Huzur cited verse 17 of Surah Al Maidah, the translation reads;
“Thereby does Allah guide those who seek His pleasure on the paths of peace, and leads them out of every kind of darkness into light by His will, and guides them to the right path.”
Huzur said thus is the God of Islam Who sent the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at a time of intense darkness and through him had it declared that when darkness will fall again, a devout servant of his will be raised from the latter-ones to once again present his teachings to the world.
For the peace and guidance of the world the Living God of Islam sends His special people in every age and grants guidance to pure souls to follow these people. Huzur presented an insight into some incidents of acceptance of faith to exemplify how God guides.
Tufail bin Amr was a wise poet at the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). He belonged to the tribe of Dos [from Yemen] who once happened to visit Mecca and was warned by the Quraish of Mecca to stay clear of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). They incited him that the Prophet was (God forbid) creating discord among families, that he was a magician who was bewitching the Meccans with his mesmerising words. Huzur said this was like the current attitude of maulwis, who incite people to protect themselves from Ahmadis lest the Ahmadis bewitch them with their magic. Huzur said the documents of the 1974 proceedings [of the National Assembly of Pakistan] have not been released because they know that these would reveal the truth about the Ahmadiyya belief.
Tufail bin Amr decided to steer clear of the Prophet and decided not to even let his voice to reach him, for this purpose he stuffed cotton wool in his ears. One day Tufail bin Amr went to the Ka’ba where the Prophet was performing Salat. The sound of the Quranic verses that the Prophet was reciting fell in his ears and he rather liked what he heard. He thought he was a sensible poet he should listen to the message of the Prophet and decide for himself. When the Prophet finished his Salat and started walking towards his house, Tufail silently followed him. As the Prophet was about to enter his house, Tufail addressed him and said the Meccans had misled him to the extent that he had put cotton wool in his ears to avoid listening to the Prophet, but he had just then heard the Quranic recitation and found it most fine and wished to hear more. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) told him about Islam and recited more Quranic verses. Tufail was extremely moved and accepted Islam.
Tufail bin Amr told the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that he was the chief of his people and he hoped that his tribe would listen to him if he took the message of Islam to them. He asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to pray for his success and give him a sign. As he rode back to his tribe he felt a glow on his forehead and prayed that the sign be shown elsewhere. The same glow appeared on his horse-whip and his tribe saw it. When he met his father the next day Tufail told him that he was severing ties with him because he had accepted Islam. His father asked him about Islam. Tufail told his father to first bathe and cleanse himself. When he did this Tufail told him about Islam. His father was moved and accepted Islam. The same scenario took place with his wife who also accepted Islam. His tribe however was opposed to Islam. On his next journey to Mecca Tufail asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to imprecate/curse his people. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) raised his hands and prayed, ‘O Allah, grant guidance to the tribe of Dos.’ Tufail returned home and continued to spread the message of Islam. Meanwhile the migration to Medina took place. Tufail also went to Medina with seventy families of his tribe. Hadhrat Abu Huraira was also from his tribe. Huzur said Allah had an appointed time for the acceptance of the prayer of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that he had made for the guidance of Tufail’s people.
Huzur said in the incident of Taif angels offered to punish the people of the city for their terrible treatment of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) but he only sought prayer for their guidance.
In this age when the opposition of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) increased God showed the outbreak of the plague as a sign to those who opposed him. Despite Divine assurance of protection for him and his Community the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) would be extremely restless for the suffering of humanity in general. He would supplicate to God with extreme anguish in the middle of the night to save mankind from the ordeal of the plague.
Maulwi Raheem Ullah sahib, from among the companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), was a great believer in the Unity of God and found everyone he went to for spiritual enlightenment to be embroiled in shirk (associating partners with Allah). Due to his extreme piety he was enabled to experience visions while fully awake and had had the privilege of sighting the blessed personage of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and other Prophets of God. He had a vision about the Messiah and the Mahdi. He performed Istakhara and was shown a palanquin coming down from the sky, when he looked inside the palanquin, he saw the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). This is when he took his bai’at.
During the second Ahmadiyya Khilafat, Christianity was most popular in Fiji and people awaited the second coming of Jesus. This was before Ahmadiyyat got established there. A Bashir Ahmad Khan sahib was also considering joining Christianity when in a dream he met with a holy person who told him to come to his senses and that the one he was looking for was not from Christianity and had in fact come. Huzur said by this time Ahmadiyya missionaries had arrived in Fiji. After the dream he was inclined towards Ahmadiyyat and eventually took his bai’at.
Also during the second Ahmadiyya Khilafat, a Fatullah sahib from Sierra Leone had an extraordinary dream. He dreamt that he is working on a grassy patch outside a Maliki mosque in a village. When he got tired he went under the shade of a tree to rest. As he stood there he saw a person coming towards him carrying the Bible and the Qur’an and asked to see the Imam of the mosque. He then saw the stranger standing in the mehrab inside the mosque telling the Imam that he had come to teach him the proper method of Salat. The next day he related the dream to his friends. A week later, while working outside he stopped to take some rest under the shade of a tree. A few minutes passed when he saw a person approaching him. This was our missionary Al Haaj Maulana Nazir Ahmad who greeted him and enquired about accommodation. This was a fulfilment of the dream, Maulana’s outfit was also similar to the one in the dream. Fataullah sahib took the guest to his own house and told his Muslim friend that his dream was indeed fulfilled. The holy person had arrived. He accepted Ahmadiyyat after a few days.
Huzur said these incidents are from many decades ago. God continues to guide people today. Someone in Algeria saw a person in a dream in 2004 who took him to see the blessed person of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). He saw the Prophet who smiled. There was an olive skinned person present in the dream, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said he is a prophet of God. Four years later, in 2008, this person saw a photograph of the person he had seen in the dream; this was a photo of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).
