Editor: Nasir Ahmad B.A. LL.B.Hope January-February 2017

IN MEMORY OF JALAL-UD-DIN AKBAR IBN-I ABDULLAH, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

ISLAM: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND

PageCONTENTS

FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE• Long Night of Religions: Thursday 25 May 2017.• Monument Day: Saturday: Sunday 9-10 September 2017.• Ist European Jalsa Salana: Fri.- Sunday 15-17 September 2017

IN MEMORY OF SAMI’AN ALI YASIR (1946 – 2017) 2By Basyarat Asgor Ali

RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM 5By Mrs. Fauqia Aziz

DIVINE PROTECTION FOR THE KA‘BAH 10By Humaira Ahmad

ACTIVITIES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE 13By Amir Aziz M.A.

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IN MEMORY OF SAMI‘AN ‘ALI YASIR (1946–2017)

By Basyarat Asgor Ali

Brief biographyBro. Sami’an Ali Yasir was born in Ngawi, on June 16, 1946. He was more known as Simon Ali Yasir. Because of that name, lot of people thought that he was a convert, but he was not. He was very passionate in speaking about Christianity. He belonged to a devout Muslim family, and grew up in the environment of strict religious education. His brothers and sisters and even he himself spent his adolescence in Islamic boarding schools and had formal schooling in Islamic schools.

According to him, at some time, he got the title ‘Simon’ since childhood from his playmates who came from Christian families. Because the title Simon sounded more familiar in their ears than ‘Sami’an’. He himself didn’t mind, so he adopted that title as his pen name. Interestingly the title Simon became a source of attraction in his preaching among Christians. Because of this distinction, he received a special certificate in 1990’s from the Ministry of Religion for his religious services as a Muslim

missionary specially among the Christians in the district of Yogyakarta province.

His Educational qualificationsHe spent his early childhood in the Islamic boarding school environment, in the village of his birth, at Temurejo, Walikukun, Ngawi. After completing education from the Primary School (1960), he contin-ued his formal education in the 4 Years Religion Teacher Education School, in Madiun and completed his studies in 1963. Then he continued his studies in the 6 Years Religion Teacher Education School in Surakarta and completed his studies from there in 1965.

After completing his studies from the 6 Years Religion Teacher Education School, he got married to Ms. Nunuk Suparti in 1966 and was blessed with 4 children named Elia, Elisa, Eliga and Elita. However, the marriage didn’t discourage him to continue his studies. He then continued his studies in the Government Teacher School of Special Education, Surakarta and graduated from there in 1969. Then he studied in the State Institute of Teacher and Education Science, Surakarta, but could not complete it as he moved to Yogyakarta to be a teacher there.

During his studies in various educational institutions, he also studied religion in Islamic boarding schools in Madiun and Surakarta. In Madiun, he studied religion in the Salafiyyah Islamic boarding school of Al-Huda, Oro-oro Ombo. While in Surakarta, he studied religion in the Jamsaren Islamic boarding school, the oldest boarding school in Surakarta, founded by Kyai Jamsari from Banyumas, in 1750.

A passionate PreacherSimon Ali Yasir was a Muslim missionary who was eager to work and preach Islam since he was young. He was active in various educational institutions, network of mosques and other religious institutions. When he was still in his teens, he was active in Indonesia Islamic Student Organization

The late Sami‘an ‘Ali Yasir (1946–2017)

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(PII), and was chairman of PII, North Lawu sub-branch, Ngawi (1963-1965). When he was a college student, he was active in the Organization of Indonesia Islamiyyah Propaganda (DDII). He was also Asstt. secretary of DDII, Central Java (1970-1972).

Since 1971, he joined the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Indonesia (GAI), during the leadership of Brigadier General H. Muhammad Bachroen, and became the most able Muslim missionary. Even in the latter days he acted as president of GAI (1995-1999), when president, Prof. dr. H. Ahmad Muhammad Djojosoegito became martyr in the Mina tragedy, while performing the hajj in 1990.

Since joining GAI, he was increasingly active in preaching and spreading Islam. In January, 1972, he was asked to station in Yogyakarta, at the GAI mubaligh official house which was located in PIRI complex, Baciro. He was chairman of the board of the PIRI mosque (now Darussalam Mosque). From this mosque his activities of spreading Islam extended to various other mosques. He was active as a speaker and preacher in various mosques and majlis ta’lim both in Yogyakarta and outside the Yogyakarta city.

In 1975, he took the initiative of organizing the course of mubaligh cadres in Yogyakarta. The course was conducted for six months, from March to August, 1975. Two graduates of this mubaligh course, M. Iskandar (Klaten) and M. Sardiman (Purbalingga) were then sent to Lahore, Pakistan, to attend the advanced training of mubaligh cadres, in Idara Ta’limul Qur’an organized by Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (AAIIL), Pakistan, for three years (1976-1979). Then in 1979, in order to upgrade the religious teachers, he also took the initiative of organizing the mubaligh course for the religious teachers in the PIRI foundation. This course took place for 13 months, from March 1979 to April 1980. Two of his students in this course, namely Yatimin AS (Magetan) and S.A. Syurayuda (Jakarta) were sent to Lahore, Pakistan, to attend the Muslim missionary course in Idara Ta’limul Qur’an, following in the footsteps of the two previous muballighs who had returned to Indonesia.

His services to the Lahore Ahmadiyya MovementHis career in GAI among others, he was a chairman of Ahmadiyya Young Generation, Yogyakarta branch (1972-1976), chairman of GAI, Yogyakarta city branch (1980-1985), chairman of GAI, Special District of Yogyakarta (1987-1993), and eventually he became president of GAI (1994-1999).

