CONTENTS June 2005, Vol.100, No - Review of Religions Shahid Sarah Waseem Saleem Ahmad Malik Tanveer...

Special contributors:Amatul-Hadi AhmadFarina Qureshi

Proof-readers:Shaukia MirAbdul Ghany JahangeerK h a n

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Mansoora Hyder-Muneeb

Navida Shahid

Sarah Waseem

Saleem Ahmad Malik

Tanveer Khokhar.

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

All correspondence shouldbe forwarded to the editor at:

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

© Islamic Publications, 2005ISSN No: 0034-6721

CONTENTS June 2005, Vol.100, No.06

1

Chief Editor and Manager: Mansoor Ahmed Shah

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

Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary)

Mr Naseer Ahmad Qamar

Mr Mubarak Ahmad Zafar

Mr Mirza Fakhar Ahmad

Mr. Abdul Baqi Arshad

Notes & Comments – Tobacco – its continued globalisation and effects . . . . 2Despite the Global Health Treaty on the effects of tobacco use in the West being implemented in 2005,‘developing countries’ are now becoming successful targets of tobacco manufacturers who exploit their economic and social vulnerability.

Foundation stone Ceremony of the London Mosque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Historical speech by the second Khalifa of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community at the Foundation Stone Ceremony of the London’s first mosque.

The Philosophy of Zakat – Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Zakat is taken from the well-to-do and given to the poor. It teaches sympathy of the highest order.

Knowledge of God – Part 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5An insight into how God’s knowledge is Perfect. The capacity for receiving divine revelation to seek anunderstanding of the Divine is and will always be open to man.

Glimpses into the Qur’anic Concept of the Environment - Part 1 . . . . . . 36How every aspect of the environment, including the animal and plant kingdom, affects not only our physicalwell-being but also our moral and spiritual condition – as revealed by the Holy Qur’an.

Maidah Ahmad – Canada

Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad(as) – Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra)

Raising the Standard of Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19An address given by the Head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community at the 2005 Kenya AnnualConvention – Being an Ahmadi Muslim is not enough; one should sincerely follow the teachings of Islam especially in worship. Our conduct in our everyday lives and our treatment to other human beings should beexemplary.

Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V

Maha Dabbous – UK

The Late Maulana Sheikh Mubarak Ahmad

If a Muslim plants a tree and men and animals eat from it, all ofthis will be regarded as an everlasting act of charity.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa) said:

2 The Review of Religions – June 2005

Tobacco is the second majorcause of death in the world. It isresponsible for the deaths of 1 inevery 10 adults worldwide,amounting to 5 million people ay e a ri if smoking patternscontinue.ii This number is likelyto double in the next 10 years. Itis to offset this pattern that theworld’s first global health treatycame into force on 27 February2005. Formally known as theWHO Framework Conventionon Tobacco Control (WHOFCTC), it is the first legalinstrument designed to reducetobacco-related deaths anddisease around the world it hasbeen signed by 168 countries andratified by 57 of them.U n f o r t u n a t e l y, some of therichest nations, including the US,have not signed the treaty. Thedemands made by the treaty arehealth warnings on cigarettepackets to cover 30% of the

packet and bans on tobaccoadvertising, promotion andsponsorship. Although smokinghas not been directly outlawed inthe Holy Qur’an, the treaty is astep towards following theQ u r’anic injunctions to enjoingood and forbid evil and tohasten to vie with one another ingood works (Ch.3:V.115).

M o r e o v e r, it is not only thehealth costs which have spurredon this global treaty. Economiccosts of tobacco use are equallydevastating. For example, theWorld Bank estimates that high-income countries spend currentlybetween 6% and 15% of theirtotal health-care costs to treattobacco-related diseases. Inaddition to the high public healthcosts of treating tobacco-causeddiseases, tobacco kills people atthe height of their productivity,depriving families of bread-

Co m m e n t s&Notes

Tobacco - its continued globalisation and effects

3The Review of Religions – June 2005

winners and nations of a healthyworkforce. Due to increasedsickness, tobacco users are alsoless productive while they arealive. For example, althoughCanada gains $3 billion annuallyfrom tobacco, tobacco’s costs –including physicians’ services,hospital bills, drugs andadministrative services come to$2.4 billion. To this another $1.5billion can be added for the lossof productivity caused bysmoking-related health diseases.So, leaving aside environmentalcosts, the tobacco industrycauses Canada a loss of almost$1 billion annually.iii

H o w e v e r, in recent years asWestern nations and people havebecome increasingly aware of thehealth, social and economicproblems of smoking and enforcestricter regulations, the tobaccoindustry is increasingly lookingto the East in the search for newmarkets. The tobacco industryhas laid a firm grip onDeveloping World markets –with governments playing anactive role in the promotion ofthe industry, as well as on

Developing World minds –where 84% of the world’s 1.8billion smokers live. iv

Due to the immaturity ofeconomies and the health sectorin poorer countries, the effects onless developed societies are moreserious. In Egypt, annual costs oftreating diseases caused bytobacco use have been estimatedat US$545.5 million and in Chinahealth costs of smoking wereestimated at US$6.5 billion pery e a r.v This diverts scarceresources away from other muchneeded sectors such as educationand infrastructural development.

Studies across all the regions inthe world show that it is thepoorest people who tend tosmoke the most in bothdeveloping and developedcountries, and who bear most ofthe disease burden. In pooresthouseholds in some low-incomecountries as much as 10% of totalhousehold expenditure is ontobacco. This means that thesefamilies have less money tospend on basic items such asfood, education and health care.vi

NOTES AND COMMENTS

Not only is tobacco linked topoverty, but it also has a bearingon development. Researchersworking in parts of Africa haveshown the effect which growingtobacco has on the physicalenvironment. Tobacco has beenreferred to as the ‘greedyweed’viii for it depletes the soil ofits nutrients taking up to 3 yearsfor it to regenerate. During thistime the land lies fallow unableto support any food crop.

Thus, what we see is that afteryears of social relaxation in thename of freedom of choice, thereis an explicit acknowledgmentthat the liberty much sought afteris not as sweet as once thought.The problems which tobacco hascaused are global in magnitudeand as such the solutions shouldalso be global. The treaty is astep in the right direction towardsfulfilling this objective, and inaccordance with Islamicteachings, does not outlawsmoking, but rather throughincreasing awareness to thedangers of smoking on thehealth, social, economic andenvironmental well-being of

society, people are given moreknowledge on which to base theirpersonal choices.

By Maidah Ahmad – Canada

References

i WHO, ‘Why is tobacco a public

health priority?’, WHO,

www.who.int/tobacco/health_priori

ty/en/, Last accessed 18/04/2005.

ii ibid

iii John Madeley, ‘Agribusiness:

Burnt fingers, Tobacco’s balance

sheet’, New Internationalist, Issue

167, January 1987.

iv Nick Triggle, ‘Smoking gets own

‘Kyoto treaty’, BBC News, Sunday

27 February 2005.

v WHO, ‘Why is tobacco a public

health priority?’, WHO,

www.who.int/tobacco/health_priori

ty/en/.

vi WHO, ‘The World Health

Organization says that tobacco is

bad economics all around’,

www.who.int/tobacco/en/.

viii New Internationalist, ‘The greedy

weed’, New Internationalist, Issue

107, January 1982.

4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

The Review of Religions – June 2005


Knowledge of GodIt is a very fine question, whatis the nature of the knowledge ofAlmighty God through theperfection of which He is awareof the overt and the covert ofevery particle? It is true thatreason cannot comprehend thetrue condition of that knowledge,yet it is entirely true to say that ofall types of knowledge that canbe conceived of, that knowledgeis more powerful and strongerand fuller and more complete.When we observe our own waysof acquiring knowledge andconsider its diverse types, wefind that the greatest and most

certain and most absolute of allthe types of knowledge is theknowledge that we p o s s e s sconcerning our own existence.

No man can in any conditionf o rget his own existence orentertain any doubt concerningit. So far as our reason extends,we find this type of knowledgemore powerful and stronger andfuller and more complete. Wefind it inconsistent with theperfection of God Almighty thatHis knowledge with regard toHis creatures should in any waybe less perfect than this,inasmuch as it would be a

This series sets out, in the words of the Promised Messiah(as), Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics: ISLAM; ALLAH,THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET(sa) and THE HOLY QUR’AN. The originalcompilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English,was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad Sahib, Allah havemercy on him and reward him graciously for his great labour of love. Amin. TheEnglish rendering is by the late Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, may Allah be pleasedwith him, and is quoted from The Essence of Islam, Volume 1. All referencesthroughout, unless otherwise specifically mentioned, are from the Holy Qur’an.

Knowledge of God - part 11


default that God Almightyshould not possess the highestkind of knowledge that could beconceived of and it can beobjected why God’s knowledgefell short of the highest kind.Was it by His own design or bysome compulsion? It could notbe by His own design for no onedeliberately permits a deficiencywith regard to himself. Thenhow should God Almighty, Wholoves perfection, permit such adeficiency concerning Himself?If it is said that it is by somecompulsion, then it wouldfollow that the compeller wouldbe supreme over God Almightyin his powers and his strength, sothat on account of that excess ofstrength he should be able torestrain God in His designs. Butthat is impossible in itselfbecause nobody is supreme overGod Almighty through whoseobstruction He could beconfronted with some com-pulsion. It is established, there-fore, that God’s knowledge isp e r f e c t .

We have just now affirmed thatof all types of knowledge the

most perfect is that which aperson has with regard to hisown existence. We have there-fore to acknowledge that God’sknowledge concerning H i screation is like that knowledgethough we cannot comprehendits true nature. Our reason tells usthat the most certain and absoluteknowledge is that which shouldexclude any distance or barrierbetween the knower and t h a twhich is to be known. Thatknowledge is of this type. As aman is not dependent upon othersources of knowledge in order tobe aware of his own existence, tobe animate and to consideroneself as an animate are so closeto each other as to be identical.Such should be the knowledge ofGod Almighty concerning thewhole universe. Here also thereshould be no difference a n ddistance between the Knowerand that which is to be known.This high quality of knowledgewhich God needs for theestablishment of His Godheadcan be predicated of Him, whenit is accepted concerning Himthat there is so much closenessand such relationship between

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Him and the subject of Hisknowledge, greater than which itis not possible to imagine.

This perfect relationship with thesubjects of His knowledge canexist only when all of themshould have proceeded from Himand should be His creation. Theirbeing must be dependent uponHis Being. In other words, whenthe situation should be such thatthe true existence should be onlyHis and all others should haveproceeded from Him and shouldsubsist with His support. Even af-ter their creation, they should notbe independent of Him, nor beseparate from Him, but in truthafter the creation of all things, Healone should be truly alive and allother life should have proceededfrom Him and should exist onlywith His support. He aloneshould be subject to no limitationand everything else, souls as wellas bodies, should be confinedwithin the limits set by Him. Heshould comprehend everything;everything should be compre-hended in His Rububiyyat. Thereshould be nothing which shouldnot have proceeded from His

hand and should not be includedwithin His Rububiyyat, n o rshould it exist without Hissupport. It is only in such asituation that God Almightywould have a perfect relationshipwith the subjects of His

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The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was Hadhrat

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as).

The founder of the AhmadiyyaMuslim community was HadhratMirza Ghulam Ahmad( a s ). In 1891,he claimed, on the basis of Divinerevelation, that he was the PromisedMessiah and Mahdi whose adventhad been foretold by Muhammad,the Holy Prophet of Islam( s a ) and bythe scriptures of other faiths.

His claims constitute the basis of thebeliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslimc o m m u n i t y.


knowledge. This relationship isreferred in the Holy Qur’an as:

...We are closer to him thaneven his jugular vein. (Ch.50: V.17)

Similarly at another place it issaid:

... He is the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining...(Ch.2:V.256)

That is to say: He alone sustainstrue life and everything else hasproceeded from Him and has alife because of Him.

In truth He is the Life of all livesand is the Power of all powers....

