August 2014

Editors:

Shahid Aziz

Mustaq Ali

Contents: Page

The Call of the Messiah 1

Gratitude by Nazra Ali 3

Judiasm, Islam and Pacifism 6

Concept of God in Islam 7

م می

حالر

ن

م

ح اہلل الر

م س

ب

The Call of the Messiah

by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi

Christians Hollow Claim

A sane person can understand that this like-

ness and similarity is the very essence of this

prophecy hence, if this resemblance be not in

matters seen and perceived, and not of the char-

acter of an established fact, or a wonderful sign,

or a professed principle in the sight of an oppo-

nent, how can such an absurd claim lead to the

guidance of a seeker-after-truth? That Jesus

was a deliverer, is merely a hallow claim of the

Christians which

they have not been

able to prove by

rational argument,

nor show in the

colour and charac-

ter of an extraordi-

nary wonder. You

may just ask them

to ascertain and

know that they are

unable to point out

any distinctive fea-

ture between

Christianity and other nations, leading to the

conclusion that it is only the Christians who

have been delivered and saved, whereas all the

other nations are deprived of and without sal-

vation. The truth however is just the other way.

The Christian nation is itself wholly denuded

and bereft of spirituality, and heavenly favour

and grace, as well as the spiritual signs and

blessings of salvation. How then, and in what

manner, can resemblance and similarity be es-

tablished? It is absolutely necessary that re-

semblance should be in (matters) visible and

seen so that with this sure knowledge people

may be enabled to proceed to the recognition of

the right man. If a man should come forward

today and claim that he is the like of Moses,

and adduce this similarity that spiritually he is

the deliverer of the nation, but display not any

palpable sign of giving salvation, will the Chris-

tians accept him, believing that he is really the

like of Moses? The correct and true decision,

therefore, is that Jesus is certainly not the like

of Moses, nor has he set forth any example of

external events by means of which resem-

blance between him and Moses be established

in the matter of giving deliverance to the be-

lievers and chastisement to the unbelievers.

The believers, on the contrary, suffered the sev-

erest trouble and torment during his time,1 and

of whose sting even

Jesus could not re-

main unaffected and

immune. We shall,

therefore, be losing

our faith, and be-

come dishonest in

the sight of God, if

we admit and affirm

not that the like of

Moses spoken of in

Deuteronomy

(Torah), is the same

Prophet of God who,

having suffered eve-

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2014

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2

August 2014

Masih has also been given to the foretold dajjal

whose foul and filthy breath will give rise to

calamity, atheism and unbelief, and whose infer-

nal attention, word or association will, even

without employing any aggressive means for

the destruction of truth, cause goodness and

love of god to melt away and disappear, and

push forward and promote licentiousness and

wine-bibbing, fraud and falsehood, worldliness

and vice, tyranny and oppression, famine , and

disease. And this is apparently the significance

which we arrive at by casting a collective look

upon the meanings given in Lisan al-Arab and

other lexicons of high degree; and this, again, is

the significance which the Most High God has

revealed unto me. And although other prophets

also possessed the quality of Messiah-ship, but

the prophet who appeared in such an age, yet

resorted not to Jihad, nor made use of other vio-

lent means, but took to prayer and spiritual

force, has this name specially. Such a Messiah of

exalted degree there had been only one among

the Children of Israel, and he was Jesus the

Christ (peace be on him) who came 1400 years

after Moses, and became the last caliph of the

Mosaic dispensation.

1: If the Christians should think that Jesus from the

spiritual point of view, has created disgust and aversion

for sin in the minds of people, even then he enjoys no

distinction. All the prophets have been raised for this

purpose that they may, as far as possible, rectify, re-

form and improve the moral, doctrinal and everyday

life of the people; and their efforts, too, undoubtedly

bore good fruit. And if the Christians should put forth

the claim that the punishment of sins has been averted

through the intervention of Jesus, they have not been

able to produce any argument in support of it.

