Contents March 2003, Vol.98, No · 2020-01-13 · Daud Mahmood Khan Fareed Ahmad Fazal Ahmad Fauzia Bajwa. Mansoor Saqi Mahmood Hanif Mansoora Hyder-Muneeb Navida Shahid Sarah Waseem

Special contributors:Amatul-Hadi AhmadFarina Qureshi

Proof-reader:Shaukia Mir

Design and layout:Tanveer Khokhar

Publisher:Al Shirkatul Islamiyyah

Distribution:Muhammad Hanif

Mansoor Ahmed ShahBasit Ahmad Bockarie Tommy KallonDaud Mahmood KhanFareed AhmadFazal AhmadFauzia Bajwa.Mansoor Saqi Mahmood Hanif Mansoora Hyder-MuneebNavida ShahidSarah Waseem.Saleem Ahmad MalikTanveer Khokhar

Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the opinions of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

All correspondence shouldbe forwarded directly to:

The EditorReview of Religions

The London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QL

United Kingdom

© Islamic Publications, 2002ISSN No: 0034-6721

Editorial – A remarkable prophecy of the Holy Qur’an:Bockarie Tommy Kallon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Notes & Comments – The Message of Ahmadiyyat:Mansoor Ahmed Shah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Nuclear Holocaust – A categoric Qur’anic prophecy about impending danger relating to our age: Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Reformation (Part III) –Attainment of peace and contentment requires complete faith in Allah:Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Promised Messiah’s(as) Love for the Holy Prophet (sa) – Could an impostor nurturesuch obedience and love for the Holy Prophet(sa)?: Bockaries Tommy Kallon – UK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Evolution of the Islamic Empire – A brief look at the vicissitudes of Islamic civilisation: Tanveer Khokhar – UK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Dr. Abdus Salam and the Middle East Synchrotron – A new light source that does not seem to brighten the world of Muslim scientists: Sameen Ahmed Khan, Atlanta, USA .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Contents March 2003, Vol.98, No.3

1

Chief Editor and Manager Chairman of the Management BoardNaseer Ahmad Qamar

The beauty of the Holy Qur’anwas captured, laconically, bythe Promised Messiah (as) in oneof his numerous addresses:

The Holy Qur’an is a miracle,the like of which never was andnever will be. The age of itsblessings and bounties iseverlasting.(Malfoozat Vol. 3, p. 57)

So dynamic is the Holy Qur’anthat it has always been foundto keep ahead of the world andnever to lag behind it. It yieldsnew truths and fresh guidanceat every age, ours being noexception. It is no hyperbole tomaintain that all research intothe past and every discovery,every invention, every majorevent of the future cannot butaffirm the truth of the HolyQur’an.

This is because the HolyQur’an is replete with prophe-cies relating to the future and

most of these have foundremarkable fulfilment, espe-cially in our age. Propheciesrelating to the invention of newand better means of transport,the birth of the Suez andPanama Canals, the Wo r l dWars, the discovery of theAmericas, the unearthing ofnew minerals, archaeology, therights of women, the inventionof the modern pre s s ,proliferation of industry, eco-logical and enviro n m e n t a lchanges, the decline of Islamand the advent of the PromisedMessiah to rejuvenate it, are allbut a few examples of thosewitnessed by the world, as wasstated in the Holy Qur’an somefourteen centuries ago.

Among Qur’anic pro p h e c i e srelating to events and inven-tions of our age is one relatingto the impending danger of anuclear holocaust. We read inSurah Al-Humazah:

Nay, he shall surely be castinto the ‘Hutamah’. And whatshould make thee know whatthe ‘Hutamah’ is? It is Allah’skindled fire which will leap at

2 The Review of Religions – March 2003

Editorial

hearts. It will be enclosedagainst them in extendedcolumns.(Ch. 104: vs. 5-10)

In explaining the word‘hotamah’ which literally meansthe smallest insignificantparticle or “atom” in otherwords, the Holy Qur’an speaksof a blazing fire locked up ino u t s t retched pillars. No fireknown to man can be describedas such other than that of anuclear bomb.

The splendour of this prophecylies not only in its fulfilmentbut also in the way it isdisguised such that to thepeople of earlier generations itdid not seem extraord i n a r y.They, it is fair to assume, musthave relegated it to eventspertaining to the life to come.But in this nuclear age, no onecan re g a rd this prophecy asvain babble for history hasproven otherwise.

It is a truly glorious prophecyeven if it augurs not so well forthe world. But with the currenttensions in the Middle East

severely threatening an alreadyfragile international re l a t i o n s ,this month’s feature is a timelyreminder of the impendingcatastrophe if the world doesnot repent and turn to Allah,the Lord of mankind, Gracious,Merciful, the Source of Peace,the Bestower of Security.

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Editorial

The Review of Religions – March 2003

In this journal, for theinformation of non-Muslimreaders, ‘(sa)’ or ‘sa’ after thewords, ‘Holy Prophet’, or thename ‘Muhammad’, are used.They stand for ‘Salallahu alaihiwassalam’ meaning ‘Peace andBlessings of Allah be uponhim’. Likewise, the letters ‘(as)’or ‘as’ after the name of allother prophets is anabbreviation meaning ‘Peacebe upon him’ derived fromAlaihi salato wassalam’ for therespect a Muslim reader utters.


The Message of AhmadiyyatThe Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity was founded on23rd March 1889 by HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad ( a s ) o fQadian India (1835-1908) whoclaimed that he had beencommissioned by GodAlmighty as the Reformer ofthe Age. He said:

‘ P e rceiving the conditionsp revailing in the pre s e n ttimes and finding the earthfilled with various types ofimpiety like disobedience,sinfulness and strayingaway from the right path,God Almighty commis-sioned me for preaching thet ruth and re f o r m i n gmankind...’

‘The thirteenth centuryHijrah had ended and thefourteenth century wasabout to begin. So in ful-filment of the command ofGod, I started to announceamong people thro u g h

published notices andpublic speeches that theman who was to come at thebeginning of this centuryfor reviving the faith ismyself. I have come to re-establish belief in God, abelief which is notcompletely extinct. I havecome to draw mankindt o w a rds purity, righteous-ness and truthfulness and toremove their errors in theirdoctrine and practice. Thiswork I will accomplish bythe power and stre n g t hgranted to me by GodAlmighty Himself.’

‘When some years hadelapsed on this campaign,God Almighty revealed it tome that I am both theMessiah and Mahdi whow e re to come in thisUmmah (followers of theHoly Pro p h e t( s a )). TheMahdi was to appear at thetime of the decadence ofIslam and the prevalence of

Notes & Comments

5The Review of Religions – March 2003

irreligion in the world. Hewas to receive guidancedirectly from God Almightyand to spread afresh theheavenly table before thepeople. Tidings about hiscoming had been given tothe Holy Pro p h e t( s a ) 1 3 0 0years ago.’ (Tadhkiratush Shahadatain)

On 23rd March 1889 severalcompanions undertook thecovenant of Bai’at and pledgedallegiance at the Pro m i s e dMessiah’s hands. The object ofBai’at was explained by him inhis notice issued in 1891:

‘Let all of them know whohave performed Bai’at onmy hands and sincere l ye n t e red my fold that theobject of Bai’at is to checkone’s love of this world andto strengthen his love of theMerciful God and the HolyProphet(sa) instead. Its pur-pose is to induce in theentrant a sense of belongingto God that the journey tothe next world may notappear to him unpleasant.This attitude can be engen-

dered by keeping companywith the virtuous andseeking the attainment ofspiritual truths. In this way,if God so desires, He maylet the new entrant beholdsome big sign of HisMajesty and Power and soremove his letharg y,laziness and indifference inthe quest of God. Thusequipped with certainty offaith, he may step forwardin his goal of realisation ofGod more fervently andvigorously.’(Asmani Faisala)

The Promised Messiah wasalso given the glad tidings thathis message would spread tothe corners of the world.Despite the best efforts of theopponents of Ahmadiyyat,whether individuals, groups orstates, they have not been ableto stop the message reachingout to all parts of the world.Ahmadis have been preventedfrom preaching their message.They have suff e red re l i g i o u spersecution. Yet they remainedsteadfast and persevered somuch so that today the

Notes and Comments

Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity is the mostdynamic community in theworld. Its growth has beenphenomenal, its message ispotent and its achievements areunassailable.

On 23rd February 2003, theBishop of Bradford, UK,recalled that while travellingt h rough Pakistan, he hadpassed by a place calledRabwah and was told aboutAhmadis and the persecutionthat this minority gro u pe n d u red. He observed thateveryone has been a minorityat some stage in life and heu rged communities thatsubsequently become majori-ties not to forget theirinsignificant status when theywere a minority.

Well, it can be said withconfidence about the Ahmadisso far that their growth has notfilled them with arrogance orpride but humility and uttergratitude to the Almighty God.They are glad that theirexpansion has been for themutual benefit of mankind.

They are happier that themessage conveyed to them bythe Founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community has drawnthem nearer to God and thatthey are not blinded by materialpursuits. They are pleased tos h a re this message with theirfellow human beings and hopethat someone somewherewould listen to them.

Mansoor Shah

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Notes and Comments


In response to a number of readersasking us about the history of theReview of Religions in Urdu,Maulana Dost Muhammad ShahidSahib has clarified that till 1913,Maulvi Muhammad Ali served as itseditor. Later editors were: HadhratMaulvi Sher Ali Sahib, HadhratSahibzada Mirza Bashir Ahmad,Hadhrat Maulvi Muhammad DinSahib, Hadhrat Qadhi MuhammadZahuruddin Akmal, Nazir Ahmadfrom Africa, Nuruddin Sahib BA,Hadhrat Bhai Abdul Rahman SahibQadiani, Maulvi Ali MuhammadSahib Ajmeri, Malik MuhammadAbdullah Sahib, Malik Ghulam FaridSahib, Sufi Abdul Qadeer SahibNiaz, Ch. Ali Muhammad Sahib BABT, Rahmatullah Khan Shakir. TheUrdu edition ceased in September1947.

Review of Religions inUrdu(Historical note)


Among the Qur’anic philosophies relating to events andinventions of our age, there are some which are of outstandingimportance and great global significance. One such prophecyrelates to the impending danger of a nuclear holocaust.

This prophecy was made at a time when man could not entertainthe idea of an atomic explosion by any stretch of his imagination.But as we will presently illustrate, there are certain verses of theHoly Qur’an which clearly speak of tiny insignificant particleswhich are described as storehouses of immense energy, as thoughthe fire of hell was locked within them. Amazing as it may seem,this is exactly what is literally described in the following verses.

Woe to every backbiter, slanderer,Who amasses wealth and counts it over and over.He imagines that his wealth will make him immortal.Nay! he shall surely be cast into the ‘hotamah’.

Nuclear Holocaust

This is an extract taken from the bookRevelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth,written by Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad.

And what should make thee know what the ‘hotamah’ is?Allah’s fire as preserved fuel,Which will leap suddenly on to the hearts.It is locked up in outstretched pillars to be used against them.1(Ch.104; Vs.2-10)

This short Qur’anic Chapter is densely packed with astoundingstatements which lie far beyond the reach of the people of that age.Strange is it not, to read that the sinful people of a certaindescription would be cast into the hotamah, which means thetiniest of particles, such as we see floating in a beam of light whichpasses through a poorly lit room.

Authentic Arabic lexicons describe hotamah as possessing two rootmeanings; first hatamah, which means ‘to pound’ or ‘pulverize intoextremely small particles’, and the second hitmah, which means‘the smallest insignificant particle’. Thus hitmah is the resultobtained by breaking something down to its smallest constituents.

The two meanings just mentioned can rightfully be applied to anyextremely minute particle which has reached the limits of itsdivisible potential. As the concept of the atom had not been bornfourteen hundred years ago, the nearest substitute to it could onlybe hotamah which also sounds intriguingly close to atom. Onehardly recovers from the shock of the claim that a time wouldcome when man would be cast in the hotamah when another claim,even more bizarre, comes in its wake.

Explaining the word hotamah, the Holy Qur’an speaks of a blazingfire built within it and confined in extended columns. It goes on todeclare that when man will be cast into it, this fire will directlyleap upon his heart as though no intervening rib cage existed. Thiscan only mean that this fire would be of a completely differentnature which could directly kill the heart before it could scorch the

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body. Certainly no fire known to man of that age could bedescribed as such.

These however are not the only elements of surprise about thisdescription; what follows is even more astonishing. This fire ismentioned as having been locked up in outstretched columnswaiting to leap upon man till such time as it is destined to beunleashed.

Wonder upon wonder is heaped in such a short space of a fewsimple statements. First the declaration that the time would comewhen man would be cast into the smallest particle, then thedescription of that smallest particle and what it contains. Itcontains a type of fire which is kept confined in some tiny vesselswhich could appear like extended columns.

The casting of man into this minute particle does not mean that asingle man will be cast into it. Man is mentioned as a generic nameand the casting indicates his subjection to that affliction to whichhe will be doomed. This has only become conceivable in thecontemporary age when man has discovered the secret of the

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The Canopy of fire like a huge mushroom in a nuclear explosion

atoms and the immense stores of energy which they contain. Thisis the age when the fire contained in the smallest particles leapsout, and engulfs large areas extending to thousands of squaremiles. Everything that lies within its range is engulfed, man andall. Hence, what seemed so unrealistic fourteen hundred yearsago, has become a commonplace reality which even youngchildren can understand.

