Note: The Alislam Team assumes full responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in this translation of the Friday Sermon.

أَشْھَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰہَ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ وَحْدَہٗ لَا شَرِیکَ لَہٗ وَأَشْھَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُہٗ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ

أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَأَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰہِ مِنَ الشَّیْطٰنِ الرَّجِیْمِ- بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ۔ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ۔ مٰلِکِ یَوْمِ الدِّیْنِ۔ اِیَّا کَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاکَ نَسْتَعِیْنُ۔

اِھْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِیْمَ۔ صِرَاطَ الَّذِیْنَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَیْھِمْ غَیْرِالْمَغْضُوْبِ عَلَیْھِمْ وَلَاالضَّآلِّیْنَ۔

بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ ۔وَالسَّمَآء ذَاتِ الْبُرُوْجِ۔ وَالْیَوْمِ الْمَوْعُوْدِ۔ وَشَاہِدٍ وَّمَشْہُوْدٍ۔ قُتِلَ اَصْحٰبُ الْاُخْدُوْدِ۔ النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُوْدِ۔ اِذْ ہُمْ عَلَیْہَا قُعُوْدٌ۔ وَہُمْ عَلٰی مَا یَفْعَلُوْنَ بِالْمُوْمِنِیْنَ شُہُوْدٌ۔ وَمَا نَقَمُوْا مِنْہُمْ اِلَّا اَنْ یُّؤْمِنُوْا بِاللّٰہِ الْعَزِیْزِ الْحَمِیْدِ۔ الَّذِیْ لَہُ مُلْکُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ۔ وَاللّٰہُ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ شَہِیْدٌ۔ اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ فَتَنُوْا الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ وَالْمُؤْمِنٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ یَتُوْبُوا فَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ جَہَنَّمَ وَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِیْقِ۔ اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ آمَنُوْا وَعَمِلُوْا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَہُمْ جَنّٰتٌ تَجْرِیْ مِنْ تَحْتِہَا الْاَنْہَارُ ذٰلِکَ الْفَوْزُ الْکَبِیْرُ۔ 

The translation of these verses is: In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. By the heaven having mansion of stars, And the Promised Day, And the witness and he to whom witness is borne, Cursed by the Fellows of the Trench, the fire fed with fuel, when they sat by it, And they were the witnesses of what they did to the believers. And they hated them not but only because they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy, To Whom belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Witness over all things. Those who persecute the believing men and the believing women and then repent not, for them is, surely, the punishment of Hell, and for them is the torment of heart-burning. But those who believe and do good works, for them are Gardens through which streams flow. That is, indeed, the supreme achievement. (Al-Buruj 1-12)

These verses that I have recited are depicting exactly the very scene of the incident that occurred to the Ahmadis in Gujranwala. This is such a proof of the truthfulness of Ahmadiyyat and of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that if fair-minded Muslims were to ponder over Surah Al-Buruj, the reality of the oppression being inflicted upon Ahmadis—and particularly the attitudes of their clerics, their leaders, their politicians, their governments regarding such atrocities, and the deeds these people display and carry out in opposition to Ahmadiyyat—would become clear to them, and they would come to believe in Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and would not become part of the oppression that cruel people or their disciples perpetrate against Ahmadis. However, to understand the word of Allah Almighty too, one needs a messenger sent by Allah Almighty. But the state of these people is such that they do not wish to hear what he says at all, and for this reason they continue to escalate in their atrocities. I will offer here a brief explanation of these verses. The heaven with mansions of stars by which an oath is sworn here refers to the twelve constellations of the heavens, the stars and planets about which astronomers inform us. Here, in an allegorical manner, those spiritual constellations are mentioned which have a significant connection with the history of Islam, and what is meant by them are the twelve Mujaddidin (Reformers) who shone forth to give their light upon the heaven of Islam after the setting of its sun, or who continued to give light for some period. There are also Ahadith concerning this period, and the earlier scholars affirm this as well. It is an astonishing matter that the people whom Allah Almighty sent twelve times in twelve centuries during the dark eras of Islam or to spread rays of light—Muslims accept them. However, when Allah Almighty says وَالْیَوْمِ الْمَوْعُوْد—by the day which is promised—and, swearing by it, Allah Almighty sent the Promised and Appointed One in the thirteenth century in accordance with that promise, they began to deny him. Regarding the earlier ones, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had merely informed us that a Mujaddid would come at the head of every century (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Malahim, Bab Ma Yudhkar fi Qarn al-Mi'ah, Hadith number 4291). But concerning this Promised One, Allah Almighty also declared separately, and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) too, by mentioning various signs—among which is the sign of the eclipse of the moon and the sun—and countless other signs, foretold that he would come, signs which have been and are being fulfilled as clearly as the light of day. Yet they refuse to accept him. In fact, after the claim of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), some began to say, and even now in some places it is being said most vociferously, that we no longer have any need of a reformer. This is because the pulpits of the mullahs and the so-called clerics are snatched from them. This is because the veneer of their knowledge and intellect is exposed. Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), regarding his coming in this age and in exact accordance with the prophecies, states:

"It is an astonishing matter, and I consider it a sign from Allah Almighty, that precisely in 1290 A.H., this humble one had attained the honour of being addressed by Allah Almighty." (Haqiqatul Wahi, Ruhani Khazain, volume 22, page 208)

Then, after some time, he made the claim of being the Promised Messiah, and heavenly and earthly signs were fulfilled in his favour. Details of this are present in the literature of the Community, and details are present in the books of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace be upon him). I am not going into the details of this at present, but in any case, the supports of Allah Almighty bear witness that this is the age of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

Then Allah Almighty says that at the time of this Yaum al-Mau'ud (Promised Day)—that is, in the era of the Promised Messiah—the revival of Islam will indeed take place. The era of the new life of Islam will indeed begin, but for this, the believers—those who will believe in the Promised Messiah—will have to offer enormous sacrifices. He stated: قُتِلَ اَصْحٰبُ الْاُخْدُوْدِ۔ Cursed be the Fellows of the Trench. النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُوْدِ۔ That is, those of the fire fed with abundant fuel. اِذْ ہُمْ عَلَیْہَا قُعُوْدٌ۔ When they sit around it. This is the picture drawn of the opponents, and it has been declared that such opposition will take place. But these fires that will be kindled, and around which they will also be seated—this will certainly happen, but in the end the opponents will witness their own evil fate. They will be destroyed. Nevertheless, the believers will have to remain the target of oppression and dreadful atrocities for a long time.

Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) too has drawn attention to this fact that the progress of Islam demands something from us, and that demand is the demand of death. (Adapted from Fath-e-Islam, Ruhani Khazain, volume 3, page 10)

In these verses, this very thing has been stated: that fires fed with abundant fuel will be kindled against you. Fuel will be added to these fires again and again. Those kindling these fires will sit around them watching the spectacle. These people who, in their own conceit, will have made such arrangements—as if to dig trenches, confine these believers, surround them from every side, and then ignite the fires. But Allah Almighty had already declared that, indeed, one will have to endure the tribulations of fire, but in the end, those who surround the believers from every side and try to burn them in the fire will themselves be destroyed. In their own conceit, they will even sit posting guards around the fire so that no one may escape the fire and come out. And then we see that in Pakistan the police too stand alongside, watching the spectacle. They too make no effort to save anyone, but rather become part of it. And then all these fire-kindlers not only stand outside, but they take pleasure in burning the believers. اِذْ ہُمْ عَلَیْہَا قُعُوْدٌ۔ This is not merely some old incident, but rather it is also a prophecy that tells us that the opponents of the believers will kindle such fires and will then sit and even post guards over these fires. This is one further proof that we are upon the path of truth, that we are believers, and that these opponents are included in the rank of those who kindle fires against the believers. And not only do they sit having laid siege so that no one may escape from this fire, but they rejoice that we have done a most excellent work.

