This Week in History: 5-11 January

A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat

5 January 1900: On this day, Mirza Imam Din, a cousin of the Promised Messiah^as, began to erect a brick wall to block the lane that led to the Mubarak Mosque from the south in Qadian. The wall was completed by 7 January. Huzoor’s^as visitors and guests were all very much inconvenienced. If they wanted to offer prayers in the mosque or see him, they had to take a long route with which they were not familiar. The direct and most frequented way was then  completely blocked. (Life of Ahmad, p. 698)

5 January 1945: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra instructed that every Ahmadi family must ensure that at least one person from their family devoted their lives to serving the Jamaat.

Huzoor^ra explained that the work of tabligh and spreading religion could not solely be done with finances; the efforts of people were also required. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 26, p. 1)

5 January 2018: The then leader of the Liberal Democrats Party, Sir Vince Cable MP, visited the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, UK, where he met Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa on this day. Also present at the meeting was Sir Edward Davey, MP. Following the conclusion of their audience with Huzoor^aa, Sir Vince Cable and Sir Edward Davey were given a tour of the Baitul Futuh Mosque complex. (“Leader of Liberal Democrats Visits Baitul Futuh Mosque to Meet Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)

6 January 1920: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra announced the collection of chanda for the London Mosque. On the next morning, Huzoor^ra added that chanda should be collected from the Ahmadi women too. Ahmadis showed great zeal towards the appeal and by 10 June, 78,500 rupees were collected in cash. (Tarikh Masjid Fazl London by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ismael, 1929, pp. 20-21)

6 January 1945: On this day, Hazrat Hafiz Mirza Nasir Ahmad^rh, then principal of Talim-ul-Islam College, was elected as a member of the academic council of Punjab University for 1945-46. The principals of the concerned intermediate colleges elected him unanimously.

As soon as Talim-ul-Islam College was established, its reputation grew due to its teaching standards. This had an effect not only on the province of Punjab but also on the whole country. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 9, p. 63)

7 January 1910: On this day, Hazrat Mir Qasim Ali^ra, a companion of the Promised Messiah^as, launched his paper Al Haq from Delhi. The name of the newspaper was granted by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra.  (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 3, p. 313)

7 January 1938: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra delivered a Friday Sermon from the Aqsa Mosque in Qadian, which was relayed through loudspeakers for the first time. On this occasion, Huzoor^ra also predicted that a day would come when a dars of the Holy Quran and hadith would be delivered from Qadian and simultaneously listened to across the world. The loudspeaker that was used on this date was donated by a devout member of the Jamaat from the North-West Frontier (NWF) region of the Indian subcontinent, Khan Muhammad Khan Sahib. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 7, p. 539)

7 January 2017: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa inaugurated the Baitul Ehsan Mosque in Mitcham, London. In addition to the prayer halls, the five-story building holds conference rooms, offices, and various other facilities. (“Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Inaugurates New Mosque in Mitcham, London”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)

8 January 1932: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra initiated a remarkable scheme for the propagation of Islam Ahmadiyyat and added that every year, there should be a large number of people entering the Jamaat from around the world. To achieve this noble goal, Huzoor^ra also stressed that Jamaat members had to unite, bridging any internal rifts. (Al Fazl, 14 January 1932)

8 January 1937: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra predicted the looming Second World War during his Friday Sermon on this day and stressed the need for fervent prayers. It should be noted that these were warnings from almost two years before the outbreak of World War II in which Huzoor^ra explained the intensity of the situation the world was in at the time. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 18, p.6)

9 January 1970: On this day, while delivering his Friday sermon, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh expressed his desire that Jamaat should establish its state-of-the-art printing press and a radio station. (Khutbat-e-Nasir, Vol. 4, pp. 11-29)

10 January 1903: On this day, Maulvi Sanaullah of Amritsar reached Qadian. He was a Muslim cleric and a leading figure within the Ahl-e-Hadith movement. He was also a major antagonist of the Promised Messiah^as. He served as the general secretary of Markazi Jami‘at Ahl-e-Hadith Hind from 1906 to 1947 and was the editor of Ahl-e-Hadees. (Malfuzat, Vol. 2, 1988, p. 683)

10 January 1962: Morarji Desai, Finance Minister of India, while on a visit to Batala, was presented with some literature of the Jamaat by an Ahmadi delegation, on this day. He later became the fourth prime minister of India. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 21, p. 606)

10 January 1968: Due to Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr, which was in December 1967, the previous year’s Jalsa had not been held. Thus, on this date, Jalsa Salana was held. During the night between 10 and 11 January, bakers, who were hired to prepare rotis (Indian flat bread) for the Jalsa Langar went on strike. Huzoor^rh appealed to every Ahmadi to eat only one roti. The total attendance was 100,000. Thus, even this roguish ploy could not hinder the programme of Jalsa Salana and all the programmes, by the grace of Allah, took place as planned. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 24, p. 465)

11 January 1935: The Jamaat was on scarce budgets and on this day Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra expressed the need for 16 bicycles to aid in a survey project around Qadian. The survey was to improve future tabligh activities. Jamaat members responded with passion and a very large number of bicycles were donated. (Al Fazl Qadian, 24 January 1935)

11 January 2005: On this day, during his tour of Spain, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa visited Gibraltar and granted an audience to its governor. (Al Fazl International, 25 February 2005, pp. 11-12)