The Life of Prophet Muhammadsa and World Faiths Respond to Slander/TITLE

A Message of Peace
10
Legal Right Verses
Moral Duty
38
Is it Permissable for
Prisoners of War
to be Executed?
56
The Life of the
Prophet Muhammadsa
68
vol. 110 - issue threemarch 2015 www.reviewofreligions.org
Reactionto
Charlie
Hebdo...?

Verily, those who malign Allah
and His Messenger—Allah
has cursed them in this world
and in the Hereafter, and has
prepared for them an abasing
punishment. And those who
malign believing men and
believing women for what they
have not earned shall bear the
guilt of calumny and a manifest sin.
Islam, the Holy Qur’an,
Ch.33:V.58-59.
Narrated by Abu Hurairara
: Allah’s
Apostlesa
said, “Mosesas
was a
shy man, and that is what the
Statement of Allah means: ‘O
you who believe be not like those
who annoyed Mosesas
, but Allah
proved his innocence of that
which they alleged and he was
honourable in Allah’s Sight.’”
Islam, the Holy
Prophetsa
, Hadith of
Sahih Bukhari.
It is worthy of note that the
Meccans had not merely rejected
the Holy Prophetsa
. Simple
rejection based on naivety does
not entail punishment in this
life. But when a disbeliever
transgresses beyond the limits
of humanity and good behaviour,
and has recourse to shamelessness
and abuse and designs every
kind of persecution and carries
it to the limit, the jealousy of
God Almighty is roused and
He destroys the wrongdoer out
of regard for His Messenger,
as He destroyed the people of
Noah, and the people of Lot.
Islam, the Promised
Messiahas
, The Essence of
Islam, Volume 2, p.373.
Those who are insulted but do
not insult others in revenge, who
hear themselves reproached
without replying, who perform
good work out of the love of
the Lord and rejoice in their
sufferings... are “as the sun when
he goeth forth in his might.”
Judaism, Talmud, Yoma
23a.
If an evil man, on hearing of
what is good, comes and creates
a disturbance, you should
hold your peace. You must not
angrily upbraid him; then he
who has come to curse you
will merely harm himself.
Buddhism, Sutra of
Forty-two Sections, 7.
The highest charity is
refraining from violence.
Hinduism, Srimad
Bhagavatam, 11.12.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves,
but leave it to the wrath of God;
for it is written, “Vengeance is
mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed
him; if he is thirsty, give him
drink; for by doing so you will
heap burning coals upon his head.”
Christianity, Romans,
12:19-20.
The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
prophesied
that the Promised Messiahas
would be raised near a
white minaret, east of
Damascus. This prophecy
was fulfilled with the advent
of the Promised Messiahas
from Qadian, India, a city
directly east of Damascus.
The Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi was born to a noble family in Qadian, India.
From an early age he had a keen interest in religion and
developed a love for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. He
was also known for his honesty, friendliness and resolve.
Over time his knowledge and understanding of religion
and its application to society deepened. Being a Muslim
it was his firm belief that all religions were true at their
source but with the passage of time had drifted away
from their original teachings; he upheld the dignity of
religion and demonstrated its relevance to everyone.
His earnest defence of religion was ultimately blessed
when he started to receive direct revelation from Allah
– a blessing that he continued for the rest of his life.
His mission was to revitalise the truth that all religions
held within them and to revive the teachings of Islam. It
was through this that he would bring mankind together
and establish everlasting peace.
In 1889, under Divine Guidance, Hazrat Ahmadas
founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a
community that has since grown in its stature and
strength and has remained active in conveying the
message of Islam to the ends of the earth.
Hazrat Ahmadas
had established himself as a respected
writer and had written over 80 books. His writings
have been translated into more than 60 languages and
continue to inspire readers to this day. One of his greatest
scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of
Islam, prepared as a paper and read out at the Conference
of Great Religions in 1896.
He also wrote a fascinating treatise in 1899 entitled Jesus
in India, a book that uncovered remarkable evidence
of Jesus’sas
journey to India. In 1902, the Promised
Messiahas
initiated The Review of Religions which has
covered a vast array of topics on religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues of the day. It is the longest
running English magazine in defence of Islam and the
values it teaches.
From 1889 until the time of his demise in 1908 tens
of thousands of people accepted him. This blessing
has continued and will continue through his Khulafa
(successors).
Currently under the fifth successor, we are seeing that the
tide of acceptance is worldwide and that the message of
Prophet Ahmadas
has really reached the ends of the earth.
©makhzan-e-tasaweer
founder of
the review of religions
Response to Slander
world faiths

10 A Message of Peace
,
the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi
24 Reaction to Charlie Hebdo
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, worldwide
Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
34 Untold Stories
38 Legal Right Verses
Moral Duty:
Deconstructing the Opposing
Paradigms to Free Speech
Ayesha Mahmood Malik, guildford, UK
50 & 90 My Visit to Qadian
56 Islam and the Abolishment
of Slavery
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
68 The Life of the Holy
Prophet Muhammadas
Tommy Kallon, London, UK
24
50
contents
march 2015 Vol.110 issue three
38
© Makhzan-e-Tasaweer
© BrAt82 | shutterstock
68

M a n a g eme n t B o ard
Chairman: Munir-Ud-Din Shams
Secretary: Syed Amer Safir
Board Members: Mubarak Ahmad Zaffar, Ataul Mujeeb
Rashed, Naseer Qamar, Abdul Baqi Arshad, Abid
Waheed Ahmad Khan, Aziz Ahmad Bilal
C h ie f E di t o r & M a n a g er
Syed Amer Safir
E di t o rial B o ard
Amtul Razzaq Carmichael, Bockarie Tommy Kallon, Fazal Ahmad,
Hassan Wahab, Hibba Turrauf, Jonathan Butterworth, Mansoor
Saqi, Munazza Khan, Murtaza Ahmad, Nakasha Ahmad, Navida
Syed, Sarah Waseem, Shahzad Ahmad, Tariq H. Malik
W eb D evel o per & I T
Hibba Turrauf, Mubashra Ahmad
A s s o c iat e E di t o r s
Nakasha Ahmad, Tariq H. Malik (Sub-Editor: Mariam Rahman)
S u b - E di t o r s
Head: Hibba Turrauf
Sub-Editors: Ayesha Malik, Nusrat Haq, Maryam Malik,
H o u s e S t y le G u ide
Head: Maleeha Ahmad Team: Sadia Shah, Humaira Omer
P r o o f reader s
Head: Munawara Ghauri. Deputy: Farhana Dar. Proofreaders: Abdul
Ghany Jahangeer Khan, Hina Rahman, Amina Abbasi, Ayesha Patel
S ta f f W ri t er s & R e s ear c h er s
Arif Khan, Tazeen Ahmad, Harris Zafar, Meliha Hayat
D i s t rib u t i o n / S u b s c rip t i o n
Head: Mohammad Hanif
Team: Sami Ullah, Musa Sattar
A r t E di t o r
S. Taalay Ahmad
P ri n t E di t i o n D e s i g n er
Ahsan Khan
I n de x i n g / Ta g g i n g Team
Head: Mirza Krishan Ahmad. Deputy: Amtus Shakoor Tayyaba
Ahmed. Team: Humaira Omer, Humda Sohail, S. Taalay Ahmad,
Ruhana Hamood, Mubahil Shakir, Adila Bari, Hassan Raza Ahmad
Twi t t er
Hibba Turrauf, Mala Khan, Nudrat Ahmad
Note about references
Verse references to the Holy Qur’an
count ‘Bismillah…’ (In the Name
of Allah…) as the first verse of each
Chapter. In some non-standard texts,
this is not counted. Should the reader
refer to such texts, the verse quoted in
The Review of Religions will be found a
verse earlier, i.e. at one verse less than
the number quoted in this journal.
For the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘sa
’
or ‘(saw)
’ after the words, ‘Holy Prophet’,
or the name ‘Muhammad’, are used
normally in small letters. They stand
for ‘Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning
‘peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him’. Likewise, the letters ‘as
’ or ‘(as)
’
after the name of all other prophets
is an abbreviation meaning ‘peace
be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis
salatu wassalam’ which are words
that a Muslim utters out of respect
whenever he or she comes across
that name. The abbreviation ‘ra
’ or ‘(ra)
’
stands for ‘Raziallahu Ta’ala anhu and
is used for Companions of a Prophet,
meaning Allah be pleased with him
or her (when followed by the relevant
Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘rh
’ or ‘(rh)
’ for
Rahemahullahu Ta’ala means the Mercy
of Allah the Exalted be upon him.
In keeping with current universal
practice, local transliterations
of names of places are preferred
to their anglicised versions, e.g.
Makkah instead of Mecca, etc.
The English Rendering of the
5 Volume Commentary of the
Holy Qur’an
One of the most comprehensive commentaries of the
Holy Qur’an ever written.
Commentary by
Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra)
Read it online at: http://www.alislam.org/quran/
Or Purchase the print version at: http://store.alislam.org/
©AMAGALLERYUK

Reactionto
Charlie
Hebdo...?
At 11:30am on the morning of 7th January 2015,
two masked gunmen armed with Kalashnikov
assault rifles entered the Charlie Hebdo magazine
offices in France, killing 11 people, including the
Editor and several prominent staff. A short while
later the gunmen killed a police officer nearby.The
following day a gunman shot dead a policewoman
and injured a man before fleeing. In another turn
of events a gunman took several people hostage at
kosher supermarket in East Paris where the police
recovered the bodies of four hostages.There has
been worldwide condemnation of the brutal murders
with people gathering in huge numbers in cities
and towns to show their support for the magazine.
How should a Muslim respond in such
situations? Here we outline the view of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community...
© BrAt82 | shutterstock

