Islam compared with Biblical and Modern Concepts of War (Episode 3)

Biblical Concepts of Holy War

After quoting the above beautiful paragraph which summarize the of concept of Holy War or Jihad in Islam and also the teaching of Muhammad (s) about the Jihad now I would like to present you the biblical concepts of Jihad or Holy War, I will try to provide some references from the Bible about the Israelite’s and Christen teachings.

First Extract:

“But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. (Numbers 33 Verse 55)”

In this verse, a strange and rather cruel teaching is mentioned that you are supposed to drive out the inhabitants of the land.

Second Extract:

“Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet; ²⁹ (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us. ³⁰ But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. ³¹ And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. ³² Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. ³³ And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. ³⁴ And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:” (Deuteronomy 2 from verses 28 to 35)

One can easily understand what they did to their opponents. And strange thing is that it is mentioned that God made the heart of that kind obstinate.

Third Extract:

“And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. ³ So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. ⁴ And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵ All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. ⁶ And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city” (Deuteronomy 3) from verses 2 to 6.

What kind of enmity is this that they kept on killing those people; even they killed all of the innocent men, women, and children. It is clearly mentioned here, they destroyed the whole city. Now can anyone claim that this teaching is based on Justice?

Islam compared with Biblical and Modern Concepts of War (Episode 2)

Islamic or The Prophet’s (s) Precepts About War

This part has been taken from the Book of Hadrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (Second Successor to the Promised Messiah, peace be on whom)

Muslim teaching, however, does not consist only of precepts laid down in the Qur’an. It also includes the precepts and example of the Prophet sa. What he did or what he taught in concrete situations is also an essential part of the Islamic teaching. We append here some sayings of the Prophet sa on the subject of war and peace.

(i) Muslims are forbidden altogether to mutilate the dead (Muslim).

(ii) Muslims are forbidden to resort to cheating (Muslim).

(iii) Children are not to be killed, nor women (Muslim).

(iv) Priests and religious functionaries and religious leaders are not to be interfered with (Tahavi).

(v) The old and decrepit and women and children are not to be killed. The possibility of peace should always be kept in view (Abu Dawud).

(vi) When Muslims enter enemy territory, they should not strike terror into the general population. They should permit no ill treatment of common folk (Muslim).

(vii) A Muslim army should not camp in a place where it causes inconvenience to the general public. When it marches it should take care not to block the road nor cause discomfort to other wayfarers.

(viii) No disfigurement of face is to be permitted (Bukhari and Muslim).

(ix) The least possible losses should be inflicted upon the enemy (Abu Dawud).

(x) When prisoners of war are put under guard, those closely related should be placed together (Abu Dawud).

(xi) Prisoners should live in comfort. Muslims should care more for the comfort of their prisoners than for their own (Tirmidhi).

(xii) Emissaries and delegates from other countries should be held in great respect. Any mistakes or discourtesies they commit should be ignored (Abu Dawud, Kitab al jihad).

(xiii) If a Muslim commits the sin of ill treating a prisoner of war, atonement is to be made by releasing the prisoner without ransom.

(xiv) When a Muslim takes charge of a prisoner of war, the latter is to be fed and clothed in the same way as the Muslim himself (Bukhari).

The Holy Prophet sa was so insistent on these rules for a fighting army that he declared that whoever did not observe these rules, would fight not for God but for his own mean self (Abu Dawud).

Abu Bakr ra, the First Khalifa of Islam, supplemented these commands of the Prophet sa by some of his own. One of these commands appended here also constitutes part of the Muslim teaching:

(xv) Public buildings and fruit-bearing trees (and food crops) are not to be damaged (Mu’atta).

From the sayings of the Prophet sa and the commands of the First Khalifa of Islam it is evident that Islam has instituted steps which have the effect of preventing or stopping a war or reducing its evil. As we have said before, the principles which Islam teaches are not pious precepts only; they have their practical illustration in the example of the Prophet sa and the early Khalifas of Islam. As all the world knows, the Prophet sa not only taught these principles; he practised them and insisted on their observance.

Turning to our own time we must say that no other teaching seems able to solve the problem of war and peace. The teaching of Moses as is far from our conceptions of justice and fair-play. Nor is it possible to act upon that teaching today. The teaching of Jesus as is impracticable and has ever been so. Never in their history have Christians tried to put this teaching into practice. Only the teaching of Islam is practicable; one which has been both preached and practised by its exponents, and the practice of which can create and maintain peace in the world.

Islam compared with Biblical and Modern Concepts of War (Episode 1)

Islam and Prophet Muhammad (s) are always blame for their teaching about Holy War, not even this accusers also blame the Holy Book of Islam that it actually promote the killing of innocent peoples. The problem is that nobody really try to know and understand the rules which Muhammad (s) made for these Holy War. In this Article I will try to provide some Comparative references from the Islamic rules and teaching about Warfare and Biblical and modern rules and teaching about Warfare so people can compare both religion on the basis of teaching of Holy War. First of all I would like to to explain the War and Holy War and then Islamic and Quranic concept of wars and the ethical code and practice of Muhammad (s) according to his own teachings and practice. Then I will discus and show to the reader that what are the teachings and concepts and practice of war according to bible and modern society (so called developed and well manners society).

The difference between a “War” and a “Holy War” indeed lies in the word “Holy”. Now, different religions regard different deeds and actions to be consider as “Holy”. The concept of Holy War is indeed common in many religions; rather one should say that it is common in the world’s renowned religions of the time. It is indeed a very unjust statement that Islam is the only religion on this planet today which believes in the Holy War.

I am not going to discuss the concept of Jihad in Islam in this article in detail. Rather people should consult other literature that is available on Jihad on http://www.alislam.org/terrorism.html but one thing which I would like to mention here is that Islam presents the concept of Jihad, which does not only and necessarily mean the Holy War. Jihad means to strive and to struggle. So, this is a very beautiful teaching that one should always believe in Jihad, not against people, but first against oneself. Always in a struggle and strive to make oneself a better human, a human closer to God, lessening the worldly desires, increasing the spiritual levels is Jihad. Jihad against poverty, Jihad against illiteracy, moral and spiritual descend of oneself and others are the few examples Jihad. This is the primary teaching of Jihad according to Islam. And in my opinion, this concept is also present in all other religions. Because those religions teach the people how to become a better human being, as it does not really matter what you name it exactly. And if any religion does not have this concept, I don’t think any reason to follow that religion. Because if any religion does not present any teaching to make human better, then what is the need of believing in such a religion.

Islam, in one time, did state that the followers must raise the sword against the people who raised the sword against them. Muslims did indulge in wars at times. But allow me to say that, all of those wars used to be defensive in their nature. Muslims were allowed to raise the sword against those people who used to raise the sword against them as Qur’an state “Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged—and Allah indeed has power to help them—Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly”. The act of being defensive has never been against the humanity. It is a very basic right of a human that he can defend himself from others. After all we are human first and followers of any religion second.

One principle which if followed properly can never make a situation when people come across each other in a battlefield. And that principle is Tolerance. If people learn to tolerate, then the world will be full of peace. Freedom of religion is something which should be a common practice of every society. As long as people don’t interfere in other’s religions, then there is no reason of settling their issues in the battlefields. Indeed those issues can never be solved there. But if the people try to remove any religion by force, then the religion against which that force is being used has the right to defend itself. It is not against any law rather it is a natural phenomena and even which we can see in animal also.

Promised Messiah: The Divine Warner has warned you

The Divine Warner has warned you in the name of God and His Messenger, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be on him). He has done his duty. It is my prayer that God grant you the strength and courage to do your duty. Let me conclude in his own words:

"Remember, God has informed me of many earth-quakes.
Rest assured, therefore, that as earth-quakes have shaken America and Europe, so will they shake Asia. Some of them willresemble the Day of Doom. So many people shall die thatrivulets of blood shall flow. Even the birds and the beastswill not he immune against this death. Havoc shall sweepthe surface of the earth which shall be the greatest sincethe birth of man. Habitations shall be demolished as if noone had ever lived in them.
This will he accompanied bymany other terrible calamities which the earth and theheavens will send forth, till their extraordinary nature willbecome evident to every reasonable man. All the literatureof science and philosophy shall fail to show their like.Then mankind shall be sore distressed and wonder whatis going to happen. Many shall escape and many shallperish. The days are near, in fact. I can see them close athand, when the world shall witness a terrible sight: notonly earthquakes but also many fearsome calamities shallovertake man, some from the skies and some from theearth. This will happen because mankind have stoppedworshipping their true God and have become lost in theaffairs of the world with all their heart and their effort andin-tent.

If I had not come, these afflictions would perhapshave been delayed a little. But with my coming the secret purposes of an affronted God which were hidden so far,became manifest. Says God: ‘We never punish unlessWe send a Messenger.’ Those who repent shall findsecurity and those who fear before calamity overtakesthem shall be shown mercy. Do you think you will beimmune from these calamities? Or can you saveyourselves through artifice or design? Indeed not. Thatday all human schemes shall fail. Think not that earth-quakes visited America and other continents but that yourown country shall remain secure. Indeed, you mayexperience a greater hardship.

O Europe, you are not safeand O Asia, you too, are not immune. And O dwellers ofIslands, no false gods shall come to your rescue. I see citiesfall and settlements laid waste. The One and the Only Godkept silent for long. Heinous deeds were done before Hiseyes and He said nothing. But now He shall reveal Hisface in majesty and awe. Let him who has ears hear thatthe time is not far. I have done my best to bring all underthe protection of God, but it was destined that what waswritten should come to pass. Truly do I say that the turnof this land, too is approaching fast. The times of Noahshall reappear before your eyes, and your own eyes willbe witnesses to the calamity that overtook the cities ofLot. But God is slow in His wrath. Repent that you maybe shown mercy! He who does not fear Him is dead, notalive."

(Haqiqatul Wahy, pp.256-57).

{A message sent by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat International}

Five women labelled as Witches in India

On 20 October 2009, I read a shocking news from India’s Jharkhand state that Five women were paraded naked, beaten and forced to eat human excrement by villagers after being branded as witches.

Local police said the victims were Muslim widows who had been labelled as witches by a local mullah (cleric). "On Sunday morning the victims were taken to a playground where hundreds had assembled to watch the ghastly incident," Majority of perpetrators were Muslims and four of the five victims belonged to the same community. Deputy inspector general of police Murari Lal Meena told the BBC. "No one in the mob came forward to rescue the victims as they were being stripped and beaten up,".

The question arise how much Muslim mullah are ignorant and where they are leading to Muslims, Alas on those who follow them. Why Muslims follow these cleric this is totally out of my understanding even as they read about this saying of Prophet Muhammad (s) “There will be nothing left of knowledge. People will make the ignorant their leaders and will seek guidance from them in matters of religion. These leaders will issue fatwas without any knowledge. They will themselves be misguided and will lead others astray. (Mishkat, Kitab ul-‘Ilm, page 33)”

Further He (s) explains these mullahs as monkeys and swine and even the worse creature under the canopy of the heavens as He (s) state The Holy Prophet (s) once said: Among my follower there will be perplexity (confusion), and the people in their perplexity would approach their learned men, but at the time those learned men would be (like) monkeys and swine. [Kanz-ul-Umaal, vol 7, Page 190]

Mullah got these kind of believes and practices through the Hindi and Christians religion as they mix the Islamic concept of death of Jesus and Last Prophet with Hindi and Christians and other deranged religions.

This is very sad that in Islam there is no concept of witches, but mullah introduce this concept in Islam from other religions as the history of India and Europe is witness on this brutal act. Still in India every year; hundreds of people, mostly women have been killed because their neighbours thought they were witches. But actually most of the time the reason behind these kind of incident are property (especially widows who are targeted for their land and property) or revenge against those who are branded as Witches and some other issues.

Shame on all those who listen these sort of mullah.

Promised Messiah wrote in book “Lecture Sialkot”

Today, while the Aryas are trying somehow to get rid of their old polytheistic creed of creature-worship, the Christians, on the contrary, are trying to convert, not only themselves, but the entire world to creature-worship. In an arbitrary and authoritarian manner they project the Messiah (as) God. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that he possessed any special power which other Prophets (as) did not. In fact, some Prophets (as) have shown even greater miracles than him. His frailties testify that he was only a human. He never made any claim on the basis of which he can be considered a claimant of divinity. All his sayings, which are supposed to prove his divinity, are merely taken out of context; for thousands of such figures of speech have also been used regarding other Prophets (as), and no reasonable person would argue that they prove the divinity of these Prophets (as). The only people who can do such a thing are those who love to deify human beings. I swear by God Almighty that the revelations and Divine communications vouchsafed to me contain even greater expressions. If such words could prove the divinity of the Messiah (as), then (God forbid) I too would have the right to make the same claim. Remember, it is simple and pure aspersion to say that the Messiah (as) ever claimed to be God. He never ever made such a claim. Whatever he said about himself does not exceed the word ‘intercession’, and no one denies that Prophets as hold the right of intercession. Was it not the intercession of Moses (as) that saved the Jews from burning chastisement time and again? I myself have personal experience in this regard. Many of my honourable followers are well aware that some people suffering from diseases and other tribulations have been delivered of their misery through my intercession and they were given the good news beforehand. It is simply absurd to believe that Jesus (as) took upon himself the burden of people’s sins and was crucified for their salvation. This belief is miles away from reason. It is also against the Divine attributes of equity and justice to say that one man should commit the sin while punishment should be awarded to another. This doctrine is nothing less than a bundle of errors! It does not behove rational men to abandon the One God, Who has no partner, and start worshipping His creatures. To believe that there are three independent and perfect persons in the Trinity who are equal in power and glory, and then to combine them into one perfect God, is the kind of logic which is peculiar only to the Christians. It is all the more lamentable that the purpose for which this novel plan was made, i.e., redemption from sin and deliverance from a life of filth, was never realized. To the contrary, before the doctrine of Atonement, the disciples were pure-hearted, had nothing to do with this world and its riches, were not defiled by the evils of this life, nor strive after worldly gains. Alas! where did such pure and devout hearts disappear after the Atonement! It is even more so in this age. The more stress is laid on the doctrine of Atonement and the blood of Jesus, the greater is the enchantment of the Christians with the mundane. Indeed, like a man in stupor, most of them are engrossed day and night in their earthly pursuits. The other sins rampant in Europe, like alcoholism and illicit sex, are too obvious to require any mention.

LECTURE SIALKOT: 49-52

Was Islam spread through Wars and did it force others to change their religion?

The Promised Messiah (a) wrote: Some, in their ignorance, blame Islam of Jihad [waging wars] to spread its message and of gaining converts at the point of sword. They claim that these converts were forced to change their religion under the threat of the sword. Woe to them a thousand times! They have exceeded all limits in their injustice and in their efforts to conceal the truth. O pity! What is wrong with them, that they wilfully turn away from realities? Our Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not appear in the land of Arabia in the capacity of a monarch. It therefore cannot be suspected that he had royal majesty and power with him, such that the people gathered under his banner for fear of their lives. Now the question one faces is simply this: When he waged his lone spiritual battle for the pronouncement of God’s Unity and for the establishment of the truth of his ministry in a state of utter helplessness and poverty, then where was that sword which struck terror in their hearts, and coerced the meek into submission? And had they refused to believe or had they persisted in their rejection of him, from which king did he beg for a contingent army to be sent to his aid so that they may be forced to yield?

O seekers of truth! Rest assured that all these allegations are fabrications by those who are sworn enemies of Islam. Cast a glance at history. Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was that same orphan whose father died shortly after his birth and whose mother passed away leaving him behind as a child of only a few months. That child on whom God had extended His hand of support was nurtured in His care without any other patronage. During those hard times of orphanhood, he tended goats belonging to others. None was his mentor except God. And even up to the age of twenty-five, none of his uncles were willing to offer their daughter’s hand in marriage to him as it appeared that he would be unable to meet even the basic household expenses. Moreover, he was unlettered and was not trained in any skill or profession. As he approached the age of forty, lo, there he was with his heart powerfully drawn towards his Lord, Allah, the Gracious. There was a cave, a few miles from Mecca by the name of Hira. It was here that he would retire by himself and, concealed from the eyes of men, become lost in the remembrance of God. One day, in that very cave, while he was praying in seclusion, God revealed Himself to him, and he was told: The people have turned their backs on the path of Allah and the earth is befouled with sin. So I [God Almighty] appoint you as My Messenger and send you to the world, so that you may warn the people that they should turn back to their Lord before His punishment befalls them.

Being unlettered, he was frightened by this command and beseeched God: I know not how to read and write. Then God filled his bosom with all faculties of spiritual knowledge and enlightened his heart. With the blessing of his quwwat-equdsiyyah [power of purification], the humble and meek started entering the circle of obedience to him. But the powerful leaders mustered all their forces to oppose him tooth and nail. They went even to the length of plotting to kill him and many men and many women were put to agonising death. As a last measure they surrounded the house of the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with intent to murder him. But who can touch him whom God protects. God revealed to him: Leave this town forthwith and I will remain with you at every step.

Accordingly he left Mecca and took Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) along and remained in hiding for three nights in the cave of Thaur. The enemy gave chase, and with the aid of a tracker were led to the cave. That tracker traced their footsteps right up to the entrance of the cave, telling them: Here the track ends, so search for him in this cave. If he is not to be found here then the sky must have swallowed him. Who can limit the boundless wonders of God’s creation?

In a single night, God so manifested His will that a spider spun its web across the mouth of the cave from end to end and a pigeon built its nest at the entrance of the cave and even laid its eggs therein. When the tracker urged the Meccans to enter the cave, an old man thus retorted: This tracker must be mad. I have been seeing this web across the mouth of the cave since the time when Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was not even born. At this, people began to disperse and gave up the idea of searching the cave.

After this, the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) travelled to Medina secretly. The majority of the inhabitants of Medina accepted him, causing the peopleof Mecca to seeth in rage, lamenting: Our prey has slipped out of our hands. They then became occupied in plots to murder the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). A small party from among the Meccans who had accepted Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also left Mecca and migrated to different countries. Some took shelter under the Emperor of Abyssinia. Some however were left behind in Mecca as they lacked adequate provisions for such journeys; they were tormented to the extreme. The Holy Qur’an mentions how they wailed and bemoaned day and night to God.

The cruelties of the infidels from among the Qureish exceeded all bounds. They started to murder the helpless, poor women and orphaned children. They went to the extent of killing some women with such ruthlessness as to have tightly bound their legs each to different camels and driving them in opposite directions. Thus they died as they split in two.

