This Week in History: 31 March – 6 April

31 March 1906: On this day, the Promised Messiah’s^as prophecy, warning about an earthquake, was published on page 18 of the weekly newspaper Paisa Akhbar of Lahore. 100,000 copies of this newspaper were published.

31 March 1989: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh inaugurated an 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 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)

31 March 1996: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh visited Birmingham, UK. (Silsila-e-Ahmadiyya Vol. 4, p. 885) On this occasion, at least one question-answer session with non-Muslims from across the English Midlands was also held, which lasted for about two hours.

1 April 1901: The Promised Messiah^as was resolute in his efforts to spread the message of Islam to the Western world. To attain this grand goal, alongside other schemes, he desired to publish a magazine, to manage which, he formed an association by the name  Anjuman-Ishaat-e-Islam [Society for the Propagation of Islam]. It held its first meeting on this day. The association decided to name the magazine, “The Review of Religions”, which has been published to date. Hazrat Hakim Maulvi Nuruddin^ra was appointed the president of the Anjuman. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 2, p. 165)

1 April 1953: On this day, during the riots and agitation against Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya, Martial Law authorities arrested Hazrat Mirza Sharif Ahmad Sahib^ra and Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad Sahib^rh for their faith in Ahmadiyyat. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 15, p. 254)

1 April 1996: On this day, the Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) commenced its 24-hour broadcast, and to mark this momentous occasion, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh delivered a live address.

2 April 1989: In connection with the Jamaat’s centenary celebrations, on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh participated in a discussion at the studio of LBC Radio with the representatives of the Christian and Jewish faiths. (Silsila-e-Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 854)

3 April 1912: On this day, with the permission of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra, Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra commenced his journey to various places in India, at his own expense, along with a delegation of some scholars of the Jamaat. The places included Lucknow, Kanpur, Shahjahanpur, Rampur, Delhi, Saharanpur, and Deoband. During this tour, various religious madrasas were visited. This journey was to gather first-hand information about the institutions established to provide religious education. Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra set forth on this long trip to enhance the standards of education in Madrasa-e-Ahmadiyya Qadian. This delegation returned to Qadian on 29 April 1912. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 3, p. 392) 

3 April 1931: On this day, Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Shams^ra laid the foundation stone of the first Ahmadiyya mosque in Kababir, Haifa. It was named Mahmood Mosque. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 5, p. 313)

3 April 1987: During his Friday Sermon on this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh called on Ahmadi parents to devote the lives of their unborn children to the propagation of Islam Ahmadiyyat as he initiated the scheme of Waqf-e-Nau. For more details, see “A new era of servants for Islam” (Al Hakam, 3 April 2020, Issue 107, pp. 19 and 23)

3 April 2013: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa addressed a special reception held to celebrate the recent opening of the Baitur Rahman Mosque in Valencia, Spain. During his address, Huzoor^aa shed light on the true Islamic teachings of peace, justice and tolerance. Huzoor^aa said that he wished to reassure the Spanish people that the new mosque would be a source of peace and compassion. He said the mosque would foster a spirit of togetherness and unity within the society.

4 April 1917: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra issued a tract, titled “Zinda Khuda Ke Zabardast Nishan” – Living Sign of Living God. It was apropos to the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Promised Messiah^as about Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 4, p. 197)

4 April 1932: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra laid the foundation of the new neighbourhood of Darul Anwar in Qadian. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 6, p. 26)

4 April 2004: On this day, during his tour of Africa, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa reached Benin from Burkina Faso. It was the first time that any Khalifatul Masih visited the country. (Al Fazl International, 16 April 2004, p. 2)

5 April 1985: Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK held its 20^th Jalsa Salana at Islamabad, Tilford, which was attended by Ahmadis from 48 countries around the world. On this date, the three-day Jalsa Salana commenced. This was the first Jalsa Salana in Islamabad. The Jalsa was graced by the presence of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh, who delivered three addresses. There were 7,000 people in attendance altogether. (Silsila-e-Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 675)

5 April 1948: On this day, during his tour of Peshawar, Pakistan, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra delivered a lecture at the Special Government Hall, as part of a series of lectures titled “Istihkam-e-Pakistan” – Consolidation of Pakistan. The details of this series of lectures have already been published in our article, “‘The consolidation of Pakistan’: Lectures by Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad^ra on how Pakistan can see success”. (Al Hakam, 6 May 2022, Issue 216, pp. 10-13)

5 April 2004: On this day, during his tour of Benin, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa visited the Calavi Jamaat, where 1700 Ahmadis from 17 regions had come to meet Huzoor^aa. On his return to the capital, Porto-Novo, 800 Ahmadis were present there to meet him. On the same day, Huzoor^aa laid the foundation stone of a mosque there. At night, Huzoor^aa granted an audience to the Ahmadi doctors serving in Africa. (Al Fazl International, 16 April 2004, p. 2)

6 April 2004: On this day, during his tour of Benin, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa visited the northern areas of the country and granted audiences to Ahmadis there. Huzoor^aa also granted separate audiences to the kings of Allada and Dassa. Huzoor^aa then visited the third largest city in the country, Parakou, and members of the Jamaat had the opportunity to meet Huzoor^aa. (Al Fazl International, 16 April 2004, p. 3)