After resigning from his position as president of GAI, he still carried out the work of preaching and teaching in the central board of GAI in various formal positions. Moreover, as chief mubaligh, he was sent to several branches of GAI in different regions to foster new cadres intensively and to expand the propaganda network of GAI. For decades, he preached with devotion from one region to anoth-er, such as Jakarta, Banyumas, Purbalingga, Wonosobo, Magelang and Kediri.

In the GAI, he was also active in a number of religious organizations and even founded some of them. Among the foundations he founded were the Institute of Religion and Belief Study (LPAK) in 1988, and the Foundation of Indonesia Converts People Building (YABUMI) in 1995. Both these institutes were specially engaged in the field of propagation and to conduct religious and social activities to foster interfaith relations. Through these two institutions, he arranged variety of dis-cussions, dialogues and open debates with leaders of various religions at local and national level. Through these two institutions too, many adherents of Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism became Muslims. Some of them even joined with him and followed him in preaching and propagating Islam.

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He was also active in the “Indonesia Islam Young Generation” (AMII), an Islamic youth organiza-tion affiliated with one of the major political parties in Indonesia. He became chairman of AMII, Yogyakarta branch for some time. Besides that, he was chairman of the Youth Bureau of Indonesia Propaganda Council (MDI), Special District of Yogyakarta (1995-2000), and in the same period he was appointed as an expert council member of Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Bond (ICMI), Special District of Yogyakarta (1996-2000).

Besides being a mubaligh, he also worked as a teacher in the Foundation of Islamic Education of Republic of Indonesia (PIRI), foundation established by GAI (Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Indonesia). For more than 20 years, he was religious teacher, particularly in the PIRI 1 Senior High School, Yogyakarta (1972-1994), and other schools of the PIRI foundation, Junior High School and Senior High School/Vocational High School levels. He was repeatedly appointed as coordinator of religious teachers. After retirement, he became head of religious teachers of the PIRI Foundation until the end of his life.

Besides his responsibilities at the PIRI, he also worked as a teacher in Taman Madya Ibu Pawiyatan, Yogyakarta, the Senior High School level, in Majelis Luhur Taman Siswa. In addition, he was also a lecturer in religion in several colleges, such as Shari’a Banking Institute, Yogyakarta (1994-1998), and Shari’a Science College, Yogyakarta (1996-1999).

He had been active to teach the students in various Islamic boarding schools, such as the Darul Hira’ Student Islamic Boarding School, Yogyakarta; the Madania Islamic boarding school, Yogyakarta; and the Nurul Haq Islamic boarding school, Yogyakarta. For nearly 14 years he was invited as scholar of Orientalism and Christology in the Student Islamic Boarding school of Indonesia Islamic University, Yogyakarta ( 2000-2014).

A prolific writerBesides his speciality in preaching, teaching and organizing religious courses, Simon Ali Yasir was also a prolific writer. His passion in the field of writing made him chief editor of “Warta Keluarga GAI” magazine (1979-1990), and general manager of “Fathi Islam” magazine (1996-1999). He con-tributed regularly to the two magazines, particularly in the section titled ‘Christianity according to the Qur’an’ and ‘Thematic Interpretation of the Holy Qur’an’.

His various articles on the teachings of Islam were widely circulated in the form of brochures and booklets. Impressive reviews on his publications were published in various newspapers and maga-zines both at local and national levels. He also wrote many books published by many leading pub-lishers .

The books on Islamic education written and compiled by him were published by the PIRI Foundation and have become standard textbooks and handbooks for students at the Junior High School and Senior High School/Vocational High school levels, in the PIRI foundation upto now. His books dealt with subject such as Aqidah (Faith), Morals, Jurisprudence, besides the two books: At-Tajdid fil Islam (Revival in Islam), and “Knowing the Prophet Muhammad through Prophecies”. These books were written during 1976 to 1988, under the direct guidance of the chairman of the PIRI Foundation at that time headed by Mrs. Koestirin Djojosoegito.

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His published worksHis works so far published are: Al-Qur’an, How to Understand It? (1980); Jihad and Its Application in the Present Times (1980); Behind the Polygamy of the Messenger of Allah (1982); The Cross in the Eyes of the Bible (1985); Bismillah, Breeding Bee (1986); Al-Qur’an is Perfect and Perfecting (1991); The Gospel from Jesus and the Gospel about Jesus (1992); The Revelation of the Qur’an accord-ing to the Gospel (1993); Is it True the Bible Falsified? Oo.. True! (1993); Revealing the Mystery of Jesus’ Crucifixion (1994); The Basic Qur’anic Christology (1994); The Secret of Biblical and Qur’anic Perfection Compared (1995); Christianity according to the Qur’an Vol.I (2005); The Spider House, the Response to the Instruction of MUI Year 2005 on Ahmadiyya (2005); Revealing the Mystery of Mary’s Pregnancy (2008); Al-Bayyinah, the Response to the 10 Criteria of Being Misguided according to MUI (2009); etc.

He worked till the End of his lifeIn the last few years till the end of his life, he participated in the founding of the Minhajurrahman Islamic boarding school, a regeneration of institution founded by GAI which officially began to work in 2014. Even though he was not well specially after he had stroke for the second time, he worked for the Jama’at with continued passion and taught students of first to second level once a week.

