On 11 September 2021, UK khuddam from northern regions had the opportunity to meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa through a virtual meeting.
Malik Takrim Ahmad was called by Huzooraa to read out a portion from the Holy Quran and its English translation. Marghub Ahmad read out a hadith and Safeer Ahmad read out an extract from the writings of the Promised Messiahas. Malik Faraz Ahmad then recited an Urdu poem written by the Promised Messiahas.
After Malik Faraz finished the poem, Huzooraa asked Malik Faraz whether he was the brother of Malik Takrim to which he said he was.
Sarmad Ahmad Anwar was then called by Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa to read the translation of the Urdu poem that was recited. When he finished, Huzooraa asked whether he was the relative of Syed Anwar Sahib, to which Sarmad said he was his grandfather.
Huzooraa then asked Attiqur Rahman, Mohtamim Tarbiyat what he wanted to do next in the meeting. Attiqur Rahman sought permission for the khuddam to ask any questions they had for Huzooraa.
The first question was by Saqib Mahmud Jajja. On hearing his name, Huzooraa asked, “Are you the son of Dr Jajja?” Saqib said he was. Huzooraa further remarked, “You are from Scunthorpe then. What do you want to say?”
Saqib asked, “I was told about an incident of the Promised Messiahas in which he handed some papers to Allah in a vision. Allah then signed the papers with red ink. When the Promised Messiahas woke up, there were red ink drops on his clothes and the source could not be located. My question is, how can such an incident happen, as it goes against the laws of science?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa responded by saying:
“You see, sometimes, science cannot comprehend all things which are a matter of spiritual things. It happened and there was a witness, Abdullah Sanauri Sahibra, who attested to the fact that it happened. And the drops also fell on his clothes […] First he thought that there might be some lizard on the roof, and sometimes drops come out if there are lizards or some insects are there, but there was nothing of that sort.
“These are miracles – spiritual miracles. It cannot be proved by scientific formulas, no. So if you have a high spiritual status, then you will understand. And the Promised Messiahas also said there was a witness, there was a presence of some person there […] so we have to believe.
“Science cannot believe you can even make the moon into two pieces, but it happened during the time of the Holy Prophetsa and people saw it. And not only there, it is said that some people in India at that time also saw that miracle. So we have to believe. […]
“There are some miracles which are beyond our comprehension.”
Tanzil Ahmad asked, “It is narrated in a hadith that ‘the person closest to me on the Day of Judgment is the one who sent the most durood upon me.’ If someone lives to the age of 100 and if someone dies early at the age of 20, they will not have the same amount of time to recite durood sharif – so how will it be possible for the younger person to get closer to the Holy Prophetsa?”
Huzoorra replied:
“There are quite a number of children who died at their early infancy, but they’re also close to the Holy Prophetsa. […]
“It means that as much time as Allah the Almighty gives you to live in this world, you spend that time on doing good things, good deeds, offering your prayers and sending durood to the Holy Prophetsa. Then you will get the reward and you’ll be close to the Holy Prophetsa.
“Life and death are not in your hand. If Allah the Almighty did not give you that much life, how can you be blamed? You cannot be blamed.”
Huzooraa said that if such a young person spent his time getting closer to Allah the Almighty and in sending durood on the Holy Prophetsa, “He will get the same reward as a person who lives 100 years […] so don’t worry, Allah is the Most Merciful.”
Hamza Cheema asked, “When you offer Tahajud prayers, what prayers do you make and in which order?”
In response, Huzooraa said:
“The Promised Messiahas has explained how he prayed. He said, ‘I pray for myself, that Allah the Almighty gives me sound health so that I can try to get closer to Allah the Almighty more than before’. And then, ‘I pray for my community members, my friends, my children’.
“So, in this way, you have to pray for yourself, for the mission of the Promised Messiahas and the Holy Prophetsa to spread the message of Islam all across the world.
“And then, for your siblings, for your parents and later on, for other people. So in this way, this is the normal order. But sometimes, if any special incident arises, then I pray for that.”
Zain-ul-Haq Sethi was next to asked a question. Seeing him, Huzooraa asked, “Are you a tifl or a khadim?” Zain-ul-Haq said he was a khadim. Huzooraa asked, “16 years of age?” to which Zain-ul-Haq replied in the affirmative.
His question to Huzooraa was, “What did you do for enjoyment and recreation whilst in Ghana?”
