Rabia Inqilabi: A conspiracy against the Jamaat in the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III

Asif M Basit

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s^ra Khilafat spans just over half a century. Many children were born in that period, grew and matured, got married and had children; all in that blessed time. 

Thus, Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis alike could not imagine the Ahmadiyya Jamaat without Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra.

Every human must leave this temporal abode and so, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II, Al-Musleh al-Maud^ra, having lived an extraordinary life and having set the Jamaat on the paths of triumph and prosperity, departed this world.

This was no less a hopeful moment for opponents of Ahmadiyyat – opportunistic as they have always been. Munafiqeen – hypocrites – saw this as an apt moment for their intrigues too. They deemed this opportunity to be most fitting to launch an attack on Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya. 

Allah, the Most High, bestowed the mantle of Khilafat to Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad^rh. Meanwhile, seditionists and mischief-makers began their attacks. 

The attacks started by maligning Huzoor’s^rh intellectual capabilities. They then went on to mock the subjects selected for Friday Sermons. He was accused of nepotism, and also of using the Jamaat’s funds for leading a luxurious lifestyle. 

When no such attack brought back their desired results, the munafiqeen and other opponents resorted to the same tactics as employed by munafiqeen during the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – the tactic of moral mudslinging on personal characters.

History repeating itself

While expounding on the verses of Surah al-Nur, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra has explained something very eloquently in his commentary, Tafsir-e-Kabir. He says:

“The very surah in which Allah has taken the responsibility of establishing Khilafat on Himself, He has also outlined the Event of Ifk.”

Huzoor^ra went on to explain its purpose: By attributing such a vile crime to Hazrat Aisha^ra, the munafiqeen desired to extinguish the possibility of Hazrat Abu Bakr^ra – who was the closest companion of the Holy Prophet^sa – succeeding him as the Khalifa. In this way, the intrigue of Ifk was a means of hurt for the Holy Prophet^sa and an attempt to hinder any possibility of the establishment of Khilafat. 

From 1965 (the outset of the Third Khilafat) until 1972, opponents and munafiqeen in the Jamaat spent their time desperately searching for opportunities to attack. They eventually sought to benefit from what they had, by now, learned – the Ahmadiyya Jamaat considered it beneath the status of divine communities to respond to immoral tactics. 

Thus, the character and person of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh, and the Ahmadis of Rabwah, were maligned in an immoral and spiteful manner. Such accusations are not worthy of being copied here, but every assault came with the demand that Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad^rh was not worthy of being called the Khalifa and so, should either renounce his Khilafat, or members of the Jamaat should rebel and stand against it.

A united front – Munafiqeen and other opponents

As has been mentioned in a previous article about the conspiracies of 1927 and 1937, opportunist enemies, opponents and munafiqeen alike rose up shoulder-to-shoulder against the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. On this occasion too, history repeated itself and the same reaction was witnessed. 

The newspaper of the ghair muba‘ieeen [those who refused to perform bai‘at at the hand of the Second Khalifa, also known as the Lahori Jamaat] the Paigham-e-Sulh maintained its habit of not only accepting the claims of the munafiqeen without any substantiation, but publishing them too. 

During this time, sensational headlines such as “Khilafat-e-Rabwah ki Batalat” [Falsity of the Rabwah Khilafat] and “Khilafat-e-Rabwah Mein Intishar” [Tremors in the Rabwah Khilafat] were seen in the Paigham-e-Sulh newspaper. Thus, every attempt was made to plant doubts in the minds of members of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. 

Reaction of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh delivered his Friday Sermon of 10 March 1972 in Masjid Mubarak, Rabwah. In his sermon, Huzoor^rh provided emphatic and pragmatic guidance on how to respond to such conspiracies and similar conspiracies in the future.

