Al Fazl, 12 June 1922
11 May 1922
Prayer for having children
A person requested Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] to recommend him a particular prayer for being able to have children.
Huzoor[ra] said:
“What do you mean by a particular prayer? Prayer in itself is the only thing that should be sought. It is the state of common people that they tend to avoid such works which require some effort. For example, praying daily with humility and submission. They want to get a ready-made thing without hard work and toil.”
The Promised Messiah and fasting
Huzoor[ra] was asked, “As the Promised Messiahas was mostly ill, did he still fast?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“The Promised Messiahas used to fast a lot, but when he became frail in his last years and his illness worsened, he did not fast for three years. That is, [he did not fast in the year] 1905-06/07.”
The Promised Messiah and witr prayer
A person asked Huzoor[ra], “Did the Promised Messiahas say salaam after offering two rak‘aat of witr prayer [and complete the remaining one rak‘ah after] or would he offer the complete three rak‘aat in one go?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“The Promised Messiahas would usually [say salaam] after offering two [rak‘aat of witr prayer and complete the remaining one rak‘ah after].”
Maulvi Syed Sarwar Shah Sahib said that as far as he had heard of narrations from the companions, they also expressed that the Promised Messiahas used to say salaam after offering two rak‘aat [of witr prayer] and completed the remaining one rak‘ah after.
15 April 1922
Concession in shariah [divine law] for new converts
On the mention that the rules of the shariah [divine law] should be relaxed in the beginning for the people of Europe who were newly converting to Islam, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“In the time of the Holy Prophetsa, the people of Bahrain had converted to Islam, but they were not given any concession with respect to following the rules of the shariah. The people of Syria also converted to Islam. They were addicted to alcohol, etc., but they were not granted any concession either. The people of Iraq were also not given any concession. Just as there was no concession for the aforementioned people, there can be none for them [the new converts of Europe].
“In the time of the Holy Prophetsa, the shariah was being revealed so people were gradually being trained. However, in the last days [of the Holy Prophetsa], when people converted to Islam in some places, the complete set of rules of the shariah was presented to them. It was not that they were given any concession because they were new converts.”
Ta‘amul [continuous practice] of the ummah
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Ta‘amul [continuous practice] is more authentic than narrations. Concerning an issue, the Promised Messiahas said, ‘My rationale wants me to do such and such in this matter, but the ta‘amul is against it.’ He thus instructed to do research on it and try to find any reference [that supported his reasoning]. When it was not found, he acted according to the ta‘amul, even though he was the hakam adl [just arbiter] and had said that if the Promised Messiah did not have to change anything, then what was the need of him being hakam adl.”
Two objections of a ghair mubai‘ [one who did not take bai‘at of the second Khalifa] and their answers
A friend presented two objections of one of the leading ghair mubai‘een [those who did not take bai‘at of Khalifatul Masih II] to Huzoor[ra]. The first objection was that it was not necessary to believe in the Promised Messiahas according to the Holy Quran and hadith.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The Messiah and the Mahdi are one and the same person. It is clearly stated in the ahadith that one should go to the Mahdi even if it is on their knees. If someone suggests that it was only for saying salaam to him, then there was no need to instruct so emphatically and it would have been enough to say in the hadith that one should present their salaam and return.”
The second objection was, “It is said that no book was revealed to Prophet Jesusas, but this idea goes against the Holy Quran. On the other hand, it is said that the Torah was revealed to Prophet Mosesas, but this is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran. Moreover, the book considered to be the Torah or the Book of Mosesas is a collection of the scriptures of a lot of prophets.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“It seems that neither does he [the one who has raised this objection] possess the knowledge of the Holy Quran, nor has he seen the Bible, because the collection of all the books [of various prophets] is known as the Bible and the book of Moses is called the Torah. It is called Torah in Hebrew which means ‘The Law’. It consists of the following five books that were revealed to Moses:
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
“When we look into the Holy Quran, the Torah is referred to as the Book of Moses and the Holy Quran is likened to it. It is mentioned in the Holy Quran that the party of Jinn said:
يٰقَوۡمَنَاۤ اِنَّا سَمِعۡنَا كِتٰبًا اُنۡزِلَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ مُوۡسٰي مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ يَهۡدِيۡۤ اِلَي الۡحَقِّ وَاِلٰي طَرِيۡقٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ
“‘O our people, we have heard a Book, which has been sent down after Moses, fulfilling that which is before it; it guides to the truth, and to the right path.’ This means that they said that they had listened to the Holy Quran after the Book of Moses.