At the end of 2015, on the second day of Annual Gathering (Jalsa Salana) of GAI in Baciro, Yogyakarta, he suffered from stroke again. It was thought to be due to overexertion. When he came to the jalsa arena after attending for a day interfaith dialogue organized by one of the universities in Yogyakarta, he faltered and fell down. He was rushed to the hospital RSUD Wirosaban and was treated for nearly a week.

Nevertheless, several months after the stroke, he felt as if he had fully recovered from the illness, and resumed his teaching for students of the Minhajurrahman Islamic boarding school for about two months continuously. Eventually, the management of the Islamic boarding school decided to stop his teaching activities, because his health was going down.

Precisely on Friday, January 6, 2017, at about 09:00 p.m., he passed away, and left this mortal realm towards his beloved Rabb. Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilaihi rooji’uun. He was buried the next day, on Saturday, January 7, 2017, in the public cemetery not far from his residence, in Berbah, Kalitirto, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Simon Ali Yasir’s life was a perfect manifestation of his pledge of allegiance to ‘uphold the religion above the world’. May his exemplary devotion and sacrifice for the cause of education and propaga-tion be a role model for all of us. Amen.

(This article was originally written in Indonesian and has been translated into English by our learned Bro Yatimin AS.)

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RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM

By Mrs. Fauqia Aziz

(Text of a talk given in the monthly meeting held on 4 September 2016 at Darus Salaam, Wembley, London.)

Views of Muslim religious leaders in general1. The views of Muslim religious and community leaders, in general, about the rights given to women by Islam are based more on the practices and customs of Muslim societies than the teachings of the Quran and Hadith. They hesitate to give Muslim women their legitimate rights as granted by Islam. The proper role of these leaders should be to educate Muslim men and women about the real teachings of Islam.

2. According to the Quran (33:35), every good moral quality can be attained equally by men and women. The Quran also indicates that men and women have the same level of intelligence to study the working of nature. In this connection it says that their efforts are equally accepted by God (3:190-195). God responds to them by saying: “I will not let the work of any worker among you to be lost, whether male or female; each of you is as the other” (3:195). The Quran also says in many places that males and females are equally rewarded by God in this world and in the Hereafter for their good deeds (4:124, 16:97, 40:40). And remember that what God does is a model and example for human beings to follow.

3. The Quran explicitly says: “For men is the benefit of what they earn. And for women is the benefit of what they earn” (4:32). A little prior to this statement, the Quran gives an instance in which a wife, receiving some property from her husband as her right at marriage, can dispose of it ac-cording to her own pleasure and will (4:4). The next two verses direct Muslims not to allow those persons who do not have mental competence control of their own property, but to maintain them out of it. In case of minors, the guardians must hand them their property when they reach maturity of understanding (4:5-6). A comparison of the first verse, which allows a wife full charge over her property, with these two verses shows that according to the Quran women in general do possess mental competence and maturity of understanding to be in full control of their property, just like men. This applies not only to handing over property but also handing over decision-mak-ing powers to run their own lives.

4. The mutual relationship in society of men and women is described in the Quran as follows: “And the believers, men and women, are friends of one another. They enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and give the due charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. As for these, Allah will have mercy on them. Surely Allah is Mighty, Wise. Allah has promised to the believers, men and women, Gardens (of the afterlife), in which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in Gardens of perpetual abode. And greatest of all is Allah’s goodly pleasure. That is the mighty achievement.” (9:71–72) This means that Muslim men and women should work together for the betterment of society.

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Islamic teachings on marriage5. What a Muslim man and woman should seek through marriage is stated in the Quran. It tells them

that they both are created by God from the same “essence”. This is so that they may find comfort in one another. The Quran says: “God put between you love and compassion” (30:21). It says to men about their wives: “They are an apparel for you and you are an apparel for them” (2:187), meaning attire or clothing. This shows the reciprocal relationship between husband and wife. A person’s clothes are in the closest contact with him or her, and they are a means of protection and adornment. Such should be the relationship between husband and wife.

6. The basic teaching of Islam on how a man should treat his wife is given as follows in the Quran: “And treat them kindly” (4:19). In case a man takes a dislike to his wife, the same verse goes on to say: “Then if you hate them, it may be that you dislike a thing while Allah has placed abundant good in it” (4:19). The Quran, whenever dealing with divorce, tells husbands to treat their wives with kindness, whether they are going to continue the marriage or to terminate the marriage:

i. “…then keep (them) with kindness or let (them) go with kindness.” (2:229)ii. “…then retain them with kindness or let them go with kindness and do not retain them for

injury so that you exceed the limits.” (2:231)

7. Marriage in Islam is a contract between the husband and the wife. It is like any civil contract between two parties. Any legal conditions agreed by the two parties may be stipulated in it. A marriage according to Islam is very much a match made on earth by humans, even though it re-quires a religious ceremony. Being a contract, it requires the free consent of both the man and the woman, and before marriage they both must satisfy themselves that each will have a desirable partner for life in the other.

8. The Holy Quran lays down expressly, addressing men: “…marry such women as seem good to you…” (4:3) That is to say, those women whom you like. The same applies to women, and a woman may offer herself in marriage to a man. Likewise, referring to re-marriage of a man and woman again to one another who had earlier divorced one another, the Quran says:“…do not prevent them from marrying their husbands if they agree among themselves ina lawful manner” (2:232). This has been generalized, quite rightly in my opinion, by some commentators of the Quran to mean that whenever a man and woman agree to marry one another, within the moral and legal boundaries of Islam, then no one has the right or power to prevent them from getting married.