When the transgression of these merciless infidels reached this stage, God, who turns to His servants with mercy revealed to his Messenger: The supplications of the afflicted have reached me. Thus this day, I permit them to stand up to their persecutors and remember that a people who raise their sword against the innocent will themselves perish by the sword. Yet, transgress not, because God does not befriend those who transgress.

This is the spirit and essence of Islamic Jihad which has been maliciously portrayed in the wrong light. God is forbearing, indeed, but when the mischief of a people crosses all limits, then He does not let the transgressors go unpunished. Then He Himself creates conditions which result in their destruction. I know not how and from where our opponents heard that Islam was spread by the might of the sword. God in the Holy Qur’an pronounced that لَاۤ اِكْرَاهَ فِىْ الدِّيْنِ‌ۙ

there is no compulsion in Islam (al-Baqarah, 2:257)

That is: The religion of Islam does not permit any compulsion in matters of faith. Who commanded the application of force and what were the means of coercion available to them?And again, such people as are coerced into changing their faith do not display such dedication and such quality of belief, that without any financial returns and despite being a mere few hundred they dare to confront the army of thousands. When the same reached the number of one thousand, they somehow acquired the strength to defeat enemies running into hundreds of thousands. They readily offered their lives in defence of their faith, to be slaughtered like sheep and goats. They stamped the testimony to the truth of Islam with their own blood. Moreover, they became so enamoured with the task of spreading the Unity of God that, willingly accepting all kinds of hardships like ascetics, they crossed the deserts of Africa to disseminate the message of Islam so that their blessed teachings should bear the fruit of truth. Thus they succeeded in converting tens of millions of Chinese people to Islam. Then they entered India in the style of dervishes wearing sackcloth and succeeded in converting many to Islam from the

Arya faith. They even reached the frontiers of Europe and raised loud and clear the message: There is none worthy of worship except Allah

Can you claim in honesty that such as these are really the fruits of the sword of Islam, whose hearts remain infidel while the tongues alone profess the faith. Nay! It is the work of those whose hearts were filled with the light of faith. Nothing but God dwelled in their hearts.

MESSAGE OF PEACE 38-42

Pen to fight pen (time to Jihad with Pen)

The Promised Messiah (a) said: I have come to know that the Japanese are now inclined towards Islam. That being the case a very comprehensive book on the teachings of Islam should be compiled - it should contain every information about Islam, just as somebody describes the features of a man, from head to toe, like a picture of his. This book should contain all the good points in Islam. All the aspects of its teachings should be discussed; this also should be shown as to what the result of those teachings is and the fruits that they bear.
The Islamic morals should form a separate chapter and therein they should be compared with the morals presented by other religions.. I think it is so important to publish a book of this type that the person for whom the Hajj has become obligatory, should spend the money for the Hajj to publish this book instead; it would be a religious Jihad.
Once the Holy Prophet, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam, had to offer all the five prayers together. Now it is the Jihad with the pen (instead of the sword) that has to be waged. That is why this now is the time that the people should pick up courage and spend their time and wealth.

You should know it well that this is not the time to go the battlefield for religious purposes. The battles that were fought during the life time of the Holy Prophet, sallallaho alaihi wa sallam, were not meant to convert the non-believers to Islam by force; these battles were fought by the Muslims to defend themselves. When the Muslims were inhumanly tortured and turned out of Mecca and many Muslims had become martyrs, it was then that God commanded them to fight back; this definitely was a defensive measure. Now the times have changed. There is peace every where; it is with the pen that Islam is being attacked. That is why it is necessary that pen should be used to rebut the attacks. God! the Almighty says in the Holy Quran that you should make prep! aration to defend yourselves with the same kind of weapons as the opponents happen to use.

Think of the preparations that the opponents of Islam are now making. They are not lining up the armies. They are publishing magazines and books. We also should, therefore, pick up our pen and answer their attacks with magazines and books. It is not expedient that the prescription (treatment) and the sickness should be at variance. If the treatment does not conform with the sickness, the consequence is bound to be unprofitable and harmful.

(Malfoozat Vol. 8, pg. 20)

Brides: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 4

One allegation is made against Hazrat Zainab (r), who was actually the cousin of Muhammad (s). The allegation is that Muhammad (s) married to a wife of his adopted son’s. For the information of those who dare to accept Truth, kindly read (Genesis 15:4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir. It states that God said to Abraham that only the one who comes from your body is the one who is your real son. So, an adopted son is not the real son according to Bible and Quran. So, marrying the wife of a person who is not ones son is indeed not objectionable. This was one of the common practices of the people of that time that they consider their adopted sons to be the real ones. At the hands of Muhammad (s), God destroyed all the ignorant traditions of that time. God, who sent his dear messenger to illuminate the whole world, commanded him to marry a divorced woman of his adopted son. People who continue to blame Muhammad for violating the family terms then they should read the following verses from Bible.

While illustrating the ancestors of Jesus in (Mathew 1:3), it is mentioned that Tamar was amongst the ancestors of Jesus. So, kindly read what kind of family relations she kept with her true father in law which is mentioned at (Genesis 38:6 to 18)?

According to Christians, all the Christian man and women are the wives of Jesus. But they don’t accept only few women as the wives of Muhammad. (Matthew 7:3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Brides: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 3

Muhammad (s), at the time he was a young man, married a woman who was more then 15 years older then him. And as long as she was alive, he didn’t marry any other women. But after the sad demise of his wife, he married some other women. Muhammad (s) wanted to spread Islamic teachings across Arabia and ultimately to the whole world. So, in order to widely spread the Islamic teachings across women, he married few intellectual, moral and pious women. That’s why he married different women. And it is quite evident from the history that his goal was perfectly achieved. Muslims still believe that they have learned half of their religion from Ayesha who was one of the wives of Muhammad. Then another reason for getting married to different women was that marrying women from different tribes ultimately resulted in the open interaction with those tribes and Islam was introduced to those tribes as well. Due to which many tribes got to know about the teachings of Islam. Arabs of that time were distributed amongst different tribes and those divisions were a great reason for their enmity. And those marriages ultimately united and develop peace between those different tribes. Whenever women used to have any questions regarding Islam they just asked any of the wives of Muhammad. Further I have found following reasons of his multiple marriages:

- Establishing Peace and Harmony
- Elimination of bad customs
- Reformation of people (especially the education and rights of women)
- Protection of widows

Learn half of the religion from Ayesha (r);does the bible give this honor to a woman that she can speak about the religion openly anywhere? Sorry to say, but the answer is No. Because women are not allowed to deliver speeches in the Churches. Kindly read the following references that are extracted from Bible.

1 Timothy 3:11 to 15, 1 Corinthians 14:35.

But Muslims learned many Islamic teachings from Ayesha who were one of the wives who were under the direct guidance of Muhammad. Even Umar, the second successor of Muhammad and Great king of that time used to ask Ayesha (r) in making some important decisions. Marrying Ayesha (r) who was only at least 15-16 years old at the time of marriage also had many important reasons, I am going to write very soon a detail article about the marriage issue of Muhammad (s) in which I will also disuses the Ayesha’s (r) age (insahallah). Muhammad’s (s) marriage with Ayesha has brought a lot benefit for Muslim world. The reason for marrying with (only one) younger girl was that he wanted to convey as much teachings and knowledge as he could to a young girl who had a very good memory and expected to live very long even after him. That’s the reason that there are thousands of traditions that were narrated by Ayesha as she had a very good memory and were very close to him. From her knowledge Muslims took lot of benefit even after Muhammad (s). And many teachings were spread across men and women through Ayesha and other wives. All of the wives of Muhammad (s) were either divorced or widows, the only exception is Ayesha (r). And I have already stated some reasons of that (I will soon upload detail article on this topic insahallah, so reader can consult that article for detail information).

When Muhammad (s) was young, he didn’t marry any young girl, as he loved piety and always used to do things which had pious reasons associated with them. He found Khadija (r) to be a very pious women and he married her. The enemies of Muhammad (s) offered him many times to marry any or as much women as he liked, but he just rejected their worldly offers. According to Bible some prophets before Jesus married twice, thrice and even hundreds of women with hundreds of concubines. And bible stated no valid reasons for that. Readers of Bible would be fully aware of that.

Brides: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 2

If we accept this argument for a while that Jesus didn’t get married to any woman, then we find that there was no “great” reason for that. As his own father got married to a woman then why Jesus didn’t follow the path of his father? So, if we take Jesus as son god, we see that he didn’t follow the heavenly tradition of his own father. And if we take Jesus as a Prophet, then we see that he didn’t follow the traditions of the earlier prophets. So, he ultimately violated the divine laws which were given to the prophets before him. Kindly read (Mathew 5:17) Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did come to destroy but to fulfill. But actually he destroyed the laws of the Prophets and if he didn’t then it only means that he lied to people. And the objection that Muhammad being a man, proposed a woman who was 20 years older then him is indeed baseless. As the “God” of Christians himself purposed a young lady who cannot even be compared to God as they were totally different being (certainly their ages cannot be compared, in fact they have nothing in common). Can anyone imagine such insensible and baseless argument?

There is no “great” reason of not getting married. In fact, by getting married one is safe from committing many other sins. As Bible says (1 Corinthians 5:1) that by getting married a society remains safe from evils and to avoid fornication and adultery it is better to get married (1 Corinthians 7:1 to 2), then why didn’t Jesus got married? A person who does not marry and thinks that by doing this he is more pious then the person who married somebody is indeed a very unjustified claim.

Brides: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 1

According to accuser Yashua (Jesus) never married and never was the father of earthly children, but that doesn’t mean He has no bride. Just as Israel is spoken of as a wife to Jehovah in the Old Testament, so the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of having a bride. John the Baptist referred to the Lord Yahshua as the Bridegroom in John 3:29-He that has the bride is the Bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, that stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegrooms voice, this my joy therefore is made full, and Paul reminded the Corinthians that he had espoused them as a chaste virgin to Christ,(2corinth.11:2)-For I am jealous over you with a righteous jealousy, for i expoused you to one husband, that I might present you a pure virgin to the Messiah. The lord Yashua will someday come back and take His bride to heaven with Him, His bride being made up of all truly born-again Christians. The union between Jesus and His bride is a spiritual union, not a physical one.

While Mohammed, had many wives. His first wife, Khadija, was a business woman who proposed to him, though he was twenty years younger than she was, he married at least 10 women and had a number of concubines. The youngest wife he took was a nine year old named A’isha. He married to his adopted son’s wife named Zainab.

Answer: According to Bible, Mary carried the son of God, which ultimately means that Mary was the wife of God. But it doesn’t say anything about why she carried a child of God; as later she then got married to another ordinary man on this earth. It means that God got married to a woman on this earth which was not only the wife of God but also of a person named as Joseph. Even in Islam it is prohibitied to marry the wife of Prophet which Joseph married to the wife of God. So it means Mary got married twice. But it is not mentioned in the Bible that did God divorce Mary before she got married to Joseph.

Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ (Please note)

I am writing the answers of the allegations which were raised by Christens against Muhammad (s) the founder of Islam. But it is very important to understand that I will be depicting the picture of Biblical Jesus and bringing forth Biblical Jesus (who never existed in reality and claimed to be God). So, my readers should take this into consideration that the true Jesus was indeed the one who was a humble prophet of God; the one presented by the Holy Quran; who lived a pious life as a man and died as a man and raised to a spiritual station as a soul and here I don’t talk about him.

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 6

The Prince Of Peace

Lets us go on now to Isaiah. Here we find many passages about a coming prophet which can be true only of Muhammad. We are told of a time when a man will call the nations of the world who would swiftly answer his call and gather around him (Isaiah5:26-30).

We are told that the followers of the Promised One will be obliged to take part in wars. We are told that the advent of this prophet will be at a time when even the light will be darkened by the sin and corruption of land and sea. Isaiah also tells us that at the time God will turn away His face from the house of Jacob (Isaiah 8:13-17).

And then: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6- 7) The prophecy gives promise of a king who will have five titles:

Wonderful
Counsellor

The Mighty God

The Everlasting Father and

The Prince of Peace

Was Jesus ever a King? Were the names enumerated in this prophecy ever applied to him? Wonderful he might have been called, because of peculiar birth, but while his deniers regarded his birth as illegitimate, his supporters were in doubt about his ancestry. He gave no exhibition of the might that is mentioned in the above verse. Nor could he be called Everlasting Father, because he himself had mentioned another one coming after him. He neither became king nor could he ever bring peace to the world. He remained oppressed by his opponents until he was put on the Cross. He could not, therefore, be rightly called the Prince of Peace. He never attained to any government and, therefore, the words, "of his government there shall be no end," have no meaning in terms of his life. These signs mentioned in Isaiah apply only to the Prophet of Islam.It was he who had to shoulder the responsibilities of a state, and thus, quite against his will, had to be called king.

Muhammad was Wonderful both in his name and achievements. Jesus, in his parable of the vineyard, speaks of the householder who let his vineyards to husbandmen. These wicked men not only beat, killed and stoned his other servants but also his son. The lord, says Jesus, will come himself, destroy these wicked husbandmen and render the vineyard to those who "shall render the fruits in their seasons." This will be so because:The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the comer; and this is the Lord’s doing, and it marvelous in our eyes. (Matthew 21:33-44)

This is the way in which the "Wonderful" one had to appear. When the son would be slain, then the other one would be sent who would prove to be the head of the corner. And he would seem "marvelous" in the eyes of Jesus and the whole world.And about his wonderful achievements we may quote Thomas Carlyle. He writes:

To the Arab nation it was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first become alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world, a hero-prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown world-great,’ within one century afterward, Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, Delhi on that, glancing in valor and splendor and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a section of the world. Belief is great, long-living, The history of a nation becomes fruitful, soul-elevating, great, so soon as it believes. These Arabs, the man Mahomet and that one century-is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark, on a world of what seemed black, unnoticeable sand, but 10, the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Grenada. I said ,the great man was always a lightning out of heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel and then they too would flame.
(Thomas Carlyle in Heroes and Hero-worship)The second name of the Promised One is Counsellor. This again applied to the Holy Prophet. A nation turned to him for advice. He, in turn, held regular consultation with his people, and made it obligatory on the State to consult the people in all important matters. The Holy Quran tells us that his companions sought his consultation regularly.

The prophecy had also described him as mighty God. The Bible has often mentioned the prophets as God himself. (Exodus 7:1 and 4:16)Whenever a human being is spoken of as a "like of God" it can only mean that he is a manifestation of the Almighty .The Holy Prophet, again, answers the description of the prophecy. There are several references relevant to this in the Holy Quran. At the Battle of Badr, the prophet took a handful of gravel and threw it at the enemy. This proved a signal for a dust storm which discomfited the enemy and contributed to his defeat. Of this, God says to the Holy Prophet:

And thou threwest not when thou didst throw, but it was God who threw. (The Holy Quran 8:18)Again it says:

Verily those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to God. (The Holy Quran 48:11)Thus came the manifestation of mighty God, The Holy Prophet, who was able to subjugate all his enemies in his lifetime and to smash all opposition.

The fourth name in the prophecy is Everlasting Father. Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and, therefore, could not possibly have an everlasting character. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet was referred to in the Quran as "bringer together of all mankind". (The Holy Quran 34:29). He was promised that his teaching would abide forever with the people because at the end of days, the Promised Messiah would appear from among his followers and would revive the teachings of Islam and prove conclusively that the spiritual dominion of the Prophet of Islam was everlasting and there would be no heavenly teachers then except from his followers.The fifth name in the prophecy is Prince of Peace. Can Jesus be truly called such? He did not become a sovereign in his life. He did not ever gain power to administer forgiveness to his enemies, and therefore, there was not much occasion for him to perform what he preached. On the other hand, the very religion of Muhammad is called Islam, meaning peace. As for the performance of peace and forgiveness in Muhammad’s life we have ample evidence.

Through thirteen long and weary years the prophet of Islam and his little band of devoted followers bore with calm dignity and patience the bitterest persecution at the hands of the Meccans. Starvation, flogging, scoffings, humiliations, degradations and outrages of every description were the order of the day. When the Prophet took refuge in Medina, even there he was not left in peace. Over a period of seven years of sustained and brutal persecution the Prophet of Islam appeared suddenly on the heights of Paran, at the head of ten thousand saints, with no battle fought and not a drop of blood shed, when any penalty inflicted upon these Meccans would have been light in comparison to their long record of misdeeds, the Prophet announced, gently and mercifully:There shall be no retribution exacted from you, you shall all go free. (The Holy Quran 12:93)

Is it the same way that the Christians treated their enemies when they came to power? Who should then be called a true Prince of Peace, Jesus or Muhammad? Jesus could not afford peace to others. His followers were able to afford it, but they did not give it. The prophet of Islam had the power to punish his enemies but he chose to forgive. Muhammad, therefore, was the Prince of Peace of Isaiah’s prophecy. It was he again who also attained government and thus could fulfill the last part of this prophecy saying, "Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end."

(this part has been taken from the article written by Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir: http://www.alislam.org/books/in-bible/index.html)

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 5

The Earth Was Full Of His Praise

This advent was also prophesied by Habakkuk several centuries before Jesus. Thus we have:

God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the ea11h was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand5: and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and the burning coals went fo11h at his feet. He stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, and the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; and the cu11ain of the land of Midian did tremble. (Habakkuk 3:3-7)

This again shows that the third manifestation mentioned earlier was going to be by one who would appear from the land of Tema and Mount Paran. The earth was going to be full of his praise. It is not a mere accident, then, that the Holy Prophet of Islam was named Muhammad, which literally means, the Praised One. Only a man with a name as beautiful as his personality and character could answer to the description of Habakkuk. The enemies of Muhammad suffered destruction, pestilence and humiliation of "burning coals" in encountering him in spite of overwhelmingly stronger and larger forces.

Moses died while he was still fighting his enemies. Jesus was put on the Cross. The prophet who beheld and drove the nations asunder, as mentioned by Habakkuk, could be, there- fore, none else but Muhammad. His enemies who looked like "everlasting mountains and perpetual hills" with their immense power were completely routed. Later "the tents of Cushan" and the "curtains of the land of Midian," that is, the land of Canaan then under the Roman Caesar, also found their salvation in surrendering to the servants of the Holy Prophet in the time of that Caesar’s successors.

(this part has been taken from the article written by Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir: http://www.alislam.org/books/in-bible/index.html)

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 4

Divine Light From Paran

The prophecies of the Bible had even led its followers to that part of the world where the great Prophet was to appear. Thus it was said:

And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; and shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. (Deuteronomy 33:2)

In this verse Moses is promised three manifestations of the glory of God. The first of these appeared on Sinai in the time of Moses. Time passed. The second manifestation promised in the prophecy was to take place at Seir, a part of the world near where the miracles of Jesus took place. "Rising up from Seir," therefore, meant the advent of Jesus.