With a smile, Huzooraa said:
“There was no recreation. Every moment which I spent there – whether sitting, or standing, or moving or doing some work – that was recreation and I enjoyed every moment there. [There was] no special thing. […]
“We didn’t have a television, we didn’t even have a radio, we didn’t have light most of the time. So, the only thing I would enjoy would be, after coming from work, to spend some time with my family and spend some time on reading books. That’s the only thing.”
Farhan Warriach asked, “In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 155, it states, ‘And say not of those who are killed in the cause of Allah that they are dead; nay, they are living; only you perceive not.’ My question is, what is meant by ‘living’ of the shuhada [martyrs], can they see or hear us?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“It is not only Surah al-Baqarah, there are some other verses also […] ‘Don’t say they are dead, they are alive, because they have died in the cause of Allah the Almighty’. And in Allah the Almighty’s eyes, they will remain alive forever and they will be rewarded for that in the heavens.
“If shuhada have died for the cause of Allah’s religion – Allah’s cause – in this world, even they are liked and they are praised and people pray for them, for their higher status. So you always remember them and their memories are always cherished; not only by their family but by other people as well.”
“[…] the shuhada, their name is always remembered and even they will be rewarded in Heaven more than any other person. This is why Allah the Almighty says, ‘Don’t think they are dead. You think they are dead in this world, but they are living a good life in Heaven – and that is your ultimate destination.’”
Syed Umair Ahmad asked, “When Ahmadiyyat spreads in the Western countries insha-Allah, do you think we will face the same persecution as we are facing in Pakistan and some other countries.”
Huzooraa said:
“When Ahmadiyyat spreads here in the Western countries – or any of the rich countries from whom the Pakistani government, or the poor countries are getting help and aid – they will stop doing all those atrocities they are committing nowadays against Ahmadis.
“You see, there was persecution of the Christians till the time the Roman king accepted Christianity. And after his acceptance of Christianity, all the persecution and atrocities against Christians stopped. The same is here also. If, by that time, Muslims in some of the Muslim countries – either in Pakistan or somewhere else – do not accept Ahmadiyyat before the Western countries accept Ahmadiyyat, then they will have to see what these Western countries are doing.
“Even now, they are dependent on these Western countries, and at that time, they will also be dependent on these Western countries. Since they are going to be dependent on these countries, and as long as they are dependent on these countries, they will have to follow what these countries are saying.
“So their God is not the One and Omnipotent God, though they claim that they believe in one God; in reality, their God is these Western countries whom they are following.”
Safeer Ahmad asked, “Why is the Islamic calendar based on the moon?”
Huzooraa said:
“[…] The Islamic calendar is actually based on the Hijrah of the Holy Prophetsa, not only the moon.”
Referring to the reason behind following the lunar calendar, Huzooraa said that one reason was because of worship. By following the lunar calendar, Ramadan is rotated each year into a different month.
“Allah the Almighty is rotating Ramadan according to the lunar calendar […] Sometimes you have long days of fasting and sometimes you have short days. So, in this way, you are covering the whole year for doing your ibadat [worship] – prostrating before Allah, bowing before Allah, praying to Allah the Almighty.
“In this way, sometimes, you get long nights in which you can offer your Tahajud for a longer period, sometimes you have shorter periods of offering Tahajud […] sometimes you fast for six to seven hours – even in some counties, four to five hours – and sometimes it is 19 or 20 hours.”
Huzooraa said, “This can be one of the reasons” for following the lunar calendar.
Fowad Yusuf, who is from Scotland, asked Huzooraa, “Do you think that Scotland will become independent as a nation. And I also wanted to ask, where is your favourite place to visit in Scotland?”
With a smile, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa responded by saying:
“You see, I am not a politician.”
Huzooraa further said:
“What I believe is that in this present-day world, the safety and security of Scotland, or England, or Wales and Ireland is in joining together and living together and making one country under one banner, one flag. That would be better.
“But if they want independence, we cannot say anything.”
With regard to his favourite places in Scotland, Huzooraa said, “I have not visited many places in Scotland, but I like some […]”. Huzooraa said it had been a long time and he didn’t remember everything, but “there is one place, in the Highlands of Scotland, Portnellan, where I visited. I stayed there for some time. I like that place […]”. Huzooraa said he also liked the area where the Falkirk Wheel was situated.
Speaking about the beauty of Scotland, Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa remarked:
“Scotland is quite a beautiful place, yes. Wherever I have visited, the places which I have seen, all of them are very beautiful places.”
Rafe Ahmad Butt asked, “If a Muslim who has sinned is martyred, will he get the same treatment as a Muslim martyr who has not sinned?”
Huzooraa said:
“It is not to be decided by us. We don’t know. [Do] you know if a person is a sinful person?”
