The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

The Authenticity of Ibn Abbas

Submitted by Bashir.

An excerpt from Todd Lawson’s book, “The Crucifiction and the Koran” (pg. 44&45)

Thousands of exegetical traditions are ascribed to him by both Sunni and Shi”i authors. The Tanwir al-miqbas is a short tafsir ascribed to Ibn Abbas, and like works attributed to other early figures in Islamic history, carries many questions of authenticity. Indeed, the current debate on whether or not it is accurate to speak of tafsir as an early activity casts a certain amount of perplexity over any discussion of the subject. For several reasons, the traditions associated with Ibn Abbas are generally thought to be untrustworthy, at least as far as the ascription is concerned. As observed by Smith:
One issue that must be dealt with by anyone undertaking a specific study of this question is why so little of the material concerning specific passages of the Qur’an attributed to this man by later writers of tafsir is not to be found, or is found in different form, in his own (i.e. the work at hand) tafisr…one hopes that in the near future we may be able to discuss these questions armed with fewer opinions and more facts. (Smith, pg. 42)

Fortunately, one fact that has recently come to light: The Tanwir al miqbas is an abridgment by Al-Dinawari (d. 308/920) of perhaps a Muhammad al Kalbi (d. 146/763) tafsir. (See Andrew Rippin, “The Exegetical works ascribed to Ibn Abbas…………”)

Hence it is with a certain amount of abdication that the following discussion is related to Ibn Abbas: rather we should associate it with al-Kalbi, who, nevertheless cited much on the authority of Ibn Abbas. (As is evidenced in the work at hand, Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Yacub al Firuzabadi, tanwir al miqbas min tafsir ibn abbas, 2nd edition)

British intelligence on Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din and Lord Headley

About five years ago when I was collecting material about the Hajj of Lord Headley in 1923, in the company of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, I obtained some British government documents from the National Archives of the UK. Visit this link at the Woking Muslim Mission website to read them.

On the way to the Hajj they passed through Egypt. One document, marked “Secret”, is the political intelligence assessment of their visit. See under heading “6. Secret note from High Commission in Egypt”. And what was the intelligence assessment? It was that Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din:

“is a particularly active Islamic propagandist”.

Then, under “7. Report from Lord Allenby to Lord Curzon”, there is the report sent by the British ambassador in Egypt, the famous general Lord Allenby, to the British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon (earlier viceroy of India). In it, Allenby writes:

“Lord Headley showed himself as an ardent Moslem and the speeches which he made revealed great devotion to the Mohammedan faith and attracted considerable attention.”

So that’s what British intelligence concluded about them!

Evil spell…

Submitted by Ikram.

“Perhaps the only thing worse than being an Ahmedi in modern-day Islamic Pakistan is to be a bakra, particularly the black variety. If a report emanating from Islamabad is to be believed, they are having the devil’s own luck – no not the Ahmedis; their goose is as good as cooked – but the four-legged black goats.…” (read full article)

The opening sentence of the article above caught my eye. This one sentence speaks of many things in Pakistani society. Firstly, the author seems to reflect the collective guilt of the society towards Ahmedis and is using humor, which is a mature psychological defense mechanism to reduce his anxiety. Secondly he is using sublimation, which is another mature defense mechanism by writing a satire to undo the remorse underlying the injustices meted out to the Ahmedis. Thirdly, his article brings outs the paradoxes of a Muslim society, where reason and human conscious clashes with dogmas and bias, which is a source of anxiety for the masses.

I understand the well-intended satire of the author above, but I have to take a pause and recognize the fact that such kind of moral and intellectual degeneration that author is pointing out is a natural outcome of mullah infestation of a society, where Islamic ideology has taken a turn for the worst, almost to a level of idolatry.

For some societies the rot starts at the top and they blame the bottom, whereas in others it’s vice versa. In the land of the pure the candle is melting away to extinction by burning from both ends on the axis of morality, economics, intellect and sociology.

Dialogue with History

Submitted by Rashid

HMGA has been accused as agent of British rulers of India. His father has been accused of helping British rulers during the 1857 riots [known as the Indian Mutiny or War of Independence].

