English organ of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, propagating Islam as a peaceful, inclusive, loving, rational and scientific religion. Preaching people to respect the founders and followers of all religions.
ِ ی م الرَّحم
ن
ِ
سب اہللِ الرَّْحم ٰ
ْ م ِ
The Light
International Organ of the Centre for the Worldwide
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam
2018
April
2016
Septeember
The only Islamic organisation which is upholding the finality of prophethood.
Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at
www.virtualmosque.co.uk
Germany
Guyana
India
Sweden
Suriname
Editors
- Amir Aziz
- Abd ul Muqtadir Gordon
- Gowsia Saleem & - Prof. Shahab
Shabbir
- Kaleem Ahmed
- Robbert Bipat M.D, PhD
South Africa- Ebrahim Mohamed
UK
The USA
- Shahid Aziz & - Mustaq Ali
- Zainab Ahmad
Contents
The Call of the Messiah 2
Why I Converted to Islam? 3
It was the Best of Ramadaans . . . 6
The Eid Controversary 7
What the Two Eids Mean 8
Hazrat Ameer's Eid Message 11
Babar's Secret Royal Decree 12
Broadcasts (UK time)
1. Skype Urdu lecture: Sunday 09:00
2. Live on www.virtualmosque.co.uk
‣ Friday Sermon 13:00
‣ First Sunday of month lecture 15:00.
3. Radio Virtual Mosque
Our Websites
1. International HQ
2. Research and History
3. The Woking Mosque and Mission
4. The Berlin Mosque and Mission
5. Quran search
6. Blog
Broadcasts from and about us
‣ www.virtualmosque.co.uk
‣ mixlr.com Radio Virtual Mosque
Interesting external links
‣ A menstrual pad may be a bomb!
‣ US Islamophobia
‣ No Amount of Alcohol is Safe says Science.
‣ Science Proves the Holy Quran - Again!
‣ Women's Demands in the UK.
‣ Muslim Women in the US.
‣ Boris and the Burqa
‣ A Lone Call for Understanding.
‣ The Taj Mahal is Dying.
‣ Ban the Burqa?
‣ Evolution - A Rethink.
‣ .Killing Children!
External Links
The Light is not responsible for the content
of external sites. The inclusion of a link to an external
website should not be understood to be
an endorsement of that website, the views it expresses
or the site's owners (or their products/services).
Some links may have research, which disagrees
with our beliefs. It is for us to consider
such material and provide a rebuttal. Ignoring it
will not make it go away.
We welcome all scholarly contributions to
The Light.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
September 2018 The
Light 2
The Call of the
Messiah
by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi
(Editor’s note: Any quotations from the Quran
are translated from the author’s explanations
and are not literal translations of the verse
quoted. This extract is from the English translation
of a lecture he delivered in 1904 in Lahore,
now in Pakistan, taken from the Lahore Ahmadiyya
publication ‘Essence of Islam’, p. 56–62)
My Claim to being the Promised Messiah
Doubts would, perhaps, be entertained here
by some as to the existence of Satan and they
would wonder at the mention of Satan and his
hosts. Let them bear in mind that every man’s
heart has two attractions within it: the
attraction of good and the attraction of evil. The
first of these is attributed in Islam to the angel
or the spirit of goodness, and the second to
Satan or the spirit of evil. Man is inclined
sometimes to evil and sometimes to goodness,
and this is what is meant by the struggle between
good and evil. I think many men in this
gathering will, simply on hearing my claim to
Promised Messiahship and Divine revelation,
call me a liar and look down upon my claim. But
I do not condemn them, for so it has been from
the beginning. Every appointed one sent by God
had to hear words of abuse and contempt from
his people in the early stages of his mission.
And, truly it may be said that a prophet is not
without honour but in his early period. That the
Holy Prophet and Messenger of God to whom
was revealed the Holy Quran, who gave us a law
ending all laws, of being called whose followers
we are all proud, he was also received in the
same manner by his people. For thirteen years
he suffered persecution and tortures at the
hands of his enemies, alone and helpless. He
received their scoffing, insults, affronts and
outrages with the greatest patience and
forbearance. All these cruelties of his enemies
reached their climax in that unkindest cut of all,
I Shall Love All Mankind.
his expulsion from Makkah. Who knew at that
time that that helpless and forlorn man was
destined to become the guide and the leader of
millions of beings? Such is the Divine law that
the ones sent by God are laughed at and despised
at first. There are very few who recognise
them in the beginning and hence they must suffer
at the hands of the ignorant and bear all
manner of slanderous abuses and taunts until
the time comes when God should open the
hearts of men for their acceptance.