Huzooraa further said:
“It is quite possible that because Allah wanted to give him the reward because of some other good deeds, this is why Allah the Almighty ignored his sins, and he had the status of being martyred. So, it is up to Allah the Almighty.
“But Allah says that all those who are martyred in the cause of Allah will be rewarded. That is what we know.
“The Holy Prophetsa says that when a person dies, we should not recall the person’s negative traits; rather, we should remember their good deeds. Every person must have done something good in his life, so always remember that.”
Sarmad Anwar asked, “Did Allah show you any signs for when it was time to move out of London and did any of the signs relate to the pandemic as it was on the horizon?”
With a smile, Huzoor said;
“No. No sign […] it might be Allah’s planning that He wanted to let me move to this place – from London to Islamabad. But I cannot say that Allah the Almighty precisely asked me to do this, no.”
Huzooraa said he was not given any sign for the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic either.
Masroor-ud-Din Mahmud asked, “Why do Jewish scholars fail to recognise the arrival of the Holy Prophetsa as the final chief of all the prophets?”
Huzooraa said:
“Not all the Jewish scholars and clerics rejected the Holy Prophetsa; some of them accepted. There were some of the good scholars [who accepted].”
Referring to a hadith, Huzooraa said:
“A Jewish person, who was a scholar, came to see the Holy Prophetsa. He [the Jewish scholar] spoke very filthy language against him, in front of the Holy Prophetsa. Even then, he did not say anything; the Holy Prophetsa listened to all his ill words against him. And when he [the Jewish scholar] got tired, he stopped and said that I had seen all the signs of the prophet who was to come, the final prophet after Moses […] it was also written in our traditions that he would have a very high level of forbearance and tolerance and I wanted to check whether you had that level or not […] After having seen all these things, now I accept Islam and I declare that you are the final prophet who was to come after Moses’.
“So you cannot say that all the Jewish scholars rejected him, no. There were some others who accepted him.”
Shaik Taimur asked, “Are we permitted to pray behind a non-Ahmadi imam who does not oppose the Promised Messiahas, nor the Jamaat?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“Just ask him, ‘What do you believe with regard to the Promised Messiahas […] do you believe that he was the same Imam Mahdi and Messiah who was to come in the Latter Days, or do you not?’
“If he says ‘no’, then how can you bear that a person who rejects the Imam of the age, you make him the imam? Can you bear this?”
Shaik Taimur said “No.”
Huzooraa continued:
“First explain to him that ‘I am an Ahmadi, this is my belief, what do you think?’ He will say, ‘Okay, whatever you believe is right, but because of some other commitments and restrictions, I cannot believe’. Then you say, ‘Alright, then I can lead you in prayer because I am better than you.’”
Zaki-ud-Din Ahmedi was next to ask a question. Hearing his surname, Huzooraa remarked, “‘Ahmedis’ are spread all across Midlands and Northern regions; there are so many ‘Ahmedis’. Huzooraa then said, “I see, you are Sabah-ud-din’s brother? Masha–Allah.”
Zaki-ud-din then asked Huzooraa, “What were your hobbies when you were around our age, between 16 and 19?”
Huzooraa replied:
“I don’t remember that I had any hobby; only that I used to play cricket and badminton at that time – that was the only thing. And, for some time, I remember I used to collect postal stamps […] But for some time, I was not very regular in it. So there was no particular hobby.”
Huzooraa then asked Zaki-ud-Din what his hobbies were, to which he said, “I enjoy exercising and travelling.”
Huzooraa, with a smile, replied:
“I see, travelling? If you have enough money, you can travel.”
Zaki-ud-Din said he had been to the Gambia recently for waqf-e-arzi too.
Huzooraa replied, “I also did waqf-e-arzi at this age but that was not a hobby.”
Huzooraa then said he did not play any sport to excel in it, rather it was just as a hobby.
Shahzeb Mahmud asked, “How can man have free will when Allah knows what choices you will make?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa said:
“Allah knows that that will be your ultimate choice, but Allah does not stop you from doing it. You see, there are some ‘taqdir’, decrees, which can be changed.
“Although you are free to do whatever you like, Allah the Almighty has given you a free hand, but that is the knowledge of Allah the Almighty; what are you going to do ultimately – that is His knowledge, it has nothing to do with your free will.
“Allah the Almighty does not tell you what you are going to do in the end. Allah the Almighty says, ‘If you do good deeds, I will reward you’. There are quite a number of people who did not behave well, or did not do good deeds in the early age when they were young, even when they [were] middle-aged, but at the end, ultimately, their end was good because they did some good.”