The most hyperbolical expression of wonder fails to do justice tothe greatness of this prophecy. No less wonderful is the fact thatthe people of that age failed to recognize the import of this shortSurah Al-Humazah; or it would have leapt upon their beliefs andfaith, rather than upon their hearts. How these amazingstatements escaped their notice and went unchallenged defieslogic. Perhaps they sought refuge in the belief that these verses donot apply to the events of this world, but relate to the mysteriousrealm of the unknown in the hereafter. Many a commentatorsimply avoided even an attempt to explain these verses. A fewwho took up the challenge, unburdened themselves by arbitrarilyrelegating the contents of these verses to the time of resurrection.Thus, not comprehending their meaning, they tossed them lock,stock and barrel over to the unknown.

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The wreck of a concrete building in Hiroshima after the explosion

Among the Western orientalists, Sale faced the same dilemma ofhow to translate the word hotamah literally. He simply mentioneda large number of people to be thrust into the hotamah withouttranslating Al-hotamah at all. This left no danger for the Englishspeaking people to express their incredulance at the impossibilityof people being cast into a tiny particle. As they would have noidea what hotamah is, they would be free to imagine a vast ball ofburning fire called the hotamah (the smallest particle). This strategyof Sale saved him from the embarrassment of this translation. Yet,at the same time, he failed to do justice to this amazing prophecy.

The fire described in this verse, whether it is a conflagration hereupon earth or a raging fire in the here a f t e r, could in no way bep ressed into the tiny space of the minutest of particles. But that isnot the only dilemma which must have confronted Sale and otherearlier commentators. What about the fire which is packed into tinyextended columns, a scenario altogether impossible to conceiveuntil the dawn of the atomic era? Now the jigsaw puzzle appears tobe finally resolved, with every piece settling into its right place.

Unless one is familiar with the scientific description of how anatomic explosion takes place and what changes are brought aboutwithin the nuclear mass, one cannot fully comprehend themeaning of the Qur’anic expression of ‘extended columns’.Nuclear experts describe the state of a critical mass which is aboutto explode, as something elongating and pulsating with theimmense pressure built within it. This pressure is caused by theelongation of the nuclei before they burst and in that process anelement of high atomic weight is split into two elements of lesseratomic weight. The sum total of the atomic weight of the newlyformed elements is less than the atomic weight of the originalparent element, normally referred to as a heavy metal. The smallportion of the atomic weight which is lost in this process is turnedinto energy. This is not the only model of a nuclear bomb but we

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have chosen this simple one to describe the process of theextended columns.

Turning to the issue of how this fire could leap directly upon thehearts, the scientific description is given below:

At the instant of explosion, large quantities of gamma rays,neutrons and x-rays are immediately released. The x-rays raise thetemperature immediately to meteoric heights creating a great ballof fire rising rapidly, riding the extremely hot atomic blast. This isthe canopy of fire like a huge mushroom which is seen from farand wide.

The x-rays also travel sideways in all directions along with theneutrons, causing immense heat which burns everything in itsway. The speed at which this heat front moves is many times thespeed of sound which also creates shockwaves. But much fasterand more penetrating than this are the gamma rays which outpacethe heat front by leaping forward at the speed of light. They are soimmensely vibrant that by the sheer force of their vibration theystrike the hearts dead. So death is not caused by the intense heatgenerated by x-rays, it is the tremendous energy of the gammarays which inflicts instantaneous death. This is exactly how theHoly Qur’an describes it.

Again in Surah Al-Dukhan (The Smoke), the Qur’an describes alethal cloud which comprises a deadly radiant smoke:

Then watch for the day when the sky will bring forth a manifestsmoke,

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That will cast a shadow upon people. This will be a painfulsuffering.2(Ch.44: Vs.11-12)

The nature of this cloud is further qualified by the followingverses:

‘Now move towards what you have been denying, 'Move on towards a three-pronged shadow, 'Neither affording shade, nor protecting from the blaze.’ It throws up flames like huge castles,As though the castles were dusky yellow camels.3

The words ‘move towards’ indicate that mankind will begradually carried into an era where it will confront this calamityof a tormenting cloud which offers no shade or pro t e c t i o n .Shadows provide relief and shelter. The clouds stand between usand the blazing heat of the sun. In the above verse no sun ismentioned, just a fire, from whose blaze this shadow affords noprotection. Rather, the shadow of this cloud becomes a means oftransmitting the torment of the fire which emits it. Nothing underits shade is safe. This clearly is the description of a radioactivecloud. The event being described will throw up huge flames of adusky yellow appearance, flames that are likened to castles andalso have the appearance of camels. Perhaps, here it is not only thelikeness to the colour of the camel, but also the shape of its humpwhich is highlighted.

People of the seventh century would not have been able to

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understand the significance of such a deadly cloud or smoke. Itwould have been beyond their comprehension. However, todaywe know of atomic explosions and can understand the images ofradioactive clouds they produce.

This fateful description is also referred to in another verse of theQur’an which reads as follows:

Woe on that day unto those who deny.4

‘That day’

can refer to the day of judgement, but it also refers to a time hereon earth, when those who refuse to believe in the signs

will be tormented by a smoke that casts a deadly shadow overwhatever lies beneath. It will be a shadow which will move on,from land to land, bringing no relief, but only a shade full ofagony. That will be the age when having witnessed this Divinepunishment of colossal dimensions, man would at last turn to Godbeseeching His favour to rescue him from this unbearablechastisement. But when the wrath of Allah overtakes people, thetime for forgiveness and deliverance is already over. Thus theHoly Qur’an explains:

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How shall a message be effectual for them, since a messenger hasalready come to them, explaining things clearly?Yet they turn away from him, saying, ‘He is tutored, a manpossessed.’5 (Ch.44:Vs.14-15)

Prophetic warnings are only delivered to awaken man to thedanger of calamities which are but the consequence of his ownfolly. The prophecies mentioned above clearly relate to our age.They speak of events which were completely unknown to thepeople of earlier ages. One wonders if the full implications of allsuch prophecies were revealed by God to the Holy Prophet(sa) inevery detail. But the clarity with which he describes future eventsleaves a strong impression as if he were beholding them like aprophetic puppet show being staged in the hall of destiny. Yetmankind had to wait for more than a thousand years before theseprophecies would begin to be realised. Hence, the real transfer ofthese events from the realm of the unseen to that of the seen, couldonly become possible in the nuclear age.

The enormity of the atomic catastrophe is horrendous, yet littleattention is paid by man to investigate and identify the underlyingroots of this evil. The sight of man seldom penetrates beyond thesurfaces he scans. Few among them can introspect themselves todiscover the hidden face of their evil intentions. This is a sort ofblindness which is specifically related to the crookedness in man.Whenever he himself is responsible for causing suffering ands p reading evil around him, he will not identify his own handbehind them.

Such is the chain of catastrophes of global impact we are examining.A scientist explains the underlying phenomenon of nuclearexplosions only to the extent of material and physical causes. Butwhen such enormously destructive devices are employed to playhavoc with the peace of man, it is not the scientists who cre a t e d

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them who should be blamed. The root cause lies elsewhere. It is theg reat world powers which are invariably responsible for such cru e land senseless decisions of global magnitude. Yet despite theirg reatness they are no more than mere pawns in the hands of theutterly selfish collective will of the masses.

The Holy Qur’an, though speaking of scientific events with greatprecision, does not assume the role of a mere scientific instructor.Rather it is the immoral causes of distorted human behaviour towhich it draws our attention. It explains the phenomenon of atrigger indeed, but focuses our attention not on the trigger butupon the finger that pulls it. This is the purpose of Qur’anicwarnings. As such, it repeatedly pronounces that for all theugliness done to man, it is man himself who is to blame. Thus thep reventive measures, according to the Qur’an, relate to thereformation of human character. It states that if people changetheir conduct and reform themselves in accordance with Divineguidance, this would create the healthy climate necessary for thesurvival of justice and fair play.

The lighthouse of the Qur’anic prophecies clearly shows whatrocks to avoid and what channels to follow. Yet how unlikely it isfor those who command the ship of human affairs to heed thewarning and steer the ship across the impending hazards to thesafe haven of peace. It is herein that the ultimate cause of disasterlies. Without a critical and realistic analysis of human behaviour atevery level of its activity, no sound workable solution can beconceived of problems which confront man today. In simplestterms, it lies in the rehabilitation of basic human values such astruth, honesty, integrity, justice, fair play, concern for others,sensibility to the sufferings of people even when they areunrelated, and an overall commitment to goodness. Remove themas factors from human relationships and wait for the catastropheto overtake you. It is the only logical conclusion.

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Surah Al-Qamar (Chapter 54), explains this with reference to thehistory of earlier peoples who did not take heed of the warningsdelivered to them by the Divine messengers of their time. As aconsequence they, one and all, witnessed the tragic end that waspromised to them, and their belated repentance was of no avail.The only purpose served by the warning is for the futuregenerations to take heed. The Holy Qur’an thus points its finger attheir tragedy so that the generations to follow may learn the art oflife from the death of those who preceded them.

And there has already come to them the great news wherein is awarning —Consummate wisdom; but the warnings profit them not.(Ch.54: Vs.5-6)

If a people do not draw their lesson, then it is only they who areto be blamed for the disastrous consequences which await them.The atomic holocaust to which we refer is also discussed in SurahTa Ha (Chapter 20) in relation to its ultimate consequences. Byimplication, the verse also makes it clear that it would be the prideand arrogance of the great world powers of the time which will bebroken, mankind as such will not be wiped out.

The relevant verse clearly predicts that this will not be a point oftermination for mankind as such. It will be only the might of thearrogant political powers that will be shattered and laid low. Fromtheir graves will rise the new world order. The mountain-likesuperpowers will be pulverized and levelled as though into a vastexpanse of sand. You will not detect any highs or lows, or abovesand belows in their contour.

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And they ask thee concerning the mountains. Say, ‘My Lord willbreak them into pieces and scatter them as dust.‘And He will leave them as a barren, level plain,‘Wherein thou wilt see no depression, or elevation.’On that day they will follow the Caller straight, there being nodeviation therefrom; and all voices shall be hushed before theGracious God and thou shalt not hear but a subdued sound offootsteps.7

(Ch.20: Vs.106-109)

It will be God, the Perfect Leveller, Whose hand will bring aboutthis amazing transformation. The mountains are mere figures ofspeech, indicating powerful states, nations and people. TheQur’an predicts that once their pride is shattered and they arefinally humbled and straightened, only then will they be fit torespond to the humblest of callers unto God, who has nocrookedness about him. Such destruction as described could onlyresult from a holocaust of the magnitude of hundreds of nuclearexplosions, which implies that man will not learn his lesson andthe head of his arrogance will have to be bent by the sheer weightof this enormity. Along with this grim message of warning there isalso a glorious message of hope that mankind will ultimatelysurvive and be ushered into a new era of light. Man will learn tomend his ways — if not before, at least after tasting some of thefruits of his follies and defiance to God.

In another Surah, the Qur’an speaks of cardinal geographic andclimatic changes of such horrendous nature as would render the

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face of many tracts of land, countries and continents entirelydesolate. This perhaps is related to the aftermath of the holocaustwe have just discussed. Before that, the same lands were countedamong the most scenic and beautiful parts of the world, uniquelyrich in dazzling beauty. How we wish that of all the Qur’anicprophecies, this one at least will not have to be realised. This wishis certainly not a sign of disrespect to the prophetic Qur’anicwarnings. It only springs from our unshakeable faith in the all-embracing graciousness of God – the All-Merciful, the All-Beneficent. All warnings, however categoric they may sound, areconditional to the response of man. The example of the people ofJonah(as), who were spared the destined wrath of God after theyturned to Him with profound repentance, kindles the flame ofhope for us today. Despite the fact that there is no genuinejustification for optimism in view of the consistent decline inhuman moral values, it is the only hope after all to which one maycling. The rest is a fearsome night of utter despair. But the cure fortheir deep-seated maladies no longer lies in the hands of godlessmessiahs. It lies in the hands of God alone – but only if our handsare raised in prayer before Him. Perhaps we are talking a languagehard for contemporary man to understand. It runs counter to whathis ears are attuned to hear. Allah knows best!

REFERENCES1 . Translation of Ch.104: Vs.2-10 by the author.2. Translation of Ch.44:Vs.11-12 by the author.3. Translation of Ch.77:Vs.30-34 by the author.4. Translation of Ch.77:V.16 by the author.5. Translation of Ch.44:Vs.14-15 by the author.6. Translation of Ch.54: Vs.5-6 by Maulawi Sher Ali.7. Translation of Ch.20:Vs.106-109 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

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[Translator’s Note: All references tothe verses of the Holy Qur’an aregiven in Arabic as they occur in thetext. The English translation,presented in Italics, is taken fromthe translation of the Holy Qur’anby Hadhrat Maulvi Sher AliS a h i b( a s ). Where the PromisedM e s s i a h( a s ) has himself stated acertain interpretation of the Arabicverse, this is incorporated in themain body of the text].Translated by Amatul Hadi Ahmad

(Continuation)

Attainment of completesatisfaction and peace requirescomplete and total belief inGod. Hence, the firstobligation of our Communityis to attain a true belief in GodAlmighty.

Remember that for re f o r-mation of the self, mere sug-


Reformation – IIIPresented below, in translation, is the third part of the address delivered on26 December 1903 by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) of Qadian, thePromised Messiah and Mahdi. The Urdu text of the speech is taken fromMalfoozat, Volume 6, pp.245-9. Malfoozat is the title of the ten volumes thatcontain the collection of discourses, speeches and addresses of HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) of Qadian, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. (PartI of the translation of this address was published in the October 2002 editionof The Review of Religions and Part II appeared in the December 2002 issue).

