The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Mr Z. A. Bhutto

Recently on Pakistan TV channels there have been broadcasts of various functions at which the 30th anniversary of the death of Mr Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was commemorated. One speaker, addressing a gathering at his shrine (as it seems to have become), likened ZAB and his family to Hazrat Imam Husain and his family in sacrificing their lives, in this case for the sake of democracy.

No one seemed to mention the crime for which ZAB was convicted and hanged (ordering the murder of a political opponent when he was Prime Minister).

ZAB was the first leader of Pakistan who started making concessions to the fundmentalist Ulama. And seeing that the Ulama’s demands had the support of the masses, ZAB presented these concessions as an achievement on his own part. It began, of course, with the surrender of his government to these Ulama in 1974 in declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslims. Then he was forced to yield to other demands such as making Friday the holiday.

All this was done quite cynically because ZAB had no belief that Islam had any role to play in governance of the country (at least general Zia-ul-Haq actually believed that what he was doing was right). The whole of Pakistan watched this farce and acquiesced in it: a socialist and follower of Chairman Mao claiming to be introducing Islamic measures.

Since then the country had gone on increasingly to reap the rewards of surrendering to the fundamentlist distortion of Islam and to intolerance.

In December 1975 and January 1976 I happened to be visiting Pakistan. ZAB’s power was at its height. In fact, this is what it must have been like in Pharaoh’s Egypt. People told me that “walls have ears” and therefore we must not, even in privacy, utter anything critical of ZAB. People behaved as if ZAB was the “knower of the unseen and the seen”. I was told that ZAB’s government has determined who is Muslim and who isn’t, and therefore what Allah says in the Quran, what the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said and did in this respect, matters not one iota.

ZAB himself claimed that by declaring Ahmadis as non-Muslim he had resolved an issue which had been outstanding for 90 years. That is too small a claim. He should have claimed that the issue of “who is a Muslim” had been outstanding for 1400 years, and not even Allah and the Holy Prophet Muhammad had correctly resolved it, but ZAB has resolved it for ever, and now it is not Islamic Shariah but ZAB’s law which will remain till the Day of Judgment!

Just 18 months after people told me that “walls have ears” and are listening out for anyone criticising ZAB, this Pharaoh was brought down in July 1977 by the very elements that he had been trying hard to appease, and in less than another two years he had gone to met the Real and True God.

Incidentally, some people in Pakistan told me during my 1975/76 visit that you shouldn’t call yourself Ahmadi because it means you are part of a minority (aqliyyat). Those persons had all been born before 1947 and could remember pre-partition times. In those days they themselves were an aqliyyat in their country because Muslims were a minority. I wonder if at that time they considered becoming Hindus in order to join the majority!

I apologise to anyone who may be offended by my views expressed above.

Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din prevents Hazrat Mirza sahib from being jailed through judge’s malice

Our friend Bashir has submitted the following. It is possible that some small points of details in it may be a litte inaccurate.

At this link I have given the relevant pages from Mujaddid-i Azam by Dr Basharat Ahmad (v. 2, pages 975-980)

There is yet another story that surrounds the life of Khwaja Kamaluddin sahib in connection with HMGA that has seemed to be forgotten by all ahmadis (Q and L). I don’t have the time to write a perfect article on this event, which has blown me away. I feel that KK sahib loved HMGA with all his heart and he proved it in 1904, the story will impress any reader, I am sure of that!

In 1904, HMGA was stuck in a court case which involved Maulvi Karam Din. The story of the court case is quite famous. From my knowledge HMGA only had two lawyers that served as his counsel, they were Muhammad Ali and Khwaja Kamaluddin.

The judge was an Arya Hindu, he wanted HMGA to suffer one way or the other. This case dragged on with adjournment after adjournment, then, the case was transferred to another Arya Hindu judge who really disliked HMGA. This judge would not allow HMGA the use of a chair or even a drink of water, HMGA was almost 70 years old, it was very hard for him to stand, let alone not have a drink of water. This Hindu judge had it out for HMGA, he was bent on giving HMGA some type of jail-time. These were the conditions that KK sahib and M. ali were given. It was very important for them to be steadfast and cognizant of the environment.

