Muslim Meditations

Translation of the Holy Quran marks fulfilment of a mission

I seek refuge from the accused Satan and begin this discussion in the Name of Allah the Gracious, the Merciful.

Background
The translation of the Holy Quran into three Gambian languages seems to evoke some debate in certain circles. As a senior member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, I feel obliged to make some clarifications by putting things into their proper perspective.

Every action of man or community is driven by certain motives and aspirations. Jama’at Ahmadiyya the Gambia did not just jump into translating the Holy Book in our local languages. Perhaps some bit of history will help the mature and open-minded reader.

Let me make one point abundantly clear right from the outset. The views expressed in this piece of material are strictly my personal views and not those of Jama’at Ahmadiyya the Gambia. I take full responsibility for whatever opinion is expressed here.

Like any religious sect, Ahmadis believe in certain fundamental philosophies and doctrines. All the denominations of Islam share certain fundamental doctrines, beliefs and norms. They all follow the basic teaching of the Holy Quran, Hadith and Sunnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw).

We are all bonded together by the same mode of worship and code of conduct or way of life as defined in Sharia. But we differ on certain concepts and interpretation. These differences emanate principally from variations that emerge in perceptions and interpretations constructed by the Imams and divines of the various sects.

As Ahmadis we firmly believe that the promised advent of the Messiah concerning whom prophesies are contained in Islamic, Christian and scriptures of other religions, is fulfilled in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian. We harbour the unshakeable belief that the task for which he has been appointed is that he should remove the obstacles which have been set between man and his Maker, thus re-establishing in the heart of men love and devotion to God. Part of his mission was to make manifest the truth by ending all religious wars and strife and that way lay the foundations of abiding peace.

He is to acquaint the world with the spiritual truths which had been forgotten and demonstrate to the world the true spiritual life which had been displaced by material desires. In the month of March 1882, Allah chose Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as the non-law bearing messenger to deliver His messages to the world. In March 1889 he started enrolling his disciples.

We believe that the Ahmadiyya Community, through its founder and his Khilafat, is destined to herald the ascendancy of Islam and bring about the promised heaven on earth. The means for the Ahmadiyya Community to bring about this ascendancy must be available. The Community must have an established structure and authority that will champion the entire process of transforming and dominating mankind spiritually.

That structure and centre is none other than Khilafati Ahmadiyya. All major undertakings of the Jamaat are sanctioned by our Khalifa through the network of Amirs around the world. The translation of the Holy Quran into three Gambian languages had the blessing and approval of both our Fourth Khalifa, late Harzat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (ra) and the current Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masoor Ahmad ( may Allah strengthen his hands).

Translation of the Holy Quran into as many languages as possible is essential for bringing about the ascendancy of Islam and the promised heaven on earth. The Jama’at is destined to do just this. In other words, the translation of the Quran is something that has been decreed.

Allah Almighty Himself guarantees continuity of the institution of Khilafat in Islam until the last hour. It is God’s design that spiritual leaders and teachers, who are the heirs of the Prophets, should always continue to be available. After an interval of thirteen hundred years, the system of the rightly-guided Khulafa in Islam was instituted once more, as prophesied by the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad Mustafa (saw) . Khilafati Ahmadiyya is here to stand the test of all times.

It is an institution that is protected and guarded by God Himself. It has always been the way of God, Almighty to help His Apostles and Messengers and makes them dominant, as He said in the Holy Quran ‘Allah has set it down to stand for ever that He and His Apostles shall prevail (58:22).’

It is always the desire and aim of the Prophets that the truth of the Way of God should come to be fully established in the earth. Allah manifests, with powerful signs, the truth of their claims, and sows at their hands the seed of righteousness which they want to spread. Allah has fulfilled His promise by appointing Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as the Reformer of this age. He and his Khilafat are manifestations of the reinstitution of true Khilafat in Islam.

This is our belief and nothing under the sun will detract us from it. We are the only Islamic sect on earth today that operates under the divinely-guided leadership of a single spiritual leader. The Ahmadiyya Jama’at operates within the framework of a complex structure that devolves from the apex and cascades down to the tiniest organ at the grassroots level. Our Community is run strictly in according with Islamic Law and Sunnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (saw).

Its is founded on the same organizational structure, ideals and norms as had characterized the Islamic form of government headed by our master, seal (authenticator) and most noble of all of prophets, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw) and his rightly guided khulafa. It has been prophesied by Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) that the promised victory of Islam will be realized at the hand of the Promised Messiah. Therefore the Ahmadiyya Jamaat’s march to champion the promised victory of Islam has been prophesied and there is no force that can frustrate the cause.

