“Call to the path of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with people in the best manner.” (The Holy Quran 16:125) • • Exponent of Presents Islam and The Light Islam as: the Lahore PEACEFUL Ahmadiyya TOLERANT Movement RATIONAL for over & Islamic Review INSPIRING seventy-five years • • March, April, May, June 2001 Published on the World-Wide Web at: http://www.muslim.org Double issue with special article on life of Maulana Muhammad Ali Vol. 78 CONTENTS Nos. 2 & 3 The Great Mujahid Life story of Maulana Muhammad Ali Translated from the Urdu book Mujahid-i Kabir From birth to May 1899 ........................................................ 3 Life in Qadian during the time of the Promised Messiah ...... 9 Books published at end of year 2000 Translations of books of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: An Account of Exoneration, Victory of Islam, The Will, Need of Imam of the Age ..................................................... 27 ­íëûáü´Ë·åã çêô©ã¤ Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore Inc., U.S.A. 1315 Kingsgate Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43221– 1504, U.S.A. 2 THE LIGHT MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2001 The Light was founded in 1921 as the organ of the AHMADIYYA About ourselves ANJUMAN ISHA‘AT ISLAM (Ahmadiyya Association for the propagation of Islam) of Lahore, Pakistan. The Islamic Review was published in Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore England from 1913 for over 50 years, and in the U.S.A. from 1980 to has branches in the following countries: 1991. The present periodical represents the beliefs of the world-wide U.S.A. Australia branches of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam, Lahore. U.K. Canada Holland Fiji ISSN: 1060–4596 Indonesia Germany Editor: Dr. Zahid Aziz. Format and Design: The Editor. Suriname India Trinidad South Africa Circulation: Mrs. Samina Malik. Guyana The Movement has members and Articles, letters and all enquiries should be sent to: supporters in many other countries as well. In Berlin, it has a large historical mosque ‘The Light’, 1315 Kingsgate Road, Columbus, Ohio 43221–1504 constructed in the mid-1920s. U.S.A. Achievements: Phone: 614 – 457 8504 Fax: 614 – 457 4455 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] The Anjuman has produced extensive literature on Islam, originally in English and WWW: http://www.muslim.org Urdu, including translations of the Holy Quran with commentaries. These books are being translated into other languages, such as Beliefs and aims French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, The main object of the A.A.I.I.L. is to present the true, original Dutch and Polish. message of Islam to the whole world — Islam as it is found in the Holy The Anjuman has run several Muslim Quran and the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, obscured today by missions around the world, including the first grave misconceptions and wrong popular notions. ever in Western Europe. Islam seeks to attract the hearts and minds of people towards the The Movement’s unique contribution to truth, by means of reasoning, good moral example, and the natural Islamic thought is summed up on the left. beauty of its principles. It neither aspires to gain political power, nor History: allows the use of force in support of the faith. 1889: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1908), our Founder, arose to the Ahmadiyya Movement. remind the world that Islam is: 1901: Movement given name Ahmadiyya International: It recognizes prophets being raised among all after Holy Prophet Muhammad’s other nations and requires Muslims to believe in them all. Truth and famous name Ahmad. goodness can be found in all religions. God treats all human 1905: Hazrat Mirza appoints central body beings equally justly, regardless of race, nationality or religion. (Anjuman) to manage the Movement. Peaceful: Allows use of force only in unavoidable self-defence. 1908: Death of Hazrat Mirza. Succeeded by Teaches Muslims to live peacefully under any rule which Maulana Nur-ud-Din as Head. accords them freedom of religion. 1914: Death of Maulana Nur-ud-Din. Tolerant: Gives full freedom to everyone to hold and practise any Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam creed or religion. Requires us to tolerate differences of belief founded at Lahore as continuation of the and opinion. original Anjuman. Maulana Muhammad Rational: In all matters, it urges use of human reason and Ali elected as Head. knowledge. Blind following is condemned and independence of 1951: Death of Maulana Muhammad Ali thought is granted. after fifty years of glorious service to Inspiring: Worship is not a ritual, but provides living contact with the cause of Islam. Maulana Sadr-ud- Din (d. 1981) becomes Head. a Living God, Who answers prayers and speaks to His righteous servants even today as in the past. 1981–1996: Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan, an eminent medical doctor and religious Non-sectarian: Every person professing Islam by the words L scholar, led the Movement, at a time of ilha ill-Allh, Mu­ammad-ur rasÔl-ullh (There is no god but intense persecution. Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) is a Muslim. 1996: Prof. Dr. Asghar Hameed, a A Muslim cannot be expelled from Islam by anyone. distinguished retired University Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad taught that no prophet, old or new, Professor of Mathematics, and learned is to arise after the Holy Prophet Muhammad. However, Mujaddids Islamic scholar, elected Head. will be raised by God to revive and rekindle the light of Islam. THE LIGHT MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2001 3 brought his relatives and some other people of the The Great Mujahid neighbouring village to settle there. Such was his generosity that he gave them equal shares in the lands Life Story of Maulana Muhammad Ali that he received. At that time, his only son Hafiz Fateh-ud-Din was [Note by Editor: We start serialising below the English about 30 to 35 years of age and well known in the area translation of the Urdu book ‘Mujahid-i Kabir’, the biography for his good morals, honesty and integrity. He was of Maulana Muhammad Ali written by his son Mr. Muhammad Ahmad, first published in 1962. The translation made headman of the village by the state government. of the entire book was done by Mrs. Akhtar Aziz of England, Being just and fair-minded he was often asked to my mother, and is currently being revised, finalized and mediate in major disputes in the state, and the formatted for publication by me.] authorities used to appoint him to arbitrate in old, long-standing cases. His decisions were accepted because they were based on justice. Hafiz Fateh-ud- From birth to May 1899 Din had not only committed the Holy Quran to memory, but he was also highly learned in Persian. So great was his love for the Holy Quran that he used to During the period of Moghul rule, a Hindu by the recite it during his daily activities. He had a mosque name of Hari Chand, who belonged to the Janjua built next to his house where he led the prayers and Rajput community, migrated from Jhelum district and, children from the village were taught the Holy Quran. arriving in the well-populated and fertile area of Doaba Bast Jalandhar, he settled in Kharla Kingra, a Birth and early education place two miles from Jalandhar city. As most of the Hafiz Fateh-ud-Din had six sons and a daughter, as population in that area were Muslims, Hari Chand too follows in order: embraced Islam. In Kharla Kingra and surrounding places most of the inhabitants belonged to the Ara‘een Khair-ud-Din ethnic community, so the descendants of Hari Chand Amir-ud-Din also began to be counted amongst the Ara‘een people. Aziz Bakhsh Hari Chand was the progenitor of the family whose Nabi Bakhsh tree is given in the official records of Jalandhar Muhammad Ali District for 1860. Imam Begum Doaba Bast Jalandhar and in particular Jalandhar Ahmad Ali. District was very densely populated, and the farmers due to their small holdings were finding it difficult to Muhammad Ali was the fifth son in order of birth and make a living. Being industrious and hardworking, was born in December 1874. whenever they saw better economic opportunities There was no school in Murar, so for the purpose elsewhere they did not allow love of the homeland to of elementary education Hafiz Fateh-ud-Din sent hold them back. So in the 19th century many of them Maulvi Aziz Bakhsh, at the age of six or seven, to the emigrated to foreign lands. Facing the same dilemma Anglo-Vernacular school in the nearby town of and being mindful of good cultivation prospects, a Diyalpur. Muhammad Ali, who was only three and a man of this family by the name of Mian Muhkam-ud- half years old at that time, started to accompany his Din and his brother Mian Qutb-ud-Din migrated from brother to school out of his own interest. The school Kharla Kingra to the village of Murar in the state of teacher, Rahmatullah, was very impressed by the Kapurthala. At the time the chief minister of enthusiasm of such a young child who was walking Kapurthala was a Muslim who wanted to settle two miles with his brother to come to school. Being Muslims in the state. So he offered large tracts of the younger one, the teacher used to call him lovingly agricultural land to Muslims and called hardworking as “assistant sahib” and would teach him with the farmers from the adjacent Jalandhar area to populate same affection. When the annual examination came, untilled lands.