Review of Religions€¦ · Chief Editor and Manager: Mansoor Ahmed Shah Management Board: Mr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman) Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary) Mr Naseer Ahmad Qamar Mr Mubarak

Special contributors:Amatul-Hadi AhmadFarina Qureshi

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Basit Ahmad

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Fareed Ahmad.

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

All correspondence shouldbe forwarded directly to theeditor at:

The Review of ReligionsThe London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QLUnited Kingdom

© Islamic Publications, 2004ISSN No: 0034-6721

Contents October 2004, Vol.99, No.10

1

Chief Editor and Manager: Mansoor Ahmed Shah

Management Board:Mr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman)

Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary)

Mr Naseer Ahmad Qamar

Mr Mubarak Ahmad Zafar

Mr Mirza Fakhar Ahmad

Mr. Abdul Baqi Arshad

The true purpose of our lives is to win the pleasure of Allah.By Fareed Ahmad - UK ....................................................................................................... 2

Describes in detail the four principal attributes of Allah as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, and how they are related to each other and have been described in the correct order.Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) ........................................................................................... 3

Some of the unique features of Islamranging from the unity of God, prophethood, the Holy Qur’an, rights of women and life after death that attracted the author to join Islam. By Bilal Atkinson - Hartlepool, UK....................................................................................... 20

Discussion on how the Holy Qur’an uses the emotions of Hope and Fear to guide mankind towards God..By Fauzia Bajwa - Montreal, Canada.. ................................................................................. 37

A plea to engage in personal reformation and to ignore the fashions and distractions of the outside world.By Sir Chaudhry Zafrulla Khan . ............................................................................................ 47

A study of the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet(as) towards other faiths co-exisiting with Muslims. Proof that concepts such as forced conversion are alien to the original notion of Jihad, and that actually Jihadis a personal battle of reformation.By Amjad Mahmood Khan - Boston, USA . ............................................................................. 56

The Concept of Jihad in Islam

The Task Ahead

The Holy Qur’an – The Perfect Guidance for Mankind

Distinctive Features of Islam

The Essence of Islam: Allah the Exalted - Part 5

Editorial

By Fareed Ahmad

Several articles in this month’sissue highlight the distinctivefeatures of Islam – from the vasttreasure of knowledge containedwithin the Holy Qur’an tospecific aspects of Islam that arenot found in other religions.

These timeless and globalaspects of Islamic teachings wererevealed to Holy ProphetMuhammad(sa) over 1400 yearsago, and his life was a practicalexample of how man should live.This is a struggle to channelmaterial resources for the benefitof the soul. This does not meanthat one should live in isolationor disengagement from the worldbut rather one should strive toinject a sense of spirituality intoevery aspect of life. In thisrespect the world is indebted toProphet Muhammad( s a ) as hisexample, during both times ofpeace and war, of how to conduct

oneself in different capacities –as a husband, father, leader,statesman, General, judge toname but a few. They comprise aset of ideals to which we all mustaspire. His every action wasunderpinned by serving andwinning the pleasure of Allah.Undoubtedly it is this that holdsthe key for us even today.

Our deeds and actions do nothappen without reason and onlywe can determine what thatreason is. Indeed our thoughtsand hearts are the source of ourgoodness or evil and they play acrucial role in moulding our soul.The emphasis in Islam of Allah’sattribute of being ‘al-Aleem’ i.e.the All-Knowing, is vital to oursuccess as it reminds us of theobjective of this life – to developcharacteristics that bring uscloser to Allah and so win Hispleasure. If we are able to masterour thoughts only then will we beable to truly benefit from theprofound wisdom that underliesevery aspect of the beautifulteachings of Islam.

2 The Review of Religions – October 2004

Editorial

3The Review of Religions – October 2004

Four Principal Attributes ofAllahGod Almighty has four principalattributes which may be called themothers of all attributes. Everyone of them makes a demand uponour humanity. These four areR u b u b i y y a t, R a h m a n i y y a t,Rahimiyyat and Malikiyyat of theDay of Judgement.

For its manifestation, Rububiyyatdemands nothingness, or a stateresembling nothingness. Everyform of creation, whether animateor inanimate, comes into beingthrough it. For its manifestation,R a h m a n i y y a t demands theabsence of existence and itsoperation is related only toanimates and not to inanimates.

This series sets out, in the words of the Promised Messiah(as) Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics: ISLAM; ALLAH, THEE X A LTED; THE HOLY PROPHET ( s a ); and THE HOLY QUR’AN. The originalcompilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English, wascollated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad Sahib, Allah have mercy on himand reward him graciously for his great labour of love. Amin. The English rendering is bythe late Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, Allah be pleased with him, and quoted from TheEssence of Islam, Volume 1. All references throughout, unless otherwise specificallymentioned, are from the Holy Qur’an.

The Essence of Islam: Allah the Exalted – Part 5

The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslimcommunity was Hadhrat Mirza

Ghulam Ahmad(as).

In 1891, he claimed on the basis of Divinerevelation, that he was the PromisedMessiah and Mahdi whose advent hadbeen foretold by Muhammad, the HolyProphet of Islam (peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him) and by the scripturesof other faiths.

His claim constitutes the basis of thebeliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslimcommunity.



R a h i m i y y a t demands for itsmanifestation an affirmation oftheir nothingness and non-existence from the part of creationwhich is endowed with reason andrelates only to man.

M a l i k i y y a t of the Day ofJudgement demands for itsmanifestation humble supplicationand pleading and relates only tosuch of mankind as fall likebeggars on the threshold of Unityand spread forth their mantle ofsincerity in order to receive graceand, finding themselves emptyhanded, believe in the Malikiyyatof God.

These four attributes are inoperation all the time. Of theseR a h i m i y y a t moves a person tosupplication and M a l i k i y y a tconsumes a person in the fire offear and terror and gives birth totrue humility, for this attributeestablishes that God is the Masterof recompense and that no one hasthe right to demand anything.F o rgiveness and salvation arethrough grace.[ Ayyam-us-sulah, RuhaniKhaza'in, Vol. 14, pp. 242-243]

In Surah Fatihah, God Almightyhas set forth four of His attributes,n a m e l y, R a b b - u l - ' A l a m i n,R a h m a n, R a h i m and M a l i k - i -Yaum-id-Din. The order in whichthey are mentioned is the naturalorder of these four attributes andthey are manifested in this order.Divine grace is manifested in theworld in four types.

The first is the most general grace.This is the absolute grace whichperpetually envelops everythingfrom the heavens to the earthwithout distinction of animate orinanimate. The coming into beingof everything from non-existenceand its fullest development isthrough this grace. Nothing isoutside of it. All souls and bodieswere manifested and are mani-fested through it and all weredeveloped and are developedthrough it. This grace is the verylife of the universe. Were it to bewithdrawn for an instant theuniverse would come to an end;and had it not been for this grace,there would have been no creation.In the Holy Qur’an this grace isnamed Rububiyyat and by virtueof it God is called R a b b - u l -'Alamin, as is said at another place:



He is the Lord of all things.(Ch.6: V.165)

God is the Rabb of everything.

Nothing in the universe is devoidof His Rububiyyat. So the attributeof Rabb-ul-'Alamin is mentionedfirst of all in Surah Fatihah (thefirst chapter of the Holy Qur’an)and it is declared:

All praise belongs to Allah,Lord of all the worlds.(Ch.1: V.2)

As of all the attributes of grace,this has natural priority, bothbecause it comes intomanifestation before the otherattributes of grace and because it isthe most general in its scope,inasmuch as it comprehends

everything whether animate orinanimate.

The second type of grace isgeneral grace and the differencebetween this grace and the onepreviously mentioned is that thefirst one comprehends the wholeof the universe and the second oneis a special Divine bounty which isbestowed upon animates. In otherwords, the special attention of theDivine towards living things iscalled the general grace. Itoperates in respect of all livingthings according to their needswithout their having any right ortitle to it. It is not the consequenceof, or reward for, any action. It isby the blessing of this grace thatevery living thing lives, eats,drinks and is safeguarded againstdangers and has its needs fulfilled.

“THE COMING INTO BEING OF EVERYTHING FROM NON-EXISTENCE AND ITS FULLEST DEVELOPMENT IS THROUGH

THIS GRACE. NOTHING IS OUTSIDE OF IT. ALL SOULS AND

B O D I E S W E R E M A N I F E S T E D A N D A R E M A N I F E S T E D

T H R O U G H I T A N D A L L W E R E D E V E L O P E D A N D A R E

DEVELOPED THROUGH IT. THIS GRACE IS THE VERY LIFE OF

THE UNIVERSE. WERE IT TO BE WITHDRAWN FOR AN

INSTANT THE UNIVERSE WOULD COME TO AN END.”



Through it, all the means of lifewhich are needed by everyanimate or its species for their owncontinuance, are made available. Itis the consequence of this gracethat whatever the souls need fortheir physical development has allbeen provided, and for those whoin addition to physical devel-opment are in need of spiritualdevelopment, that is to say, theypossess the capacity for suchdevelopment, the Word of God hasdescended through eternity at thetime of their need.

It is through the operation of thisgrace of Rahmaniyyat that manfulfils his millions of needs. Hehas available to him the surface ofthe earth for residence, the sunand the moon for light, air forbreathing, water for drinking, allvarieties of food for eating,millions of medicines fortreatment, a large variety ofgarments for wearing and DivineBooks for guidance. No one canclaim that all this has beenprovided through the blessing ofhis actions, that he had performedsome good action in someprevious existence inconsequence of which God has

bestowed these numberlessbounties upon mankind. It is thusestablished that this grace whichis manifested in thousands ofways for the comfort of allanimates is an ex gratia bounty,which is not bestowed inconsequence of any action but is amanifestation of Divinecompassion, so that every animateshould achieve its natural purposeand all its needs may be fulfilled.By virtue of this grace, Divinebounty provides for the needs ofmankind and all animals andaffords them protection so thattheir capacities should not remainin the realm of potentiality.

The existence of this Divineattribute is established by theobservation of the law of nature.No reasonable person would denythat the sun, the moon, the earth,and the elements, and all othernecessary things which are foundin the universe, and upon whichthe life of all animates depends, aremanifested through this grace. Thename of this grace, of whicheverything that breathes takesadvantage according to its needs,without distinction of man or



beast, believer or non-believer,good or bad, and of which noanimate is deprived, isR a h m a n i y y a t, and by virtue of itGod has been called R a h m a n i nSurah Fatihah after R a b b u l -' A l a m i n. The attribute A l - R a h m a nis referred to at several other placesin the Holy Qur'an. For instance:

And when it is said to them,‘Submit to the Gracious God’,they say, ‘And who is theGracious God? Shall wesubmit to whatever thoubiddest us?’ And it increasestheir aversion. Blessed is HeWho has made in the heavenmansions of the stars and hasplaced therein a Lampproducing light and a moonthat reflects light. And He it isWho has made the night andthe day, each following theother, for the benefit of himwho desires to remember, ordesires to be grateful. And thetrue servants of the GraciousGod are those who walkhumbly and when the ignorantaddress them, they avoid themgracefully by saying, ‘Peace!’.(Ch.25: Vs.61-64)

This means that: When thedisbelievers, pagans and atheistsare admonished that they shouldprostrate them-selves before theR a h m a n, they feel aversiontowards the name R a h m a n a n denquire: What is Rahman? Theanswer is that R a h m a n is theBlessed Being, Who is theperpetual source of all good andWho has made mansions in theheaven and has placed the sun andthe moon in those mansions whichprovide light to the whole creationwithout distinction of believer anddisbeliever. The same Rahman hasmade for all mankind day andnight which follow each other sothat a seeker of understandingshould draw benefit from this wisearrangement and should findrelease from the coverings ofignorance and indifference and sothat he who is eager to be gratefulshould render thanks.

The true worshippers of Rahmanare those who walk humbly uponthe earth and when the ignorantones address them harshly theyreply to them in words of peaceand compassion.

That is to say, they offer kindness



in place of harshness, and in returnfor abuse, they pray for theirrevilers and thus they exhibitgracious qualities, for theGracious One bestows thebounties of the sun, the moon, theearth and other countless favoursupon all His creatures regardlessof whether they are good or bad.

