The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Discussion about the “quranguide” blog

Please see the questions and answers below.

Ruyat-i hilal: Well, what I said would happen in Pakistan, DID happen!

Please see my post below from 25 April 2021.

What I had said in that post, on the basis of scientific data, proved exactly correct: “This year 2021, in Pakistan on the evening of 12 May … the [Ruyat-i Hilal] Committee will find it very difficult to accept any report of sighting as correct.”

That is why it took the Committee 4½ hours to reach a decision!

The Ruyat-i Hilal Committee deliberated for about 4½ hours after sunset on 12 May 2021 (29th Ramadan there). Pakistan government’s meteorological department was announcing that the age of the moon was so short (i.e. length of time elapsed since birth of the new moon) that the crescent could not possibly be seen by the human eye or even by telescope. At 11.30 pm local time, after even tarawih prayers had finished, the Committee announced that it was accepting as correct the various reports of moon sighting it had received and hence Eid would be next day on the 13th.

The comedy is that, while the day in Islam begins at sunset, it was announced 4½ hours after this time, after the Islamic day had begun, that this day is not 30th Ramadan but 1st Shawwal!

The only justification for holding Eid on 13 May was that calculations showed that the moon was new. But not wishing to admit this simple truth, the Committee accepted erroneous reports, provably erroneous reports, that the moon had been sighted.

I may add that in the UK since 1978 the Lahore Ahmadiyya branch has been using the published scientific data about the moon to set the Eid date many months in advance. I know because I have been doing it!

So this year in Pakistan, those very strong believers in sighting the moon by eye found themselves setting an Eid day which is only justifiable by the known scientifc data and not at all by sighting.

— Zahid Aziz

Further to the above, the previous Chairman of the Ruyat-i Hilal Committee, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, has refused to accept that Eid should have been on 13 May since the moon could not have been sighted on 12 May and the sighting reports are erroneous. He has asked all Muslims in Pakistan to observe a missed fast on 14 May.

See: Geo TV News  ♦  The Tribune ♦ Samaa TV

Sighting the Moon (Ruyat-i Hilal)

I saw an interview with the new chairman of the Ruyat-i Hilal Committee of Pakistan, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, on GEO TV. He stated that the arrangements for determining the new moon will now be such that there will not be any disagreement in the country about the date of Eid. He also disclosed that the work of this Committee costs the government 4 million Rupees (I am not sure if he meant annually or on each occasion).

I don’t know what solution the Maulana has devised, but the real problem is due to the fact that while scientific data can tell us for certain which evening it is when the moon will be new, the question of whether the new moon will be visible is not a matter of certainty, but probability.

This year 2021, in Pakistan on the evening of 12 May, which will be 29th Ramadan there, the age of the moon at sunset will be about 19 hours. It might be possible to sight it using a telescope, but sighting it with the naked eye will be almost impossible. Consequently, the Committee will find it very difficult to accept any report of sighting as correct.

So the Committee may well announce on 12 May that the moon has not been sighted. Unfortunately for them, since the age of the moon on the evening of 13 May will be about 43 hours and it will be out in the sky for about 90 minutes after sunset, people observing it will wonder how such a large and long-lasting crescent can be the new moon.

Therefore, objections will arise whichever date is selected! And the same has happened several times in previous years.

The solution is found in a very short verse of the Holy Quran: “The sun and the moon follow a reckoning (a ḥisāb)” (55:5).

Muslims happily follow the first part of this verse. Hence times of starting and ending the daily fasts are published. If it is cloudy, no one is worried about finding out when the sun will set and when they can end their fast. Unfortunately, Muslims in general are not willing to follow the second part of this verse, about the moon. On the basis of one or two hadith reports on this issue, they are setting aside and ignoring the guidance of the Quran.

It is a matter of deep embarrassment that while Muslims are found to be discussing every year whether the new moon has been sighted, non-Muslim nations (dubbed by Muslims as kafir) reached that same moon more than fifty years ago, and today they are able to send machines to the planet Mars, several hundred times further away than the moon is, and move them about by remote control.

— Zahid Aziz

Ramadan Daily Quran Studies, 2021

Welcome to the Ramadan Daily Quran Studies for 2021

The theme for this year’s Studies is the life, work, mission and qualities of the Holy Prophet Muhammad as depicted in the Quran.

For these studies, which are added daily during Ramadan, please visit:

www.aaiil.uk/ramadan-2021

Allegation regarding provision of prostitutes for soldiers

The anti-Ahmadiyya have alleged that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad recommended to the British government of India that British soldiers stationed in India should have prostitutes provided for them from Britain itself.