The third manifestation of divine glory was to take its rise from Paran, and Paran (Arabic Faran) is the name of the hills which lie between Mecca, the birth place of Muhammad, and Medina, the town where he died. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael, the ancestor of Muhammad, lived in this part. Thus we have in the Bible:

And God was with the lad (Ishmael): and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. (Genesis 21:20-21)

Historical and geographical evidence shows that the descendents of Abraham lived in Arabia. All of them held Mecca and Kaaba, the house of worship built by Abraham, in great reverence. His son Ishmael first settled in Mecca. Genesis gives the names of twelve sons of Ishmael including two named Tema and Kedar. (Genesis 25:13-16) This is further supported by the testimony of Isaiah where we read:

The burden of Arabia. In the forest of Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye traveling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they provided with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. (Isaiah 21:13-16)

This prophetic passage is a picture of the Battle of Badr which took place about a year after the Holy Prophet’s migration from Mecca to Medina. In this battle the sons of Kedar , the people of Mecca and the territories around, unable to withstand the fierceness of Muslim swordsmen and archers, sustained disastrous defeat. God made a handful of men, poorly armed and without provisions, the means of inflicting this humiliation on an army led by experienced generals.

The battles with the Meccans continued against heavy odds until such time that the Prophet Muhammad entered Mecca after a struggle of several years. This was the time when ten thousands of saints accompanied him. The Holy Prophet declared that the message of God had been completed in the form of the Holy Quran. Thus the prophecy of Moses was fulfilled that the Lord would shine forth from Paran with ten thousands of saints, with a fiery Law in his right hand. Thus also the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled that the spirit of Truth "will guide you into all truth." His fiery Law, the Holy Quran, consumed all impurities of flesh and turned the grossest hearts into pure gold.

Could Jesus have fulfilled this wonderful prophecy? He did not rise from Paran. He had only twelve disciples and not ten thousand saints. Isaiah had spoken of one that fled; the flight of Muhammad is such an important part of Muslim history that the Islamic calendar starts from the very year of migration.

(this part has been taken from the article written by Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir: http://www.alislam.org/books/in-bible/index.html)

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 3

Now about Muhammad prophecies; (this part has been taken from the article written by Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir: http://www.alislam.org/books/in-bible/index.html)

A Prophet From Thy Brethren:

The fact is that before Jesus, Moses had also foretold of a great prophet in clear and precise words. When Moses went to Mount Horeb under the command of God he addressed the Israelites saying:

The Lord thy God will raise unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

And again, God’s words to Moses:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that, whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name; I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

It is evident from these verses that Moses foretold a Law-giving Prophet who was to appear after him, and who was to be from among the brethren of Israel. That he was to be a Law-giver and not an ordinary Prophet is obvious from the words "like unto Moses", since Moses was also a Law-giver. The promulgation of "a new Law" means the initiation of a new movement, a new nation. A prophet with a new Law is obviously no ordinary teacher or reformer. He has to present a comprehensive teaching, incorporating fundamental principles as well as detailed rules.

Was Jesus such a prophet? Was he a Law-giver? Did he bring a new Law into the world to replace an old one? The answer, in his own words:

Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto You, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18)

And the followers of Jesus went so far as to declare:

And the Law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:12-13)

Jesus laid no claim to a new Law; his disciples regarded the Law as a curse. It was the Holy Quran which announced from the very outset that:

This is the (complete and perfect) Book; there is nothing of doubt in it. It is a guidance for the righteous. (The Holy Quran 2:3)

The prophecy also said that the Promised One was to be raised not from among Israel but from their brethren. Muhammad was from the brethren of the Israelites, the Ishmaelites.

It also told that God would put his words in his mouth. The New Testament gospels do not consist of words which God put in Jesus’s mouth. They only tell us his story and what he himself and his disciples said and did.

The Holy Quran, on the other hand, says:

Say, O Muhammad, I am a man like unto you: Only the word of God come unto me. (The Holy Quran 18: 111)

The prophecy spoke of "words which he shall speak in my name." Strange as it may seem, there is not a single example of words which Jesus may be said to have received from God with the command to pass them on. The Holy Quran, on the other hand, specifically claimed to be the word from God.

The words of the Lord had announced that the Promised One would be a prophet. Jesus, according to the Christian evangelists, did not claim to be a prophet. Matthew reports that he asked his disciples:

"Whom do men say that I the son of man ..?"
Peter replied that he was the Christ. the Son of the living God.
(Matthew 16:13-16)

Thus Jesus denied being either John the Baptist or Elias or one of the prophets. Muhammad was proclaimed as not only a prophet but also as "like unto Moses," when the Quran said:

Verily We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as we sent a Messenger to Pharaoh. (The Holy Quran 73:16)

In short, one thousand nine hundred years before the advent of the prophet of Islam, Moses declared that his own Law was, in the divine scheme, not the last Law; that the world was to have a fuller Law later on; and that, for this God would send in the latter days another Messenger of His. This Messenger was to teach all truth; it was he who was to mark the last stage in the spiritual advance of man. The world had to wait for another book and another Prophet.

If, therefore, the Quran and the Holy Prophet have come after the Bible and after the Prophets Moses and Jesus, and if they claim to have come from God as guidance to man, their claim must be treated as just and true. It must be taken as the Fulfillment of ancient prophecies. The revelation of the Quran was not a gratuitous revelation, a redundance in the presence of other revelations. Indeed, if the Quran had not been revealed, promises made by God through His messengers would have gone unfulfilled, and the world would have become afflicted with doubt and disbelief.

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 2

According to accuser Muhammad (s) was born in a poor family and he was an ordinary man with ordinary family background. His father died and his mother passed away when he was child, he was raised by his grandfather. There are no great claims made by Muslim regarding to birth of Muhammad (s). While Christ birth was miraculous; He was born of a virgin.

Answer: Muhammad was born in a house of leader (very Noble family) of Makkah. And His forefathers were Ishmaelites and Abraham was the ancestor of Ishmaelites.

Muhammad (s) never saved money for himself or for his family, he always used to spend his money on poor and needy people. Can death of his father and mother is any kind of blame or can anyone tell my any verse of Bible in which bible says that if anyone’s father is dead then he is false Prophet?.

Muhammad was raised by his grandfather and then his uncle just like Moses was brought up in Pharaoh’s home (Exodus 2). What one would consider about Joseph who was raised in an officer of Pharaoh (Genesis 39). I don’t know why Christians have problem related to this. Did they have any proof that a prophet should be raised by his own family?

Christians always raised this point that Christ was born without father, so that is why he has very noble birth and son of God. If Christ was lord because of his birth from virgin then what you call to Adam who was without father and mother (in this sense he was double god) and Bible also called him “Adam, which was the son of God” (Luke 3:38).

And why you don’t call son of God to Melchisedec, king of Salem, King of righteousness; King of peace. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. (Hebrews 7:1-3)

Why you don’t call son of God to Buddha because “Buddha was born of a virgin without carnal intercourse" (Hinduism by Williams, pp. 82 and 108).

What about unisexual organism, which are also single parents? These births are also quite ordinary.

Hope someone will think over it.

Birth: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 1

(Isa 7:14)- Therefore Yahweh (God) himself (Christ?) will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear son (female give birth to god?), and shall call his name Immanu El.

First we talk about this prophecy, Why Christians don’t write full prophecy. The remaining verse in “which means God with us” now let me give you only two examples form the life of Jesus.

First: Can anyone provide any verse of Bible in which someone calls Jesus Immanu El. But in bible when ever an angel appears he calls his name Jesus (Matthew 1:25), (Luke 1:31) then why Christians called him Immanu El. Immane El means God is with us now we see what happens in the case of Jesus. Christians’ god was temped by devil for 40 days, and devil accompanied him for 40 days.

(Luke 4:13) And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. Please note the word “he departed from him for a season”.

Second: What was the second last sentence of Jesus (Matthew 27:46) “Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

I think there is no need to explain these verses….. So was that ‘the person’ who claimed to be ‘Immanu El’.

In Bible James 1:13, 14, 15 "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”. So what is the position of so-called god (Christ) after this verse?

But if someone read bible then one sees that this word is used for someone else Who’s real name was Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Please read and check this reference Isaiah 8.

Jesus (biblical Jesus) could produce only 12 friends, one sold his faith (or his God) for few coins, one rejected him three times. So only 10 people accepted him in his whole life (totally failed in his mission) So, can anybody call him ’Immanu El’.

Some Christians feel so proud to say that the name of Jesus was foretold. Let me say that there is nothing to be proud of. In daily life, we see that some times before birth someone tells something about baby and even his name. Even I have several examples of such incident in my family. So, what is the point which makes him special?

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 6

Christians believe that Jesus didn’t fight as his teachings were totally based on tolerance and peace. During the whole life time of Jesus; He didn’t fight because Jesus says Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

It means that Jesus didn’t have enough power to resist anyone. During the lifetime of Christ, he had only twelve faithful followers and amongst those, none of them were able to fight or to resist. Because, as history shows, most of them were coward that’s why when a difficult time came on Christ they all ran away. But it doesn’t mean that Christ didn’t like weapon or resistence, because he once instructed his disciples Luke 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. This is not enough Christ also teach that in Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. So, it means that he was sent to bring sword on the earth, but he didn’t have enough power to do so. Those who say that Christ was a peaceful man and never liked to raise a sword should kindly read the above mentioned verses very thoroughly. Christens feel so proud on showing one example from his life (Luke 22:50-51)-and a certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. But Yashua answered and said, Permit them thus far. And he touched his ear and healed him. But I think they don’t even read the life of Muhammad (s). Yes it is right that Muhammad (s) commanded the army of 10,000 faithful followers. May be some people would be surprised that this is something which was also written in Bible as a prophecy (Deuteronomy 33:2) And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; and shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law (Quran) for them. Paran (Arabic Faran) is the name of the hills which are situated between Mecca, the birth place of Muhammad (s), and Medina, the town where he died. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael, the ancestor of Muhammad (s), lived in this part. Thus we have in the Bible: And God was with the lad (Ishmael): and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. (Genesis 21:20-21)The Arabic form of the word Paran is Faran or Pharan. Jacut’s Geographishes Worterbuch (F. Westenfielt, Leipzig, 1862, Vol. III, P834) says that Faran is a name of Mecca. The word Faran seems to be the Arabic Farran. It means two refugees. It appears that the place took the name from Hager and Ishmaelas, who came there as refugees. Dr. A. Benisch calls it in his translation of Pentateuch the desert of Paran.

People raised this allegation against Muhammad (s) but he didn’t tell us that was anybody killed at that time (victory of Mecca)? Nobody was killed there, everyone was forgiven by Muhammad (s) even those who were the blood thirsty of Muslims, who killed Muslims and through them Muslims were extremly suffered. No houses were destroyed, not a single tree was cut down, no eradication. No women, old, children were killed, and no holy places were destroyed (in contrast with biblical Holy war where houses, trees, women, children, pregnant women, holy places, holy people even the buried dead bodies were eradicated), only Muhammad (s) cleaned Kaba from idols just like Jesus cleaned temple of God Matthew 21:12, Luke 19:46. Only few people (enemy of Muslims) attacked on muslims outside the Mecca so Muslim had to defend themselves. So they fought for their lives but when Muhammad (s) heard about it he felt so sad about that. Muhammad (s) showed his mercy on those who brutally killed his very close relatives, killed his followers and even those who tried to kill him as well by poison, by sword, by persecution for more then 20 years in different ways.

Why they don’t realize that Christ had no other option but to show mercy as he never gained power. But if he had an option then he would have fulfilled his purpose of advent which he mentioned in Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. But Muhammad entered that city as a victorious king but he showed his mercy not just because he had no power but because he was a merciful man. I don’t know why Christians don’t feel ashamed to raise objections against Islam for being so intolerant religion. I think they don’t thoroughly read the Bible. There are about 500 verses in Bible about War (Jihad). These people are just ignorant about the true teachings of Islam. They just tried to fool the people by hiding the facts and by providing wrong arguments. People should read the Biblical War and how the biblical kings entered into cities and how much blood they shed?

For further details please visit:

http://www.alislam.org/holyprophet/ http://www.alislam.org/terrorism.html

http://www.alislam.org/jihad/

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 5

Now about the sins of Muhammad (s); Matthew 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Matthew 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Before raising any objection against Muhammad (s), please first read Bible and see what it says about Christ? What about Christ when he was tempted from devil and devil lived with him or accompanied him for 40 days? According to accuser the devil visited Muhammad (s) two times when he was a child, although accuser doesn’t give any reference of this blame. But anyway if in his whole life, devil came to Muhammad (s) only two times, when he was only 12 years old. According to bible Children are pure as gospels; see Mark 10:14-15 that’s why Jesus advised to be a child, but what about the Christ who was 30 years old but devil still used to visit him often as this is written Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And again visited him in different shapes Matthew 16:23 Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me.

Christians consider Jesus to be the son of God. So, they believe in a god who can be tempted from devil. Not once, but constantly for 40 days. And even after those 40 days, the devil departed from him for a season, not for ever. If this is the condition of Christian’s god, then one can clearly think the situation of the creation of their god. If god cannot stay away from devil then how much power do the Christians have to stay away from a devil which has enough power to take over their god for more then 40 days? Before raising objection against a man of God, please try to ask your god why he was tempted from devil?

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 4

The claim of Savior and sacrifice was not present in Old Testament. Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Proverbs 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. And read Ezekiel 18:17-32. In New Testament Jesus say Matthew 9:13 I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.And Jesus also doesn’t believe on concept of saviour of sinful men as he says in Bible Matthew 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Further he says John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. And his Brother James who was the leader of Jerusalem after Jesus also doesn’t believe on this theory as he says James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? And more he says in James 2:24 by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. This statement of James totally demolish the fake theory of Saviour of Christianity. The theory of saviour is totally absent in Old Testament as well as in the New Testament (basic four books) which actually belong to Jesus and real followers of Jesus, Because Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

But this theory was developed by St.Paul later, for more information about this topic I do recommend the book Christianity: A Journey from Facts to Fiction written by Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad http://www.alislam.org/library/books/christianity_facts_to_fiction/index.html

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 3

For those who think that; was there any great miracle that Muhammad (s) showed? I want to mention only one and the greatest miracle of Muhammad (s) i.e. “the Holy Quran”. As it is written (Deuteronomy 33:2) from right hand went a fiery law for them. May be some people will take it a very baseless argument but I will prove that this is indeed true. Why God sends Prophets and why Prophets show miracles? Because God wants to protect his creation from Satan and satanic forces, God wants to guide people towards the right path. Prophets show miracles to increase faith. As the tree is identified by its fruits (as the Jesus said); if any miracle increases faith to a great extent then and only then that miracle can be called a great miracle. And if it could not bring the results it was intended to then one cannot call it a miracle indeed. Just like if a person takes a medicine but it does not cure that man, then for that person that specific medicine is useless, no matter how much expensive, great that medicine is. Now let’s see whether the followers of Bible somehow succeeded to increase their faith and put themselves to the right path by looking at those “great” miracles? When we read the Bible then we see that the people who saw those miracles could not even judge the unity of God. Let’s just take the example of Israelites, when Moses went on a mountain only for 40 days then his followers who saw those miracles started worshiping golden calf. Please see Exodus 32:1-8, Hosea descried their condition in following verse Hosea 3:1 according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods. Hosea 6:4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. So these are the ultimate results of those miracles shown by Moses (a). When we read the Bible then we see that Jesus who taught his disciples to worship and pray to only one God (Matthew 6:9), after some time the follower of Jesus started worshiping 3 gods on the theory of 1=3 and 3=1 … the theory which is totally absent in the Old testament. There were so many “great” miracles shown by Christ but those miracles could not increase the faith of his followers even equal to a grain of sand. So the output was ultimately zero. But if we see that Muhammad (s) showed his miracle of Holy Quran and until now Muslim worship only one God of Abraham, only one God of Moses, and only one God of Quranic Jesus.

Muhammad (s) only gave them that book which was the “word of God”. Those words of God changed the people, who used to worship stones and woods, into the worshipers of only one GOD. Those who used to believe in more then 300 gods, that Quran changed them and they started worshiping one God of Abraham. Those who were completely illiterate and sunk into dark ages for centuries became great teachers of the world. Those who used to pass their whole nights in drinking wine and committing adultery started passing their nights in crying before God. Those who were drinking wine five times a day started worshiping God at least five times a day. Those who were spending money on adultery or useless matters started spending money in the way of God for feeding poor and orphans. Those who were killing poor and slaves started loving them and started giving them comfort. Those who had no sense of human rights became the protectors of weak. The Arabs who used to kill their young and newborn girls started taking full care of them. The great saying ‘paradise lies under the feet of mother’ became one of their objectives of life. In other words we can say that the miracle of Moses and Jesus didn’t develop as much faith as Quran (the miracle of Muhammad (s)) developed.

Prophets are neither jugglers nor magicians. They are not sent to the world to entertain people with their strange ’supernatural’ powers, deeds and tricks. Jesus or the miracles written in Bible about different other prophets are just exaggerations from different followers. All followers of prophets try to exaggerate about their prophets (due to several reasons like inferiority complex, gaining authority etc) to show that ’their’ prophet was better.

The Promised Messiah (a) wrote about this miracle in the following beautiful words: What was this, do you know? This most wonderful thing which happened in the wilderness of Arabia? Spiritually dead millions became alive again in a matter of days; those without eyes began to see, those without speech began to speak the language of seers gifted with divine knowledge. This was a revolution which no eye had seen before nor had an ear heard of it before. What was it, do you know? It was a miracle performed by the mighty prayers of a man who had dedicated his life to God. Prayers offered in the dead of night. These prayers shook the world. They wrought changes impossible for an unlettered person to bring about.

God! shower Thy blessings and send peace on this man! Bless not only him but also those who come after him and follow him! Remove their fears, their sorrows, their anxieties. And on this his Umma, shower Thy Bounties and Thy Blessings until the end of days.