In these verses, it has beenexpounded that the word Rahmanis used for God because His mercyencompasses all good and badalike. At another place this mercyhas been referred to in the verse:

‘I will inflict My punishmenton whom I will; but my mercyencompasses all things’.(Ch.7: V.157)

At another place it is said:

Say, ‘Who can protect you bynight and by day from theGracious God?’(Ch.21: V.43)

Tell these disbelievers and thedisobedient ones that were it notfor the attribute of Rahmaniyyat,they could not have averted divinechastisement. In other words, it is

by virtue of Rahmaniyyat that Hegrants respite to the disbelieversand pagans and does not seizethem quickly. At another placeRahmaniyyat is referred to as:

Do they not see the birds abovethem, spreading out theirwings in flight and thendrawing them in to swoopdown upon their prey? It isnone but the Gracious Godthat keeps them from fallingdown.(Ch.67: V.20)

This means that the grace ofRahmaniyyat so encompasses allanimates that even birds whichseem to have little value, flyjoyously in the current of thisgrace.

As this grace follows naturallyafter R u b u b i y y a t, it has beenmentioned in that order in SurahFatihah.

The third type of grace is specialgrace. The difference betweenthis and general grace is that inthe case of the general grace, abeneficiary is not under obligationto make himself good, or to bring



his ego out of the coverings ofdarkness, or to put forward anyeffort to take advantage of it. Byvirtue of general grace, GodAlmighty bestows upon everyanimate all that it needs accordingto its nature without asking andwithout any effort on its part. Butin the case of special grace,striving and effort, purification ofthe heart and supplication,attention towards God and allkinds of appropriate efforts areneeded. He alone receives thisgrace who seeks it and this gracedescends upon one who works forit. The existence of this grace isalso proved by observation of thelaw of nature. It is obvious thatthose who strive in the cause ofGod and those who are indifferentcannot be equal.

Without doubt, a special mercydescends upon people who strivetruly in the cause of God andwithdraw from every darknessand disorder. By virtue of this

grace, in the Holy Qur'an, God'sname is R a h i m. Because theattribute of Rahimiyyat is specialand follows upon the fulfilment ofcertain conditions, it is mentionedafter R a h m a n i y y a t, forR a h m a n i y y a t was manifestedbefore R a h i m i y y a t m a n i f e s t e ditself. On account of this naturalorder R a h i m i y y a t is mentionedafter R a h m a n i y y a t in SurahFatihah and Allah the Exaltedsays:

The Gracious, the Merciful.(Ch.1: V.3)

This attribute is mentioned atseveral places in the Holy Qur'an.For instance, at one place it is said:

And He is Merciful to thebelievers.(Ch.33: V.44)

This means that God's Rahimiyyatis confined to the believers andthat a disbeliever and a rebellious

THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARE MENTIONED IS THE

NATURAL ORDER OF THESE FOUR ATTRIBUTES AND THEY

ARE MANIFESTED IN THIS ORDER.



one have no share in it.

It is worthy of note that theoperation of the attribute ofRahimiyyat has been confined tothe case of believers, butR a h m a n i y y a t is not so limited.Nowhere is it stated that God isR a h m a n towards believers. Themercy which is specially related tothe believers is always describedas Rahimiyyat. At another place itis said:

Surely, the mercy of Allah isnigh unto those who do good.(Ch.7: V.57)

The Rahimiyyat of Allah is closeto those who do their duty to theutmost. At another place it is said:

Those who believe and thosewho emigrate and strive hardin the cause of Allah, it is thesewho hope for Allah’s mercy;and Allah is Most Forgiving,Merciful. (Ch.2: V.219)

This means that His Rahimiyyat iscertainly bestowed upon thosewho deserve it. There is no onewho seeks Him and does not findHim.

What kind of a lover is hetowards whom the Beloved does

not incline?

O my master, what is lacking ispain, for the Physician is

available.

The fourth kind of grace is themost special one. This gracecannot be achieved merely bystriving and effort. The firstcondition for its manifestation isthat this world of means which isnarrow and dark should bedemolished altogether and the fullpower of the Lord of Unity shouldmanifest its perfect brilliancenakedly without the intrusion ofother means. This last degree ofgrace where all other graces end,is distinguished from other gracesby being perfect in the sense thatit is open and clear and there is nocovertness or deficiency inrespect of it. That is to say, thereshould be no doubt left withregard to the determined bestowalof this grace, nor with regard to



the reality and pure and perfectmercy of this grace. The gener-osity of and the rewarding by theEternal Master, the Bestower ofthe grace, should appear as brightas the day. The recipient of thisgrace should know with certaintyand should feel it as a matterwhich is patent that the Master ofthe kingdom is bestowing a grandbounty, and great delight uponhim by His determination,attention and special power. Andthat for his righteous conduct he isreceiving the reward which isperfect and everlasting, most clearand superior, most desirable andloved, and that there is no aspectof a test or trial involved.

To become the beneficiary of thatcomplete, perfect, lasting andsuperior grace, it is necessary thatthe person concerned should betransported to another world fromthis defective, opaque, narrow,confined, mortal and doubtfulworld, because this grace is anexperience of grand mani-festations in which the beauty ofthe true Benefactor should beclearly seen and should beexperienced as a certainty, so that

no stage of manifestation andcertainty should be left out and noveil of material means shouldobstruct it. Every detail ofcomplete understanding shouldcome into operation in full force.The manifestations should be soclear and definite that GodHimself should convey that theyare free from every test and trial.This manifestation should carrywith it high and perfect delightspossessing so completely one'sheart and soul and every spiritualand physical faculty to such adegree as could not possibly beexceeded.

This world which is defective inits essence, clouded in itsappearance, mortal in its being,doubtful in its conditions, andnarrow in its extent, cannot bearthese grand manifestations. Purelights and eternal bounties, andthose perfect rays which areeverlasting cannot be contained init. For this manifestation, anotherworld is needed which should bewholly free from the darkness ofmaterial means and should be theperfect and pure manifestation ofthe power of the One SupremeBeing.



This most special grace is to somedegree enjoyed in this very life bythose perfect personalities whotread completely along the path oftruth and, discarding their selfishdesigns and desires, lean whollytowards God. They die beforetheir death, and though theyappear to be in this world, they intruth dwell in the other world.Inasmuch as they withdraw theirhearts altogether from thematerial means of this world,breaking away from the habits ofhumanness and turning awayaltogether from that which isbeside Allah, adopt the waywhich is above the ordinary. GodAlmighty treats them in the sameway and, in an extraordinarymanner, manifests those lights forthem which in the case of theothers are only manifested afterdeath. They experience to somedegree this most special grace inthis life.

This is a very special grace and isthe ultimate end of all graces. Hewho achieves it arrives at thegreatest good fortune and enjoyseternal prosperity which is thefountainhead of all joys. He who

is deprived of this grace iscondemned forever to hell. Byvirtue of this grace, GodAlmighty has named HimselfMalik-i-Yaum-id-Din in the HolyQur'an. The recompense referredto in this juxtaposition is theperfect recompense, the details ofwhich are set out in the HolyQur'an. That perfect recompensecannot be manifested without themanifest-ation of completeMastership. This is referred to atanother place where it is said:

‘Whose is the Kingdom thisday!’ It is Allah’s, the One, theMost Supreme.(Ch.40: V.17)

This means that: On that day God'sR u b u b i y y a t will manifest itselfwithout the intervention ofmaterial means and it will beobserved and felt that everythingbesides the great power and mightof Allah is non-existent.

Then all comfort and joy, and allreward and punishment, willappear clearly as coming fromGod. There will be no veil inbetween and there will be no roomleft for any doubt. At that time,



those who had cut themselvesasunder from every-thing for Hissake will find themselves in a stateof perfect bliss which willenvelope their bodies and souls,their outside and inside, and nopart of their beings will bedeprived of this great goodfortune.

M a l i k - i - Ya u m - i d - D i n also indi-cates that on that Day comfort ors u ffering and pleasure or pain,whatever is experienced by man,will proceed directly from GodA l m i g h t y, and He will be theMaster of all conditions. In otherwords, meeting with Him or beingcut off from Him will be the causeof eternal good fortune or eternalmisfortune. Those who hadbelieved in Him, adhered to Unityand had dyed their hearts in Hispure love, will experience thelights of His mercy clearly andopenly; and those who had notachieved faith and love of Godwill be deprived of this delight andcomfort and will be involved inpainful torment.

.... It will thus be seen that thepriority given to the attributeRahman over the attribute Rahim

is necessary and is demanded bythe rule of good composition.When the book of nature isstudied, the first attribute of Godwhich comes to notice isR u b u b i y y a t, then HisRahmaniyyat, and thereafter HisR a h i m i y y a t and finally HisMalikiyyat.

Perfect composition demands thatthe order followed in the book ofnature should also be kept in viewin the revealed book. To reversethe natural order in composition isto reverse the law of nature. For aperfect composition it is necessarythat the order of the compositionshould be in such accord with theorder of nature as if it were itsphotograph in which that which isnatural and in fact prior should beprior in description also. Thus inthese verses the highest eloquenceis displayed in which the naturalorder is perfectly observed. Theverses follow the order whicheveryone possessing insight wouldobserve in the order of theuniverse. Is this not the straight-forward way that the order inwhich Divine bounties appear inthe book of nature should befollowed also in the Revealed



Book? To take exception to suchan excellent and wise order is thecharacteristic of those blind oneswho have lost at once both theirsight and their insight.

The eye of the ill-wisher,wherever it lands;

Is prone to see evil even wherethere is good.

We revert to the subject andproceed to expound what is set outin Surah Fatihah from Rabb-ul-' A l a m i n to M a l i k - i - Ya u m - i d - D i n.As expounded in the Holy Qur'an,it comprises four grand verities:

The first verity is that GodAlmighty is Rabb-ul-'Alamin, thatis to say, that God is the Rabb andMaster of all that which is in theuniverse. All that appears, is seen,felt or perceived by reason, is Hiscreation, and that true existencebelongs only to God Almighty andto nothing else. In short, theuniverse with all its components iscreated and is the creation of God.There is nothing in the compo-

nents of the universe which is notthe creation of God.

Through His perfect RububiyyatGod Almighty controls and rulesover every particle of the universe.

His Rububiyyat is in operation allthe time. It is not that after havingcreated the world God haswithdrawn from its control andthat He has committed it to thelaw of nature so that He Himselfdoes not intervene in any way. Itis not like the maker of a machinewho has no concern with it after ithas been made. The creations ofthe True Maker are not unconn-ected with Him. The R a b b - u l -' A l a m i n exercises His perfectRububiyyat all the time over thewhole universe and the rain of HisRububiyyat falls perpetually uponthe whole universe. At no time isthe universe deprived of thebenefit of His grace. Even afterthe creation of the universe, thatSource of Grace is needed everymoment, without interruption, asif He had not yet createdanything. As the world dependedupon His R u b u b i y y a t for itscoming into being, it is equallydependent upon it for its



continuation and sustenance.

It is He Who supports the worldevery moment and every particleof the universe is kept fresh andflourishing because of Him. Heexercises His R u b u b i y y a t i nrespect of everything by His willand intent. It is not as if HisR u b u b i y y a t were exercised inrespect of anything without Hisintent. In short, this verity meansthat everything in the universe iscreated and is dependent upon theRububiyyat of God Almighty inrespect of all its excellences andconditions, at all times. There isno spiritual or physical excellencewhich any created thing canacquire on its own without thedetermination of the AbsoluteController. Besides, it is latent inthis and other verities that thedivine attributes, such as Rabb-ul-'Alamin etc., are special to Himand that none else is associatedwith Him in that respect. Theopening phrase of the Surah,namely, Alhamdu lillah, makes itclear that all worthiness of praisebelongs to God alone.

The second verity is R a h m a n,which follows upon R a b b - u l -

' A l a m i n. We have alreadyexplained that all animates,whether gifted with reason or not,good or bad, have been furnishedand continue to be furnished withall that is needed for theirmaintenance, preservation of life,and the continuation of theirspecies out of the general mercyof God Almighty. This is anabsolute bounty that does notdepend upon anyone's actions.

The third verity is Rahim, whichfollows after Rahman. This meansthat, as demanded by His mercy,God Almighty brings about goodresults in consequence of thee fforts of His creatures. Heforgives the sins of those whorepent. He bestows upon thosewho ask. He opens for those whoknock.

