2017 01 The Light January 2017

International Organ of the Centre for the worldwide 

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam 

The only Islamic organisation upholding the finality of prophethood. 

2017 

January 

April 

2016 

Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at 

www.virtualmosque.co.uk 

Editors: 

Shahid Aziz 

Mustaq Ali 

Contents: 

ن ی ِْ الرَّح ب اہلل الرَّْحْ‏ ٰ 

The Call of 

the Messiah 

by 

Hazrat Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad, 

The Promised 

Messiah and Mahdi 

س ْ ِ 

ِ 

Criterion for judging ahadith concerning 

prophecies 

If there is a hadith containing a prophecy 

which the muhadditheen i have considered 

weak, but in your or at some earlier time than 

i Compilers and scholars of the hadith 

Page 

The Call of the Messiah 1 

Submission and Sacrifice – II 

By Dr Jawad Ahmad 2 

The Early Legacies of Mirza Ghulam 

Ahmad and the Lahore Ahmadiyya 

Movement in America 

By Patrick Bowen Ph.D. 7 

A message for the Jalsa 

By Iain Dixon 11 

Readers’ Comments 12 

The new Lahore-Ahmadiyya Mosque 

yours, the prophecy contained in that hadith 

has been fulfilled, then that hadith must be accepted 

as authentic. And, those who judged it 

weak and failed to accept it, thinking that it was 

a fabrication, will be considered as being in error. 

The number of ahadith ii containing prophecies 

runs into hundreds. Most of these have 

been held by the muhaddithin to be fabricated 

or defective. But, when one of these is fulfilled 

and you try to avoid the point by saying that you 

could not accept it because it was weak, or this 

or that narrator in the link through which it had 

come was not a righteous man, then such a rejection 

on your part would be due to your lack 

of faith. This is because you would rejecting a 

hadith whose reliability had been established 

by Allah by the fulfilment of the prophecy contained 

in it. 

Now, suppose there are one thousand 

ii Plural of hadith. 

Nickerie, Suriname 

I Shall Love All Mankind.



The Light 2 

ahadith of this kind, held to be weak and unacceptable 

by the muhaddithin. And, further suppose 

the prophecies contained in them happen 

to be fulfilled. Would you reject them? And, also 

reject the one thousand arguments in support 

of the truth of Islam which the fulfilment of the 

prophecies stood for? If you do anything of the 

kind, you will thereby become enemies of Islam. 

Allah says: The Knower of the Unseen, so He 

makes His secrets known to none, except a messenger 

whom He chooses. . . (76:26-27). 

Therefore, to whom is a true prophecy to be 

attributed, if not to a true prophet? Is it not 

more in tune with one's righteousness of mind 

to say on such occasions that the muhaddith in 

question had erred in so far as he had rejected 

as weak a hadith which, in fact, was quite reliable? 

Or would it more proper for us to say that 

in supporting a weak hadith with the testimony 

of actual events Allah Himself had been guilty of 

an error? For you, the guiding principle in any 

case should be that you should follow even a 

weak hadith, provided it is not contrary to the 

Holy Quran and the Sunnah, or contrary to 

other ahadith which agree with the Holy Book. 

Amazing Story of 

Submission and 

Sacrifice II 

Dr. Jawad Ahmad 

(continued from the December 2016 issue) 

Personality of Prophet Abraham is very pivotal 

in the religious structure of Islam. Islam 

owes a great deal to the prayers of Prophet 

Abraham, and it reaches its spiritual climax 

with paying homage to him in the form of Hajj. 

One can come across number of verses in the 

Quran in which Holy Prophet Ibrahim is highly 

However, great care is needed on this point, 

for it is a fact that there exists a large number of 

fabricated ahadith which have caused a great 

deal of disruption in Islam. All the conflicting 

sects take as the basis of their authority this or 

that hadith, as suits their needs. So, that even 

such a clear and well established question as 

that of the prescribed obligatory prayers has 

given rise to extreme differences of view. For example, 

after the recitation of the Al-Fatihah, 

some say "Ameen" loudly, audible to others. 

While, others adhere to the view that this 

should be done silently in one's own mind, 

while others believe that such recitation spoils 

one's prayer and is, therefore, forbidden. Some 

hold their hands folded on the breast, while others 

hold them at the navel. The real cause of all 

these differences can be attributed to the 

ahadith themselves, as the Holy Qur'an says: 

But they became divided into sects, each party rejoicing 

in that which was in them (23:53). 

I Shall Love All Mankind. 

Photographs of the opening ceremony of the 

new Lahore Ahmadiyya Mosque in Nickerie 

in Suriname





The Ameer, Hazrat Dr Abdul Karim Saeed, 

opening the annual prayer meeting of LAM. 

praised and is regarded as “model of virtue”: 

“Surely Abraham was a model of virtue, obedient 

to Allah and upright… and grateful for Allah’s 

favours. Allah chose him and guided him 

on the right path . . . We revealed to you (O Muhammad): 

Follow the faith of Abraham, the upright 

one . . .” (16:120-123). Hazrat Mirza Ghulam 

Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya 

Movement in Islam, has put special emphasis on 

this aspect of Islam and tried to revive the 

Quranic injunction to persuade followers of 

other religions to at least believe in One God “O 

People of the Book, come to an equitable word 

between us and you, that we shall serve none 

but Allah and that we shall not associate aught 

with Him” (3:63). And this is what Prophet Jesus 

also exhorted to his disciples: “Jesus said 

unto him, thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with 

all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 

thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” 

(Matthew 22:37,38. Luke 20:27). Even 

during the life time of the Holy Prophet (s) he 

held discussions with Christians with a view to 

create better understanding and closer relationship. 