The so-called Islamic scholars whose agenda is to arrest the wind of change are only dreaming and making the fool of themselves. Allah, Lord of the Universe, says the cock will crow and his voice will reach every corner of the earth. Any person, group or institution who tries to silence the cock is bound to end in humiliation.

The Promised Messiah (as) declared on a countless number of occasions that God Almighty had commissioned him, at the beginning of the 14th century, to revive and support the true faith of Islam. He is the Messiah who is to invite people to partake of the heavenly banquet, and whose coming had been foretold by the Holy Prophet (saw).

He has come so that the people who slid back into an irreligious state or forsake their Creator can be recharged with the true spirit of the religion. His mission is continued by his Khulafa in order that mankind will be redeemed spiritually.

Khilafat in Islam is God’s representation and manifestation on earth. The Promised Messiah (as) once said "Be it known to all sincere ones who have entered into the covenant of bai’at with me that the purpose of the covenant is that the love of the world should grow cold and love of God and of the Holy Prophet (saw) should fill the heart, and the soul should be weaned away from the world so that the journey to the hereafter should not appear disagreeable".

t is crystal clear from this exposition that Khilafat Ahmadiyya is a means of spiritual salvation and elevation for mankind. Our purpose in translating the Holy Quran in our local languages is a response to the challenge to salvage the people of our sub-region and elevate them to a high degree of spiritual station.

God created man in the best form to achieve high spiritual destiny and He exalted him over all the other beings, putting all the other creations in the universe at his service. For man to be able to discharge his great and sacred trust, he had first to attain to Divine knowledge and obviously he could not achieve this without a correct conception and comprehension of his Creator.

So it was necessary that God Himself should first have given man the knowledge of Divine attributes so that he could recognize his Creator and behold Him and attain His nearness. Of course man needed the guidance of God to enable him make proper use of his natural faculties and abilities and for this reason God sent down His guidance to mankind through revelation. First, God chose a suitable person to be His representative in the world and He guided him to the right path that enabled him to reach a high moral and spiritual station so that He could manifest in his person Divine attributes and become the image of his Creator.

Then He appointed him to be His Messenger to the people to raise them also to the highest moral and spiritual levels through following his example and enable them to form a community which deserves to be representative of the One God on earth. The institution of Khilafat is this bounty that God bestows on a community (Ummah) whose members are following the true Divine guidance to the letter.

He gives His chosen community power and dominion over the other communities so that they can maintain order and establish His Unity in the world. Through the passage of time God raised many prophets for this purpose. He could never leave mankind in a state of spiritual death. It is God’s Law that whenever darkness overcame the universe and people lost their spiritual relation with their Creator, God raised a prophet to reform them and He revealed to him His laws to teach them how to worship Him. This way they establish a living relationship with Him and hence they are raised from their spiritual death.

This is why the Ahmadiyya Jama’at differs with orthodox Muslims on the erroneous notion that Allah has stopped sending prophets to redeem mankind. In their view, not even non-law bearing prophets will come again.  God-chosen Khalifas are enabled to attain the highest spiritual levels so as to become a manifestation of Divine attributes and hence deserve to be called the Khalifa or representative of God on earth. Many Prophets were sent to their own people and the laws or religions which God revealed to them were suitable for their time and circumstances.

As man developed through the ages and the horizons of his mind expanded, he required further admonishment and guidance. When man reached the final stage of his development, it was necessary to send down the final universal law, Islam, for the guidance of mankind for all times to come. This mission needed the perfect man. The Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (saw) alone was found capable of being entrusted with the revelation of this most perfect and final law because no other man was endowed with those great qualities which were indispensable for full and adequate discharge of this great responsibility.

Today, the latter days, Khilafati Ahmadiyya is the embodiment and manifestation of the Holy Prophet (saw) and the power house for the discharge of his Divine mission as bestowed on the Promised Messiah, Harzat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (as). In Chapter 24 Verse 56 Allah has made a firm promise ‘Allah has promised to those among you who do good work that He will surely make them successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them’.

For the fulfillment of this promise, Allah orders the believers to observe

Prayers and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger in all matters.

When they fulfill these demands the mantle of Khilafat will be bestowed upon them and they will be made leader of communities and nations. The task and challenge to raise mankind from a state of spiritual death into a state of spiritual glory is today the responsibility of Khilafat. Like the Successors of the Holy Prophet (saw), the mission of Khilafati Ahmadiyya is to reform the Muslims and correct their beliefs which were corrupted through the centuries and guide them to follow the right path of Islam.

We Ahmadis have good reason to boast that we are the only sect in Islam who is following a Divinely-guided Khalifa, an embodiment and manifestation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). This assertion may taste bitter to some people, but it is an undeniable fact. It is a doctrine in which we are firmly rooted and there is no force that can detract us from it.