Ayesha Naseem Mirza, UK
A verse in the Holy Quran states:
الَّذِينَ يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى الْآخِرَةِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا أُولَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ بَعِيدٍ
“Those who prefer the present life to the Hereafter, and hinder [men] from the way of Allah and seek to make it crooked. It is these who have gone far off in error.” (Surah Ibrahim, Ch.14: V.4)
The words “seek to make it crooked” mean that whereas outwardly the people described in the verse profess to seek true guidance, inwardly they are bent upon crookedness and refuse to give up the evil ways of their forefathers. The inevitable result of such an attitude is that, to satisfy their uneasy conscience, they call their self-devised practices the religion of God. This false satisfaction deprives them and their followers of true guidance. (Five Volume Commentary, Vol. 3, pp. 1526-1527)
Trump’s tour of the Middle East
In the past few weeks, it has been greatly bewildering to see extravagant wealth display in lavish receptions hosted by the Middle East Gulf states to welcome President Donald Trump. The sort of news headlines that followed were even worse.
For example, Reuters headlined the visit with “Gulf states use opulence and flattery to win Trump’s heart”; CNBC News wrote “Why Gulf states are going all out for Trump’s visit”; and CNN News headlined “Trump is visiting three of the world’s richest nations, here’s what’s on their wish list.”
These state visits and this extraordinary display of wealth by the Muslim nations come in a time when, in proximity to their borders, is the Gaza Strip – a piece of land largely reduced to dust and rubble with intense Israeli bombing over the last year and a half.
It is a land with over 1 million refugees, malnourished children, and where the intentional starvation of the people is being used as a weapon of war. Embarrassment is not the right word for this feeling; it is anguish and a sense of enraging helplessness, looking at the state of the Muslim world. What have we come to?
Nothing can truly encapsulate the feeling of seeing dead children with their body parts ripped apart into pieces due to bombings on phone screens daily, or seeing bodies of thin and malnourished children that look more like skulls and bones than a living being or seeing the widespread destruction of the civilian homes and infrastructure.
Israel has bombed Gaza so much that now it is repeatedly bombing the rubble it has already destroyed several times prior. This is how much time and ammunition Israel has; this is the amount of weaponry and money the United States and Europe have provided Israel, even after destroying the whole Strip into mere rubble, they continue to bomb it.
The neighbouring Muslim nations, despite their immense political and economic power and influence, have so far done nothing substantial to stop this. Yet, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have spent millions on Trump’s welcome, security, and reception. An incomprehensible further billions and trillions worth of defence, technology and energy deals have been signed in alliance with the United States.
For Gaza, however, they have only signed condemnation statements so far.
Since Qatar is geographically close to Iran, Doha’s also received security assurances from Trump, in which the US promised to “protect” its security partner in the face of threats. It’s interesting that Qatar – a Muslim country with Islam as its state religion – needs protection from a Western ally to protect itself against a supposed enemy, Iran, also a Muslim country.
One may wonder what Islam is practised in these countries, if at all, that instead of communicating directly, discussing each other’s concerns, and trying to bridge the gaps rather than build walls, they need outside powers to come and help them against each other. How do you claim to be the voice of Muslims when your supposed enemy is a Muslim too, and that you would need someone else, outside of your fold, to come and protect you? This is the depraved state of the Muslim powers at the moment.
Overall, the three-state visit of the US President meant that deals and alliances worth trillions were signed collectively. All the while, Gaza’s population faces intensification in Israeli bombing and starvation on the ground, killing those who are otherwise surviving bombings and airstrikes.
Lack of unity among Muslims
When Saudi Arabia needs US to lift its sanctions on Syria before it could consider investing and supporting Syrian economy; when Qatar needs the US to protect itself against an alleged threat from Iran; when UAE’s Foreign Minister calls for Hamas to release hostages and give up governance in Gaza before even attempting to press Israel to also stop its aggression – the question of an external enemy is irrelevant.
It is increasingly an obvious and unfortunate case of Muslims being their enemy first. The deep deprivation of unity, guidance, and leadership in the Muslim world is glaringly obvious – no amount of wealth or lavish palaces or celebratory parades can overpower it.