Huzoor^rh recited the Quranic verse of: 

اِنَّ‭ ‬الۡمُنٰفِقِيۡنَ‭ ‬فِي‭ ‬الدَّرۡكِ‭ ‬الۡاَسۡفَلِ‭ ‬مِنَ‭ ‬النَّارِ

“The hypocrites shall surely be in the lowest depths of the Fire” (Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.146), before continuing to say:

“A munafiq [hypocrite] will be in the harshest fires of Hell because the Holy Quran states that they continuously seek to create disorder and mischief, and although they are mischief-makers, they appear in the guise of reformists.”

He said:

“The Holy Prophet^sa said, ‘A sign of a munafiq is that when they speak, they utter lies [Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, Bab Khasa‘il al-Munafiq]. In their every word is a lie.”

While elaborating on the characteristics of a munafiq, Huzoor^rh said: 

“For instance, if a person says, ‘I saw the sun rise at such and such time’, and that was, in fact, the time of sunrise which they witnessed for themselves, then in this case, it is true. However, to say, ‘I saw the sun rise’, and before finishing the statement, to then say, ‘In the direction of the mosque, I also saw a 10-headed man flying in the sky’, it would not be considered the truth; rather, you would consider such a person’s statement a lie because the entire statement was fabricated, even though parts of it were potentially true in that the sun did rise […]. But they used that as a foundation for their lie; therefore, the entire statement will be seen as false.”

Huzoor^rh said:

“In the time of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra […], conspiracies by munafiqeen were hatched from time to time; for example, the Misri conspiracy. As our younger generations may not have read about these incidents, therefore they may be unfamiliar with them. 

“Then, there was the conspiracy of Fakhruddin Multani. Such conspiracies are hatched so as to prevent us from falling into slumber because Allah the Almighty wants to see us awake and alert.”

After this, in reference to the allegations raised by the munafiqeen, Huzoor^rh said:

“To explain this further, I will present some examples. There are many other allegations which they continue to raise, on hearing which, according to your levels of faith, you will have become infuriated. Perhaps you pray for them too that Allah may give them guidance […]”.

Some accusations that Huzoor^rh mentioned and regarding which he removed misconceptions, are briefly presented below:

1. “This is a strange Khalifa who talks about horses during his sermons”

In reference to this, Huzoor^rh said, “When I talked of horses in my sermon”, which was in a certain context, “I also instructed that all sayings of the Holy Prophet^sa and Khulafa-e-Rashidin regarding horses be compiled.” 

Huzoor^rh picked up a notepad and said, “This notepad which you see in my hand, I have named ‘Kitab-ul-Khayl’ [Book of Horses] and it spans 400 pages. Most of the sayings included in this are of the Holy Prophet^sa.”

Huzoor^rh said:

“So if the King of the Spiritual Heavens, despite having said so much about horses, remains King of the Spiritual Heavens, then if his humble Khalifa says certain things to you regarding horses […], to then object to it by saying, ‘This is a strange Khalifa’ […] is mere mischief.”

2. Doubts about the expenditure of funds from Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid

Huzoor^rh briefly highlighted how the funds of Tahrik-e-Jadid and Waqf-e-Jadid were utilised. He also explained the background of this accusation as well.

“And the example presented in support of this [accusation] is worth listening to. They say, ‘Look, if Mian Tahir Ahmad Sahib has to travel to Karachi, he travels by air, whereas when the missionaries of Tahrik-e-Jadid have to travel abroad, they are not afforded this luxury […]

“Mian Tahir has not travelled once to Karachi for Waqf-e-Jadid tasks. Now, this is merely an accusation because he has never travelled to Karachi for Waqf-e-Jadid responsibilities.”

Huzoor^rh said that after every few weeks or months, when a missionary had to travel abroad for tabligh, they all did so by air. Thus, by hiding half the facts, they falsely accused Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Tahir Ahmad^rh. 

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh said:

“Whoever hears this that ‘Mian Tahir travelled to Karachi by aeroplane, whereas our missionaries based abroad do not get to travel by aeroplane’, if not them then our children will certainly ask, ‘What is all this?’”

In this manner, Huzoor^rh explained that the actual targets of munafiqeen were the younger generations whose minds they sought to exploit. 