I shall narrate some details concerning the martyrs, in which you will see that, exactly in accordance with this, they closed the doors of the rooms and then set fire, and—to distress the ten or eleven children, women, and people who were in the rooms, to tell them that you are now trapped and there is no way out—they then went away from the windows, from the glass panes, waving their hands mockingly and raising shouts of joy. The video films of this incident also make clear from the faces of these tyrants that the height of shamelessness and immodesty was being reached by them. In any case, their actions, their slogans, their utterances—this is the height of their enmity. In fact, two days after this incident, the news was that, in another locality near this area, a mullah gathered the people of his area and even took a pledge from them: "What was done to these Ahmadis is nothing—pledge to me that we will do more than this, and that you will support me." So this is not such an incident after which we can say that, having martyred innocent children and women, perhaps some shame might have come over them. They are so shameless and tyrants of such bestial mentality that they are even posting messages on Twitter (these days messages are tweeted on the phone) and leaving their impressions saying that what happened to the Ahmadis was excellent and it ought to have been so. اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَ اِنَّا اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ۔ And the regret is that all this is being done in the name of Allah Almighty and His Messenger.

From اِذْ ہُمْ عَلَیْہَا قُعُوْدٌ it is also evident that they will continue to be seated. They will attempt to prolong their schemes of inflicting torment. The word قُعُوْد means "to sit," and "to sit upon something" is also an idiom meaning to continue doing some work over a long period.

So this chain of their lies, deception, and afflictions is in progress, and perhaps will continue for a long time, because opponents will continue to arise. And these people will keep trying to keep it going. But there is also an end to this, and that end is the one that Allah Almighty has appointed for them: that you too may keep going, and ultimately what will happen? You yourselves will be destroyed by this fire. You yourselves will be cast into this fire.

Their clerics too know that they are operating with falsehood. They have no argument by which they could refute the claim of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), other than to fabricate falsehoods, to present distorted incidents from his books, and to take out quotations. But opposition has blinded them. They continue doing this, and they will continue doing it. They draw the common people along with them in kindling these fires. So these fires—sometimes they kindle them in a literal manner and attempt to burn the believers. Sometimes they succeed in this, and sometimes they fail. And rather than saying "sometimes," it is constant—that the fire of opposition to Ahmadiyyat they keep trying to kindle on every side. These days they have plastered every city and every street of Pakistan with anti-Ahmadiyya posters consisting of bundles of lies, and these are also put up on government buildings—even on High Court buildings. And such wrongful things they ascribe to Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or to the beliefs of the Community, that there is no limit to it, and by ascribing these things they incite the people. Such matters that have no relation whatsoever to the beliefs of the Community. Because of these very oppositions of theirs, while consoling the Community, Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) states:

"Do not imagine that God will let you go to waste. You are a seed sown by the hand of God in the ground. God says that this seed will grow and flourish, and its branches will spread out in every direction, and it will become a great tree. So blessed is he who has faith in the word of God and does not fear the trials that may come in the way." (Risalah Al-Wasiyyat, Ruhani Khazain, volume 20, page 309)

So undoubtedly, individuals will have to offer sacrifices, but this tree of the Community which Allah Almighty has planted will, by the grace of Allah Almighty, continue to grow, flourish, and blossom, insha'Allah. And these fire-kindlers will themselves witness themselves burning in the same fire, or by some other means Allah Almighty will create the means of their destruction.

قُتِلَ اَصْحٰبُ الْاُخْدُوْدِ This is a prophecy that is being fulfilled in favor of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and will continue to be fulfilled. These people will continue to be destroyed. So this prophecy too, along with these oppressions, will be fulfilled again and again, and it is not that they will desist; rather, they will keep repeating their oppressions again and again. But the tree of Ahmadiyyat, which is a sapling planted by the hand of Allah Almighty, will continue to grow. Insha'Allah Ta'ala. From the 125-year history of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the progress that is taking place, they should now take this lesson: that this is not a human enterprise but rather the work of Allah Almighty. And by interfering in the work of Allah Almighty and trying to halt it, they gain nothing but the displeasure of Allah Almighty. They know that they are in the wrong, or that the Holy Qur'an does not support them, that no saying of the Messenger of Allah supports them.