The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community was Hadhrat

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).In 1891, he claimed, on the basis ofDivine revelation, that he was theP romised Messiah and Mahdiwhose advent had been foretoldby Muhammad, the Holy Prophetof Islam (peace be upon him) andby the scriptures of other faiths. His claim constitutes the basis ofthe beliefs of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community.

gestions and schemes cannotby themselves achieveanything. He who relies purelyon his own plan of action isunsuccessful and fails becausehe considers his own effort tobe ‘god’. Consequently, suchpeople are deprived of thegrace and blessing that killstheir ‘capacity’ to commit sinand grants them the strength toprotect themselves against eviland to fight evil. This is sobecause it comes from GodAlmighty Who is not a slave toschemes and plans. God hasHimself provided anillustration of the failure ofhuman schemes and plans.God had commanded the Jewsnot to interpolate or distort theTorah. They were given firmi n s t ructions to protect ands a f e g u a rd the Torah yet theunfortunate Jews madechanges. Against this, theMuslims were told:

Verily, We Ourselves have sent

down this Exhortation, andmost surely We will be itsGuardian. (Ch.15: v.10)

God states: ‘We have made theQ u r’an to descend and Weshall safeguard it’. Hence, youcan see how perfectly theQur’an has been preserved andsafeguarded - not a single wordor a jot has been altered or evenchanged around and no onehas been able to distort it in anyway. It is evident from this thatthe work that is in God’sHands is greatly blessed andthat which is in the hands ofpeople alone cannot be soblessed. What is clear from thisis that unless a plan of action isaccompanied by God’s grace,nothing can be achieved.Hence, it is a false notion toimagine that one can achievepurification of the self merelythrough one’s own effort. Thisdoes not, however, mean thatone should not make any effortat all or that one should notstrive [in the path of God]. Onthe contrary, effort and strivingis necessary and is, indeed, ad u t y. God’s grace does not

21

Reformation – III


allow hard work and true effortto go to waste. Hence, oneshould not abandon plans ofaction and effort re q u i red forreformation of the self but suchplans should not be of the kindthat are contrived by a personhimself, rather only suchschemes and plans should beadopted that have beendescribed [in the Holy Qur’ a n ]by God Himself and that havebeen adopted and practised bythe Holy Prophet Muhammad( s a )

of Islam. Follow in the steps ofthe Holy Pro p h e t( s a ) a n dimplore God for help throughprayer. You are stuck deep inthe mire of impurity butwithout God’s grace youcannot reach the clean springthat would lead to purification– you cannot achieve thist h rough your own eff o r t salone.

There are many who abandonGod and rely upon their ownschemes but, even though theytake every care and precaution,they become entangled in thetrials [they have to go through]and cannot move forward. Thishappens because God’s bless-

ing is not with them and theydo not receive guidance fromGod. He who abandons Godyet declares that reformation ofthe self can be achievedthrough one’s own ideas andplans is false.

One path of self-re f o r m a t i o nthat has been described by God[in the Holy Qur’an] is this:

Be with the truthful(Ch.9: v.119)

That is to say, keep thecompany of those who aresteadfast upon the path of truthand manifest this thro u g htheir words, their actions andtheir deeds.

Preceding this verse comes thestatement:

O ye who believe! Fear Allah(Ch.9: v.119)

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Reformation – III


That is, believers should fearAllah and adopt the way ofrighteousness. Implied here isthe teaching that first thereshould be faith and thereaftershould follow the additionalstep of abandoning the place ofevil and joining the company ofthe truthful. The company onekeeps has a great influence thatgradually affects the inner self.For example, if a person dailyf requents the abode ofp rostitutes and [whenreproached, declares his inno-cence by the rh e t o r i c a lquestion] ‘Do I commit adul-tery?’ One should answer sucha question by saying that, ‘Yes,you will do so’, and such aperson, one day, will commitsuch an abomination becausethe company one keeps has ane ffect. Similarly, he whofrequents the drinking housewill one day indulge indrinking, no matter how muchhe protests earlier that heabstains from drink. Hence,this fact should never beignored that the company ofothers is a factor of gre a tinfluence. It is for this reasonthat God has commanded that

one should keep the companyof pious and truthful people inorder to achieve reformation ofthe self.

The company of good peoplewill leave its mark on a personwho joins them even if he doesso with animosity andopposition in his heart. Regularattendance in good companywill eventually lead him toabandon his opposition. It isre g rettable that those whooppose me have deprivedthemselves of the opportunityof joining our company. Hadthey spent some time with meand heard my arguments, atime would have come whenGod may have guided themagainst their mistaken viewsand they would have found thetruth. However, as they havedeprived themselves of mycompany and lost theopportunity of hearing myarguments, they now persist intheir falsehoods. At times theyaccuse me of (God forbid)being an atheist and at timesthey refer to me as a drunkardand an adulterer. They thinknothing of falsely accusing me

23

Reformation – III


of (God forbid) insulting theHoly Prophet(sa) of God. Whydo they do so? They do sobecause they stay away from[our] company and deprivingoneself of the company [of theone who has been appointedby God] is in itself being underthe wrath of God.

It is stated that at the time ofthe Treaty of Hudaibiya, whenthe Holy Prophet(sa) camped atHudaibiya, one of the blessingswas that it presented manypeople with the opportunity ofobserving the Holy Prophet(sa)

at close quarters. Having heardfor themselves what he had tosay, hundreds joined the fold ofIslam. Until they themselveshad heard the words of theHoly Prophet(sa), there existed

between them and the HolyProphet(sa) a barrier that wasdepriving these people fro mseeing the dazzling beauty ofthe Holy Pro p h e t( s a ).C o n s e q u e n t l y, when hisenemies referred to the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ) as (God forbid)‘Kazzab’ (a liar), these peoplefollowed and repeated theabuse which, in turn, distancedthem from the Holy Prophet(sa),depriving them of the graceand blessings brought by theHoly Pro p h e t( s a ). However,when the barrier was lifted andpeople were able to see himand hear him for themselves,they no longer re m a i n e ddeprived – they entered thefold of those who are blessedwith good fortune.

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Reformation – III


‘...IN THE COMPANY OF THE TRUTHFUL, NOT ONLY DOES

ONE LEARN TRUTHFULNESS BUT ONE ALSO BENEFITS

FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE GOOD COMPANY THAT IS

G R A D U A L LY I N T E R N A L I S E D, L E A D I N G T O T R U E

KNOWLEDGE..... MOREOVER, COMPANY OF THE DIVINELY

GUIDED PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY OF WITNESSING

SIGNS AND MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THAT STRENGTHEN

ONE’S BELIEF [IN GOD].’

The misfortune of many peopleat the present time is caused bythe same factor. If they areasked how much they haveunderstood our claims anda rguments, they only re p e a tthe phrases that they haveheard from others – a few falseobjections and a few falseaccusations. They believe whatthey hear from our opponentsto be true and do not try tounderstand. They do not asmuch as make an effort toinvestigate further by cominghere and seeing for themselves.This leads to the darkening oftheir hearts and they are unableto attain the truth. Had theyacted with righteousness, theywould have known it was nosin to be in my company fromtime to time and to listen towhat I have to say. After allthey meet with Hindus andChristians and listen to theirarguments – they even attendsome of their meetings. Whatthen was the reason that keptthem from coming to me andon what basis did they abstain?This, in short, is a gravemisfortune and a personsuffers deprivation as a result.

It is for this reason that GodAlmighty has commanded thatwe should seek the company ofthe righteous.

This teaching contains a pointof deep wisdom that thecompany one keeps necessarilyexerts an influence. Hence, inthe company of the truthful,not only does one learnt ruthfulness but one alsobenefits from the influence ofthe good company that isgradually internalised, leadingto true knowledge with whichone can attain a real under-standing of God. More o v e r,company of the Divinelyguided provides the oppor-tunity of witnessing signs andmanifestations of God thats t rengthen one’s belief [inGod].

When a person is in thecompany of a truthful anddivinely guided person, truthworks within him. However,when he leaves the company ofthe truthful and adopts thecompany of misguided andmischievous people, evilbegins to work within him.

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Reformation – III


This is the reason why thetraditions of the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ) and the HolyQur’an, both contain the firmguidance of abstaining fro mbad company. Furthermore, itis stated that one should leavea gathering where the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ) is being abused.Those who do not leave suchgatherings will be countedamongst those perpetratingsuch an offence. By the sametoken, he who stays in thecompany of the truthful iscounted amongst them. Onecan see how important it is thatone should practice this divinecommandment and seek thecompany of the righteous.

It is stated in a tradition of theHoly Pro p h e t( s a ) that GodAlmighty sends down angelsin the world to observe thegatherings of the righteous.Upon their return, God askswhat they saw. They reply, ‘Wesaw a gathering in whichpeople were remembering You[God Almighty]. There was oneperson, however, who waspresent there even though hewas not of them.’ At this God

Almighty stated that he toowill be counted among them. Itis evident from this that there isg reat benefit in keeping thecompany of the tru t h f u l .Unfortunate, indeed, is theperson who keeps himselfaway from good company.

One of the signs of N a f s eMutmainnah, the soul at rest, isthat it finds peace in thecompany of those who arethemselves at peace [withGod]. On the other hand, theperson whose soul is [at thelower stage] of ammarah willdisplay signs of N a f s eA m m a r a h, of the soul thatincites to evil. However, theperson who keeps thecompany of those who possessNafse Mutmainnah will soonbegin to feel a sense ofcontentment within.

To be continued

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Reformation – III


As Muslims, we believe in allprophets among whateverpeople they were raised and inwhatever country theyappeared. But our love andregard for the Holy Prophet(sa)

is the utmost for he gave upthe slightest comfort for oursake. He risked his own life tosave us from spiritual death.He grieved for our happiness;he pined for our success. Heabased himself so that weshould stand high. Heplanned for our lasting good;he prayed for our eternalwelfare. He would let his feetget swollen through standinglong in prayer. Sinless thoughhe was, he prayed for theforgiveness of our sins. Tosave us from the fire of Hell,he would pray till his prayermat became wet with tears. Hewept till his breast heavedlike a boiling pot. He drewunto us the mercy of God; he

toiled for His pleasure, againfor us. He caused us to bewrapped up in the mantle ofHis grace and the garment ofHis compassion. He strove tofind for us ways by which wemay also please God; meansby which we may also achievecommunion and union withHim. What the HolyProphet(sa) did for us to makelight our journey to God, noother prophet had done for hispeople.

It is difficult to find a Muslimwho does not claim to love theHoly Prophet( s a ) and manyhave been true to this claim.From his holy companions,down through the ages therehave been many who havebeen willing to sacrificeeverything for the sake oftheir love and devotion to theHoly Prophet( s a ). Many havecomposed panegyrics in his


The Promised Messiah’s(as) Love for theHoly Prophet(sa)

By Bockarie Tommy Kallon, London, UK.

praise. Yet amongst all thesethere was a perfect love for,and devotion to, the HolyProphet(sa) by the PromisedM e s s i a h( a s ) which sets himhead and shoulders above therest. This article looks at thetruth of the PromisedMessiah(as) from the angle ofthis love and obedience to theHoly Prophet(sa). Did it seekvisible expression and showitself in sacrifice? Did itinfluence his daily life, hisspeech, his conduct, hiseveryday movements? If thePromised Messiah ( a s ) can beshown to have possessed alove for the Holy Prophet(sa)

unparalleled in the entire,glorious history of Islam; ifhis every atom of his being,every particle of his body,every faculty of his mind andevery inclination of his soul,was consecrated to the serviceof the Holy Prophet(sa), thenhuman reason compels one toconclude that such a mancould not be an impostor.

After God, I am inebriated with thelove of Muhammad.

If this is infidelity, then by God Iam a great infidel.1

Nothing better encapsulates theP romised Messiah’s love for hisHoly Master, the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ), than these word sf rom one of his couplets. In hislove for the Holy Pro p h e t( s a ), hewas unparalleled through theannals of history. In his devotion,he was unrivalled. Every fibre ofhis being, every interest of his lifeand every thought whichdominated his heart wasimmersed in the love of the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ). From his manywritings and discourses, we willshed some light on this aspect ofthe Promised Messiah’s life. In sodoing, we shall relate someaccounts narrated by those whow e re close to him so that, as wejourney back in time to thoseblessed days in Qadian, we maytake in our stride the veritablerepositories and eye-witnessaccounts of his character at veryclose quarters.

At the time of the Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ), there were verymany Muslims yet very little

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The Promised Messiah’s(as) Love for the Holy Prophet (sa)


Islam. True Islamic teachingsw e re rarely practised whileinnovations and encru s t a t i o n shad, through many centuries,adulterated the religion of Islam.Muslim divines of the time paidlip service and verbal homage tothe teachings of Islam. WhileIslam was attacked from allcorners, especially fro mChristians and Arya Samajp ropagandists, they were busyimputing K u f r (Infidel) to onea n o t h e r. Foul attacks were beingmade on the life and character ofthe Holy Pro p h e t(sa) yet theleading Muslim divines werefiddling and debating sillyquestions with re g a rd to rituals.It was the Promised Messiah( a s )

and Holy Founder of theAhmadiyya Movement alonewho was concerned withdefending Islam against itsenemies. Only he thought ofi m p ressing upon Muslims theimportance of good works. Onlyhe steered clear of sectarianc o n t ro v e r s y. He made Islam pureby reforming all corru p t e ddoctrines and investing it withf resh vigour and glory. He wenton to initiate a world widemovement to present to theworld the true Islamic concept of

God and to establish the truth ofthe Holy Pro p h e t(sa) and the tru t hof Islam. The quality of his lovefor the Holy Pro p h e t(sa) s h o u l d ,t h e re f o re, unlike that of Muslimdivines of the time, not be judgedby the loudness of its pro f e s s i o n ,but by the acts of his devotion.