If the soul is not accepted ashaving been created, then therewould be no reason to assumethat someone who bears thefictitious title of Permeshwarwould have any knowledgeconcerning the reality of thesoul, whose knowledge wouldextend to the ultimate limits ofthe soul. A person who has full

knowledge concerning a t h i n ghas the power to make it also,and if he has not the power thenhis knowledge must bedefective in some respect. Inthe absence of full knowledge,it would be d i fficult todistinguish between similarthings, let alone to have thepower of making them. If GodAlmighty is not the Creator ofthings then He not only suff e r sfrom the deficiency that Hisknowledge is incomplete, but italso follows that He would besubject to confusion indistinguishing between millionsof souls and might oftenmistake the soul of X as the soulof Y. Partial knowledge oftenleads to such confusion. (SurmaChashm Arya, Ruhani Khaza’in,Vol. 2, pp. 221-226 footnote)

It might be asked that if fullcomprehension of a thing impliesthe power to create it then, asG o d ’s knowledge of His OwnBeing is perfect, is He the Creatorof His Own Being or has Hepower to create the like of Him-self? The answer to the first part isthat were God Almighty the

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Creator of His Own Being, itwould involve His being inexistence before His coming intoexistence and this is ani m p o s s i b i l i t y. God Almighty pos-sessing complete knowledge ofHis Own Being means that, in thisinstance, the Knower and Hisknowledge and that which isknown are all the same and cannotbe separated. There is herenothing which should be regardedas having been created. God’sknowledge of His Own Beingcannot be compared to anythingelse. In this instance, the Knoweris not something apart from thatwhich is known so that one maybe designated as the Creator andthe other as creation. The properway to put it is that His Being isuncreated and is eternally andeverlastingly Self-Existing andthat is the meaning of God.

The second part of the objectionis that God’s complete know-ledge of Himself means that Hehas the power to create His Ownlike. The answer to this is thatG o d ’s power directs itselftowards matters which are notinconsistent with His eternal

attributes. It is true that God, ifHe so desires, can create that ofwhich He has perfect knowledge,but it is correct and does notfollow that whatever He has thepower to do He should proceedto do without regard to Hisperfect attributes. In the exerciseof all His powers, He has regardto His perfect attributes and Hehas it in mind whether that whichHe wills is not contradictory toHis perfect attributes. Forinstance, He has the power toburn a pious and righteousperson in the fire of Hell, but Hismercy and justice and attribute ofreward would stand in the way,and, therefore, He never does it.In the same way His power isnever inclined to destroy Himselffor this would be contrary to Hiseternal life. He does not createHis Own like because Hisattributes of Unity andPeerlessness, which are eternal,prevent Him from thinking inthat way. It should be understoodthat to be unable to do somethingis one thing, but despite thepower to do a thing, not toaddress Himself to somethingcontradictory to His attributes, is

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quite another. (Surma ChashmArya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 2,pp. 230-233 footnote)

It is characteristic of GodAlmighty alone to know thehidden by virtue of His personalpower and His personal con-dition. From ancient times, thosewho based themselves upontruth have believed that it isproper for God Almighty that Heshould know the hidden. This isa personal speciality of His. Hehas no associate in this attributeas He has no associate in Hisother attributes. It is, therefore,impossible for anyone to havepersonal knowledge of thehidden whether he is a Prophetor Muhaddath or Wali. It is true,h o w e v e r, that favourites andchosen ones are givenknowledge of hidden mysteriesthrough revelation. This hasbeen so since ancient times andcontinues today, but suchexperience is now confined tothe followers of the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ). (Tasdiq-un-Nabi, pp.26-27 orMaktubat-e-Ahmadiyya, Vol. 3,p.57)

Our Ever-Living and All-Sustaining God talks to me likeone person talks to another. I askHim something and supplicateHim and He answers in wordsfull of power. If this shouldhappen a thousand times, Hewould not fail to answer. In Hiswords He discloses wonderfulhidden matters and displaysscenes of extraordinary powerstill He makes it clear that Healone is the One Who should becalled God. He accepts prayersand intimates their acceptance.He resolves great difficulties andthrough repeated supplicationsrevives those who are sick andvery nearly dead. He disclosesall these designs of His inadvance through His wordswhich relate to future events. Heproves that He is the God ofheaven and earth. He addressedme and told me that He wouldsafeguard me against death byplague and all those who dwellin my house in piety andrighteousness. Who else is therein this age except myself whohas published such a revelationand disclosed God’s promiseconcerning the members of his

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family and other pious peoplewho dwell within his house?(Naseem-e-Da’wat, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 19, pp. 448-449)

Among the natural conditions ofman, is the search for a HigherBeing for Whom there is anattraction in his heart of hearts.The effect of that search beginsto be felt as soon as a child isborn. As soon as it is born, itexhibits a spiritual characteristicwhich is that it leans towards itsmother and entertains a naturala ffection for her. As its sensesdevelop and the flower of itsnature blooms, this attraction oflove, which is inherent in it,begins to exhibit itself patently.It finds no comfort anywhereexcept in the lap of its mother. Ifit is separated from its motherand is put at a distance from her,its life becomes bitter, andthough a heap of bounties maybe placed before it, it finds itstrue comfort only in its mother’slap and nowhere else. Then whatis this attraction that it feelstowards its mother?

In truth, it is the same attractionwhich is vested in a child’snature for God. Every exhibitionof affection by a person in factproceeds from that veryattraction, and the restlessness ofa lover which a person expe-riences is in truth a reflection ofthat very love, as if he takes updiverse things and examinesthem in search for something thathe has lost and whose name hehas forgotten. A person’s love ofproperty, or children, or wife, orhis soul being drawn towards thesong of a sweet voiced singer, arein fact all in search of the lostBeloved. As man cannot per-ceive with his physical eyes theImperceptible Being Who islatent in everyone like fire andyet is hidden from everyone, norcan he find Him through theexercise of his imperfect reason,he has been subject to manyerrors in his understanding ofHim and through his errors herenders to others that which isHis due. God Almighty hasmentioned an excellent illus-tration in the Holy Qur’an thatthe world is like a great hallpaved smooth with slabs of glass

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and a current of water flowsunderneath them which runs veryfast. A person looking at theslabs of glass wrongly imaginesthem to be water also and isafraid of walking upon them ashe would be afraid of walkingupon water, though in realitythey are only glass but very clearand transparent. Thus, these greatobjects in heaven like the sun andthe moon etc. are transparent likeglass and are worshipped bymistake. Behind them, there is aHigher Power at work which isflowing swiftly like water. It isthe mistake of those who worshipcreated things that they attributeto the glass all this activity whichis being manifested by the Powerbehind it. This is the explanationof the verse:

.. ‘It is a palace paved smoothwith slabs of glass’... (Ch.27:V.45)

As the Being of God Almighty,despite its brightness, is h i d d e nbeyond sight, the physicaluniverse is not adequate for itstrue recognition. This is thereason why those who

depended upon the physicalsystem despite their carefulconsideration of its perfectorderliness which comprehendshundreds of wonders withinitself, and despite their pursuitof astronomy and physics andphilosophy to a degree whichshows that they had penetratedthrough heaven and earth, couldnot get rid of their doubts andsuspicions and became involvedin all types of errors andwandered far afield chasingtheir imaginary will-o’-the-w i s p. If they thought of theBeing of the Creator, theyproceeded only thus far thatobserving the great orderlinessof the wise system theyimagined that it should have aC r e a t o r. It is obvious, however,that this idea is incomplete andthis under-standing is imperfect,for to say that this system needsa God is not equal to saying thatGod in fact exists. This was onlytheir conjectural understandi n gwhich cannot bestow satis-faction and contentment uponthe heart, nor can it altogetherremove doubts. This is not a cupwhich could quench the thirst

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of complete u n d e r s t a n d i n gwhich is inherent in man’snature. In fact, such imperfectunderstanding is very dangerous,for after a great deal of noise itleads to nothing.

So long as God Almighty doesnot affirm His Existence by Hisword, as indeed He has done, themere observation of Hishandiwork does not aff o r dsatisfaction. For instance, if wesee a room which is bolted fromthe inside, our first reactionwould be that there is someoneinside who has put up the boltsfor it is impossible to put up thebolts from the outside. But ifover a long period no one frominside should respond to repeatedcalls, we would have to abandonour assumption that there issomeone inside and we wouldimagine that there is no oneinside and that the bolts havebeen put up through some cleverdevice. This is the case of thephilosophers whose understand-ing does not go beyond theobservation of God’s work. It is agreat mistake to imagine thatGod is like a corpse which has to

be brought out of its grave byman. If God has to be discoveredthrough human effort, all ourhopes of such a God are vain.

Indeed God is the Being Who hasever called mankind to Himselfby announcing: I am present. Itwould be impertinence toimagine that man has laid Himunder an obligation through hisunderstanding of Him and that ifthere had been no philosophersHe would have remainedunknown. It is another imper-tinence to enquire whether Godhas a tongue wherewith He canspeak. Has He not created allheavenly bodies and the earthwithout physical hands? Does Henot see the whole world withoutphysical eyes? Does He not hearus without physical ears? Was itthen not necessary that He shouldalso speak?

It is not at all correct to saythat all God’s speaking hasbeen left behind and that thereis nothing in future. We c a n n o tseal up His words and Hisspeech in any age. Wi t h o u tdoubt, He is ready to enrich the

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seekers from the fountain ofrevelation as He used to dobefore. The gates of His graceare as open today as they wereat any time. It is true, however,that the needs for law andlimitations having b e e nfulfilled, all M e s s e n g e r s h i p sand Prophethoods found theirperfection at their last point,which was the person of ourlord and master, the HolyProphet( s a ).(Islami Usu l ki Philosophy,RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. 10, pp. 363-367)

True knowledge of Goddepends upon this that weshould reach the Living GodWho speaks clearly to Hisfavourites and bestows satis-faction and contentment uponthem with His Majestic anddelicious speech. He speaks tothem as one man speaks toanother and converses withthem as a certainty that isbeyond doubt or suspicion. Helistens to them and responds tothem and hearing theirsupplications He informs themof their acceptance. He proves

to them that He is God on theone side by His majestic anddelicious words, and on theother side, by His miraculousworks and His Powerful andMighty signs. To begin with, byway of prophecy He promisesthem His support and help andspecial guidance and then on theother side, in order to augmentthe greatness of His promises, Hecauses a whole world to opposethem. Those people use all theirpower and their deceit and alltheir devices to frustrate God’spromises of support and helpand supremacy which Hemakes to His favourites, butGod brings to naught all theire fforts. They sow mischief andGod uproots it. They kindle a fireand God puts it out. They putforth their utmost efforts andGod turns their designs againstthem.

The righteous ones of God aresimple and straightforward andin the presence of God Almightythey are like children in the lap oftheir mother. The world opposesthem because they are not of theworld. All sorts of plans and

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devices are resorted to in order todestroy them. Peoples combineto put them to trouble, and allunworthy ones shoot arrows atthem from the same bow, and allmanner of calumnies and chargesare invented against them, so thatsomehow they might bedestroyed and all signs of themmight be wiped off, but GodAlmighty fulfils His words allthrough their lives. They are hon-oured with God’s true wordwhich is clear and conclusive,and they are given knowledge ofhidden matters, which is beyondthe power of man, through theclear word of God, the Mightyand Powerful. On the other hand,through miraculous events whichestablish the truth of that whichthey had been told, their faith isstrengthened and is furtherillumined. Whatever need man’snature feels, it has ofunderstanding for the purpose ofthe certain recognition of God,that need is filled is impartedthrough verbal and factualmanifestation of the Divine sothat not a particle of darkness isleft.

This is the God through Whoseverbal and factual manifestations,which comprise thou-sands ofbounties and affect the heartp o w e r f u l l y, a person acquires aliving faith and a true and holyrelationship is established withGod, which removes all personaldirt; and all weakness beingexcluded, inner darkness isdispelled by the fierce rays ofheavenly light and a wonderfulchange is manifested. Therefore,the religion which does notpresent God as possessing theseattributes and confines faith toancient tales and fables and suchmatters as are not seen or heard,is certainly not a true religion. Tofollow such a fictitious god is likeexpecting a corpse to work likeliving beings. A god who doesnot prove his own existenceafresh every time is as if he doesnot exist. He is like an idol whichneither speaks nor hears noranswers questions, nor can hemanifest his power in such amanner that even a confirmedatheist should not be able todoubt it. (Ba r a h i n-e-Ahmadiyya,Part V, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 21,pp.31-32)

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OBJECTION: It is disrespectfulto affirm that God speaks to man.What relationship can subsistbetween a mortal and the Eternaland Ever-Existing? What resem-blance can there be between ahandful of dust and Light itself?