Such is my claim. But the work for which Almighty
God has appointed me, my function as
the Promised Messiah, is that I should remove
the separation between God and man and re-establish
man’s connection of purity and love with
his Divine Master. I have been raised so that I
should put a stop to religious wars and lay the
basis for peace, harmony and fellow-feeling
between men. That I should bring to light the
religious truths which have been hidden for
long from the mortal eye. That I may show the
true spirituality by dispelling the darkness of
passions from its face. That I may manifest the
working of the Divine powers within many by
prayer or by the concentration of attention. And
most important of all, that I should re-establish
the pure and glorious unity of God which is free
from all pollution of shirk, and which has
disappeared from the face of the earth. All this
will be effected not by my power, but by the
mighty power of Him Who rules in the heavens
and the earth. I see that on the one hand
Almighty God, having trained me in His deep
knowledge and having made me the recipient of
His revelation, has granted me a zeal for
bringing about these reforms. On the other, He
has Himself prepared hearts which are ready to
accept my words. I see that a mighty revolution
has taken place in the world since the Almighty
God appointed me to this heavenly office. While
in Europe and America the doctrine of the Divinity
of Jesus is being rejected by all sensible
thinkers, in India idol-worship is fast losing
ground. Though these people are yet ignorant of
the true spirituality and are content with a few
words which contain a formal expression of
their beliefs, they have broken apart many ties
which held them to unbelief. They are now, as it
were, standing on the threshold of unity. I hope
September 2018 The
Light 3
that shortly the grace of God would take many
of them by the hand and place them within the
stronghold of unity where there is also peace
and safety, and where a man is granted perfect
love and perfect fear and perfect knowledge.
This is a mere wish, but Almighty God gave me
the glad tidings which make me entertain this
hope. The manifestation of this heavenly ordinance
has been brought about in this country so
that different people may be sooner seen gathering
into one flock, and that the night of discord
and enmity may sooner be changed into
the bright morning of peace and concord.
The universal hope of all religious sects is
that the different people will be ultimately
made one nation. The Christians think that the
time is coming when all the nations of the earth
will accept the doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus.
The Jews entertain the fond hope that their
Messiah will soon appear and make them the inheritors
of the whole earth and bring the
Gentiles into the Jewish faith. The Islamic
prophecies also give the hope of the advent of a
Messiah who would make Islam the predominant
and universal religion of the world, and the
promised time of advent goes no further than
the commencement of the 14th century of Hijrah.
And at this very moment, the Pundits of the
Sanatan Dharm are anxiously waiting for the
advent of an avatar who would spread the true
faith in the whole world. The Aryas, though they
do not believe in any prophecy, share in these
universal views and are trying their best to
spread the Arya religion in the East as well as in
the West. Nor has the Buddhist religion remained
behind in this movement. It is also showing
signs of activity and reform. But what is most
wonderful of all, and may perhaps excite laughter,
is that in this competition of religions for superiority,
even the schedule caste is not quite
indifferent. It is also awake to the serious necessity
of protecting itself from hostile religions. In
short, the competition of religions has grown
hot, and every sect is inspired with the zeal to
make acquisitions from other faiths. There is a
commotion in the religious world more violent
than the commotion which is caused in the sea
by a storm, and as the billows roll down upon
one another, so do at present the different
religions.
The various movements described above
lead one at least to this conclusion that the time
has come at which Almighty God has willed to
gather all men into one fold. Regarding this very
وَ نُف خَ ف ي الصُّور time, He says in the Holy Quran 1
. Reading this verse along with the
preceding verses, its proper significance
appears to be that when there will be a hot
competition for victory among the various
religions, and they will be in a tumult like the
waves of the ocean, then will Almighty God
bring into existence a new dispensation which
will draw all capable hearts to itself. Then will
they know what religion is to them, and a new
life, the soul of true righteousness, will be
breathed into and they will be made to drink at
the fountain of true knowledge of God. It was
necessary that this world should not have come
to an end until this prophecy was fulfilled which
was announced by the Holy Quran 1300 years
ago.
(Return to contents)
جَمْعًا فَجَمَعْنَاهُمْ
Why I converted
to Islam
and, no, it wasn’t for
marriage
By Kaya Gravitter
“American Beauty” is a new series in
which Yahoo Lifestyle takes a virtual cross-country
journey to discover what beauty means —
reimagining the American flag through the diverse
group of faces that make up the United
States of America. For our first instalment, we’re
focusing on Muslim-American women, highlighting
what makes this group unique while showcasing
the common threads that bring us together.
In this first-person essay, Kaya Gravitter
clears up misconceptions about her journey to Islam.
1 . . . and the trumpet will be blown, then We shall gather
them all together . . . (18:99)
I Shall Love All Mankind.
September 2018 The
Light 4
While I was growing up as the granddaughter
of a Pentecostal preacher from Kentucky
who started a church in northern Wisconsin,
the teachings of the Church were drilled into my
brain. But from a young age, I had a lot of questions
that most Christians or the Bible could not
answer. I asked my Bible teacher at 7 years old,
“Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec.
25?” (I recently learned that there is scientific
evidence Jesus was not born on Christmas.) I
also asked questions like, “Why was the Trinity
introduced after Jesus died?”
I later left the Pentecostal religion at 10 to
be a Lutheran. Aside from my discrepancies
with Christianity, I went to church every Sunday,
read the Bible (still do), taught vacation Bible
school, and sang at church. I even went to
leadership camp every summer during high
school, where we would focus on the Old and
New Testaments.
When I was 16, I had some inclination to
start praying directly to God. I was around family,
who would say in prayer, “Dear Jesus, thank
you …,” I would say under my breath, “Dear
God.” I felt upset that people were not praying
directly to God. (This is before I knew about Islam
or that Muslims don’t pray to Jesus, Mary,
or Mohammed but rather directly to God.)
Fast-forward to when I started college in
2011 and I had many Muslim friends. One of
them told me that “our religions have the same
prophets.” Then I started researching the similarities
between the Abrahamic religions. I
never told anyone about the research I was doing.
To be honest, I wanted to prove that Islam
was grotesque and that the media was right
about Muslims. My hope was that I would try to
get them to convert to Christianity.
