This Week in History: 31 May – 6 June

A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat

31 May 1934: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra delivered a lecture at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Hall in Lahore titled “Arabi Zuban ka Maqaam Alsina-e-Aalam mein” – The place of Arabic in languages, on request of Punjab Literary League. The session was presided over by Dr Barkat Ali Qureshi, Principal of Islamia College, Lahore. The Civil and Military Gazette of 2 June 1934, reported on this lecture under the heading “Arabic As Mother of All Languages”.

For more details, see “Magnificence of Arabic and need for religion: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s lectures in Lahore on request of Punjab Literary League, 1934” at alhakam.org (1 March 2024, p. 12).

31 May 1991: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh delivered his Friday Sermon at the Nasir Mosque in Paramaribo, Suriname, and called the attention of the jamaats to make arrangements so that members could listen to the Friday Sermons of the Khalifatul Masih. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Vol. 10, p. 457)

1 June 1957: The magazine, Tashheez-ul-Azhan started its publication as an organ of Majlis Atfal-ul-Ahmadiyya Markaziyya in Pakistan. Previously, it was a rich research journal, on oriental and religious topics, founded by Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad^ra, from Qadian. 

For more details about the history of this magazine, see: “Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad: The young editor of Tashheez-ul-Azhan” at alhakam.org (16 February 2024, pp. 8-9).

1 June 1974: At the onset of the systematic riots of 1974, on this single day, the following seven Ahmadis succumbed to their injury and brutal torture at the hands of opponents of Jamaat in Pakistan: Saeed Ahmad Khan, Qureshi Ahmad Ali, Shaukat Hayat, Manzoor Ahmad, Mahmud Ahmad, Muhammad Afzal and Muhammad Ashraf of Gurjanwala. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Babat Shuhada, pp. 140-145)

2 June 1941: On this day, a newspaper, Riasat of Delhi, commended Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s^ra speech in relation to the chaos in Iraq, that he delivered on All-India Radio Station. Mentioning the inappropriate reaction from the Indian leaders to these happenings, it wrote:

“In the presence of such an ignorant flattery by the country’s leadership and chiefs of states, the moral courage, great character, and honesty of the religious leader of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat of Qadian would be received with great interest and pleasure, which he had expressed during a radio speech last week.”

For more details, see “Justice demands independence of Arab lands: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s speech on All India Radio amidst Iraq disturbance in 1941”, at alhakam.org (8 March 2024, pp. 14-15).

2 June 1974: During the series of coordinated attacks on the lives and properties of Ahmadis, on this day, the following four Ahmadis embraced martyrdom in Gurjanwala: Bashir Ahmad, Munir Ahmad, Muhammad Ramdhan, Ghulam Qadir, Inayat-Ullah and Muhammad Iqbal. On the same day, the Ahmadiyya mosque in Lala Musa was ransacked, moreover, the houses and livelihood of Ahmadis in Burewala, district Vihari, were also looted by a charged anti-Ahmadiyya mob. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3, p. 293; Khutbat-e-Tahir, Babat Shuhada, pp. 145-148)

3 June 1974: During the riots of 1974, on this day, 12 shops and businesses owned by Ahmadis were looted in Jhang, Pakistan. (Daily Al Fazl, 6 March 2003, p. 2)

4 June 1974: An Ahmadi Muhammad Ilyas Arif Sahib was martyred in Wah Cantt on this day. On this same day, the miscreants torched the Ahmadiyya library and the study centre of Mardan. (Khutbat-e-Tahir, Babat Shuhada, p. 148; Daily Al Fazl, 6 March 2003, p. 2)

4 June 1978: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh delivered the concluding address at the Deliverance From the Cross Conference in London. Earlier on 2 June, this conference with an extraordinary topic for the Christian world was inaugurated by Hazrat Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan^ra. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3, p. 607)

4 June 1987: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh delivered his lecture titled “Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge, & Truth”. Huzoor^rh was in Zurich, Switzerland, when Professor Karl Henking, Professor of Ethnology, at the University of Zurich, invited him to deliver a lecture. The students, evidently intrigued by the title, thronged Oule (the great auditorium), which became filled to capacity so that additional arrangements had to be made in another hall with provisions for relaying the proceedings through television screens and loudspeakers.

4 June 2014: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa laid the foundation stone for the first Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque in Wiesbaden, Germany, which was named the Mubarak Mosque. More than 400 guests attended the ceremony, including various dignitaries. Huzoor^aa inaugurated this mosque on 14 October 2019. (“Foundation Stone for New Mosque laid by Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community”  www.pressahmadiyya.com)

5 June 1930: On this day, The Times of India published details of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s^ra letter to the then Viceroy of India, dated 2 May 1930, wherein he outlined proposals in relation to the establishment of peace and harmony within the country.

For more details, see “A letter to the Viceroy, 1930: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s efforts in preventing Indian Muslims from indulging in agitation and violence”, at alhakam.org (5 May 2023).

5 June 1998: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh advised Ahmadis during MTA’s Urdu Class to avoid the usage of certain types of aluminium utensils, owing to their hidden hazardous effects on the human body. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 894)

6 June 1974: On this day, it was reported that the factories and houses of two Ahmadis were set on fire in Sargodha, Pakistan, due to the ongoing unrest targeted against Ahmadis. (Daily Al Fazl, 6 March 2003, p. 2)

6 June 1994: Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh emphasised the need for organised research on honey by Ahmadi scholars. Due to its significant benefits, Huzoor^rh reiterated this advice on several occasions, such as on 17 October 1995, and 31 March 2000. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 4, p. 879)