Al Fazl, 12 February, 1920
Six English Ahmadis
چراغے راکہ ایزدبر فروزد
کسے کو تف زندریشش بسوزد
“The person who [tries] to spit on the lamp illuminated by God Almighty has his own beard burnt in the process.”
No one can stop a matter from taking place when Allah Almighty wants to do it. It is only the question of sooner or later in the fulfilment of God’s motive, but the opposition of men cannot stop divine works and whatever He wills, eventually comes to pass.
غرض رکتے نہیں ہرگز خدا کے کام بندوں سے
بھلا خالق کے آگے خَلق کی کچھ پیش جاتی ہے
“Thus, God’s plans are not hindered by men. Can people hold any sway before their Maker!”
Those people who believed the promulgation of Ahmadiyyat in England to be an impossibility and considered it an improbability that the English would convert to Ahmadiyyat; those who do not want to see the efforts of the Ahmadiyya mission to flourish and remember the Ahmadiyya Jamaat by the name of an “indescribable sect” in a derogatory manner should know full well that the seed that was planted in the land of England in the name of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, is becoming a thriving tree and the hand that caught white birds in the divine vision is certainly capturing the hearts of noble Englishmen with its sincerity and love.
As a result, in the current week, a total of six persons – two noble gentlemen, an intelligent lady, a boy and two girls – entered into the servitude of the Promised Messiahas. They are being acknowledged as true Muslims after reciting the creed:
لَا اِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللہُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللہِ
[There is none worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is His messenger].
All praise belongs to Allah. Their details and names will be presented to readers next week.
Lecture in Wimbledon Lodge
I have written before that a Theosophist Society has invited Chaudhry Sahib to give a lecture on “Ahmad, the Promised Messiah.”
Thus, the invitation was accepted and a lecture was delivered on the said subject at Wimbledon Lodge on the night of 10 January at 8pm. Although the Wimbledon Lodge is at a significant distance from London, the subject of the lecture and the passion to personally witness and write the report, stimulated me to travel alongside Chaudhry Sahib.
Beside us, our new Ahmadi nurse who converted to Islam five years ago, Sister Haneefah Bekon also accompanied us. The decorated hall of the society was full of educated men and women, and the eyes of all the attendees awaited the evening’s lecture.
The subject of the lecture and questions & answers
Following the recitation of the kalima-e-shahadah [Islamic creed], Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sayal MA delivered a lecture for nearly two hours on the life and character of the Promised Messiahas, his works, education, signs, acceptance of prayers and prophecies.
He told the audience how the Promised Messiahas convinced atheists about the existence of God Almighty and persuaded those who were waiting for the sword to become peaceful Muslims. He then went on to say that according to Ahmad’sas prophecies, Europe witnessed the war and the world had to face various disasters due to the denial.
“Now, again, you should pay heed, for Ahmad’s teachings will join the East with the West, and the English and Russians will become Muslims.”
After the lecture, an opportunity for questions was given and of the many questions, the following discourse was particularly interesting:
Question: You can eat rice in the East and spend all day in prayer. Our Western life is spent in acquiring knowledge, studying and in a practical manner. I am afraid you will be disappointed in the hope of [spreading] Islam in the West!
Answer: My body, powers and strength have been effected by a dark and foggy atmosphere of London and five months of illness. However, regardless of these adverse impacts, they are a testimony of the fact that their nourishment was made possible with meat, milk and butter and not rice, which I ate in India before coming to the UK.
Moreover, I am prepared to have a trial of strength with anyone from among you. (Laughter)
My presence in this country for tabligh rejects the notion that we only know to pray sitting idle and that we are practically behind the West. You should realise that as you possess certain ideas about the oriental people, similar misconceptions are also famous about you in the East.
However, neither are you as ill-mannered as an Easterner imagines, nor are the Orientals as insignificant as you consider. Hence, the meeting of the East with the West through Ahmadas and the acceptance of Islam in the West is not impossible. The only thing needed is to remove mutual misunderstandings.
Post lecture
After the question and answer session, the president of the gathering said, “We are grateful to Mr Sayal and we all return with more information and advanced knowledge about Ahmadas Nabiyullah [Prophet of God].”
Towards the end of the conference, courteous workers of the society refreshed us with tea and many people thanked the lecturer in person. The questions and answers that followed the lecture and the subsequent discussion showed that those people were not concerned about matters of Trinity, the divinity of Jesus and the atonement etc. because despite the fact that all these issues were refuted [in the lecture], no one asked any question about them.
The issue that most questions were asked about was the issue of reincarnation. However, the thing which caused a huge impact on the audience was the challenge of the trial of strength that was an act of repaying the debt of those issues in the same coin.
Hence, by the grace of God, the message of the Messiahas was conveyed in the most lucid and clear manner. Moreover, plenty of matter was made available for the wise men to consider and to feed their sensible thoughts.