In the fall of 2013, after studying the religion
for more than a year, I took an Introduction
to Religion class, and my teacher, an ordained
minister, taught us that the Bible had missing
books. It upset me because I had put all my faith
in the Bible, but it wasn’t even 100 percent
there. I learned that the Quran had never been
changed. So my trying to learn about the truth
of Islam to convert my Muslim friends ended up
I Shall Love All Mankind.
having the opposite effect. The more I studied
Islam, the more my questions about science,
God, Jesus (Muslims believe in Jesus as a
prophet, born of the virgin Mary) were answered.
One of those was “Could God really create
the world in six days or how was the world
created if there was nothing?” According to the
Quran, God created the earth in six days (Quran
41:9-12) and there’s no mention of rest or the
seventh day. Keep in mind one of God’s days is
an eon for humanity. (Quran 22:47). Islam
teaches that God created the universe out of
nothing. I don’t know if that’s the same as the
Big Bang.
During the holy month of Ramadan, in
which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, I decided
to read an actual Quran (not something
from the internet). I asked my convert friend,
who invited me to Iftar (breaking of the fast
during Ramadan), if I could borrow her religious
text. That night, I got home and started to
read. My heart became full of light as I read the
first sentence. I hid this feeling from everyone
because I was scared of how my friends and
family would react.
There was not just one thing that made me
want to convert to Islam but many things. But
the push I needed was when I first read the
Quran.
Reading the Quran in English was not
enough because to really understand the meaning
and its context, it is ideal to read and understand
it in Arabic. I decided to take Arabic in college
so I could read the untranslated Quran. I
can now read it in Arabic, though I cannot understand
it all.
I converted to Islam in January 2014, taking
the “shahada,” or declaring my faith in God only
and that Mohammed was his prophet. I felt like
I was doing the right thing by saying it, though
it didn’t feel all that different because I did it by
myself, in the privacy of my own home. It was
my own little secret between me and God.
I didn’t realize until years later that it was
life-changing because I didn’t change much after
becoming Muslim, but I did become a better,
September 2018 The
Light 5
more giving person. I donate to charities now
and do community services. My way of thinking
or values did not change. I was always religious.
My mom’s side of the family are Seventh Day
Adventist and do not eat pork. My parents never
drank when I was growing up. I still pray to the
same God (Allah is only the Arabic word for
God). The only thing that is different is I dress
more modestly. I used to dress in modest clothing
because it is mostly cold in Wisconsin. Now
I choose to dress modestly because I get to decide
what society sees of me, not based on everyone
else’s beauty standards.
When I converted, only a few people knew
about it. I confided in some of my Muslim
friends and my best friend Lindsey (she is
Christian). She was the only one who really supported
me. It was hard having to keep this secret
from the world, which I kept because I was
scared of how my family and friends would react.
With keeping this secret, I always felt I was
living a lie and not being who I truly wanted to
be. It was not until my last year in college that I
started to let more people know that I had converted.
The more that people would say bad
things about Islam, the more I would feel required
to speak up about it. That is also when I
chose to wear a hijab. My family in particular
didn’t like me putting on the hijab at all because
they wanted to “see my hair in public” and they
thought I was wearing it for someone, but I was
only wearing it for myself.
The most common question I get from Muslims
and non-Muslims is, “Did you convert for a
man?” No! I, like many other converts that I
know, did not convert because we fell in love
with a Muslim. Being asked this makes me feel
like they think less of me, or that I am stupid.
Why would I have risked all that bad treatment
I’ve received from my family (and society — I
live in the South now)? People stare at me with
disgusted looks on their face and mutter hateful
things like “Stupid Muslim” under their breath.
I get asked many of the same questions that
used to cross my mind before I met a Muslim.
“Why do you wear that thing on your head?” I
typically say the way I dress is between me and
God. I even say I wear a veil because, Mary, the
mother of Jesus did. I’m often worried that a
I Shall Love All Mankind.
white supremacist might attack me or tear off
my hijab, but that makes me all the more unapologetic
about my faith.
I tried to talk to my family about Islam before
converting, but they never had anything
nice to say about the religion. “Why do they
have arranged marriage?” This is one of many
popular misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.
Arranged marriages, in fact, are not Islamic.
Women and men have the right to say no
to whomever they want. Questions like this is
why I was scared to tell my parents about my
conversion and stopped talking about the religion
altogether. I never outright told my parents
to their face, though I would try to give them
hints. They eventually found out that I became
Muslim after I posted about it on YouTube. My
family’s initial reaction was to take the next
plane down to Florida to “take me home.” They
came and were disappointed to find out that my
religion and lifestyle were not scary.
Which leads me to another question I get
asked often: “How does your family feel about
you converting?” I feel non-Muslims ask me that
to smite me, by thinking I deserve to be treated
badly by my parents. Of course, my family was
not happy with my conversion, but becoming
Muslim made me love them more. I cannot
fathom the amount of times I’ve had hate-filled
conversations with my family. (Especially, my
Pentecostal dad’s side, who labeled me a “terrorist”
or “crazy” on their Facebook pages.) Unfortunately,
my family cannot see past my religion.
Even if we are no longer talking about my
religion, there is still a tension I feel in the room.
If you would have told me when I was 16
that I would one day convert to Islam, I would
never have believed you. Before college, I
thought all of the stereotypical things about
Muslims were true. I thought none of them were
nice. I thought they were hateful people and all
terrorists. I was an ignorant bigot who believed
everything the media said, since I’d never met a
Muslim or went searching for what I believe the
religion’s core values really are: peace, love, and
generosity.
