Al Fazl, 29 May & 1 June 1922
22 April 1922
The coming of the Hour
A friend presented an objection of a person who had said that it was well-known about the Messiah that the Hour would come after his coming. So, if (Hazrat) Mirza Sahib was the Promised Messiah, then why did the Hour not come?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said:
“If the Hour had come with his [the Promised Messiah’s] coming, how would the people have believed in him? The Holy Quran mentions that the opponents of Islam used to ask for a torment [punishment]. God Almighty said in reply that if the torment came and they were destroyed, then how would they benefit from it?”
No realisation of punishment
Some statements made by certain people were presented to Huzoor[ra] that they go so far in their stubbornness and say that even if God Almighty informed them about the truth of the Promised Messiah, they would still not believe in him.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The fact is that the true realisation of punishment is no longer there. That is why some people say that if they are not sent to Heaven, then God’s Paradise will be deserted. The poets are said to be the voice of the people. Mirza Ghalib has said:
ہم كو معلوم ہے جنت كى حقیقت لیكن
دل كے بہلانے كو غالب یہ خیال اچھا ہے
“[‘I know the reality of Heaven. However, the concept (of Heaven) is enough to satisfy the heart of Ghalib.’]
“When he [Mirza Ghalib] had such thoughts of [the concept of] Heaven and Hell, then how can one find real satisfaction on the mention of Heaven and truly fear Hell.”
5 May 1922
Bai‘at
Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Sathiali [took bai‘at at the hand of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra].
A person who smokes hookah
On the mention that people in some regions, especially Afghans, smoked so much hookah immediately after breaking the fast that it caused them to faint, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] smiled and said:
“Those who smoke hookah are like the donkeys of the antichrist as they keep blowing smoke. The example of a donkey in the Holy Quran is that it keeps working but does not know why, that is, it is a fool. Those who smoke hookah are also foolish as they continuously smoke hookah for no good reason and keep blowing smoke without knowing why they do it. Moreover, they spend a lot of money on it.”
Jazb [the state of being absorbed in God] according to a tabi‘i [one who followed the Companionsra]
On the mention that a person used to do such and such acts in the state of jazb [the state of being absorbed in God], Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The Companionsra [of the Holy Prophetsa] did not know about this kind of jazb. Hazrat Ibn Sirin (son-in-law of Hazrat Abu Hurairahra) said, ‘I do not know about other kinds of jazb. However, if it so happens that there is a very high wall which has no support and such a person [who acts strangely in the state of jazb] is seated on this wall and the Holy Quran is recited from the beginning to the end, if then he goes into the state of jazb, I will be convinced.’”
6 May 1922
Requesting the Imam for prayers
A person’s question was received in the mail as to why he never felt the urge to request Huzoor[ra] for prayers.
In response to this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] gave a number of reasons which led to that state. One of the reasons was that Satan secretly instilled doubt in the heart of such a person that his needs were not so important that the time of the Imam should be interrupted for them.
Upon this, (the Deputy Editor) [of the Al Fazl newspaper] narrated the incident of an early and a sincere companion of the Promised Messiahas who had passed away. He was asked by the Promised Messiahas that he never wrote for prayers while many others did. In reply, he presented the same reason to the Promised Messiahas that had been explained by Huzoor[ra], and at the same time, he said that if the Promised Messiahas cared about them, he would pray for them without request.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The fact that the Promised Messiahas asked him about it shows that he wanted him to shun that mistake because he had a special relationship with the Promised Messiahas and Huzooras did not want that error to remain in him. Otherwise, there were many followers of the Promised Messiahas but he did not ask every one of them about it. This incident proves that even those who have a special relationship [with the Imam of the time] should also request for prayers.”
7 May 1922
Offering Tarawih prayers
On the mention of Tarawih prayers, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“In the last year of the life of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Maulvi Sahib (Khalifatul Masih I) obtained permission through me to carry out Tarawih and also requested the Promised Messiahas to join. The Promised Messiahas said, ‘It is good. Tarawih should be offered, but I cannot join.’”
Huzoor[ra] said:
“The Promised Messiahas preferred to offer Tarawih alone rather than in congregation. The opportunity one gets to seek prayers alone is far greater than that in the congregation. One can seek as many prayers as they want and for as long as they desire. However, one cannot do so behind the imam. The wisdom behind offering [Tarawih] in congregation is that common people cannot recite much of the Holy Quran on their own but can regularly offer Tarawih. On the other hand, if such people were to offer Tarawih individually, they would complete it in a short time. It is beneficial for such people to offer Tarawih in congregation.”
A friend enquired from Huzoor[ra], “Tarawih prayers are held in congregation in Masjid Aqsa in the earlier part of the night and in Masjid Mubarak in the latter part of the night, so is it permissible to offer Tarawih in congregation at both times?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Tarawih prayers are a form of nafl [supererogatory prayer]. So, there is nothing wrong in offering them at both times. The number of nawafil is not fixed. One can offer as much as they like.”
The differences in the colours of objects are not without wisdom
The differences in the colours came under discussion at the mention of the camera. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The differences in colours are not without any reason and nature has placed different powers in different things which absorb certain kind of rays from sunlight. The differences in colour have an impact on the properties of an object. For example, black mulberry is beneficial and useful for diphtheria, but white mulberry is not useful in this disease and is harmful to some extent. Then, the slight differences in the shapes of various objects lead to differences in their properties. For example, both كھم [mushroom] and پد پیڑا or گیدڑ چونگى [also a type of mushroom] are said to be the same things, but one of them is cooked and taken as food and the other one, if cooked, gives a very pungent smell. When Dr Mir Muhammad Ismail Sahib was in the early years of his medical studies, he once said that the aforementioned two [mushrooms] are one and the same. So, [the second type of mushroom] was cooked, but it smelled so bad that the Promised Messiahas said, ‘Throw it away.’”