ANSWER: This is a baselessobjection. To meet it, it is enoughto understand that the Noble andGracious God has inspired thehearts of perfect human beingswith untold eagerness for Hisown understanding, and hasdrawn them so powerfully to Hislove, affection and devotion thatthey have been lost to their ownselves. To propose in such a casethat God would not desire toconverse with them would betantamount to saying that all theirlove and devotion are vain andthat all their eagerness is only

one-sided. Such a notion is utternonsense. Can a seeker of OneWho bestowed upon man thecapacity to win nearness to Himand made him restless with Hisown love be deprived of thegrace of converse with Him? Canit be true that to be lost entirely inthe love of God is both possibleand detracts nothing from God’sdignity, but that the descent ofrevelation upon the heart of Histrue lover is impossible andimproper and detracts fromGod’s dignity? Man’s plunginginto the limitless ocean of God’slove and stopping nowhere inthat pursuit, is conclusiveevidence that man’s wonderfulsoul has been fashioned for theunderstanding of God. If it is notbestowed the means of perfectunderstanding, which is reve-lation, it would have to be said

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The righteous ones of God are simple andstraightforward and in the presence of God

Almighty they are like children in the lap of theirmother. The world opposes them because they arenot of the world. All sorts of plans and devicesare resorted to in order to destroy them.

‘’


that God did not fashion him forHis own understanding. Even theBrahmo Samajists do not denythat the soul of a man whopossesses a true nature is hungryand thirsty for the understandingof God.

When it is agreed that a true mannaturally seeks understanding ofGod, and it is established that theperfect manner of the under-standing of the Divine is Divinerevelation and nothing else, thenif that means is impossible ofattainment and to seek it isdisrespectful, God’s wisdomwould be open to the criticismthat He bestowed upon maneagerness for His Own under-standing but did not bestow uponhim the means of acquiring suchunderstanding. In other words,He afflicted man with hunger b u twould not bestow upon him breadenough to satisfy his hunger, orthat He afflicted man with thirst,but would not bestow upon himwater enough to quench his t h i r s t .Wise people will understandthat such a notion amounts tofailure to appreciate God’s greatmercies. It is a strange logic of

the Brahmo Samajists whichproposes that the All-Wise Whohas made it the good fortune ofman that he should be able towitness to the full the rays ofGodhead in this very life, sothat he should be drawn towardsGod by this powerful attraction,that that Gracious andCompassionate One does notdesire man to arrive at hisneeded good fortune and at hisnatural goal.(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol. I pp. 230-232,footnote 11)

Whatever God has desired forman, He has in advance investedhim with all the faculties thatwere needed for its achievement.For instance, the human soulpossesses a capacity for love. Aperson through error might loveanother person and might choosesomeone as the object of hislove, but sane reason can easilyunderstand that this capacity forlove has been vested in his soulso that he should love his trueBeloved Who is his God, withhis whole heart and his wholepower and his whole eagerness.

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD


Can we say that this capacity forlove, which is vested in thehuman soul, and whose surge islimitless and at whose heightman is ready to lay down his life,is inherent in the soul from thebeginning? If God has notcreated this relationship betweenman and Himself by vesting thecapacity for love in the humansoul then this capacity is a matterof chance; that by the goodfortune of Permeshwar soulswere inspired with the capacityfor love and that if the chancehad been otherwise and thiscapacity had not been found inthe souls, nobody would haveever turned his attention to Per-meshwar. Nor could Permeshwarhave devised any plan in thisbehalf.

But it should be consideredthat the demand ofPermeshwar for His ownworship and for righteous ac-tion proves that He has Himselfinvested the human soul withthe capacity for love andobedience. He, therefore,desires that man in whom Hehas vested these capacitiesshould devote himself to Hislove and obedience; otherwise,how can Permeshwar desire thatpeople should love Him andshould obey Him and should actin accordance with His will.(Naseem-e-Da`wat, RuhaniKhaza’in, Vol.19, pp. 385-386)

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

In this journal, for the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘(sa)’ or ‘sa’ after thewords, ‘Holy Prophet’, or the name ‘Muhammad’, are used. They stand for‘Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning ‘Peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim’. Likewise, the letters ‘(as)’ or ‘as’ after the name of all other prophets isan abbreviation meaning ‘Peace be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis salatuwassalam’ for the respect a Muslim reader utters.

The abbreviation ‘ra’ or (ra) stands for ‘Radhiallahu Ta’ala anhu and is used forCompanions of a Prophet, meaning Allah be pleased with him or her (whenfollowed by the relevant Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘ru’ or (ru) forRahemahullahu Ta ’ a l a means the Mercy of Allah the Exalted be upon him.


Today, by the grace of Allah, the40th Annual Convention of theAhmadiyya Muslim Mission ofKenya is being held.

Let me remind those taking partin this Convention and who callthemselves Ahmadi Muslims andwho claim that Allah has enabledthem to believe in the PromisedM e s s i a h( a s ) that they shouldalways remember that it is notenough to believe in thePromised Messiah( a s ) a l o n e .Believing in the PromisedMessiah(as), of course, serves avery big purpose and it is

important that we should attainthis goal. And, you may well ask,what is this great purpose? It is aDivine purpose for which GodAlmighty sends His appointedpersons as His messengers andprophets and it is for this purposethat Allah sent the PromisedMessiah(as). This purpose is bestexpressed by the PromisedMessiah(as) who states:

‘The primary purpose of theadvent of prophets, on whombe peace, and the gloriousaim of their teachings andtheir preaching is that the

Raising theStandard ofWorshipAn address delivered at theParklands Primary School,Nairobi by Hadhrat MirzaMasroor Ahmad, KhalifatulMasih V at the 40th JalsaSalana (Annual Convention) ofthe Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission,Kenya.

kenya


people should find their Lordand they should be savedfrom the life that is drawingthem to Hell and destructionand which is also called a lifesteeped in sin. In reality, thisis the main goal ahead of theprophets. So at this time too,the purpose of my comingand for which God hascommissioned me and themovement that God Almightyhas established, is the samepurpose shared by allprophets. In other words, Iwant to tell and in fact showwhat God is and I want toguide you to the right way toavoid sin.”(Malfoozat Vol. 3 p.11)

So it is very obvious that thepurpose of our being an Ahmadiand being called an Ahmadi willonly be served when we adoptthe ways of the teachings of thePromised Messiah ( a s ) which infact are the true teachings ofIslam the understanding of whichwas given to him by GodAlmighty because of hiscomplete love for the HolyProphet Muhammad(sa).

Let me explain this in anotherway. The basic teaching is tocreate a bond with GodAlmighty, to worship Him, to tryto avoid all kinds of sin and tohonour the rights of His humanbeings. Therefore, the foremostthing, as the Promised Messiah(as)

has stated, is the worship of GodAlmighty, righteousness towardsHim (that is to say, to love Himso much as to fear anything thatmight invite Allah’s displeasure)and to recognise Him. If this iscreated in every Ahmadi, thenknow well that you have attainedthat goal.

N o w, we have to see whatworship is. In this connection,Allah says:

And continue worshipping thyL o rd, till YA Q E E N, that isliterally to say, absolutebelief, or in its broadermeaning, a form of d e a t hcomes to thee.(Ch.15:V.100)

In other words, never tire ofworship. Never let it cross yourmind that I have prayed for such

SPEECH BY HADHRAT KHALIFATUL MASIH V AT THE 40TH ANNUAL CONVENTION IN KENYA


a long time, that I have soughtAllah’s help in such and such athing I need, yet He does notlisten to me. What is the use ofsuch prayers and such worship?An Ahmadi should never think insuch a way. Such worship has nouse. Pray so that Allah is pleasedwith you. When you worshipGod Almighty, pray with thethought in your mind that ifAllah does not accept such andsuch prayer of mine, then theremust be something in my desirethat is not for my benefit. Youridea of worship should not bethat if Allah listens to me andgives me everything that I askfor, then I will worship or elsewhat is the use of praying toHim. The Promised Messiah(as)

says that you should not thinklike that but pray with a differentkind of thinking in your mind.You can only be called a believerwhen every moment is spent bymaking sure that this worldwhich is a false life is not endedand a new life cannot beginwithout a connection with GodAlmighty. Do not sit in comforttill such time that you are fullysatisfied that God is pleased with

you. Hence, the PromisedMessiah(as) states:

‘It is vital that a believershould not tire of worship norslacken till such time that thisfalse life is reduced tonothing and in its place a newlife that is everlasting andcomforting begins to emerge.And, until the pain andanguish of this temporalearthly life is removed andcreates in one a delight inone’s faith and belief and apeace and tranquillity in one’sspirit, rest assured that till onereaches that state, that beliefis incomplete and wrong.This is why Allah Almightyhas stated here that youshould continue to worshiptill absolute faith is achievedand all veils and shrouds ofdarkness are drawn away andone understands that I am notwhat I used to be before, butnow, there is a new country, anew world, a new sky and Itoo am a new creation.”(Al Hakm Vol.4: p.31 dated31 August 1900)



So remember that if you want toattain closeness and nearness toAlmighty Allah, to becomerecipients of His pleasure, to begranted such an everlasting lifethat is full of bliss and happiness,want to spend this worldly lifefilled with happiness and to gainnearness to God in the life afterdeath and receive God’s love,then become true worshippers ofAllah.

The Promised Messiah( a s ) s a y sthat till you leave behind thepleasures of the world andmaterialism, your worship is ofno use. So make your worshipalso the means of getting nearerto God and praying to Him.When you reach that state withinyourself that worldly mattersseem meaningless in comparisonto matters relating to the worshipof God, then it can be said thatyour belief is of a standardwhere, apart from deriving thepleasure of Allah, you have noother desires. At that time, manbegins to feel within himself thatI am not what I used to be.Because of this worship, I feelthat I have a new lease of life.

Now it seems that I am a being ofsome other world. Unlike otherpersons of this world, I do nothave eyes fixed on this world atall times. The purpose of myexistence is not merely to earn aliving in this world but todischarge the duty of honouringthe rights of the Creator.However, Allah does not preventanyone from earning alivelihood, of trading, of doing ajob, of farming or working insome other way. But to makethese things the only purpose ofone’s life and to not pay attentiontowards the worship of Allah andto not even think about the Beingthat created and nourished one,are matters from which Allahstops us. Allah says that you canonly be called My people whenyou continue to worship Me andnever become tired of wor-shipping Me. So the PromisedMessiah(as) came to create thesestandards in us.

So as I have said, those of youwho call yourselves Ahmadisshould not sit back and restthinking that having fulfilled thewords of the prophecy of the



Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa), youhave accepted the PromisedMessiah(as) and have now joinedhis Community. This is notenough, but a new country, a newworld and a new sky will have tobe found by you.

In this age when materialism isspread all over, sin is no longertreated a sin, when the ease andcomfort of this world are all thatmatter, you will have to shapeyour actions and deeds incompliance with the com-mandments of Allah as Allahrequires you to do. It is onlywhen you have made this clearchange within yourselves thatyou will be entitled to enter anew country or territory in whichno one else lives other than thosewho seek Allah’s pleasure. Theworld of your heart will betotally under the control ofAllah’s commandment.

Whenever you sow the seeds insuch a soil, apart from the greencrops of good deeds everblowing in the wind, nothing elsecan grow. Over these, thereshould be such a sky that

provides its shade and showersnothing but blessings from Allah.So this is the standard ofreformation that we have tocreate within ourselves.

As I said before, just observingthe five daily prayers will notestablish the standards ofworship because there are someworshippers about whom theHoly Qur’an says that they arethe means of destruction as itsays:

So woe to those who pray…(Ch.107:V.5)

N o w, what can be a source ofdestruction and a curse for thosewho pray? It is because theirprayers are only by way of showand so that people should saythat such and such a Haji1 is avery holy man. People shouldsay that ever since he hasreturned from the pilgrimage, heprays a lot. However, the prayersobserved for the sake of Allahshould at least have a tinge ore ffect of the commands of Allah.Yes, perform the pilgrimage andobserve the prayers, but if in



your daily dealings and yourtrade you are cheating people,then such a deed or such worshiphas no value before Allah.