The fourth verity is M a l i k - i -Ya u m - i d - D i n. This means thatGod Almighty is the Master of allperfect recompense which is freefrom all test and trial and theintervention of beguiling meansand is purified of all uncleannessand is free from doubt and defectand is a manifestation of His greatpowers. He does not lack the



power to make manifest Hisperfect recompense, which is asbright as the day. Themanifestation of this grand verityhas as its purpose to make thefollowing matters clear toeveryone as a certainty.

First, that reward and punishmentare a certainty, which are imposedupon His creatures by the TrueMaster as the result of His specialdetermination. This matter is notpossible of exposition in thisworld for it is not clear to theaverage person why andwherefore does he experiencegood or ill, and comfort or pain.No one hears the voice out ofwhatever he experiences that thisis the recompense of his deeds,nor does anyone observe or feelthat whatever he is passingthrough is the consequence of hisactions.

S e c o n d l y, the exposition isdesired that material means areirrelevant and that it is the GrandBeing or God Who is thefountainhead of all grace and theMaster of all recompense.Thirdly, it is desired to expoundwhat is great good fortune and

what is great misfortune. Greatgood fortune is that condition ofsupreme triumph in which light,j o y, pleasure, and comfort en-compass the inside and outside,the body and soul, of a person,and no limb or faculty is left out.The great misfortune is thetorment which, in consequence ofdisobedience, impurity, distanceand separation, is set ablaze in thehearts and envelopes the bodies sothat the whole being feels likebeing on fire and in hell.

These manifestations cannot beobserved in this world becausethis narrow, constricted andopaque world, which puts on themantle of physical means and is inan imperfect condition, cannotbear their being made manifest.This world is subject to tests andtrials and its comfort and its painare both temporary and defective.Whatever a person experiences inthis life is under the veil ofphysical means which hide thecountenance of the Master ofrecompense. Thus this worldcannot be the true and perfect andopen day of recompense. Thetrue, perfect and open Day of



Judgement or of Recompense willbe the world which will followthis one. That world will be theplace of the grand manifestationand of the demonstration of gloryand beauty.

Whatever hardship or ease,comfort or pain, sorrow or joy, isexperienced by people in thisworld is not necessarilyattributable to God's bounty orHis wrath. For instance, anyone'sbeing rich is not a conclusiveproof that God is pleased withhim, nor is anyone's poverty or

privation proof that GodAlmighty is displeased with him.Both these are a trial so that awealthy one may be tried inrespect of his wealth and a poorone may be tried in respect of hispoverty. These verities are set outin detail in the Holy Qur'an.

[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza'in, Vol. 1, pp. 444-461,footnote 11]

In this journal, for the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘(sa)’ or ‘sa’after the words, ‘Holy Prophet’, or the name ‘Muhammad’, areused. They stand for ‘Salallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning‘Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him’. Likewise, theletters ‘(as)’ or ‘as’ after the name of all other prophets is anabbreviation meaning ‘Peace be upon him’ derived from‘Alaihis salatu wassalam’ for the respect a Muslim reader utters.

The abbreviation ‘ra’ or (ra) stands for ‘Radhiallahtala and isused for Companions of a Prophet, meaning Allah be pleasedwith him or her (when followed by the relevant Arabic pronoun).Also ‘ru’ or (ru) for Rahemahullahu Ta’ala means the Mercy ofAllah the Exalted be upon him.


IntroductionFor those who may read thisarticle, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, believer or non-believer, I can, by the Grace andMercy of Allah only attempt tocover a few of the very manydistinctive features of thereligion of Islam. I must claimfrom the outset that I believe afeature can only be claimed asdistinctive when it is shown tostand out above and beyond allother comparisons in meaning,interpretation and philosophy.From this base, I will humbly tryto describe and explain some ofthe features of Islam which I feelare distinctive from among allthe great religions. The features Ihave chosen to briefly revieware: -

» The Unity of God,

» The Universality of Prophet-hood and Religion,

» The Holy Qur'an,

» The Rights of Women,

» Life after Death and

» Khilafat.

The Unity Of God The cardinal doctrine of Islam isthe Unity of Godhead and thebelief of all Muslims is - ‘Lailaha illallah’ - `There is noneworthy of worship but the One[and only] God’. This Unity ofGod is the first and foremostPillar of Islam and every otherbelief hangs upon it.

Islam's primary beauty lies in the


By Bilal Atkinson - Hartlepool, UK

An address delivered at the Annual Convention of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Association (UK) held at Islamabad, Tilford, Surrey on 31July 2004. The author is an English convert and serves as theRegional Amir for the North East of the UK.



fact that it provides its followerswith the purest concept of theCreator. The concept is of onlyone unique God Who possessesall His attributes in absoluteperfection and none of theattributes carry the stigmata ofhuman imperfections or decay.

God, as conceived by Islam, is apersonal God and not aphilosophical concept. He isOne, Unique, Alone, Absolute,without beginning or end, nothaving succeeded any one andabove the need for succession.The Holy Qur'an says:

He is Allah the One: Allah theIndependent and Besought ofall. He begets not, nor is Hebegotten: and there is nonelike unto Him. (Ch. 112: Vs. 1-5)

This small chapter covers allaspects of the Unity andUniqueness of God. The Unity ofGod is meant both in physicalterms as well as in the uniquepowers, qualities and attributesof God in which He has no rivalor competitor.

This verse further indicates thatGod is the Guide for the whole ofmankind equally, and Heentertains no special attachmentto any particular people. Thosewho sincerely strive to attainnearness to Him, He guides themalong the paths that lead to Him.All people are equal in His sightas He is the source of all creation.He alone is the Unity that is thesource from which themultiplicity of the entireUniverse is born.

The last verse also categoricallyrefutes any allegation that theremay be any other Gods inexistence by proclaiming; `Andthere is none like unto Him'. TheHoly Qur'an further substantiatesthis claim by declaring:

If there had been in both theheaven and the earth godsother than Allah, then boththe heaven and the eart hwould have ended up inchaos. Glorified then beAllah, the Lord of the Throne,above what they attribute.(Ch. 21: v. 23)



Hadhrat Mirza BashiruddinMahmood Ahmad( r a ) c o m m e n t son this:

`This verse constitutes ane ffective and conclusiveargument against any form ofpolytheism. Even atheistscannot deny that a perfect andunifying order pervades andpermeates the wholeUniverse. If there had beenmore than one God, thenmore than one law wouldhave governed the Universebecause for a god it isnecessary to create a universewith its own laws; and thusdisorder and confusion wouldhave been the inevitableresult and the whole universewould have gone to pieces.'(English Commentary of TheHoly Qur’ a n by HadhratMirza Bashiruddin MahmoodAhmad(ra) Vol.4, p.1684)

The Universal Prophet and theUniversal ReligionThe teachings and scriptures ofother religions were meant forcertain people or nations at agiven time. They were limited to

a particular period and they werenot universal and never claimedto be universal. Jesus(as) clearlystated:

I was sent only to the lostsheep of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)

Meaning that his message waslimited only to the Jews. Thescriptures, which he claimed tofulfil and not to change, were notmeant to cope for the humanneeds of all time. This task wasreserved for a great and universalLaw Bearing prophet who was tocome at a later date. Jesus(as) toldhis disciples that after him theCounsellor or Comforter wouldappear and would teach them allthe things he was not commi-ssioned to do. (John 14:15-16, 14:25-26,16:7)

This is exactly the claim of theHoly Prophet Muhammad(sa). Inthe Holy Qur'an God Almightycommands the Holy Prophet(sa) todeclare:

Say "O mankind! I truly am aMessenger to you all from



Allah." (Ch. 7: V. 159)

No other prophet or scripturelays down such a claim, becausethey were not meant to beuniversal.

The Holy Qur'an then says:

‘This day have I perfectedyour religion for you andcompleted My favour uponyou and have chosen for youIslam as religion.’ (Ch.5: V.4)

This unequivocal declaration ofthe perfection of God's messagecannot be found in any otherreligion. It eliminates the needfor any change or interpolation.It is a grand sign that God, in HisMercy, has provided the whole ofmankind with a complete andperfect code for the satisfactionof its spiritual hunger.

Islam claims to be a completereligion, and therefore no aspectof human life is left withoutguidance. It lays down funda-mental principles for addressingall types of problems but refrains

from stipulating details, whichcan be filled according to chang-ing times or geographical needs.Its beauty is that it conforms tohuman nature. It provides acomprehensive code of conductin individual, collective orinternational dealings.

All the teachings of Islam wereput into practice in the bestpossible way by a human being,the beloved Holy Prophet(sa), whoreflected these teachings in hislife with such excellence that hebecame the best example for theentire human race. If the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ) as a human beingcould put the teachings of theHoly Qur'an into practice, noexcuse is open for any otherperson to say that it isimpracticable.

The Holy Qur'anThe Holy Qur'an forms the verywords that God put in the mouthof `That (The) Prophet' asmentioned in the Bible inDeuteronomy (18:18 and John1:21). It contains all the truths forthe guidance of mankind and itsmessage is Universal. It affirms



the truth of all previousrevelations and the righteous-ness of all the prophets.

The Holy Qur'an was revealed inArabic by Divine revelation toProphet Muhammad( s a ) over aperiod of about twenty-two and ahalf years. From the very outset,the Holy Prophet ( s a ) used twoindependent but complementarymethods for preserving theintegrity of the revelations. Thetwo methods used were memor-isation and inscription. Besidesensuring independently the trans-mission of the revelations, thetwo methods also served as inter-nal checks to ensure their accu-rate preservation.

Upon investigation it can befound that all previous religionshave suffered from one commonproblem - that their originalscriptures have been lost andonly copies are available andeven these have been tamperedwith or changed by manwhenever he found that theteaching could not cope with thedemands of the society of thetime. Consequently their Divine

purity has been lost forever. Godhas therefore taken it uponHimself to safeguard the HolyQur'an from being tamperedwith. A verse from the HolyQur'an states:

Verily, it is We Who have sentdown this Exhortation, andmost surely We will be itsGuardian. (Ch.15: V.10)

To d a y, even non-Muslimscholars admit that the text of theHoly Qur'an is exactly the sameas it was at the time of the HolyProphet(sa). This great prophecyprotecting the integrity of the textof the Holy Qur'an has beenfulfilled every day over the last1400 years.

Islam is a living religion andArabic is a living language. For acomplete and living message itwas essential that it should bepreserved in a living language.The significance of this sign canbe judged from the fact that eventhe English language hasundergone tremendous changesover this period - and it is now



difficult for an ordinary man inthe street to understand theEnglish language of Chaucer.This is not so with the HolyQur'an and its Arabic is stillspoken, used and understood inthe Arab world.

The Holy Qur'an explains all thatis or may be needed by mankindfor the complete fulfilment oflife. It seeks to create faith inGod and makes full provision formankind's welfare - material,moral and spiritual.

It teaches all that is needed forthe regulation of human life andalso the philosophy underlying it.It explains the significance ofestablishing and maintainingcommunion with God. TheQur'an is so comprehensive thatit makes provision for guidancein all aspects for all peoples forall times.

But, the Holy Qur’an is muchmore than simple injunctions andcommands. It is a treasure houseof spiritual knowledge. It is alsofull of prophecies - some of themhave already been fulfilled,

others are being fulfilled and stillothers wait to be fulfilled. In factevery verse of the Holy Qur'an iscalled an Ayah i.e. a sign, aproof, an argument. Not oneverse nor even one word issuperfluous or out of place andany change would undoubtedlyresult in a profound decline in themeaning and the beauty of itsform.

Other religions more or lessagree with man's spiritual needs,but fail to describe how to fulfilthem. For example, they agreethat there is a God, but theyexpect everybody else to acceptthis fact without giving goodreason that there is a God.Similarly, they may describe afew attributes of God, butprovide no proofs of theseattributes. The Holy Qur'an onthe other hand, provides strong,incontro-vertible proofs of theexistence of God. It also givescomplete and full descriptions ofall those Divine attributes thatare concerned with man and italso provides the proofs. Even ifman were to make in a thousandyears a most powerful and



comprehensive computer, itcould never match the power andthe knowledge contained withinthis glorious Holy Qur'an.

The Equality of MankindIslam proclaims that everyhuman being is born without sinand starts with a clean slate. As aformer Christian, when I heardthis claim it immediatelyreleased me from my previousbelief that I, like all men andwomen, according to Christiandoctrine, was born with thestigma of sin even before I tookmy first precious breath of life. Italso appealed to my logic andcommon sense and was theprecursor to my furtherinvestigation into the claims ofthe religion of Islam.

