Announcement of a multilingual event
In one of the previous issues of Al Fazl, an announcement was published on behalf of Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq[ra] (President of the Anjuman-e-Irshad), stating that on Friday, 29 January 1926, after the Friday prayer, speeches on the truth of the Promised Messiahas would be delivered in 20 different languages.
From twenty to twenty-four languages
On that Friday, speeches were delivered not in 20 but in 24 different languages. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra] was also present at the gathering and towards the end, he delivered a brief address as well. A photograph was also taken of those who delivered speeches in the various languages.
Linguistic limitation to global reach
While inaugurating the session, Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq[ra] stated that there was once a time when the Promised Messiahas received a revelation in English and he wrote it down while also noting that there was no one present who knew English and therefore its meaning could not be ascertained at that time.
However, Mufti Sahib[ra] remarked, “The present age is such that individuals are now present here who will deliver speeches before the audience in various languages on the truth of the Promised Messiahas.”
Languages and speakers
The speeches [in 24 different languages] were delivered in the following order:
1. Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad Sahib, missionary to Egypt, read out a speech in Arabic.
2. Brother Fakhruddin Sahib Malabari delivered a speech in the Malayalam language.
3. Mir Qasim Ali Sahib, editor of Faruq, gave a speech in Urdu.
4. Jundub Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, read out a speech in the Javanese language.
5. Abdul Wahid Sahib of Kashmir, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered an address in Kashmiri.
6. Sheikh Mahmud Yusuf Sahib, editor of Nur, gave a speech in the Gurmukhi language.
7. Hasan Khan Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, read out a speech in Odia, the language of the Orissa region.
8. Maulvi Muhammad Ismail Sahib, headmaster of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered a speech in Persian.
9. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib presented an address in the Hebrew language.
10. Muhammad Noor Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered an address in the Malay language.
11. Khawaja Mian Sahib, an official of the Bait-ul-Mal department, delivered an address in the Marathi language.
12. Maulvi Abdul Rahim Sahib Nayyar presented an address in English.
13. Mian Shah Wali Sahib delivered an address in the Gojri language.
14. Maulvi Arjumand Khan Sahib, a Maulvi Fazil and teacher at Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered an address in Pashto.
15. Mahasha Muhammad Umar Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, read out a speech in the Sanskrit language.
16. Ali Qasim Sahib, son of Khan Maulvi Abul Hashim Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered an address in Bengali.
17. Ibrahim Sahib of Ceylon, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered a speech in the Ceylonese (Sinhala) language.
18. Master Abdul Rahman Sahib, a new convert and BA graduate, delivered an address in Punjabi.
19. Master Muhammad Shafi‘ Sahib Aslam, missionary to the Malkana region, presented an address in the Purbi language.
20. Ahmad Siredo Sahib, a student of Madrasa Ahmadiyya, delivered an address in Dutch.
21. Ihsan-ul-Haqq Sahib, an employee of Noor Hospital, gave a speech in the Riasti language.
22. Ziaullah Sahib, a high school student, read out an address in Sindhi.
23. Malik Ahmad Hussain Sahib, who conducts a business in Nairobi, Africa, read out an address in the Swahili language.
24. Ahmad Hussain Sahib, an advocate, delivered a speech in the Kannada language.
Speech of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud
Thereafter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masish II[ra] delivered the following address:
“The Promised Messiahas was an embodiment of Jesusas of Nazareth. With regard to Jesus, it is recorded that there was a prophecy concerning his disciples, namely that they would deliver speeches in different tongues.
“Accordingly, it is written in the Book of Acts, chapter two, that after the crucifixion [attempt] of Jesusas, on one occasion when Jews from various regions had assembled, the disciples of Jesusas addressed them in different languages.
Re-examining the Pentecost narrative
“I find it deeply striking, however, when I observe how this matter has been incorrectly understood. Christians generally present it in this manner and it is commonly assumed on this basis that the disciples spoke in foreign languages. Whereas this very incident itself establishes that they did not speak in foreign languages as such, but rather in the different languages of the Jews, for it is clearly stated that the Jews had come from various regions. The disciples addressed them in different languages and those people understood those languages. Had the speeches been delivered in truly foreign tongues, how could the Jews have understood them?
Languages of the Jewish tribes – not foreign tongues
“The reality is that the disciples delivered their speeches in the manner of speech prevalent among the Jewish tribes. Even then, their speech was imperfect, for it is written that the Jews listened and remarked that the speakers were intoxicated with wine.
“Now, if someone were to deliver an eloquent speech in the French language, would he be described as being drunk with wine? The meaning of their remark was simply that the speakers were speaking incorrectly; they were not fully proficient in the languages of the other tribes.
“Nevertheless, their zeal for preaching was so intense that they stood up to address each group in the language of whatever tribe was present there. When they uttered an incorrect word, the listeners laughed at their manner of speech, just as even today, people laugh when someone mispronounces or uses an incorrect word.
“In short, the prophecy concerning the disciples of Jesusas of Nazareth – that they would speak in different tongues – was fulfilled in precisely this manner: such fervour was generated among them that they preached to the Jews in the languages of their various tribes.
From tribal dialects to global languages
“However, [Hazrat Ahmadas], the Promised Messiah was superior to the former Messiah and, in accordance with al-‘Awd Ahmad – “the return is more praiseworthy” – held a higher status than him. Therefore, if the disciples of the earlier Messiah were granted the ability to speak the various languages of the Jewish tribes, the Community of the Promised Messiahas was granted the greater distinction that speakers of entirely foreign languages emerged within it.
“Although there were certain differences among the languages of the Jewish tribes, in reality their language was essentially one, much like the Urdu language, which exists in many forms: the Urdu of Hyderabad differs from that of Uttar Pradesh; that of Delhi and Lucknow differs from that of Punjab. Within our Community, there are individuals who speak all these varieties of Urdu. Moreover, the Promised Messiahas was raised in Punjab and the Punjabi language itself has many forms: that of the Sialkot region, the Jhang region, Lyallpur, Ferozepur and Ludhiana, as well as Gujrat and Jhelum. Speakers of all these varieties are present within our Community. In this way, the resemblance to Jesusas of Nazareth is fully established.
Fulfilment of similarity and superiority
“Yet the Community of the Promised Messiahas possesses a distinction even beyond this, in that it includes speakers of foreign languages – languages spoken in other regions and countries. Learning the language of one’s own country is one matter; however, for people of those distant regions and nations themselves to embrace the Jamaat is quite another.
Many people – Hindus, Pathans, Aryas, Muslims and others – learn English and come to speak it, but no particular distinction is established thereby. By contrast, if an Englishman were to enter another religion, that would constitute a distinction and merit for that religion.
“Thus, the Promised Messiahas was granted this destined distinction: that people from so many diverse nations entered his Jamaat as had not entered the community of Jesusas of Nazareth. Undoubtedly, in the present age, people from various countries are found within Christianity; however, in the time of Jesusas and for three hundred years thereafter, Christianity spread only within three or four countries. By contrast, only seventeen years have passed since the demise of the Promised Messiahas and already Islam Ahmadiyyat has spread to nearly thirty foreign countries.
“Accordingly, these speeches delivered in various languages on the truth of the Promised Messiahas, taken collectively and in themselves, constitute a compelling proof of the truth of the Promised Messiahas.”
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu, published in the 2 February 1926 issue of Al Fazl)