Al Fazl, 3 July 1922
21 May 1922
Reciting the Holy Quran for the dead is wrong
Regarding the recitation of the Holy Quran for the dead, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] said:
“The dead do not get the reward of the Holy Quran because the recitation of the Holy Quran is a kind of worship. However, the reward of sadaqah [charity] and alms reaches the dead. The [reward] of giving charity is not written in the a‘mal nama [record of deeds and misdeeds] of the dead but they are rewarded in some other way.”
The question arose as to why the reward of the Holy Quran could not reach the dead when the Hajj could be performed on behalf of another.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“Hajj is not compulsory for every Muslim in all cases. Therefore, if a person does not get the opportunity, then Hajj can be performed by someone else on his behalf. However, salat is obligatory on every Muslim. Consequently, if, for some reason, someone does not get the opportunity [to perform salat], no one can offer salat on their behalf.”
The effects of stars
Qazi Syed Amir Hussain Sahib returned from Hisar [India] and met Hazrat Khalifatul Masih. Huzoor[ra] enquired about his well-being and his nephew’s health due to whose illness Qazi Sahib had gone there. Qazi Sahib said that he had haemorrhoids, the severity of which decreased and increased with the lunar cycle.
Regarding this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“What the Promised Messiahas has written about the effects of stars is also supported by the fact that the rising and setting of the Moon has an effect on certain diseases.”
European knowledge vs the teachings of prophets
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“The Europeans emphasised a lot on their knowledge and observations and laughed at every aspect of religion. However, look at the prophets of God. From Prophet Adamas to the present time, the teaching of all prophets is the same. This argument has been presented by the Holy Quran in support of religion and no other knowledge can go against it. On the other hand, the thing called intellect says one thing today and something else tomorrow.”
Satisfactory resolution [of issues] by the prophets
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The prophets resolve [the issues in the best possible manner], which gives complete satisfaction to mankind.”
Then Huzoor[ra] narrated the incident of the late Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahibra and said, “There was an issue between him and Hazrat Maulvi Sahib (Khalifa Ira). Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahib was against the issue that Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra had presented. The Promised Messiahas arrived and Maulvi Sahib presented the issue to him or the Promised Messiahas himself started discussing it. The Promised Messiahas explained the issue in the same way as Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra had said. Hearing this, Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahib said, ‘Subhanallah, Subhanallah.’ Hazrat Maulvi Sahibra gestured to Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahib as if to ask what had happened as he was against it. Maulvi Abdul Karim Sahib said, ‘Maulvi Sahib! You make the issue very complex. Now see how the matter has become completely clear.’”
Qazi Amir Hussain Sahib said: “I always had a discussion with Hazrat Maulana Nuruddin Sahib about qasr [reduced form] of salat, but it never arrived at a conclusion. When the Promised Messiahas visited Gurdaspur during a trial, I was also asked to accompany him. One day it was time for Zuhr or Asr prayer, I was asked to lead the salat. I was personally happy that I would lead [the congregation] and perform four raka‘at and the issue would be resolved. I was about to lead the salat when the Promised Messiahas came forward and said, ‘Will you offer two rak‘aat?’ I said, ‘Yes, Huzoor, I will offer only two [rak‘aat].’ Then, that issue became clear to me forever.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] then said:
“I also remember an incident. At one point during the Gurdaspur trial, the associates requested me to ask the Promised Messiahas probably about the combining of prayers. I went in and asked the Promised Messiahas.He said, ‘I have already offered one [salat]’ (and then raised his hands for performing the next and said that) ‘I am now going to offer the next [salat].’”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] further said:
“It is the divine light of prophethood through which the prophets establish their followers on the middle path. They do not lead them to such ease that it results in the spread of ibahat [making everything permissible religiously], nor do they put them in such difficulties that mankind cannot bear.
“For instance, the Promised Messiahas would also perform combined salat, so the people also used to offer prayers in that way. However, now they do not combine the prayers. On the other hand, if a maulvi had done so, the people would have adopted one of the two cases.”
