7-13 August

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

7 August 1887: A son was born in the house of the Promised Messiah^as, known as Bashir Awwal (the first Bashir) in the Jamaat’s literature. On the same day, the Promised Messiah^as received the following Arabic revelation, which foretold events that were yet to unfold: “We have sent this child as a witness, affirming good tidings and as a Warner. He is like heavy rain in which there are diverse kinds of darknesses as well as thunder and lightning. All of these things are under his two feet [i.e. they will follow after he departs].” Moreover, this son’s birth and death was a core episode, clearly foretold in the revelation about the Musleh-e-Maud. The Promised Messiah^as shared the good news of the birth of his son on this date with Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra through a postcard and invited him to come and attend the function of this son’s aqiqa, planned to be held on the coming 13 August. This son, Bashir Awwal was born on 16 Dhul Qa‘dah 1304 AH.

7 August 1889: The Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan^ra, introducing him to the newly founded Jamaat and instilled the importance of Bai‘at in him. Hazrat Nawab Sahib^ra was a staunch adherent of the Shia faith in the past and so, Hazrat Ahmad^as drew his attention towards the unceasing blessings of God associated with the religion of Islam till the last day, manifested in the shape of Hazrat Ahmad^as. After aptly performing this act of tabligh, Huzoor^as shared with him the price and different available packages for the buyers of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.

7 August 1897: A lawsuit of an attempted murder was initiated on this day by an influential Christian missionary, Dr Henry Martyn Clark against the Promised Messiah^as. A vicious plot was deceitfully hatched against the Promised Messiah^as and all enemy parties unanimously joined hands and took part against him in this lawsuit. Its proceedings ended up in a clear victory for the Promised Messiah^as and the judge assigned in this case was Lieutenant Col Montague William Douglas CSI, CIE (1863-1957), who was later declared by Huzoor^as to be the “Pilate of our time”, superior to the original.

7 August 1899: The Promised Messiah^as explained his claim of being a prophet of God, while replying to a letter of Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan^ra on this date. Whilst explaining the word and soul of his prophethood, Hazrat Ahmad^as put forward the very clear and logical picture of his claim, contrary to every allegation raised against him by his opponents.

7 August 1900: The Promised Messiah^as expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Hazrat Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan^ra, upon receiving his gift of some clothes. Huzoor^as lauded the standard of cloth and its stitching. During the course of this letter, Hazrat Ahmad^as recommended him to deal fairly with his wife, setting out the highest standards of taqwa and morals, as emphasised by the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

8 August 1888: The Promised Messiah^as wrote to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra informing him about the ongoing ailment of his son, Bashir Awwal, who was suffering from advanced stages of dysentery. Huzoor^as stated that he was nursing this frail and infirm toddler while disrupting his other important commitments.

8 August 1896: The Promised Messiah^as wrote to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra, mentioning many issues like the prayer of Mian Ghulam Muhyuddin who later joined the railway as a profession and was a devout Ahmadi. Huzoor^as also mentioned that an important announcement regarding Abdullah Atham was being prepared, which would be out soon, a copy of which would also be sent to Munshi Sahib^ra.

9 August 1887: The Promised Messiah^as informed Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra through a letter that the proposed shifting of a printing press to Qadian had been cancelled owing to a breach of contract by a certain person. Huzoor^as was upset on the worldly motivations and inclinations of these people. Huzoor^as outlined the jeopardy in the state of affairs regarding the printing of books and at the end, asked Munshi Sahib^ra to arrange work for a young man, Hafiz Abdur Rahman, in the police department.

9 August 1899: The Promised Messiah^as wrote and distributed an announcement regarding the marriage proposal of Maulvi Muhammad Ali Sahib, who was then young, had recently attained his law degree and was working on the English translation of Hazrat Ahmad’s^as books. Huzoor^as took pain in many personal issues of his helpers, out of his care and love for the servants of religions.

