibra came to Qadian. I was very young. It was the month of Muharram. Following the crowd, I was also wearing red thread called maula around my neck. Maulvi Sahibra caught me and said, ‘This is a [bad] innovation. Take it off right now.’ As a child, I rarely used to leave the house due to shyness. Therefore, I was very scared of strangers. Thus, I ran home and got sick.”
“The Promised Messiahas called Maulvi Sahibra and advised him, ‘Children should not be treated so harshly.’”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said about fear at a young age, “Once, a woman with long hair came to our house. I was terrified to see her and got sick with fever for an entire week. When the fever subsided, that woman came to see me. When I saw her, I got sick again. The Promised Messiahas gave that woman a place to stay in a separate house.