(Barkat-al Dua pg. 10-11)

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ… Episode 2

Now, about the miracles of Christ; in the start I want to say that every Prophet has been showing different miracles then other Prophets. If one says that that Christ showed the miracles which were not shown by Muhammad (s) that’s why Muhammad (s) was a false prophet then it is a very baseless objection. Because if you believe on this theory then we put the same question to you that why not Christ showed the miracles like Moses? Please have a look at the following miracles of Moses,

Turned a rod into a snake which swallowed all the Snakes of Egyptians. Exodus 7:10-12
Turned water throughout the land of Egypt into blood. Exodus 7:17-20, 7:10-12
Swarmed the land of Egypt with frogs. Exodus 8:6
Turned dust of the land into lice. Exodus 8:17 (this miracle is belong to Aaron)
Sprinkled ashes into the air and caused a plague of boils and blains. Exodus 9:10

Split the sea by striking it with a rod hence making dry land for the Israelites to cross the sea. Exodus 14:21

These kinds of miracles are written in bible and none of them were shown by Christ. So, in this way anyone especially Jews can explicitly say that Christ showed no miracle. People should understand that every Prophet shows different miracles then other prophets. But let’s take a look on gospels that did Jesus really show any miracles? We see this statement of Jesus many times which I want to mention here (Matthew 12:39-40) An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. In (Luke 11:30) For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. In these verses Jesus says that ‘only one miracle will be shown which would resemble the miracle shown by Jonas’. So, from this reference it is clearly evident that he himself says that I will show only “one” miracle. And about the other miracles like feeding five thousand people with few loaves and fishes, walking on the water, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, healing the crippled, cleansing the lepers. According to gospels, these kinds of miracles can be shown by any false prophet as well. Please look at Matthew 7:22, Mark 13:22.

Now please take a look at the verses mentioned at Matthew 17:20 If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Mark 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Luke 17:6 If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

As it said that if somebody has a faith even equal to the grain of sand can show all these miracles. So can anyone in the whole world tell me a person who shows all these miracles? If not, then one has to accept either of the two things. First, Christ lied to the people by saying that one who has a faith can show these miracles. Second, nobody in the whole world has enough faith to show these miracles. If nobody is present today, then who can guarantee, that someone with such firm faith was present one or two or even ten centuries ago? It also means that all the Christians who believe in Christ do not have a faith even equal to a grain of sand because we don’t see any Christian today who shows these miracles.

It looks like “only” Christ showed those miracles, and in his life time, few thousands people saw those miracles. Unfortunately, only 12 accepted him and out of 12, one sold his faith just for 30 coins and one of them just rejected him 3 times. And at the time of cross 8 of them ran away and only two were present there. So this was the end result of Christ great miracles, that none amongst those thousands who ate fishes, none amongst those who were raised from death, none amongst those who were cured by Christ were with him. It is clearly evident that in the life of Christ, how much faith the followers of Christ used to have. And even in his life time, the people who could be counted on fingers and who used to have the “blessed” company of Christ did not have a faith equal to a grain of sand, and then who can be so sure that after the death (still controversial death) of Christ, the condition of faith would have improved?

Lives: Contrast and comparison of Muhammad (s) and Jesus Christ … Episode 1

I received an email from one of my Christen contacts with different allegations about the Holy Prophet (s). Thought, it was along email but the key allegations could be written as the following:

Christ claimed to be from God while Mohammed claimed to speak for God, Christ lived his life without sin while Muhammad not. Christ performed miracles (feeding five thousand with a few loaves and fishes, walking on the water, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, healing the crippled, cleansing the lepers, and casting out demons), while Mohammed did not. Christ refused to resort to violence, while Mohammed was very violent and killed many who opposed him. They are very different births, and very different lives.

I will try to answer these allegations in the coming episodes. But it is very important to understand that I will be depicting the picture of Biblical Jesus and bringing forth Biblical Jesus (who never existed in reality and claimed to be God). So, my readers should take this into consideration that the true Jesus was indeed the one who was a humble prophet of God; the one presented by the Holy Quran; who lived a pious life as a man and died as a man and raised to a spiritual station as a soul and here I don’t talk about him.

Claimant says that Jesus was free from all sins while Muhammad (s) committed sins. In order to prove his claim he quoted the following reference.
(Heb4: 15)-For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one that has in all points been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help in time of need. First of all I want to make some comments about the aforementioned verse of Bible. This verse does not belong to any of the four basic gospels which were written by those companions of Jesus who listened to the teachings directly from Jesus. So let’s first check those four gospels which belong to those people who were under the direct guidance of Jesus. We find this reference (Luke 18:18) And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God. Jesus himself declares that none is good, except God. If someone says that Jesus was God, then why did he say that “Why callest thou me good?”. So, it seems to be a contradiction that at one time, he calls himself God, and on the other hand he rejects that totally. As Christians believe that he was part of God. Then if one third of God is not ‘good’ then what is the guarantee that the rest of the part is also good enough?
First objection on this reference is that it is still not confirmed that who the writer of Hebrews was? So in this sense this book is not an authority. Secondly, some people say that this belong to St. Paul. Authority of St. Paul’s writings can be clearly evident from the references that I am going to quote here. Throughout the life of Jesus, he was a great opponent of Jesus and his followers (Galatians 1:13-14). But after some years, when he felt that Christianity was going to spread day by day and some other political reasons, he claimed that Jesus appeared to him in his dream (self-made dream) and divinely chose him (Galatians 1:1) and he never ever listened even a single word from Jesus directly . Even he didn’t fully listen James (brother of Jesus) which was the leader in Jerusalem after the death of Jesus (according to Bible). So, by the aforementioned references and comments we cannot take the reference provided to prove that Jesus was totally free of sin to be an authentic one.

Caliph to Dutch people: Do not provoke God’s sense of honour

Huzur said time to time an upsurge against Islam emerges in Holland, however, it does not signify the entire Dutch people. Indeed many prominent Dutch people responded against Mr. Wilders’ statement. Huzur enumerated a few statements from political figures which denounced Mr. Wilders and added that a foreign affairs minister had said that Holland had no plans to ban the Holy Qur’an.

Huzur said it is the obligation of each Ahmadi to not only respond and refute the objections raised by the opponents but also to thank those who still uphold high moral values. Huzur said the message of God should be taken to people and the reasons of the chaos in the world explained to them; it should be explained to them that peace of mind is not in the bedazzlement of this world, or in intoxicants, it is only to be found in turning to God. Those who exceed all limits and in particular show aggression to Islam should also be reached and told not to provoke the sense of honour of God. Explain to them the natural disasters occurring around the world are a warning that no one is safe in the world. Huzur said most of Holland is below sea-level any way. Following a massive flood in 1953 the government launched a vast construction designed against the threat of flood. It is known as Delta Works.

Huzur said that he went to visit Delta Works where the engineer/guide told him that they have protected their country against floods to which Huzur responded that indeed they had but only made the best attempt to protect against flooding and that complete protection is only with God. Huzur said he agreed and all his subsequent talk referred to Delta Works as an ‘attempt’ and he thus affirmed the existence of God four or five times. Huzur said his remarks in the visitor’s book were that the Delta Works is indeed a good human endeavour and a tremendous plan, however, it should always be borne in mind that the real planning is God’s and in order to be really protected remembrance of God is required.

From the summary of the Friday Sermon delivered by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on August 24^th, 2007

Allegations against Ahmadiyyat (Episode 17) Why did Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) not perform Hajj?

This article is the seventeenth episode answers to some common allegations against Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Accusers say that why the Promised Messiah (a) didn’t perform Hajj? I, hereby, quote the answer of the Promised Messiah (a) about the same question.

The Promised Messiah (a) said: "These people raise this objection out of mischief. The Holy Prophet (s) lived ten years in Medina. It was only two days travel between Medina and Mecca, but Holy Prophet (s) did not perform Hajj for ten years, even though he could have arranged for conveyance. It is not the only condition for Hajj that one has sufficient wealth but it is also important that there is no danger of mischief and there should be means available to reach there with peace and to perform Hajj. When beasts like maulvis issue fatwa of death here and do not fear the government, then what else could they not do there? But these people have no interest that we do not perform Hajj. If we perform Hajj then will they consider us Muslims? And will they join our Jama’at? Well, firstly all these Muslim scholars should write a declaration that if we perform Hajj then all of them will repent on our hand and will enter our Jama’at and will become our followers. If they write as such and take an oath then we will perform Hajj. Allah will arrange means of convenience for us so that in future the mischief of maulvis ends. It is no good to object mischievously. This objection of theirs does not come on us but on Holy Prophet (saw) as well because Holy Prophet (s) performed Hajj in his last year only." (Malfoozaat, Vol. 5, p. 248)

This is indeed true. The Holy Prophet (s) could perform Hajj only in his last year; because that was the only convenient time for him to perform Hajj. It is commanded in the Holy Quran to perform Hajj only when are not kept back [2:197]. Many islamic scholars became bloodthirsty enemies of the Promised Messiah (a) and he was certainly kept back.

Caliph on headscarf issue: Muslims are responsible for presenting the right picture of Islam

‘They attack Islam for they are not aware of the beautiful teachings of Islam. They take certain extreme stances, like the furore on the issue of banning the headscarf. They are considering using legislation over this. The reason is that a most horrific picture of Islam has been presented to them and they do not know about the rightful and most beautiful picture of Islam. Had the Ahmadis residing here paid attention to this issue from the beginning and had introduced Ahmadiyyat, the true Islam, to people, I think this situation would not have arisen. There is still time. Present real Islam to them by way of a venture. I had drawn attention to this earlier but enough endeavours were not made. Our aim should always be to take goodwill and kindness to the world and this is what the teachings of Islam are all about. First and foremost we have to bring about pure changes in ourselves and our children and to promote good amongst ourselves.’

From the summary of the Friday Sermon delivered by the International Leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on January 05^th, 2007, in Nunspeet, Holland.

Mullah: ‘We have copyright on Islam’

By Tanzeel

Pakistan’s religious cartel has been agreed on the minimum common agenda that all Ahmedis are non Muslims and their entry into the religious market might reduce their profit share in the cake. Thus religious conglomerates of Pakistan have engineered separate laws to bar new player and even after declaring them Non Muslims they banned them to preach their version of Islam, let alone preaching, Pakistan is the only country where dominating religious scholars have established such a “Mullahpoly” that don’t even allow their competitor (Ahmedis) to even greet in Islamic way or recite Kalma however our traditional scholars are unaware of their competitor’s Guerilla Marketing strategy that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget.

Typically, Ahmedis campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially friendly and people are targeted in unexpected places. Their way of unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept has successfully generated buzz and people in Pakistan hold a soft corner for them unlike before, they are not only heard but their eccentric and nonviolent propagations have made people to probe their set of beliefs which they spread in very organized and peaceful manner.

Recently a private tv channel has aired a video of “Ahemdi” Mosque near Faisalabad where policemen were vehemently defacing the word Allah and Kalima from their mosque and that too during prayers. On the other hand when our so called religious scholar was asked to throw light on this callous issue he was not only adamant to his dim point of view but came up with imprudent examples of copyright (i.e Kalima and Allah’s name are the copyrights of Muslims) that ultimately made fun of himself and the religion resulting support to Ahmedi group from the human rights organizations as well as majority of moderate Pakistanis.

How Iraqi Freedom created a Lawless Iraq

Part 2

This documentary shows two things: Firstly, that the people of Iraq were never the goal of the American invasion. All the Americans have done is weaken the people by creating a lawless situation, whereby all the Iraqi’s can do is survive, and are defenceless in respect to the looting of their resources and the privitisation of their government. ‘Iraqi Freedom’ might aswell have been called ‘Lawless Iraq’; and Lawlessness might indeed be the cynical meaning behind the advertising of the word ‘Freedom’ by parties which have no concern with freedom at all.

Secondly, the documentary shows the poor state of Muslims, as their ignorance in respect to Islamic values is so serious, that their personal and community ethics are unable to defend justice when left ungoverned.

However, people in the West should not become arrogant at observing the helplessness of the Iraqi’s in respect to Law and Order, as the West will fare much worse, and their tribulation will probably come soon enough.

Verses prohibiting interest in the Holy Quran

[2:276] Those who devour interest do not rise except as rises one whom Satan has smitten with insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trade also is like interest;’ whereas Allah has made trade lawful and made interest unlawful. So he to whom an admonition comes from his Lord and he desists, then will that which he received in the past be his; and his affair is with Allah. And those who revert to it, they are the inmates of the Fire; therein shall they abide.

[2:277] Allah will abolish interest and will cause charity to increase. And Allah loves not anyone who is a confirmed disbeliever and an archsinner.

[2:278] Surely, those who believe and do good deeds, and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, shall have their reward from their Lord, and no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve.

[2:279] O ye who believe! fear Allah and relinquish what remains of interest, if you are believers.

[2:280] But if you do it not, then beware of war from Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your original sums; thus you shall not wrong, nor shall you be wronged.

[2:281] And if any debtor be in straitened circumstances, then grant him respite till a time of ease. And that you remit it as charity shall be better for you, if only you knew.

…

Read more on why we should abolish the interest-based economy in the Friday Sermon of October 31st, 2008 of Khalifatul Masih V (aba).

Traditions of the Promised Messiah

Tradition 1: Hafiz Hamid Ali relates: On one occasion, the Promised Messiah sent me on an errand to a foreign land. I boarded a vessel bound for my destination. About half way, the vessel was caught in a storm and everyone was terrified that it was going to sink. I tried to reassure all the passengers and stated confidently that I belonged to the Punjab and was going on an errand on behalf of one whom God had appointed his Prophet for this age and that so long as I was on the vessel, it would not sink. God Almighty thereafter stilled the waters and the vessel arrived safe at my destination and I disembarked. After a short stop it proceeded on its further voyage and sank after a short time. When the news reached India, members of my family went to Hazrat Sahib and told him that the vessel by which I was traveling had sunk; on which Hazrat Sahib said: I have heard that the vessel by which Hamid Ali was traveling sank on such and such a day; and after a few minutes he added: But Hamid Ali is busy with his errand. He is safe. It would seem that Hazrat Sahib had learnt the truth through a vision. (AlHakam, Vol. XXXVII, No. 2, January 21, 1935, p. 5).

Hamid Ali’s brother, Shaikh Zainul Abideen, relates: Hazrat Sahib said: I have received a revelation concerning Hamid Ali that he would return safe and successful. (Register of Rivayat Sahaba, Vol. XI, p. 54).

Tradition 2: Hazrat Maulvi Nur-ud-Din relates: On one occasion in the course of a debate an opponent asked the Promised Messiah to cite a reference from Bokhari. Hazrat Sahib took hold of Bokhari and started turning over its pages very rapidly. Then he stopped at one place and said: Here is the reference. Everyone was surprised and someone inquired from Hazrat Sahib, how he had found the reference so quickly. He answered: When I took the book in my hand and started turning over its pages it seemed to me that the pages were blank. I turned them over quickly and then came to a page where I saw some writing and I was sure that that was the reference that I needed. (Siratul Mahdi, part 11, No. 306.)

Who is Dhul Qarnain? Prophecies about Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) in the Quran

One, Hakim Mirza Mahmood Irani, in his letter dated 2^nd September, 1902, has asked me to explain the meaning of the verse:

وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِىْ عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ

“He found it setting in a pool of murky water."

(Al-Kahf, 18:87)

First of all, let it be clear that this verse holds so many secrets that it is impossible to encompass them all, and under the apparent meaning of this verse lie meanings that are not so easily understood. The meaning which God has disclosed to me is that when this verse is read along with the preceding and following verses, it constitutes a prophecy about the Promised Messiah and specifies the time of his advent. To elaborate this point, let me say that the Promised Messiah is also Dhulqarnain, because the Arabic word qarn connotes a century, and this verse indicates that the birth and advent of the Promised Messiah will span two centuries. And this clearly applies to me, for I have lived in two centuries according to every calendar I know of, be it Islamic, Christian or Bikrami, and my birth and advent have not been confined to a single century, and, in this sense, I am Dhulqarnain. In some Traditions, too, the Promised Messiah has been called Dhulqarnain in this very sense.
The interpretation of the rest of this verse, which is in the form of a prophecy, is that two major nations have been given the glad tidings of the Coming of the Promised Messiah, and it is to them that the Messiah will primarily address himself. God Almighty says, in the form of a metaphor, that the Promised Messiah, or Dhulqarnain, will encounter two nations in the course of his journey. First, he will find a nation sitting in the dark alongside a foul smelling pool of water that is not fit to drink, and is so full of stinking mud that it can hardly be called water. This metaphor refers to the Christians who are in the dark and have turned the Messianic spring into a pool of stinking mud due to their misdeeds. In the second part of his journey, the Promised Messiah, or Dhulqarnain, comes upon a people sitting directly under the blazing sun with no shelter. Though they do not partake of the light of the sun, its heat scorches their bodies and darkens their skins. These are the Muslims, who, despite being blessed with the sun of Divine Unity—Tauhid—have not derived any real benefit from it, and have only been scorched by its blaze. In other words, they have lost the true beauty and true moral qualities of faith and have instead partaken of bigotry, malice, fierceness and barbarity.
Thus, God Almighty has indicated that the Promised Messiah, who is Dhulqarnain, will appear at a time when the Christians will be in darkness, and stinking mud—which is hama’ in Arabic—will be their lot, and the Muslims will have only a superficial belief in the Unity of God, and will suffer from the sunburns of bigotry and barbarity, with no spiritual values left intact.
Then, the Messiah, who is Dhulqarnain, will come across a third people who will be suffering at the hands of Gog and Magog. These people will be deeply religious and pious by nature, and will seek the help of Dhulqarnain (the Promised Messiah) against the aggression of Gog and Magog. He will erect a bright rampart for them, i.e., he will teach them strong arguments in support of Islam which will finally repulse the attacks of Gog and Magog. He will wipe their tears, help them in every way and will stand by them. These are the people who accept me.
This is a grand prophecy which tells about my advent, my time and my Jama‘at. Blessed is he who reads these prophecies with care. The Holy Qur’an contains many prophecies of this kind whereby it speaks about someone in the past, but its purpose is to give news about the future. Surah Yusuf, for instance, is only a narrative on the face of it, but it contains the hidden prophecy that just as Joseph was initially looked down upon by his brothers but was made their chief in the end, the same will happen to the Quraish. They rejected the Holy Prophet sa and expelled him from Mecca, but he who had been rejected became their leader and their chief.
Although the Holy Quran contains repeated prophecies about the Promised Messiah, i.e., myself, people who lack spiritual insight still say that the Holy Book does not mention the Promised Messiah at all. Such people are much like the Christians who to this day insist that the Bible contains no prophecy about the Holy Prophet (s).

Lecture Lahore page 65-68

Opposition of the Messiah: why religious scholars opposed him?

If Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) was truly a prophet of God, then why people opposed him so much?

Many people ask this question that if the Promised Messiah (a) was indeed a true prophet, then why people opposed him so much? God says in the Holy Quran.

