Human history is laden with influential personalities who had tremendous impacts across the globe. These giants of history possessed certain praiseworthy attributes, like persuasive oratory skills, bravery, steadfastness, perseverance etc., which contributed to their success and led them to rise above other individuals of their time.
However, a limited number of leaders proved to be a class of their own; possessing countless qualities and abilities. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the perfect human model and an epitome of every necessary trait which was needed to reform the entire world. The four Rightly Guided successors inherited his attributes and carried the torch.
Then, the Messiah of Muhammadsa, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian came to revive Islam and God Almighty granted him divine signs to demonstrate his truthfulness; the institution of Khilafat being one of the blessed signs Allah endowed to the Promised Messiahas aft er his demise.
Another sign vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas was that of “a handsome and pure boy” who was to be “the light of Allah” and “the manifestation of Divine Majesty.”
This promised son was Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, the second Khalifa of the Promised Messiahas, the Musleh-e-Maud.
He was also named “Fazle Umar” by God Almighty, as stated in the historical Green Announcement. The divine title of Fazle Umar signified his spiritual and physical affinity with the second Khalifa of the Holy Prophetsa, Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.
It also indicated that the person mentioned in the prophecy could very well be identified by the presence of those attributes which were found in Hazrat Umarra. Figuratively speaking, the Promised Messiah’s appearance was in fact the second advent of the Holy Prophetsa. Keeping this in mind, a stark resemblance between Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and Hazrat Umarra is that Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was the second Khalifa of the “Muhammad” of the latter days.
Similarly, Hazrat Umar bin al-Khattabra was the second Khalifa of the Holy Prophetsa. The Holy Prophetsa prayed to God Almighty saying, “O Allah, strengthen Islam with one of the two men whom you love more: Amr ibn Hisham [Abu Jahl] or Umar ibn Al-Khattab” (Sunan al Tirmidhi).
As a result, Hazrat Umarra, who was an influential and notable personality among the Meccans, became a Muslim and Islam gained a strong foothold in Mecca. Likewise, the Promised Messiahas prayed to God Almighty for a sign of the truth of Islam and aft er 40 days of solitude, he was blessed with the glad tiding of Fazle Umarra. This Fazle Umar came into the world and rose to divine heights as he was to “grow rapidly.”
He firmly established the mission of the Promised Messiahas and laid strong foundations for the continuous revival of Islam in the latter days. There is also a distinct similarity between Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and Hazrat Umarra with respect to one of their wives. Hazrat Umarra was married to Hazrat Umme Kulthumra, the daughter of a Khalifa, Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
Likewise, Syeda Amatul Hayyra, the daughter of Khalifatul Masih I, Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddinra, married Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra (Fazle Umar).
In the era of Hazrat Umarra, owing to the miraculous victories in defensive wars against the greatest empires of the time, huge territories came under the influence of Islam and well-established Muslim armed forces became the guardians of countless civilised nations. Coupled with this was the powerful and effective preaching power of Muslims which boosted the spread of Islam at an unprecedented rate across the world.
Similarly, in the time of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, the message of Islam and the missionaries of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya reached the corners of the world. Jamaat books, magazines and newspapers etc., spread in many foreign countries; the rapid expansion of Ahmadiyyat in those days needs no explanation.
The Holy Prophetsa expressed a dream regarding Hazrat Umarra, saying:
“I saw myself standing at a well which had a bucket on it. I drew water from the well as much as Allah desired. Then Ibn Abi Quhafa [i.e. Hazrat Abu Bakrra] took the bucket from me and drew one or two buckets [of water] and there was weakness in his drawing of water. … Then the bucket transformed into a huge one and Ibn al-Khattab grabbed it and I have never seen such a strong person among the people as him in performing such a difficult task, till the people quenched their thirst and watered their camels…” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fazail Ashab al-Nabi)
Narrating a divine vision on another occasion, the Holy Prophetsa said:
“I saw that a cup of milk was given to me and I drank it till I noticed its wetness coming out of my nails. Then I gave the remaining milk to Umar ibn al-Khattab. The [companions of the Holy Prophetsa] asked, ‘O messenger of Allah! What is the interpretation of (this divine vision)?’ The Holy Prophetsa replied, ‘[It is] knowledge.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Ilm)
At another place, the Holy Prophetsa said:
“Some people were shown to me in my sleep who were wearing shirts, some reached to their chests and other [shirts] fell short. Umar ibn al-Khattab was shown to me wearing a shirt that was trailing on the ground. The [Companionsra of the Holy Prophetsa] asked, ‘O messenger of Allah! What is the interpretation of (this divine vision)?’ The Holy Prophetsa answered, ‘[It is] din [religious knowledge].’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fazail Ashab al-Nabi)
As Hazrat Umarra utilised his blessed extraordinary physical prowess and his gifted knowledge to water God’s creation, Hazrat Fazle Umarra also satiated the thirst of many people through his God-given knowledge. His remarkable intellectual prowess and gifted physical strength to work for long hours were manifest upon every person who witnessed and observed him. He was immensely enlightened with spiritual insight and knowledge of the Holy Quran along with din.
Every person who has read his books and commentary of the Holy Quran, or attended his gatherings and listened to his sermons, attests to his religious wisdom. The words of the prophecy, “He will be extremely intelligent and understanding … and will be filled with secular and spiritual knowledge,” points towards these characteristics of Hazrat Fazle Umarra, which reflected Hazrat Umarra.
Hazrat Umarra used to take pride in the fact that he expressed his opinion regarding certain matters before the Holy Prophetsa and after his request, certain verses of the Holy Quran were revealed according to his viewpoint.