This dialogue was held with a Christian 

delegation of 60 priests from the city of 

Najran, in Syria. In the dialogue, all important 

questions about Jesus such as his birth, his alleged 

claim to divinity and his death were discussed. 

Similarly, the founder of the Ahmadiyya 

Movement held long and in-depth discussions 

with Christians and Hindus and even offered to 

give up eating cow’s meat etc. provided they 

stop maligning the Holy Prophet Muhammad. 

Ahmadi scholars like Maulana Abdul Haque 

Vidyarthi, a scholar of Sanskrit and keen student 

of comparative religions, inferred from Vedas 

and other Hindu scriptures that Brahma is 

from Abraham or Arabic Ibrahim. He also made 

a research and substantiated that prophet Dhul 

Kifl mentioned in the Quran most probably refers 

to Kapilvastu, (21:85) which is the birth 

place of prophet Buddha in Nepal. It is a historical 

fact that it was the Founder of the Ahmadiyya 

Movement who encouraged a well-known 

Hindu Pundit Shaugan Chander to hold an interfaith 

conference in Lahore in 1896. The Promised 

Messiah’s paper read at the Conference 

was later published in the form of the book: Islami 

Usool ki Philosophy. Its first English translation 

was by Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali as 

The Teachings of Islam. It is time to boost efforts 

for religious understanding and harmony. It will 

not only make followers of other religions 

aware of the true teachings of Islam but it will 

also help in negating the misconceptions created 

by the extremist activities by the disgruntled 

elements among the Muslims. History tells 

us that prophet Abraham in his several long and 

arduous travels from Canaan to Makkah, each 

way, trudged through deserts and rugged 

mountains covering almost 1300 miles. This 

great migration in obedience to the command of 

Allah was not to find a better and flourishing 

city – but to a city which is even today surrounded 

by arid desert and rocky mountains. 

Prophet Abraham with his wife and a son were 

commanded by Allah to raise foundations of a 

House of God which in the centuries to come 

was to witness fulfilment of prophecies made 

through the tongues of Moses and Jesus. This 

unnoticed city was destined to become centre of 

universal teachings of Islam and was to become 

symbol of Divine might which withstood several 

attempts to destroy it. This first House of God, 

has after centuries, regained its destined glory, 

and God proved that He can transform a muddy 

house into glorious spiritual centre which today 

enjoys respect and honour of millions of peoples 

across the world. This house of God is a living 

monument vindicating truth of all the 

prophets – from Adam to Holy Prophet Muhammad 

- who delivered message of unity of God 

and guidance to achieve nobility and submission. 

Prophet Abraham and his family played a 

marvellous role in the working of this Divine




Plan and there cannot be more lasting reward 

for them than the institution of Hajj when every 

tongue and heart of a Muslim recite salutations 

and blessings for them. When Hazrat Ibraheem 

leaves his wife and his son on the command of 

Allah in the desert, did the wife complain? No, 

rather she lived in those inhospitable surroundings 

showing utmost courage and patience. 

Again, when the son comes of age and is able to 

help his father and be his support, he sees in a 

dream that he should sacrifice his son. When 

this dream is repeated and he asks his son for 

advice, does the son falter in his resolve to follow 

request of his father? It is difficult to see any 

son, agreeing to such an act on himself, unless 

he has complete faith in the nobility, trustworthiness, 

and godliness of his father and his own 

personal faith and relationship with Allah. It is 

only in this context that we could appreciate 

Ishmael responding: “O my father, do as thou art 

commanded: if Allah please, thou wilt find me 

patient.” My own understanding of this response, 

is that Ishmael’s offer in a way received 

greater acceptance by Allah and He not only replaced 

it by a ram but also enjoined it to be a 

part of the rituals of Hajj. Again, we should see 

the act of sacrifice in relation to our own children. 