“The above verse shows that a Book was revealed to Mosesas. If the [objector] says that it should have been mentioned in such and such words, then it is very difficult [for us to present those words]. As many opponents used to say that if Jesusas was dead, then we should show the words مات عيسیٰ or فات عيسیٰ from Holy Quran. However, [they did not know] that ‘fata Isa’ did not mean death, but rather it meant as if Jesus was being held in our hands and then went missing. If the [objector] does not make such demands and only wants the proof that Torah is the book of Moses and that no book was revealed to Jesus, then we can show several verses [of the Holy Quran].”
Bai‘at-e-Irshad of [Khawaja Kamaluddin] Sahib
On the mention as to how the ghair mubai‘een changed the true and real events and made up something different, Huzoor[ra] said:
“When Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira took bai‘at from Khawaja Sahib again, they [the ghair mubai‘een] gave it the name of Bai‘at-e-Irshad. It is a term that Sufis use for a person who fulfils the promise of the first pledge and progresses to the next spiritual level. He is then taught the means for further progress [through Bai‘at-e-Irshad]. [When Khawaja Sahib took bai’at again] hundreds of other people also took bai‘at and they [the ghair mubai‘een] know very well as to what kind of bai‘at it was.
“Likewise, in the last days of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I, I wrote an announcement and sent it to Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib to sign it so that it could be published by both of us. Maulvi Sahib said that there was no need to publish it because only the people of Qadian knew about that disagreement. [He further said that] if the news would go out through the announcement, the people might fall into a trial. He told me that and on the other hand, he himself had published a tract about the dispute and was spreading it in Lahore.”
A false accusation by Khawaja Sahib in England
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“A few days ago, a rather amusing incident happened abroad. Khwaja Sahib went to meet Maulvi Mubarak Ali Sahib and thought that as he was probably not present in the time of the Promised Messiahas, nor did he stay in Qadian for long, so he would come under his influence. Khwaja Sahib told him that, ‘Our differences are rather personal.’ He [Maulvi Mubarak Ali Sahib] said, ‘Yes, I know that too.’ Khwaja Sahib thought that his words had made an impact. He thus took the second step and said, ‘What do you outsiders know about the reality? This London Mosque was bought by Mian Sahib [referring to Khalifatul Masih IIra] in his own name. It will remain a mosque for some time and then it will become his personal property. The money for the mosque is also in his possession.’
“Maulvi Mubarak Ali Sahib said, ‘That is why I had said that this dispute is rather personal and you people are making false personal allegations. Now what you have said about the mosque, it is to inform you that this mosque was not bought in the name of the second Khalifa, but in the name of Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib who was a missionary here at that time. The purchase papers are in my possession and the money is also deposited in England. When this is the case, how can I believe that you are saying the truth?’ Thereupon, Khwaja Sahib had to admit his mistake and lack of information.”
Responding to the objections of ghair mubai‘een
A friend said to Huzoor[ra] that the response to a tract of the ghair mubai‘eenwas published by us in a newspaper that could not reach the general public, so arrangements should be made to publish the response for all and sundry.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“It is not our main task to spend money on them in this way. Their only task is to [raise objections]. As compared to them, we have a lot of missions and our expenditures are also very much. Apart from foreign missions, there are also missionaries here [in Asia]. In the beginning, there was a need for a strong resistance. However, the Jamaat is now safe by the grace of God and the only purpose of refuting them is to increase knowledge.” […]
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu published in the 12 June 1922 issue of Al Fazl)