By Hazrat Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Shams(ra)
Since the purpose of the advent of the Promised Messiah(as) was to propagate the Unity of God and His message, he found a way to serve those objectives on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria which was celebrated with great pomp and show in June 1897. He published a book Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah [A Gift for the Queen] on May 25, 1897. In addition to felicitating Her Majesty, the Promised Messiah(as) outlined the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet(sa) and Islam with great subtlety and wisdom. He then outlined the principles which can lay the foundations of world peace and international brotherhood. After giving the gist of the Islamic teachings, he invited Her Majesty Queen Victoria to hold a conference of great religions in London so that the inhabitants of England may learn the true teachings of Islam. He then discussed the abhorrence of the Christian dogma that Hazrat ‘Isa(as) [Prophet Jesus] died on the cross and thus accepted the curse in order to save the Christians. On the joyful occasion of the Jubilee, the Promised Messiah(as) asked Her Majesty to exonerate Hazrat ‘Isa(as) [Prophet Jesus] of the curse that is wrongfully placed upon him, thereby clearing his honour from the unjustified accusation.
The Promised Messiah(as) undertook to show a sign of his own truthfulness, provided that Her Majesty would agree to accept his message in case of fulfilment—adding that he would accept the death penalty by being put on the gallows in Her Majesty’s capital if he is unable to show a convincing sign.
A meeting to celebrate the Jubilee was also held in Qadian in June 1897, which was attended by several members who joined from out of town. In accordance with the directives of the government officials, a resolution was passed and sent to the Viceroy of India. Copies of Tohfa-e-Qaisariyyah were prepared in high quality binding, one of which was sent to Deputy Commissioner District Gurdaspur for onward transmission to Her Majesty, and copies were sent to the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor Punjab. A prayer was recited in six languages in the meeting, which included:
Almighty God! As Thy Wisdom and Providence has been pleased to put us under the rule of our blessed Empress enabling us to lead lives of peace and prosperity, we pray to Thee that our ruler may in return be saved from all evils and dangers as Thine is the kingdom, glory and power. Believing in Thy unlimited powers we earnestly ask Thee, All-Powerful Lord, to grant us one more prayer that our benefactress the Empress, before leaving this world, may probe her way out of the darkness of man-worship with the light of la-ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. [There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet]. Do Almighty God as we desire, and grant us this humble prayer of ours as Thy will alone governs all minds. Amen!