To overcome this heavy reliance on others, there is an answer and a solution available. That solution and the answer is in turning to Allah the Almighty for Help and not other wealthier and worldly powerful nations; it is in turning to the Holy Quran for guidance and solutions to governance, economy, international relations, peace and justice; it is in revisiting the life and character of the Holy Prophetsa for his exemplary and role model like practices as a religious leader as well as a statesman rather than succumbing to vested interests that only benefit the self.
After all this, there is another path that has been available for over a hundred years – in fulfilment of the prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa – and that is the belief in the Promised Messiahas and subsequently in his successor institution of Khilafat.
In the concluding address to Jalsa Salana Qadian on 29 December 2024, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa quoted a letter of the Promised Messiahas that he had written and dedicated to the Arab people. The Promised Messiahas wrote in the letter:
“O servants of Allah, my soul thirsts deeply to meet you. I long to witness the blessings of your lands and your communities so that I may see the earth touched by the footsteps of the Chief of Creation and apply its dust as kohl to my eyes. I yearn to meet the righteous and virtuous of this land and witness its spiritual potential.” (A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 5, pp. 421-422)
Noting the words in the letter, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa commented:
“Such are the heartfelt sentiments expressed by the Promised Messiahas. May the Muslims of the Arab world today be granted the ability to act upon this guidance, reform their deeds, and make themselves worthy of being counted among the true followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa and the genuine adherents of his Ummah. By becoming true practitioners of the path he has laid out, they can reclaim the lofty station that has been lost to them.” (“Jalsa Salana Qadian 2024 Concludes With Faith Inspiring Address”, www.pressahmadiyya.com, 29 December 2024)
Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya – the institution and voice of reason and wisdom
This year, as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat observes 117 years since Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya was established, the astonishing events of the past two weeks, showcasing the US-Gulf Relations and the agonising conditions in Gaza, come to mind alongside all the past warnings that Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat have given to Muslim nations to pay heed.
In modern history, if we look back at the time when these Arab Muslim states were being established after gaining independence from colonial empires, a voice of reason, wisdom and warning was present among them. With his incredible foresight and knowledge of the world and international relations, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra had great concern for the Arab nations that were increasingly getting influenced and dominated by Western powers.
For example, in 1948, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra warned the Muslim world to be vigilant and to be prepared for the challenges that Islam and the Muslim world would face with the creation of the state of Israel. During his Khilafat, the very autonomy and independence that the Arab states were seeking to achieve from colonial powers was at the same time disappearing from their reach as the Arab rulers of the time signed pacts of financial aid from the British in exchange of supporting British expeditions in the Middle East and staying uninvolved in their military operations against the Muslim nations of the region.
This concerned Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra, who then wrote to Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India at the time, regarding these grants and expressed his fear that Muslims would dislike this intervention from the British that negates the autonomy of Arab states and makes them dependent on outside powers – in this case, the British. (Al Fazl, Qadian, 3 September 1935)
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra recalled this and said:
“As the uproar increased, the British-Indian government denied such claims, saying they were not providing any aid to the Arab rulers […] Muslims felt reassured, but when I investigated, I found that although the Indian government was not providing such aid, the British government in London was definitely doing so. Ibn Saud was paid 60,000 pounds while Sharif Husein was also paid a certain amount. I wrote to Lord Chelmsford saying that although he was seemingly right, but the facts were otherwise because the British government pays such and such amounts to Ibn Saud and Sharif Husein. Muslims will undoubtedly never tolerate the suzerainty of the British government on Arab lands.
“As Lord Chelmsford was a noble person, he replied saying that ‘although what you say is true, but what good can we get out of making this public and rousing their sentiments. However, I can reassure you that the government has no such intentions’.” (Ibid.)