As a child, Ishmael, by his devotion to Allah, 

set the stage for the abolishment of human 

sacrifice which was prevalent among the peoples 

of that time. It is therefore heart-rending to 

read that when young fifteen year olds, act as 

suicide bombers to kill themselves and the people 

in the name of Islam. This is, in fact, an outright 

defiance of Islam and mockery of the spirit 

of Eid-ul-Adha. Replacement of a ram in the case 

of Ishmael was designed specifically to abolish 

such cruel acts of paganism. Moving on with the 

subject of sacrifice: We see common day examples 

of sacrifice and the results it shows. For example, 

students who work hard and sacrifice 

leisure activities and don’t waste time on games 

and television etc. do see the results of their 

hard work. Also, more recently we had the 

Olympic games being shown from Rio, and stories 

of all the athletes were full of sacrifices for 

the last 4 years and how they missed their families 

and cut themselves off from other worldly 

activities and concentrated on their chosen 

sport and see how they were rewarded with 


success and jubilation for all to see. So there are 

examples for all of us that we can achieve anything 

in life if we set our minds to it and work 

hard to achieve it. Then there are ordinary sacrifices 

which we make in our choices on daily 

basis where we may sacrifice one thing or another 

to please each other which helps cement 

our relationships and allows us to live more 

harmoniously. All religions have their annual 

remembrances. For example, in this country we 

see nativity scene being played and acted in 

schools and churches all over - reminding people 

of the birth of Jesus and the story as per 

Christian religion. This keeps the significance of 

the birth of Jesus (as) and his significance as the 

son of God for the whole world to see. Same is 

the case with other religions. Dr Basharat Ahmad, 

a well-known writer and scholar of the 

Quran, has written a beautiful article explaining 

the philosophy of this sacrifice visualising it in a 

wider perspective. He has explained in particular 

symbolic importance of the sacrifice of an 

animal vis-a- vis love of God and sacrifice in 

submission to His will. “There are two things essential 

for the love of Allah, one is belief in the 

unity of Allah and the other is sacrifice. Love of 

worldly things and relations are usually determined 

by the importance of these things; the 

more value a thing holds in our opinion, it will 

supersede the love we have for it. For example, 

love of the wealth is very common but if your 

life is in danger then you will sacrifice it readily 

to save your life. Similarly, in case one’s honour 

is at stake, then one would sacrifice life one’s for 

the sake of duty and honour. So, supreme love is 

that one should sacrifice, what is most dear to a 

person than to earn that love. True love demands 

that the object of love should be one and 

that you should be so much in love with it that 

you are ready to sacrifice everything else in order 

to achieve that objective. Unless intensity of 

love for the objective is so overwhelming, it cannot 

be considered to be whole-hearted love. In 

other words, love for an objective demands negation 

of any other love. That is why perfect love 

demands sacrifice of all other loves. Same is the 

case when we say we love Allah and nothing but 

Allah: laa i-laa-ha ill-lal- laah it should mean 

that we totally negate entertaining any other 

love and are ready to obey His commandments




though we have to sacrifice any worldly objective. 

That is why when a Muslim believes in the 

unity of Allah, and takes an oath: laa i-laa- ha illlall-laah. 

It means that by taking this oath, he 

undertakes to love One and Only Allah and negates 

love of all other objectives. This negation 

on the part of a believer is further intensified by 

subsequent undertaking: ill-lal- laah – that is, 

nothing but Allah. So, the first part of the Kalimah 

is demonstration of love for Allah to the utter 

negation of all other loves. Therefore, Islamic 

formula, Laa i-laa- ha ill-lal- laah is an expression 

of perfect love for Allah to the exclusion 

of all other worldly interests. In other 

words, we take an oath that if any worldly interest 

comes in the way, we are ready to sacrifice it 

and will hold belief in Allah above worldly affairs. 

That is why we find all the prophets invariably 

demonstrating such perfection in love for 

Allah and His creatures that they were regarded 

as perfect examples. The Holy Quran bears witness 

to the perfection of love and obedience of 

prophet Abraham and Prophet Muhammad (s) 

in these words: “Surely Abraham was a model of 

virtue, obedient to Allah, upright, and he was 

not of the polytheists” (16:120). Similarly, about 

the Holy Prophet Muhammad Allah testifies: 

“Surely you have sublime morals” (68:4). In 

other words, a believer’s love for Allah is so perfect 

that he cannot ignore his love for His fellow 

beings. That is why his character is a perfect example 

and anyone who follows him becomes 

lover of Allah and Allah in return loves him. This 

is what the Quran says: “Say: If you love Allah, 

follow me: Allah will love you, and grant you 

protection from your sins” (3:30). The Holy 

Quran explains this point in the following 

words: “There are some who take for themselves 

objects of worship besides Allah. And 

those who believe are stronger in their love for 

Allah” (2:165). Love is a relative term. Man loves 

various things in his life which include his family 

and other material things. But Quran has 

placed the love of Allah in the highest order. And 

that is why in order to achieve higher and 

higher state of moral sublimity, love of Allah 

works as the most active motivation. 

Therefore, while performing sacrifice, the 

object should be complete submission to the 


will of Allah and that gives strength to a believer 

to stand steadfast and bear opposition and 

hardship in upholding the truth. The Holy 

Quran draws our attention to the object of offering 

sacrifice as ‘performing of duty’ and not to 

achieve any ulterior objective: “Not their flesh, 

nor their blood, reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable 

observance of duty on your part. Thus 

has He made them subservient to you, that you 

may magnify Allah for guiding you aright. And 

give good news to those who do good (to others)” 

(22:37). The flesh and blood of the sacrificial 

animal does not reach Allah but what is required 

to achieve thereby is God-consciousness 

so that we fulfil our obligations which we owe 

to Allah and His creatures with sincerity and devotion. 

One way of understanding significance 

of submitting to the will of Allah which can be 

symbolically called Sacrifice is to visualise state 

of an animal when he is being slaughtered. Animal 

stands for animal instincts such as worldly 

emotions and desires while angelic instincts are 

humane and moral desires. Sacrificing an animal 

stands for that we commit ourselves to sacrifice 

our worldly desires and submit entirely to 

the will of Allah just like an animal is subservient 

to the will of his master. Only and only then 

we can truly stay true to the greatness of Allah. 

