A series looking at the high standard of morals of the Promised Messiahas and his Khulafa when receiving visitors in Qadian
Awwab Saad Hayat, Al Hakam
It is recorded and documented in the history of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya that on Sunday, 3 March 1907, before Zuhr prayer, Syed Habibullah Khan Sahib, alongside a friend, visited Qadian.
It is said about Syed Habibullah Khan Sahib that he held an important post in areas like Agra and Allahabad. He was assigned duties by the British government, which he performed alongside the king of Afghanistan. He was also assigned certain responsibilities by the government of India, which he carried out in collaboration with the amir of Afghanistan. He was given various titles by the British government in honour of his services.
Syed Habibullah Khan Sahib had travelled extensively through difficult routes to visit Qadian and meet Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas.
Addressing Syed Habibullah Khan Sahib, the Promised Messiahas said:
“After undergoing such hardships [of travel], no individual who does not possess firm faith can make such a journey. In the eyes of the materialists, coming here is a misuse of one’s time. May Allah reward you.”
In the same meeting, it was referenced about those who were entangled in worldly relations and affairs that such people were drowning in this world to the extent that they had become completely oblivious to the religion of Islam. In this regard, Habibullah Khan Sahib said that he desired to withdraw himself from this world and live a cloistered and sequestered life.
Upon this, Hazrat Ahmadas said:
“Religion and the world cannot be bridged unless God wills to make a person’s nature so pure that he puts his religion first even when he is involved in worldly affairs. Such people do exist in the world.
“A person is mentioned in Tazkiratul-Auliya who was engaged in a transaction of thousands of rupees. A waliullah [pious man of God] looked at him and saw in a vision that his heart was not oblivious to the Almighty God, in spite of [being occupied in] such transactions. It is with regard to these people that God Almighty states:
لَا تُلْهِيْهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَّلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ
“[Surah al-Nur, Ch.24: V.38] neither merchandise nor trade diverts from the remembrance of Allah. Man’s excellence lies in him being engaged in worldly business and also not forgetting God.
“What use is a horse that sits down when a load is placed on its back and walks extensively when its load is empty. This is not commendable. A faqir who is frightened by worldly affairs and becomes a recluse exhibits a sort of weakness. There is no asceticism in Islam. We never say to give up [marrying] women and [having] children, or to give up worldly affairs – not at all; however, an employee should perform the duties his job commands and a businessman should complete his business [dealings], but religion should be given top priority.
“An example of this is in the world itself, where businessmen and employees, despite the fact that they run their businesses and jobs very well, get married and have children and pay their dues equally. Such a person, who is busy in these engagements, can also fulfil the rights of God Almighty and can live their life with great excellence by putting religion before the world.
“Man has a natural relationship with God Almighty because his nature has already confessed, in the presence of God Almighty, قَالُوا بَلیٰ [They say, ‘Yea…’] in response to اَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ [‘Am I not your Lord?’]. [Surah al-A‘raf, Ch.7: V.173]
“Remember, the one who says to go to the forest and worship God, attempting to avoid worldly evils, runs away from the world in fear and adopts impotence. You see, a train’s locomotive – an inanimate object – pulls thousands of passengers with it and carries it to its destination. It is a state of pity for a living being that cannot carry anyone else with him.
“God Almighty has bestowed man great prowess. He has placed a treasure of faculties within him, but man wastes them by adopting laziness […] It is an established rule that abilities that are not utilised are gradually lost. If a person spends his time in complete darkness for 40 days, his eyes begin to lose sight.
“A relative of mine underwent phlebotomy treatment. The surgeon told him to restrict his hand movement, therefore he was very careful not to move his hand at all. The result was that after 40 days, his hand became completely paralysed.
“Man’s strength, whether spiritual or physical, cannot progress unless he uses it. Some people are also convinced that a person who works hard and utilises his faculties gains a longer life [due to remaining active]. Man’s [importance] dies when he becomes redundant; when he becomes useless, disaster strikes.”
