September 2007 Review of Religions

Sept 2007.qxd 10/10/07 22:11 Page 1 MANAGEMENT BOARD September 2007, Vol.102, No.09 Mr Munir-ud-din Shams (Chairman) CONTENTS Mr Mansoor Shah (Secretary) Mr Naseer Ahmad Qamar EDITORIAL Mr Mubarak Ahmad Zafar Mr Mirza Fakhar Ahmad The significance of fasting in Ramadan. Mr. Abdul Baqi Arshad By Bockarie Tommy Kallon – UK....................... 2 CHIEF EDITOR AND MANAGER Mansoor Ahmed Shah ESSENCE OF ISLAM – Part 23 – Revelation, Inspiration, Visions and Dreams EDITORIAL BOARD The door of converse and communion with Basit Ahmad Bockarie Tommy Kallon. Allah remains open today as it was before. Fareed Ahmad Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) ...................... 4 Fazal Ahmad Fauzia Bajwa Mansoor Saqi Mahmood Hanif AHMADIYYA MUSLIM CENTENARY Mansoora Hyder-Hanif ADDRESS – (1889-1869) Navida Shahid Sarah Waseem A keynote address to an audience of dignitaries Saleem Ahmad Malik at a Thanksgiving Dinner to mark the First Tanveer Khokhar Centenary of the founding of the Ahmadiyya SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Movement in Islam. Amatul Hadi Ahmad Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad(ru) ........................... 16 Farina Qureshi PROOFREADERS Abdul Ghany Jahangeer Khan THE SIGNIFICANCE AND BLESSINGS Shaukia Mir OF KHILAFAT DESIGN AND LAYOUT Startingoff with our articles on the blessed Tanveer Khokhar institution of Khilafat: Understanding the PUBLISHER great Divine bounty in Khilafat and our Al Shirakatul Islamiyyah responsibilities in this regard. DISTRIBUTION By Dr Iftikhar Ayaz Khan, OBE – UK................ 28 Muhammad Hanif All correspondence should be forwarded to the editor at: The Review of Religions THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE The London Mosque 16 Gressenhall Road PROMISED MESSIAH(AS) WITH London, SW18 5QL United Kingdom ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY Email: As with all Prophets of Allah, the Promised reviewofreligions@gmail.com Messiah(as) enjoyed a special relationship with © Islamic Publications, 2007 ISSN No: 0034-6721 Allah Almighty. By Bilal Atkinson, UK......................................... 49 Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Cover photo from Dreamscape Photo Library Sept 2007.qxd 10/10/07 22:11 Page 2 EDITORIAL Bockarie Tommy Kallon – London UK The Significance of Fasting in experience, discipline what hunger, Ramadan poverty and discomfort mean to the Once again we have entered into less fortunate sections of society the Holy Month of Ramadan to and is better able to empathise with which Muslims the world over them. Thus fasting goes a long way always look forward with a joyous to minimise and remove the pains surge of anticipation that inspires and sufferings of humanity. the hearts of the young and the old alike. During Ramadan, the ninth Ramadan is a season of closer month of the lunar calendar current communion with Allah Almighty, in Islam, fasting – complete providing numerous opportunities abstention from food, drink and to seek His pleasure. As such, the conjugal relations from dawn till birth of the new moon which sunset – is obligatory upon every signifies the start of the lunar adult Muslim, subject to certain month is greeted with excitement. permissible exemptions, notably Felicitations are exchanged all for the sick, infirm, pregnant around as mosques begin to be women, nursing mothers and those filled with eager worshippers. An travelling on a journey. extra prayer service is held every evening during which the The purpose of the fast, as of all congregation is privileged to listen forms of Islamic worship, is to to the recitation of the Holy Qur’an draw people closer to Allah. It is a from beginning to end over the physical, moral and spiritual course of the month. Numerous exercise designed to promote people read the Holy Qur’an righteousness and guard against through by themselves. Others hear evil. By abstaining from the lawful, it inter-preted and expounded it becomes much easier to avoid the during discourses held and a unlawful. Among other things, the reflection over the Divine signs Muslim learns, through personal contained therein take up a large 2 The Review of Religions – September 2007 Sept 2007.qxd 10/10/07 22:11 Page 3 EDITORIAL portion of one’s time. Abandoning the Holy Qur’an and the remem- the comforts of beds, most of the brance of Allah. This period of night is passed in supplication and complete devotion is the culmi- glorification of Allah. The day may nation of the physical, moral and be spent in worldly pursuits as spiritual discipline instituted by usual but, more than during other Islam. months, the hearts remain tied in the remembrance and praise of Fasting is the only form of worship Allah. Greater attention is directed in which the only audience is none towards philanthropic causes such other than God himself. In other as caring for the poor, the needy, forms of