This is also the significance of reciting Allah-o 

Akbar while putting knife to the throat of an animal. 

In this state when we are reciting Allah-o 

Akbar (exalting His Glory) while slaughtering 

the animal we should be fully conscious of Allah’s 

total over-lordship just as the animal is entirely 

at the mercy of his master. To proclaim Allah’s 

greatness is committing ourselves to submit 

entirely to the will of Allah and cut off all ties 

to the worldly desires as sacrifice is to cut animal 

physical relationship. In the struggle between 

animal and angelic instincts Divine guidance 

helps in overcoming animal instinct and 

attaining moral victory. The Kaabah is a continuous 

source of physical and spiritual blessings. 

Its blessings do not end with the annual Pilgrimage; 

it continues in the form of Umrah for 

the rest of the year. Even celebration of Eid-ul- 

Adha, sacrificing an animal, reciting takbirs after 

daily prayers for three days is partaking in 

the acts of devotions being performed at the 

Kaabah and other sites such as Muzdalifa, Mina




and Arafaat. It is not just a visit to the House of 

Allah. It is presenting oneself before Allah and 

renewing one’s pledge to obey His commandments 

and submit to His will. Pilgrimage provides 

both an inclusive and an exclusive spiritual 

exercise for moral and spiritual elevation. 

During this time, the pilgrim feels a compelling 

urge to bring a change in his life and to seek forgiveness 

and repentance. The continuous recitation 

of being present in Allah’s August Presence 

and acknowledging Allah’s blessings and 

bounties, the pilgrim aspires to a life of bliss and 

contentment in this world for himself and for 

his family and the near and dear ones. These 

moments of self-realisation and outpouring before 

the Lord of the worlds, is an opportunity to 

achieve tremendous bliss and spiritual elevation. 

There is subtle Divine wisdom underlying 

the three practices in Islam, prayer, fasting and 

pilgrimage. These can be regarded as three 

practical steps towards attaining purity and 

sublimity in the eyes of Allah. It starts with selfrealisation 

in ritual prayers, then goes a step 

further when we undergo physical hardship 

during the month of Ramadan to perform noble 

acts and inculcate feelings of fellowship, and towards 

the last ten days when we enter into partial 

seclusion – itikaaf – to make more vigorous 

strides towards our spiritual development and 

character- building. Then, if we have the means, 

we move to the step of complete seclusion and 

submission in Hajj, in which state we become 

oblivious to our normal worldly routine and relations 

and we devote ourselves completely to 

the worship of the One and Only God. Hazrat 

Maulana Muhammad Ali has beautifully summed 

up the benefits of this spiritual journey in 

these words: “Islam lays the greatest stress 

upon the spiritual development of man, and in 

its four main institutions – prayer, zakat, fasting 

and Hajj . The five daily prayers require the sacrifice 

of a small part of his time and, without in 

any way interfering with the everyday life, enable 

him to realise the Divine that is within him. 

The institution of zakat demands the giving up 

of a small portion of his wealth without interfering 

with his right to property. Fasting requires 

the giving up of food and drink but not in 

such a manner as to make him unfit for carrying 

on his regular work or business. It is only in Hajj 


that asceticism assumes a marked form, for the 

pilgrim is required not only to give up his regular 

work for a number of days for the journey to 

Makkah, but he must, in addition, give up many 

other amenities of life.” Sacrifice in the case of 

Eid-ul-Adha is to remind us that sacrifice 

strengthens bond of love whether it is with Allah, 

or individuals or a country or any noble 

cause. It helps us to achieve the objective. When 

we claim that we love Allah, it means we love to 

obey commandments of Allah and to serve His 

creatures. In other words, love and obedience 

are like body and soul. Success and failure of 

one, is dependent on the other. In other words, 

both body and soul enjoy the bliss and endure 

punishment of good or bad deeds. Spirit of sacrifice 

lies in humility, kindness and good gesture 

shown at any place, time and moment which 

brings peace, happiness and comfort. It is a 

spirit which works irrespective of cast, creed, 

colour, race, nationality and religion. It needs no 

language, a simple nodding, a smile, a helping 

hand and sharing food or anything generates 

such a great feeling of friendship and love. Hajj 

provides a marvellous occasion to experience 

this spirit of sacrifice. Thus, spirit of sacrifice is 

a key to developing all individual and social relationships 

which Divine guidance intends to inculcate 

in a society. The Holy Quran regards 

such acts of sacrifice as maoon or small acts of 

kindness. It reprimands a believer for not doing 

small acts of kindness: “So woe to the praying 

ones, who are unmindful of their prayer; who 

do good to be seen and refrain from acts of kindness” 

(107:4-7). The Holy Quran explains beautifully 

the purpose of mentioning the stories of 

old. It is to remind the believers to learn lessons 

from the past. But in the case of Pilgrimage, reminding 

is of a different kind. Every pilgrim reenacts 

those events and takes an oath in the 

presence of Allah to glorify Him and obey His 

commandments. The Holy Quran says: “And remind, 

for reminding profits the believers. And I 

have not created the jinn and the men except 

that they should serve me” (51:55,56). 