(Return to contents)
September 2018 The
Light 6
It was the best of Ramadans
… it was the worst of
Ramadans!
By Iain Dixon
I love Ramadan! It is my favourite time of
year. But this Ramadan was different. It was full
of great joy … but also full of great sadness.
What was good this year was it was a great time
of reflection, and a wonderful opportunity to recharge
the ‘spiritual battery’. Just as we need to
constantly re-charge our mobile phones, so
(more importantly), we all need to ‘plug into the
power of our Creator’. Our spiritual energy often
drains away through the tiredness of life, or
even through our own inattentiveness to the
things that matter the most. Ramadan can become
our spiritual refuelling station!
I am a follower of Jesus. Actually, the Bible is
my Holy Book, but I have been ‘brave’ enough to
read the Honoured Quran, and I fast each Ramadan.
I fast at other times throughout the year,
but I particularly love to fast at Ramadan. This
Ramadan I have been looking at some of the attributes
and qualities of Allah contained in the
pages of the Quran. He is ‘As-Salam’, the giver
and source of peace. He is ‘Al-Quddus’, the Holy
one, He is ‘Al-Ghaffar’, the exceedingly forgiving.
These are just a few of his wonderful attributes.
I have particularly been reflecting this Ramadan
on Allah as ‘As-Salam’, the source of peace. We
are told in the Bible “you will keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is fixed on you.”- Isaiah
26:3. The phrase ‘perfect peace’ in the Hebrew
text is ‘Shalom Shalom’. There is the sense here
of the magnification of this peace, a greatness,
an intense peace. Wow! How we all need this
peace in this troubled world we live in. But notice
that this peace comes from focusing on our
creator, not focusing on our problems.
Another thing I did this Ramadan was to
slow down and reflect by going for walks and
LOOKING around at what I can see. Allah is an
educator, and he has surrounded us with many
‘teachers’ contained in the natural world
around us. In the Quran we are told that Allah
“taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees,
and in habitations.”- Surah 16:68. If Allah, the
Creator of the universe, can speak and instruct
humble bees … can we not have confidence that
this same Allah can speak to you and me, and
give us direction in life? “I will teach you and instruct
you in the way that you should go.” Psalm
32:8. The Bible constantly tells us to look at our
‘teachers’ in the natural world around us. “Go to
the ant . . . consider her ways, and be wise.”-
Proverbs 6:6. “ Ask the animals and they shall
teach you, and the birds of the air and they shall
explain things to you.”- Job 12:7. Some of the
lessons I learnt this Ramadan have included just
simply watching a tiny spider descending on an
almost invisible thread of its web. I thought to
myself, that just as a tiny, almost invisible
thread is supporting the spider, so our ‘invisible’
duas 1 and prayers have power to uphold and
sustain others. Never feel embarrassed to ask
others to pray for you, and never feel that your
humble duas are ineffective or powerless to aid
others. It is said that a spider web for its weight
and thickness, is proportionately stronger than
steel! Our prayers have power and strength to
aid people in their trials and difficulties. Let us
spin our webs and support others with our dua!
Over Ramadan I went on a boat trip and saw a
dolphin. The ‘tour guide’ told us that the dorsal
fin is different on every dolphin … each one is
unique. I praised Allah that he values uniqueness
in his creatures and is attentive to even in
the small details. I drew this lesson for myself
and rested in the contentment that I too am
unique, and that I don’t have to be jealous of
others or compete with others. Just as Allah has
shaped each dolphin in a unique way, so I am
uniquely designed too, with my personality, and
giftings. I just need to be the best ‘me’ that I can
be.
This has been the best of Ramadans. I have
learnt so much!
But this has been the worst of Ramadans
too. There have been many tears. Much pain. A
few months ago, a friend of mine passed away.
A Muslim who loved Allah. A Muslim who loved
1 Supplications to God.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
September 2018 The
Light 7
people. Full of laughter and great kindness. A
hole has been made that can never be filled by
anyone else. We are all unique. This Ramadan,
someone was missing. Even as I write this, tears
roll down my face. A young mother of four
sweet children. Died so suddenly. No time to say
goodbye. This Ramadan has been a sad time.
The greatest pakora-maker in the world is no
longer with us. The laughter that once filled her
house is gone. The sewing machine that made
so many dresses, is still in the corner of the back
room — switched off. Death is horrible. I
watched a Muslim funeral online the other day.
A young lady wanted to read a section of the
Quran out to the people in attendance. She
broke down in tears trying to say “Bismillah ar
Rahman ar Raheem.” The pain was incredible. I
cried too. Crying with her, feeling what she was
feeling. People came up to comfort her … and
she pushed on and was able eventually to complete
the reading. But the pain of losing a loved
one is crushing. This Ramadan I learnt a little
more compassion. To realise that so many people
are going through trials and struggles. That
many have lost loved ones. This Ramadan they
were not here to fast. This Ramadan they were
never able to have an iftaar.
We are told in the Honoured Quran that “the
best of planners is Allah.”- Surah 8:30. Looking
at the complexities of this universe, I can clearly
see the design and perfect workings of a master
architect. As Eid is a time of great joy and happiness
after coming out of the hardships and trials
of Ramadan, so too I hold on to the joy of the
great Eid to come. A time when suffering and
death are no more. The master planner has
promised something great to come. A new dawn
— a new age — a new chapter. Just as the stars
and planets work in clockwork precision, so too
Allah’s promises and plans know no haste, nor
do they know any delay. A time will come when
“God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
nor crying. Neither shall there be any more
pain. For the former things have passed away.