Then came the oil fields of the Middle East that the West considered to be of value for their economy and trade. Again, several contracts and pacts were signed between Arab leaders and oil excavation companies. These contracts would see grand drilling operations in Arabia, and the extracted oil would then be exported to Britain and would be sold to other countries while a fixed amount was to be paid to Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra commented on this and stated:
“A contract has been signed by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and a Western company. Although Sultan Abdul Aziz is a wise king, but for unfamiliarity with European history, he is not well-versed with European terminology […] I sent him a message through a common acquaintance that he ought to observe extreme care when signing the contract because Europeans use very soft terms that have very strong meanings […] I have read the contract, and I feel that some mistakes have been made. The clauses make the Arab land prone to encroachment by outside governments. Only God knows how much I am hurt to read the contract. Although we cooperate with the British and we are quite open about this … but whether it is the British or any other government, we cannot show tolerance when it comes to the Arab world.
Such precautionary measures could have been taken in signing this contract that could guard the Arab world against the potential dangers […] Contracts should never be signed on the basis of trust; rather, they should be worded with great care and thought”. (Ibid.)
It was all these developments at the time that made Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra increasingly concerned that if Arab nations didn’t focus carefully on the sort of agreements they were making with the Western powers, they would eventually become economic slaves of the West and would find it very hard to free themselves.
This foresight and concern was not in a void; the current situation of the Arab world and the economic and political dependency they have on Western powers couldn’t be more obvious. If anything was a doubt before, the deafening silence and inaction over Gaza, while the lavish visuals and the strategic alliance deals and agreements announced between the United States, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have confirmed that the Middle East remains integrally reliant on the US and other western powers for its interests.
Trials and tribulations for Muslims continue, but a guiding light is found in Khilafat
Throughout the different periods of Khilafat, the spiritual heads of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community consistently reminded and urged the Muslim nations to unite with each other rather than seeking and remaining dependent on support and alliances from outside powers.
That is not to say that alliances and agreements cannot be made with other nations. The premise is that in terms of relations between Muslims, differences and direct animosities should be avoided and resolved through dialogue, and there should be an overall intent to maintain unity above everything else.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh once drew attention to the Palestinian issue and instructed Ahmadis: “So, I call the attention of all Ahmadis – men, women, elders and children – that they should supplicate to Allah with great fervour, that He may have Mercy on everyone who is associated with our master, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa.” (Al Fazl, 13 June 1982)
Even now, as we pass through the immensely blessed Khilafat of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V, Mirza Masroor Ahmadaa, we hear and we see him constantly and publicly speaking against injustices, the dire need for Muslim unity and for Muslim political leaders to set aside their vested interests and differences which are increasingly making them dependent on western powers.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa is currently the only Muslim leader who has been openly condemning the injustices against the Palestinians and has also strictly denounced Western hypocrisy and their lack of interest in trying to end conflicts. Despite having no political or material influence or power, Huzooraa has provided the world with a solution that can restore peace everywhere, a message that he has been sharing for two decades.
In 2014, when Israeli aggression had reached a new high against the Palestinians, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa provided a detailed analysis and stated:
“The result of the lack of unity is that non-Muslim countries now have the confidence to do whatever they please against the Muslims and this is the very reason that Israel is currently engaged in killing scores of innocent Palestinians in the cruellest manner […] If the Muslims were united and followed the path of God, then the collective strength of the Muslim nations is so great that this cruelty could never have taken place.” (“World Muslim Leader prays for innocent Victims of Israel-Palestine Conflict”, www.pressahmadiyya.com, 26 July 2014)
Even now, Huzooras has repeated his message. In his Friday Sermon on 8 December 2023, Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“The non-Muslim world knows that there is no unity in the Muslim world, rather Muslims are killing each other. Take the example of Yemen and similarly other [Muslim] countries; thousands of children and innocent people are being killed at the hands of Muslims, in fact, hundreds of thousands are being killed in some places.
“Consequently, this emboldens non-Muslims, who think that it is fine to inflict cruelties against Muslims, as they see that Muslims inflict cruelties on themselves as well. When Muslims do not care for the lives of other Muslims, then why would the enemy have any care?