2: If the Christians should think that Jesus from the

spiritual point of view, has created disgust and aversion

for sin in the minds of people, even then he enjoys no

distinction. All the prophets have been raised for this

purpose that they may, as far as possible, rectify, re-

form and improve the moral, doctrinal and everyday

life of the people; and their efforts, too, undoubtedly

bore good fruit. And if the Christians should put forth

the claim that the punishment of sins has been averted

through the intervention of Jesus, they have not been

able to produce any argument in support of it.

ry kind of pain and persecution for 13 years,

had at last to take to flight together with his fol-

lowers, and was given a hot chase by the enemy,

but within a few hours, on the field of Badr, Abu

Jehal and all his army were done to death by the

sharp edge of sword in the same way as were

destroyed Pharaoh and all his hordes by the

annihilating current of the Nile. How beautifully

and perceptibly the two historical events of

Egypt and Makkah, of the river Nile and the field

of Badr, bear a close resemblance to each other?

Likeness of Khalifahs

In short, when it is established and proved

that our Holy Prophet is, of a truth, the like of

Moses, perfect likeness demanded that there

should be likeness also among their followers

and Khalifahs; and it was essentially necessary

that just as there existed a perfect and complete

resemblance between Moses and the Holy

Prophet (peace be upon them) in the matter of

giving salvation to the believers and chastise-

ment to the unbelievers, there should also be

found some sort of likeness between the last

caliphs of these two Great Prophets. So when we

give thought to this point, we find, as I have al-

ready stated above, that there is not only one

but many similarities between me and Jesus.2

The Term Messiah

A question naturally arises at this stage, why

one and the same name, Messiah, has been giv-

en to both the persons, the one of whom a

promise had been held out to the Jews in the

Torah that he would make his appearance at the

time of their kingdom's decline, and would be

the last caliph of the Mosaic order, and the other,

promised in the Holy Quran and hadith that he

would come in the last age when the Religion of

Cross would be at its height? The answer to this

question is that the term masih (Messiah) in

reality is applied to a particular man of right-

eousness and piety whose anointment has the

blessing and grace of God, so that his preaching

and precept stirs up and stimulates new life.

This term has been applied, in particular, to the

prophet who waged no war, but worked out and

accomplished the reformation of his people only

by spiritual blessing. As against it, the name

August 2014

3

very ungrateful), Allah mentions this weakness in

man and the same sadness is expressed in chapter

27:73 (And thy Lord is full of grace to men, but most

of them do not give thanks), and in 44:6 1 (Surely

Allah is Full of grace to men, but most men give not

thanks).

It is God who has made the night for you, that

you may rest therein, and the day, as that which

helps you to see. Verily God is full of grace and

bounty to men, yet most men give no thanks. It is

God who has made for you

the earth as a resting place,

and the sky as a canopy, and

has given you shape--and

made your shapes beautiful

--and has provided for you

sustenance of things pure

and good; such is God, your

Lord. So glory to God, the

Lord of the Worlds! (Qur'an

40.61, 64)

A sense of gratitude and

indebtedness to others is an

important wellspring of a generous and virtuous

life. All people can recognize that they are indebt-

ed to their parents, who gave them birth and

raised them at considerable sacrifice. But our in-

debtedness extends much further than that. Fun-

damentally, we are indebted to God our Creator

and the powers of nature that nourish and sustain

our life. Then, since the food we eat travels from

the soil to our dining table by passing through

many hands--that cultivate, harvest, clean, pack-

age, transport, sell, and prepare it--we should rec-

ognize that we rely on the labours of many people

in order to survive. A sense of gratitude to others

is thus acknowledging our interdependent exist-

ence; it is an antidote to the illusion of egoism.

Such gratitude is recalled and expressed in the

prayer of grace or thanks offered before meals.

Another dimension of gratitude is directed to-

wards those who are responsible for our education

and enlightenment in the way of truth andsalva-

tion. Gratitude towards one's teachers, and espe-

cially towards the sages and founders of religions

who offered their lives to find the truth, is a proper

attitude of faith. Most of all, we should be grateful

to God, who quietly has been guiding and nurtur-

Gratitude

Nazra Ali

(Text of a speech delivered at Dar us Salaam, Lon-

don on 1st June 2014)

Definition of gratitude

Gratitude means thanks and appreciation,

which rhymes with

“attitude, “comes from the

Latin word gratus, which

means “thankful, pleasing

(Vocabulary.com).