And he that sat on the throne said: Behold, I
make all things new.” Revelation 21:4-5. This
will truly be a time of great celebration. This
will be a time when the whole of creation declares
together — “Eid Mubarak!”
(Return to contents)
I Shall Love All Mankind.
The Eid Controversary
By Imaam Iqubal Hydal (B.Sc., Dip Ed.)
Imam AAII, Trinidad & Tobago
Once again there is controversy in the Muslim
community with respect to the date of Eid.
This time it is not the sighting of the moon for
Eid -ul-Fitr which is sighted the evening prior to
Eid-ul-Fitr, but rather the sighting of the moon
for Eid-ul-Adha, a festival which occurs ten days
after the moon has been sighted for the beginning
of the month of Zul Hijjah. To explain why
the controversy has arisen with some Mosques
contending that Eid-ul-Adha is on Wednesday
22nd August 2018 while others are following
Saudi Arabia’s pronouncement of Eid on Tuesday,
I refer to the post issued by Dar Uloom.
The Moon-sighting committee of Dar Uloom
sighted the moon (hilaal) on Sunday 12th August
2018. The new moon was born on Saturday
August 11th at 9.57 a.m. and sunset was at
6.27 p.m. The hilaal (crescent) was therefore 8h
30m old. Such a hilaal is too faint and near to the
horizon to sight it. The next day August 12th it
is 24 hours older and its age is now 32h 30m.
Such a hilaal is easily visible with the naked eye.
Dar Uloom therefore proclaimed Monday August
13th as the first day of Dhul Hijjah, making
the day of Arafah Tuesday 21st August and Eidul-Adha
Wednesday August 22nd.
In Makkah however, the new moon was
born on Saturday August 11th at 12.57 p.m.
(Makkah Time) and sunset was at 6.54 p.m. The
hilaal (crescent) was 7h 57m old. Such a crescent
cannot be seen either by the naked eye nor
with optical instruments as it is too faint and
low on the horizon. However, a crescent (hilaal)
was born and it set (moonset) at 7.06 (Makkah)
time. The fact that the crescent (7h 57m) set after
sunset, according to Makkah calendar,
makes the next day the first day of Dhul Hijjah.
This makes the day of Arafah Monday August
11th and `Eid-ul-Adha Tuesday 12th.
It is to be noted that Makkah uses calculation
rather than Moon sighting. Once a crescent
is born after new moon, regardless of its age,
September 2018 The
Light 8
and it sets after sunset, the new Islamic month
begins. This controversy will always arise since
there is no uniformity among Muslims with respect
to the determination of the lunar months.
Those who choose moon sighting follow the
hadith:
“Do not keep the fast until you see the hilaal
and do not discontinue the fast until you see it,
and if it be veiled to you, have it measured.” (Bukhari;
30:31).
Those who use calculation, follow the
Quran:
“He it is Who made the sun a shinning brightness,
and the moon a light, and ordained for it
stages that you might know the computation of
years and the reckoning. Allah created not this
but with truth. He makes the signs manifest for
people who know.” (Quran; 10:5).
The Ahmadiyya Anjuman (Trinidad & Tobago)
for more than thirty years has followed
both Quran and Hadith, using sighting and calculation
in the determination of its dates. The
youngest crescent that has been observed by us
was when it was 17 hours old. The Anjuman
therefore bases it calendar on the fact that once
a moon is at least 17 hours old, the crescent is
visible and the lunar month has started.
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What Two Eids Mean to the
Muslims
Introduction:
By Jalal-ud-Din, Fiji
It is common knowledge that scientists
have assessed the age of this planet Earth to be
around 4.9 billion years old 1 . Once the planet
had reached ambient temperatures for configuration
of land, seas and clouds, the commencement
and then continuous reproduction of
plants and animals, Almighty God finally created
humanity commencing with Adam and
Eve. Adam (as) was the first of all prophets 2 and
also the first to believe in Oneness of Almighty
God. Many new religions 3 had developed over
thousands of years and changed the destinies of
several nations throughout the world.
Discussions
1. Almost all religions have developed certain
religious festivals, which in some ways reflect
their religious beliefs and practises. Islam
is the last and final of all revealed religions. In
addition to being the last and final revealed religion,
Islam has retained all the pristine purity
of past great religions. This fact has been most
succinctly stipulated in the Holy Quran at
HQ2:136 “Say: We believe in Allah and (in) what
has been revealed to us, and (in) what was revealed
to Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac and
Jacob and the tribes, and (in) what was given to
Moses and Jesus, and (in) what was given to the
prophets from their Lord, we make no distinction
between any of them and to Him we submit.”
The Holy Quran states that Almighty God
does not make any quality distinction between
any of them and to Almighty God do all Muslims
submit. Muslims therefore, do not just believe in
Prophet Muhammad (s) but in all previous
Prophets, who were similarly ordained by divine
revelations. Whilst the past Prophets were
consistently true to their revelations, their subsequent
followers downstream, brought about
distortions; and these distortions are not in the
Holy Quran as rules of Islamic laws.
