In his first ever message in Arabic, broadcast on Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International on 23rd March, His Holiness called on all Arabs to accept the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi

Translated from the Arabic*

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful; We praise Him and invoke our blessings on His noble Messenger and on His servant the Promised Messiah; With Allah’s Grace and Mercy – Surely, Allah alone is our Helper;

My Dear Arab brothers and sisters;

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you.

Today I had wished to address you briefly in Urdu and to have my message translated simultaneously into Arabic. Due to the persuasion of Mr Muḥammad Sharīf Odeh and other Arab brothers I decided to read the Arabic translation of this message instead. This is solely because the importance of this day inspired me to attain a share of the munificence and blessings of the language of my Master and Guide Muḥammad^(sa), and the final and complete Book of Allah. Hence considering today’s significance I would like to personally address you in this blessed language.

Indeed this is a great day which takes my mind fourteen centuries back to behold my Master and Guide Muhammad^(sa), sitting with his faithful Companions, may Allah be pleased with all of them, in the Prophet’s Mosque in Sacred Madinah. He shares knowledge, perception and spiritual fruits with them. Their hearts were certainly full of absolute belief of the predominance of Islam and its prosperity, magnificence and victory and the fulfilment of the Final Law as an incontestable Divine destiny. It was in this state that the following glad tiding was revealed to increase the conviction of their hearts with certainty of faith:

‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise.’^[1]

One of the companions asks my Master and Guide several times and repeatedly who in reality the “others” were? The remaining companions were listening attentively and hoping to be informed by the one, on whom the peace and blessings of Allah descended, about those fortunate ones who will have the honour to join the noble Companions stated in the verse:

‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise.’^[2]

The Holy Prophet^(sa) remained silent for a while and then places his honourable hand with immense tender-heartedness on the shoulder of Salman, the Persian who lived among those truly purified Arabs, and says:

‘’Even if faith ascended to the Pleiades [completely disappeared from the earth] there would be a man from his people who would restore faith back to earth.’’

Through the grandeur of this prophecy by my Master and Guide, the Companions clearly perceived and comprehended the nature of these words, that it was determined by Allah, the Most High that this religion [of Islam] will after its predominance, victory and triumph encounter a period of decline and decadence when nothing will remain of Islam and Faith except their name and the Muslims in those days will be among those whose actions do not corroborate their words.

But Allah the Almighty revealed this Perfect and Final Law in order to last forever until the Day of Resurrection and did not reveal it to remain lost in the Pleiades; on the contrary the Holy Prophet^sa gave the glad tiding of a non-Arab man who would be of Persian origin who would restore faith for a second time. He would establish a Divine Community who will give credence to words by its deeds, who will give precedence to their faith over worldly matters, who will completely submit to the Law of the Holy Qur’an and be ever ready to provide all sacrifices for this purpose in the same way as the Companions.

By mentioning these two periods the Holy Prophet^sa has guided us to the true meaning and significance of the verse: ‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them’^[3] and made us aware of the majesty, splendour and greatness, which the religion of Islam will obtain in the Last Era.

With the Grace of Allah the Almighty we have witnessed the fulfilment of this grand prophecy; after a passage of the era of decline and darkness, we saw the revival of Islam initiated for a second time in a clear and manifest way with the fulfilment of all the signs exactly according to the prophecy of the Best of Mankind^sa on the 23^rdof March 1889. It testified to the truthfulness of the truly Truthful and Trustworthy Prophet Muhammad^sa and to the fact that he is the Seal of the Prophets in the Last Era also. All signs and prophecies have been fulfilled in this age and among them the fulfilment of a Great Prophecy which appeared in the heavens, which is the Lunar and Solar eclipses in the month of Ramaḍān exactly according to the determined dates prophesied by the Holy Prophet^(sa). This phenomena never occurred as a Sign for anyone else.