Let us try to practise the spirit of sacrifice in 

our daily lives and make our lives individually 

and collectively a haven of peace and happiness.




Dr Patrick Bowen addressing the jalsa over 

Skype. 

The Early Legacies of Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad and the 

Lahore Ahmadiyya 

Movement in America 

Patrick Bowen Ph.D. 

(Editor’s note: A paper delivered at the Annual Conference 

of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Anjumans Ishaat Islam 

of Lahore, December 22, 2016. Emphasis in bold at 

various places is by the editor.) 

One of the reasons I am so pleased to be 

here this morning is that as a scholar who specializes 

in the history of conversion to Islam in 

America, I have come to see that there are few 

figures and movements as significant in 

American Muslim history as Mirza Ghulam 

Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya Movement. Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad appears to have personally 

played a crucial role in the creation of some of 

America’s first Muslim convert and Sufi communities 

and the later Lahore Ahmadi movement 

influenced several other important Islamic 

currents in the United States as well. So, 

to be able to be with you here and speak with 

members of a movement that has had such a 

prominent place in American Islamic history is 

indeed a privilege. 

This morning I would like to outline the 

early impacts of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the 

Ahmadiyya Anjuman of Lahore in the United 

States by looking at these impacts as having occurred 

over the course of five distinct periods. I 

am going to be focusing on a ninety-year time 

frame, 1886 to 1975, not only because this is the 


area of my specialization but also because this 

time frame encapsulates a history that has 

shaped the direction of American Islam ever 

since. In each of these five periods, influential 

figures and Islamic organizations 

emerged with important ties to either Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad himself or to the Lahore Ahmadiyya 

Movement. These figures and organizations 

would go on to shape important early 

contours of the American Muslim community in 

both relatively well-known ways and lesserknown, 

but still significant, ways. Each of these 

periods, then, offer key insights into the role of 

the Ahmadiyya movement in the development 

of the Muslim community in the United States 

and how Islam in America - especially that of 

American converts to Islam - was uniquely 

shaped by the Ahmadiyya movement. 

The first period of Ahmadi influence on the 

American community encompasses the years 

during which Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself was 

in direct contact with Americans. Most scholars 

of both Islam in America and Ahmadi history 

are aware that the first prominent white 

American Muslim convert, a man named Alexander 

Russell Webb, initially began taking 

a serious interest in Islam after starting a 

correspondence with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 

in late 1886. In this correspondence, which 

lasted several months, Webb showed enthusiasm 

for spreading Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s ideas 

and was invited to Qadian to study under the 

teacher. Having no means to provide for his family 

in his absence, Webb was forced to decline 

the offer, yet it seems to have been this very invitation 

that motivated Webb to obtain later 

that year a job that would permit him to move 

his entire family to Southeast Asia, which he 

hoped would eventually allow him to visit India. 

During his five-year stay in Asia, although Webb 

lost contact with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, he retained 

his passion for Islam and had embraced 

the religion by the summer of 1889. Soon after 

this, he met with various Muslim funders who 

helped Webb develop a mission to spread Islam 

in the United States, and between 1893 and 

1897, Webb led the first major Islamic movement 

in America. Because of infighting and possibly, 

as Webb argued, a widespread fear of the




potential repercussions if Americans converted 

to Islam, Webb’s Islamic movement never 

gained mass popularity. Webb, therefore, retired 

to a quiet life in America, although he 

maintained his connections with Muslims 

throughout the world, including the Ahmadiyya, 

for whom, in 1910, he helped with the revision 

of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s book The 

Teachings of Islam. 

As I have stated, Webb’s connections 

with the Ahmadi community are fairly well 

known to scholars, but there are also a few less 

well-known ties between Americans and Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad during this same period. One of 

the most fascinating possible connections appeared 

during the same time and at nearly the 

same location that Webb first took an interest in 

Islam. It seems that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s 

first exposure to Americans came by way of 

an article published in 1886 in a journal for 

members of the Theosophical Society, a liberal 

spiritual organization that was devoted to 

studying the various religions of the world. 

Webb was a member of this organization at the 

time, and it seems to have served as the intellectual 

and organizational model for his later Islamic 

movement. Interestingly, though, an acquaintance 

of Webb who was also in the Theosophical 

Society - a man named Thomas Johnson 

- may have similarly been inspired by the 

article about Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, for in early 

1887 he established his own organization devoted 

to studying Sufism, or Islamic mysticism - 

which had been precisely one of the key elements 

of Islam Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was promoting 

at the time. Johnson’s group, known as 

the Sufic Circle, was the first Sufi organization 

in the United States, and it may have influenced 

later Sufi movements that were to spread in 

America and throughout Europe. 

A small number of other Americans seem to 

have been linked with the Ahmadiyya movement 

during these early years as well. According 

to Ahmadi sources, a physician and follower 

of Webb, Dr. Anthony George Baker, embraced 

Islam directly through correspondence 

with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In addition, 

a man from New York named F.L. Andersen, 


who began corresponding with Mirza Ghulam 

Ahmad in 1901, was soon being promoted 

as the first true Ahmadi convert in 

America. Andersen remained committed to the 

Ahmadiyya cause for the next thirty years; 

however he became devoted to the Qadian faction, 

which made a strong effort to promote Islam 

to Americans during the 1920s. 