2. Religious festivals or important historical
events of religious significance in Islam are:
(1) Eid-ul-Adha (Pilgrimage and Sacrifice) and
(2) Eid-ul-Fitr (end part after fasting in Ramadan).
1 This dating is based on evidence from radiometric age-dating
of meteorite material and is consistent with the radiometric
ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples.
2
There were over 124,000 prophets since creation of planet
Earth. Out of which, 313 were both Prophets and Messengers
(Nabi and Rasul respectively). This is given in Hadith, in
Musnad ibn Hanbal, Hadith No 21257. Prophet Muhammad (s)
I Shall Love All Mankind.
was both Prophet and Messenger and as the seal of prophets,
he was the Final Prophet ordained by divine revelation, who
brought the final revealed Holy Scripture as the Holy Qur’an
and the final revealed religion as Islam.
3
There are over 4,200 different religions in the world (UN
2015 census).
September 2018 The
Light 9
3. The common factor between both Muslim
festivals is the patriarch Prophet Abraham
(as), whose descendants branched out as Jews,
Christians and finally Muslims.
4. In the first festival, the festival of Eid-ul-
Adha (Pilgrimage and Sacrifice) is in honour of
two great historical events, which Almighty God
used to test the compliance and allegiance of
Prophet Abraham (as) to Him. Prophet Abraham’s
(as) first wife Sarah (aka Saira) was barren
and did not bear children. Prophet Abraham
(as) then married another wife, Hagar (aka
Hajira), with the anticipation of having a son as
his heir. However, Prophet Abraham (as) did not
lose his Faith in Almighty God and continued to
pray for a son.
5. In the first test, Almighty God ordered
Prophet Abraham (as) to abandon his second
wife Hagar together with his first-born child
(Ishmael) in the wilderness of Arabia, which he
obediently did. Some years later, Almighty God
made another Order to Prophet Abraham (as)
to go over and retrieve his second wife Hagar
and child (Ishmael) from Mecca and then bring
them back home.
6. In the second compliance and allegiance
test, Almighty God made yet another Order
to Prophet Abraham (as) to offer his only
and now 10 or 11 year-old, same first born son
(Ishmael) for human sacrifice 1 which he proceeded
to do in readiness.
7. An important point to note is that human
sacrifice by slaughter of the first-born child
as a son, was widespread practice amongst the
pagan idolaters and polytheists, thousands of
years previously. In addition to his preparedness
to sacrifice his only son, Prophet Abraham
(as) spoke to his son (Ishmael) and told him
about the Order. Ishmael agreed and he lay
down at the allocated spot to be blindfolded and
then slaughtered; but Almighty God stopped
Prophet Abraham (as) at the final moment before
slaughtering and made another Order that
a fattened lamb gets sacrificed instead. This historic
event has been recorded in the Holy Quran
as revealed verses at the Holy Quran 37:100-
110: “My Lord, grant me a doer of good deeds.
So, We gave him the good news of a forbearing
son. But when he became of age to work with
him, he said: My son, I have seen in a dream that
I should sacrifice you: so, consider what you
think. He said: My father, do as you are commanded;
if Allah please, you will find me patient.
So when they both submitted and he had
thrown him down upon his forehead, and We
called out to him saying, O Abraham, you have
indeed fulfilled the vision. Thus do We reward
the doers of good. Surely this is a manifest trial.
And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.
And We granted him among the later generations
(the salutation): Peace be on Abraham!
Thus, do We reward the doers of good.”
8. Both of these tests have put an end to
the ancient pagan practice of offering the firstborn
son as human sacrifice. Different versions
of paganism were practised before the previous
prominent prophets abolished that out of paganism.
The act of sacrifice, by slaughtering a
prescribed animal, has become part of the Hajj
or pilgrimage performance by Muslims to
Mecca. This is stipulated in the Holy Quran at
2:158 “The Safa 2 and the Marwah are truly
among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a
pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit (to it),
there is no blame on him if he goes round them.
And whoever does good spontaneously —
surely Allah is Bountiful in rewarding, Knowing.”
9. The second festival is Eid-ul-Fitr, celebrating
completion of fasting in the month of
Ramadan. All past prophets previous to Prophet
Muhammad (s) also fasted. Fasting in the month
1
Human sacrifice of the first born child as a son, was widely
practised amongst the pagan idolatrous and polytheistic communities.
If the first born child was a daughter and the son
came later, then the son was spared and not sacrificed. This
was widely practised amongst the Carthaginians and the Phoenicians,
who worshipped the idol of Molech. Molech was a pagan
god with a very large human body but head of a bull with
horns. The discovery by archaeologists of over 20,000 earthenware
urns containing fossilised skeletons of very young
boys was made in the caves of Carthage. That of course means
that at least 20,000 young boys were killed as sacrificed. Baal
I Shall Love All Mankind.
was another pagan god to whom human sacrifices of children
were made. The worshipping of Molech and Baal were practised
as both pre-Abrahamic and were spread throughout the
Indo-Iranian regions.
2
The Safa and Marwah are two hills, near the Ka’ba in Mecca,
which Muslim pilgrims must travel on foot, forth and back
seven times (anticlockwise). This is in memory of Prophet
Abraham’s second wife Hagar, who was desperately running
between the hills, searching for water for her infant son Ishmael
who was left unattended on the hot sand in the desert.
