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Proceedings of the Prayer Meeting

Held as adjured by His Holiness Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah(as) on 2 February 1900, in the Abode of Peace, Qadian

Introduction

Before presenting the proceedings to the readers it seems pertinent to state that the Imam of the Righteous, the Proof of Allah on Earth, and the Messiah of the Age—His Holiness, the Chief of Qadian, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad—is truly loyal to, and a well-wisher of, the present Government just as he is a well-wisher of all creation. His blessed person has spelled out the rights of the subjects and those of the Government as clearly as broad daylight.

He has so effectively and in diverse ways impressed the favours of this kind Government upon the hearts of his followers that the stain of hypocrisy with regard to this Empire has been altogether washed away from the hearts of this pure Jama’at. It is this hypocrisy which is seeping through the very fibre of poor, naive, uninformed Muslims on account of their association with ignorant and bigoted mullahs. On the other hand, his followers have become as sincerely loyal and grateful to the British Government as they would have been to any Islamic one.

The Government is not unaware of the fact that the family of His Holiness has ever remained loyal and devoted to it and has always served it beyond their means in every difficult situation. The government officials can conclude therefrom that the family of Mirza Sahib had previously established ties of solidarity with the Government. While the ancestors of His Holiness supported the Government with troops and cavalry, His Holiness does his best, in his own way, to help it with a host of his heartfelt prayers. Every time there was a skirmish or battle on the Afghan frontier, or in Baluchistan or Burma, he continued to pray. He also celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen [of England] and the Empress [of India] and held a meeting wherein he prayed to God for her long life and success. Considering his lifestyle, which is strictly austere and has always been characterized by seclusion and solitude, how could he help this kind and generous Government in any other way except through his prayers? On the present occasion, too, as the British Government is dealing with undeserved trouble from a nation, which is being secretly abetted by other nations, this well-wisher of the people thought it appropriate to pray for the victory of our Government.

So, on 1st February, before the members of his Jama’at who had come from Afghanistan, Iraq and from various places throughout India such as Madras, Kashmir, Shahjahanpur, Jammu, Mithra, Jhang, Multan, Patiala, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Shahpur, Sialkot, Gujrat, Lahore, Amritsar, Gurdaspur etc., His Holiness expressed his wish to pray on the Eid day for the victory of the British Government. Upon hearing this, everyone whole-heartedly approved of it.

Accordingly, at 8 am on Eid day, accompanied by his followers, the Promised Messiah, may peace be upon him, made his way to a spacious ground situated to the west of Qadian, which has long since served as the Eidgah [Eid prayer site]. People from surrounding villages too had gathered there by 9 am. Then, Hazrat Maulaanaa Nur-ud-Din—the Peerless Scholar of the Age—led the Eidul-Fitr Prayer. After the prayer, the Imam of the Age stood up and delivered an eloquent sermon. His address was so engaging that all those present, numbering no less than one thousand, were completely spellbound. Moreover, it was very straightforward and intelligible—so much so that even the villagers, whose knowledge and understanding is somewhat superficial, were so impressed that they exclaimed, ‘His Holiness speaks the truth!’ As the original text would reveal, this address clearly portrays the rights of Allah as well as those of worldly rulers, and enlightens the public about the manifold favours of the British Government on the Muslims, and stresses the fact that Muslims are strictly bound by the Holy Quran to be loyal and devoted to the Government. Is there anyone in the world who can thus establish with sincerity and devotion the rights of the British Government from a religious perspective? It fell upon this champion to inspire true love for this Government within the hearts of his followers and to repeatedly emphasize, in both writing and speech, that if any of his followers were guilty of so much as the slightest duplicity towards this Government, he would not be considered a member of his Jama’at [Community] and would be disobedient to God and the Holy Prophet(sa). This is because our appreciation of the British Government is not motivated by personal gain or selfish interest; rather, we are enjoined by Islam to express our sincere and heartfelt loyalty, in both word and deed. We hold it unlawful to indulge in hypocritical intrigues or to curry favour in order to acquire any title, property, or estate. Nothing more needs to be said as the address is given below word for word.