worship, one could allege the widow, the orphan, the sick, the that someone is praying or giving distressed, the neighbour and the alms to be seen as amongst the wayfarer. Towards the close of each faithful but a fast is only day, the heart experiences a glow of undertaken for God – there is no gratitude to the Divine that His showing-off. The spiritual grace has enabled one to approach recompense of the Islamic fast and the end of the fast having spent the its con-comitant activities is night and the day striving to beyond the fancy of the materialist. conduct oneself in conformity to The Holy Prophet of Islam(saw) is His will. reported to have said: Numberless people experience “There are appropriate spiritual closer communion with their rewards for all worship and Maker and Creator during this righteous action; the ultimate blessed month, the intensity and reward of a person who frequency of which continue to observes the fast solely for increase as the month progresses. winning the pleasure of Allah is During the last ten days of Allah Himself.” Ramadan, many people go into retreat, as it were, into a mosque, devoting their entire time not occupied by obligatory and volun- tary prayer services, to the study of The Review of Religions – September 2007 3 Sept 2007.qxd 10/10/07 22:11 Page 4 ESSENCE OF ISLAM: Part 23 – Revelation, Inspiration, Visions and Dreams This series sets out, in the words of the Promised Messiah(as), Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics: ISLAM; ALLAH, THE EXALTED; THE HOLY PROPHET(sa) and THE HOLY QUR’AN. The original compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad Sahib, Allah have mercy on him and reward him graciously for his great labour of love. Amin. The English rendering is by the late Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan, may Allah be pleased with him, and is quoted from The Essence of Islam, Volume 1. All references throughout, unless otherwise specifically mentioned, are from the Holy Qur’an. I tell you truly that every door hundreds of false notions and can be closed but the door of the mistaken philosophies and vain descent of the Holy Spirit is discourses. This shows that it is never closed. Open the doors of impossible to arrive at the truth your hearts so that it might enter of every matter and to determine into them. the correct doctrines as the result of one’s own research without There is no safeguarding law making a mistake. We have never through following which we can known any individual, nor heard secure ourselves absolutely of one or read of one in any book against mistakes. That is the of history, who was free from reason why the philosophers, error in the whole field of his who framed the rules of logic and vision and reflection. It follows, invented the methods of therefore, that it is basically discussion and built the argu- impossible to find people who, ments of philosophy, fell through the study of the laws of continuously into error. They left nature and squaring their as the legacy of their ignorance conscience with the circum- 4 The Review of Religions – September 2007 Sept 2007.qxd 10/10/07 22:11 Page 5 ESSENCE OF ISLAM – REVELATION, INSPIRATION, VISIONS AND DREAMS stances of the world, carried their research to the highest level of truth, without any possibility of mistake… Obviously, if man cannot escape error through his own knowledge and if God (Who is Gracious and Merciful, and is free from every mistake and knows the truth of every matter) does not help His servants through His true revelation, how could we humble The founder of the Ahmadiyya creatures emerge out of the Muslim community was Hadhrat (as) darknesses of ignorance and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad . error, and how could we be The founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community was Hadhrat delivered from the calamities of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as). In 1891, doubt and suspicion? I, therefore, he claimed, on the basis of Divine affirm with full conviction that revelation, that he was the Promised the wisdom and mercy and Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been foretold by Muhammad, sustaining love of God Almighty the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace demand that from time to time, and blessings of Allah be upon him) when He deems it right, He and by the scriptures of other faiths. should create men who should be The founder’s claim constitutes the recipients of revelation for the basis of the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. purpose of ascertaining true doctrines and establishing correct morals, and who should for true guidance, should not be have bestowed upon them the deprived of their needed good capacity of impressing their fortune. teachings upon others so that (Purani Tehrirain, Ruhani mankind, who have been created Khaza’in, vol.

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