September 2018 The
Light 10
of Ramadan is also a compliance test, which Almighty
God has placed on healthy persons, to
follow all the religious obligations closely and
guarding against evil (sins). The boundaries of
tolerance and prescriptiveness of fasting by
Muslims has been stipulated in the Holy Quran
at 2:183-185: “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed
for you, as it was prescribed for those
before you, so that you may guard against evil.
For a certain number of days. But whoever
among you is sick or on a journey, (he shall fast)
a (like) number of other days. And those who
find it extremely hard may effect redemption by
feeding a poor one. So, whoever does good
spontaneously, it is better for him; and that you
fast is better for you if you know. The month of
Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed,
a guidance to people and clear proofs of
the guidance and the Criterion. So whoever of
you is present in the month, he shall fast in it,
and whoever is sick or on a journey, (he shall
fast) a (like) number of other days. Allah desires
ease for you, and He does not desire hardship
for you, and (He desires) that you should complete
the number and that you should exalt the
greatness of Allah for having guided you and
that you may give thanks.”
10. Eid-ul-Fitr (end of fasting) is the celebration
by all Muslims after their successful and
compliant month-long fasting for Ramadan.
11. The month of Ramadan is also the anniversary
of the first revelation of the Holy Quran,
which happened on one of the odd nights of
25th, 27th or 29th of Ramadan, in a cave given
the name of Hira, over 1,400 years ago. 1 As matter
of practical consistency, Prophet Muhammad
(s) directed that the selected event be settled
as the 27th night. This is in the Hadith and
called Lailat-al-Qadr 2 or the Night of Majesty.
This is also stipulated in the Holy Quran at 97:1-
5: “Surely We revealed it on the Night of Majesty
— And what will make you comprehend what
the Night of Majesty is? The Night of Majesty is
better than a thousand months. The angels and
the Spirit descend in it by the permission of
their Lord — for every affair — Peace! it is till
the rising of the morning.”
12. The Holy Quran was revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (s) in series of batch revelations
lasting a stretch of 23 years. 3
13. In response to questions, Prophet Muhammad
(s) encapsulated the answers, as given
in the Hadith. This is Hadith No. 1906, Book of
AsSaum, Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3: A Bedouin with
unkempt hair came to Allah’s Messenger (s) and
said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Inform me what Allah
has made compulsory for me as regards the
prayers.” He replied: “You have to offer perfectly
the five compulsory prayers in a day and night
(24 hours), unless you want to pray Nawafil.”
The Bedouin further asked, “Inform me what Allah
has made compulsory for me as regards
fasting.” He replied, “You have to fast during the
whole month of Ramadan, unless you want to
fast more as Nawafil.” The Bedouin further
asked, “Tell me how much Zakat Allah has enjoined
on me.” Thus, Allah’s Messenger (s) informed
him about all the rules of Islam (about
Zakat). The Bedouin then said, “By Him Who
has honoured you, I will neither perform any
Nawafil nor will I decrease what Allah has enjoined
on me.” Allah’s Messenger (s) said, “If he
is saying the truth, he will succeed (or he will be
granted Paradise).”
14. All Muslims in whatsoever country
throughout the world must celebrate these two
festivals every year, to the extent without fail.
15. The goal for the faithful Muslims may
be fitted into a nutshell with the following quotation
in the Holy Quran as 6:161-163:
“Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me to the
right path — a right religion, the faith of Abraham,
the upright one, and he was not of those
who set up partners (with Allah). Say: My
prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my
death are surely for Allah, the Lord of the
worlds — no partner has He. And this am I commanded,
and I am the first of those who submit.”
1 Prophet Muhammad (s) was meditating in prayer inside a
cave called Hira, near Makkah, in year 610AD when he received
his first visitation and so to his first revelation from
Archangel Gabriel, who delivered to Prophet Muhammad (s)
the first 5 verses of what is Chapter 96 of the Holy Quran, 96:1-
5, “Read in the name of your Lord Who creates — creates man
from a clot (of blood) — read and your Lord is most Generous,
I Shall Love All Mankind.
Who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know.” The
balance of 14 verses of this chapter were revealed later.
2 Hadith Sahih Bukhari 32:4
3
The Holy Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s)
in 610AD when he was at age of 40 and completed in 632AD.
September 2018 The
Light 11
Synopsis
a) In Islam, the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-
Adha is directly linked to the patriarch Prophet
Abraham (as), who had twice received separate
Orders directly from Almighty God to sacrifice
his first born son.
b) The first Order was when his first-born
son was an infant and Almighty God ordered
Prophet Abraham to abandon wife and child in
the wilderness of Arabia.
c) The second Order was when the same son
was around 10-11 years old, Almighty God
again ordered Prophet Abraham (as) to sacrifice
the same son, as was the widespread ritual
practised amongst ancient pagans in those days,
many thousands of years ago.
d) Of course, upon direct Order from Almighty
God, the son was not sacrificed and
Prophet Abraham (as) was ordered to substitute
a fattened lamb in lieu of his son.
e) That Order from Almighty God put an end
to the ancient pagan practice of sacrificing the
first-born child as a son.
f) That event also forms the basis of pilgrimage
by Muslims to Makkah and sacrifice of
quadrupeds in that honour.
g) The festival of Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated
immediately the next day after completion of
fasting in the month of Ramadan.
h) Fasting in Ramadan is the compliance
test fully well for Muslims with all Orders in the
Holy Quran and supported by appropriate
quotes from the book of Hadith, the book of
practices of Prophet Muhammad (s).
i) The month of fasting and Eid-ul-Adha are
also reminders for Muslims to pay up their obligations
to charity funding.
j) In addition, the month of Ramadan is also
the anniversary of the first series of revelations
of the Holy Quran over 1,400 years ago.
