After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta'uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran Hazrat Amirul Mo'menine Zafrullah Domun said: Incha Allah, by Allah's Grace today I will continue to speak about Hazrat Molvi Nuruddin (ra), the first caliph in Jamaat Ahmadiyya. My aim is to inform members of the Jamaat specially the new generation about the history of Jamaat during his caliphate. In addition, I also wish that members should be aware of the development of the caliphate within the Jamaat. In searching the life of Molvi Nuruddin, in the mainstream Ahmadiyya Jamaat there are the following sources available :(1) Mirqaatoul Yaqeen fi hayaateh Nuruddin . This is a book written in Urdu by Molvi Nuruddin in person; (2) Hadrat Maulawi Nur-ud-Din Khalifatul Masih I by Muhammad Zafrulla Khan in English and (3) Hayaat Noor by Sheikh Abdul Qadir in urdu. There are some other books available in Urdu but I have quoted only from the three above-mentioned ones.
Last time we stopped when we were talking about the events of 1911. So the first time that he came to lead Jummah prayer after his illness was on 19 May 1911, after an interval of six months. This was an occasion of great happiness within the Jamaat. During his absence it was Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad who was officiating as the Imam under his directions.
In those days since the British were ruling over India, the Muslims who were working as government officers were not given time off to attend the Friday prayers. The British Government announced that a Coronation Durbar would be held in Delhi on 12 December 1911, to proclaim His Majesty George V Emperor of India. Always having the interests of the Muslims at heart Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (ra) thought it would be a good opportunity to request the King Emperor, through the Governor-General of India, that those Muslim employees of Government may be granted a recess of two hours on Friday so that they may get the opportunity to participate in the Friday prayers. Consequently he drafted a memorandum, concerning which he made the following announcement on 1st July 1911:
"Friday is accounted a very blessed day in Islam, and is looked upon as a festival by the Muslims. Attendance during the Friday noon service is obligatory, and more emphasis is laid upon it than upon attendance during the service on the two recognized festival days, as is said in the Holy Quran: O ye who believe, when the call is made for prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off all business (62:10). That is why ever since the beginning of Islam, Friday has been observed as a holiday in all Muslim countries. In India also Friday was observed as a holiday for centuries. The verse just cited does not permit of the Friday noon service being performed individually; attendance at the mosque, listening to the sermon, and participating in the congregational prayer are obligatory.
Sunday is a holiday on account of the religion of the sovereign, and government business does not permit of two holidays in a week. It is, therefore, necessary to propose something that would secure the desired end for the Muslims without creating any administrative difficulty. An easy way would be either to close all offices, courts, schools, colleges etc. for two hours at the time of the Friday noon service or to grant Muslim employees and students leave for that space of time to enable them to participate in the service. A government circular to that effect may be issued to all departments. We have prepared a memorial for this purpose to be submitted to the Governor- General. But as the purpose is common to all Muslims we deem it necessary that before the memorial is submitted, its purport should be conveyed to the Muslim public, newspapers and associations so that they might lend it their support through resolutions, declarations, articles etc, and the government being convinced of this need of the Muslims, due provision may be made for it. We are concerned only that as this is a common need of all Muslims, the proposed request may be submitted to the Governor-General with the unanimous support of all Muslims. It is not our desire that we alone should submit it. As God has moved us in this behalf, we have put forward this proposal. Should any Muslim association or body take exception to it merely because we have put it forward, we shall gladly hold back provided some other appropriate method is adopted for conveying the request to government." (maulvi Nuruddin by Zafrullah Khan p 244 )
Muslims from Aligarh, a prominent Muslim centre in India at that time and even today also proposed that the memorial (petition) should be submitted on behalf of the All-India Muslim League. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih (ra) agreed. Consequently the Memorandum was submitted to the government and they granted the desired facility to Muslims.
Today we Muslims living in Mauritius who have been enjoying the privilege of attending Friday Prayers in our working time, should be grateful to that noble soul for having initiated this move. May Allah send tremendous blessings upon him.
The next major event of the year was the annual gathering ( jalsa salana). It was held from 27th to 29th December. Molvi Nuruddin spoke for about two and a half hours in the afternoon of 27th December. What he said on that occasion is as relevant today as it was then. Among other things he said:
“O ye who believe, be mindful of your duty to Allah to the utmost, in all respects, every moment of your lives, so that death, whenever it overtakes you, should find you in a state of complete submission to Him. Take fast hold, all together, of the rope of Allah, and be not divided. Call to mind the favour of Allah, which He bestowed upon you, when you were at enmity with each other and He united your hearts in love, so that, by His grace, you became as brethren. You were on the brink of a pit of fire and He rescued you from it. Thus does Allah explain to you His commandments that you may be rightly guided. Let there be from among you a party whose business it should be to invite to goodness, to enjoin equity and to forbid evil. It is they who shall prosper. Be not like those who became divided and created dissensions after clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there will be great punishment (3:103-106)."
What is your duty to Allah? It is that you should adhere to true doctrines, your conduct should conform to them and you should be righteous. Righteousness safeguards one against suffering and bestows comfort. A righteous one is delivered from all constraints. He is loved by God and is provided for in a manner of which he has no conception. His prayers are accepted and he is bestowed triumph over his enemies who are ruined. The gates of the knowledge of the Divine are opened for a righteous one. Therefore, my first admonition is: Be righteous, be righteous, be righteous for the sake of Allah. Be truly obedient to Allah, and may your end be in a state of obedience to Him. Such obedience is a wonderful bounty. Abraham as, the great Patriarch, was accounted worthy of all blessings because of such obedience, as is said: When his Lord commanded him: Do thou submit thyself to Me; he responded: I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds (2:132). Therefore, if you too wish to be favoured with heavenly blessings, be righteous. Real righteousness sprouts in a true Muslim; therefore be Muslims, and let death find you Muslims. Then combine all together, and with your combined strength take fast hold of the rope of Allah, and be not divided. I recite the verse to you once more: Take fast hold, all together, of the rope of Allah, and be not divided. So keep fast hold of the rope of Allah, all together, and do not let go of it. In Islam the rope of Allah is the Holy Quran. The Aryas, Brahmans, Sanatanists, Christians, atheists and pagans are all pulling at this rope with all their strength and wish to pull it away forcibly in their direction. On the other side you claim to be holding fast to this rope of Allah. Do not leave this claim without proof. Put forth all your combined strength firmly and hold fast to it, lest the opponents of Islam should pull it away from you. Holding fast to it means that you should make the Holy Quran your code and your guide. All aspects of your lives should be subordinated to it. All your affairs, every movement and stillness of yours should be regulated by this Holy Book of God, which is healing and light. I convey to you once more the command of Allah, listen to it and listen with attention. Hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah and be not divided. Beware! Be not divided. Do you know what will be the consequence, if you are divided? This rope will slip from your hands, and you will lose all strength, as Allah, the Exalted has said: Avoid dissension, lest you falter and your strength depart from you (8:47). You will be disrupted, your strength will be frittered away and your enemies will triumph over you.
Listen! I am Khalifatul Masih, and God has made me Khalifa. I had no desire at all to be Khalifa, but now that God has invested me with this mantle, I intensely dislike all dissension. I do not wish you to be involved in dissension. I wish to eliminate all causes of dissension. You cannot conceive how the very idea of dissension in the community distresses me. You are not aware of this agony: you have no idea of it. I wish, and it all depends upon God's grace, that I should not hear of any dissension or division among you, and that I may witness with my own eyes that you are a practical illustration of the Divine command: Take fast hold, all together, of the rope of Allah, and be not divided. I repeat, let him who is present listen and convey it to others, shun contention. After I die you will have many occasions for contention. Perhaps you imagine that I have become Khalifa easily like Abu Bakr (ra) . You have no notion of the reality, nor can you conceive of the burden of responsibility that has been placed upon me and the anxiety that it occasions me. It is the pure grace of God that I have been enabled to carry the burden. Not one of you can estimate it correctly, let alone carry it. Can he who has to look after hundreds of thousands sleep in comfort?
Standing in this mosque, with the Quran in my hand, I call God to witness that I had not the least desire at any time to become a spiritual preceptor. But no one knows God's design. He did whatever He willed. He united all of you at my hands, and He Himself, and not any of you, invested me with the robe of Khilafat. It is my duty to honour and respect it. I do not desire from you money or anything else. I do not care whether any of you offers me greetings or not. Up to April last I used to pass on your personal offerings to me to Maulawi Muhammad ‘Ali, but someone misled him and he said these offerings belonged to the Anjuman and he, as Secretary of the Anjuman, was their custodian. Thereupon I stopped sending him these monies, out of regard for the pleasure of Allah, to see what they would do about it. Those who think like that are in error and have been guilty of disrespect. They should repent; I repeat that they should repent. If they do not repent they will be in evil case. Now I set apart the offerings that are made to me personally, and dispense them to win the pleasure of Allah. I do not depend upon you for my personal needs nor for the needs of the members of my family. God has never let me be dependent on anyone; He provides for me amply out of His hidden treasures. Also, I am still able to exercise the profession that He has bestowed upon me. Keep it in mind, and I repeat that I do not need your money, nor do I ask you for it. If you send me anything I spend it to win the pleasure of Allah, as I conceive it. Then what could have prompted in me any desire to become a spiritual preceptor? God did whatever He willed, and neither you nor any one else can do anything about it. Therefore, school yourselves to respect God's design; that is the way to earn God's blessings. This also is a rope of Allah that has bound together your scattered elements. Hold fast to it. Keep well in mind that you have no authority to remove the Khalifa. If you perceive something in me that you esteem a fault, point it out to me respectfully. It is God who appoints a Khalifa; it is not the business of men…”
We will stop here today. This is a long text. I will continue reading it incha Allah next week |