Seedling of the British

Seedling of the British

Great Britain and the Islamic World

In the early part of the nineteenth century the onslaught of European powers on the world of Islam had already started and their authority and influence had spread to several Muslim countries. In this eastward expansion of European nations, Britain was in the forefront. She was in the vanguard of the military advance as well as economic and political predominance over Eastern countries. India and Egypt were already under her occupation. Ottoman Turkey was one of the main fields of British diplomatic operations and conspiracies. Her political ambitions also menaced the Arabian Peninsula.

In India the British domination had virtually been established even before 1857. The successors of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb had become idle pensioners of the British, and were paralysed politically. The reins of power in the subcontinent were in the hands of the British. In 1799, the gallant career of Tipu Sultan came to an end with his martyrdom and the way was paved for further British penetration. Being confident of the stability of the British power in India, the Christian missionaries had launched upon their proselytising endeavours, The first targets of these missions were, naturally, the Muslims from whom the British had snatched their political power. The principles of Islam, began to be ridiculed. The country was led to social breakdown and moral anarchy. The-Islamic bases of social life were shaken. Western civilization began to make inroads into the homes of Muslims and into their hearts and minds. Atheism began to catch the imagination of educated young men and developed almost as a fad.

The reaction against all these led to the. famous Indian struggle for independence of 1857 which, as it is well known, was led by the Muslims. The British emerged as t he triumphant power and India became part of the imperial domains of the British Crown. The infuriated victors took their revenge to the full upon the rebellious Muslims, who were responsible for the "Mutiny". The British launched on a policy to systematically humiliate them. They hanged many members of the aristocracy and quite a few 'ulama. They confiscated their awqaf (religious endowments), closed on them the avenues of respectable employment and completely weeded them out of the country's administration. (Details are given in W. W. Hunter's Our Indian Mussalmans and Sir Sayyid Ahmad's Asbab-i-Baghawat-i-Hind.) Thus the Muslims ad become members of a humiliated and vanquished nation. Their situation reflected the eternal reality embodied in this Quranic verse:

"Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and make the noblest of it meanest."

In this country, the position of the British was not merely that of ungodly and tyrannical rulers. They also represented a culture which became the mainspring of atheism, moral cynicism and social anarchy in the country. In practice, they were opposed to all those values, religious and moral standards, on which the Islamic way of life rests. They were a criminal nation whose history was replete with wrongs perpetrated against the world of Islam.

 The attitude of Prophets

Now, if we were to consult the records of the prophets and their true successors and sincere followers, they clearly indicate that they have always opposed and resisted tyrants and wrongdoers and have abstained from whatever might support or strengthen such despots. The following statement of Moses (upon him be the peace of God) found in the Holy Qur'an is significant:

O my Lord ! For that Thou hast bestowed Thy grace on me never shall I be a help to those who Sin."

The resentment that he had against unbelief and tyranny, and their standard bearers, is also borne out by the following prayer which he made to God in respect of Pharaoh and his courtiers:

"Our Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on Pharaoh and his chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of the Present, and so, Our Lord, they mislead (men) from Thy path. Deface, Our Lord, the features of their wealth, and send hardness to their hearts, so that they will not Believe until they see the grievous penalty."

God Himself instructs the believers to adopt the following attitude with regard to tyrants and oppressors :

"And incline not to those who do wrong, or the Fire will seize you ; and ye have no protectors other than God; nor shall ye be helped."

Then there is a well known Tradition :

"The best (kind of) jihad is (to proclaim) the word of Truth in the face of a tyrannical ruler."

The Holy Prophet, his noble Companions and his true successors never cooperated with any power which stood for falsehood and injustice. Their tongues were never soiled with praises and eulogies of tyrants. The history of Islam is replete with courageous expressions of protest and revolt against oppressors. There is no period in Islamic history, and no area of the Muslim world, which has not witnessed this noble struggle.