In the incidents of the Companions of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that I have been narrating, and also in the incidents of those who, even now, recognize the truth and join the Bai'at, I have stated that these so-called clerics say: "Do not argue with the Qadianis solely on the basis of the Qur'an." These clerics have inculcated this teaching into their own people, their own common folk—they teach them this lesson: do not argue with them on the basis of the Qur'an. With this, these people will even prove the death of the Messiah. They will even prove their own definition of the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat (Finality of Prophethood). They will even prove the truthfulness of Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Rather, now their stance is: do not even listen to what they have to say and do not engage with them at all. Because they know that, in terms of argument, they have nothing. Yes, they have stubbornness and obstinacy, and in stubbornness and obstinacy, they extract multiple meanings from each and every word, or extract whatever meanings they wish according to their own desire. By means of false teachings and ideologies, they have made fools of the common people, and now, in this conceit, they inflict and cause to be inflicted oppression on the basis that the majority is with them.

The state of the government's media or television channel is such that recently, a mullah came on. Without taking the name of Ahmadis, he said—in his own way, he was trying to cool down his people, saying that it should not have happened this way, but the greater emphasis of his speech was that this minority too should consider the sentiments of the majority. Now they themselves do the killing, they themselves level the accusation, they themselves become judges, they themselves render the verdicts, and then they themselves dispense punishment. In any case, because these people have a pulpit, and the mullahs also have street power, or the politicians themselves have now come to regard it as their politics that opposition to Ahmadis should be done, therefore the government too falls in line with them. They do not know what end Allah Almighty has decreed for them. Allah Almighty says:

اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ فَتَنُوْا الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ وَالْمُؤْمِنٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ یَتُوْبُوا فَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ جَہَنَّمَ وَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِیْقِ۔ Surely, those who persecuted the believing men and the believing women, then did not repent, for them is the punishment of Hell, and for them is decreed the punishment of burning. Allah Almighty says that, surely, those people who torment believing men and believing women, or attempt to torment them, kindle fires against them, then place guards over them lest any rescuer should come—for such people there is the punishment of Hell. These people kindle both the visible fire and the hidden fire too, so that those who are their associates, their sympathizers, may try in every way to put the believers into torment, and may continue to do so. Nowadays, this mischief and hidden fire is also kindled in this manner: that they say—God forbid—we Ahmadis do not believe that Hazrat Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), is the final Prophet, or that we insult him. This is such an accusation that causes severe pain to our hearts. Whereas Ahmadis are engaged day and night in every corner of the world to display the honour and glory of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Wherever there is an attack upon the honour of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the Ahmadi is the first to be present there to respond to that attack. So we are those who can accept our own death but cannot endure even the slightest word of insult against the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This is what Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has taught us, and Allah Almighty knows what our deeds are, and He knows what is in our hearts. There is no contradiction in this. Otherwise, would He—God forbid—be granting one progression after another to the community of a liar, despite the opposition of the whole world? He knows that it is His Community. He knows that He has decreed its progress. So Allah Almighty says: such believers, who are engaged morning and evening in establishing His majesty and glory, the establishment of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah), and in establishing the honour and glory of His final Prophet—those who put them in tribulation and cause them suffering, those who burn their bodies or burn their homes, or those who, by ascribing falsehoods to them, burn their hearts—these I shall not let go. I shall certainly cast them into the fire of Hell, unless they repent. Allah Almighty accepts repentance and forgives. But if they do not repent, then let them remember: فَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ جَہَنَّمَ وَلَہُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِیْقِ۔ Just as they burnt the hearts of believers, or burnt their bodies, or burnt their homes, or kept trying—sometimes succeeding, sometimes not—in the same way they too shall be punished. But the punishment of such oppressors will be of two kinds: both outwardly and inwardly. Both the punishment of burning and the punishment of Hell. These people try to burn our hearts by levelling false accusations and by attributing falsehoods to us about that Being who is more dear to us than our very lives. But their own hearts, at this time, are burning in the fire of envy, seeing this truth: why is the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community progressing? Why, despite our entire opposition, is every member of the Community firm upon his faith? Why is every one of their children, the aged, men and women not afraid of us, and why are they confronting our oppressions eye to eye? The residents of Gujranwala had also offered great sacrifices in the riots of 1974 and had set an example. And today they have once again set a new example of sacrifice—in which an eight-month-old infant, a six-year-old girl, and one woman set an example of sacrifice by offering their lives as offerings. Rather, even a being who had not yet come into this world, who was to enter this world after a month and a half or two months, was also deprived of coming into the world because of these tyrants and departed having given its sacrifice.