This prophecy, which confirmed the Truth of the Holy Prophet^sa and the Truthfulness of the One who has been raised [as the promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi^(as)] appeared to be a great testimony for this truthful servant and sincere lover of the eternal Prophet. It appeared once in the Eastern hemisphere and another time in the Western hemisphere bearing testimony to my Master and Guide, the Most Noble among mankind and the Seal of the Prophets in fulfilment of the words of Allah the Almighty in His preserved Book which states:

‘And We have not sent thee but as a bearer of glad tidings and a Warner, for all mankind, but most men know not.’^[4]

Although this sign appeared as an evidence to confirm the Truth of claim of the Promised Messiah^(as), it is in reality a proof ordained by Allah the Almighty to establish the Sovereignty and the Law of the Holy Prophet^(sa) in the East, West and in every part of the world. It was in order to inform [the world] that now the only Living Religion that exists on the face of the Earth is Islam and the only living Prophet is Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah, upon him the most beneficent blessings and the purest form of Peace.

O, my dear brothers, certainly, this is the significance of this Day, on which Allah the Almighty honoured Hazrat Mirza Ghulām Aḥmad of Qadian^as to be the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi for the supreme Devotion, Loyalty and Love he showed for his Master and Guide^(sa). God instructed Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^(as)of Qadian to establish a Community of “later ones’’ among the Pure, Sincere and Righteous [servants of Allah] to join the earlier people by taking from them the Bai‘at[covenant of allegiance] in order to fearlessly sacrifice their lives, wealth and time for the sake of the renaissance of Islam and on the other hand to raise aloft the banner of the Holy Prophet^(sa) in all corners of the world.

Surely We bear witness that our Master Muhammad^(sa) is the Messenger of Allah and Seal of the Prophets and proclaim to the world the perfection of his excellences and have firm faith in our mission to make people recognise the finality of his Prophethood and for every individual become a true servant of his. Hence, this is no easy task which has been entrusted on the believers in the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi^(as). That is why we are celebrating this Day to analyse and review ourselves by assessing our practical state in order to perform our utmost efforts to become a part of those “others’’ of the last days about whom the Holy Prophet^(sa)gave the glad tidings in that gathering of his Companions when he foretold the fact that they will join the earlier ones. Because of this [great prophecy which has been fulfilled] we should not relax unless we gather the whole world to submit in complete devotion to the Holy Prophet^(sa).Certainly, the task that Allah the Almighty has entrusted on us is not ordinary after having believed in the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi^(as).

O, ye among the Arabs who are fortunate and who believed in the most sincere servant of the Holy Prophet^(sa); you took the pledge to help fulfil this great mission! Hence, go forth and preach with wisdom to all the Muslims especially those who speak the language of this Final Prophet, who is the dearest to Allah Almighty; those who can read, speak and understand the complete and perfect book and the Final Law. Inform them that their safety and prosperous life and success is determined in being united, all together, at the hands of the Promised Messiah^(as) and becoming one Community. Be Helpers of the Promised Messiah^(as) by conveying his anguish and heartfelt pain for your nation by telling them: Let’s raise, all united and all together the banner of the Holy Prophet^sa aloft all over the world and cause country after country, nation after nation and person after person to be transformed into submissive and obedient servants of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Hence, I am going to present to you as a blessing and as a reminder that Message, which the Imam of the age, who is the Promised Messiah and the Imam Mahdi^(as), had directed to the Arabs. The Promised Messiah^(as) stated:

‘Peace be upon you, O ye who are the pious and the chosen ones among the pure-hearted Arabs. Peace be upon you, O people of the land of Prophethood, adjacent to the magnificent House of Allah. You are the best nation among the nations in Islam and the best and most exalted party of Allah. No people would be able to obtain your glory and status as you acquired more honour, glory and standing. Most sufficient is the pride which Allah bestowed on you by commencing His revelation with Adam^(as) and completing it with that Prophet^(sa), who is from among you and from your land which was his abode, his shelter and his place of birth. And how should you know who was that Prophet! It is Muḥammad^(sa), the Elected One, the Pride of the Prophets, the Seal of the Messengers and Imam of all Mankind. His Benevolence is an irrefutable evidence on every person. His revelation encompasses all past metaphors and allegories, deeper meanings and most important issues that reached every transient being. His Religion revived the dead by means of spiritual knowledge of the truth and by different ways of guidance. O Allah, send Your Blessing, Peace and Prosperity on him and bless him with the sum of all what is in the earth consisting of drops of water, particles and the living and the dead and all what is in the heavens and the sum of all that is visible and hidden. Convey to him our Salutation of Peace, which fills the entire heavens. Blessed are the people who carry the yoke of Muḥammad – peace and blessings be upon him – and blessed is the heart which ultimately reaches him by accompanying him and losing itself in his love.