 Protagonist of the British Imperialism

But contrary to the illustrious teachings of the, Holy Qur'an and the spirit of Islam and in violation of the noble example of the Prophets, their companions and their followers, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be a God-sent messenger, is full of praise for the greatest force of evil of his age- the British Government. He never tires of praising that very government which had been the usurper of Islamic dominions, the greatest rival to the temporal power of Islam, and a great standard-bearer of atheism and moral degeneration. He praises the British with a vehemence which casts doubt on the motives of any conscientious man, not to say of a prophet. From the very beginning he was so greatly concerned with praising the British that there is hardly any work of his which has remained immune from flattery. We have already noted that in his first book, Barahin-i-Ahmadiyah (vol. I) he had lavishly praised the British, had recounted their benevolent achievements and services, had assured them of Muslim loyalty, and had expressed his views against the doctrine of jihad. These trends persisted in his writings right up to the end of his life. He almost produced a whole library of books on the subject. In these books he returned again and again to assuring' the British of his unswerving loyalty and recounted the services of his family to the British along with his own support. At a time when the feeling of Islamic self-respect was in need of being aroused and the nation needed the impulse to resist its oppressors, he again and again repeated that jihad had become out-of-date. Below are a few excerpts from the Mirza's own writings to illustrate his trend of thought:

"The greater part of my life has been spent supporting and defending the British Government. And I have written so many books regarding The prohibition of jihad and obedience to the British that were they to be gathered together, they would fill fifty book-cases. Such books have been disseminated over all the countries: Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Kabul and Rum. I have always endeavoured that Muslims became true well-wishers of this Government and their hearts were purged of baseless traditions about the bloody Messiah and the bloody Messiah and those fanatical teachings which corrupt the hearts of the stupid."(Tiryaq al-Qulub, p. 15.)

  At another place, he propounds allegiance to the British as one of the two pillars of faith :

"My religion, which I have been explaining again and again, is that there are two parts of Islam: one, to obey the exalted Allah, and, second, to obey the government which has established peace, and has provided its shadow of protection as against oppression. Such a government is the British Government. ("Ishtihar Government Ki Tawajjuh ke Lai'q" in Shahidat al-Oyr'an, p. 3,)

In a request to the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab on 24th February, 1893 he wrote:-

"The other thing worth mentioning is that from -my early age till now when I am about sixty years of age, I have been engaged, with my pen and tongue, in an important task to turn the hearts of Muslims towards the true love and good-will and sympathy for the British Government, and to obliterate the idea of jihad from the hearts of the. less wise among them, since it stands in the way of cordiality and a sincere mutual relationship. And I notice that, my writings have had a tremendous influence on the hearts of Muslims and hundreds of t thousands of people have changed. (Tabigh-i-Risilat, Vol. VII, P. 10.)

At another place he observes:

"I have, written scores of books in Arabic, Persian and Urdu with the view that jihad against the benevolent government was in no way justified; rather, wholehearted obedience to it was a religious duty. I had these books published at great cost and then had them distributed in Islamic countries. And I know that, these books had a great influence even in this country. The people who owe allegiance to me are growing into a party whose hearts are filled to the brim with sincere fid6lity to the Government whose moral condition is excellent; I 'think they will be a boon to this country for they are wholeheartedly ready to sacrifice themselves for the government. ('Arizah Ba'ali-i-Khidmat Government 'Aliyah Angrezi min janab Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani Saheb, cited in Mir Qasim Ali Qadiani's Tabligh-i- Risalat, Vol. VI, p. 65. )

At yet another place he wrote:

"The service which has been rendered for the sake of the British Government was that I published and distributed in this country and other Islamic countries about fifty thousand books, treatises and leaflets, stating that the British Government is the benefactor of Muslims and therefore it should be the duty of every Muslim to obey it sincerely and heartily feel grateful to it and to pray for it. And, I had these books published in different languages, that is, Urdu, Persian and Arabic, and then distributed them in all the countries of Islam, so much so that I had them distributed even in the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, and, as far as possible, also, in the capital of Rum- Constantinople, and Syria, Egypt and Kabul and many other cities of Afghanistan. The result was that hundreds of thousands of people gave up their fifthly ideas about jihad which had permeated their hearts due to the teachings of ignorant mullas. I am proud of this service which I have bee In able to render, and no Muslim of British India can boast of a parallel record. (Sitara-I-Kaiseriah. p. 3.)