If you seemingly observe theprayers but your neighbours arefed up of you, then your prayershave no value before Allahbecause Allah says be kind toyour neighbours. TheCompanions of the Prophet ( s a )

were very kind in their treatmentof their neighbours. The HolyP r o p h e t( s a ) himself alwaysemphasised the rights of theneighbour so much so that thecompanions thought that thecommand would soon come thatthe neighbours are designated asinheritors of their estate.

A quality that Allah hasidentified about the people whoworship Him is that they treattheir parents with kindness.They are also kind towards theirrelatives and honour their rights.They also take care of the needyand the orphans and do not lookdown at them with pride andarrogance.

So worship is not limited toobserving the prayers andperforming the Hajj orpilgrimage but a true worshipperis the one who obeys thecommandments of Allah anddoes not transgress nor exceedthe limit against anyone. He trieshis best never to usurp the rightsof anyone or snatch thebelongings of others. One whousurps the rights of another canbe a rich man or a commonlabourer. If a common workerdoes not do justice to his work,then he too will be includedamongst those who usurp therights of others. If an employeedoes not do the work of his bossin a fair manner, then he too willbe guilty of the offence. It will be



just as bad as when a rich mancommits a sin by usurping therights of a poor man. Or if a civilservant does not spend full timeat his work, then he too iscommitting a sin and his acts ofworship and his prayers will notserve him any purpose.

So, the truth of the matter is thatas long as the manner in which aperson deals and conductshimself is not in accord withwinning the happiness andpleasure of God, and good deedsare not done other than for thepurpose that Allah may bepleased, and worship is not forany purpose other than that Allahmay be pleased, till then hecannot benefit from the bountiesand blessings of the AlmightyAllah. This is what we learn fromthe Holy Qur’an, the Ahadith,and the teachings of thePromised Messiah(as). So everyAhmadi should try and raise hisworship to this standard, becausein its absence there can be noconcept of Ahmadiyyat.

Understand this objective andchange your lives in accordance

with this principle. Theseconventions that are held alsoserve the same purpose. TheJ a m a ’ a t2 has no interest inshowing its strength or standingby congregating people but thepurpose of such Jalsas is so thatthose few weak souls in whomany shortcomings have arisenover the year, should bereminded what God wants andwhat Ahmadiyyat, that is trueIslam, requires of them. Weshould change our lives accord-ingly.

The two or three days of theConvention should, therefore, bespent in supplications and wor-ship. Pledge to purify yourselffrom every bad thing. Prayfervently and crying in themanner that a baby cries:

‘O Lord! Thou art the onlyOne Who can cause thesepious changes in our hearts.We have found this pureenvironment in which every-one is trying to reformoneself. We have discoveredthis environment in which allAhmadis have gathered to



observe prayers. We havefound an environment inwhich all those who havecome together are listening togood things so that virtuouschanges and reformation mayoccur amongst them. Thesegood things that we listen toare nothing else exceptmatters about Allah and HisMessenger. So O Lord, grantus the opportunity to listen tothese good things so that wemay act on these good thingsand try and make them anintegral part of our lives. OAllah! Let it not be that inthese two days there is atemporary excitement in usbut when we return homes,we forget Thee and webecome forgetful about thetimes of worship. Let it not bethat we should ignore therights of Thy people.’

M o r e o v e r, there are newAhmadis who have not been verylong in this Jama’at.Conventions are also held fortheir Tarbiyyat, that is, trainingand reformation, so that goodchanges should begin to occur

amongst them. So whether theyare new Ahmadis or oldAhmadis, if they have come toparticipate in the Conventionwith good intentions, thenbecause such conventions andsuch gatherings that are intendedfor good deeds and making goodplans, Allah showers Hisblessings on the participants.These blessings are so much thatwe cannot comprehend them.

There is a Tradition thatdescribes such a gathering.Hadhrat Abu Hurairah(ra) relatesthat the Holy ProphetMuhammad(sa) said:

‘Allah has angels who goaround looking for a gatheringengaged in the remembranceof Allah, and when they find acompany so occupied, they sitdown there and cover it byextending their wings. Thewhole environment is blessedin abundance. When thepeople depart, the angels goup to the heaven where Allahasks them, although Allahknows everything, ‘Wherehave you come from?’ The



angels report, ‘We have comefrom Thy servants who wereproclaiming Thy Holiness andThy Greatness. They wereengaged in Thy worship andwere repeatedly praising andglorifying Thee and weresupplicating Thee.’ Upon thisAllah asks, ‘What were theyseeking from Me?’ The angelsrespond, ‘They ask of TheeThy paradise.’ Allah asks,‘Have they seen Myparadise?’ The angels answer,‘No, Lord, they have not seenThy paradise.’ Allah asks,‘What if they saw it?’ Thenthe angels say, ‘They seekThy protection.’ Upon thisAllah asks, ‘From what dothey seek My protection?’They answer, ‘They seekprotection from Thy Fire.’Allah asks, ‘Have they seenMy Fire?’ The angelsrespond, ‘No, they have notseen it.’ Allah inquires, ‘Whatif they saw it?’ Then theangels say, ‘They seek Thyf o rgiveness.’ Allah says, ‘If o rgive them and grant themwhatever they asked of Meand I protect them from that

which they asked.’ Upon this,the angels say, ‘O Lord!There was amongst them soand so misled person whohappened to be passing by andseeing the gathering engagedin the remembrance of God,sat down in it as a spectator. ’Upon this Allah says, ‘If o rgive him also becausethose who take part in it aresuch people that even the onewho sits amongst them cannever remain unfortunate anddeprived of blessings.’(Muslim: Kitab Al-Dhikr,Chapter: Fadhal Majalis Al-D h i k r)

See how much grace and blessingis there for such gatherings whereAllah is remembered, whereplans are made for attaining thenearness to Allah and whereplans are devised for kindness toh u m a n i t y. So if you have cometogether with this thought, thenyou too are the fortunate onesupon whom the angels spreadtheir wings of protection. Theangels are praying for you.

S i m i l a r l y, Allah is also pleased



that these of My mortal people,despite being tempted by theDevil, did not fall prey to thetemptations of Satan and insteadpreferred to sit in gatheringsdevoted to My remembrance. Inthis age when there are all sorts ofplots hatched by Satan and whenthe followers of Satan lurk andhide on every corner waiting tolead man astray, the significanceof such gatherings becomes allthe more important.

On such people who assemble forthe remembrance of Allah, Allahshowers His blessings in greatabundance. Allah says that eventhough they have not seen Myparadise but having believed inMe, are eager to go to paradiseand though they have not seen theFire because of their belief in Me,seek My protection from it.Allah says further that thesepeople are remembering Me andare favourably inclined towardsMe. Because of this opinion theyhold about Me, I grant themeverything that they desire of Me.

Then Allah forgave an evilperson who happened to sit

amidst their company. But weshould remember that it is theLaw of God Almighty that Hepunishes sins also. This is whyby doing good deeds and despitethe means for forg i v e n e s sexisting, it is important to remainresolute because true repentanceis such that one should let perishthe thought of any bad deed aftersuch a realisation. Despite seeingevil, instead of being drawntowards evil, one should take astep towards God Almighty andshould always seek Hissalvation.

So when you depart from thisgathering, only go after makingchanges in yourselves towardspiety and creating in yourselvesrighteousness and making these apermanent part of your lives.They should be such changes thatafter witnessing them in you,even your future generationsshould become holy. Your moralsshould be of such high standardsthat there should be no match forthem.

I have been drawing the attentionof the Jama’at for a long time



towards this but because this isthe first time I am addressing youdirectly I repeat myself.Whether you are a commercialtrader or a small businessman,whether you are an employee ora labourer, whether a proprietoror an officer, at every place andevery moment, others shouldknow that having acceptedAhmadiyyat, this person hascaused a special change withinhimself. He has the badge ofAhmadiyyat on him. If he worksin a government department, hewould never accept a bribe. If heis a trader, he never mixes hiscommodities nor sells a faultyobject. If he is an employee or al a b o u r e r, then no one worksharder than him and he does fulljustice to his work. You have thecapacities and faculties withwhich you can create a name foryourselves through hard workand sincerity. The only thingneeded is attention and anAhmadi must pay attentiontowards it.

Another important thing towardswhich much attention is needed isthe Ta r b i y y a t or training of the

ladies. If we do not train theladies and try and make themunderstand their faith in the sameway that the men try and do it forthemselves, then there can be noguarantee for the training of thefuture generations. So consid-erable attention needs to be paidto this aspect. In the Third Wo r l dor the Developing World as it isnow called, because of a lack ofknowledge, a tendency growsamongst men that there is no needto teach the ladies anything abouttheir faith or that they need notobtain any worldly education.Some ladies of rich families doacquire worldly education but aretotally unknowledgeable aboutmatters of faith. If this situationalso exists amongst Ahmadis,then your future generations cannever be trained in spiritual andmoral matters. They will be of nouse to their faith, nor will they beof any use to the country.Therefore, if you wish to have aradical progress and want to beleaders in secular and non-secular matters, then educateyour ladies in religious andworldly matters. Their job is notjust to go the market and sell



some goods and thus feed thefamilies and look after yourchildren. Looking after thechildren and their upbringing isindeed their responsibility butthey have also a status in society.Therefore, it is the responsibilityof men to take care of the ladiesand to keep them with you inreligious matters. So do notforget your ladies.

Likewise, I tell the ladies that thestatus of an Ahmadi lady is veryhigh. Pay special attentiontowards the upbringing andtraining of your children. Createsuch an environment for yourchildren that they get religiouseducation and also pay attentionto their worldly education. EveryAhmadi child, be it a boy or agirl, should march forward ineducation. Education should notbe abandoned because of poverty.The Jama’at should arrange it andtake care of this and the Jama’atwill do so Insha Allah ( A l l a hWi l l i n g ) .

If the ladies themselves scale newheights in their worship and payattention to doing good and to

their supplications and aremindful that being Ahmadis theyhave to reform themselves andhave not become Ahmadismerely because their husbandsbecame Ahmadis, then definitelytheir future generations will besuch that it would be beneficialfor the world as well as for thecountry and the nation. The ladieswill be pressed in the effort thatwe are believers in the One Godbefore Whom alone we bowdown. It will not have its sighttowards the world. It cannot bethat our people continue to begalways from other people andother nations. The thought shouldbe in the heart that the commandof the Lord Whom we worship isto adopt all good values.

Therefore, I urge again that inorder to save yourselves and yournation, you will have to restoreyourselves to the status that youenjoyed in the past when theeconomy of this country was verystrong. In order to regain thestanding of your nation and earnrespect in the eyes of the world,you will have to adopt all thoseexcellent values towards which



God Almighty has directed youand which are mentioned veryclearly in the Holy Qur’an. Yo uwill have to abandon all thoseevils that Allah has forbidden andwhich are mentioned in the HolyQ u r’an. And most of all, in orderto gather all the blessings ofAllah, you will have to payattention towards His worshipwhich is His right. And everyperson of the house and everymember of the Jama’at, man,woman and child, when you bowin the presence of Allah, thenmost certainly, you will be theones to bring about a revolutionin your lives and in your countryand the world will witness thatthose whom we thought were ofno value are not valueless but areour equals.

Allah enable you to recogniseyour status. May you all be thebeneficiaries of the supplicationsof the Promised Messiah(as) forthose who participate in theJalsa. Allah make the Jalsa asuccess in every way and bless itand that when you return homeyou return with a new spirit.

Finally, I wish to thank all thehonourable guests who havetaken their precious time toattend this Convention and haveprovided testimony of theirbrotherly love and aff e c t i o n .Allah reward them with Hisgrace.

REFERENCES1. One who has performed the

Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah.2.Community.

(Reproduced at the exclusiveresponsibility of The Review ofReligions)

The Hon. Vice President of KenyaMr Moody Awori, declared openthe Annual Convention and paidtribute to the Ahmadiyya Muslimcommunity n Kenya which haserected 63 permanent mosques, 5medical clinics and hastranslated the Holy Qur’an into 5local languages.