As for Jesus(as) suffering for thesins of mankind, this doctrine of

Atonement is repudiated byIslam, which declares:

And no burdened soul canbear the burden of another;and if a heavily laden soulcall another to bear its load,naught of it shall be carriedby the other, even though hebe a kinsman.(Ch.35: V.19)

Islam gives us the assurance thatwe are just as capable andqualified to achieve the purposeof our creation as any otherfellow human being. In thisrespect, Islam teaches completeequality of mankind. The HolyQur’an for example says:

O mankind, we have createdyou from male and female:and We have made you intoclans and tribes that you may

ISLAM IS THE ONLY RELIGION THAT HAS TAKEN STEPS TO

SAFEGUARD THE MORAL, ECONOMIC AND SPIRITUAL RIGHTS

OF WOMEN AND BRINGS THEM ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH

MEN. THE QUR'AN REPEATEDLY DECLARES THAT MEN AND

WOMEN ARE SPIRITUALLY EQUAL IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

AND WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS.



recognise one another. Verily,the most honourable amongyou, in the sight of Allah, is hewho is the most righteousamong you. Surely Allah isAll-Knowing, All-Aware.(Ch.49: V.14)

The message from this versetotally eliminates any sense ofsuperiority among people, tribes,nations or races. We haveacquired different features,colours and characteristics due tothe distribution of the humanrace in different parts of theworld - it is not due to a differentor superior origin. No matterwho or what we are, the methodof our birth is a common one.Whether he is a King or aPresident or an ordinary man inthe street or a man in SouthAmerica or someone from theremote parts of China - all areborn in the same way. Ourrequirements are the same, ournatures are the same and ourneeds are the same. Our God isthe same One God, Who is veryjust in His dealings. He createdall men with equal spiritualopportunities and rights, as it

would have been against Hisjustice to make one peoplesuperior to another. The HolyQur’an declares:

Surely We have created manin the best of creative plans.(Ch.95: V.5)

A man's riches, colour, rank,position or intellect are allblessings of God, and He cantake them away whenever Hewants to do so. God can alsobestow all these blessings andeven more on a person who doesnot possess or deserve them.How, then, can a believer in Godbe arrogant about the possessionof anything worldly?

Rights of Women in IslamIslam is the only religion that hastaken steps to safeguard themoral, economic and spiritualrights of women and brings themon an equal footing with men.The Qur'an repeatedly declaresthat men and women arespiritually equal in the sight ofGod and will be judgedaccording to their deeds. TheQur'an states:



Whoso does evil will berequited only with the like ofit: but whoso does goodwhether male or female, andis a believer - these will enterthe Garden: they will bep rovided therein withoutmeasure. (Ch. 40: V.41)

Islamic philosophy is based onthe nature of human beings. It,therefore, takes into account thespecial anatomical and biologicalvariations between man andwoman and lays down certainrules that cover these variations.

It does not blindly apply all rulesto both sexes, but takes intoaccount their special needs andrequirements. This sometimesappears strange to an untrainedeye, but upon reflection,provides a proof that theProvider of this teaching mustalso be the Creator of humanbeings Who knew the intricateand inner feelings andrequirements of both sexes.Before the advent of Islam, themajority of women had noposition in society. They were atthe mercy of their husbands,

fathers, brothers or others whotreated them as mere property.

Islam, for the first time,vindicated the rights of womenand gave them a status in society.Islam has given womencomplete economic indepen-dence and the right to inheritmoney and property. Even aftermarriage they still have thiseconomic independence.

Today in the West, we hear a lotabout the rights and status ofwomen yet only one hundredyears ago, in England, a womanautomatically lost all herproperty and belongings to herhusband the day she marriedhim. In the Middle Ages it wasthe Western woman who wasburdened with the respons-ibilityof providing her future husbandwith a dowry and even in today'sWestern (Christian) society thecost of a wedding and all itentails, such as the use of thechurch or licensed weddingestablishment and provision offood for all guests is generallyborne by the bride's parents.



Islam on the other hand, 1400years ago, gave full protection tothe rights of women - makingthem equals of men, both in thespiritual and religious spheres oflife. For instance it now becamethe responsibility of the husbandto offer a dowry to his wifeaccording to his means. Thedowry then became her soleproperty to do with as she saw fit.Islam makes it clear that ahusband has no rights over hiswife's property and that it is theduty of the husband to providefor the running of the householdeven if his wife has anindependent source of income.

Another important right given towomen by Islam 1400 years agowas their right to divorce theirhusbands. Divorce is notencouraged in Islam because ofthe devastating effect on allconcerned, especially thechildren. Nevertheless the rightof divorce was accorded towomen so that they did not haveto spend the rest of their livesliving in discomfort or torment.It is narrated by Hadhrat Jabirthat the Holy Prophet(sa) said:

The best of you is one who isbest in his treatment of hiswife and I am the best of youin the treatment of my family.( Tirmidhi - Kitabun Nikah,Book of Marriages)

The Holy Prophet( s a ) a t t a c h e dgreat importance to a husband'skind treatment of his wife, somuch so that in the eyes of Godhe considered the best ofMuslims to be the ones whotreated their wives best.

Abu Hurairah relates that a mancame to the Holy Prophet(sa) andasked:

'Messenger of Allah, whichof all the people is bestentitled to kind treatment andgood companionship fromme?' He answered, ‘Yo u rmother’ The man asked ‘andafter her?’ He said, ‘Yo u rmother’ And after her? Hesaid, ‘Your mother’ And afterher? ‘Your father’(Bukhari – Kitabul Adab ,Book of Manners)

Again the Holy Prophet( s a ) i s



reported to have said:

‘Paradise lies at the feet ofm o t h e r s .’ (Nisai, K i t a b u lJihad, Book of Jihad)

Surely these statements by theProphet(sa) of God make it crystalclear that a woman has such ahigh status in Islam.

Life after DeathTo believe in the unseen does notmean that we should believe inunreal, magical or imaginarythings. The Holy Qur'an does notinvite us to believe in thingsblindly. Just because the Qur’anmay contain things which noteveryone can at this moment intime comprehend does not meanto say that they cannot be provedright by reason or experience.For instance the Holy Qur'ansays:

Verily He will merge the twooceans, joining themtogether; between them isnow a barrier; they encroachnot one upon the other.(Ch.55: Vs.20-21)

For thirteen centuries peoplewondered what on earth thesetwo verses could possibly mean.Yet we in this day and age havebeen privileged to understandwhat they mean in a physicalsense. The verses refer to theconstruction of the Suez andPanama canals. They could havestill other meanings but as I said,in a physical sense, God in Hiswisdom knew that one day, theneeds of man to trade in otherparts of the world using hugeships would require the linkingof oceans.

The Big Bang theory wasrevealed by the Holy Qur'an, yetit has taken 1400 years for manto reach a similar conclusion(Ch.21: V.31). As mankind isnow in the infancy of spacetravel, the Holy Qur'an tells usthat if He wished, God could joinus with others from other worldsindicating that there are otherforms of life in His Universe(Ch.42: V.30).

It is therefore inconceivable thatGod, Who is All-Wise, Creatorof the Universe and Master of the



Day of Judgement would fail toprovide for the spiritual needs ofmankind. If the prophecies in theHoly Qur’an have come true thenwhy should man doubt about aspiritual life after physical death?

The Qur'an teaches that on aman's death his soul enters a newuniverse and assumes a newbody. That body is different fromhis physical body that is adjustedto the requirements of life onearth.

Sahl ibn Sa'ad relates: “I waspresent in the company of theHoly Prophet(sa) in which hedescribed the condition ofParadise and said: 'In it thereis that which no eye has seen,no ear has heard nor has themind of man conceived it.’”(Bukhari - Kitabul Tafseer -Book of CommentaryChapter Al-Sajda, verse 18)

The whole concept of life afterdeath is illustrated in the HolyQur'an, where certain types ofconduct in this life are describedas defects and shortcomings thatwill affect the soul in the life

after death. For instance, theQur'an states that he who is blindin this life will be blind in the lifeafter death and will find himselfeven more astray.

This does not mean that a personwho is physically blind in thislife will be blind in the next.Blindness here means spiritualblindness. A person who hasfailed to develop a spiritualinsight in this life will be blind inthe life to come. On attaining lifeafter death, the Qur’an describestheir fate through the followingverse:

But they who will disbelieveand treat Our Signs as lies,these shall be the inmates ofthe fire; therein shall theyabide. (Ch.2: V.40)

All our actions, good or not sogood, leave a permanentimpression upon our souls andwhen we pass away our soulswill carry the sum total of allthese impressions into the life tocome. Whatever we have donehas been recorded on our soulsand we take them with us and are



judged on them. The record of aman's acts and their consequ-ences will be presented to him asif it were an open book. He willbe told to read his book and hewill have to follow the coursethat it lays down for him. He willhave to render an account of themanner in which he spent his lifeon this earth and that accountwill constitute his rewards andhis punishments. The HolyQur'an states:

And every man's record ofdeeds have we fastened to hisneck; and on the Day ofResurrection We shall bringout for him a book which hewill find wide open. It will besaid to him, ‘Read thy book.Sufficient is thy own soul thisday as a reckoner againstthee’.(Ch.17: Vs.14-15)

The life we lead on this earth isextremely short compared to thenext life. We are ruled by thedimension of time in this life andare therefore subject to decay anddeath. Time does not exist as weknow it in the next life and

therefore the next life will be aneternity - a living eternity for allsouls. And as for those that strivetowards righteousness, the HolyQur'an gives the followingpromises:

And those, who feared theirLord, will be conducted toHeaven in groups until whenthey reach it, and its gates areopened and its Keepers say tothem, ‘Peace be upon you! Beye happy, and enter it abidingtherein.’ And they will say,‘All praise belongs to AllahWho has fulfilled His promiseto us, and has given us theland for an inheritance,making our abode in theGarden wherever we please.’How excellent is the rewardof the righteous workers!(Ch.39: Vs.74-75)

According to the teachings ofIslam, Hell is only temporarywhilst Heaven is a permanentabode.

KhilafatThe Holy Qur'an holds out apromise to Muslims that if they



carry out the programme of lifewhich God has laid down forthem, they will become leadersof the world both in spiritual andtemporal matters and that theirreligion will become firmlyestablished in the world.

The Holy Qur'an states:

Allah has promised to thoseamong you who believe anddo good works that He willsurely make them Successorsin the earth, as He madeSuccessors from among thosewho were before them.(Ch.24: V.56)

This verse embodies a promisethat Muslims will be grantedboth spiritual and temporalleadership. The promise is madeto the whole Muslim nation butthe institution of Khilafat willtake a palpable form in theperson of certain individuals whowill be the Prophet's successorsand the representatives of thewhole nation. This verse furthersays that the fulfilment of thispromise will depend on theMuslims' observing prayer and

giving the Zakat and on obeyingthe Messenger of God in allreligious and temporal matters.When they have fulfilled theseconditions, the boon of Khilafatwill be bestowed upon them andthey will be made leaders ofnations. As the Holy Prophet(as) isnow humanity's sole guide for alltime, his Khilafat must continueto exist in one form or another inthe world till the end of time.(From the English Commentaryof the Holy Qur’an by HadhratMirza Bashiruddin MahmoodAhmad Vol.4, p.1869)

In one Hadith, the HolyProphet(sa) said:

‘O ye Muslims, the presentprophethood period amongstyou will last as long as AllahWills. On its conclusion therewill be a period of Khilafat onthe design, pattern andsuccession of Nabuwwat (incontinuation of the Prophet'smission). This Khilafat willbe followed by a successionof kingship, which will bedictatorial regimes of tyrannyand oppression, which will be



followed by non-democraticregimes. On its conclusionthere will then begin realKhilafat on the model andpattern of prophethood’.(Musnad Ahmad Vol.5 p.404)

In the 19th Century CE, thefulfilment of this prophecy cameto fruition and the worldwitnessed the Holy Prophet'sgreatest spiritual Khalifa in theperson of Ahmad, the PromisedMessiah(as) who established theAhmadiyya Muslim Comm-u n i t y. The re-establishment ofKhilafat on the pattern ofprophethood in the latter dayshas been fulfilled by thePromised Messiah and Mahdi,Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as) who also claimed to bean Ummati Prophet, a deputyand a Khalifa of ProphetMuhammad(sa) in this age.