9. Both the Quran and Hadith mention that a man may propose to a widow. He may do so even during the widow’s period of waiting, but in this period he must mention it to her only indirectly. The Quran says about this:

“And there is no blame on you concerning what you speak indirectly in the asking of (such) women in marriage or keep (the proposal) concealed within your minds. …but do not give them a promise in secret unless you speak in a lawful manner. And do not confirm the marriage tie until the prescribed period reaches its end.” (2:235)

In Sahih Bukhari, in explanation of this verse, various people have mentioned what words a man may say to a widow when making an indirect proposal during the widow’s period of waiting (h.

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5124). It is stated that a man may, for example, say to the widow: “I hold all respect for you, and I am interested in you; Allah will bring you much good.” It is added: “She (the widow) may say in reply: ‘I am listening to what you say,’ but she should not make a promise. Her guardian should not make a promise (to somebody to get her married to him) without her knowledge.” Although this making of marriage proposals refers to widows in particular, it also applies to proposing mar-riage in general, and a man may propose directly to a woman or through her father or guardian. Examples in which a man proposed marriage directly to a woman are mentioned in Bukhari (Book of Nikah, heading of ch. 38). A woman may also propose marriage to a man. It is mentioned in the Quran that the Prophet may marry “a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her” (33:50). In Bukhari an incident is narrated in some twelve reports that a certain woman offered herself in marriage to the Holy Prophet.1 He declined her request but another man present at the occasion offered to take her in marriage. One chapter containing such a report has the heading: “A woman can present herself to a righteous man”, where by “presenting” is meant asking him to marry her (Book of Nikah, ch. 33; see also ch. 30).

10. Forced marriage, which means marriage without seeking consent of each one of the two per-sons who are getting married, is disallowed in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad acted as the ‘Forced Marriage Prevention Unit’ of his time, and women could appeal to him if they had been forced to marry. It is recorded: “A girl came to the Prophet and said: My father married me to his brother’s son so that he might raise his status thereby. The Prophet gave her the choice (to end the marriage), and she said: I approve of what my father did, but I wanted women to know that their fathers have no right to do that” (Ibn Majah, h. 1947)

11. Childhood marriages and betrothals, and promising your child to be married in a certain family when he or she has grown up, are not valid practices according to the Quran. In fact, the Qur’an mentions an age of marriage which is the age of majority:“And test the orphans until they reach the age of marriage (nikāh). Then if you find in them maturity of intellect, make over to them their property, and do not consume. One of these reports, which is brief, is as follows: “I was with Anas while his daughter was present with him. Anas said: ‘A woman came to the Messenger of Allah and presented herself to him, saying, Messenger of Allah, have you any need for me (i.e., would you like to marry me)?’ Thereupon Anas’s daughter said: ‘What a shameless lady she was! Shame! Shame!’ Anas said: ‘She was better than you; she had a liking for the Prophet so she presented herself for marriage to him’.” (Bukhari, Book of Nikah, ch. 33, h. 5120)it extravagantly and hastily against their growing up.” (4:6)

Here the age of marriage and the age of maturity of intellect are identified with the age of growing up. As marriage is a contract, it is made with the assent of the couple who are getting married. This means that both of them must be of an age at which they are capable of under-standing that contract and agreeing to it.

12. I would also like to point out that marriages are taking place in the UK only by means of conduct-ing a nikah, without formally registering the marriage in British law. In many such cases, wives are given the impression that the nikah is sufficient, since in Islam it legitimises marital relations between the man and the woman. This is being used as a ruse and deception to deprive women of their marital rights.

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Divorce in Islam

13. Regarding the divorce procedure in Islam, it is a common misconception that the husband, by saying to the wife three times “I divorce you”, can end the marriage at his whim in an arbitrary manner, and the wife has no right to initiate divorce. The procedure for divorce is clearly laid down in the Quran. The first step is:“And if you fear a breach between the two (meaning between the husband and the wife), appoint an arbiter from his people and an arbiter from her people. If they both desire agreement, Allah will effect harmony between them” (4:35).

The case must first be referred to two arbiters and their decision is binding. There are other details of the divorce procedure in Islam, and rules and regulation to be followed, which I can-not cover in a talk. Suffice it to say that the practice of pronouncing three divorces on one and the same occasion, and calling it a permanently irrevocable divorce, is contrary to the clear teachings of the Quran.

14. Most importantly, the Quran requires that during divorce husbands are kind and considerate to their wives. Some verses from the Quran in this connection have already been quoted above (“…retain them with kindness or part from them with kindness”). To these verses, the following must be added:

i. “And for divorced women, provision (must be made) in kindness. This is incumbent on those who have regard for duty.” (2:241)

ii. “Lodge them where you live according to your means, and do not injure them in order to impose hardship upon them. … Let him who has abundant means spend out of his abundance, and whoever has his means of subsistence restricted for him, let him spend out of what Allah has given him.” (65:6-7)

Violence in the family15. So-called honour killings or other lesser violence are sparked by two kinds of behaviour which is

regarded as impermissible and bringing shame upon the family. One kind is the committing of some action which, while allowed in Islam, is against the social codes of society. For example, a boy or a girl rejecting an arranged marriage or marrying by their own choice against the family’s wishes. As the action of the boy and the girl is allowed in Islam, the family’s reaction to it is not due to any teaching of Islam and the use of any force by the family is absolutely against Islam.