It is interesting to note that thevery name he gave to theCommunity he founded is inhonour of the Holy Prophet(sa).His opponents misconstru e dthis as an act of self-aggrandisement but in tru t heverything the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) did was coloured inhis love for, and devotion to, theHoly Prophet(sa). This is how heexplained the rationale andwisdom behind the name of theCommunity:

‘The name which isa p p ropriate for thisMovement and which wep refer for ourselves isMuslims of the AhmadiyyaJama’at. We have chosen thisname because the HolyP ro p h e t(sa) had two namesMuhammad and Ahmad.Muhammad was his name ofglory and Ahmad his name

29



of beauty. In the name ofMuhammad was implicit ap rophecy that the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ) would punishwith the sword such enemiesas would attack Islam withthe sword and slaughterh u n d reds of Muslims. Hisname Ahmad indicated thathe would spread peace andsecurity in the world. God soarranged the life of the HolyP ro p h e t(sa) that his Meccanlife was a manifestation of hisname Ahmad and theMuslims were taughtpatience and endurance. Inhis life in Medina, his nameMuhammad was manifested,and God in His wisdomdecided to chastise hisenemies. But there was ap rophecy that the nameAhmad would be manifestedagain in the latter days andthat a person would appearthrough whom the qualitiesof beauty, which charac-terised Ahmad, would bemanifested, and all fightingwould come to an end. Forthis reason, it has beenconsidered appropriate thatthe name of this sect shouldbe Ahmadiyya Jama’at, so

that everyone hearing thisname should realise that thisJama’at has come into beingfor the spread of peace andsecurity and that it wouldhave nothing to do with warand fighting.’2

The mere mention of the name ofthe Holy Prophet (sa), it is related,would cause tears to well up inthe eyes of the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as). This was attested to,on oath, by none other than oneof his sons, Hadhrat MirzaBashir Ahmad ( r a ), when hewrote:

‘I, the writer of these lines,was born in the home of thePromised Messiah(as) and amone of his sons, and this is ablessing of Allah for which Ifail to find adequate words ofthank. In fact it is true thateven in my imagination, I cannever conceive that I shallever be able to re n d e rsufficient thanks to God forthis great and priceless boon.But I know very well that oneof these days I shall have toyield my soul into the Handsof God, and knowing this,and calling upon this

30



Heavenly Master as awitness, I state that withinmy knowledge it has neverhappened that any slightreference was made to theHoly Prophet(sa), or only hisname mentioned without afilm of tear welling up in theeyes of Promised Messiah(as).His whole heart and mind, infact every fibre of his being,was inebriated with the loveof the Holy Prophet(sa)’3.

The Promised Messiah’s love forthe Holy Prophet (sa) was so greatthat any touching expression oflove for the Holy Prophet, bywhomsoever, brought a strongdesire in his heart that it shouldhave come from him. HadhratMaulvi Abdul Karim(ra) relatedthat once he went to MasjidMubarak which adjoined theP romised Messiah’s house inQadian. He found the PromisedM e s s i a h(as) in solitude, with asilent stream of tears flowingf rom his eyes, reciting thecouplet of a poem composed, onthe demise of the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ), by the well-knownIslamic poet, Hassan binThabit(ra):

(Thou O Prophet of God),Thou wert indeed the pupil of myeyeNow that thou hast died My eye hath become blind.I care not who dies now.For I feared only thy death.4

The narrator of this incidentrecords that he was taken abackby the state of the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) and in great anxietyenquired what the matter waswhich had caused him suchp rofound grief. The Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) replied that he hadbeen reciting this couplet tohimself and thought how greatwould it have been if this fineverse had come from him.

Even a cursory glance at thisincident leaves one bre a t h l e s s .The Promised Messiah ( a s ),t h roughout his life, had toencounter a succession of bitterexperiences. He saw every kindof hardship; his life was exposedto every hazard. He bore all kindsof troubles and went through astorm of difficulties. He wascondemned as an infidel and anapostate from Islam andexperienced unrelenting oppo-sition at the hands of leading

31



Muslim Divines. He alsowitnessed the death of many nearand dear friends and re l a t i o n s ,including some of his ownc h i l d ren. But his eyes neverbetrayed the depth of hisemotions, as they did on thisoccasion, when he was alone,s e c retly grieving over a deathwhich took place more thanthirteen hundred years before –grieving so deeply that whilereciting this loving couplet hiseyes bore the look of a floodeds t ream and his sensitive heartwas wishing this beautiful poemwas his.

Hadhrat Nawab MubarakaBegum(ra), the eldest daughter ofthe Promised Messiah(as), relatedthat once a discussion centreda round the possibility of theP romised Messiah(as) going toperform Hajj. At the verythought of visiting the sacre dshrines of Mecca and Medina hiseyes began to run with tears andwhile wiping them he observed:

‘This is indeed the wish ofmy heart. But I often wonderwhether at all I would be ableto bear the sight of the lastresting place of the HolyProphet(sa).’ 5

A thoughtful look at thisincident reveals the deepemotions of love which rolled inthe heart of the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as). It is true that everyMuslim would long to go on apilgrimage to the holy places inMecca and Medina. But imaginethe boundless love for the HolyP ro p h e t(sa) of a man lost inspiritual ecstasy, a man whosesoul, at the very thought of apilgrimage, flies to the blessedtomb and from a rush of emotionhis eyes begin to swim in tears.

S i n c e re love manifests itselfnaturally through sacrifice and ajealous regard for the beloved.The Promised Messiah ( a s )

possessed both of these in greatabundance for the HolyProphet(sa). While referring to theoutrageous and false accusationslevelled by Christians againstthe Holy Prophet(sa), he wrote:

‘Christian missionaries havefabricated innumerable falsec h a rges against ourProphet(sa) and by means ofthis subtle fraud anddeception they have misled al a rge number of people.Nothing has lacerated myheart so grievously as the

32



mockery and ridicule theyheap on his fair name. Theircutting remarks against theholiest of men have deeplywounded my heart. I callGod to witness that even if allmy children, childre n ’ schildren, friends, colleaguesand helpers were slaugh-t e red before my eyes, mylimbs were torn apart, thepupils of my eyes wereplucked out, all my designswere frustrated, and I wasdeprived of every pleasureand comfort, the agony ism o re unbearable for mewhen such low and vileattacks are made upon theHoly Pro p h e t( s a ). There f o re ,Thou, O Heavenly Master, Iimplore Thee, cast a look ofm e rcy and compassion onme and deliver me from thisgreat trial and tribulation.’6

This is a truly pro f o u n dstatement of love for the honourof the Holy Pro p h e t( s a ). Evenmore profound is the fact thatthis was not an empty claim. Onthe contrary, the entire life of theP romised Messiah(as) b e a r stestimony to the truth of thisclaim. During his lifetime, he

received accolades from leadingMuslim divines and on hisdemise, leading Muslim andnon-Muslim newspapers andjournals paid tribute, in glowingand superlative terms, to hisvictorious championship ofIslam. To cite but one example,on the publication of his epoch-making, Braheen Ahmadiyya,Hadhrat Sufi Ahmad Jan(ra) ofLudhiana, himself a great saintlySufi, wrote:

‘That great personage,benefactor of mankind,s o u rce of benevolence andbeneficence, personal pro o fof Islam, honoured abovecommonalty and the nobility,Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad Sahib, may hisblessings endure, Chief ofQadian, in the district ofG u rd a s p u r, Punjab, haswritten a book titled BraheenAhmadiyya’.

This book establishes the tru t hof Islam and the Pro p h e t h o o dof Muhammad( s a ), and of theHoly Qur’an, through threeh u n d red strong proofs ofvarious types and refutes theChristian, Arya, Hindu,

33



Brahmo Samaj and all otherreligions opposed to Islam,by means of convincingreasoning…’7

His eldest son, Hadhrat MirzaSultan Ahmad(ra), also attested tothis jealous sensitivity of thePromised Messiah(as) where thename and honour of the HolyP ro p h e t(sa) w e re in question.What makes this testimonyexceptional is the fact that it wasmade at a time when this sonhad not yet entered the fold ofthe Community. Throughout thelifetime of the Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ), Hadhrat MirzaSultan Ahmad(ra) did not take theBai’at (Oath of Allegiance) at hishands and remained aloof formany years after his demise. Itwas during the Khilafat ofHadhrat Khalifatul Masih II(Second Successor to theP romised Messiah( a s )) that heembraced Ahmadiyyat. He wasa p p roached once, prior to hisinitiation into the Movement, bysomeone intending to apprisehimself of some aspects of theearly life of the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as). This is what HadhratMirza Sultan Ahmad(ra) had tosay:

‘One thing I noted veryspecially and very clearly inmy father. He could not beareven the slightest reference tothe Holy Pro p h e t( s a ) i nd e rogatory words. On theslightest hint or expression tothis effect, his face becamered, and the look in his eyeswould harden with anger;and he would immediatelyleave the place and thecompany where any suchthing was said. The feelingwhich my father had for theHoly Prophet(sa) was indeedone of love – a love of whichI have not seen an instance inanyone else.’8

Such was the testimony ofsomeone who had not yetaccepted the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) as the Reformer of theLatter Days.

His love for the Holy Prophet(sa)

extended also to the blessedcompanions of the HolyP ro p h e t(sa) and to his pro g e n y.On one occasion, he was relatingto his children the story ofMuhurram and the incidentsconnected with the martyrdomof Imam Hussain(ra), a grandsonof the Holy Pro p h e t( s a ).

34



A c c o rding to his daughter,Hadhrat Nawab MubarakaBegum(ra), his tone was full ofgreat sorrow and suffering andall the time he was wiping thetears flowing from his eyes. Atthe end, he said in great anguishand tender emotions:

This was the heartless andbloody injustice which theobnoxious Yazeed perpetratedupon the grandson of the HolyProphet(sa). But God soon afterovertook these tyrants with Hispunishment.9

He was also quick to admonishhis followers to imbibe inthemselves the love for the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ). This, he explained,was the key to salvation:

‘For the sons of man there isno messenger and no medi-ator except Muhammad( s a ).So strive that you cherish thepurest love for this Prophet(sa)

of power and glory, giving noone else any kind ofpreference over him, so thatyou be put down in heavenas those who have beensaved. And very clearly bearin mind that salvation is not

something you will expe-rience in the life after death.The real and true salvation isonly that which shows itslight in this very life. Who isthe saved? Only he whomaintains a firm faith thatthe living God is a real-ity,and that Muhammad(sa) is theMediator between Him andmankind; that under theskies there is no equal to himin rank and elevation, norany book to rival the HolyQur’an. That for no one elseGod wish that he should liveforever, but for this blessedP ro p h e t( s a ) He did so wish:that to keep him alive foreverHe laid the foundation forcontinuing the benefit of hisShariah (Islamic Law) andhis blessings to the day ofResurrection.11

At another place, the PromisedM e s s i a h( a s ) announced to thewhole world that the fruits ofloving the Holy Prophet(sa) areheavenly bounties:

O all ye who dwell upon theearth, and O all human soulsthat are in the East or in theWest, I announce to you

35



emphatically that the tru ereality in the earth is Islamalone, and the true God is theGod Who is described in theQur’an, and the Prophet whohas everlasting spiritual lifeand who is seated on thethrone of glory and holiness,is Muhammad(sa), the chosenone. The proof of his spirituallife and holy majesty is thatby following him and lovinghim we become recipients ofthe holy spirit and arefavoured with the bounty ofconverse with God andwitness heavenly signs’.12

The Promised Messiah(as) foundIslam and Muslims in a weakcondition. He was moved by thisstate of the religion of the HolyProphet(sa) and for this purpose,waged a great Jihad to upholdthe honour of Islam and theHoly Prophet (sa). If there was anenemy of Islam anywhere thePromised Messiah(as) was readyto fight. If ever anybody thoughtof attacking Islam, the PromisedMessiah(as) was ready to meet theattack. He pursued all theopponents of Islam till theywithdrew from the field or mettheir end. He explained the

excellencies of the Holy Qur’anand effectively answered all theobjections of opponents of everyc reed and thought, andchallenged them with thesuperior qualities of Islam. Hedemonstrated the truth of theHoly Pro p h e t(sa) with stro n garguments, heavenly signs andluminous prophecies. Hisdevotion to Islam and the HolyProphet(sa) was total. Service toIslam was like service to himselfor his dear ones. Night afternight, he would go without theusual minimum of sleep andremain at work. If he had anyhelp in his work, he felt verygrateful and thanked the personas he would for a personalf a v o u r. In spite of continualsickness and physical weakness,he wrote more than eighty booksand several hundred leaflets andmade hundreds of speeches onIslam, on its beauties and thesubjects connected with it.Writing would not satisfy him.He would write, have hiswriting translated into English,print several hundred thousandcopies, and circulate them inEurope and America. If ever heh e a rd of someone who wasi n t e rested in Islam, he would

36



write and personally invite himto accept the truth. In short, hiswhole life was devoted towardsthe establishing the supremacyof Islam over other religions inevery aspect of teaching,doctrines and beliefs. From allthis, one can measure the qualityof his passion and the depth ofhis devotion to God and theHoly Prophet(sa). He had but oned e s i re and this was to makemanifest to all and sundry theliving might of God and thetruth of His Holy Prophet(sa).

