Guidance regarding basic Islamic issues – which Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa has given at various occasions in his written correspondence and during MTA programmes – is being officially published below for everyone’s benefit.
Zaheer Ahmad Khan, Head of Records Department, Private Secretariat, London
Reconciliation after the third talaq [divorce]
Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa was asked if there was any possibility of reconciliation after a husband had issued three talaqs to his wife over the period of their marriage?
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 22 July 2019, gave the following reply:
“The Quranic commandment of اَلطَّلَاقُ مَرَّتٰن is very clear. It means that a talaq after which reconciliation [ruju‘] can take place, can only be issued twice. It further states:
فَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّى تَنْكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ
It means that after these two talaqs, should the husband divorce his wife for the third time, then he has no right to reconcile with her. Thereafter, he can neither reconcile during the iddah period without a nikahnor after the iddah period with a nikah until that woman marries another man and he also divorces her without any prior intent to do so.
“Thus, in the case you have described, there is no room left for reconciliation between the spouses unless the condition of حَتّٰی تَنۡكِحَ زَوۡجًا غَيۡرَهٗ is fulfilled.”
Classical books of tafsir [exegesis]
Huzooraa was asked that if a non-Ahmadi Muslim asks an Ahmadi to recommend a tafsir book written by a non-Ahmadi scholar, which tafsir should be recommended to them.
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 22 July 2019, gave the following reply to this question:
“Tafsirs of all the classical scholars are fine. For your information, I am writing the names of some of them. There are, for example:
“1. Tafsir al-Tabari, written in the third century AH. Its full name is Jami‘ al-Bayan fi Ta‘wil al-Quran and it was written by Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Jarir ibn Yazid ibn Kathir al-Tabari.
“2. Mafatih-ul-Ghaib, a tafsir written in the sixth century AH by Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad Fakhruddin ibn Khatib al-Razi which is also known as al-Tafsir al-Kabir. It is an excellent tafsir.
“3. Al-Jami‘ li Ahkaam al-Quran, also known as Tafsir al-Qurtubi, a tafsir written in the seventh century AH by the renowned scholar, Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr, who is also known as Imam al-Qurtubi.
“In addition to these, Tafsir al-Jalalain, Tafsir Ibn Kathir and Tafsir ar-Ruh al-Ma‘ani are good and worthy of being studied.”
Offering Salat behind a non-Ahmadi imam
Huzooraa was asked for guidance on the following question submitted by some members: “Keeping in mind the environment of Ghana where there are non-Ahmadi imams who consider the Promised Messiahas and Ahmadiyyat to be the true and most excellent representation of Islam and who do not oppose it, but also do not succeed in accepting Ahmadiyyat due to some compelling reason, would it be permissible to offer prayers behind such individuals or imams?”
In a letter dated 22 July 2019, Huzooraa gave the following reply:
“The Promised Messiahas has discussed the issue of not praying behind a non-Ahmadi imam at length. Where he has clearly explained various aspects of this issue to us, he has also shed light on the aspect that you have mentioned. Hence, on one occasion, such people were mentioned, who did not declare the Promised Messiahas a liar or a disbeliever and someone asked whether one could pray behind such people. The Promised Messiahas said:
‘If they do not act in a hypocritical manner as some people do (who follow the mantra of invoking Allah when among Muslims, and invoking Ram when among Hindus), then they should publicise that they neither consider me a liar nor a disbeliever, (and that they rather consider me a pious saint and a waliullah) and that they consider those who declare me a disbeliever to be disbelievers for they attribute disbelief to a believer. Thus, we would know that they are telling the truth. Otherwise, how can we trust them and instruct people to pray behind them?
گر حفظ مراتب نكنی زنديقی
‘[If you are not considerate of rank, you shall lose your faith.]
‘Gentleness should be adopted where appropriate and firmness where it is appropriate. There was a kind of right-mindedness in Pharaoh and the result of that right-mindedness was that a phrase came out of his mouth, which did not come out of the mouths of hundreds of drowning disbelievers. That is:
اٰمَنۡتُ اَنَّهٗ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا [الَّذِيۡۤ اٰمَنَتۡ بِهٖ بَنُوۡۤا اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ]
‘[I believe that there is no God but He in Whom the children of Israel believe.]
‘The following commandment came with regard to being gentle with him:
قُولَالَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا
‘[“(…) address him both of you, with gentle words”.]
‘On the other hand, the Holy Prophetsa was commanded وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ [“and be severe to them”]. It seems that those people did not have any right-mindedness at all. Therefore, it is necessary to speak candidly to people who raise these kinds of allegations so that whatever filth and malice is in their hearts may manifest itself and they may not bring any reproach upon the Community.’ (Badr, No. 16, Vol. 7, dated 23 April 1908, p. 4)”
Angels, celestial bodies and their influence
Huzooraa was asked regarding the effect of angels on the moon, the sun and the stars, the effect of these celestial bodies on human beings and the physical descent of angels on earth, with reference to Tauzeeh-e-Maraam, a book of the Promised Messiahas.