3. “All Jamaat positions are assigned to family members of the Promised Messiah”

Huzoor^rh explained that this was not the first time that such an allegation was made; rather, it was made during the time of the Second Khalifa also. Huzoor^rh then named almost all the departments and said that many nazirs [directors of Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya] and department heads did not belong to the family of the Promised Messiah^as. 

Huzoor^rh said:

“Thus, to utter whatever falsehood and lie comes to one’s mind and to foolishly think that the world will not see your true face, or that the world will not notice your mischief, or that the world will not say anything to you even after seeing the truth, is your sheer ignorance. But how do you consider that you will be able to conceal these actions from God Almighty and save yourselves from His wrath?”

4. Khulafa are not divinely appointed, but man-made

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh said:

“This accusation was made against Hazrat Khalifa I^ra; the same accusation was made against Hazrat Khalifa II^ra and today, the same accusation is being repeated against me.”

Thereafter, Huzoor^rh narrated the events that unfolded during the time of the First Khalifa’s election and the rising opposition in the time of the Second Khalifa’s election. After that, Huzoor^rh narrated the events of the Third Khalifa’s election and how the Khilafat Electoral Committee, as outlined by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra, came into action and God bestowed on Huzoor^rh this responsibility. 

Huzoor^rh said that the allegation that Khulafa were elected by humans and not divinely appointed was answered by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra in the following words:

“This is an indication of rafidi [anti-Khilafat] tendencies that you bring this up. You ought to complain to God why he chose a Khalifa from Bhera. Some ask, ‘What does a Khalifa even do? He teaches children’ […] Some say that he is in love with books and remains indulged in reading. Blame me of as much incapability as you like; they will only be directed towards the God Who chose me to be the Khalifa.” (Badr, 11 July 1912)

After this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh said that some people had started discussing Khilafat and mujaddids [Muslim reformers who were to appear at the turn of every century after the Prophet^sa]. With reference to the election of Khilafat being from Allah the Almighty, Huzoor^rh provided a sublime explanation of the words لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ from Ayat-e-Istikhlaf, thereby removing any misconceptions.

5. Khalifa’s personal allowance and Khilafat Electoral Committee

Huzoor^rh then mentioned two more allegations, which the munafiqeen had raised regarding the Khalifa’s personal allowance and the Khilafat Electoral Committee as established by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra. Huzoor^rh explained that with the establishment of this committee, even the ghair mubai‘een expressed this, that if only it had been established during the time of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra. 

As regards the allowance of the Khalifa, Huzoor^rh said, “I do not need a single penny from the Anjuman. Allah has promised to Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya:

ميں‭ ‬تينوں‭ ‬اينا‭ ‬دياں‭ ‬گا‭ ‬كہ ‬تو‭ ‬رَج‭ ‬جائيں‭ ‬گا

“[‘I shall provide you with so much that it will satiate you.’]”

Huzoor^rh said that from an administrative perspective, to accept a proposal of the shura was altogether a different matter. 

“To fix an allowance so as not to cause inconvenience to Khulafa in the future is a different matter altogether. However, I do not take anything from the Jamaat; rather, I only spend in the cause of the Jamaat. The Quranic education of سِرًّا prohibits me from going into details.”

Huzoor^rh said:

“The munafiqeen have said that I have plentiful means of income. I would like to say that this sentence is completely true. I am blessed with various means of income in this way that the Custodian of all worldly wealth and treasures told me:

‭ ‬ميں‭ ‬تينوں‭ ‬اينا‭ ‬دياں‭ ‬گا‭ ‬كہ ‬تو‭ ‬رَج‭ ‬جائيں‭ ‬گا

“Thus, I am indeed blessed with plentiful means of income.”