Gratitude to a Muslim

is to acknowledge being

treated well by Allah, it is

also to praise the One who

has done many favours. A

true believer, either poor

or rich, should always be

thankful to God whatever

his state is; he should express his certainty that

God is loving and kind, and cares for all his crea-

tures; he should be thankful for the great bounties

that God has provided him because:

“It is he who brought you forth from the wombs

of your mothers when you knew nothing, and he

gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and

affection so that you may give thanks (to God)” (An-

Nahl Ch 16:74)

Why do we need to show gratitude to Al-

lah?

The word(s) "grateful" appears 11 time(s) in

47 verse(s) in Quran. SO there is obviously a mes-

sage in this for Muslims that they should show

gratitude to their maker.

Let us look at some verses of the Quran.

CH 2 v 112 al baqara - So remember Me, and I

will remember you; and be thankful to Me; and be

you not ungrateful towards Me.

In 14:34 (And He gives you all that you ask of

Him. And if you count Allah’s favours, you will not

be able to number them. Surely man is very unjust,

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4

August 2014

ing each person toward salvation, and without

whose grace the world would be plunged in

darkness.

Gratefulness for rewards:-

And no person can ever die except by Allah's

Leave and at an appointed term. And whoever

desires a reward in (this) world, We shall give

him of it; and whoever desires a reward in the

Hereafter, We shall give him thereof. And We

shall reward the grateful. Ch 3 vs 144

Prophets admonished to be Grateful-(Allah)

said: "O Musa (Moses) I have chosen you above

men by My Messages, and by My speaking (to

you). So hold that which I have given you and be

of the grateful." Ch 7 v 144

Gratefullness for good children-

He it is who created you from a single soul,

and of the same did he make his mate, that he

might find comfort in her. So when he covers

her she bears a light burden, then moves about

with it. Then when it grows heavy, they both

call upon Allah there Lord; saying if thou give us

a good one, we shall certainly be of the grateful.

Ch 7 V 149

Gratefulness in times of need

He it is who makes you travel by land and

sea; until, when you are in the ships, and they

sail on with them in a pleasant breeze, and they

rejoice at it, a violent wind overtakes them and

the billows surge in on them from all sides, and

they deemed that they are encompassed about.

Then they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in

obedience. If thou deliver from this we will cer-

tainly be of the grateful ones. Ch 10 v 22

Gratitude in world scriptures and reli-

gions

Judaism

In Judaism, gratitude is a vital component of

worship and permeates every aspect of the wor-

shiper's daily life. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the

poetry of the Psalms is saturated with thanks-

giving to God: "O LORD my God, I will give

thanks to you forever "(30:12) and "I will give

thanks to the LORD with my whole heart "(9:1).

Christianity

Gratitude has always been central among

Christian virtues and appears in classical and

modern devotional writings as well as in the Old

and New Testaments. In Christian gratitude, God

is the giver of all gifts and the ultimate founda-

tion for thankfulness.

Buddhism. Anguttara Nikaya i.61

The unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of

benefits [done to him]. This ingratitude, this

forgetfulness is congenial to mean people... But

the worthy person is grateful and mindful of

benefits done to him. This gratitude, this mind-

fulness, is congenial to the best people.

African Traditional Religions. Yoruba

Proverb (Nigeria)

One upon whom

We bestow kindness

But will not express gratitude,

Is worse than a robber

Who carries away our belongings.

The 17-century revivalist preacher and the-

ologian, Jonathan Edwards, described two types

of gratitude in his classic work, “A Treatise Con-

cerning Religious Affections." He described

these two types as natural gratitude and as a

gracious or spiritual gratitude. Natural gratitude

is thanks expressed to God for the benefits a

person has received, whereas gracious gratitude

has its source in the knowledge of the goodness

of God independent of favours received.

The Psychology of being grateful.

An Attitude of Gratitude

This list of benefits was compiled by aggre-

gating the results of more than 40 research stud-

August 2014

1

ies on gratitude.

1. Gratitude makes us happier.

A five-minute a day gratitude journal can

increase your long-term well-being by more

than 10 percent.a1,a2,a3 That’s the same impact

as doubling your income!a4

How can a free five minute activity com-

pare? Gratitude improves our health, relation-

ships, emotions, personality, and career.