And We sent the Messenger before thee among parties of ancient peoples. And there never came to them any Messenger but they mocked at him. [15:11-12]

Then God says,

And thus have We made in every town the great ones from among its sinners such as are in utter darkness with the result that they plot therein; and they plot not except against their own souls; but they perceive not. [6:124]

Whenever any prophet or reformer comes to this world, he is strongly opposed. History of the prophets stands witness to this fact that it has never happened in the past that people welcomed any prophet or reformer. One may read the tale of the prophet Noah (a) that how leaders mocked at him. What did Pharaoh and his people reacted to the claim of Moses (a)? Jesus (a) was also strongly opposed and great scholars of his time called him blasphemous and attempted to kill him even. And what happened to our dear prophet Muhammad (s)? The whole Arab gathered to strongly oppose him and his followers. Countless attempts were made to kill him. He and his followers were severely tortured by people. God rightly says in the Holy Quran.

Alas for My servants! there comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him [36:31]

So, let it be clear to all that opposition is the sign of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (a). The greatest enemies of the reformers (Mujaddedin) of Islam were the religious scholars of their time. They were declared as blasphemous and non-believer, opposed in number of ways and even their death sentences were issued. It is due to the same reason that in hadiths and other books, neither it is mentioned that the religious scholars at the time of Imam Mahdi would help him or would be his companions nor it is mentioned that the spiritual and moral condition of the religious scholars would be very good. Rather one finds in hadiths that they (religious scholars in the later days) would be swine, monkeys, ignorant and even ‘worst creature on the face of the earth’. It is also said that religious scholars of the later days would be the worst and bloodthirsty enemies of Imam Mahdi. I present some examples here.

Hadhrat Ali (r) narrates that Hadhrat Muhammad (s) said:

A time will come when nothing would be left of Islam except its name, and nothing would be left of Quran except its script, their mosques would be full of worshippers but would be devoid of righteousness. Their ullemas (religious scholars) would be the worst creatures under the canopy of the heavens. Evil plots will hatch from them and to them will they return. [Mishkat-ul-Misabih vol 1 page 91]

It clearly means that the religious scholars would be the bone of contention amongst Ummah-te-Muslima.

The Holy Prophet (s) once said:

Among my follower there will be perplexity (confusion), and the people in their perplexity would approach their learned men, but at the time those learned men would be (like) monkeys and swine. [Kanz-ul-Umaal, vol 7, Page 190]

These are the words of the Holy Prophet (s) who spoke always under God’s guidance. Every Muslim has the right to ask Muslim Ullemas that why these hadiths are kept hidden and why they are not put in front of people?

Hadhrat Muhayyuddin Ibn-e-Arbi (r) says:

At the appearance of Imam Mahdi none would be his open enemy other than the divines (religious people) [Futuhatul Makkiya vol 3. page 336]

I feel amazed to see people who read these hadiths and yet raise this objection that why the religious scholars rejected the Promised Messiah (a)? Some people say that these hadiths are not talking about the religious scholars of today but they would appear afterwards (later). I just quote here few references (although there are numerous references to prove how wicked today’s religious scholars have become).

The newspaper Ahle-Hadith writes: In the Holy Quran, Jews have been criticized for accepting some parts of the Book and rejecting the rest. Sadly, we find the same act especially in Ahle-Hadith today also [Ahle-Hadith 19^th of April, 1907]

Then the newspaper Zamindar writes: I am also considered amongst the Jamaat of Ullemas that’s why I am fully aware of their reality. I, with full determination, inform Muslims today that they should never let these Ullemas take over for even a minute. Throw them away from your political and religious circles, as they neither know anything about politics nor about religion. They are only expert in deceitfulness and dishonesty and they are the people of their own desires. They are not the guide but robbers [Newspaper Zamindar 15^th of April, 1929]

Let’s now see what the ‘founder of Taliban’, Mr. Zia-ul-Haq and star of Muslim Ullemas of Pakistan, says about Ullemas: There are almost 50 thousands Imam of the mosques in Pakistan. Amongst them around 36 thousand are half-learned and around 11 thousand are completely illiterate. [Newspaper Jang Lahore 31^st of January, 1985]

If these sort of scholars opposed Imam Mahdi and declared him and his community as non-Muslim then who cares. But Ummah-te-Muslima must aware of these robbers or I can use the same title that the Prophet Muhammad (s) has used for them monkeys and swine.

7th September 1974: A simple decision or the fulfillment of a Prophecy

In 1974 the so-called majority of Pakistan National Assembly declared Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as Not Muslim. Some people use it as excuse that our Islamic Scholars declared Ahmadiyya community to be a not Muslim and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) was a false prophet unanimously so no need to study any more about this community. But they forget that it was not a simple decision but a fulfillment of one of the Great prophesy of Hadhrat Muhammad (s). Let’s see what the Holy Prophet (s) said about this ‘unanimous decision’.

Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to Israelites. They will each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the others to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites had openly committed adultery with his mother, there would be someone who would do this in my Ummah. Verily, the Israelites were divided into 72 sects, but my people will be divided into 73 sects. All of them will be in Fire except one. The companions asked ‘Who are they; O messenger of Allah?’ The Holy Prophet (s) said they are the people who adopt my practice and they of my companions. [Tirmizi, Kitabul Iman, Chapter 18 vol 5, page 26]

How clear and complete hadith it is; there would be a Jamaat (community) which would be in minority and 72 sects would be together and one sect would be left alone.

Hadhrat Imam Mulla Ali Qari (r), who died in 1014 A.H. and was a great research scholar and a master of Hanafi Jurisprudence and was great Imam and recognized authority in Hanafi sect. He has written a commentary on Mishkat (a book of hadith). He writes with reference to this hadith as the following:

These seventy-two sects, all of them will be in Fire. The righteous ones will be those who truly follow the Holy Prophet (s) and are firmly established on the pure Ahmadiyya doctrine. [Mirqatul-Mafatih-Sharah Mishkat vol 1 page 248]

Look at the understanding of this righteous Imam! How clearly he explained this hadith and emphasized that the sect of Muhammad (s) would be the Ahmadiyya sect and no other. He even told the name of that community. Secondly, he explained that they will be ‘firmly established’; which means that sect will be firmly established and organized. It also means that they will be organized as Jamaat under one leadership i.e. Khilafat. Without one Divine leadership no community is organized. Ahmadiyya community is the only community who has been blessed with Khilafat.

Now, to whom one should listen; the Holy Prophet (s) or these religious scholars of today? Now look how bravely Muslim of this age denies the saying of Holy Prophet (s) of Islam. It is sad to say that Muslims today are always bowing before religious scholars instead of listening to their Great Prophet (s). Maulvi Akhter Ali Khan, the son of Maulvi Zafar Ali Khan, openly writes against this hadith as the following: Our action has resulted in a consensus of opinion for the second time in the last thirteen hundred years. Today, the seventy-two sects are united against Mirza of Qadian. Hanafi, Wahhabi, Deobandi, Brailavi, Shi‘ah, Sunni, Ahl-e-Hadith and all their ulema and scholars have united in demanding that Mirzais (Ahmadis) are non-Muslim and should be called a non-Muslim minority. [Newspaper Zamindar nov 5, 1952 page 2 col 6]

Another newspaper states: One of the special importance of this decision has been that on it the consensus of Ummah has been in substantially correct manner. Throughout the history of Islam, such an overwhelming complete consensus has never been reached on any important topic. Other than the big religious scholars, holders of Shar’a, all the political leaders and political leaders of each group have agreed on this consensus. Other than these, all sufia karam, aarifeen Billah, the leaders of Tassawaf and practices had complete agreement. Excluding Qadianis all the rest of 72 sects which are considered to be of Muslims, agreed and are happy on the solution of this affair. Among the leaders of the nation and a’maideen, there does not appear to be any group, which does not have a joyous attitude towards this decision. Nation should take a notice of this. [Nawa-e-Waqt oct 1974, page 4]

How sad it is to see these scholars’s majority (Ullemas) openly and bravely giving decision against the decision of the Holy Prophet (s)? The Holy Prophet (s) declared one sect to be on the right path and 72 sects on the wrong path but these so-called scholars says the opposite. Now let’s analyze the ‘blessed character’ of those people who took part in this ‘historic decision’ of declaring Ahmadis non-Muslim. There was a white paper published later on describing the character of the members of 1974 National Assembly. I provide the following reference from it.

They are addicted to alcohol and adultery, and according to some source, are involved in the damming habits of (an obscene word omitted). On a return flight with the delegation he asked the airhostess for two bottles of whisky and when the airhostess provided him with the bottles he attempted to have his way with her. However, the airhostess rejected his advances. [White paper, Bhutto ka Daur-e-Hakumat vol 3 page 182]

Such are the moral characters of the prominent leaders of the National Assembly who declared Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat to be non-Muslim. Now, people would be thinking that it might be the case that opposition party would contain some pious people. Let’s see what was their moral and spiritual level.

Addicted to bragging and boasting. He considers himself to be the only equivalent in leadership to the Prime Minister. He is without any principles and conscience. Unfortunately, due to lace of educated people in our Nation he was attained a more important position at the national level then his real worth. [Bhutto ka Daur-e-Hakumat vol 3 page 184]This was indeed a reference about an individual but one may refer to that White paper to see different references about the spiritual and moral level of those ‘blessed people’. I always feel sorry for those Muslims who criticize Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and raise fingers on this issue. After having clear prophesies about the scholars of this age, Muslims are still bowing before religious scholars instead of listening to their Great Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad (s).

God says in Holy Quran: And thus have We made in every town the great ones from among its sinners such as are in utter darkness with the result that they plot therein; and they plot not except against their own souls; but they perceive not. [6:124]

And Hadhrat Muhammad (s) said:

There will be nothing left of knowledge. People will make the ignorant their leaders and will seek guidance from them in matters of religion. These leaders will issue fatwas without any knowledge. They will themselves be misguided and will lead others astray. (Mishkat, Kitab ul-‘Ilm, page 33)

I have no word to comment on it but I would like to quote one reference about the level of knowledge of these scholars from the eyes of their own leaders. Mr. Zia-ul-Haq, the bright star of Muslim Ullemas (scholars) of Pakistan and whole Muslim world, says about Ullemas: There are almost 50 thousands Imam of the mosques in Pakistan. Amongst them around 36 thousand are half-learned and around 11 thousand are completely illiterate. [Newspaper Jang Lahore 31^st of January, 1985]

Hadhrat Ali (r) narrates that Hadhrat Muhammad (s) said: A time will come when nothing would be left of Islam except its name, and nothing would be left of Quran except its script, their mosques would be full of worshippers but would be devoid of righteousness. Their ullemas (religious scholars) would be the worst creatures under the canopy of the heavens. Evil plots will hatch from them and to them will they return. [Mishkat-ul-Misabih vol 1 page 91]

If Muslims still eager to obey and listen these scholars (worse creatures) then what I can say more about them then what is written in Quran Alas for My servants! there comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him [36:31]

Professor Wragge meets The Promised Messiah (alaihissalam), Question no: 3

Professor Wragge:

There are two things I wish to find out – one is, what is sin? A person in one country may consider some act to be a sin while the same act may not be considered sinful in another country. Man progressed from a small insect to a human being and then he learned to discern between truth and falsehood, he distinguishes truth from lies, good from bad, gained knowledge of sin and goodness and after all this there is the difference - what is sin for one person is not sin for another who indulges in it?

The other thing I wish to find out is about Satan. What is Satan? How is it that God being the master and having power over such knowledge, Satan got to have so much sway that God had to come to this world himself to reform the world. What is meant by this?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a):

I usually speak having in mind people who believe in the existence of God. God’s being is a source of eternal happiness and pleasure for man’s life. Whoever separates from Him or leaves Him in one way or another, about such a state of a person it is said that he has sinned. Furthermore, keeping in view the nature of man, God has further defined as ‘sin’ those acts which through their finer implications, prove to be harmful for man himself, even though a person sometimes may not be able to appreciate such harmfulness. For example, theft and harming others by taking away their rights, harms the purity of one’s own life. An adulterer’s act of adultery and his taking what may belong to someone else, destroys his own piety and engulfs him in various physical and spiritual difficulties.
Similarly, those acts which are against the nature of man’s purity and piety are also referred to as ‘sin’, as are all the related acts –whether related closely or distantly – these are also considered as types of sin.

God Almighty is greater than all else, He has the most knowledge, He is the true creator of man and every particle which exists. It is He Who is also the creator of their nature and He is wise. If, with His complete wisdom and complete knowledge, He suggests that something is harmful for you, that indulging in it would not benefit you at all, rather it is totally harmful, then it is not the action of a wholesome person to go against this.

We see that when a doctor advises a patient to abstain from something, the patient acts on that advice without any argument. Why does he act in this way? He does this because he considers the doctor as being in possession of much greater knowledge than himself. Similarly, there are some things which are harmful for man’s body or spirit whether man himself understands that or not. There are some things which would be harmful even if God had not given a ruling about them. In medicine also there are some things which are considered ‘sins’ and lack of medical knowledge is no excuse for the person who goes against the medical principles. If someone does not believe this they can check with doctors and physicians.

The point to remember is simply this that the root of sin is those actions which lead man far away from purity and righteousness.
The true love of God and union with Him is the true pleasure and real comfort. Thus moving away from God and being distant from Him is also sin and is the source of pain, sorrow and difficulty. Those things which God dislikes due to His own sanctity, that is sin. There are some matters on which people may not agree but, on the other hand, the greater part of the world is jointly agreed that lying, stealing, adultery and cruelty are such acts that all nations and religions jointly consider them to be sins. But remember that the root of sin is precisely those acts which distance man from God, which are against His sanctity, against His wishes and against man’s nature –it is such acts which constitute sin.

Every person senses sin. If someone slaps an innocent person and knows that he had no right to do so, he will, at some later time, when he looks at his action with a cool head, himself feel ashamed and will sense that he has done a bad deed. Conversely, if someone feeds a hungry person, gives a drink of water to a thirsty person, and clothes someone lacking clothes, such a person will have an inner sense of having been good, and having done a blessed deed. A person’s heart and conscience and the light of belief remind him whether his various actions were a good act or a sinful act.

With regard to Satan, it should be remembered that in man’s nature and composition there have been included two forces and they are both opposed to each other and it is so in order for a person to be tried and tested and, with a successful outcome, to become deserving of God ‘s nearness. Of the two forces, one pulls man towards goodness and the other invites man towards evil. The force that pulls towards goodness is called ‘malak’ or ‘angel’ and the force which invites towards evil is called ‘Satan’. In other words, you can understand it like this that there are two forces which work on a person: one calls towards good (da’i ilal khair), and the other towards bad (da’i ilashsharr).
Someone may not like the use of the terms ‘angel ‘ and ‘Satan’, but he would not be able to deny the existence of these two types of forces within man. God never intended any evil. God only does what is good.

You see, if sin did not exist in the world there would be no goodness. Goodness develops from sin. The concept of goodness is formed by the concept of sin. If someone has the opportunity to commit adultery and he possesses the ability to do so but then he abstains from this sin, this action is called goodness. If someone has the opportunity to steal, or to be cruel, and he is capable of doing these acts, but he does not do so and positively abstains from them, then he is doing a good deed. To have the opportunity and capability of sinning and then not indulging in sin, that is a good and blessed deed.

The Review of Religions – June 2006

De onafhankelijke Nederlandse pers

Nu weer eens iets voor de kritische Nederlandse intellectuelen die Spiritual Change lezen. Het PCM gebouw aan de A10 (Ring) Zuid te Amsterdam. Nergens op internet een foto van te vinden, terwijl het gebouw zo symbolisch is voor de toestand van onze Nederlandse media. Hierbij dan de internet primeur. Ik ben speciaal uit de auto gestapt om de foto te nemen.

Hoezo onafhankelijke pers? Vrijwel alle Nederlandse kranten die door de massa enige geloofwaardigheid wordt toegedicht, zijn eigendom van hetzelfde concern, PCM. Hieronder vallen De Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, Trouw, Het Parool en het Algemeen Dagblad. Het concern is enige jaren geleden opgekocht geweest door het Brits-Israelische concern APAX. Toen APAX ermee klaar was, is het eigendom geworden van de vage stichting met de Orwelliaanse naam Democratie en Media.

Sindsdien komt er weinig relevants meer uit deze kranten. 9-11 is het sprookje gebleven over Ali Baba en de 19 rovers. De schandelijke invallen in Afghanistan en Irak met miljoenen doden lijken geen verontwaardiging te behoeven. De farmaceutische industrie en de bankiers zijn ons behoudens enige foutjes goed gezind. De politiek wordt niet kritisch geanalyseerd op ernstig onvermogen de situatie te bevatten. Parallellen met de financiele crisis, het racisme en de conflicten van het interbellum zijn not done. De media als het kamerscherm van de macht.

Het Parool, Trouw en De Volkskrant werden opgericht in de Tweede Wereldoorlog als ‘verzetskranten’. De na-oorlogse generatie maakt nog goede sier met dit imago en laat zich graag zien met een ‘kwaliteitskrant’ onder de arm. Men beseft niet dat zowel de kranten als zijzelf zich gedragen zoals de ‘foute’ kranten destijds: onverschillig voor onrecht, niet kritisch op processen van uitsluiting en valse ideeen van superioriteit, niet afwijzend jegens culturele doodzondes zoals het meedoen aan de invasie van een ander land, stilzwijgen over de relatie tussen oorlog en kapitaal.

Lees voor gedetailleerde analyses van de berichtgeving door de kranten van PCM het weblog van Stan van Houcke.

Professor Wragge meets The Promised Messiah (alaihissalam), Question no: 2

Professor Wragge:

It is written that there was one Adam and one Eve. Eve was a weak woman. She ate one apple. Now, the punishment of her having eaten an apple will continue forever. This I do not understand. Also, that this earth with which we are related, is but one among many thousands and millions of other systems which God has created then why would God’s (qudrat) and blessings be limited to this earth?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a):

This is not our belief. We don’t propose that there is no system other than our earth and the sky. Rather, our God says that He is ‘Rabbil Alameen’ , that is, He is the Sustainer of all the universes and that wherever there has been an inhabitation there He has sent His messengers. Lack of knowledge does not make something non-existent. God created such a vast system of provision for this small earth, why would He not have created provision for all other habitations? As for saying that all human sorrow and hardship were caused by Eve’s having eaten an apple, this is not a belief held by Islam. We are taught that:And no burdened soul can bear the burden of another; and if a heavily laden soul call another to bear its load, naught of it shall be carried by the other, even though he be a kinsman…..(Surah Fatir Verse 19)

One person’s punishment cannot be meted out to another, nor can there be imagined any benefit in this. Eve’s having eaten of an apple is not the cause of anysorrow, difficulty or punishment, the reasons for these things are given in the Qu’ran but are totally different.

