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Death is usually considered a ghastly concept; still there are some brave people who embrace it so gallantly that one just marvels. This article considers life after death from an Islamic perspective. It begins with the various types of death according to thanatology [the study of the medical, psychological, and sociological aspects of death and the ways in which people deal with it], then casts a glance at death in different world religions so that a comparison can be drawn. Then the article moves on to a study of the Islamic perspective of what happens when one dies, the status of the soul, heaven and hell and whether communication with the dead is possible according to Islamic teachings. The article also provides a glimpse into the various Islamic rituals and practices relating to the dead body, burial and the grave. Types of Death According to Thanatology According to Thanatology there are various types of death which include: 1. Somatic or Clinical Death: The extinction of personality as a whole due to the irreversible loss of function and independence of three vital systems; i.e. the respiratory system, the CNS (central nervous system) and the CVS (cardiovascular system). It involves organs as a whole. Life ceases in the body but persists in its component parts, viz. tissues and cells.[1] 2. Molecular Death: The progressive disintegration of body tissues, which signifies death of component parts of body/organs and is completed within 3 to 4 hours after the Somatic death. It depends upon time proportionate to the ability to resist hypoxia (lack of oxygen), e.g.: Nervous tissue – only a few seconds Muscular tissue – 3 hours Cornea – 6 hours Skin – 12 hours[2] 3. Brain Death: The irreversible cessation of all brain functions. In some instances, special reference is made to brain-stem death. Brain stem death is where a person no longer has any activity in their brain stem, and has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the capacity to breathe but may still have some spinal cord function.[3] ‘The Encyclopaedia Britannica’ (under Death) has defined death as ‘the permanent cessation of the vital functions in the bodies of animals and plants.’[4] According to the ‘Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics’, biological death is ‘The cessation of an organism. There is no confusion in using the same word for the end of the individual as such, and for the apparently irreversible process, which leads to the end.’[5] A Glance at the Concept of Death in World Religions Judaism Let us now consider how different religions perceive death. As for the life in the hereafter, the Old Testament is not rich in detail. It states: ‘And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.’[6] Again, in Ezekiel 37:4-6 we have: “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”[7] About Hell, ‘The Jewish Encyclopaedia’ with reference to the Erobian Talmud says, ‘The fire of Gehenna (Hell) does not touch the Jewish sinners because they confess their sins before the gates of hell and return to God.’ Referring to Berkat the Talmud states, ‘Heretics and Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews.’[8] As for the modern Jews, Sale states: “It is a received opinion among the Jews at present, that no person (from among the Jews) be he ever so wicked, or of whatever sect, shall not remain in Hell above eleven months or at the most a year, except Dathan, Abiram, and atheists (from among the Jews) who will be tormented there to all eternity.”[9] Abiram and Dathan rose against Moses and were destroyed by God.[10] In ‘Derech Eretz Zuta’, one among fifteen tractates which although compiled later than the rest of the Talmud and are usually included in printed editions, we find that some Biblical figures like Enoch, Elijah and Hiram escaped death altogether and went directly to reside in Paradise.[11] Christianity Christianity maintains that ‘As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’.[12] In the Urdu book, ‘Qamusul Kitab’, we read: ‘We should admit that death came due to Adam’s sin, and its punishment resulted in both types of death, i.e. physical and spiritual death’. Again, it says: ‘Physical death is the proper sign of the spiritual death which is a must due to sin.’[13] Buddhism Regarding death Buddha said, ‘Short, O monk, is the life of men,’ ‘Life, indeed, ends in death’. Death is only the beginning of a new existence for the punishment of sin: death and punishment are synonymous.[14] About transmigration of the soul we thus read: “Theoretically Buddhism teaches neither the existence of the soul nor its transmigration, but insists on revolution, or ‘stream’ of existence. In its practical influence on popular mind, however, this doctrine amounted to much the same as any other doctrine of transmigration […] In this vast ocean of renewed births there are innumerable streams of existences, conditioned by their respective deeds and retributions, flowing uninterruptedly not only in the continuity of the individual being but also in the solidarity of a group of existences.”[15] Hindusim In Hinduism, a dead body is considered a symbol of impurity, hence minimal physical contact is maintained. The body is bathed by purified water and then dressed in new clothes. Further, a few drops of the Holy Ganges water may be put into the mouth of the deceased, so that the soul may attain liberation. Also, a few leaves of the herb basil – which is considered holy, are placed on the right side of the dead body. Thereafter, the close relatives of the deceased person carry the stretcher on their shoulders to the cremation ground. There is no permanent Heaven or Hell in Hinduism. The soul enters into a rebirth cycle. Reborns can become an animal, a human or a divinity. This reincarnation continues until the final release is gained.[16] Zoroastrianism In Zoroastrianism (Parsee), when a person is on his deathbed, two Parsee priests make the dying person confess his sins. The dead body is bathed and covered with a clean white but worn out suit of cotton, which must be destroyed and never used again after having served this purpose. A man bearing a vase containing fire, followed by the relatives and friends, the corpse, the priests and additional members of the deceased family, leads the funeral procession en route to the tower, the place for the disposal of the body. At the gates of the tower, the bier is set down, the face is uncovered to allow the procession to pay their last respects to the deceased. The body is then carried into the tower and placed on beds of stone with the head facing southward. The clothes of the corpse are removed, leaving it naked. The men then come out to leave the deceased to be devoured by the vultures already waiting there. Within one or two hours, the body is reduced to a mere skeleton.[17] Concept of Death in Islam According to Islam, all creatures are destined to die. Death means the permanent separation of the soul from the body. The Holy Qur’an declares thus: “Allah takes away the souls of men at the time of their death, and of those also that are not yet dead, during their sleep. And then He withholds those against which He has decreed death, and sends back others till an appointed term. In that, surely, are signs for a people who reflect.”[18] This shows that the soul has its own entity. A living person has both a body and a soul. At the time of death, the soul departs from the body never to re-enter it. The body becomes obsolete after death and is buried. We will later discuss what happens to the soul after death, let us first establish wherefrom it comes into the body. It should be clarified that each and every thing is the creation of God, and so is the soul. ‘It is an essence which is distilled from the body in the course of a long process during the period of gestation.’[19] God says in the Holy Qur’an: ‘What! Did you think that We had created you without purpose, and that you would not be brought back to Us? Exalted be Allah, the True King.’[20] This leaves no ambiguity that man has been created for a purpose. He is not simply destroyed after living a few score years. So it follows that, the soul must live on after death to achieve a greater purpose. The Soul After Death – Barzakh – The Intermediary State Now, what happens to the soul after a person’s death? The Holy Qur’an says: “Woe unto man: How ungrateful he is! Does he not consider, from what thing did God create him, then in due course He causes him to die and assigns a grave to him, then when he pleases, He will raise him up again.”[21] This reveals that Allah assigns a grave to every person who dies. This is not the grave dug out by men to bury the corpse, for not every corpse is buried; some are cremated some are devoured by nature’s scavengers and some drown in rivers and seas. The place where the soul dwells after death is termed as ‘Barzakh’ (barrier) in the Holy Qur’an: “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says entreating repeatedly, ‘My Lord, send me back that I may do righteous deeds in the life that I have left behind.’ That cannot be! It is only a word that he utters. And behind him is Barzakh [a barrier] until the day they will be raised again.”[22] Immediately after departing this physical world, the soul is invested with a new body. This body is a representation of the person’s actions, good or bad, in his earthly life. The Holy Qur’an says: ‘On the day when some faces shall be white, and some faces shall be black.’[23] Naturally, the evildoers will be having dark bodies and the righteous ones, bright. The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, says in this context: “I have often had experience in a complete state of wakefulness of meeting some persons who had died, and I saw the bodies of some evildoers and misguided ones were so dark as if they had been made of smoke.”[24] This state of ‘Barzakh’ or ‘grave’ is an intermediate state representative of the imminent rewards or punishments of Heaven and Hell, which await the soul. The Holy Qur’an teaches: “As for those whose faces shall be black, it will be said to them: ‘Did you disbelieve after believing? Taste, then, the punishment because you disbelieved. And as for those whose faces will be white, they will be in the mercy of Allah, therein shall they abide.”[25] After the battle of Badr, God made the souls of the dead enemy soldiers hear the words of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa in Barzakh (the intermediary state). It is clear that a person immediately begins experiencing his punishment or reward post-death, from the following: “Those whom the angels cause to die while they are wronging their souls, will offer submission, pleading, ‘We used not to do any evil’. It will be said to them, ‘Nay, surely, Allah knows well what you used to do. So enter the gates of Hell to abide therein. Evil indeed is the abode of the arrogant.’”[26] Those whom the angels cause to die while they are pure, they say to them, ‘Peace be unto you. Enter Heaven because of what you used to do’.[27] The Holy Prophetsa also teaches the same: ‘The grave is one of the gardens of Paradise or one of the pits of Fire.’[28] After the state of ‘tomb’, ‘grave’ or ‘Barzakh’, comes the state of resurrection of the body. This may resemble the birth of a child, whilst the first stage of Barzakh resembles that of gestation. Now, the soul invested with a new body, is able to perceive full knowledge of the Lord, and the soul now fully experiences its recompense, whilst in the state of Barzakh it only partly experienced this. According to the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a holy person maintains a connection with the grave and this material world for a few days after death. However the soul still immediately reaches its destination at death and does not remain in the body. In both the states – Barzakh and Resurrection – all the spiritual conditions of a person in this life will be manifested physically. The Holy Qur’an reveals: ‘Whoso is blind in this world shall be blind in the hereafter, and even more astray from the way.’[29] This means that those who are spiritually blind in this world, will be physically blind in the next. Having acted like a blindman, unable to see, for example, the heavenly truths, so they will become physically blind in the hereafter. The reason for this is that the body in the hereafter will evolve as a reflection of a person’s actions in this world. As the soul shares the torments and comforts of the body, so in the hereafter the punishments and rewards incurred by man will be felt both physically and spiritually. From this it becomes manifest that the punishment is in fact a direct result of the evil deeds of a person, not something imposed forcibly by God. The Holy Qur’an is unequivocal about it: ‘Read thy book. Sufficient is thy own soul this day as reckoner against thee.’[30] Purpose of Hell In fact, Hell can be likened to a hospital wherein the diseased persons shall enter for treatment, thus any afflictions during a process of treatment is quite natural. It is interesting to learn that a person of normal good health – the inmate of Paradise – who enters into this hospital (Hell) to visit a friend, will remain unharmed therein. The Holy Qur’an elucidates concerning this subject: “A speaker from among them will say, ‘I had an intimate companion who used to say, ‘Art thou, indeed, among those who believe the resurrection to be true when we are dead and have become dust and broken bones, shall we, indeed, be requited?’ The speaker will then ask those around him, ‘Will you have a look and find out about him?’ Then he will see him in midst of the Fire.”[31] So the ‘Fire’ by which this sick person is being treated will not harm at all the visitor who goes straight into Hell to see his friend. It should be borne in mind that all the ‘punishments’ mentioned in the scriptures are but different modes of treatment. For example, the dwellers of hell will be given cactus to eat.[32] We know that cactus is an effective remedy for several diseases including syphilis.[33] Again, ‘They will taste therein neither coolness nor drink, save boiling water and a stinking liquid, intensely cold — a meet requital.’[34] The Arabic word used for ‘a stinking liquid’ is Ghassaq which also means pus (Lisan). It is known that vaccines are prepared from pus. As these people used to coldly dismiss the prophets of God, so as ‘a meet requital’ and as a cure they will be made to drink extremely cold water. And because they did not listen to the words of God due to being hot-tempered, so they will be treated with hot water. As they were firebrands against the prophets, so they will be treated by ‘Fire’ in Hell. We know that fire is also used for cauterization, a medical treatment to cure wounds. It should be apparent now why Hell is something very important for those sick persons that require treatment therein to be cured so that they may live a normal, healthy, blissful life in Heaven. According to the Islamic concept of Heaven and Hell, after being cured they will be ‘discharged’ from this hospital. The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Indeed there will come upon Hell a time when there will be none in it, and this will be after they had lived therein for ages.’[35] The Holy Qur’an also teaches that Hell will not be everlasting: ‘Surely, Hell lies in ambush, a resort for the rebellious, who will tarry therein for ages.’[36] As their diseases are deep-rooted, so a very lengthy period of time will be needed to completely cure them. Until this occurs, they would remain unfit to live in Heaven, just as a chronically sick person requires confinement to his bed in hospital until he recovers. The purpose of man’s creation as declared by the Holy Qur’an is: ‘I have not created the jinn and the men but that they may worship Me’.[37] The word used for ‘worship’ in the verse is ‘Ya‘budun’, which means to do ‘Ibadah’. In Arabic ‘Ibadah’ means to undergo a rigorous discipline so as to be able to manifest in oneself God’s attributes to a certain extent. So, the purpose of man’s creation is very noble and spiritual. Hence, Hell cannot be everlasting. It must one day cease to exist. Its occupants after being cured will go to live their normal, healthy lives in Paradise. There they will continue to acquire greater degrees of closeness to God Almighty and will manifest His attributes more and more. As God’s attributes are limitless, so Paradise will be everlasting. A misunderstanding prevails among certain people who think that there will be nothing to do in Paradise, save eating, drinking and indulging. According to the Islamic point of view, a life without action is simply purposeless. True happiness lies in action and progress. The Holy Qur’an reveals: ‘There light will run before them and on their right hands. They will say, “Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us, surely Thou hast power over all things.”’[38] It means that the inmates of Paradise will be constantly preoccupied with catching the light running before them and will continue progressing spiritually. So, as compared to our actions in the life here on Earth, we will make greater efforts in the hereafter. Every moment we will be progressing, as we enhance our divine knowledge. However, this perpetual effort in the hereafter will not cause fatigue at all: “And they will say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah who has removed all grief from us. Surely, our Lord is Most Forgiving, Most Appreciating, Who has, out of His bounty, settled us in the Abode of Eternity, where no toil will touch us, nor any sense of weariness affect us therein.’”[39] According to the Holy Qur’an, the greatest blessing of Paradise is the pleasure of God: “Allah has promised to believers, men and women, Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide, and delightful dwelling-places in Gardens of Eternity. And the pleasure of Allah is the greatest of all. That is the supreme triumph.”[40] The Reality of the Fair Maidens of Paradise Let us now consider the ‘houris’ (chaste maidens) in Paradise. The Holy Qur’an says, ‘And We shall give them as companions fair maidens having large black eyes.’[41] And, ‘Therein also be chaste maidens restraining their glances, whom neither men nor jinn will have touched before them.’[42] These are the chaste, righteous women who are their own wives. Their spiritual beauty will be manifested in physical beauty as well. If somebody goes to Hell and his or her spouse goes to Heaven, then he or she will become the spouse of someone in Paradise who will be closer to him or her spiritually, through marriage. It is evident that a person going to hell will become incompatible with one going to paradise. But only God Alone knows who will be paired with who in the hereafter. It seems necessary to admit that we lack the faculty of perceiving the exact nature of the life in the hereafter, while we are in this material world which has its own limitations. So, this explanation is but to give a general idea of life after death in terms of our present life. The Holy Qur’an is quite explicit in this concern. It states: ‘And no soul knows what joy of the eyes is kept hidden from them, as a reward for the good they used to do.’[43] The Holy Prophetsa has said about the blessings of Paradise, ‘No eye has seen them, nor has any ear heard of them, nor can human mind conceive of them’.[44] The same is true about the punishments of Hell. Is Communication With the Dead Possible? At this juncture it seems relevant to answer this important question: Is it possible for us to have communication with those who have died? The answer is in the affirmative, but it depends solely upon the Will of God. Sometimes He does allow His servants to have communication with those in the hereafter, and this is done in the form of Kashf (vision). This is why others present at that moment do not hear such conversations. Once, the Holy Founderas of the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at stopped some five or six miles away from Hoshiarpur, during a journey en route to Qadian. He alighted from the ox-driven two-wheeled carriage saying, ‘This is a nice shady place, let us have a stop here for a while.’ There was a tomb of some Muslim saint at that place. He went to the tomb. The narrator, Hazrat Abdullah Sanorira says: “I followed behind him, while Sheikh Hamid Ali and Fateh Khan remained by the carriage. His Holiness went inside the tomb and raised his hands in prayer. He prayed for a while and returned and addressed me saying, ‘When I raised my hands for prayer, the inmate of the grave came out of the grave and sat in front of me respectfully. If you were not with me, I would have talked to him as well. He had a slightly dark complexion and large eyes.’ Then he said, ‘Look around, if there is some caretaker of the tomb, so that we may inquire from him about him.’ So, Huzur asked the caretaker, who said, ‘I personally have not seen him, for he died about a hundred years ago, but I have heard from my father or grandfather that he was a big saint in this area.’ When asked about his features, he said, ‘He had a slightly dark complexion and large eyes.’”[45] Again, in Hadith of Muslim, ‘Kitabul Jannati wa sifati Na’maiha wa ahliha’, it is narrated by Hazrat Anas bin Malikra that after the Battle of Badr the Holy Prophetsa went to the dead infidels and said, ‘O so-and-so son of so-and-so, have you found to be true what God and his Prophetsa promised you? Indeed, I have found to be true what God promised me.’ At this, Haḍrat Umarra said, ‘O Prophet of God, how can you talk to bodies which have no souls?’ He said, ‘You do not hear better what I am saying to them than they do, only they can’t respond.’ This means that God made their souls hear those words in Barzakh. Let it be clear that the claims of the so-called spiritualists that departed souls can communicate with living persons through some medium, are simply deceptive. The following illustration will suffice to convey the truth. In 1924, when Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, Khalifatul Masih II, Second worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, toured Europe, he visited a spiritualistic association or club on appointment. The spiritualist asked His Holiness whose spirit he wanted to call. ‘I would like the Holy Prophet Muhammad’ssa soul to come’, he replied. After a while the spiritualist told him that the required soul was there. Thereupon His Holiness said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, recite Surah Fatihah.’ The reply – through the medium (the spiritualist) – was predictably, ‘I don’t know’.[46] Is it at all possible that the Prophet Muhammadsa did not know Surah Fatihah, the Qur’anic chapter he had taught people throughout his life, which even young Muslim children memorise? The living can communicate with souls in kashf (vision). This is a God-given gift and is not earned by worldly efforts. Now, a few words about the soul’s connection with its body in the grave, from the Islamic perspective. The Holy Prophetsa said, ‘There is no Prophet but he remains in the grave (after death) for forty days.’[47] The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Communityas elaborating this, states: “This indicates that a person, be he a holy one, maintains a connection with the grave and this material world for a few days (after death) – some on account of longing for serving religion and others due to different reasons. Then this concern becomes feeble (and ceases) as if the deceased leaves the grave; otherwise, the soul immediately after death, without any delay, goes to heaven and stays there at its spiritual station.”