An Egyptian lady Hallah had a dream that the Imam Mahdi and his Community was walking on water. When she wished to join them she was told they would take her along on their way back. Following this dream the lady looked into Sufisim but was not satisfied. One day at home she happened to see MTA Al-Arabiyya on which she saw the photograph of the person who was walking on water in her dream. This was indeed the Promised Messiah (on whom peace).
A Abdul Raheem sahib from Iraq dreamt that the Imam Mahdi tells him to take his bai’at.
Huzur said off the coast of Mauritius is a small island called Rodrigues which is mainly Catholic. Ahmadi missionary visited the family of a Christian young man in the island. His maternal grandmother said she knew the Ahmadiyya message was true. She had earlier seen a revealing dream about this which she had related to her entire family. When the missionary went for the second visit they took some books and the Holy Qur’an for the family. On their third trip they took bai’at forms. Seeing the forms tears welled up in the eyes of the lady. She said she had seen a dream the previous night in which she had seen the exact papers of the bai’at form. She said her family were a witness to this dream as she had already related it to them. Huzur said Rodrigues is a small island and Huzur has visited it. He said gradually Ahmadiyyat is spreading there.
In USA five people of Mexican ethnicity recently came into Ahmadiyyat. A lady who was from a Catholic family but did not practice the faith fell ill. She prayed to God for her health. She said she always prayed to One God. In a vision she saw an image of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), she touched the image and supplicated for healing. From that day onwards she was healed. Later, she met another lady of Mexican origin who was an Ahmadi and she saw a photograph of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) which was exactly the same image she had seen.
In Bulgaria a wife accepted Ahmadiyyat but her husband did not. Even though he came to the UK Jalsa Salana with his wife but he did not convert. Suddenly he expressed his desire to accept Ahmadiyyat quickly. When asked what the hurry was he said he had seen Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V in his dream who had said to him ‘you do not come to us so I have come to you’.
Huzur also related similar incidents from Kuwait, Moscow, Burkina Faso, Norway and Bosnia. Huzur said there are countless such incidents – some he relates in the Jalsa addresses. He had intended to recount some at the Qadian Jalsa but the opportunity did not arise. Allah thus continues to guide people as a sign of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). May He always show the world the guided way and also keep us firm on guidance.
Huzur cited a few prayers for guidance and said that one prayer for guidance that he had included in the Centenary prayers was indeed verse 9 of Surah Al e Imran. Huzur said he is sometimes asked if the Centenary prayers should be continued. He said they should be continued more than before, the earlier specific instruction was simply to make saying of prayers a regular practice. Another prayer that Huzur wished to stressed on was the prayer the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) made at the Battle of Uhad when his Companions in fact asked him to imprecate the enemy. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) instead prayed, ‘O Allah grant guidance to my people for they do not know me.’ Huzur said this prayer was also taught to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and the Community should also say it. In particular the people of Pakistan should say this prayer as opposition is mounting there. Huzur said the perpetrators do not seem to realise what is happening to them or what is to happen in future. May Allah have mercy. Compassionate prayers should be made for them. Although human life has no value in that country anymore but Ahmadis are martyred because they have accepted the Imam of the age. Two days ago one of our murrabi sahibs in Pakistan was shot at in his legs by unknown persons on a motorbike as he stood at a bus stop. May Allah grant him healing and may He give sense to the nation. The leaders of the country are dishonest and to make it worse they are in the control of the mullah. May Allah have mercy.
Next Huzur announced funerals in absentia of the following that he said he would lead after Friday Prayers.
A Mubasher Ahmad sahib was martyred in Karachi on 22nd February. He leaves behind two sons and a daughter. His widow had taken bai’at, may she be in Allah’s care.
An eminent elder Munir Hamid sahib, an Afro-American passed away on 21st February. He was an extremely sincere Ahmadi who had taken his bai’at at the age of fifteen. He was the first Qaid of Khuddamul Ahmadiyya USA and was the president of the Philadelphia Jama’at for more than thirty years. Currently he held the position of naib Ameer of USA. Huzur said his parents were not Muslims, his mother a practising Christian. From ten siblings he was the only religious one. At the time of his bai’at the rule was to have the bai’at form attested by a family elder. His mother refused to attest his form but acknowledged that he was the most spiritual among all her children. At that time he also wrote to Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him) and said the reply he received changed the course of his life. Huzur said he had met him and found him to be most courteous. His ardent love for the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was such that each time he mention his name he would be in tears. He had great love for the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and devotion to the Khulafa. Huzur said the first time he met him he was on his way to attend Jalsa at Bangladesh. On his way back to USA, he met Huzur again and said that after the Jalsa in Bangladesh and meeting with Huzur he was recharged. Huzur said he could not attend the USA Jalsa last year due to ill health. Huzur said had he known the detail of his illness he would have made time to visit him at his home. He leaves behind a widow, two daughters and a son. Huzur said he was one of those people who are especially guided by Allah.
A Dervish of Qadian who passed away on 25th February. In his steadfast and content nature he was an exemplary dervish. He had travelled from Sheikupura to Qadian in his young age and had dedicated his life.
Saeeda Yusuf sahiba, wife of Kamal Yusaf sahib passed away on February 25th after a long battle with cancer. She was from the Scandinavian Jama’at and had immense love and honour for Khilafat. She leaves behind her husband, two daughters and a son.
Amtul Hai sahiba and Bashir Ahmad Sialkoti sahib, husband and wife passed away a few days apart in February. They were the parents of Zahoor sahib of the Private Secretary’s office. They were both devoted, sincere people and were one of the first settlers in Rabwah. They leave behind one daughter and five sons.
Huzur prayed for the elevated status of all the deceased.