The Review of Religions – June 2006

Professor Wragge meets The Promised Messiah (alaihissalam), Question no: 1

Professor Wragge:

I am a man of science and I see that the earth on which we live is very small. In comparison to thousands and millions of other kinds of God’s creation, the earth melts into insignificance. Why then has God’s blessing been limited to this earth or to any one religion or nation?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a):

Actually this is not correct, neither is it our belief that God reveals himself through a particular nation or sect. God does not have a special relationship or love for any one particular nation. What is correct is that God is the God of the entire universe and he has created the means of physical nourishment and development for all creation without any distinction. According to our principle he is ‘Rabbil Alameen’ i.e. the Nourisher and Sustainer of all the worlds. He has created grains, air, water, light, etc. for all creation. Likewise, in every age and in every nation He has, from time to time, sent reformers for the reformation of people in those nations. As it is stated in the Holy Qu’ran (Surah Fatir, verse 25) Allah the Almighty is God of all the worlds. He has no special relationship with any nation. In fact the different heavenly books which have come from time to time do not contradict each other.

This is because a reformer is needed when the world inclines more towards evil deeds and bad practices, such as lies, theft, quarrels and general immorality, so that people become distanced from purity and virtue, and are overwhelmed by selfish desires and emotions. So much so that they, in their belief, also abandon the worship of one God and incline towards idol worship. God is the nourisher of man’s physical as well as spiritual being. His pride demands that at such times of spiritual darkness he should appoint a person for reform, and the concept of such a reformer does not fall outside the bounds of laws of nature. Just as the actual wheat that grew in the times of Adam and other prophets cannot be a source of nourishment for us, and just as the water which existed in previous times cannot quench our thirst, so we need fresh spiritual food as well as water.

It is the tradition of Allah that just as He nourishes and provides for the development of the physical process, where previous nourishment is not sufficient for the present, so is the case with the system of spiritual development, and the two systems, the physical and the spiritual, go side by side.

For the person who denies the existence of God, this discussion would take a different line. But a person who believes in the existence of God should keep the two systems in mind and benefit from their comparison. He who has created the physical system has also created the spiritual system. Just as He nourishes the physical system with fresh sustenance, so He nourishes the spiritual system with fresh sustenance. Just as the physical state is dependent upon fresh water, so the spiritual state is also dependent upon fresh, heavenly revelation. Just as the physical body dies if it does not receive nourishment, so the soul too dies without spiritual nourishment. If in spiritual matters only past and ancient references are available, then what would be the conclusion other than that the spiritual system is in a state of death. What else could it be?

God Almighty, as is His nature, always wishes to be recognised. For proof of his existence and identification He always provides true, clear and fresh signs and these are not too difficult to understand. It is this system which has always been in existence and which continues. Thousands upon thousands of prophets came and provided such proofs through their own actions and deeds, thus completing the argument in favour of the existence of God.

Now, how can a person stating that he is a scientist or a philosopher break this proven continuum of witnessed signs?

What is needed in such a case is that, just as the holy people provided a practical example with their lives and validated their claims, so should the negation of it be offered in the same way. Such people, however, would be justified in asking, why they are presented with old stories and fables, why not give a living proof or a living example, and for this I am available.

An astronomer cannot provide a definite proof of the existence of God merely by observing the solar system which may, at the very most, lead to a view that there should be a God. The fact that there is a God and that He most certainly exists has always been proven with the principles put forward by the prophets. If people like myself did not appear in this world there could never be in the world any real and complete proof of God. At the very most, if someone was of a just disposition and also possessed a virtuous character, then from the well ordered heavenly bodies and from the solar system, etc. he could conclude that there ought to be a God. Other than that, the fact that God exists and He is the Master, the Ruler and the moving force behind all creation, all this is not possible for people to know without the guidance of those who are from God. It is such people who enable others to witness the existence of God and, by providing fresh evidence and signs, it is as if they are able to ‘show’ God to others.

The Review of Religions – June 2006

Jalsa (Convention) Germany: emotions

This time I got the chance to attend the annual convention of Jamat-a-Ahmadiyya Germany. More then 32 thousand people attended the convention this year. I could really feel the ever-increasing growth and strength of our community there.

One thing that made me bit a sad, but at the same time much happier too, was when the Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (a) used to enter in the main hall. I thought of the time when prophets unfold their claim for prophethood. Once, a prophet is completely alone and weak and due to his weakness all of his enemies try their best to hurt him and later his followers also. These enemies try all possible ways to torture that humble, innocent and noble servant of God. But when people accepted the same prophet then big emperors bowed before his name only. His message seized the power of big empires, and many emperors put shackles of obedience of that prophet in their necks. Many throne belonged to him and his followers but mostly at that moment prophet or his successor was not alive. But his followers enjoyed that moment and saw the fulfillments of those prophecies, which were told by him earlier. Just look at the Hadhrat Isa (a) who is now known as the King of Kings. How mercilessly people persecuted him. People spit on him in the streets of Jerusalem. But now look that he is worshiped as a god. Then look at my dear and King of Prophets Hadhrat Muhammad (s); how much he was persecuted in the streets of Mecca. Everyday his enemies tried to hurt him and his followers in different ways. But when he was accepted then his belonging ones founded many big empires. His flag flew more then half of the world. And now in this age, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (a) claimed to be the prophet (Imam Mahdi). He also went through the same process of torture and opposition. And now his enemy is trying hard to bring hard time to his community by martyring them and other possible ways of persecution.

But I can see the signs of big victory on the horizon. Every day brings new rays and signs, which is making our hearts more steadfast and filled with belief. We will win and no one will be able to stop us. Every year big amount of people are joining our community and now Presidents and Prime Ministers have started attending our conventions. Now the land of Arabs is also shaking with the thrust of MTA Al-Arabia and our Arab brothers and sisters are coming in the fold of Ahmadiyya in large numbers. The message of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) is reaching the corners of the earth and conquering the hearts of people with love and knowledge. In this convention I also noted the love of Ahmadiyya community with his spiritual leader (Khalifa) Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) the Successor of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a). Almost 32 thousand people gathered in Germany even to have a glimpse of his face. Whenever he used to enter in the big hall, all people used to stand to show their love and respect for him. I felt like that he is one and we were all his lovers. Whenever he used to go outside anywhere from his residence, people used to gather to see his blessed face. I saw people saying, Assalamoalikum (Islamic way of greeting) loudly as they were conveying the message of greeting of Hadhrat Muhammad (s) to the Successor of Imam Mahdi (a). Children while sitting on the shoulders of their fathers were passionately waving their hands with love and saying greetings; looks like he was the only fountain of love for them. Every face showed different sort of emotions but all of them had one thing common i.e. love for Khalifa. When he used to entered into the hall the environment used to change completely. It felt like people were watching a beautiful dream. When he orders to stay quite then people shut their voices like they are completely switched off.

The speeches of his Holiness (a) were so wonderful that I cannot express my feelings. Every word was full of wisdom and it strengthened the hearts of weak and brought peace inside and healed us. In end of speech all people did silent prayers, the tears running from their years could be seen and yelling and crying of people could be heard. In the end some young community members (Khuddam) sang poems so beautifully that I saw tears running from many eyes. Especially when Arab Ahmadis sang a poem, “Ini-Ma’qa-Ya-Masroor” (O Masroor! I am with you) shook the whole atmosphere and that echo shattered the walls of main marquee. It certainly showed the love of those Arabs for Khalifatul Masih.

These emotions were not one sided but the people who have seen the face of his Holiness (aba) on MTA could see and witness the Waterfall of love from his face.

I bear witness that I have never ever experienced this sort of relationship between leaders and his followers. I have only read it in books of history about the prophets and their followers. I think this two-way strong relationship is the reason of the stability of Khilafat (Successor) in Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mourns Passing Away of Genius Scholar

Dost Muhammad Shahid (3rd from left) at TI College, Rabwah, around 1965
Dost Muhammad Shahid (front, 3rd from the left) at the History Society of TI College, Rabwah, around 1965.

Maulana Dost Mohammad Shahed sahib passed away on 25th August mid-night at Tahir Heart Institute, Rabwah. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi Rajihun. Maulana Dost Mohammad Shahed was a renowned scholar of the Ahmadiyya Community, also known as the Historian of Ahmadiyyat.

Conversion to Ahmadiyyat
He converted to the Ahmadiyya community in his early years. His father used to beat an Ahmadi in the village they lived in. However, the Ahmadi was very pious. On his death bed, he told the father of Dost Muhammad Shahid sb that of his five sons, the two intelligent ones would convert to Ahmadiyyat. When this indeed happened, the father sent a message to the Caliph, that if he wanted to increase his numbers, he could take his three less intelligent sons and give back the two more intelligent ones. The Caliph replied that this was fine. The man then responded, ‘the Caliph is rather clever; my intelligent sons are so convinced of the truth of Ahmadiyyat that they will never revert back, even if they are forced to. So then he will have all five’.

A walking encyclopedia
Dost Muhammad Shahid was to play an important role in the trial brought against the Ahmadiyya community in 1974. He could provide proofs and references on demand, as quickly as a computer. At one time an Arabic delegation visited him, and told him that they had looked for years for certain references in Arabic literature. Dost Muhammad Shahid sb had a collection of 8000 books in his own library. Within half an hour he came back to the Arabic delegation with the references copied and presented in a neat file.

Devotion to the Ahmadiyya Caliphate
He was extremely devoted to the Caliphate of the community. One day, he came home glowing with happiness. When he was asked what happened, he replied that when the Caliph left his shoes at the door, he was able to quickly take his handkerchief and take the dust off the shoes of the Caliph. He was one of the most learned men of this time, and knew all the opinions given on a certain subject or question. Still, when the decision had to be taken, he always put it out firmly that when opinions contradict, the opinion of the Caliph of the Time is the one to be followed and nothing else.

Fulfilment of duties
Dost Muhammad Shahid devoted his life to serve the Ahmadiyya community. As a ‘Waqf’ he worked for a small salary to spread Islam. He had not many clothes, but the clothes he had were always so nicely cleaned and ironed that everyone was impressed by his dress. He was strict in community matters; at one time, someone took a letterhead from the Community to write down some personal notes. Dost Muhammad Shahid sb took the letterhead from him and said ‘this is community property’. He worked continuously on his masterpiece, the History of Ahmadiyyat, which is complete until the year 2004, with notes for the years until the present day.

In 63 years of service, he never took one day off. He was always polite and mild tempered. He was imprisoned several times because of his faith. He was known as the historian of Ahmadiyyat but in fact he was a chapter in the history of Ahmadiyyat. We deeply realise the greatness of the person who was in our midst, and we miss him dearly. May Allah bestow His choicest blessings on the departed soul and place him with His most blessed and favoured persons in heaven. May He give us the capacity to follow his dear example. Ameen.

God… the biggest reality of the universe!!!

Few days ago, I saw some comments from one of our readers about God. I decided to write something too J as comments but I came up with a small article. So, enjoy this small contribution.

I don’t have anything against those people who don’t believe in God. If one is happy without God, who is the biggest reality of the universe, then I certainly don’t mind that.

We must not forget that our beliefs do not create or remove things. If something is present, and I believe it’s not, it will not take it away from the face of reality and vice versa. We don’t create God with our thinking and belief. On the contrary, God created us. We must not also forget that people who used to believe in God and still believe in Him were not mad and ignorant either. If we compare the number of people who believe in God and the ones who don’t we will always find the number in the former case to be way too much bigger. Galileo, Newton, Johannes Kepler, Jabir bin Hayan, Bu Ali Sina, Al-Beruni, numerous Arab scientists and several other key figures of knowledge were strong believers in God yet they were giants of knowledge. So, I request those people not to be proud of what they know about things around them. No group of learned scholars has been able to unanimously disprove the existence of God until now. No university has yet been able to issue a certificate that there is no God. Moreover, what we consider true today might be considered wrong tomorrow. We laugh at the knowledge of the people just 50 years ago. What would people say about our knowledge and wisdom after 50 years? Every nation in its time claimed that they are the most knowledgeable people on the face of earth but their claim was wrong. Our scientists (who are atheists first and scientist later) today are doing the same mistake again due to their arrogance. They don’t realize that how much do we know about things around us? We don’t make even the billionth (there are almost around 100 to 200 billion galaxies and we are just residing in one of those galaxies as a tiny small part) of the universe and we are claiming that there isn’t any God because our ‘knowledge and wisdom’ tells us so. Who are we? Our scientists think that they can either hunt God with their knowledge and experiments by saying “Look there He is… ” Or say, “there is no such thing… you are ignorant!” I am a 26 years old high-level university student; studied psychology, physics, philosophy, chemistry, computers, mathematics etc but none of them could make my belief in God shatter. Rather they helped me to understand more about His created phenomenon, principles and His beautiful attributes.

God will never be hunted by anyone using the weapons of knowledge. What are we; what is our knowledge? That’s why He says in the Holy Quran “Eyes cannot reach Him but He reaches the eyes. And He is Incomprehensible, the All-Aware” [6:104] And here eyes means our vision, observation, knowledge, sight etc. It is an open challenge to all the living people on the planet and people who would come afterwards that they would never be able to prove God with science and their knowledge. The only thing what they could do is that they can say ‘There should be God… or there must be a God…” Unless we accept our defeat by ruining our arrogance under our feet, we can never gain any wisdom and insight about God. If one is sick, he doesn’t go to a computer technician but to a doctor. If one wants to know more about God and personally experience His words and works, he must not go to scientists but to those people who are called Prophets, Khalifas, and Saints etc. Let me tell everyone that God has never let humans starve for His love, affection, knowledge and wisdom in any age; He has been sending prophets to this world and in this era He has sent Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a); and we have now his fifth successor alive named Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba).

How many people lost their lives and let non-believers in God cut their heads just because they used to believe in God? What kept them so steadfast that they saw death in front of their eyes and yet they didn’t announce loudly “there is no God… we were wrong in our observation… spare us please!!!” And how many non-believers in God lost their lives because they said, “there is no God… you may kill us if you like… but we would not believe in God!!!” Then, who enjoyed more powerful belief and steadfastness?

So, people can enjoy their lives without God if they like! I believe in God with all my heart and my complete being. If God so wills, I will try to present some articles later about the existence of God and some related concepts. In the end I just quote a small extract of the prophet of the time Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a), who was a humble servant of the Holy Prophet (s).

Our paradise is our God. Our highest delight is in our God for we have seen Him and have found every beauty in Him. This wealth is worth procuring though one may have to lay down one’s life to procure it . This ruby is worth purchasing though one may have to lose one’s self to acquire it. O ye, who are bereft, run to this fountain and it will satiate your thirst. It is the fountain of life that will save you. What shall I do, and by what drum shall I make the announcement, that this is your God, so that people might hear? What remedy shall I apply to their ears so that they should listen? If you belong to Allah, rest assured that Allah will belong to you. [Noah’s Arc]

Why God does not clearly mention the advent of prophets in earlier scriptures? (Episode 2)

The Holy Quran says at [7:158]

"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures) in the law and the Gospel".

So, the Holy Quran is mentioning that advent of the Holy Prophet (s) is mentioned in different scriptures. So, nobody can deny this fact that there were clear signs of the advent of the Holy Prophet (s). I present the following examples.

The advent of the Holy Prophet (s) is mentioned in the Old Testament in the following verses.

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18)

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not harken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." (Deuteronomy chapter 18:19)

"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." (Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12)

"Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammadim Zehdoodeh wa Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem." (Solomon chapter 5 verse 16)

The advent of Hadhrat Muhammad (s) is the mentioned in the New Testament in the following verses.

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." (John chapter 14 verse 16)

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." (Gospel of John chapter 15 verse 26)

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you". (Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 7)

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you unto all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me". (Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 12-14)

Now, in the aforementioned verses, can anyone see the names like Muhammad, Mecca, Abdullah, Quran, Revelation, and Medina etc? Nowhere!!! Somebody would say that the word Muhammadim is used once in Old Testament but let me tell you that the Christians and Jews have so many reasons to understand some other meaning from that. Christians and Jews say that in Hebrew, Muhammadim means “altogether lovely”, which can be applied to anyone (but Muhammad (s) according to them). Moreover, is the name enough for a prophet to claim that he is the same prophet people have been waiting for? Certainly not!!!

All the verses need some explanation by a person and personal understanding, who thinks that they mention the advent of Hadhrat Muhammad (s). Implications, literal meanings, history and these kinds of factors are involved to understand and to infer “rightly” from these verses and most importantly one’s personal level of piety has the key role to play. Otherwise, they are quite vague to a normal reader, who insists on saying that ‘why God didn’t mention it clearly so that we might not go wrong’. God didn’t even mention the name of the prophet, for whom the whole universe was created, clearly in the books. Why he suffered persecution by the Christians and Jews who used to have the books?

The reality is that by the advent of a Prophet, there is always a trial and test for the people. Otherwise, the people could have rejected no prophet. If everything is written in a scripture i.e. his name, his birth date, his birthplace, his parents name, his actions, his identifications, his time and time of arrival then why people negate him. It is of course strange that if everything is mentioned already then why people don’t accept him. It is simply because there is a hidden trial, set by God, right from the beginning of the institution of the Prophethood. They always raise the same kinds of objections and attitudes [41:44], [51:53]. This attitude is always adopted by people as mentioned in the verses [40:35-36] and [72:8]; they always think that God will never ever raise a prophet again, but that is just a dispute without any authority from God.

Belief in the unseen is the key belief in all religions. It should not be intermixed with the concept of “blind belief”. The things and phenomenon we see with our eyes are many thousand times less than what we don’t see with our eyes. Religion talks about belief in the unseen in this sense. If we already see the daylight, then why somebody should discuss whether sun exists or not? Rewards are given as a result of belief in the unseen. If everything is clear then, what is the point of either accepting or rejecting something and what kind of reward one can get? If a president of a country comes with full protocol, and ask somebody on the street, do you accept or not that I am the President? Even a dumb and blind person would also say that how can I reject you? Can this person who just accepted him claim for any reward? Certainly not! But if he comes in a simple dress with no protocol and somebody then accepts him he certainly deserves a reward because his acceptance was not merely due to all those worldly signs everyone could see but due to his inner sense, knowledge and power to judge the truth. The same happens when prophets come. Prophets’ advent is a sort of trial for people. The people, who are humble and pious and don’t want any worldly things, readily accept prophets by looking at their moral and spiritual conducts and their beautiful teachings. But those people, who are arrogant, greedy, power-thirsty and worldly even though they are learned don’t accept prophets and prophets’ advent only raises their diseases [2:11].