In any case, regarding these tyrants and fire-kindlers, Allah Almighty has informed us what their end will be, and at the same time He has also consoled the believers with rewards in return for these sacrifices, by stating:

اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ آمَنُوْا وَعَمِلُوْا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَہُمْ جَنّٰتٌ تَجْرِیْ مِنْ تَحْتِہَا الْاَنْہَارُ ذٰلِکَ الْفَوْزُ الْکَبِیْرُ۔ Surely, those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them are such Gardens beneath which rivers flow, and this is the great triumph. The enemies started a chain of fires and kept watching over them so that they would not be extinguished. As is mentioned in our reports too, they even stopped the fire brigade and began throwing stones, telling them not to advance to put out the fire. Likewise, they stopped the ambulance from removing the patients and stood in front of it and danced. But Allah Almighty says: for these oppressed ones I have prepared such a Paradise whose gardens are such that their branches are intertwined with one another. Whose shades are cool. Beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they wish, they may drink water and refresh their throats and bodies. The enemy had tried to inflict the heat of fire. In Paradise there are cool shades. Not even the heat of the sun will reach them. The enemy had tried to choke the throats of innocent children and a sick woman with smoke, or had tried to make them parched, and had deprived them of water, thinking that thus their breath would be suffocated and they would die. But Allah Almighty says that He will provide for them open air and cool water, where their throats and bodies will remain fresh and refreshed at all times.

So this is the clear distinction between the end of those who light fires and the end of the oppressed and the believers. We have bowed before Allah Almighty for help against these oppressions before, and we bow before Him today as well. In these verses there is also the answer to that woman's question, who, a few days after this incident, wrote to me from Germany that Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has a revelation: "Do not frighten us with fire," or "do not frighten me with fire; fire is my slave—rather, even the slave of my slaves." (Adapted from Tadhkirah, page 324, fourth edition, published from Rabwah)

This woman did not write anything further, but the implication appeared to be: then why did all this happen?

The first matter is: keep your faith strong. Allah Almighty had also told us beforehand that thus it would happen, as I have explained in detail from these verses—that this would occur. These verses are very clear on this matter. And another meaning of the revelation is that we are not to be afraid of it. As is stated in the Holy Qur'an, these people will kindle fires. They certainly will kindle them. But the objective they wish to achieve through these fires, they will not be able to achieve. Their objective is precisely this: to light fires and turn Ahmadis away from Ahmadiyyat. To frighten Ahmadis with the punishment of fire that these people kindle. But has the faith of any true believer ever been lost on account of these things? Never. Yes, these fires, having become slaves, have certainly shown the believers the paths of progress. They have certainly opened doors to it and strengthened their faith. If outward harm came from this fire, that too became fertilizer and opened such doors for the progress and introduction of the Community that one is left astonished. And then, many times it has also happened that the enemy was even unsuccessful in his action, as I have mentioned.

So in every situation, when the results are indicating the support of Allah Almighty, it means that every matter has different aspects—outward as well as inward. But as Allah Almighty says, as a consequence of kindling these fires, I will give the fire-kindlers both the punishment of burning and the punishment of Hell, while for the believers who suffered loss from the fire, there are cool, shady gardens. These innocent children who gave their lives—they are dwellers of Paradise as it is. This sacrifice of theirs has made them all the more beloved to Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty has taken them into the embrace of His love. Nowhere in the revelation was it said that the fire is some sign for Ahmadis, or that it is a punishment for others and that these will remain safe from this punishment. No such sign had been indicated. The purpose was simply that we are not to be afraid of fire. Yes, sometimes it is fulfilled outwardly as well, and sometimes inwardly as well. Sometimes the fires are even extinguished, and sometimes harm is also inflicted. We see that in the era of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the punishment that was decreed for the disbelievers was the punishment of war. No other punishment came upon them. Hazrat Promised Messiah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has also stated this: that this very punishment was decreed for them, and by this they were destroyed and their power was broken. But did Muslims not also become martyrs in these wars? Certainly, they did. But where Allah Almighty said of the deaths of the disbelievers that they became inhabitants of Hell, of the death of the Muslims, He said: do not call them dead, rather they are alive. They are alive with Allah Almighty and are partaking of ever-new sustenance every day. So these martyrs of ours too are walking about in the Gardens of Allah Almighty. And this is perhaps also the first occasion in the history of Ahmadiyyat that all those who offered the sacrifice were women and girls. There is no male among them. So the sacrifices of these innocent ones are bringing the Hells of these tyrants closer, and insha'Allah Ta'ala, these sacrifices will never go in vain.