Inciting rebellion through Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I’s family 

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh said that when Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra – after trying his best not to resort to this – eventually excommunicated some children of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra from the Jamaat to protect the Jamaat from mischief, the Paighamis [Lahoris] incited them to rebellion. Huzoor^rh, in the words of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra, described the conspiracy of the Paighamis in the following words:

“One of them, Muhammad Hussain Cheema, published an article saying, ‘Our nizam [system], our platforms and our Jamaat are at your service. Well done! Keep standing resiliently. Do not feel threatened by Mirza Mahmud. Obliterate his Khilafat. Our help is with you.’” (Khilafat-e-Haqqa Islamiya, Speech delivered by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra on the occasion of Jalsa Salana 1956)

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh said:

“This is what the Paighamis said to the mischief-makers at that time, and today they have offered the same to those creating unrest today […] Since hypocrisy is always concealed and tries not to be seen, therefore their leaders have appeared in the form of a veiled woman named ‘Rabia Inqilabi’ [literally meaning Rabia the Revolutionist].”

After this, Huzoor^rh read out the message of this “woman”, Rabia Inqilabi, which she had addressed to the members of the Jamaat:

“Thus, for the fruition of this revolution, your cooperation is crucial […] Most certainly, you are about to embark on a new chapter of history, through your cast iron will-power […].

“Friends! You are the real source of strength. The Jamaat exists only because of you. Until you realise the strength you possess, your issues cannot be resolved. Therefore, to bring about law and order and social justice, you ought to intensify your efforts.”

Huzoor^rh read out a line from the message of this mischievous “lady”:

“In the race of material gains, has Rabwah not turned into a hub of immoral acts and illicit relations?”

After reading out this seditious sentence, Huzoor^rh said:

“While they see Rabwah as a hub of immoral and illicit acts and relationships, they ask inhabitants of such a place to stand up for a revolution. O hypocrites and ignorant people, what good do you expect from people who you accuse of acts that are most accursed in the eyes of Allah?”

These seditious characters attempted to further incite Ahmadis towards rebellion by writing on behalf of Rabia Inqilabi:

“My courageous and dedicated friends! The fort of this kingdom has been cracked. All that is needed now is a strong push. Rise up and come forward to bring down the Haman of this age and his conscienceless agents. Do this to prove that the Haman can no longer hide behind robes of faith. Get up and show courage. Step forward and kick the throne of this kingdom.”

The result of this conspiracy

Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh explained this entire disorder and presented it before the Jamaat in this manner. He warned the conspirators by saying:

“If you dare to kick the fort of this divinely established Khilafat, you will be completely destroyed to the extent that no sign will be left of you.”

The result of this conspiracy was the same as that of any conspiracy plotted against divine communities of God. In a short space of time, this conspiracy vanished back into thin air; a sign from the Almighty Allah to the munafiqeen once more to show how He stands up against any onslaught of opponents of Khilafat ; as it is He Who established that Khilafat in the first place. 

We conclude with the words of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh, which he said while addressing the conspirators and regarding members of the Jamaat:

“O ignorant ones! […] You were not able to understand these people [Ahmadis]. You could not read their pulse. You do not realise what these people are made of. You are completely oblivious to the fact that these people are intoxicated with the love of the man who, despite the heavy opposition of the world, announced:

ميری ‬فطرت‭ ‬ميں‭ ‬ناكامی ‬كا‭ ‬خمير‭ ‬نہيں‭ ‬ہے

“[‘Failure is not part of my design’] Thus, failure is not destined for [any Ahmadi]. Your voices will sound lower than that of a jackal, which can sometimes be heard at night. 

“O cowardly and hypocritical jackals! […] You do not know – no, you do not know – what sort of a nation this is; how powerful it is; what the source of its power is; how devoted it is to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and how dear it is to his spiritual son, the Promised Messiah^as. How could you even gauge the strength of this edifice that we call Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya? Tread very carefully […]. 

“How can you reach those who are soaring high above you? Use your brain; use your brain; use your brain.”  

This answer to the munafiqeen, which was given by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh, became a means of foiling this conspiracy. 

This is the answer of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya today and this shall be its answer in the future, insha-Allahu Ta‘ala.

(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu)