MOTTO ISLAM: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND January 2021 Editor: Nasir Ahmad B.A. LL.B. Vol. No. 40, Issue Nos. 1 IN MEMORY OF JALAL-UD-DIN AKBAR IBN-I ABDULLAH, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA "Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet. O you who believe, call for blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation" (33:56). CONTENTS Page THE HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD CONVEYED MESSAGE OF COMPASSION AND MERCY OF GOD 2 Karen Armstrong OBJECTIVES OF THE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT 3 Maulana M Kemal Hydel GRATITUDE - THE ATTITUDE OF APPRECIATION 7 Mrs. Nazra Ali AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CLAIM OF PROPHETHOOD ATTRIBUTED TO THE FOUNDER OF THE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT -IV 12 Fazeel S. Khan ACTIVITIES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE 19 Imam Amir Aziz THE HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD CONVEYED MESSAGE OF COMPASSION AND MERCY OF GOD Karen Armstrong (An edited transcription of a talk delivered by this well-known British Christian writer and historian. She is so popular in Pakistan that her more than ten books on Islam and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) have been translated into Urdu. — Ed.) Every recitation of the Qur’an begins with the invocation to the compassion and mer- cy of God. And the Qur’an is really nothing but a cry for compassion. The bedrock message of the Qur’an is that it is wrong to build up a private fortune but it is good to share your wealth equally and to look out for the vulnerable and relief for the poor people in society. That is the chief duty of every single Muslim. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, once said, ‘Not one of you can be a believer unless he desires for his neighbour what he desires for himself.’ This is what is often quoted as a golden rule. It is being enunciated in every single one of the major world traditions. Sometimes it comes in this form: ‘Never treat others as you would never like to be treated yourself,’ or in a positive form: “Always treat all others as you would wish to 2 | Page be treated.’ And all the faiths have said that this is the best test of true spirituality and it is this that brings us into the presence of what we call God. So compassion is key to the religious life, and all religions insist that we cannot confine our compassion to our own group, and to our congenial group of people. We must have ‘one eye,’ said one of the Chinese sages, concerned for everybody. “O people,” says the Qur’an, “We have formed you into tribes and nations so that you may get to know one another” [49:13]; not so that we may exploit or terrorise or colonize or convert even, but that we may get to know one another. And this is the key task of our time: to build by means of compassion and to respect a global community where all peoples, whoever they are, are equally treated with absolute equity and respect. And it seems to me that unless we implement the golden rule globally, we are not going to have a viable world. This is the task of our generation. And for that we all have the duty to look into our traditions to find that compassionate core and make it speak to the world. We all have to become avatars of compassion as the Holy Prophet was, and we will have to be messengers of compassion in our time. And we will have to do it globally, even to people who feel enmity towards us and dislike us or are at war with us. So we have to learn from the Holy Prophet to speak to people who are hostile to us in a way that is non-threatening, non-aggressive, but to try to see where their pain is coming from. I think if we just look to the Holy Prophet we have a model of how we should behave. Always in Makkah when his people were persecuted and abused the Prophet would always keep his calm. He would not allow himself to respond aggressively even when he was physically abused and threatened in any way. This is the time of fitnah for Muslims. We often talk about the first and the second fitnah after the death of the Holy Prophet where there were civil wars. It was the time of great trial and troubles. And this is similar to the time of trial and trouble. But Muslims in the past have always used these periods of difficulty as a spiritual opportunity. They racked their brains and thought creatively as to how to bring the compassionate and spiritual lessons of the Qur’an to a violent and troubled world. And that is our duty in this world: to make the compassionate voice of Islam speak loud and clear and make it a dynamic force in our time. If we all, every single person, did that, we turn the voice of extremism and do our best and work for a peaceful, just and sustainable world. *** Page | 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE AHMADIYYA MOVEMENT ISLAM’S VIGOROUS MESSAGE STOPS HOSTILITY AND HATRED MISCONSTRUED CONCEPTS OF ISLAM ARE REAL THREAT TO ISLAM Maulana M. Kemal Hydal, Trinidad “Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the only Divinely appointed Muslim who has claimed that Jesus’ return is not to bring about mayhem, Armageddon, Apocalypse and all kinds of blood- shed and evil in the world.” The chapter Al-Muddassir is consid- ered to be the second revelation. In this chapter the Holy Prophet is exhorted to beginﷺMuhammad imposing a change in the behaviour of his people with just the five verses of the first revelation. was told to preachﷺMuhammad to his people with the simple mes- sage that there is One God and that is the Messenger ofﷺMuhammad Allah. These were the words that the early Muslims uttered to declare themselves as Muslims, even before the other pillars of Islam such as prayer, fasting,zakaat , and hajj were enjoined on them. Even now this declaration is the simplest evidence of a person’s acceptance of Islam. In our own age and time modern scientific, educational, economic, social, religious, and other systems have failed to stop human hostility and hatred. Wrong concepts of religion cannot make the world righteous. When a religion promotes the idea of a hostile God Who would kill His own son or Who demands a Jihaad of bloodshed, the followers will become hostile and cruel. Every religion needs a reformation when it is not having the impact of a better and more harmonious relationship among people. The only concept of religion to bring peace among human beings is the concept provided by Islam. But the concepts of Islam always need a reformation whenever Muslims change the understanding of their religion from the Qur’an to other books or to scholars’ interpretations. The Qur’an states that the Prophet’s followers will treat the Qur’an as an abandoned object (25:30). 4 | Page Many Muslims claim that Islam is perfect and does not need a Reformer, yet they declare that they need the old Prophet Jesus to bring victory for Muslims. If Islam does not need a Reformer, how is it that it needs a Prophet? So many Muslims reject the Muslim Reformer but anxiously await the Jewish Prophet, Jesus. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, is raised up by Allah as the Reformer who will change the Muslims’ thinking towards the Qur’an. He does not change the religion of Islam but he does change the Muslim’s attitude towards Islam. But if Muslims cannot recognize a man of God, how can they understand the religion of God? has enjoined his community to recognize the Imaam ofﷺThe Prophet Muhammad the times. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the Imaam of our times. He is one Imaam who functions through many roles. As the Imaam he leads human beings towards Allah. As the Mujaddid he reforms and changes the Muslim’s outlook and attitude towards Islam. As the Mahdi he guides humanity to a gentle Islam, free of violence. As the Promised Messiah he breaks the false concept of the Cross as a means of sal- vation. As the Promised Reformer he shows how each person can develop his or her human spiritual potential. Why do Muslims need Jesus to return if Islam is a perfect religion? What is the benefit to Islam or to Muslims of Jesus returning? Why do Christians need Jesus to return when they possess or control the wealth, military and political power, and so many other resources to spread Christianity? not good enough for Muslims that ﷺWho needs Jesus, the Christ? Is Muhammad they need Jesus to return? Is the teaching of the Christian Church a failed doctrine such that Jesus has to personally appear to ensure its success? Two religious groups — Muslims and Christians — who are antagonistic to each other expect the same person, Jesus, to return to make their religion great and to destroy the other. Muslims and Christians expect the same Jesus to re-appear to achieve diametrically opposite results. For some Muslims Jesus will uphold Islam and destroy Christianity. For many Christians Jesus will uphold Christianity and destroy Islam. For Ahmadis Jesus’ return brings Muslims, Christians and others into harmonious living. The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam has a high regard for Jesus as it is the only organi- zation to claim the fulfilment of his second coming.