I should also clarify here that these deaths occurred from the stopping of breath; no one received burn injuries. This is despite the fact that the cruel people kept arranging for the fire again and again, and various kinds of fuel or broken items—buckets, household furniture, etc.—which they could not loot, or did not wish to take away as loot (they took away the rest of the valuable items as loot)—they kept throwing these into the fire again and again so that the fire would never go out. Now I will also place before you the report of this incident, along with some of the particulars. Among these martyrs, the lady who was martyred—her name was Bushra Begum Sahiba- was the wife of Mukarram Munir Ahmad Sahib, deceased. The girls were Azizah Hira Tabassum, daughter of Mukarram Muhammad Boota Sahib, and Kainat Tabassum, daughter of Mukarram Muhammad Boota Sahib.

In any case, everyone has heard of this incident. It has been reported in various places, but I will still narrate it. On 27 July 2014, in Kachi Pump Wali, Arafat Colony, Gujranwala, the extremist opponents of Ahmadiyyat attacked the homes of Ahmadi friends. They set fire to the houses, as a result of which, as I have mentioned, Bushra Begum Sahiba, wife of Munir Ahmad Sahib (deceased), age 55, and two young girls—Azizah Hira Tabassum, age 6, and Azizah Kainat Tabassum, age 8 months, who were the daughters of Muhammad Boota Sahib—were martyred. اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَ اِنَّا اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ۔ The details are as follows: on the day of the incident, one of the sons of the deceased martyr, Mukarram Muhammad Ahmad Sahib, after Iftari went to a nearby clinic to get some medicine. There he saw that his cousin Waqas Ahmad had been stopped by some people. Upon his asking what the matter was, those people also started using abusive language with him and levelled the accusation that one of your young men had insulted a picture of the Ka'bah on Facebook—God forbid. Upon this, he said: we cannot even imagine such a thing. From these things it is clearly evident that it was a premeditated plan. In any case, immediately those who were enemies became ready for a brawl and began striking with broken glass bottles. Upon this, Muhammad Ahmad Sahib, in view of the gravity of the situation, immediately called by phone his brother Muhammad Boota Sahib from his shop and his uncle Khalil Ahmad Sahib from home to the spot, who, upon arrival, tried to settle the matter. During this, Khalil Ahmad Sahib was also wounded by being struck with a broken bottle. In any case, the matter was settled for the moment. They came home and, having dropped his brother home, went to the service station which was their shop. A little while later, the same doctor in front of whose clinic this matter had occurred called Muhammad Boota and Fazl Ahmad Sahib on the phone and told them that people were gathering here and, in the form of a procession, were coming to attack your homes. Likewise, an announcement was also made from the Anjuman Tajran (Traders' Association) that people should gather and shut their shops, and that whoever did not shut his shop would himself be responsible. This was a properly planned operation. And all this work, as I have said, began with planning. In this area there are the homes of about eighteen Ahmadi friends in various adjacent streets. Upon receiving this information, the friends and women of fifteen Ahmadi households left their homes. However, Muhammad Boota Sahib and the families of two other houses—Muhammad Ashraf Sahib, President of the Jama'at, and his brother—were still at home when the procession attacked at approximately half past eight at night and, coming near the Ahmadi homes, raised intense slogans. They also opened fire and at the same time began breaking down the closed doors of the houses. Now in this matter too the police gave a false report to the newspapers, saying that firing took place from both sides. Whereas firing was carried out only by these opponents. There was no firing from the side of the Community. These people, with planning, attacked from every side together. There is a very large population of Shia residents in this area. Although the Shias talk a great deal, at that time they too supported these attackers—in fact, they did so most enthusiastically.

