Al Fazl, 25 January 1919
Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra
Mail from India
Mail from India is being received here every fifteen days. Letters from India, four bundles of the Review of Religions (English) and Al Fazl of 5-7 October was delivered on 30 November.
The letters were written between 25 September and 8 October. Hopefully, within a few months, mail will be delivered weekly, Insha-Allah.
No wonder mail will be sent and received by air in future. The governments of France and England are having discussions on establishing a system of air mail. Perhaps this system will develop with the passage of time…
Letter from the Queen
After the announcement of victory (in the first world war), King George V and Queen Mary paid visits around London. Countless people gathered in streets, market places and parks, congratulating the King and Queen with hoorays and cheers. As the city is fairly big, the tour was extended to several days.
There came a day when the tour reached the place of our residence and by chance, I came to know that the royal entourage was going to pass by Star Street. The street was filled with crowds of men and women. I too stepped out with a small flag in my hand and stood outside my house by the street. I waved the flag as the royal car, which was rather small in height, moved steadily passed me and I greeted members of the entourage with Salam. The Queen and Princess Mary were sitting on the side closest to where I stood. Both of them responded to my Salam with a delight on their faces and kept looking at me till the car passed by.
The same evening, I wrote a letter to the Queen, congratulating her on the victory and expressing gratitude for accepting my Salam whilst passing by Star Street. Furthermore, after explaining that the Nabiyullah [Prophet of God] Ahmadas had prophesied the war and prayed for Britain’s victory many years ago, a photograph of the Promised Messiahas was sent to the Queen and another one for the exalted King. This photograph was probably taken in 1903 in which this humble one is seated at the feet of the Promised Messiahas.
It was a moment of great pleasure that the exalted Queen accepted the two photographs and her private secretary informed me about it in a letter dated 19 November 1918. A copy of this royal letter has been sent to be presented before Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.
The two photographs that were sent to the Queen had these words written on them: “This is the photograph of the Prophet of Allah, Hazrat Ahmadas who had prophesied the war beforehand and prayed for the victory of Britain.”
King George V, Queen Mary and children Wiki Commons | The Library of Congress
Congratulations to the prime minister
Similarly, a letter expressing congratulations regarding the establishment of peace and the prophecy about the war was sent to the prime minister of the British Empire. A reply of acknowledgement and thanks was received on 18 November. A copy of this letter has been sent to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih.
Edit the Bible
As referred to by The Times, on 6 November 1918, the priest at Zion College, Dean Eli (the priest of the college is called Dean), whilst delivering a speech there stated that some chapters in the Bible ought not to be read out in public until and unless some words were omitted or edited from them. The priest was generally referring to the verses of Psalms, chapters 69, 109 and 137.
Since verses from the book of Psalms are frequently read out as prayers in churches, therefore the priest was of the view that these phrases should be eliminated from the book of prayers. Some phrases are given below for the knowledge of readers:
Psalms 69:22-28:
It is stated while cursing the enemy:
“May the table set before them become a snare; may it become a retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”
The priest desires to eliminate these words of Psalms from the Bible. However, in the days of war, particularly the war in which both the parties were Christian, is it not true that both sides wanted this kind of destruction for the opposing side as is the purpose of these prayers? Thus, if our enemy deserves to be destroyed like this owing to a worldly dispute, how can it be inappropriate to pray like this for the one who discomforts a prophet of God without any reason?
Nevertheless, it is more than likely that mistakes occurred in the translation, and the actual phrases of Psalms were altered as the Bible has gone through a series of changes due to which it is not in its actual form, a fact that is acknowledged by Christian scholars as well.
Psalms 109:6-15:
Another prayer for cursing the enemy is:
“Appoint an evil man to oppose him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labour. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.”
Psalms 137:8-9:
“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”
اللهم انا نعوذبك من غضبك و سخطك
(O Allah, I seek refuge with You from Your wrath and fury.)
An Arab convert
I happened to come across an Arab scholar here who belongs to Yemen. I presented him several Arabic books of the Promised Messiahas to read and continued preaching over a period of time.
At last, with the blessings of Allah the Almighty, he accepted the true faith. His name is Abdul Rahim bin Qasim. May Allah grant him steadfastness and bring others on the right path through him. Amin.