This Hindu judge had finally announced that he would give his judgement on a certain day, then he strategically changed it to a Saturday. He planned to give HMGA a hefty fine which HMGA would not be able to pay, HMGA would be forced to spend the weekend in jail. Somehow, KK and M. ali discovered the plan of the hindu judge, I am not sure how they figured this out, maybe good lawyers are able to anticipate things of this nature.

[Note inserted by Zahid Aziz: They did not know the magistrate’s plan in advance.]

On Saturday afternoon just before the court was to close the judge called HMGA forward and gave the police orders not to allow anyone in the court room. But HMGA’s lawyer (I’m not sure whether this was M. ali or KK) brushed past the police officer claiming that it was illegal for HMGA to stand in front of the judge without counsel.

[Note inserted by Zahid Aziz: It was KK.]

The lawyer (KK or m. ali) appeared just in the nick of time, the judge had ordered HMGA to pay a fine of 500 rupees, immediately the lawyer presented the money, thus saving HMGA from spending the weekend in jail.

[Note inserted by Zahid Aziz: The fine was 500 rupees for Hazrat Mirza sahib and 200 rupees for his co-defendant Hakim Fazl Din. By coincidence, before Khwaja Kamaluddin entered the court room, a former client who owed him 700 rupees handed him this money, which Khwaja sahib stuffed into his pocket in a hurry without thinking.]

I read this story in Ian Adamson’s book, “Ahmad the Guided One”. Ian Adamson did not mention the name of the lawyer who saved HMGA. There is not any other book that gives this story. I am not even sure where Ian got his data from, Ian doesn’t give any references whatsoever.

[Note inserted by Zahid Aziz: It is highly likely to be in some Urdu book of the Qadiani Jamaat. Please see my link above which shows the relevant pages about this event from Mujaddid-i Azam by Dr Basharat Ahmad.]

All praise belongs to Allah, I understand that, I surely do. Allah allowed KK to serve in this capacity. It was Allah’s will! I hope the reader doesnt get the impression that I am boasting about the accomplishments of a simple man.

The link is provided below: see pg. 306

www.alislam.org/library/books/guidedone/index.htm?page=306#top

Dr Zakir Naik’s article ‘Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Hindu scriptures’

Submitted by our friend Dr Rashid Jahangiri, USA.

In the April 2009 issue of ‘The Light, UK edition’, Dr. Zahid Aziz wrote an article entitled: Dr. Zakir Naik and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Book Muhammad in World Scriptures. His article is a summary of our book.

The article is available at this link.

In his article Dr. Zahid Aziz critiqued Dr. Zakir Naik’s article.

The link to Dr. Zakir Naik’s article on his website is here:

www.irf.net/irf/comparativereligion/middle/hinduism/muhammad.htm

For the purposes of record and easy reference, we also provide the article at this link on this blog.

“New light on story of Banu Qurayza and Jews of Medina”

The following link has been submitted by my friend Omar Raja.

New Light on the Story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina, by W. N. ARAFAT

From Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,(1976), pp. 100-107.
www.haqq.com.au/~salam/misc/qurayza.html

Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din solves the case of the wall for Promised Messiah

Submitted by Bashir.

For some reason or the other Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din (KK) is not given the credit that he deserves in terms of a court case that he solved in 1901. I came across this information while researching a different matter. I was sifting through the pages of Tadhkirah where I found this:

“Then the time of judgment came and our lawyer Khwaja Kamaluddin thought of looking up the index of the record of the previous case. When he did so he discovered something entirely unexpected. The order in the previous case had found that the piece of land on which the wall was now constructed was in the possession not only of Imam-ud-Din but also of Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, my father. The lawyer realized at once that this was a crucial factor in our support which would win our case for us.” (Haqeeqatul Wahi, pp. 271-272).

Immediately, I checked Maulana Dard’s book “Life of Ahmad” for further details. Dard’s book is the most comprehensive book on the life of HMGA, he thoroughly explored almost every detail in the life of HMGA. I realized something, Dard had hidden the name of the person who solved the case. Dard appears to have a grudge against the aaiil. Dard writes:

“So in fulfilment of these words another record was incidently discovered by Ahmad’s representatives which proved that Imam Din was not in sole possession of the site under dispute.”

I checked various other books to see if KK had ever been given credit for solving this case, I couldn’t find anything to affirm this. I checked the book by Ian Adamson, I checked HMBMA’s book about the life of HMGA, I also checked M. ali’s book about the founder.