 Abrogation of jihad

The Mirza's main concern was jihad which, indeed, had caused the greatest worry to the British not only in India but in all Muslim countries (quite a number of which had already been occupied by the British). The Mirza proclaimed jihad to have been abrogated for ever, and put forward this as the sign of his being the Promised Messiah. He proclaimed:

"Thirdly, the clock which will be installed in some part of the wall of this minaret, would signify that the people should realise that the time for the opening of the doors of the heavens has arrived. From now on there shall be no terrestrial jihad and wars shall cease. It has been mentioned earlier in the Traditions that when the Messiah would come, wars for the sake of religion would be prohibited. From now on whosoever shall raise the sword for the sake of religion and slay the infidel's by pro- claiming himself to be a ghazi, he will be a disobedient rebel of God and His Prophet. Open Sahih al-Bukhari and read the hadith about the promised Messiah, that is, the one in which there occurs the expression which means that when the Messiah will come jihad would cease. Now the Messiah has come and it is he who is speaking to you. (Khutba-i-libamiyah, Appendix entitied lshtihar Chandah Minaratal Masih )

He regards this abrogation of jihad as the greatest object of his advent :

To cite his own words:

In short, I have not come in order to stimulate war and strife. I have appeared in order to open, in the manner of the first Messiah, the doors of peace. If the foundation of peace is not amidst us, then- our whole religious order is useless, and it is also meaningless to believe in it. (Tiryaqal-Qulub, p. 335, )

At another place, he becomes even more explicit:

"I believe that as my followers increase, the believers in the doctrine of Jihad will decrease. For, accepting me to be the Messiah and Mahdi itself means the rejection of the doctrine of jihad. (Tabligh-i-Risalat, Vol, p. 17.)

Citadel of the British Government

In his Arabic treatise Nurul-Haq he went as far as to say that he m-as the citadel and amulet for protecting the British Government :

I am entitled to assert that I am unique in respect, of these services. And I am entitled to say that I -am an amulet and. a citadel to protect it from afflictions. My Lord has given me glad tidings and has said that He will not chastise them as long as I am among the 'M. So, the Government has no parallel and equal to me in supporting and. assisting it and the Government shall know this if it is capable of knowing people. (Nural-Haq, p. 34. )

Seedling of the British

In an application submitted to the Lieutenant-governor of Punjab on 24th February 1898, he wrote:

"I have to submit that in regard to a family which has proven itself to be loyal; had ever been prepared to make sacrifices for the Government during the last fifty years; of which the respectable officials of the exalted Government have borne weighty testimonies in their official letters about its being all long a well-wisher and servant of the British Government; which is the self-implanted seedling (of loyalty), the Government should exercise utmost caution and make all possible efforts to know about it and pay attention to it. The Government should also instruct its lower officials that they should look towards me and my group with the eyes of kindness and benevolence in view of the established -loyalty and sincerity of this family. (Tabligh-i-Risalat,Vol.VII, p.l9.)

In another application he refers to himself and his group as 'those who had been brought up as tried and true friends of the British: those who bad earned a good name with the Government and had enjoyed its merciful kindness.

Cause of opposition to Missionaries

The Mirza was possessed of such a profound feeling of loyalty for -the British that he used to adopt numerous measures in order-to assuage the deep hatred and resentment of Muslims against the British. His enthusiastic opposition to the Christian missionaries, according to his own view, was also motivated by the same desire. The efforts of these missionaries to repudiate Islam and to slander the Holy Prophet, according to the Mirza, had infuriated the Muslim's and was likely to prove detrimental to the interests of the British Government.' Hence, he showed great zeal, out of expediency and With deliberation, 'in order that the popular Muslim fury might abate and they might some- what cairn down He writes:

I also confess that when some of the writings of priests and Christian missionaries became extremely severe and 'exceeded moderation' and especially when very filthy writings began to appear in Nur Afshan, a Christian paper from Ludhiana, and when these writers used, God forbid, derisive language with regard to our Prophet (upon him be the peace and benediction of Allah), I feared that in the hearts of Muslims, who- are -.a' sentimental people,, these words might have a highly provocative effect. In order to sub- due their, indignation, I thought that the proper policy would be to write rejoinders to these writings in a some- what harsh manner so that the towering anger of these easily- inflammable people, could be suppressed and no breach of peace in the country might take place. (Tiryaq al-Qulub. Appendix 3, p. 31 entitled "A Humble Request to the Exalted Government. )

Spies of the British

The impact of these teachings, propagated with religious sanctions, was that loyalty to the British and zeal to serve it, became an integral part of the Qadiani outlook and character. It is not surprising that the British Government found From among them quite a few who sincerely and loyally served the cause of the British and did not hesitate even to shed their blood for them. In Afghanistan, there was an enthusiastic Qadiani preacher by the name of 'Abdul Latif. The main task that he had undertaken was to purge the Afghans of that spirit of jihad because of which the Afghans had never tolerated the rule of any non-Muslim power over their land, and which had always been a source of headache to the British. It was due to this kind of preaching that the Afghan Government executed him. Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood has mentioned this on the authority of an Italian author. He says :

"The Italian author writes that Sahibzada 'Abdul Latif was martyred because he preached against jihad and the Afghans had begun to fear that the spirit of freedom of the Afghans would weaken and the British would predominate. (al-Fadhl, August 6,1925.)

He adds Had our people in Afghanistan remained silent and refrained from explaining the Ahmadi view-point in respect of jihad, they would not have been blameworthy from the view-point o f the Shariat. But they fall victims of the excessive zeal they had for the British Government, they courted punishment because of the sympathy for it which they had imbibed at Qadian. (14. lbid,)

In the same way, certain -papers and letters were found with Mulla 'Abdul Hakim and Mulla Nur 'Ali Qadiani which proved that they were disloyal to the Afghan government and were agents and spies of the British' Al-Fadhl, the Qadiani mouth- piece, published this piece of news from Aman-i-Afghan :

"The Minister for Home Affairs of the Afghan Government has published the following announcement :

"Two persons of Kabul, Mulla 'Abdul Hakim Chahar Asia'i and Mulla Nur 'Ali, a shopkeeper, had become enamoured of Qadiani beliefs and used to mislead people from the right path by preaching that creed. The people who were angered at this filed a suit against them. The result was that these persons having been proved guilty were transported at the hands of the people to the realm of non-existence on Thursday, Rajab 11. Against them there bad also been pending a suit for long, and letters of foreigners of a conspiratorial nature and harmful to the interests of the Afghan kingdom had been captured which proved, that they had sold themselves to the enemies of Afghanistan. (Al-Fadhl, March 3,1925. )

In his address of welcome to the Prince of Wales on January 19, 1922, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood proudly mentions all these incidents, making it clear that all these sacrifices were because of their loyalty to the British. (A Present to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, pp. 7-8.)

Miscalculation

Looking at the power, consolidation and extent of the British Empire, the Mirza believed that the British power in India would remain for ever. Hence, tying up their own fate with that of the British Empire, and identifying their own future with the future of the British, seemed very wise and an act of great political farsightedness. And, indeed, from someone who is shorn of deep religious and political insight such a conclusion was not strange. It was impossible for the Mirza to foresee that not even half a century would pass after his death when the seemingly unshakable power of the British would be shaken and the power which he considered, to be "the shadow of God" and "refuge of religion" would leave India, lock, stock and barrel, and, not only that,. it would collapse the world over.

'The servile manner in which the Mirza has given expression of his loyalty to this un-Islamic, indeed, anti-Islamic power, and the zeal he has shown in preaching_ to the Muslims that they ought to relish their state of political enslavement as a boon, is unbecoming of the position which he claims for himself. lqbal has stressed this contradiction in some of his verses which say:

The Sheikh is a murid of the Firagi Lord,

Speaks be, though, from the heights of Badyazid.

He said : Religion's glory lies in slavery;

And life consists of the lack of ego (khudi).

He reckoned the state of- others to be a-blessing;

Danced around the cathedral, and fell down dead .