Amazingly, in spite of all thesepeerless services, at everyoccasion, the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) would make a totalnegation of himself and woulds t ress that whatever wasbestowed upon him and all theservices he re n d e red to Islamwas on account of his devotionto the Holy Pro p h e t( s a ). Thissupplies a very graphic pictureof the unquestionable devotionwhich the Promised Messiah(as)

had for the Holy Pro p h e t( s a ).Today, we can but stand in aweas we marvel at his tire l e s se n e rg y, his exposition of thelimitless ocean of veritiescomprehended within the Holy

Qur’an, his devotion to duty, hisstrong sense of purpose and hiseagerness in the service of Islam.Yet, in spite of all theseunrivalled services, like a dutifuland obedient student, whateveraccomplishment he made, heimmediately credited to hisobedience to, and the tutelage of,his re v e red Master, the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ). His writings arereplete with such statements.The following are but a fewexamples:

‘God Almighty has, throughthe blessings of my obe-dience to and love for theHoly Prophet(sa) and throughmy following His HolyWord, honoured this humbleone with His revelation andwith inner knowledge. Hehas enlightened me with thed i s c l o s u re of many mys-teries, and has filled mybosom with many veritiesand realities. He hasinformed me many timesthat all these gifts, bounties,exaltations, favours, kind-nesses, attention, award s ,supports and re v e l a t i o n shave been bestowed uponme by virtue of the blessings

37



of obedience to and love forthe Seal of the Prophets (sa)’ 12

He further states:

‘By the pure grace of Allahand not by any merit of myown, I have been bestowed aperfect portion of the bountywhich was bestowed beforeme on the Prophets andMessengers and the elect ofGod. It would not have beenpossible for me to bebestowed this bounty had Ifollowed my lord and master,the pride of the prophets, thebest of mankind, HadhratMuhammad Mustafa( s a ).Whatever has been bestowedupon me has been on accountof this obedience.’13

Again he says:

‘I cannot acquire any degreeof honour or excellence, norany station of exaltation ornearness to God exceptthrough sincere and perfectobedience to the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ). Whatever isbestowed upon me is by wayof reflection of, and through,the Holy Prophet(sa).’14

Yet again, he writes:

‘On oath, in the name of thesame God, I claim that just asGod spoke to Abraham, andthen to Ishmael, and Isaac,and Jacob, and Joseph, andMoses and Jesus the son ofMary, and finally to our ownHoly Prophet Muhammad,in a manner much more clearand bright than ever before,sending down a pure rRevelation, in the same wayHe has blessed me with thefavour of this communionwith Him. But in my case thisis a blessing which I havederived only through theHoly Prophet(sa), and throughmy obedience and devotionto him. If I had not followedhim most implicitly ineverything, this blessingwould not have beenextended to me even if myvirtuous endeavour hadpiled up as high as amountain.’15

It is disheartening to note thathis opponents who accuse himof usurping the honour of theHoly Prophet(sa) do so in the faceof such lucid pronouncements.However, there can be not even a

38



scintilla of doubt, or hint ofequivocation in the Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ), about theexceptional depth of love he hadfor the Holy Prophet and as heloved him so he desired Allah’sblessings on him. The HolyQur’an enjoins:

Allah sends down His blessingson the Prophet and His angelspray for him. O ye who believe,you too should invoke Hisblessings on him and salute himwith the salutation of peace. (Ch. 33: v.57)

The Promised Messiah(as) w a strue to this command. He writesin Braheen Ahmadiyya:

“One night I sent Durood (i.e.,invoked special blessings) onthe Holy Pro p h e t(sa) in suchgreat abundance that I felt as ifmy heart and soul had becomefragrant with its perfume. Thesame night I saw in a dreamthat angels of the Lord werebringing to my abode largebags full of light in the form ofpure limpid water; and oneamong those angels said thatthese were the fruits of theblessings I had sent to the

Holy Prophet (sa) in the form ofDurood.”16

A natural consequence of thisg reat love of the Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ), was such that italways found expression in hispoetry. He composed numerouspoems in love of the HolyProphet(sa). They gave beautifulexpression to the thoughts andfeelings of the innermostsanctuary of his heart, which inturn pierces the hearts of others.We re p roduce here only onesuch poem to illuminate the casein point:

There is light miraculous in the soulof Muhammad,There is a ruby rare in the mine ofMuhammad.

The heart is cleared of all darkness,If it becomes one of the lovers ofMuhammad

I wonder at the wisdom of thosefoolsWho turn away from the feastabundant of Muhammad.

No man in the two worlds do I knowWho shares the greatness and gloryof Muhammad.

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A hundred times disgusted is Godwith himWho harbours hostility toMuhammad.

God Himself consumes in fire thecontemptible wormWho chooses to be one of theenemies of Muhammad.

If you want to shake off theintoxication of the baser self,Then come and sit among thedevotees of Muhammad.

If you wish that God Himself shouldsing your praises,Then sing sincerely the praises ofMuhammad.

Lookest thou for proof for his truth?Then his lover be,For Muhammad himself is the proofof Muhammad.

A head have I to offer at the altar ofAhmad,And a heart ready to be sacrificedfor Muhammad.

By the tresses of the Messenger ofGod,It is true, I am infatuated by theresplendent face of Muhammad.

Whether I am killed or burnt in thispath,Never will I turn away from thecourt of Muhammad.

In matters of faith I fear not even thewhole world,For I am dyed in the faith ofMuhammad.

Easy it is to be carried away fromthe world,In the memory of the charms andgraces of Muhammad.

Every atom of mine is sacrificed inhis path,For I have peeped into the hiddenbeauty of Muhammad.

I know not the name of anotherteacher,For I have been to the school ofMuhammad.

I am not interested in anotherbeloved,For I have been captivated by thecomeliness of Muhammad.

Only a favour I need from the eye ofMuhammad,All I seek is access to the garden ofMuhammad.

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Do not look for my stricken heart inmy side,For I have tied it to the robe ofMuhammad.

I am a sweet bird out of the sacredflock,Which has its nest in the grove ofMuhammad.

Thou hast illumined my soul withthy love,May I be a sacrifice to thee, soul ofMuhammad.

Even if I were to offer a hundredlives in this path,It would still fail to match the worthof Muhammad.

What terror does this young one[Muhammad] strikeThat no one can meet him in hisarena!

Beware, O foolish and misguidedenemy,Fear the sharp sword ofMuhammad.

The path of God from which menhave strayed far,You can still find with the followersand friends of Muhammad.

Listen, O thou who denieth thegreatness of Muhammad,And the luminous light ofMuhammad!

Though miracles seem a thing of thepast,Come thou yet and see them withthe servants of Muhammad.17

At the head of the piece, astatement was made which,perhaps, may be contended. Thisis that in his love for, anddevotion to, the Holy Prophet(sa),the Promised Messiah(as) w a sunparalleled through the annalsof history. This might bequestioned on the pretext that,not only the Companions of theHoly Pro p h e t( s a ), but manyeminent divines through theages cherished the purest lovefor the Holy Prophet(sa). Then,why do we single out the loveand devotion of the PromisedMessiah(as)?

It is true that the Companions ofthe Holy Prophet(sa) completelylost themselves in their love forhim and were unquestionablydevoted to him. They were everprepared to sacrifice their lives,wealth and honour for the sake

41



of the Holy Prophet(sa). But whilewe seek to make no comparison,unnecessarily, with anyone else,it must be pointed out that noneof them through their devotionto the Holy Prophet rose to thestation of prophethood. Neitherdid any other Muslim divineafter them. On the contrary,t h rough centuries of Islamichistory, we find that it was onlyin the case of the HolyF o u n d e r( a s ) of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community, that afollower of the Holy Prophet(sa)

attained to the status ofprophethood through obedienceand devotion to him, ina c c o rdance with the pro m i s egiven in the glorious Qur’an:

And whoso obeys Allah and thisMessenger of His shall beamong those on whom Allah hasbestowed His blessings, namely,the Prophets, the Truthful, theMartyrs and the Righteous.And excellent companions arethese.(Ch. 4: v. 70)

Furthermore, when we take duecognisance of the fact that thePromised Messiah(as) did not liveat the time of the Holy

P ro p h e t( s a ), that, in fact, heappeared thirteen centuries laterat a time when Islam had beencompletely distorted; at a timewhen fanaticism and bigotryhad become the hallmark ofMuslim thinking, this gre a taccomplishment of the PromisedM e s s i a h(as) is even morelaudable. While other Muslimdivines were content to celebratetheir love for the Holy Prophet(sa)

only in solitude, it was the HolyF o u n d e r(as) of AhmadiyyaMuslim Community who was toinitiate a world wide movementfor the manifestation of the gloryof the Holy Prophet(sa). It would,t h e re f o re, be no hyperbole toclaim that the Pro m i s e dMessiah(as) was unrivalled in hislove for, and devotion to, theHoly Prophet(sa). Nor would it bea fanciful assumption or a talesteeped in wishful thinking.History furnishes no betterre c o rd of loyalty, love anddevotion. In speech and inwriting, in poetry and in prose,in eulogy and in defence, hedisplayed before our wonderingeyes a vast and seeminglylimitless ocean of this great lovefor the religion ofM u h a m m a d( s a ), the person of

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Muhammad(sa) and the God ofMuhammad(sa).

One great reality that emergesfrom all this and that is not onlydid the Promised Messiah( a s )

possess an extraordinary andastonishing personality but thatwhatever view might be taken ofhis claim, he certainly was noimpostor. His faith was neitherm e rely an academic verbala ffirmation nor was it anadventitious extra. His devotionto the Holy Prophet(sa) and hislove for him gives effulgence tohis sincerity and truth.

Bibliography• Seerat-e-Tayyiba – By Hadhrat Mirza

Bashir Ahmad• Invitation to Ahmadiyyat – By

Hadhrat Mirza Bashir- u d - D i nMahmud Ahmad

• Ahmadiyyat: The Renaissance of Islam– By Hadhrat MuhammadZafrullah Khan

References1. Izala Auhaam2. Tabligh Risalat, Vol IX pp. 90-91,

Quoted from Ahmadiyyat: TheRenaissance of Islam, pp. 165-166

3. Seerat-e-Tayyiba, pp. 21-224. Diwaan Hassan bin Thabit,

Quotd from Seerat-e-Tayyiba, pp.22-23

5. Riwayat Nawab MubarakaBegum, Quoted from S e e r a t - e -Tayyiba, p. 31

6. Ayena Kamalat-e-Islam, Quotedfrom Seerat-e-Tayyiba, p. 36

7. Quoted from Ahmadiyyat: TheRenaissance of Islam, pp. 28-29

8. Seerat-ul-Mahdi, Part I, Quotedfrom Seerat-e-Tayyiba, pp. 29-30

9. Riwayat Namwab MubarakaBegum, Quoted from S e e r a t - e -Tayyiba, p. 32

10. Kashti Nuh, Quoted from O u rTeachings, pp. 5-6

11. Tiryaqul Quloob, p. 11, Quotedfrom Essence of Islam, Volume I, p.136

12. Braheen Ahmadiyya, p.623,footnote 1, Quoted fro mAhmadiyyat: The Renaissance ofIslam, p. 131

13. Haqeeqatul Wahi, p. 62 Truth AboutAhmadiyyat, By B.A. Rafiq

14. Izlah Auham, p. 138, Quoted fromTruth About Ahmadiyyat, By B.A.Rafiq

15. Ta j a l l i a t - i - I l a h i a h, Quoted fro mSeerat-e-Tayyiba, p. 39

16. Quoted from Seerat-e-Tayyiba, pp.40-41

17. R e p roduced from Invitation toAhmadiyyat, pp. 304-307

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Early Advances of IslamAt the time of the launch of thisp restigious magazine, theIslamic world had comethrough several great periodsbut was starting to stagnate.Since the beginning of Islam,the Islamic empire gre we x t remely fast owing to thezeal of its early followers, theirunity and obedience to those inauthority.

In the first centuries after itsinception, Islam rapidly spreadt h rough the Middle East,eastwards towards India and

China, all across North Africa,and across much of SouthernE u rope, and all within ahundred years or so.

Soon the Islamic empire waswell established and stable,and as a result, all people weres e c u re in that enviro n m e n ti r respective of their creed orc o l o u r. In Damascus, Cairo ,C o rdoba and elsewhere ,Islamic science flourished suchthat huge advances were madein the fields of navigation,medicine, astro n o m y, mathe-matics and even the arts. Not


The Evolution of the Islamic EmpireBy Tanveer Khokhar – UK

The story of the rise, decline and eventual renaissance of Islamand Islamic civilisation is a vital part of our history. Islamdeveloped among an unlettered people far removed from thecrossroads of civilisation and human thought to become thepredominant religion of the then known world. But even thisprofound movement was to enter a gradual state of degenerationwhich only the advent of the Promised Messiah ( a s ) w o u l dreverse. This article provides a brief overview of the vicissitudesof the Islamic empire, with a particular focus on the last centurywhich coincided with the launch of The Review of Religionsunder the auspices of the Promised Messiah(as).

just Muslim scholars, but Jews,Christians and all othersthrived in this enlightenedclimate. Beautiful mosquesbear witness to the greatness ofIslamic arc h i t e c t u re of theperiod. In Cordoba, the Gre a tMosque was used for worshipby Muslims, Christians andJews. Such was the level ofenlightenment of the earlyMuslims. They strove top rotect the temples andc h u rches of other faiths withintheir lands, and chose dialoguerather than conflict to learnm o re about each other.

It was in this period that greatlibraries were built anduniversities established. Greatworks of the Greeks, Indians,Persians, Egyptians andnumerous religious texts weretranslated and pre s e r v e d .Scholars from various religionsand cultures were drawn tothis enlightened empire at atime when Europe was in themidst of the ‘Dark Ages’.

