Ahmadiyyat is the means for Islam’s progress: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s address at a reception in Quetta, Pakistan, 1950

Ata-ul-Haye Nasir, Al Hakam

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra delivered a lecture at a tea party held in his honour on 1 August 1950, at the York House in Quetta, Pakistan. In addition to the local Ahmadis, the event was also attended by around 325 non-Ahmadi dignitaries.

Following his lecture, Huzoor^ra was requested to answer some questions in regard to the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

While responding to a question as to what kind of future Ahmadiyyat presented for the Muslims, Huzoor^ra said:

“In my view, the question has not been phrased correctly. Since Ahmadiyyat is not a new religion, it is not required to formulate any new programme. Ahmadiyyat is, in fact, the continuation of Islam’s progress. […]

“Therefore, the question should be as to what pathway Islam has presented for the Muslims of this era, for whose fulfilment Ahmadiyyat has been established.” (Al Rahmat of Lahore, 14 August 1950, p. 8)

Huzoor^ra continued by saying that God Almighty and the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa had taught a pathway for the Muslims, and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib^as, the Promised Messiah, was their na’ib [vicegerent and subordinate]. The Promised Messiah^as and his Jamaat had been given the responsibility to continue the mission of the Holy Prophet^sa.

Huzoor^ra then mentioned the following prayer of Hazrat Ibrahim^as, which states:

رَبَّنَا وَابۡعَثۡ فِيۡہِمۡ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡہُمۡ يَتۡلُوۡا عَلَيۡہِمۡ اٰيٰتِکَ وَيُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَالۡحِکۡمَةَ وَيُزَکِّيۡہِمۡ ؕ اِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الۡحَکِيۡمُ

“‘And, our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to them Thy Signs and teach them the Book and Wisdom and may purify them; surely, Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.’” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch. 2: V. 130)

Commenting on this, Huzoor^ra said that the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa had been given the task to recite the Signs, teach the Book and Wisdom, to purify the souls and propagate Islam. Though the fundamentals of the Holy Prophet’s^sa teachings would always remain the same, their details would change according to different ages.

Huzoor^ra further said that as long as the Muslims followed the true teachings of the Holy Prophet^sa, they were achieving great success, even in terms of worldly progress. However, when they abandoned those teachings, they were bound to face worldly regression as well:

“Now, the mission of the ma’mur [God’s appointed one] of this age is to once again recite the Signs, teach the Book and Wisdom, purify the souls, and to formulate a scheme for the progress of Islam. Therefore, he [the Promised Messiah^as] did recite the Signs, teach the Book and Wisdom, and his Jamaat is now continuing his mission.” (Al Rahmat of Lahore, 14 August 1950, p. 8)

Huzoor^ra continued:

“Nations always progress through ideas. Hazrat Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad] Sahib^as has taught such ideas to the Muslims, which would enable them to progress. For instance, Hazrat Mirza Sahib^as has presented the following outstanding principles, which would enable the Muslims to protect themselves from the opponents’ spiritual attacks […]:

“1) No part of the Holy Quran is abrogated.

“2) The Holy Quran holds a great order in it.

“3) The door for divine revelation is always open.

“4) A Muslim can attain many high stations, in obedience and submission to the Holy Prophet^sa.

“5) All prophets are honourable, particularly the Holy Prophet^sa was the most honourable, and all objections which are raised against him by the opponents, are false.     

“6) The Messiah [Jesus^as] has passed away.

“7) It is a mistake to attribute divinity to the Messiah [Jesus^as]. Allah the Almighty never manifests a Sign that goes against His own attributes.” (Ibid, pp. 8-9)

After shedding light on these principles in detail, Huzoor^ra said:

“According to the needs of this age, Hazrat Mirza Sahib^as had taught that the Muslims had the right to make efforts to protect themselves; however, since there is no religious war against them, they are only required to contest the people of other religions in the field of tabligh [preaching the message of Islam].

“It is tabligh through which Islam would spread around the world. The Muslims can conquer the world only through tabligh. But alas, the Muslims have forgotten this tool, which is a means for their victory. This is the future [for the Muslims] which has been presented by Hazrat Mirza Sahib^as, and I firmly believe that this is the means through which Islam can become victorious in the world.” (Ibid, p. 9)

The speech was highly commended by the non-Ahmadi attendees, who acknowledged that Huzoor^ra had presented the Jamaat’s point of view in a very nice way.

The next day, the then na’ib amir of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Quetta, Sheikh Karim Bakhsh Sahib^ra wrote to Huzoor^ra:

“Huzoor’s speech of yesterday had a very good impact on the public, and I have heard from many non-Ahmadis that, ‘Today we have truly come to know [about the teachings of] Ahmadiyyat.’ A non-Ahmadi guest, Sheikh Abdur Rahman Sahib had expressed during the jalsa that ‘Hazrat Sahib is a very intelligent and scholarly person’, and that there had been a positive impact on him, by the grace of God. Though there were many staunch Shia, Sunni, and Ahl-e-Hadith among the audience, they listened to Huzoor’s lecture with great interest.” (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 13, p. 133)

Lieutenant Syed Ahmad Shuja Zaidi Faridabadi expressed, “I really enjoyed this lecture.” (Ibid)

Mr Ghulam Ahmad Munshi, a civilian officer, said:

“After listening to this lecture, I do not agree with those who oppose and abuse Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya just because of their [religious] animosity. The lecture was very nice, and I liked it a lot.” (Ibid, p. 134)

Another civilian officer, Mr Muhammad Sadiq Sahib Paracha, expressed:

“The lecture was very nice. There is no doubt that in terms of organisation, your Jamaat is the best amongst the Muslims.” (Ibid)