10 August 1887: The Promised Messiah^as was occupied in arranging needed items to smoothly host guests coming to attend the aqiqa function of his newborn son Bashir Awwal. Thus, he sent a letter on this date to Hazrat Munshi Rustam Ali^ra to arrange and bring with him some catering items. On the same date, Hazrat Ahmad^as dispatched another letter to Munshi Sahib^ra to arrange for some more items for the convenience of guests, like a big canopy and earth mats as his residence was not able to accommodate the large number of guests. Huzoor^as guided him to borrow these things from notables like Sardar Socheet Singh. Aside from these two letters, two further letters have been traced and compiled that were sent to Munshi Sahib^ra on the same occasion, asking him to arrange some more items like three bottles of chatni, 20 kilograms of potatoes, 4 kilograms of colocasia root or taro root, fenugreek, spinach etc. The wording of these letters show a very simple, faith inspiring and lovable scenario, where a humble man of God communicates frankly with his friends.

10 August 1897: The Promised Messiah^as was in Batala for a court hearing at the court of Lt Col Montagu William Douglas. Huzoor^as reached the courtroom around 8 o’clock. In the aftermath of Jang-e-Muqaddas, this abrupt accusation of attempted murder against the Promised Messiah^as by the missionary, Henry Martyn Clark gained sensation and hype in the press.

11 August 1888: The Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Munshi Mazhar Hussain Sahib, a Muslim cleric of his time. Hazrat Ahmad^as refuted his false notions by addressing his each and every sentence. The text of this thorough reply is now available in print and spans 24 pages. (Maktubat-e-Ahmad, Vol. 1, pp. 647-671)

11 August 1888: The Promised Messiah^as informed Hazrat Mian Abdullah Sanauri^ra through a letter of the fragile health of his son Bashir Awwal.

12 August 1901: The district judge delivered a judgment in favour of the Promised Messiah^as in the famous lawsuit of the wall erected in Qadian by his cousins. The judge ordered the defendants to pay costs and damages to the plaintiff. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra gives details of this by saying, “[In the case relating to the wall,] the court had awarded us costs against our uncles, the defendants … When the time of the execution of the decree approached, the Promised Messiah^as was in Gurdaspur. One evening, near Isha time, it was conveyed to him in a dream or by revelation that this was a heavy burden upon the defendants and that they [the defendant relatives] were being put to great trouble by it.” The Promised Messiah^as said, “I will not be able to sleep during the night [because of this].” Hence, Huzoor^as directed that someone should be dispatched immediately to tell them that he had remitted the costs.

13 August 1887: The Promised Messiah^as performed the aqiqa (thanksgiving celebration and sacrifice at the birth of a child) of his newborn son Bashir Awwal (the first Bashir) on this day.

13 August 1892: The Promised Messiah^as replied to a letter of Hazrat Haji Habib-ur-Rahman^ra, Raees (Chief) of Hajipura. This devout companion usually asked Hazrat Ahmad^as regarding different fiqh (jurisprudence) related issues. In the letter replied to by the Promised Messiah^as on this date, he had sought Huzoor’s verdict about Jumuah prayer.

13 August 1897: Maulvi Muhammad Hussain of Batala, a bitter foe of the Promised Messiah^as appeared in the court of Lt Col Montagu William Douglas. This renowned Muslim cleric and self-acclaimed “advocate of the Ahl-e-Hadith sect” approached the courtroom to get his statement recorded, which was ironically against the Promised Messiah^as and in favour of the Christian camp, i.e. Henry Martyn Clark and Abdullah Atham.

13 August 1899: The Promised Messiah^as expressed his condolences and prayers to Hazrat Haji Seith Allah Rakha Abdur Rahman^ra, as this devout companion earlier informed Hazrat Ahmad^as through a telegram about the sad demise of the wife of Seith Ahmad – son of Hazrat Haji Seith Sahib^ra – who had just got married in recent days. Huzoor^as also informed him that upon receiving the news of this death, he offered funeral prayer in absentia.

13 August 1905: A new Muslim convert visited Qadian on this date and enjoyed the blessed audience of the Promised Messiah^as. While availing this opportunity, he asked a range of questions, which were addressed by Hazrat Ahmad^as. This man came all the way from Rahim Abad, Gaya (which is in present day Bihar, India) and had spent seven consecutive years in the company of Pandit Diyanand, founder of the Arya Samaj sect.