This Week in History: 15-21 October

15 October 1924: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra, during his tour of Europe, visited the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS). Both Hazrat Hafiz Roshan Ali^ra and Sheikh Abdur Rahman Misri Sahib accompanied Huzoor^ra. Sir Denison Ross showed Huzoor^ra the university and its library. (Al Fazl, 11 November 1924, p. 6)

15 October 1936: Hazrat Lieutenant Sardar Muhammad Ayub Khan^ra OBE passed away at the age of 70. He served in the British Army for 38 years and joined the Jamaat in 1902. He was among the foremost and sincere Companions^ra. He was very pious and righteous. He also received the title of Khan Bahadur (a title given as respect and honour). He was a member of the district board of Moradabad. His hometown was Shahjahanpur. (Al Fazl, 24 October 1936)

15 October 1979: It was announced that Prof Dr Abdus Salam Sahib would be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. Al Fazl reported that as soon as he heard the good news, Dr Abdus Salam Sahib immediately went to the Fazl Mosque in London and offered voluntary prayers and expressed his gratitude to Allah Almighty. On this occasion, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh sent a message of congratulations:

“All praise is due to Allah. Please accept my sincere congratulations on behalf of me and Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya. Ahmadis and all Pakistanis are proud of you. It is a matter of great pride for Ahmadis that the first Muslim scientist and Pakistani to win the Nobel Prize is an Ahmadi. May God bless you with even greater honours in the future and continue to bless you with His support and help.”

President of Pakistan, Gen Zia-ul-Haq also sent a congratulatory message to Dr Abdus Salam Sahib. At the end of the letter, he confessed that Dr Abdus Salam Sahib had achieved a great feat and made Pakistan proud. (Al Fazl, 17 October 1979, p. 1) 

16 October 1935: Hazrat Munshi Fayaz Ali^ra, who was among the early 313 Companions^ra of the Promised Messiah^as, passed away. He passed away in Delhi and was buried in Bahishti Maqbarah, Qadian. He was a very pious man with a close connection with God and at the time of his demise was 90 years of age. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 7, p. 276) 

16 October 1951: The first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated. In this critical situation, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra sent a telegram to the governor-general of Pakistan and expressed his grief over this assassination and stated that in this critical situation, Huzoor^ra and Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya would cooperate with the government and the public and ensured him of every possible service to the country. (Al Fazl, 19 October 1951, p. 1)

16 October 1970: On this date, an Ijtema of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Markaziyya was held. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh delivered the inaugural address. He mentioned the following attributes of a true khadim: 

• Of pleasant manners and cheerful 

• Knowledgeable 

• Generous 

• Modest 

• Humble 

• Compassionate 

• Pure 

• Consumer of that which is lawful 

• Truthful 

• Abstains from wrong

(Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 26, pp. 211-212)

16 October 1973: Naeem Ahmad Tahir Sahib, an MSc student of Talim-ul-Islam College, Rabwah, secured first position in physics at Punjab University and set a new record of high achievement. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 29, p. 431)

17 October 1925: A monthly magazine, Ahmadi, in Bangla language, from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India commenced its publication to spread the message of the Jamaat. This magazine was later published fortnightly. Maulvi Ghulam Samdani Sahib was its first editor.

Maulvi Daulat Ahmad Khan BA was the joint editor of the magazine. The assistant editor was Maulvi Abdul Hafiz Sahib. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 4, pp. 551-557)

17 October 1975: The ambassador of the Gambia to the UK met Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh in London. (Al Fazl, 5 November 1975, p. 6)

18 October 1956: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra addressed the gathering of the Ahmadiyya International Press Association. This was an organisation of Ahmadi journalists. Its president was Maulana Abul Ata Sahib, editor of the monthly Furqan newspaper. 

On this date, an important function was organised by this association in honour of Seith Abdullah Din Sahib and Muhammad Karimullah Sahib, the editor of Azad Nau Jawan. Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra also participated and addressed the gathering. In his address, Huzoor^ra stressed the need for passion and ambition in journalism. In light of his practical experience, he said, “I was just 14 or 15 years of age when I started publishing Tash-heez-ul-Azhan, and then, at the age of 24 or 25, I started Al Fazl.”

After shedding light on the initial difficulties and hard work in publishing these two publications, Huzoor^ra narrated several incidents of their popularity and high quality. He drew the attention of the youth and said that there was no reason why they could not fulfil their duty of service to religion by making progress in the field of journalism today and to work with such passion and determination. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 18, p. 237)

18 October 1980: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh inaugurated the Southall mission house, UK.

19 October 1973: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh encouraged Ahmadis outside of Pakistan to attend Jalsa Salana in the form of delegations so that they too could partake of the blessings associated with it. In this regard, in his Friday Sermon, he also directed the respective departments overseeing the Jalsa to make additional and necessary arrangements for guests. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 29, p. 276)

19 October 1980: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh led Eid-ul-Adha prayer in Masjid Fazl, London. 

20 October 1962: Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad^ra laid the foundation stone of Aiwan-e-Mahmud, the main building of Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya in Rabwah. In addition to the 2,000 delegates of the majalis of Pakistan, companions of the Promised Messiah^as were also present to attend this blessed ceremony. A total of 12 bricks were laid on this occasion. Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad^ra laid the first brick, on which Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra had prayed. The companions of the Promised Messiah^as also laid bricks. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 21, p. 519)

20 October 1978: The annual Ijtema of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Markaziyya (Central) and Lajna Imaillah was held. This Khuddam Ijtema took place after a gap of three years on the grounds of Dar-ul-Ulum. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh delivered the concluding address on the topic of “Our beliefs”. The attendance of khuddam was over 5,500. 479 khuddam attended the Ijtema by making their way on bicycles.

21 October 1956: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra directed Jamaat members to mark a day to be celebrated annually as Khilafat Day. Hence, 27 May was decided for this objective.

21 October 1966: This year’s Ijtema was the first markazi (central) gathering of the Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya and Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya during the blessed era of the third Khilafat. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 23, p. 585)