أَشْھَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ وَحْدَہٗ لَا شَرِیکَ لَہٗ وَأَشْھَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُہٗ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰہِ مِنَ الشَّیْطٰنِ الرَّجِیْمِ- بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ۔ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ۔ مٰلِکِ یَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ۔ اِیَّا کَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاکَ نَسْتَعِیْنُ۔

اِھْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِیْمَ۔ صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ غَیْرِالْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَلَاالضَّآلِّیْنَ۔

The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) mentioned five branches of the purpose of his advent, and one of these branches is the publication of announcements. That is, the publication of announcements for preaching and completing the argument.

At one place, he says: "Today, for the purpose of completing the argument, I have decided to publish forty announcements inviting opponents and deniers, so that on the Day of Judgment there may be this argument on my behalf in the presence of the One God that I fulfilled the task for which I was sent." (Arba'in Number 1, Ruhani Khazain Volume 17, Page 343)

And then these were not just a few announcements or only once, but if one looks, from before his claim until his demise, he published countless announcements. All of these are a treasure of the religious world. He had a deep yearning to save Muslims, Christians, and people of other religions from destruction. He used to do this work alone and would labor intensely for it. He authored great works indeed. His yearning of sympathy for creation also manifests through small announcements the pain for the reformation of the world. To maintain and carry forward this pain for the reformation of the world is also the duty of the members of his Jama'at. Therefore, attention should continue to be given to this.

Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), mentioning this pain of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and his extraordinary labor for it, says at one place:

"The example of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) is before us. Despite illness, he remained engaged day and night and kept issuing announcement after announcement. People were astonished to see his work. He would issue one announcement, and its effect had not yet worn off, and the fervor of opposition that it caused had not yet subsided, when he would publish another announcement. To the extent that some people would say that issuing an announcement at such a time would have a bad effect on temperaments, but he would not pay attention to this and used to say that iron can only be beaten when it is hot. And if the fervor cooled down even a little, he would immediately publish another announcement, which would again cause an uproar of opposition. He worked day and night in this manner, and this is the means of success. If we adopt this means, we can succeed. One should not think about letting the opposition subside." (Daily Al-Fazl Qadian, dated November 9, 1943, Page 2, Volume 31, Number 263)

If opposition continues, announcements should also continue to come alongside; only then will there be an effect.

Then Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud, while mentioning the time of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), says: "In the time of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), preaching was done through announcements. Those announcements consisted of two to four pages, and they would cause a sensation in the country. They were published in large quantities. According to that time, large quantities meant a number of one or two thousand. Sometimes announcements were published in numbers of ten thousand as well. But now our Jama'at is twenty times larger. Now the announcement propaganda will be that announcements should be published in quantities of fifty thousand, rather hundreds of thousands. Then see how announcements draw people's attention towards them. If announcements were published twelve times in the first year and now even if it is done only two or three times a year and pages are brought down to two or four, but they are published in quantities of hundreds of thousands, two hundred thousand, then it will become evident how they have created movement." (Khutbat-e-Mahmud Volume 33, Pages 5-6; Al-Fazl January 11, 1952)

Three or four years ago, I had told the Jama'ats to do the work of preaching by making one-page or two-page leaflets, and I had also given a target that it should be in the hundreds of thousands so that the world may also learn of the beautiful teaching of Islam. The world should receive the message of what the reality of Islam is. The world should receive the message that in this age, Allah the Almighty, by sending the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), has brought about the renaissance of Islam once again and has revived the true teaching. The world should know that even now Allah the Almighty sends His messengers to save His servants from Satan. Anyway, the Jama'ats that worked in this regard have, by the grace of Allah, seen very positive results. I had sent the students of Jamia to Spain; they did great work there and distributed approximately three hundred thousand different pamphlets. Similarly, now the students of Jamia Canada have gone to Spanish-speaking countries and Mexico and distributed these announcements. And by the grace of Allah, this has greatly expanded the field of preaching and Bai'ats have also taken place. So for this purpose, one after another two-page leaflets should continue to be published and should continue to be distributed, instead of distributing large books. Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), while expressing his views about how the publication of announcements should be done, also incidentally said at one place that some people want to publish announcements themselves. In that time too, they wanted this. Even now, although they cannot do it in such numbers, but anyway, some people want to do something on their own. Regarding this, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says:

"What is needed is that the announcements published from the headquarters should be distributed and their publication should be increased. In publishing announcements oneself, sometimes self-conceit also creeps in—that my name should also appear. And this is such a severe disease that the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to narrate a story about it." That is, some people have a fondness for self-conceit or self-projection. Regarding this, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) used to narrate a story that "There was a woman who had a ring made, but no woman praised it. One day, she set her house on fire, and when people gathered, she said that only this ring has been saved, nothing else. Someone asked: When did you have this made? She said: If someone had asked this before, why would my house have burned? In short, the desire for fame is such a disease that it eats away like termites whoever it afflicts, and such a person does not even realize it." (Important and Necessary Matters, Anwar-ul-Ulum Volume 13, Page 340)

This is not just about announcements. In other matters too, when self-conceit and the desire for fame settle in the mind and a person strives for it, then there is no benefit from it; rather, there are more losses. Now, by the grace of Allah, such expansion has occurred in the field of preaching that if someone publishes a pamphlet individually, it will be very insignificant. But anyway, in one's own circle, there is some expression of self-conceit. But if it is done with good intention—it is not the case that everyone is doing it only for self-conceit; some are well-intentioned—so where they are publishing themselves, if in their view it is a good thing, then it should also be given expansion and spread. Therefore, if any beneficial idea comes to someone's heart by which an announcement can be made better and also be attractive, that catches people's attention and has good content, then it should be given to the Jama'at system. If it is worthy, then the Jama'at system publishes it.

Now I present some miscellaneous matters from Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud regarding the Companions or the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). At one place he says: "When stones were thrown at the martyrs of Afghanistan, they did not panic but accepted them with steadfastness and courage. And when too many stones fell upon them, Sahibzada Abdul Latif Sahib Shaheed, Ni'matullah Khan Sahib, and other martyrs said this: O God! Have mercy on these people and guide them. The fact is that when the passion of love is within a person, his very color changes. Effectiveness is created in his speech, and the luminous rays of his face attract people." Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: "I remember that in the time of the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him), thousands of people came here (that is, to Qadian), and when they saw the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him), they said this: This face cannot be that of a liar. They did not hear even one word from his mouth and believed it." (Sufferings in the Way of Allah, Anwar-ul-Ulum Volume 13, Page 96)

These examples are visible to us even today. I receive many letters in which it is mentioned that when we saw the picture of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), just by looking at it, we said that this face cannot be that of a liar, and we took the Bai'at.

Then Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says that the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say that three types of people are included in our Jama'at. He says: "I have heard many times from the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him); he used to say that there are three types of people in our Jama'at. First are those who became Ahmadi after understanding and reflecting on my claim." (In that time, the condition of Islam was quite poor and the unity of Muslims was completely scattered, so different types of temperaments had developed. And when these different temperaments heard the claim of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) and saw the Jama'at being formed, they accepted. So the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) is describing the conditions of these people, that there are three types of people. That is, the first type, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) says:) "...who became Ahmadi after understanding and reflecting on my claim. They know what the purpose of my advent is and they understand that in the same manner in which the communities of previous prophets made sacrifices, we too should make sacrifices. But there is another group that has joined our Movement only because of Hazrat Maulvi Nur-ud-Din Sahib." (They do not know the purpose of the advent, but they joined only because Hazrat Maulvi Nur-ud-Din Sahib took the Bai'at of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). He says:) "He was their teacher. They considered him honorable and wise. They said that when Maulvi Sahib has become Ahmadi, let us also become Ahmadi. So their connection with our Movement is because of Maulvi Sahib. They have not understood the purpose of the Movement and the wisdom and aim of my advent.

Apart from this, there is a third group of some young people in whose hearts there was pain for Muslims, but nationally, not religiously. They wanted Muslims to have some group." That is, there was no religious pain, but seeing the condition of Muslims, they wanted there to be some group, a gathering. So such people also joined the Jama'at, and then later when they saw that there was more emphasis on religion, many of them separated at different times. In the Second Khilafat, many of them separated.