Sure, having more money can be pretty awe-

some, but because of hedonic adaptation we

quickly get used to it and stop having as much

fun and happiness as we did at first.

2. Gratitude makes people like us.

Gratitude generates social capital – in two

studies with 243 total participants, those who

were 10% more grateful than average had

17.1% more social capital.b1

Gratitude makes us nicer, more trusting,

more social, and more appreciative. As a result,

it helps us make more friends, deepen our exist-

ing relationships, and improve our marriage.b2

3. Gratitude makes us healthier.

Several studies have looked at the benefits

of gratefulness. These are found here.

There is even reason to believe gratitude can

extend your lifespan by a few months or even

years.

4. Gratitude develops our personality.

It really does, and in potentially life-

changing ways.a2,b2,d2,e1,e2

Gratitude impacts on our Health

6) Gratitude improves your sleep.

Gratitude increases sleep quality, reduces

the time required to fall asleep, and increases

sleep duration. Said differently, gratitude can

help with insomnia.a2,j1

The key is what’s on our minds as we’re try-

ing to fall asleep. If it’s worries about the kids, or

anxiety about work, the level of stress in our

body will increase, reducing sleep quality, keep-

ing us awake, and cutting our sleep short.

If it’s thinking about a few things we have to

be grateful for today, it will induce the relaxation

response, knock us out, and keep us that way.

Yes – gratitude is a (safe and free) sleep aid.

7) Gratitude keeps you away from the doctor.

Gratitude can’t cure cancer (neither can pos-

itive thinking) but it can strengthen your physio-

logical functioning.

Positive emotion improves health. The de-

tails are complicated, but the overall picture is

not – if you want to improve your health, im-

prove your mind. This confidence comes from

137 research studies.

Gratitude is a positive emotion. It’s no

far stretch that some of the benefits (e.g. better

coping & management of terminal conditions

like cancer and HIV,k1,k2 faster recovery from

certain medical procedures, positive changes in

immune system functioning,k3 more positive

health behavior,k4,k1 etc…) apply to gratitude

as well.

In fact, some recent science shows just that –

those who engage in gratitude practices have

been shown to feel less pain, go to the doctor

less often, have lower blood pressure, and be

less likely to develop a mental disorder.a1,a2,k6

Scientific background to Gratitude

It is, according to Emmons, a “chosen atti-

tude.” We must be willing to recognize and

acknowledge that we are the recipients of an

unearned benefit.

Emmons’ research indicates that gratitude is

not merely a positive emotion; it also improves

your health if cultivated. People must give up a

“victim mentality” and overcome a sense of enti-

tlement and deservedness.

As a result, he says, they will experience sig-

nificant improvements in several areas of life

including relationships, academics, energy level

and even dealing with tragedy and crisis.

6

August 2014

Research has also suggested that feelings of

gratitude may be beneficial to subjective emo-

tional well-being (Emmons & McCullough,

2003). For example, Watkins and colleagues

(Watkins et al., 2003) had participants test a

number of different gratitude exercises, such as

thinking about a living person for whom they

were grateful, writing about someone for whom

they were grateful, and writing a letter to deliv-

er to someone for whom they were grateful. Par-

ticipants in the control condition were asked to

describe their living room. Participant who en-

gaged in a gratitude exercise

showed increases in their experi-

ences of positive emotion imme-

diately after the exercise, and this

effect was strongest for partici-

pants who were asked to think

about a person for whom they

were grateful. Participants who

had grateful personalities to

begin with showed the greatest

benefit from these gratitude ex-

ercises. In people who are grate-

ful in general, life events have

little influence on experienced

gratitude (McCullough, Tsang &

Emmons, 2004).

Conclusion

By the time! Surely man is in loss, except

those who believe and do good, and exhort one

another to truth and exhort one another to pa-

tience (103:1-3). Finally, in order to preserve,

reinforce and develop this quality of gratitude to

the highest degree, we are advised to keep the

company of the grateful ones, as the Holy Quran

bids us: Nay, worship Allah alone and keep the

company of those who are grateful(39:66).

Is there room for pacifism in

Judaism and Islam?

