Al Fazl, 17 August 1922
1 July 1922
Nikah
A friend asked Huzoor[ra], “Why don’t you announce nikah anymore?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said:
“For now, I have stopped announcing nikah because I have come to know after an incident that it is no longer safe, except that I personally know the individual whose nikah is going to be announced.”
The Promised Messiah and the prophets in the Bible
On the mention of a person, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“He wrote to me that he had doubts about the prophethood of the Promised Messiahas, but when he studied the Bible, he realised that if such and such servants [of God] could be prophets, then the prophethood of the Promised Messiahas could not be doubted in any way.”
Huzoor[ra] said:
“The people have themselves declared that the prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa is the only prophethood. However, this notion is equal to someone thinking that the meaning of ‘knowledge’ is to have knowledge equal to that of Plato and the one who does not have that much knowledge will not be called a scholar, or [someone thinking] that the meaning of ‘inventor’ is to have invented the same number of things as Edison, otherwise, the person who has ten to fifteen or three to four inventions will not be considered an inventor. The prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa is the most glorious and most perfect prophethood. If the prophethood of other prophets is validated only on the basis of such [perfection], then only the prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa will remain.”
Bai‘at
Muhammad Zaid Sahib, a resident of the village of Meraj, Gujranwala, pledged bai‘at [at the hand of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih].
3 July 1922
Dajjalun Qazzabun [antichrists and liars]
Maulvi Muhammad Ahsan Sahib has written a treatise called Khatam al-Nabiyyin, in which he has also mentioned the narration of Dajjalun Qazzabun [antichrists and liars]. Regarding this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“In this narration, a future event has been described that thirty dajjals will appear. How does this prove that anyone who claims to be a prophet will surely be a liar.”
False claimants of prophethood in the ummah of Muhammad
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“All those who have [falsely] claimed prophethood before the Promised Messiahas have said that they were law-bearing prophets. Some of them exempted people from prayers, some spared Zakat, some absolved fasting, and some freed people from other things. It is obvious that a liar cannot claim to be an ummati [from amongst the Muslims] prophet because there is no benefit in it. The people will never become ready to accept him unless he brings some ease and relaxation to them. Apart from the exemptions, he has no assistance, support or sign. However, the chosen one [i.e Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas], who was made an ummati prophet by God Almighty, presented his claim and God Almighty assisted and supported him.”
5 July 1922
Missguided dhikr practices of the sufis, and the Ahmadiyya Jamaat
A friend asked that the saints, etc., used to do different kinds of dhikr, but there was no such thing in our Jamaat.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“If the walls of a house are weak and the roof is crooked, pillars are built or wooden columns are placed under it. On the contrary, a strong house does not need this kind of support. During the time of the Holy Prophetsa, since the walls of Islam were strong, this type of support was not introduced. Even during the time of the Companionsra and tabi‘een [followers of companions], such dhikr are not found. There is no saying or practice of this kind. In fact, there are not even mawdu‘ [fabricated] ahadith in which the aforementioned practices were taught. However, there are ahadith that may result in objections against the prophets.
“The fact is that there was no such need during the time of the Holy Prophetsa. When Islam declined in India and some elders observed that the religion and faith of the people could not be saved, they erected such supports [and introduced such dhikr]. All this happened during the period of spiritual darkness (Faij-e-A‘waj).
“Now, the Promised Messiahas has appeared and it is the time of his prophethood, so there is no need for such practices and dhikr. Now, the one who says اهدنا الصّراط المستقيم [‘Guide us in the right path’] with sincere intention finds the [right] path. All the aforesaid practices were invented later. They are not mentioned in the Holy Quran or ahadith. These were invented by the elders when they saw that the people could not uphold their faith and are inclined toward the world. They were taught to stay away from the world to prevent them from becoming worldly.”
Reward and punishment in Islam
A friend asked that a child who is born in a Muslim family is taught Islam by Muslims and he considers Islam as the true religion out of all the other religions. On the other hand, a child who is born into a Hindu family, they teach him Hinduism. He falls into polytheism and believes Hinduism to be the truest of all the religions. Both these situations have been created by God, but why will one be rewarded and for what crime the other will be punished?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Many things have been assumed in this query and the objections have arisen because of these assumptions. For example, in the question, it is assumed that a Muslim will get paradise because he is born in a Muslim household and is called a Muslim. On the other hand, [it is assumed that] a Hindu will be punished because he is born in a Hindu household. However, both these things are wrong. Neither a Muslim will be rewarded for being born in a Muslim family nor a Hindu will be punished for being born in a Hindu family. Paradise and hell are the result of the actions and beliefs that a person adopts and carries out after adulthood. The birth into a Hindu or Muslim family is not worthy of punishment or reward. After all, [the present day] Muslims were also born in the families of Muslims, but they rejected the Promised Messiahas despite the fact that they claim to accept all the prophets.
“When the prophets appear, they come to show the error of the wrong ideas or the ancestral ideas that people have fixed themselves on and that they are not on the true ideas. The arguments are presented to both of them, [i.e. Muslims and Hindus], and if the arguments are strong enough that the truth can be known, then if a Hindu abandons these prophets, he deserves punishment [from God]. In this way, there is no room for any kind of objection.
“However, where the truth has not reached, the decision will be made according to the natural inclination as to how far they believe the right and are committed to abandoning falsehood. Obliviously, the punishment will not be given. The punishment and the reward are given by God Almighty. He knows even the smallest actions and is well aware of man’s nature and intentions. He will weigh the deeds as He Himself says that all deeds will be weighed. Then, the person will get what he deserves. We cannot know someone’s nature, nor his intention or his state, but nothing is hidden from God Almighty. He told us that there will be an assessment of all the deeds and that no one’s rights will be harmed. For example, we observe that a person is free and comes to the mosque. Then, there is a person who leaves his business and comes [to the mosque] or a person who leaves a patient and comes to the mosque. Then, one of them gets busy in worldly matters, while one sits quietly, and the other one talks about religion and is engaged in the remembrance of God. One prays attentively, but the other goes through the entire prayer without pondering over a single word. He utters the words but does not understand. Then there is one that his thoughts are elsewhere. We will call all of them namazi [those who offer Salat] because we are not knowers of the unseen. However, nothing is hidden from God Who is the Knower of the Unseen. He knows the various situations. Therefore, he will decide according to the state of each person.”
Bai‘at
Thereafter, [the following] three people pledged bai‘at:
1. Mahtab Kumhar, Qadian
2. Muhammad Ismail, Rajpura
3. Muhammad Inayatullah, Rajpura […]
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu published in the 17 August 1922 issue of Al Fazl)