16. The other kind of such behaviour is the committing of some immorality which is against the teachings of Islam but is not illegal in a country’s law. Here for guidance we may refer to Hadith reports which show that the Prophet Muhammad strictly forbade any husband from inflicting his own punishment on a man if he caught his wife with him in an intimate act. He instructed that the husband must produce witnesses and follow the due process of law. He warned those who would take the law into their own hands that they themselves would be punished. From this, we draw the more general conclusion that no person is allowed in Islam to kill or attack another person by accusing him or her of an illicit sexual act, even if he claims to have seen it taking place with his own eyes.

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17. A man accused his wife of having sexual intercourse with another man and brought the case before the Holy Prophet Muhammad. It is reported:

“The Prophet said (to him): Either you bring forth a proof or you will receive the legal punishment on your back (for slandering the wife). He said: O Messenger of Allah, if any-one of us saw a man with his wife, would he go to seek after witnesses? But the Prophet kept on repeating: Either you bring forth proof or you will receive the legal punishment on your back.” (Bukhari, h. 4747)

When it was reported to the Holy Prophet that a man had said: “If I found a man with my wife, I would kill him”, the Prophet said:

“Do you wonder at his sense of honour? I have a greater sense of honour than him and Allah has a greater sense of honour than I have.” (Bukhari, h. 6846)

The Holy Prophet meant that since Allah and His Messenger, who are the greatest guardians of honour, decency and morality, do not teach the action the man wants to take, how can it be moral for him to do so?

18. A verse of the Quran is used to justify a husband “beating” his wife, albeit lightly or symbolically. The verse in question (4:34) says that in case of disloyalty and immoral behaviour by wives, their husbands should: “…admonish them, and leave them alone in the beds and iḍribū-hunna”. These three actions are advised according to the severity of the breach of marital faithfulness. These are: cautioning, breaking off sexual relations, and finally the action of ḍarb. This action is generally translated as “beating”, “hitting”, “striking” and “punishing”. However, the action of ḍarb is frequently mentioned in the Quran with a large variety of meanings. Translators of the Quran into English are now increasingly translating these words of this verse as:

• “go away from them” (Laleh Bakhtiar)• “depart away from them” (Safi Kaskas and David Hungerford)• “strike a temporary parting” (Tahir-ul-Qadri)• “bring forward to them (the suggestion for dissolution of marriage)” (Kamal Omar)• “separate from them” (Bilal Muhammad).

It can also be translated as “turn them away”. This would mean either “turn them away (from wrongdoing)” or “turn them away (by divorcing them)”. It is not merely a technical matter of translating the action of ḍarb in a different way than “beating”. To beat or strike the wife is clearly contrary to the general exhortations given in the Quran on how a husband should treat his wife. I have already quoted some verses on this point.

19. Enacting new laws for women’s rights: An incident is recorded in the Quran that a woman ap-pealed to the Prophet Muhammad against her husband because he separated her from him through an old Arab custom of calling her as his mother. Under this unjust custom, she ceased to hold the status of wife but she was not divorced and therefore not free to marry elsewhere. And the husband could take her back whenever he wanted. The Prophet replied that he could not intervene as he had received no revelation about this custom.

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Then a revelation came to him beginning with the words: “Allah indeed has heard the plea of her who pleads with you about her husband and complains to Allah”. The revelation then denounced that custom in the strongest terms and prescribed that those husbands who then wanted to take back their wives must first repent by performing some act of general charity as penance (58:1–4). The voice of an ordinary woman was thus heard by God Himself and He sent His ruling to His Prophet to redress her complaint. This example shows that it is allowed in Islam for a government to make laws to abolish. Many Muslim religious leaders believe that governments of Muslim countries are not entitled by Islam to make laws to improve the status of women. But their view is not correct.

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DIVINE PROTECTION FOR THE KA‘BAH

(Chapter 105 of the Holy Qur’an by Dr. Basharat Ahmad summarised by Humaira Ahmad and delivered at the

monthly Sunday meeting held at the Lahore Ahmadiyya Centre, Wembley, London)

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the possessors of the elephant? Did He not cause their war to end in confusion? And send against them birds in flocks? Casting at them decreed stones —So He rendered them like straw eaten up?” (The Qur’an, Chapter 105).

Divine protection for the House of AllahIn this chapter a warning is contained for those haughty ones to whom wealth and might were the source of greatness. They were told that before their very eyes stood the Ka‘bah which they believed to be the House of Allah and that they should remember the time when Abrahah, the King of Yaman, went with his army, in which was an elephant, to demolish the Ka’bah but suffered destruction.

The time, when the people of the Elephant went to destroy the Ka`bah, is an im-portant date in the history of the Arabs. Abrahah, the Christian King of Yemen (a province of Ethiopia), had built a famous church in San’aa, the capital of Yemen.

His plan was that the people of Arabia should visit his church rather than to Makkah, and that eventually they would all be converted to Christianity. But as the Arabs paid no heed to this church, he decided to destroy the Ka`bah so that when this central gathering point was pulled down, people would of their own accord throng to his church. All historians agree that this event occurred in the year in which the Holy Prophet (sas) was born and so this year is called the Year of the Elephant. The army of Abrahah came to be known as the people of the Elephant because there was an elephant in the army. Some people are of the opinion that there were several elephants in it.

When the invading forces approached the surroundings of Makkah they seized some 200 camels belonging to Abdul Mutallib, the Prophet’s paternal grandfather. Abdul Mutallib sought out Abrahah and asked him to return the camels, whereupon Abrahah, in great astonishment, remarked to

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him: “You are asking for your camels and you make no mention of the Ka`bah which I have come to demolish!”