I didn’t check Tehrik-e-Ahmadiyya, the one by M. ali and the one by Dost Muhammad. The data should be there.

CONCLUSIONS
My conclusion is that the AMI writers have suppressed this information in an attempt to hide the glory of KK. Maulana Dard referred to the person who solved the case as a representative. I think that this may have been the first case where KK had exhibited his expertise, after this KK represented HMGA in most of his court cases.

Unfortunately the aaiil hasn’t glorified this achievement by KK either. Maybe it was overlooked by them as it has been overlooked by all Ahmadis. This information only appears in one English book. I hope the aaiil researches this matter further and publishes a detailed article that appropriately gives KK the credit that he deserves.

Jewish allegation against Holy Prophet Muhammad

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

A favorite allegation of Jews on Rasul Allah (s.a.w.) is that he ordered “massacre” of Jews in Medina, after Battle of the Trench. And in this regard they produce quotes from Sira books (biographies of Rasul Allah) by Muslim historians.

So far I have come across a booklet and an article in Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement literature, that refutes this and other similar allegations of atrocities by Rasul Allah and give details of what actually happened, in addition analyze circumstantial evidence that this so called “massacre of Jews” was not possible.

I will appreciate if some reader can refer me to some other source, in LAM or outside literature, in this regard. Thanks.

Alleged Atrocities of the Prophet (Muhammad):
by Maulana Muhammad Ali

A Review of The Jews of Medina By Dr. Barakat Ahmad

Wikipedia entry on Dr. Barakat Ahmad:

NOTE:
‘Muhammad and the Jews: a re-examination’ by Dr. Barakat Ahmad is out of print.
It will be very much appreciated if it could be made available on www.aaiil.org
Thanks.

Maulana Muhammad Ali’s translation referred to in ‘Jihad Watch’ article

The following has been submitted by our friend Rashid Jahangiri. I must say that he is carrying out the true jihad of this age.

A few days ago Raymond Ibrahim (an opponent of Islam) wrote article ‘Islam, War, and Deceit’. In reply to his article Muslim commenters referred to Dr. Zahid Aziz’s book ‘Islam, Peace, and Tolerance’ and provided links to Maulana Muhammad Ali’s online Holy Quran English Translation and Commentary.

In last 2 days Raymond Ibrahim revisited his article and wrote ‘A Response to the Critics: Taqiyya Revisited’. In his revisited article it becomes obvious that he cannot refute the translation and commentary done by Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement elders. So he writes:

“While there are in fact “moderate interpretations,” most of these come from minority sects—such as the Ahmadiyyas or the Quraniyuns—who, as they make up a trivial percentage of the Islamic world, and are in fact often accused of and persecuted for apostasy by mainstream Muslims, are definitely not representative of the latter.”

“In closing, it should be noted that the most revealing aspect of the recent, and a typical, barrage of disgruntled e-mails regarding my “War and Peace—and Deceit—in Islam,” is that no Muslim (minus fringe Ahmadiyyas, etc.) has written to deny the more troubling aspects of the essay. For instance, while many nitpicked over the aforementioned, none have denied the fact that Muhammad permitted lying in certain situations, affirmed that “war is deceit,” and permitted Muslims to deceive and assassinate infidels—all according to canonical (sahih) hadiths (hence the reason mainstream Muslims cannot refute them).”

To me it is obvious that opponents of Islam have difficulty attacking and maligning Holy Quran, Rasul Allah (s.a.w.) and Islam in general, when they come across works of elders of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (LAM) who got their inspiration and teachings from Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib.

I am confident if 10 members of LAM can spare their time they can cool Robert Spencer’s hatred and misinformation spewing website.

Link to Raymond Ibrahim’s revisited article:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025032.php#respond

‘Jihad Watch’ website and the work of Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din

Rashid Jahangiri has submitted the following post.

In the tradition of Hazrat Khawaja Kamal Ud Din

Mr. Robert Spencer, a well known TV personality in USA, and fervent critic of Islam, Holy Quran and Rasul Allah (s.a.w.) both in print and electronic media. He is director of Jihad Watch. He also runs the website http://www.jihadwatch.com. His expertise is to connect stupid act(s) of Muslim(s) to Holy Quran teachings, or life of Rasul Allah (s.a.w.). And while displaying his craft of blatant lies he does not show an iota of conscience. His website is full of bigotry and lies.