The Promised Messiah(as) onceagain established faith in thehearts of people: that God exists,that God still communicates andthat it is always possible todevelop a personal and direct

relationship with Him. He saidthat this is the blessings of theHoly Prophet( s a ) and that byfollowing in his footsteps, unionwith God is possible, so that ourhearts can see God and our soulscan hear His voice and see Hissigns repeatedly.

In fulfilment of the prophecy: ‘Iwill carry thy message to theends of the eart h’ (Ta d h k i r a)revealed to the PromisedMessiah(as) in his remote Indianvillage of the nineteenth centuryby Allah, the message of the

Promised Messiah(as) has and isreaching the ends of the earth.Indeed, the proceedings of thisgathering are being transmittedsimultaneously by satellite allaround the globe by MuslimTelevision Ahmadiyya (MTA).

The Promised Messiah( a s ) s a i dthat Khilafat would follow afterhim unbroken and would lastforever until the Last Day (TheWill, p.10). By the Grace andMercy of Allah the Almighty, theAhmadiyya Muslim Communitycontinues to be led and guided



by the institution of Khilafat.

Khilafat is a great and Divineblessing which brings abouts o l i d a r i t y, cohesion and unityamong the believers. This is so inthe Worldwide AhmadiyyaMuslim Community, which hasat its head, Hadhrat MirzaMasroor Ahmad, the fifthKhalifa (Successor) of ThePromised Messiah(as) and whosemembers epitomise Unity intheir daily lives, Unity and loveof God and Unity and love forMankind.

Finally, I would like to end withan extract from the writings ofthe Promised Messiah(as):

All the prophets have beenteaching the same thing: thathas been the main subject oftheir propagation. ‘La ilahai l l a l l a h’ (There is noneworthy of worship but theOne and only God) teaches usto believe God to be One andat the same time it alsoteaches that one should beperfect in the love of this OneGod. La ilaha illallah is so

beautiful a sentence, and someaningful, that the like of itis not to be found in any ofthe Scriptures, be it Torah, orthe Gospels or any otherBook: no other Book containsso comprehensive a teaching. (Malfoozat Vol 3 p187)

I hope I have conveyed some ofthe many distinctive features ofIslam that turned me towards thisgreat religion. I sincerely inviteall people to investigate with anopen mind and to their ownsatisfaction the guidance offeredin the teachings of Islam, Thereinis a vast treasure available to us ifonly we all knew it.

(All Biblical references takenfrom the New InternationalVersion of The Holy Bible 1986,Hodder & Staunton)


In one of its first verses the HolyQur’an makes the proclamation:

This is the Perfect Book; thereis no doubt in it; it is aguidance for the righteous.(Ch.2: V.3)

Such a bold claim should besupported by compelling proofs.In this essay we intend to (1)evaluate the claim; (2) examinethe Holy Qur’an for evidence tosupport the claim and (3) show, asfar as is humanly possible, thatthis is indeed a just proclamation.Throughout this essay we take forgranted that man was created byGod and that the Holy Qur’an isthe revealed word of God.

Perfect Guidance for MankindThere are three key words in theabove sub-title, ‘perfect’,

‘guidance’ and ‘mankind’. Let usexamine each one in turn.

P e r f e c t: A perfect entity mustpossess the following attributes:1. It should be free of flaws andcontradictions.2. It should be comprehensive andcomplete.3. It should be balanced andharmonious.4. It should be universal andeternal.

Guidance for Mankind: A guideshould lead its followers to theirdestination(s). In other words itmust not only provide a passiveroadmap for reaching one’s goal, itshould also be an active prompterprodding one along and bringingone back to the correct path shouldone go astray. In other words agood guide would be actively

THE HOLY QUR’AN - The PerfectGuidance for Mankind

By Fauzia Bajwa - Montreal, Canada


The Perfect Guidance for Mankind

involved in the journey and it mustbe a living entity not a static one.In qualifying ‘guidance’ with‘mankind’ we are stating that theguidance provided in the HolyQur’an is intended only for humanbeings and not for animals, insectsetc.

Objective of Man’s CreationBefore determining whether or notthe Holy Qur’an guides man to hisobjective we must first determinewhat that objective is. For this weturn to the Qur’an:

And I have not created the Jinnand the men but that they mayworship Me.(Ch.51: V.57)

Given that God is our Creator it isHis prerogative to define thepurpose of our existence. Here Hetells us that the sole purpose of ourbeing is to worship Him. Worshipof Allah encompasses much morethan paying homage to Him,although this is important. Itmeans total obedience andsubmission to Allah. It meansimbibing in oneself the attributesof Allah. It is to know, tounderstand and to love Him. The

objective is the wholehearted andpersistent use of our God-givenfaculties, our time and our moneyto reach Him and to earn Hispleasure.

Guidance in the Qur’anHaving established that thepurpose of our life is to becomegodly we need to know how toachieve this purpose. For this weturn, once again, to the HolyQur’an. It would be impossible inthis short essay to expound on allthe Qur’anic teachings that promptman to become godly andadmonish him to abstain fromvice. We will, therefore, select justa few verses to illustrate the pointsbeing made.

As stated earlier the purpose ofman’s creation is to worship Allahand we are told in the very earlyverses of the Qur’an that this is notan easy task – Thee alone do weworship and Thee alone do wei m p l o re for help. (Ch.1: V. 5 )When we delve further into theQ u r’an we find that Allah hasprovided the help we need toachieve our objective. To worshipAllah it is necessary to have firmfaith in Him, to fear Him and to



love Him. These motivatingfactors are amply provided in theQur’an. It tells us what faith is andhow it may be acquired. Faith orIman is a stage beyond belief; itencompasses belief, security andtrust. It is derived from the wordaman which means to feel safe andto put one’s trust in someone orsomething. The Holy Qur’an setsman on his journey to faith in thefollowing verse:

O ye who believe! Believe inAllah and His Messenger andin the Book which He hasrevealed to His Messenger andthe Book which He revealedb e f o re it. And whosodisbelieves in Allah and Hisangels and His Books and HisMessengers and the Last Dayhas surely strayed far away.(Ch.4: V.137)

Here Allah lists the five articles offaith as faith in the One God, theangels, the Messengers, the Booksand the Day of Judgement.Together they form the startingpoint of the journey towards faith.It is necessary to accept thembefore continuing the spiritualj o u r n e y. The Qur’an furnishes

strong arguments in favour of eachof these articles. For example,concerning the Unity of God weare told that we will find nothingbut harmony in God’s creation,that we will find no contradictionbetween the word of God and theact of God. (Ch.67: Vs.2-5). Thisharmony points to the Oneness ofthe Creator.

Angels are the spiritual agenciescreated by God to serve man. Theytransmit God’s messages toprophets and other pious and holypeople or those who are near toGod. They also administer thelaws of nature. They are alsoresponsible for keeping a record ofman’s good and bad deeds. Man’sthoughts and actions have anongoing effect on his soul; it is theangels who are responsible formaintaining this complex systemof cause and effect.

In short angels execute God’s willin the material universe and thespiritual universe. They form thelink between the Books and theMessengers which are the nexttwo articles of faith. It is throughtheir agency that the Books arerevealed to the Messengers. These



two articles of faith not onlyrequire belief in the Holy Qur’anand the Holy ProphetM u h a m m a d( s a ) but in all therevealed books of God and in allof His prophets. And finally, theQur’an enjoins belief in the Dayof Judgement where man will giveaccount of his deeds and misdeedsand will receive the appropriaterewards and penalties.

The Role of Hope and FearHope and fear are the two majormotivating factors in man’s life.His intentions and actions areprompted either by hope of rewardor fear of suffering. According toHadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, theFourth Khalifa:

M a n ’s intentions and hissubsequent actions are alwaysguided and controlled by eitherfear or hope and there is noexception to this rule. Thosewho do good deeds do so outof fear and hope and those whoindulge in vices are motivatedby the same. 4

The Qur’an motivates manthrough hope and fear to becomegodly, his objective in life. It gives

us hope of earning unendingrewards and it warns us to fear thewrath of Allah should we be lax ind i s c h a rging our duties towardsHim. Belief in the Oneness andOmnipotence of God induces oneto place all one’s hopes and fearsin Him alone. It liberates manfrom all other yokes. The Qur’antells us that:

As for those who believe anddo good works, they will haveGardens of Eternal Abode, asan entertainment, in return forwhat they used to do.(Ch.32: V.20)

Here we see why belief in the Dayof Judgement is a fundamentalarticle of faith. Without belief inthe hereafter the above versewould not inspire anyone to dogood nor would the followingverse deter anyone from doingevil:

And as for those who aredisobedient, their abode willbe the Fire. Every time theydesire to come forth therefrom,they will be turned back into it,and it will be said to them,‘Taste the punishment of the



Fire which you used to deny’. (Ch.32: V.21)

But even in the face of such aterrible punishment the Qur’ a nonce again gives us hope:

And most surely We will makethem taste of the neare rpunishment before the greaterpunishment, so that they mayreturn to Us with repentance. (Ch.32: V.22)

In other words even when we fallinto error, God gives us ampleopportunity to mend our ways andhence save ourselves from hellfire.And once again the Qur’an givesus hope by telling us that:

Say, ‘O My servants who havecommitted excesses againsttheir own souls! Despair not ofthe mercy of Allah, sure l yAllah forgives all sins. Verily,He is Most Forg i v i n g ,Merciful.’ (Ch.39: V.54)

The above verse not only inspireshope, but the love with whichAllah addresses His servantsgenerates in His servants love forHim.

The Holy Qur’an is full of verseswhich discuss Allah’s wrath andpunishment as well as Hiscompassion and mercy. Theformer inspire fear of Him in Hisservants, the latter hope. Hope andfear, as stated above, are whatmotivate man’s intentions andactions. To fulfil his objective,man needs an adequate dose ofboth these motivating factors andthe Qur’an provides exactly that.

Godliness The Qur’an teaches man whatgodliness is. It does this bydescribing the attributes of Allahthereby giving man a blueprint forhis self-development. To becomegodly one must develop in oneself,as far as is humanly possible, thesesame attributes. The Holy ProphetM u h a m m a d( s a ) was the mostperfect reflection of Allah’s attri-butes. By enumerating theseattributes the Qur’an providesman with ample reasons to loveand fear Allah. It tells of Hisb e a u t y, grandeur, compassion,benevolence etc. inspiring us tolove Him. It tells us that He isomnipotent and vengeful inspiringus to fear Him.



Some of His attributes invoke fearand hope at the same time; forexample, the Qur’an states thatAllah sees everything, that nothingis hidden from His sight. Thismotivates us to do good and itprevents us from doing evil as Hesees all that we do. We are toldtime and time again that Allah isf o rgiving and merciful. Thisteaches us that we should developthe same qualities in ourrelationships with the rest of God’screation.

The Qur’an tells us that Allah isjust; hence we should practisejustice in all our dealings. Allah ispatient, therefore we should bepatient and steadfast even in theface of adversity. In summary, bygiving us a comprehensive‘character sketch’ of Allah, theQur’an shows us the qualities weshould develop in ourselves. If wedevelop the attributes of Allah inour persons to the extent wehumanly can, we become godlywhich is the objective of ourexistence.

Believers and Non-believersWe are told in the Qur’an thecharacteristics of believers and

non-believers. This providescheckpoints for us in our dailylives. Some of the characteristicsto be found in believers are:

And those who are watchful oftheir trust and their covenants,and those who are upright intheir testimonies, and thosewho are strict in theobservance of Prayer. Thesewill be in the Gardens, dulyhonoured.(Ch.70: Vs.33-36)

And:

Verily, Allah commands you togive over the trusts to thoseentitled to them, and that,when you judge between menyou judge with justice.(Ch.4: V.59)

In the above verses, believers aredescribed as people who arehonest, upright and just. This givesman guidance on the qualities thathe should develop in himself inorder to become godly. Similarlythe Qur’an paints a picture ofdisbelievers so that man cansafeguard himself againstdisbelief:



Surely they are too proud ofthemselves and have gre a t l yexceeded the bounds.(Ch.25: V.22)

And

And they are certainly liars.(Ch.6: V.29)

And again:

And woe to the idolaters, whogive not the Zakat.(Ch.41: V.8)

The disbelievers are depicted hereas being arrogant, deceitful andniggardly. The Qur’an lists somevices that should be eschewed ifwe wish to become godly.