The Promised Messiahas added:
“It is by the power of God that scholars of the time have issued fatwas about our movement without considering [its teachings] and [in their writings] have declared me to be worse than the Christians. They should have conducted thorough research first. They should have studied our books in depth and then acted in a just manner. Surprisingly, these people are still oblivious to the state of Islam, as if they do not know what torment Islam is currently experiencing. Even now, the internal condition of Islam is deteriorating as is its external condition.
“All their efforts are spent on [believing] Prophet Jesus is alive, sitting in the Heavens. They do not ponder that it is written in the Holy Quran that he has passed away and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, testified that ‘I saw him among the deceased’.
“In the Holy Quran, the word توفی comes first, followed by [the word] رفع. Then, we should also think about how the belief in Prophet Jesus being alive benefits Islam. The false god of Christians [i.e. Prophet Jesus, who Christians have mistakenly taken as their god and saviour] is given a unique characteristic and Christians make Jesus their god, and [through which] ignorant Muslims are deceived and converted to Christianity. The result of believing Jesus as alive is that 100,000 Muslims have left Islam and become Christians. This method has been tested. Now, let us try another method for a few days, which is that Prophet Jesus has passed away.
“It is an established rule that when one medicine fails in its efficacy, another should be used. We have seen that there is no greater weapon to wipe out Christianity than to prove that the person they make God has entered the realm of the dead. Earlier, priests used to come to Qadian frequently and camp in tents and preach, but since we have claimed this [the death of Prophet Jesus], they have stopped coming to Qadian altogether.
“Similarly, in Lahore, Lord Bishop wanted to prove the superiority of the Messiah [of Nazareth], over the life of Christ and the death of the Holy Prophet, by giving a lecture in a large gathering. No Muslim could provide any answer; however, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq Sahib, from our Jamaat, got up and replied that the Holy Quran and the Gospels proved that Prophet Jesusas had passed away and that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was alive because there are still those who have performed miracles by receiving blessings from him. This left the bishop speechless and he avoided talking to our Jamaat entirely.
“Our principles are so firm for Christians that they are unable to answer them at all. These maulvis, who are blocking the path of the progress of Islam, are very unfortunate. Christianity automatically falls apart when their God is [proven to be] dead; so what else is left?
“Islam has endured days of great distress. Its autumn has passed and now its spring has arrived; اِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا, meaning that after hardship, prosperity has come. However, maulvis do not want Islam to flourish. The state of Islam is now deteriorating internally and externally. The apparent state of the Islamic empire faces extreme weakness and the internal state is that thousands of churches are occupied [by those who have left Islam] and many have become atheists. When this is the case with Islam, is it not time that God, Who promised اِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَاِنَّا لَهٗ لَحَافِظُوْنَ – meaning ‘Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian’ – protects Islam?
“They deny the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in a way that they do not accept the mujaddid of the age. Did he not say that there would be a mujaddid at the head of every century? 25 years have passed since the [start of the] century – that is, a whole quarter of a century has passed. Now, tell me, who is he and where did he appear?
“Everyone before us awaited the arrival of the mujaddid. Even Siddiq Hasan Khan thought that maybe he should be [the mujaddid], so too did Abdul Hayye of Lakhuke. One’s mere imagination cannot affect anything. One cannot achieve any status unless God Almighty so ordains. He who is entrusted with a task by God Almighty, is bestowed [a long] life; he is given the strength to fulfil his task, and provided means of help. Other people get mixed up in their own thoughts and are then unable to achieve anything.
“Even a false tehsildar [tax officer] is arrested and put in prison after a few days, not to speak of one who claims to be divinely appointed, even though he is not from God.”(Malfuzat, Vol. 5, p. 162)
In this meeting, the Promised Messiahas shed light on various other spiritual topics. This meeting was recorded in the Jamaat’s newspapers, Al Hakam and Badr, which have been transmitted and presented to us in the form of Malfuzat. This particular occasion of history is recorded in Malfuzat, volume 5, page 162.
On this occasion, Hazrat Ahmadas spoke to Syed Habibullah Sahib about the rights of guests and said:
“Today, I was feeling frail and [felt that I] would not be able to come out; however, after being told about your arrival, it crossed my mind that a guest, who has travelled all this way, also has a right. In wanting to fulfil this right, I came out [to meet you.]”