A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat
19 July 1935: On 31 May 1935, a deadly earthquake hit Quetta, British India. This earthquake was not only the worst in the Balochistan province, but the whole of the Indian subcontinent at the time.
On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra wrote a booklet on this subject and presented this earthquake to be a grand sign in fulfilment of the Promised Messiah’sas truth.
To read the English rendering of this book, see “The Quetta Earthquake – A Mighty Divine Sign”, www.alislam.org.
20 July 1891:The Promised Messiah’sas written debate with Maulvi Muhammad Hussain of Batala commenced on this day in Ludhiana. It continued for the next ten days. It was later published in book form under the title, Al Haqq: Mubahatha Ludhiana, from Sialkot. It was through Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karim Sialkoti’sra efforts that it saw publication through his magazine, Al Haqq (Sialkot). (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 1, p. 408)
20 July 1984: In response to the White Paper issued by the military government of Pakistan, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh started his series of Friday Sermons on this day, which continued until 17 May 1985. The collection of these sermons was later published in book form under the title of “Zahaqa al-Batil”. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 3, p. 375)
21 July 1967: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh inaugurated the Nusrat Jahan Mosque in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was the first mosque in Denmark. The inaugural ceremony was not only aired on Danish television, but also in other European countries and some Islamic countries showed great interest in this ceremony, especially Saudi Arabia, where the visuals of this ceremony were shown on television twice. They showed the building of the mosque, the inaugural address, and the first Friday Sermon. The ceremony was also shown on television channels in West Germany, which was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. Moreover, Morocco’s Radio broadcast the news of this event in its news bulletins three times. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 24, p. 118)
21 July 2006: During his Friday Sermon on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa said that the then President of Sierra Leone, Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, had come to offer the Friday prayer at the Baitul Futuh Mosque. Huzooraa introduced the distinguished guest and said that he had expressed his desire to offer the Jumuah prayer here. Huzooraa prayed that Allah the Almighty may fulfil his pious wishes, reward him and establish lasting peace and security in his country. Huzooraa also graced a reception held in honour of the distinguished guest. (Al Fazl, London, 11 August 2006, p. 5)
22 July 1955: On this day, the first-ever international conference of the Ahmadi missionaries commenced in London, presided over by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra. On 23 July, the Civil and Military Gazette reported on this, titled “Conference of Muslim Mission of Europe and America Begins.”
For more details, see “First-ever international conference of Ahmadiyya missionaries, London, 1955”, at alhakam.org (21 July 2023, p. 16).
22 July 1974: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIIrh read out the Jamaat’s statement in the National Assembly of Pakistan, and the question-and-answer session began, which continued until 24 August.
During these sessions, Huzoorrh was questioned for almost 52 hours in the National Assembly of Pakistan. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3, p. 339)
22 July 2016:
On this day, Chris Grayling MP, the then Secretary of State for Transport, UK, had the opportunity to meet Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa at the Baitul Futuh Mosque, London. (“Transport Secretary visits Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)
23 July 1938: Two Christian missionaries from Spain and Belgium reached Qadian and had an audience with Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra on this day. One guest was Mr Pareja MA, who was from Spain and had graduated from Cambridge. He was a professor at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. The other guest was Mr Francis. He was from Belgium and was posted in the Amritsar area. Before meeting with Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra and having the opportunity to ask him various questions, the guests were shown various institutions and offices of the Jamaat in Qadian. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 7, p. 545)
23 July 1999: On this day, during his Friday Sermon, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IVrh spoke about Abdul Rashid Sharif Sahib. He was born in Palestine in 1941 and his martyrdom took place in 1998.
For more details see: “Stories of sacrifice and service: Abdul Rashid Sharif Shaheed” at alhakam.org (27 October 2023, p. 17).
24 July 1899: On this day, Al Hakam published a speech of the Promised Messiahas, wherein he commended Captain Douglas and said:
“In standing for justice and supporting the oppressed, he demonstrated an example of such excellence that I sincerely hope all the esteemed officials in our government forever uphold this lofty example of justice—a perfect example of equity which even leaves behind the justice of Nusherwan.”
For more details, see “Montagu William Douglas’ visits to the Fazl Mosque London in 1936 and 1939”, at alhakam.org (29 March 2024, p. 12).
24 July 1955: On this day, during his second tour of Europe, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra, along with Hazrat Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khanra and other members, visited Kew Gardens, London.
25 July 1912: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira laid the foundation stone of a new building for Talim-ul-Islam High School in Qadian. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 3, p. 312)
25 July 1931:
On this day, the All-India Kashmir Committee was formed and Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra was unanimously elected its first president.
For more details, see “Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s services to the Muslim cause: Guidance for Turkey, peace in the Arab world and the Kashmir Movement”, at alhakam.org (19 February 2021, pp. 41-44).