The Lahore-based Ahmadiyya Movement, 

however, does not seem to have made clear inroads 

in the United States until the early 1930s, 

and this represents the second period of links 

between the Americans and Ahmadis. Like in 

the previous era, this period’s Ahmadi influence 

came not from Ahmadiyya representatives who 

were physically present in the country, but rather 

from overseas missionaries. At the time, 

the Muslim mission in Woking, England was being 

significantly influenced by the Ahmadiyya 

Movement of Lahore, and it was that community 

that was publishing one of the first widely 

popular English-language Islamic journals to be 

read in the United States. In fact, the editors of 

the Islamic Review appear to have made a strong 

push to promote both their magazine and Islam 

itself during the early 1930s. Letters published 

in the journal reveal that it was being sent to libraries 

and schools across the country and, in 

the process, was stimulating American interest 

in the religion. 

Perhaps one of the most surprising, if littleknown, 

outcomes of this particular Ahmadi effort 

is that the magazine’s tendency to publish 

letters from Americans made other Americans 

aware of their presence, which in turn helped 

bring together various American Muslim 

convert-focused organizations. The earliest 

example of this is the case of the white converts 

in Los Angeles, California, who read about each 

other in the magazine’s 1931 and 1932 issues. 

By the summer of the latter year, white Muslims 

in the region who had met each other through 

the journal began to organize. Then, in the 

following year, a small, but nationally-focused 

Muslim organization named the American 

Islamic Association used the Islamic Review 

to recruit the West Coast converts into its 

East Coast-based network. The American 

Islamic Association had been indirectly linked




to the Woking mosque since the former’s 

founding in 1930, and its members even had 

their own articles appear in Woking’s journal; 

but were it not for the Woking mission 

connecting the Americans who were 

scattered across the country, the American 

Islamic Association probably would never 

have become the first truly national convertbased 

Muslim organization in the United 

States. And, as we will now see, this 

accomplishment helped lay a foundation for 

future generations of American Muslims. 

It was in the third period that the Lahore 

Ahmadiyya connections finally became direct in 

America, and in the process they helped 

establish a strong multiracial, convert-focused 

Muslim community in the United States. 

Members of the American Islamic Association, 

first of all, appear to have come into contact 

with the Lahore movement’s leaders in India; 

Lahore’s joint secretary K.S. Chaudhri Manzur 

Ilahi announced in 1936 that he had been in 

communication with the group’s leaders. 

However, what was perhaps more important for 

Mr. Ilahi was the actual Ahmadi mission in 

America that was founded in 1935. Although 

the extant evidence is somewhat unclear about 

the issue, it appears that the person responsible 

for starting the American mission was an 

African American convert named Saeed Ahmad. 

Mr. Ahmad seems to have been from the 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region and more than 

likely had previously been involved in one of the 

several different Islamic sects that had been 

popular in the region over the previous ten 

years. According to various accounts, in 1934 

the region’s Muslim community, which had 

recently unified under the Qadiani movement, 

underwent a major schism, and, due to the 

effors of Mr. Ahmad and others, the Lahore 

Ahmadiyya movement gained a significant 

following in the region. As a result, over the next 

dozen years the Lahore-influenced region 

became one of the main centers of mainstream 

Islam among African Americans, with its 

influence spreading across the country. 

Meanwhile, white and immigrant Muslims 

who were associated with the old American 

Islamic Association continued to maintain ties 


with Lahore, and new white converts with 

Lahore links began appearing. The most notable 

of the latter type was a woman from New York, 

Nadira Osman, who embraced Islam after 

reading the works of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and 

learning of his connections with Alexander 

Russell Webb. By the 1940s, Miss Osman and 

other white converts and immigrants were 

connecting with each other and organizing new 

Islamic institutions and interacting with 

Lahore-influenced African Americans in several 

regions of the country. In fact, during the war, 

African Americans with Lahori connections 

attempted to create the first truly 

multiracial and national mainstream 

Islamic organization, the Uniting Islamic 

Societies of America. Although the institution 

had dissolved before 1950, it solidified 

connections and left an important model and 

organizational legacies for American Muslims 

in the ensuing years. 

There is some overlap between the third 

and fouth period of American contacts with the 

Ahmadiyya movement of Lahore. In 1943, as 

Ahmadi-influenced Americans were developing 

their own institutions, leading Ahmadi figures 

in India decided that the time was ripe to 

establish a full-fledged mission in America led 

by learned Indian Muslim teachers. The mission 

was officially launched in 1947 when the 

Lahore representative, Bashir Ahmad Minto, 

arrived in San Francisco, California and 

incorporated the Moslem Society of the USA. Mr. 

Minto quickly went to work, sending out 

hundreds of advertisements and letters to local 

and national periodicals, giving dozens of 

lectures across the state, distributing Islamic 

publications to all who were interested, raising 

money to purchase a building, and corresponding 

and meeting with hundreds of Muslims 

and potential converts. With these efforts, he 

had established the first robust Lahore Ahmadi 

mission in America, and as a result he had 

begun winning over to Islam a new class of 

Americans: college-educated whites. In previous 

periods, the vast majority of American 

converts to Islam had not attended college. In 

most cases, although these people tended to be 

interested in intellectual subjects like history




and philosophy, they had not formally attended 

a post-secondary institution. But Mr. Minto’s 

approach to promoting Islam was able to bring 

in the college-trained, and at one school, the 

well-respected University of Chicago, one of Mr. 