Even today, the fervor that exists among Muslims, among the youth, who wrongly go and join some terrorist organizations, they only think that nationally we should have a group or there should be such a body from which the sense of Muslim nationhood is created, and religiously they know nothing. And some reports that come from there, from Iraq and Syria, say the same thing: that many of their actions are such that when asked that this is not according to the Quran and Hadith, they say we do not know about this. We have been told what we have been told, and this identity of ours that is being established, we have to establish it in the name of Islam. So such people also exist.

Anyway, the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) says that nationally they want us to be together. "That there should be some organization among them. Associations should be established among them and schools should be run." (Some want to do these good works nationally.) "But since it was impossible for them to form any group of ordinary Muslims, when they saw a group with us, they came to us. And now they want schools to be established and people to obtain degrees. For this reason, they consider our Movement an association, not a religion. So the means of progress that are understood in the world are entirely different, and the means of progress that are understood in religion are entirely different. Associations progress in one way and religion in another. For the progress of religion, it is necessary that morals be reformed" (the essential thing for the progress of religion is that morals be correct, high morals), "the spirit of sacrifice and selflessness be created, prayers be offered" (so that there is progress in spirituality), "fasts be kept, trust in Allah the Almighty be developed, a pledge of obedience and submission to Him be made. If we do all these things, then although in the eyes of the world we will be considered mad, in the sight of Allah the Almighty there will be no one more wise than us. In the Holy Quran, it is stated that when Muslims make financial sacrifices, the hypocrites would say that these Muslims are fools. They are just wasting money. They have no sense to spend their money on any good work. Similarly, when they would sacrifice their time, they would say that they are mad. They are wasting their time. What progress are they going to make? Thus, they would either call the Muslims fools or call them madmen. These were the only two names they had given to Muslims. But see that those same fools and madmen became the teachers of the wise of the world.

So until our Jama'at adopts the same foolish attitude that the disbelievers and hypocrites called foolish, and until our Jama'at adopts the same mad attitude that the disbelievers and hypocrites called a mad attitude, it can never achieve success. If you want that at times of need you may also tell lies. If you want that at times of need you may also deceive and defraud. If you want that at times of need you may also resort to cunning. If you want that at times of need you may also sometimes benefit from backbiting and talebearing, and then hope that you will achieve success, then remember, you will never achieve that success which Allah the Almighty has promised to the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). These things indeed work in worldly associations (deception too, fraud too, backbiting too, talebearing too, pulling each other down too), but in religion, there is no blessing because of them; rather, the curse of Allah the Almighty descends." (Khutbat-e-Mahmud Volume 19, Pages 686-688; Al-Fazl September 27, 1938, Page 3)

Therefore, all high morals, progress in spirituality, these things should be present in religious communities. So every Ahmadi needs to greatly elevate his standards of honesty and standards of spirituality.

Then, narrating an incident about the background and need for the establishment of Talim-ul-Islam High School, he says that there was a time when Talim-ul-Islam College was started. At that time, the thinking was that we immediately need so many lakhs of rupees and so much annual income so that the college may continue, and big plans were being made in lakhs. So at that time, he says: "There was a time when it was difficult for us to even continue the high classes. Here (in Qadian), there used to be an Arya Middle School." "In the beginning, when our boys started going there, the Arya masters started lecturing to them that you should not eat meat." (Hindus do not eat meat.) "Eating meat is cruel. They would make such objections that were attacks on Islam. The boys would come from school and tell these objections." He says: "Here (in Qadian), there was a primary school; in that too, mostly Arya teachers" (teachers) "used to come and teach these same things. The first day when I went to study at the government primary school" (that is, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud is narrating his own account that when I went to study at that government primary school) "and at noon my food came, I went outside the school and sat under a tree nearby to eat. I remember well that day liver was cooked and that was sent in my food. At that time, Mian Umar Din Sahib deceased, who was the father of Mian Abdullah Sahib, also used to study in the same school, but he was in a higher class and I was in the first class. When I sat down to eat, he also came and seeing it said: 'Hain maas khaandey o maas' (Oh, eating meat, meat). Although he was a Muslim. The reason for this was that the Arya masters used to teach that eating meat is cruel and a very bad thing. I heard the word 'maas' for the first time from them. So I could not understand that 'maas' means meat. So I said: This is not 'maas'; it is liver. They told me that meat is called 'maas.' So I heard the word 'maas' for the first time from their tongue and heard it in such a way as if eating meat is bad and should be avoided. In short, Arya teachers would keep making such objections, and boys would come home and tell them that they make this objection. Finally, this matter reached the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said that however possible, the Jama'at should establish a primary school by making sacrifices. So the primary school opened, and it was thought that our Jama'at had achieved its ultimate objective. During this period, our brother-in-law, the late Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Sahib (may Allah have mercy on him), migrated and came to Qadian. He was very fond of schools. Thus, he had also established a middle school in Malerkotla. He said that I want this school to be made a middle school" (that is, the one in Qadian). "I will close the school there and give that aid here. So in Qadian, it became a middle school. Then later, partly due to Nawab Muhammad Ali Sahib's enthusiasm and partly due to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I's (may Allah be pleased with him) enthusiasm, it was decided that a high school should be opened here. So then a high school was opened here. But this high school was only in name because most of the teachers were Entrance pass, and some perhaps Entrance failed as well, but anyway, it got the name of high school. The Jama'at did not have the capacity to spend more, nor could the idea develop. But finally, the time also came when the government started emphasizing especially that schools and boarding houses should be built and that those who build schools and boarding houses will be given aid. So in the era of Khalifatul Masih I's Khilafat, this school was also built and so was the boarding house. Then gradually, improvement in the staff began and students started increasing. First, there were one hundred and fifty, then three or four hundred, then seven or eight hundred, and this number remained for a long time. Now in three or four years, the number of boys in the school has suddenly increased from eight hundred to seventeen hundred, and I have heard that girls have exceeded one thousand. So boys and girls together make approximately three thousand. Then Madrasah Ahmadiyya was also established and the college too. By the grace of Allah, in Madrasah Ahmadiyya too, students have started increasing under my past appeal, and twenty-five to thirty students have started coming every year. If this sequence continues, the number of students in Madrasah Ahmadiyya and the college will also reach six or seven hundred or even more, and in this way, we will get one hundred missionaries every year. Until we obtain this many missionaries every year, we cannot properly work in the world." (That is, this was the minimum. Now, by the grace of Allah, there are hundreds.) "In 1944, I laid the foundation of the college because now the time had come that our future generation's higher education should be in our hands. There was a time when very low-ranking people and people with very small incomes were included in our Jama'at." (Indeed, from this, the history of the Jama'at is also known.) "Indeed, some people became Ahmadi from colleges and joined the Jama'at, but they were considered accidents; otherwise, people of high ranks and high incomes were not in our Jama'at except for a few limited people. There was one trader, Seth Abdur Rahman Haji Allah Rakha Sahib Madrasi, but his trade broke. After him was Sheikh Rahmatullah Sahib. Apart from them, there was no big trader in our Jama'at, nor was any big official included in our Jama'at. So much so that Hazrat Khalifa I once said to me: See, Mian, from the Holy Quran and Hadith, it is known that in the beginning, great people do not believe in prophets. So this is also a proof of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him) that no great person is included in our Jama'at. Thus, no EAC is included in our Jama'at. So according to that time, an EAC" (this is perhaps what the Assistant Commissioners of the government service were called) "used to be a very big person." Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud says: "But see, now several EACs walk in the streets here and no one even looks up at them. But at one time, there was such a dearth of people of the upper class in our Jama'at that Hazrat Khalifa I said that no great person is included in our Jama'at. Thus, no EAC is included in our Jama'at. So according to that time, our Jama'at could not even tolerate an EAC." (Khutbat-e-Mahmud Volume 27, Pages 150 to 153)

Today, by the grace of Allah, hundreds of schools and colleges of the Jama'at are running in the world, and today, by the grace of Allah, great experts and officers are also included in the Jama'at in various countries of the world. Members of national parliaments are Ahmadis and are also advanced in sincerity. It is not that only worldliness has come into them; rather, in Africa, in some countries, Ahmadis hold some important ministerial positions as well. So this too is one of the favors from the favors of Allah. How Allah is granting progress.

Mentioning the hardships upon the early Ahmadis and then the favors of Allah in the very early times, he says: "There was a time when the Ahmadi Jama'at was being treated harshly from all sides." "The Maulvis issued a decree that killing Ahmadis, looting their homes, seizing their properties, and marrying off their women elsewhere without divorce is not only permissible but a source of reward." And this thing exists even today, but in that time, there were very poor people and they were treated very harshly. So this attitude has always been there in the Maulvis and continues to this day, but anyway, the severity of hardship at that time was also very intense because the Jama'at was very small. He says: "And wicked and evil people who keep looking for excuses to express their greed and avarice started acting on this decree" that without marriage, they made women lawful for themselves. That is, they had Ahmadis divorce their wives and had them married to themselves. He says: "Ahmadis were being expelled from homes and dismissed from jobs. Their properties were being forcibly seized, and many people, finding no way out of these predicaments, were compelled to migrate. And since the place of migration for them was only Qadian, upon their coming to Qadian, the expenses of hospitality had increased even more" (had grown). "At that time, the Jama'at had progressed to one or two thousand people, but each one of them was falling victim to the enemy's attacks." (The number of the Jama'at had reached one or two thousand, but each one was a victim of the enemy's attacks.) "One or two thousand people who at all times are occupied with the concern of protecting their lives and their honor and their properties and their wealth, and day and night are engaged in debates and quarrels with people—for them to procure money for the propagation of Islam throughout the world and to bear the burden of hospitality for those coming to Qadian to learn religion, and then to bear the expenses of their oppressed migrant brothers, is an astonishing thing." (This history too should be known to us. It is no ordinary matter.) "Hundreds of people ate at the Jama'at's dining spread both morning and evening, and the other needs of some poor ones also had to be arranged. Due to the large number of those coming for migration and the abundance of guests, besides the guest house, every house (in Qadian) had become a guest house." "Every room in the house of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) was a separate dwelling." (That is, every room was inhabited by families. That is, every room was given to a family and had become a house.) "In which some guest or migrant family lived. In short, the burden had exceeded human capacity to bear. Every morning that dawned brought with it fresh trials and fresh responsibilities, and every evening that fell brought with it fresh trials and fresh responsibilities. But the breeze of اَلَیْسَ اللّٰہُ بِکَافٍ عَبْدَہٗ (Is Allah not sufficient for His servant?) would blow away all worries like straw and chaff, and those clouds that threatened to uproot and throw away the foundations of the building of the early Movement would in a short while become clouds of mercy and grace, and at the falling of each drop, the encouraging voice of اَلَیْسَ اللّٰہُ بِکَافٍ عَبْدَہٗ would be produced." (Da'wat-ul-Amir, Anwar-ul-Ulum Volume 7, Pages 565-566)

That is, there was so much hardship, but still there was this certainty that Allah the Almighty is sufficient for us and Insha'Allah circumstances will change.

Even today, although in Pakistan especially and in some other countries there is some severity among Muslims—in Pakistan it is more, in other countries to some extent the circumstances of Ahmadis are difficult—but despite this, there is not that state of helplessness. Financially too, they are better, and other arrangements too are much better by the grace of Allah and manifest the favors of Allah. In every corner of the world, Ahmadiyyat has now reached by the grace of Allah. By migrating, they do not gather only in one place; rather, Ahmadis have spread out in the world. If there is hardship, they have gone out, and outside, by the grace of Allah, further ease is being created. And if there are some difficulties, the voice of اَلَیْسَ اللّٰہُ بِکَافٍ عَبْدَہٗ even today becomes our support. In every corner of the world, the Langar of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) is established. So Allah has, if we remain attached to Him, never abandoned us, nor will He ever abandon us. Insha'Allah. Sacrifices indeed have to be made, and Ahmadis, by the grace of Allah, make them. But every sacrifice, carrying the favors of Allah, shows us a new path. Allah never diminishes in His giving.

