Appendix relating to Risala 'Al-Wasiyyat'
('The Will')1

There are certain important points regarding the booklet 'The Will' which need to be publicised and they are as follows:

1. The first point to be noted is that until the Anjuman Karpardaz Masaleh Qabristan2 announces that the graveyard is fully completed with respect to every necessary requirement, it shall not be permissible that the body of a person who has fully complied with all the conditions laid down in 'The Will' be brought for burial in the graveyard. The completion of the bridge and that of other necessary requirements must be given priority. Till then the body is to be placed in a coffin and buried in some other graveyard in trust.

2. Anyone who undertakes to abide by the conditions laid down in 'The Will', it shall be required of him/her to make a declaration in writing, in the presence of two witnesses, and entrust this document to the Anjuman while he/she is in full possession of his/her faculties. The testator should explicitly state that he/she bequeaths or endows one tenth of all of his/her movable and immovable property for the propagation of the objectives of the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at. And it shall be obligatory that the testator publishes this [declaration] in at least two newspapers.

3. It shall be binding on the Anjuman that, after fully satisfying itself regarding the legal and shar‘i3 validity of the contents of the will, it issues a certificate to the testator, duly signed and sealed. And when, in accordance with the regulations stated above, a dead body is brought to the graveyard for burial, the certificate must be presented to the Anjuman, and in accordance with the directives of the Anjuman. After the Anjuman has surveyed where the deceased can be buried, the coffin shall be buried at the spot specified by the Anjuman for the burial.

4. Since all children who have not come of age go to heaven, they shall not be buried in this graveyard except when the Anjuman suggests that there are special circumstances owing to which such a burial could take place. Nor shall any relative of the deceased be buried in this graveyard, unless he/she on his/her own complies with the conditions laid down in 'The Will'.

5. It shall not be permissible for the body of a person who has not died in Qadian to be brought to Qadian without a coffin. Also it shall be necessary to inform the Anjuman one month in advance, so that if at the time the Anjuman is facing some obstacles regarding the graveyard, it should be able to overcome them before giving permission for the burial.

6. If, God forbid, a person who has complied with all the conditions laid down in the will die of plague, it shall be obligatory that his/her body is placed in a coffin and buried in trust at some other place for a period of two years. After two years, his/her body shall be brought to Qadian at a time when the place where the testator died as well as Qadian are free of the plague.

7. It should be kept in mind that [for burial in this graveyard] it is not enough merely that one tenth of one’s movable and immovable property is bequeathed, but it is also necessary that the testator, to the best of his/her capacity, complies with the commandments of Islam and strives for matters pertaining to Taqwa and Purity, is a Muslim, believes in one God, and has true faith in His Messenger. Moreover he/she does not violate the rights of fellow men.

8. If a person bequeaths one tenth of his/her assets and dies accidentally, for instance, by drowning; or if he dies in another country from where it is difficult to bring his/her body, his/her will shall remain valid and, in the sight of God, he/she will be considered to have been buried in this graveyard. And it shall be permissible that in his/her memory a headstone— made of bricks or stone—be erected with an inscription stating some facts about him/her.

9. The Anjuman controlling these funds shall not be authorised to spend them for purposes other than those pertaining to the objectives of Ahmadiyya Jama‘at and of these the objective of the propagation of Islam will take precedence over all others. And it shall be permissible for the Anjuman to augment these funds through trade and commerce with the members’ consensus.

10. The Anjuman shall consist only of such members as belong to the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at and are pious and upright. Should it be felt at any time that a member is not pious or is dishonest or is an intriguer, or that he has a streak of worldliness in him, then it shall be obligatory for the Anjuman to immediately cancel the membership of such a person and replace him with some one else.

11. If a dispute arises with respect to the bequeathed assets and funds then any cost incurred in the process of settling the dispute shall be met by the funds of Wasiyyat.

12. If a person makes a will and then, because of some weakness in his faith, revokes his/her will or renounces the Ahmadiyya Jama‘at, then, even if the Anjuman is lawfully in possession of his property, it shall not be permissible for the Anjuman to keep his/her property in its possession but shall be bound to return it. This is because God is in no need of anyone's property or money. And in the sight of God all such wealth is detestable and fit only to be rejected.

13. Because the Anjuman deputises for the Khalifa who is appointed by God4, it should be free from all traces of worldliness and all its affairs should be straight and transparent and based on justice.

