The Moslem Sunrise, October 1921
Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra (1872-1957)
Dear Brothren in Islam! Assalam-o-alaikum.
There are many Muhammadans in this country who come from Syria, Palestine, Albania, Servia, Bosnia, Turkey, Kurdistan and India. Their exact number is yet unknown but they are in thousands. This epistle is addressed to all of them.
I beg to be excused to say that in the majority of cases you are Moslems in name only – Islam not playing practical part in your every-day life. Nay, even your names are generally no more Moslem because you have adopted American names. These are the days of trouble for you. The Moslems are being disturbed and dispersed everywhere. The United States is a very good country for you to live in. I wish millions of Moslems to come over here, settle in this land, make it their home and enjoy the privileges of the citizenship in this free, fertile and rich land. But I must advise you:
1. To keep and preserve your Islam with you wherever you go – “Keep your faith always above the world.”
2. Retain your Moslem names – Muhammad, Ahmad, Ali, and so forth, and do not become Sams, Georges, James, Mikes, etc.
3. Say your five prayers daily in mosques and in your homes. If you do not find time and opportunity to keep the regular times, say them together – but never let a day pass without your prayers.
4. Never forget that Arabic is the one common language of all Moslems. Try to learn it, read and write it. Teach Arabic to your children and make the habit of speaking it at home. Learn the English language thoroughly as this will be a great help in understanding the people and becoming good citizens.
5. To marry the Christians or Jewish girls is lawful according to our religion, even if they remain in their own faith, but try your best to prove to them by kind treatment, love and your practical clean and pure life that Islam is the true religion from God for the welfare and prosperity of humanity.
6. Be careful to bring up your children to become good Moslems – lest they remain ignorant, and mixing up with the surrounding influences become lost in other religions. That will be a great sin for you.
7. Islam prohibits usury and interest. Its taking is so forbidden as is its giving. But when you put your money in banks in this country, take the portion of your interest (which they give you as their own rule) and then spend it in propagation of Islam; for example, in printing a book on Islam, which should be distributed free among the American Christians and thus their money will go back to them in a better form.
8. Build a mosque in every town to worship one God, however small and simple it be, but [there] must be one. If you cannot build a mosque, then fix up a room in the house of one of you to meet there every day, to say prayers together, read the Quran and tradition and talk on religious subjects.
9. Make it an object of your life to promulgate Islam; to tell others that Islam is a true religion: to prove the truth of Islam by a true sincere, sympathetic and kind treatment to all. Win the American souls to Islam and this will be a great achievement.
10. God is the best Protector of Islam in all ages. Always follow His directions. In these days, He has raised a great Reformer to help the cause of Islam – “Ahmad,” the Promised Messiah and Mehdi. Join his fold in the Ahmadia Movement to be blessed by the Creator and the Provider – Allah-o-Akbar.
[Readers should bear in mind that the above guidelines were given by Hazrat Mufti Sahibra in 1921 to the people of America while serving as a missionary there. Since then, through the system of Khilafat, we have been given ample direction in this regard – how to give precedence to Islam over everything worldly, especially while living in the Westernised world we see today. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah strengthen his hand, has given us guidance on these issues many times and his instructions should be referred to when seeking direction on how to best live our lives as Ahmadi Muslims in the modern day – Editor Al Hakam]
(Transcribed by Al Hakam from the original in The Moslem Sunrise, October 1921)