Hazrat Khawaja Kamal Ud Din had to face similar challenges. He took the challenge and defended Islam by taking its intellectual message into the power center of the Christian world. In the tradition of that mujahid of Islam, members of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement should spare some time and take intellectual message of Islam to the website run by Robert Spencer. His website has over 30 million visitors. LAM members will have more audience in Cyber Space than Khawaja sahib had in Great Britain. You never know, if Allah (s.w.t.) wishes, Robert Spencer could become another Lord Headley. Interestingly, almost a century ago elders of LAM had answered all allegations, accusations and lies that Robert Spencer and his courtiers and stooges are leveling now. All such answers are available on LAM websites.

Please click following link and help Robert Spencer understand message of Holy Quran:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024973.php#respond

Jihad

Submitted by Bashir.

Personally, I am utterly confused by HMGA’s definition of Jihad.

HMGA claims to have re-defined JIHAD, or he claims to give the correct interpretation of it. If that is true, then we have to believe that the muslims in general, for the last 1400 years misinterpreted JIHAD.

Did Abu Bakr misinterpret jihad?
Did Imam Abu Hanifa misinterpret Jihad?

HMGA used his ijtihad (judgement) to come to this conclusion. These ideas of “anti-war” were floating around many muslim circles in those days. Ironically enough, Mualvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi also agreed with HMGA in this respect.

Just some ideas I wanted to throw out there….

Islam and War, or Islam and peace: Reply on ‘Jihad Watch’

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri

Islam, War, and Deceit or Islam, Peace, and Tolerance.

Following comments copied from JihadWatch.org

Begin comment:

‘Islam Peace and Tolerance’ by Zahid Aziz, Ph.D.

For a person to call himself fair and just, it is mandatory for him or her to at least read or listen to other side the accused before coming to any conclusion. It behooves for readers who have read above article to read the accused point of view. By accused I mean Islam. Following is a link to small booklet, only 97 pdf pages.

‘Islam Peace and Tolerance’ by Zahid Aziz, Ph.D.
(Click on the book cover in above link to read the book)

Full freedom of belief recognized –
Violence and coercion prohibited –
Jihad is not war –
Muslims taught to live in peace with others

End Comment.

Begin comment:

Obviously the majority of commentators on the topic above are blurring the difference between Islam and Muslims and Islam and its polemic discussion.

If using the same logic then should all the colonies of last two centuries give up good Western ideas of modern democracy just because they were victims of Wars and “Imperialism, subjugation, conquest, persecution, genocide, and unending hegemony”?

Should West be put on trial just because last century was the bloodiest in human history and that the perpetrators were the Western Democracies (think of WW-I, WW-II, Nuking of Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Bosnia, Afghanistan to name a few). Should Iraqis hate America for all the human and economic devastation?

Should all the suppressed people of the world hate West just because they are governed by dictators and kings put in place by modern Western democracies?

To be fair, the people in Palestine are resisting to be heard just like the uprisings in concentration camps of Poland (using fire crackers against F-16s, tanks, artillery, satellite imagery, electronic warfare…)

As far as Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria are concerned, their issue is simply that of Real-Estate and Politics (and to some extent of apartheid; by the way by nature it is also Arab(Muslim+Christian) and Israeli (Jewish + Western Christian) conflict)

You cannot blame Christ for Christian atrocities or Moses for Jewish atrocities which is evidenced by quite extensive historical record.

Mud slinging will only perpetuate more hatred. It would be prudent and productive that this forum should try to clarify misunderstanding amongst all the “Children of Adam.”
End comment.

Begin Comment

Please focus!

As in my earlier post I said, “By accused I mean Islam”. If anyone of commentators has cared to read or even browse the link to Dr. Aziz book they would have figured instantly what terrorist Muslims are doing are in total violation of Islam and Holy Quran teachings. At the same time they would have read quotations of Joshua in chapter ‘The Bible and War’ and wondered from where his followers are getting their teachings.

Please note: I am not here to discuss politics of Muslim countries or to defend stupid Muslim terrorist. All I am doing is informing what Holy Quran and Islam teaches.

Peace to followers of all religions.
End comment.

Link to original article and comments:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024859.php#respond