The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement Blog

Khalid Hasan

Post submitted by Rashid Jahangiri.

The famous Pakistani journalist, columnist, press secretary of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and author of many books has recently passed away. Articles and comments are posted on blog ‘All Things Pakistan’: http://pakistaniat.com/2009/02/11/khalid-hasan-manto-and-kala-kola/#comment-182188

I posted my comments that await moderation.

My email exchange with Khalid Hasan.

In October 2008, after reading Khalid Hasan column ‘Return to 1954’ (Friday Times 9/19/2008. www.khalidhasan.net).
I asked him if he could use his pen, and ask Government of Pakistan to make public 1974 summer Pakistan National Assembly session proceedings that resulted in 2nd amendment in 1973 constitution. Declaring Ahmadis (both groups i.e. Lahori Ahmadis and Qadiani Ahmadis) as non-Muslims. Now especially when even the Justice Hamud Ur Rehman commission report on fall of Dhaka, which contains national security issues, has been made public. It has been more that 34 years and 1974 trial of Ahmadis in Pakistan National Assembly, which acted as “judge and jury, should be made public at least in the name of justice. In this re I had few emails exchange. Here is couple of them:
10/13/08

Dear Dr Jahangiri,
I have read your note (addressed originally to Nusrat Javid, it seems) but I am not sure what I, a reporter and a column writer, can do. The 1974 constitutional amendment declaring the Ahmediys non-Muslim will have to reversed and must be reversed but given what has become of our country, what hope in hell is there that it will happen. The Talibanisation of Pakistan is not a fictional but a real possibility. In my own limited way, I always try to examine things from a liberal, sectarian and tolerant viewpoint. Our two publications – Daily Times and The Friday Times – are the only truly liberal publications in Pakistan and we have often been under threat from extremists because of our advocacy of liberal causes, something we will continue to do.
Khalid Hasan

10/14/08
Dear Dr Jahangiri,
I am not really qualified to write about this issue except in a general sense. Accordingly, I have forwarded the email and links you sent to my friend and colleague Khaled Ahmed at Daily Times, Lahore who is be the best qualified person to do justice to this issue.
Khalid Hasan

I would say late Khalid Hasan is lucky in the sense that he did not witness ‘Talibanisation of Pakistan’ as he feared, but did witness that when travesty of justice was done in the highest court of the land i.e. Pakistan National Assembly it finally trickled down to the lowest level in Pakistani society. Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his attorney general Yaya Bakhtiar could not deliver justice when it was expected from them, and then they could not get it when their turn came.

Comments on the book ‘The Muslim Next Door’

Rashid Jahangiri has submitted the following post.

THE MUSLIM NEXT DOOR by Sumbul Ali-Karamali

On the website www.jihadwatch.org a recent book ‘The Muslim Next Door’ by Sumbul Ali-Karamali is discussed. Robert writes the original review. Readers have contributed their comments.

I came across following comment by Ikram:

Begin comment:

The contributors to this site in their criticism seem to have lost their sense of justice in dealing with Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. All rules of their criticism seem to be subject to one consideration that whatever is unfavorable and damaging to Islam and Muhammad’s reputation MUST BE ACCEPTED AS TRUE, no matter whether such views are out of mere ignorance, hearsay, hate, prejudice or cultural bias. A constant repetition of statements, however false, will in time invest them with something of the glamor of truth and it may be that the contributors of this site are becoming self-hypnotized into a belief that their accusation are indeed founded on facts.

They also seem to blur their view about their disagreement or dislike of people of certain geographical origin or their culture and The Religion of Islam. Because a Muslim could be a blue eyed, blond haired Caucasian.

What a pity that with all the outpouring of learning and literature, no proper efforts are made to clear off that cloud of misrepresentation and want of knowledge which still envelops the religion of Islam* on this site.

Allow me to assure you that misconception, misconstruction or even misinterpretation of Islam and its tenets is not the complaint, it is Misrepresentation and Misinformation by which we are the chief sufferers here.*

If the sole purpose of this site is bigotry or polemic then I do not have much to say. But if the purpose of the contributors is to share their current understanding about Islam and Muhammad and are willing to hear a clarifying or opposing view, then please take time to go to the following links for a fundamental review which will naturally reframe the criticism of Islam and Muhammad above.

*Special features of Islam: www.wokingmuslim.org/work/paper-paris1913.htm

What Islam intends: www.aaiil.org/text/books/kk/alislam/alislam.pdf

A view about Jihad: www.wokingmuslim.org/pers/pickthall/jihad.htm

A booklet about Jihad: www.ahmadiyya.org/bookspdf/jihadinislam.pdf

Life sketch of Muhammad: www.aaiil.org/text/books/mali/muhammadtheprophet/muhammadtheprophet.pdf

What makes Muhammad an ideal: www.aaiil.org/text/books/kk/idealprophet/idealprophet.pdf

End Comment.

