In today’s Friday sermon Hudhur gave a discourse on the prophecy of ‘Musleh Maud’ (Promised Reformer). A few days ago the missionary-in-charge UK, Ata ul Mujeeb Rashed sahib wrote to Hudhur that this year completes 125 years of the prophecy of Musleh Maud, the letter suggested that Hudhur may give a Friday Sermon on the subject. Hudhur said initially he was not inclined to this but later decided to give a discourse on the subject. Hudhur decided because the prophecy is not personal to any one as such, rather it is to do with the second phase of Islam and is in fact a prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Where there is freedom to hold conventions, Ahmadis get to hear about the prophecy but in Pakistan Ahmadis cannot hold religious conventions and the new generation there, as well as the new comers may not be familiar with the subject. It is possible that some others have also not felt inclined towards this subject but now feel interested, therefore Hudhur felt it important to explain the subject.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had prophesied that God will grant him a son who would be the Promised Reformer and will have many qualities. However, this prophecy was preceded by the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) 1400 years ago: ‘Isa son of Mary will descend, then he will get married and offspring will be born to him.’ In another Hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said: ‘What will your condition be when the advent of Isa, son of Mary will take place, who will be your Imam and will be from among you.’ He also said, ‘Whoso among you lives shall meet Isa, son of Mary, who will be the ‘Judge’ and the ‘Arbiter’ and will break the Cross and kill the swine’. Hudhur explained that although the details of this prophecy, which is associated with the second phase of Islam, came through the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) but it is based on what the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said 1400 years ago and this prophecy is not meant to highlight the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace), rather, it is a sign of glory of his master, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and is to promote and raise the banner of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). The supportive signs for the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) are in fact meant to heighten the splendour of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that there is a Living God of Islam and a living Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).

Ahmadiyyat is not separate from Islam and there is no greater and truer ardent devotee of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) than the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). He has written extensively on the singular admiration and regard he had for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Any discourse, any writing of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) revolves around God, the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). He told the world that today if there is any living religion, it is Islam and if there is any living Prophet, it is the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) through whom one finds God, today if there is a perfect Book, free from any interpolation is the Holy Qur’an which gives the truthful knowledge of faith and when read with sincerity, it purifies. This is the thought-process with which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) filled us and gave our hearts and minds the spiritual knowledge that today the living Prophet is the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) who guided us to have a direct connection with God, to dispel darkness of hearts and form a connection between God and man. This great and ever-living Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) connected his followers to God 1400 years ago and does so today with the same freshness. When the time came for the fulfilment of Surah Al Jummah, the love of the servant with his master became a source of bringing faith back from the Pleiades and the earlier-ones were connected with the latter-ones as explained in verse 4 of Surah Al Jummah "And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise." (62:4).

Hadhrat Abu Huraira relates the Hadith in this reference: ‘One day we were sitting with the Holy Prophet when Surah Jummah was revealed. I asked the Prophet, ‘who are the people to whom the words ‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them’, refer. Salman, the Persian was sitting among us. Upon my repeatedly asking him the same question, the Prophet put his hand on Salman and said, ‘if faith were to go up to the Pleiades, men from these people would surely find it’.

Even before his claim to be the Messiah, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) worked diligently and assiduously for the service of Islam. When God revealed to him that he was the Mujaddad (reformer) he had a poster printed in both English and Urdu and proclaimed, ‘God has appointed me the Mujaddad of this century and I have been assigned the task of proving the truthfulness of Islam to the entire world.’ He also said that he had been spiritually entrusted with all the excellences of Isa, son of Mary. He challenged all world religions to debate the truthfulness of Islam with him. Although this created a tremor among difference religions but no one took this challenge on. A priest called Swift and Lekh Ram appeared willing but incidents that followed showed that theirs was mere pretence. The details of all this can be found in our Jama’at literature and cannot be mentioned here.

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) worked on proving Islam’s excellence over other religions but in particular his work stopped the spread of Christianity. He wished to perform a Chilla (a spiritual exercise entailing prayer in seclusion for 40 days). For this purpose, Divinely guided, he went to Hoshiarpur in January 1886. God granted him many glad-tidings as a result of this Chilla. One of these was the prophecy of Musleh Maud which he published on 20 February 1886. It was also published as a supplement of magazine ‘Riyaz e Hind’. The prophecy said: ‘God Almighty, the Lord of Honour and Glory, Merciful, Benevolent, Exalted, Who has power to do all that He wills (glory to be Him and exalted be His name) has vouchsafed to me the following revelation:

I confer upon thee a sign of my mercy according to thy entreaties and have honoured thy prayers with acceptance through My mercy and have blessed this thy journey. A Sign of power, mercy and nearness to Me is bestowed on thee, a Sign of grace and beneficence is awarded to thee, and thou art granted the key of success and victory. Peace on thee, O victorious one. Thus does God speak so that those who desire life may be rescued from the grip of death, and those who are buried in the graves may emerge therefrom, so that the superiority of Islam and the dignity of God’s Word may become manifest unto the people, so that truth may arrive with all its blessings and falsehood may depart with all its ills; so that people may understand that I am the Lord of Power and do what I will and so that they may believe that I am with thee, so that those who do not believe in God and deny and reject His religion and His Book and His Holy Messenger, Muhammad, the chosen one, on whom be peace, may be confronted with a clear Sign and the way of the guilty one may become manifest.

Rejoice, therefore that a handsome and pure boy will be bestowed upon thee. Thou wilt receive an intelligent youth who will be of thy seed and will be of thy progeny. A handsome and pure boy will come as your guest. His name is Emmanuel and Bashir. He has been invested with a holy spirit, and he will be free from all impurity. He is the light of Allah. Blessed is he who comes from heaven. He will be accompanied by grace which shall arrive with him. He will be characterised by grandeur, greatness and wealth. He will come into the world and will heal many of their ills through his Messianic qualities and through the blessings of the Holy Spirit. He is the Word of Allah, for Allah’s mercy and honour have equipped him with the Word of Majesty. He will be extremely intelligent and understanding and will be meek of heart and will be filled with secular and spiritual knowledge. He will convert three into four. It is Monday, a blessed Monday. Son, delight of the heart, high ranking, noble; manifestation of the First and the Last, a manifestation of the True and the High; as if Allah has descended from heaven. His advent will be greatly blessed and will be a source of manifestation of Divine Majesty. Behold a light cometh, a light anointed by God with the perfume of His pleasure. He will pour His spirit upon him and he will be sheltered under the shadow of God. He will grow rapidly in stature and will be the means of procuring the release of those held in bondage. His fame will spread to the ends of the earth and people will be blessed through him. He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven. This is a matter decreed (19:22).

Thy house will be filled with blessings and I shall perfect My favours onto thee and thou wilt have a large progeny from blessed women some of whom you wilt find hereafter, and I will cause a great increase in your progeny and bless it; but some of them will die in early age and thy progeny will spread greatly in different lands. Every branch of thy collaterals will be cut off and will come to an end through childlessness, if they do not repent. Their houses will be filled with widows and God’s wrath will descend upon their walls. But if they turn to God, He will turn to them in mercy. God will spread thy blessings about and will revive through thee a house that is ruined and will fill a fearful house with blessings. Thy progeny will not be cut off and will flourish to the end of days. God will maintain thy name with honour till the day when the world comes to an end, and will convey thy message to the ends of the earth. I shall exalt thee and shall call thee to Myself, but thy name will never be erased from the face of the earth. It will so happen that all those who seek to humiliate thee and to cause thee to fail and wish to ruin thee will be frustrated and will die, being brought to naught. God will bestow every success upon thee and will grant thee all that thou dost desire. I will cause an increase of thy true sincere friends and will bless their lives and their properties and they will grow in number, and they will always prevail over the other Muslims who are jealous of thee and are hostile to thee. God will not forget thy supporters and will not overlook them and they will have their reward according to the degree of their devotion. Thou art to me as the prophets of Bani Israel. Thou art to me as my Unity. Thou art of me and I am of thee. The time is approaching, indeed it is near, when God will put thy love in the hearts of Kings and nobles, so much so that they will seek blessings from thy garments. O you who deny and oppose the truth, if you are in doubt concerning My servant, if you deny the grace and bounty that I have bestowed upon him, then produce some true sign concerning yourselves like this Sign of mercy, if you are truthful. But if you are unable to produce it, and be sure you will never be able to produce it, then be mindful of the Fire which has been prepared for the disobedient, the liars and the transgressors.’ [Ahmadiyyat Renaissance of Islam, pp. 36 – 38]

Hudhur said the prophecy described 52 qualities the son would have. The particular aspect of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) that the Messiah will have offspring was that the offspring will have qualities that will safeguard religion. The year in which Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmood Ahmad was born was the year in which, through Divine command, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) took his first Bai’at and the Community was formed. Hudhur enumerated the 52 qualities found in the prophecy, for example: ‘Sign of power, mercy and nearness to Me’, ‘Sign of grace and beneficence’, ‘characterised by grandeur, greatness and wealth’ etc. Hudhur said each of these sign can be discussed as a separate topic of a speech. Upon reflection, if we observe the 52 years of Khilafat of Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) we note each one of these qualities emerging. All the details are in the literature of the Jama’at.

