God states in the Holy Qur'an: 'O ye who believe! avoid most of suspicions; for suspicion in some cases is a sin...' (49:13)

The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: 'Things go wrong when man starts making erroneous conjectures and is suspicious. Positive thinking enables him to move onwards. It is difficult to reach the destination if he stumbles at the very first stage. Thinking ill of others is a terrible trait and it deprives man of many virtues. So much so that man begins to think ill of God.

'We do not know what is hidden in hearts and it is sinful to make conjectures in this regard. Man considers another to be evil and then becomes worse than him…It is not good to hastily think ill of others. Imagining that one knows what is in hearts is a highly sensitive matter and this caused ruination of many a nation for they thought ill of Prophets of God and their families.' (Tafseer Hazrat Masih e Maud, Vol. 4, p. 218)

Speaking of those who think ill of others Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that God had made him Khalifa and had kept him in Divine grace and succour and only the sightless would deny that God had always sent down help for him from the heavens. Addressing those who were critical of paying chanda he said such criticisms were also made to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who responded by telling the critics not to even give a penny in donation and then observe if the mission came to any harm. Hazrat Musleh Maud said he also responded to such people in the same vein challenging them not to pay anything and see how the mission carried on and how God sent people from nowhere with great sense of sacrifice! He added that it was regarding high status of his family (his blessed mother and four siblings) that God had informed the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that his family was to be buried in Bahishti Maqbara without the proviso of Wasiyyat. If his family usurped others why would God have given them this distinction! He said whoever attacks them attacks the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and in turn attacks God.

Hazrat Musleh Maud related from personal experience that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that he was shown graves made of silver and an angel told him those graves were his family's. Hazrat Musleh Maud told his critics that while God had turned the soil of their graves into silver owing to their criticism the critics were turning their silver into dust! As hypocrites work surreptitiously Hazrat Musleh Maud made all this public, otherwise, he said it caused him great embarrassment to disclose what he had spent in the name of God. Since a question had been raised he explained that the collective chanda/donation of his family was five times the amount about which it was alleged that he had usurped. He challenged the logic of giving an amount so that one –fifth of it could later be usurped in some way or the other!

Huzoor explained that such critics appear is every era but Hazrat Musleh Maud faced a large number of them.

Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) said people who are not part of us anymore had the habit of thinking ill of their brothers. They even said about the Promised Messiah that he spent Langar Khana (public kitchen) funds on his personal use. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) came to know this in his last days and he told Hazrat Musleh Maud that these people imagine that I spend Langar funds on personal use. They do not know that I even spend on Langar the money people give to me as offerings. Hazrat Musleh Maud said he used to manage the Promised Messiah's money orders, so he knew how little Langar funds were and could not have sustained the running of Langar. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said that had he left the running of Langar to the people who were unduly critical they would not have been able to manage. This indeed is what happened and Langar operated in the red for a long period but by virtue of the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) prayers the situation improved and now Langar operates all around the world most successfully.

After the passing away of Prophets of God spirituality diminishes although worldly success increases. Hazrat Musleh Maud said in this regard that after a Prophet of God passes away spiritual night falls whereas in terms of material/physical success it is a time of sunrise! This is what happened in the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), Jesus, Moses (peace be on them both) and indeed the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).

The last Jalsa of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was attended by 700 people. Hazrat Musleh Maud recalled that as the Promised Messiah went out for a stroll and saw large number of people gathered he said it seemed his work was done because signs of emergence were there. He considered 700 attendees to be a very large number and said no one could obliterate Ahmadiyyat anymore.

Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) recalled how concerned the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) became when Langar expenses increased and guests in large numbers came. He remarked that now [in his time] an individual Ahmadi could bear the cost of the running of Langar.

Following the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) prophecy regarding earthquakes a large number of people descended on Qadian and many lived in tents. One day the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was quite concerned about the finances and mentioned to Hazrat Amman Jan (may Allah be pleased with her) if a loan had to be taken to meet the expenses. He went for Zuhr Prayers and returned smiling. He told Hazrat Amman Jan that in spite of constant signs of God man becomes negative. He referred to his earlier suggestion of taking out a loan for Langar expenses and said a man in unkempt clothes approached him at Prayers and handed him a small but heavy bundle. The Promised Messiah assumed it had a lot of coins in it whereas it had notes worth hundreds of rupees. If today a person was offered one day of the time of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) on the condition that he met expenses of one day of Langar he would say let alone one's day's expenses, take a year's expenses of the Langar from me but please let me experience one day of the time of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). However, who has the good fortune to experience the sacrifices people of those days made! Hazrat Musleh Maud said he once made a note on his Holy Qur'an: 'Oh, the time of the Promised Messiah! There were few then but there was peace. Later on God gave us many successes but these successes cannot match the time of the Promised Messiah!'

Huzoor said there is no doubt that now the Jama'at is in a position to present its point of view to important and prominent people and we are also very strong in financial terms as compared to the times of the Promised Messiah. Today one individual's chanda comes up to the amount which was perhaps collected in an entire year or two years at that time. Yet who can say that this time is anything like that era! However, we can still be recipients of the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) prayers if we instil the passion and drive to fulfil his mission as he expected of us and with the aim to develop in spirituality as well.

Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) recalled that he witnessed the love and adoration of those around the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Those who came later or even those who were young at the time cannot have an idea of this love and adoration. He says although he was young at the time God had bestowed him a heart which was inclined to these matters from a young age. He saw year after year that those companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) lost their sense of delight after his passing away. Hazrat Maulana Nur ud Din Khalifatul Masih I (may Allah be pleased with him) who had great resilience and fortitude would tell Hazrat Musleh Maud in private that he felt an emptiness in his body and also felt an emptiness in the world around him.

Advising Jama'at workers to only seek from God Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) used to feel the cold and took musk as an antidote. He would keep a small bottle of musk in his pocket which he took when needed. A small bottle would last for up to two years and not finish. However, the Promised Messiah related that when he thought that only a little was left and looked at the diminishing amount in the bottle, it soon finished. God provides for His servants from unseen sources. Hazrat Musleh Maud advised Jama'at workers to only seek from God Whose treasures were ceaseless and not depend on and expect too much from Jama'at whose resources were limited.

Hundreds of prophecies of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) were fulfilled after he passed away. Speaking of the prophecy of Musleh Maud which was about him, Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) said the prophecy stated: 'He will be characterised by grandeur, greatness and wealth'. In the lifetime of the Promised Messiah his property amounted to 10 thousand rupee, we know this because he challenged his critics that if they could prove him wrong he would give them all his worldly assets of ten thousand rupees. Hazrat Musleh Maud said now the property is valued in hundreds of thousands and this was because of grace of God. After the passing away of his blessed father Hazrat Musleh Maud was handed land documents by his maternal grandfather and he felt helpless. He was approached by a Sheikh Nur Ahmad Sahib who offered his services to handle matters of the land. Hazrat Musleh Maud told him that he could not afford to employ him but Sheikh Sahib said he would work for whatever was affordable and started work on nominal pay. This appointment was blessed by God and the property appreciated over the years. When it was time to publish the first translation of the Holy Qur'an Hazrat Musleh Maud wished his family to meet the expenses. He consulted Sheikh Sahib who sought permission to sell a portion of land for building purposes to raise the needed funds. Soon after the required money was received and the neighbourhood of Muhalla Darul Fazl was built on the land that was sold.

The love for Qadian that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had can be seen in this account. When the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) fell ill for the last time he was in Lahore. He told Hazrat Musleh Maud that he felt sunshine in Lahore was somewhat muted and pallid whereas the sunshine in Qadian was bright and vivid.

When as a young lad Hazrat Musleh Maud saw boys riding bicycles he developed an interest in getting a bike for himself. When he mentioned this to his blessed father, his father expressed his preference for horse riding saying it was more of a manly pursuit. When Hazrat Musleh Maud asked him for a horse the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote to someone to purchase a horse for his son. A mare was duly acquired but sent as a gift. After the passing away of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) Hazrat Musleh Maud decided to sell the mare so that his blessed mother did not have to bear the expense of its upkeep. When Hazrat Musleh Maud mentioned this to a friend he advised against selling it as it was a gift from the Promised Messiah. Hazrat Musleh Maud was nineteen years old at the time but instantaneously responded no doubt the mare was a gift from the Promised Messiah, but his blessed mother was a greater gift and he did not wish to put her in any difficulty at all as regards the mare.

Speaking of the time of the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) passing, Hazrat Musleh Maud says God greatly strengthened his heart and his mind promptly grasped that they were faced with a great responsibility. And made this pledge: 'God I stand by the body of Your Messiah and affirm that even if not a single person remains in the world to do this task, I shall carry on.' He said he felt an indescribable strength at the time.

At this time Hazrat Musleh Maud heard people say that the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) passing was before time. No one said that, God forbid, he was false, but they said that he had not yet fully taken God's message to people and all his prophecies had not been fulfilled. He stood by the body of his father as a nineteen year old and prayed: O God, this person was Your beloved and as long as he lived he made countless sacrifices for Your religion. Now You have called him to You. People are saying his passing is before time. It is possible that such matters will be a source of stumbling for these people and their associates and the Jama'at may disperse. Thus, O God! I promise You that even if the entire Jama'at turns away from Your religion I will give my all for it.'

He wrote that years later he still felt the resolve within him with renewed relish. Hundreds of storms of opposition arose against him but were eliminated and with special grace of God he had been triumphant. So much so that the very same people who had said that the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) passing was before time were astonished to see the success of his mission. Indeed, one who is resolute can face and endure huge numbers of difficulties.

Huzoor said every member of our Jama'at should pledge that they have to work for the cause of faith. Every adversity will turn into comfort for us and we will feel delight in our work. Indeed, we will be faced with difficulties but to march onwards and upwards is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).

It is the task of Ahmadiyya Jama'at to take the message of One God to the world and bring them in the sphere of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). It is a tremendous task and can only be done with God's help and support. None of our tasks are accomplished without Divine help.

The pledge that Hazrat Musleh Maud (may Allah be pleased with him) made by the side of his blessed father's body should be the pledge of each one of us. We should indeed pledge to remain distant from shirk (associating partners with God) and try our utmost for the mission of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and fulfil the pledge of waving the banner of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). May God enable us to do so!