Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiqra, the author, was born on 13 January 1872 in Bhera, India. He learnt a lot spiritually from his relationship with Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra. He first visited Qadian in 1890 and after pursuing various careers, he resigned from the last one and permanently resided in Qadian, where he would later serve as the second headmaster of Talim-ul-Islam High School and editor of Al Badr. He is famously known for serving the Promised Messiahas in his department of correspondence. He later served as missionary in the UK, and the USA where he was the first Ahmadi missionary. He also had the honour of serving as private secretary to Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and was, overall, an ardent devotee of the mission of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas. He passed away on 13 January 1957. This article was originally published in Urdu in Al Fazl on 12 June 1928
Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahibra
Many people came into the world and passed away, but praiseworthy are those benevolent personalities who set foot on this planet and brought about a positive transformation in the condition of [humanity] on the earth. Their promising arrival led to significant progress in the prosperity and well-being of mankind.
The most blessed personality among these eminent persons is that of Hazrat Muhammad al-Mustafasa, the glory of the universe, benefactor of all the worlds, the guide for creation and mercy to all mankind.
His universal compassion and endless blessings are not limited to Arabs and non-Arabs, but for every country, nation, ethnic group and all ages. He was the life support for the awwalin [pioneers] and is the pride of the akharin [people of the latter days] because they had the honour of being regarded as his servants. Millions and millions of blessings, benevolence, bounties and peace of Allah and His angels be upon his blessed personage. Amin summa Amin!
Nobody can count the favours and bounties of the Holy Prophetsa, the chief of the universe, upon mankind. Those nations who are deprived of the honour of openly entering into the servitude of the Holy Prophetsa by reading out the kalima, لَا اِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللہُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللہ [There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is His messenger], despite being shackled in their ancestral and cultural constraints, they are deeming it necessary to enter the principles laid down by Hazrat Khatam-un-Nabiyyin [the Seal of all Prophets] in their manual of regulations and laws. Even if those rules are against and contrary to their religion. From countless instances, I present only one example on this occasion.
Before the bounteous appearance of the Holy Prophetsa, the king of both worlds, wine-drinking was a usual practice. Be it Jews, Christians, Hindus, Chinese and Japanese etc., no one was free from this ill. Moreover, there was no instruction of prohibition of wine in any religion. This malignant and impure practice was considered as lawful as mother’s milk. They would drink it in abundance and remained drunk. The very first awareness and the very first instruction to eradicate this impurity from the world was initiated by Hazrat Khatam-un-Nabiyyin. Through his power of purification, he practically removed this evil from the entire Jamaat of Muslims and the whole of Arabia, within his lifetime.
Holy is Allah! How dignified and extraordinary was that being’s personality who laid down the foundation of such a grand law, in order to save the world from great torment and pain. He caused to flow a wave of reformation in the minds across the globe and granted a spiritual power to the wonderful Jamaat for acting upon [the teachings]. O Allah, peace, blessings and bounties be upon Muhammad and the people of Muhammad. Thou art indeed the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.
In the course of time, the same reformatory wave had such an impact on the face of the earth that the Christian world of Europe and America who had the commandment of drinking wine in their sacred religious ceremonies and was sipped while sitting in the middle of the worship places, they too began to realise the ill effects of alcohol. Temperance societies came into being. The rich millionaires, with their high value donations, established institutions in which highly qualified doctors and experts began to medically examine the chemical formation of alcohol and the outcome of its uses.
After a lot of research and deep study, they issued verdicts stating that drinking alcohol was very harmful and is in fact deadly for the human body and soul. They said that it should be declared illegal by law and its manufacturing, along with its consumption, should be declared a crime. The words of the Holy Quran already contained the knowledge gathered by European and American physicians and philosophers after spending millions of rupees and centuries of experiments and observations, and considered that knowledge to be extremely vital for the life of mankind.
Moreover, the Prophet Muhammadsa, the manifestly truthful, the symbol of the Gracious God, the sun of knowledge and guidance, and the chosen one, had intructed his Ummah to follow these [verdicts of scientists] 1,300 years from now. That Holy Prophetsa of Arabia had no laboratory. He had not studied the books of physics and chemistry. He had not gathered the statistics of the conditions and instances of wine drinkers across the world. However, today, the greatest minds and the so-called rationalists are placing the pearl of wisdom that [originally] came out of his innocent mouth, into their own crown of reformation.
America, which is considered at the forefront of every civilised world, took steps at the outset and the law makers of its parliament, irrespective of extreme opposition by the Christian priests, made a law for their country that made alcohol and its manufacturing illegal and a crime of state and law. Christian priests and verbal lovers of Christianity constantly screamed and shouted, saying that there was a vital requirement for wine in the ritual of Eucharist in the cathedral. The communion which is the highest worship of divine unity cannot be performed without wine and it should not be forbidden, they said. In fact, certain priests delivered addresses from the top of their voices and said that brothers should realise that alcohol is such a fine thing that Jesus Christ himself used to drink it and his disciples would greatly enjoy it.
In fact, in a wedding ceremony, when there was a shortage of wine for the participants, the mother of Jesusas requested him and Jesusas, accepting the request of his kind mother, turned water into wine through a miracle. The participants of the wedding procession drank it and celebrated with delight. When Jesusas permitted the use of wine, then who has the right at present to declare wine to be unlawful.
