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Friday Sermon: Prophecy of the 'Promised Reformer' - Why do we celebrate the day of 20th Feb

Friday Sermon (English Translation) 23 Feb 2018: Prophecy of the 'Promised Reformer'

Why do we celebrate the day of 20th February?

Our Imam, Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh V , says: 20th February is the day when the Promised Messiah , having received the news from God, foretold the birth of a son and published an announcement to that effect. This announcement mentioned various attributes of the Promised Son and was published on 20 February 1886. It is in this context that we hold celebrations on 20th February, or on an alternate date if this date is unfeasible. We celebrate Musleh Mau‘ūd Day and hold Jalsas in celebration of the fulfilment of a great prophecy, and not to celebrate the birth of Hadrat Bashirdu-Din Mahmood Ahmad , Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh II .

I thought it necessary to explain this because some young people sometimes ask why, when we celebrate Musleh Mau‘ūd Day, do we not celebrate the birthdays of other Khalīfas. So it should be clear that this day is not the birthday of Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud , who was born on 12 January 1989. The status of Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud in the eyes of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I . With regard to his status in the eyes of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I , I will cite an account related by Pir Manzoor Muhammad Sahib . About six months prior to the demise of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I , Hadrat Pir Manzoor Muhammad Sahib , the author of Yassar-nal-Qur’ān, said to Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I that, after having read the Announcement, he had come to know that Mian Sahib, i.e. Hadrat Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad was the Promised Son. Hearing this, Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I said: I already know this. Do you not see that I meet Mian Sahib in a special way and hold him in high regard? Pir Sahib wrote down these words and presented them to Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I to sign them. Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I wrote that he had said these words to Brother Pir Manzoor Muhammad Sahib and then signed it dated 10 September 1913. On the evening of 11 September 1913, a day after the above mentioned episode, Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I was lying down and I was massaging his feet.

Without any prior conversation, Hadrat Khalifatul Masih I said to me: Do not publish this yet (that is to say, his testimony that Mirzā Bashir-ud-Din is the one the prophecy refers to), until a time when there is opposition. The dream of Ghulām Husain Sahib Ghulam Husain Sahib, an elder from Sialkot, wrote to Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh II after he announced that he was Musleh Mau‘ud. He said: My dear leader and guide, Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh II , Musleh Mau‘ud! Having read the Al-Fazl of 30 January, I am deeply grateful to Allāh for having made true a dream of mine. Huzoor might remember that during the lifetime of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I , in the office of Al- and in the presence of the late Shadi Khan Sahib of Sialkot, I had congratulated you, for Allāh had shown me in a dream that you would be the Khalīfa after Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I , and you would be successful and become the recipient of Divine revelation. I had also related this dream to Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I and he had happily agreed to this and said: This is why some people have started opposing him. I had also related this dream to the late Syed Hamid Shah Sahib. God be praised that Huzoor himself has now announced in 1944 that he is the Musleh Mau‘ud, for I had known with certainty even during the life of Hadrat Khalīfatul Masīh I that he was God’s Khalīfa and Musleh Mau‘ud.

The statement of Sheikh Noor Isma‘il of Sarsah Hadrat Sheikh Noor Isma‘il of Sarsah relates: I heard from the Promised Messiah , not once, but many, many times, that the son mentioned in the prophecy is Mian Mahmood. And we also heard him say that Mian Mahmood is so full of religious zeal that I specially pray for him. Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud’s claim in the light of Divine revelation Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud did not claim to be Musleh Mau‘ud until God told him. He only announced it after he was given clear permission to do so. He said: Indeed, because so many of the signs foretold by the Promised Messiah have been fulfilled, many in the Jamā‘at said that the prophecy relates to me.

But I had always held that until God clearly instructs me to make such a claim, I will not do so. Finally the day came when God decided that I make the announcement. In a Jalsa in Hoshiarpur he said: “In accordance with the commandment of God, I swear by His name and announce openly that, according to the prophecy of the Promised Messiah , God has declared me to be that Promised Son, who was going to spread the name of the Promised Messiah to the corners of the world." Then, during the Jalsa in Lahore, he said: "I swear by the One and Supreme God — to swear falsely in Whose name is merely the work of the accursed ones, and whoever makes a false claim in His name cannot escape His punishment — that God informed me in Lahore, at the house of the advocate, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad Sahib, on 13 Temple Road, that I am indeed the fulfilment of the prophecy of Musleh Mau‘ūd, and that I am that very Musleh Mau‘ūd through whom Islām would reach the corners of the earth and the unity of God would be established in the world." The statement of Arjang Singh, a Sikh journalist A non-Muslim Sikh journalist Arjang Singh, the Editor of Rangeen Amritsar writes: In 1901, while Mirzā Bashir-du-Din Mahmood Ahmad was only a child, Mirzā Sahib published a prophecy which said: “You will have a son that will one day become My beloved.

Through him I will dispel darkness and draw the world towards him. This is not a prophecy but a succour for the heart. Praised be the one who disgraced my enemies.” This prophecy is indeed amazing. In 1901, Mirzā Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood was not a great scholar nor did he show any political prowess. Hence to have predicted at that time that he would have a son with such abilities is a sign of spiritual power. It might be argued that in making this prophecy Mirzā Sahib laid the foundation of a hereditary system whereby his son would be his successor. But this thought is false, because Mirzā Sahib did not lay down any condition that his successor must be from his family. Hence his first successor was one who had no relation with his family at all. And it was quite possible that even after Maulawi Hakim Noor-ud-Din Sahib, the first Khalīfa, some other person could have become Khalīfa, because Maulavi Muhammad Ali Sahib, Amīr Jamā‘at Lahore, was also a candidate for that position, but the majority sided with Mirzā Bashir-ud-Din Sahib and he was elected Khalīfa. If a spiritual power was not working through Mirzā Sahib, then how would he know that he would have such a son? At the time that he made the announcement, he had three sons, and he prayed for all of them, but the prophecy related to only one of them. We find that he indeed turned out such that he brought about a revolution in the world.

The statement of Maulavi Zafar Ali Maulavi Zafar Ali Sahib of Zameendar openly admitted: Listen with open ears that, till the last day, you and your cronies will never be able to compete with Mirzā Mahmood. Mirzā Mahmood has the Qur’ān and the knowledge of the Qur’ān. What have you got, who have never read the Qur’ān even in your dreams. Mirzā Mahmood has a community that, at his slightest command, is willing to lay down their very lives at his feet. Mirzā Mahmood has scholars who are experts in various fields of knowledge and he has made his mark in all countries of the world.

Please convey these guidelines given by Huzoor to members of your Jamā‘at.

Jazākumullāh. Wassalām, (Ch. Hameedullah)

Wakīl A‘lā,

Tahrīk Jadīd Anjuman Ahmadiyya Pakistan.

Dated: 28 February 2018

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