With the Grace and Mercy of God.He Alone is the Helper.Sisters and brothers.

We have assembled here today fora function which is unique in itself.It is to lay the foundation stone of abuilding erected to remember Himwho is the Creator of all, and togive expression to our feelings ofdevotion and worship of Him Whois the centre of all. When we standin His presence we forget alldistinctions of age, rank, colour,east or west, for the nearer a manattains to Him the less heremembers the difference, and themore he realises the unity ofmankind. So the house in which wehave assembled here today, is asign of the unity and brotherhoodof man: it assures us of the fact thatour source and our place of returnis the same and that we should notfight with each other or createtrouble merely owing to some

apparent differences. Differences there have been in theworld and they will continue toarise. Never was there a time, norwill it ever be, when thesedifferences would disappear: for solong as there is in man the capacityto progress and advance, his needsmust differ. Whatever advance wenotice in the world is all the resultof this fact. So difference, in thisrespect, as the Holy ProphetM u h a m m a d( s a ) has said, is thesource of blessing and not aharmful thing. Evil creeps in onlythrough over-zealousness in layingtoo much stress upon unityculminating in intolerance. As amatter of fact, the cause of humanbrotherhood has never suff e r e dmore than at the hands of its ownwarmest advocates whose zealoutran their sense of proportion,and who, consequently, adoptedmeans which defeated their ownobject. The cause of unity has

Speech byHadhrat Khalifatul Masih II(ra)

at the Foundation Stone Ceremony of the Fazl Mosque, London on 19th October 1924


indeed suffered more at the handsof its friends than at the hands of itsenemies.

If difference is really as bad as it ispainted, what is the function oftoleration? Toleration and larg e -heartedness can only be exercisedwhen there exist some differences.So what the world needs today isnot so much the mitigation ofdifferences as the inculcation oftoleration at breadth of view, that isto say, people should learn to liveon terms of mutual love andfellow-feeling, in spite of theirdifferences of beliefs and opinions.There can be no doubt about thefact that there can be no realprogress without the propagationof truth and that therefore everyonehas a right to call people to thetruth (as one understands it), but itdoes not mean that one has a rightto enforce his views upon othersand to impose his will upon thetongue and action of others beforebringing about any change in theirhearts. Nor should one begin topersecute others on the basis ofmere differences of opinion.

Sisters and brothers, mosques arebuilt for fostering its spirit of loveand mutual amity. In the

terminology of Islam, a mosque iscalled ‘Baitullah’ (The House ofGod), that is such a place where noone has a right to disturb or evictanother owing to differences ofopinions, for it is the House of Godand not the private property of anyindividual, and God is as much theLord of His opponent as his. Saysthe Holy Qur’an: ‘Who can be aworse tyrant than him whoprevents people from entering themosques, wherein the name of Godis remembered? (Ch.2:V.115)

Once a deputation from a Christiantribe waited upon our Holy ProphetMuhammad(sa). They were having adiscussion with him on doctrinalpoints. The argument grew longand it was their time to pray. Theyasked his permission to go out andsay their prayers. He said there wasno need for them to go out for theycould pray in the mosque wherethey were holding the discussion.So we know from the Holy Qur’anas well as from the life of the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ), that the doors ofMuslim mosques are open to allthose who want to worship Godalone and that the Muslim mosquesare the centres of unity.

In the same spirit and with the

FOUNDATION STONE CEREMONY OF THE FAZL MOSQUE, LONDON


same motives as I have describedabove, the Ahmadiyya Communityintends to lay the foundation stoneof this mosque, and before I do it Iwant to proclaim it throughout thewhole world through you who havekindly assembled on this occasionthat this mosque is built to worshipand serve God alone, so that Hislove may become fully and firmlymanifest and people may be drawntowards religion, without whichthere can be no true progress. Weshall not, God willing, preventanyone from worshipping Godhere provided he does not infringethe rules which are necessary forthe upkeep of this House of Godand provided also that they do notinterfere with the worship of thosewho are building it. I have faith andhope that the spirit of tolerationand large-heartedness which theerection of the mosque will createwill help to remove all friction andstrife and establish peace and unityand goodwill among men, and thedays are not far off when peoplewill give up all war and the ideas ofwar, and they will learn to live inpeace and harmony, and the wholeworld will realise that with God asour One Creator it is necessary tobe as brothers and sisters, andinstead of being hindrances in the

way of progress of others, we willhelp and co-operate with eachother.

Just as a father does not like thathis children should fight amongthemselves, so does not God likethat His creatures should be busyfighting against each other.

In fact, all quarrels and frictions aredue to our straying away from God,so He out of His mercy sent thePromised Messiah, Ahmad(as), thefounder of this movement, to drawpeople to God, so that theirattention being drawn away frominternal friction they be drawntowards mutual understanding andharmonious living. The AhmadiyyaMovement is willing, with thegrace of God, to make all sorts ofsacrifices and endure all sorts ofhardships until the time when allracial and political wars are endedand love reigns supreme. We hopethat good people of all nations,whatever their creeds and beliefs,will help the AhmadiyyaCommunity in their efforts topromote peace. The signs arealready visible, as assemblage hereof distinguished people of variousraces and creeds clearly shows. Sowith ample hopes and full



expectation, I, Mirza BashiruddinMahmud Ahmad, Khalifatul MasihII, Head of the AhmadiyyaCommunity which has its head-quarters at Qadian, Punjab, India,lay the foundation stone of thismosque today the 20th RabiulAwwal 1343 Hijri, to seek thepleasure of God so that His namebe glorified in England and that thepeople of this country may alsopartake of the blessings which havebeen vouchsafed to us. I pray toGod that He may accept thishumble and sincere effort of all themembers of the AhmadiyyaCommunity, both women and men,and that He may provide means forthe growing prosperity of thismosque: and may He make itforever and ever a centre forpromulgating the views of purity,piety, justice and love, and maythis place prove a Sun of spirituallight radiating forth in this countryand in all the countries around theblessed beams of the heavenly lightof the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa),the chosen one of God and the Sealof the Prophets and of Ahmad(as) thePromised Messiah, the Prophet ofGod, the vicegerent, and thereflection of Muhammad(sa).


The appeal for the collection of fundsfor the building of the London Mosquewas launched on 6th January 1920by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II.

95,000 rupees was raised for thispurpose of which as much as 6000Rupess was collected on the very daythe appeal was launched. The majorcontribution of 83,000 Rupess wasmade by the ladies of the Jama’at.

The one acre site for the mosque waspurchased by Chaudhrey FatehMuhammad Sayaal for £2,223 inAugust 1920.

The foundation stone for the mosquewas laid at a ceremony attended by200 guests. The foundations weredug by more than 15 volunteers,including two ladies and were led byMaulana Abdul Rahim Dard.

The construction work started on 28thSeptember 1925 and took ten monthsto complete at a cost of £4,000.

The mosque was named the FazlMosque by Hadhrat Khalifatul MasihII.

It was formally opened at 3.00pm on3rd October 1926 by Khan BahadurSheikh Abdul Qadir in the presenceof 600 guests.

Maulana Abdur Rahim Dard was thefirst Imam of the London Mosque.

Asr prayers were the first prayers tobe offered in the mosque.

FACTS & FIGURES


One of the issues thatconcerns the world at the

present time is the problemrelated to the protection of theenvironment. We hear manyvoices alerting people to thedangers that threaten theenvironment, urging people totake immediate action to save theworld from the bad effects of themodern way of living and to stopfurther pollution of thesurrounding atmosphere and todraw their attention to any healthhazards that may affect them.Many organisations have beenfounded to protect nature andwildlife. Others are urg i n gpeople to be cautious when it

comes to selecting the food theyeat and to abandon any foods thatmay in any way cause injury totheir health. As a result, peopleare becoming more aware of theproblem and they are now veryparticular in the choice of thefood they eat and are evenworried about the air theybreathe.

Of course this is very sensible, aspeople around the world todayare suffering from manyproblems and physical ailmentscaused by the pollution of theenvironment. Yet, if we arefacing these kinds of troubles dueto the pollution of our envi-

GLIMPSES INTO THE

QUR’ANIC CONCEPT

OF THE ENVIRONMENT

By Maha Dabbous – UK


ronment, and if some of us arealready becoming aware of theproblem and are trying to findsolutions, how can it be that theAll-Knowing Creator of theUniverse is unaware of theproblem or that He has neglectedproviding solutions for it?

As every Muslim believes, thefinal and perfect universal Divineteachings that are ordained formankind for all times to come,are all contained in the HolyQur’an. Naturally, if there is anyproblem that is facing the worldt o d a y, then undoubtedly theremust be some reference to it inthe Holy Qur’an, and there mustbe also some Divine guidancewhich, if acted upon, can solvethis problem.

So now we will need to turn tothe Holy Qur’an to find out whatit tells us about this matter. Butbefore doing so, it is firstessential to define the meaning ofthe environment that we arereferring to, and to understand itsrelationship with mankind.

The environment means the

surrounding conditions whichcome into contact with a certainobject and have influence on it.As human beings are not merelyphysical objects but are alsoendowed with a soul that can bedescribed as a spiritual being, theenvironment for them can bedefined as the surroundingcircumstances and conditionsthat affect them in any way,physically, morally or spiritually.So according to this definition,the environment of human beingsis not just the surroundingphysical world that affects theirphysical bodies, but it alsoincludes all aspects that mayaffect their moral condition andthat are responsible for theirspiritual status.

The Holy Qur’an informs us thatAllah has provided all necessaryrequirements for the healthyliving of each and every creatureon earth.

And there is no creature thatmoves on the earth but it isfor Allah to provide it withsustenance. And He knows itsplace of temporary settlement

GLIMPSES INTO THE QUR’ANIC CONCEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT



and its permanent abode. Allthis is recorded in a clearBook. (Ch.11:V.7)

In this verse Allah is announcingthat He provides not only for thephysical nourishment of Hiscreation, but He provides also forthe spiritual sustenance of allcreation; as understood from thephrase (‘And He knows its placeof temporary sojourn orsettlement and its permanentabode or dwelling’) w h i c hclearly points to the temporarylife on this earth and thepermanent spiritual dwelling inthe hereafter.

Before man, Allah created othercreations in the universe andmany forms of life that continuedto develop and expand throughtime. The creation of man cameat a relatively later stage. WhenAllah willed to place a vicegerentin earth, He chose man for thispurpose.

..I am about to place avicegerent in the earth..(Ch.2:V.31)

Man was that unique being whowas chosen by Allah to beappointed as His representativeon earth, to maintain order and toenforce the Divine law and tospread justice in the world. Forthis purpose, Allah created man,the apex and crown of allcreations. He endowed him withgreat natural powers andqualities and the capacity tobecome the mirror in which theDivine attributes are reflected. Inthis way, man became fit todischarge the great responsibilityfor which he was created. Tofurther help him attain thispurpose, Allah exalted manabove all the other beings and Hemade the whole universesubservient to man. The heavenswith all its celestial bodies andthe earth with all its treasures, thedeep seas and the high mountainswere all put at man’s service.

Have you not seen that Allahhas pressed for you intos e rvice whatever is in theheavens and whatever is inthe earth, and has completedHis favours on you, bothexternally and internally?



And among men there aresome who dispute concerningAllah, without knowledge orguidance or an illuminatingBook. (Ch.31:V.21)

But this does not mean that manis the master of the world. He isonly acting as a guardian,appointed by the real MasterWho created the universe. Thewhole universe, including manhimself, belongs to Allah andAllah allows man to exploit whatHe has created for his sake,provided that he does this withthe intention of fulfilling thepurpose for which he wascreated.

And He has subjected to youwhatsoever is in the heavensand whatsoever is in theearth; all this is from Him. Inthat, surely, are Signs for apeople who reflect. (Ch.45:V.14)

The purpose of man’s creationcan be achieved throughcomplying with the Divine rulesand regulations which Allah

Himself has revealed to man inthe form of the teachings of Hisreligion. These Divine teachingsare not a series of arbitrary ordersthat Allah has issued to force Hiswill on mankind. There is greatwisdom behind each of them andthey are meant to help anyindividual in his progress, phys-ically, morally and spiritually.

