The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Sir John Tavener dies: British, Christian, music composer who composed ‘The Beautiful Names’ based on 99 names of God in Islam

BBC News today reports:

"Sir John Tavener, one of the leading British composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries, has died at the age of 69. Sir John was known for music that drew on his deep spirituality."

In his obituary it is stated:

"In 2007, the BBC Symphony Orchestra premiered his work The Beautiful Names, which is based on the 99 names of Allah from the Koran."

Sir John himself explained:

"The 99 beautiful names of Allah (God) as culled from The Koran have formed the basis and inspiration of my work The Beautiful Names set in Arabic.   It was composed in 2004.   The divine names fall into two categories those of majesty and those of mercy.   The 99 names are universal insofar as they are theophanies of the eternal primordial being.  A companion of the prophet Mohammed said “I never saw anything without seeing God”,  Man’s mission therefore is to join the outward to the inward.   This is the aspiration of The Beautiful Names and perhaps by doing this in the language of music one may contribute a little to the appalling strife that permeates the modern world.   The Beautiful Names came to me as a vision. I meditated on the individual names on an almost daily basis and the music seemed to come to me fully grown.   It was never random or chaotic but seemed to have the logic of cosmic music or the music of the spheres.

I regard The Beautiful Names highly and think of it as one of the most important of my works.   It was first performed in Westminster Cathedral in front of a large throng and in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales who commissioned it and to whom it is dedicated.   It was later performed at a very moving occasion in Istanbul.   Critics noticed the unlikely influences of Beethoven and Elgar, which I can now hear after listening to it again." (See this link)

His obituary in The Guardian says:

"Never afraid of controversy, Tavener found it head-on with The Beautiful Names (2007), a meditation on the 99 names of Allah which was given its premiere in Westminster Cathedral, much to the consternation of many Catholics, who staged an open-air demonstration before the performance. Nonetheless, the work was warmly received, and the critic Robert Maycock observed that "if Tavener were to write nothing else, this would surely stand as a summation of what he has tried to achieve".

Before its opening in June 2007, the British daily The Telegraph carried an article about it, which begins:

"God will be invoked in Arabic in Westminster Cathedral on June 19, with the first performance of Sir John Tavener's The Beautiful Names. Sir John's work, commissioned by the Prince of Wales, lasts for 70 minutes and will be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the choir of the cathedral.

Contribution of British rule to Punjab

Here is an interesting article in Urdu by a newspaper columnist on the contribution of British rule to the Punjab in preserving local history and culture, and how it is being neglected now.

I notice the article begins by saying: "Recommendations to convert the syllabus in government schools to Urdu will be finalised in November". I think news along these lines has been appearing every few years since partition!

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan also tried something of this kind. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syed_Ahmad_Khan#Advocacy_of_Urdu

A suggestion to the Government of Pakistan: ask Muslims to declare that they could be munafiq

The Constitution of Pakistan makes reference to how to categorise someone as a Muslim or as a non-Muslim. The Holy Quran, however, contains mention not only of believers and non-believers but also of munafiqeen (i.e. hypocrites), as can be seen from even the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah (believers in 2:3, non-believers in 2:6, hypocrites in 2:8). The first statement in the Quran about hypocrites is the following:

"And there are some people who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day; and they are not believers." (2:8)

This makes clear that a munafiq can only be from among those who claim to be Muslims. Now we notice that on the Government of Pakistan's official forms where a person is required to state his religion, anyone who declares that he is a Muslim is also required to make certain other declarations. I suggest that a further declaration be added as a requirement for anyone who states that he/she is a Muslim, and it should be as follows:

"In stating that I am a Muslim, I am aware that a person who states that he or she is a Muslim may, in the terminology of the Holy Quran, be a munafiq or hypocrite."

The verse quoted above (2:8) could also be added at this point.

“Muslims and Jews standing up for the other” — a message

I have received the following message, which I am please to promote.

