This Week in History: 29 March – 4 April

A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat

29 March 2004: On this day, during his tour of Burkina Faso, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa visited the Humanity First Centre in Ouagadougou and granted audiences to the local mayor, Ouadragou Zakaria, and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Salif Dialo. (Al Fazl International, 9 April 2004, p. 8)

29 March 2013: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa inaugurated the Baitur Rahman Mosque in Valencia, Spain. It was the second mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Spain, after the Basharat Mosque in Pedro Abad. The construction of the mosque cost 1.2 million euros. (Al Fazl, 19 April 2013, p. 5)

30 March 1905: On this day, the Promised Messiah^as appointed Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq^ra as the editor of Al Badr [later Badr] after the demise of Hazrat Babu Muhammad Afzal^ra. (Malfuzat [1988], Vol. 4, p. 251)

30 March 1984: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh encouraged members of the Jamaat who had retired from their jobs to devote their lives to the service of the Jamaat as waqifeen, to cater for the ever-expanding needs of Jamaat projects. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 3, p. 173)

31 March 1972: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh inaugurated Masjid Aqsa, Rabwah, with the Friday prayer. For more details, see “Masjid Aqsa, Rabwah”, at alhakam.org (22 October 2021, pp. 10-11).

31 March 1989: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh inaugurated the Ahmadiyya mission house in Galway, South Ireland, which he announced in his Friday Sermon. It was the first journey of Huzoor^rh in the second century of the Jamaat. In the evening, a special reception was also held to mark the occasion, where many dignitaries participated. (Khutbat-e-Tahir. Vol. 8, p. 203; Silsila-e-Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 854) In 2014, Jamaat saw its further expansion in Ireland with the opening of Maryam Mosque in Galway by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V^aa.

31 March 1995: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh while expounding on the system of Shura, directed relevant offices to translate and publish the system of Shura in different languages. (Khutbat-e-Tahir. Vol. 14, p. 211)

1 April 1953: On this day, the Martial Law authorities of Pakistan arrested Hazrat Mirza Sharif Ahmad^ra and Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad^rh in Lahore, falsely accusing them of holding unauthorised arms. Following an imprisonment of about two months, both were acquitted by the courts, which found no evidence of criminal activity. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 15, p. 254)

2 April 1935: On this day, the Lahore High Court issued a ruling against the implementation of Section 144 in Qadian, which was imposed amidst the anti-Ahmadiyya agitation from the Ahrar. This meant that local Ahmadi were not allowed to move freely in town. On the next day, The Civil and Military Gazette wrote:

“The restrictions which were imposed upon the residents of Qadian by the District Magistrate of Gurdaspur under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and which remained in force from 30 January to 30 March last were invalid, according to a judgement delivered by Mr Justice Currie of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday.”

For more details, see “Historical analysis of Ahrar’s anti-Ahmadiyya agitation – Part 2”, at alhakam.org (13 October 2023, p. 14).

2 April 1950: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra addressed the convocation ceremony of the Talim-ul-Islam College Lahore.

A day prior, The Civil and Military Gazette wrote, “Convocation and Prize Distribution of Talim-ul-Islam College, Lahore, 11:30 am, College Hall. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Head of the Ahmadiyya Community, will deliver the address.”

The same newspaper published a detailed report of this event in its 3 April issue and published a photograph of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra in its 5 April issue.

For further details, see “Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s address at Talim-ul-Islam College Convocation, 1950”, at alhakam.org (8 September 2023, p. 14).

3 April 1931: On this day, Hazrat Maulvi Jalaluddin Shams^ra laid the foundation of the Mahmood Mosque in Kababir, which is the first Ahmadiyya mosque in the Arab world.

For further details, see “Pioneer Missionaries: Part 15 – Some early milestones of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Holy Land”, at alhakam.org (22 December 2023, p. 6).

3 April 1987: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh initiated the blessed Waqf-e-Nau scheme, after receiving divine guidance from Allah the Almighty. He called on Ahmadi parents to devote the lives of their unborn children to the propagation of Islam Ahmadiyyat.

For more details, see “A new era of servants for Islam”, at alhakam.org (3 April 2020, p. 19).

4 April 1923: On this day, the third delegation of 22 missionaries departed from Qadian to prevent the apostasy of Malkana Muslims under the influence of the Shuddhi Movement initiated by the Arya Samaj.

For further details, see “Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s response to the Shuddhi movement and the Jamaat’s relentless services for Islam”, and “Shuddhi Movement: Third Ahmadiyya Tabligh Delegation to Agra” at alhakam.org.

4 April 1970: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh embarked on a tour of West African countries. At the end of his visit, Huzoor^ra arrived in London, and during his Friday Sermon on 22 May 1970, announced the heavenly “Nusrat Jehan Reserve Fund” scheme. He disclosed that he had been directed by Allah that the Jamaat should arrange £100,000 for hospitals and schools in West Africa.

For further details, see “Nusrat Jehan Scheme: Khilafat’s impetus for ‘Africa to Leap Forward’ – A glimpse into the early years (1970-1982)”, at alhakam.org (27 May 2022, p. 16).