From this we can understand thatthe environment surroundingman was created even before himand was meant to serve him andenable him to achieve thepurpose of his creation.Nevertheless, as we can all seet o d a y, the majority of humanbeings have strayed away fromachieving this target. Not onlydid man fail to make use of whatAllah provided for man’s owngood, but also man went oncorrupting the provisions thatAllah bestowed upon him,spoiling it for himself and forothers as well.

And when he is in authority,he runs about in the land toc reate disorder in it andd e s t roys the tilth and the



progeny of man; and Allahloves not disorder.(Ch.2:V.206)

By doing this, the good andwholesome provisions that Allahmade lawful for man, becameharmful. As a result, these lawfulprovisions were renderedunlawful for human consumptionbecause Allah allowed only theconsumption of what was goodand wholesome.

O ye who believe, eat of thegood things We have providedfor you, and render thanks toAllah, if it is He Whom youworship.(Ch.2:V.173)

Allah has clearly instructed thebelievers not to be the cause ofturning the lawful thing into anunlawful one.

O ye who believe! make notunlawful the good thingswhich Allah has made lawfulfor you, and do nottransgress. Surely Allah lovesnot the transgressors. And eatof that which Allah has

provided for you of what islawful and good. And fearAllah in Whom you believe. (Ch.5:Vs.88-89)

In this there is a clear indicationfor the believers to protect theenvironment in which they live.It is clear that the more theypollute their environment, themore things will be madeunlawful for their consumptionas they will become injurious andharmful for them. This does notonly apply for the food that oneeats; this is a general instructionthat applies for anythingprovided for humankind.

But as we see today, the majorityof human beings do not followthese simple instructions andinstead, they continue to pollutetheir environment rendering itunwholesome and harmful fortheir own use. Allah has set Hislaws in such a way that theoffender is the first to suffer theconsequences. The corruptionthat humankind caused to theenvironment has now becomevisible and apparent to all, andthe harm that humankind is



suffering as a result, has alsobecome apparent to all.However, the materialisation ofthis damage in itself is a blessingin disguise. Allah’s actions arealways for our own good. Hesays:

Corruption has appeared onland and sea because of whatmen’s hands have wrought,that He may make them tastethe fruit of some of theirdoings, so that they may turnback from evil. (Ch.30:V.42)

The last phrase in this verseexplains to us the reason whyAllah has made visible to us thisdamage in our physical envi-ronment. Allah says that Hemade this corruption apparent topeople (so that they may turnback from evil). Allah wants todraw man’s attention to a moresignificant corruption that he hasto deal with. It is the evil of hissoul.

While the majority of thecivilised population in the worldtoday has became aware of the

importance of protecting thephysical environment, there areonly a few who are aware of themoral corruption of the envi-ronment, and there is hardlyanybody who is even aware ofthe existence of a spiritual realmthat is also affected by theenvironment.

H o w e v e r, this important issuewas not neglected in theteachings of the Holy Qur’an.Allah has taken care ofprotecting all aspects of theenvironment to ensure a healthyphysical, moral and spiritual lifefor humankind. As we have seenabove, His commands in theHoly Qur’an enjoin the believersto protect the environment inwhich they live. He also teachesthem to care for the othercreatures who share this envi-ronment with them.

And create not disorder in theearth after it has been set inorder, and call upon Him infear and in hope. Surely, themercy of Allah is nigh untothose who do good. (Ch.7:V.57)



H o w e v e r, special emphasis isalways placed in the HolyQur’an to the spiritual aspect oflife:

This is the home of theHereafter! We give it to thosewho seek not self-exaltationin the earth, nor corruption.And the (good) end is for therighteous. (Ch.28:V.84)

Beside this the Holy Qur’an alsoexplains the reasons and wisdombehind doing so and it guides itsfollowers to the methods ofkeeping their physical, moral andspiritual states in a healthycondition all the time.

But we have to remember herethat the Holy Qur’an expressesits teachings in physical termsand this is simply becausephysical objects can be perceivedby the physical senses of manand therefore they become easyfor him to comprehend. Yet themeanings of these Divineinstructions must also beconsidered more deeply and itmust be understood that these

physical examples are to be takenalso metaphorically to illustratethe Divine guidance related tothe moral and spiritual prosperityof man, in addition to hisphysical well-being.

And, indeed, We have setforth for mankind all mannerof parables in this Qur’anthat they may take heed.(Ch.39:V.28)

As an illustration for this, let usnow consider the teachings ofIslam related to the consumptionof meat. In the physicalenvironment, Allah has createdmany kinds of animals for theservice of man in different ways.One of the benefits which mancan draw from these animals is touse their flesh as food becauseanimal protein is beneficial as apart of man’s diet. Therefore, aMuslim is allowed to use theflesh of some of these animals asa source of food. But at the sametime, the flesh of these animals isonly lawful for him afterfulfilling certain conditions.First, the animal must be chosenfrom the group of animals whose


flesh is allowed as food. It mustbe alive and healthy at the timeof its slaughtering. It must beslaughtered in a specific waywith a sharp knife. The name ofAllah must be pronounced beforeslaughtering the animal. Theflesh of the slaughtered animalmust also be cooked thoroughlyto get rid of any trace of bloodleft in it. It is only after fulfillingall these conditions, the meatbecomes lawful for a Muslim toconsume.

But it should be rememberedhere that under certain cir-cumstances, things which arelawful become forbiddenbecause they become harmful.Islam enjoins the Muslims to eatonly from what is good andwholesome. It teaches them toeat from what is pure and itforbids them to eat any uncleanor impure food or partake ofanything which might injureone’s health. So any lawful foodwhich becomes contaminatedeven by germs or becomesunsuitable for one’s health in anyway, becomes unlawful.

Now when we come to study thereasons behind these Divineinstructions we will find thatthese are not meant only for thephysical well-being of a person,but we will also find that it is forhis moral benefit and spiritualwelfare.

We all know that the con-sumption of some kinds of meatcan cause negative effects on thehuman body and hence weunderstand why Allah hasforbidden the consumption ofsuch categories of meat. It is alsoobvious that the consumption ofa dead or diseased animal canhave dangerous effects on thephysical health of a person.Likewise, the blood of the animalmay contain harmful substancesthat can cause serious effects onthe physical health. The processof slaughtering the animalensures the free flow of blood outof its body and thus avoid suchdanger. Further extensive cook-ing gets rid of any traces of theblood of the animal which mayhave been left behind.

But the negative effects are not



only confined to the physicalsphere. Food can also have aneffect on the moral and spiritualstate of human beings. It hasbeen proven that there exists adeep and subtle connectionbetween the food that a personeats and his actions. This fact hasonly recently started to beincreasingly recognised bymedical science, while the HolyQur’an has acknowledged this,fourteen centuries ago.

The Holy Qur’an has taken thenecessary precautions andprescribed directions andinstructions relating to the foodwe eat. This has a greatsignificance. The basic principlelaid down by Islam is that as manmust develop all his naturalinstincts and faculties, thereforehe should partake of all kinds offood, except those that are likelyto do him physical, moral orspiritual harm. The use of pureand good food produces healthymental conditions which in turnproduce good and righteousactions. Food exerts a powerfulinfluence on man’s morals. Eventhe habits of an animal can be

transmitted to man througheating its flesh. This is why Islamhas subjected the food that islawful for human consumption tocertain limits and conditions andobviously it is for the benefit ofman himself.

Concerning the flesh of animalsthat was made lawful for humanconsumption Allah says:

And of the cattle He hascreated some for burden andsome for slaughter. Eat of thatwhich Allah has provided foryou, and follow not in thefootsteps of Satan. Surely heis to you an open foe.(Ch.6:V.143)

This verse clearly indicates thatthe food that man consumes has adirect effect on his ability to fightthe insinuations of Satan asunderstood from the phrase‘follow not in the footsteps ofSatan’. And Allah instructed HisMessengers:

O ye Messengers, eat of thethings that are pure and dogood works. Verily, I am well-



a w a re of what you do.(Ch.23:V.52)

Hence these regulations alertMuslims and exhort them to becareful in selecting their food andto examine its effect on theirhealth before they decide to eatit. And this automatically urgesthem to be conscious about thecondition of the environment thatis surrounding them because itcan have a direct effect on theirfood and can even make itunlawful for them to partake ofit. This further stops them fromdoing anything that can causeharm or damage to theirsurroundings or injure theirhealth in any way.

Moreover, the way by which theanimals are slaughtered has alsofurther effects on the moral andspiritual condition of a Muslim.

To sum up these benefits, Allahsays concerning sacrificedanimals:

Their flesh reaches not Allah,nor does their blood, but it isyour righteousness that

reaches Him. Thus He hassubjected them to you, thatyou may glorify Allah for Hisguiding you. And give gladtidings to those who do good.(Ch.22:V.38)

Hence it is the righteousness of aperson that is meant to beachieved by these actions.

From the above we can see thatalthough these instructions weregiven in the physical sense, theyhave their effects on the moraland spiritual state of man as well.This applies to all the teachingsof the Holy Qur’an.

In the environment ofhumankind, Allah has createdeverything that would be neededby man to accomplish his duties.At the same time, Allah revealedthe directions which can guideman to the best means by whichhe can utilise these facilities. It isfor man’s own good that heshould do only what is lawfuland refrain from doing whatAllah has forbidden. Only thenwill man ensure good physical,moral and spiritual health. For



this reason, it is the responsibilityof man to protect hisenvironment so that it continuesto provide the beneficial meansof his overall prosperity.

In addition to the above reasons,Islam also teaches its followersthe love of nature through thelove of Allah. A true Muslim isabsorbed in the love of Allah andconsequently he loves the entirecreation because it belongs to hisBeloved One. The Holy Prophetof Islam(sa) demonstrated this factin his own person. Beside hismercy towards mankind, he hadmercy for all animals andcreatures and even for trees andplants. This is why Allahaddresses the Holy Prophet(sa) inthe Holy Qur’an saying:

And We have not sent thee butas a mercy for all the worlds.(Ch.21:V.108)

The Holy Prophet of Islam( s a ) w a sa mercy for all the worldsincluding the animal kingdom, theplant kingdom and every otherworld that was created by hisBeloved Creator of the universe.

He always showed gratitude to hisBeloved for His great bountiesand he was very careful not todestroy any of Allah’s creation orlet anything go to waste.Following his example, it is theduty of every person to look afterall that Allah has created. It is inthe interest of man to do sobecause everything was createdfor his sake and he can benefitfrom it in one way or the other.

As the real object of man’s life inthis world is his spiritualadvancement, it is beyond anydoubt that if Allah has madeample provisions for his physicalneeds, He could not haveneglected the provisions forman’s spiritual needs also. Andas man very gladly accepts anduses all the physical provisionsmade for him, he should also notdecline to make similar use ofAllah’s spiritual gifts. A humanbeing is a body and a soul. IfAllah has provided man with thefood that nourishes his body andkeeps him fit and well, he musthave provided him also with thespiritual food which nourisheshis soul and raises it to the



highest spiritual levels. As aperson should be aware of hisbody’s physical health, he shouldalso be conscious of his soul’sspiritual well-being. If Allah hasprovided man with a suitableenvironment to maintain the besthealth of his physical body, Hemust have provided man alsowith the perfect spiritualenvironment to ensure thehighest spiritual station of hissoul. Hence, it is the duty of manthat as he should protect his

physical environment,he should also careabout the purity of hisspiritual environment.

To fully understandthis, man must reflecton the physicalobjects in the universebecause theysymbolise spiritualaspects as well. Thephysical worldmaterialises thespiritual one so as tomake it easy for manto comprehend. TheHoly Qur’an is full ofillustrations to help us

in this regard. It will suffice tocite a few examples here.