Link to the review and comments on website Jihad Watch:
www.jihadwatch.org/archives/023818.php

1904 court case statement

The following has been submitted by Bashir.

This short article discusses a topic of the split which was divulged by Qazi Muhammad Nazir in a book entitled Truth Prevails.

He writes on page 4:

In 1904, Maulvi Karamdin of Jehlum had a law suit of libel against the Promised Messiah that the latter had defamed him by calling him a ‘Kazzab’. In this suit Maulvi Karamdin cited Maulvi Mohammad Ali as a Prosecution
witness in the court on a solemn oath, Maulvi Mohammad Ali deposed:

1. “In regard to a man who claims to be a Nabi (Prophet), where a man denies this claim, he becomes, thereby a ‘ Kazzab ’. The Mirza Sahib claims he is a Prophet.”

2. “The Mirza Sahib, in many of his works, puts forth this claim which is to the effect that he is a Prophet from God, though he is not the bearer of a new Sharia. Where a man denies a claim of this kind, he becomes, thereby, a ‘ Kazzab ’.” (File of the law-suit, page 362)

M. ali wrote an article in which he explained the court case. I don’t have that article off-hand. Maybe ZA can post that for us, and maybe even translate it into English. In summary, M.ali mentioned in this court case that HMGA claimed to be a “wali-type of prophet” and there was another statement which he gave to the same effect.

QMN shows the reader that there weren’t any other statements that were made by M. ali of any significance in terms of the prophethood of HMGA. He presented only the part that would prove his point. He knew about M. Ali’s book “How I used the word prophet in my writings”. He knew about the reference from ROR 1904, where M. Ali described Nabi=muhaddas. But he still presented this story in a biased manner.

QMN only repeated what the AMI had been saying one-sidedly for years, without referring to or dealing with the replies given by M. Ali and others. That is a sad state of affairs for a book entitled Truth Prevails.

WordPress upgraded to v. 2.7

I have upgraded this installation of the blog to WordPress version 2.7. Hopefully, it has been successful.

Khwaja Ghulam Farid of Chachran Shareef

Submitted by Rashid Jahangiri

On ‘All Things Pakistan’ blog there is an artilce:
Khawaja Ghulam Farid: The Mystical Voice of Southern Punjab.
I posted my comments:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HAZRAT KHAWAJA GHULAM FAREED.

Those who have not read books of Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed may not know, but those who have read his books AND ARE HONEST AND COURAGEOUS know that this saint (pir) was in fact disciple (mureed) of another saint of his time. Does anyone know name of this other saint?
Well his name was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the MUJADDID (reformer/ revivalist) of 14th Islamic Hijra Century. Not only that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib in his books published the correspondence of Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed in which he revered the Mujaddid of 14th hijra century; but also in his own books Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed revered the Mujaddid of 14th hijra century.

Once ruler (Nawab) of Bahawalpur, asked his pir Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed sahib, what ever you demand I will fulfill. Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed replied: I will be impressed if you can, convince Hazrat Maulana Hakim Noor ud Din (a mureed of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) to move to state of Bahawalpur from Qadian. This shows how much reverence Hazrat Khawaja Ghulam Fareed even had for the companion of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sahib.

Link to the article:
http://pakistaniat.com/2009/01/12/khwaja-ghulam-farid-the-mystical-voice-of-southern-punjab/

Email to Edward Martin author of ‘King of Travelers’ and maker of movie ‘Jesus in India’

The following has been submitted by our friend Rashid Jahangiri.

January 9, 2009

Dear Mr. Edward Martin:

I came to know of your movie ‘Jesus in India’ through the Tomb Of Jesus website. As soon I came to know its availability on DVD, I ordered it. I received it today and I watched it today. Thank you for making this movie.

In the bonus materials on the DVD you have your interview on ‘The Cutting Edge’ TV show, from where I got your email address. In your interview you mentioned two books ‘Jesus in India’ by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and ‘Christ in Kashmir’ by Aziz Kashmiri. I don’t know if you are aware or not, there is another classic book on this subject ‘Jesus in Heaven on Earth’ by Khwaja Nazir Ahmad. In this book there is anthropological research linking Pashtoons/ Afghans (Pathans), and Kashmirs to the Jews of Canaan, thus giving another evidence and possible justification of Jesus journey to Kashmir i.e. to preach to the lost Israelites tribes.