22 May 1922
Ghosts in America
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Mufti [Muhhamad Sadiq] Sahib has written to me that the belief in ghosts is becoming very common in America. He writes that such incidents are narrated that ghosts came and killed people and left. The police are investigating but have not been able to apprehend them. The public has requested the clergy that it was time to save the people by performing exorcism as mentioned in the Bible.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“Now, these people are returning to where they left off. The more they relied on intellect and laughed at the books of the Almighty Lord, the more they are [morally] declining.”
Huzoor[ra] said:
“This is also a resemblance. Just as the first Christ was connected with the exorcism of ghosts, so is the Promised Messiahas now needed to dispel the aforesaid superstitious state and religious disorder that has arisen in Europe and America.”
23 May 1922
A divine vision about a famous city
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“A long time ago, I saw a vision in which I was walking in the style of a general and the army was marching behind me. There was also artillery with us and we had laid siege to a city. I was looking for a weak spot. Eventually, I found a weak place and signalled to the army with artillery to attack. As soon as I signalled, the bombardment started. The wall [of the city] was very wide. […] The houses inside it were very luxurious and made of marble. I was accompanied by Mufti Sadiq Sahib and the late Abdul Haye. Mufti Sahib said that that place was worthy of carrying out a prayer by sitting in it. Thus, they began to pray in a palace. I was looking at them and also observing the bombardment by the army. In the meantime, I saw that the men of our Jamaat were bringing out the spoils of war. The late Abdul Haye was also carrying a large bistar [set of bedding]. I took it off his head and said that other people would pick it up. This [vision] indicates that Ahmadiyyat will be accepted in that place after some suffering.”
The diaries of the prophets
Regarding the gift to the Prince of Wales, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Today, I saw a part of it [the book, A Present to His Royal Highness: The Prince of Wales], it seems like the gospels. The books of the Bible are the diaries of the prophets. The earlier people were not capable enough to distinguish between the revelation [of God] and the words of a Prophet, as is the case with the Holy Quran, that divine words are separate and the ahadith are completely separate.”
24 May 1922
[Lailatul-Qadr (the Night of Destiny)]
On 27 Ramadan [1922], it was reported to be cloudy and dusty that day, so a friend said that the light of Lailatul-Qadr would not be visible in such conditions.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“There is no actual light. They were the [divine] visions of the saints in which they saw scenes of light, etc., and the people thought that this light is generally witnessed [with the naked eye].”
29 May 1922
Muslims did not regard public opinion
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“The public opinion is highly regarded in Europe and the people [rulers] are afraid of it. However, this is not the case with Muslims. When they become the rulers, they become oblivious to religion and prefer the world over religion. The fact about the Sikhs is that their elders, doctors, barristers, etc., value public opinion. If they have to walk barefoot with Granth [the sacred scripture of the Sikhs] in their hands, they do not hesitate to walk. Walking barefoot and bareheaded with the Holy Quran is an innovation; however, if the rich Muslims are only asked to come to the mosque and pray five times a day, they will consider it a disgrace.”
Adopt darveshi [austere life] for tabligh
Regarding the tabligh [preaching] needs and missionaries, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihra said:
“In my view, our friends should go out to preach like the faqirs [darvesh]. If they shall ask for food, it will not be considered begging. Wherever a missionary goes, he has the right to take food for three days from the people there. After three days, he may leave and go to another place. Then, he may return after 15 or 16 days. This missionary should not carry too many belongings, nor should he take a lot of books with him. There should only be a copy of the Holy Quran and a few clothes in his possession. He should certainly carry a printed card of his address that he may present to the person to whom he preaches.
“On the other hand, the first thing that may influence the addressee will be that the person addressing them is an MA, a BA, a doctor, a maulvi fazil or a scholar of the Western or Oriental sciences. [The people will be compelled to think that] his heart is burning with a passion which is making him restless and that is why he is bearing such hardships. [They will ponder as to] what has happened to him that he is in such a state. Thereafter, the words of the missionary will have an impact on them.