If we study what the HolyQ u r’an has mentioned con-cerning the plants in the physicalworld, we will learn someamazing spiritual lessons. As amatter of fact, the Holy Qur’anhas likened human beingssomewhat to plants when Allahsaid:

And Allah has caused you to


ISLAM ALSO TEACHES ITS

FOLLOWERS THE LOVE OF

N AT U R E T H R O U G H T H E

L O V E O F AL L A H. A T R U E

MUSLIM IS ABSORBED IN THE LOVE

OF ALLAH AND CONSEQUENTLY HE

LOVES THE ENTIRE CREATION BECAUSE

IT BELONGS TO HIS BELOVED ONE.

grow out of the earth like theraising of vegetation. (Ch.71:V.18)

Allah also said about Mary – themother of Jesus(as):

So her Lord accepted her witha gracious acceptance andcaused her to grow anexcellent growth and madeZachariah her guardian... (Ch.3: V.38)

According to the physical laws ofnature, a plant can grow in a landif a healthy seed is sown in itssoil which happens to be rich andfertile. In the same manner ahuman soul can developspiritually if it is provided withthe healthy spiritual seed of faithand the healthy spiritual soil inthe form of a sincere heart thataccepts the truth.

However, the power of making aseed grow into a plant might behidden in the soil, but it does notcome into play unless the soilreceives water from heaven. Thelatent powers of the soil to growvegetation together with the

soundness of the seed that issown in it, will never produceanything without the help ofwater. Similarly the latent andinherent powers and faculties ofman fail to find their realspiritual development andgrowth without the help of thespiritual water. Life on earthdepends on water whichdescends from heaven in theform of rain. In the same way, thespiritual life cannot exist withoutthe spiritual water whichdescends from heaven in theform of Divine revelation.

And He it is Who sends thewinds as glad tidings beforeHis mercy, and We send downpure water from the clouds, That We may thereby give lifeto a dead land, and give it fordrink to Our creation - cattleand men in large numbers.(Ch.25:Vs.49-50)

Continued next month

48

MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN

The Review of Religions – June 2005


The blessings of paying theZakatThe importance of paying theZakat may also be judged fromthe fact that the Holy Prophet(sa)

always used to supplicate onbehalf of those who paid it.Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Abi Aufa,God be pleased with him, hasrelated:

‘When the people brought theZakat offerings to the MostFavoured Prophet(sa), he usedto supplicate in these words,“O Allah, shower Thy mercyon the progeny of such andsuch a man, the son of suchand such a man.” When myfather brought his due Zakatto the Holy Prophet ( s a ), heprayed, “O Allah, showerThy mercy on the progeny ofAbi Aufa.”’

The above Tradition has beenreported both by B u k h a r i a n dM u s l i m. And there is anotherreport which says: ‘Wheneveranyone brought his Zakat to theHoly Prophet, he used tosupplicate, “O Allah, shower Thyblessings on this man.”’

Why has so great an importancebeen given to Zakat? As I havealready mentioned the basic aimand object of Zakat is sympathyfor mankind; rendering assistanceto the poor; to raise the standardof life of those who had been leftunprovided for and to protectthem from mental and socialdegradation arising for want ofmeans; and by means of Zakatprovide the path of progress andprosperity and also of nationalbetterment and stability. Over andabove all this, there is also the aim

The Philosophy

of ZakatBy the Late Maulana Sheikh Mubarak Ahmad, former Imam of the London Mosque

An Urdu speech delivered atthe 1975 Annual Jalsa inRabwah, Pakistan.

Translated by the Late MrMuhammad Akram KhanGhauri.


through which every man mayavail his birthright of partnershipin all that Allah has created for thebenefit of mankind. Pointing outthis basic philosophy of Zakat, thePromised Messiah ( a s ) h a se x p l a i n e d :

‘What is Zakat? It is thatwhich is taken from the well-to-do and given to the poor.This teaches us the sympathyof the highest order andshores up the Muslimpeoples. It is incumbent uponthe rich to pay. Even if it hadnot been made incumbenthuman sympathy demandsthat the poor must be helped.’

Zakat is the source of purifyingthe soulI had explained that according tolexicology the basic philosophyof Zakat is to purify the soul andto polish it. The Holy Qur’ansays:

Take alms out of their wealth,so that thou mayest cleansethem and purify themthereby...(Ch.9: V.103)

The love of riches is ingrained inman’s mind and it possesses thestrongest attraction for him. Thatis why it is the main cause forone to stumble and he throws allthe Commands of Godoverboard. Regular and duepayment of Zakat destroys inman the love of lucre andreleases him from the bonds andthe curse of capitalism.I n d i fference towards wealthgives protection from many evilsand induces man to walk in thepaths of virtue. He who does notbolster up his income throughfoul means also gives up this evilhabit and saves his soul fromsuch contamination as love ofdirty lucre. He does not remainany more a prey to niggardlinessand similar obnoxious habits.The Holy Qur’an says:

... And whoso is rid of thecovetousness of his own soul-it is these who will besuccessful.(Ch.59: V.10)

In other words, we could say thatZakat is the ‘healer’ of thedisease of niggardliness. Love of

THE PHILOSOPHY OF ZAKAT – PART II


riches is weakened and the spiritof brotherly sympathy is born.This is because he pays Zakat inobedience to the command ofAllah. In return he is rewardedwith the love of Allah which isthe main source of all virtues;and he gains the object for whichhe was created – perfectsubmission to Allah. The HolyQur’an says:

And the case of those whospend their wealth to seek thep l e a s u re of Allah and tostrengthen their souls is likethe case of a garden onelevated ground. Heavy rainfalls on it so that it bringsforth its fruit twofold. And ifheavy rain does not fall on it,then light rain suffices. AndAllah sees what you do.(Ch.2: V.266)

The above verse explains thephilosophy of Zakat. Those whospend to seek the pleasure ofAllah find a place to stand on afirm rock and their hearts arefilled with God’s love and forthis reason they become pure-hearted and righteous and they

gain admission to a haven whereSatan has no access.

Zakat – means of purifyingwealthZakat not only purifies the souland inculcates good morals, itcauses one’s wealth andpossessions to be purified. Whileexplaining the meanings of theword Zakat, we also explainedthat when the Zakat portion hasbeen paid, the remainder doesindeed become purified as itprovides protection from loss andruin. This is because in thepossessions of the wealthy thereis a share of others also. Unlessand until their share has beenpaid, the wealth remains impureand sullied. The Holy Qur’ a nsays:

And in their wealth was ashare for one who asked forhelp and one who could not. (Ch.51: V.20)

The above verse clearly pointsout the fact that all wealth isearned through joint effort andthey all have their share in it.There are some who are



connected directly with itsearnings and there are those whoare not so directly connected.They did not work but they stillhave their share in it. Let us, forinstance, take the case of a richman who makes a huge profitfrom working a mine. He haspaid for the labour of all thosewho helped him in the working.Whatever he has paid them is dueto them only for the labour theyhave put in. But according to theteachings of the Qur’an, theyalso hold a share in that minebecause all the treasures of theearth were created for the benefitof all mankind – not for anysingle person. Therefore, evenafter having been paid for theirl a b o u r, their share of theownership of the mines stillremains unpaid. One way ofdoing it would be to pay anadditional amount, out of theprofits, to the labourers or otherworkers. But even doing thatwould not absolve the miner ofall his obligations. Yes, he didpay an additional amount to allthose who gave him assistance inmaking the huge profit. But whatabout the share of those who

have not put in any labour inworking the mine? The wholeworld has a share in the treasuresof the earth.

Islam has, therefore, made itincumbent to pay the Zakat – ashare from the earnings into thetreasury of the government sothat they would spend these forthe benefit of the whole nation.In this way every man gets hisdue share directly or indirectlyand he reaps the benefit of hisshare that God Almighty hadgranted him in His creation.

Therefore, the wealth fromwhich the due share of the othershas been paid becomes purifiedand when people understand andrealise that due share of everyonehas been paid they will notclamour for and claim any morefor their rights. There shall bepeace in the country; and thespirit of righteousness and doinggood to others and culture andgood behaviour shall beinculcated. This, as we all know,is most urgent and essential fornational stability.



Hadhrat Shah Wa l i u l l a h ,Muhaddith of Delhi, whilediscussing the philosophy ofZakat, writes in his bookHujjatullah-il-Balighah :

‘It must be clearlyunderstood that Zakat hasbeen made incumbent anaccount of two reasons.Firstly, for the training of thesoul; secondly, for fulfillingthe social and national re-quirements. As regards thetraining of the soul it is quiteclear that wealth is the rootcause of social ills likeniggardliness, selfishness,mutual enmities and otherknown immoralities. Thetrue remedy for this isspending the wealth suitablyand generously. This puts anend to niggardliness, self-ishness dies out and insteadof mutual enmity, a spirit oflove is born and this mutuallove is the true foundation ofthe highest moral behaviourand makes men treat eachother with love andkindness. The net result ofall this is that man becomes

virtue personified and this iswhat is called the training ofthe soul.’

‘Zakat is also the bestremedy for all social andnational necessities. This isbecause social admin-istration cannot becomestable unless it is backed bystrong and stable finances. Itis because with soundfinance the government is inthe position of looking afterall the highest or the lowestrequirements of the admin-istration and fulfilling all theneeds of the societyequitably, and the poor, theneedy, the weak, the orphansand the widows do not standin need of going a-beggingfrom others and are savedfrom all this humiliation andin this way the governmentmay be able to look afterthem properly. All theseduties of the government canbe duly performed onlywhen, along with the otherresources, the governmentcould safely depend uponthe revenue obtained



through Zakat from the richand the wealthy. ’( H u j j a t u l l a h - i l - B a l i g h a h :Vol.2, Ch. Zakat)

The means of sustaining andhelping the poorZakat is the best means ofassisting and providing suste-nance to the poor of the nation.Through this, the poor and thehave-nots can be properly andtimely assisted. The command ofthe Holy Prophet(sa) that ‘Zakatshould be taken from the rich andgiven to the poor’ denotes thatthe basic principle of Zakat issympathy for mankind andhelping the poor. From thedetails given by the Holy Qur’an,it becomes quite clear that theunderlying idea is the support ofthe poor. The Holy Prophet(sa)

was always very anxious to helpthe have-nots in their distress,their difficulties and in theirscanty means and he, therefore,took the undermentioned steps inthis matter:

The Holy Prophet(sa) spent hisown life like that of the have-notsand always supplicated, ‘O my

Lord God, so long as I live, Ishould be poor and take me toYourself while I am still poor andon the Day of Resurrection raiseme up with the poor people.’ Hedid not confine his help of thepoor only to their spiritualenhancement but took practicalsteps to remove their poverty andwant. He adopted practicalmeans, the best and moste ffective of which was theinstitution of Zakat and whichserved as a sure guarantee fortheir sustenance and other needs.History provides us with anundeniable evidence howsplendidly the institution ofZakat worked and helped theneedy in such a manner, that inno time the social conditionswere radically changed so muchso, that few have-nots were to befound in the length and breadthof the Muslim Empire and peoplebecame so prosperous that whenpeople went about in search ofthe needy they could not find onewho deserved help.

Zakat is not only the moste ffective means of endingpoverty and want in the society,



but is the best course ofimproving the moral conditionsof the nation. Facts and figuresprovide us with an undeniabletruth that poverty, destitution,hunger and want are the maincauses of crimes. Whenindividuals of a nation live instraitened circumstances and theempty purse looks them in theirfaces all the time, they are boundto commit crimes to put an end totheir distress. It comes to ourdaily experience that merelybecause of their straitened meanssome people start thieving androbbing and start pick-pocketingand when in extreme poverty,they do not even hesitate tomurder people and adopt this as aprofession. This causes anupheaval in the country’s peace.

Poverty does not only forcepeople to commit crimes –thieving and robbing – butinduces them to enter the walksof immorality. Poverty also tendsto make one niggardly and mean,and the fear of God vanishesfrom the heart and only begins tothink that the rich people areone’s gods who would come to

one’s rescue. The poor considerthem to be their only benefactors,sustainers and patrons. Theybegin to fear them more thanthey ever fear God. How true isthe saying: ‘Poverty makes aman susceptible to disbelief andrebellion.’

These moral ailments andweaknesses suppress people’scapabilities. The only way toimprove matters is to find waysand means to remove povertyand hunger, want and scarcity.Islam has given us a viableremedy to remove poverty in thenation. This remedy is the systemof Zakat which guaranteesprosperity and happiness for thepeople who will accept it. WhenZakat was the law and the peopleobeyed and paid the Zakat intothe government treasuries,crimes were seldom committedand most certainly not for wantand poverty. The moral state ofthe people was indeed enviable.