Minto’s converts established a college Islamic 

association, one of the first of its kind in the 

country. Despite these new development, 

however, the earlier Lahore connections with 

Americans were not forgotten, and after Mr. 

Minto left in the mid-1950s, a former member 

of the American Islamic Association, Muharrem 

Nadji, was appointed to be the new official 

representative of the Lahore movement in 

America. 

The final period of American contact with 

the Lahore Ahmadiyya movment, like the fourth 

period, had some overlap with the previous 

period as well as connections with Lahoriinfluenced 

developments from earlier in the 

century. The main figure of this era was a 

Pakistani named Muhammad Abdullah, a welleducated 

representative of the Lahore 

movement who first traveled to the United 

States in the mid-1950s. During this initial 

seventeen-month stay, while Mr. Minto was 

focusing his conversion efforts on white 

Americans, Mr. Abdullah became interested in 

African American Muslims who belonged to the 

famous non-orthodox sect, the Nation of Islam. 

Soon, Mr. Abdullah began exchanging letters 

with the head of the Nation, Elijah Muhammad, 

with the hope of eventually bringing him and 

his organization to mainstream Islam. After a 

brief time working in the Fiji Islands, Mr. 

Abdullah returned to the United States and 

became a leading Muslim figure in both 

California and, after affiliating himself with 

African Americans who had been influenced by 

the Lahore movement back in the 1930s, in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Although one of Mr. Abdullah’s key 

contributions during his American career was 

helping enable the Lahore movement better 

recruit African Americans in California, it was in 

the latter city, Philadelphia, that he was able to 

leave his greatest legacy. It remains somewhat 

unclear how exactly it occurred, but in the year 


1960 Mr. Abdullah came into personal contact 

with Wallace Muhammad, the son of Elijah, and 

heir-apparent of the Nation of Islam. At the 

time, Wallace was working in Philadelphia as a 

minister for the Nation, but despite being 

regarded by many in his group as the future 

national leader of their community, he had 

come to question several of the Nation’s nonorthodox 

teachings and was beginning to take 

an interest in orthodox Islam. Mr. Abdullah 

therefore offered to educate Wallace on many 

things about Islam, including teaching him 

some Urdu and Quran commentary. Wallace 

regarded this education as a turning point in his 

religious life. He soon would break from his 

father and align himself with the famous 

Malcolm X when the latter embraced orthodox 

Islam. In fact, Malcolm’s orthodox Muslim 

organization even formally met with Mr. 

Abdullah’s Philadelphia group in late 1964. 

However, after Malcolm’s assassination the 

following February, Wallace, fearing for his life, 

spent the next ten years publicly wavering 

between a commitment to his father’s 

organization and orthodox Islam. It seems, 

though, that in private he was commited to 

orthodoxy and had begun making plans to 

convert the Nation of Islam - which was by far 

the largest and most influential Islamic 

organization in the United States at the time - 

into an orthodox movement. Then, when Elijah 

Muhammad died in February 1975, Wallace, as 

predicted, took charge of the organization and 

almost immediately began to implement the 

massive religious transition of the group’s 

doctrines to align with orthodox Islam. Mr. 

Abdullah himself was even praised in the 

community as an important religious teacher 

and was frequently featured in the movement’s 

newspaper. Wallace Muhammad’s conversion 

of the Nation of Islam brought tens of thousands 

of African Americans to orthodox Islam, and 

this community, which is now entering its third 

generation as an orthodox movement, remains 

the largest African American orthodox Muslim 

community in the United States. Because few 

groups have been able to quickly convert so 

many people to a single new religion 

without the use of force, this transition was 

an event that has few equals in world




history, let alone in the history of religion in 

America. Were it not for the work of Mr. 

Abdullah, then, this significant event may 

have never come to pass. 

To conclude my speech this morning, I 

would like to not only summarize my main 

points, but also point out a few larger themes 

that I think we can take away from this history. 

To state my main point once again: there were 

five distinct periods during which either Mirza 

Ghulam Ahmad himself or the Ahmadiyya 

movement of Lahore played important roles in 

shaping American Islamic life. During these 

periods, the impact of the Ahmadiyya movement 

was felt through not only its teachings 

being spread, but, perhaps more significantly, in 

the actual organizations that developed with its 

influence. Dozens of Islamic movements have 

attempted to shape and influence Islam in 

America over the past 130 years, but relatively 

few have affected the creation of numerous real 

institutions. The Ahmadiyya movement of 

Lahore not only did that repeatedly, but 

played a role in the emergence of some of the 

most important and groundbreaking 

institutions and transformations in the 

history of American religion. There are traces 

of Ahmadi influence in the very first organized 

American Islamic orthodox and Sufi 

movements; the first truly national movement 

for converts; the first large national multiracial 

orthodox Islamic organization; at least one of 

the first Muslim organizations at an American 

college; and the largest African American 

orthodox Muslim community in the United 

States. The efforts of the Ahmadiyya 

movement must therefore be looked at as 

having played a vital role in the shaping of 

Islam in America. 