For instance, the verses addressing the instruction of hijab. Although Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was not of age in the time of the Promised Messiahas that he could present a scholarly opinion to him, however a kind of similarity is found in an incident when Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra saw in a divine vision that the Promised Messiahas received the following revelation:
اِنِّیْ مَعَ الْاَفْوَاجِ اٰتِیْکَ بَغْتَۃً
“I shall come to you suddenly with the armies.”
When he later asked the Promised Messiahas if he had received any such revelation, the Promised Messiahas replied in the affirmative and said that he received the same revelation earlier that night. Hence, as the divine inspiration of Hazrat Umarra appeared in the revelation of the Holy Prophetsa, the divine vision of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was revealed in the revelation of the Promised Messiahas.
Another resemblance is in the glad tidings of entering paradise. The Holy Prophetsa gave Hazrat Umarra the good news in this world that he would achieve paradise. Likewise, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was given the same glad tiding in the following words of the prophecy, “He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven,” i.e. his end would be good and his soul would achieve spiritual elevation.
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra shared another similarity with Hazrat Umarra in the fact that both of them were recipients of God’s revelations and visions. The Holy Prophetsa knew that Hazrat Umarra was blessed with divine inspiration and insight, therefore he said, “If there were to be a prophet after me, he would have been Umar ibn al-Khattab” (Sunan Tirmidhi).
Another occasion which shows that Hazrat Umarra would receive revelation is the incident when in the middle of a Friday sermon, which he was delivering in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, he said in a loud voice, “Ya Sariyya al-jabal!” [O Sariyya, (towards) the mountain!], and then he resumed his sermon. After he had finished the sermon, people asked him about those words and he told them that he observed Muslim troops in great difficulty and saw in a vision that if they could take refuge towards the mountain, they would be saved, therefore he uttered those words. It was later revealed that the commander of the Muslim army, who was at war in another location, heard those words in the battlefield and moved his army towards the mountain; saving his troops.
In a similar vein, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was a recipient of divine visions, dreams and revelations, and it is indicated in the words of the prophecy, “He is the Word of Allah, for Allah’s mercy and honour have equipped him with the Word of Majesty.”
Hazrat Syed Sarwar Shahra, a companion of the Promised Messiahas, writes:
“Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II used to study from me and one day, I asked him, ‘Mian! your father receives a lot of revelations. Do you receive revelation and dreams etc.?’ Mian Sahib replied, ‘Maulvi Sahib! I see many dreams and there is one dream that I see almost every day. From the moment my head touches the pillow to the moment I wake up in the morning, I dream that I am leading an army. Sometimes, I see us crossing oceans to fight the enemy. And many times it has happened that if I have nothing to make the crossing with, I make a boat out of reeds etc. and with it, make the crossing to attack the opponents.’ When I heard this dream from him, it was imprinted on my heart that this man would lead the [Ahmadiyya] Jamaat sometime in the future.” (Al Fazl, 16 February 1968)
The above vision was fulfilled to the letter when he became the second Khalifa and the reins of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya were handed to him.
On one occasion, the Holy Prophetsa stated regarding Hazrat Umarra:
اِنَّ اللہَ جَعَلَ الحقّ عَلَی لِسَانِ عُمَر وَقَلْبِہِ
“Surely, Allah has placed truth upon the tongue and heart of Umar.” (Sunan Tirmidhi)
Similar words can be found in the prophecy of “Musleh-e-Maud” where it states:
مَظْھَرُ الْحَقِّ وَالْعَلَآءِ کَاَنَّ اللہَ نَزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ
“A manifestation of the True and the High; as if Allah has descended from heaven.”
The nature of Hazrat Fazle Umarra – Musleh-e-Maud – also bears a strong resemblance to Hazrat Umarra. No one can deny the glorified works and the dedication of Hazrat Umarra for the religion of Islam. His complete personage was sheer inspiration and motivation for the people of his time.
Likewise, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra was passionately devoted to faith and the task of spiritual reformation of mankind. His inspirational speeches were full of glory and wisdom. Moreover, his motivational words penetrated the hearts of many thirsty souls. Another resemblance of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra with Hazrat Umarra lies in the establishment of key institutions and the organisation of Islam.
Hazrat Umarra undertook many administrative measures and laid the foundations of the judicial system, the military, tax, education, policing and financial departments. He introduced the Hijri calendar, Shura [advisory council], census systems and fixed salaries for workers etc.
Likewise, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra formed a splendid system of administration by establishing separate departments in Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya, like education, the treasury, literature, local and external affairs etc. and created auxiliary organisations like Lajna Imaillah, Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya, Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya, Ansarullah and Nasirat-ul-Ahmadiyya to strengthen the Jamaat as a whole. He also introduced the Hijri Shamsi calendar, Majlis-e-Shura [consultative council], many new schemes like Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid etc. Various censuses at a Jamaat level were also initiated by him.
A fatal tragedy, which resulted in the demise of Hazrat Umarra when he was attacked with a dagger while he was leading a congregational prayer, seems identical to the tragedy experienced by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra. He was also attacked in the middle of a prayer by an assailant who had a grudge against the Jamaat. However, as he was Fazle Umar, God Almighty blessed him with life and saved him from the near fatal tragedy.
Hence, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, Fazle Umar, had a unique and close resemblance with Hazrat Umarra in various aspects and diverse spheres. From being the second Khalifa of the Promised Messiahas, who was the spiritual reflection of the Holy Prophetsa in the latter days, to his spiritual and administrative achievements, Hazrat Fazle Umarra seems almost identical to Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Khattab – may Allah be pleased with them both.