Pakistan’s private TV channel Dunya, program Hasb-e-Haal hosted by Aftab Iqbal is comedy-cum-educational program. In its show on January 22, 2010 the host has tried to teach his viewers truth about 1857 riots. According to him huge number of Muslims sided with British rulers and many prominent Muslims openly supported them. In this regard according to him ‘Mohammedan Association of Bengal’ was first Muslim organization that openly supported British. They were first to give Fatwa that it is Kufr to fight against the British rulers, and obedience and subservience to them is permitted in Islam. He also named Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, poet Mirza Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib and other prominent Muslim poets in India, among supporters of British rulers.

Please watch from 14mins onwards

Spiritual/Sufi ideology and Pakistan

Submitted by Usman.

An article today in the Daily Times laments that much of Pakistan’s problems today can be traced to the country’s ideological boundaries that have been defined by the political mullahs. This has been in cohorts with politicians and dictators as by themselves the mullahs have no political power. He goes on to say that this ideology is the opposite of the vision of the country’s founder and that Sufi Islam presents the correct religious ideology that would have saved Pakistan. According to the writer the rot started with Bhutto “when he declared Ahmadis a minority, banned liquor and racing and designated Friday as a weekly holiday.”

It is a fact that in the Mullah’s zeal to outcast the Ahmadis, some fundamental sufi concepts have been labelled as heretic as well. The result is that in Pakistan today, it has consequently become very difficult to have an alternative religious ideology for the nation that can credibly challenge the extremist ideology. This is even more unfortunate because the extremist ideology is not the view of the majority; but with the deliberate exclusion of competing ideologies, it may very well become so over the passage of time.

Problem of Muslim opponents of HMGA (presented by LAM)

Submitted by Rashid.

Today Muslim opponents of HMGA, especially those living in Europe and North America, find it difficult to oppose HMGA and his claims of Mujaddid (of 14th Islamic century) as presented by LAM, supported by Hadith of Holy Prophet Muhammad SAWS, and endorsed by other Mujaddids of preceding Islamic centuries. These opponents instead of accepting their misunderstanding about HMGA, outrightly reject ALL Hadith of Holy Prophet Muhammd SAWS and Mujaddids that preceded HMGA. I’m sure these opponents of HMGA would not be rejecting Hadiths and previous Mujaddids, if they were not opposing HMGA. It is also interesting that these Muslim opponents are not living in Muslim countries, especially in Pakistan, as their kind of attitude towards Hadith of HP Muhammad SAWS and Mujaddids of previous Islamic centuries would land them in trouble slammed with a certification of Kafir (non-Muslim).

Maulana Abdul Haq Vidyarthi sahib, answering to opponents of HMGA, who in their maneuver to get out of iron grip of Ahmadiyyat (as presented by LAM), reject ALL Hadiths of HP Muhammad SAWS, by declaring them as fabricated. In LAM monthly Urdu magazine ‘Ruh-Islam’ November 1954 issue, page 11, he writes [paraphrased by me]:

Those who reject Hadiths will have to reject all the Holy Scriptures, in defiance of Holy Quran injunctions. By doing this they are rejecting similar teachings in Holy Scriptures of other religions that are repeated in Holy Quran and Hadith. He gives examples. One such example: Procedure of Wudu (ablution) described in Holy Quran is exactly the same that is given in Zend Avesta. Similarly, concept of prayer, fasting, heaven, hell, hur, justice etc are given in other religions holy scriptures.

It is interesting to see objections answered by LAM elders, who had personally met HMGA, are the same that today’s opponents ask us to answer.

Link to Ruh-Islam, November 1954 issue

Muhammad Yusuf Ali

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

While surfing Pak Tea House blog I was intrigued by name of Muhammad Yusuf Ali.
Wikipedia entry says:

“Mr. Ali testified during the trial that according to Islamic beliefs all human beings are representative of God Almighty and all Muslims should also strive to be a representative of Prophet Muhammad. He advocated that to gain human excellence all human-beings should respect each other and live life according to examples set by their great leaders such as Prophet Muhammad, Prophet Jesus, Prophet Moses, Mahatama Buddha, etc. Mr. Ali admitted that he himself lives life according to teachings, examples and guidance of the Prophet Muhammad, strives to fulfill his mission, and considers himself his humble and true representative.”

I never heard of this gentleman, and will appreciate if anyone can share information. To me his message sounds like LAM message.

About 4 or 5 years ago, during conversation with (late) Abdul Manan Omar sahib on propagation of HMGA message, he said HMGA message would be spread by those who may not be related to either of the two branches of Ahmadis. In this regard he gave example of Muslims, whose mosque is near our jamaat headquarters in Lahore. I never heard of that group of Muslims, neither before nor after that. I’m curious if anyone knows about them. And whether Muhammad Yusuf Ali was connected to them?

Link to Wikipedia entry

Editorial in Daily Times against anti-Ahmadiyya groups

Submitted by Usman.

An editorial today in the Daily Times of Pakistan has lashed out against the state, police, a mian stream political party and the “Khatm-e-Nubuwwat” movement for aiding and abetting the murderers of an Ahmadi (Rabwah Jammat)
near Lahore.

The link points to a page with 2 editorials. The Ahmadi one is the second editorial to get to which you will need to scroll down the page.

It is quoted below:

The recent incident of murder of an Ahmadi leader in Ferozewala, a city of Sheikhupura district situated near Lahore, is a sad reflection of how society chooses to treat a section of the minorities, variously known as Mirzais or Qadianis in Pakistan. What is more disconcerting though, is the apathy — rather collusion — of the state, which not only allows such incidents to take place under its very nose, it tends to protect the perpetrators. According to a series of reports published in this paper, Professor Mohammad Yousaf, leader of the Ahmadi community in Ferozewala, had sought police protection against sectarian zealots in his locality who had been threatening him. Allegedly, in response to this, two unidentified assailants shot him dead while he was at his general store. It was with some effort the family managed to lodge the FIR against the two murderers and four abettors known to the victim, who live in the same area. Instead of arresting the accused and investigating further, it is reported that the police let the four abettors go when they visited the police station with PML-N’s member of the Punjab Assembly Pir Ashraf Rasool. Meanwhile, both the police and the nominees in the FIR have been pressurising the family to withdraw the murder case. Alarmingly, even after the ghastly retribution visited upon Mohammad Yousaf, Khatam-e-Nabuwat Youth Wing’s signboard on the main roundabout of the town, which urges believers to kill and maim Islam’s enemies and to socially boycott Ahmadis, has not been removed.

While we are witnessing the gruesome consequences of promoting extremist Islam in the form of suicide attacks, this incident shows another dimension of the free rein given to hate-mongering mullahs. Most often the paranoia and hatred against Ahmadis inspired by self-styled Islamic leaders has taken a murderous turn. Not long ago, a TV presenter incited the wholesale murder of Ahmadis by declaring it an obligation for Muslims, as a result of which two targeted killings took place in Sindh. This continues unabated because of the failure of the concerned authorities to take action against the culprits. Apparently, it is due to a deep bias that runs through the entire system. There is a visible nexus of protection as demonstrated in this case. Whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim, the state is responsible to protect all citizens of Pakistan against oppression. It is these kinds of cases that really require judicial activism, as the legislature and executive have both been found siding with the perpetrators rather than the victims.

The Life of Mohammed by George Bush, published in New York by Harper

Yes, there is a book The Life of Mohammed, by George Bush, published in New York by Harper!

But this is a Rev. George Bush who lived during 1796-1859.

Here is the title page:

Here is an interesting extract from page 18 of the book:

Here is a link to the book.

Khalifa-tul-Masih Hazrat Maulana Noor Ud Din (RTA)

Submitted by Rashid.

A Youtube clip of a Qadiani Jamaat speaker talks about Hazrat Maulana Noor Ud Din’s (RTA) trust in Allah SWT. In reply to someone who asked about welfare of his children after his demise. Hazrat Maulana Noor Ud Din placed this into the hands of Allah SWT.

Yet we see how inhumanly children of Hazrat Maulana Noor Ud Din were treated, and ex-communicated, by Qadiani Jamaat on orders of their Khalifa 2 Mirza Mahmud Ahmad. In his only interview, almost 50 years after his forced expulsion from Rabwah, (marhoom) Abdul Mannan Omar sahib (son of Maulana Noor Ud Din sahib) asked: How come, in 50 years, Qadiani Khalifas has not come up with single proof to support their accusations that I conspired to grab Khilafat seat?

Listen at 0:40 seconds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26xuOUOwa84&feature=related