[48] As the soul had been dwelling in the material body for several years, so after death it remembers it and maintains a connection with it for some time. This does not suggest that the soul remains in the body of the deceased for that period. Not at all. For, at death, it immediately reaches its destination in heaven. With the passage of time, this connection weakens and ultimately ceases to exist. It is like the link of a person with his native land who emigrates to some distant country forever. He continues remembering his native land for a certain period of time, then slowly this attachment diminishes and no longer exists. The holy person may meet certain deceased ones in Kashf only. Kashf is a very refined and advanced form of a dream. A dream is seen in sleep and the Kashf is seen whilst awake. When you see somebody in a dream, it does not mean that the person actually comes to you. Likewise, in Kashf you meet the deceased while his soul remains in its place in heaven. Islamic Rituals and Practices at the Time of Death In Islam, Surah Yasin (Chapter 36 of the Holy Qur’an) is recited near to a dying person to comfort him. When a person is about to die, Surah Yasin (36th chapter of the Holy Qur’an) is recited near him, because in this chapter death and the hereafter have been mentioned in a way that would comfort the dying person. Takbir and Kalima Shahadah are also recited in a low tone. When the person dies, those who are there and those who hear the news afterwards should say, ‘Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.’ This expresses a firm conviction in the hereafter. The eyes of the deceased are closed. By tying a band of cloth around the chin and head, the mouth is closed. There should be no wailing and lamentations. Patience should be maintained. While washing the dead body, first those parts are washed which are washed in during the ablutions for daily prayers. Then the right side of the body is washed, followed by the left side. The private parts should remain covered by a piece of cloth. Men should wash the male deceased, and women, the females. Of course, a husband may wash his deceased wife and vice versa. It is narrated that Hazrat Alira washed his wife Hazrat Fatimah’sra dead body.[49] Hazrat Abu Bakrra was washed by his wife Asma’ and his son Abdul Rahman to comply with his will.[50] For the shroud, a white cloth is recommended. Shroud for the male is a sheet for the upper part of the body, a sheet for the lower part, and a third large sheet to cover the entire body. For the female, in addition to these three pieces of cloth, two more are added, one for the chest and one for head. After this preparation, the body is carried on a bier to the place of the funeral prayer. The body of the deceased is placed in a position so that the right side of the body is towards the direction of the Ka’bah. Those present arrange themselves in rows. Let it be clear that it is not mandatory that the rows should be in odd number, as the Holy Prophetsa once led a funeral prayer and he arranged the attendants in two rows.[51] The Imam stands ahead of the rows in the middle, the dead body being in front of him. The funeral prayer has three parts. The Imam says ‘Allahu Akbar’ aloud (‘God is the Greatest’) while raising his hands up to the ears or shoulders, and returning them to the chest, right hand over the left. He then recites Thana silently followed by Surah Fatihah. The followers do the same behind the Imam. Then the Imam again says ‘Allahu Akbar’ aloud to begin the second part in which the blessings of Allah are invoked on the Holy Prophetsa. Then ‘Allahu Akbar’ is said aloud for the third part of the prayer. At this point the following funeral prayer is recited silently: “O Allah, forgive those of us who are living and those of us who are deceased and those of us who are present and those of us who are absent and our young ones and our old ones and our males and our females. O Allah, those of us whom Thou keepest alive, keep them alive in Islam, and whom Thou causest to die, cause them to die in faith. O Allah, deprive us not of the benefits relating to the deceased and put us not in trial after him.” The Imam then says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and turns his face right and left, saying ‘Assalamu alikum wa Rahmatullah’ each time. If the deceased is a child, the following prayer is added: ‘O Allah, make him/her for us a forerunner, a predecessor and a treasure and a reward and a pleader whose pleading is accepted.’ Now, the bier is carried to the cemetery, preferably on men’s shoulders; a vehicle may also be used. The body is lowered into the grave and the procession recite: ‘In the name of Allah’ in accordance with the way of the Prophet of Allahsa. After the burial, a brief, silent congregational prayer is offered with raised hands. Then the mourners leave the cemetery saying, ‘Peace be upon you, and we, God willing, will certainly join you.’[52] The words of the funeral prayer include the entire international Muslim Community – living and deceased, those present at the funeral prayer and absent, young and old, male and female. This depicts a universal Islamic brotherhood. Sometimes, some interests and benefits, spiritual or otherwise, are connected with the deceased, so the believers pray that the Community or the individual may not be deprived of their benefits even after the departure of the deceased. And sometimes the death of a person proves to be a setback for some individual or the Community, so the funeral prayer includes supplications to God that the death of the deceased may not become a source of trial for others. Let it be clear that when a Muslim stands by a grave and prays for the deceased, it does not mean that the deceased hears the words of the prayer. Prayer is addressed to God, and He is the All Hearing. Of course, if God so wills, He may let the deceased’s soul hear. The Holy Qur’an is quite clear about this point. It says: ‘Nor alike are the living and the dead. Surely, Allah causes him to hear whom He pleases; and thou canst not make those hear who are in graves.’[53] In a nutshell, the soul after departing the body is like a good or bad ‘seed’, according to one’s good or bad actions in this life, which develops in the state of Barzakh or ‘grave’ into a body with a very fine soul which is evolved within this body. Then, a complete person emerges from this state into the state of Resurrection, which is like ‘taking birth’. Naturally, this body will be healthy or diseased in accordance with the good or bad actions of a person’s in this life. This draws our attention towards always doing good deeds and shunning bad ones so as to be healthy in the next life and to go straight to Heaven and avoid being treated in the ‘hospital’ of hell. The heavenly life is eternal, death will die its own death there. Of course, after an exceedingly long period of time, which may be termed as ‘eternal’, this state may cease to exist if God so Wills. Endnotes 1. Dr Shahbaz Ahmad, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 71. 2. Ibid. 3. Edward Morgan MD, Clinical Anaesthesiology, 809. 4. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1951 Edition, Volume 7. 5. “Life after Death”, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 6. Daniel 12:2. 7. Ezekiel 37:4-6. 8. “Gehenna”, The Jewish Encyclopaedia. 9. Wherry, Vol. 1, (79; ch. 2). 10. Numbers (ch. 16). 11. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 12. Romans 5:12. 13. F.S Khairullah, Qamusul Kitab’ (Lahore: Masihi Isha’at Khana, 1997), 970. 14. “Death and Disposal of the Dead”, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 15. “Transmigration – Buddhist”, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 16. Kent A. Jacabsen, Three functions of Hell in Hindu Traditions. 17. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. 18. Holy Qur’an, Al-Zumar, Verse 43. 19. Ahmadiyyat or the True Islam, 205. 20. Holy Qur’an, Al-Mu’minun, Verses 116-117. 21. Holy Qur’an, ‘Abasa, Verses 18-23. 22. Holy Qur’an, Al-Mu’minun, Verses 100-101. 23. Holy Qur’an, Al Imran, Verse 107. 24. The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, p. 97. 25. Holy Qur’an, Al Imran, Verses 107-108. 26. Holy Qur’an, Al Nahl, Verses 29-30. 27. Holy Qur’an, Al Nahl, Verse 33. 28. “Tirmidhi”, Kitab sifatil Qiyamah. 29. Holy Qur’an, Bani Isra’il, Verse 73. 30. Holy Qur’an, Bani Isra’il, Verse 15. 31. Holy Qur’an, Al Saffat, Verses 52-56. 32. Holy Qur’an, Al Waqi‘ah, Verse 53. 33. Hakeem Muzaffar Husain A’wan, “Thohar”, Kitabul Mufradat, (Lahore, Hyderabad, Karachi: Sheikh Gulam Ali & Sons Ltd.). 34. Holy Qur’an, Al Naba’, Verses 25-27. 35. “Surah Hud”, Ma‘alimut Tanzil, Vol. 2, Verse 109. 36. Holy Qur’an, Al-Naba’, Verses 22-24. 37. Holy Qur’an, Al Dhariyat, Verse 57. 38. Holy Qur’an, Al Tahrim, Verse 9. 39. Holy Qur’an, Al Fatir, Verses 35-36. 40. Holy Qur’an, Al Taubah, Verse 72. 41. Holy Qur’an, Al Dukhan, Verse 55. 42. Holy Qur’an, Al Rahman, Verse 57. 43. Holy Qur’an, Al Sajdah, Verse 18. 44. “Bukhari”, Kitab Bad’il Khalq. 45. Tarikhe Ahmadiyyat, Vol. 1, 276. 46. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadra, Darsul Quran, 23 Ramadan, March 6, 1994. 47. Kanzul ‘Ummal, Kitabul Fadail, Albabuth Thani. 48. Izalah Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 227 (footnote). 49. Abu ‘Umar Yusuf, Alisti‘ab, Bab Al Nisa wa kunahunna, bab: Alfa, (Beirut: Kutub Al-Islamiyyah). 50. Muhammad Rada, Al Khulafa’ Al Rashidun (Al Kitab Al ‘Arabi). 51. Hadith of Muslim, Kitabul Janaiz, Bab Fit-Takbir ‘alal-janazah. 52. Salat (Islamabad: Islam International publications Ltd.). 53. Holy Qur’an, Al Fatir, Verse 23. By Malik Jamil R. Rafiq is the Principal of Jamia Ahmadiyya (Ahmadiyya Institute of Theology) in Rabwah, Pakistan. We present extracts from the writing of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (as), on displaying sympathy and compassion to all mankind and on the need to reform oneself to achieve this. These are re-published from the first volume of The Essence of Islam. The second aspect of devoting one’s life to the cause of God Almighty is that one’s life should be devoted to the service of His creatures and to sympathise with them and to share their burdens and sorrows. One should suffer pain to bring them comfort, and one should experience grief to bring them consolation. This shows that the reality of Islam is a very superior thing and that no one can truly deserve the title of Muslim till he surrenders the whole of his being to God, together with all his faculties, desires, and designs and till he begins to tread along His path withdrawing altogether from his ego and all its attendant qualities. A person will be truly called a Muslim only when his heedless life undergoes a total revolution and his evil-directing self, together with all its passions, is wiped out altogether and he is invested with a new life, which is characterised by his carrying out all his obligations to Allah; which should comprise nothing except obedience to the Creator and sympathy for His creatures. Obedience to the Creator means that in order to make manifest His Honour, Glory and Unity, one should be ready to endure every dishonour and humiliation, and one should be eager to undergo a thousand deaths in order to uphold His Unity. One hand should be ready to cut off the other with pleasure in obedience to Him, and the love of the grandeur of His commandments and the thirst for seeking His pleasure should make sin so hateful as if it were a consuming fire, or a fatal poison, or an obliterating lightning, from which one must run away with all one’s power. For seeking His pleasure one must surrender all the desires of one’s ego; and to establish a relationship with Him one should be ready to endure all kinds of injuries; and to prove such a relationship one must break off all other relationships. The service of one’s fellow-beings means to strive for their benefit purely for the sake of God in all their needs, and in all the relationships of mutual dependence which God has established out of true and selfless sympathy for them. All in need of help should be helped out of one’s God-given capacity and one must do his best for their betterment both in this world and in the hereafter.[2] The purport of my teaching is: Believe in God as One without associate, and have sympathy with God’s creatures and be of good conduct and think no ill. Be such that no disorderliness or mischief should approach your heart. Utter no falsehood, invent no lies and cause no hurt to anyone whether by your tongue or your hands. Avoid all manner of sin and restrain your passions. Try to become pure hearted, without vice. It should be your principle to have sympathy for all human beings. Safeguard your hands, your tongues and your thoughts against all impure objects and disorderly ways and all kinds of deceit. Fear God and worship Him with pure hearts. Refrain from committing wrong, trespass, embezzlement, taking bribes or unfair partisanship and keep away from evil companions. Safeguard your eyes against treachery and your ears against listening to backbiting. Entertain no ill designs against the members of any religion or any tribe or group. Be sincere counsellors for everyone. Let no mischief-maker or one given to bad behaviour ever be of your company. Shun every vice and try to acquire every virtue. Your hearts should be free from deceit, your hands should be innocent of wrong and your eyes should be free from impurity. Take no part in any evil or transgression. Put forth your utmost efforts to recognise God, finding Whom is salvation and meeting Whom is deliverance. He manifests Himself to him who seeks Him with love and sincerity of heart, and He reveals Himself to him who becomes truly His. Pure hearts are His thrones, and tongues that are free from falsehood, abuse and vain talk are the places of His revelation. He who loses himself in seeking His pleasure becomes a manifestation of His miraculous power.[3] If the superiority of any Prophet can be established by such works as proclaim true sympathy with mankind exceeding that of all other Prophets, then, O ye people, arise and bear witness that in this respect Muhammadsa has no equal in the world…. Blind worshippers of creatures have not recognised that great Prophetsa who set forth thousands of examples of true sympathy with mankind. I perceive, however, that the time has arrived when this Holy Messengersa would be recognised. If you wish you might record my statement that henceforth the worship of the dead will decline daily till it disappears altogether. Will man set himself up against God? Will a despised drop frustrate the designs of God? Will the projects of mortal man disgrace Divine commandments? O ye who can hear, listen, and O ye who can reflect, consider and remember that truth will be proclaimed and he who is the true light will shine forth.[4] Endnotes 1. This is a generic title given by The Review of Religions to describe the collection of quotes we have selected of Hazrat Ahmad, the Promised Messiahas. This title has not been used by the Promised Messiahas himself nor is it found in Essence of Islam. 2. A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 5, pp. 60- 62 (Eng. Translation in The Essence of Islam, Vol. 1. pp. 22-23). 3. (Kashf-ul-Ghita’, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 14, pp. 187-188 (Eng. Translation in The Essence of Islam, Vol. 1, pp. xxxiii-xxxiv). 4. (Majmu‘a Ishtiharat, Vol. 2, pp. 305-307 (Eng. Translation in The Essence of Islam, Vol 1, pp. 209-210). - See more at: http://www.reviewofreligions.org/11052/suffer-pain-to-bring-comfort-to-humanity/#sthash.IzVKdN3B.dpuf By Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad - The Promised Messiah and Mahdi (as) Religion Drips with Blood (chapter one) Did our history begin with the curse of Cain? It is a gory tale of murder, assassination and torture in any event. So much blood has been spilled throughout history that the whole world could be painted red with it – with plenty to spare. When will man stop killing his fellow men? When will his thirst for blood ever be quenched? Abel was the first man to be killed, by his brother, for no reason. The story of that murder has been preserved by the Qur’an and the Bible as a lesson to us all – it will remain as an example till the end of time. Study history, and one thing becomes clear: that man is an aggressive creature. His aggressiveness has been untamed by the growth of civilisation. Man is as cruel today as he was thousands of years ago. The story of his ruthlessness, his tyranny and his aggression is long and painful. The fire of human aggression has not been quenched even after thousands of years of savagery. Assassination of individuals and the annihilation of whole groups of peoples are a repetitive theme of history. States have attacked states; countries have fought against their neighbors and against nations far from their borders. Hordes of people living in the steppes and deserts conquered nations with ancient civilisations; blood was shed by Caesar and by Alexander; Baghdad was destroyed by Hulagu and Gengiz; the soil of Kurukshetra ran red with the blood of Kauravas and Pandavas. Sometimes blood was spilled in the name of honour, sometimes in the name of revenge for supposed wrongs. Sometimes angry hordes overran peaceful lands in search of food, sometimes in search of world domination. But more often the blood of man – created in God’s image – was shed in the name of his Creator. Religion was used as an excuse for mass murder. Seeing this aspect of human nature makes one wonder if mankind is not the basest and most ruthless species on earth. One expects religion to teach man to be civilised, yet religion itself drips with blood. This fact recalls the incident which took place at the time of the creation of Adam(as), described by both the Qur’an and the Bible. The Qur’an says: And when thy Lord said to the angels, ‘I am about to place a vicegerent in the earth,’ they said, ‘Wilt Thou place therein such as will cause disorder in it and shed blood? – and we glorify Thee with Thy praise and extol Thy holiness.’ He answered, ‘I know what you know not’. (Ch.2.V.31) This dialogue between the angels and God is baffling because any book on religious history would seem to prove that the angels were right. If so, why did God refuse to accept their ‘advice’ or uphold their objection to His plan? It was, in fact, an objection to prophecy itself and ultimately to the prophethood of the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad(saw). The history of religion in any part of the world at any time is the history of torture, repression, execution and crucifixion. It is disappointing indeed to find that religion, which is supposed to be the last refuge of peace in a world of war and conflict, is a cause of destruction and bloodshed. Religion itself is not the real cause of mass murder, however, and it is a mistake to think it is. Religion was not given to man to encourage killing. When one discovers, with mixed feelings of satisfaction and surprise, that God did not make religion for this purpose, one receives a ray of hope. The vicegerent of God, whose creation the angels questioned, was really a great reformer. The religion he preached was named Islam – the religion of peace. The question remains: why, at first glance, does history create the impression that religion sanctions bloodshed and murder in the name of peace? The Qur’an points out very clearly why a cursory glance at history can lead one to such a conclusion. It cites the past to show that those who perpetuate brutality in religion’s name are either anti-religious or people whose religion has been corrupted. There are also religious leaders who have no warmth, compassion, mercy or piety. To be honest, they are hypocrites with a lust for power. Cruelty is their ruling passion. It would be a great mistake to associate religion with the misdeeds of such men. The real truth is that God – the Fountainhead of Mercy – does not allow the followers of any religion to oppress His people. The Qur’an quotes many historical examples to prove this point. The early part of the prophets’ lives is given by the Qur’an as a standard for religious reform or for preaching. If physical force had been allowed by God, then surely it would have been permitted by the founders of religions. It is quite clear that force is forbidden. Those followers who came long after the prophets and preached by force either inherited a religion corrupted by time or were themselves corrupt. They used force in the name of religion, yet their religion opposed the use of force. The Qur’an’s religious history is full of examples of force and violence used in the name of religion by people who had no religion. People were tortured in the name of God by those who had not the faintest clue about God. Noah(as) who called people to righteousness and piety, was not an oppressor – those who wished to suppress his voice were in the wrong. On hearing Noah(as)’s message they said: ‘If you don’t desist, O Noah, you shall surely be one of those who are stoned.’ (Ch.26:V.117) The history of religious persecution, as told by the Qur’an, clearly shows that followers of true religion are the victims of violence. The Qur’an gives the example of Abraham(as), who called the people to God by using love, sympathy and humility. He had no sword…not a single weapon. But the elders of his people did exactly what the anti-religious opponents of Noah(as) had done. Abraham(as)’s father, Azar, said: “If you do not desist from your belief I shall stone you.” The words used by Azar were virtually identical to those used by Noah(as)’s enemies. Both Noah(as) and Abraham(as) were insulted and humiliated, both were beaten and tortured, yet both accepted it all with patience and fortitude. Having lit the fire of oppression and mischief, the tormentors of Abraham(as) tried to burn him alive. Those who opposed Lot(as) knew nothing whatsoever about religion. Yet they were his enemies and opposed him and his followers in religion’s name. They threatened him with violence; they warned him that he and his followers would be banished. They did their best to stop him teaching his religion. The persecutors of Shuaib(as) did the same and told him: ‘Assuredly we will drive you out and the believers with you from our town and you shall have to return to our religion.’ (Ch.7:V.89) By citing these examples, the Qur’an proves there is a pattern of conversion to true religion and also to the force used by the enemies of truth against such conversion. Shuaib(as)’s reply to the threats typifies the attitude of all God’s prophets. He said: ‘Even though we be unwilling?’ Is it possible to change hearts by force, can a man be reconverted to a religion he has discarded after discovering it to be false? And can he be reconverted after he has discovered the truth of a new religion? No dictator has ever been able to escape this logic. The historical fact is that the sword has never ruled and will never rule men’s hearts. If the human body can be subdued by force, then the soul cannot. Belief is a thing of the heart. It is human nature which never changes. Innocent people who are sentenced to death in the name of religion by those who do not understand it will continue to raise their voice against this injustice. They will forever pose the question: ‘Do you want us to stick to the beliefs our intelligence has rejected?’ Whenever this question has been asked, enemies of religion across the world have accused the prophets of apostasy and sentenced them to death. Inhumane torture and punishments were invented… the story of violence is one which never ends. Moses(as) and his followers met the same fate at the hands of the so-called religious heads of the time – Pharaoh, Haman and Korah – who said: ‘Slay the sons of those who have believed with him and let their women live.’ (Ch.40.V.26) Conversion from one religion to another was not punished by the prophets, yet they and their followers were punished for the so-called apostasy. After Moses(as), Jesus(as) endured similar torture and violence which culminated in an attempt to kill him on the Cross. Bloodshed and violence have always been carded out in religion’s name: their victims have throughout time been those found guilty of apostasy. Yet not a single revealed book sanctions the punishment of those who changed from one religion to another. If the texts of revealed Books have been altered by dishonest people, one can hardly blame the Books themselves. By their very nature, Books revealed to God’s prophets cannot teach violence. Making reference to the history of religions, the Qur’an proves that the prophets and their followers were victims of violence; who, nonetheless, accepted brutality with patience. It is beyond one’s belief that people who change faiths can be tortured in the name of religion, and prophets of God, who are sent to convert us, cannot accept it either. It makes nonsense of their own mission. The Qur’an also tells how a prophet’s followers are punished for conversion not only during his life, but for hundreds of years after his death. Such oppression has no sanction from God. Then there is the Qur’anic story of the people of the cave. These Christians were persecuted for 300 years, and I have seen the places where these poor people were tortured – the amphitheatres intended for gladiatorial combat with bulls and lions. It was in these places that naked Christians were thrown to hungry wild animals. The animals howled and made short shrift of the defenceless Christians. Sometimes these ‘apostates’ were thrown to bulls which had been starved for several days. The starving creatures bellowed and snorted and, with hissing screeches, attacked. The Christians were gored or trampled to death. And after this festival of blood, the laughing Romans returned joyfully home. The ‘apostates’ had been fittingly punished. But while the Christians’ legs trembled, their hearts beat strongly with faith in God. Their persecution went on intermittently for three centuries. And when they found no place to hide, they fled underground to the catacombs. These long labyrinths exist today and they remind us that the Christians could live with insects, scorpions and snakes but not with religious leaders in their fine clothes. As well as those people who fled underground – Ashab-ul-Kahf – the Qur’an also mentions other Christians who believed in the Unity of God and were burned alive for their pains. God says: “By the heaven having mansions of stars, and the Promised Day, and the witness and he to whom witness is borne, cursed be the Fellows of the Trench – the fire fed with fuel – when they sat by it and they were the witnesses of what they did to the believers. And they hated them not but only because they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy, to Whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Witness over all things.” (Ch.85:Vs.2-10) The enormity of these atrocities is made worse because of the so-called religious protectors who actually prevent worship of Allah; their victims feel a greater anguish from being prevented from worshipping than they do from torture itself. The Qur’an says: ‘And who is more unjust than the man who prohibits the name of Allah being glorified in Allah’s mosques and seeks to destroy them?’ (Ch.2:V.115) So the Qur’an totally rejects the use of force to suppress religious freedom. It declares that though such suppression takes place, true believers never use force to preach the name of Allah. So far we have told the story of the persecution of prophets who came before the time when God’s light was to illuminate the world. But eventually the sun of eternal truth rose on the skies of the Arab peninsula and the world was soon to bask in the light of Muhammad(saw)’s message. For thousands of years the world had awaited the greatest prophet. One hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets had lived and died in the hope of welcoming this Seal of the Prophets. The man for whom the whole world was created finally appeared, reflecting the full glory of his Creator. He was greater than all the prophets; his religion was complete. But he, too, was persecuted and his persecution was without precedence. Our Master and Lord, Prophet Muhammad(saw), endured every conceivable form of punishment, torture and torment suffered by the earlier prophets and their followers. Early Muslims were laid out in the blazing sun. Burning stones were put on their chests; they were dragged through the streets of Makkah like dead animals. They were shunned, and kept hungry and thirsty. They were thrown into dungeons, their belongings were seized and their families were broken up. Pregnant women were thrown off camels, their inevitable deaths the cause of merriment. Their dead bodies were cut asunder – even the liver of the Prophet’s uncle was eaten. They were cut down with swords and pierced by arrows. The Prophet(saw) was stoned by ruffians and vagabonds and was chased and pelted by urchins till the cobblestones of Taif ran red with his blood. And at the battle-ground of Uhud the Prophet(saw) was seriously wounded. This bloodshed took place in the name of religion, because Muslims said Rabbunallaha, our Lord, is Allah. This persecution and torture was perpetrated in the name of religion because, according to the polytheists of Makkah, the Prophet’s and the Muslims were apostates. The polytheists called the Prophet and his followers ‘Sabi’—people who discard their ancestral religion and adopt a new one. In order to put down this ‘evil’, the Makkans adopted methods of torture and suppression which had been used by their predecessors. Muhammad(saw) and his followers suffered patiently and with fortitude for a long time to prove that evil is caused by anti-religious people and not by followers of the truth. The Prophet(saw), exalted by Allah to a position with no equal, showed his persecutors only unsurpassable love, mercy and forgiveness in return for their evil. When victory finally came and the polytheists of Makkah were subdued by the Prophet(saw), he ordered a general amnesty. There was no massacre and no punishment for his persecutors. No arrests were made. No executions took place. Instead of retribution there was the Qur’anic proclamation: ‘Let no reproach be on you this day. May Allah forgive you. He is the most merciful of the merciful.’ That day the cruellest of the cruel were pardoned. Those who had tormented helpless slaves on the burning sand were forgiven. Those who had dragged Muslims through the streets like dead animals were absolved. Those who had breached the peace were pardoned, as were those who had stoned defenceless Muslims – even the woman who had eaten the liver of the Prophet(saw)’s uncle. If the history of the world from Adam(as) to the present day were ever lost – and with it the record of every persecution and of every charter of human rights – a glance at the life of the Prophet(saw) would more than prove that true religion does not cause hatred, persecution, repression or the suppression of thought. But the Prophet(saw) did not confine his teachings to calling for religious tolerance. Since the Prophet(saw) of Islam is ‘A Mercy for the Universe’ (Ch.21:V.108), a general proclamation is made by the Qur’an: ‘There shall be no compulsion in religion.’ Compulsion is unnecessary because, ‘Guidance and error have been clearly distinguished’ (Ch.2:V.257) and there is no possibility of confusing the two. On the face of it, this proclamation seems unusual and anomalous. On one hand there was an arbitrary authority, hell-bent on wiping out a small group of people because of their ‘apostasy’ with every means at its disposal. And when this group of ‘apostasy’ gained power, it was told by the Qur’an to proclaim that: “There shall be no compulsion in religion, for guidance and error have been clearly distinguished; so whoever refuses to be led by those who transgress and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle – one which knows no breaking.” (Ch.2:V.257) But it must be noted that this proclamation is made in the second chapter of the Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, which was revealed in the first two or three years after the Prophet(saw)’s arrival in Madinah, a place where Muslims were not only free from Makkan persecution but also held power. What could be a more human and generous proclamation of peace from a prophet who, only a year or two earlier, had been persecuted for ‘changing his religion’? People who persecute in the name of religion are totally ignorant of the essence of religion. Religion is a metamorphosis of hearts. Religion is not politics and its adherents do not make up political parties. Neither is it a nationality with limited loyalties, nor a country with geographical borders. It is the transformation of hearts – transformation for the good of the soul. The home of religion is in the depths of the heart. It is beyond the sway of the sword. Mountains are not moved by the sword, nor are hearts changed by force. While persecution in the name of religion is the repetitive theme in the history of human aggression, freedom of conscience is the Qur’an’s repetitive theme. The Prophet(saw) was asked again and again to proclaim: ‘This is the truth from your Lord; let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve.’ (Ch.18:V.30) Truth is obviously a matter of the heart; it has nothing to do with force. Once it has been beheld it cannot be blotted out by any power. Hence the Qur’an’s assertion that once truth is known it is our choice to accept or reject it. Yet, elsewhere, the Qur’an says: ‘Verily, this is a reminder: so whosoever wishes may take to the way that leads to his Lord.’ (Ch.76:V.30) No charter of human rights can surpass the clarity of the Qur’anic phrase faman Shaa’ (whosoever wishes). The word ‘whosoever’ is all inclusive. It is surprising that after such a clear declaration anyone could possibly think that Islam supports the use of force. Again, in the 39th chapter of the Qur’an, the Prophet(saw) is ordered to tell unbelievers: ‘It is Allah I worship in sincerest obedience.’ Now, as far as you are concerned, ‘Worship what you like besides Him.’ (Ch.39:V.16) Since freedom of conscience – freedom to believe and to preach – is the cornerstone of religion, and repression of religious heresy is the aim of antireligious forces, the Qur’an lays great emphasis on the freedom of conversion. The last line of Chapter 109 of the Qur’an sums up the basic principle of a true religion. ‘For you, your religion and for me, my religion.’ In an earlier passage, God refers to the same principle by asking a rhetorical question. Addressing the Holy Prophet(saw), He says: ‘If thy Lord had enforced His will, surely all those on earth would have believed, without exception? Will thou, then, take it upon thyself to force people to become believers?’ (Ch.10:V.108). In the scheme of creation, man must have complete free will to believe or otherwise; there is no compulsion; a man must use his reason and understanding. After all, faith is a gift given by God to those He thinks deserve it. One hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets were sent by God and showed, by their teaching and example, that the bearers of the divine message are the oppressed, not the oppressors. The prophets won over hearts by moral and spiritual strength, not by physical force. It is a great tragedy that the ordained priests and the turbaned Mullahs with their flowing robes of ‘piety’ became the tormentors of the innocent in the name of oppressed prophets. They monopolised religion, yet they knew nothing of it. They claimed to protect the honour of their prophets by maligning others, by spreading malicious lies and, above all, by perpetrating crimes of violence which shamed humanity. They did it before the birth of the Holy Prophet(saw). They do it still. In medieval Europe, the so-called followers of Christ(as) – the popes and the prelates, cardinals and canons, and the elders of the Church – wrote a chapter of terror into the history books. St Augustine called it ‘righteous persecution which the Church of Christ inflicts upon the impious’ (1). Today’s Christian historians admit that this ‘righteous persecution’, inflicted in Christ(as)’s name, was a disgrace to the Church. Madame Tussaud’s waxworks museum in London has a strange, moving and terrifying exhibition of this persecution. The museum was originally founded in Paris in 1770 and moved to England in 1802. Its walls are lined with waxworks of famous and infamous people. Its Chamber of Horrors is a kind of underground dungeon. The figures there have been modelled into such uncanny likenesses that you can almost see them breathing. Many visitors there have stopped to ask directions from a friendly looking curator, only to find they have been talking to a dummy! On display are the death-masks from the guillotined heads of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, which were personally cast by Madame Tussaud. There are authentic gallows with other instruments of torture: pillory, stocks, whipping-post, ducking-stool, iron maiden rack, galleys, bed of Procrustes, cross, gibbet, halter and many others. Some exhibits are so gruesome that they are covered with screens to keep them away from children and squeamish adults. It is a strange world where a man can rise to the heights of prophethood and talk with his Creator, then sink to the depths of becoming a priest and questioning Joan of Arc about her visions of angels. He can sink even lower and become an inquisitor. The instruments of torture shown at Madame Tussaud’s tell the tragic story of the Spanish and French Inquisitions. Innocent people were tortured for their so-called apostasy; they were forced to confess that they had recanted from the true religion. When they refused, they were whipped and flogged, put on the rack, lynched, impaled, pilloried, branded and burned. The victims either confessed or died a miserable death. These dignitaries of the Church in all their finery, who tortured innocent Christians, remind one of Christ(as) with his crown of thorns, bleeding on the Cross and crying with a loud voice: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ (Matthew 27:46). These were the people who symbolically consumed the flesh and blood of Christ(as) at Communion services, yet could not recall that the Pharisees had asked Pontius Pilate to crucify Christ(as) because he had ‘apostasised’ and abandoned the religion of his forefathers. But the crucifixion of Christ(as) pales into insignificance when compared with the Inquisition of medieval Christians. It is with a sense of relief and, indeed, pride that Islam, with its declaration of ‘no compulsion in the matter of belief’, has finally closed the door on such atrocities in the name of religion. But this sense of relief and pride is only short-lived. Any Muslim will lower his head with shame when he sees today’s ‘ulema [Muslim clergy] vying with what the Christian priests of medieval Europe did to devise new ways of suppressing freedom of thought and conscience. And yet these are the very ‘ulema who claim to protect the honour of the Holy Prophet(saw) whom the Qur’an describes as a ‘Mercy for the Universe’. These ‘ulema claim to be the very personification of mercy, but their hearts are without compassion. Instead, they are filled with anger. The use of force in the name of religion has now become part of their faith. In the name of God’s holy water – sent to cool our tempers – they kindle the fires of hatred and anger in the hearts of the innocent. The followers of the Prince of Peace(saw), whose blood cleansed barbaric Arabia, are now being persuaded to murder helpless people. In the name of the protector of poor people’s unguarded homes his followers are encouraged to rob the homes of people who are powerless to defend themselves. In the name of the Prophet(saw) who protected the honour of even the wives of ruffians, the happy and loving marriages of Muslim women are annulled and transformed into adulterous relationships. In the name of the builder of the first mosque in Madinah, who offered it to the Christians of Najran for Sunday services, in the name of the Prophet(saw) who taught his followers to respect the temples of other faiths, today’s ‘ulema incite the masses to destroy the mosques of a small group of people whose lives are devoted to the spreading of shahada. The unjust acts the Prophet(saw) condemned and banned forever are now being perpetrated in his very name. What would the Holy Prophet(saw) think if he could see the ‘ulema of his umma falsely accusing the elders of other Muslim groups of all sorts of misdeeds and shouting abuse about women and housewives? How will an agnostic react to this demonstration of ‘religious zeal’? What Muslim could think, even for a moment, that our Prophet(saw), would have advised the ‘ulema of his ummah to deliver provocative, disruptive speeches; or that he would have ordered them to deliver such fiery sermons that entire villages of poor and helpless people would be set ablaze? Not satisfied with all this, could the Prince of Peace(saw) have told religious leaders to treat as apostates all those Muslims whose understanding of Islam did not conform to their own? Would he have sanctioned the killing of them and their women and the destruction of their mosques – said to be the only divine way to blot out apostasy? These are the questions about which we should all think seriously. Muslims should consider the attitude of these ‘ulema. For suppression, torture, execution, arson and the razing of mosques are not the Prophet(saw)’s tradition. Every stone in the streets of Makkah over which the so-called apostates were dragged bears witness to this. Every grain of burning Arabian sand where helpless people were tortured for accepting Islam does the same. The cobbles of Taif, where the blood of the Holy Prophet(saw) was spilled, bear witness to the fact that our great Master mercifully did not teach that religious belief was compulsory, that he did not order the burning of houses of worship in the name of worship or the dishonouring of women in the name of honour. Muslims hang their heads in shame and their souls cry out over today’s religious leaders who preach violence in the name of the Prophet(saw). Murder in the Name of Allah can be read in its entirety at: http://www.alislam.org/library/books/mna/index.html Murder in the Name of Allah was written by Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru), Khalifatul Masih IV, Fourth Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community. It is based on the Urdu book Mazhab ke Nam per Khoon which was written in the 1950s and inspired by the extremely violent 1953 anti-Ahmadiyya riots in Pakistan. Instigated by the Jama’at-i-Islami and Abul A‘la Maududi, a leading Sunni cleric of the time, the riots involved large scale looting, murder and arson attacks against members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Murder in the Name of Allah is a reminder that the purpose of any religion is to spread peace, tolerance and understanding. It argues that the meaning of Islam – submission to the will of God – has been steadily corrupted by minority elements in society. Instead of spreading peace, the religion has been abused by fanatics and made an excuse for violence and the spread of terror, both inside and outside the faith. In light of the recent Lahore attacks against two Ahmadi mosques resulting in 86 martyrdoms, we reproduce below the first chapter from this book. ISBN: 978-0718828059 By Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru), Khalifatul Masih IV, Fourth Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community. To read more interesting and inspiring articles like this visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. By Adam Walker I don’t know who you are or what you represent. Whatever it is, it couldn’t be any further from me and other ordinary citizens of the world, be they Muslims or otherwise. You see, humanity unites most of us, but it seems like an alien concept to you. However I write to you with the faintest hope that there may be some amongst you who are uncomfortable with the dreadful deeds you have committed recently. In the short time since you came into existence you have maimed scores of mothers, fathers and children through your indiscriminate bombings. Now you cause complete agony to the relatives of the hundreds young and innocent girls you have kidnapped. These poor girls haven’t even properly embarked on the journey of their lives. As a father, I know the anguish of being unaware of my child’s whereabouts even for a moment; but of these mothers' distress, I can’t even begin to fathom. I gather that Boko Haram means “western education is forbidden”. This gives some indication to your motives. Leaving aside the education aspect for a moment, is there any merit to what you have done? The kidnapping of these poor girls, their forced marriage for the sake of base carnal passion, or their sale as commodities, reviving the abhorrent practice of slavery, is beyond all belief and humanity. The Koran – the book you claim to follow - firmly asserts that detaining or enslaving women against their will is completely forbidden [4:20]. It also emphatically rejects the idea of holding captive prisoners of war unless there is ongoing and regular fighting [8:68]. Do you then claim that ''strong men'' such as yourselves are at war with 16 year-old girls? The Hadith-e-Qudsi, the second most revered texts in Islam after the Holy Koran, states that one who enslaves and trades a free person has declared war with his creator. Going against these principles, not only have you rejected the very tenets which set civilisations apart from cavemen, but you have declared war against the same God who you claim to worship. You appear to have a deep-rooted issue with western education. The Holy Koran, however, teaches a prayer: “Oh our Lord, increase for us our knowledge”. It did not differentiate between the type knowledge in this prayer. It is full of similar injunctions. It invites us to ponder over the creation of earth, sun moon and the heavens. Much of this is taught within the secular system. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) declared it to be the obligation of every man and woman to acquire knowledge. You may not have realised this, but the pioneer Muslims of early and medieval Islam gave everything to increase their knowledge and impart it further. They learnt and they taught. They lived by the Hadith that “wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim” and were always eager to excel. They learnt new languages, translated books between various languages, such as the great Greek texts of the ancient world. Their graft and toil introduced many branches of modern science to the world. Western education has many reasons to be grateful to those people and their names are etched in the golden pages of history, both Islamic and secular. I doubt history will be so kind in its record of your existence. Perhaps you don’t care about your position in history, but what about the God who you claim to believe in? What about the Prophet who you claim to follow and love? The Koran starts with the introduction to God who is merciful, compassionate and gracious. Have you shown even an ounce of any of these attributes? As for the Prophet, he has been addressed as “mercy for mankind” and a “life-giving prophet”. Therefore, adopt a course of mercy and do so by first returning the girls you hold captive to their anguished mothers. By Adam Walker, UK. To read more from this and other inspiring and enlightened writers visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this blog with your friends and family. The physical resurrection and ascension of Jesus(as) is a most crucial facet of the Christian faith. The entire foundation of Christian belief is based on the supernatural and miraculous resurrection of Jesus’(as) atonement for the sins of mankind through his death. If, however, we choose to believe that Jesus(as) actually died on the cross, we would also have to admit that all his efforts were lost in vain, and that it was a shameful end of his ministry on the cross. The previous articles in this Edition explained how God saved the Prophet Jesus(as) from being killed on the cross to prevent him from dying an ‘accursed death’, and in answer to his supplications to be saved. Here, we will examine evidence that the reliability of the Gospel accounts is highly contentious and does not provide any firm evidence of Jesus’(as) physical or spiritual resurrection or ascension. If this is proved to be true, it would indicate that Jesus(as) survived the crucifixion and was alive. The Credibility of the Resurrection Narratives Jesus’(as) Body Placed in the Tomb In Mark 15:46 and Luke 23:50-54, Joseph of Arimathea takes the body of Jesus(as) and lays him in an open tomb. According to Matthew 27:59-60, 66, Joseph of Arimathea takes the body of Jesus(as), lays it in his own new tomb and the Roman guards secure the front of the tomb. John 19:41 has a different interpretation altogether where Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea take the body of Jesus(as), anoint him with spices, wrap the body and place it in the open tomb in the garden nearby. Visiting the Tomb Church of the Holy Sepulchre According to Mark 16:1-2, Mary Magdalene, Mary (follower of Jesus(as)) Mother of James and Salome , take spices to anoint the body and arrived at the tomb when the sun had risen. In Mathew 28:1 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the grave as it began to dawn. According to Luke 24:10, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Joanna, and other women took spices which they had prepared the night before to anoint Jesus(as) body and they arrived at early dawn. John 20:1 says only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb when it was still dark. When is the Tomb Stone Rolled Away? Who is at the Tomb? In Mark 16:3-4,5, the women arrive at the tomb, the tombstone is already rolled away and one angel is sitting on the right side, inside the tomb. According to Matthew 28:1-2, the women arrive at the tomb, there is an earthquake, then an angel appears, removes the tomb stone and sits on it. In Luke 24:2, 4, when they arrived, the stone had already been removed and two angels are standing by the women, inside the tomb. In John 20:1-2, 12, when Mary arrived, the stone had already been taken away, she sees the missing body, runs out and when she comes back the second time then she sees two angels one at the head and the other at the feet where Jesus(as) was laid. The Reaction of the Women after Discovering the Missing Body, and the First Appearance of Jesus(as) According to Mark 16: 6-8, the angel was told to go and tell the disciples that Jesus(as) has risen and was travelling towards Galilee. The women left the tomb trembling with fear, and did not say anything to anyone. In verse 9, Jesus(as) appears to Mary Magdalene. It is not clear where he met her. It was some time after she fled the tomb. Matthew 28:4-8, 9, mentions how the guards shook with fear at the appearance of the angels. The women were told to go and tell the disciples that Jesus(as) has risen and would see them in Galilee. The women left quickly with joy and ran to let the disciples know, but they met Jesus(as) on the way in Jerusalem before they saw the disciples. Matthew further adds, in verses 11-14, that while the women were on their way, the guards went into the city and reported what had happened to the chief priests. They assembled with the elders who consulted and decided to give the soldiers a large sum of money, and instructed them to tell people that: ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep. And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.’ They took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. In Luke’s story (24:5-11) the women are terrified, the two angels tell them that Jesus(as) had risen. They return and inform the disciples, who would not believe them. Peter runs to the tomb and sees the linen wrappings. Luke’s account of the first appearance of Jesus(as) is different to Matthew and Mark. Luke mentions that on their way home about 7 miles away from Jerusalem in Emmaus, Cleopas and another (not Mary Magdalene) met Jesus(as) who accompanied them on their way, but they do not recognise him. When they reached the village they asked him to stay, and they recognised Jesus(as) when he sits to eat with them, but after that, he disappears. John 20:11-18 gives a completely contradictory account in comparison to the synoptics (Mark, Matthew and Luke). The angels ask Mary why she was crying. As Mary was about to respond, she turned around and saw Jesus(as), disguised as gardener, standing there. There are no angels giving instructions to Mary in John’s story. On the contrary, in the Fourth Gospel, it is Jesus(as) who appears to Mary in person, not the two angels, telling her that he has risen. John’s account also does not mention the Roman soldiers, whom Matthew places at the tomb. Without the presence of the guards at the tomb, John’s Mary believed that Jesus(as)’ body had been removed from the tomb. Jesus’(as) Other Appearances after Leaving the Tomb A tomb near Nazareth dating to the 1st Century. It is likely that Jesus(as) may have been placed in a similar, airy tomb. It is widely believed that Mark 16:9-20 is a much later insertion which is not found in the earlier ancient manuscripts of the New Testament Gospels. However, the later addition asserts that Jesus(as) appeared to the eleven disciples telling them to preach to the whole world. However, in Matthew 28:16-20, the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus(as) had designated. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some were doubtful. Then Jesus(as) told his disciples to preach: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.’ In Luke 24:36-49, Jesus’(as) followers were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. He said to them: ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And then showed them his hands and his feet. He said, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of fish; which he took and ate in front of them. Then Jesus(as) explains the Law of Moses, the prophets and Psalms to his disciples indicating that they must be fulfilled. According to John 20:19-30, in the evening on the same day, Jesus(as) met his disciples behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, and he showed them his hands, feet and his side. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus(as) made this appearance to all the eleven surviving Disciples. Paul’s version mentions the presence of all twelve Apostles (1 Corinthians 15:5), although Judas had long since died (Matthew 27:5, Acts 1:18). Contrary to all this, John’s story places only ten disciples at the scene, Thomas being absent! (John 20:24). Strangely, Paul never mentions the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus(as). He also does not mention the empty tomb, appearances to the Disciples, or the ascension of Jesus(as) into heaven. In Galatians 1, he mentions that he first met Jesus(as) in a ‘revelation’ on the road to Damascus, not in the flesh. 1 Corinthians 15; Paul says the original eye-witnesses—Peter, James, the twelve Disciples, and hundreds of others—saw Jesus(as) the same way Paul did, then he describes how the body that dies is not the body that rises. This indicates quite strongly that Paul did not believe in the physical resurrection, but something completely different. The Resurrection and Ascension Many scholars, including Constantine Von Tischendorf—the noted German Biblical scholar and author of Criticial Edition of the New Testament—generally agree that the author of Mark pureposely stopped at verse 16:8. This means that the original version of the Gospel did not describe any post-resurrection appearances of Jesus(as). According to the later additional verses of Mark 16:14-19, Jesus(as) went up to heaven and sat at the right hand of God, but there is no clear evidence that this is an accurate reference. There is only one account of the ascension in Luke 24:50-51. This was also omitted in the early ancient texts. The cross-reference to the ascension is in Acts 1:9-12; the author of Acts is also Luke. If the original reference was omitted in Luke, then it does not have much credibility in Acts at all. Inside the Edicule, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, where many believe Jesus(as) was first buried. The resurrection narratives would thus be deemed unreliable and a cause for real concern, because of the conflicting inconsistencies. In fact, it appears that the resurrection became a growing legend over time as the Gospels slowly emerged one by one several decades after the crucifixion (each author of the Gospel adds an addition to the story one after the other) because of contradictions in the accounts. The main issue to bear in mind is that, how can it be possible that such a crucial and essential tenet of the Christian faith as the resurrection is recorded so poorly and inaccurately? If this was truly a divine and miraculous event, then surely God would have enabled the account of Jesus’(as) resurrection to be safeguarded and preserved in its actual form of the Biblical narratives as a primary and fundamental source of reference for its followers. The Gospel narratives clearly indicate that the appearances to the Disciples were real and actually happened. The evidence that the New Testament narratives provide, are that Jesus(as) was alive and he was not roaming the world in a supernatural state as a ghost or spirit. He had all the faculties and signs of a living human being, expressing the need to physically eat and drink, and his followers could touch his physical body. He was disguising himself and was hiding out of fear of persecution. Yet he was mindful of his incomplete mission, and continued to guide his disciples whilst in hiding. All of these facts indicate that he was not God. For arguments sake, even if he was, then why would there be a need for God to be incarnated and resurrected? It is very likely and plausible that the idea of the physical resurrection was borrowed from the idea of gods being expected to raise people bodily from the dead. Associating Jesus(as) with this idea would have been a very easy mistake to make at the time: ‘Babylonian folklore claimed that Tammuz was worshipped during the spring. However, after he was slain, his mother (Easter) so wept that he became alive again. The manifestation of his resurrected life was the arrival of vegetation in the spring. When Jesus(as) arose in the spring following his crucifixion, logic seemed to dictate a connection between ignominious fable and the glorious fact. Then, when the church later desired to become popular with pagan and saint, it amalgamated the celebration of Jesus(as) resurrection with the fertility rites, eggs, and other accoutrements of a pagan holiday. After all Easter celebrated the arrival of spring, the resurrection of life from the dead of winter. What could be more appropriate?’[1] Earliest Sources The inaccuracies, contradictions and inconsistencies in the New Testament cast a great shadow of doubt on its reliability and accuracy. In view of this, the most ardent scholars have attempted to go back to the original early sources (ancient texts of the Bible in the form of Codices, fragments and manuscripts) in the aim to try and trace exactly what happened during the life of Jesus(as). Such ancient sources have come to light through archeological findings. After decades of excavation, archaeological discoveries have provided evidence and assisted researchers in the verifying the reliability of the Old and New Testaments. Some discoveries have shed completely new light on the Biblical stories. Amongst the discoveries were: A portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, from one of the leaves that at the time was at the University of Leipzig, containing Esther 2:3-8. (The majority of the manuscript is now at the British Library, London: the other parts are in Leipzig, the National Library at St. Petersburg, Russia, and St Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai in Egypt.) (Source: Plate XXII. The S.S. Teacher’s Edition: The Holy Bible. New York: Henry Frowde, Publisher to the University of Oxford, 1896.) ‘Over 1000 previously unknown documents, written in Greek, Arabic, Syrian, Armenian, Ethiopian, Gregorian and Latin. This astonishing collection, buried for nearly 200 years and unknown to the outside world for nearly 2000, must be included in the sequence of major twentieth-century discoveries that includes the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic Gospels’.[2] Amongst the discovered Codices, the masterpiece was the Codex Sinaitcus, which is the oldest surviving Bible in the world. The Codex Sinaticus is also one of the most important witnesses to the Greek text of the Septuagint (the Old Testament in the version that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians) and the Christian New Testament. This manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the Fourth Century has immensely contributed to the reconstruction of the original Christian Biblical text and history. Resurrection and Ascension References in the Early Texts When examining early texts, the process of searching for the truth becomes ever more complicated for Christians: ‘According to St Marks Gospel, as contained in Codex Sinaiticus, They went out and ran away from the tomb, beside themselves with terror. They said nothing to anybody, for they were afraid. There, according to codex Sinaiticus, the Gospel of mark comes to an end. It does not so end, of course, in the Authorized Version of the English Bible, nor in the received texts of any of the orthodox Christian Churches. Their version all continued with a further 12 verses.’[3] ‘The scribe who brought Mark’s Gospel to an end in Codex Sinaiticus had no doubt that it finished at chapter 16, verse 8. He underlined the text with a fine artistic squiggle, and wrote, The Gospel according to Mark. Immediately following begins the Gospel of Luke.’[14] In Luke 24:51 we are told how Jesus(as) left his Disciples following the resurrection. ‘He blessed them, was parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.’ This last phrase ‘and was carried up into heaven’ does not appear in Codex Sinaiticus or in Codex Vaticunus. According to the textual critic C.S.C. Williams, if this omission is correct, then ‘There is no reference at all to the Ascension in the original text of the Gospels.’[5] Interestingly, Bentley points out that: ‘The early century manuscripts Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Syriacus, Codex Vaticunus and Codex Bobiensis do not contain the last twelve verses of the Gospel of Mark. This is a notable omission: it is these verses only which contain the description of Jesus(as) resurrection appearance. Since Mark’s (in accordance with the Synoptic theory, discovery of who wrote first amongst Mathew, Mark and Luke) account seems to be not only the earliest but also that on which Matthew and Luke based their accounts, a question arises: what is the basis for the accounts of Jesus’(as) bodily resurrection according to Matthew, Luke and John?’[6] The Ending of Mark Regarding the abrupt ending of Mark, Bentley writes: ‘Once we assume that Mark was written first and used by at least two of the other evangelists, we are forced to ask whether or not they, so to speak, watered down what he had to preach. John Fenton makes no bones about this. Mark’s theology, he asserts, was too rigorous for the church, and the revisions that were made by Matthew, Luke and John were adaptations to meet the weakness of human nature. Everywhere in his Gospel, Mark presupposes that Jesus(as) is alive…The extra twelve verses we have already quoted were probably added by a presbyter named Aristion in the second century.’[7] Did Jesus(as) Predict his Own Resurrection? ‘And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.’ (John 3:13) This reference relates to a visit by Nicodemus (John 3). Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Jesus(as), therefore he would visit him in the night. Jesus(as) welcomed him. Nicodemus did not talk with Jesus(as) about the state affairs, though he was a ruler, he discussed his own concerns of his own spiritual state. Jesus(as) explained the necessity and nature of regeneration or a new birth to be born again. Here Jesus(as) is talking about a spiritual rebirth and reformation. Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus(as) and he acknowledged this, which showed his desire to be better informed. What Jesus(as) was trying to preach was the necessity for change in order to be fit enough to ‘enter into the kingdom of God till we are born again.’ This refers to the hereafter and the Day of Resurrection, not Jesus’(as) own bodily resurrection and ascension. Christians have interpreted this verse to mean that Jesus(as) was omnipresent, but Jesus(as) never made such a claim. What the Biblical references refer to is that he was fearful of times to come and spoke very clearly and openly. Resurrection Theories Christians traditionally believe that Jesus(as) died and rose supernaturally, and miraculously. However, others have provided other theories relating to the empty tomb. One such theory is that Jesus’(as) body went missing, or was stolen. Regarding this, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(rh), the Fourth Successor to the Promised Messiah(as) said: ‘We know for certain that the Jews were unhappy and disturbed at not finding the body of Jesus Christ(as). They wanted to be sure of Jesus’(as) death and for that they needed the universally acceptable proof of death, that is, the presence of a dead body. Their complaint, lodged with Pilate, evidently displays their uneasiness about its potential disappearance. The real and simple answer, however, lay in the fact that as Christ had not died in the manner that was believed so the question of a missing body was totally irrelevant, and in keeping with his promise he must have left Judea in search of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Obviously he could not be seen again.’[8] Conclusion Christian belief relies on the historical event of the resurrection. If Jesus(as) was not bodily resurrected, He was not God, He did not redeem mankind and Christianity would have no standing. As Paul Says: ‘If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!’ (1 Corinthians 15:17.). If Jesus(as) could not rise from the dead, He is not the saviour and faith is a lie. The fact remains that God saved Jesus(as) from dying as a result of the most extreme, shameful form of punishment, that of crucifixion. He did not die as a criminal, openly, shamefully and disgracefully in the eyes of the world: ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’ (Galatians 3:13). Jesus(as) has been a dominant figure in history for over the last two thousand years, but more evidence will continue coming to light to prove that Jesus(as) did not die on the cross, he was not resurrected and he did not ascend to heaven. God the Exalted says in the Holy Qur’an: ‘O Jesus(as), I will cause thee to die a natural death and will exalt thee to Myself, and will clear thee from the charges of those who disbelieve, and will place those who follow thee above those who disbelieve, until the Day of resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, and I will judge between you concerning that wherein you differ. (Ch.3:V.56) Prior to his crucifixion, Jesus(as) instructed his followers: These twelve Jesus(as) sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7) But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. (Matthew 10:23) Jesus(as) escaped the clutches of his persecutors and the son of man continued his mission in search of the lost sheep of Israel. Navida Sayed is on the Editorial Board of The Review of Religions. She has been the Coordinator of the Ahmadiyya Community’s Lajna Research Team UK since 1992, whose work has predominantly revolved around Biblical Studies. Endnotes