The
Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
founder of
the review of religions
The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. In 1891, he
claimed on the basis of Divine revelation, that he was the Promised
Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been foretold by Muhammad,
the Holy Prophet of Islamsa
and by the scriptures of other faiths. His
claim constitutes the basis of the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
community. Paigham-e-Sulh (A Message of Peace) is the last writ-
ten work of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
. It was completed on
May 25, 1908 – the Promised Messiahas
passed away on May 26,
1908. The citizens of Lahore were the primary audience for this
address; however its subject matter is in no way confined to them
alone but is of vital importance to the Indian subcontinent and
the world at large.The general principles of harmony laid down in
the work are applicable to all countries where various religions co-
exist.The address was read out on his behalf at a conference held on
June 21, 1908 at the Punjab University, Lahore for which it was
intended. We present an English translation of the last section of
this treatise, which we are reproducing as it is particularly relevant
to the current times.
H
ere, I do not wish to censure any particular people
nor do I intend to hurt anyone’s feelings. But, with
a deep sense of mortification, I observe that Islam,
being a religion of peace, never attacked the founder of any
religion.The Qur’an is that revered book which laid the foun-
dation of peace between nations and acknowledged the truth
A Message
of Peace

be tantamount to assailing the honour of
his father himself? If anyone retaliates
with similar abuse, will it not be appro-
priate to say that in reality the blame lies
with the person who initiated it? In that
case he himself would be the offender
of his parents’honour.God,through the
Holy Qur’an, has cultivated refined and
respectful etiquettes. He admonishes:
Life and Character – March 2015
َ‫ال‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ف‬ ٍ‫ري‬ِ‫أس‬ِ‫ب‬ َ
ِ‫ُِت‬‫أ‬ َ‫اج‬َّ‫ج‬َ‫ح‬‫اْل‬ َّ‫أن‬ ِ‫ن‬َ‫س‬َ‫ح‬‫اْل‬ ِ‫ن‬َ‫ع‬
ُ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫اب‬ َ‫ال‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ف‬ .ُ‫ه‬‫ح‬‫ل‬ُ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫اق‬َ‫ف‬ ‫ح‬‫م‬ُ‫ق‬ :َ‫ر‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ع‬ ِ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ب‬ ‫اهلل‬ ِ‫د‬‫ح‬‫ب‬َ‫ع‬ِ‫ل‬
َ‫ك‬َ‫ار‬َ‫ب‬َ‫ت‬ ‫اهلل‬ ُ‫ول‬ُ‫ق‬َ‫ي‬ .‫ا‬َ‫ن‬‫ر‬ِ‫ُم‬‫أ‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬َ
ِ‫ِب‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ :َ‫ر‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ع‬
َ‫ال‬َ‫ع‬َ‫ت‬َ‫و‬:‫ا‬‫و‬ُّ‫د‬ُ‫ش‬َ‫ف‬ ‫ح‬‫م‬ُ‫وه‬ُ‫م‬ُ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫ن‬َ‫خ‬‫ح‬‫ث‬َ‫أ‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ذ‬ِ‫إ‬ َّ‫َّت‬َ‫ح‬َ‫اق‬َ‫ث‬َ‫و‬‫ح‬‫ل‬‫ا‬
.ً‫اء‬َ‫د‬ِ‫ف‬ ‫ا‬َّ‫م‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫و‬ ُ‫د‬‫ح‬‫ع‬َ‫ب‬ ‫ًّا‬‫ن‬َ‫م‬ ‫ا‬َّ‫م‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫ف‬
1
َ‫ر‬‫ح‬‫األس‬ ُ‫ل‬َ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫ق‬ُ‫ت‬ َ‫ال‬ِّ‫ن‬َ‫م‬‫ح‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ َ‫ح‬‫ْي‬َ‫ب‬ ُ‫ر‬َّ‫ي‬َ‫خ‬َ‫ت‬َ‫ي‬ ‫ح‬‫ل‬َ‫ب‬ ‫ى‬
.ِ‫اء‬َ‫د‬ِ‫ف‬‫ح‬‫ل‬‫ا‬َ‫و‬
2


3
ِ‫أِب‬ ِ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ب‬ َ‫د‬‫ح‬‫ع‬َ‫س‬ ُ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫ع‬َِ‫َس‬ُ‫ول‬ُ‫ق‬َ‫ي‬ ٍ‫اص‬َّ‫ق‬َ‫و‬:َّ‫د‬َ‫ر‬
‫اهلل‬ ُ‫ل‬‫ح‬‫و‬ُ‫س‬َ‫ر‬َ‫م‬َّ‫ل‬َ‫س‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ه‬‫ح‬‫ي‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ ُ‫اهلل‬ ‫ى‬َّ‫ل‬َ‫ص‬‫ى‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬
‫ا‬ َ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬‫ح‬‫ظ‬َ‫م‬ ِ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ب‬ َ‫ن‬‫ا‬َ‫م‬‫ح‬‫ث‬ُ‫ع‬‫له‬ َ‫ن‬ِ‫أذ‬ ‫ح‬‫و‬َ‫ل‬َ‫و‬ َ‫ُّل‬‫ت‬َ‫َّب‬‫ت‬‫ل‬
َ‫ال‬‫ا‬َ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ي‬َ‫ص‬َ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫خ‬.
4

Quotes of the Promised Messiah (as)


1


2

3

5

6

[…revile not whom they call upon beside
Allah, lest they, out of spite, revile Allah in
their ignorance…][2]
In other words, do not even abuse the
idols of the non-believers lest they abuse
your God out of ignorance. Now con-
sider that this is the Qur’anic teaching
despite the fact that it treats idols as of
no significance. Yet God teaches the
Muslims to abstain from insulting even
idols and admonishes them instead to
adopt a course of gentle persuasion lest
the idolaters should be provoked,in turn,
to abuse God.The Muslims would then
be responsible for such abuse. What
manner of people are they who revile
the name of this great Prophet of Islam
and speak of him with utter disrespect,
brutally assailing his honour and tar-
nishing his spotless character? He is the
highly revered Prophet whose name is
held in such awe as when uttered the
great Muslim kings vacate their thrones
and bow their heads to his commands.
They consider it an honour to be counted
among the humblest of his servants. Is
this respect not a bounty of God? Those
who dare insult the recipient of such hon-
our do,in fact,quarrel with God Himself.
The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
holds
such a high station with God that to
prove his truth He has shown the world
great miracles. Is this not the work of
His Mighty hand, which has bowed
the heads of two hundred million peo-
ple before Muhammad’ssa
threshold?
Granted that every Prophet had many
a heavenly signs in his support, but the
peerless signs shown in Muhammad’ssa
support outnumber them all. They con-
tinue to appear even today as they were
manifested in the past.
Alas,you cannot understand an argument
as plain as this: when the earth is filled
with sin and becomes uncouth and when
wickedness, debauchery, and imperti-
nence weigh heavier on the scale of God
than acts of righteousness,it is then that
God’s Mercy requires of Him to send
one of His servants who would set the
of all Prophets belonging to all the differ-
ent nations.It is the Holy Qur’an which
enjoys the unique distinction of teaching
us with regards to the Prophets of the
entire world that:Quotes of the Promised Messiah (as)


1


2

3
[We make no distinction between any of
them, and to Him we submit.][1]
Therefore, O Muslims, you should
declare: We believe in all the Prophets
of God belonging to this world and
we do not discriminate between them
as to reject one and accept the others.
Name one book like the Holy Qur’an
which is so dedicated for the cause of
peace.The universal beneficence of God
has not been confined by the Qur’an
to any specific House. It acknowledges
the Prophets of the House of Israel, one
and all, be they Jacobas
, Isaacas
, Mosesas
,
Davidas
or Jesusas
. And it acknowledges
the Prophets of other nations regard-
less of whether they dwelt in India or
Persia. None of them have been labeled
as deceitful or imposters. On the con-
trary, it clearly proclaims that Prophets
appeared in every nation and in every
township and laid the foundation of
peace between all the peoples. Alas, this
Messenger of peace is abused and treated
with contempt by all peoples alike.
O my dear countrymen, I have not
expressed this view to offend you or
to hurt your sensibilities in any way.
But I do desire to submit, in all sincer-
ity, that those who have made it their
second nature to vilify the Prophets of
other faiths and consider this unjusti-
fied behaviour to be a part of their faith,
commit an act of unwarranted interfer-
ence in the affairs of others. They not
only sin against God, but they are also
guilty of sowing the seed of discord and
enmity among mankind.Now answer me
with hand on heart: if someone abuses
another’s father or accuses another’s
mother of unchaste conduct,will this not
Therefore, O Muslims, you
should declare: We believe
in all the Prophets of God
belonging to this world
and we do not discriminate
between them as to reject
one and accept the others.
a message of peace
12 The Review of Religions | march 2015 march 2015 | The Review of Religions 13

belonging to the land of Aryas or those
who were dwellers of the Arabian desert,
so also those who inhabited islands, had
all become moral destitutes. There was
not one among them whose relation with
God was without blemish.Evil practices
contaminated the entire earth.Why then
cannot a man of sound mind understand
this simple matter of commonsense that
it was the right time and the right age,
with reference to which human reason
can accept,that an exceptionally eminent
Prophet must be raised?
As to the question concerning the ref-
ormation which this Prophet brought
about with his advent, none can answer
like a Muslim with reference to the
overwhelming evidence of the great ref-
ormation brought about by the Holy
Prophet of Islamsa
.It is beyond the scope
of a Christian, Jew or Aryan to answer
this question with such clarity and with
the support of such irrefutable evidence.
The first phase of the Holy Prophet’ssa
reformation began with that of the Arabs.
The Arabian Peninsula was in such a hap-
less state that it was hard to refer to its
dwellers as humans.Name an evil which
they did not exhibit; name a form of idol-
atry which they did not practise.To steal
and rob was the order of the day, and
committing pointless murder was like
trampling an insignificant ant under their
feet. They murdered innocent children
and usurped all that belonged to them.
It was not rare for them to bury their
daughters alive. They took pride in for-
nication and boasted of it in their songs.
Drinking was so common among them
that there was no house without cellars of
wine. They led the whole world in gam-
bling.Beasts would feel ashamed at being
likened to them and snakes and wolves
would be disgraced if called Arabs.When
our Prophetsa
stood up with a resolve to
reform them and decided to cleanse their
hearts with all his spiritual intent,within
a matter of a short time they displayed
such rapid changes as transformed them
from beasts into humans and then from
ordinary humans into a cultured people
and from a cultured people they became
Godly and became totally immersed in
the love of God.For the sake of that love
they suffered every torture as though
their sense of pain had been paralysed.
They were subjected to extreme suffering
by different modes of torture and were
ruthlessly flogged.They were made to lie
on burning sand and imprisoned. They
were deprived of food and water until
they reached the verge of death; but
at every trial they continued to march
forward.
disorder right. Sickness and disease call
for a healer. You of all people should be
able to understand this better than others.
You hold the view that the Vedas were
not revealed at a time when the ocean
of sin was in spate, but that they were
revealed, instead when the calm of sin-
lessness prevailed over land and sea. Do
you then consider it inconceivable that a
Prophet should appear when the flood
of sin rages high and rapidly inundates
every country of the world?
I do hope that you are not so igno-
rant of the facts of history. When our
Holy Prophetsa
honoured the office of
prophethood with his advent,the age had
plunged into utter darkness and no aspect
of human conduct was free from the
blemish of sin and false beliefs. Pundit
Dyanand writes in his book Satyarath
Prakash,that even in the land of Aryavart
[which takes pride in its monotheistic
beliefs] idolatry had replaced the worship
of God, and the Vedic faith had become
extensively corrupted.
Reverend Pfander, a European priest
and a staunch defender of the Christian
faith, also endorses these views in his
book, Mizan-ul-Haq. He observes that
at the time of the inception of Islam,the
Christians had become the most corrupt
among all the religious denominations.
The lewd and wanton conduct of the
Christians of the time was a source of
shame and dishonour for Christianity.
The Holy Qur’an,justifying its revelation,
speaks of the same in the following verse:
rch 2015
َ‫س‬َ‫ح‬‫اْل‬ ِ‫ن‬َ‫ع‬
‫اهلل‬ ِ‫د‬‫ح‬‫ب‬َ‫ع‬ِ‫ل‬
‫ا‬َ‫م‬ :َ‫ر‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ع‬
َ‫ال‬َ‫ع‬َ‫ت‬َ‫و‬:َ‫ح‬
‫ع‬َ‫ب‬ ‫ًّا‬‫ن‬َ‫م‬ ‫ا‬َّ‫م‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫ف‬
1
ُ‫ل‬َ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫ق‬ُ‫ت‬ َ‫ال‬
2


3
َ‫س‬ ُ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫ع‬َِ‫َس‬
‫اهلل‬ ُ‫ل‬‫ح‬‫و‬ُ‫س‬َ‫ر‬
‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ب‬ َ‫ن‬‫ا‬َ‫م‬‫ح‬‫ث‬ُ‫ع‬
َ‫ال‬‫ا‬َ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ي‬َ‫ص‬َ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫خ‬
4


1


2

3

5

6
[Corruption has appeared on land and
sea…][3]
That is: corruption has appeared on the
land and the sea.This verse implies that
every nation, whether in a state of igno-
rance or whether it presumed itself to
be wise, was not free from corruption.
Thus it is established on the authority of
all testimonies that the entire mankind,
during the age of Prophet Muhammadsa
were they oriental or occidental, those
The first phase of the Holy
Prophet’ssa
reformation
began with that of the Arabs.
The Arabian Peninsula
was in such a hapless state
that it was hard to refer to
its dwellers as humans.
a message of peace

spiritual battle for the pronouncement of
God’s Unity and for the establishment of
the truth of his ministry in a state of utter
helplessness and poverty,then where was
that sword which struck terror in their
hearts, and coerced the meek into sub-
mission? And had they refused to believe
or had they persisted in their rejection of
him, from which king did he beg for a
contingent army to be sent to his aid so
that they may be forced to yield?
O seekers of truth! Rest assured that all
these allegations are fabrications by those
who are sworn enemies of Islam. Cast a
glance at history. Muhammadsa
was that
same orphan whose father died shortly
after his birth and whose mother passed
away leaving him behind as a child of
only a few months.That child on whom
God had extended His hand of sup-
port was nurtured in His care without
any other patronage. During those hard
times of orphanhood, he tended goats
belonging to others. None was his men-
tor except God. And even up to the age
of twenty-five, none of his uncles were
willing to offer their daughter’s hand in
marriage to him as it appeared that he
would be unable to meet even the basic
household expenses. Moreover, he was
unlettered and was not trained in any
skill or profession. As he approached
the age of forty, lo, there he was with his
heart powerfully drawn towards his Lord,
Allah, the Gracious. There was a cave, a
few miles from Makkah by the name of
Hira. It was here that he would retire by
himself and, concealed from the eyes of
men,become lost in the remembrance of
God.One day,in that very cave,while he
was praying in seclusion, God revealed
Himself to him, and he was told: The
people have turned their backs on the
path of Allah and the earth is befouled
with sin. So I [God Almighty] appoint
you as My Messenger and send you to the
world, so that you may warn the people
that they should turn back to their Lord
before His punishment befalls them.
Being unlettered, he was frightened by
this command and beseeched God: I
know not how to read and write. Then
God filled his bosom with all faculties of
spiritual knowledge and enlightened his
heart. With the blessing of his quwwat-
e-qudsiyyah [power of purification], the
humble and meek started entering the
circle of obedience to him. But the pow-
erful leaders mustered all their forces to
oppose him tooth and nail. They went
even to the length of plotting to kill him
and many men and many women were
put to agonising death.As a last measure
they surrounded the house of the Holy
There were so many among them whose
children were slain before their very
eyes and there were many among them
who were themselves crucified in front
of their children. The singular devotion
with which they laid down their lives
is such that even to think of it agitates
one to tears. If it is not the command of
God and the power of spiritual attention
of His Prophetsa
, which worked magic
on their hearts, what else could it have
been which gravitated them so irresistibly
towards Islam? What magic transformed
them and made them bow on the thresh-
old of a humble man who had once
treaded the streets of Makkah without
any kind of friendship,wealth,or power?
There had to be a spiritual hand which
lifted them from such lowly depths to
such dazzling heights. Even more amaz-
ing is the fact that many among them
were those who, in their earlier stages
of rejection, were sworn enemies of the
Holy Prophetsa
and thirsty after his blood.
I see no greater miracle than this; that
one so helpless,poor and penniless as he,
could wash their hearts of all the stains
of enmity and hatred and draw them so
powerfully towards himself. So much
so that they cast away their royal gar-
ments willingly for the sake of God and
accepted the humility of being clothed
in sackcloth.
Some,in their ignorance,blame Islam for
Jihad to spread its message and of gaining
converts at the point of the sword.They
claim that these converts were forced to
change their religion under the threat
of the sword. Woe to them a thousand
times! They have exceeded all limits in
their injustice and in their efforts to con-
ceal the truth. O pity! What is wrong
with them, that they wilfully turn away
from reality? Our Holy Prophetsa
did not
appear in the land of Arabia in the capac-
ity of a monarch.It,therefore,cannot be
suspected that he had royal majesty and
power with him, such that the people
gathered under his banner for fear of
their lives. Now the question one faces
is simply this: When he waged his lone
Our Holy Prophetsa
did not
appear in the land of Arabia
in the capacity of a monarch.
It, therefore, cannot be
suspected that he had royal
majesty and power with
him, such that the people
gathered under his banner
for fear of their lives.
a message of peace

with such ruthlessness as to have bound
their legs each to different camels tightly
and driving them in opposite directions.
Thus they died as they split in two.
When the transgression of these merci-
less infidels reached this stage,God,who
turns to His servants with mercy,revealed
to His Messenger: The supplications of
the afflicted have reached Me.Thus this
day, I permit them to stand up to their
persecutors and remember that a people
who raise their sword against the inno-
cent will themselves perish by the sword.
Yet,transgress not,because God does not
befriend those who transgress.
This is the spirit and essence of Islamic
jihad which has been maliciously
portrayed in the wrong light. God is for-
bearing,indeed,but when the mischief of
a people crosses all limits, then He does
not let the transgressors go unpunished.
Then He Himself creates conditions
which result in their destruction.I know
not how and from where our opponents
heard that Islam was spread by the might
of the sword. God in the Holy Qur’an
pronounced that there is no compulsion
in Islam:
Life and Character – March 2015
َ‫ال‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ف‬ ٍ‫ري‬ِ‫أس‬ِ‫ب‬ َ
ِ‫ُِت‬‫أ‬ َ‫اج‬َّ‫ج‬َ‫ح‬‫اْل‬ َّ‫أن‬ ِ‫ن‬َ‫س‬َ‫ح‬‫اْل‬ ِ‫ن‬َ‫ع‬
ُ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫اب‬ َ‫ال‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ف‬ .ُ‫ه‬‫ح‬‫ل‬ُ‫ت‬‫ح‬‫اق‬َ‫ف‬ ‫ح‬‫م‬ُ‫ق‬ :َ‫ر‬َ‫م‬ُ‫ع‬ ِ‫ن‬‫ح‬‫ب‬ ‫اهلل‬ ِ‫د‬‫ح‬‫ب‬َ‫ع‬ِ‫ل‬
1
2


