16-22 October

In this third year of Al Hakam, we will present a selection of incidents from the blessed life of the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, this time, with some more details

16 October 1884: On this date, the Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Hazrat Mian Abdullah Sanauri^ra. Huzoor^as shared details of his health and commented on some dreams that this companion had seen and written about in his letter to Huzoor^as. Hazrat Ahmad^as also expressed to him that owing to severe weakness, he was not able to write in detail.

16 October 1887: The Promised Messiah^as wrote a letter to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra discussing some engagements of those days. In a postscript, after signing his name, Huzoor^as asked him about his next trip to Qadian and added that if it was convenient, he could accompany Mr Sundar Das with him.

16 October 1903: The Promised Messiah’s^as book, Tadhkiratush-Shahadatain (The Narrative of Two Martyrdoms), was published.

This book comprises of two sections – one in Urdu and the other in Arabic – and was written and published in October 1903. The Urdu section gives heart-rending details about how Hazrat Sahibzada Abdul Latif Shaheed^ra was charged and stoned to death, while the other portion in Arabic is in three parts, each dealing with important spiritual issues.

17 October 1885: The Promised Messiah^as dispatched a postcard to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra, stating:

“Your letter was received; a prayer for all loved ones was made and their affairs were entrusted to God Almighty.”

17 October 1891: The Promised Messiah^as issued a leaflet on this date, in which he explained the situation and exposed the tricks of the mullahs. He challenged Maulvi Syed Nazeer Husain to a decisive debate in such terms that he was compelled to take notice of the leaflet. Hazrat Ahmad^as suggested 18, 19 or 20 October for the debate and offered a reward of 25 rupees for each Quranic verse or authentic tradition that proved Jesus^as was still alive physically in the heavens. To leave him no room for escape, Ahmad^as asked Syed Nazeer Husain to declare (in case he was not prepared to hold a debate) that Jesus^as was really alive physically in the heavens after hearing Hazrat Ahmad’s^as reasons in a meeting on the point. If he did so, the matter would be left in the hands of God, to Whom Hazrat Ahmad^as would pray for a decisive judgment. The disciples of Nazeer Husain were much perturbed at the proposal and began to raise difficulties. This announcement was printed at Matba‘ Johar-e-Hind Delhi.

17 October 1895: The Promised Messiah^as wrote to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra about the expensive business of a printing press. Huzoor^as stated that a lack of essential funding was hampering the smooth functioning of printing operations and the unnecessary delays could cause harm for the general public. Thus, Huzoor^as asked him that if it was not an extra burden for him, he should send 50 rupees, which would be counted as part of his monthly chanda for the next two and half months (this devout companion would donate 20 rupees monthly). Hazrat Ahmad^as shared that his book, Nur-ul-Quran Part 2, was being printed and two other books, Arya Dharam and Sat Bachan’s printing were pending.

17 October 1902: The Promised Messiah^as completed the non-revealed part of his book, Khutbah Ilhamiyyah (The Revealed Sermon).

Initially, on 11 April 1900, Eid-ul-Adha provided an opportunity to the assembled Ahmadis of Sialkot, Amritsar, Batala, Lahore, Wazirabad, Jammu, Peshawar, Gujarat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bombay, Lucknow etc. to witness a historic occasion at Masjid Aqsa. As this mosque had recently been extended, therefore, it was decided that the Eid prayer would be offered in this mosque.

A night earlier, the Promised Messiah^as sent a note to Hazrat Maulvi Hakim Nuruddin^ra stating that he intended to engage himself in prayer and supplications for the whole day and a part of the night, and those who had come to attend the Eid congregation and those present in Qadian should write their names and places of residence and send them to the Promised Messiah^as so that he could remember them in prayers.

Early next morning, Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkoti^ra came to the Promised Messiah^as and requested him to address the Eid congregation. The Promised Messiah^as said that “God had commanded him the night before to do so in Arabic.”

After the Eid prayer, Hazrat Maulvi Nuruddin^ra and Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim^ra both were asked to sit near the Promised Messiah^as and note down the words of his sermon that he was going to deliver in Arabic.

It was a wonderful experience and people sat around Hazrat Ahmad^as and everyone was conscious of a striking change in his countenance. There was a flow of eloquence, a divine cadence and a depth of meaning, which one could see and read in his face. After the Promised Messiah^as finished speaking, Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim^ra conveyed to the audience the gist in Urdu.

While he was doing so, the Promised Messiah^as was overtaken by a sudden sense of gratitude towards Allah that he fell into sajdah (prostration) as did everyone else. After raising his head, he told the people that he had just read the word “Mubarak” (congratulations) written in scarlet red. This was a divine vision culminating in the acceptance of his prayers.