They have pointed to a passage in volume 1 of the book Mujaddid-i Azam, the biography of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad written by Dr Basharat Ahmad. This volume was published in Urdu in 1939 and its English translation was published as The Great Reformer in 2007. The passage in the published English translation is as follows:

“The British Government had allowed brothels in the military cantonments to service the needs of British soldiers. In order to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the prostitutes were required to undergo medical examinations periodically. Later, under pressure from the puritanical elements of the British society, the compulsory medical examinations were made illegal. With the change of government in London, a movement was started to restore the medical exams and the London Times wrote several articles in its support.

When Hazrat Mirza learned of this, he published a notice in which he drew the attention of the government to the fact that it was only in Islam that fornication had been declared wrong and sinful under all circumstances. He petitioned the government to find ways to maintain the morals of its soldiers and to stop them from fornicating, but if this could not be done, then the government should import British prostitutes for the Britons. Indian women should not be used to satisfy the lasciviousness of the British soldiers.”
(v. 1, p. 572; underlining is ours. In the original Urdu book, see v. 1, p. 441)

I have underlined the words which are objected to by our critics.

1. Firstly, it appears that there is no writing by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad containing the underlined words. This suggestion of importing prostitutes was in fact made by an Indian newspaper which Hazrat Mirza has merely quoted in his book Arya Dharm. Before quoting it he has commented and emphasised that it is only Islam which prohibits every kind of fornication and provides teachings on its avoidance in all kinds of circumstances.

Therefore, we in the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement have no hesitation in acknowledging that an error has been made in Mujaddid-i Azam in attributing these words to him. Perhaps by a printing mistake some text has been omitted after the words “to stop them from fornicating”, which makes it appear as if the underlined words are being attributed to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

2. Secondly, it may be objected that even if Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad did not write these words, a close follower of his has done so and thinks it is appropriate advice. But why is this statement objectionable? It is simply saying that if you cannot refrain from this immoral practice then please do not involve our Indian community in it, but go and do it among your own people who regard it as legitimate. Just before this, this statement says:

“it was only in Islam that fornication had been declared wrong and sinful under all circumstances”

This is a practical approach which is adopted today by Muslims living in the West. When they find that certain immoral practices are being promoted by Western people, Muslims say to them: Go and indulge in these yourselves, but do not involve us or our children.

The Quran itself says that fornicating men and women should confine their relations between themselves, and keep separate from the believers (24:3). It also says: “Unclean things are for unclean ones and unclean ones are for unclean things, and good things are for good ones and good ones are for good things” (24:26). Can it be said that the Quran is approving of this immoral behaviour?

3. Thirdly, our critics would not have objected if the above underlined words of the statement had been different as follows:

“… but if this could not be done, then the government should do what many Muslim Ulama advocate to Muslims: that the women of the conquered countries be distributed among the soldiers of the conquering army for use as concubines (sex slaves).”

Why would our critics not object at all to making this recommendation? It is because most of them believe in the allowability of concubines. To show this, we quote from Maulana Maudoodi’s famous commentary of the Quran, Tafheem-ul-Quran, in his footnote 44 to verse 4:24. Maulana Maudoodi writes:

“(1) It is not lawful for a soldier to have conjugal relations with a female prisoner of war as soon as she falls into his hands. The Islamic Law requires that all such women should be handed over to the government which has the right to … … distribute them among the soldiers. A soldier can only have sexual relations with the woman who has been given to him by the govern­ment officially as his property.

(6) While the Shariah has imposed a limit of four on the number of wives (for one man), there is no limit on the number of captive women (for one man)…

(8) The official handing over of the property rights over a slave-girl to a man by the government has the same legal standing as the legal standing of Nikah. Therefore, there is no reason why a man who feels no aversion to Nikah should feel any aversion to sexual enjoyment with a slave-girl.”

Our critics should ponder whether, in accordance with their beliefs about concubines, the Muslim opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad should have suggested to the British government that they adopt these so-called Islamic rules for their soldiers.

— Zahid Aziz

Hadith reports about the age of Jesus

Someone by the name of Rifhan Mohamed Ibn Ahmad has sent the following submission, in relation to a thread from 2009.

The Prophet (pbuh) informed me (Hazrath Fatima) that any prophet that comes after another prophet lives half of the life of the prophet before him. And he said to me, Isa ibn Maryam lived for 120 years, so I see that I am going to leave (this world) as 60.

– Dala’il al-Nabuwwah 7:166 – Imam Bayhaqi (rh)

Apart from Dala’il al-Nabuwwah, this statement and its variations
have been narrated in other sources like Musnad Ishaq, al-Ahad wa al-Mathani, Sharh al-Mushkil al-athar and Mujam al-Kabir.

“Aisha (ra) said that, in his illness in which he died, the Holy Prophet (sa) said: ‘Every year Gabriel used to repeat the Holy Quran with me once, but this year he has done it twice. He has informed me that there is no prophet but he lives half as long as the one who preceded him. And he has told me that Jesus lived a hundred and twenty years, and I see that I am about to leave this world at sixty’.”