His request for Bai‘at has been sent in the mail for Hazrat Khalifatul Masih. (It has been delivered – Editor Al Fazl)
Accidents on London roads
London roads are fairly wide. There are separate pathways for cars and pedestrians. Traffic flows smoothly on both sides of roads with dividers in the middle separating the two sides. There are alert policemen where the two roads cross each other. They make sure that vehicles do not crash into each other.
In spite of all the safety measures, road accidents take an average of two lives per day. The details of the report issued by the commissioner, which have been published in the Daily Telegraph of 26 November 1918, are as follows:
- In 1914, there were 639 deaths and 25,470 injuries
- In 1915, there were 851 deaths and 25,867 injuries
- In 1916, there were 833 deaths and 23,091 injuries
- In 1917, there were 675 deaths and 18,173 injuries
Tabligh to the allied monarchies and presidents
I deemed it appropriate to write letters of congratulations on the establishment of peace on behalf of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya to those monarchies and presidents who were allies of the British Empire in the war and came out victorious in the end. Letters were sent to all of them, along with a copy of the book Tohfat-ul-Mulook (A Gift for the Kings) as a gift. The subject of each letter is almost the same. As a sample, the translation of a letter is as follows:
“To His Majesty, King Albert of Belgium,
“I humbly state that I, being a representative of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya (great numbers of which actively participated in the war) in this city, congratulate His Majesty and the Belgian nation from the depths of my heart on the favourable outcome of this war which was established for the allied forces. Hazrat Nabiyullah Ahmadas, resident of Qadian, India had prophesied about the war in 1905 and prayed for Britain’s victory, which was, in fact, in favour of the allied forces. He was God’s chosen one. His prayers were fulfilled in the court of the Omnipotent God and this establishment of peace has presented another sign of his truth.
“I humbly present a book, Tohfat-ul-Mulook (A Gift for the Kings) which was written by Hazrat Mahmud, the present leader of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat.
“Yours obediently, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq MR. AS. MSP. FPC. London. Ahmadi Missionary.”
Below is the list of those rulers who have been sent letters possessing similar subjects with the book (Tohfat-ul-Mulook):
- His Majesty Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy
- His Majesty Albert I, King of Belgium
- His Majesty Peter I, King of Serbia
- His Majesty Yoshihito, Emperor of Japan
- Mr Raymond Poincare, President of France
- Mr Wilson, President of the USA
- Dr Machado, President of Portugal
- His Majesty Ferdinand I, King of Romania
- His Majesty Nicholas, King of Montenegro
- His Majesty Alexander, King of Greece
- His Highness Sultan Fawad Pasha of Eygpt
- His Majesty King Chao Yu Hua Vajiravudh of Siam
- Mr Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil
- Mr Li Yuanhong, President of the Republic of China
- General Mario G Menocal, President of Cuba
- Hon Daniel Howard, President of Liberia
- Dr Ramon M Valdes, President of Panama
- Mr Phillipe Sudre Dartiguenave, President of Haiti
I am grateful to Allah the Almighty that He bestowed upon me the opportunity to spread the news of the Promised Messiah’s advent along with the book Tohfat-ul-Mulook to the above mentioned 18 rulers.
A letter of acknowledgment has been received from […], the ambassador of Serbia’s King in London. He writes that they are certain that King Peter would take this letter and the book Tohfat-ul-Malook with great consideration. Praise be to Allah the Almighty!
A request for prayers
I request the respected members of the Jamaat to pray that Allah the Almighty covers our weaknesses through His attributes of kindness, mercy, blessings, compassion, sattari (coverer of flaws) and forgiveness.
May our sins be forgiven. May our mistakes be pardoned. May we fulfill our goals and all our aims be for the pure pleasure of God.
May Allah the Almighty grant us a devoted, truthful and reformatory group of people. May we become the leaders of righteous. May our flaws and errors be forgiven.
برحمتك يا ارحم الراحمين۔ اللهم انصر من نصر دين محمد صلي الله عليه وسلم واجعلنا منهم و اخذل من خذل دين محمد صلي الله عليه و آله وسلم ولا تجعلنا منهم۔ آمين
(O Most Merciful, with Your Mercy; O Allah help those who help the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and make me one of them; and humiliate those who humiliate the religion of Muhammadsa and do not make me one of them. Amin.)
Wassalam
Humbly yours
Muhammad Sadiq
3 December 1918, London
(Members of the Jamaat can assess from the article of Mufti Sahib that, by the grace and mercy of God, the circle of tabligh is rapidly expanding and there is a growing need for further expenses for this purpose.)
(Translated by Al Hakam)