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I Shall Love All Mankind.
Hazrat Ameer’s Eid-ul-Adha
Message
Dear Sisters and Brothers, As-salaamu
Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaato-hu.
The Holy Quran says: “Indeed, there is for you
a good example in Ibrahim and those with him”
(60:4).
As we celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Adha, we
must keep in mind its spiritual significance. It is a
day to reflect upon the good example of Prophet
Ibrahim, blessings of Allah be upon him, and those
with him, blessings of Allah be upon them all. Hazrat
Ibrahim as well as Hazrat Ismael and Hazrat
Hajira exemplify for us models of complete submission
to the will of Allah, associating none other
with Him. All the major devotional acts of Hajj celebrate
the high example of sacrifice and submission
to the will of Allah demonstrated in their
lives.
The tawāf or circumambulations of the Kabah
remind us of its rebuilding by Hazrat Ibrahim and
Hazrat Ismail in seven stages as they went around
the structure laying the stones, moving in the anticlockwise
direction. Hazrat Hajira’s sacrifice and
desperation to find water for her infant son has
been honoured for all times in the form of sa‘y or
running between the two hills of Safā and
Marwah. The ramy al-jimār or the casting of
stones signifies Hazrat Ibrahim’s resistance to the
devil’s temptations as he was taking his son for
the sacrifice. Sacrificing an animal is a reminder to
us that Hazrat Ibrahim submitted to the will of Allah
in his readiness to sacrifice his son to fulfil the
command of Allah.
The son, on the other hand, was also willing to
be sacrificed as it was in accordance with the will
of Allah. The lesson to be learnt is to submit
wholly to the commands of Allah, to sacrifice the
animal within us and lead our lives to please Him
through not only our faith but also our actions.
I wish you a very happy Eid-ul-Adha and pray
that Allah grant us faith and fortitude of Hazrat Ibrahim
to submit in entirety to Him.
Aameen.
Professor Dr. Abdul Karim Saeed,
Ameer and President,
18 August 2018
Worldwide Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
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September 2018 The
Light 12
Secret Farman of a Moghul
Ruler
BY MR. N. C. MEHTA, I.C.S.
(Note: Contributor - Dr Zahid Aziz.
This article was first published in the Islamic Review,
in March 1938. I.C.S stands for Indian Civil
Service, used for a cadre of high flyers in that organisation
in British India.)
I spent three very pleasant days in Bhopal
recently. Apart from the unforgettable experience
of a visit to Sanchi — one of the great legacies
of ancient India and scrupulously treasured
by the Bhopal State — my stay there was
unexpectedly fruitful in another direction. His
Highness the Nawab is a graduate of the Allahabad
University and he was due to deliver the
Convocation Address at his old University. It
was therefore in the fitness of things that at a
dinner party the conversation should drift not
only to matters of agriculture or the immediate
present but also of the great past. Talking about
the tolerance of the Moghul Princes and the
number of Imperial farmans (royal decrees)
granted from the time of Hamida Begum, the
mother of Akbar, His Highness told me that he
possessed one given by Babar, the founder of
the dynasty itself. This farman was shown to me
the following day in the Hamidia Public Library.
The transliteration of the Persian text
(We have omitted here the transliteration which is given
in the original Islamic Review article.)
English translation
God be Praised
Secret testament of Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad
Babar Badshah Ghazi to Prince Nasir-ud-
Din Muhammad Humayun. May God prolong his
life.
For the stability of the Empire this is written.
O my soul! The realm of Hindustan is full of
diverse creeds. Praise be to God, the Righteous,
the Glorious, the Highest, that
He has granted you the Empire
of it. It is but proper that you,
with heart cleansed of all religious
bigotry, should dispense
justice according to the tenets
of each community. And in particular, refrain
from the sacrifice of cow, for that way lies the
conquest of the hearts of the people of Hindustan;
and the subjects of the realm will through
royal favours be devoted to you. And the temples
and abodes of worship of every community
under the Imperial sway, you should not damage.
Dispense justice so that the sovereign may
be happy with the subjects and likewise the
subjects with their sovereign. The progress of
Islam is better by the sword of kindness, not
by the sword of oppression (the bolding here
is ours in The Light). Ignore the disputations of
Shiahs and Sunnies; for therein is the weakness
of Islam. And bring together the subjects with
different beliefs in the manner of the Four Elements,
so that the body-politic may be immune
from the various ailments. And remember the
deeds of Hazrat Taimur Sahib-Qiran (lord of the
conjunction) so that you may become mature in
matters of government.
“And on us is but the duty to advise” (the
Quran 36:17). First Jamadi-ul-Awwal 935 H. —
11th January, 1529.
(Written in Lotus Garden)
Such is the secret testament of Babar to his
20 years old son and successor. It was not till
1526 that the transborder adventurer — Zahirud-Din
Muhammad Babar — was firmly seated
on the throne of Delhi. The Wasiyat, (the last
will and testament) as he calls it, was written
while he was camping in the Lotus Garden at
Dholpur near Agra (January 9th–20th, 1529).
The nature of the document—the fine paper, the
careful handwriting, the Royal Seal and the present
custody of the document—all go to establish
the genuineness of this very important historical
document.
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