Sultan A Choudhry, Canada
On 1 January 1906, in the sacred town of Qadian, a mysterious prophecy was vouchsafed to the Promised Messiahas of the Latter Days, peace be upon him. The All-Knowing Allah revealed:
“تین بکرے ذبح کئے جائیں گے”
“Three goats will be slaughtered.” (Tadhkirah [English], p. 811)
The pronouncement allegorically foretold the martyrdoms of three pious Ahmadis, predestined to occur in the years 1924-25. This account presents the awe-inspiring truthful tale of Maulavi Naimatullah Khan; the first of the three sacrificial goats.
From Qadian, Peshawar to Kabul
مقام فیضؔ کوئی راہ میں جچا ہی نہیں
جو کوئے یار سے نکلے تو سوئے دار چلے
“The lofty status of the beloved was just not meant for me, Whoever stepped out from the beloved’s street, ended up on the gallows.”
At a young age, Maulavi Naimatullah accepted Islam Ahmadiyyat in his home country Afghanistan. He arrived in Qadian as an apprentice to quench his theological and spiritual thirst and began studying in Qadian. Testimonials reveal he was very devoted, righteous and naturally a man of ethereal and mystical disposition. His studies in Madrassa Ahmadiyya were not yet completed when Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra dispatched the fresh maulana to Kabul as a missionary in 1919. On his way, he stayed in Peshawar for some time.
One evening, his host casually asked him: How would you behave in the face of a life-and-death predicament similar to the circumstances lived by the Prince-Martyr Abdul Latifra? Maulavi Naimatullah humbly replied: “I can only truthfully answer this question when I am confronted with that kind of a situation.” (The Afghan Martyrs, p. 113)
A few years later, when death undeviatingly looked into his eyes, it was time to answer the question.
Inside the dark dungeon
Maulavi Naimatullah diligently served the cause of Islam until he was arrested in 1924, his only crime was his faith: Ahmadiyyat. He was placed into solitary confinement for two months after which the valuable personage was transferred from dungeon to dungeon, each chamber increasingly darker than the previous one. In that tenebrous abyss, Maulavi Naimatullah was alone. His only worldly company were the jailers, insects and rodents, yet he was accompanied by spiritual light. From his stygian cell, the satisfied soul wrote:
“As darkness deepens, simultaneously, to a corresponding degree the Almighty grants me light of the heart and also tranquillity.” (The Afghan Martyrs, p. 114)
شاد باش ای عشق خوش سودای ما
ای طبیب جمله علت های ما
“Hail Love that brings happiness
The physician of all our ills”
A warming sun with its comforting rays was kindled in the firmament of Maulavi Naimatullah’s Heart by the God of unlimited wonders. The precious prisoner remembered the question he was asked by his host in Peshawar. He confidently scribed a letter to his host in Peshawar, saying:
“By God’s grace, I am able to inform you that I am resolved to follow the example of the great martyr, the Sahibzada Sahib.” (Ahmadiyyat The Renaissance of Islam, p. 253)
The glorious walk to immortality
Leading to the site of stoning, the fearless missionary was made to walk the streets of Kabul chained, while his imminent execution was being announced. The lionheart soldier of Allah travelled the distance with an undisturbed smile on his face.
Arriving at the destination, it was time for Asr prayers. He asked to perform his prayer, reviving the example of an esteemed companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, whose last wish before execution was to worship his Allah. A crowd of thousands beheld the paradoxical spectacle: accused of deserting Islam, the holy man was offering Salat.
After his audience with God, half-buried in the ground, his saintly being was mercilessly showered with stones, until death overtook him.
In his final moments, this undefeated young Ahmadi missionary turned his face towards the qibla and was heard reciting:
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ
(Shuhada-ul-Haq, p. 100)
Thus on 31 August 1924, at the age of 34, Maulavi Naimatullah Khan became the prophesied goat of Allah.
The current year marks the first centenary of his life in the Garden of Eternity, living the literal meaning of his name Naimatullah i.e. “blessing of Allah”. The angelic soul attained martyrdom in the blessed month of Muharram and etched his name in the history of martyrs in Islam.