Then Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates an incident regarding the miracle of divine protection: "I present one example of divine protection from the life of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). Kunwar Sain Sahib, who is the Principal of Law College Lahore—his father had a great relationship with Hazrat Sahib, to the extent that when the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) sometimes needed money, he would sometimes also take a loan from him. (Kunwar Sain Sahib was a Hindu.) He too had great sincerity with Hazrat Sahib. In the case at Jhelum, he had sent a telegram to his son to plead on behalf of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). The reason for this sincerity was that in his youth, when he and the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), along with some other friends, lived together in Sialkot, he had seen several signs of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). Thus, one of these signs is that one night he was sleeping with friends when his (that is, the Promised Messiah's, peace be upon him) eyes opened. And it was put in his heart that the house is in danger. He woke all these friends and said that the house is in danger; we should leave it. All the friends, due to sleep, did not pay attention and went back to sleep saying that you have had a delusion. But his feelings kept increasing. Finally, he woke them again and drew their attention that a creaking sound was coming from the ceiling. The house should be vacated. They said it is a normal thing; such sounds often come from wood due to termites. Why are you spoiling our sleep? The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) again insisted that please just accept my word and leave. Finally, compelled, people agreed to leave. Since Hazrat Sahib was certain that God is holding back the house from falling for my protection—He is holding back the house from falling due to my protection—he told them to leave first; I will leave after. When they left and Hazrat Sahib left after them, he had only placed one foot on the stair when the ceiling collapsed. See, he was not an engineer that by seeing the condition of the ceiling he would understand that it is about to fall. Moreover, as long as he kept insisting and waking people up, the ceiling remained in its place, and it did not fall until he had left. But as soon as he lifted his foot, the ceiling came crashing down. This matter proves that this was not a coincidental thing; rather, the Protective Being held back this house until the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), whose protection was in the view of this Protector, had left this house. So the existence of the attribute Hafiz (Protector) is a witness to a Being with will and is a living testimony to it." (Derived from Hasti Bari Ta'ala, Anwar-ul-Ulum Volume 6, Pages 324-325)

Then similarly, narrating another incident of Allah the Almighty's treatment of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), he says: "The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) used to say that once I set out from Amritsar riding a tonga. A very fat Hindu also boarded the same tonga with me. He sat inside the tonga before me and, for his own comfort, spread his legs well so that the front seat where I was to sit was also blocked. (He put an obstruction in that too.) So (the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, says) I sat in a small space. In those days, the sun was so harsh that people lost their senses. To protect me from the sun, Allah sent (what arrangement did He make?) a cloud that came providing shade alongside our tonga all the way to Batala. Seeing this spectacle, the Hindu said: "You appear to be a great saint of God." (Khutbat-e-Mahmud Volume 17, Pages 534-535)

So Allah treats His servants in such a way that one is left amazed. But servitude is the condition, and such a person's end will certainly be good. Apparently, he may appear to be humiliated in the eyes of the superficially seeing world, but in the end, he will attain honor. Apparently, he may also be defamed, but in the end, good repute will be his. As if, this person's beginning is with servitude and his end concludes with divine help. That is, if one becomes a true worshipper of Allah and worships Him, adopts His servitude, then the help of Allah remains with him, and Allah helps against every evil.

What is the difference between an ordinary Pir (spiritual guide) and a messenger sent by Allah in having a good influence, distributing goodness, reforming their disciples, and having pain for humanity? Giving an example of this, Hazrat Musleh Mau'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Hazrat Munshi Ahmad Jan Sahib of Ludhiana had passed away even before the claim of the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him), but his spiritual insight was so sharp that even before the claim, he wrote to the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him):

'Our gaze, we the sick, is upon you alone; become the Messiah, for the sake of God.'

"He (that is, Munshi Ahmad Jan Sahib) had advised his children that I am now dying, but remember this well: Mirza Sahib will certainly make a claim, and my bequest to you is that you accept Mirza Sahib. In short, he was a spiritual man of that caliber. In his youth, he turned the grinding mill—in which an ox is yoked—for twelve years to serve his Pir." (The Pir Sahib had put him in place of the ox on a mill so that the mill would run.) "And for twelve years, he kept grinding flour for him. Then he taught him the lessons of spirituality." (That is, for twelve years, when he kept grinding the mill like an ox, then the Pir Sahib gave him some lessons of spirituality.) He says: "So those people who were called spiritual (in that time, the Pirs who existed, the people who were called spiritual), they also used to be extremely miserly in telling people spiritual things. But the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him) not only told the world all those things but also told thousands of times more other things that people did not know before. And in this way, he scattered knowledge throughout the world. But as was foretold in the Hadith, the world did not value it." (Khutbat-e-Mahmud Volume 25, Pages 23-24)

So apparently spiritual people cannot compete with the person whom Allah has especially commissioned for this work: that the world is to be reformed, its spirituality is to be increased, it is to be brought close to Allah—as the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) himself said: "The work for which God has commissioned me is that I remove the estrangement that has occurred in the relationship between God and His creation and re-establish the bond of love and sincerity."

