Following is the translation of a letter written by His Holiness [Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra] to a new brother of ours in Manchester. (Editor: The Review of Religions [1925])
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra letter to a new convert
[Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IIra states:]
“Dear Brother,
“I have been very glad to receive your letter, which I read with great interest, and I was very glad to read in it of your brave and noble strife against former beliefs and convictions while straining to get at the truth.
Congratulations on finding the truth
“Indeed, the happiest day for man is the day when he gets tidings of that fountainhead of Divine light which is the Truth of all truths and the Reality of all realities; and on this occasion, I congratulate you, as God has been pleased to direct your footsteps towards guidance. He has of His own gracious accord revealed Himself upon you because, although The Review of Religions has been the immediate cause of the opening of your eyes, is it not true all the same that your striking at the right path at a time when there was darkness all round and the wind of adverse ideas was blowing hard was a doing of the Lord above and not a mere consequence of man’s efforts?
The poor as the first believers
“You say that you are poor in worldly wealth. What does it matter? Such has always been the case with the early followers of truth. Has not the Prophet Jesus[as] said that it is easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? Whenever a Prophet was raised unto this world, the poor alone were the first to accept him. God is not unjust. It is their right to be the first in this respect and to be thus compensated for the rich having deprived them of all worldly benefits.
Spiritual strength in weakness
“I have been sorry to learn that you are not keeping good health, which is a blessing of God. Nevertheless, it often happens that the spiritual powers begin to develop under such circumstances, the doors of enjoyment for the flesh being shut on account of feeble health. The loss on one side is thus balanced by the gain on the other, so that such troubles eventually end in real and everlasting comfort.
Religion must teach sympathy
“There is, indeed, no doubt about it that religion which does not teach sympathy is not in accordance with the true nature of man. Modern materialism is killing the true nature of man, and the teachings of the Promised Messiah[as] are the only antidote for this poison.
Power of Prayer
“I am very glad to learn that you try your best to say your prayers. Surely the best way of deriving any benefit from any teaching is to act upon it. If you persevere and adopt the right means to act upon the principles of Islam, you will, I am sure, experience such an internal change and feel so near to God that everything else in this world will become insignificant in your eyes and you will realise that real happiness consists in the connection of a man with God.
Love of God above all else
“It will not be your lips alone which will express it, as is the case with the followers of other religions, but your actions also and your very heart will bear witness to the fact that nothing is so valuable as the love of God, for which you will be ready to sacrifice your wealth, your life, your very habits long ingrained in your nature, and even the desires and aspirations dear to your heart.
Truth spread by ordinary people
“God willing, I shall pray for you, and it will give me great joy if you, from time to time, keep me informed about yourself and the progress you make in matters spiritual. I am also certain that you will spare yourself no pain in conveying the message of truth and peace to others, and that in this respect, the idea of your not being very learned will never be an obstacle in your way. Truth was never spread through the efforts of the greatly learned. The disciples of Jesus[as] were common fishermen, and the Companions[ra] of Muhammad[sa], the greatest among Prophets, were but simple camel drivers of the desert, and even in our own day those men who accepted the Promised Messiah[as] were such as were looked upon as ‘ignorant’ but who in the sight of God were well learned and worthy to become the teachers for the world.
“The growing tendencies of our day bear it out, and we find that the scholars, scientists and thinkers of different nations are turning to the same teaching towards which these ignorant men were the first to wend their footsteps.
True faith moves mountains
“Belief in God is a power that removes mountains if they come in the way. Create this in your heart, and every obstacle in your way will be swept away.”
Defence of Ahmadiyyat by an Ahl-e-Hadith in Singapore
A paper of “Lembaga Melayu,” daily Malay Singapore, tells us that on Monday, 13 July 1925, over two thousand people, under the chairmanship of Imam Haji Abbas bin Muhammad Taha, held a religious meeting in the Victoria Memorial Hall, Singapore, and formed different opinions on the tenets, teachings, and beliefs of the Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad] Sahib[as] of Qadian Punjab, India.
In concluding the matter, all raised their hands and declared that the Ahmadis are [God forbid] “white ants” in our religion. They pointed out to the public that in the course of his translating the Holy Quran, the Maulvi Muhammad Ali MA has failed to keep up to the true facts of the Quranic history regarding Adam, Eve, Mary, Jesus, and so on and that similarly, Khawaja Kamaldin’s works are also against Muslim principles. That under these circumstances, no Muslim should possess any of the books written by any of these personalities.
It is the opinion of these blind critics that the government should be approached and requested that the admission of Ahmadi books may not be allowed into the Malayan States and other parts of the Peninsula.
They seem to be of the opinion that Ahmadis should not be buried in their burial places. It seems to me that these Singaporeans have never, with a faithful mind and heart, studied the teachings of the Mirza [Ghulam Ahmad] Sahib, (peace be on him) and therefore do not at all understand what the Ahmadiyya Movement is.
They do not know that the Ahmadiyya Movement is the guardian of Islam. It is this movement that has, with the help of God, guarded Islam from the furious attacks of Christian preachers of the present day; otherwise our religion would have been tossed from one end to the other end of the world.
Is it not an ungrateful act to forget the great difficulties the Ahmadis are undergoing in preaching the Religion of God – Islam? Know for certain that the Ahmadis are the guardians of Islam and not enemies or “white ants,” as the Singaporean critics name them.
Certainly, the glorious acts of the Ahmadis are events which none of the Singaporean critics can ever perform.
I appeal to the wise people of education and understanding and ask them if any of the Singaporeans could have ever conveyed the word of God to non-Islamic quarters of the earth and if any of them could have flown the banner of Islam high above the towers of London, as the Ahmadis have done?
– (Maulvi) Mohammed Sulaiman, a servant of the Ahl-e-Hadith
(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the October 1925 issue of The Review of Religions)