A Quaker can be a pacifist on the basis of his

religion. Maybe a Christian can too “Turn the

other cheek.” Jews and Muslims can not be. It is

quite clear that our scriptural and legal tradi-

tions view violence as a reasonable and often

unavoidable means of resolving human conflict.

Both traditions set limits on who you may hurt,

when you may hurt and the conditions under which

you can hurt them. Both traditions are very realis-

tic about recognizing the ugliness that violence

raises in its participants, the possible abuses that

place in time of war. Both traditions strive to man-

age that. They create limited room for dividing the

spoils (which in ancient times certainly included

humans as property) and for the harm of non-

combatants who happen to be in the way. Judaism

and Islam both decry the intentional attack on in-

nocents and the wanton destruction of proper-

ty. We are not pacifist religions in

principle. In practice though, I won-

der however whether the nature of

violence in the modern age, may not

call us to be pacifists, in practice.

The scriptures, narratives, examples

and legal precedents upon which

both Jewish and Islamic legal tradi-

tions base their rulings on war and

violence are largely ancient and me-

dieval and nature. They speak of a

time of relatively small scale war-

fare. Armies lined up against other

armies or perhaps small groups of

insurgents fought guerilla wars with

larger armies. Combatants were

clear and well-defined. Weapons

were smaller. There were stones, knives, hatch-

ets, swords, bows, long-bows, cross bows and even-

tually cannon and muskets. These short range

weapons required a virtual face to face engagement

with the enemy. Even in the heat of battle, it would

be hard to forget the humanity of your opponent.

Though tragic, such wars were necessarily limited

in scope and damage. They were wars that could be

won. Territory could be conquered and successfully

held. In one to one engagement with the enemy,

the killing of non-combatants was certainly possi-

bly but not likely. Commanders fought at the head

of their troops. When those in power face the same

imminent danger as their troops, it can create pow-

erful incentives to make peace (or accept submis-

sion).

In modern warfare, we move further and fur-

ther from face to face engagement. The incentives

for peace are largely gone. The war makers are in

boardrooms far removed from their battlefields.

August 2014

7

Aerial bombings and the use of unmanned

drones alienate even the soldier from the heat of

battle, reducing the enemy to pixels on a screen.

The drone soldier who prowls the plains of Af-

ghanistan for his targets from the air-

conditioned comfort of Las Vegas knows nothing

of the ancient “nobility” of war or has any rea-

son to avoid its savagery . Big powerful weap-

ons from assault rifles to cluster bombs make

“collateral damage” the killing of innocents and

absolute certainty. As human beings crowd

themselves into denser and denser population

centers, war begins to look more and more like

shooting rats in a barrel. Collective punishment

also becomes a certainty. Nuclear and biological

weapons make the wanton destruction of envi-

ronment an inevitable consequence of pulling

those triggers. There is little face-too-face en-

gagement to humanize the enemy. The horrors

of war make less impression on minds and

hearts awash in endless dramatized violence.

The limitations that our religious traditions put

on the practice of violence have effectively be-

come meaningless today. If war was ever noble,

it can’t be now. Jews carry the image of the God-

commanded struggle to conquer The Land in

the time of Joshua. Muslims see the glory days of

Islamic expansion, the violent struggles of the

early Muslim community. Americans fantasize

about the conquering of the West, the brave

cowboy. I have come to believe that F-16s,

drones, assault rifles, bunker-busters, cluster

bombs, phosphorous weapons, and biological

weapons have rendered all of that a quaint fan-

tasy. The goals and values that our religions

teach us can no longer be furthered by modern

war.

If the facts on the ground make the limita-

tion on violence an impossibility, we have two

possibilities; to obliterate those limitations or

to embrace some kind of collective practical pac-

ifism. The movement has clearly been to do the

former. The definition of non-combatant be-

comes more and more narrow. Scholars will find

reasons to consider children and women as

“legitimate targets.” They dig deep into our

complex traditions to find texts to defend the

indefensible We invent euphemisms like

“collateral damage” to cover up our wanton de-

struction of human life and human environ-

ment.