18 October 1887: The Promised Messiah^as wrote to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra regarding his postponed trip towards Delhi and conveyed that human beings were nothing owing to their weak stature and humble approach, hence only God Almighty could give them desired success. Hazrat Ahmad^as shared with him the ongoing frail conditions of Hazrat Mian Nur Ahmad^ra, Hazrat Mian Abdullah Sanauri^ra, Hazrat Mian Fateh Khan^ra and his brother.

18 October 1899: The Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra expressing his immense joy on the news of his proposed journey to Qadian. Hazrat Ahmad^as shared that he was working day and night to complete the book, Tiryaq-ul-Qulub. Before closing this letter, Huzoor^as expressed his unbounded happiness, which was caused by the proposed arrival of Hazrat Haji Seith Sahib^ra. How fortunate were these blessed and purified souls, who earned the pleasure of the Messiah of the time, peace be upon him.

19 October 1894: The Promised Messiah^as expressed his thanks in a letter to Hazrat Munshi Habib-ur-Rahman^ra, Raees of Haji Pura. This devout friend and beloved companion of Huzoor^as from the early days of when he was composing Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya had sent a pair of shoes to Huzoor^as. Hazrat Ahmad^as commented on the size and style of this gift and described even the minutest of details.

20 October 1891: The Promised Messiah^as went to Delhi’s main mosque sitting in a light carriage. There was a large gathering of people chanting slogans against him, so Huzoor^as had to come back in the protection of a police vehicle because the local clerics incited masses against the Promised Messiah^as after their complete failure in the field of argument and logic. More than 5,000 people gathered on that day in the mosque. Hazrat Maulana Abdur Rahim Dard^ra has recorded the dreadful events of this historic day in his book, Life of Ahmad.

20 October 1898: The Promised Messiah^as informed Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra that two consecutive letters were received by him. Hazrat Ahmad^as shared details of his own poor health and expressed that these illnesses provided him with many opportunities to pray thoroughly at night when health conditions did not permit him to rest. Huzoor^as gave Hazrat Haji Sahib^ra the good news that a very remarkable treasure of prayers had been assembled for him, which would never go wasted.

20 October 1899: The Promised Messiah^as wrote, “In a dream, I saw a boy whose name was Aziz and his father’s name began with Sultan. That boy was brought before me and was seated before me. I noticed that he was slim and had a fair complexion.”

At the end of February 1906, about six years after seeing this dream, Hazrat Mirza Aziz Ahmad^ra, son of Hazrat Mirza Sultan Ahmad, took the Bai‘at at the hand of the Promised Messiah^as and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat.

21 October 1897: The Promised Messiah^as conveyed to Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra that a donation worth one hundred rupees was received the previous day through a telegram. Huzoor^as prayed that Allah would reward him abundantly for his selfless services and always safeguard him from the cruelties of both worlds and grant him His pure love.

21 October 1898: The Promised Messiah^as communicated his deep thanks to Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra on his uninterrupted donations and services to help complete the everyday engagements of the Promised Messiah^as. Huzoor^as lamented the present circumstances in that sometimes, owing to the lack of funding he could not execute divine projects for the benefit of humankind and such moments of helplessness troubled him most. Hazrat Ahmad^as asked Hazrat Seith Sahib^ra that if he was granted extraordinary profits in his business, he would shift these amounts for the disposal of the Promised Messiah^as to help boost printing projects. In this novel way, he would receive diverse showers of God’s help and mercy.

21 October 1907: The Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Hazrat Seith Ismail Adam^ra. Hazrat Ahmad^as acknowledged receipt of 10 rupees along with a letter. Huzoor^as extended his congratulations and prayers on his marriage. Huzoor^as wrote that he was sending that letter to his address in Bombay, where he, hopefully, must have reached by that time.

22 October 1885: The Promised Messiah^as shared the itinerary of his planned rail journey from Amritsar to Ludhiana with Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra through a short postcard, asking him if he could arrange coming to see Huzoor^as at Jalandhar railway station.

22 October 1891: The Promised Messiah^as sent a short note to Maulvi Muhammad Bashir Sahib of Bhopal that Huzoor^as would be available for a written debate after 10 o’clock in the morning the following day. The debate would be held in written format and at the residence of Huzoor^as. Maulvi Bashir Sahib could bring with him 10 persons to witness the event. Hazrat Ahmad^as told Maulvi Muhammad Bashir to avoid accompanying Sheikh Batalvi (Maulvi Muhammad Hussain) and Maulvi Abdul Majeed etc. as these persons would add nothing of value to his arguments.