Today, Muslims are making the same mistake by saying that they don’t see any signs of the advent of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (a) in Quran and hadiths. They say that his advent is not clear. Just like Jews, they are awaiting an old Jesus from heavens, and the King Imam Mahdi. Both of them will spread so much bloodshed in the world that it has never been witnessed before. They would fight with the enemies of Islam and hand over the keys of the world’s treasures and kingdom to the Muslims. Both of them wouldn’t dare to point out any weakness of Muslims and wouldn’t call them towards reformation. ‘Who are they to point out any mistake of Muslim Scholars?’ ‘How could they dare to ask Muslims, the best people on earth who have been given the Holy Quran, to reform themselves?’ Their task would be of two servants who would just fight and wouldn’t dare to do anything else.

It is to note that the truth of the prophet is not always identified and verified from the books and the scriptures. There are much more prophets than available scriptures. Prophets would have come in Africa, China etc. There are several things, which serve as a criterion of judging a prophet’s truthfulness, which is out of the scope of this article.

Why God does not clearly mention the advent of prophets in earlier scriptures? (Episode 1)

While talking to a friend of mine about the advent of the Promised Messiah (a), I came across the question ‘Why God does not clearly mention the advent of prophets in earlier scriptures?’ That’s indeed a very valid question because people usually oppose prophets using this point that ‘this person who claims to be a prophet does not fulfill those signs which were told in our scriptures’. History tells us that the people welcomed not even a single prophet. According to the verses [23:45], [6:113], [21:42] and [36:31], it is quite clear that every prophet, who came to this world, suffered extreme resistance, taunting, mockery and objections. Why people always did that?

‘Clear’ and ‘mention’ are two words if understood properly can answer this question. Although, we have been given five senses to sense things and phenomenon around us but let us just take our sense of vision for example. Anything that might look clear to me might not be clear to a person sitting beside me. This can be due to our difference of vision and perception. These two things, if working properly, can help anyone to look something clearly. So, if a person does not see something, though it exists in reality, can have problem with either his/her vision or perception. But, nobody can claim that people who were reading their scriptures have vision problems and they couldn’t read their scriptures and rejected a prophet. The only thing that is left behind is ‘perception’ i.e. how did they perceive their scriptures. And the problem lies in their perception. The Holy Quran also mentions this kind of blindness [2:19], which is related to one’s perception. Jesus also used to speak in parables. Once his followers asked why he spoke in parables he answered “Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand…. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them. ” [Mathew 13:13, 15]. Perception is not only related to one’s vision but also, most importantly, one’s abilities of understanding, reasoning, reflecting and thinking. And these abilities are strongly affected by numerous factors like personal behavior, level of piety etc. If two people of different backgrounds (mentally and morally for example) are allowed to comment on a picture, they mostly don’t comment the same.

Let us take the example of Bani Israel. Hadhrat Moses (a) brought new teachings (law) for the people. Many prophets came after him and preached those teachings [5:45]. It is indeed very strange that Jews rejected every single prophet who came after Moses (a). Then God sent Jesus (a) with clear signs but they rejected him also. Why? Jews used to believe that Elijah (a) didn’t die, but was actually raised in the heavens. Before the advent of Jesus (a), he (Elijah (a)) must descend from the heavens and then Jesus (a) would appear. The second misunderstanding in their minds was that they thought that Jesus, the Promised Messiah of the Jews, would appear as a King of Jews and fight with sword with the Romans (the Emperors or the Government of that time). So, when Jesus (a) appeared they rejected him, because they said that these two big signs were not fulfilled so we would not believe. So, they raised lots of objections against him and strongly resisted him.

These two signs actually point to certain very important things. Generally, people are always reluctant to change themselves on the advent of a prophet. They are like those soil- worms, which immediately try to hide themselves as soon as they are exposed to light. People don’t want to surrender themselves to the will of God. Prophets, who are humble servants of God, ask people to surrender themselves, point out the weaknesses of religious scholars and ask them to reform themselves by sacrificing their wealth, will, life etc. Prophets are calling people towards humanity, brotherhood and tolerance; in short to a very difficult path of national reformation. This is not acceptable by people and especially by the religious leaders of the time. Religious scholars see their power to rule on people going away and that’s why they start a campaign against prophets. Moreover, people, due to their arrogance, don’t want to accept any external authority. This sense is more apparent in the leaders than in normal people. When leaders see that prophets talk about love, affection, tolerance, brotherhood and equality, they think that if people start following these values, their power and authority would be lost. Another important point is that religious scholars take the people to the past stories and their future consists of some mysterious stories, which never happened in the past and would never happen in the future. We can safely say that this situation is common in the advent of every prophet. Just like a hungry person considers everything as food, power-hungry people also await a prophet who give them wealth and authority. They don’t await somebody who calls towards reformation, sacrifice, morality, brotherhood, justice etc. That’s why they say, “we were expecting somebody else” and uses other things as excuses.

One might say that people don’t accept a prophet because they changed their books or scriptures as mentioned in the Holy Quran. Here is the proof that this is not the only case.

When the Holy Prophet (s), the King of Prophets, appeared, Jews and Christians who used to live around Mecca and Medina, they resisted him and rejected him. It is quite evident from the history that Jews and Christians were one of the biggest enemies of the Holy Prophet (s) Why? Didn’t they read the Bible? Yes, one would answer the same that “Biblical teachings were changed and altered by Jews and Christians”. But that’s not true. Because, if that was true that they didn’t find any proof of the advent of the Holy Prophet (s), then that proof should not be found even today in the Bible. The people with a little bit good knowledge and understanding can infer from the verses of the Bible that the advent of the Holy Prophet (s) was mentioned in it. But Jews and Christians didn’t see those verses? Certainly they did, but they were ignorant of those verses and their power of interpretation went very low and weak. Because they think that his advent is not clear in the Bible. In their own view, they are right. Because they say, we don’t see that his name would be Muhammad, the name of his father would be Abdullah, Mecca would be his birthplace, he will be from Bani Ishmael and not from Bani Israel, and he will bring a new Shari’ah and he will go to Medina and fight battle of Bad’r etc. In Muslims view, his advent is indeed mentioned but the meaning of the verses should be understood properly and Christians don’t understand them correctly.

Ramadan (episode 2)

Een ander voordeel van Ramadan, zowel persoonlijk als maatschappelijk, is zelfbeheersing. Een van de basiskwaliteiten die mensen moeten bezitten is zelfbeheersing, waaruit verschillende goede eigenschappen en morele waarden voortkomen zoals geduld, tolerantie, vriendelijkheid, beleefdheid, nederigheid etc. Iemand die geen goede zelfbeheersing heeft, zal een ander eerder kwaad doen en gebrek aan zelfbeheersing is de reden van het meeste kwaad.

Iemand zal een ander kwaad berokkenen als zijn tolerantievermogen niet toereikend genoeg is om tegengesteld te reageren.

God, die meer is dan een moeder voor haar kind, die Zijn dienaren van de honger ziet sterven terwijl ze hun best doen om weg te blijven van kwaad en Hem aanbidden, zal hen oneindig veel zegenen. Een mens probeert zijn totale fysieke kracht te gebruiken om God te gehoorzamen. Als hij probeert om weg te blijven van de basis levensbehoeften, die in normale omstandigheden zijn toegestaan om te gebruiken, zal hem dit genoeg kracht geven om weg te blijven van slechte gebruiken en gewoonten. Het is een soort spirituele oefening, waarbij iemand ook zijn fysieke kracht nodig heeft. Daarom is vasten een van de beste manieren om de nabijheid van God te bereiken. Mensen die ervaring hebben in de geestelijke wereld zouden deze bewering zeker onderschrijven. Dat is de reden dat het vasten voorgeschreven is in bijna alle religies in de wereld zoals Islam, Christendom, Jodendom, Hindoeïsme, Boeddhisme etc. Alhoewel de manieren van vasten verschillen, is het doel over het algemeen hetzelfde, namelijk de nabijheid van God bereiken en het verhogen van het geestelijke niveau.

Nu de vraag voor wie het vasten verplicht is. Vasten is verplicht voor iedere volwassen moslim die in een goede gezondheid verkeert. Het is niet noodzakelijk voor een onvolwassen kind om te vasten en het is niet goed om hem tot vasten te dwingen tot hij de juiste en gezonde volwassen leeftijd heeft bereikt. Zieke mensen moeten het vasten inhalen als zij weer gezond zijn. Vrouwen die zwanger zijn, borstvoeding geven of menstrueren worden ook als ziek beschouwd en ook zij moeten het vasten inhalen als ze weer beter zijn.

Mensen met bepaalde ziektes zoals bijvoorbeeld diabetici, zijn vrijgesteld van het vasten, maar moeten een arme te eten geven als zij hiervoor financiële ruimte hebben. Dan de mensen die moeten reizen (voor zover dit reizen niet tot de dagelijkse routine behoort), ook zij moeten niet vasten en het op andere dagen inhalen. Maar de mensen die elke dag naar verre plaatsen reizen zoals chauffeurs, of mensen die voor hun werk elke dag in een andere stad moeten zijn, moeten wel vasten, want zij zijn gewend aan de ongemakken van het reizen.

De Islam dwingt het vasten niet af bij de mensen. Eerder nodigt het de gelovigen uit om deze gezegende beproeving en oefening bereidwillig te accepteren; de beloning is Gods genoegen en Zijn nabijheid.

Voor de mensen die de filosofie en het doel van vasten niet begrijpen is het slechts honger en dorst. Als iemand zich niet kan inhouden om harde woorden te gebruiken, als hij zijn handen niet kan thuishouden om iemand anders pijn te doen, als hij geen zelfbeheersing heeft om weg te blijven van alle slechte gewoonten en gedachten, als hij zichzelf niet kan bezighouden in het gedenken van God, als hij geen enkel medegevoel heeft voor de arme en behoeftige mensen en niets aan liefdadigheid doet, als hij niet geduldig en tolerant is: voor diegene is het vasten geen zegening noch een manier om het geestelijk niveau te verbeteren.

Hij gebruikt honger en dorst alleen maar om de mensen te laten weten dat hij lijdt.

Hij is, bewust of onbewust, een huichelaar wat niet goed voor hem is, noch heeft het enig goed effect op de maatschappij.

Na de Ramadan vieren moslims het Ied-feest. Op dit feest groet en ontmoet men elkaar met open harten en lachende gezichten, omdat men succesvol door deze gezegende maand is heen gekomen. Als iemand iets goeds bewerkstelligt, dan wordt hij natuurlijk blij. Het is inderdaad een grote vreugde voor gelovigen, die hun Ramadan volgens de leerstellingen van de Islam hebben doorgebracht en hun best hebben gedaan om Gods genoegen te bereiken. Zij vergaren talrijke zegeningen van Ramadan en dat maakt hen inderdaad zeer gelukkig.

Maar wat zijn de voorschriften van de Islam met betrekking tot dit feest? Er staat dat je je arme broeders niet mag vergeten, of ze moslim zijn of niet-moslim. Je moet hen mooie cadeaus geven of je moet hen uitnodigen om mee te feesten.

Ik zal een voorbeeld geven uit het leven van de Heilige Profeet (vzmh) over hoe hij zijn Ied doorbracht. Toen hij eens op weg was naar het Ied-gebed, zag hij een arm kind dat aan het huilen was. De Heilige Profeet (vzmh) vroeg hem waarom hij huilde en waar zijn ouders waren. Hij antwoordde dat hij geen ouders had. De Heilige Profeet (vzmh) nam het kind mee naar huis. Hij vroeg zijn dochter om hem voor te bereiden op het Ied-feest. Fatima (r) deed hem in bad en gaf hem nieuwe kleren en eten. Daarna zei de Heilige Profeet (vzmh) tegen het kind: vanaf nu is Mohammed je vader en Fatima je zuster.

Met arm en behoeftig bedoel ik niet alleen de mensen die financieel arm zijn; er zijn ook mensen die emotioneel en mentaal geen goed leven hebben. Wat zij nodig hebben is een beetje aandacht en een beetje tijd van de mensen.

Ik heb slechts een paar voordelen van Ramadan genoemd, maar in werkelijkheid zijn er ontelbare zegeningen die de Ramadan met zich mee brengt. Men moet proberen zo veel mogelijk zegeningen tijdens deze maand te verzamelen. De goede gewoonten die men gedurende deze maand heeft ontwikkeld moet men na deze maand niet verliezen.

Helaas begrijpen de hedendaagse Moslims de werkelijke leer van de Islam niet. Ze weerspiegelen een heel verschillend beeld van de Islam. Ze doen dingen waarvan ze niet weten waarom ze het doen en wat de voordelen daarvan zijn. Ze geloven, maar denken er niet over na wat ze werkelijk geloven.

Ramadan (episode 1)

Dr. Mehmood woont sinds kort in Nederland en maakt dit jaar voor de derde keer de Ramadan in Nederland mee.

Hij wil graag zijn zienswijze delen over een aantal vragen die vaak opkomen met betrekking tot de Ramadan.

Bijvoorbeeld of honger en dorst ook maar enige waarde heeft voor het verwerven van het welbehagen van God? Maken we God gelukkiger door honger en dorst te lijden? Wat zijn de uiteindelijke resultaten van zulk lijden?

Het punt is dat God noch pijn voelt als hij mensen van de honger ziet sterven, noch dat Hij zich daardoor ongelukkig voelt. God staat boven alle pijn, lijden en vreugde. Maar wat is dan de filosofie achter dit lijden?

God zegt in de Heilige Koran:

“O, gij gelovigen, het vasten is u voorgeschreven, zoals het degenen die vόόr u waren was voorgeschreven, opdat gij vroom zult zijn.” (2:184)

Alhoewel het voor mensen lijkt op lijden, moeten we kijken naar het effect van dit lijden. Soms geeft de dokter aan zijn patiënt een erg bitter medicijn of het is nodig om een injectie te geven. Een moeder schenkt het leven aan een kind onder verschrikkelijke pijnen. Dit lijden moet de mens inderdaad ondergaan. Maar als je kijkt naar het voordeel en geluk wat deze pijnen voortbrengen, dan worden deze pijnen onzichtbaar.

Laten we nou eens kijken naar de voordelen en het geluk wat het vasten oplevert voor een gelovige.

Als schepper en weldoener van de hele mensheid weet God het meest over de redenen en resultaten van zaken. Volgens het hierboven aangehaalde vers, is het vasten voorgeschreven om beschermd te worden tegen kwaad. Dus de uiteindelijke reden voor vasten is om beschermd te worden tegen kwaad. Als je beter naar dit vers kijkt, dan gaat het eigenlijk niet om een individu, maar om een gemeenschap. We moeten dus twee aspecten gezamenlijk bekijken, namelijk het sociale- en het persoonlijke aspect.

Mensen leven in gemeenschappen en groepen. Gemeenschappen zijn gebaseerd op het basisidee van rechten en verantwoordelijkheden. Het maakt niet uit hoe ontwikkeld of rijk een gemeenschap is; er zijn toch altijd een bepaald aantal mensen die grote problemen in hun leven hebben. Naast deze problemen is er de armoede. En zelfs als er niet veel armen in een gemeenschap zijn, dan nog hebben wij allemaal, als bewoners van dezelfde planeet, de verantwoordelijkheid om onze medemensen van eten te voorzien en voor hen te zorgen.

De meeste kinderen en volwassen in de ontwikkelde landen lijden aan ziektes die meestal veroorzaakt worden door overmatig eten en een makkelijke leefstijl. Terwijl in de onderontwikkelde en arme landen de meeste kinderen en volwassenen van honger sterven en gebrek hebben aan de meest elementaire behoeften.

Duizenden moeders zien dagelijks hun kinderen voor hun eigen ogen sterven. Tijdens het organiseren van medische kampen in arme dorpen ben ik als doktor getuige geweest van zulke taferelen. Ik luisterde naar de moeders die, met betraande ogen en trillende handen, vertelden dat ze hun kind niet naar de dokter konden brengen omdat ze geen geld hadden om medicijnen te kopen.

In ontwikkelde landen spenderen mensen veel geld om het zichzelf en hun kinderen makkelijk te maken. Zij geven zelfs veel geld uit aan hun huisdieren. Als slechts één procent hiervan ten goede komt aan arme landen, dan zouden duizenden kinderen gevoed kunnen worden.

De pijn die vergezeld gaat bij honger en dorst kan alleen gevoeld worden als je dit zelf ook ondergaat. Als iemand de hele dag honger lijdt, dan voelt hij dezelfde pijn die deze mensen hun hele leven voelen. Maar betekent dit dat we alleen maar honger hoeven te lijden en verder niets? Nee! Maar hierdoor gaat iemands aandacht uit naar liefdadigheid en hij zal zich vrijwillig inspannen om de armoede de wereld uit te krijgen. Het is moslims opgedragen om tijdens Ramadan aan liefdadigheid te geven. De Heilige Profeet Mohammed (vrede zij met hem) was tijdens de Ramadan zo vrijgevig, dat zijn generositeit gezien kon worden als een blazende wind. Men moet niet vergeten dat alle mensen tot één familie behoren. En het is de taak van ieder mens om voor ieder ander mens te zorgen, ongeacht ras, herkomst of geloof. Armoede kan niet opgelost worden als de wereld niet samenwerkt. Ramadan is een manier om de relatie met elkaar tot nieuw leven te wekken en samen te werken voor het belang van iedereen.

Armoede zorgt voor hoge criminaliteitcijfers en sociale instabiliteit. Dus het bestrijden van armoede is niet alleen voordelig voor een kleine groep mensen, maar voor de gehele samenleving. In de Heilige Koran roept God de gelovigen op om tijdens Ramadan te vasten. Als ze om een geldige reden niet kunnen vasten, dan moeten zij een arme te eten geven. Dus het vasten tijdens Ramadan staat in nauwe verbinding met het oplossen van dit immens grote probleem.

Ramadan (episode 2)

Fasting is obligatory?

Now, the question comes the fasting is obligatory on whom? Fasting is obligatory on every mature Muslim who enjoys good health. It is not compulsory for an immature child to observe fast and it is not good to force them to observe fast until they develop to a good and healthy mature age. The people who are sick, they must observe the fast in some other days when they regain their health. Then, women who are pregnant, breast-feeding their children or having their menstrual periods are also considered as ill and they must observe fast when they become healthy again. The people with regular diseases like diabetes etc are also free not to observe fast, but they must feed a poor man, if they have enough financial strength to do so. Then, the people who have to travel and that traveling is not amongst their normal daily routine, should also not observe fast and must observe it in some other days. But the people who travels everyday to a distant place like drivers, or people who go to their job to another city everyday, must observe fast because they become used to those hardships and sufferings of traveling.