“One of the conditions put forward by the Promised Messiahas for the missionaries was that they must declare that they would not take wages or any compensation [for their work]. Where nothing would be available, they would eat the leaves of the trees and sleep under the open sky. The aforesaid conditions were written by the late Mir Hamid Shah Sahib at the behest of the Promised Messiahas.”
Addressing Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib (missionary of England), Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“You had also devoted your life at that time, [so you might remember those conditions]. I intend to present the aforesaid conditions to the young people who have devoted their lives. Some of them are about to graduate. I will say to them that this is the burden that they have to bear. There is no other way we can work in every part of the world.
“Their state will be such that they will never even think of their own honour. They will become accustomed to hardships. If they have to stay hungry, they will do so because they will have the habit of fasting. Consequently, they will achieve the state as someone has said, ‘Mil gai tu rozi warna roza’ [If they get something, it will be their food, otherwise they will fast].’ Religion requires great sacrifice and greater zeal.”
The story of the father of the Promised Messiah
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra said:]
“The story of the father of the Promised Messiahas is a lesson for the servants of religion. Though whatever he did was for the world, in order to learn a lesson, it is a very significant tale.
“At the time of the Promised Messiah’s grandfather, when our family’s rule collapsed, the whole family took refuge in Kapurthala. The grandfather of the Promised Messiahas was a man of weak disposition. Once, a Sikh chief came and said to him, ‘Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fatah [Pure one of god, victory to god].’ He repeated the same words. His father [the great grandfather of the Promised Messiahas] heard those words and said, ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un [Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return]. Our rule will end in the time of this son.’ It thus happened accordingly and his family had to leave Qadian. The grandfather of the Promised Messiahas died in Kapurthala. The father of the Promised Messiahas was 16 years old at the time. He said that he would bury his father’s body in Qadian. The people said that the Sikhs were occupied there, but he did not listen and took the body. Here [in Qadian], the Sikhs tried to stop him but the subjects sympathised with him and the body was buried. He was in such a state of helplessness that he borrowed five seer [around five kilograms] of grain from someone and sent it to his house. He left his home saying that he would return to his homeland with honour. He went to Delhi and stayed in a mosque. Perhaps it was a trial from God Almighty that he did not get anything to eat for several days.
“Finally, after several days, a man brought a dry piece of bread and gave it to him. There was a nai or a mirasi [personal servant] with him who remained loyal to him despite his poverty. [The Promised Messiah’s father] kept looking at the bread for a long time. The servant tried to remove the effect that was being caused by the dry bread and jokingly said, ‘Mirza ji, where is my piece?’ He angrily threw the bread at his face, which injured him. Hence, he still stayed there, acquired education and then returned to his homeland.”
The difference between religious and secular education
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra said:]
“Nowadays, the state of the religious students is such that if they are entrusted to anyone, they say that their education is not being fully looked after. However, the teaching of religion is such that if a religious teacher tells even one thing, it is very beneficial, no matter how much time is wasted. However, this is not the case with the secular sciences and the aforementioned method is considered a waste of time. No one can acquire education the way I was taught by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I. He used to continuously read up to half a para [part] of Bukhari all by himself and sometimes he would tell me something of his own accord. Sometimes, I had to spend the whole day waiting for a lesson and I would take meals at irregular times. My stomach has suffered since then.
“Once I had a headache. When I came after studying, my mother asked, ‘What did you read?’ I said, ‘I don’t have to read. Maulvi Sahib reads everything.’ She went to Maulvi Sahib and said, ‘What do you teach? Mahmud says so and so.’ Maulvi Sahib said to me, ‘Mian, you should have told me. What was the need to say that to Bivi Sahiba [wife of the Promised Messiahas]?’”
Maulvi Hassan Ali Sahib Bhagalpuri
Thereafter, coming back to the previous discussion that the missionaries should walk [long distances] on foot, work without a salary and be self-reliant, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“Maulvi Hassan Ali Sahib Bhagalpuri was not a graduate but he was so proficient in English that people would gather around him and listen to his speeches. In this way, he used to travel from one place to another for the service of religion without any wage. It seemed that he was a shahid [testifier of the truthfulness] of the Promised Messiahas.”
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 3 July 1922 issue of Al Fazl)