– Kanz al-Ummal, vol. 6, p. 160 Narrated by Fatimatuz-Zahra (ra)

Tabarani says concerning this hadith: “Its narrations are reliable, and it is reported in a number of different versions” Narrated by Aysha (ra)

– Mu’jam Tabarani Kabeer Hadith 18464,

– Tarikh Damishq 47/481-482 Ibn Asaakir

– Ibn Saa’d’s Tabaqaat Al-Kubra (2/195)

– Mawahib al-Ladinya, vol. 1, p. 42 and Hujjaj al-Kiramah, p. 428

In the Mustadrak Al Hakim, it is reported from Ibn Umar(ra) that Jesus lived to the age of 120 years. – Tafsir Kamalain

“As for what is related about the Messiah that he was raised up to heaven at the age of 33 years, there is no sound authority for this which one could turn to.”

– Zad al-Ma‘ad, vol. i, p. 20 Ibn al-Qayyim

“If Jesus and Moses had been alive, they would have had no choice but to follow me.”

– Kathir vol II, p 245 and al yawaqit wal Jawahir, part 2, page 24; Fath al-Bayan, vol. 2, p. 246; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, under verse 81 of Al Imran, Zurqani, Vol. VI, p. 54, Tibrani Kabeer.

‘London Mosque Fund’ sets up the Woking Mosque Trust and appoints Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din as Imam

The London Mosque Fund was a body founded in 1910 by certain prominent Muslims, mainly of Indian origin, and some British sympathisers of Islam, with the aim of building a mosque in London. Its work led eventually to the establishment of the East London Mosque, now located in Whitechapel, London.

The minutes of the meetings of its Executive Committee have been published by Cambridge University Press. These contain several references to the Woking Mosque and Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, showing that the London Mosque Fund set up the Woking Mosque Trust as the body to hold the Woking Mosque and appointed Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din as Imam in 1913.

The London Mosque Fund also approved a grant for Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din to rent a location in Central London for the holding of Friday prayers. The Fund approved a form of wording for the announcement of these prayers, which was as follows:

Allah – O – Akbar

The Jooma Namaz will be held at the Lindsay Hall, Notting Hill Gate, W., regularly every Friday at 12 Noon until further notice.

Mr Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din of the Mosque, Woking will deliver the sermon and the Dua will be recited by Haireddin Effindi and Lord Headley respectively in Arabic and English.

All Moslems are cordially invited.

For full details please see the latest addition to the Woking Muslim Mission website at this link.

New, revised and expanded edition of ‘The Ahmadiyya Case of South Africa’

This is an update to the news which I published below.

The page on www.ahmadiyya.org website about this case has been revised. I have added a number of scans from some original documents relating to the case. Please visit this link.

This new edition, revised and expanded by myself, is now available at Amazon:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon Canada

The first edition was published in 1987, less than two years after the conclusion of the case.

— Zahid Aziz

Abdullah Yusuf Ali visits Qadian and meets Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din in 1913

Please see below report from Al-Fazl, 22 October 1913, of a visit by Abdullah Yusuf Ali to Qadian where he met the Head of the Movement Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din. It is reported that he was brought there by Dr Mirza Yaqub Baig, who was later a founder-member of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Yusuf Ali was at the time in the Indian Civil Service of British rule of India, as stated in the report. Later, of course, he translated the Quran into English in the 1930s.

—Zahid Aziz

Allegation of misquoting the Quran

This is further to the point discussed in an earlier post about quotations from the Quran being given, in recognized Islamic literature, in words differing from how they occur in the Quran. (See the earlier post.)

There is a book by Shah Ismail Shaheed (d. 1831) entitled Abaqaat. In the original Arabic book we find the following:

Here a verse of the Quran is quoted in the words: Wa in min qaryat-in illā khalā fī-hā nadhīr — “There is no town (qarya) but a warner appeared in it”. To my knowledge the actual verse in the Quran (35:24) does not say qarya (town) but umma (people).

There is an Urdu translation of Abaqaat by Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani (about him see link 1 and link 2). In his translation this appears as follows:

(This is at the bottom lines of page 401 of his translation, see link).

He has even added before the quotation: “Similarly, the famous Quranic verse” before quoting Wa in min qaryat-in illā khalā fī-hā nadhīr. But this wording does not occur in the Quran!

There are indeed verses in the Quran (three as far as I know) which contain the words nadhīr and qaryat-in. These are 25:51, 34:34 and 43:23, but none of these has this wording.

Most probably, Shah Ismail Shaheed mistakenly recalled qarya as occurring in 35:24, and a century later the translator Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani did not realise this. Human beings make mistakes like these. It doesn’t detract from their high standing and we don’t throw unfounded accusations and slurs at them.

— Zahid Aziz