Al Fazl, 26 April 1920
Thank God
Thanks be to Allah the Almighty that through the agency of the Rahmatun-lil-Alamin [absolute mercy for all mankind, Prophet Muhammadsa], the Promised Messiahas and with the blessings of the resolute [Khalifatul Masih II], may Allah be his helper, a weak and powerless person like me, as it is said, “naïve little soul” was granted the strength from the Divine to cross oceans and reach the continent of Europe from the continent of Asia and then to set foot in the continent of America from the continent of Europe.
The American newspapers write, “Our missionaries travel to other countries with friends and associates, and carry great provisions with them, but take a look at the strength of Ahmadiyya missionary’s faith that he came to our shores all alone to convert America to Islam.”
Certainly, this act is strange in the eyes of the worldly people, but according to the earlier sunnah, the Companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa, Syed-ul-Anbiya [Chief of all Prophets] and Khatam-un-Nabiyyin [Seal of all Prophets], at times, all alone, splitting the oceans and the forests, reached other countries in those days when travel was more difficult and troublesome than today.
Nowadays, in comparison to those brave and holy people, getting reward from such acts is like entering the martyrs by applying blood on oneself [i.e. seeking reward by little effort]. However, Muslims have lost that courage, determination, honesty, sincerity or in other words, that Islam owing to which such rewards were taken away from them.
Reformer of the age
[These rewards] were granted to the Jamaat of the Mujaddid of the time, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be upon him. This is also a testimony to the truthfulness of this Jamaat that after such a long relationship with the United Kingdom, if anyone was given the strength to carry out the tabligh of Islam to the English people from Hindustan, they were Ahmadis and not the non-Ahmadis. Ponderers should opine and deliberators should contemplate that this distinction and furqan [differentiation of truth from falsehood] is a proof for the truthfulness of whose personage? All of us carry the Muslim name and every person is free to call themselves whatever they wish, but we have to observe, where exists the life and where is the spirituality? It is the result of this relationship with the reviver of faith, leader of Islam, the Masih-e-Maud, yes, the Promised Messiahas who was named nabi [messenger] by Syedul Rusul [leader of all the Prophets, Hazrat Muhammadsa] that a humble person like me was able to endure the hardships of the ocean voyage.
Ocean voyage
On 28 March 1920, our ship, by the name of [SS] Haverford, set sail from Liverpool in the afternoon. Brother Maulvi Abdul Rahim Sahib Nayyar, who, out of affection, came all the way to Liverpool from London to bid this humble farewell, stood on the shore for a long time and kept praying. Standing on the deck of the ship, I continued to see him from above and pray. As the ship was huge and very high, his distance from me was as much as if someone looks down from the third floor. We could not even hear each other.
However, the state of these two-way prayers was having a special effect on the passengers and during the journey, many people mentioned, “When your brother was standing beneath and you were up above, it seemed that you two were under an extraordinary effect.”
This humble one feels scared to travel in a ship because the headache, vomiting and nausea it causes is very discomforting. Moreover, a little movement makes me sick. Therefore, I tried so hard to get a ship that would reach America in the least possible days and there are some ships which reach from America from England in just five days.
However, I got my passport issued in the very last moments and considering myself fortunate, I quickly booked the first available ship. The speed of the ship, which was selected under divine providence, in comparison to its huge size was very slow. Additionally, it did not come directly to America, rather it went from Liverpool to Le Havre and then to Halifax [Canada] and from there to Philadelphia.
In this way, I reached America passing through France and Canada and instead of five or six, it took 21 days. The winds remained strong. The movement was light due to the large size of the ship. However, I experienced illness for several days and could not go to the dining room more than half the time [of the journey]. I used to eat something while lying down.
Two thousand Chinese
The reason for the ship’s departure to France was that about 2,000 Chinese people, who had come there during the war to help the British government and had been stranded in France due to the shortage of ships, were brought to Canada through it. From there, first by train and then by boarding another ship from Western Canada, they will be transported to China. They were accompanied by a few British military officers for management.
Unfortunately, there were very few among them who knew English and I do not speak Chinese. Also, their section of accommodation was separate in the ship and they were not allowed to come in our compartments. However, when I used to feel good, I would carry out tabligh to them. Some of them were already Muslims.
Five Chinese embraced the true Islam
Below are the names of those five Chinese people who entered the true Jamaat, by the grace of God Almighty:
1. Wang Han Chen
2. Trebi Thian Jan
3. Wan Hiang
4. Chang Wen Chih
5. Mu Wen Shu
Through the blessings of God Almighty, I had great opportunity to carry out a lot of prayers on the ship. I prayed separately for most of the friends and also collectively for all of them. One day, an immense inner passion for prayer was generated. Aft er praying for everyone that day, I offered a comprehensive prayer, which I kept noting down as well and that is why it is preserved in its original form.
Sadiq’s prayer
I write that sincere prayer over here, so that perhaps, a reader may get to pray in those words and benefit from it by the grace of God and this humble may be rewarded.