After this incident, the President of the Community immediately informed the SHO of Peoples Colony, upon which he said: I myself am present at the spot with police personnel, and I am taking the attackers with me for negotiations. In any case, the reality is that he did not take them along with him, and during this time the extremists attacked again, equipped with weapons and with hammers and pickaxes for breaking down doors and walls. Hammers, pickaxes, and weapons—all of this was with these attackers. Other crowds also came and joined them. Upon their arrival, they first broke the electric meters and cut the wires. In any case, due to the gravity of the situation, it is said that the families of the President Sahib and his brother took refuge, via the roof, in the home of a non-Ahmadi neighbour who belongs to the Ahl-e-Qur'an. He was a decent man and gave them refuge. Meanwhile, the families of Muhammad Boota Sahib and his brother Fazl Ahmad Sahib were confined in a room on the upper floor of their own house. In the meantime, the extremists entered the house and tried to break down the door of that room on the upper floor where these eleven women and children were locked in. When the door did not break, they put glue into the lock of the room, so that even from inside the door would not open and would be sealed. They broke the glass panes of the window of the room, and gathering plastic items and other things, they set fire to them right outside the door and the window. The toxic smoke of this fire filled the room from under the door and through the broken window, and after lighting the fire these cruel extremists, from this window, waving their hands, bade farewell in a mocking manner to those who were inside, and went off. Inside, eleven Ahmadi women and children were locked. In any case, due to the breath being stopped by the smoke, Bushra Begum Sahiba and her two granddaughters Hira Tabassum and Kainat Tabassum were martyred. اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَ اِنَّا اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ۔ The attackers were so enraged that they drove away from the spot the hospital ambulance and another emergency ambulance and fire brigade that had come to lift the wounded and to extinguish the fire. And all the extremists kept setting fire to the houses, burning them, and dancing alongside. Meanwhile, the police, like silent spectators, kept watching this entire operation on the spot and did not in any way attempt to stop the enraged individuals. The media also, after a long while, came and began their coverage. Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif Sahib, also took notice of this incident when the extremists had already completed their work.

The penetration of Ahmadiyyat into the family of the martyr Mukarramah Bushra Begum Sahiba, martyred in this tragedy, came through her grandfather, Mukarram Mian Shihab al-Din Sahib of Lodhi Nangal, who had the opportunity to enter the Bai'at in Khilafat-e-Thaniyya and to join the Community. These people had gone to Sialkot, and her marriage took place in Gujranwala with Munir Ahmad Sahib. Then she came here in 1976. Her husband, Munir Ahmad Sahib, had also passed away six months earlier. The other two martyrs, Hira Tabassum and Kainat Tabassum, were her granddaughters. This martyred deceased was, by the grace of Allah Almighty, regular in the five daily prayers, an offerer of Tahajjud, a reciter of the Holy Qur'an, very sociable, sympathetic, hospitable, and possessed of high morals. Putting out grain and food for animals and birds was her daily routine. And despite the fact that she had no formal office, whenever and wherever there was need for service to the Community, she immediately came forward. At the time of her martyrdom, she had a gold ring on her hand, earrings in her ears, as well as some cash. Perhaps she had taken it because she thought that perhaps now they would have to leave from here and would need some money. But during this, due to her breath stopping, she died. So when she was taken for the post-mortem, those cruel people also looted some of these items from her. A day before her martyrdom, she had also arranged Iftari for the neighborhood, and the martyred granddaughter Hira Tabassum had gone to the homes and distributed Iftari.

Muhammad Boota Sahib, whose mother and two daughters were martyred, had also lived in Saudi Arabia. From there, due to circumstances, he returned to Pakistan. Now, having come to Pakistan, he began the work of a car service station, and Allah Almighty bestowed His grace and it was going quite well. His brother Fazl Ahmad Sahib also did the work of renting out generators. He had a good business, and this too was a cause of the envy of the local people.

Amir Sahib Gujranwala has stated that the whole family is most well-mannered, most sincere, and possesses devotion to the Community. The area in which these people are settled—this circuit too had been formed only because of them, and they had also set up a prayer centre there. They were among those who took part most generously in chanda contributions and other Community schemes. In every way they were ever at the forefront in cooperation and obedience to the Community. The deceased martyr has left behind, among her survivors, three sons and two daughters. One son is this same Muhammad Boota Sahib whose two daughters were martyred. And the two girls who are gone—among their survivors are their mother, father, a five-year-old brother named Ata-ul-Wase', and a sister, Azizah Sidrat-un-Nur, three years old.