Memory enhancement
Then, a friend asked Huzoor[ra] if memory could be enhanced.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Yes! Memory enhancement methods have been around since ancient times and people have been taking advantage of them. In fact, one of those methods is very ancient, and has been practised since the time of the Greek philosophers. That is, consider the brain as a house and then divide it into sixteen parts after determining its four directions. Then, determine the names and functions of those parts and put everything in the part to which it belongs. For example, a house has a kitchen. If one does not remember the word khubz (bread), then in such a way if a person would put it [the word ‘bread’] in the part of one’s mind which has been given the name ‘kitchen,’ one will remember it because that word is now associated with many things. It is a general rule that one can remember more things when they are related to something as compared to those things that are not related to anything. For example, when someone says that, ‘Dr Fazal Ilahi Sahib sent you salaam.’ You would say to him, ‘Who Dr Fazal Ilahi?’ Then you will remember instantaneously if he was to reply, ‘Noor Illahi’s brother.’ The actual person was Fazal Ilahi, but you remembered him through Noor Ilahi. In the same way, they [those who used the aforesaid method of memorisation] do this with everything. They first decide as to which part that thing belonged and then associate it with that. When they need a certain thing, they just have to search that section and they find it immediately. Those who use this method benefit a lot from it. However, this method has now been abandoned and better methods have been introduced.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] was requested to shed light on the [new] methods as well. Huzoor[ra] said:
“Those are a bit complex and scientific methods but I will tell you the basics. Different minds possess different kinds of weaknesses. Some people can memorise by hearing, some by seeing, some by touching, and some by tasting. Some people have this weakness in their mind that if they listen to something, they forget. Some forget those things which they see. That is why it is said that if one wants to memorise something, it should be transferred to the mind in more than one way. For example, the word ‘akhbar’ (Huzoor[ra] took the recent issue of Al Fazl in his hand); ‘Akhbar’ is called ‘newspaper’ in English. The way to remember it is to say the word ‘newspaper’ aloud. Consequently, the word will go into the ear and through the sense of hearing, one will remember it. Then, take it in your hand and say the word ‘newspaper’ and the sense of touch will remember it. Now that a picture has been formed in one’s memory and the word ‘newspaper’ has been conveyed to the mind in many ways, it will be remembered.”
“To some extent, teaching is now being done in the same way in some schools. Now, these methods are being taught by taking fees.
“I sometimes forget what I read but if I hear an incident, I remember it. I forget the names but remember the faces. Thousands of people meet me at Jalsa. I recall them when I see them but I forget their names most of the time.”
A question was presented to Huzoor[ra]: “Is there any remedy for poor memory?” Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“There are certain treatments for some diseases that cause the nerves of the brain to weaken. The use of fennel, almonds and raisins is useful for general memory weaknesses.”
8 May 1922
The rules of hadith criticism
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said to Maulana Syed Sarwar Shah Sahib, “Maulvi Sahib! Have the muta’akhirin [Latter-Day scholars] also formulated any rules and regulations for criticism on hadith or are the same old ones being used?” Maulvi Sahib answered that the muta’akhirin had even abandoned the earlier rules.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“In my opinion, a large part of hadith is against reason and the Holy Quran. There can be no man-made rule that can remain unchanged till the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, there are many ways by following which research on hadith can be conducted anew. For example, one of the very many ways is to collect most of the narrations of one narrator and then look at the natural inclination of that narrator. In this way, his narrations can be criticised in the best possible way. It is possible that a person might be honest, but for some reason he may not fully understand something. The narrations of Hazrat Abu Hurairahra are very helpful to Christianity. When we consider them, it becomes clear that he was not the inhabitant of Mecca and its environs but the inhabitant of a village near Medina, which was under the influence of Christians. That is why his narrations were also influenced by them. In the beginning, the effect of what he heard from the Christians was that when he heard something from the Holy Prophetsa, he would immediately relate it to his mind from one of the narrated Christian traditions. For example, it is in Bukhari that Hazrat Abu Hurairahra, after narrating a hadith of the Holy Prophetsa, immediately said:
[…] فَاقْرَءُوْا إِنْ شِئْتُم: وَاِنۡ مِّنۡ اَھۡلِ الۡكِتٰبِ
“[‘Read if you wish: And there is none among the People of the Book (but will believe in it before his death).’]
“But the above verse had nothing to do with that narration. The same mistake was made by those who wrote commentaries of the Holy Quran that if there was something mentioned in the verse of the Holy Quran, they declared it as incomprehensive and the same thing which was famous among the Jews with many wrong exaggerations, they included it in the commentary by declaring it comprehensive. However, they did not understand that the Holy Quran mentioned only the truth from the exaggerated tale which was famous among the Jews, and rejected the rest.”
Questions from America
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“People from all walks of life have sent many questions from America. There were questions from influential people, merchants and doctors, and even from a principal. Some questions are significant, and some are common yet subtle. Some are very trivial, for example, two questions are, ‘There is a certain company that has started extracting oil at a certain place; will it be successful or not?’ Another person has asked, ‘Will such and such company be successful in its business or not? If not, what should it do to be successful?’ Mufti Sahib has written that the questioner was a shareholder of that company.
“Another question, which is influenced by the circumstances there, is whether or not Black people are naturally born with inferior powers. If they are born with inferior powers, why should they be given equal rights?’
“There are also some very interesting questions. A priest has asked me, ‘Why have you sent the Mufti here. Aren’t we doing a good job? When we are also doing well, then he should be sent to another region.’ This question shows that the priests are worried that people will convert to Islam. There are also many questions about the progress of Islam and Ahmadiyyat.”
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 29 May and 1 June 1922 issue of Al Fazl)