3


1


2

3

5
[There should be no compulsion in reli-
gion…][5]
That is: The religion of Islam does not
permit any compulsion in matters of
faith. Who commanded the application
of force and what were the means of
coercion available to them? And again,
such people as are coerced into changing
their faith do not display such dedication
and such quality of belief that without
any financial returns and despite being a
mere few hundred they dare to confront
the army of thousands. When the same
reached the number of one thousand,
they somehow acquired the strength to
defeat enemies running into hundreds of
thousands.They readily offered their lives
in defence of their faith,to be slaughtered
like sheep and goats. They stamped the
testimony to the truth of Islam with their
own blood. Moreover, they became so
enamoured with the task of spreading the
Unity of God that, willingly accepting
all kinds of hardships like ascetics, they
crossed the deserts of Africa to dissemi-
nate the message of Islam so that their
blessed teachings should bear the fruit
of truth.Thus they succeeded in convert-
ing tens of millions of Chinese people
to Islam.
Then they entered India in the style of
Prophetsa
with intent to murder him.But
who can touch him whom God protects.
God revealed to him: leave this town
forthwith and I will remain with you at
every step.
Accordingly he left Makkah and took
Abu Bakrra
along and remained in hid-
ing for three nights in the cave of Thaur.
The enemy gave chase, and with the aid
of a tracker were led to the cave. That
tracker traced their footsteps right up to
the entrance of the cave, telling them:
here the track ends, so search for him in
this cave. If he is not to be found here
then the sky must have swallowed him.
Who can limit the boundless wonders of
God’s creation? In a single night,God so
manifested His will that a spider spun its
web across the mouth of the cave from
end to end and a pigeon built its nest at
the entrance of the cave and even laid its
eggs therein.When the tracker urged the
Makkans to enter the cave, an old man
thus retorted: this tracker must be mad.
I have been seeing this web across the
mouth of the cave since the time when
Muhammadsa
was not even born.At this,
people began to disperse and gave up the
idea of searching the cave.
After this, the Holy Prophetsa
travelled
to Madinah secretly. The majority of
the inhabitants of Madinah accepted
him, causing the people of Makkah to
seethe in rage, lamenting: our prey has
slipped out of our hands. They then
became occupied in plots to murder
the Holy Prophetsa
. A small party from
among the Makkans who had accepted
Muhammadsa
also left Makkah and
migrated to different countries. Some
took shelter under the Emperor of
Abyssinia.[4]
Some, however, were left
behind in Makkah, as they lacked ade-
quate provisions for such journeys; they
were tormented to the extreme.The Holy
Qur’an mentions how they wailed and
moaned day and night to God.
The cruelties of the infidels from among
the Quraish exceeded all bounds. They
started to murder the helpless, poor,
women and orphaned children. They
went to the extent of killing some women
The religion of Islam does
not permit any compulsion
in matters of faith. Who
commanded the application
of force and what were
the means of coercion
available to them?
a message of peace

4

7



11
ِ‫اب‬َ‫ح‬‫ح‬‫أص‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫د‬َّ‫م‬َُ‫ُم‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ ِّ‫ل‬َ‫ص‬ َّ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ّ‫ل‬‫ال‬
‫ح‬‫م‬ِّ‫ل‬َ‫س‬َ‫و‬ ‫ح‬‫ك‬ِ‫ر‬‫ا‬َ‫ب‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫د‬َّ‫م‬َُ‫ُم‬
12

6


7


9
[Say ‘O Mankind! Truly I am a messenger
to you all from Allah…][6]
That is, tell the people that I am a
Messenger to you all from Allah. It
should be remembered that it was no
fault of Jesusas
that he gave such a curt
answer to the woman.The time had not
yet come for a universal teaching. This
was the teaching vouchsafed to Jesusas
by God: You are specifically sent for the
House of Israel.You have no concern with
others.As I mentioned above,the moral
teachings of Jesusas
were confined to the
Jewish people.The Torah taught “a tooth
for a tooth, an eye for an eye, and an ear
for the ear”[7]
. The purport of the teach-
ing was to provide a commandment to
the Jews to establish justice and prevent
them from committing transgressions
and excesses.This was necessary because
having spent four hundred years in slav-
ery, cruelty and meanness had become
their second nature. Hence the pro-
found Wisdom of God so planned that
to counter the overemphasis of cruelty
and revenge in their natures, the teach-
ings of forgiveness and love was highly
stressed to the same degree. Hence the
moral teaching found in the Gospels is
specifically for the Jewish people and not
for the whole world as Jesusas
had no con-
cern with other people.
The teaching which Jesusas
brought did
not only have the drawback of not being
addressed to all mankind,but it also had
another shortcoming.As the Torah over-
emphasises revenge to one extreme, the
Gospels, turn to the other extreme as
regards the teaching of forgiveness.Both
these scriptures fail to bring into focus all
the possible branches of human nature.
As for the Torah, it remains concerned
with only one branch,while the Gospels
hold fast to the other exclusively. Both
teachings lack balance. As it is evident
that to punish on every occasion is not
appropriate nor is it in accordance with
the dictates of justice,likewise to forgive
and to overlook faults indiscriminately is
contrary to the spirit of human reform.
In view of this the Holy Qur’an does not
entirely agree with either, but instead
proposes the following:
ُ ‫ح‬ ُ ‫ح‬ ََُ ‫ح‬ ‫َح‬
1
2


3
4

7



11
ِ‫أصحاب‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ل‬‫وع‬ ٍ‫ُممد‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ل‬‫ع‬ ‫صل‬ ‫هم‬ّ‫ل‬‫ال‬

1


2

3

5

6


7


9
dervishes wearing sackcloth and suc-
ceeded in converting many from the
Arya faith to Islam. They even reached
the frontiers of Europe and raised loud
and clear the message:


1


2

3

5

6


7


[There is none worthy of worship except
Allah] [Muslim creed]
Can you claim in honesty that such as
these are really the fruits of the sword of
Islam,whose hearts remain infidel while
the tongues alone profess the faith? Nay!
It is the work of those whose hearts were
filled with the light of faith.Nothing but
God dwelled in their hearts.
Now we turn our attention to the study
of Islamic teachings and its true nature.
It should be clearly borne in mind that
the predominant purpose of Islamic
teachings is to establish the Unity and
Majesty of God on earth, to completely
eradicate idolatry and to gather all scat-
tered religious denominations around a
single article of faith and turn them into
one people.
The religions which appeared before
Islam and the Prophets and Messengers
who came were confined to the refor-
mation of their own respective nation
and country; whatever they did for their
moral uplift was all aimed for the benefit
of their own people. This is why Jesusas
unambiguously admitted that his teach-
ings were for the House of Israel alone.
It is reported that when a woman who
did not belong to the Israelites beseeched
him with humility for him to show her
‘the way’, he rejected her plea. The poor
woman even went to the extent of lik-
ening herself to a dog to evoke pity, and
implored guidance. He again rejected
her plea on the ground that he was
sent only for the sheep of the House of
Israel. Finally, she was silenced. But our
Prophetsa
nowhere pronounced that he
had been sent only for the Arabs. On
the contrary,the Holy Qur’an commands
him to say:
Can you claim in honesty that
such as these are really the
fruits of the sword of Islam,
whose hearts remain infidel
while the tongues alone profess
the faith? Nay! It is the work
of those whose hearts were
filled with the light of faith.
a message of peace

[The recompense of an injury is the like
thereof, but whoso forgives and his act
brings about reformation, his reward is
with Allah.][8]
So an injury can only be avenged to the
extent of the injury received,as is taught
by the Torah.But whoever prefers to for-
give, as is taught by the Gospels, then
such forgiveness is only permitted when
the person forgiven is likely to respond
with reform and the final outcome is
positive and healthy and the whole epi-
sode ends up well.Otherwise,the routine
teaching remains the same as that of the
Torah.[9]
endnotes
1. Holy Qur’an, Surah Aal-E-‘Imran, Verse 85.
2. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-An‘am, Verse 109.
3. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Rum, Verse 42.
4. Current day Ethiopia.
5. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 257.
6. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-A‘raf, Verse 159. 
7. See (Exodus, 21:24), (Leviticus, 24:20), and
(Deuteronomy, 19:21).
8. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Shura, Verse 41.
9. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, A Message
of Peace (Tilford, UK: Islam Inernational
Publications Ltd, 2007), 31-44.
The religions which appeared
before Islam and the Prophets
and Messengers who
came were confined to the
reformation of their own
respective nation and country;
a message of peace
A solitary voice, raised in Makkah,
was, under Divine Command, calling
people to the worship of One God and
proclaiming that through responding
to this call would humankind achieve
true dignity, honour, prosperity and
happiness both here and Hereafter.
That voice was the voice of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad, the Seal
of the Prophets. In this popular
biography, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-
Din Mahmud Ahmad outlines the
life of the most influential man in
history in an easy-to-digest manner.
Read online here:
http://www.alislam.org/library/
books/Life-of-Muhammad.pdf
Purchase book
here: http://store.alislam.
org/englishbooks.html
Your feedback is
important to us
Write to us with comments,
feedback and suggestions at
info@ReviewofReligions.org
22 The Review of Religions | march 2015

Reaction to
Charlie Hebdo
hazrat mirza masroor ahmadaba
, khalifatul masih v,
h ead of t h e worldwi de ahmadi y ya muslim communi t y
English Translation by
Shahzad Ahmad and Tariq Malik
H
ere, The Review of Religions presents
the response given at the time by the
worldwide leader of tens of millions
of Ahmadi Muslims, Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
delivering
the Friday Sermon from UK’s largest
Mosque, Baitul Futuh (file photo)