Hence, the Qur’an providesdescriptions of both believers anddisbelievers so that man canendeavour to develop in himselfthe qualities of the former andavoid the failings of the latter. Thisgives us checkpoints in our dailylives which can be used todetermine whether we are movingtowards faith and hence ourobjective, or away from both.

The Relationship between Faithand DeedsAccording to the Qur’an, faithshould lead to action and all actionshould be rooted in faith. If faith,which is a condition of the heart, isnot accompanied by right deedsthen it is in danger of beingextinguished. There is a stronginter-relationship between the two;faith leads to good deeds which inturn strengthens faith which thenleads to even better deeds. Thus avirtuous cycle is formed. Faith andgood deeds go hand in hand.When both co-exist both theindividual and society reap thebenefits.

We have described above thefundamentals of faith. We nowexamine the Qur’an to determinewhat kinds of actions shouldproceed from faith. We read in theQur’an:

O ye who believe! Be strict ino b s e rving justice, beingwitnesses for the sake of Allaheven though it be againstyourselves or against parentsor kindred.(Ch.4: V.136)



And:

Verily Allah requires you toabide by justice, and to treatwith grace, and to give like thegiving of kin to kin; andforbids indecency and manifestevil, and transgression. Headmonishes you that you maytake heed.(Ch.16: V.91)

In these two short verses theQ u r’an gives a mostcomprehensive teaching for themoral and spiritual perfection ofman and for establishing peace onearth. Believers are told that theymust hold fast to the principles ofabsolute justice at all costs even tothe detriment of their own self-interests or the interests of theirkith and kin. The very minimum

required of believers is absolutejustice. But they are then told tonot remain content at that; theyshould move on and do more thanjustice by entering into the realmof benevolence. Forg i v e n e s s ,charity and generosity fall into thiscategory.

Passing through this stage, theFaithful should then continue theirjourney by further developingtheir conduct with their fellowhuman beings so that theirrelationship with them resemblesthat of a mother’s to her children,where doing good becomesspontaneous. At this stage there isno thought of reward and nothought of doing or returning afavour; one is prompted to serveothers through selflessness. Thusthe journey towards virtue is a

THE QUR’AN MOTIVATES MAN THROUGH HOPE AND FEAR

TO BECOME GODLY, HIS OBJECTIVE IN LIFE. IT GIVES US

HOPE OF EARNING UNENDING REWARDS AND IT WARNS US

TO FEAR THE WRATH OF ALLAH SHOULD WE BE LAX IN

DISCHARGING OUR DUTIES TOWARDS HIM. BELIEF IN THE

ONENESS AND OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD INDUCES ONE TO

PLACE ALL ONE’S HOPES AND FEARS IN HIM ALONE. IT

LIBERATES MAN FROM ALL OTHER YOKES.


progressive one, the first stepbeing absolute justice. All goodmust be built upon this foundation.

The first half of verse 16:91 mapsout the believer’s journey towardsvirtue. The second half maps outthe journey away from vice.Indecency means such vices as arepractised in private known only tothe practitioner, for examplejealousy. Manifest evil describessuch evils as are done in the openand the harm is confined to thedoer alone. Tr a n s g r e s s i o ncomprehends all vices which dopositive harm to others.

Acting on this one verse alonewould bring about peace insociety. It is the absence of justicethat is at the root of all evils.

Cultivating virtues and eschewingvices leads us to God and this briefverse of Surah Al-Nahl lists all thephases that must be passedthrough on this journey. It endswith the words ‘that you may takeheed’. The Arabic word zikr istranslated as ‘take heed’ but it hasa much wider meaning. It meansto remember the obligations thatone owes God and His creatures

and to celebrate His praises and tobecome a living embodiment ofHis attributes which, as statedpreviously, is the purpose of man’screation. Thus the Faithful aregiven the glad tidings that if theyadhere to the injunctions of thisone verse alone they will fulfil thepurpose of their existence.

This verse on its own providesperfect guidance for mankind. It isbalanced and harmonious; thethree commandments are counter-balanced with three correspondingprohibitions. It is universal andeternal; the principles of absolutejustice, benevolence and kinshipcan be applied in all eras and in allplaces. It is comprehensive andcomplete; the principles given inthe above verse apply to allspheres of human activities. Thereare no contradictions or flaws.These are the characteristics ofperfection given earlier. Hence itis a perfect teaching.

ConclusionIn this essay we have argued thatthe objective of man’s life is toworship the one and only God. Westated that this means theacquiring of His attributes. This



can be achieved through faith,hope, love and fear. The Qur’an isa comprehensive guide toacquiring and strengthening faithand it motivates man to becomegodly by inspiring him with fear,with hope and with love. Bydetailing the attributes of Allah itgives man a blueprint for his life’spurpose.

Furthermore, every Qur ’ a n i cinjunction when closely examinedwill be found to be perfectlybalanced, harmonious and free ofcontradiction. We thereforebelieve that the Qur’an is theperfect guide for mankind as it isbalanced in itself and it leads manto his objective. However, itshould also be noted that while itis intended as a guide for thewhole of mankind, only the God-fearing among them will be guidedaright by it:

This is a perfect Book; there isno doubt in it; it is a guidancefor the righteous.(Ch.2: V.3)

Bibliography1. AHMAD, MIRZA BASHIR-

UD-DIN MAHMUD (1996)

Introduction to the Study of theHoly Qur’ a n, IslamInternational Publications Ltd.

2. AHMAD, MIRZA GHULAM(1981) The Essence of Islam,Volume II, The LondonMosque.

3. AHMAD, MIRZA TA H I R(1998) Absolute Justice,Kindness and Kinship, IslamInternational Publications Ltd.

4. AHMAD, MIRZA TA H I R(1996) An Elementary Study ofI s l a m, Islam InternationalPublications Ltd.

5. AHMAD, MIRZA TA H I R(1997) I s l a m ’s Response toC o n t e m p o r a ry Issues , IslamInternational Publications Ltd.

6. AHMAD, WAHEED (1988) ABook of Religious Knowledge.

7. (1988) The Holy Qur’an withEnglish Translation andCommentary, Vols. 1-5, IslamInternational Publications Ltd.



The subject of my address thisafternoon is "the task ahead"which may be described invarious ways. For instance it maybe said that the task ahead of usis determined by the presentjuncture and history in which onone side man's intellect hasarrived at a higher point than ithad reached at any previous stagein its history, and on the otherhand there is almost completeannihilation between man and hisCreator on a scale and over suchvast areas as has never happenedbefore. Our task is to bring aboutreconciliation between man andhis Maker. This is the purpose for

which the second advent of the

Holy Prophet of Islam(sa) wasdesigned which found itsfulfilment towards the end of thesecond half of the last centuryand the beginning of this one. WeAhmadis have covenanted at hishands as one of his sinceredevoted servants but spirituallyat the hands of the HolyProphet(sa) of Islam himself andthat we shall undertake to fulfilthat task to bring mankind backto its Maker.

That is the task ahead. As I havesaid it has been described invarious ways but I do not want to

The following is an extract of a speechdelivered by Sir Muhammad ZafrullaKhan in 1972 at The London Mosque.The author served as the President ofthe United Nations General Assemblyand then as the President of theInternational Court of Justice at theHague.

The message of his speech remains relevant even today.

The Task Ahead


spend time on defining the task. Iwish so far as it may be given tome to draw attention to what isneeded for the fulfilment of thattask. How must we equipourselves so that we may beenabled to discharge that dutyand responsibility? How shall weprepare ourselves so that thefulfilment of that duty may goforward from year to year, monthto month, week to week, day today and moment to moment?

I enjoin you humbly, sincerelyand respectfully but in the nameof the Maker of all of us, toconsider honestly in examiningyour own selves without anykind of make-believe. Have wetaken full advantage of equippingourselves for the discharge ofthat duty? Are we doing all thatis possible for us to do towardsthe discharge of that duty? Towhat degree are we inspired bythe delicacy and the loftiness ofthe purpose ahead? To whatdegree have we succeeded insubordinating ourselves to thistask we have undertaken? If wehave not then we may beaccounted false in the eyes of

God, which alone is whatmatters.

We have been told time andagain beginning with the Qur’anitself and the admonitions of theHoly Prophet(sa); then the verydetailed explanations by the HolyFounder of our Community, thatIslam does not forbid us topursue what other peopledescribe and consider as secularpursuits. In Islam there is no suchdivision between secular andreligious pursuits. In Americanterminology we only kidourselves in thinking that wehave been successful in this thingor that thing. We have achievednothing except being false to ourpledge if we have pursued othergoals, ideals and purposes fortheir own sake. We will only beblessed with success if wesubordinate everything to thepurpose of winning the pleasureof God, so that what might becalled our secular pursuits thentake on the colour of spiritualpursuits.

The earning of our livelihood,marriages, bringing up of

The Task Ahead


children, amusements etc. are notprohibited and every one of themis a means of the achievement ofthat purpose only if we knewhow to employ them. MaulanaRumi said at one place that if aperson is devoted to his Makerthen you say it is self-indulgencefor him to have four wives. Forsuch a person forty thousandwives are not an indulgencebecause his concept of life andmarriage is different from theperson who thinks this is self-indulgence. That makes a wholerevolution in one's life and it ismy purpose to try to persuadeyou that this revolution, howeverdifficult or unattractive it mightbe to begin with, is easy,rewarding, and enriching andjoyful. It is the only true meansof attaining happiness.

A total commitment to ourMaker and a burning consumingdesire that if we are blessed withthe ability of carrying out thatcommitment then every one ofHis creatures shall be led to thesame commitment, if God sopleases, through us. If a persontruly feels and believes that this

is the purpose of his life theneverything else will be sub-ordinated to this purpose and willbecome the means of theachievement of this purpose. Imyself have had many occasionsof talking about a person whoadopts a profession whichbecomes, as we would say, ameans of his physical livelihood.Let us assume that he is anhonest worker. Fewer and fewertoday are honest workers even inthe sense of ordinary labours.Life has become altogethercomparatively dishonest ratherthan honest. However, leave thataside and let us assume a certainperson is an honest person. Heworks well, pleases hise m p l o y e r, brings home hismoney and does not gamble nordrink alcohol. He spends it onlooking after his family. If,however, this is his only purposeto which he devotes the workingtime of his life then it is not a badpurpose. It is a good purpose andit will bear him certain benefitsand advantages. It is, however, avery harmful, very wasteful anda very losing bargain he makes togive his life in return only for this

The Task Ahead


purpose although in itself it is notbad. I am not talking of thosewho waste even theseopportunities. Leave them aside.But if he carries on hisemployment or occupation sothat he may fulfil the purposethat God has appointed for himand this is the means of keepinghimself alive; maintaining hisfamily and bringing them up astrue servants of God so that all ofthem by virtue of theirrelationship to one another andthrough the help of thatrelationship and the comfort thatit brings, may be able to have thestrength, vision and capacity tofulfil all required purposesbacked by his example, i.e. if hemight be able to lead himself andall others towards theestablishment of communionwith his Maker. This is the greatneed of his age of spiritualmalaise and sickness, which hasovertaken mankind today.

I am not asking you that youbecome hermits and discard lifeon the hilltops pretending to beseekers after God in isolation.God has to be sought here and

not on the hilltops. You may goto the summit of Mount Everest,to the bottom of the ocean orraise your hand until it becomesdry and useless in seeking Godand guidance, but you are onlydestroying yourself. We have toseek Him and find Him throughour ordinary daily occupations,but they must have that qualitycourage and stand which is givenonly to those who are trueseekers after God and set theirfaces in His direction. If myyard-stick in life and my value isdetermined by my neighbours,by my fellow workers, by whatthe newspapers say, by what thetelevision says or by radiobroadcasts, then these are mygods… Wherever things stand inthe way of our purpose we mustdiscard them, overlook them andpass them by. As the result of allthat, therefore, we should bewalking examples of people whoare devoted to that purpose. Weshould radiate it more stronglythan any other radiation beforewe can help others in a godlessworld to worship and havecommunion with God.