Huzooraa, in a letter dated 22 July 2019, gave the following reply to this question:
“In this book, the Promised Messiahas has most profoundly elucidated the subject of angels’ influence on stars, how the sun, the moon and the stars influence plants, minerals and animals on our earth and how angels spiritually influence humans.
“The summary of his treatise on the influence of angels on the sun, moon and stars is that angels have been appointed to carry out the arrangement and management of the stars by the command of Allah the Exalted. Their influence on these celestial bodies is not direct or without [divine] agency. Rather, the influence is exerted by the command of Allah the Exalted. Huzooras states:
‘It appears clearly from certain indications in the Quran that some of the pure beings that are called angels have a distinct relationship with heavenly bodies. Some of them drive the wind and some cause the rain to descend and some others cause other influences to descend upon the earth.’
“Then, another topic that the Promised Messiahas has explained is that these celestial bodies i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars, influence plants, minerals and animals on our earth day and night. Hence, we observe that the size of fruits is fostered by the moonlight. The heat and warmth of the sun makes the fruits ripe and sweet and certain winds bring forth abundant fruit.
“In this regard, another topic that the Promised Messiahas has explained is that just as the angels exert their influence on the celestial bodies by the command of God Almighty and the celestial bodies affect the physical objects on our earth, so also do the angels have a spiritual influence on our hearts and minds by the command of God Almighty. Thus, he states:
‘In fact, this wonderful creation occupies its appointed place and by the perfect Wisdom of God Almighty, these spiritual beings are occupied in carrying everything that is eager, to its desired goal. They perform external services as well as internal services. As our bodies and our overt faculties are influenced by the sun and the moon and other planets, in the same way, our hearts and minds and all our spiritual faculties are influenced by these angels according to our diverse capacities.’
“As far as the angels’ descending on earth and their interaction with human beings are concerned, it should be remembered that the Holy Quran, the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa and the sayings of the Promised Messiahas prove that angels do not at all descend on earth with their real existence; rather, by Allah’s command, they interact with His pious people by adopting the likeness of humans. Hence, there are several such incidents mentioned in the Holy Quran and the ahadith. While explaining this topic, the Promised Messiahas said:
‘These bright spirits manifest themselves in human form to perfect servants of God. They appear to them in the likeness of humans.’ (Tauzeeh-e-Maraam, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, pp. 68-72)”
A documentary titled The Bloodline Of Christ
Someone mentioned a documentary on Hazrat Isaas, titled The Bloodline Of Christ and asked Huzooraa about the validity of the story as narrated in the documentary.
In a letter dated 21 November 2019, Huzooraa gave the following reply to this question:
“Many films and books have been made on this subject even before this. The statement in this documentary about the migration of Hazrat Isaas is correct but his migration to France is not correct because there was no group of his followers in France at that time. On the contrary, his tribes were in the Kashmir region. Therefore, they migrated to that region as the Promised Messiahas has proven in his book Jesus in India through various kinds of evidence.”
Importance of farming for EU countries and the UK after Brexit
The virtual mulaqat of the Khuddam of the Netherlands with Huzooraa was held on 30 August 2020. A khadim asked Huzooraa whether we should pay more attention to farming given the current circumstances in the world. Huzooraa replied:
“The thing is, the existing cooperation among EU countries means that they have practically distributed the farming duties amongst themselves such as this country will cultivate fruits, that country will cultivate crops and so on. It is in their best interest to continue doing so for as long as the European Union stays intact. The Netherlands has the responsibility of producing dairy products and fruits, that too of a specific kind such as pears etc. or something like that.
“Now that the UK has exited through the Brexit [withdrawal process], it will be difficult to import fruits once they completely withdraw from the EU after some time and there will also be a wheat crisis. So, they will face difficulties. Therefore, it is important for the UK to focus on agriculture and to try and develop it as much as possible. They need to try and become self-sufficient in agriculture, particularly in grains, vegetables and fruits.
“As far as Europe is concerned, it is pretty much self-sufficient for its grain. In fact, they export it too. This is the case for fruits as well. There are some specific vegetables that they import from tropical regions that are not available here unless they cultivate them in greenhouses. Therefore, the best thing would be to depend on the produce of their countries. This is all fine as long as Europe remains united. If a country is to leave the EU in the future, it will face the same difficulties that are being faced by England currently.
“When Russia was united, they had a system in place in which one state would cultivate wheat, another would produce cotton and yet others would produce other things. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, it caused a lot of issues for their various states. This is why they should try to remain united.
“However, if there are chances of separation, then the politicians must think through and plan the provision of staple food for their population before planning the rest of their exit strategy. A plan should be in place for this. If you do so without planning, then you will have to go through the same issues that the UK is about to face. All the countries of the European Union should sit down and work out these complexities, such as what are the requirements of all 26 or 27 countries within the European Union and also what is their annual production of the various grains as compared to that requirement and how they could further improve that production in the future?