O, ye, inhabitants of the land on which the Chosen One placed his blessed footsteps. May Allah have Mercy on you. May He be pleased with you and may you be pleased with Him. O Servants of Allah, I think greatly of you and my soul is yearning to meet you. I have the deep wish to see your land and your blessed towns in order to visit the place of the Best of Mankind^(sa) and brighten my eyes with its dust and observe the righteousness and to visit the righteous people, to see Makkah, its holy sites and its religious scholars in order to be granted the delight of my eyes by witnessing the Friends of Allah and the great landmarks of the Holy abode. I beseech Allah to provide me by His immense Grace the sight of your land and to grant me the joy of seeing you in person.

O my brothers, I have immense love and affection towards you, your country, the sand and pebbles along the pathways and roads and I give preference to you over everything else in the world.

O dearest Arabs, Allah had especially favoured you with His extraordinary blessings and special qualities and with His immeasurable Mercy. Among you is the House of Allah, which endowed the Mother of all towns with Blessings and among you is the tomb of the Blessed Prophet^(sa), who spread the unity of Allah in all the corners of the world and clearly manifested the Majesty and Glory of Allah. From among you there were people who supported Allah and His Messenger with all their heart and all their soul and mind. They sacrificed their wealth and their lives to propagate the religion of Allah and His most pure Book. You are unquestionably the ones who have been bestowed these special blessings and certainly the one who does not honour you is committing injustice and transgresses.

O, brothers, I am writing to you my message with a broken heart and with a stream of tears flowing from my eyes; therefore listen to my words; May Allah grant you the best rewards.’^[5]

‘I am with you with my heart and soul, O Arabs of noble descent! My Lord has surely given me glad tidings about Arabs and has revealed to me that I should help them, that I may safeguard their trust, and show them the right path, and set their affairs right. And you will find me successful in this objective, God Willing.

O, dearest ones, the Lord, the Almighty has manifested Himself to me in an extraordinary way in support of Islam and its revival; He favoured me with all types of bounties and foretold about the age of darkness in Islam and the most pitiful state of the people of the Best of Mankind^(sa), while giving me the glad tiding of immense forms of grace, spiritual victories and Divine Succour.

O Arab nations and people, I longed to share these blessings with you; and I was eagerly waiting for this Day; so do you have the desire to join me for the sake of Allah, the Lord the worlds?’^[6]

And so this is a small part of his message that I have presented before you, which contains words full of love, affection and sympathy. If today all the Muslims in the world and Arabs in particular accept the heartfelt message of wisdom of this sincere servant of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, and respond to his call, then certainly the state of the Islamic countries, which is causing distress and restlessness, will be transformed into a condition of the fulfilment of glad tidings and the obtainment of all forms of mercy and happiness.

May Allah the Almighty enable all Muslims and the Arabs in particular to respond to this call so that the luminescence of Islam can illuminate the world for a second time; and so all mankind can come to recognise the One and only God.

O, Allah, grant us victory, and help us to perform our duties and allow us to see in our lives the triumph of Islam over all other religions. Ameen, O Lord of the Worlds!”

*Translated by Ibrahim Ikhlaf

Endnotes

1. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Jumu’ah, Verse 4.
2. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Jumu’ah, Verse 4. .
3. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Jumu’ah, Verse
4. Holy Qur’an, Sūrah Al-Sabā’, Verse 29.
5. At-Tabīgh, al-Khazā’in ar-Rūhāniyyah, Part 5, pp. 419-422.
6. Hamāmatul-Bushra, p. 22.