Various priests protested in this way. However, the wise priests assisted the works of researchers and said that it is true that all these matters are mentioned in the gospel. However, they said that firstly, the present gospels consist of certain adjunctions. Secondly, when an observation had been concluded through centuries of experiments and scientific research and shows [alcohol] to be a deadly poison for the human body and lethal for morals, then what should be done about the Gospel! The matter which is entirely beneficial for the country, nation and mankind should be adopted and followed, whether it is for or against the Gospel. Hence the outcry of those priests, who wished to legalise alcohol was not accepted and the American congress, along with their president, devised a law which made selling and drinking alcohol a crime.
When this humble writer [of this article] entered the country of America, the time for the implementation of this law came to pass. As whenever such laws are created that cause an impact on the trade of the country, enough ease is provided. A respite of two years was given before the implementation of this law. When this time of relaxation came to end, the drunkards passed the last night in drinking and bidding it farewell. Singing farewell songs for alcohol, drunkards were wandering around every street and lane. There was extreme restlessness. However, when that night ended, the entire country was at peace. Every wine shop was closed. Every bar was locked. Police began to arrest those who were not abiding the law.
All of this came to pass and happened for good, but worldly laws have very little power as compared to religion. People follow the law only out of fear of getting caught. However, religion impacts the heart of man and not for any fear, but a person practices it owing to the love of his religion. This attribute and blessing is not present in material laws. It was for this reason that even after the establishment of this law in America, wine manufacturers, sellers and drinkers continued to exist.
In the middle of this, when I arrived in America and the law of prohibition had been implemented, I was residing with a family in a city as a paying guest and used to have my meal with them, as it is customary practice over there that the food is included in the rent. Once, when I came down for breakfast from my room upstairs, I noticed that the lady of the house, who was an elderly woman, was shouting. I asked her gently, “Miss, what is the problem?” She cried out loud and pointing towards her old husband sitting on the chair in front of her, said, “Look at this old man. Every evening, he drinks wine and comes back stumbling drunk and intoxicated. He has made my life miserable. He has no shame at all.” I said, “Miss, it is quite surprising what I am hearing from you. Everyday, I read in newspapers that the law of prohibition has been passed in the country. Neither can anyone manufacture, nor can anybody drink alcohol.” She replied, “O mister, you are a stranger. You are not familiar that nowadays, far more alcohol can be purchased as compared to before, provided you know the place to purchase it and your pocket is full of money.”
Hence, the law was made, but who can compel [someone] to follow the law! The makers of law do not possess that divine power which was present in the purified soul from whose mouth these words were expressed, “Do not drink alcohol” and they settled in the hearts of the Bedouins of Arabia and the drinkers.
Those people who used to drink five times a day suddenly left the alcohol and their minds began to be intoxicated with the addiction of worship and prayer before Allah Almighty at five different times. Allah is the Greatest. How strong was the spiritual power of Muhammadsa al-Mustafa, the guide for the weak, who expelled the ghost of alcohol in a single attack from the entire country! If the world had followed his instructions, this evil practice would have vanished from the face of the earth and present day archeologists would not have found any sign of it.
It is reported that when the chief of the universe announced the commandment regarding wine in his blessed mosque and the audience dropped their heads in submission, one of his companions carried this announcement on his way back home in a loud voice, saying that the Holy Prophetsa had conveyed the commandment of alcohol being prohibited and that nobody should drink it anymore. Whoever heard this decided to follow and they never tasted alcohol again.
Two brothers were sitting in their home, when one of them heard the voice and expressed it to the other one. He replied that as it was an order, they should follow it. The former said that they had a pot of wine at home and that they should dispose of it. To this, his brother questioned what the rush was all about and that they would enquire about it when they got to the mosque. If it was an actual commandment, they would discard. The first one said that he was making a mistake. “If we visit the mosque to ask about it and it turns out to be true and we flip over the pot afterwards, then we will lag behind from other Muslims in acquiring the reward of this good deed.” He expressed, “I cannot tolerate this. Destroy it right now. If it is not a commandment, then once we are back, it is not difficult to buy more.” Saying that, he grabbed a stick and smashed the pot.
Glory be to Allah! How pure were their emotions! What an extraordinary spirit of advancing in good deeds was blown in his followers by the warrior of the Glorious God! How beautifully he purified his Jamaat! Who was Muhammad? He was a remedy, the philosopher’s stone. Even dirt would turn into gold by touching him.
Owing to Muhammadsa, those who were considered the most ignorant across the globe became teachers of the world in the fields of arts and sciences. Thanks to the Holy Prophetsa, the residents of an uncultivable valley, who were not considered worthy of being conquered by a king owing to their dryness and bareness, became the conquerors of the world and the most civilized. How great was that attraction, power and drawing force that an instruction would be uttered from the mouth of beloved Muhammadsa and it would settle in the hearts of countless people, such that nobody was able to eradicate it.
There are many bounties of the merciful and compassionate personage of Muhammadsa on mankind, innocent animals, insects, birds, trees and fruits. However, if he had done nothing else, then the extraordinary work of eradicating and killing the serpent of alcohol by this Rahmatun-lil-Alamin is in itself enough to prove why mankind sings songs of praise for this great benefactor and continues to send peace and blessings upon him and shall do so till Judgment Day. O Allah, send peace blessings and bounties upon Muhammad and the people of Muhammad. Thou art indeed the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.