and there is a danger that it may esca-
late. Today, it is the duty of members of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to
pray for both sides to desist from excesses
and cruelties.Similarly during these days,
focus on reciting Durud Shareef [invok-
ing blessings and salutations upon the
Holy Prophetsa
] abundantly. Those who
can help to create a peaceful environ-
ment within their spheres of influence
should make efforts towards doing so.
May Allah the Almighty save the world
from a state of anarchy and may the dis-
order and strife rapidly transform into a
state of peace.
The following week Hazrat Mirza
Masroor Ahmadaba
in his Friday Sermon
of 16th
January 2015 discussed the Charlie
Hebdo attacks in more detail
In the last Friday Sermon I briefly spoke
about the recent incident in Paris, in
which people calling themselves Muslims
attacked the office of a magazine and
killed 12 people. I drew the attention
of the members of the Community to
invoke Durud. The victory of Islam will
not be through murder and destruction,
rather we will succeed in our objec-
tives by invoking Durud on the Holy
Prophetsa
. I also expressed my concern
that in response to the attack there could
be a wrong reaction and this was to be
expected of such people. By reacting
wrongly the [magazine] have again pub-
lished caricatures [of the Holy Prophetsa
].
These have caused us great pain yet again,
and indeed they would hurt the senti-
ments of any true Muslim.
What was achieved by these acts of
extremism? The wrongful act that the
magazine committed 2-3 years ago,
which had been forgotten, has once
again resurfaced because of the errone-
ous actions of those calling themselves
Muslims. Whatever this magazine has
done in the past met with a strong
reaction from Western leaders who con-
demned it. Many governments said that
they would never allow their newspapers
to act in the same manner.However,after
last week’s incident many leaders and
people,who seemed to be intellectual and
sensible, have announced their support
for this appalling magazine,which is now
being financially helped with millions of
dollars from various sources. The maga-
zine which published only sixty thousand
copies and was said to be on the verge of
shutting down and dying out, has now
exceeded more than five million copies in
its publication within weeks and days,as
a result of the wrong actions of those who
falsely call themselves Muslims. Now,
At 11:30am on the morning of 7th
January 2015, two masked gunmen
armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles
entered the Charlie Hebdo maga-
zine offices in France, killing 11
people, including the Editor and sev-
eral prominent staff. A short while
later the gunmen killed a police officer
nearby. The following day a gunman
shot dead a policewoman and injured
a man before fleeing. In another turn
of events a gunman took several peo-
ple hostage at kosher supermarket in
East Paris where the police recovered
the bodies of four hostages.There has
been worldwide condemnation of the
brutal murders with people gathering
in huge numbers in cities and towns to
show their support for the magazine.
In his Friday Sermon of 9th
January 2015,
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad spoke
briefly regarding the Charlie Hebdo Attack.
We should pray for Muslims living in
the world and in Europe as an atroc-
ity and grave injustice has taken place
in France in the name of Islam and the
Holy Prophetsa
,despite it not having any-
thing even remotely to do with teachings
of Islam.We always maintain and prove
that to take the law into one’s own hands
and to kill and murder someone in this
manner has nothing to do with Islam’s
teachings. Yet so-called Muslims and
Muslim organisations do not desist from
their transgression and wrong doings.
Consequently, Muslims living here in
Europe and Western countries could face
an inappropriate backlash from the local
population,and even more so the publica-
tion,whose editor along with others were
brutally murdered,could react alongside
other individuals and members of the
Press, and wrongly attack the person of
the Holy Prophetsa
.May God enable the
governments here to successfully con-
tain people from reacting wrongly and
apprehend and punish the perpetrators
according to the law. If there is a back-
lash,Muslims who have no one to guide
them will also react erroneously and thus
disorder and strife will continue to grow
If only the Muslim
organisations that commit
mayhem in the name of Islam
could understand that Islam’s
teachings of love and affection
can bring the world into the
fold of Islam so much quicker.
response to charlie hebdo

Thus,a true Muslim should try to refrain
from this and leave the matter with God
Almighty, Who has stated that when
every individual will return to Him, he
will bear the consequences of his actions.
Ultimately, we are to return to God
Almighty and then He shall reveal to us
our deeds.In this age,the enemy of Islam
does not want to harm Islam, the teach-
ings of Islam and the Holy Prophetsa
with
the use of the sword but instead through
such petty ploys. By stating that God
Almighty and His angels send blessings
on the Holy Prophetsa
, a fundamental
principal has been explained by God
Almighty. These actions cannot do any
harm to the status of the Holy Prophetsa
.
Instead of indulging in such vain actions
and responding in the same ignorant
manner,we should invoke the Durud and
blessings on the Holy Prophetsa
– this
is the duty of a true Muslim. Fulfil the
rights [of this duty] and you will have
fulfilled this obligation.
As I mentioned before, that after this
incident, those people who were ini-
tially against this vulgar magazine are
now supporting it in the name of free
speech. However, in spite of this, there
are some fair-minded people and intel-
lectuals who have disliked the crude
depictions of the Holy Prophetsa
and
have also held the management of the
some observers estimate that the publi-
cation has been given a new lease of life
of a further ten to twelve years, whereas
before it may not have lasted six months.
Therefore, this atrocity has not only
fanned a wrongful image of the Islamic
teachings in many countries of the word,
but has also resurrected a dying enemy.
If only the Muslim organisations that
commit mayhem in the name of Islam
could understand that Islam’s teachings
of love and affection can bring the world
into the fold of Islam so much quicker.
The teaching Islam gives on patience and
forbearance cannot be matched by any
other religion. Materialistic people are
blind to faith and do not even refrain
from mocking God Almighty, let alone
the prophets.If we respond to the actions
of the ignorant with ignorance also,it will
only lead them to persist further in their
actions.Therefore, God Almighty states
that instead of responding to them you
should pass by and distance yourself from
such people who commit vain acts. Not
only does socialising with such people or
concurring with them make us sinful,but
if we respond to the wrongdoer and in
return they mock or abuse God Almighty
or speak or express anything against the
Holy Prophetsa
in degrading terms,then
we too partake of their sin.
Similarly, the Pope has
given a very good statement
expressing that freedom
of speech should have
limits, and it does not
mean that one should be
given complete freedom.

Greece,Ireland,France and the USA that
also covered our Community’s viewpoint.
Some of these interviews took place in
the TV studios and through this the
true Islamic stance and teaching was
conveyed to millions of people. Here in
the UK,Amir Sahib (National President
Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK)
and Imam Sahib,Attaul Mujeeb Rashed
(Missionary In-Charge of Ahmadiyya
Muslim Association UK), were inter-
viewed by TV channels, as were the
members of our press teams in the USA
and France.Our press teams were invited
to various studios and interviewed and
the newspapers also published our arti-
cles. Throughout the world, the press
teams in the UK,USA,and Canada,have
done well in discharging their duties of
conveying the true [Islamic] teaching.A
Canadian journalist, who is in contact
with the press team in Canada, wrote
and asked why is it that the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community has had the most
coverage in the media and conveyed the
real teaching of Islam, although it is a
very small sect among the Muslims?
It is indeed God’s decree that the
Community of the true and ardent
devotee of the Holy Prophetsa
(i.e. the
Promised Messiahas
),is to convey the true
teachings of Islam to the world,which he
learnt from the Holy Prophetsa
of Islam.
Therefore, as I mentioned in the previ-
ous Friday Sermon,it is our responsibility
to convey the message within our own
sphere and explain that wrong reactions
only produce disorder and nothing else.
And the current situation of the world
will be further inflamed and then this
fire will engulf the world from all four
corners, which the world will then be
unable to withstand.
Therefore, neither should people’s senti-
ments be incited by reacting wrongly,nor
should calls be made for God Almighty’s
chastisement.May God Almighty bring
the world to its senses… May Allah the
Almighty enable us to recite Durud in
the true manner. Through this Durud,
while we will be the recipients of Allah’s
nearness, we will also be those who con-
tinuously enhance our love of the Holy
Prophetsa
and who employ their abilities
for the work of spreading his Law, and
who, according to the teachings of the
Holy Prophet’ssa
teachings,will play their
role in terminating mischief and disorder
from the world. May Allah grant us the
ability to do so.
magazine responsible. For instance,
Henri Roussel, one of the founders of
this magazine, Charlie Hebdo, has said
that the images published by the maga-
zine were provocative and because of this
irresponsible act the Editor has dragged
his team to death. He also stated that
these activities which had been on-going
over the past few years were against their
basic policies.
Similarly, the Pope has given a very
good statement expressing that free-
dom of speech should have limits,and it
does not mean that one should be given
complete freedom. He stated that every
religion has an honour and it is important
to respect that and no religion’s repute
should be attacked.Illustrating his point,
he cited the example of his close friend
who organises his tours. He said that if
this individual ever cursed his mother
or said something abusive about her, the
Pope’s reaction would be to punch him
in the face and that indeed his friend
should expect this reaction from him; it is
wrong to provoke someone’s sentiments
and that is what they (the editors) have
done. Hence, the blame lies on them.
The Pope has indeed given a very realis-
tic statement.The Muslims also need to
come to their senses and should not react
wrongly after this.
In this age, the media has great influ-
ence in the world and can play a huge
role in igniting [a situation] or diffusing
it, and causing disorder or preventing it.
It is the first time that the UK and other
media outlets of the world have asked
the Community (i.e. the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community) for its reaction
and viewpoint. In terms of the murders,
we have stated that it was an un-Islamic
act and expressed our commiseration and
also maintained that freedom of speech
should have limitations otherwise those
people who inflame others’ sentiments,
will be responsible for causing disorder in
the world. Many other details were also
discussed and in the UK [media] it was
covered by ‘SKY News’, ‘News 5’, ‘BBC
Radio’,‘LBC’,‘BBC Leeds’and ‘London
Live’. Outside of [UK], there was ‘Fox
TV’, ‘CNN’, Canadian newspapers and
similarly various other newspapers in
In this age, the media has
great influence in the world
and can play a huge role
in igniting [a situation] or
diffusing it, and causing
disorder or preventing it.