To this, Abdul Mutallib replied: “I am the owner of the camels so I have come in search of them. The Ka’bah has a Lord and Master, Who will take care of it Himself.” And so it came to pass.

On seeing the large army with their pompous parade of elephants, Abdul Muttalib realized that his people will not be able to confront them. So he asked his people to evacuate the city and to seek ref-uge in the neighbouring mountains. Before leaving, he held onto the latch of the door of the Ka‘bah and addressed the Almighty: “We have no fear whatsoever. Man protects his home, so do Thou, 0 Lord, preserve Thy Own House. Their cross and their might can never triumph over Thy power.”

Before Abrahah could reach the Ka`bah, epidemic of smallpox spread through his army and de-stroyed it. This came about through the agency of flocks of birds. These birds all carried a pebble in their beaks and two in their claws and on whomsoever a pebble fell he was destroyed. Abrahah, too, was afflicted by this disease and when he returned to Yemen he died a miserable death, and the elephant, too, perished. Most probably what happened was that the birds had alighted on a swampy area that was filled with germs and had then flown away. Dried up pieces of dirt stuck to their claws and when they fell on Abrahah’s army an outburst of smallpox resulted.

Divine help for His HouseIf Allah, Most High, could bring about the destruction of a whole big army through a flock of little birds, why could He not make the powerful group of unbelievers at Makkah taste defeat at the hands of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his insignificant band of followers? Of course He could, and later events fulfilled this prophecy to the letter.

Specially targeted here are the Christian Fathers who, like their coun terpart, the Christian King of Yemen, are determined to destroy Islam and defile the belief in the Oneness of Allah all for the sake of enhanc ing the glory of their churches and increasing their political dominion. Allah, Most High, will give assistance to Islam through the weak hands of Muslims in whose hearts Allah lives, just as He did in the time of the people of the Elephant. Surely He, Himself, is the Guardian not only of this House (of Islam) but also of the belief that Allah is One. He can make use of any instrument however feeble it may appear.

Allah alone is the Saviour of IslamToday the elephants are represented by all kinds of criticisms aimed at the teachings of Islam and the hearts of Muslims in the attempt to create doubts about Islam and to erase the love of Allah from their hearts. The Christian Fathers are trying to replace the Ka`bah and all it symbolizes for Muslims with something else — the love of this worldly life - as is borne out by this statement of a well-known Indian Father, Imaad-ud-Din: “If we cannot succeed in converting Muslims to Christianity, we shall shake the foundation of their faith by a flood of objections.”

In regard to the verse: “He sent on them flocks of birds”, Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din, the world-re-nowned commentator of the Holy Qur’an, says that it refers to a common saying among the Arabs, which means, “bringing destruction”. That is why in the pre-Islamic poetry of the Arabs, we find the poets when boasting of the might of their strength used to say ‘that flocks of birds accompanied

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their armies’. Accompanying flocks of birds meant that the enemy would be defeated and their dead bodies would be eaten by vultures. This is the origin of this proverb.

In the Bible there is a prophecy concerning the destruction of Gog and Magog in somewhat similar terms: “Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel; thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and the beasts of the field to be devoured” (Ezekiel 39:4).

In this chapter, the intention is to highlight the irony that those enemies who came with such pride and exultation to destroy the House of Allah themselves suffered an ignominious death and their dead bodies were eaten up by birds.

As regards the verse “casting at them decreed stones)”, Hazrat Maulana Nur-ud-Din used to say, that the vultures struck the corpses against the stones so as to separate the flesh from the bones and so make it easier for them to eat. That is why in the verse “so He rendered them like straw eaten up”, the word ma’-kool , meaning, eaten up, is used to describe how the birds beat the corpses against the stones, and ate the flesh in such a way, that the remains looked like husk in the desert, and presented a frightening and horrible scene.

In this description of the birds eating away the flesh of the soldiers, Allah wants to impress on our minds how He bestowed two significance favours on the people of Makkah: 1. The frightful end of the enemy army. 2. The bodies of the soldiers who had died from the pestilence of smallpox were strewn all over the jungle. It was inevitable that the atmosphere in Makkah would have become polluted and this would have caused the health of the Makkans to suffer great damage. In fact, an epidemic of smallpox would most likely have raged through Makkah, and together with the suffo-cating smell of the decomposed corpses of Abrahah’s army, life would have become unbearable in the city.

But just then, birds by thousands, flew down and devoured the flesh of the corpses, leaving behind only their bones. In this there was mighty evidence of Allah’s mercy, in that, He saved them from the deadly smell of the decomposed bodies and from the outbreak of smallpox and from the deadly contamination of the atmosphere.

Divine favour for the MakkansTo appreciate Allah’s magnanimous favours to the Makkans, we shall look at what happened to the city of Baghdad, when it was conquered by Halaaku Khan. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims were put to the sword by the idol-worshipping Tartars, women and children were trampled under the feet of horses, and the nobles were walled in, alive. But so deadly was the resulting stench of the decomposing bodies, that a great epidemic swept through the Tartar army, bringing death to thousands of soldiers, and forcing the others to flee the city in great haste. See how wonderful was the mercy of Allah, Who saved the Makkans from this kind of calamity.

Today, Muslims must make their hearts the Houses of Allah, and the Oneness of Allah, their treasure, and should equip themselves to stand up for the defence of Islam. Then whoever should rise up to demolish this House of Allah and to raze to the ground the Ka’bah of Islam will suffer the same fate, as that mentioned in this chapter, concerning those former would-be destroyers of the Ka’bah.