G r a d u a l l y, one dynasty tookover from another, and powershifted from the Umayyads

(661-750 CE) based in Syria tothe Abbasids (750-1258 CE)based in Mesopotamia. Duringthis time, the unity of theMuslims began to be eroded asrival Caliphates were estab-lished in Cairo and Cordoba,yet Islam and Muslim cultureunited people, and the religionof Islam grew in strength. TheOttoman Empire (1281-1924CE) centred in Istanbul re -united the Muslim worldunder the new Turkish power,and once again the Muslimshad a single voice. Again,Muslim culture thrived, withdramatic buildings such as theBlue Mosque erected acro s sEurope and northern Africa.

Once again, at its gre a t e s textent, the Ottoman Empire sets t a n d a rds for people in thee m p i re based upon Islamicprinciples of absolute justice,kindness and fair play. TheEmpire grew in extent to coverTurkey, Syria, Iraq and Arabiato the east, the Balkans,H u n g a r y, Greece, Romania,Bulgaria and other statesaround the Black Sea, and mostof north Africa from Egypt to

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The Evolution of the Islamic Empire


Algeria. However, the historyof religious degradationrepeated itself. When the rulingSultans began to confusereligion with culture, andpower became a stru g g l ebetween brothers and clans,gradually Islam was forgottenand the Empire lost its unityand power.

Islam at the time of thePromised Messiah(as)

During the course of the lasthundred years, people acrossthe Muslim world have comeinto contact with theAhmadiyya Community andhave had a chance to judge forthemselves the message of theP romised Messiah( a s ). Manytens of millions accepted himas the reformer of Islam andjoined his community, butmillions of others have not.Often this is due to mis-information and ignorance, butthe Islamic powers have alsoused this as a political issue aswe will see later on.

At the time of the PromisedM e s s i a h( a s ), Islam was indecline even though Muslim

states retained much of theirpolitical dominion. SomeChristian missionaries fol-lowed the European colonialexpansion across the world andw e re spreading false pro -paganda about Islam. Therewere plenty of militants andactivists within the Muslimworld, but very few Muslimsw e re willing to address thetheological onslaughts madeagainst Islam. The Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ) was the mostp rominent figure to take upthis challenge in the Indiansub-continent with gre a tsuccess. This inspired a newgeneration of Muslims andsparked their interest intheology once again. Howeverhis influence was limited to hisgrowing community, whilst therest of the Muslim world wasswayed by greed and politicalintrigue.

This is how the Pro m i s e dM e s s i a h( a s ) explained hismission:

‘When God Almighty,observing the condition ofthe world and finding the

46



earth filled with every typeof disobedience, sin andmisguidance, appointed mefor the propagation of thetruth and the reform of thepeople, then I, in obedienceto this Divine command, sentforth the call through writtenand oral announcements thatI was the person who was toarrive at the beginning of thecentury for the revival of thefaith. My purpose was to re-establish the faith which haddisappeared from the earthand to pull mankind towardsreform and righteousnessand truthfulness through themagnetic power of HisHand. It was also mypurpose to correct theirdoctrinal errors and toreform their conduct. A fewyears thereafter, it was madequite clear to me thro u g hDivine revelation that theMessiah, whose adventamong the Muslims hadbeen foretold from thebeginning, and the Mahdiwhose advent had beenDivinely decreed at the timeof the decline of Islam andthe spread of error, and who

was to be guided directly byGod, and who was to invitepeople to partake of theheavenly banquet, andwhose coming had beenf o retold by the HolyProphet(sa) thirteen hundredyears in advance, wasmyself. Divine reve-lation tothis effect was vouchsafed tome so clearly and socontinuously that it left noroom for doubt. It wasreplete with grand prophe-cies that were fulfilled asclearly as bright day. Itsfrequency and number andmiraculous power compelledme to affirm that itcomprehended the words ofthe One God, withoutassociate, Whose Word is theHoly Qur’an.’

(Tadhkiratush Shahadatain, pp. 1-2)

He further stated:

‘The purpose for which Godhas appointed me is that Ishould remove the malaisethat afflicts the relationshipbetween God and Hiscreatures and should restore

47



the relationship of love andsincerity between them.Through the proclamation oftruth I should bring aboutpeace by putting an end toreligious wars and shouldmanifest the verities whichhave become hidden fro mthe eyes of the world. I amcalled upon to demonstratethat spirituality which hasbeen overlaid by selfishdarknesses. It is for me todemonstrate in practice andnot only in words, the Divineattributes which penetrateinto the hearts of people anda re manifested thro u g hprayer and concentration.Most of all it is my purposeto plant once more in thehearts of people the pure andshining unity of God whichis free from every suspicionof paganism and which hascompletely disappeared. Allthis will be accomplished nott h rough my power, butthrough the Power of HimWho is the God of heavenand earth.’ (Lecture Lahore, p.47. Quotedf rom Ahmadiyyat: The

Renaissance of Islam byMuhammad Zafrallah Khan)

Decline of the last centurySo what has happened to Islamin the last hundred years?Religion, in general, hasbecome absorbed into politics,Islam being no exception. As aresult, the once great Islamicempire has now fallen into thehands of politicians devoid ofspiritual enlightenment. Inaddition, with the exception ofthe Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity, there is no unityacross the Muslim world due tothe conspicuous absence of theinstitution of Khilafat amongstthem. As the Ottoman Empirec rumbled around theMediterranean, it left behindweak states such as Bosnia andKosovo which have suff e re dc ruelty at the hands ofneighbouring states.

Elsewhere, in the Middle East,the lack of unity and power ofthe Muslims has been exploitedfor political gain in order tos e c u re business advantagessuch as cheaper oil even at the

48



49



IndonesiaPakistanIndiaBangladeshIranTurkeyEgyptNigeriaMorroccoAlgeriaUzbekistanSudanIraqEthiopiaSaudi ArabiaChinaAfghanistanSyriaMalaysiaYemenKazakhistanTanzaniaSomaliaSenegal

169,990,000125,320,000101,050,00099,280,00062,430,00061,230,00053,140,00048,760,00027,480,00027,230,00025,430,00020,300,00019,820,00019,080,00017,990,00017,940,00017,520,00012,880,00011,220,00010,990,00010,420,0008,820,0008,710,0007,640,000

88%97%11%85%98%99%91%51%99%99%69%72%96%35%99%1.5%99%87%60%99%60%30%99%91%

COUNTRYMUSLIM

%POPULATION

expense of hundreds ofthousands of Muslim lives andagain the Muslim world lookson muted. Palestine lies inruins and is subject to theexpansion of Israel; Iran andIraq have fought each other;Libya, Syria, and others areaccused of terrorism and sufferfrom war, often in the name ofreligion. Regimes such as thefailed Taliban in Afghanistantried to impose their ownversion of Islam with extremepractices.

The very religion for whichthese people purport to fighthas been forgotten. Tru eIslamic principles have beenlost, Islamic science hasevaporated to the historybooks, and the concept ofworship and spiritual uplifthas been corrupted andreplaced by a new lexicon ofc o r rupted concepts such asJ i h a d and F a t w a which aremisunderstood by the so-calledfundamentalists. These termsare now used by the Orientalistwriters and the media to turnpublic opinion of the worldagainst the teachings of Islam.

In the former Soviet Empire, allreligious practice includingIslam and Christianity weres u p p ressed. The state sawthese as a theological threat,and sought to impose atotalitarian regime instead.Again, over a period of manyyears, despite their best efforts,they could not erode religionfrom the hearts of the people,and eventually the Empiredissolved. Unfortunately withevents such as these,sometimes religion becomes anobvious political weapon, andwhen society goes from onepolitical extreme to another, sodoes religious thought. Thishas been one of the catalyststowards militant tendencies inEastern Europe over the last 30years.

There are now 73 sects in Islamas predicted by the HolyProphet Muhammad(sa):

‘Abdullah bin Amar ( r a )

relates that the HolyP ro p h e t( s a ) said “Sure l ythings will happen to mypeople as happened earlierto Israelites, they will

50



resemble each other like oneshoe in a pair resembles theother to the extent that ifanyone among the Israeliteshas openly committedadultery with his motherthere will be some who willdo this in my Ummah aswell, verily the Israelitesw e re divided into 72sections but my people willbe divided into 73 sections,all of them will be in the fireexcept one.” Thecompanions asked, “Whoa re they O Messenger ofAllah?” The Holy Prophet(peace be upon him) said,“They are those who will belike me and mycompanions.”’(Tirmidhi, Kitab-ul-Iman)

Of these 73 sects, the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community is the onlyone that has been denounced asn o n - M u s l i m in some Islamiccountries and in particular, byall other 72 sects. Attempts aremade to deny Ahmadis theright to practise Islam. ForAhmadis in Pakistan acts suchas worship and Islamicgreeting have become criminal

offences. They are denied theright to go to Mecca for Umrahor Hajj (Pilgrimage), a crime forwhich they can be jailed inSaudi Arabia. The beautifulreligion demonstrated cen-turies ago by the Holy ProphetMuhammad(sa) would appear tolie in ruins.

This is the same fate that befellthe Islamic Empire in the pastwhen politics overtookphilosophy and religion. Wesaw the demise of theCaliphate of Al-Andalus inSpain, the fall of successiveCaliphates, and finally the fallof the Ottoman Empire. Nowthe Islamic world is dividedinto separate states whichspend their energies fightingeach other rather thanpromoting peace and harmony.At the same time, there is theexpectation of the arrival of theMahdi to once again lead theMuslims to glory, althoughMuslims are deeply dividedabout how they wouldrecognise their Mahdi, failingto accept that he has alreadycome.

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The FutureSo what does the future holdfor Islam? Unfortunately, dueto media propaganda, muchtalk nowadays wrongly linksIslam to terrorism andfundamentalism. In actual fact,enlightened people around theworld have more fre q u e n tcontact with Muslims due tothe increasing requirements forinteraction and the globale c o n o m y. Despite the beste fforts of global mediap ropaganda against Islam,people are becoming aware ofthe fact that Muslims have nosupport in the Qur’an orHadith for resorting to warexcept in the circ u m s t a n c e sthat they are actively preventedfrom practicising their religionor in self-defence. In themodern age, there are noc i rcumstances in which theformer is the case. Muslims arefree to worship across Europe,the Americas, Africa and Asia.They have been able to buildmosques in all of the gre a tcities of the world includingWashington, London, Rome,Sydney and in China. Muslimsfrom all of these countries go

annually for pilgrimage toMecca and practise theirreligion without hindrance. Sohow would the scenario of a‘Holy War’ emerge? A smallnumber of highly visibleactivists get more airtime onthe global media with theirextreme views than the greatmajority of the many hundredsof millions of peace-lovingMuslims. A single suicidebomber is able to alter opinionfaster than the broader Muslimcommunity. To take the viewsof obviously misguided fanat-ics and to apply them to thegreater Muslim community iswrong. It is wholly unrepre-sentative of the views of mostMuslim and bears no resem-blance to the teachings ofIslam.

Ironically the one Muslim sectwhich has been persecuted anddenied its rights and couldt h e re f o re have a legitimateclaim to fight for its rights is theAhmadiyya MuslimC o m m u n i t y, and yet they haverelied upon prayers and thepower of God rather thangetting themselves involved in

52



combat, as instructed by thePromised Messiah(as) and HolyFounder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Community.

Equally, religious dialogue ison the increase. During the lasthundred years, the science ofcomparative religion cham-pioned by great authors suchas Mircea Eliade and JosephCampbell has incre a s e dknowledge of not just theestablished world religions, butalso of those traditionalnational religions of theaborigines, native Americans,Yo rubas and others. In thiscontext, Islam is seen in a muchm o re favourable light acro s sthe world. The AhmadiyyaMuslim Community hasactively championed the causeof education, learning anddebate and the cause of thestudy of all world re l i g i o n sincluding through this verypublication. In this regard, a‘Jihad’ of the pen is beingwaged to defend and tounearth truth in re l i g i o u smatters, and to banishignorance.

This is the bright future towhich we must all lookf o r w a rd. In studying eachother’s faiths, we realise thatthere is far more to unite usthan there ever has been todivide us. All re l i g i o n soriginating from God havesimilar themes portrayed indifferent ways and at differentlevels of detail, and if studiedp roperly will show howreligions evolved toward sIslam, the universal re l i g i o n .This will ultimately bring allreligious communities togetherunder the banner of the OneTrue God to promote andprotect a society based uponmorals and virtues rather thangreed and politics.