By Navida Sayed, UK. To read more interesting articles from talented writers like this visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com. Please feel free to comment and share this article with your friends. Due to unfortunate political circumstances and a devastating civil war that has resulted in over 100,000 deaths, Syria has come to the world’s attention in recent years. However, Syria has also been a melting pot of culture and religion for many millennia. This article traces the story of the ebb and flow of religion in Syria. Syria has been a hub of cultural flow for over 10,000 years, sitting at the epicentre of Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Rome. Over thousands of years, not only was Syria exposed to and occupied by the great cultures and empires of the region, but it also saw a flow of religious ideas and theologies. Waves of new influences brought new advances such as the Muslim development of Damascus. This article explores the history of the cultures and religions that influenced Syria. Ancient Syria Ancient Syria sat at the crossroads of many great civilisations and on numerous trade routes (Silk Route and Persian Royal Road) that led to Persia, Central Asia, India and China. It is therefore unsurprising that several great ancient cities sprang up in Syria. From around 2000 B.C.E., as the great empires emerged, Syria was inhabited by the Canaanites, the Phoenician traders of Lebanon, the Arameans of Syria, the Egyptians, Sumerians and Assyrians of Iraq and the Babylonians and Hittites of Turkey. The language of the region was Aramaic; the same language that Jesusas would speak to his early followers. Centuries later, Alexander the Great took Syria around 334 B.C.E. and made it part of his Seleucid (Greek-influenced) empire. The Jewish Hasmoneans tried to exert control, but the Romans took Antioch in 64 B.C.E. and made Syria a Roman Province. The Byzantine Christians held sway as Syria became a key province. Over this period, Syria held prominence in providing two of the Roman Emperors of the time. Some notable examples of Ancient Syrian cities include the following: Aleppo: people began living here from the 6th century B.C.E., and during the Ottoman empire, it was the third largest Muslim city after Istanbul and Cairo. Aleppo was at the start of the Silk Route to China. Aleppo is still the largest city in Syria. Antioch: ancient city near modern Antakya on the Syria-Turkish border founded in the 4th century B.C.E. At its height, it had a population of half a million people and was known as the “Cradle of Christianity.” It is also the place where the first Jewish converts were called “Christians.” Eg. Maaloula is a historical Christian village in the Rifq Dimashq Governorate of Syria. It is one of only a handful of places in the world where Aramaic is still spoken. Since the outbreak of civil war, many of the Christians have been forced to flee as Syrian and rebels forces fight each other in the ancient town. Damascus: the second largest city in Syria, and was known as Ash-Shaam. It has been a settlement for around 4,000 years. There were many Jews living there and many synagogues built after the diaspora. Damascus served as the capital of the Islamic Empire under the Umayyads from 661-750 C.E. while ruling an area that stretched from Spain to India. Ebla (Idlib): city founded around 3,000 B.C.E. which flourished through trade with Egypt, Sumer and Akkad until around 240 B.C.E. Homs: this city emerged under Greek rule in the 1st century B.C.E. under the name Emesa. It was originally a centre for the worship of the sun god El-Gabal, but later took on significance for Christians and Muslims. Palmyra: known as the “Bride of the Desert,” this oasis city was a caravan trading stop for desert traders. Palmyra featured a huge temple to Ba’al. It is thought be have been linked to King Solomonas of Judea. It was captured by Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walidra in 634 C.E. The city thrived until the Ottoman period. Palmyra Palmyra has many historical ruins from the second century c.e., including a Roman Theatre. Due to the various empires that had an influence in Syria, many early temples were dedicated to deities from all sides, such as Zeus and Artemis. Adonis, also known as Baal and Tammuz, was also exported to Arabia as the deity Hubal. Al-Lat was another deity worshipped in Arabia and Syria, and which had temples showing Al-Lat as a lion in Palmyra.1 Jews in Syria The Church of St. Peter in Antioch (Antakya), modern day Turkey, was part of the Syrian Tetrapolis. St. Paul, who shaped modern Christianity, was based at Antioch and undertook many of his missionary journeys from there. Paul, according to the Bible, became converted on the way to Damascus where he was planning to visit the synagogues and capture any Jews who had accepted Christianity (Acts 9:1-6). The Church was built in around 1100. The Jews had been in Syria for a long time, and the Jewish historian Josephus recorded that the most significant Jewish diaspora communities were in Syria, specifically mentioning Antioch.2 As subsequent empires came to Syria, some sought to control Jews as the theologian Hipploytus writes around 200 B.C.E.: “In this manner too, Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria, the descendant of Alexander of Macedonia, devised measures against the Jews… And if one desires to inquire into it more accurately, he will find it recorded in the books of the Maccabees.”3 Epiphanes (215–163 B.C.E.) was a Seleucid king who wanted to make Syria and Palestine into Hellenistic (Greek) gentile secular provinces by suppressing religious practices such as circumcision. He evoked the anger of the Jews by placing a pagan altar in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, and this eventually led to a revolt by the Jewish Maccabees. The tension between secular empires and religious communities would continue in many other settings in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Christian Era In the Christian Era, Syria played a very prominent role. Many of the early Christian philosophers and thinkers were from Syria, as Antioch became one of the hubs of Christian leadership alongside Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople (Istanbul) and Rome. St. Paul, who shaped modern Christianity, was based at Antioch and undertook many of his missionary journeys from there. Paul, according to the Bible, became converted on the way to Damascus where he was planning to visit the synagogues and capture any Jews who had accepted Christianity.4 The Bible describes the Christians in Syria: “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul (Paul), and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’” Peter and Barnabas were actively preaching to the Jews in Syria. The Church of Antioch gained strength over the next few centuries, and was a centre of Christian learning and debate on topics such as the nature of Jesusas and the Trinity. Greek Orthodox Church in Hama Christianity went through various trials and councils as various sects debated new issues such as the nature and divinity of Jesusas and his mother, the Trinity, the growth of Gnosticism and the relationships between the clergy and the ordinary people. The strong Church of Antioch played a vibrant role in this debate. Islamic Era Islam emerged in Arabia at the start of the 7th century C.E. As a boy before his ministry, Muhammadsa went on many trade caravans with his Uncle Abu Talib to Syria, visiting towns such as Bosra, Damascus, Homs and Antioch on the way. Islam came to Syria in 634 C.E. through Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walidra. There had been rivalry between the Banu Hashim and the Banu Umayyah, the former of Hazrat Alira and the latter of Hazrat Uthmanra. After the death of Hazrat Alira in 661 C.E., Hazrat Mu’awiyah (the Governor of Syria) was proclaimed the new Khalifah. He soon moved the administrative centre from Madinah to Damascus. It was only in 750 C.E. when the Abbasid dynasty came to power that the capital of the Islamic Empire moved to Baghdad. By now, Arabic had become the official language, replacing Greek and Aramaic. The Great Ummayad Mosque in Damascus. With one of the Minaret's called the Isa (Jesus) Minaret. Some believe this is the minaret next to which Jesus(as) will descend in the latter days, as Islamic traditions mention Jesus(as) descending to the East of Damascus. However Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), who was born in Qadian, India – directly East of Damascus – fulfilled in his person all the signs of the second advent of the Messiah.
Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus Damascus had been a Roman and Christian city, but now in 706 C.E., the Great Mosque was built under Caliph al-Walid. Indeed before the Great Mosque was built, in the Cathedral of St. John in Damascus, Muslims and Christians both used the Cathedral for worship in toleration of each other5 just as was witnessed in Spain. This was just one example of the cooperation between faiths in Syria, as the traveller Ibn Jubayr recounts from his visits to Damascus around 1184 C.E.: “It is strange how the Christians round Mount Lebanon, when they see any Muslim hermits, bring them food and treat them kindly, saying that these men are dedicated to Great and Glorious God and that they should therefore share with them.”6 He goes on to recount of free trade between areas of Syria controlled by the Frankish Christians and the Muslims: “In the same way the Muslims continuously journeyed from Damascus to Acre (through Frankish territory), and likewise not one of the Christian merchants was stopped or hindered (in Muslim territory).”7 Many schools and libraries were opened which attracted scholars from across the Muslim world such as the library of Banu Jaradah in Aleppo. The “house of hadith” in Damascus attracted scholars such as Ibn Kathir, al-Nawawi, Taqiyuddin Subki and Ibn al-Salah.8 Hospitals were built including the famous Nuri Hospital built by Sultan Malik Nuruddin for the poor and helpless. In the 12th century, a school of illumination, Al-Ishraq, was established by Yahya Suhrawardi in Aleppo, based on Iranian mysticism. He believed that a combination of mysticism and reasoning was needed to define true philosophy, and set up his school to teach both aspects.9 During this period, Islam expanded into Cyprus (690), Turkistan (705), Spain (711) and modern Pakistan (712). All the while, Damascus was gaining prominence worldwide at the centre of the growing Islamic Empire, and scholars and artisans from across the empire were meeting in Syria to share ideas. Centuries of Turmoil The 12th Century saw the start of centuries of turmoil starting with the Crusades from Europe. The French created the Principality of Antioch and for centuries, Crusader forces would pass through Syria on their way to Jerusalem. Aleppo and Damascus fell to the Mongol hordes in 1260, but as they were stretched, the Mongols were soon pushed back by the Mamluks of Egypt. There was an ongoing struggle in the years that followed between the Mamluks and the Mongols. In 1400, the Mongols led by Timur Lenk retook Aleppo and Damascus, and massacred most of the inhabitants; only those of value to them were taken to Samarkand in central Asia. The pressure was only released at the end of the 15th century when the emergence of the sea route to China via Africa lessened the need for a land trade route. Ottoman and Modern Syria The Turkish Ottoman Muslim Empire wrestled control of Syria in 1516, and suddenly Damascus came to prominence again as a key centre for pilgrims heading to Makkah from elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire. This remained the case until 1916 when the French and British took control and divided the region according to political needs. At the same time, another new force emerged that would impact Syria in the centuries to come. At the time that the Ottoman Empire was growing, Shia Islam was a sect amongst Arabs, but wielded no political power. The Safavids led by Ismail led his troops from Azerbaijan into Iran, and first conquered Tabriz in 1501, then over a decade took control of the rest of Iran. He then imposed Twelver Shia Islam by force on the local majority Iranian Sunnis, and suddenly the Shia Iranian power was established.10 Iran would play a key role in Syria and the Middle East hundreds of years later. Between the great wars, France tried to maintain control despite growing nationalism, but eventually Syria gained independence in 1946. Since then, Syria has been constantly involved in struggles with Israel and Lebanon. Syrian Scholars Ignatius (35-98) was an early Church Father and third Bishop of Antioch who wrote many letters, but was eventually taken to Rome and was martyred at the orders of Emperor Trajan. Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393-458) was a moderate Bishop in Cyrrhus near Antioch. He was involved in the monophysite debate with the Alexandrians about the nature and person of Jesusas. This was at a time when some Christians began to attribute divine characteristics to Jesusas, whilst Theodoret focused on his human consciousness. Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288) studied medicine at the Nuri Hospital in Damascus and wrote a famous book of 300 volumes on the art of medicine. He was a leader in pulmonary circulation, building on the work of Ibn Sina. Abhdisho bar Berikha (unknown-1318) was a Syrian Christian theologian and poet from the Nestorian tradition in Antioch. Ismail ibn Kathir (1301–1373) was a historian born on the outskirts of Bosra. He took on many positions in Damascus including on a commission to resolve questions of heresy. He wrote a famous commentary on the Qur’an called the Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Adhim. Ibn al-Shatir (1305–1375) was born and raised in Damascus. He was a profound astronomer and came up with a new planetary theory which would later be emulated by Copernicus in Europe. Religion in Modern Syria Modern Syria is a melting pot of many religious sects. 70% are Sunni Muslims. 12% are Shia Muslims including the Alawite sect of the Assad leading family. 5% of Syrians are Christians, and of the remaining 13%, 3% are Druze and there is a Jewish minority.11 The Christians themselves, who number 2.5 million, consist of many sects such as the Chalcedonian Antiochans, Melkites, Armenians, Syriac Catholics, Chaldean Catholics, Roman Catholics, Maronites, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church and many others. This reflects the historical flow of religions through Syria over many millennia. Some of the interesting sects are: Alawites revere Hazrat Alira and follow the Twelver Shia tradition, although some sources suggest that they assign divine attributes to Hazrat Alira, possibly even corresponding to the Christian Trinity.12 Many of their beliefs are kept secret from outsiders, perhaps due to centuries of isolation from mainstream society, and their beliefs are said to include reincarnation. They are considered to be heavily influenced by Ismailis, and may have been absorbed in Syria from the Qarmatians and the Ismaili Assassin sect after the Crusades. They have a holy book called the Kitab al-Majmu which is said to include writings from Aristotle. There are differing accounts about their beliefs including claims that they believe that women do not have souls13, that they permit the drinking of alcohol, and celebrate other festivals such as Christmas and the Zoroastrian new year. Due to the ongoing secrecy, it is hard to confirm their precise beliefs. The other notable sect is the Druze Community, which exists in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan and who class themselves as the people of Monotheism (al-Muwahhidun). Their name is said to derive from an early preacher Ad-Darazi from 1016 C.E. who had promoted the idea that Khalifah Al-Hakim in Cairo was divine.14 The Druze began as an Ismaili Shia tradition, influenced by Greek and various mystic tendencies including the Gnostics and Jewish mysticism. There have been theological disputes amongst the Druze over whether God was incarnated into humans, especially Hazrat Alira and his descendants. The Druze often conceal their beliefs just as the Alawites do in a custom known as Taqiyya, although they do have a text called Rasa’il Al-Hakim. The Druze believe that Al-Hakim will return as the Mahdi (Guided One). The Druze maintain their secrecy through the purity of their community. They do not allow conversion or intermarriage.15 Conclusion Syria has always held a strategic location for at least the last 4,000 years as a crossroad between Europe and Asia, Persia, Egypt and Arabia. Syria has witnessed the trade of cultures and also theologies. It is noticeable that many sects have grown up through a melding of ideas from different faiths, and in particular an interest in mystical strands such as Christian Gnosticism and Islamic Sufism with a focus on hidden beliefs. The main point for this current age is to reflect on the brotherhood between people of all faiths when Syria was at its zenith as recorded by travellers such as Ibn Jubayr. This goodwill in society was possible because people were attuned to their spirituality, whatever their faith or sect. Syria needs to reflect on this now, when people of the same faith are at war with each other and innocent women and children are losing their lives. Endnotes 1. Nicolle David, Historical Atlas of the Islamic World (London: Mercury Books, 2004) 27. 2. Erich Gruen, Diaspora: Jews Amidst Greeks and Romans (London: Harvard University Press, 2002) 106. 3. David Bercot, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers (Massachusetts, USA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998) 25. 4. Bible, The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments, New Revised Standard Version, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989) Acts 9:1-6. 5. Dr. Mustafa Siba’i, The Islamic Civilization (Swansea, UK: Awakening Publications, 2002) 82-83. 6. Ronald Broadhurst, The Travels of Ibn Jubayr (New Dehli, India: Goodword Books 2011) 300. 7. Ronald Broadhurst, The Travels of Ibn Jubayr (New Dehli, India: Goodword Books 2011) 301. 8. Dr. Mustafa Siba’i, The Islamic Civilization (Swansea, UK: Awakening Publications, 2002) 147. 9. Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (London, UK: Phoenix Press, 2001) 78. 10. Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (London, UK: Phoenix Press, 2001) 99-101. 11. Mushtaqur Rahman and Guljan Mushtaqur Rahman, Geography of the Muslim World (Chicago, USA: IQRA International Education Foundation, 1997) 269. 12. “Alawite (Shi’ite Sect).” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed October 20th, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12399/Alawite. 13. Cyrill Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition (London, UK: Harper San Francisco, 1991) 30-31. 14. Cyrill Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition (London, UK: Harper San Francisco, 1991) 103. 15. “Druze (religion).” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed October 22, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172195/Druze. By Fazal Ahmed from London. To read more interesting articles like this please visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. If it had to be summarized in a single sentence who Rabi‘a al-Basri was, the following statement would come quite close: Rabi‘a al-’Adawiyya, a woman from Basra who rejected worship motivated by the desire for heavenly reward or the fear of punishment and insisted on the love of God as the sole valid form of adoration. But this statement, although accurate and precise, would not do justice to the life of such a prominent Muslim Sufi woman from early Islamic history. Because she was born in an era when history was not recorded as a norm, some fictions revolve around her life story. Nonetheless, the facts presented in this article are taken from the popular historical account known about her. It is said that Rabi‘a al-’Adawiyya, or Rabi‘a al-Qaysiyya, was born in Basra (modern day Iraq) between the years 95-99 AH (around 717CE). Her father’s name was Ismail (of Syria), who after getting married, went to live with his wife on the edge of the desert not far from the town of Basra. After a while, Allah Almighty blessed them with a daughter and the father named her Rabi‘a. Then they had another daughter whom he also named Rabi‘a al-thaniya (Rabi‘a the Second), and a third daughter as well was named Rabi‘a al-thalitha (Rabi‘a the Third), and yet again another daughter whom he named Rabi‘a al-rabi’a a (Rabi‘a the Fourth), who was to become the beloved Saint of Allah. Although she belonged to one of the noble families of Basra, she was born in the poorest of homes and her father was a humble servant of God. The family faced much hardship and when Rabi’a was a little older, her mother and father died and she was left an orphan. A famine occurred in Basra and the sisters were scattered. One day when Rabi’a was walking abroad, and evil-minded man saw her and seized upon her and sold her as a slave for six dirhams and the man who bought her made her work hard. Rabi‘a’s master took her to Baghdad where he immediately set about using her in the way that was most profitable for himself. She was very beautiful and she also had a lovely voice, so her master taught her how to sing and play the Oud (‘Uwd; pear-shaped stringed instrument), made her dance and entertain people, and above all, to make money for himself. He sent her to weddings and celebrations where she would dance and sing, and the people would give her money for whatever they wanted from her. In this way she came to have many bad habits and ways, living a very low life amongst all sorts of people and not caring about anything that she did. This continued until she was about thirty-six years old, when one day as she was singing at a wedding she found herself singing in a different way. Songs were coming from her heart for her Beloved Who was her true Love because now Allah, the All-Mighty, had awakened Rabi‘a. From that moment she left everything that she had been doing before, and she refused to sing or dance, or play any music for anyone except for her Beloved God. This made her master very angry because he could no longer use her to make money for himself. He began to chastise her hoping that this would frighten her into returning to her former ways. But she refused. She had begun to pray all through the night, crying to her Beloved God to help her in her desperate state. Rabi’a carried out her appointed tasks and in the service of God she was standing on her feet from night until dawn. Rabi’a’s master decided to sell her. So he put a cord around her neck and took her to the slave market of Baghdad. There a holy man took Rabi‘a to his home, gave her food and simple clothes, and told her that he did not want anything from her, except that she could pray and be free in his house. Rabi‘a thanked him with all her heart and said: “If you want anything from me for the Face of Allah, He will give you your reward, but if you want anything from me for yourself only, I have nothing to give you. I have everything that I need from my Beloved God and I do not need anything from any human being.” The holy man replied that he would like to marry her, and to free her from being a slave, but that he did not ask anything from her except what she wanted to give. Rabi‘a thanked him for his kindness and consideration, and she said that she did not want to marry anyone, but was grateful for the way that he cared for her in her deep need. For Rabi‘a‘s case was that she had heard the Voice of her Beloved Who was Allah and none other than He, and she had no need for any earthly husband. Like many of the ascetic Sufis, Rabi‘a made no separation in her love between man and woman if they loved her Beloved God. Many people loved her and needed her and wanted to take from her something of the special Gift which she had been given from Allah. She had many followers who yearned to feed themselves from her Love which she gave to all those whom she loved. She never married nor did she have any children but as she said: “My peace is in solitude but my Beloved is always with me. Whenever I witness His Beauty He is my prayer niche (mihrab); toward Him is my qibla. Oh Healer of souls, the heart feeds upon its desire and its striving towards Union with You has healed my soul. You are my Joy and my Life to Eternity. You were the Source of my life; from You came my ecstasy. I have separated myself from all created beings, for my hope is for Union with You; for that is the Goal of my searching.” Not only did Rabi‘a never marry but she also never had a Shaykh (spiritual guide) to guide and instruct her. She received everything that she knew directly from Allah without the intermediary of any Shaykh. At about this time she left Baghdad and returned to Basra where she remained for many years. Rabi‘a once said that there are three kinds of men: The first believes that his hands and his sons’ hands are all that is necessary to succeed in the only world they know: the material world. The second kind prays with his hands so that a reward will be earned in the next life. The third kind has his hands tied at the wrist, bound with love to serve without thought of return. Her life and sayings became a source of deep inspiration and yearning for many who came after her. Her life gave life to the hearts of those beloved people of Allah who followed after her in the same Line of the Love of God, as she had done. Particularly, this was the case later for Abu Bayazid al-Bistami, Abu’l-Husayn al-Nuri, Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, and Abu Bakr al-Shibli, who, around their leader and Master al-Junayd, came to be known as The Baghdad School. Once Rabi‘a fasted for a whole week, neither eating nor sleeping. All night she prayed and became very hungry. Then a visitor came bringing her a bowl of food. She accepted it and went to fetch a lamp. When she returned, she found that a cat had overturned the bowl of food. She then said to herself: “I will fetch a jug of water and break my fast by drinking.” But by the time she had fetched the jug, the lamp had gone out. She then tried to drink the water in the dark, but the jug slipped from her hand and broke into pieces. She lamented and sighed so much, “that it was to be feared that the whole house would be consumed with fire!” “O Allah!” she cried, “What is this that You are doing with this helpless slave?” Then she heard a voice say, “Be careful lest you desire Me to bestow on you all worldly blessings, but take away from your heart the caring for Me, for care for Me and worldly blessings can never be together in a single heart. Rabi‘a, you desire one thing and I desire another. My