Then he said: "That I manifest the religious truths that have become hidden from the eyes of the world. And that I demonstrate a specimen of the spirituality that has been buried under carnal darkness."

He said: "And above all, that the pure and shining Unity (Tauhid), free from all admixture of polytheism, which has now become extinct—I plant its permanent sapling again in the nation." (Lecture Lahore, Ruhani Khazain Volume 20, Page 180)

May Allah grant us the ability that while fulfilling the right of Bai'at, we establish a relationship with Allah. May we recognize the religious truths and act upon them. May we progress in spirituality and become those who partake of the true radiance of Tauhid. May Allah also grant the world the ability for this recognition, and especially grant the Muslim Ummah the ability that, understanding the pain of the promised Messiah and Mahdi (peace be upon him), they may be enabled to enter his Bai'at.

After the prayers, I will lead two funeral prayers in absentia. The first is of respected Numan Ahmad Najm Sahib, son of respected Chaudhry Maqsood Ahmad Sahib of Malir Rifah-e-Aam Society, Karachi. Respected Numan Ahmad Najm Sahib was martyred in Karachi by opponents of Ahmadiyyat on March 21, 2015, at approximately quarter to eight in the evening when they came to his shop and shot him. انّا لِلّٰہ و انّا الیہ راجعون۔ That evening at quarter to eight, the martyred deceased was at his store. Two armed individuals came to the store and opened fire. One bullet hit the chest and passed through, grazing the heart. Nearby shopkeepers called his brother, respected Usman Ahmad Sahib, to inform him. Then they also informed the rescue services. He immediately came to the shop. They were taking Numan Sahib to the hospital in a severely wounded condition, but he was martyred on the way. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.

Ahmadiyyat entered the family of the martyred deceased through his grandfather, respected Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad Sahib, son of respected Chaudhry Karim-ud-Din Sahib, who had taken Bai'at during the Second Khilafat. Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad Sahib's parents passed away when he was young. After his parents' death, Chaudhry Manzoor Sahib went to Qadian, where he was blessed with taking Bai'at. He also received his early education in Qadian. There, he was married to respected Safiyya Sadiqa Sahiba, daughter of respected Mubarak Ali Sahib. Then after the establishment of Pakistan, they came to Harappa Sahiwal. The father of the martyred deceased, respected Maqsood Ahmad Sahib, was born in Rabwah itself. Then they also moved from Rabwah. The grandfather of the martyred deceased took up residence in Gujranwala with his family in 1968 due to employment. In 1974, when disturbances occurred in Gujranwala, while protecting Ahmadiyya Bait-uz-Zikr, the grandfather of the martyred deceased, respected Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad Sahib, his uncle respected Mahmood Ahmad Sahib, and his paternal uncle-in-law respected Saeed Ahmad Sahib were also martyred. Before him, there were these three martyrs in this family. Due to these circumstances, this family moved to Karachi in 1976.