Khwaja Nazir Ahmad was a member of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (LAM) and son of the prominent companion of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, Khwaja Kamal ud Din. In LAM literature I have read that professors in universities of Germany and France considered nominating this book for Nobel Prize. (Links to this book are provided at the end of this email).

My father, before he joined LAM, started working as assistant to Khwaja Kamal ud Din, at age 16. Thus he came to know Khwaja Nazir Ahmad. According to my father, Khwaja Nazir Ahmad used to get angry if he did not agree at idea. When professors of European universities asked him to take out chapters on Islam from his book so that it can be nominated for Nobel Prize, he refused. His emotional response stopped his book from reaching the world fame that it could have otherwise.

I met Aziz Kashmiri as a young boy when he visited LAM mosque in Rawalpindi (near Islamabad), Pakistan in the 1970s. He visited Pakistan after the first publication of his book and tour of Europe. I remember him saying that the Indian government in an official document thanked him for promoting the subject in Europe and increasing tourism in Kashmir, as many Europeans visited that part.

Allah says in Holy Quran: “And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, (and a model of virtue), and We gave them both refuge upon a worth-living lofty plateau abounding in (green and fruitful) valleys and springs of running water” (Chapter 23, Verse 50). People who had visited Kashmir 70 years ago, before the current pollution, commercialism, and population explosion say Kashmir was heaven on earth.

Click links to read on line:
Jesus in Heaven on Earth by Khwaja Nazir Ahmad:
www.ahmadiyya.org/bookspdf/jihoe/conts.htm
and
www.aaiil.org/text/books/others/khwajanazirahmad/jesusinheavenonearth/jesusinheavenonearth.shtml

Once again thank you for making this movie. I hope David, in your person, can defeat Goliath of close mindedness, irrationality and ignorance of 2000 years.

Yours truly,
Rashid Jahangiri

Khatim and Khatam in the Holy Quran (abridged version)

The following has been submitted by our friend Bashir.

This is a research study on the occurrence of these two words in the Holy Quran. My research is based on the premise that the Holy Quran is perfect, complete and consistent. This study shows that Allah does not use words differently.

Understanding the Quran has been a blessed effort of many reseachers before me. I will attempt with all solidarity intended to impress upon my reader the “Rosetta Stone” of Quranic understanding. In this case the “Rosetta Stone” is in terms of decoding the word khatam. This type of research has never been presented in essay or book format. Most of my research revolves around the book of M. ali entitled, “The Last Prophet”.

I searched the occurrence of the letters Kha-Ta-Meem in the Holy Quran(via alislam.org also ourbeacon.com), in english it would K-T-M. This study focuses on the occurrence of three words only when they are joined together. My research shows 8 matches of the above mentioned letters. There is some variation in Arabic spelling, but meanings are always the same.

The words seal/sealed/sealing occur in the Koran 19 times. But, the letters KHA-TA-MEEM weren’t used exclusively by ALLAH when describing the sealing off of something. There is another Arabic word that translates into the english word seal/sealed/sealing. That word also has variations. It uses the root of TA-BA or T-B, with 2 variations. YUT-BA and NUT-BA are the variations. The English equivalent would be Y-T-B or N-T-B.

KHATAM

My research shows that Allah used the word Khatam 4 times. Chapter 45 Verse 24, Chapter 6 Verse 47, Chapter 2 Verse 8 and the famous Chapter 33 Verse 41.

Every time this word was used it meant seal. There was absolutely no other meaning. A better definition would be “sealed off”. An even better definition would be “finishing touch”. Allah put the finishing touch on their hearts, or Allah put the finishing touch on prophethood.

I think the best translation is the word “enclosed”. Enclosed means to surround on all sides. This fits best into the 8 instances mentioned above. Enclosed is the perfect word that describes the picture of khatam in the Holy Quran. Picture ALLAH wrapping someones heart into an unbreakable lamenant. Then picture ALLAH lamenating prophethood.

In 3 out of 4 instances Allah mentions sealing off the hearts/ears/mouths of men. This is a seal that is unbreakable. The one other instance is in terms of prophethood. Allah does not differentiate between the prophets. Allah never differentiated between them. The Quran never specifies in terms of law-bearing and non-law bearing. Prophets are all the same, they all brought a book, i.e. revelation, they all received prophetic revelation through the agency of Gabriel.

The final occurrence of the word Khatam in the Holy Quran appears in the famous Chapter 33 Verse 41. I have to understand the word in contrast with the other occurrences. In other words, I think that the word khatam was used universally. Each and every occurrence depicts the same action. Whenever this word appeared, in whatever variation, it meant enclosed.