There is a widely accepted piece of conventional wisdom that Muslims and Jews are enemies and will always remain so. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The perception that Muslims and Jews are inherently hostile to each other is actually of fairly recent vintage; an outgrowth of differences over the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

We just created a short video message that challenges this narrative, and I think your readers atThe Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog would appreciate this important story. It documents a miraculous grassroots movement of Muslims and Jews here in America and abroad that are vowing to stand up for one another by combatting Islamophobia and Antisemitism.

Next month, in cities around the world, these pacemakers will come together and break bread and discuss ways of improving the world as part of the Weekend of Twinning.

Here is a link to the video youtu.be/vEHVannOkj8 and here is a message you can share with your networks:

I pledge to combat Islamophobia, anti-Semitism + all forms of hate during the #WeekendofTwinning youtu.be/vEHVannOkj8

Thank you for your interest, and let me know if you end up sharing or blogging about this project.

Best,

Daniel

Daniel Tutt

Unity Productions Foundation

http://www.upf.tv/

“Judge Hazrat Mirza sahib by weighing pros and cons, and let each person do it individually, away from a gathering”

This is what Maulana Muhammad Ali asked Muslims to do in his Friday khutba on the 30th anniversary of the death of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1938. Quoting the verse of the Quran, "I exhort you only to one thing, that you rise up for Allah’s sake by twos and singly; then ponder!" (34:46), he said:

"…when there is an adverse wind blowing against something, people cannot ponder on it rationally by gathering together. The hostile atmosphere does not allow thought and deliberation to be applied in the midst of a gathering. … people are advised to ponder in twos and individually, and ask: what is this man saying,…

Today the same kind of wind of hostility is blowing against the Mujaddid of the age, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In this atmosphere it has become impossible for anyone to say something good about him, or speak of him approvingly, in a gathering.

In these circumstances the Quran teaches the method of judging by weighing both sides.

If you read books on Islam written by Christians it appears from them as if Islam, the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad possessed no good quality whatsoever, but are full of shortcomings and flaws.

Just as the Christians and the Arya Samaj collect in their books everything they consider to be wrong and objectionable about Islam, the Quran and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the same is done by anti-Ahmadiyya writers in case of Hazrat Mirza sahib and the Ahmadiyya Movement. They consider it a service to Islam to collect anything which they regard as a defect or weakness, or as an objectionable statement."

Read English translation of full khutba at this link.

It is as relevant and fresh today as when it was first delivered.

Mirza Sultan Ahmad, son of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, on finality of prophethood

In Paigham Sulh, 23 January 1916, there is a lengthy, 3-page article entitled Milad Muhammad (saw) by Khan Bahadar Mirza Sultan Ahmad, who was the eldest son of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. On the first page, last column, I have marked more than a half of the column by a red line in the margin where he deals with the finality of prophethood. To quote from it:

"The second task of the Holy Prophet was Khatm-i nubuwwat. Before the Arabian Prophet, not even one prophet who came claimed khatm-i nubuwwat with the emphasis that our Hazrat (saw) did. The effect of that is that till this day no one in the entire world dared to be a claimant to prophethood after that Khatm-i nubuwwat. … Other religions did not enter into this at all, while within the Islamic world, in fulfilment of [the hadith] 'The Ulama of my Umma are like the prophets of the Israelites', such persons kept on arising who in their own sense possessed the glory of Israelite prophets. No less were the Islamic mujaddids in their blessings. Thousands of such venerable ones have there been in the Umma…

All the prophets gave good news of the coming of our Prophet, and our Prophet gave the good news of hundreds among his own followers who arose in Islam as abdal, aqtab, auliya [saints] and mujaddids. … Prophethood was ended and spiritual benefits were made general in another form."

See at this link the original full article.

Indian Muslims were barred from performing QURBANI by Hindus

Malaysia court rules non-Muslims cannot use ‘Allah’

Previously we have had a discussion on "Can Muslims copyright the word Allah" in conenction with a court ruling from Malaysia in 2009. This subject is back in the news today:

"A Malaysian court has ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the word Allah to refer to God, even in their own faiths, overturning a 2009 lower court ruling…". See this link.

Guru Granth Sahib and the Muslims

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

An article is published under above title in Dawn.com Oct. 11, 2013 by Mushtaq Soofi.

I sent him an email. Relevant portion of email:

I would like to take it a step futher, and provide you reference to a book that proves that how Hazrat Baba Guru Nanak sahib was a Muslim and his teachings are derived from Holy Quran.

Please go the following link to find this interesting find. This find should bring Muslims and Sikhs more close. Had the facts been accepted by Muslims and Sikhs before partion in 1947, people of this region could be saved from the bloodshed at the time, and most probably brought East Punjab inside the Pakistan, with Kashmir also coming in Pakistan. This could have saved Pakistan and India from going into four wars, and billions of dollars of military expenditure on both sides of border. Most of all it would have prevented rise of extremeism, espcially on Pakistani side for three reasons, i- sizeable amount of Sikh Minority would have been a great check; ii- people would have been more tolerant to minorities; iii- Pakistan would have not needed Jihadis for its proxy wars with India.

I hope Soofi sahib finds time to answer me. I will post his reply.

Link to article:

http://dawn.com/news/1048872/guru-granth-sahib-and-the-muslims

The Quran on the prophet Aaron

In an earlier comment, I had quoted the following verses of the Quran about Aaron and noted what they tell us about his position and mission:

The Quran says that Aaron received revelation like other prophets including Muhammad (saw):

“Surely We have revealed to you (Muhammad) as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him, and We revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, …” (4:163)

Aaron was guided like other prophets:

“…and Noah did We guide before, and of his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron.” (6:84)

Aaron was appointed as a prophet at Moses’ request because Moses needed his help to conduct his mission:

“And give to me an aider from my family: Aaron, my brother; add to my strength by him, and make him share my task” (20:29-32)

“And my breast straitens, and my tongue is not eloquent, so send for Aaron (too).” (26:13).

“And my brother, Aaron, he is more eloquent in speech than I, so send him with me as a helper to confirm me. Surely I fear that they would reject me. He said: We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will give you both an authority, so that they shall not reach you. With Our signs, you two and those who follow you, will triumph.” (28:34-35)

Now here are some more verses.

In the quotations below, I have underlined the words which are grammatically in the dual tense, referring to both. In Arabic, apart from singular and plural, there is also a dual tense for two people.

They were both commanded to go to Pharaoh as two messengers:

“Go you and your brother with My messages and do not be remiss in remembering Me. Go both of you to Pharaoh, surely he is inordinate; then speak to him a gentle word, perhaps he may be mindful or fear. They said: Our Lord, we fear that he may hasten to do us harm or be inordinate. He said: Do not fear, surely I am with you — I do hear and see. So go to him and say: Surely we are two messengers of your Lord…” (20:42-47).

Moses and Aaron are spoken of as both having been given the Book by God and both being guided by God:

“And certainly We conferred a favour on Moses and Aaron. And We delivered them and their people from the mighty distress. And We helped them, so they were triumphant. And We gave them both the clear Book. And We guided them on the right way. And We granted them among the later generations (the salutation): Peace be on Moses and Aaron!” (37:114-120)

It is thus clear that Aaron and Moses performed a joint mission, since the mission was too onerous for one man. Aaron was establishing the shariah along with Moses.

Addition made 15 August 2020:

The Quran in 2:248 refers to the so-called ark of the covenant of the Israelites as containing “the remainder of what the followers (aal) of Moses and the followers (aal) of Aaron have left”. This again shows they had a joint mission.

Addition made 8 November 2023:

“And certainly We gave Moses and Aaron the criterion and a light and a reminder for those who guard against evil,” (21:48). Both Moses and Aaron were given the scripture.