The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
patience in the face
of persecution
The Prophetsa
taught that disbelief in the Oneness
of God was an offence, punishable in the Hereafter;
his teaching contradicted everything that the
Makkans had learnt from their forefathers, and so
on. Abu Lahab decided to oppose the Prophetsa
more than ever. Relations between Muslims and
Makkans had become strained. A three-year boycott
and blockade had enlarged the gulf between them.
Meeting and preaching seemed impossible.The
Prophetsa
did not mind the ill treatment and the
persecution; these were nothing so long as he had
the chance to meet and address people. But now
it seemed that he had no such chance in Makkah.
General antagonism apart, the Prophetsa
now found
it impossible to appear in any street or public place.
If he did, they threw dust at him and sent him back
to his house. His daughter wept as she removed
the dust.The Prophetsa
told her not to weep for
God was with him. Ill-treatment did not upset
the Prophetsa
. He even welcomed it as evidence of
interest in his Message. One day, for instance, the
Makkans by a general intrigue said nothing to him
nor did they ill-treat him in any way.The Prophetsa
retired home disappointed, until the reassuring
voice of God made him go to his people again.[1]
1. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmadra
, Life of
Muhammadsa
(UK: Islam International Publications Limited,
2014) 26-27.
© Masood T

if you will,yet in my view,it seemed that
God Almighty had desired to manifest
the solution to this problem through
His sign, the holy personage of the
Successor to the Promised Messiahas
.
Following the keynote address by His
Holiness at the civic reception, I had an
opportunity to speak to a TD (Member
of Parliament). During our extended
discussion, we began to talk about the
Hijab (veil). I tried my best to present
the philosophy and rationality behind
women covering themselves, yet I could
see from the expression on her face that
she was unconvinced. Then I gave her
the example of Mary; I said “If the veil
was so against the nature of a woman,
why is it that in every church and every
picture, Mary is depicted with her head
covered?” She responded, “Good point!”
I noticed she was very content with this
reply. So in this way, we are continuing
in our efforts to try and remove mis-
conceptions about Islam in Ireland, but
much work remains.
Regards,
Rabeeb Mirza
B
y the grace of Allah the
Almighty I had the honour of
graduating from the first class
of Jamia Ahmadiyya UK (Institute
of Language & Theology) in 2012.
Spending two months in the villages of
Mile 91 and Makeni in Sierra Leone,
West Africa and having spent some
time in Pakistan, it was finally time
to take a dive into the vast ocean of
missionary work, when the decision
was made for me to go to Iceland.
Having always been surrounded by
either friends or family, moving to a
tiny Island across the ocean with a
mere five Ahmadis - four of whom
told me on the way home from the
airport that they were leaving Iceland
soon - was certainly one of the greater
tasks to test my steadfastness! However,
Iceland is currently the country I am
privileged and grateful to call my
home. One of our weekly activities is
our bookstall at the flea market every
Saturday and Sunday from 11am to
5pm. Even though the majority of
visitors are looking for cheap bargains,
some do take a minute to come over
and talk once they unexpectedly come
across our bookstall. One of my dearest
acquaintances from the bookstall is an
elderly atheistic Icelandic man, Birgir,
his first words being, “what is this, what
UNTOLD
STORIES
We continue our newly
launched series of ‘untold stories’
from around the world.
A
fter travelling across three ma-
jor continents of the world: Af-
rica (Liberia), Europe (Spain)
and Asia (Pakistan) to gain first hand
experience before embarking on my
life as a missionary of the Ahmadiyya
Community, I now reside in Ireland’s
central hub, Dublin, since May last year.
I remember the day after I had arrived,
Imam Ibrahim Noonan who was born
in an Irish Catholic family, and lat-
er converted to Islam, took me around
Dublin.One thing that struck me about
the people was their adherence to reli-
gion. I remember it was late afternoon
and Imam Noonan took me to a church.
I was surprised to see it full of worship-
pers. People who had just finished work
were entering the church in hordes and
even those who seemed to be in a rush
to get home, would enter the church,
give the gesture of trinity and would
leave. Thus my first impression was that
these people were undoubtedly religious
to the core.This was also evident when I
would engage in discussions with them
at our stall; various sects of Christiani-
ty were preaching, some through songs,
others through leafleting and some
even hoisting themselves upon stools,
preaching the Bible. Though this city
may not look different from other cit-
ies in appearance, it certainly does have
a deep spiritual vibe. All the more in-
triguing then, to observe the reaction of
these people when the worldwide lead-
er of tens of millions of Ahmadi Mus-
lims, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmada-
ba
, the Fifth Khalifah of the Promised
Messiahas
, visited Dublin at the end of
September 2014. During His Holiness’
tour, he visited the Irish Parliament.
There was a portion of the tour where
a few members of the entourage were
able to accompany His Holiness into
the lower house of Parliament and I was
blessed to be one of them. During the
parliament proceedings a point came
where the issue of how to tackle ex-
tremism was raised. Though the delib-
erations between the TDs (Members of
Parliament) were a bit abrupt, had they
tilt their heads upwards; the answer was
vividly present before them in the per-
sonage of His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza
Masroor Ahmadaba
. Call it coincidence

are you doing here?” Having heard my
words, with a smile on my face that we
are here to bring a message of peace
and to establish a harmonious, peaceful
and loving society,- his attitude
softened.Though a staunch atheist, we
have developed a rather nice rapport.
Whenever he does come to the flea
market to buy some fish, I notice he
comes straight to our bookstall to see
me without stopping anywhere else;
he conveys his greetings and we hold a
small conversation. Once we are done
talking, he goes directly to buy his fish
and leaves the market. A few weeks
ago he took one of my contact cards
with information of the Ahmadiyya
Community on it. He came back the
week after to mention that his son
looked at our Website (alislam.org)
and remarked, “out of all the Muslim
Communities, this one seems to be the most
sensible.” A number of people, whether
locals or tourists, come to our bookstall
and share rather harsh comments or
views at times but nevertheless after
engaging in dialogue and hearing
our views, and at times sharing some
chocolates, the majority leave satisfied
and with a smile on their face.
Regards,
Mansoor Ahmad Malik
The official website of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community worldwide.
You can find a huge collection of free online
material, including translation and commentary
of the Holy Qur’an and you can access literature
of the Community including the books written
by its founder, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
.
www.alislam.org
Your feedback is
important to us
Write to us with comments,
feedback and suggestions at
info@ReviewofReligions.org

Introduction
The deadly Paris shootings on the 7th
of January this year, where two gunmen
claiming to belong to the Al-Qaeda’s
branch in Yemen targeted the satirical
French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo
and more recently the attack target-
ing a free speech debate being held in
a cafe in Copenhagen that resulted in
one loss of life, have brought questions
of free speech in the realm of blasphemy
to the forefront once again. The killings
were reminiscent of the violent reactions
across the Muslim-majority world that
were sparked by the publication of the
Danish cartoons in the Dutch news-
paper Jyllands-Posten in 2006 and the
anti-Islam video,titled the Innocence of
Muslims, uploaded on YouTube in July
2012. These incidents and the extrem-
ist responses thereto have raised and
continue to raise profoundly difficult
questions – including, amongst others;
whether, and if so to what extent, cer-
tain speech should be censored under
law? Is blasphemy punishable by death
under Islamic law? Does Islam condone
the vigilantism that blasphemous carica-
tures of the Holy Prophetsa
have sparked
across the Muslim-majority world?
The following exposition will be an
attempt to delineate some of these
questions by rendering an analysis of
the Qur’anic stance on how Muslims
should respond to blasphemy and explor-
ing the existing legal frameworks that
safeguard freedom of expression under
international law.It will be demonstrated
that even liberal regimes of free speech
have enacted laws that place reasonable
restrictions on speech under certain con-
ditions. In underscoring the complexity
of language as both a positive and nega-
tive ideological force, it will be argued
that freedom of speech commands the
maintenance of a fine balance between
safeguarding a legal right to speech on
the one hand and the moral duty not to
vilify holy personages on the other.
Language and Free Speech
The use of language as an expressive tool
may be analogised to the sculptor who
carves complex and beautiful works of
art.If the sculptor’s chisel and mallet are
not utilised with careful precision, they
will cause his work to lose its splendor.
So too is the case with language. The
speaker may be exemplary in his poetic,
literary, political or legal speech but if
the speaker’s words are chosen recklessly
or maliciously, his utterances will be
Legal Right Versus
Moral Duty
Deconstructing the Opposing
Paradigms to Free Speech
by Ayesha Mahmood Malik, Guildford, UK
© Melinda Fawver | shutterstock.com march 2015 | The Review of Religions 39

reiterating this message two chapters
later, “…when thou seest those who engage
in vain discourse concerning Our Signs,
then turn thou away from them until they
engage in a discourse other than that.”[7]
The essence of the Qur’anic message
on the question of blasphemy is that of
self-restraint, tolerance and justice even
in the face of injustice, it provides “…
and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act
otherwise than with justice. Be always just,
that is nearer to righteousness.”[8]
In fact,
the question of blasphemy is addressed
in the Qur’an not only with respect to
God,but also idols and imaginary objects
of worship, commanding the believers –
“And revile not those whom they call upon
beside Allah…”[9]
Moreover, Prophets have always had
derogatory words used against them as
evinced in many places in the Qur’an,
for example, “Alas for My servants! There
worthless and at times even hostile.This
latter malleability of language as a tool
with which pernicious ideologies may
be espoused is epitomised by Thomas
Paine’s prodigious words when he says
“The greatest tyrannies are always perpre-
trated in the name of the noblest causes.”[1]
Language has routinely been recognised
as a potent force with which compet-
ing ideologies may be expressed and has
at times been responsible for generat-
ing global political turmoil. Friedrich
Nietzsche writing in 1887 went so far
as to say that:
“Governments that seek absolute power
over the groups they control use language
as a principal support, because they believe
that by changing terminology and defini-
tions they can alter the ways individuals
and groups think and act.”[2]
The use of condemnatory words such
as “inyenzi” (a slang epithet meaning
cockroaches) to describe the Tutsis in
Rwanda eventually led to the Rwandan
genocide in 1994[3]
. Today, hate speech
geared towards the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community in the Pakistani media
has been known to incite mob vio-
lence and targeted killings against the
Community[4]
.
Therefore, while free speech is a sacred
freedom in so far as it provides an indis-
pensable bridge to a human being’s
thoughts and as a powerful communi-
cative force, the limitations of language
must be appreciated as well. It is these
limitations that the Islamic stance
on free speech looks to recognise and
accommodate.
Islam and Blasphemy
Notwithstanding the profanity of the
caricatures of the Holy Prophetsa
pub-
lished in the French and Dutch papers,
the violent and senseless reactions shown
by some in the Muslim-majority world
paradoxically make a travesty of the
Islamic injunctions with respect to blas-
phemy.No textual evidence can be found
in the Qur’an to support the contention
that the punishment for blasphemy is
death,as is claimed by a number of main-
stream as well as extremist clerics. Far
from relegating the blasphemer to death
and ridicule, a practice customary to
fatwa[5]
-giving radicals today,the Qur’an
ordains self restraint and patience when
blasphemous words are being uttered,
commanding the believers “…when you
hear the Signs of Allah being denied and
mocked at, sit not with them until they
engage in a talk other than that…”[6]
And
legal right versus moral duty
The use of language as an
expressive tool may be
analogised to the sculptor
who carves complex and
beautiful works of art. If the
sculptor’s chisel and mallet
are not utilised with careful
precision, they will cause his
work to lose its splendor. So
too is the case with language.
© nofilm2011 | shutterstock.com

