On 1 November 1926, Hazrat Maulvi Abdur Rahim Dard MA [ra], imam of the London Ahmadiyya Mosque, sent the following telegram to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II [ra], which arrived in Qadian on 3 November [1926]:
“Praise be to Allah! Today, two more British have become Ahmadis, one of whom is a member of the Royal Asiatic Society.”
These are the means through which Allah the Almighty is working to populate His House and to install the banner of the Unity of God in a centre of Trinitarian worship.
We are confident that the fervour and sincerity, together with the noble aspirations and hopes, with which the Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community laid the foundation of the London Ahmadiyya Mosque will certainly bear fruit and bring about a great revolution in the world.
To bring this about, it is necessary that, while the Ahmadiyya Jamaat offers prostrations of gratitude before Allah the Almighty, it should also redouble its efforts with each passing day.
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu, published in the 9 November 1926 issue of Al Fazl)
Islam Ahmadiyyat in West Africa
Brother Fazlur Rahman Hakeem writes from Saltpond, Africa:
“The Gold Coast is divided into three parts, viz.: (a) Gold Coast (b) Ashanti and (c) Northern Territories and the Mandated area of Togoland.
“We have established in the Colony and in Ashanti up to this time. I have not had the opportunity to visit the Northern Territories and the Togoland. The former of these two is said to contain Muslims more than there are in the Colony and the Ashanti put together.
Christianity
“The greater part of people in the Colony as well as in the Ashanti are pagans and next to that are the Christians, who are divided into Wesleyan Methodists, Roman Catholics, Anglican Church, etc.
“The Christians have a network of their propagandic work spread all over the country and have established their day and Sunday schools (for boys and girls) almost everywhere and it is through these schools that they are gaining membership to their church; otherwise Christianity has nothing in it to appeal to the native. These boys and girls, too, are Christians in name only and are quite ignorant of Christian dogmas and teachings.
“You will be astonished to hear if I were to tell you their funny beliefs about Jesus. One day a lady said during my open-air lecture that ‘Jesus had fallen down from the sky and not born to any woman.’
Ahmadiyyat
“I dare say that the progress our mission has made during the short space of four years, both in numbers and the members’ assimilation of the real spirit of Islam, is far greater than the progress made by the Christian mission, taking into consideration the vast resources at their disposal.
“We have fifty stations where we have regular communities and most of these places have their own mosques, two of which possess the most beautiful mosques on the Gold Coast.
“There is only one school started by us, which is the first and the only Muslim school in this colony.
“We have three native regular preachers, besides a very limited number of lay preachers. Among the lay preachers the name of the Ameer of the Formina [also spelt as Fomena] Community (in Ashanti) stands at the top, through whose efforts we had recently got forty new converts to our Movement.
“The total number of new converts during the last six months is a little over three hundred souls, but there are others, too, who have joined Islam through certain individuals and whose names could not be recorded in the register.
“Since last year, when I began to write in the local papers about our Movement, people here have begun to grasp a true idea of our religion and they seem to feel regard for it and I am sure, relying upon the grace of God, in the long run Africa is ours.
“At present, the Christian missionary is making a fuss for nothing and is crying in vain that Africa is joining Islam fast, but in the long run no doubt it would come out to be true.”
Response to the West Africa
“Ahmadiyya Movement, Saltpond,
“14 August 1926.
“To the Editor, The Review of Religions, London, SW 8.
“Dear Sir,
“In the West Africa of 17 July 1926, there is a comment on my article, Islam and Christianity, which was published in the July number of your valuable Journal. The note purports to say that I have quoted, in my said article, Bible against Bible.
“I wish to say in answer to it that if the Bible appears to have been quoted against the Bible, then whose fault is this? Have I done it of purpose or is it something wrong with the Bible itself?
“I wish to assure the West Africa that “Bible has not been quoted against Bible”, but what has been said in that article is the real and true Gospel and what seems to have gone against it is either a metaphorical language which needs deep thinking and a careful interpretation or we shall have to conclude that it is not a faithful record of Jesus’ life and his teachings and that at the time of writing it the overzealousness of the believers carried them away from the right path.
“My statement is further confirmed when we see how the learned people have expressed their different opinions about those verses of the Bible which to the mind of the commentator in the West Africa seem to have stood up against what I had quoted in my article.
“I quote here another passage from the Bible as a sequel to my article in which even the time of the reappearance of the Messiah has been fixed and draw the attention of our Christian friends to ponder over the claims of Hazrat Ahmad of Qadian, on whom be peace and the blessings of God.
“I take this extract from The Review of Religions for 1923, from an article written by Maulvi Sher Ali BA. Says the learned writer:
“‘And at that time (of the reappearance of the Messiah) shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was seen since there was a nation even to that time…’ [Daniel 12:1]
“‘But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.’ [ibid. 12:4]
“‘Then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of the things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the idols shall be broken there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.’ [ibid. 12:8-12]
“Many will be startled to read the words in single quotes, for they are not found in the current English translation of the Bible. But everyone who will turn to the Hebrew Bible will find the original words to be “Wa latet shiqoos”, which means “and the idols shall be broken.”
“The words ‘from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the idols shall be broken’ evidently refer to the days of the Holy Prophet of Arabia – Muhammad, may peace and blessings of God be upon him, when the new law vouchsafed to the like of Moses, as predicted in Deuteronomy 18:22, did away with the daily sacrifice and when the idols were broken at Mecca. The latter event took place in 8 AH, so according to Daniel’s prophecy, the Promised Messiah was to appear at 1300 AH and so it came to pass.
“Thanking you for the space allowed.
“Yours truly,
“FR Hakeem.”
(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the November 1926 issue of The Review of Religions)