“So, in this regard, you are right to say that they should try to do something for this. However, if a crisis takes space after this which leads to war, and a foolish person decides to detonate an atom bomb in that war, then this will destroy any agriculture or anything else. Therefore we can only pray that Allah has mercy on us.”
How to do tarbiyat of children
During the same mulaqat, another Khadim asked Huzooraa as to how one should do the tarbiyat [moral reformation] of young children?
Huzooraa said:
“The fact of the matter is that Allah the Exalted states that the tarbiyat of a child should start as soon as he is born. That is why it is a custom in Islam and it is also the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa. We act upon what he used to say and that is that when a child is born, we call the azan in his right ear and the takbir in his left ear so that he may hear the name of Allah the Exalted and he may adhere to tawhid, the belief in the unity of Allah. So, Allah the Exalted has said that the tarbiyat of a child should start from day one. Do not think that the child is young and that he will not understand.
“When the child is young, explain things to him. When you give him something, explain to him that Allah the Exalted has granted this to you. Allah the Exalted provided for you. He put it in my heart, He provided me with the means [to provide this for you].
“We have to establish tawhid; so, first of all, develop their faith in Allah and explain to them that whatever they attain is all provided to them by Allah the Exalted. In this way, they will gradually increase their faith in Allah the Exalted. Then tell them that when Allah the Exalted grants us with various things, then we should be thankful to Him. Then explain to them that you are young right now and are not aware of everything, but you should always pray to Allah the Exalted that may He continue to bless us with His bounties and may He continue to bestow His blessings upon us. We are older and so we know a bit more than you. That is why we prostrate before Allah the Exalted and pray to Him. When you will grow older you too will begin to offer Salat.
“Then, the Holy Prophetsa has said that when a child turns seven years old, you should explain to the child that he has to offer Salat as it is obligatory upon us. Then, the child should gradually offer two or three or four prayers or however many prayers he can. And when a child reaches the age of ten and becomes more mature, then you should inculcate a regular habit in him of offering his prayers.
“So, the tarbiyat which is done from the very beginning is what becomes fruitful later on in the child’s life. Then the child begins reading the Holy Quran etc.
“However, you should not put so much stress on a child where the child starts reading the Holy Quran at the age of three and by the age of four, he gets tired or fed up with it, and then when he reaches the age of 11, he starts going out in society and begins to take various liberties. A middle path should be adopted.
“Explain things to the child, enable them to develop faith in the existence of Allah the Exalted, present proofs of the truthfulness of Islam, explain to them that God Almighty sent the Promised Messiahas in this era to establish the truthfulness of faith, develop an interest within them by narrating short stories to them; short stories about the companions, about the prophets, about the blessings that Allah the Exalted has bestowed upon His people and about the blessings that He has bestowed upon you. So, this is how love for their faith is developed. If parents act upon this diligently and with pure intentions and explain these things to their children and bring them towards their faith, then they will become attached to their faith. They will become inclined towards God Almighty and they will be mindful of their prayers.
“However, like Punjabi people, to say, ‘Let the child be; he will get better by himself when he grows older’, is not correct. It will not work out positively in this way. Allah the Exalted has taught us that we should do their tarbiyat from day one. Therefore, the notion that the child will get better when he grows older is not correct. Train your children as they grow older based on their age and display your own example to them.”
Essential daily obligations of a khadim
During the same virtual mulaqatof 30 August 2020, another khadim asked Huzooraa as to what daily obligations a khadim ought to fulfil every day. Huzooraa replied:
“A khadim should at least offer his five daily prayers on time. Wake up at Fajr time and offer your Fajr prayer at the appointed time and if there is a Salat-centre or a mosque close to your house, then go there to offer prayers in congregation. After returning from work, offer your Maghrib and Isha prayers in the Salat-centre and offer your Zuhr and Asr prayers at work. Be regular in your five daily prayers because this is a fundamental commandment. This is something one should be mindful of every day. Follow these things.
“You are not to simply mimic different positions of Salat; if you observe Salat because it is the commandment of Allah the Exalted, then other morals will also develop. When you will pray to Allah the Exalted that اِهۡدِ نَا الصِّرَاطَ الۡمُسۡتَقِيۡمَ [i.e. ‘Guide us in the right path’] whilst offering Salat, when this supplication will come from the heart, it will be to pray to Allah the Exalted that may He continue to spiritually guide you to the right path, so that you may not deviate from His path, may He enable you to adopt good morals as taught by Allah the Exalted and may He enable you to follow the teaching of Allah. When you will pray اِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَ اِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِيۡنُ [i.e. ‘Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help’], it of course means that, ‘O Allah the Exalted, we wish to worship You and we seek Your help, so please help us. Protect us from being among those people whom You punished and who deviated from the right path.’ Then, seek His grace and mercy do not only seek worldly gains from Him but also seek the blessings of the Hereafter.
“If a khadim offers his prayers with due diligence, then it may be deemed as though he has done everything that is required of him.”
(Translated by Aqeel Ahmad Kang, Al Hakam)