A Message for the Jalsa 

Iain Dixon 

I greet you all in the name of the Lord Jesus 

Christ. I write to you from the land of England, 

and wish you all the blessings of Allah Almighty 

as you gather together for your convention. The 

Lahore Ahmadiyya community may have people 

who despise it, persecute it, misunderstand 


Zahid Aziz Ph.D. addressing 

the jalsa using 

Skype. 

it. But you have 

friends too. I am a 

friend of your Jamaat 

and have experienced your love, care and hospitality 

first hand. I count you my friends. 

May this Convention be for you a time of renewal, 

refreshment, renewing of friendships … 

and most of all, a time to reconnect with your 

creator. At this special time of Jalsa, may you all 

be reminded of the words in the Honoured 

Quran which say: "Truly my prayer, and my service 

of sacrifice, my life and my death, are all for 

Allah, the Lord of the worlds." -Surah 6:162. 

All that you have, all that you are, and all 

that you will become, belongs to Allah. Look for 

new ways to express your devotion to Allah. 

Rekindle the passion you once had to serve 

him wholeheartedly. Let go of the failings of 

the past, and take hold of the future with a 

new zeal. 

We live in a time where the world is full of 

hatred. I love the motto of your worldwide Jamaat: 

I Shall Love All Mankind. I am reminded 

of a prophecy in the Holy Bible that speaks of 

the days we are living in now . . . 

"In the last days perilous times shall come. 

For men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, 

boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to 

parents, unthankful, unholy . . . lovers of pleasures 

rather than lovers of God, having a form 

of godliness, but denying its power."- 2 Timothy 

3:1-5 

Many today are quick to profess themselves 

to be Muslims, but their actions would tell forth 

a different message. I am thankful to you, the 

Lahore Ahmadiyya community that you stand 

out amongst the Muslim crowd. You live out the 

values of peace, love and tolerance, and have a 

desire to serve your communities. In your lives, 

corporately, and individually, you echo the 

words of our Lord Jesus, who said we are to 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

soul, strength and mind . . . and to love your




neighbour as yourself."- Mark 12:30-31 

Your Jamaat may seem small, but I think of 

the great Sequoia trees of America which are 

over three hundred feet tall, but start off from a 

seed which is only the size of a fingernail! Something 

that is seemingly small and insignificant, 

can become something amazing. Almighty Allah 

can use that which is small, and use it for his 

glory. 

Some of the most beautiful words in the 

Honoured Quran are found in its opening chapter: 

“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most 

Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and 

Sustainer of the Worlds. Most Gracious, Most 

Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgement. You 

do we worship, and your aid do we seek. Show 

us the straight way. The way of those on whom 

you have bestowed your grace, those whose 

portion is not wrath, and who do not go astray.” 

May this chapter be the heartbeat of your 

lives. May it be the blood flowing through your 

spiritual veins. May you continue to worship Allah 

alone. May you continue to seek his aid. May 

you continue to seek the straight way. As the 

needle of a compass always points north, may 

the compass point of your heart always point towards 

Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. 

Enjoy Jalsa! Be blessed! Love in Christ. 

Readers’ Comments on the 

article: 

‘Was the Holy Prophet (s) 

unlettered?’ 

Zainib Ahmad (USA) 

I have always wondered about the blessed 

Prophet being unlettered. I liked the article very 

much and have read in Reza Aslan's book, a similar 

view, which I liked. I agree with the points 

you have presented so far. I am surprised that 

there are alternate hadith on the same topic. 

The last time I presented the view in a dars that 

the blessed Prophet was literate, I was silenced 

with the hadith about Hudaibiya, when he said, 

“show me where it is” and he erased it himself. 

Now I realize that there are many narrations of 

the same hadith, and we do not have to take any 

one as being final. 

However, mum did not like your points at all 

and immediately dismissed them! She prefers 

the traditional view that the Quran is a miracle 

because the blessed Prophet was unlettered, 

and it would be less of a miracle, if he were not. 

She feels the Quran clearly says that he was unlettered! 

Andrea Stanton, PhD. Assistant Professor 

(USA) 

I would just note that iqra’ historically meant 

read in the sense of reciting, and that reading in 

general was a far different practice than today’s 

notion of individual, silent reading. So, in the 

historical context, “iqra’” tells us nothing about 

whether someone was wholly or partially literate. 

But your argument about the use of ummi 

in respect to Muhammad I think is an important 

one, and adds a substantial gloss to how he was 

distinguished from other humans. 

A young 

member 

reciting a 

poem of 

the Promised 

Messiah 

at the 

jalsa. 

Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK) 

Founders of the first Islamic Mission in the UK, established 1913 as the Woking Muslim Mission. 

Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, UK, HA0 4JQ 

Centre: 020 8903 2689 President: 01793 740670 Secretary: 07737240777 Treasurer: 01932 348283 

E-mail: info@aaiil.uk 

Websites: www.aaiil.org/uk | www.ahmadiyya.org | www.virtualmosque.co.uk 

I Shall Donations: Love www.virtualmosque.co.uk/donations 

All Mankind.

2017 01 The Light January 2017

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?