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The Ka‘bah and the Lord of Ka’bah is there to assure us of His might and power all the time, provided we fulfil our pledge “ Here I am in Your presence” which every pilgrim makes while going round the Ka’bah and while performing Hajj rituals. We also offer sacrifice on the eve of Eid al-Adha. This symbolic sacrifice is a reminder to kill our ego of selfishness and worldliness and submit to the will of Allah to earn His forgiveness and blessings, so that individually and collectively we enjoy peace and joy.

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ACTIVITIES AT THE BERLIN MOSQUE

REPORT FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2017

By Amir Aziz M.A.

Visit of I G M Berlin Group10 January. IGM Berlin group of more than 30 men and women visited the Berlin Mosque and stayed for one and a half hour. They were given presen-tation about the history of the Mosque followed by question/answer session. Imam in his brief talk explained salient features of Islam and mission of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. Members of the group were given literature and leaflets about Islam and the Mosque. Leader of the group was a very learned lady who thanked the Imam for making the trip fruitful.

Interview by an American Jew Photographer17 January. An American Jew Photographer Mr. Andrew Lewis visited the Berlin Mosque and had a brief interview of the Imam, Mr. Amir Aziz. He took photos of the Mosque and the Imam. It would become part of his research for his graduation. He attended Friday congregation on 21 January and joined the Friday prayer and took photos of the congregation as well. He was given literature and leaflets.

Meeting of AKRThe Imam of the Berlin Mosque attended meeting of All-religions Organization (AKR), which is the oldest multi-faith organization in Berlin. Matters of common interest were discussed in it. Long Night Programme and other activities were also discussed.

Visit of Sister Nasma Nasrullah from HollandSister Nasma Nasrullah, her father and our energetic brother Naeem Nasrullah with a carpenter visited the Berlin Mosque and stayed for three days. During her stay she and her team have done wonderful work and have completed renovation work at the Mission House. The Imam highly appreciated the work. May Allah bless her and her team for the voluntary work they did at the Mission House.

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Interview for Research paper for Graduation26 January. Mr. Kamran Ahmad (a member of the Qadian Jama‘at ) conducted interview of the Imam about the difference between the two sections of the Ahmadiyya movement as this was the topic of his research paper assigned to him by his professor. He was given books and booklets about this subject.

Participation in the 50 Years Celebrations of the Church of Scientology27 January. Church of Scientology celebrated its 50 years in Berlin. The Imam of the Berlin Mosque was invited to participate in the programme. The participants appreciated our participation. Many members of the church showed interest in the activities of the Mosque and some of them visited it.

Interfaith Seminar organized in the Mosque30 January. HWPL Organization with headquarters in Korea arranged a seminar in the Berlin Mosque. This time topic for deliberation was ‘Prophecies in Holy Scriptures of each religion’. Imam Amir Aziz, presented Islamic view point and contribution of the Lahore Ahmadiyya movement in this regard. It was significant that head of the Buddhist temple in Berlin visited the Mosque for first time. He came with his members and was very happy to know about Islamic teachings and thanked the Imam for inviting him to the Mosque. Christian priest spoke about prophecies in the Bible and similarly the Buddhist priest presented briefly concept of peace in the teachings of Buddha. It was a fruitful dis-cussion and all of them were given leaflets about the Mosque and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.

Brief visit of Dr. Gerdien JonkerDr. Gerdien Jonker our learned scholar and great friend of the Mosque visited the Mosque and discussed various matters with the Imam about her research and arranging visits to the Mosque. She came to have a copy of ‘Gog and Magog and the Anti Christ’ by Maulana Muhammad Ali. She was briefed about the renovation work of the Mosque.

Iranian Embassy3 February. Iranian Embassy arranged a programme at the International Hotel in Berlin to celebrate 38 years of the Revolution. Topic of seminar was “ Muslims in Europe”. The Imam was invited to par-ticipate in the programme. Interesting point was that speakers mentioned the Berlin Mosque and its role in promoting Islam in Europe. It was significant that even discussing the Iranian Revolution role of our Mosque was highlighted. Later on Embassy staff thanked the Imam for participating in the celebration. The administration informed the Imam that they would visit the Berlin Mosque soon.

Visit of Ph.D. Scholars4 February. Dr. Gerdien Jonker visited the Mosque with PhD. Scholars from UK, Netherlands, Georgia and India. Prof. Bukhari from UK has written many articles about Woking and the Lahore Ahmadiya Movement. Scholars from Netherlands and Georgia are working on the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement in their doctorate studies. The Muslims scholars among them offerred Maghrib prayer in the Mosque and then we had discussion in the Mission House over a cup of tea as it was too cold in the Mosque. The group stayed for one and half hour. History of the Mosque by Syed Nasir Ahmad sahib was presented.

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Documentary and Interview7 February. An Israeli Scholar visited the mosque on 4th and 7th February with a journalist from Germany to have my interview about Mosque History and specially about Islamic Marriage system. She is making a film about the a Jewish girl, Anna who accepted Islam in our Mosque and later got married to an Egyptian Muslim. Importance of this film is that it will be displayed worldwide in international festivals. In case the film festival is held next year in Berlin, then Imam of the Berlin Mosque will be the chief guest at the festival. Interview was conducted as if we I was Imam then in 1930. Azan and recitation of Surah Rahman was recorded. It was a very long interview for two days about eight hours.