The Task Ahead


The moment we are in thecompany of others, our principledesire should be to please thecompany in which we are. Let usnot deceive ourselves by sayingthese things are little things.Look at it this way. A person whodoes not have the courage tochange himself in little things,could he honestly say he wouldhave the courage to change hislife in big things which matter agreat deal more? He who is notcapable of small sacrifices, it isfor you to think how he willmake great sacrifices. Tr a i nyourselves to give a lot ofeverything for the sake of Godand taking out only that muchthat God says.

It is related of Syed Abdul QadirJilani who said he eats good foodand wears good clothes, but hedid not put a morsel of food intohis mouth until God told him toeat. Nor did he put on a garmentuntil he was told by God to wearit. That should be the standardand understanding in everything.Everything else should bediscarded. That is the changewhich we must carry out in

today's distressful world, whichis hurtling towards destructionevery moment before your eyes.If we are to prove that factorwhich can save not onlyourselves but the whole ofmankind against the wrath ofGod and bring mankind’sallegiance back to Him andunless we illustrate it in our lives,all our preaching andannouncements will be withoutresult.

We have to be living examples ofthose who experience God daily.Without that nobody today isgoing to believe in God. Youcannot convince anybodythrough any kind of reasoningthat God exists. He has soordained it Himself that He mustbe sought through experience ofHim and not through argumentsabout Him. He does not leavereason and arguments out of it.They are only adjuncts. They arenot the essence but they onlyhelp you in that direction to see ifthere may be one but they willnot bring you to God's Presencewith a capital 'P' which thatexperience alone can achieve.

The Task Ahead


Unless we experience it con-stantly at every moment by beingin His presence, all our otherefforts will be without result. Thefirst thing you need, therefore, isto have the courage that comesfrom certainty of faith. Nothingcan overcome that. No one willbe able to displace such a personfrom the stand he has taken inobedience to God. Every effortthat is made will only evoke apitiful endeavour and nothingmore. Yet how many are there ofus who are ninety percent ofwhat we do and which we pursuejust do so as a fashion? There isnot much harm in following afashion but that way must beGod's fashion and not man'sfashion. It must be the fashion oflife and not the fashion of death.

There is a revelation of thePromised Messiah( a s ) w h i c hpoints in this direction "zindigi

ke fashion se dur ja pare"meaning keep far away from thefashion of this world. After allwe do have a fashion. Fashionjust means the fashion, which ispursued. We follow a fashion.We leave our beds and get up inthe late hours of the night to offerprayers. Our fashion is to get upat that time to hold communionwith God. That is our fashion. Itis our fashion, irrespective ofwhat time the sun rises, that anhour and a quarter before sunrise,even having got up an hour and aquarter before and then havingwashed and held communionwith God in tahajjud prayers, wethen say fajr (morning) prayersand further prayers through theday. This is our fashion; what weearn is not ours. It belongs toGod. Out of that we should useonly that much for ourselves andfor our children which barelysuffices for our needs and it is

The Task Ahead

WE S H O U L D B E C O M E T H E G R E AT E S T S O U R C E O F

BENEFICENCE FOR THE COUNTRY IN WHICH WE LIVE,SOCIETY IN WHICH WE LIVE, FOR OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD IN

WHICH WE DWELL AND FOR THE CHILDREN WHO COME IN

CONTACT WITH OUR CHILDREN.


our fashion that the rest is for theservice of our follow creatures.There is nothing wrong in afashion but what matters is whatfashion. What are our youngpeople worried about? Whetherthe side hair on their faces hasgrown down to here or there.

How long they spend before themirror I do not know because Ido not do it myself butpresuming it is five minuteswasted when the world is in aconflagration and the future ofmankind is being consumed andburnt and when every moment ofour time is needed for beneficentoccupation. I have oftenmentioned that in the older dayswhen the fares of theunderground had not gone up Iused to come to the mosque fromthe West End of London andalight at Putney Bridge stationfrom where I would take eitherbus number 85 or 93. Everybodyasked me why I do that. I saidfirst of all the bus stop is a littlenearer to the mosque than Putneystation. Secondly because Isaved a penny in fare. This is not

a joke. Every penny, every cent,matters. Why? Because of thevalue that one attaches to thepenny and the cent. It is God'sbounty and has to be put to thebest possible use. I am not sayingthat this is the only thing thatwas necessary to do. I couldeasily have gone to East Putneyor Southfields station and Imight have saved a little moretime which would other wise nothave been employed foranything else and if I can savesix pence then that is something.We have been endowed by Godwith all that is very valuable. Ourthinking capacity, our physicalframe all the wonderfulincomprehendable machinerywhich is the human being; and itis still underestimated capacitywhich no one yet knows the endof.

Each of us is a universe inhimself if he will but realise it.We have to devote to thatpurpose everything connectedwith us. If we are not doing so,we are not only failing in ourduty but we are cheating, we are

The Task Ahead


embezzling and putting to usethat which was given to us foruse and a purpose quite different.We must therefore carry out awhole revolution in our lives. Wemust not be affected by whatother people think. Someone hassaid a very simple and wise thingin a few words, ‘They say, whatdo they say, let them say’. Thatcontains the whole philosophy ofthe matter. Did the companionsof the Holy Prophet(sa), let alonehimself, worry about what thepeople said? Would they havegot anywhere if they had worriedwhat people might say?

To discard the fashion of othersinstitute your own fashionexternal, internal, moral,spiritual and physical. We shouldnot merely out of stubbornnessand prejudice go against otherpeople. In fact a righteous personis much more in accord withother people because he acts in abeneficent way. We shouldbecome the greatest source ofbeneficence for the country inwhich we live, society in whichwe live, for our neighbourhood

in which we dwell and for thechildren who come in contactwith our children. How shouldour being different make usunwelcome to anybody becausewe would then have to become ahundred percent beneficentwhereas other people arenormally only five or ten percentbeneficent. If we want to makeof our lives something thatwould be welcome to our Makerwhen we depart from this life,and this is the resolution that wemust carry out, I am warningmyself as well as warning youthat the span of life passes fasterthan the fastest super-sonic planewhich is now on the blue printand which has not yet beenmade. Use every moment whileyou have the opportunity to doso. Make up your mind and goforward with courage.

The Task Ahead


The Arabic word jihad literallymeans to ‘strive’ or ‘struggle’. Itrefers to a Muslim's innerspiritual quest to vanquish evilinclinations in his or her heart.U l t i m a t e l y, j i h a d - e - a k b a r o r‘great jihad’ is that of over-coming the self that incites eviland achieving nearness to God.The word jihad has also beenused in the Qur’an in thephysical context of war, how-ever such an act of force isstrictly a defensive measure inIslam. A Muslim is entitled to

self-defence only if he is deniedforcibly his ability to practice hisfaith. We read:

And fight in the cause ofAllah against those who fightagainst you, but do nott r a n s g ress. Sure l y, Allahloves not the transgressors.1

(Ch.2: V.191)

And:

Permission to fight is given tothose against whom war is

The Concept of Jihad in IslamBy Amjad Mahmood Khan - Boston, USA

The concept of Jihad is often misrepresented both by Muslims andnon-Muslims. True jihad remains a key force for good and onethat promotes peace at all levels, yet today perhaps no other wordgenerates more confusion than jihad, as it has been misused as aresult of multiple erroneous translations.

This article aims to unpack the notion of jihad as explained in theHoly Qur’an, and effectuated by Muhammad(sa). It further aims todismiss some of the most prominent criticisms levelled againstIslam that flow from a misinformed understanding of jihad,namely that Islam breeds religious intolerance and thatMuhammad(sa), spread Islam with the sword.


made, because they havebeen wronged and Allah,indeed, has the power to helpthem. (Ch.22: V.40)

These verses suggest that if anaggressor initiates the use offorce for purposes of religiouspersecution, then and only thenis forceful reaction of self-defence justifiable2. The use offorce is contingent uponemergency conditions and onlywhen a Muslim is morally3,rather than religiously, provokedto fight. The suggested limits toreligious tolerance in Islam arefounded upon the rationalprecept that self-defence of one’sown belief offsets an outwardcompulsion for another tobelieve.

With this brief framework laidout, it is surprising, eventerrifying, to observe howmilitant so-called Islamists havehijacked the concept of jihad forpolitical ambition and self-aggrandisement. In their prop-aganda Jihad has lost itsQ u r’anic meaning and has

instead been wielded as apolitical weapon to justifyterritorial and ideologicalexpansion. The sublime spiritualsignificance of the term thatmillions of Muslims cherish istragically undermined by thewhims and ambitions of zealots.

Many Western scholars,however, refuse to accept thatjihad has any deep spiritualsignificance or tolerant bent.Rather, they maintain, jihad hasalways constituted aggressiveconversion and compulsion sincethe days of the Holy Prophet(sa).These scholars fail to glean thereality of Muslim history.

Arabia before the time ofM u h a m m a d( s a ) was in morald i s a r r a y. Infanticide grewrampant in selected areas, andthe dispossession of another wasconsidered a birthright.4 At theage of forty, Muhammad( s a )

received the first Qur’ a n i crevelation, and this was thebeginning of the formation of amoral code. Muhammad( s a )

preached a belief in one God - a




revolutionary teaching in thepolytheistic Arab world of thetime. Within twenty years, thereligion of Islam dominatedArabia, and Muhammad(sa) stoodas a spiritual leader of an entireempire. It was in this historicsetting that the Qur’anic versewas revealed: ‘There should beno compulsion in re l i g i o n’(Ch.2: V.257). The sweepingverse was a strong reminder thatforce was not something Godcondoned in Islam. When placedin the context of the precedingand subsequent verses, however,it becomes part of a larg e rrational argument againstcompulsion. In the precedingverse, we read:

Allah, there is no God but He,the Living, the Self-Subsistingand All-Sustaining. Slumberseizes Him not, nor sleep. ToHim belongs whatsoever is inthe heavens and whatsoeveris in the earth. Who is he thatwill intercede with Himexcept by His permission?He knows what is before themand what is behind them; and

they encompass nothing ofHis knowledge except whatHe pleases. His thro n eextends over the heavens andthe earth; and the care ofthem wearies Him not; andHe is the High, the Great.(Ch.2: V.256)

Arab scholars label this verse‘Ayat al-Kursi’ meaning theverse of divine power. Here, theonly entity worthy of grantingprotection to man is GodHimself. Man’s knowledge islimited, incomplete, and ineffe-ctive as opposed to the endless,full, and powerful knowledge ofGod. The verse hints at the follyof human presumption and theneed for a constant reminder ofG o d ’s absolute and exclusivecapacity to judge man.

The rest of verse 257 reads:

S u re l y, right has becomedistinct from wrong; sowhomsoever refuses to be ledby those who transgress, andbelieves in Allah, has surelygrasped a strong handle



which knows no bre a k i n g .And Allah is All-Hearing,All-Knowing.(Ch.2: V.257)

Here, a distinction is drawnbetween those who believe, i.e.,the Muslims, and those whotransgress, namely the paganArabs of the time. Anticipatingthe possible use of force on thepart of Muslims against non-Muslim Arabs, the verse makesit plain that God bestows on theMuslims sublime guidance, andthat such guidance should not beregarded as humanly concocted.Thus, the believers should notcompel others to their beliefsystem, for they have no suchDivine right. Moreover, truth isdistinct from falsehood, so thebelievers need not force theissue; it is an absurd, illogicalaction.

At another crucial place in theQur’an, Chapter 109 entitled AlK a f i ru n ‘The Disbelievers’fleshes out further the distinctiondescribed above:

Say, ‘O ye disbelievers! Iworship not that which youworship. Nor worship youwhat I worship. And I am notgoing to worship that whichyou worship. Nor will youworship what I worship. Foryou your religion, and for memy religion.’(Ch.109: Vs. 1-7)

Not only are believers enjoinednot to employ force on a non-believer, but also they are urgedto proclaim emphatically thatthey will not force another tobelieve what they believe. Indirect terms, the chapter insiststhat believers declare theirtolerance for non-believers: ‘Foryou your religion, and for me myre l i g i o n . ’ So here, Islamdemands tolerance for people ofother faiths and refrains fromforced conversion.