Restrictions on Free Speech – Legal
Right Versus Moral Duty Paradigm
Echoes of the line of reasoning adopted
by the Islamic paradigm on free speech
are also reflected in the legitimate restric-
tions placed on free speech by various
international law instruments, includ-
ing amongst others, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and the European Convention
on Human Rights (ECHR). Both the
ICCPR and the ECHR contain quali-
fying clauses to the articles guaranteeing
freedom of expression, stating that the
right carries special “duties and respon-
sibilities” and may thereby be subject to
necessary restrictions.Thus,Article 19(3)
of the ICCPR provides that:
“The exercise of the rights provided for in
paragraph 2 of this article carries with it
special duties and responsibilities. It may
therefore be subject to certain restrictions,
but these shall only be such as are provided
by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of
the rights or reputations of others; (b) For
the protection of national security or of pub-
lic order (ordre public), or of public health
or morals.”[20]
Similarly, Article 10(2) of the ECHR
states that:
“The exercise of these freedoms, since it car-
ries with it duties and responsibilities, may
be subject to such formalities, conditions,
restrictions or penalties as are prescribed
by law and are necessary in a democratic
society, in the interests of national security,
territorial integrity or public safety, for
the prevention of disorder or crime, for the
protection of health or morals, for the pro-
tection of the reputation or rights of others,
for preventing the disclosure of information
received in confidence, or for maintain-
ing the authority and impartiality of the
judiciary.”[21]
Pertinently, both these instruments are
unanimous in their support for placing
legitimate restrictions on the freedom
of expression in order to respect or
protect the rights and reputations of
others. Interestingly, while the wording
of these instruments would almost cer-
tainly encompass the caricatures of the
comes not a Messenger to them but they mock
at him.”[10]
The Prophet Muhammadsa
,
who brought monotheist Islam into the
polytheist fabric of Arabian society was
labelled a “madman,”[11]
a “fabricator,”[12]
and “a victim of deception”[13]
by his oppo-
nents. Insults were also hurled at the
Qur’an,with people referring to its teach-
ings as “mere stories of the ancients.”[14]
Yet,
despite this onslaught of verbal abuse,
the Holy Prophetsa
remained exemplary
in his decorum and tolerance towards
those who derided him.For example,Dr.
Khaled Abou El Fadl, Professor of Law
at the University of California School of
Law, narrates how on one occasion the
Prophetsa
was approached by a group of
believers who expressed their deep sense
of frustration over the self-restraint and
tolerance the Prophetsa
displayed towards
his foes.The Prophetsa
responded,reflect-
ing “the general thrust of his revelation and
message”[15]
by stating, “But I have been
charged with the obligation to forgive.”[16]
The Prophet’ssa
life therefore emulated
the guidance furnished in the Qur’an
with respect to the mockery levelled
against him and Qur’anic teachings –
for example, the Qur’an provides, “…
follow not the disbelievers and hypocrites,
and leave alone their annoyance, and put
thy trust in Allah; for Allah is sufficient as
a Guardian.”[17]
Therefore, the violence and destruc-
tion that blasphemous cartoons of the
Prophetsa
have spurred globally stand
antithetical to the Prophet’ssa
own
example and the Qur’anic injunctions
on blasphemy. Moreover, the Qur’an
goes on to say that if discourse is to be
undertaken on thorny issues,it must ful-
fill the requirements of morality, dignity
and civic virtue.God states that,“Call…
with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and
argue with them in a way that is best.”[18]
The fact that no temporal punishment
has been prescribed for blasphemy in the
Qur’an, makes it clear that there exists
no material jurisdiction for penalising
irreverent statements or acts against the
Prophetsa
or God.The actions of vigilan-
tes who seek to avenge blasphemous acts
or words against the Prophetsa
or God are
thus utterly misguided and misplaced.By
the same token,blasphemy laws adopted
by some Muslim-majority states, nota-
bly Pakistan, where the Pakistani Penal
Code prescribes the death penalty for
using derogatory remarks against the
Prophetsa
,[19]
are thus in complete con-
tradiction to the teachings of Islam. In
spirit and in letter, such laws obscure
the dignity and magnanimity of a man
whose reputation and reverential status
they claim to protect.
© Symbiot | Shutterstock.com

which on account of its inherent property
and power and its convincing arguments
is more powerful than the keenest sword,
not that which depends upon steel for its
existence.”[28]
For an Ahmadi Muslim[29]
, a Muslim
who has accepted the claim of Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
,the only mean-
ingful manner in which blasphemous
content against God or the Prophetsa
may be responded to is by undertaking
an active campaign to apprise the world
about the true teachings of Islam and
by celebrating the life and character of
the Holy Prophetsa
. As Hazrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad,the Promised Messiahas
once proclaimed:
“Think of the preparations that the oppo-
nents of Islam are now making.They are not
lining up armies.They are publishing maga-
zines and books. We also should, therefore,
pick up our pen and answer their attacks
with magazines and books. It is not expedi-
ent that the prescription [treatment] and the
sickness should be at variance. If the treat-
ment does not conform with the sickness, the
consequence is bound to be unprofitable and
harmful.”[30]
Thus, echoing these views in response
to a question pertaining to the idea
of Jihad from a group of Indonesian
dignitaries during his tour of the Asia-
Pacific in 2013, Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmad,Khalifatul Masih Vaba
– the Fifth
Successor to the Promised Messiahas
and worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community – stated that:
“We firmly believe in Jihad, however
the type of Jihad required in the mod-
ern era has changed. At this time no
Prophetsa
within their ambit as being
defamatory,yet these provisions seem not
to have been invoked in order to show
respect to or protect the personage of the
Prophetsa
of Islam. Quite the contrary,
cartoons depicting the Holy Prophetsa
in
a derogatory manner have instead been
hailed as merely an exercise of free speech
that all liberal societies must uphold.
This is ironic since such laws have been
invoked in order to pass legislation,mak-
ing holocaust denial a crime in certain
European countries.[22]
The underpinning philosophy behind
placing certain reasonable restrictions
on free speech is outlined well in the
words of Joseph Carens,Professor at the
University of Toronto, who argues that,
“The question is whether there is sometimes a
moral duty not to say something that one has
a legal right to say...”[23]
The main debate
as Carens goes on to explain is “not about
legal limits on speech but about the moral
constraints, if any, on how people exercise
their rights.”[24]
A similar approach has
been outlined by David Novak,professor
of religious studies and philosophy and
author of the Jewish Social Contract,who
refers to it as “retroactive consequentialist
reasoning”[25]
i.e.the process of question-
ing whether the intended speech is going
to accomplish anything positive, and if
not, it would be pragmatic to avoid it.
It is reported that H.G.Wells had writ-
ten to Mahatma Gandhi seeking his
comments on a document the former had
co-authored entitled the “Rights of Man.”
Gandhi, who disagreed with the docu-
ment’s emphasis on rights, responded in
the following words:
“Begin with a charter of Duties of Man and
I promise the rights will follow as spring
follows winter.”[26]
Thus, this rights versus duties approach
is paradigmatic of the emphasis that
Islam places on exercising freedoms with
responsibility.A reflection of the Islamic
framework of rights giving precedence
to duties on moral grounds may be seen
in the words of Benjamin Franklin who
once proclaimed “Only a virtuous people
are capable of freedom.”[27]
Countering Blasphemy –
Jihad of the Pen
Writing in 1902,Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad,who claimed to be the Promised
Messiahas
for the latter days declared:
“There is a lesson [...] for the pro-Jihad
(Mullahs) [...] The true religion is that
A reflection of the Islamic
framework of rights giving
precedence to duties on
moral grounds may be seen
in the words of Benjamin
Franklin who once proclaimed
“Only a virtuous people
are capable of freedom.”
© Nejron Photo | Shutterstock.com