Visit of Members from Holland11 February. Our Bro. Naeem Nasrullah and Bro. Mehboob with a carpenter visited once again for the completion of remaining work in the Mission House. They stayed for three days from 9th to 11th February and shared a lot of my burden. They worked with great devotion. They attended Friday prayer and were very happy to see the mosque full with people. May Allah grant them for their efforts.

Visit of DKRA group of 25 students visited the Berlin Mosque. They were given presentation about Mosque and religion of Islam. Question answer session was very long and interesting. Leaflets were distributed and leader of the group was presented Holy Quran and History of Mosque.

Visit of Paulus Church Students13 February. Forty students of Paulus Church Berlin visited the Berlin Mosque with priestess Barbara Neubert. These young students will be baptized and before that they came to the mosque to know about Islam. It was very a big group and they had questions about Islam and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. They all prayed in the mosque to seek blessings. The same Church and the same priest-ess brought another group of 24 students on 16th of February as well. This group will be baptized as well and came to know about Islam. They were presented copy of German translation of Holy Quran for the Church. In two visits 60 students came to the Berlin Mosque and learnt about Islam.

Visit of Gail S.Halvorsen Steglitz School21 February. 20 students of the above mentioned school visited the Berlin Mosque. After presenta-tion about the history of the Mosque they asked questions about Islam and thwe Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. It was a class of students who were studying Islam in their class and they came with their teacher to have more information. A copy of the German translation of the Holy Quran was presented for the school Library.

Programme by the Monument Department23 February. The Imam of the Berlin Mosque, Mr. Amir Aziz was invited by the Monument Department in the Parliament Building for the opening ceremony of the Monument Open Day which will be celebrated on 10th and 11th September, 2017. Mr. Amir Aziz represented the Berlin Mosque. The concerned personnel was informed about our participation and he thanked on behalf of the Organization. Later on a guided-tour was arranged for all the participants. This year Open day motto is “Macht und Pracht” (Power and splendour).

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Programme by the Tunisian Mosque26 February. The Imam of the Berlin Mosque was invited by Zetuna Mosque, Berlin. He attended the programme and met with the Imam of the mosque and other members of the management. It was interesting that the main speaker who talked about how Islam came to Europe discussed the role of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. The important point displayed on a chart about Muslims organizations included the Lahore Ahmadiyya Anjuman . Mr. Amir Aziz explained about the Lahore Movement and met the Imam who was a graduate from Al-Azhar. He was presented German Translation of the Holy Quran for which he thanked and promised to visit the Berlin Mosque.

Mr. Andrew Lewis, an American photographer interviewed the Imam

IGM Berlin Group at the Berlin Mosque.

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Ph. D scholars from UK, Netherlands, Georgia and India visited the Berlin Mosque. Among them was Prof. Bukhari from India who has written several articles about the Muslim Mission, Woking Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement. The visit was arranged by our learned friend

Dr. Gerdian Jonker.

Imam of the Berlin Mosque was invited to 38th Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution held at the International Hotel, Berlin. The topic for Seminar was “Muslims in Europe”.

Mr. Kamran Ahmad, a member of the Qadian Section, took interview of the Imam

Berlin Branch of HWPL with Headquarters in Korea held a seminar at the Berlin Mosque. The topic was: “Prophecies in the

Holy Scriptures of each religion.

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A group of 25 students of the DKR organisation visited the Berlin Mosque.

An Israeli scholar interviewed the Imam about the history of the Mosque. In this documentary focus is on the life of a Jewish girl Anna who embraced Islam at the Berlin Mosque and married an Egyptian Muslim

Forty students of Paulus Church with the Priestess Rev. Barbara Neubert and later on 24 students visited the Berlin Mosque.

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blessings of Allah be on him). LOVE also generates peace and happiness in the society. Follow the commandments of ALLAH and His Messenger, the Holy Prophet MUHAMMAD and earn an ever-lasting life here in this world and in the Hereafter. May Allah bless you all.

Ahmad Nawaz, Hayward, California I have just finished reading the February 2013 issue of the HOPE Bulletin dedicated to the memory of the late Br. Akbar Abdullah. I must say that your team has worked very hard to collect facts about the life and contributions made by our late Br. Akbar. The formatting of the Bulletin and photographs have made it very impressive and visual. Br. Akbar deserved such a beautiful dedication. I wish to congratulate you for making the Bulletin more than just a news bulletin. The brief life history of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas) by our new sister in the fold of Islam, Christiane Backer, is very impressive and shows how his Perfect Example has inspired her thoughts and behaviour. I am sure her book “From MTV to Mecca” must be worth reading. Thanks for introducing the autobiography of a highly popular figure in the Western media, who, by her own study, has adopted Islam, and is facing challenges with firm faith and conviction.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The HOPE Bulletin E-mail address: thehopebulletin@hotmail.com

ISLAM stands for: I SHALL LOVE ALL MANKIND

Photographs : Mr. Amir Aziz

Design & Formatting : Erwan Hamdani, Jakarta, Indonesia

http://www.aaiil.orghttp://www.Lahore.ahmadiyya.org

For Books on Islam and the Ahmadiyya Movement: Translations of the Holy Quran in Urdu, English, German, French, Russian, Indonesian, Dutch, Spanish and Turkish. Visit our websites.

Mr. Amir Aziz, Imam of the Berlin Mosque was invited by the Imam of a Tunisian Mosque, Zaituna Mosque. In the programme

the topic was “How Islam came to Europe”.

20 students from Gail S. Halvorsen Steglitz School visited the Berlin Mosque.

Bro. Naeem Nasrullah and his team from Rotterdam, Netherland at the Berlin Mosque to complete some renovation work at the

Mission House.