Hudhur said when the prophecy was published Lekh Ram used very uncouth language in response and had his own poster published with slanderous wording. His terrible ending is known to all. Similarly, Christian priests as well as some Muslims reacted in disparaging, negative light. In response the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had another poster published in which he said, ‘This is not only a prophecy, it is a grand heavenly Sign, which God Almighty has shown for demonstrating the truth and greatness of the gentle and compassionate Prophet, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace and blessings of Allah be on him and his people.’

The 52 year long era of Khilafat of Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) proved that he did indeed grow ‘rapidly in stature’. He established the name of Islam around the world by forming overseas missions, the Community did not have much economic means in those days but it did spread around the world. The Holy Qur’an was translated in different languages and the administrative structure of the Community, was made by Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him), which is operational to this day and could not be improved. The auxiliary organisations were also made in those times. Each task was a proof of his intelligence. His commentary of the Holy Qur’an and other scholarly works are a proof of ‘filled with secular and spiritual knowledge’.

Hudhur said he wished to explain that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) always considered this son of his as Musleh Maud. However, Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) did not call himself proof of this prophecy unless and until God informed him of this. He experienced this through a long dream, accompanied by a vision and a revelation. It was in 1944 when he made the announcement to the world that he indeed was the manifestation of the prophecy of Musleh Maud.

Next Hudhur cited tributes given to Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) by people outside our Community. These included Maulwi Samiullah Khan Farooqi, Arjand Singh, Khawaja Hassan Nizam Dehlwi, Abdul Majeed Sadiq, Maulana Abdul Majid. These tributes were varied in nature, some acknowledged different aspects of the truthfulness of the prophecy of Musleh Maud and recognised his huge achievement in gaining freedom for the people of Kashmir, others praised his depth of spiritual knowledge and insight which is evident in his commentary of the Holy Qur’an.

Hudhur said Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote and indeed gave oratory on a whole range of subjects, from the religious, spiritual to economic etc. and impressed one and all. He was ‘Musleh Maud’ and God had sent him to reform. In the 52 year era of his Khilafat apart from his Friday sermons, he wrote numerous books and delivered countless addresses. All these make up a great scholarly and spiritual treasure. The Fazl e Umer Foundation, which was formed after his passing away, has been in the process of publishing his mammoth works. Directly addressing the Fazl e Umer Foundation Hudhur said they need to gather pace and conclude the task of these publications because this needs to be followed by translating these works in other languages. Hudhur told them that other departments were busy translating the books of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and it was the obligation of Fazl e Umer Foundation to handle the works of Hudhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him). As his books are not translated in different languages some people have plagiarised his works.

Regarding the prophecy of Musleh Maud, Hudhur said it should be remembered that it is not simply about the birth of one person who accomplished great works. The reality of this prophecy will be brighter still when there will be people among us to take this task forward, that is the task for which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) came and in support of which God declared Khalifatul Masih II to be Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him). It is our task to try and be ‘musleh’ in our own spheres and spread Islam with our knowledge, our word and our deed. We should pay attention towards reformation of the self, reformation of our children and reformation of society. We should try our utmost to spread the message in the world, the font of which was the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). If we spend our lives with this consideration, we will be honouring the dues of Musleh Maud Day, otherwise ours will be hollow speeches. May God enable us to do so.

Next Hudhur announced that he would lead funeral Prayer of Qanita Orchard sahiba, wife of late Maulana Bashir Ahmad Orchard sahib, who passed away on 16 February at the age of 81. She was the granddaughter of Dr. Khalifa Rasheed-ud-din sahib and was the niece of Umme Nasir, first wife of Khalifatul Masih II (may Allah be pleased with him). She was very regular in her Prayers and keeping Fast, had a simple nature and was steadfast and thankful, she cared for the disadvantaged, was hospitable and had great love for Khilafat. She was sincere, had great trust in God and had served shoulder to shoulder with her Waqfe Zindagi husband. She served Lajna Scotland for a long period and always made efforts for the education and training of Lajna and Nasirat. She was a Moosia and leaves behind two daughters and three sons. Hudhur said he knows four of her children are in the forefront of Jama’at work. Her late husband, Bashir Orchard sahib accepted Islam during military service, he came into Ahmadiyyat in 1945 and dedicated his life (Waqfe Zindagi) in 1946 and had the privilege to be the first English missionary. Hadhrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) personally chose his wife. Qanita Orchard sahiba served the Jama’at most sincerely along side her husband. May God grant her forgiveness and grant her a place in Paradise of His pleasure and grant her family steadfastness.