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Introduction One would have gone throughthe experience of an X-ray in ahospital some time or other. X-rays are very well known and sowidely used that they requirelittle introduction. Apart from avery useful medical diagnostictool, X-rays are widely used inindustry and a variety ofapplications such as m a t e r i a l sscience re s e a rc h, which is thebackbone of the electro n i crevolution. There is anothers o u rce of light, namelys y n c h ro t ron radiation, which ismuch more powerful thantraditional X-rays. It wasexperimentally observed for the

first time in the electro nsynchrotron, built at the GeneralElectric Company inS c h e n e c t a d y, New York andhence the name synchro t ro nr a d i a t i o n1 - 2. Synchro t ron radi-ation (SR) has numero u sadvantages over traditional X-ray sources and lasers.S y n c h ro t ron radiation labora-tories are large sources of X-raysused to study materials at themolecular and atomic level. SR isp roduced by acceleratingelectrons in through a large ring(several hundred metres inc i rc u m f e rence) almost at thespeed of light. This causes thee l e c t rons to emit X-rays with


Professor Abdus Salam and theMiddle-East Synchroton

By Sameen Ahmed KHAN – Atlanta, USA

There has been a recent move to establish a Synchrotron facility (a new lightsource more powerful than X-rays) in Jordan in the Middle East and thispresents an opportunity for scientists from across the Middle East to uniteand share in technological advancement. In this article, the author traces theprogress of this project, and then puts it in the context of how the MuslimWorld went from being at the leading edge of scientific advancement to itscurrent sorry state of being a quiet observer, and what Muslims need to do toonce again propel themselves to the forefront of science. This is one of thethings the late Professor Abdus Salam, a distinguished Ahmadi Muslim,eminent scientist and Nobel laureate, desired and strove for.

additional special pro p e r t i e s .This interesting physicalphenomenon of the emission oflight (with very specialp roperties) by the whirlinge l e c t rons, now known by thevery familiar name synchrotronradiation had its theore t i c a lbeginnings even before thediscovery of X-rays in thenineteenth century. The accurateand very detailed prediction ofSR was a direct consequence ofthe unification of electricity andmagnetism into electro -magnetism by Faraday andMaxwell. The tradition to searchfor unity in basic laws of naturehas led to remarkable re s u l t s .Following this tradition ledProfessor Abdus Salam to thediscovery of the unification ofthe electromagnetic and theweak nuclear forces into theelectroweak force.

The X-rays from a synchrotronare a billion times brighter than atypical clinical X-ray source. SRis the most powerful light pro-duced by humans. Applicationsof X-rays are based on theirability to pass through matter;the more energetic the deeperthey penetrate. This ability

varies; for example wood andflesh are easily penetrated, butdenser substances such a metalsand bone are harder topenetrate. Beams of X-raysemerge from the ring in tubescalled beamlines, set at intervalsaround the ring. Instruments atthe ends of the beamlines holdsamples to be studied andproduce 3-D images of a varietyof substances.

The applications of the SR span awide range of domains infundamental science (chemistry,physics, biology, molecularmedicine, etc.) applied research(materials science, medicalimaging, pharmaceuticalre s e a rch advanced radiology,etc.) and industrial technology( m i c ro-fabrication, micro -analysis, photo-chemistry, etc.).SR facilities are technologicallychallenging, requiring a team ofdozens of experts even for theirday-to-day running. Thesefacilities are prohibitively costly,about several hundred millionUS dollars. In contrast the X-raymachines in clinics can be run bya single person and cost just afew thousand US$. Hence, thereare few SR facilities in operation

55

Professor Abdus Salam and the Middle-East Synchroton


despite their numero u sapplications. World wide therea re about 50 SR facilities inoperation, a dozen underconstruction and another dozenbeing planned3. It re q u i re sseveral years and governmentp a t ronage to build suchfacilities.

In all there are 23 countries:Armenia, Australia, Brazil,Canada, China, Denmark,England, France, Germany,India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea,Russia, Singapore, Spain,Sweden, Switzerland, Ta i w a n ,Thailand, Ukraine and USA.From this list it is very glaringthat the continent of Africa is yetto have its first SR facility, SouthAmerica has one and Australiais planning. In Asia there are 29s y n c h ro t rons located in ninec o u n t r i e s4. USA has 12.S y n c h ro t rons breathe tech-nology! Japan has seventeen, thehighest figure for a singlec o u n t r y. This is definitelyinterwoven with the grandindustrial success of Japan. Indiahas the experience and expertiseof indigenously building twos y n c h ro t rons. Both are at theCentre of Advanced Technology,

in Indore. The region of theMiddle East has been justblessed. Synchrotrons are veryflexible devices5 - 6. By re u s i n gmost of the major componentstheir performance can beupgraded at an incremental costthat is small compared with thecost of construction of a newsynchrotron. In recent years thisflexibility is being innovativelyexploited to relocate the veryg e n e rously donated synchro -trons to those locations, whicha re under- re p resented in theWorld Synchrotron Map7.

The Middle East SynchrotronJordan is the first country fromthe Middle East to join the eliteg roup of 23 countries with as y n c h ro t ron light sourc e8 - 1 0

thanks to the generous gift ofBerliner Elektro n e n - S p i e c h e r r i n gfür Synchrotronstrahlung (BESSY-I)11, fully functioning since 1982in Berlin, Germany, to the regionof the Middle East. It is worthabout sixty million US dollars.The project is known by theacronym SESAME: Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science andApplications in the Middle East12.

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The SESAME Project reached amajor milestone in 2000 with theselection of a site in Jordan13-14.SESAME is the upgradedreincarnation of BESSY-I. Ac o n t rolled and documenteddismantling, of BESSY-I wascompleted by a team of expertsfrom Armenia and Russia, withfunds from the SESAMEmember countries andUNESCO.

On Monday the 6th January2003, King Abdullah laid thecornerstone for the upcomingInternational Centre. Theceremony was attended by, theUNESCO Director GeneralKoichiro Matsuura. The upcom-ing joint SR facility, the firstregional centre for co-operationin basic research in the MiddleEast, is also serving as a seed foran International Centre builtaround the facility 15. SESAME islocated at a site in Allaan, about30km from the Capital Amman.

SESAME is open to scientistsfrom any country in the regionor elsewhere. Because of thisopenness, organisers see itspotential as not only a world-class research centre, but also as

a politically important exampleof scientific co-operation in theregion. Such a centre has beenlong overdue and it shall be thefirst of its kind in the region. TheC e n t re is to be operated andsupported by its 13 I n t e r i mCouncil Members: Bahrain,C y p rus, Egypt, Greece, Iran,Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman,Pakistan, Palestine, Turkey andthe United Arab Emirates.Several countries are partic-ipating as Observer Countries,which include, Armenia, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait,Russia, Sudan, Sweden,Switzerland, UK and USA1 6.Several other countries haveexpressed an interest to join thisnew fount of science andmedium of international co-operation.

The founders of the SESAMEProject envisage a facility similarin aim to the Euro p e a nLaboratory for Particle Physics(CERN) in Geneva, whichb rought together numero u sscientists from countries thathad fought each other duringthe two World Wars. SESAME isexpected to mirror CERN instimulating regional re s e a rc h

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collaboration17-19. Very much likeCERN, SESAME is under thevery valuable political umbrellaof UNESCO and is expected top romote science and fosterinternational co-operation. Ab road spectrum of re s e a rc hp rogrammes is plannedincluding, structural molecularb i o l o g y, molecular enviro n -mental science, surface andinterface science, micro-electro-mechanical devices, X-rayimaging, archaeological micro -analysis, materials character-isation, and medicalapplications.

It has taken several years for theidea of donation to be set oncourse to evolve from a vision toa system. A considerablysignificant point to this successwas the Sinai Physics Meeting,held at the Egyptian resort ofDahab, on the Gulf of Aqaba, inNovember 199520. This historicMeeting was conceived by theItalian physicist Sergio Fubini21

of the University of Turin, whichled directly to the formation ofthe Middle East ScienceCollaboration (MESC) in 1997.MESC constitutes a network ofscientists promoting research co-

operation between Europe, theUSA and the Middle East. Theidea of relocating BESSY-I wasfurther taken through the MESCin a series of meetings heldunder the auspices of theUNESCO, CERN, Abdus SalamInternational Centre forT h e o retical Physics (AbdusSalam ICTP) to name a few22.Herwig Schopper, formerDirector-General of CERN and amember of MESC is theP resident of the SESAMEP roject’s Interim Council.Jordan’s King Abdullah II haspledged US $1m a year for fiveyears and the member countriesa re expected to contributeUS$50,000 per year during thec o n s t ruction phase. With thecontinued progress and supportfrom the SESAME members andseveral other sources it isexpected that the re s e a rc hprogrammes will start in 2006.

Abdus Salam and the MiddleEast SynchrotronB e f o re addressing the re c e n tattempts to build institutions inthe Middle East, we need torecall the glorious period ofscience and technology in theArab World a few centuries

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back. So far as the sciences areconcerned, the Muslim Ummah(community) has a very proudpast. For about 350 years from750-1100 CE, the Ummah had anabsolute ascendancy in all thefields of knowledge then known,f rom Astronomy to Zoology.During this period known as theGolden Age of Science in theIslamic Wo r l d, Muslims maden u m e rous and multi-disciplinary contributions tohumanity and the Islamiccivilisation23. From 1100 CE andfor another 250 years, Muslimsshared this ascendancy with theemerging West. From the 15thcentury they progressively lostout. This period of continuousdecline paradoxically coincideswith the great Empires of Islam:Osmani in Turkey; Sufvi in Iran;and Mughal in India. By about1500 this decline was complete.A detailed and historical accountis available in the encyclopedicworks of Sarton24 and Gibb25. Itis difficult to say for certainabout all the causes responsiblefor the decline of science inIslam. However, it is very certainthat the priorities (of the rulers)have been very different for toolong. For example, while the

E u ropeans were busy makinguniversities and numero u sinstitutions, the MughalE m p e rors were busy makingpalaces and tombs! The trendsand tendencies of the Muslimrulers of the present period arenot very different.

It is recognised that 80% of theworld’s population lives in theThird World; a loose depressingdescription of a large, diversegroup of countries, which seemto be interminably involved in afutile struggle against thec rushing burdens of poverty,hunger, disease, strife and war.Muslim countries constitute alarge fraction of the countries inthis category of the Third World.There is no question that today,out of all civilisations on thisplanet, science is weakest in thelands of Islam. The danger ofthis great weakness cannot beo v e remphasised since hon-ourable survival of a societydepends directly on its strengthin Science and Technology. Inkeeping with the successfulexperience of the developedcountries, we must remember,there are no short cuts. A nationmust impart hard scientific

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training to more than half of itsmanpower. Each country mustallocate at least 1-2% of theGross National Product (GNP)on Research and Development(R&D).

The oil rich Arab countries areallotting even less than theirpoor African counterparts!Region-wise figures in Table-Aa re a testimony to this starkre a l i t y. Besides, they shouldspend over 5% on education.

About half the Muslim countriesa re meeting the expenditurenorms on education. But forR&D, they are far below theinternational norms. Thesefigures are for civilian allotment.The expenditure on the defence-oriented research is in additionto this. Most of the Muslimcountries are spending muchless than the international normsof about 5% of their GNP onhealth. The reduced investmenton R&D makes a significant

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RegionScientists/

Engineers in R&D(per millioninhabitants)

Expenditureon R&D (%

of GNP)

Population(millions)

Africa (All) 627 211 0.3Africa (Sub-Saharan) 464 113 0.3

Arab States (All) 234 356 0.2Arab States in Africa 163 489 0.2Arab States in Asia 71 52 0.2

Asia 3,332 537 1.3

Europe 714 2,476 1.7

North America 295 3,599 2.6

Oceania 29 3,071 1.6

South America 487 715 0.5

World 5,483 946 1.6

TABLE-A: Statistical Data for Regions 1996/1997

Source: State of Technology in the World 1996-97.UNESCO Institute of Statistics (2001)

d i ff e rence. For instance, theentire Muslim world producesonly 500 PhDs in all sciencesevery year; in contrast, the UKalone produces 3,000. In 1999 theUSA produced 1,600 PhDs inphysics alone. Muslim countriesshould create centres ofexcellence in science and tech-nology; create scholarships toallow bright students to studyand develop skills needed toraise their countries out ofilliteracy and poverty. Will thepresent day rulers care to buildPalaces of Science, the Centres ofAdvanced Studies? Will they everstrive to create theCommonwealth of Science forIslamic Countries? Unless anduntil steps are taken to addressthe above questions in a realisticm a n n e r, there can be norenaissance of science in theIslamic countries, let alone theambitions of the creation of aPolitical Commonwealth of IslamicC o u n t r i e s. Without these, theMuslim countries (and theircitizens) may never be able tolead a normal existence, full ofdignity, in the comity of nations.

It is essential to recall the earlierattempts (though unsuccessful

and now almost and conve-niently forgotten) to buildinstitutions (including synchro-tron radiation facilities) in theMiddle East26-27. The originatorof these attempts is none otherthan Professor Abdus Salam, aco-winner of the 1979 NobelPrize in Physics, the founder andlong-time director of the ICTP(in November 1997 on theoccasion of the first anniversaryof Professor Salam’s death, itwas renamed the Abdus SalamI C T P, to commemorate itsfounder) and a humanitarianwho devoted much of his life touplifting the status of scienceand technology in the thirdworld28-31. The ICTP is located inTrieste, Italy, and was foundedby Professor Abdus Salam in1964, under the auspices of theIAEA with very genero u ssupport from the ItalianGovernment. This genero u ssupport is responsible for the90% of the ICTP annual budgetof over US$20m. A few yearslater UNESCO also joined inextending support to the newCentre.