So, Islam does not impose fasting on people. Rather, it invites the believers to willingly accept this blessed trial and exercise, the reward of which is God’s pleasure and nearness.

Message through thirst and hunger.

The people who do not understand the philosophy and purpose of fasting, for them it is just hunger and thirst. If a person cannot control his tongue from using harsh words against anybody; if he cannot control his hands from hurting any fellow human being; if he cannot develop self-control to stay away from all bad practices and thoughts; if he cannot keep himself busy in the remembrance of God; if he cannot feel any sympathy for the poor and needy people and don’t give any charity; if he cannot have patience and tolerance; for them fasting is neither a blessing nor a way to raise one’s spiritual levels. It is just hunger and thirst which he adopts just to tell people that he is suffering. He, intentionally or unintentionally, is dissimulating which is neither good for him nor does it have any good effects on the society. Abu Huraira relates that the Holy Prophet (s) said “that if one did not eschew falsehood and false conduct, Allah has no need that he should abstain from eating and drinking” (Sahih Bukhari). In Arabic language, falsehood include wrong deeds, illegal means, bribery, adulteration etc…

The Prophet (s) said: “When any one of you is observing the fast for the day, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor raise his voice. If someone insults him or quarrels with him, he should say: ‘I am fasting’.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Eid Festival after Ramadan

Then after Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the Eid-festival. On the Eid-festival, Muslims greet and meet each other with open hearts and smiling faces as they have successfully passed through a blessed month. Of course, if a person attains something good, his obvious reaction is that he becomes happy. It is indeed a great joy for the believers who spent their Ramadan according to the teachings of Islam and they tried their best to attain God’s pleasure. They gathered numerous blessings of Ramadan, which indeed make them very happy.

But what are the instructions of Islam regarding this festival. It is said that you must not forget your poor brothers; no matter they are Muslims or non-Muslims. Either you must go to them with nice gifts or you must invite them to join you in the feast.

I just quote one example from the life of the Holy Prophet (s) about how he spent his Eid. Once, while going to offer Eid prayers, the Holy Prophet (s) saw a poor child who was crying. The Holy Prophet (s) asked him why he was crying and where were his parents. He answered that I don’t have any parents. The Holy Prophet (s) brought that child to his home. He asked his daughter to make him ready for the Eid-festival. Fatima (r), the daughter of the Holy Prophet (s), gave him bath, new clothes and food. After that, the Holy Prophet (s) said to that child, that from now, Muhammad (s) is your father and Fatima (r) is your sister.

From poor and needy, I don’t only mean the people who are financially poor; but there are some people who are emotionally and mentally not enjoying a good life. All they need is a little bit of attention from the people and some time that can be spent with them.

I have just mentioned very few benefits of Ramadan, but in reality there are countless blessings which Ramadan brings. One must try to gather as much blessings as he can during this month. And the good habits and qualities that he develops during this month should not leave him after this month.

Alas! The Muslims today don’t understand the true teachings of Islam. They are projecting a totally different picture of Islam. They practice, but don’t know why they are doing it and what the benefits are. They believe, but don’t think what they really believe.

Ramadan (episode 1): How can starving yourself make God happy?

This is my third Ramadan in the Netherlands. One thing which I noticed is that whenever Ramadan comes, our non-Muslim brothers start to raise different questions about Ramadan. Truly speaking, I really like to answer those questions. Another thing which is quite noticeable is that they do respect the views and philosophies which different religions present. But there are some factors which work totally in opposite direction. They, in order to fulfill their worldly desires, try to increase the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims. A very simple way to achieve their target is to use “Divide and Rule” method. All they need is to increase the gap between nations, religions, groups, people, families and individuals.

I would like to share my views about the questions that are mostly raised about Ramadan like can hunger and thirst have any significance whatsoever for the attainment of God’s pleasure? Can we make our God happier by suffering thirst and hunger? What are the ultimate effects of such suffering?

The point is that God neither feels happy by looking at people starving with hunger nor it makes him feel sad. God is above all the pains, suffering and enjoyment. Then what is the philosophy behind this suffering?

God says in the Holy Quran, “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil [2:184]”

Although, it looks to the people as a suffering but we should look at the impact of this suffering. A doctor sometimes gives very bitter medicine to the patient and at times he even needs to give him an injection. A mother gives birth to a child after feeling immense pain. They are indeed sufferings which people go through. But when one looks at the benefits and happiness those sufferings bring, then these sufferings become invisible. Now, let us look at the benefits and happiness which fasting bring in the life of a believer.

God, being the creator and benefactor of all human beings knows the best about the causes and effects of things. According to the above quoted verse, fasting should be observed in order to guard against evil. So, the ultimate reason for observing fast is to guard against evil. If one looks closely look at this verse it is actually not talking only about an individual but a community. So, we have to look the two aspects together i.e. Social and Personal.

Humans live in societies and groups. And societies are built on the very basic idea of rights and responsibilities. No matter how developed or rich a society is, there is always certain number of individuals which are living their lives in great troubles. Amongst those troubles is the poverty. And even if there aren’t much poor people in a society, being the dwellers of the same planet we all have the responsibility of feeding and caring our fellow human beings.

In the developed countries, most of the children and adults are suffering from diseases which are mostly caused by over-eating and easy life style. While in the developing or poor countries, most of the children and adults are starving and lacking the very basic needs. Thousands of mothers see their kids dying every day in front of their eyes. Being a doctor, while organizing the medical camps in such economically poor villages, I have personally seen such examples. I listened to the mothers, with crying eyes and trembling hands that they could not take their kids to the doctor because they didn’t have any money to purchase the medicine.

In the developed nations, people spend millions of euros in order to facilitate themselves and their kids. They spend enough money to take care of their pets even. If only one percent of that, if spent, on poor nations can feed thousands of human children.

The pain that hunger and thirst brings can only be felt when one really feels that by one self. When a person starves the whole day, he gets to experience the same pain which those people feel throughout their lives. But does it mean we only have to starve and that’s it? No! But it drives one’s attention towards charity and voluntarily efforts to remove poverty from the world. In Ramadan, Muslims are instructed to give charity. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) used to give so much charity during Ramadan, that it is stated that his generosity could be viewed as a blowing wind. One must not forget the fact, that all humans are one family. And it is the responsibility of every human to take care of every other human irrespective of their race, nation and religion. Poverty is a problem that can never be solved until the whole world work together. And Ramadan is one way to bring our relationship with each other to life again and work together for the benefit of all mankind.

Poverty is one of the causes of high crime rates and social instability. So, removing poverty is not only beneficial for a small group of people but for the whole society. In the Holy Quran, God commands the believers to observe fast during Ramadan. If they cannot observe fast because of some valid reason, then they are instructed to feed a poor man. So, fasting during Ramadan is linked very closely with the removal of this very big problem.

Another benefit of Ramadan, which is both personal and social, is self-control. The very basic human quality is to have self-control, from which several virtues and moral qualities emerge like patience, tolerance, kindness, politeness, humbleness etc. A person who does not have a good self-control is more likely to harm others and cause of the most of the evils is also the lack of self-control. A person starts to harm somebody, when his ability to tolerate something is not enough to do react totally opposite.

God, who is much then a mother to a child, when looks His servant starving, trying his best to stay away from the evils and praising Him, showers infinite blessings on him. A person tries to use his full physical strength to act just according to the will of God. When he tries to get himself away from the things which are the basic needs of life and which are in normal conditions allowed to practice and use, gives him enough strength to stay away from the evils practices and beliefs. It is a kind of spiritual exercise, with which one uses his physical strength as well. That’s why; fasting is one of the best ways to attain nearness to God. The people, who have any experience of the spiritual world, would definitely agree to this statement. That’s why; fasting is prescribed in almost all religions of the world like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism etc. Though, the forms of the fasting are different but the purpose is usually the same i.e. to attain nearness to God and increase one’s spiritual levels.

Pakistan – a journey from a secular state to an religious extremist state (episode 2)

             Then, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (founder of Pakistan Peoples Party) came in the picture. He, in order to get political strength and sustenance by making those extremist groups happy, took a shameful and worst decision i.e. declaring Ahmadis, who worked very closely to Pakistan’s founding father and did their utmost for the establishment of Pakistan, as non-Muslims in 1974. Several sanctions were put on Ahmadis. Wicked minds of Mullahs (religious leaders) could see that Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya was the only hurdle in their way to destabilize Pakistan and getting the political as well as financial power. Ahmadis were playing a key role in the establishment of Pakistan, but those Mullahs (religious leaders) did their utmost to pave their way and let Pakistan walk towards destruction. People of Pakistan and all over the world don’t realize that ‘that decision’ was not an ordinary decision; it actually sowed the seed of terrorism and let it establish its roots firmly in the ground. Mr. Iltaf Hussan Qurashi editor of Urdu Digest Lahore wrote that ‘Mr. Bhutto didn’t declare Qadiyanis non-Muslims because of his love for Islam. Then was it a political decision? Events stand witness to the fact that it was indeed a political decision’ [4]

           Anyhow, that was the moment which gave rise to individualism (in place of nationalism) and religious extremism and Fanatism (in place of secularism). So, the riots and fights started between different religious groups (Sunnis, Shiites etc) and races (Punjabis, Balochis, Sindhis and Pathans etc) in Pakistan, which have now reached at a very dangerous point. Only in the period of 1990-March 2002, 593 Shi’ah and 388 Sunni were killed in Sectarian Violence [5]. Here, we must let our readers know that Islam in its practices is indeed secular. Quran said “There should be no compulsion in religion” [6]. It is a separate topic altogether, which is out of the scope of this article.
           Then, came the dark age of General Zia-ul-Haq, who brought Pakistan into such a worst position and created so much problems that it seems almost impossible today for it to come out of those problems. He introduced the famous ‘Hudood Ordinance’ and ‘Blasphemy Law’, which produced several innocent victims from the minority group in Pakistan.

Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code reads as follows:
Use of derogatory remarks etc. in respect of the Holy Prophet: Whether by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet (peace by upon him) shall be punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall be liable to fine.

            Whenever any minority group person come in front of any religious scholar of Pakistan, Mr. Scholar used different ‘Islamic laws’ to get rid of his ‘enemy’ forever. These laws have been so commonly used that even a normal person could make use of it e.g. if anybody wants to capture the land of a non-Muslim, or fell in love with a non-Muslim girl, enmity, politics, so these handy laws are brilliant for Muslims of Pakistan. Isn’t is easy to kill any non-Muslim in Pakistan openly on any street by just saying that ‘he abused the Holy Prophet (s)’; no need to bother to provide any proofs or evidence. One could even get many ‘lovers of the Holy Prophet (s)’ from the neighborhood, who would help killing a non-Muslim openly and brutally on the street anytime and anywhere. Numerous Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians etc have been the victims of these wicked laws. I provide the following reference:

             “The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reported that during 1998, 106 cases were registered under various religious laws against the Ahmadis (or Ahmadiyya, the sect declared non-Muslim in 1974, despite their claims to be Muslims). The editors, printers and publishers of Ahmadi publications faced 191 similar charges. At least five Ahmadis were murdered just for being Ahmadis. A Hindu, Chetan Das, complained that his daughter had been abducted and forcibly married to a Muslim. The police took no action. A Christian Ayub Masih was sentenced to death by a session court on the charge that he had blasphemed. On 6 May 1998, Bishop John Joseph burnt himself to death to draw attention to the victimization of Christians under the Blasphemy law. Cases were also reported of forcible occupation of church land, the dismantling of a Christian locality and an explosion inside a historic church” [7]

              Even today, whenever anyone wants to raise voice against this law, he suffered extreme opposition from extreme religious parties and he has to run away. Last week, 7 Pakistani Christians were burnt alive in Pakistan by Muslims mobs. They were blamed to have disregarded the Holy Quran. So, one can easily call Mr. Zia-ul-Haq the co-founder of Taliban and Fanatism. Although, it is difficult to say whether Zia-ul-Haq was the product of those extremist Mullahs (religious leaders) or those extremist Mullahs were the product of Zia-ul-Haq (looks like a chicken and egg story) but it is a fact that Zia-ul-Haq rendered his indefinite services to religious extremism, which is now apparent at every city, every town and every street of Pakistan. The Pakistani nation, willingly or unwillingly, has been caught strongly in the paw of religious extremism. Yesterday the Interior Minister of Pakistan has reported that only in one year 2686 people were died due to terrorism in Pakistan [8].

           Dr Noor ul Haq in his paper on Configuration of religious communities in Pakistan, A historical perspective wrote: “Zia’s Islamisation policy “injected the poison of sectarianism, fanaticism and bigotry, pitting sect against sect”. The sectarian rivalry resulted in the emergence of militant Shi’ah/Sunni sectarian organizations. The members of the opposite sect including worshippers in mosques were targeted. The number of sectarian killings during 1987-89 was 22. It increased from 22 to 166 during 1993-95. It led to the formation of militant sectarian organizations, such as Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi amongst Sunnis and Sipah-e-Muhammad and Tehrik-e-Jafariya-e-Pakistan amongst Shi’ahs. [9]

         Some people say that all this happened as a reaction of American invasion on Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, which is certainly not true. An example of a snake hibernating during winters indeed resembles the case of Taliban and terrorists. Taliban were present in Pakistan long time ago, but they showed their faces when ‘some driving factor or force’ ask them to do so or ‘when the right time came for them to show up’. Like the Taliban of Swat, Waziristan, Lal-Mosque. At the same time, we don’t deny the fact of Taliban getting the sponsorship from different foreign countries.

         Why Pakistanis forget today that we have Maulvi Diesel (Fazal-ur-Rehman, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam) and Maulvi Sami-ul-Haq, who is known as the ‘father of Taliban’ and his Madrassas are called the ‘university of Taliban’, an extremist religious organisation along with Jamaat-e-Islami, Majlis Ehrars (now transformed into Majlis Khatam-a-Nabuwat) and many other organisation in Pakistan. Which are fully active in Pakistani politics, army and every field of life. How can we talk about a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan if we have such people and organisation living without any fear in Pakistan? As long as these forces are alive and active, Pakistan will never prosper and advance in a right direction.

References
·          Urdu Digest Lahore March, 1976
·          Muhammad Amir Rana, A to Z of Jehadi Organizations in Pakistan p. 586-7
·          Quran: 2:257
·          State of Human Rights in 1998: 7-8. (Political Role of Religious Communities in Pakistan 8-9
·          BBC Urdu August 13, 2009
·          Political Role of Religious Communities in Pakistan, page 23

Pakistan – a journey from a secular state to an religious extremist state (episode 1)

Pakistan, appeared as an independent state on the face of the world 62 years ago, still has not been able to know exactly to which destination it should move. It was made as a secular state with a very strong ideology, which has today become a homeland of fanatics and extremists. Pakistan has become a place that produces Taliban and terrorists. Now, people have the right to ask that what were the true objectives behind the making of Pakistan and the thoughts possessed by its founding father? Let’s see what Muhammad Ali Jinnah, certainly not any less than Mr. Gandhi in his vision, personality and wisdom, said in his policy speech on 11^th of August 1947.

“There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State” ^[1]

The early death of Mr. Jinnah on 11^th of Sept, 1948, just after few months after the cretaion of Pakistan, closed the chapter of secularism and universal citizenship in Pakistan. At that stage, Pakistan was like an infant, who actually lost his mother into a jungle with full of beasts. Keep in mind Mr. Jinnah himself was Shiite Muslim but when he die his funeral was lead with Sunni school of thoughts. Very next prime minister of Pakistan was Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan, who brought the very first Islamic resolution in Pakistan’s constituent assembly. After this Islaimc resolution, the pandora box opened in Pakistan’s Assembly and all over the country. During this timeperiod, Ehrars, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (then broke into Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan) started strengthening their foundations and reactivating in different parts of Pakistan. These organisations were the ones who were extremely against Jinnah and Pakistan. They stepped into the politics not as wolves, so that people could judge their intentions, but as peace-loving sheeps and act like a slow poison. The creation of Pakistan was the greatest defeat of these organizations but soon after the establishment of Pakistan these powers thirsty Ulema (organizations) entered into the political field with new modulations means Pakistan was created to establish an Islamic state based on traditional Shariah law.

I would like to quote only two refrences from history here:

“The Ahrar Ulema — Ataullah Shah Bukhari, Habibur Rahman Ludhianawi and Mazhar Ali Azhar — seldom mentioned the Quaid-i-Azam (Mr. Jinnah) by his correct name which was always distorted. Mazhar Ali Azhar used the insulting sobriquet Kafir-i-Azam (the great unbeliever) for Quaid-i-Azam. One of the resolutions passed by the Working Committee of the Majlis-i-Ahrar which met in Delhi on 3rd March 1940, disapproved of Pakistan plan, and in some subsequent speeches of the Ahrar leaders Pakistan was dubbed as "palidistan" (wicked land). The authorship of the following couplet is attributed to Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar, a leading personality of the Ahrar:

Ik Kafira Ke Waste Islam ko Chhora, Yeh Quaid-i-Azam hai Ke hai Kafir-i-Azam.

(He abandoned Islam for the sake of a non-believer woman; he is a great leader or a great non-believer) ^[2]

               Then about Maulana Maududi (the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami) was also a bitter enemy of Mr. Jinnah and Pakistan he has his view that the form of government in the new Muslim state, if it ever came into existence, could only be secular. In a speech shortly before partition he said: "Why should we foolishly waste our time in expediting the so-called Muslim-nation state and fritter away our energies in setting it up, when we know that it will not only be useless for our purposes, but will rather prove an obstacle in our path." ^[3]

              And the wicked role of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind which later became Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam is not hidden from any historian. Mufti Mahmud even after the Partition of India, when he moved to Pakistan, he remained a bitter enemy of the Muslim League (Mr. Jinnah fouder party). Keep in mind Mufti Mahmud is a father of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (former Chief Minister and former leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan).

               In the first constitution of 1956 declared Pakistan as “Islamic Republic of Pakistan” and enforced that ‘no non-Muslim can become its president and later it is added that no non-Muslim can become its prime minister either’. Those Islamic organisations, who were inherently intolerant and extremist, gained strength and became a great threat to all the political parties and Pakistan. From here, Pakistan’s politics and nation both were divided into two parts; one being secular and other being extremists. And as the time moved on, the secular part of Pakistan lost its voice, power and influence.

References:

Speeches of Mr. Jinnah vol 2, 1976:403-404

Afzal Iqbal, Islamization of Pakistan, p-54

The Process of Islamic Revolution, 2nd edition, Lahore 1955, p-37

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وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِىْ عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ

Professor Wragge:

Professor Wragge:

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