Huzooraa added that although Allah the Almighty gives one a free hand to do whatever they like, and they may spend their life by doing something which is not very good, in the end, if they do something good, ultimately they can be forgiven and Allah the Almighty can reward them. And when the time of their death comes, such people can be rewarded and sent to Heaven.
“So there is Allah the Almighty’s knowledge, and then there is your free will – how can you combine both of them? Allah the Almighty knows you will do this thing, but at the same time, Allah has given you a free hand.
“You see, if you are doing something bad, your people may think that you are doing bad things and you will not be forgiven, but Allah the Almighty knows that ultimately, you will do something good for which you will be rewarded. And, when the time comes, it so happens.”
Labeed Ahmad Khan asked, “What is your opinion on the current state of the world?”
“The current state of the world? The current state of the world with regard to its progress? Financial matters? Or pandemic condition? Or the war conditions?
“You see, if people do not recognise their Creator and their Lord – Allah the Almighty – and do not discharge their duties to Him and what Allah the Almighty has told us to do, if they do not do it, then the world is going to doom itself very fast.
“This is why we are here. We have to let the people understand that ‘if you do not practice what Allah the Almighty has said, if you do not change yourself, then this is going to be your fate’.
“And only those will be saved from a bad end of their lives who remember Allah the Almighty.
“Everywhere you see, there are atrocities, there are cruelties, brutalities happening – whether it is being done by the big powers to the poorer nations, or whether it is within the nations, within the Muslim ummah or even small countries. Everywhere there is chaos.
“We have to help them understand what their duties are. And this is the duty of an Ahmadi, to inform people and this is a great responsibility on our shoulder.
“This is why I have been telling, all the time, to the people of the world – to politicians, to leaders – that they ought to change themselves and try to establish true justice, absolute justice in the world and discharge their duties to their Creator and their fellow beings.
“Otherwise there is no guarantee [about] what is going to happen, and what we can see is a very dark and bleak end of this world.”
Muhammad Harris Khalid said he was about to study medicine and thereafter, was planning to devote one or two years for the Jamaat along with some other Ahmadi friends. He also wanted to know whether he should do waqf-e-arzi [temporary life devotion for the Jamaat] after his basic foundational training or after specialisation in anaesthesia.
Huzooraa said, “One or two years only?” to which Harris said, “However much, as you like.” Huzooraa continued by advising:
“After completing your studies, you want to devote some of your time? At least five years, not one or two – you should devote at least five years […] When you complete your studies, then you should, at least, devote your life for five years. And after that, when you feel that you are enjoying it, you may continue it, and I hope you will continue it.”
Huzooraa also advised Harris to carry out this waqf-e-arzi after all of his studies and specialisation were completed. “That will take you another 10 years […] by that time, you will be 29 […]”, Huzooraa said.
Haseeb-ur-Rahman asked, “Will we be able to recognise our dear ones who have passed away in the afterlife?”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa responded by saying:
“Yes. If you are destined to go to the same place in Heaven, yes, you will find those people who are in Heaven. But if you have not done good deeds, where Allah the Almighty is going to put you, I cannot say. I don’t know where you will go, whether you will find them or not.
“But anyway, if you and they are going to Heaven, you will see your loved ones there.
“You must also pray for them that Allah the Almighty sends them to Heaven […] Also pray for yourself that you go to Heaven and do good deeds, good things and follow Allah’s commandments. And offer the five daily prayers as prescribed by Allah the Almighty and if possible, in congregation; read the Holy Quran and find out the commandments and injunctions given in the Holy Quran.
“If you are doing all these things, Allah the Almighty will send you to Heaven. And pray for your loved ones also, that Allah the Almighty sends them to Heaven and saves them from all punishments of the life after death. So, insha-Allah, you will see them.”
Huzooraa then asked Haseeb-ur-Rahman what he did and his future plan. Haseeb-ur-Rahman said he was doing A-levels and planned to go to university to study computer science. Earlier, Huzooraa asked Haseeb-ur-Rahman whether he was Bengali and at the end, said, “Your name looks like a Bengali name, this is why I asked if you were from Bangladesh. ‘Rahman’ names are very common in Bangladesh.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masihaa then turned to Mohtamim Tarbiyat and said that the time had finished and asked if he and the khuddam were happy. Mohtamim Tarbiyat said he was very happy and “they are very happy as well. I think the mulaqats [meetings] have had an amazing impact on the khuddam – from all of us, jazak-Allah!”
Hazrat Amirul Momineenaa then conveyed his salaam and the meeting came to a close.
(Report prepared by Al Hakam)