desire and your desire can never be joined in one heart.” She said then, “When I heard this admonition I so cut off my heart from the world and curtailed my desires that whenever I have prayed during the last thirty years I have thought it to be my last prayer.” Rabi‘a said: “Everyone prays to You from fear of the Fire; And if You do not put them in the Fire, This is their reward. Or they pray to You for the Garden, Full of fruits and flowers. And that is their prize. But I do not pray to You like this, For I am not afraid of the Fire, And I do not ask You for the Garden. But all I want is the Essence of Your Love, And to return to be One with You, And to become Your Face.” It was told of Rabi‘a that she was seen one day carrying a brand of fire in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other, and that she was running very fast. When they asked her what she was doing and where she was going, she said: “I am going to light a fire in the Garden and pour water onto Hell so that both these veils may disappear from the seekers, and that their purpose may be sure, and that the slaves of Allah may see Him, without any object of hope or motive of fear. What if the Hope for the Garden and the Fear of the Fire did not exist? Not one would worship his Lord, nor obey Him. But He is worthy of worship without any immediate motive or need.” One of her companions, Sufyan al-Thawri, asked her, “What is the best thing for the servant to do who desires proximity to his Lord?” She said, “That the servant should possess nothing in this world for the Next, save Him.” Rabi‘a never had any doubts about her Beloved being present or absent, because she was not concerned only to have His good pleasure and bounties. She lived for a Love which does not seek for any answer, reward or reciprocity. It was related how one day one of her followers said in her presence, “Oh Allah, may You be satisfied with us!” Whereupon Rabi‘a said, “Are you not ashamed before Him to ask Him to be satisfied with you, when you are not satisfied with Him?” By this she meant that first we must be truly satisfied with Allah, Most High, before we can ask Him to be satisfied with us. Then this was followed by the question to her, “When then is the servant satisfied with Allah Most High?” She replied, “When his pleasure in misfortune is equal to his pleasure in prosperity.” She said: “O God, whatsoever You have apportioned to me of worldly things, Give that to Your enemies, And what You have apportioned to me in the Hereafter, Give that to Your Friends, For You suffice me.” She also said: “O God, if I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, And if I worship You in hope of Paradise, Exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, Grudge me not Your Everlasting Beauty.” When Rabi‘a was urged to speak, her words perfectly manifested her love, her belief and her faith, for she was so totally immersed in her Lord that she became a shining Light which attracted many people to her presence to drink from the same Spring from which she drank. She said, “If I will a thing and my Lord does not will it, I shall be guilty of unbelief.” So that her faith came from her total surrender to her Beloved God, as she said, “I have fled from the world and all that is in it. My prayer is for Union with You; that is the goal of my desire.” The sole object of Rabi‘a’s life was in her yearning and passionate love for her Beloved, which meant not merely the destruction of her self (nafs) but surrender to Allah every moment in the perfect Union in which there is no Lord and slave, no Creator and created being, only He in Himself. In that state she came to realize that she existed in Him without any possibility of separation from His indivisible Oneness. Her attraction to a life of poverty was also part of her need not to be distracted from her inner journey by the necessity for material considerations. There is a story about this poverty of hers, as one of her companions said, “I went to visit Rabi`a and saw her in her house with nothing but a broken water pitcher out of which she drank and made her ablution. There was also an old reed mat and a brick which she sometimes used as a pillow. When I saw this, I felt very sad and I said to her, ‘I have rich friends. If you wish I will get something from them for you.’ She said, ‘You have committed a grievous error. Is not my Provider and theirs one and the same?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ Then she said, ‘And has the Provider of the poor forgotten the poor on account of their poverty? And does He remember the rich because of their riches?’ I replied, ‘No.’ She said, ‘Then since He knows of my state, how should I remind Him? Such is His Will and I too wish what He wills.’” Rabi‘a’s love, which was passionate and all-consuming was also full of humility, fear and reverence (taqwa) for her Beloved, and when she was asked about how she had such a degree of intimacy, she said, “By constantly saying: I take refuge in You from everything which has distracted me from You and from every hindrance which has hindered me from You.” She also said, “You must conceal your good deeds as you conceal your evil deeds.” In the same way, she said, “What appears of any (good) works, I count as nothing at all.” The key to Rabi‘a’s reaching and living in the loving Presence of her Lord was her constant praying, remembrance and asking for forgiveness for all her shortcomings, and a knowing that her Union with her Beloved God could not come in the way that she desired, but only in the way that He desired for her. She was also well aware that her remembrance and repentance did not come from herself, but from Him, her Beloved God. It is said that someone once said to her, “I have committed many sins; if I turn in repentance toward Allah, will He turn in His Mercy toward me?” She said, “No, but if He will turn toward you, you will turn toward Him.” For Rabi‘a, repentance was a Gift from Allah. As she said, “Seeking forgiveness with the tongue is the sin of lying. If I seek repentance of myself, I shall have need of repentance again.” Or as she also said, “Our asking for forgiveness of Allah itself needs forgiveness.” She was blessed with a long life during which she continued, to her last days, to give of everything that Allah inspired her to give to all who loved her, because she was His special Light for them all. She is often referred to as the first true Saint (waliyya) of Islam and was praised, not because she in any way represented womankind, but because as Attar (another famous Sufi) said, “When a woman walks in the Way of Allah like a man she cannot be called a woman.” Attar also said that Rabi`a was “That one set apart in the seclusion of holiness; that woman veiled with the veil of sincerity; that one enflamed by love and longing, lost in union with God; that one accepted as a second spotless Mary.” Although, as she said herself, she was always busy with her Beloved God all the time and she did not have any moment for anybody or anything else but Him, she also knew the meaning of what she said, for her Beloved Allah revealed Himself to her in every face around her. She said, “The groaning and yearning of the lover of Allah will not be satisfied until it is satisfied in the Beloved.” And Rabi`a was, for many people, that Beloved. Originally published in the Muslim Sunrise, Spring 2009, pp. 15-17. By Naureen Choudhry, originally republished by Admin at Jihad of the Pen. To read more interesting articles like this visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. Below are a selection of letters to world leaders by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba). Which we have kindly been given permission to share with our readers.
Letter to Prime Minister of United Kingdom 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL United Kingdom 15 April 2012 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Rt. Hon. David Cameron 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA United Kingdom Dear Prime Minister, In light of the perilous and precarious circumstances that the world is currently passing through, I felt it necessary to write to you. As the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, you have the authority to make decisions that will affect the future of your country, and the world at large. Today, the world stands in dire need of peace because the sparks of war can be seen all around the world. Conflicts between countries on a small-scale are threatening to erupt into a global conflict. We observe that the situation of the world today is similar to the situation in 1932, both economically and politically. There are many other similarities and parallels, which when combined together, form the same image today that was witnessed just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. If these sparks ever truly ignite, we will witness the terrifying scenario of a Third World War. With numerous countries, large and small, possessing nuclear weapons, such a war would undoubtedly involve atomic warfare. The weapons available today are so destructive that they could lead to generation after generation of children being born with severe genetic or physical defects. Japan is the one country to have experienced the abhorrent consequences of atomic warfare, when it was attacked by nuclear bombs during the Second World War, annihilating two of its cities. Yet the nuclear bombs that were used at that time and which caused widespread devastation, were much less powerful than the atomic weapons that are possessed by even certain small nations today. Therefore, it is the duty of the superpowers to sit down together to find a solution to save humanity from the brink of disaster. What causes great fear is the knowledge that the nuclear weapons in smaller countries could end up in the hands of trigger-happy people who either do not have the ability, or who choose not to think about the consequences of their actions. If the major powers do not act with justice, do not eliminate the frustrations of smaller nations and do not adopt great and wise policies, then the situation will spiral out of all control and the destruction that will follow is beyond our comprehension and imagination. Even the majority of the world’s population who do desire peace will also become engulfed by this devastation. Thus, it is my ardent wish and prayer that you and the leaders of all major nations come to understand this dreadful reality, and so instead of adopting aggressive policies and utilising force to achieve your aims and objectives, you should strive to adopt policies that promote and secure justice. If we look at the recent past, Britain ruled over many countries and left behind a high standard of justice and religious freedom, especially in the Sub-Continent of India and Pakistan. When the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community congratulated Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, on her Diamond Jubilee and conveyed to her the message of Islam, he especially prayed for God to generously reward the British Government due to the manner in which it governed justly and with equity. He greatly praised the British Government for its just policies and for granting religious freedom. In today’s world, the British Government no longer rules over the Sub-Continent, but still principles of freedom of religion are deeply entrenched in British society and its laws, through which every person is granted religious freedom and equal rights. This year the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, is being celebrated, which gives Britain an opportunity to demonstrate its standards of justice and honesty to the world. The history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community demonstrates that we have always acknowledged this justice whenever displayed by Britain and we hope that in future also, justice will remain a defining characteristic of the British Government, not only in religious matters, but in every respect that you will never forget the good qualities of your nation from the past and that in the current world situation, Britain will play its role in establishing peace worldwide. It is my request that at every level and in every direction we must try our level best to extinguish the flames of hatred. Only if we are successful in this effort, will we be enabled to guarantee brighter futures for our generations to come. However, if we fail in this task, there should be no doubt in our minds that as result of nuclear warfare, our future generations everywhere will have to bear the horrific consequences of our actions and they will never forgive their elders for leading the world into a global catastrophe. I again remind you that Britain is also one of those countries that can and does exert influence in the developed world as well as in developing countries. You can guide this world, if you so desire, by fulfilling the requirements of equity and justice. Thus, Britain and other major powers should play their role towards establishing world peace. May God the Almighty enable you and other world leaders to understand this message. With best wishes and with prayers, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Reply from United Kingdom Prime Minister 10 DOWNING STREET LONDON, SW1A 2AA 13 July 2012 THE PRIME MINISTER Dear Mr. Ahmad, Thank you for your letter of 15 April expressing concern about the threat of a global conflict. I welcome the continued activism of groups like the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on these profoundly important issues. The British Government believes it is both morally right and in Britain’s national interests to work to reduce conflict and instability. We share with you the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and we are working hard to make that goal a reality. Britain has a particularly strong record on nuclear disarmament. We have taken a number of important disarmament steps in the last 18 months to scale down our nuclear deterrent. The Strategic Defence and Security Review, published in October 2010, announced that we would reduce the numbers of nuclear warheads and missiles on board our submarines, and reduce our overall nuclear weapons stockpile to no more than 180 warheads by the mid 2020s. However, as long as large arsenals of nuclear weapons remain elsewhere in the world and while the future security environment remains so uncertain, the British Government remains committed to retaining a credible, minimum nuclear deterrent. In addition to taking steps ourselves, we believe that the best means of achieving sustainable nuclear disarmament is by working with other countries. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is made of 189 States, and is the primary international vehicle to make progress towards a world without nuclear weapons. I would like to reassure you that the Government will continue to work towards creating a safe and stable world where Britain and others are able to relinquish their nuclear weapons. Yours Sincerely David Cameron Letter to Chancellor of Germany 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL United Kingdom 15 April 2012 Her Excellency Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel Bundeskanzleramt Willy-Brandt-Str.1 10557 Berlin Dear Chancellor, In light of the alarming and extremely worrying state of affairs in the world today, I considered it necessary to write to you. As the Chancellor of Germany, a country which has significant power and influence in the world, you have the authority to make decisions that will affect your country and the entire world. Today, when the world is becoming divided into blocs, extremism is escalating and the financial, political and economic situation is worsening, there is an urgent need to extinguish all kinds of hatred and to lay the foundation for peace. This can only be achieved by respecting all of the sentiments of each and every person. However, as this is not being implemented properly, honestly and with virtue, the world situation is rapidly spiralling out of control. We observe that the requirements of justice are not being fulfilled by most nations, and as a result, the foundation for another World War has already been laid. Numerous countries, both large and small, now possess nuclear weapons. Thus, if a World War now breaks out, it is likely that it will not be fought with conventional weapons; rather, it will be fought with atomic weapons. The destruction that will result from a nuclear conflict will be utterly devastating. Its effects will not be limited to only the immediate aftermath; rather future generations will suffer from the long-term effects and will be born with serious medical and genetic defects. Thus, it is my belief that to establish world peace, true justice is required, and the sentiments and the religious practices of all people should be honoured. I appreciate that many Western countries have generously permitted the people of poor or under-developed nations to settle in their respective countries, amongst whom are Muslims as well. Undoubtedly, there is a minority of so-called Muslims who act completely inappropriately and create distrust in the hearts of the people of the Western nations. However, it should be clear that their acts have no link with Islam whatsoever. Such extremists do not truly love the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who brought a message of peace, love and reconciliation to the world. Indeed, the actions of just a handful of misguided people should not be used as a basis to raise objections against our religion and to hurt the sentiments of the majority of sincere and innocent Muslims. Peace in society is a two-way process and can only be established if all parties work together towards mutual reconciliation. Due to the mistrust in the hearts of the people in the West, instead of relationships between nations and people improving, the reaction of some non-Muslims is getting worse by the day and is creating a chasm between the Muslim and non-Muslim world. We observe that on the basis of the misguided acts of certain Muslim groups and nations, the vested interests of some of the major powers are given preference to honesty and justice. Some of the powerful countries of the world desire to maintain easy access to the wealth and resources of certain countries and wish to avoid competing countries from having complete access to these same resources. That is why decisions are often made on the basis of helping people, or establishing world peace. Further, a major factor underlying the current political circumstances in the world is the economic downturn, which is pulling us towards another World War. If truth was truly being exhibited then some of these countries would derive benefit from each other in a just manner, by forming proper industrial and economic ties, based on fair dealings. They would not try to derive illegitimate benefit from the resources of one another, but instead would seek to come together and mutually assist one another. In short, the disorder prevalent in the world today is based upon one overriding factor, and that is a complete lack of justice, which is causing widespread anxiety and restlessness. Thus, it is my request that strive to your utmost to prevent a World War from breaking out. Utilise all your energy, resources and influence to save the world from the horrific destruction that looms before us. According to reports, Germany will be providing three advanced submarines to Israel which could be armed with nuclear weapons. One German Professor has stated that such a decision will only serve to flare up the already heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. We must remember that nuclear weapons are not possessed by only the major powers of the world; rather, even relatively smaller countries now possess nuclear weapons. What is worrying is that in some of these small countries the leaders are trigger-happy, and appear unconcerned of the consequences of using such weapons. Therefore, once again, it is my humble request to you that try your level best to establish world peace. If we fail in this task there should be no doubt in our minds that a nuclear conflict will cause devastation that will lead to generation after generation being born with defects, and who will never forgive their elders for leading us into a global catastrophe. May God the Almighty enable you, and all world leaders, to understand this message. With best wishes and with prayers, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to the Ayatollah of Iran 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK 14 May 2012 Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Syed Ali Hosseini Khamenei Tehran, Iran Respected Ayatollah, Assalamo Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu, Allah the Almighty has enabled you to serve Islam in Iran and presently, the Government of Iran also functions under your auspices. This requires that we strive to our utmost to convey the correct Islamic teachings to the world. As Muslims, we should endeavour to teach the world to live in peace, love and harmony. In particular, Muslim leaders need to urgently pay heed to this. For this reason, it is my request to you to draw the attention of your Government towards its responsibilities to establishing peace in the world. If Iran is attacked it has the right to defend itself to save the country, however it should not instigate aggression and take the first step forward into any conflict. Instead, an effort should be made to leave aside religious differences and to try and unite upon common values. It is this very approach that we find was adopted in the history of Islam. I am writing this letter to you for the reason that I am a believer, Successor and the Khalifa of the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), whose advent in this age was prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Community he established is known as the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. With the Grace of Allah, the Community has now spread to 200 countries of the world and has millions of devoted followers across the globe. It is our ardent desire to guide the world towards living in mutual love and peace. To this end, I constantly draw the attention of people from all walks of life. Hence, I recently wrote to the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of the United States of America and also other world leaders. I have also written to Pope Benedict XVI in this regard. As the spiritual leader of a large Islamic nation, I hope that you will come to agree that if the entire Muslim Ummah unites and works together, world peace can be established. We should not pointlessly add fuel to enmities and grudges, rather, we should search for opportunities to establish peace and tranquillity. Further, even enmity or opposition against others should not be devoid of justice. This is what we have been taught in the Holy Qur’an: ‘O ye who believe! be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is aware of what you do.’ (Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verse 9). May Allah enable the entire Muslim Ummah and all Muslim governments to understand my message so that they prepare themselves to play their respective roles in an effort to establish peace in the world. It is my love for mankind, developed out of a love for the entire Muslim Ummah, and also because of being a member of the Ummah of the ‘Mercy for all mankind’ myself, that has led me to writing this letter. May Allah enable the leaders of the world to understand my words and may they actively play a role in establishing world peace. Otherwise, if the haste and recklessness of any nation leads to a full blown war between two nations, such a conflict will not be limited to only those countries; rather the flames of war will engulf the entire world. Thus, it is entirely plausible that a World War will break out, which will not be fought with conventional weapons, but rather with atomic weapons. A nuclear war will result in such horrific and devastating consequences that its aftermath will not only affect those present in the world at the time, rather the long-term effects of such a war would provide the terrifying ‘gift’ to future generations of being born with disabilities and defects. For this reason, no country should assume they are safe from the impending destruction. Therefore, once again, in the name of Allah and His Messenger and out of compassion and love for humanity, I request you to play your role in establishing peace in the world. With best wishes and with prayers, Wassalam, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to President of France 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK 16 May 2012 President of the French Republic His Excellency François Hollande Palais de l’Elysee 55, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore 75008 Paris, France Dear Mr President, I would like to first of all take this opportunity to congratulate you on being elected as the new President of France. This is certainly a vast responsibility that has been entrusted to you, and thus I hope and pray that the people of France, and indeed the entire world, come to benefit from your leadership. In light of the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs in the world, I recently wrote a letter to your predecessor, President Nicolas Sarkozy. In the letter I reminded President Sarkozy about his responsibilities as a world leader to uphold justice and I requested him to use all his power and influence to prevent a World War from breaking out. As the newly elected President of France, I considered it necessary to write to you also with the same message, because you now have the authority to make decisions that will affect your nation, and the world at large. It is my belief that the world’s governments ought to be extremely concerned at the current circumstances in the world. Injustices and hostilities between nations are threatening to boil over into a global conflict. During the last century, two World Wars were fought. After the First World War, the League of Nations was established, however, the requirements of justice were not fulfilled and consequently, this led to the Second World War, culminating in the use of atom bombs. Subsequently, the United Nations was established for the protection of human rights and to maintain global peace. Thus, the means for avoiding wars were considered, yet today we observe that the foundation for a Third World War has already been laid. Numerous countries, both small and large, possess atom bombs. What is worrying is that some of the smaller nuclear powers are irresponsible and ignorant about the devastating consequences of such weapons. It is not inconceivable that if nuclear weapons are used, the horrific aftermath will become immediately manifest and that day will be like Doomsday. The weapons available today are so destructive that they could lead to generation after generation of children being born with severe genetic or physical defects. It is said that in Japan, the one country to have experienced the devastating destruction of atomic warfare, even though seven decades have passed, the effects of the atom bombs are still continuing to be manifest on newborn children. Thus, it is my humble request that strive to your utmost to extinguish the enmities and mistrust between the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Some European countries hold significant reservations regarding the teachings and traditions of Islam and have placed certain restrictions on them, whilst others are considering how to do so. The animosity that some extremist so-called Muslims already hold towards the West might lead them to reacting in an inappropriate manner, which would lead to further religious intolerance and dissention. Islam, however, is a peace-loving religion, which does not teach us to do wrong to stop something wrong. We, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, follow this principle and believe in peaceful solutions to all matters. Sadly, we find that a small minority of Muslims present a completely distorted image of Islam and act upon their misguided beliefs. I say out of love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who was the ‘Mercy for all Mankind’, that you should not believe this to be the real Islam and thus use such misguided acts as a licence to hurt the sentiments of the peaceful majority of Muslims. Recently, a merciless and heartless person shot dead some French soldiers in the South of France for no reason, and then some days later, he entered a school and killed three innocent Jewish children and one of their teachers. We also see such cruelties regularly come to pass in other Muslim countries and so all of these acts are giving the opponents of Islam fuel to vent their hatred and a basis upon which to pursue their goals on a large scale. As a Muslim, I shall make it absolutely clear that Islam does not permit cruelty or oppression in any way, shape or form. The Holy Qur’an has deemed the killing of one innocent person without reason akin to killing all mankind. This is an injunction that is absolute and without exception. The Qur’an further states that even if any country or people hold enmity towards you that must not stop you from acting in a fully just and fair manner when dealing with them. Enmities or rivalries should not lead you to taking revenge, or to acting disproportionately. If you desire conflicts to be resolved in the best manner, endeavour to search for amicable solutions. I appreciate that many Western countries have generously permitted the people of poor or under-developed nations to settle in their respective countries, amongst whom are Muslims as well. Indeed, many Muslims live in your country and thus are also your citizens. The majority are law-abiding and sincere. Moreover, Islam clearly states that love for one’s country is part of the faith. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community acts and promotes this message throughout the world. This is my message to you also, that if this true teaching of Islam is spread everywhere, then the requirements of showing love to one’s nation and peace, will remain established within each country and between countries of the world. My humble request to you, and indeed to all world leaders, is that instead of using force to suppress other nations, use diplomacy, dialogue and wisdom. The major powers of the world, such as France, should play their role towards establishing peace. They should not use the acts of smaller countries as a basis to disturb world harmony. Thus, I again remind you to strive to your utmost to prevent the major and minor powers from erupting into a Third World War. There should be no doubt in our minds that if we fail in this task then the effects and aftermath of such a war will not be limited to only the poor countries of Asia, Europe and the Americas; rather, our future generations will have to bear the horrific consequences of our actions and children everywhere in the world will be born with defects. It is my prayer that the leaders of the world act with wisdom and do not allow mutual enmities between nations and people on a small-scale to erupt into a global conflict. May God the Exalted enable you, and all world leaders, to comprehend this message. With best wishes and with prayers, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to Premier of China 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL His Excellency, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Mr Wen Jiabao Zhongnanhai, China 9 April 2012 Dear Premier, I am sending this letter to you through one of our representatives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He is the President of our Community in Kababir, Israel and was invited by the Minister for Minorities in China. Our representative was introduced to Chinese officials during a visit by a delegation from China, which included the Deputy Minister for Minorities, to our Mission House in Kababir. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is that sect in Islam which firmly believes that the Messiah and Reformer, who was destined to appear in this age as the Mahdi for the guidance of Muslims, as the Messiah for the guidance of Christians and as a guide for the reformation of all mankind, has indeed arrived in accordance with the prophecies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and thus we have accepted him. His name was Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him) from Qadian, India. In accordance with God Almighty’s command, he laid the foundation for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889. By the time he passed away in 1908, hundreds of thousands of people had joined the fold of the Community. After his demise, the institution of Khilafat was established. Currently, we are in the era of the 5th Khilafat, and I am the 5th Khalifa of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). An extremely important and fundamental aspect of our teaching is that in this era religious wars should come to an end. Further, we believe that anyone who desires to convey or spread any teaching should only do so in a spirit and atmosphere of love, compassion and brotherhood so that he can become the source of establishing peace, reconciliation and harmony. This important aspect, which is based on the true teachings of Islam, is being promoted and propagated by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community all over the world. The Community is now spread over 200 countries of the world, and consists of millions of followers. I wish to convey the following message to you: that the world is currently passing through a most harrowing and perilous period. Indeed, it would appear that we are rapidly drawing closer to a world war. You are the leader of a great superpower. In addition, an enormous proportion of the world’s population live under your governance. You also possess the right to use the power to veto when required in the United Nations. Hence, in this context, it is my request to you to play your role to save the world from the destruction that looms before us. Irrespective of nationality, religion, caste or creed, we should strive to our utmost to save humanity. In China, after the revolution took place, there was great progress and change. Honourable Mao Zedong, who was a great leader of your nation, established the foundation for high moral standards, which can also be described in other words as the most excellent standard of human values. Although you do not believe in the existence of God and your principles are based on morality, I would like to make it clear that our God, Who is the God as portrayed by Islam, revealed the Qur’an as guidance for all mankind, and the Qur’an inculcates all such morals that you act upon, but it is also filled with even further moral guidance. It contains beautiful teachings expounding the means of sustenance for humanity and establishing human values. If the world—the Muslim world in particular—adopt these Qur’anic teachings, all problems and conflicts will be resolved and an atmosphere of peace and harmony will be fostered. Today, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community endeavours to further this very purpose and objective in every part of the world. Through our peace symposiums and through numerous meetings that I hold with various categories of people and groups from all walks of life, I remind the world of this vital goal. It is my prayer that the leaders of the world act with wisdom and do not allow mutual enmities between nations and people on a small-scale to erupt into a global conflict. It is also my request to you that, as a great superpower of the world, play your role to establish world peace. Save the world from the horrifying consequences of a world war, for if such a war breaks out, it will come to an end with the use of atomic weapons. It is quite possible that as a result, parts of certain countries and areas of the world will be obliterated off the face of the earth. The effects and aftermath of an atomic war will not be limited to just the immediate devastation, rather, the long-term effects will result in future generations being born disabled or with defects. Thus, expend all your energy, capabilities and resources in the effort to save humanity from such dreadful consequences. It will ultimately be to the benefit of your nation to act upon this. It is my prayer that all countries of the world, large and small, come to understand this message. With best wishes and prayers, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to King of Saudi Arabia 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK 28 March 2012 Custodian of the Two Holy Places King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Respected King Abdullah, Assalamo Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu, Today, I am writing to you with the intention of raising a most important matter, because as the Custodian of the Two Holy Places and the King of Saudi Arabia, you hold a very high station in the Muslim Ummah. For located within your country are the two holiest sites in Islam—Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Madinah Al-Munawwarah—which to love constitutes a part of the faith of Muslims. These sites are also the centres of spiritual progress for and are greatly revered by Muslims. In this light, all Muslims and Muslim governments confer special status upon you. This status requires that on the one hand, you should properly guide the Muslim Ummah and on the other, you should strive to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony within Muslim countries. You should also endeavour to develop mutual love and sympathy between Muslims and to enlighten them regarding the essence of: Ultimately, you should strive to create peace in the entire world for the benefit of all of mankind. As Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and the Khalifa of the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), it is my request that, irrespective of certain doctrinal disagreements that exist between the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and other sects of Islam, we should still unite in an effort to establish world peace. We should do our level best to educate the world regarding the true teachings of Islam, which are based on love and peace. By doing so, we can dispel the misconceptions in general that are embedded in the people of the West and the world about Islam. Enmity against other nations or groups should not hinder us from acting in a just manner. Allah the Almighty states in Verse 3 of Surah Al-Ma’idah of the Holy Qur’an: ‘…. And let not the enmity of a people, that they hindered you from the Sacred Mosque, incite you to transgress. And help one another in righteousness and piety; but help not one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah; surely, Allah is severe in punishment.’ This is the guiding principle that we should keep in view so that we can fulfil our duty to present the beautiful image of Islam to the world. It is with sentiments of heartfelt love and deep compassion for all Muslims worldwide that I am requesting you to play your role in this regard. We find in the world today that some politicians and so-called scholars are planting seeds of hatred against Islam in an attempt to defame the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). They try to present completely distorted interpretations of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an to achieve their aims. Further, the conflict between Palestine and Israel is worsening every day and hostilities between Israel and Iran have heightened to such an extent that their relationship has severely broken down. Such circumstances require that as an extremely important leader in the Muslim Ummah you should make every effort to resolve these disputes with justice and equality. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at does everything it possibly can to dispel the hatred against Islam, wherever and whenever it surfaces. Until the entire Muslim Ummah unites as one and makes efforts towards this, peace can never be established. Thus, it is my request to you to do your utmost in this regard. If World War III is indeed destined to occur, at least we should strive to ensure that it does not originate from any Muslim country. No Muslim country or any Muslim individual anywhere in the world, today or in the future, will want to shoulder the blame for being the spark for a global catastrophe, the long-term effects of which will lead to future generations being born with defects or deformities, for if a World War breaks out now, it will surely be fought with nuclear weapons. We have already experienced just a glimpse of the utter devastation caused by atomic warfare when nuclear bombs were dropped on two cities in Japan during World War II. Thus, O King of Saudi Arabia! Expend all your energy and influence to save the world from annihilation! May Allah the Almighty provide you with His Help and Succour, Amin. With prayers for you and for the entire Muslim Ummah of: Wassalam, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to Prime Minister of Israel 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK His Excellency Mr Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel Jerusalem 26 February 2012 Dear Prime Minister, I recently sent a letter to His Excellency Simon Peres, President of Israel, regarding the perilous state of affairs emerging in the world. In light of the rapidly changing circumstances, I felt it was essential for me to convey my message to you also, as you are the Head of the Government of your country. The history of your nation is closely linked with prophethood and Divine revelation. Indeed, the Prophets of the Children of Israel made very clear prophecies regarding your nation’s future. As a result of disobedience to the teachings of the Prophets and negligence towards their prophecies, the Children of Israel had to suffer difficulties and tribulations. If the leaders of your nation had remained firm in obedience to the Prophets, they could have been saved from enduring various misfortunes and adversities. Thus, it is your duty, perhaps even more so than others, to pay heed to the prophecies and injunctions of the Prophets. I address you as the Khalifa of that Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), who was sent as the servant of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent as the Mercy for All Mankind amongst the brethren of the Children of Israel in the semblance of Moses (peace be upon him) (Deuteronomy, 18:18). Hence, it is my duty to remind you of God’s Message. I hope that you will come to be counted amongst those who hearken to God’s Call, and who successfully find the right path; that path which is in accordance with the Guidance of God the Supreme, the Master of the heavens and the earth. We hear reports in the news nowadays that you are preparing to attack Iran. Yet the horrific outcome of a World War is right before you. In the last World War, whilst millions of other people were killed, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jewish persons were also wasted. As the Prime Minister, it is your duty to protect the life of your nation. The current circumstances of the world indicate that a World War will not be fought between only two countries, rather blocs will come into formation. The threat of a World War breaking out is a very serious one. The life of Muslims, Christians and Jews are all at peril from it. If such a war occurs, it will result in a chain reaction of human destruction. The effects of this catastrophe will be felt by future generations, who will either be born disabled, or crippled. This is because undoubtedly, such a war will involve atomic warfare. Hence, it is my request to you that instead of leading the world into the grip of a World War, make maximum efforts to save the world from a global catastrophe. Instead of resolving disputes with force, you should try to resolve them through dialogue, so that we can gift our future generations with a bright future rather than ‘gift’ them with disability and defects. I shall try to elucidate my views based on the following passages from your teachings, the first extract being from the Zabur: ‘Do not fret because of evil-doers. Do not envy those who do wrong. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in God, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Also delight yourself in God, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to God. Trust also in him, and he will do this: He will make your righteousness go forth as the dawn, and your justice as the noon day sun. Rest in God, and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for God shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he is not there. But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Zabur, 37:1-11) Similarly, we find in the Torah: ‘Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. [But] thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, [and] all that do unrighteously, [are] an abomination unto the LORD thy God.’ (Deuteronomy, 25:13-16) Thus, world leaders, and particularly you should terminate the notion of governance by force and should refrain from oppressing the weak. Instead, strive to spread and promote justice and peace. By doing so, you will remain in peace yourselves, you will gain strength and world peace will also be established. It is my prayer that you and other world leaders understand my message, recognise your station and status and fulfil your responsibilities. Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Letter to President of the Islamic Republic of Iran 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK His Excellency President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tehran 7 March 2012 Dear Mr President, Assalamo Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu, In light of the perilous state of affairs emerging in the world, I felt that it was essential for me to write to you, as you are the President of Iran, and thus you hold the authority to make decisions which will affect the future of your nation and the world at large. There is currently great agitation and restlessness in the world. In some areas small-scale wars have broken out, while in other places the superpowers act on the pretext of trying to bring about peace. Each country is engaged in activities to either help or oppose other countries, but the requirements of justice are not being fulfilled. It is with regret that if we now observe the current circumstances of the world, we find that the foundation for another world war has already been laid. As so many countries, both large and small, have nuclear weapons, grudges and hostilities are increasing. In such a predicament, the Third World War looms almost certainly before us. As you are aware, the availability of nuclear weapons will mean that a Third World War will be an atomic war. Its ultimate result will be catastrophic, and the long term effects of such warfare could lead to future generations being born disabled or deformed. It is my belief that as followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), who was sent to establish peace in the world, and who was the Rahmatullil Aalameen – the Mercy to all of Mankind –we do not and cannot desire for the world to suffer such a fate. This is why my request to you is that as Iran is also a significant power in the world, it should play its role to prevent a Third World War. It is undeniably true that the major powers act with double standards. Their injustices have caused restlessness and disorder to spread all across the world. However, we cannot ignore the fact that some Muslim groups act inappropriately, and contrary to the teachings of Islam. Major world powers have used this as a pretext to fulfil their vested interests by taking advantage of the poor Muslim countries. Thus, I request you once again, that you should focus all of your efforts and energies towards saving the world from a Third World War. The Holy Qur’an teaches Muslims that enmity against any nation should not hinder them from acting in a just manner. In Surah Al Mai’dah, Allah the Exalted instructs us: “And let not the enmity of a people, that they hindered you from the Sacred Mosque, incite you to transgress. And help one another in righteousness and piety; but help not one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah; surely, Allah is severe in punishment.” (Ch.5:V.3) Similarly, in the same chapter of the Holy Qur’an we find the following commandment to Muslims: “O ye who believe! Be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is aware of what you do.”