Jesus’ Travels Post Crucifixion

  

All the Messengers of Allah, especially the law-bearing prophets were made in some way or another to leave their initial place of residence for another place through the will of Allah. Sometimes, places within their own homelands or they switched altogether countries where their missions went on to be successful.

Today I would like to put before you the heart-touching story and the lesson which Jesus – Hazrat Isa (as) has given us in his emigration from Jerusalem to Kashmir in India. [Inset: Jesus in western art, symbolic- not historically accurate, representation]. 

In his post-crucifixion period, Jesus was helped by his well-wishers and disciples in secret. His disciples on record may have been official twelve men, out of which one (i.e. Judas) became a hypocrite and “sold” him to his enemies, but he may have had many secret disciples not recorded in history who became sincere help when he had to flee Jerusalem. From a study of his life, and the research of various authors including the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Jesus (as) may have stayed in Palestine, as well as Afghanistan and Northern India before he finally met his lost sheep, i.e. the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Islam & Women's Rights

 

In his Friday Sermon of 21 October 2022 ~24 Rabi’ul Awwal 1444 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius continues his exposition on the rights of women in society- aspects of a theme that was eloquently explained in the previous Friday Sermon in the light of specific Divine revelations he originally received  as early as two decades ago. Against the backdrop of contemporary issues in various nations involving Muslim women's status and social rights, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) underscores the truly progressive spirit of original Islamic teachings concerning appropriate social conduct among men and women, and the related regulations it introduced to enable people to safeguard against evil and indecency. Despite the rise of Islamophobia in the West, the growing number of women from non-Muslim cultures and  social backgrounds discovering Islam, including its modes of dressing, in recent years testify to the essential wisdom underlying the enduring teachings of Islam. 

At the same time, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) calls attention to the gross excesses being committed by those in authority in the name of implementing religious norms. The ongoing protests in Iran, in the aftermath of the killing of a young Mahsa Amini in the name of Hijab violations by the national "moral police" may also mark the beginning of the end of an oppressive regime of Mullahs playing God on earth.    

   

Elucidating on the Islamic concept of a non-exploitative social order where men and women have an equal responsibility in recognizing the dignity, rights and interests of one another, Hazrat Saheb (aba) underscores the need for the community of believers- both men and women- to gain a proper appreciation of the ethical roots and subtle wisdom that underlies the Islamic regulations of social life.   

Hajj: On Blocking Access to the Ka'aba

Ever since the great Sultan Salahauddin Ayyubi (ra) took up the title "Servant of the Two Holy Mosques"  (Khadim Al-Haramain Al-Sharifain) in the medieval ages as a mark of his quest to attain nearness to Allah (swt) while he was fighting the infidels in the Crusades, many other Muslim monarchs who presided over the holy land of Makkah and Madina continued to assume this title in their times. These days, the Saudi Arabian monarchs take pride in describing their official title as the Khadim Al-Haramain Al-Sharifain, pointing to the significance of the Two Holy Mosques and the land of Makkah and Madina in Muslim spiritual and political imagination.The title refers to their important responsibility for the upkeep of mosques and holy sites within Makkah and Madina and protection of pilgrims on the Hajj. 

As the land of Makkah and Madina belong to every Muslim, all Muslims have a right to visit the Holy lands to perform the religious rites. Sectarian differences among Muslim communities and political disputes among Muslim nations are part of the existential condition of the Islamic world today. These disputes and issues should never be used as a pretext to discriminate against specific groups of Muslims or to upset the Divine order that mandates the free flow of pilgrimage into Islam's holiest shrines. Most certainly, the men whom claim to be the "trustees and stewards  of the Holy Places" have no business creating barriers in the sacred journeys of all  or any of God's devotees- regardless of their denominational identity or national origin.  

The Saudi leadership, however, has a dismal record of playing politics with Hajj in more recent times. Recently, in the aftermath of the economic blockade by the Saudi-led four nations against it, the State of Qatar has complained that its nationals are unable to register through the official channels for the Hajj this year as a direct consequence of the blockade measures instituted by the Saudi authorities due to political disputes. Likewise, speaking against the backdrop of Iranian pilgrims facing problems at the hands of the Saudi authorities, the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatullah Khamenei recently made an instructive statement:  

“The land of Mecca belongs to all Muslims. No one should think they can do whatever they want on this land. All Muslims have the same right with regard to Mecca and Medina.

“No one should manipulate and prevent the concepts of Hajj, or the points and rituals that exist in Hajj. The individuals and the government that prevent these concepts are, indeed, “creating an obstacle in the way of God” [Quran: 2:217]. The Ka'aba belongs to all the Muslims. According to the Quran, Holy Mecca belongs to all Muslims and all Muslims have the same right over Mecca and Medina. No one should think they can do whatever they want on this land.

He went on to say: “Unfortunately, the government of Saudi Arabia creates problems for the Hajj pilgrims and prevents some rituals to be performed; even though, it is righteous to allow them perform those rituals. These issues must be regarded as the Muslims’ demands, which should not be forgotten".

In his Eid-ul-Adha Sermon of 22 August 2018 (10 Dhul-Hijjah 1439 AH), Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius spoke movingly about the plight of the Ahmadi Muslims in our times who are unable to access the land of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) for the purpose of accomplishing their devotional obligations relating to the fifth pillar of Islam. In countries like Pakistan and elsewhere, in passport/visa applications for purposes of Hajj and Umrah visits, all Muslims had been forced to declare statements denying and condemning the Promised Massih (as). Such mindless sectarian prejudices and administrative highhandedness by the authorities smack of Pharoahan tactics. Drawing on Qur'anic teachings and the Holy Prophet (sa)'s instructions, Hadhrat Khalifatullah (atba) calls for intense soul-searching by those concerned before it is too late for them. 

Read the Extracts from the Eid Sermon: 

Islam: Dark Clouds, Silver Lining

The situation in the world is extremely worrying for all Muslims (and all my disciples in Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam) and I am again reminding you all to pray earnestly that Allah (swt) may remove the dangers which face Islam which is being encircled by dark clouds which only God can remove whenever He pleases.

There is nowhere in the world where Muslims are not in danger directly or indirectly and we do not see any intelligent Islamic response. There is only one despicable response which they know: persecuting their own Muslim brethrens and finishing Islam by their own hands. In addition to the civil wars and the religious strife which they wage between themselves but when it concerns the Divine Manifestation and the belief in the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and in this era this humble self the Khalifatullah, all the Muslim sects don't hesitate to group together to counter-attack what they term as heretics. It is on this basis that they seem to agree and help each other to crush the divine truth. Since the advents of non law-bearing prophets/ messengers after Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), they seem to have lost their bearings when they denied and calumniated the men of God.