“O my Most Generous Lord, my Lord the Merciful, my Lord the Forbearing, my Lord the Coverer of flaws and Forgiver. O my Master, Benefactor of the poor, O my Creator, O my Sustainer, my Lord, my Gracious, O my Eternal Forgiver and Merciful. You are Master of all and Dominant over everybody. Everything is in Your Power, nothing was, but You were, nothing will be but You shall exist. You are the Creator and Master of the spirits, the Creator and Master of the bodies, the Creator and Master of matter, the Creator and Master of life and the Creator and Master of time. You the Creator and Master of everything. Not a single particle can move without Your Command. You are Omnipotent, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Aware, Dominant and All-Hearing. The oceans and lands are Yours. I am a beggar before You; I am poor, You are Self-Sufficient; I am needy, You are free of every want; I ask, You grant; I am a scrounger, You are a Bestower. I am nothing, but You are everything. Lord, I am an expectant at your doorstep; You are the fulfiller of expectations. O Master, I am a sinner, You are the Pure Lord; forgive my sins, cover up my faults, remove all my flaws, eliminate my weaknesses, be kind, Compassionate, cover the shortcomings, overlook, show forbearance, make things easy. Save from every evil, protect from every sorrow, rescue from every distress and shelter from every worry, me and my beloveds, my near ones, those who love me, my helpers, my sincere friends, my faithful associates, those who pray for me, all those for whom I have prayed and also those whom I have mistakenly forgotten. Show mercy and kindness to those who love me, but I do not know that they do. You are the All-Knowing, the All-Aware. Nothing is hidden from You, neither in the heavens, nor in the earth. Yes, have mercy on my children and on my wife and off spring, on my relatives, on my friends, on those who are kind and have good intentions, on the well-wishers, on those who pray for my family and all those who love them and on their wives and children, on their relatives, on those admirers who are presently in mind and those who are not and on those admirers who shall be born in the generations to come. Have mercy on all of them, show compassion, be generous, cure their illnesses, relieve their debts, grant them victories in cases and debates, bless them with health, comfort, honour, excellence; give them prosperity and expansion in halal [lawful] wealth, bestow them monarchy and state, grant them beneficial knowledge, acceptable deeds, noble children, good friends and the strength to preach religion.
“O my Lord, O my Forgiver, You are mine, I am Yours; I am Yours, You are mine; my Master, my Master, my Master, my Beloved Lord, my Beloved Lord, my Beloved Lord; hear my call, reach for my cry, forgive my sins, shower Your blessings, Your bounties. Abundant, infinite and countless blessings, peace and grace be upon the leader, syed [master] and prince of all the prophets, Hazrat Muhammadsa of Arabia, Ahmad of Mecca and Medina. Blessings, peace and grace be upon Abul-Anbiya [father of all the prophets], Khalil-e-Khuda [friend of God], Abrahamas and on Noahas, Ishmaelas, Isaacas, Jacobas, Josephas, Davidas, Solomonas, Jesusas, Adamas, Krishnaas, Maharajas and on all the prophets we know and those whom we do not. Especially, on our master, Muhammadsa and his family and on his Khulafa, Abu Bakrra, Umarra, Usmanra and Alira and on all the companionsra, auliya [beloved ones of God], aqtabs [prominent saints], mujaddids [reformers] of the ummah and the imams. And on the Imam of imams, the khatam of auliya [best of all the saints] and the chief reflector of all the prophets, burooz [spiritual reflection] of Muhammadsa, Hazrat Ahmadas, the Prophet of Allah, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. And on his Khulafa, Nuruddinra and Mahmudra. And shower blessings, mercy and compassion on all the Companionsra, their family and children and on the followers and the admirers.
“O my Generous Master, Your Being is the Greatest, Your power is the highest, Your strength is the Utmost. There is no knowledge except for what You grant. There is no action except the one for which You grant the strength. There is no power except for what you Bless. Help your servant Mahmud, our Imam and chief, our mentor and guide, our reformer and commander, our master and leader, Fazl-e-Umar; assist him, give him victory in every field, fulfill his every objective, accept his every prayer. Grant progress to his friends and wipe out his evil-wishers. Give him a long life with health, strength and fitness. Elevate him even higher and bless him with the maqam-e-mahmud [the highly commended status]. Take him close to Your special nearness and grant him the highest ranks and stations. Yes, my Generous, my Benefactor, my Lord, my Master, Omnipotent, All-Hearing, All-Knowing, the friends who requested and wrote to me for prayers, fulfil their prayers and wishes. And Bless those who did not request or write, but they hope or desire for me to pray for them. Yes, even for them, I beg before You to answer their supplications and fill their arms with your blessings. There is no concept of shortage before You and no scarcities in Your treasures. Help those who assist the religion of Muhammadsa and make us one of them. Humiliate those who want to humiliate the religion of Muhammadsa and do not make us one of them. Help those who help and support [the mission] of the Promised Messiahas and bless us to be one of them. Humiliate those who seek the humiliation of the Promised Messiahas and pardon us that we are not among them.
ربِّ أَنزلنی منزلا مباركا وأَنت خير المنزلين۔ والحمد للہ رب العالمین۔ اٰمین ثم اٰمین۔ برحمتک یا ارحم الراحمین۔
[My Lord, cause me to land a blessed landing, for Thou art the Best of those who bring people to land. And all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. Amin thumma Amin. With Your mercy, O Most Merciful.]”
Muhammad Sadiq, may Allah forgive his sins
From Gloucester City, America, 1 March 1920
Address for mail:
C/O Thomas Cook and Sons, 245 Broadway, New York, U.S. America