I am not really a pacifist. I recognize that

people sometimes have to defend themselves. I

would use violence to defend myself, my family,

or others from harm. I am not prepared to ar-

gue that somehow it would have been better not

to fight the Nazis. (The inevitable challenge.) I

humbly recognize that my faith acknowledges

the legitimate use of violence and I take that

very seriously. At the same time, I can’t ignore

the growing disconnect between the kind of

warfare we see in the real world and any possi-

bility of building the world that both Judaism

and Islam envision, a world devoted to the ser-

vice of God in peace.

I am struggling and now sharing the strug-

gle with you. I look forward to your reasoned,

polite, heart-felt thoughts and comments. (From

http://jihadiyehudi.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/is-

there-room-for-pacifism-in-judaism.html?

showCom-

ment=1404464041114#c44497996117344141

79)

Concept of God in Islam

(From : ARAB NEWS

Published — Friday 4 November 2013

http://www.arabnews.com/news/474046)

EVERY language has one or more terms that

are used in reference to God and sometimes to

lesser deities. This is not the case with the term

‘Allah,’ which is the specific name of the one true

God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term

has no plural or gender. This shows its unique-

ness when compared with the word ‘god,’ which

can be made plural, as in ‘gods,’ or made femi-

nine, as in ‘goddess.’ It is interesting to notice

that the name ‘Allah’ is referred to in Aramaic,

the language of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon

him) and a sister language of Arabic.

The one true God is a reflection of the

unique concept that Islam associates with God.

To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty Creator and

Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to

nothing, and nothing is comparable to Him. The

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was

asked by his contemporaries about Allah, the

answer came directly from God Himself in the

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form of a short chapter of the Qur’an, which is

considered to be the essence of the unity or the

motto of monotheism: "Say: He is God, the One!

God, the eternally Besought of all! He begets not

nor was begotten. And there is none comparable

to Him." (Qur’an, 112:1-4)

Allah’s concept in Islam is that of merciful.

Hence, except Surah Taubah, each of the 114

chapters of the Qur’an begins with the verse, "In

the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassion-

ate."

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

said: "God is more loving and kind than a moth-

er to her dear child."

And, God in Islam is Just. Hence, evildoers

and sinners must have their share of punish-

ment, and the virtuous must have His bounties

and favors. Actually, God’s attribute of mercy has

full manifestation in His attribute of justice. Peo-

ple suffering throughout their lives for His sake

should not receive similar

treatment from their Lord as

people who oppress and ex-

ploit others. Expecting simi-

lar treatment for them would

amount to negating the very

belief in the accountability of

man in the Hereafter and

thereby negate all the incen-

tives for a moral and virtuous

life in this world.

The following Qur’anic verses are very clear

and straightforward in this respect: "Verily, for

the Righteous are gardens of Delight, in the

Presence of their Lord. Shall We then treat the

people of Faith like the people of Sin? What is

the matter with you? How judge you?"

Islam rejects characterizing God in any hu-

man form or depicting Him as favoring certain

individuals or nations on the basis of wealth,

power or race. He created the human-beings as

equals. They may distinguish themselves and

get His favor through virtue and piety only.

The concepts that God rested on the seventh

day of creation, that God wrestled with one of

His soldiers, that God is an envious plotter

against mankind, and that God is incarnate in

any human being are considered blasphemy in

Islam.

The term ‘Allah’ is a reflection of Islam’s em-

phasis on the purity of the belief in God that is

the essence of the message of all God’s messen-

gers. Because of this, Islam considers associat-

ing any deity or personality with God as a sin

that God never forgives, despite the fact that He

may forgive all other sins.

The Creator must be of a different nature

from the things created because if He is of the

same nature as they are, He will be temporal

and will therefore need a maker. It follows that

nothing is like Him. If the

maker is not temporal, then

he must be eternal. But if he is

eternal, he cannot be caused,

and if nothing caused Him to

come into existence, nothing

outside Him causes Him to

continue to exist, which

means that he must be self-

sufficient. And if He does not

depend on anything for the continuance of His

own existence, then this existence can have no

end. The Creator is therefore eternal and ever-

lasting: "He is the First and the Last."

He is Self-sufficient or Self-subsistent, or, to

use a Qur’anic term, Al-Qayyum. The Creator

does not create only in the sense of bringing

things into being, He also preserves them and

takes them out of existence and is the ultimate

cause of whatever happens to them.

Rainbow Mountain, China