This Week in History: 7-13 July

A glimpse into the rich history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat

7 July 1900: On this day, the Promised Messiah^as issued an announcement regarding his view about the Islamic concept of Jihad, addressing the Viceroy of India. In the appendix to his book The British Government and Jihad, Huzoor^as spoke about his noble and educated following in India. After putting forward the logical and balanced teachings of Islam regarding other religions, Hazrat Ahmad^as also drew the attention of the Viceroy towards the inappropriate activities and provocative and disturbing publications of Christian priests in the Indian subcontinent. (The British Government and Jihad, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 17, pp. 23-34)

7 July 1972: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh announced a five-year scheme to publish a million copies of the Holy Quran’s translation. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 28, p. 107)

7 July 1989: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh inaugurated the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Los Angeles, USA. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Part 4, p. 122)

8 July 1935: On this day, Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Sharif Ahmad^ra was attacked by an opponent. Mischievous activities by the Ahrar were on the rise, and the situation was turning tense and gruesome even in Qadian during those days. It was around 6pm, when he set off from his office on his bicycle for his residence, that someone attacked him with a long and sharp club three times. Hazrat Mirza Sharif Ahmad^ra courageously blocked this sudden assault with sharp reflexes. In his Friday Sermon of 12 July 1935, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra detailed this incident and informed the Jamaat about the conspiracy behind this cruel event. (Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 16, pp. 401-421)

9 July 1957: During his Eid-ul-Adha sermon on this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra hinted at a new scheme, which was later named “Waqf-e-Jadid”. The primary objective of this scheme was to look after the spiritual upbringing of the Jamaat members living in rural areas. The secondary objective was to propagate the message of Islam to the Hindu population of the country. For more details, see “A chronology of Waqf-e-Jadid’s early years (1957-1965)”, Al Hakam, 25 December 2020, Issue 145, pp. 12-14.

9 July 2010: During his Friday Sermon on this day, upon the completion of a series of sermons dedicated to the Lahore Martyrs, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa mentioned them collectively and instructed the Jamaat to remember them in prayers.

10 July 1885: A very unique heavenly sign was shown to the Promised Messiah^as on this day. Hazrat Ahmad^as, in his book Surma Chashm-e-Arya, writes:

“I remember that on one occasion, in a state of vision, I saw that I had written certain divine decrees with my own hand setting out events in the future and then presented the paper to Allah the All-Powerful, Gloried be His name, for His signature. […] To the same Peerless and Self-Sufficient Being – Who manifested His attribute of Beauty to my mind in the state of vision and appeared to be God, the All-Powerful – I presented the document containing divine decrees for attestation. And He, Who was manifesting Himself in the form of a Ruler, dipped His pen in red ink and first flicked it in my direction and with the rest of the red ink which remained at the point of the pen He put His signature to the document. 

“Thereupon, the state of vision came to an end and when I opened my eyes to look at the material world around me, I witnessed several red drops falling on my clothes. Two or three of the drops also fell on the cap of one Abdullah of Sanor (Patiala State) who was, at the time, sitting close to me. Thus, the red ink which was part of the vision materialised externally and became visible. Many other such manifestations have been witnessed, but it would take too long to relate them.” (Surma Chashm-e-Arya, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 2, pp. 179-180 footnote)

For more details on this incident, see “The miraculous Sign of Red Drops in Ramadan”, Al Hakam, 22 April 2022, Issue 214, pp. 10-11.

10 July 1931: During his Friday Sermon on this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra advised the Ahmadi authors to adopt the Promised Messiah’s^as style of writing. (“Master writing and speaking for the spread of Islam: Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’s advice to Ahmadis”, Al Hakam, 3 February 2023, Issue 255, p. 8)

11 July 1915: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra delivered a lecture in Lahore, which was later published as Paigham-e-Masih-e-Maud. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 4, p. 175)

11 July 1967: On this day, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III^rh graced with his presence a reception in Zurich, Switzerland, which was attended by ambassadors of seven countries and other dignitaries. The Swiss Radio broadcast Huzoor’s^rh interview as well, and the television also showed some glimpses of Huzoor’s^rh interview and the reception on the same evening. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 24, p. 88)

11 July 1989: On this day, during his tour of Fiji, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV^rh granted audiences to the president and prime minister of  Fiji. (Silsila Ahmadiyya, Part 4, p. 857)

11 July 2015: The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, visited Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa at the Fazl Mosque in London on this day. During the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked Huzoor^aa for his continued efforts towards promoting world peace and for sending a humanitarian relief team to Tuvalu following Cyclone Pam earlier that year. (“Prime Minister of Tuvalu visits Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in London”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)

12 July 1924: On this day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra sent Shahzada Abdul Majeed Khan Sahib to Iran with the aim of establishing a mission. He was accompanied by Maulvi Zahur Hussain Sahib and Muhammad Amin Khan Sahib. Both were assigned the task of spreading the message of peace in the Bukhara region. On the same day, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra also set out for his tour of Europe, the first journey of a Khalifatul Masih outside of the Indian subcontinent. (Tarikh-e-Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 4, p. 432)

13 July 1931: On this day, dozens of Kashmiri Muslims were killed, and many suffered severe injuries as a result of the inhumane treatment by the local police. Upon this, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra sent a telegram to the Viceroy of India, notifying him of the situation and giving him details as to how the Muslims of Kashmir were being oppressed. (“Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad’s^ra services to the Muslim cause: Guidance for Turkey, peace in the Arab world and the Kashmir Movement”, Al Hakam, 19 February 2021, Issue 153, p. 42)