The Qur’an leaves no doubt inthese and other passages that itregards idolaters as profoundlyin error. However, a group ofscholars including Adolph L.Wismar have misconstrued this


to imply that the Qur’an contra-dicts itself when it says: ‘Thereshould be no compulsion inre l i g i o n .’ They ask how theQur’an can stand for tolerancewhen it rebukes unequivocallythe non-believing pagan Arabs atthe time of Muhammad (sa)?5 TheQur’an, however, stresses that anindividual’s spiritual destiny isstrictly between him and Godwithout interference fromoutside. True religious beliefrequires both intense personalcommitment and individualconsent. We read:

And if Allah had enforced HisWill, they would not have setup gods with Him. And Wehave not made thee a keeperover them, nor art thou overthem a guardian.(Ch.6: V.108)

At another place we read:

And if thy Lord had enforcedhis Will, surely, all who areon earth would have believedt o g e t h e r. Wilt thou, then,f o rce men to become

believers? (Ch.10: V.100)

One notes how the case of thenon-believing Arabs is not withman, but with God. They areimmune from punishment (fromtheir fellow beings) andcompulsion in relation to theirreligion and practices.6 In pureIslamic teaching, it is irrationalto show religious intolerancebecause it is tantamount toassociating partners with God,which for a Muslim is the mostegregious sin man can commit.

With the rising influence ofIslam in Arabia by 628 CE,Jewish and Christian tribes onthe southern frontier of theRoman Empire intrigued to turnthe Chosroes of Iran and theGovernor of Yemen againstIslam. They met resistance fromMuslim forces in Khaiber, atown near Madinah.7 A m i dsevere struggles between theMuslims, and Jews andChristians, Muhammad(sa) sent aseries of letters to various kingssurrounding the Arab peninsuladeclaring his intentions for peace



and co-operation. Among theseletters included one written in628 CE to the monks of the St.Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai. In it, he issues a ‘Charterof Privileges’ offering secureprotection of fundamentalhuman rights to Christians livingin the Muslim empire. Hedeclares:

This is a message fromMuhammad, son ofAbdullah, as a covenant tothose who adopt Christian-ity, near and far, that we arewith them. Ve r i l y, I, theservants, the helpers, and myfollowers defend thembecause Christians are mycitizens; and, by Allah, I holdout against anything thatdispleases them. Nocompulsion is to be on them.Neither are their judges to beremoved from their jobs northeir monks from their mon-asteries. No one is to destroya house of their religion, todamage it, or to carryanything from it to theMuslims’ houses. Should

anyone take any of these, hewould spoil God’s covenantand disobey His Prophet.Verily, they are my allies andhave my sincere charteragainst all that they hate. Noone is to force them to travelor to oblige them to fight.The Muslims are to fight forthem. If a female Christian ismarried to a Muslim, it is notto take place without herapproval. She is not to beprevented from visitingchurch to pray. Their chur-ches are to be respected.They are neither to be prev-ented from repairing themnor the sacredness of theircovenants. No one of thenation of Muslims is todisobey this covenant untilthe Last Day of Judgment.8

The text demands scrutiny. Atthe outset, the Holy Prophet(sa)

appeals broadly to Christiansliving not only under Muslimrule, but also ‘near and far’around the world. One gets thesense here that his pronounce-ments, though buried in a letter



to a monastery, are nonethelessmeant for a much larg e rChristian audience. Obversely,his reference to all Muslimsdefending Christians, ‘servants,helpers, and followers’, showsthe onus he places upon hisMuslim audience. His immed-iate audience, namely Christianmonks living within the Muslimempire, earn the title of ‘citizens’of the Holy Prophet (sa).

The import of this word shouldnot be underestimated. Byreferring to non-believers as‘citizens’, Muhammad(sa) sets upthe possibility of diverg e n treligious interests livingpeacefully under a Muslim State.Citizenship implies an adherenceto the customs and practices ofthe supreme governing body of aState; yet it also connotes anindependent voice that has adeliberative stake in thefunctions and operations ofgovernment. His use of the termcertainly rings of the latterconnotation, particularly whenunderstood with respect to hisremaining declarations in the

letter. Christians, as concernedcitizens, are awarded aprotective status9 in a Muslimstate. He states that he ‘holds outagainst anything that displeaset h e m’ meaning he assumes aresponsibility to take heed totheir concerns. Thisresponsibility is not outlined inany constitution or writtendocument, but rather isconstructed ‘by Allah’ as a partof his covenant to Muslims.

Prophet Muhammad( s a ) n e x tproceeds to outline the Qur’anicinjunction of refraining fromcompulsion in religion. He citesseveral potential compulsiveacts, such as removing judges,damaging Churches, forcing oneto fight or travel, or even forcinga Christian to marry a Muslim.Here, tolerance, as he explains,extends beyond civil to socialmatters; it is used in positive,sweeping terms. He negates thevalue of such acts and, in doingso, lauds the St. Catherine monksfor regarding their covenants; hisown covenant, namely thecharter of privileges is a ‘sincere



response to all that they hate’.Historian and critic MarmadukePickthall comments on theintentions behind the letter thus:

The Charter which he grantedto the Christian monks ofSinai is extant. If you read ityou will see that it breathesnot only goodwill, but alsoactual love. He gave to theJews of Medina, so long asthey were faithful to him,precisely the same treatmentas to the Muslims. He neverwas aggressive against anyman or class of men; he neverpenalised any man, or madewar on any people, on theground of belief but only onthe ground of conduct. Thestory of his reception ofChristian and Zoroastrianvisitors is on record. There isnot a trace of religiousintolerance in all this.10

Prophet Muhammad’s call forreligious tolerance is couched inhis repeated use of the phrase‘covenant’. Muslims are not onlycommanded to grant necessary

privileges to their Christianbrethren, but are also bound byGod to uphold such a compact.The enforcing power behind thecompact is God Himself. The

Holy Prophet( s a ) regards thecovenants of Muslims andChristians alike because theyimplicate Divine backing. Thisis the sum and essence of howtolerance works in Islam: that byappealing to a higher spiritualsovereign, namely God, aMuslim’s respect and accord ford i fferent religions becomes asublime virtue rather than a civilnecessity. When understood inthis context, the scholarlyconcept of jihad as ‘holy war’ or‘aggressive conversion’ isrendered suspect.

In 632 CE, the Holy Prophet(sa)

delivered his final sermon to10,000 followers. In it, we findmention of some importantcorollaries for religious toler-ance. Of key significance is thesection that reads:

All mankind is from Adamand Eve, an Arab has no



superiority over a non-Arab,nor a non-Arab has anysuperiority over an Arab; alsoa white has no superiorityover a black, nor a black hasany superiority over a whiteexcept by piety and goodaction. Learn that everyMuslim is a brother to everyMuslim and that the Muslimsconstitute one brotherhood.Nothing shall be legitimate toa Muslim that belongs to afellow Muslim unless it wasgiven freely and willingly.Do not, therefore, doinjustice to yourselves ...Remember, one day you willappear before God, theCreator, and you will answerfor your deeds.11

For religious tolerance to work,the Holy Prophet(sa) here impliesthat a Muslim must fullyacknowledge and commit tosocial and civic equality. Bymaking the distinction betweenethnic and racial equality, hedemonstrates the complexity anduniversality of the equality hedesires in a Muslim state. Racial

and ethnic equality pre-supposethe existence of diverse groupswithin a single nation. But hisgrounding of this value after hisinitial declaration, ‘All mankindis from Adam and Eve’, showsthe intimate connection he placesbetween religion and equality.Equality flows from therecognition of the fundamentalreligious precept that man comesfrom Adam and Eve.

He suggests that superiority iswholly exclusive from religiousaffiliation; it depends on ‘pietyand good action’, which arereligion-blind. The ‘b ro t h e r-hood’ among Muslims cannot bemisconstrued as intolerance toother religious groups. That is,to maintain solidarity, Muslimscannot employ force againstnon-believers or ‘non-members,’but rather should allow them tocommit ‘freely and willingly’ toIslam if they desire. Any actionto the contrary is ‘an injustice to[ t h e m s e l v e s ]’ and presumpt-uous of God’s unique capacity tojudge man.



Here, the use of the phrase‘injustice to yourselves’ deservesconsideration. He suggests thatintolerance of another’s beliefsystem brings more harm tooneself than to another because itforces a Muslim to relinquish thecore teachings he or she lives by,rendering one a hypocrite ratherthan a righteous believer. Inother words, religiousintolerance is a self-defeating actthat breeds hypocrisy.

The Holy Prophet(sa) concludesby admonishing Muslims toremember their covenants andaccountability to God. Again,just as in his letter to theChristian monks, he elevates thestatus of one’s covenants,treating them as bindingcontracts. For the HolyProphet(sa), tolerance for humanlife and possessions ‘had thesame sacredness which belongedto sacred days, sacred months,and sacred places.’12

A Muslim’s covenant entails acorroboration of civic equality,citizenship, and religious

tolerance, values antithetical to aconstrual of jihad as ‘holy war’or ‘aggressive conversion.’Indeed, from the examplesduring the time of the HolyProphet(sa), it is clear that jihadwas not a concept used toconvert non-Muslims to Islam orto wage a holy war. Character-ising Muhammad’s treatment ofnon-Muslims, the Qur’an reads:

And it is by the great mercy ofAllah that thou art kindt o w a rds them, and if thouhadst been rough and hard-h e a rted, they would sure l yhave dispersed from aroundthee.(Ch.3: V.160)

Islam, in its purest practice asdemonstrated by Muhammad(sa),advocates religious tolerance. Infact, religious tolerance provesto be the very crux by which theentire Islamic system ofgovernance rests.13 The funda-mental teaching of religioustolerance in Islam supplants theconcept of jihad to create aspiritually rich frame-work for



morality and governance inIslam. It is a framework that istragically tainted by militantIslamists and frequently thescholars who study them.

References1. Maulawi Sher Ali, The Holy

Q u r’an, Islam InternationalPublications, UK, 1997.

2. Islam regards the breaking oftreaties or agreements asgrounds for aggression. TheArabic word Dhimmah meansliterally ‘covenant,’ ‘treaty, ’or ‘obligation.’ Theexpression Ahl al-Dhimmahrefers to non-Muslim peoplewith whom the Muslim Statehas made an agreement andwho pay poll tax to the State,in return for which the State isresponsible for their securityand freedom. Those non-Muslims who paid no respectto such a treaty provedtreacherous or perfidious andwere, thus, attacked by theMuslims. See commentarynote in Ref.1, p.397.

3. In Ch.22: Vs.41-42, one noteshow Islam regards theimportance of freedom ofconscience. Any assault onthis freedom threatens thesanctity of a Muslim’s life. Acall to arms in Islam iscontingent upon a direct andclear threat to one’s freedomof conscience; in other words,it is grounded in the idea ofpreserving one’s basic moralright.

4. Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-DinMahmud Ahmad, Life ofM u h a m m a d, IslamInternational Publications,UK, 1990.

5. Adolph L. Wismar, A Studyin Tolerance As Practised byMuhammad and HisImmediate Successors (NewYork: AMS Press Inc., 1966),5.

6. David Little and others, eds.,Human Rights and theConflict of Cultures: Westernand Islamic Perspectives onReligious Liberty (Columbia:



University of South CarolinaPress, 1988), 29.

7. See W. M. Watt, Muhammad:Prophet and Statesman(London: Oxford UniversityPress, 1961), 189.

8. The text of this letter may befound online from< h t t p : / / w w w. a l h e w a r. c o m /labibkobti.html>.

9. Watt points out the limits ofprotection granted tominorities in an Islamic Stateand asserts that the swordspread Islam. See W. M.Watt, Islamic PoliticalThought: The Basic Concepts( E d i n b u rgh, UK: Edinburg hUniversity Press, 1968), 50.Here, however, he concedes:"On the whole there was moregenuine toleration of non-Muslims under Islam thanthere was of non-Christians inmedieval Christian States"(51).

10. Marmaduke Pickthall,Tolerance in Islam. The fifth

of eight lectures given at theinvitation of the Committee ofMadras Lectures on Islam in1927. Reprinted in Pickthall’sIslamic Culture (Hyderabad,India: Islamic Culture Board,1927), 25.

11. B a s h i r-ud-Din MahmudAhmad, Life of Muhammad(UK: Islam InternationalPublications, 1990), p.161-162.

12. Ibid., p.163.

13. The term Mushawarah or‘consultation’ in verse 3:160sets the basis foradministration and republic-anism in the Islamic State.The idea of deliberativedecision-making and consentare essential components ofIslam. It is important here tonote that such basic governingprinciples follow directlyafter a historical reference tothe religious toleranceemployed by the ProphetMuhammad(sa).


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