Zakat ensures economicprosperityZakat is not only advantageous inthe moral and spiritual uplift of



man but is also a guarantee foreconomic betterment. The wordZakat also implies increase andgrowth. This, therefore, meansGod has made Zakat animportant means of increase andmultiplying of national wealthand betterment of social condi-tions. The Almighty God hassaid in the Holy Qur’an:

. . . thou mayest cleanse andpurify them...(Ch.9: V.103)

And again He says:

The similitude of those whospend their wealth for thecause of Allah is like thesimilitude of a grain of cornwhich grows seven ears, ineach ear a hundred grains.And Allah multiplies it furtherfor whomsoever He pleasesand Allah is Bountiful. All-Knowing.(Ch.2: V.262)

From the above two verses, it isevident that Zakat is the means ofameliorating social conditionsand of making the nations

economically prosperous. This isvery easily understandable be-cause when the poor and theneedy obtain financial assistanceand the people get financialsupport in their difficulties anddistress, they would naturallytend to stand on their own feetand try to become independentand would enter the highroad ofsuccess and prosperity.

Economic welfare and prosperityof the nation is never attainedthrough the wealth of the nationgoing into the hands of a limitedfew capitalists. National pros-perity means the happiness andprosperity of all the members ofthe nation collectively. WhenZakat funds are distributedamong the poor, the wealth of thenation shall pass from the handsof a limited few into the hands ofthe have-nots who form themajority. They shall in turn, bythe means of this financialassistance, be able to make theirown livings. The social andeconomic conditions are boundto become stable and rest on veryfirm footings.



It is often pointed out that inmodern times revenue fromZakat alone cannot fulfil theneeds of the poor and the needy.This is not untrue, because of theheavy expenditure of govern-ments. Some of this is legitimate.It is for this very reason thatMuslims are enjoined to giveadditional alms in the name ofAllah, both collectively andindividually. In this respect theHoly Qur’an says:

And spend for the cause ofAllah, and cast not yourselvesinto ruin with your ownhands, and do good; surely,Allah loves those who dogood.(Ch.2: V.196)

And again it says:

Those who spend their wealthin the cause of Allah, by nightand by day, secretly ando p e n l y, have their re w a rdwith their Lord; on them shallcome no fear, nor shall theygrieve.(Ch.2: V.275)

And again the Holy Qur’ a nmentions:

Those who spend their wealthin the cause of Allah, thenfollow not up what they havespent with taunt and injury,for them is their reward withtheir Lord and they shall haveno fear nor shall they grieve.(Ch.2; V.263)

O ye who believe, render notvain your alms by taunt orinjury, like one who spendshis wealth to be seen of men,and believes not in Allah andthe Last Day. His case is likethe case of a smooth rockcovered with earth, on whichheavy rain falls and washes itclean, leaving it bare, smoothand hard. They shall notsecure aught of what theyearn. And Allah guides notthe disbelieving people.(Ch.2: V.265)

The evils of Capitalism andCommunismThe biggest evil of Capitalism isthat the wealth of the nation isamassed in the hands of a limited



few and the rest of the nationbecomes a prey to want andpoverty. It was on account of thisiniquity that Communism gainedits roots. It is based on theprinciple that no one really is therightful owner of what he earnsand the real master of thenational wealth is the State whichmust distribute it according to theneeds of the members of thecommunity.

When we devote our mind toboth these systems we are boundto come to the conclusion thatboth these systems belong to theopposite extremes. If Capitalismis responsible for the wretched-ness and distress of a greatnumber of the people livingunder it and due return is given tothe real producer of wealth,Communism also completelyignores the labour and effort putin by the real producer of wealth.Under this system the personwho has put in the labour toproduce is totally deprived of itspossession. The result is that thetrue zeal to work with earnest-ness dies out. Communism alsofails to define human needs with

the state determining such needs.

The history of Capitalism tells usthat the capitalist countries tendto rob the others so that they mayget more and more rich. Theyopenly trample over the rights ofthe others and usurp the rights ofothers as if it was their right to doso. They not only rapaciouslygrabbed the rights of individualsbut also seized the wealth ofother peoples and nations. Asopposed to this, the Communistnations not only ravished andpounced upon the wealth andproperties of individuals but alsoput them to torture and tookaway their lives mercilessly. ButIslam does not at all favourtyranny and injustice. Islamneither allows the poor to besuppressed nor lets the rights ofthe rich to be swept away. Boththe poor and the rich are God’screation. He, therefore, providesprotection to them both andguides them to progress andprosperity.

Islam, unlike Communism andCapitalism, gives due regard tolabour and upholds its dignity



and approves the right of owner-ship so that zeal and enthusiasm,for hard work and best results, isnot lost. For this very reason, ithas provided such a wise code oflaw as the Zakat so that wealth isnot accumulated into the handsof a few men. It must keep incirculation and should never beallowed to stagnate. Under theZakat rules, one-fortieth of one’ssavings and stock-in-trade mustbe paid after every twelvemonths. This is a great incentivefor the man in business to seethat he is earning and increasinghis wealth otherwise the annualpayments will ultimately eat upall his capital.

M o r e o v e r, when capital isemployed in trade or industry, itnaturally provides work forlabour and it keeps on circulatingamong different classes ofpeople. The businessman tries topay the Zakat from profits andnot from his capital and thefarmer will try to work harderand produce more so that he isable to keep his head abovewater. That is the reason whyIslam has imposed Zakat on

things which have the quality ofincreasing. Islam has laid thecondition to pay the Zakat eachyear so that one could take thebest advantage of his posses-sions. The Companions of theHoly Prophet( s a ), were fullyaware of this point and engagedthemselves in trade and business.During his Caliphate, HadhratU m a r( r a ) had given specialinstructions to those who held intrust the property and wealth ofthe orphans, always to makeinvestments so that their inher-ited wealth may not be eaten upby Zakat by the time theybecame of age and took overtheir properties.

It has, therefore, become quiteevident that Zakat gives anincentive to work hard andproduce more wealth. Experteconomists have often said thatnations which do not employthemselves in business and tradeand produce more wealth arebound to become bankrupt iftheir capital lies stagnant andunused. But the Holy Prophet(sa)

had given this warning somefourteen hundred years ago in the



following words of the HolyQur’an:

... And those who hoard upgold and silver and spend itnot in the way of Allah – giveto them tidings of a painfulpunishment.(Ch.9: V.34)

In this verse ‘painfulpunishment’ does not only meanpunishment in the world to come.Nay, along with that punishment,withholding wealth and capitalfrom circulation and hoardingmoney is bound to lead thenation to a certain economicdisaster. Therefore, all those whohoard money and keep thenational wealth idle, are guilty ofbringing down their nation toruin and degradation and theythemselves begin to decay andultimately totter to their fall.

The system of Zakat provides tothe wealthy a great incentive toearn more and more in order tosave it being eaten up by annualpayments. In this way a goodbusinessman not only increaseshis own wealth but also provides

work for others. But it is a greatpity that very many people do notrealise this fact and try to evadepaying Zakat. They wrongly fearthat this might cause a great loss.They do not understand that Godenforced this law to induce mento make more wealth and becomericher and richer.

There is an assurance from GodAlmighty for those who pay theZakat that their wealth will notdecrease, it shall, on the contrary,continue to increase. Therefore,those who pay it reap the benefit.God Almighty says:

Whatever you pay as interestthat it may increase thewealth of the people, it doesnot increase in the sight ofAllah; but whatever you givein Zakat seeking the favour ofAllah – it is these who willi n c rease their wealthmanifold.(Ch.30: V.40)

Value and worth of Zakat inthe eyes of non-MuslimsEven a number of non-Muslimstruly acclaimed the worth and



fruitfulness of Zakat and how itis beneficial to mankind; how itsupports and sustains the poorand safeguards the rights of thehigh and the law; and how thissystem improves national pros-perity and raises the moral andspiritual conditions of the nation.They regard the system of Zakatin Islam as a very outstandingfeature of the faith.

‘Besides the institution of thepilgrimage, the payment ofthe legal alms is another dutythat continually reminds theMuslim that the faithfuls arebrothers (XLIX-10) –religious, theory that is verystrikingly realised inMuhammadan society andseldom fails to express itselfin acts of kindness towardsthe new convert, whatever behis race, colour orantecedents, he is receivedinto the brotherhood ofbelievers and takes his placeas an equal among equals.’(T. W. Arnold, The Preachingof Islam Lahore edition,pp.415-416)

The famous German scholar,Joseph Hell, has also discussedthe commendable commands ofIslam in his book The ArabCivilisation. Having discussedthe beauty and the admirableconcept of social equality inIslam and the practical traininggiven in the congregationalprayers in the mosque or outside,he goes to express his very highopinion regarding the excellentsystem of Zakat in Islam:

‘Besides the common prayer,the conception of socialequality was an innovationpeculiar to Islam. Help andmaintenance of the poor thusbecame a sacred trust. It wasleft no longer to individualsto give what they pleased, butthe poor tax (zakat) becamean obligatory duty and wascollected in a central treasury,and administered therefrom.’(Joseph Hell, The ArabCivilisation)

This, he points out, is a veryimportant religious obligation.Every Muslim of means mustpay the Zakat to the State and it



is their duty to disburse thesefunds where they deem to be fit.The payment of these alms hasnot been left to the whims andcaprices of the individual payingthe Zakat. The needy personreceiving the aid does not feelunder any obligation or humil-iation to a private individual.

In summing up the benefits ofZakat, we must also rememberthat Zakat enhances the spiritual,moral and economical standardsof mankind. It is a devotiono ffered through one’s wealthwhich purifies the heart andcleanses the soul. It also destroysthe evils of Capitalism andunderwrites the sustenance of thepoor and needy. It providesdependable security for thosewho need assistance. It alsocreates the spirit of sympathy andbrotherhood among men;maintains peace in the societyand provides the opportunity for

the proletariat to obtain theirbirthrights in the national wealth.Zakat also guarantees humandignity and keeps the capital incirculation which in turn bringsprosperity to the whole nationand foremost and above all thebenefits, causes spiritualhappiness and exultation for theindividual and a pleasant andhappy atmosphere to live in.

What we have said above is not amere boast. It is a stark nakedtruth and history provides anundeniable evidence to its truth.Under the direct guidance of theHoly Prophet(sa), his Companionsfaithfully observed this divinecommand and so did those whofollowed them later for the nexttwo hundred years. They trulyinherited the spiritual qualitiesand the zeal of their fathers andobeyed all the commands andwalked steadfastly in the paths ofobedience and virtue. They paid


Zakat enhances the spiritual, moral andeconomical standards of mankind. It is a

devotion offered through one’s wealth whichpurifies the heart and cleanses the soul.‘ ’


the Zakat as an act of devotionand seldom failed in theirreligious as well as their nationalduty. The result was that historyrecorded that poverty and wantpractically disappeared from theMuslim society. Muslim cultureand the Muslim way of lifebecame the hallmark ofprosperity, progress and successin all fields. There was such aradical change in social con-ditions that those who at one timestood in need of assistance,began to contribute towardsZakat themselves. However hardthe administration of the Statesearched for the poor and theneedy, they could not trace them.They were pure-hearted andrighteous practical Muslims andfollowed all the injunctions ofthe Qur’an faithfully andsteadfastly. The result was thatthey not only became thebenefactors and patrons of thethen civilised world, they alsobecame a people whom Godloved because they had becomethe torch-bearers of truth.

We earnestly pray that GodAlmighty may grant us also the

very same true understanding ofthe system of Zakat and itsimportance. May He grant us thestrength and determination toobserve this vital commandalong with all His othercommands, so that each andevery individual of our societymay get his rightful share withdignity and honour. May it sohappen that we all live togetherin brotherly affection withoutany enmity or hatred for any ofus and that there may be norestlessness, no rebuffs, norepulses and no tumults in ourmidst. May we all gathertogether around our God, seekingHis pleasure. Amin.


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CONTENTS June 2005, Vol.100, No - Review of Religions Shahid Sarah Waseem Saleem Ahmad Malik Tanveer...

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