Numan Ahmad Najm Sahib was born on January 26, 1985, in Karachi. His education was an MBA. After that, he started his computer hardware business in 2008. The deceased was, by the grace of Allah, a Musi (participant in the institution of Wasiyyat). He was extremely honest, kind-hearted, of good character, noble, and sociable. He was an extremely sincere and devoted young man. He treated his employees like younger brothers. He presented some computers and related equipment as a gift for the computer institute and mission house established under the Jama'at's management in Nagarparkar Mithi. He himself went there and installed the system. The martyred deceased wished to establish a computer institute in the name of his grandfather, respected Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad Sahib Shaheed, so that the name of his martyred grandfather would remain alive forever. For this reason, he had also given some equipment and computers as a gift to the computer institute in Mithi. He was a very beloved personality. Even non-Ahmadis would say that he is an angel. At that time, he was serving as Qa'id Majlis Khidmat in Rifah-e-Aam Society. He was one who gave precedence to religion over the world and enthusiastically participated in Jama'at work. He would receive threats from opponents, but he always advised his younger brothers to remain cautious. Six months before, the martyred deceased was bringing his business goods when unknown persons stopped him, took the goods and also robbed the money, and also said: We had come to kill you, but since we got the money, we are leaving you. The survivors of the martyred deceased include his father, respected Chaudhry Maqsood Ahmad Sahib; his mother, respected Safiyya Sadiqa Sahiba; and two brothers, Zeeshan Mahmood and Usman Ahmad. May Allah elevate the rank of the martyr and grant courage to his bereaved family, parents, and brothers.

Khurram Ahmad Sahib, a Mu'allim of the Jama'at, says that this martyr was very soft-spoken, loving, a young man with passion for Jama'at service, and he installed with great effort, as mentioned earlier. He would come several times to Nagarparkar, which is a very remote area of Sindh. Several times when he would arrive there, he would be told that you are tired, rest first, then work. But he would always say: We are Mujahideen. Seeing us as city people, do not think we are delicate. And he would always be ready for service. The former Qa'id of the area, Mansoor Sahib, says that I have known him since he was twelve years old and was in Atfal. He would always participate in Jama'at activities and competitions with great enthusiasm, passion, and fervor. He would always take a position and would say that my position always comes first. He would strive for this. He was never satisfied with second or third position. After school, he would help his father at his shop, but at the same time, he would also be fulfilling Jama'at responsibilities. And it seemed that he did not give as much time to his home or personal work as he gave to the Jama'at. Unlike other young men, he never wasted his time. He spoke with extreme humility and meekness. He is also a relative of Tommy Kallon Sahib. They also say that our family tried to have him come out of Pakistan; we insisted a lot, but he was not willing to leave Pakistan.

Imran Tahir Sahib, a Murabbi of the Jama'at, says that he was also my relative. In twenty years, I never saw him shout at anyone even once. I never saw him speak harshly. He was a picture of humility, meekness, and forbearance. He was an extremely respectful and loving person. In Canada, there is a maternal cousin of his who says (as mentioned earlier) that in view of the situation in Karachi, he was asked to migrate, but disregarding all kinds of circumstances, he always preferred to stay in Pakistan with his mother. He cared for every wish and need of his mother.

Mashood Hasan Khalid Sahib, a Murabbi, says that one day the humble one was sitting talking with the martyred deceased when the martyred deceased said: Who are those fortunate people who are martyred? Perhaps it was this very wish of his that Allah granted him this status. May Allah elevate his rank.

The second funeral is of respected Engineer Farooq Ahmad Khan Sahib, Na'ib Amir of Jama'at District Peshawar. Farooq Ahmad Khan Sahib was the son of respected Mahmood Ahmad Khan Sahib. After Shura, he was going from Rabwah to Peshawar. The tire of the car burst, which caused an accident, and near Chakwal, he fell out of the car onto the road, which caused more injuries. The highway police immediately took him to Chakwal Hospital, but he could not survive.انّا لِلّٰہ و انّا الیہ راجعون۔

Ahmadiyyat entered the family of Farooq Sahib through his grandfather, respected Ahmad Gul Sahib, who had taken Bai'at at the hand of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I (may Allah be pleased with him), but in the Second Khilafat, they went into the non-Mubai'een. Later, Farooq Khan Sahib himself took Bai'at in 1989 and joined Jama'at Ahmadiyya Mubai'een. Then after that, his two brothers also took Bai'at. He was born in 1954. He completed his education in mining engineering. Then he kept working in the government's Mining Department. In 1985, he was married into an Ahmadi family. He was very sociable, of good character, and noble. He also worked as Secretary Islah-o-Irshad of Jama'at Ahmadiyya Peshawar. The deceased was, by the grace of Allah, a Musi. May Allah treat him with forgiveness and mercy and also grant patience and courage to his survivors. His wife, two sons aged 25 and 17, and one daughter are in mourning.