Amir Sahib Gujranwala further writes that on 27 July, Sunday, at approximately 9:30, about four hundred or five hundred people attacked the homes of the Ahmadi friends of Halqah Kachi Pump Wali. The mischief-makers attributed some objectionable picture on Facebook to the Ahmadi servant Mukarram Aqib Saleem Sahib, son of Mukarram Muhammad Saleem Sahib, and, making this a basis, gathered the people and spread riots—whereas no such incident had occurred. Besides those whose homes I have mentioned where they were martyred, the enraged individuals set fire to six more houses and looted their belongings. There were also shops near the affected individuals, which were attacked, and their welding plants, heavy generators, iron girders, and construction materials in which they did business—all of these were looted.

In the Gujranwala tragedy, besides those who were martyred, the wife of Muhammad Boota Sahib's brother Mukarram Fazl Ahmad Sahib, the respected Humaira Fazl Sahiba, along with her children—her daughter Atiyyatul-Basir, age three, Waqfa-e-Nau, Samar Munib, age one year, and Talha Anser, age one month—as well as Muhammad Boota Sahib's sister Mukarramah Mubashirah Jari Sahiba, wife of Mukarram Jari-Allah Sahib of Qila Kalarwala, district Sialkot, who had come to visit them—were injured. Mubashirah Sahiba was seven months pregnant and had come to her mother's place for the purpose of delivery and for celebrating Eid. The child whose loss was mentioned was her child, who was then sent to Rabwah and there she underwent an operation. Her condition is currently quite poor. She is admitted in the Tahir Heart Institute in Rabwah. Due to smoke filling her lungs, she has great difficulty breathing. Among the other injured friends, Munib Ahmad Lodhi, age thirty-three, was wounded by the violence of the attackers. He had been attacked, and his jaw and two teeth were broken, his ear had also been cut, and there were injuries on other parts of his body as well. His treatment is also ongoing. Khalil Sahib was wounded by being struck with a bottle. Muhammad Anwar Sahib of Qila Kalarwala, Sialkot, when he came to know of the incident, came to the aid of his sister Humaira Fazl Sahiba and Fazl Ahmad Sahib and other family members, and upon arriving, he then called the police. By that time, most of the people had already left—only one or two were left, or a few remained—and then the police came. Then, with the help of the police and by bringing an ambulance, they pulled the people out. And while pulling them out, because there was a large fire and the people had to be brought out from inside, during this, he too suffered minor injuries due to the fire. Boota Sahib's wife, the respected Ruqayyah Begum Sahiba, and his other two children, Aziz Ata-ul-Wase' (age five) and Sidrat-un-Nur, were also affected by the gas and smoke in this tragedy. They too are not well. Here in this area, there are eighteen homes, whose occupants are all interrelated. At the present time, they are in Rabwah. As I mentioned, the attackers burned six houses along with their belongings. These were the houses of Muhammad Afzal Sahib, Ashraf Sahib, Boota Sahib, Saleem Sahib, Khalil Sahib, and Feroz Din Sahib. While in the case of the two homes of Master Bashir Sahib and Mubashir Sahib, they engaged in vandalism, taking out their belongings and burning only those. In addition, the shops of five Ahmadi friends were also set on fire after being completely looted. Likewise, the prayer center of the Halqah was also targeted. After burning the copies of the Holy Qur'an, the Community books, and other items present there, they also set fire to the prayer center.

So these are, in brief, the events and circumstances of their tyrannical operations, regarding whom Allah Almighty says: If these people do not repent, then the punishment of Hell and the punishment of burning is their lot. May Allah Almighty soon make arrangements to seize the leaders of disbelief as well, and may He also arrange to seize those who are at the forefront of these fire-kindlers. Allah Almighty will surely raise the ranks of these martyrs. May He also grant patience and fortitude to their bereaved—especially to the parents and the brother and sister whose innocent little girls and sisters have been separated from them. May Allah Almighty also grant complete and swift recovery to all the patients, and may He, by His grace, also compensate for their financial losses and grant more than before. After the Friday Prayer, insha'Allah, I shall also lead their Funeral Prayer.