(Ch.5:V.9) Hence, you should not oppose another nation merely out of enmity and hatred. I admit that Israel exceeds beyond its limits, and has its eyes cast glance upon Iran. Indeed, if any country transgresses against your country, naturally you have the right to defend yourself. However, as far as possible disputes should be resolved through diplomacy and negotiations. This is my humble request to you, that rather than using force, use dialogue to try and resolve conflicts. The reason why I make this request is because I am the follower of that Chosen Person of God who came in this era as the True Servant of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(pbuh), and who claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi. His mission was to bring mankind closer to God and to establish the rights of people in the manner our Master and Guide, the Rahmatullil Aalameen –the Mercy to all of Mankind – the Holy Prophet(pbuh)demonstrated to us. May Allah the Exalted enable the Muslim Ummah to understand this beautiful teaching. Wassalam, Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Summary of Letter to Prime Minister of Canada In his letter of 8th March 2012 to Mr Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad(aba), Khalifatul Masih V, Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, similarly warned of the impending outbreak of a Third World War, and the horrific consequences that will ensue as a result. He mentioned that hostilities between nations, and injustices carried out by the major and minor powers, had already laid the foundation for a global catastrophe. He requested the Prime Minster to use his authority to help bring about peace in the world through purely peaceful means, rather than by the use of force. His Holiness wrote: “Canada is widely considered to be one of the most just countries in the world. Your nation does not normally interfere in the internal problems of other countries. Further, we, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, have special ties of friendship with the people of Canada. Thus, I request you to strive to your utmost to prevent the major and minor powers from leading us into a devastating Third World War.” Letter to President of the United States of America 16 Gressenhall Road Southfields, London SW18 5QL, UK President Barack Obama President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington D.C. 8 March 2012 Dear Mr President, In light of the perturbing state of affairs developing in the world, I felt that it was necessary for me to write to you, as you are the President of the United States of America, a country which is a world superpower, and thus you hold the authority to make decisions which will affect the future of your nation and the world at large. There is currently great agitation and restlessness in the world. Small-scale wars have broken out in certain areas. Unfortunately, the superpowers have not been as successful as was anticipated in their efforts to establish peace in these conflict-hit regions. Globally, we find that almost every country is engaged in activities to either support, or oppose other countries; however, the requirements of justice are not being fulfilled. It is with regret that if we now observe the current circumstances of the world, we find that the foundation for another world war has already been laid. As so many countries, both large and small, have nuclear weapons, grudges and hostilities are increasing between nations. In such a predicament, the Third World War looms almost certainly before us. Such a war would surely involve atomic warfare; and therefore, we are witnessing the world head towards a terrifying destruction. If a path of equity and justice had been followed after the Second World War, we would not be witnessing the current state of the world today whereby it has become engulfed in the flames of war once again. As we are all aware, the main causes that led to the Second World War were the failure of League of Nations and the economic crisis, which began in 1932. Today, leading economists state that there are numerous parallels between the current economic crisis and that of 1932. We observe that political and economic problems have once again led to wars between smaller nations, and to internal discord and discontentment becoming rife within these countries. This will ultimately result in certain powers emerging to the helm of government, who will lead us to a world war. If in the smaller countries conflicts cannot be resolved through politics or diplomacy, it will lead to new blocs and groupings to form in the world. This will be the precursor for the outbreak of a Third World War. Hence, I believe that now, rather than focusing on the progress of the world, it is more important and indeed essential, that we urgently increase our efforts to save the world from this destruction. There is an urgent need for mankind to recognise its One God, Who is our Creator, as this is the only guarantor for the survival of humanity; otherwise, the world will continue to rapidly head towards self-destruction. My request to you, and indeed to all world leaders, is that instead of using force to suppress other nations, use diplomacy, dialogue and wisdom. The major powers of the world, such as the United States, should play their role towards establishing peace. They should not use the acts of smaller countries as a pretext to disturb world harmony. Currently, nuclear arms are not only possessed by the United States and other major powers; rather, even relatively smaller countries now possess such weapons of mass destruction, where those who are in power are often trigger-happy leaders who act without thought or consideration. Thus, it is my humble request to you to strive to your utmost to prevent the major and minor powers from erupting into a Third World War. There should be no doubt in our minds that if we fail in this task then the effects and aftermath of such a war will not be limited to only the poor countries of Asia, Europe and the Americas; rather, our future generations will have to bear the horrific consequences of our actions and children everywhere in the world will be born disabled or deformed. They will never forgive their elders who led the world to a global catastrophe. Instead of being concerned for only our vested interests, we should consider our coming generations and strive to create a brighter future for them. May God the Exalted enable you, and all world leaders, to comprehend this message. Yours Sincerely, MIRZA MASROOR AHMAD Khalifatul Masih V Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community As I write this on the 23rd September 2013 the world around me is turmoil, again. The Islam I know and love is once, again, being hijacked by terrorists masquerading as Muslims. Acting in revenge for political reasons, with a self made religion made of guns, money, and politics that have nothing to do with the noble religion of Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him). Two suicide bombers killed at least 78 innocent men women and children, and wounded at least 110, at a 130 year old Anglican Church in Peshawar, Pakistan. In what has been described as the single deadliest attack on the county’s Christian minority. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility saying it would continue to target non-Muslims until the US stopped drone attacks in the country’s remote tribal regions. Elsewhere at the same time at least 62 men women and children have been killed and 170 injured numerous were being held hostage after a 36+ hour siege in a uptown shopping mall in Kenya by the Somalian al Qaida affiliate group Al Shabaab. In what can be been described as the second most deadly attack in the county’s history. Al Shabaab said they carried out the attacks in response to Kenyan military operations in Somalia. Media incorrectly reported that they were allowing Muslims free and killing innocent people from differing religions and nations in a politically fueled revenge attack. But the reality is they killed Muslim's and particularly Muslim children as well. Just days previous at least 65 people were killed and at least 120 wounded in a triple bombing targeting a Shi’ite Muslim funeral in Baghdad, Iraq. And earlier that same day in a separate incident at least 8 Shi’ite’s were killed by a car bomb detonating in another part of Baghdad. More political acts of sectarian murder committed by rebel Sunni Muslims, fighting to overthrow a leader backed by Shi’ite Iran. Deadly attacks on Shi’ite Muslims are now becoming a nearly daily occurrence. A blood curdling 205 murdered in three days, for political reasons by so called Muslims. And sadly elsewhere hundreds of thousands of people in Syria and Egypt are engulfed in the fire of violence, oppression and rebellion. Fighting each other for political reasons. Everything revolving around guns, money and politics. ''Get money to buy guns, to force people to bend to your political views'' - and who better to fund this than corrupt religious and political leaders. It reminded me of the 28th May 2010 when 86 peaceful worshipers were killed and 124 were injured in the sectarian killing of Ahmadi Muslims in Lahore in Pakistan. In what has also been described as the single deadliest attack on the county’s Ahmadi Muslim minority in Pakistan's history. Also killing a Christian worker at the same time the Tehrik e Taliban Punjab murders shouted ‘Khatme Nabuwwat Zindah Baad’ (– Long Live End of Prophet hood). An act of pure sectarian murder committed because a previous Pakistani Government passed laws of religious intolerance in their constitution. If ever there was a clear connection with money, guns and politics Pakistan is the prime example. I was there watching the surreal events take place, lucky to have survive but destined to bury two uncles. I saw teenage terrorists that were pumped with drugs like experimental super soilders immunised against pain and burning with a desire to kill for their masters. This event woke me from my hypnotic materialism and made me realise what’s really going on. So when people ask me why do the current world events make me sad? I simply say how many more deadly attacks will there have to be for people to realise that things are getting rapidly worse. A dangerous mix of radical religious perspectives fueled by politics and money to buy weapons has been allowed to enter into the minds of the people across most developing nations. The Holy Qur’an states, ‘...and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice...’ (5:9) and ‘...that is nearer to righteousness...’ (5:9). So, it’s clear these terrorists have no righteousness and do not pay heed to the Holy Qur’an. Or they would know that to kill another person is a sin, equal as if they had killed the whole of mankind. And to kill women or children is never permitted, even in times of war a fight must between two able and strong men only. This is all about money, guns and politics because they prefer the attire of guns and grenades and a suicide vest rather than the modest dress and cloth cap of a righteous Muslim. Let’s face it, it’s always about money. They are always being funded from somewhere. Otherwise how could the Kenyan Terrorist's hole up in a shopping mall for over 36 hours and have enough weapons and bullets to last so long? Where does the money come from for such a large investment in arms and who stands to gain politically? The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of God be upon him) was a leader and a statesman, an exemplar for all true Muslims in the world. He enjoined the masses to be patient and pray for divine help, not to take matters into their own hands. He foretold that after him people would see that their rights were usurped and preferences were given to others, in addition people would see things which they considered bad. He was asked what the instruction for such a time was. He replied that the rights of rulers should be paid at such times and one’s own rights should be sought from God. In other words if one wants to be saved from hell then one should pay ones dues and obligations to all around him or her and leave the matter of the ruler with God and stay engaged in prayers. This is true righteousness and what Ahmadi Muslims are currently doing. This is why Ahmadi Muslims are worried and praying for the people of Pakistan, Kenya, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and everywhere else that people are being oppressed by their governments and being manipulated and radicalised. We all need to unite and become serious in breaking the current negative trend towards self destruction. Each of us needs to step up our efforts in spreading peace, tolerance and righteousness. The 1.6 billion Muslim population worldwide needs to wake up and recognise they have a moral responsibility to each of their neighbours to make the world a peaceful place. A place with no violence and intolerance. And chasing the money trail and politics behind the terrorists will start to stamp out this bloodshed. When we hear of Western Nations saying they want to help 'arm' rebel nations - make no mistake that is a root of terrorism. A gun is for life not just for a rebellion. And one person's rebel is another’s freedom fighter, and yet another's mujahedeen or political pawn. Did you know that a recent 2013 survey showed that the world’s ammunition manufacturers are working 24 hours to satisfy demand for bullets? The business of war has never been so good for some... By Ansar Khan, Naib Regional Qaid Tahir Region London. To read more interesting and motivating articles by this and other writers visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com/blog. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. The Quran and Extraterrestrial Life by the late Mirza Tahir Ahmad (Khalifatul Masih IV) (ra) The vision of the universe that the Quran presents is poles apart from the one held by the philosophers and sages of all the past ages. At the time of the Quranic revelation, it was Greek astronomy which dominated the minds of men everywhere in the world and all civilizations seemed to have been influenced by the same. This domination continued uninterrupted until the time of Copernicus. It was universally believed that the heavens consisted of layer upon layer of some transparent plastic material, studded with bright heavenly bodies we know as stars. To be more specific, the following was the sum total of the entire knowledge of the people of that age:
Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof...1 It needs to be explained here that the figure 'seven' can be treated as a specific term of the Quran in this verse and many other similar ones. As such it would mean that the universe comprises many units of heavens, each divided into groups of seven (a perfect number), each having at least one earth to it which will be supported by the entire system of that heaven (galaxy). Referring to that system in general, a more specific verse on the existence of extraterrestrial life runs as follows: And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and of whatever living creatures (da'bbah) He has spread forth in both...2 Da'bbah covers all animals which creep or move along the surface of the earth. It does not apply to animals which fly or swim. It is certainly not applicable to any form of spiritual life. In Arabic a ghost will never be referred to as da'bbah, nor an angel for that matter. The second part of the same verse speaks not only of the possibility of extraterrestrial life, but it categorically declares that it does exist—a claim which even the most modern scientific researchers have not been able to make so far with any measure of certainty. Yet, this is not all that this verse reveals. Wonder upon wonder is added when we read at the end of this verse, that He (Allah) will bring together the life in the heavenly bodies and the life on earth when He so pleases: ...And He has the power to gather them together (jam-'i-him) when He will so please.3 Jam-'i-him is the Arabic expression in this verse which specifically speaks of bringing together of life on earth and the life elsewhere. When this meeting of the two will take place is not specified, nor is it mentioned whether it will happen here on earth or elsewhere. One thing however, is definitely stated: this event will most certainly come to pass whenever God so desires. It should be kept in mind that the word jama' can imply either a physical contact or a contact through communication. Only the future will tell how and when this contact will take place, but the very fact that more than fourteen hundred years ago such a possibility was even predicted is miraculous in itself. This revelation of the Quran was made at a time when cosmology as a science was not yet born. A different age of conjectural visualization prevailed which had to go a long way before it could contemplate the existence of extraterrestrial life. Even today such claims are only found in science fiction. Scientists have still not been able to completely shake off their earlier scepticism regarding the existence of life in space. No definitive evidence has as yet been discovered in its support. Scientists are still talking of only 'chances'. Professor Archibald Roy of the University of Glasgow is one of the many prominent enthusiasts deeply committed to probing into the possibilities of intelligent life forms on celestial bodies. He writes: 'At various international conferences on the problem of extraterrestrial life, the question has been discussed and it has become clear that not only is there a chance of recognizing that a signal is of intelligent origin but it would also be possible to enter into communication with the intelligent species and exchange information.'4 Not everyone shares Professor Roy's enthusiasm on this subject. Dr. Frank Tipler of Tulane University, New Orleans, can be counted amongst the sceptics. He bases his pessimism on mathematical calculations. To him the appearance of intelligent beings elsewhere in the universe through the blind processes of material evolution defy the law of large numbers. The evolution of life here on earth is dilemma enough for scientists to resolve. For it to repeat itself through a collusion of such an enormous number of chances as defy human calculations is a mathematical impossibility. Dr. Tipler states: '... extraterrestrial intelligences are not here. We just have to interpret this fact. Most astronomers cling to a belief in extraterrestrial intelligence against the evidence because of a philosophical principle: the copernican idea that our place in the cosmos must be completely typical. But we know this idea is false. The Universe is evolving: the cosmic radiation shows that there was once a time when no life existed because it was too hot. Thus, our place is atypical in time. In particular there must be a first civilization, and it happens to be ours.'5 Dr. Tony Martin, former vice-president of the British Interplanetary Society, holds similar sceptical views. Yet, despite all this opposition, Dr. Roy's scientific dream seems, at least partly, to have come within reach of realization. In the United States, NASA has already secured governmental approval for a major search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Other scientists of international fame like Professor Sagan, are also strong supporters of this cause.6 MAZING IS IT NOT that what the Quran asserted as a fact, around fourteen hundred years ago, is just beginning to appear as a feasible reality to the scientists of today! The Quran goes a step further when it predicts that man shall one day make contact with extraterrestrial life. The time for the full realization of this prophecy has not yet arrived, but its signs are appearing on the horizon. This demonstrates that the prophecies of the Quran run ahead of human scientific progress. Every new era witnesses the fulfilment of some more revelations which previous eras had no means to testify. Hence it should be clearly understood here that Quranic prophecies are intrinsically different in nature from those implied in science fiction. It has never been uncommon for human fancy to take flight from the springboard of the known facts of nature in the direction of things to be. But seldom does the future testify to the predictions implied in such fictional flights. Moreover, all works of fiction invariably remain confined to the possibilities created by the knowledge of the age. Fiction writers always take their cue from current knowledge to visualize what may emerge tomorrow. Most often however, their guesses prove to be as wild as wild can be. The future as it is carved, does not follow the dictates of their vision. This can only lead to the inevitable conclusion that the exercise of human imagination in relation to the unknown has its limitations. To illustrate the limitation of any particular era with regard to its imaginative scope, the genius of Leonardo da Vinci can be quoted as a befitting example. He attempted to visualize the possibility of human flight but could only conceive it in relation to the then available knowledge. Science and technology had not, until then, advanced to a stage where the human mind could envisage the image of man flying with the help of machines driven by fire. Thus, to visualize even a rudimentary aeroplane lay beyond the limits of Leonardo's potential. The case of the Divine scriptures, however, is a different matter altogether and the knowledge expressed in them cannot be confined to any particular era. Moreover, chance has no role to play in their fulfilment. The scientific discoveries of subsequent ages have never proved any Quranic prophecy to be wrong. So we must look forward with well-founded hope for the realization of even such prophecies as rest with the future to decide. The prophecy about the meeting of life here and the life elsewhere belongs to the same category which remains as yet unfulfilled. May we live long enough to witness the glorious day when life on earth will establish some sort of communion with life in space. REFERENCES
By Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (Khalifatul Masih IV) (ra) in his book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth. To read more interesting and inspiring article by this and other writers please visit www.tahirregion.weebly.com. Please feel free to comment and share this with your friends. |
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