P rofessor Abdus Salam hadd reamed of creating 20

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international centres like theI C T P, spread throughout thew o r l d3 2 - 3 3. ICTP attracts thou-sands of visitors every year,mostly from the developingcountries for whom, it wascreated. As part of that vision, heactively promoted the idea ofadvancing the cause of scienceand technology in the MiddleEast, not only by havingre s e a rchers from the re g i o nwork with their colleagues in thedeveloped world, but also byhaving the region develop itsown facilities includingsynchrotron laboratories! In May1983, at the Symposium on theFuture Outlook of the ArabianGulf University held in Bahrain,P rofessor Abdus Salamdelivered a Paper entitled, TheGulf University and Science in theArab-Islamic Commonwealth, inwhich he reminded his listenersthat:

‘We forget that an accelerator likethe one at CERN developssophisticated modern technology atits furthest limit. I am notadvocating that we should build aCERN for Islamic countries.However, I cannot but feel enviousthat a relatively poor country like

Greece has joined CERN, paying asubscription according to thestandard GNP formula. I cannotrejoice that Tu r k e y, or the Gulfcountries, or Iran, or Pakistan seemto show no ambition to join thisfount of science and get their mencatapulted into the forefront of thelatest technological expertise.Working with CERN Acceleratorsbrings at the least this reward to anation, as Greece has had theperception to realise’32

He then went on to make thefollowing points:

‘I have mentioned an internationallaboratory in materials sciences forBahrain, with specialisation inm i c ro e l e c t ronics and modernelectronic communications, includ-ing space satellite communication,to help also with the bankingcommunications needed at Bahrain.Such a laboratory was in factp roposed for the University ofJeddah. The idea was to emphasisescience transfer in addition totechnology transfer and to createinternational laboratories in thefields of materials sciences,including surface physics and alaboratory with a synchro t ro nradiation light source. The facilities

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c reated would have been of thehighest possible international order;the laboratories would have beenopened to teams of internationalresearchers, who would congregateand work at Jeddah, just as theyc o n g regate now at the gre a tlaboratories in Hamburg, Geneva orParis’.32

Had the above project beenfollowed even partly, the ArabWorld would have had a SuperGulf University (with lab-oratories in biotechnology,materials science and synch-rotron radiation facilities and alot more) and today we wouldbe celebrating two decades of itsexistence with achievements.

One of the other monumentalc reations of Professor AbdusSalam was the Third Wo r l dAcademy of Science (TWAS)34. Itis an autonomous internationalorganisation, founded in Trieste,in 1983 and was off i c i a l l ylaunched by Javier Pérez deC u e l l a r, the then Secre t a r yGeneral of the United Nations in1985. TWAS’s curre n tmembership, which includes 16Nobel Laureates, totals 586scientists (480 Fellows from 62

developing countries and 106Associate Fellows from 14developed countries). In 1991UNESCO assumed re s p o n -sibility for administering TWASfunds and staff. Since itsinception, TWAS has beensupporting re s e a rch work ofscientific merit in 100 countries,t h rough a variety of pro -grammes35. TWAS has served asone of the most articulate andforceful voices for the promotionof excellence in scientificresearch and the advancement ofscience-based development inthe developing world. TWA Sspearheaded the creation of theT h i rd World Network ofScientific Org a n i s a t i o n s(TWNSO) in 1988, by ministersof science and technology andhigher education and heads ofscience academies and re s e a rc hcouncils in the developingcountries. This has enabled thelink of scientific re s e a rch topublic policy by bringing sci-entists and public off i c i a l stogether in efforts designed tof o rge sustainable science-baseddevelopment strategies.TWNSO’s membership nowtotals 155 leading policy makinginstitutions, including 34

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ministries of science andtechnology and 45 re s e a rc hcouncils and academies. TWASalso played a key role in theestablishment of the ThirdWorld Organisation for Womenin Science (TWOWS), which wasofficially launched in Cairo in1993. Today TWOWS has morethan 2200 members and isrecognised as the leading voicefor women scientists in thedeveloping countries.

Concluding RemarksSESAME envisages a road map forscience, technology and co-operation in the Middle East, butat the same time, SESAME doesnot totally fulfil the dreams ofProfessor Abdus Salam becausemany countries from the MiddleEast are yet to participate. Thedriving force is coming fro moutside of Middle East and notf rom within. The numero u snovel projects suggested byProfessor Abdus Salam were allconsistently rejected by theMuslim countries, including hisnative country Pakistan. This isdefinitely due to the indifferencewhich the Muslim world hastowards science, education anddevelopment. Such pro j e c t sshould be revived for the new

Super Gulf University, therebymaking it accessible toresearchers internationally, andparticularly to the researchers inMuslim countries.

It is very disheartening thatmany countries from the MiddleEast are yet to participate in thenovel project of SESAME. Thesecountries are missing anexcellent opportunity in thearena of International ScientificCollaboration. The same is thesad state of affairs for countriesin the rest of Asia and thecontinent of Africa. Many ofthese countries have had veryold ties with the countries of theMiddle East since very ancienttimes. In recent decades, theseties have been furthers t rengthened by their larg epresence in the region, leading toactive economic collaboration.Nature in one of its editorialsaptly advised, ‘... any potentialfunder is not to hold back, for thiswould be a worthwhile investment.Initiatives such as this do not comearound often. When they do, theyshould be supported unhesi-tatingly’36. Scientific co-operationa c ross the geo-graphical andcultural borders helps stimulatenot only the advancement of

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ideas in the professional field,but also the building of lastingbridges and the establishment ofcontacts on the personal andm o re importantly theinternational level. The costsinvolved for participation arenot much, for any country.

References

1. JD. Jackson, Classical Electro d y n a m i c s,Third Edition, (Wiley, New York, 1999).

2. Handbook of Accelerator Physics andEngineering, Editors, A. W. Chao and M.Ti g n e r, (World Scientific, Singapore ,1999).

3. Sameen Ahmed Khan, The World ofSynchrotrons, Resonance, 6, No. 11, pp.77-86 (November 2001), (MonthlyPublication of the Indian Academy ofSciences (IAS)). E - P r i n t a r X i v :p h y s i c s / 0 1 1 2 0 8 6 .h t t p : / / w w w. a r x i v. o rg / a b s / p h y s i c s / 0 112086/

4. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Synchro t ro nRadiation (in Asia), ATIP Report No.ATIP02.034, 28 pages (21 August 2002).(The Asian Technology InformationProgramme, Tokyo, Japan, 2002).

5 Sameen Ahmed Khan, The Story of theRelocated Synchrotrons, Indian ScienceCruiser, 15, No. 2, 26-30 (April 2001).

6. Sameen A. Khan and Susan M. Reiss,Donated Synchro t ron will furtherMiddle East Co-operation; SharingSynchrotrons, Optics & Photonics News,13, No. 11, pp. 14-15 (November 2002).

7. World Synchro t ron Map We b s i t e :h t t p : / / w w w -ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/sr_sources.html

8. Heather McCabe, Middle East’ssynchrotron heads for Jordan, Nature,404, 798 (20 April 2000).

9. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Jordan to hostMiddle East synchrotron, ICFA BeamDynamics Newsletter, 22, 6-7 (August2000). (ICFA: International Committeefor Future Accelerators).

10. Sameen Ahmed Khan, A GermanSynchrotron for the Middle East, IRPSBulletin, 16 (2), 5-8 (August 2002). (IRPS:International Radiation PhysicsSociety).

11. BESSY Website: http://www.bessy.de/

12. SESAME We b s i t e :http://www.sesame.org.jo/

13. Leif Gerward, SESAME site selected inJordan, IRPS Bulletin, 14 (4), (December2000). (IRPS: International RadiationPhysics Society).

14. Sameen Ahmed Khan, A SynchrotronRadiation Facility in the Middle East,ICO Newsletter, 51, pp. 3 (April 2002);Supplement to Optics & Photonics News ,13 No. 2, pp.3 (April 2002). (ICO:International Commission for Optics).

15. Ehsan Masood, Middle Easts y n c h ro t ron facility could bringregional co-operation, Nature, 399, 507-508 (10 June 1999).

16. Heather McCabe, Jordan chosen toopen SESAME, Nature, 406, 221 (20 July2000).

17. Herwig Schopper, SESAME: a miniCERN for the Middle East, C E R NCourier, 40 (2), 17-18 (March 2000).

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18. E d i t o r, SESAME Opens the Door toMiddle East Co-operation, C E R NCourier, 42 (9), (November 2002).

19. Matin Durrani, Jordan lab breaks newground, Physics World, 16 (1), 5 (January2003).

20. Roman Jackiw, Arabs, Israelis andWesterners attend first Sinai physicsmeeting, Physics To d a y, 49 (2), 11 - 1 3(February 1996).

21. Roman Jackiw and Sameen AhmedKhan, Fubini and Salam inspired plansfor Mideast Synchrotron, Physics Today,53 (1), 78 (January 2000).

22. Regina Rochow, Supporting theSESAME Project, Elettra News, Vol. 40(08 June 2001).

23. Zakaria Virk, Islamic Contribution toEuropean Awakening.

24. George Sarton, Introduction to the historyof science, in four volumes, (Williams &Wilkins, Baltimore, 1962).

25. H. A. R. Gibb, The Encyclopaedia of Islam,(Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, TheNetherlands, 1986).

26. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Salam’s brightidea, Physics Wo r l d, 12 (11), 15(November 1999).

27. Sameen Ahmed Khan, OpeningSESAME, CERN Courier , 40 (5), 38(April 2000).

28. Sameen A. Khan, The InternationalC e n t re for Theoretical Physics—APersonal Impression, Al-Nahl SpecialIssue on Dr. Abdus Salam Vol. 8, pp. 122-124 (Fall 1997).

29. C. P. Singh, Abdus Salam - Life andWork, Physics News , 27, No. 4, pp. 181-

183 (December 1996). (Publication ofthe IPA, the Indian PhysicsAssociation).

30. Jogesh C. Pati, Obituary of AbdusSalam, Physics To d a y, 50 (8), 74-75(August 1997).

31. T. W. B. Kibble, Muhammad AbdusSalam, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows ofthe Royal Society, 44, 385-401 (1998).

32. Abdus Salam, in Renaissance of Sciencesin Islamic Countries, Editors: H. R. Dalafiand M. H, A. Hassan, (World Scientific,Singapore, 1994).

33. Abdus Salam, in Ideals and Realities,third edition, Editors: C. H. Lai andAzim Kidwai, (World Scientific,Singapore, 1989).

34. TWAS Website: http://www.twas.org/

35. M. Akhtar, Some personal reflections onthe origin of TWAS and the evolution ofits mission, Current Science, 81 (8), pp.927-929 (25 October 2001).

36. E d i t o r, A cause worth funding: AGerman synchrotron would be good forthe Middle East, Nature, 309, 505 (10June 1999).

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‘The Promised Messiah( a s )

prophesied that a third worldwar of even bigger dimensionswould follow the second. Thetwo opposing camps will clashwith such suddenness thateveryone will be caughtunawares. Death anddestruction will rain from thesky and fierce flames shallengulf the earth. The colossusof modern civilisation willtumble to the ground… theirmight broken and theirsystems shattered.… A peoplewho are seeking to wipe outthe name of God from theearth and to drive Him out ofthe skies will realise the follyof their ways and at long lastsubmit to Him as staunchbelievers in His Unity andOneness…. You may considerthis a fantasy. But those whosurvive the third world warwill witness and bear out thetruth of what I have said.These are the words of GodA l m i g h t y. They shall befulfilled. No one can avert Hisdecree.’(A Message of Peace and a Word ofWarning by Hadrat Hafiz Mirza

Nasir Ahmad, July 1967)

The Promised Messiah( a s ) a l s owrote:

"Remember, God has informedme of many earthquakes. Resta s s u red, there f o re, that asearthquakes have shakenAmerica and Europe so willthey shake Asia. Some of themwill resemble the Day of Doom.So many people shall die thatrivulets of blood shall flow.Even the birds and beasts willnot be immune against thisdeath. A havoc shall sweep thesurface of the earth which shallbe the greatest since the birth ofman. Habitations shall bedemolished as if no one hadever lived in them. This will beaccompanied by many othercalamities the earth and theheavens will send forth, tilltheir extraordinary nature willbecome evident to everyreasonable man. All thel i t e r a t u re of science andphilosophy shall fail to showtheir like. Then mankind will bes o re distressed and wonderwhat is going to happen. Many


A Message of Peace and a Word ofWarning

shall escape and many perish.The days are near, in fact, I cansee them close at hand, whenthe earth shall witness a terriblesight. Not only earthquakes butalso many fearsome calamitiesshall overtake man, some fromthe skies and some from theearth. This will happen becausemankind has stopped wor-shipping its true God and hasbecome lost in the affairs of theworld with all its heart, effortand intent. Had I not come,these afflictions would havebeen delayed a little. But withmy coming the secret purposeof an affronted God which werehidden so far, became manifest.Says God: “We never punishunless We send a Messenger.”Those who repent shall findsecurity and those who fearbefore calamity overtakes themshall be shown mercy. Do youthink you will be immune fromthese calamities? Or can yousave yourselves through artificeor design? Indeed not. That dayall human schemes shall fail.Think not that earthquakesvisited America and othercontinents but that your owncountry shall remain secure .Indeed, you may experience ag reater hardship. O Euro p e ,you are not safe and O Asia,you too, are not immune. And

O dweller of islands, no falsegods shall come to your rescue.I see cities fall and settlementslaid waste. The One and OnlyGod kept silent for long.Heinous deeds were donebefore His eyes and He saidnothing. But now He shallreveal His face in majesty andawe. Let him who has ears hearthat the time is not far. I havedone my best to bring all underthe protection of God but it wasdestined that what was writtenshould come to pass. Truly, do Isay that the turn of this land toois approaching fast. The timesof Noah shall reappear beforeour eyes and your eyes will bewitnesses to the calamity thatovertook the cities of Lot. ButGod is slow in His wrath.Repent that you may be shownmercy! He who does not fearHim is dead not alive.’ (Haqiqatul Wahy pp.256-57)

68

Message from Heaven


Documents

Contents March 2003, Vol.98, No · 2020-01-13 · Daud Mahmood Khan Fareed Ahmad Fazal Ahmad Fauzia Bajwa. Mansoor Saqi Mahmood Hanif Mansoora Hyder-Muneeb Navida Shahid Sarah Waseem