“Allah the Almighty has strictly warned in the Quran against the taking of life of other Muslims, and has rendered a Muslim who does so to be hell-bound. May Allah the Almighty enable the Muslims to unite and become a means of ending injustice in the world, rather than fighting amongst each other.” (Friday Sermon 8 December 2023)
Last year in February, Western nations started to withdraw their funding and support for the UNWRA – the largest UN subsidiary formed to provide support to Palestinians, due to allegations about a small number of staff members’ involvement in the 7 October attacks. Although countries began to restore their funding some months later, it was still far from enough and as it currently stands, there is no aid entering Gaza, as it is due to the Israeli blockade and siege imposed on the Strip.
Back when these measures were announced, no one had the courage to question the absence of the wealthy and oil-affluent Muslim nations but the Khalifa of the time. At that time, only Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa, the fifth successor of the Promised Messiahas and the only man of God in this day and age who questioned:
“But it is astonishing that if the Western world has stopped their aid, why is there no news from any of the Muslim countries that have the wealth of oil announcing that they will help render aid instead. The UN agency has announced that if they do not receive any help, then they will not be able to provide any aid beyond the month of February. May Allah the Almighty enable these Muslim countries to play their role and may the disorder in the world come to an end.” (Friday Sermon 2 February 2024)
Moreover, during his address to the concluding session of Jalsa Salana Ghana, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated: “The Holy Prophetsa said: ‘O servants of Allah, be brothers to one another. A Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. He cannot harm his brother. Nor can he humiliate him, and nor can he think lowly of him.’ After that, as he indicated towards his chest, the Holy Prophetsa said three times: ‘Righteousness lies here. It is evil for a man to think lowly of his brother. The blood, property and honour of every Muslim are unlawful for another Muslim.’” (“100 Years Of Islam Ahmadiyyat In Ghana: Historic Jalsa Salana Ghana 2024 Concludes With Faith Inspiring Address”, Press Ahmadiyya, 24 February 2024)
In an address to the Waqifeen-e-Nau Ijtema last month, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said:
“Across the globe, humanity has become shackled by the heavy chains of material desires and the deceptive shimmer and shine of worldly attractions. Immorality, depravity and corruption have plagued modern-day society. Furthermore, the peace and security of the world has been shattered. Both internally within many nations and internationally, a raging inferno of jealousy, hatred and enmity burns incessantly. Tragically, innocent souls are being massacred in wars and conflicts that have no basis in justice and are being fought only to serve the selfish and malevolent agendas of the rich and powerful.” (“Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Encourages Waqf-e-Nau to Emulate the Example of Prophet Abraham”, www.pressahmadiyya.com, 27 April 2025)
Conclusion
Looking at the depraved state of the Muslim powers and their lack of any sense of direction or objective, while looking at the united and guided Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it becomes obvious what the Ahmadis have and what the mainstream Muslims are missing.
A well-known anecdote from the day of the election of Huzoor-e-Aqdasaa as the Khalifatul Masih is the perfect encapsulation of unity and obedience. It was recorded that when Huzooraa was elected as the Khalifa, he came forward to the mic to speak to all the Ahmadis, and his very first instruction to all the Ahmadis was to sit down. In that moment, immediately, everyone who was standing up (i.e. all those inside Fazl Mosque, those outside the mosque and those who were far away watching the live scenes from their television screens) sat down immediately.
With the institution of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya and with the presence of the Khalifa of the time, Ahmadis can get answers to questions, guidance and directives on official and regulatory matters of the Community as well as guidance on members’ personal matters. While there is immense gratitude for the blessing that we have, there is also deep regret for the state of Muslims who are still deprived of this and are willingly choosing to be this way.
As instability rages in the Middle East and as Israel shows no signs of stopping its brutal offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, its bombing campaigns in Syria, and nor its repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, the unwillingness of the wealthy Muslim powers to exert pressure on the US and wider western world, there is an ever increasing need for fervent prayers for the Muslim world.
May Allah guide them in accepting the Promised Messiahas and the institution of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya, may Allah seize the oppressors and may Allah enable us all to witness peace and justice prevail across the Middle East as well as the wider world. Amin.