3. See e.g. Ishani Maitra and Mary Kate
McGowan, Speech & Harm: Controversies Over
Free Speech, (Oxford, UK: Oxford University
Press, 2012), 197.
See, also, Jolyon Mitchell,“Remembering the
Rwandan Genocide: Reconsidering the role
of Local and Global Media,”Global Media
Journal 6, http://lass.purduecal.edu/cca/gmj/
fa07/gmj-fa07-mitchell.htm
and Human Rights Watch,“Propaganda and
Practice,” last modified August 8th
2014, http://
www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno1-3-
10.htm.
4. See e.g. “Geo Apologises for Hate Speech
Against the Ahmadis in Amir Liaquat’s Show,”
Dawn.com, updated December 30th
2014, http://
www.dawn.com/news/1154052.
5. A ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a
recognised authority – for more, see, http://www.
oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fatwa.
6. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Nisa, Verse 141.
7. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-An’am, Verse 69.
8. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verse 9.
9. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-An’am, Verse 109.
10. Holy Qur’an, Surah Ya Sin, Verse 31. Other
examples include Surah Al-Zukhruf, Verse 8
and Surah Al-Mu’minun, Verse 45.
11. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Hur, Verse 7.
12. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Nahl, Verse 102.
13. Holy Qur’an, Surah Bani Isra’il, Verse 48.
15. Khaled Abou El Fadl,“The Death Penalty,
Mercy and Islam: A Call for Retrospection”,
Scholar of the House, http://www.scholarofthe-
house.org/depemeandisc.html.
16. Id.
17. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 49.
19. “Pakistan Penal Code”, Financial
Monitoring Unit, October 6th
, 1860, http://www.
fmu.gov.pk/docs/laws/Pakistan%20Penal%20
Code.pdf.
20. “International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights”, Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/en/
professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.
Government or organisation is physically
attacking Islam in the name of religion.If
Islam is being attacked today it is not by
the sword but through the press,through
the media and through preaching. And
so it is the need of the time that we
respond using the very same means.That
is what the Promised Messiahas
taught –
to fight with our pens and not with our
swords.”[31]
Conclusion
While the debate surrounding the param-
eters of free speech is enduring as much
as it is perplexing, Islam provides clear
guidelines with respect to its limits – call-
ing for the protection of free speech but
within a moralistic framework that defers
to the values of human dignity and civic
virtue.In keeping within these prescribed
limits,there still remains open the means
to initiate and engage in enriching and
meaningful discourse. Offending holy
personages simply because there exists a
legal right to do so is akin to an almost
dogmatic adherence to liberty – causing
it to turn on its head. Thus, liberty and
freedom must be held up to some moral
standards regardless of any correspond-
ing legal rights, as Eleanor Roosevelt
once proclaimed:
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every
human being. With freedom comes respon-
sibility. For the person who is unwilling to
grow up, the person who does not want to
carry his own weight, this is a frightening
prospect.”[32]
About the author: Ayesha Mahmood Malik is
a Contributing Editor of “islawmix”– a project
incubated at the Berkman Center for Internet
and Society at Harvard University and aimed
at bringing clarity to Islamic law in the news.
She is also the Sub-Editor at the The Review
of Religions. Her writings have appeared in
the Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, the
Cambridge Review of International Affairs Blog
and the Harvard Human Rights Journal Online.
She holds an LLB (Hons) from the University
of London and an LLM from Harvard Law
School.
endnotes
1. Thomas Paine,“Quotes by This Author”, Our
Republic, http://www.ourrepubliconline.com/
Author/157.
2. Friedrich Nietzsche (2005), 1887 Genealogy
of Morals, in Genocide and Crimes Against
Humanity (Ed. Dinah L. Shelton and Gale
Cengage).

21. “European Convention on Human Rights”,
ECHR, http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/
Convention_ENG.pdf.
22. Dan Bilefsky,“EU Adopts Measure
Outlawing Holocaust Denial”, The New York
Times, April 19, 2007, http://www.nytimes.
com/2007/04/19/world/europe/19iht-
eu.4.5359640.html?_r=0.
23. Joseph Carens, An Ethics Forum on Free
Speech, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, University of
Toronto, 15.
24. Id.
25. David Novak, An Ethics Forum on Free
Speech, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, University of
Toronto, 13.
26. Keshavan Nair,“Civil Rights and
Responsibilities - A Clue From Gandhi”,
Collaboration, http://www.collaboration.me.uk/
Rights___Responsibilities.html.
27. Benjamin Franklin,“Great Quotes By:
Benjamin Franklin”, Pondering Principles, http://
ponderingprinciples.com/quotes/franklin/.
28. “Jihad with Sword”, Al Islam, 1902, https://
www.alislam.org/jihad/sword.html.
29. Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
claimed to be the
Promised Messiah for the latter days as proph-
esised by the Holy Prophetsa
.He founded the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a revival-
ist movement in Islam that rejects extremism
and stands for peace, justice and loyalty to one’s
nation.The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
has now spread to more than 206 countries
globally and is involved in various charitable and
philanthropic pursuits.
30. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, Malfoozat,
Vol. 8, p. 20.
31. Press Desk – Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat
International,“World Head of Ahmadiyya
Muslim Jamaat Delivers Concluding Address
at Annual Convention in Australia”, Al Islam,
https://www.alislam.org/egazette/press-release/
world-head-of-ahmadiyya-muslim-jamaat-
delivers-concluding-address-at-annual-conven-
tion-in-australia/.
32. Eleanor Roosevelt,“You Learn by Living:
Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life,”
Good Reads, http://www.goodreads.com/
quotes/230160-freedom-makes-a-huge-require-
ment-of-every-human-being-with.
The world is passing through turbulent times.The global economic crisis
continues to manifest new and grave dangers at every juncture.The
similarities of the current circumstances to the build-up of the Second World
War are stark. Events appear to be moving us rapidly towards aThird World
War.The consequences of a nuclear war are beyond our imagination. In
this book, the historic addresses of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, Fifth
Khalifah of the Promised Messiah and Supreme Head of the worldwide
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to prominent dignitaries at Capitol Hill, the
House of Commons, the European Parliament and other notable locations
around the world have been collated.The book also includes the momentous
letters sent by His Holiness to the numerous world leaders. Over and over
again, His Holiness has reminded all that the only means of averting a global
catastrophe is for nations to establish justice as an absolute requirement of
their dealings with others. Even if mutual enmity exists, impartiality must
be observed at all times, because history has taught us that this alone is
the way to eliminate all traces of hatreds and to build everlasting peace.
Read online at: www.alislam.org
Purchase the book here:
http://store.alislam.org/

me. I was always imagining its streets,
mosques and of course, the famous
cemetery ‘Bahishti Maqbara’ (Heavenly
Graveyard). I would picture the kind
people, whose compassion fused with
their firm faith,led them to be the people
in whose company you wished to be. As
is commonly known, everything has its
appointed time, and this is what I actu-
ally experienced. By the Grace of God,
the time that I had off from work this
year, coincided with the Qadian Jalsa,
which my husband planned to attend.
This further increased my desire to
attend,so I fervently prayed to Allah the
Almighty to facilitate this travel for me.I
also wrote to Khalifatul Masih V,Hazrat
Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
,Spiritual Head
of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, seeking his prayers. As I
was so determined to travel to Qadian, I
completed all the requirements necessary,
including visa applications, vaccina-
tions and so on. On the 24th
December
2014, alongside another Ahmadi fam-
ily, I undertook the long journey from
Kababeer to Qadian. After three flights
in two days, we eventually reached
Amritsar airport.The journey to Qadian
was more than a three hour drive,which
caused some anxiety,as we were travelling
at night with poor weather conditions.
However,Holy is Allah,once we reached
Qadian our worries and tiredness trans-
formed into a feeling of security and
comfort.We were accommodated in the
beautiful building of Sarai Waseem.After
a little rest, my husband took us to visit
Al-Aqsa Mosque,Baitul Dua’,Baitul Fikr
and Bahishti Maqbara.
Accessing these places was something
incredible for me. It was a culmination
of a certain spiritual stage, as I would
always say to myself that God Willing,I
must go to Qadian, to Umrah and Hajj.
On that night, we offered our prayers
in great supplication. We were praying
in every corner whilst remembering the
stories of the Promised Messiahas
which
we had always read and heard. We had
visited the Promised Messiah’sas
home,
and then next his room and the kitchen
My Visit to Qadian
On that night, we offered our
prayers in great supplication.
We were praying in every
corner whilst remembering
the stories of the Promised
Messiahas
which we had
always read and heard.
Masjid Aqsa (Aqsa Mosque) in Qadian.
In the Name of Allah Most Gracious
Ever Merciful
Qadian is Dar-ul-Aman (abode of spiritual
security); it is that part of the broad, vast
and sprawling world,which God has hon-
oured with the birth of the Imam of the
latter age,the Promised Messiah,Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
,Founder of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. I had
heard of Qadian since studying the his-
tory of Ahmadiyyat.I had always dreamt
of visiting it but that dream seemed to
be elusive for me! My passion for visit-
ing Qadian always intensified by hearing
the stories that my husband,Mohammad
Shareef Odeh, who has visited Qadian
many times,would frequently share with
Manal Odeh is from Kababeer, Haifa and here recounts
her first ever visit to Qadian this past December.
march 2015 | The Review of Religions 51

of Hazrat Amma Jaanra
, the mother of
the believers, the revered wife of the
Promised Messiahas
.Tears flowed out of
our eyes at the real glory, which I per-
sonally felt in Bahishti Maqbara, while
I stood in front of the grave of the
Promised Messiahas
. I said to my hus-
band ‘what glory!’ I stood in awe before
his grave, which was large, so white and
surrounded by the graves of the right-
eous,pious members of the Community.
We stood there for a long time to sat-
isfy our eyes. This visit lasted until the
early hours of Friday,which was the first
day of Jalsa Salana.We went back to the
house to rest before offering our Tahajjud
(optional prayer offered in the latter part
of the night) and Fajr (pre-dawn) prayers.
In the morning, after having breakfast,
we went to the venue of the Jalsa, which
was very well organised. I sat in front
of a big screen showing the proceedings
of the Jalsa. Eventually Arabic transla-
tion was also arranged, which enabled
the Arabs attending the Jalsa to benefit
greatly from the speeches. Jalsa Qadian
was unique in all respects,but in particu-
lar as we were offering Tahajjud and the
five daily prayers in the mosque. Both
the extremely cold weather and the love
shown to us by people, had a profound
impact. On the last day, we were eager
to hear the speech of Khalifatul Masih
Vaba
from London. A year ago I had
attended the last session of Qadian Jalsa
in London, with such a wish that one
day I would be among those crowds in
Qadian. This year I fulfilled my desire,
Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah). In
the days that followed the Jalsa, we vis-
ited Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana. We saw
the place where the Promised Messiahas
received the pledge of allegiance (Bai’at)
for the first time.From there we moved to
visit the Jama’at (Community) in Kerala.
We witnessed how those Ahmadis sin-
cerely abide by the motto given to the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community by
Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul
Masih IIIrh
; Love for All, Hatred for None.
my visit to qadian
In the morning, after having
breakfast, we went to the
venue of the Jalsa, which was
very well organised. I sat in
front of a big screen showing
the proceedings of the Jalsa.
The English Rendering of the
5 Volume Commentary of the
Holy Qur’an
One of the most comprehensive commentaries of the
Holy Qur’an ever written.
Commentary by
Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra)
Read it online at: http://www.alislam.org/quran/
Or Purchase the print version at: http://store.alislam.org/
©AMAGALLERYUK

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