14. It shall be permissible for the support and help of this Anjuman, to have its branches in far off lands which shall function under its directives and such branches shall be subsidiary to it [the Anjuman at Qadian]. If such subsidiary Anjumans are in countries from where it is difficult to bring the bodies of the deceased, it shall be permissible for the local Anjumans to bury them in their respective countries. And in order to have Divine reward, such a person should bequeath one tenth of his/her property before his/her death. The local Anjuman of a country shall be entitled to own the funds raised by bequests made in that country. It shall be preferable that such funds are spent for the religious needs of that country. However, it shall be permissible that, in view of certain requirements, such funds are sent to the Anjuman, the headquarters of which are at Qadian.5

15. It is mandatory that the headquarters of this Anjuman always remain at Qadian, because God has blessed this place. For this purpose, it shall be permissible for the Anjuman to erect buildings in anticipation of future needs.

16. There should always be at least two such members of the Anjuman as are well versed in the knowledge of the Holy Qur’an and Hadith and who have acquired the knowledge of Arabic and are also learned in Ahmadiyya literature.

17. If, God forbid, there is a person who makes a will in accordance with the booklet ‘The Will’, and happens to suffer from leprosy and his/her physical condition is such that it is not suitable for his/her dead body to be brought to this graveyard, then in view of the known precautionary measures, it shall not be proper for him/her to be brought to this graveyard. However, if such a person has been able to carry out his/her obligations under the will, then such a person shall have the same station as is reserved for one who is buried here—God willing.

18. If there is a person who has no property, moveable or immovable, but it is established that he/she is virtuous, saintly, God-fearing, a genuine believer and has no trace of hypocrisy and worldliness, nor is he/she found wanting in implicit obedience, then he/she, too, by my permission, or after me, with the consensus of the Anjuman, may be buried in this graveyard.

19. If a person is rejected by a special Divine Revelation, he/she shall not be buried in this graveyard, even though he/she offers to pay the bequeathed contribution.

20. God has made an exception in my case and the case of my wife and children. All other men and women must comply with these conditions; and whoever objects will be a hypocrite.

These are the obligatory conditions which have been detailed above. In future, only that person who complies with these conditions shall be buried in this Maqbara Bahishti. It is possible that there may be persons, who are swayed by doubt and suspicion and make me a target of objections in this matter, and regard this arrangement as based on selfish motives or judge it as a Bid‘at. But remember, these are the Works of God Almighty, and He does what He wills. Indeed He has willed that by this scheme He shall distinguish between a hypocrite and a believer. And I too feel that those who, having been informed of this Divine scheme, having been informed of this Divine scheme become anxious, immediately and without hesitation, to subscribe one tenth of their property in the way of Allah—nay, they even show greater fervour—and set the seal on their faithfulness. Allah says: 6"Do the people think that I [Allah] should be pleased only by their verbal claim: ‘We have believed’ and that they should not be tried just yet. Whereas this trial is no trial. The companions of the Holy Prophet(sa) were tried when they were required to sacrifice their lives. Accordingly, they laid down their lives in the path of God. Then how far away from the truth is the thought as to why everyone is not allowed to be buried in this graveyard. Were this the case, why then did God Almighty prescribe trials in each age? In every age, He has been pleased to distinguish the impure from the pure. He has, therefore, done the same now. In the days of the Holy Prophet(sa), God prescribed some minor trials, too. For example, it was the practice that no one would seek any kind of advice from the Holy Prophet(sa) without offering Nadhrana7. Thus in this too was a trial for the hypocrites. I feel that in present day trials too the faithful ones of the highest order who have in fact given precedence to faith over worldliness will stand distinguished from others and it shall be proved that they have fulfilled their pledge of Bai‘at and established their bona fides. No doubt this institution [of Wasiyyat] will be very hard on the hypocrites, for it will expose them and after they die, be they men or women, they will certainly not be buried in this graveyard. 8 But those who excel in this matter will be counted among the righteous and forever and always shall they be the recipients of Divine blessings.

Finally, let it be remembered that the days of calamities are close at hand and a severe earthquake that will turn the earth upside down is imminent. Hence before Divine chastisement strikes, those who prove that they are not of this world and have renounced it, and who further demonstrate how well they carried out my command, they alone are the true believers in the sight of God. And their names shall be listed in His book as of those who are the first and foremost. And truly and sincerely do I say that the time is near when a hypocrite who out of his love for this world, has evaded this commandment, will at the time of chastisement let out an anguished cry and say, 'Would that I had given all that I possessed—all my movable and immovable possessions—in the way of God and escaped this chastisement. Remember, after witnessing this punishment faith will be of no avail and alms and charity will be in vain. Look, I warn you of an imminent Divine chastisement. Hasten to stock up on your [spiritual] provisions that will serve you. As for me, I have no intention of taking possession of your wealth. Rather you shall give your wealth to the Anjuman for the propagation of the Faith and shall be rewarded with a life in Heaven. There are many who, for their love of the world, shall evade my command but shall soon be taken away from this world—then at the last hour they shall exclaim:

9

10

The humble one, the author,
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
The Promised Messiah from God Almighty.
January 6, 1906.