A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat
19 December 1965: On this day, the first Jalsa Salana of the Khilafat of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh commenced in Rabwah, continuing until 21 December. Despite some really challenging circumstances, the total attendance at the Jalsa reached 80,000. The event was prominently reported in the national news bulletin of Radio Pakistan. During his address, Huzoorrh gave the following motto to khuddam:
تیرى عاجزانہ راہیں اس كو پسند آئیں۔
“He is pleased with your humble ways.” (Tadhkirah, Qadian, India, 2019, p. 961)
In the women’s session of Jalsa, speeches by Hazrat Syeda Maryam Siddiqua (Choti Apa) and Sayyida Mehr Apa were played via tape recordings. During this Jalsa, with Huzoor’srh permission, Hazrat Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarulla Khanra presented the proposal for the Fazl-e-Umar Foundation to the Jamaat members. He called for a reserve fund of 2.5 million rupees, and within a single day, pledges amounting to 1.5 million rupees were made. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 23, p. 326)
19 December 1991: On this day, during his tour of India, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh reached Amritsar from Delhi by a train named the Shan-e-Punjab Express. In Amritsar, Huzoorrh boarded a local train and reached Qadian at 7 pm. Thus, for the first time after the partition of India in 1947, the blessed presence of Khalifatul Masih was witnessed again in Qadian. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 868)
20 December 1895: On this day, the Promised Messiah’sas book, Nur-ul-Quran Part II, was published by Zia-ul-Islam Press, Qadian. Fateh Masih, a Christian missionary stationed at Fatehgarh, Gurdaspur, India, had written two letters to the Promised Messiahas, in which he resorted to offensive language regarding the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa. He spoke scurrilously about the Prophet’ssa marriages, character, and the Islamic concept of paradise. In response, the Promised Messiahas authored the second part of Nur-ul-Quran. The book comprised approximately 80 pages. (Maktubat-e-Ahmad, Vol. 1, p. 179)
21 December 1921: Tazkirat-ul-Mahdi, authored by Hazrat Pir Siraj-ul-Haq Sahibra, is a very fine and beneficial treatise, which contains the accounts and sayings of the Promised Messiahas. On this day, the second part of this book was presented to Hazrat Khalifatul Masihra. Examining it, Huzoorra said, “[Having good memory] is also an innate ability. Pir Sahib has a natural gift of committing events to memory. He remembers [the details] to such an extent that it seems as if he even remembers the actual words.” (Al Fazl, 20 February 1922, p. 7)
21 December 1944: On this day, based on one of his visions, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra directed the Jamaat to thoroughly study the emerging Communist movement and formulate counterarguments against it.
Huzoorra instructed the Jamaat’s scholars, jurists, teachers, professors, life devotees, and students of Madrasa-e-Ahmadiyya and Jamia Ahmadiyya to study the Communist movement critically and comprehensively. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 8, p. 573)
22 December 1936: King Edward VIII announced his abdication. On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra said that this abdication was a manifestation of the prophecy about the rise and fall of Christianity.
For more details, see “The abdication of Edward VIII: An Islamic take on the crisis that shook the Crown” at www.alhakam.org (4 December 2020, issue no. 142, pp. 8-11).
23 December 1959: In December 1959, Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations, visited Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, during his official tour of African countries. On this day, Maulana Muhammad Siddiq Amritsari Sahib, the Missionary-in-Charge of the Ahmadiyya Mission in Liberia, had the opportunity to meet him and present him with a copy of the English translation of the Holy Quran and other Jamaat literature. (Ruh Parwer Yadain, p. 534)
To read more about his missionary activities, see: “Pioneer Missionaries: Part 4 – Taking Ahmadiyyat’s message to the highest echelons of society” at alhakam.org (11 November 2022, pp. 10-11).
23 December 2005: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa delivered his Friday sermon from the jalsa gah in Qadian, which was the first time that a live transmission from the jalsa gah of Qadian was broadcast throughout the world. During his Friday sermon, Huzooraa granted valuable guidance to the volunteers and guests of Jalsa Salana Qadian. (Khutbat-e-Masroor, Vol. 3, pp. 731-746 )
24 December 1902: In this day’s issue of Al Hakam (24 December 1902, pp. 11–12), it was reported, “On the night between 21 and 22 December, which was the first night of the last ten nights of Ramadan, the Promised Messiahas received the revelation:
يَأْتِيْ عَلَيْكَ زَمَنٌ كَمِثْلِ زَمَنِ مُوْسٰی
“[A time is coming for you which will be like the time of Moses.]
“The Promised Messiahas said, ‘I have not received this revelation before during this period of 24 or 25 years, even though I have been given the name Musa [Moses] several times in divine revelations.” (Tadhkirah, Qadian, India, 2019, p. 605)
25 December 1907: On this day, the staff of Tashheez-ul-Azhan held a meeting in Qadian. This initiative was inspired by Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad’sra vision to provide like-minded individuals with a platform to discuss ways to propagate the message of Islam.
The meeting commenced after Zuhr prayer, beginning with Hafiz Abdur Rahim Sahib’s presentation of the yearly report. This was followed by various speeches and poems. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, while describing the state of affairs, drew the youth’s attention to their responsibilities and duties.
The meeting concluded with a speech by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 2, p. 508)
To read more about the history of Tashheez, see: “Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad: The young editor of Tashheez-ul-Azhan” at alhakam.org (16 February 2024, pp. 8-9).
25 December 1946: Dr Oscar Brunler was a renowned German inventor, as he was a multifaceted genius, with 49 patents accredited to his name. Oscar Brunler visited Qadian in 1946. On this day, Al Fazl reported that Brunler read an academic article on the subject of religion and science. This session was held in the presence and under the presidency of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra at the Mubarak Mosque in Qadian.
To learn more about Oscar Brunlar and this visit and lecture, see: “Coming from every distant track: Dr Oscar Brunler visits Qadian and presents research at Mubarak Mosque” www.alhakam.org (20 October 2023, pp. 8-9).