KHATIM
Khatim appears in the Quran 2 times. Chapter 42 Verse 25 and Chapter 36 Verse 66.

Both times it means sealed, or sealed off. It appears that Allah used the word khatim and khatam as interchangeable. They both mean seal.

3RD VARIATION

A third variation exists, this variation appears in Chapter 83 Verse 26&27. It appears as MUKTUM and KHI-TA-MO. Both of these mean seal.

My research proves that ALLAH always used these words the same way. It doesn’t matter what variation was used. Every time the KHA-TA and MEEM appear in the Holy Quran, it always means SEAL.

Start of 2009

With the start of the new year 2009, please note that when you submit a comment you must type 2009 in the “spam avoidance measure” box which asks you to type in the current year.

Some charges against Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

I have decided to convert a comment that was submitted under another topic into a new post, so that the discussion is clearer to follow. The comment sent by a Mr Ali is quoted below.

OK, something I find very difficult to understand about ahmadis (both groups) is that they are claim that they are the ‘true muslims’ who are defending Islam against the onslaught from Christian missionaries. (The AMI ofcourse are forever flip flopping on the status of ghair Ahmadis depending on who is asking the question. Sometimes, when confronted with the fact that their MGA is a prophet, they will tell the truth and say that Ghair Ahmadis are non-muslims because they deny a prophet , other times they will claim that ghair ahamdis are kafir within the four walls of Islam, whatever that means)

Another claim they make is that the Dajjal is the western civillisation. Yet according to the Lahoris the messiah of Islam, and according to the Qadianis, a PROPHET of Allah offered his allegiance to the the then Queen of England, a country that was at the fore front of many of these Christian missionary activities that defamed the prophet Muhammad a.s pbuh.

Also even if you argue along the lines that the British were not harming him and were providing safety to Muslims in India from the Sikhs etc, how can you justify a PROPHET raising money for the British army to fight the Boer war in South Africa? That is in my opinion aiding the Dajjal.

Before we go of at tangents by the Lahoris pointing out that main stream muslims benefitted from British largesse in the shape of Regents Park mosque, it could be pointed out that the present day Qadiani benefitted by an order of magnitude more if you take into account their numbers.
Tha Qadianis had missions in British controlled Palestine, spreading the word of the new Prophet about a century ago. There is little doubt in my mind that the British goverment at the time had a hand in aiding the movement in a similar way to the Bahai movement.

Error by A.R. Dard in Ismu-hu Ahmad prophecy

The following has been submitted by our friend Bashir.

There are many controversies that exist between the AMI and the AAIIL. One of these are in terms of Ismuhu Ahmad (IA).

M. Ali clearly wrote in over 7 books that this prophecy which occurs in the Quran (61:6) refers to the Holy Prophet Muhammad in totality and in a certain sense refers to HMGA as well. HMBMA wrote the opposite, or at least it appeared that he wrote the opposite. Later in 1954 HMBMA explained 61:6 just as M. Ali did. Very strange I must say. In HMBMA’s commentary on the Holy Quran he did not translate chapter 61, Malik Ghulam Farid translated that portion of the Quran.

Qazi Muhammad Nazir (1965, Truth Prevails) explained this contradiction:
“Between this passage (Anwar Khilafat) and the statement before the Inquiry Commission, on the surface, there appears to be a slight difference more in words, than in the meaning and sense. There is no real difference between the two.”

I can’t say that I agree with this explanation. QMN admitted that there was a difference in words. At least he admitted that there was in fact a contradiction.

I found another contradiction. Last night I was reading Life of Ahmad by Maulana A.R. Dard. This book is the most comprehensive book on the life of HMGA. Dard was commenting on the era of 1891. This is in Chapter 21, the title of the chapter is ‘Claims to be the Messiah’.

Dard writes on pg. 235-236:

Ahmad (as) also explained that his advent was foretold in the Holy Quran (Al-Fatihah 1:7; Al-Nur 24:56, Al-Muzzammil 73:16).
The following verse of the Holy Book refers clearly to Ahmad (as): ‘And remember when Jesus, son of Mary, said, O children of Israel, I am Allah’s messenger unto you, fulfilling that which is before me of the Torah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me. His name will be Ahmad (as). And when he will come to them with clear proofs, they will say “This is a clear fraud”‘ (61:7).

This book was published in 1948. Why was Dard claiming that HMGA was IA? Maybe he got the same impression as me. Maybe Dard read HMBMA’s books from 1914 to 1922. HMBMA hadn’t commented on IA since 1922.

HMGA did not claim to be IA, both groups agree on this concept. But DARD is claiming that in 1891 HMGA claimed to be IA. Where did Dard get this from? This appears to be a major error by Dard.